Storyboard

0:00-0:05 close-up, alarm sound, alarm starts with first guitar strum

0:05 mid-shot, top down, zoom out, alarm sound, person waking to sound of alarm

0:08 mid-close-up, reaching to switch off alarm

0:11 sprawled- lying sideways

0:13 top down, zoom out, "Everyday I seem to turn around, I'm on my back again", rolls over during bass run

0:20 pan 360 degrees, "I know there's something better than this room I'm living in"

0:26 Looks out of window, "looking outside and the sky is black, I know a better place"

0:33 mid shot, fast zoom in, repeated from different sides of person, "cause if these four walls keep closing in"

0:35 close-up, time-lapse, "we're wasting time and space"

Long shot walking out of bedroom onto landing

Walks into the bathroom

Looking in the mirror, washing, brushing teeth

Low angle shot, walking down the stairs 

low shot show person walk horizontally past the camera

Lip syncing lyrics 

Medium shot of guitar playing, lip syncing, close-ups of lip syncing

Location Shots

I chose to go and take some pictures of a possible location for my video. I had already established that I wanted part or all of the video to be set in a young guys house. The look that I wanted to create was a student esque, messy, basic looking house that would match the stereotype that I am trying to create to match the drab lifestyle described in the lyrics of the song. The picture below shows the bedroom that the scene in which the singer wakes up will be filmed in.

Since there is quite a heavy reference in the lyrics to looking outside and the grey skies etc. I wanted to have the window as a key part of the video- this window suited what I wanted as you could see the sky clearly from the window and the was a good view of houses/ buildings to use as a skyline.

Part of my video will be showing the singer's daily routine, so I may use shots in the bathroom of him washing and brushing his teeth and so on.

I want to incorporate the staircase into the video, with the singing walking down them after the bedroom scene.

I also want to use shots of the band members playing at the top of the stairs/ on the landing playing their instruments- each person on a different floor shot from a low angle.

The second half of the video could take place in the living room of his house as I could frame the whole band together in this room. I would remove some of the furniture and ornaments from the walls to make the setting look more like a basic bedsit.

Pitch for my music video

After hearing my song a few times and analysing the lyrics I started to interpret how I imagined the video to be and started to piece together some ideas that I could use as the basis for the music video.


The lyrics suggest that the singer/bands live a boring, monotonous and repetitive lifestyle in a drab town where nothing interesting happens. The chorus suggests that there is someone/ people in his life that he wants to improve his relationship with and change his ways of life. I am going to split the song into two main sections, the first being based around the lead singer's daily routine, and the second the band performing in the front room of the house.


The first part will only show the singer/guitarist and will show him waking up in the morning to the sound of his alarm and looking pretty apathetic. There will be some shots using lip syncing and shots picturing imagery used in the lyrics. To outline his repetitive lifestyle I'll include shots of him undertaking everyday tasks/ his daily routine- waking up disgruntled to a noisy alarm clock, getting up and looking out of the window at where he lives, going into the bathroom, having a wash, brushing teeth and turning on the shower.


I will experiment with unique camera transitions such as 360 degree camera spins to show the whole room and to blur the walls into one. 


Another transition I will use is four zooms from all sides of the singer to represent the four walls closing in.


I will repeat the footage used at the start of the video when the lyrics 'groundhog day goes round' are sung as this is an intertextual reference to the film of the same name in which the protagonist keeps waking up in the same day.


The singer/guitarist will be singing and playing guitar alone during the second verse, when the second chorus comes in the rest of the band appears behind the lead singer/guitarist to signify the change in 'his ways'.


During the instrumental section I will create a pixilation/ human stop motion using the band members and get them to change hats or items of clothing and change positions in a line etc.


Also to connote a dull boring lifestyle of the band, in the first section of the video that I mentioned previously, I may apply a black and white and/or grainy filter, this will juxtapose with the brighter footage that appears later on with the other band members.

Summary of existing video research

What conventions of videos in the indie rock genre am I going to use during my video:

• Pixilation (stop motion with humans as the subject)
• Band members messing around- often during the instrumental
• Shots of the city skyline
• Lots of close-ups of the singers mouth, guitar strums, bass plucks and cymbal hits
• Grainy filters
• Black and white filter or desaturated colours
• Mixture of performance element and narrative element

techniques- stop motion/ pixilation

Stop motion (stop frame) is a animation/film creation technique used to make an inanimate object, which can be physically manipulated, appear to move on its own. The subject/s are moved or adjusted in small increments between separately photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when played as a continuous sequence.

Clay figures/ figures with movable joints are often used as they are easier to reposition or reshape. Stop motion using clay models is called clay animation or 'clay-mation'. Some well known clay-mation examples of clay-mation are the Wallace and Grommit films, Chicken Run, Pingu, corpse bride, Coraline (which was the first stop motion film to be filmed in full 3D) 

Stop motion has also been used in many feature films such as the original Star Wars trilogy, being used in 'Star Wars' (later named Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope)in the chess scene, to animate the tauntauns and AT-AT walkers in 'The Empire Strikes Back' and to animate the AT-ST walkers in 'Return of the Jedi'. The technique also features in many of the shots in the Indiana Jones film 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' including the ghosts scenes and for some shots in the closing sequence of the 'Terminator' movie.

Go Motion is a variation of stop motion that involves programming a computer to move the subject slighting between each exposure.

The pixilation animation technique is also a type of stop motion, where "live actors are used as a frame-by-frame subject in an animated film", this is done by taking repeated shots/frames of the posing actors who change position between shots, then during editing the frames in which the actors are changing position are deleted leaving the desired shots. This, as with all stop motion, can appear very smooth or very jumpy depending on how many frames are taken and how much the subject moves between each consecutive frame.

Pixilation animation was used in the music video for The White Stripes song, 'The Hardest Button to Button' directed by Michel Gondry.

Another music video, also for The White Stripes, this time using regular stop motion is the video for 'Fell in Love with a Girl' which uses LEGO building bricks to create a LEGO animation (Brickfilm) and was shot frame-by-frame rebuilding the LEGO between each frame.

Pixilation is a technique that I admire and have been somewhat inspired by after watching this video. It is something I may consider including in my music video if it is an appropriate match for the style of music.

Analysis of videos by similar artists

In order to gain a better knowledge of what makes a good music video for the indie-pop/rock type genre I have watched numerous videos by artists that are of a similar style and genre to The 99s. While doing this I have tried to pick up on all techniques used to create these videos, especially reoccurring techniques, which I can categorise as conventions for this genre. I am especially interested in finding these conventions as they are something I will be able to borrow and use in my video, this will increase the chances of my video being a hit with fans of this genre and they will enjoy watching the video because of the known and recognised video type. Whereas if I used conventions from the rap genre then the video is unlikely to be successful as it does not suit this style of music and fans would probably find it boring.



Instread of analysing every shot of a few videos I find it more useful for techniques and inspiration to watch lots of videoa and just pick out the main techniques nand themes used in those videos then I can look at what is common and what ideas I can gain from these videos.



Similar Artist: The Kooks, The Maccabees, Guillemots, Razorlight, The Smiths


The Kooks-Sofa Song:

This video uses:

• Lots of close-up shots of the lead singer, putting emphasis on the words he is singing and showing it is his portrayal 
• Shot of a city skyline lit up art night are used at the beginning- maybe representing a hectic busy, city lifestyle
• An overlapping pixelated effect is used throughout the video which adds a quirky feel to the video, at some points the effect gives a sense of double vision as the person seen is displaced into the next pixelated picture.
• Mid close-ups, close-ups and mid shots are used at other significant music parts of the song to show the other band members, for example a close-up of the the bassists hand as he plucks the bass guitar string when the bass line first kicks in and a mid close-up of the drummer when a short drum-roll occurs at a break in the lyrics. 

The Kooks-Ooh La:

 
This video uses:

• The opening of this video resembles a French chat show, with presenter/ audience dialogue being heard. This is an addition to the song, purely for the video
• The main section of the video (in Paris) has a grainy, black and white filter applied. This gives the impression we are looking at events that happened in the past
• A Gaussian blur effect is occassionally used to somewhat obscure the image, which gives the impression of uncertainty and ambivalence and the haziness connotes confusion
• When the actual song starts you soon realise the French theme is continued as the video is following The Kooks band member's seemingly sight seeing around Paris. Symbolic symbols of Paris and France such as the Eiffel Tower, Sacré-Coeur, typically French Citroën 2CV car
• Slow motion has been added in post processing to give a dreamy, flash-back feel to the clips
• The ending of the video returns to the studio chat show and has credits rolling up the screen to continue the television program theme

The Maccabees- Toothepaste Kisses:

This video uses:

• This video is set in a traditionally styled bar/pub
• It has a smokey, dull, grittyness to the footage
• The video starts of with two people kissing in the bar who, one of these people moves on to kiss somebody else, the tow people kissing are constantly changing and as they are doing this the couple are always moving around the bar area

The Maccabees- Pelican

This video uses:

• CGI-Travelling through space- stars moving towards camera, Earth in centre
• Lyrics "In the middle, in the middle" edited so graphic is travelling past the centr of the Earth which has been bisected 
• Objects in the centre moving towards lens- passage of time throught life. Baby milk, toys, pictures of boy growing older. Representing lyrics "Before you know it, before you know, before you know it- pushing up the daisies"

The Maccabees- Feel to Follow:

This video uses:

• Dark shots- shot of road, camera on front of car driving
• Flashes of orange/ hue adjustments
• Lots of shots of loactions, moving about, city, the sky, shots into branches/trees- natural things- countryside life
• hanging out washing- daily chore, country cottage
• walking around cottage- drab and dull colours, nice view out of the window
• Slow motion shots of sheep dog running, girls skipping etc
• people levitating- atmospheric sense goes with music

Guillemots- Made-up love song #43:

This video uses:

• reduced colour saturation filter
• video is of band sitting lounging in crampoed, cluttered room.
• slow panning tracking shots matching slow beat of song
• singer covers camera with hand shot goes black- hand is drawn away from camera and full colour is present, singer on the beach running about, wearing a suit
• Performance on the beach
• Lots of playful running around on the beach splashing in the sea, throughing instruments/ objects into the air.
• finishing with lead singer covering the camera lens again with his hands to create a 'to black' transition

Guillemots- Trains to Brazil:

This video uses:

• Low colour saturation
• Shots of children running through the playground at school
• Band performing on stage in school performance
• integrated shots of boy running through school up school stairs, cutting back to close up on lead singer each time.
• band playing in school assembly

Guillemots- We're Here: 

This video uses:

• Time lapse photography- long shot across lake reflection of sky, see day break, clods wisp over lake and go again. Matches eerie atmospheric start to song, rumbling sound.
• When drum beat comes in shots switch between dark (mountains black and in shadow) and lighter, repeatedly until other instruments come in
• Guitar/pianeo chords see time lapse of road near lake car light go past and create paths where they have been
• Lots of different time lapse shots of theings happening- icicles melting, close-ups of dripping. different shot compositions of the lake, trees etc.
• Animalks- deer, swans, ducks 
• Shot duration long but movements (clouds, water, cars) in shot moving very fast as have been speeded up.
• Like a slideshow- not liunking shots to spoecific lyrics

Razorlight- America:

THis video uses:

• Aerial shot of city/ shot of a map
• Shot of typsica american drive-in with huge sign saying 'Razorlight' chown as slightshow on old fashioned slide prjectors shown by clicking noise
• Cuts to long shot of band playing in studio/ practise room-relaxed atmosphere to suit slow guitar picked start.
• Wispy cigarette smoke visible in back ground coming from cigarette in ash tray. Show subdued nature of band 
• Slight haze/ blur to create obscurity.
• Bright stage light in front of camer create glare and lens flare.
• Ash tray, pizza box, apple core- relaxed session been there a while just before "I light a cigarette cause I can't get no sleep" lyric
• Slideshow still running behind them
• Shots of wrecked car- symbollism for broken life/ trouble in America
• Words on card "Feel" with road behind them like hitch hikers when "tell me how does it feel" lyrics are sung, word on card response "lost" and "feel" followed by "nothing"

Razorlight- Before I fall to Pieces:






This video uses:

• Shots of man dressed in superhero costume watching lots of ol tv screens stacked up- with fuzzy 'tuned out' picture out. some showing chickens
• He levitates the remote to himself and changed channel onto one where you see a band playing
• Heavy drinking- finishes a pint, then has wine glass, then has anothe pint glass- links to "One more drink and then I'll go"
• Pigging out on food- pizza, dohnut- highlighting fixated nature people have with tv
• Colour changing hues when band seen on screen like strobe lighting
• Turns second screen  to the 'band channel', female superhero joins him on sofa, third superhero sits on sofa.
• Main character trying to kiss female- being pushed away
• 5 heros present now
• Old photographic filter applied to some shots
• Bright white screen with Razoprlight written in black and band members dressed in black walking towards camera disrupts the dullness of the video thus far
• fades out to starry sky

Razorlight- Somehwere Else

This video uses:

• black and white filter from the begining
• camer spiralling in on singer in cobbled street
• tracking shot singer walking with camera towards lens
• Shots of him in shop, pool/snooker hall, cafe, london streets, underground station- lots of locations relating to the singer "I really, really wish I could be somewhere else, than here"
• repeated shots of him walking down streets on the pavement etc
• 360 degree pan- singer walking in circle whils lip syncing
• Snow starts falling
• Ends up in the same place he began on the same shot but reversed- camera zooming out

Razorlight- In the morning:

This video uses:

• Grainy, yellowy brown filter
• performing in community centre
• sheets being pulled off diffferent things in the room
• Audience strarts dancing in group

Razorlight- I can't stop this feeling I've got:

This video uses:

• Black and white
• Shots start blurred
• hazy shots- can just see guiar being picked
• close-ups of singer to emphasise lyrics
• performance element
• lights flashing/ glinting of instruments flares the images
• no storyline just live show performance type shots
• lots of close-ups of instruments