The Pitch

A few days ago I pitched the idea of Paramore's 'Last Hope' with my friend Helen.
Talking about it, it seemed we had a very clear idea on what we wanted.

We asked for feedback. We got positives and negatives. However I like negative comments, I see them as constructive criticism. Now that we know what may be difficult, we can work around it.

Here's the feedback:

-Strong structure and narrative
-It's relatable, what young people go through
-Cliché, but engages the audience
-We can fit in more at the beginning
-Organising will be key for making this as we need to get people together



I'm happy with the comments and criticism, because of this I know what to keep and what to improve. Helen and I will have to risk assess our plan before hand, regarding weather and fire hazards, and once we have done that, then let the filming begin!

Last Hope & You Bit Me

I can only describe my head as bursting with ideas, I can only see stars and fireworks descending from my brain. Over the holidays I have thought of several ideas for potential music videos.
Here are my top 2.

Paramore's 'Last Hope':

I see a girl in her room. It's all very stereotypical, with band posters, photographs and random memorabilia. By making it stereotypical, the demographic watching can relate to her.
In this video the girl is also the lead singer of the band. She has recently been through a lot, possibly a break up in relationship, and she has lost all hope in happiness.
So she decides to do something about it. She collects objects from around her room that has something to do with her troublesome past and puts them into a small box. Items include a mix-tape (a positive item from her past), a photograph (a memory, maybe where things got turbulent) and a diary (where she's written her thought and feelings, representing the end).
After her collection, she decides she wants a clean slate, so she goes full out and starts ripping things from her bedroom wall. She texts her friends (another band member) asking if they're going to the party, to which they respond yes.
There's a steady drum beat towards the last chorus, it's at walking pace, so now we cut to her walking to the party. She goes into the field where there's her friends and band mates. The chorus is 'It's just a spark, but it's enough, to keep me going', and at the final chorus she lights a bonfire and throws her box into it but one photo. She places the photo and we as the audience can watch is disintegrate.
Everyone's having a great time, and a party-goer takes a new photo, of her and her band.
We end this video with her sticking the new photo on to her clean bedroom wall, to represent the start of something new.







Emily's Army's 'You Bit Me':


The idea to this music video is quite simple and plays with the lyrics.
'It’s cause you bit me that I wake up to be the best that I can be
And I know that there’s a venom in my bones
I just might overdose on you tonight, tonight
You bit me good'
I would focus on the above lyrics. My idea being there are supernatural creates that bite, such as vampires and werewolves. I like the thought of band members being chased and caught by that they're afraid of.
I would have innocent looking girls manipulating the band members into being the best version of themselves.
Compared to my previous idea, I would have a separate location to cut to where we just see the band playing, outside of the storyline, yet could be singing about it.




This video above has the effect of making it look old fashioned, like their genre Beach Pop.

As you can probably tell I have thought of the Paramore video in more detail and it is what I'm aiming for.

My Favourite Music Videos

There's a myriad of music videos out there, on YouTube, MTV or Scuzz. They're everywhere. Music remains constant in out lives, and it would be wrong not to make the best out of it.
Not only is it an important feature of our lives, but to business. The music industry is rapidly growing, spewing out new music and videos for us to enjoy and analyse.
Here's a collection of my favourite.









This is 'The Number of the Beast' by the timeless Iron Maiden. The voice over a the beginning always reminds be of Halloween and everything holding the conventions of horror. The video goes on the show a werewolf, dracula and what resembles Lucifer, the devil. I also feel it's important to show a band live in action in a music video (and hold a great appreciation for the 80's hair).
Unfortunately I don't plan on using the paranormal for my music video. However I don't plan on over-complicating  it either. I like the straight forwardness of this video.








I like the simplicity of this video. We can see the band in action and an assemblage of crazy things. I like the neon lights despite the darkness of the room. During the end 'He's gonna teach me how to live' the beat and the editing pick up pace as if reaching to a climax. There's quite a lot of voyeurism in this video. There's a lot of focus on the female body, meaning there something for the typical man to look at. I won't be using voyeurism because I believe there must be a limit to exposure in the media.






On video sharing site YouTube, you can find many video makers. One of my favourite channels 'omfgitsjackanddean' is run by Jack Howard and Dean Dobbs. These guys make incredible videos, but one of their latest is a music video made for one of their self-written songs 'Consent'. As Jack and Dean aren't serious guys, there are no deep or emotional lyrics and it's all for fun. The song is about consensual sex and what is the appropriate way to approach people. In another video Jack Howard talks about how everything in this video is done of purpose, you can watch that here.
All the lighting and prepositions are done purposely, to create a comedic affect and to send a message to the audience. My music video wont be a comedic video, but I do think the lighting aspect is important and I have taken inspiration from this video.