2. Band
Introduction
Adam
Ferguson:
Lead
Guitar,
Lead
vocalist,
Songwrite
r
Crystal Whites are an alternative/indie rock band who, despite
consisting mainly of members aged only seventeen to nineteen,
have already established their own solid, unique sound.
James
Ferguson:
Bassist
Joe Spragg:
Rhythm guitar
Nick Buck:
Drummer
3. Why did we chose this song?
• Having seen the Crystal Whites live a
numerous amount of times, we have
become familiar with their unique indie/
rock style.
• Knowing the band first hand has allowed
us to research into the thinking behind and
influences of the song, knowing the band
will also allow us to use the actual band
members in the music video which would
give the video a realistic feel as most
music videos feature the chosen artist.
• The song contains a narrative in which will
help to add a purpose and story to the
video which we can structure the video
around which will help to evoke the
meaning of the lyrics
4. From speaking to the song writer of the band Adam Ferguson, he told us that the
song is about being ‘lonely, sad and confused’.
• From this information and listening to the song a numerous amount of times we
were able to compare the meaning of the song to other mainstream music videos to
get ideas of how the music video should look so that we can make it to be as
realistic as possible.
5. Comparisons
• Arctic monkeys ‘Why'd You Only
Call Me When You're High?’ –
• The video shows the lead singer of
the band – Alex Turner walking alone
while supposedly receiving
messages from a distant lover. This
has influenced our pattern of thinking
for the video as both this and the
crystal whites track have similar
themes.
• - theme of female being a main focus
• Furthermore music video and lyrics
also have a direct link.
6. Comparisons
Ed Sheeran ‘A team’ –
similar theme of loneliness as
shown from the female
character in this video, despite it
being a different genre of music.
However like the song ‘Why'd
You Only Call Me When You're
High?’ which is the same genre
of music as the crystal whites it
has a female character being a
main focus which indicates to
use that if we want to make our
music video look realist this
might be something which we
include.
- Music video and lyrics have a
direct link (story)
7. Lyric Analysis
‘To Anyone’
The song can be
seen to contains
themes of love
and loneliness
and the sense of
being lost without
a partner
You were on your own singing songs for no one spilling out
your heart I will never die , no
to anyone will maybe make her cry ooooooh shes got a
secret, my heart will seek iiitttt but am I happy alone no .
so watch them set on fire in the midnight hour ye, I'm waiting
for her way just like the good old days
no skin or bone across the telephone no
why do I miss your face , why do I miss your face
‘To Anyone’
– the name
of the song
and maybe a
call of
desperation
This line adds personality to the
song and emotional feeling explain
how he physically misses her
‘Just like the good old
days’ gives clues of a
broken relationship
8. The
rule
of
thirds
Rule Of Thirds
is
applied
by
aligning
a
subject
with
the
guide
lines
and
their
intersec5on
points,
placing
the
horizon
on
the
top
or
bo9om
line,
or
allowing
linear
features
in
the
image
to
flow
from
sec5on
to
sec5on.
These
two
shots
can
be
replicated
as
it
shows
the
ar5st
looking
in
the
mirror
and
playing
darts
where
the
ar5sts
face
is
not
shown
in
the
shot.
Both
shots
both
show
the
rule
of
third
in
which
the
mirror
image
of
the
ar5st
is
the
main
focus
on
the
right
centre
line,
and
the
dart
board
is
the
main
focus
of
the
second
shot,
placing
the
ar5st
in
the
right
side
of
the
centre
shot.
9. Video Layout Ideas
As the song mentions a girl
and the pain of a lost
relationship a female persona
will add emotional affect to the
video especially when
contrasted with the lead singer
and his personal feelings.
We have taken influence also
from bands such as ‘The
Strypes’ a young, Irish band who
use a lot of live footage in their
videos. ‘The Strypes’ are of
similar age to the Crystal Whites
so we think using this layout
may be successful for us.
10. Location
The location of the video will be split between the narrative and the performance
of the band playing the song.
The location of the band
playing will be set on a
rooftop, we have taken
influence from ‘The
Strypes’ who used a similar
layout in their video for the
song ‘Hometown Girls’. As
mentioned previously ‘The
Strypes’ are a young band,
with similar ages to
members of the Crystal
Whites so we think being
influenced by their work
and music videos will stand
us in good stead for
creating the Crystal Whites
first music video.
11. The main narrative of the song will take
place in London, set along the thames,
overlooking Londons trademark backdrop
at night. First of all London is the
hometown of the members of the ‘Crystal
Whites’ so we feel it is an adequate
setting for their first music video.
Secondly the iconic landmarks of London
would allow a worldwide audience to
associate the band members with where
they originate from.
Although these two photos are not from music
videos but indeed from the reality TV show
‘Made in Chelsea’ they show the sort of shots
and atmosphere we will create with our
protagonist, overlooking the Thames with the
backdrop of London, caught up with the
feeling of love and loss in his mind.
12. The Rock/Indie Genre
A typical Indie/rock music video is all about the image, while having a certain theme
running throughout the music video. Commonly the image of the artist and the theme of
the video
are related; enhancing the overall product.
In comparison to pop music videos, the indie/rock genre predominately features less
of a narrative as they use a lot of performance shots instead. Pop artists like Miley
Cyrus play for an industry and her image is treated like a product to sell the music to
a big target audience. Whereas a lot of artists who feature in the rock/indie genre
play music for themselves and not the industry.
This is the music video to pop song ‘We Can’t Stop’ by Miley
Cyrus. During this video a lot of it is built up on the narrative
and we don’t actually see the character singing a lot of the
time.
Contrasting with the rock/indie genre of The Kooks – Forgive &
Forget. The whole music video features the band playing, and
we
Clearly see the performance. This conforms to the convention
that most videos in this genre focus more on the performance
than a narrative.
13. The Rock/Indie Genre
Despite most music videos of this genre opting out of a narrative, it is an effective way at allowing
the audience to understand what the band and the artists are all about.
Here are some examples of narratives found during two Arctic Monkey’s songs…
• ‘Arctic Monkeys (AM album) – R U mine?’
Tattoos ‘Bad boy image’ – black shades Set inside a fast car Feet up on the seats -
rebellious
• ‘Ar/c
Monkeys
(AM
album)
–
Why’d
you
only
call
me
when
you’re
high?’
Set in a bar Drinking alcohol Sets the tone Fighting scene
Within these two arctic monkeys songs from the album ‘AM’ we can confer a lot about the band
and the narrative involved with their songs. They portray of a ‘lad’ representation with the elements
shown in their songs. For example, tattoos, fast cars, alcohol, fighting ect. This allows us to get a
deeper understanding of the band and where they come from, furthermore the songs and the lyrics
reflect the youth of the band who create their own sound and style, something extremely effective
to portray through a music video.
14. The Rock/Indie Genre
Predominately, the setting of a music video from the Indie/rock genre is low budget.
They shoot in areas that wouldn’t cost a lot/any money at all.
For example…
‘The Ting Tings – Hang It
Up’
Filmed in a skate park.
‘The Paper Kites – Bloom’
Filmed in a field.
‘Bombay Bicycle Club –
Always Like This’
Filmed on a street.
Settings can also include areas like – Underground stations, Parks, iconic cities and
tunnels.
These are places which can be easily accessed and can create a unique feel to the
band/artists music video. The settings are kept simple as the aim of the music video is
to focus more on the artist/performance.
15. The Rock/Indie Genre
Mise En Scene plays a very important part in the Rock/Indie genres. This is because
it helps to portray the meaning behind the music video.
Indie artists often have a retro look about them, which is created solely through the use of
their choice of makeup and costume. For example, their clothing choice is simple, usually
dark colours but they don’t put in a lot of effort into costume choice. This is to reflect how
the music video is all about the artist/artists true performance.
An example of this is shown during the music video of ‘Bombay
Bicycle Club – Carry me’ Whereby the artists have normal clothes
to reflect their true personality's and where they are from.
Contrasting to this, Pop video ‘Wrecking Ball’ sung by Miley Cyrus
focuses a great deal on her minimal costume. This is to reflect the
music video and the provocative nature of the artist herself. If she
wore a similar costume that is shown in the rock/indie genre, her
music video wouldn’t elevate the
same effect. Also in the same way as if a rock/indie music video put great efforts into
costume choices; the true personality's of the artists wouldn’t be shown.
Finally, pop band ‘One Direction’ show the artists wearing suits in
the music video ‘Kiss You’ which is not a true picture of their
personalities, instead they have chosen to wear suits to help sell
their video, contrasting again with the Indie/Rock genre.
16. The Rock/Indie Genre
Props are also an important element to the Mise-en-scene of a music video.
‘The kooks – She moves
in her own way’
‘Foster The People –
Pumped up kicks’
‘Bombay Bicycle Club –
Always like this’
‘Artic Monkeys –
Arabella’
‘The neighborhood –
Sweater Weather’
‘The 1975 –
Girls’
These 6 music videos each present props throughout, which is very important in
making the music video appear realistic to the audience. The key props in the Rock/
Indie genre are mainly guitars and drum kits. Seeing these features in music videos
shows the audience that the artists are the one actually playing the instruments. –
extremely beneficial in making an effective music video.
