Contact with chosen band- The 99s

I contacted the band via the email address from their unsigned profile page. I told them I am an A-level Media Studies student and need to create a music video for a song by an unsigned band, and said I was interested in creating a video for their song, 'Oh me, Oh my' and asked if they objected to me doing this.

I got a prompt reply confirming it was fine for me to use their song, adding that they would love to see the video when finished.

Chosen Artist- The 99s

After looking into the chosen three artists I decided that the one I would most like to create a video for is The 99s as I think the band persona seems a lot more refined than the other bands and the songs seem more professional and polished. As well as this I like the clean tones of the bands music, and their simple, but modern fashion style.


When I first heard this band I started to hear influences and make comparisons between their music and existing, similar bands. The bands that first sprung to mind are The Kooks and The Zutons with strong Beatles, northern sounding, Byrds-like melodies.

The 99s- Background information

After reading the description of The 99s that was written on unsigned.com and various other websites, I have found out a little about them and their target audience.  


The  band are from Saddleworth, north-east of Manchester in the foothills of the Pennines in the borderlands of Lancashire and Yorkshire. A place which will forever scarred with the memories of the Moors Murders. Despite this, the melodic indie-rock trio, The 99s, are very proud of their roots and instead of grouping themselves as another Manchester band, they proclaim their Saddleworth origins.


The three band members developed their musical identity through time together at school, and grew into a band when bassist James Loughlin and drummer Adam Quigley recruited Johnny West as singer and guitarist after admiring his performances in local folk clubs. The lads decided that fate had dictated their band line-up was complete, when all three seats in Adam's van were filled.


The band have since established themselves as a great live band and song-writing group after intense local gigging and appearing on Clint Boon's renowned XFM show and In The City festival. In 2009 the lads then took their gigs to London and had three successive gigs sold out at highly praised venues in the music industry such as, The Water Rats and Club 229.


As time has gone on the three have established their own musical style which has grown in confidence and as drawn together many influences which now sits between pop, folk and rock. The bands musical style can be heard to draw inspiration from the folk and brass bands of their hometowns as it does from Northern bands such as The Beatles. Their sunny, Byrds-like melodies take you far from any notions of grim Northern mills and moorland. 

"“We want to put where we come from back on the map for the right reason,” says West. “The music we write reflects our area. We write songs on top of hills.” "

Possible artists

When searching for an artist I could produce a music video for I came up with a shortlist of three bands that i thought could be viable to direct a video for.

These bands were:

• The 99s
• The Ginger Bread Men
• The Bad Robots

I will need to do some further research and planning to decide which would give the best result.

Andrew Goodwin's Six Points

• Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics (e.g. stage performance in metal video, dance routine for boy/girl band).

This means that music videos for the same genre of music often show similarities and use related kinds of themes/ shot types. I will research music videos from artists that are the same genre and style as my chosen song and analyse videos from these artists for conventions and begin thinking about how I can apply these to my music video.

• There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).

This is basically stating that the footage/shots/ themes and mise en scene should reflect the lyrics of the song in some way. To do this I will analyse the lyrics to the song and film the video showing scenes constructed around the imagery created in the lyrics.

• There is a relationship between music and visuals (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).

This is also saying that that the footage/shots/ themes and mise en scene should mirror the music or beat of the song. I could do this by filming dull/grey skies and rainy weather in my video to match a sombre song or sunny, weather to match an upbeat cheerful song.

• 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 method of using lots of close-ups of the artist themselves is used by the record label to market and advertise the artist. To do this I will have to cut regular close up shots of the lead singer.

• There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.

This is drawing from the fact that in a high proportion of music videos women are portrayed as sexual objects. This may or may not be relevant to the genre of song I choose to film for.

• There is often intertextual reference (to films, tv programmes, other music videos etc)

In other words, parts of other films, music videos, characters etc. may be used in a video to attract attention of people who already know and like the material being referenced. For example the music video for 'Buddy Holly' by Weezer using the television programme 'Happy Days' as a setting and theme. This only works if the two texts are closely related, if something immediately springs to mind when I listen to the song then, this could be utilised, but it would need to be a clear cut and well known reference for the audience to understand it.