Following my email sent to a number of unsigned artist, I have received a reply by one of them named Emerald Jones. Her song is called "Leaving". I am extremely happy for the permission to use her song. I found her on a website called Reverbnation. Here is a link to her page:
We were asked to create a mood board which consisted of our chosen songs lyrics, anchored with a number of images which reflect what the lyrics say, and also what we can include in our video. This task has really got me thinking about what ideas I have for my music video.
"Auteur Theory suggests that a director can use the commercial apparatus of film-making in the same way that a writer uses a pen or a painter uses paint and a paintbrush. It is a medium for the personal artistic expression of the director."
Alfred Hitchcock most-famous films:
Rear Window
The Birds
Physcho
Vertigo
Alfred Hitchcock is one of the first names who comes to mind when talking about auteur theory.Alfred Hitchcock plays this idea up in most of his movies where he makes sure that he appears on screen in a brief cameo spot. This became a game that viewers would engage in, waiting to find out when he would appear.
Hitchcock’s story telling techniques were renowned for their intelligent plots, witty dialogue, and the smattering of mystery and murder. The reason for his success, however, was not the genre that he was working in, but rather the skill which he exhibited in the film-making. His best-known screen moments is the terrifying shower scene in Psycho, which consists of 70 camera shots in one minute.
Today I emailed two artists whom I found whilst searching 'unsigned' on www.myspace.com. One of them is classed as R&B and soul, and the other is classed as an R&B artist. I am hoping for a positive reply as their music is quite intriguing and something that I would be greatful in working with.
What music video(s) are most memorable for you or that you are inspired by?
This song is called 'Ghetto Gospel' by Tupac, a rapper from Los Angeles. This music video was created in 2004 and shows the life of a young black boy living in America, dealing with a number of problems in his area such as drug dealing, gun crime and gangs, which then leads to his death. This music video is narrative based and has always been a memorable video for me since a young age due to the emotion created in it. It really reflects life in certain parts of America in that time and also problems that still exist, making it have a big impact on a number of people.
The second video that is memorable for me is one by an Persian artist called Kamyr, which I heard whilst listening to an International music channel. It is one of the most interesting videos that I have watched, not because of the things that are going on in the video, but because of the editing. The whole music video is played in reverse. It is obvious a lot of work has been put into the music video. The artist is singing word for word despite the reverse.
The third song is by a British artist named Patrick Okogwu, better known as his stage name Tinie Tempah, who sang Written in the Stars featuring Eric Turner. The video looks into the life a young boy who is coming across a number of obstacles in his life which he is not dealing well with, for example, his mother being a prostitute and the bullying, but is finding as escape with writing music. It is a very inspiring music video as the lyrics seasons come and go, but I will never change, I'm on my way" create a sense of determination and ambition. The strong narrative has gripped me ever since the music video came out, and carries on doing so.
What genres of music would you be most excited to work with? What would be most challenging?
The genre I would be extremely excited to work with is Soul. I believe that many of songs who have the genre of soul have lyrics which can create an amazing music video. Furthermore, I believe the genre that would be the most challenging to work with is something such as House music. The happy and vibrant mood created by the fast-paced track may be a struggle to reflect in a music video without doing things such as dancing etc. I believe it would not be as much of an effective music video as something such as Soul which the mood of the song can be created by its pace and lyrics.
What have you done in your question to find an unsigned artist for your music video? (sites, emails, friends of friends etc
I have used a number of sources such as www.myspace.com , searching unsigned artists and a website named http://www.reverbnation.com/, a tool for artists, labels and fans. I have also asked a number of my friends and family members whether they know any unsigned artist that would be happy with me using their song to create a music video. I have emailed a number of artists whom I liked the sound of but unfortunately have had no response.
What barriers have you come up against?
The main barrier that I have come across is the difficulty with finding an unsigned artist who is willing to allow me to use their song. Another barrier I have come across is finding an artist who created a music profile a while ago when they were unsigned, but receive an email saying unfortunately they have been signed and the profile was made a long time ago. The difficulty with searching 'unsigned artists' on websites such as Myspace and Reverbnation is that a number of artists do not check their pages, or created their music page a long time ago.
Our task over the summer was to research the history of music videos to widen our knowledge, which we could then use for creating our own music video. This requires us to find an unsigned artist who can give permission to use their song and create a music video using it.
Our overall task is to:
Find a song and an artist who is unsigned
Brainstorm different styles of music which we would be interested in using
Research the history of music videos
Create a digital storyboard
Plan a location for our music video
Create a shot list to act as a guide and allow us to have an organised structure of the shots we need to take
We have also been told to think about what type of music video we would be intrigued in making, for example, performance, narrative or concept based.
The first thing that I did during the summer was to think about the genres of music in which I enjoy listening to and I concluded that my style in music is very broad. I prefer a number of different genres from soul and reggae, to pop and dance. The second thing that I did was list down all of my favourite singers, and then narrowed it down to 3 of my most preferred in the list, which were Rihanna, Shakira and Jennifer Lopez, mostly known for being in the pop and R&B category of music. Their music is very inspiring. Their dance moves are very ambitious, and have been very inspiring to our generation, as shown on Youtube through recreations of dances etc. Their voice is very distinctive, and unique and I would be greatful to work with an artist similar to these singers. A few examples of songs that I particularly like from these singers are:
