Video analysis

This is a video by Kill Switch Engage, and although it is a metal video, it is nothing like any other videos which I have so far seen for this type of music. This is because the video comprises of plasticine models in place of the musicians themselves. I will not be using any of the characteristics show in this video, however I thought I should reference the fact that metal music videos are appearing to become more diverse as the music genre branches out.

Update on filming

Hopefully we will start filming on Thursday the 1st of December, however this may be subject to change. We will keep you updated on our progress.

Indie fact file

History of the culture group:

Indie History

In the mid-1980s, the term "indie" began to be used to describe the music produced on post-punk labels rather than the labels themselves. The indie rock scene in the US was prefigured by the college rock that dominated college radio playlists which included key bands like R.E.M. from the US and The Smiths from the UK. A number

 of prominent indie rock record labels were founded during the 1980s. These include Washington, DC's Dischord Records in 1980, Seattle's Sub Pop Records in 1986 and New York City's Matador Records and Durham, North Carolina's Merge Records in 1989. Chicago's Touch and Go Records was founded as a fanzine in 1979 and began to release records during the 1980s.

Alternative enters the mainstream

The 1990s brought major changes to the alternative rock scene. Grunge bands such as Soundgarden, Nirvana, Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam broke into the mainstream, achieving commercial chart success and widespread exposure

Mainstream success: 2000s–present

In the 2000s, the changing music industry, the decline in record sales, the growth of new digital technology and increased use of the internet as a tool for music promotion, allowed a new wave of indie rock bands to achieve mainstream success. This new commercial breakthrough and the widespread use of the term indie to other forms of popular culture, led a number of commentators to suggest that indie rock has ceased to be a meaningful term.

Geographical locations:

The Indie social group tend to not have a certain geographical location. People who are Indie are mixed throughout society, and are seen to mix with other culture groups.

Fashion:

Indie fashion tends to be wearing ‘odd’ forms of clothing that many people in mainstream society wouldn’t or don’t wear. For instance, mainstream society wears jeans as their main form of casual trousers, however the Indie cultures main form of trousers is chinos. Indie clothing is becoming more fashionable however, with more and more people conforming to their style, this is shown through the high street brand Topman adopting Indie as its main form of clothing.

Music:

Indie music is primarily music that is ‘independent’ meaning that the band or artist is solely responsible for the publishing and creation of the music among other things. Not all Indie artists conform to this however, but there music to an extent remains the same. Some of the most known Indie bands are Bombay Bicycle Club, Friendly Fires, YUCK and Post War Years.

Related media:

There is no real media coverage of the Indie culture at this moment, with the newspapers shunning them at this moment in time for more controversial culture groups.

What might it be a reaction to?

This might be because this group does not present a danger to the established hegemony of society, and so there is no need to create a moral panic and demonise this culture group.

Cuts

Vocals - during the song there will be two different types of vocals sang. These will be screamed vocals, and more clean vocals. The screamed vocals will occur frequently - an example shown of where they will occur is during verse 2:


I'm sick of plain corpses crash and burn, no face no recognition 

just empty eyes and clotted blood, with no expression 

from new born child to rotting man, to just conceived make the incision

sign here to have your name engraved in bold, in f'ing bold

And an example of where clean vocals will appear is in the chorus:

I am, I am the watch tower 

I watch, but I only watch them die 

the irony is that i'm suicidal 

but I cant jump off myself 

For the transitions on and surrounding the screamed vocals, the pace will be very fast to reflect this hectic nature. This will contrast with the slower transitions that will be used with the more clean vocals, however it is important to note that these transitions will still be fast in order to keep the audience interested, whilst also committing to the forms of the Metalcore genre. 

Music video comparisons

Here is a video that I believe shows what we are looking for in terms of transitions and shot speeds. Both the transitions and changes between shots are all very fast - connotations of this being the hectic nature of the music, and if we look further the resemblance to the lyrics. I believe that our video will also be similar in that it is solely performance based (as ours will be) and features some similar shots.

Music video comparisons

Here is a music video that we believe will eventually look similar to ours. The shots featuring the band performing are the shots that we are most interested in as that will be what is featured in our video, and of particular interest is the visuals; e.g. how the lighting is restricted, the fast transitions, and the varied shots.

With reference to a previous post 'Test shots - Lighting and Colouring', the lighting shown in this video is very similar to what we would like to use in our own video. However, the colouring of the shots in this video is not similar to what we will possibly be using, and so I will continue looking for other videos which feature this trait.

The band members positions are also of importance, as we will be using a similar method in the way that the members of FEAR THE UNKNOWN are placed. (drummer at the back etc).

Here are three shots that we will be using in our video: The first shot is one that focuses on the guitar; the second focuses on the band as a whole; and the third is a mid-shot focusing on a guitarist.

Band Picture

Band filming - Contact with FEAR THE UNKNOWN

After our latest post in which we recieved a reply from Taverham High School, we have got into contact with FEAR THE UNKNOWN in order to try and find a suitable date and time in order to shoot the video.

We shall keep you updated on our progress.

Band filming - Contact with Taverham High School

How are youth represented in British cinema?

Youth in British cinema are often portrayed as rebelling against the cultural hegemony that is imposed upon them by the ruling class. In the following answer I will be assessing to the extent at which this done, and if so how.

One of the ways shown in Human Traffic is through Jip’s relationship with his mother. In the fist scene that we see of Jip and his mum, there is a high angle shot looking from his mum’s point of view at Jip. This portrays that his mum is in power, and so immediately in control of the situation. Jip is also seen listening to loud rap music when he arrives at his mum’s house – connotations that he is rebellious to mainstream society. Before Jip enters the house, he says he’ll be in and out in 5 minutes; however as we later discover he isn’t – showing once again that his mum is in control. Throughout the house scene Jip’s body language is always anxious, showing that he is fearful at his mum’s power. His mums power and Jips weakness are once again highlighted when we see in his fantasy Jip challenging his mum’s job, whereas in real life he never would. However, a part in this scene contrasts with the idea that British cinema represents youth in a negative light. Cultural hegemony teaches that people in society should have well respected jobs, however Jip’s mum doesn’t as she works as a prostitute. If British cinema were to portray youth in a negative light they would have shown Jip as having a negative job, not his mother.

There is then a scene with Jip and his boss, in which in another one of Jip’s delusions he is seen to be getting raped by his boss. The connotation of this is that society, and more importantly cultural hegemony is abusing Jip.

Moff is then featured in a later scene, where he is seen to be arguing with his dad over jobs. Moff’s dad is wearing a police uniform, and so is figuratively seen to be the epitome of society’s cultural views.

The television programme Spaced however is different, with the characters seen to be either trying to achieve the goals that cultural hegemony has shown, or abusing the power when the goal has been reached. Tim is seen to want to get a job, conforming to the application of cultural hegemony, “make the best out of this situation”. Mike however is seen to be abusing his power, scaring school children as they walk past him (his job is a lollipop man).

In the loneliness of a long distance runner, the adults are seen to be very authoritarian. One of the ways this is done is by them being called sir, whilst the boys are called by last names. The adults are also wearing more respective clothing, such as suits, compared to the boy’s shorts and t-shirts. Jazz music also features within the shot of ‘smith’ running, and so can be seen as smith, and more importantly youth, as still be rebellious. Smiths body language is also far more relaxed and he looks to be enjoying himself when running, showing youths playful nature at heart. However, there is always a sense of authority looking over him as he is running, this is shown by the many featured shots of trees seen to be towering over smith.

Test shots - Lighting and Colouring

This is just a simple test shoot showing the ideal colouring and lighting that we will be using in our music video. It is also a chance for us to show some of the shots we will be using, and length of the shots. We have also used 'Ken Burns' in the editing of some of the shots, which we hope will enable us to make the video and the shots within it more dynamic. 

When editing the video, we used the following aspects to get our ideal shot. 

• Exposure - 92%
• Brightness - 8%
• Contrast - 55%
• Saturation - 21%
• White point - red