When creating our music video for Hot Club De Paris' 'My Little Haunting', we wanted to conform to the conventions of typical 'indie' music videos. This is mainly because the style of the music is true to the indie genre, and we wanted to the music and video to work together. Also, the lyrics of the song already have a strong concept, and we knew that we could create a light-hearted narrative (of which is also prevalent in many typical indie videos) using the subject of the song.
Using these ideas as a basis, we decided to focus on the main feature of our concept: the masks. We thought we could place emphasis on the lyrics in the song such as 'my little haunting' and 'round eye holes', and so decided that the main character should wear a ghost costume. We cut holes in a white bed sheet as we wanted a low-maintenence look so that the audience could tell that the 'haunting' subject is not to be taken too seriously. We wanted other characters to follow the main protagonist around, so for 'the band', we chose some fancy dress masks that weren't too frightening aswell. This meant that costume was also an important factor that we had to consider. We wanted to use typical indie clothes in order to work with the genre of the song, and so that the masks were not too overpowering. We chose casual clothing, in the typical 'indie' style, such as buttoned-up shirts and high-waisted shorts, as we felt that the type of audience that is most likely to watch the music video would be the younger generation, and we wanted them to be able to relate to the characters in the video.
Knowing this, we also researched music videos that feature masks for further inspiration. One that stood out for me was a video by little-known band, Canterbury, as it has the atmosphere that we aimed to produce in our video: a simple concept with emphasis on the band, and in a naturalistic setting. From this, we decided on the settings of the woods, supermarket, skate park, house and garage, as they are all relateable to our intended audience.
For me, the setting of the garage is particularly important. As many indie music videos place an emphasis on the band, we not only decided to use the 'band' in the narrative story of the video, but we also wanted to incorporate a performance section. I think that Matt's garage provided the perfect setting for this. We mostly left the garage how it was as we wanted to keep the 'lived-in' atmosphere, as it adds to the low-budget, DIY feel. However, we paid specific attention to the lighting in order to create a homely atmosphere, and one which may realistically portray a rehearsal for a real, local indie band; so we used the following props: fairy lights and tea light candles, during our video. We also provided our own instruments and Matt, Annaliese and I arranged ourselves as if we were in a real indie band, complete with microphone, guitar, bass and drums.
Another important scene when conveying the typical indie feel of the video is the 'fridge' scene. Originally, we thought about using a green screen in order to create the effect of the masked head inside the fridge, but after discussing it, we decided to just re-create a fridge by painting a cardboard box and filling it with generic fridge items such as eggs and butter, as it reflected the low-budget concept that we had already decided to display throughout the video. I think that this decision was key in giving our video that alternative and quirky quality.
Also, after filming, we had to consider the editing of our piece. We wanted it to be simplistic so we avoided using many transitions, but we did decide to cut the shots frequently, in order to emphasise the beat of the song. For example, we had many match cuts, as we wanted to highlight the fast and lively pace of the song, and we also cut in shots of the instruments to further emphasise the strong beat of the song, as it helps to define the genre.
This video features some of our music video footage that includes common conventions of indie music videos.
How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
How did you use new media technologies in the construction, research and planning and evaluation stages?
A diagram showing the influences and links between my ancillary tasks.
As I thought the music video was an effective representation of the song, 'My Little Haunting', I wanted to translate the themes and mise en scene used in the music video into the CD digipak and single poster.
Throughout the making of our music video, I already had some ideas of what the single cover and poster would look like. I attempted to reproduce the mise en scene by taking photos of 'the band' within the natural, outdoor settings. I also incorporated the props of the masks and fairy lights to complete the concept. During editing, I wanted to emphasise the mask concept, and so on the back cover, I decided to crop different photos of masked faces next to each other, to make it aesthetically interesting and add a new dimension to the images already created in the video. Similarly to the video, I also brought attention to the band as a collective, and their respective instruments. The front cover features an image of the band in costume, and the inside front cover also features the instruments used in the video, as a simple reflection of the significant features in the video. To go along with the low-budget simplicity of the video, I did not use many special effects on the images for the poster and digipak. I chose a simple white font for both the digipak and poster, so that it would still stand out from the background, but I did not want it to be too obvious as indie bands often prefer to advertise their music, rather than themselves. However, I did alter the brightness of each photo on Photoshop, as I felt that making them brighter would better represent the liveliness of the piece, and I placed an effect behind the font and throughout the poster, to make it more aesthetically pleasing and quirky. This pixelated effect also altered the photos to make them more brightly coloured, which is a popular choice for many indie bands as it portrays them as eccentric and fun. As well as Photoshop, I used many new media technologies when creating my video and ancillary tasks, from conception to the finished product.
During research and planning, my main resource was the internet. From here, I could use YouTube and Google to research music videos on the whole so that I could get an idea of the common characteristics used in videos to represent different genres. I analysed numerous music videos in order to get an in-depth understanding of the conventions adhered to within music videos. After we had chosen our song, we focused more on generic features of 'indie' music videos for inspiration, such as the bands One Night Only and The Wombats. As well as our own understanding of the indie genre, researching these bands' videos meant that we were sure that our original ideas were suitable.
During the construction of the music video, we used HD video cameras to film the footage and iMovie to edit. During this process, we came across a few minor setbacks. Firstly, we filmed the 'band' section of the video, and we were pleased with what we shot, but when we uploaded and watched the footage back, we realised that the low-lighting had produced a grainy effect. Although we all liked the effect that it produced, as it made it look more home-made and individual, we knew that we would have trouble producing this effect in the rest of the shots, so we decided instead to emphasise this effect. Using iMovie, we tried different effects over the top of the footage, and found that 'film grain' created an alternative atmosphere, and it helped to differentiate the performance section from the rest of the narrative.
Although the editing of our piece was simple overall, we wanted the first shot to be a 4-way split screen, as we thought it would fit the four drum beats in the opening very well. However, iMovie does not have a 4-way split screen function, so we had to create it ourselves. We watched a video tutorial that showed us how to create a 4-way split screen, which is also referred to as a 'picture-in-picture' in iMovie. We followed the steps and learnt how to create what we intended. It took a while, and we had to practice, but in the end we thought it turned out well. On the other hand, we did experience one issue whilst using iMovie, which hindered one of our ideas, and meant that in the end, we has to alter our storyboarded idea for a simpler one. Our first storyboard included a more complex opening, where different shots of Matt walking could be seen in a 4-way split screen, and then it would zoom into one and carry on with the rest of the narrative. However, we could not create this shot as the 4-way split screen idea is not entirely compatible with iMovie, and so unfortunately was impossible to create. Whilst editing the rest of the video, we found that we had to spend a lot of time cutting and then re-cutting our shots to fit with the song. This was very time-consuming, but using iMovie meant that we could cut our shots effectively, and in the end, it proved to be very helpful.
I used a digital camera and Photoshop to create my ancillary tasks. The use of an SLR digital camera meant that I managed to create products that look quite professional, as they are clear and shows the fine details. These photos were also compatible with professional editing software, so I decided to use Photoshop to edit them effectively. Using Photoshop also meant that I had a wide range of different effects and fonts to choose from, so that I could master the style that I wanted. Although at first it was difficult to create the product I wanted because the program is so complex, I practiced and found out how to work with the layers, and from this, I could crop and resize the photos and add text and various effects.
Overall, I think that the ancillary tasks and music video are an effective combination as they all incorporate the same 'indie' style, that includes masks, naturalistic settings and simple, cosy lighting. Also, using new media technologies such as a HD camera and iMovie meant that I could create slick, professional-looking pieces, which also allowed me to expand my creativity and experiment with different approaches to my music video, poster and digipak.
Slideshow showing the new media technologies I used
During research and planning, my main resource was the internet. From here, I could use YouTube and Google to research music videos on the whole so that I could get an idea of the common characteristics used in videos to represent different genres. I analysed numerous music videos in order to get an in-depth understanding of the conventions adhered to within music videos. After we had chosen our song, we focused more on generic features of 'indie' music videos for inspiration, such as the bands One Night Only and The Wombats. As well as our own understanding of the indie genre, researching these bands' videos meant that we were sure that our original ideas were suitable.
During the construction of the music video, we used HD video cameras to film the footage and iMovie to edit. During this process, we came across a few minor setbacks. Firstly, we filmed the 'band' section of the video, and we were pleased with what we shot, but when we uploaded and watched the footage back, we realised that the low-lighting had produced a grainy effect. Although we all liked the effect that it produced, as it made it look more home-made and individual, we knew that we would have trouble producing this effect in the rest of the shots, so we decided instead to emphasise this effect. Using iMovie, we tried different effects over the top of the footage, and found that 'film grain' created an alternative atmosphere, and it helped to differentiate the performance section from the rest of the narrative.
Although the editing of our piece was simple overall, we wanted the first shot to be a 4-way split screen, as we thought it would fit the four drum beats in the opening very well. However, iMovie does not have a 4-way split screen function, so we had to create it ourselves. We watched a video tutorial that showed us how to create a 4-way split screen, which is also referred to as a 'picture-in-picture' in iMovie. We followed the steps and learnt how to create what we intended. It took a while, and we had to practice, but in the end we thought it turned out well. On the other hand, we did experience one issue whilst using iMovie, which hindered one of our ideas, and meant that in the end, we has to alter our storyboarded idea for a simpler one. Our first storyboard included a more complex opening, where different shots of Matt walking could be seen in a 4-way split screen, and then it would zoom into one and carry on with the rest of the narrative. However, we could not create this shot as the 4-way split screen idea is not entirely compatible with iMovie, and so unfortunately was impossible to create. Whilst editing the rest of the video, we found that we had to spend a lot of time cutting and then re-cutting our shots to fit with the song. This was very time-consuming, but using iMovie meant that we could cut our shots effectively, and in the end, it proved to be very helpful.
I used a digital camera and Photoshop to create my ancillary tasks. The use of an SLR digital camera meant that I managed to create products that look quite professional, as they are clear and shows the fine details. These photos were also compatible with professional editing software, so I decided to use Photoshop to edit them effectively. Using Photoshop also meant that I had a wide range of different effects and fonts to choose from, so that I could master the style that I wanted. Although at first it was difficult to create the product I wanted because the program is so complex, I practiced and found out how to work with the layers, and from this, I could crop and resize the photos and add text and various effects.
Overall, I think that the ancillary tasks and music video are an effective combination as they all incorporate the same 'indie' style, that includes masks, naturalistic settings and simple, cosy lighting. Also, using new media technologies such as a HD camera and iMovie meant that I could create slick, professional-looking pieces, which also allowed me to expand my creativity and experiment with different approaches to my music video, poster and digipak.
Slideshow showing the new media technologies I used
I asked my peers to watch the music video and look at my poster and digipak, and then write down what they thought about it, and I specified that they could include good and bad points about each, as constructive criticism. I asked my peers as I think that the song and music video would attract people of a similar age group to me, as teenagers are often the biggest listeners of 'indie' music.
The feedback I got was largely positive. The most common comment was that all the products coincide effectively with the indie genre, which I thought was a positive reflection of my creation as I aimed to conform to the conventions of typical indie bands and their videos, CD covers, and single posters. The feedback also demonstrated that there is consistency throughout the music video, digipak and poster, which is what I was aiming for, as the majority of bands tend to have a consistent theme running through their media products and promotional tools, in order to give the intended audience a real essence of what the song represents. The audiences also often described the pieces as 'quirky', 'light-hearted' and 'simplistic' which are three main concepts that I had in mind when thinking about the overall atmosphere that I wanted to create.
Criticisms that my products received included my choice of images for the poster and CD digipak. Someone said that the photo in the middle of the poster 'looks like it's just been stuck there' and another said that the middle photo was 'too small' and the poster as a whole was 'a bit simple'. Another issue was the blurry image of the fairy lights used in the inside of the front cover for the digipak, which 'looks cool, although it doesn't seem to be related to other images'. I have taken these criticisms into account and I understand their points of view. Deciding on which images to produce for my ancillary tasks was difficult and I recognise that there are some flaws. I did decide to create a simplistic poster as I wanted it to be clear and easy to understand as it is a promotional tool, but I do recognise that perhaps the structure of the images is different from what may be expected, although I did want to create something that was aesthetically pleasing and a bit different than usual single posters in order to reflect the quirkiness of the band and song. Also, I wanted the fairy light photo in the digipak to be a clear reference to the mise en scene used in the video, and I purposefully made it blurry so that it would look more interesting and quirky. However, I do understand that compared to the other high quality, outdoor images, it does look a bit out of place.
If I were to create these products again, I would have created a clearer link between the fairy light photo in the digipak and the other images used, perhaps by referencing both parts of the mise en scene in a more balanced way throughout the digipak. I would also have altered the organisation of the poster, so that there is more focus on the middle image of the CD cover, to make it more obvious and structured.
Mind map showing the words used to describe my music video and ancillary tasks and how often.
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