Today, Me and my partner Abbas presented our pitch for the innovation of our music video. We have finally made up the decision of pursuing a cover of "We are the champions" by Queen. We have asked a band in Year 12 for their permission to record them singing this song. They have agreed and they are happy to be filmed as part of our music video. We were on edge of choosing "We are the champions" or "We will rock you" but when we asked the year 12's they were strongly forward with recording "We are the champions" as they are already well familiar with the song. At the moment we are strongly forward into using the contrast of black & white to portray an edgy and rock look for the band. We are thinking shooting most of our music video in black and white followed by the digipak and magazine advertisement being the contrast of black of white maybe with a few hints of colour and use of special effects. We have decided on a name for our band which will be as follows; ASTOUND which actually refers to rock. Our logo will be extremely large which will stand out on both the digipak and magazine advertisement hopefully drawing the public's attention. We really like the name as it is original and stands for rock which is the genre our band portrays. For our music video, we want to create a storyline so the viewers engage and sympathise with our video. We have thought about using a few actors and making each of them act out apart of life where they did not succeed but then eventually ended up victorious. For example, someone perhaps not getting good exam results but then by the end of it working hard and obtaining a good grade. We haven't made a definite choice yet though but the storyline will be clearly thought through in more time. All we know is that we want the lyrics to related to the video and how we are the champions lyrics relate to individuals achieving something in life so the audience can engage and sympathise with the characters. We intend to develop a clear throughout story by the end of half term. However we could face many problems such as not actually knowing what we want to do because we do change our minds freuqnetly, also we may find it difficult when using Photoshop and the editing software again. However, we will try our best to try and work our way round them to achieve out outcome of creating a superior, music video, magazine advertisement and digipak.

British rock band video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VXc2eZtPN0&ob=av2e

This week i have being focusing on looking at British Rock bands and their music videos and Digipak's. As me and Abbas have finally chosen that we are going to create a cover of Queen's smash hit "We are the champions", we have took the time into looking at a couple of Queen's videos and how they differ from American rock bands. Queens first ever official video was "Bohemian Rhapsody". This music video is really different to another other rock band. All of the video is shot in black and white which potrays their dark and rock image. The band is shot on stage quite abit and also the band are shot in close up for a majority of the video and individual shots as well as many special effects to create a rock and exciting image. I particularly like in the video where the band is shot in a kaleidoscope effect. This draws my attention as it looks extremely creative. I would most likely consider trying to create this effect in the innovation of my music video for 'We are the champions' as i think it will create an appealing image for the band and look edgy. I also like how the band is shot on a black background. This also creates their sinister / rock image. Their Digipak also includes many special effects and is extremely bright coloured schemed unlike their video for Bohemian Rhapsody. The way how there is an image of the swan at the top with a sparkle of flames, it creates an exhilerating effects and encourages the audience to buy their album as a swan is a sign of love. For my digipak i am still deliberating whether to use a contrast of black & white or bright colour scheme. Looking at Queen's digipak i can see that a bright coloured cover does create a desireable effect so i migth consder it.

Over the past couple of weeks me and abbas have being discussing what song we would like to implement for our music video. At the beginning of term we were determined to use an american rock band's song but we have changed our mind. We are now going to use a successful British rock band, Queen as their songs are extremely well-known. We changed to using a British rock band because American rock bands were not as appealing to us anymore because over the past few weeks i have being researching into British rock bands such as Queen for example and i had a huge urge to change my mind and use a British rock band because the audience that will be attracted to a British rock band will be British. This is one of the reasons why choosing a British rock band because me and Abbas want to target a British genre, not American. Also, Queen's music video and micro elements are extremely creative. My next task is to post blogs analysing a couple of Queen's music videos as well as other British rock bands to analyse what elements/shots we could consider using also as they may have approved to be a success for them.

Me and Abbas have choose two songs that we would consider using in our music video. The songs are both by Queen, "We are the champions" and "we will rock you". We have contacted the official Queen to ask permission on whether we can use their song or not. We have currently waiting for an answer. If we do not get permission from Queen, we have a back-up plan. For example, one of our friends in our year can play the guitar really professionally so he said that we could use his music in our video. Also, we have another friend who is good at singing as she is in the choir and she said that she would record the voice for our music video. This week we are going to ask one of our teachers if we can use the school's studio room so we can record the cover. This is only if we do not get permission from Queen itself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYnCzHYHCpA&feauture=fvst





This week i have decided to look at the multi-million US rock band, "Aerosmith". The video I have being deeply looking into is "Walk this way" which was a huge hit in 97's. The video is filmed as a two shot with two bands located in rooms opposite eachother which is really effective as it keeps the audience focused. The band is shot frequently on stage with all the spotlights on the band. From seeing how good and effective it looks on the music video, it puts me into the decision of going forward to shooting most of my innovative music video on stage as it creates a rock vibe sensation.





This digipak is an extremely interesting and versatile front conver for a rock band. However the name of the album "Toys in the attic" clearly links with the defying image represented on the cover. The colours used are quite unusual for a rock band to use as your normally connote a rock band with the colours red and black but in this case the colours used are red, orange and brown which are all neutral covers. The digipak and music video are totally diverse. The cover connotes the natural and child-like side to the band which helps audience to emphasise whereas the video connotes the rock chick side. The way how the digipak and videos are totally different is extremely creative and diverse. I think that it is an extremely good idea as the fans can see two sides to the band. I may be considering using this technique when producing my digipak and music video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bx364Lm53Aw

This week i have being listening to and looking at a recent American rock band, "30 seconds to mars". Their recent global success was with the song "Kings & Queens" which was a huge UK and US hit. Their video is impressive and the way how the sunliight is captured at the beginning creates a desireable effect. Alot of the music video is shot in the City with hundreds of the community cycling around. Looking at what this music video implements it leads me to the decisions of thinking of filming in a well-lit and pretty locations with many people being apart of the video. The digipak for their album called "This is War" is also extremely creative and impressive. As you can see the picture placed on their digipak is a tiger. This connotes that this band is dangerous yet exciting and ready to deliver. Tigers like to be let loose and free and this links with the music video for "Kings & Queens" as members of the puplic are being therselves and let free roaming the city. I like "30 seconds to mars" alot and i think they are one of the best American rock bands around. From looking closely at their digipak and continously watching their music video i have learnt a lot about how to make things work and look creative. From their video i am considering filming in perhaps a city location with many members of the public joining in as this will create a reality and help the audience to engage. This is the best music video i have looked at so far over this summer and when i return to 6th form i am going to discuss with my team members to look closely how this band are shot in their music video and see if we can come to a decision of how we want out innovative music video to look like and capture an exhilerating effect that the public want to watch over and over again.