Research: Key features of the music video.

Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics, for example, stage performance and fast cuts in a metal video or a dance routine for a boy/girl band. A great example of a metal video is by a sheffield band, Bring me the Horizon. The video portrays a party scene with the band performing around a mosh. Fast cuts are used to emphasize the speed and intensity of the music.

There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting). Here is a video for the song Numb by Portishead, the video amplifies the lyrics by relating what is said to what is seen, for example, the line "I'm never so lost, I can't find my way" is complimented with shots of the lead singer wandering through a field, apparently lost. This video also illustrates the lyrics by showing Beth Gibbons (vocalist) singing along to the track.

It is also worth noting that when lyrics illustrate the visuals the video is usually story-based. In my opinion, the best example of a narrative music video that makes heavy use of the lyrics is the song Stan by Eminem.


There is a relationship between music and visuals (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting). Here is a fan-made video for the song Rue the Whirl by the electronica duo Boards of Canada. This demonstrates how music can amplify the visuals, by timing the clips to change and shudder in time with the music. This involves the audience and doesn't aim to tell a story or show off the band, it just compliments the music for what it is. This is a similar idea to what i was considering for my music video of Pulk/Pull (Revolving Doors) by Radiohead.

I have also included in this post a music video for the electronica duo Autechre. I felt this was needed because this video was programmed specifically to the exact frequency of each sound present in the song and the visuals are representations of that data. It is an interesting concept to think about, being opposed to make a narrative or performance video, they instead take the viewer on a visual tour of their music.


The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close-ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style). A perfect example of the record label requiring lots of close-ups on the artist is with La Roux. The video below was released when she was trying to promote herself into the mainstream, so it makes sense to give the viewers a good look at the singer so that they can familiarize themselves with her. Also her hairstyle has become a visual motif that makes her instantly recognizable, even to someone like me who does not claim to be a fan of her music.


These videos show various key features and conventions commonly in music videos, having an understanding of these features enables me to create a convincng music video for our particular genre and gives me insight into others in order to incorporate different styles and techniques into my work and therefore increasing my target audience and showing i have the ability to create something original within the context of the genre.

Research: Radiohead

Radiohead are an alternative rock band from England. They released their first single, 'Creep', in 1992. The song became an international hit after the release of their first album 'Pablo Honey' in 1993. Their popularity in the United Kingdom continued to rise with the release of their second album, 'The Bends' in 1995. The band's greatest achievement was to come in 1997 with the release of 'Ok Computer', their third studio album. Ok Computer thrust them into the international spotlight due to the album's intensity, expansive sound and themes of modern alienation. This album has gone on to be considered by the many as a landmark album of the 1990s.

The band took some time off following this success and did not produce another album together until 2000/2001 when 'Kid A' and 'Amnesiac' were released. These albums marked an evolution in Radiohead's musical style as they incorporated experimental electronic music. Thom Yorke has also said the lesser known genres such as Krautrock and post-punk were an influence when creating these alums. The Kid A/Amnesiac sessions are considered their greatest body of work to date by any fans. Next came the album 'Hail to the Thief' in 2003, which was a mix of guitar-driven rock, electronics and lyrics inspired by war. This was the last album for the band on the major record label, EMI. Radioheads first six albums combined had sold more that 25 million copies by 2007. This drove the band to independently release their seventh album, 'In Rainbows' in 2007, originally as a digital download which customers could set their own price. It was then released in physical form to critical and chart success.

Radiohead's work is known over the globe and has appeared in a huge amount of listener polls and critic lists. As of 2005, Radiohead were ranked number 73 in Rolling Stone magazine's "The Greatest Artists of All Time", personally I would have placed them higher due to the length of their musical scope. Although the band's early work was influential of British rock music, musicians in a wide variety of genres have been influenced by their later work, due to its experimental nature and accessibility.

The band consists of:

Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, beats)

Jonny Greenwood (guitars, keyboards, other instruments)

Ed O'Brien (guitars, backing vocals)

Colin Greenwood (bass, synthesizers)

Phil Selway (drums, percussion)

Radiohead are far from finished too, they are planning to release another album in 2011 which is exciting fans and critics alike.

Research: Looking at Digipaks.

Digipak’s are designed to have the most available displaying space without the bulk; Digipak’s were first designed to be more economically friendly in production and after use than its predecessor the ABS and Acrylic case.

The standard digipak has 6 panels that can be easily displayed on, three on the inside and three on the outside. Atleast one of the inside panels must contain space for the disk, whether its an Acrylic disk fixing or a sleeve.

The Radiohead Album ‘In Rainbows’ was produced in a digipak format containing various items such as an album cover, album artwork, and other added extras. The disk comes in a separate card sleeve decorated with the artwork of the cover. This album is not the standard kind of digipak so when we come to creating our own album, we can look at various shapes and sizes of professional digipaks in order to help us make an informed and creative outcome.

Planning: Time Management

Time management for this project is important in order to keep up with the work load as well as making sure everything is prepared before we under go the production stage.

Pre-Production Schedule

18th October - complete both ancillary tasks, a Digipak for the album with four panels and a magazine advert for the promotion of the album.

19th November - Be fully prepared for the production, Storyboard complete and locations and shots thought out.

Production Schedule

23rd November - Begin outdoor filming

30th November - Begin indoor filming

10th December - Complete outstanding shots due to weather etc.

17th December - Complete filming stage of production.

Post-Production Schedule

20th December - Compile clips and audio in Adobe Premiere pro.

30th December - Complete editing of the video and render the file for export.

1st January - Make sure everything is complete up to the evaluation stage.

21st January - Complete evaluation of project and submit entire production.

This is a rough schedule for our project, hopefully we can stay on track but unforeseen issues may occur which means we cannot, for example, weather conditions, unavailable actors etc.

Research: Pulk/Pull (Revolving Doors) lyrics and meaning.

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There are barn doors

And there are revolving doors

Doors on the rudders of big ships
We are revolving doors

There are doors that open by themselves
There are sliding doors and there are secret doors

There are doors that lock and doors that don't

There are doors that let you in and out but never open

But they are trapdoors

That you can't come back from

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Although the main focus of this song is the experimental sounds that shift and change, the lyrics themselves hold some meaning.

The sounds created put emphasis on the confusion of everyday life, how decisions and choices affect us, the revolving doors are a metaphor for the constant changes in direction and the feeling of spinning out of control. The point remains however, that all doors, no matter how daunting have an entrance and an exit, we just need to stop spinning and make a choice. The lyrics reflect this idea further with lines such as:

"There are barn doors"
This might suggest the bigger choices of your life

"Doors on the rudders of big ships"
The suggestion here is that there are very important decisions that you may have to make, to steer the direction of something big, such as a ship.

"We are revolving doors"
Yorke identifies the audience with the revolving confusion of life and talks about how we have to continue to make choice; continue to turn in our chosen direction.

"There are doors that open by themselves"
This could mean that some choices come naturally or are simply made for you by others.

"There are sliding doors and there are secret doors"
The idea that there are secret doors: hidden from the majority, possibly a shortcut or detour for our chosen path in life.

"There are doors that lock and doors that don't"
This seems to be referring to a decision that you make could be undone, but other times, that choice is final.

"There are doors that let you in and out but never open"
I think this is just a reference to an archway. This line has riddle-like qualities as an archway never opens, since it has no door, but it is a choice that we have to make nonetheless throughout life. Possibly a choice with no repercussions, something you can go back on at will.

"But they are trapdoors
That you can't come back from"
This haunting final line suggests how everyone makes bad choices at times, and can't turn back on them, no matter how much they wish they could.

Overall, the song lyrics are not meant to be thought about too deeply, the intention of this song is to experiment with various sounds and noises. However, there is some level of meaning that Thom Yorke wanted to get across and his lyrics help to do that despite them being hard to figure out when you listen to the song.

Research: The Artist of Radiohead's album covers

The image above shows Thom Yorke (lead vocalist) of Radiohead (left) and Dan Rickwood; pen name Stanley Donwood (right) hard at work perfecting a piece of Radiohead promotional art. The two met at Exeter university as art students, to date, Rickwood has created all the Radiohead related artwork since 1997 when he joined the band to design the 'Ok Computer' cover.

Dan Rickwood is not only an artist, he is also an author of several short stories as well as a talented graphic designer. His artwork has been displayed at various exhibitions around the world from Holland to Barcelona which has gained him much critical acclaim. We have included a link to his website (below).

http://www.slowlydownward.com/

In 2002, Rickwood and Yorke won a Grammy Award for Best Recording Package for the Special Edition for the album Amnesiac which has the song Pulk/pull (revolving doors). Donwood's writing has also been used in Radiohead album artwork, and frequently on Radiohead's official website. He is in essence a member of the band although he is no musician, the artwork he creates play a fundamental role in the band's overall image and promotion of their music.

Research: Alternative music video.

This has been created and uploaded to youtube by a fan of Radiohead. We are including it in the blog because it explores various ideas for potential shots and sequences and gives us an insight into what would be required to pull off a music video for this song.

Research: Official Music Video by Radiohead.

This is the official video for the Radiohead songs Pulk/Pull (Revolving Doors) and Like Spinning Plates. Due to the length of the video it has not recieved much broadcast time on music channels such as MTV. Both songs are from the album Amnesiac and follow a similar pattern which is why they go together as one music video.

The Brief

A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following three options:

A website homepage for the band

A cover for its release as part of a digipak (CD/DVD package)

A magazine advertisement for the digipak (CD/DVD package)


This is the brief for our music video production, we plan to create the digipak and magazine advert as our ancillary pieces.