Epic Journeys...

Styling
- The male members of the band will wear slim fitting trousers/jeans with t-shirts and cardigans/jackets. They would look like their fans but more styled.
- The female members will wear dresses, playsuits, jeans etc.
- The way the band dresses will be how their fans would dress. As the band members are quite young we would like them to fit in with their target audience so the fans think they’re just like them.

Target Audience
- We would mainly target young people aged 13-18, with a secondary audience of older people. The group would target both genders that are fans of the genre of music.
- However, we know that there will be people who like the band who aren’t necessarily fans of indie/alternative rock who would also like the band due to their distinctive sound.
- We would release the debut single ‘223’ at the end of summer with their second single following a couple of months behind. We would then release their album in November, just in time for Christmas shopping.
- We would release the album/singles in stores such as HMV, and will sell it online on Amazon and iTunes among others.

Marketing
- Advertise the new single and album on TV, in between shows that the target audience would watch.
- Give the option of a free download of a part of their debut single, a week before its release, which will be on their new website. A link for their website would be on their MySpace.
- We would advertise on bus stops, on buses and would have web banners; this will have a striking image of the band with the band name, album name and date of release made very clear. It will be very bright and eye-catching to match the bands image.
MSN theme-packs including, emoticons, ‘winks’, backgrounds, display pictures etc.
- Do free performances in parks in the centre of major cities, i.e. London (Hyde Park), Manchester, Liverpool etc at the end of August.

Website
- Again the website will be very representative of the band’s style.
- It will have links to the band’s blog, which we are hoping they update everyday, as well as information on gigs, a biography on the band and the individual members of the band, links to websites that sell band merchandise (including t-shirts which would market the band further), a ‘local area’ search of where the fans can buy the album close to them, the bands music to listen to and eventually their music videos.
- We would also have a message board for the fans and the opportunity for fans to upload content, for example remakes they have done of the band’s songs.
- Fans can join a mailing list to get regular email updates on the band and things the band are involved in.

Shots to Test...

Although we will be unable to shoot on location, we are going to test the shots and the actor's performance.
Shots to test:
ECU - Eyes/Lips/Clenched fist/Parts of the body
CU - Face/Profile
MS/LS - Bedroom shot (on the bed)/Full body shot
OTS - Bedroom - looking at photo
Tilt - Body (MS/LS)
P.O.V - Through glass doors
HA - Curled up on the floor/Standing
Arc - Around him
Pans
- Group -

Treatment

Meeting 30th September

In our meeting today we discussed what we need to do on the day of our test shoot with our main actor, which we have organised for Wednesday 5th October.

We will need to test:
- Lipsynching
- Performance
- Costume
- Make-Up
- Shots
- Locations
We will also take some stills of the main actor.

Costumewise we need to decide on:
- Shoes
- Jeans
- Cardigans/Jackets
- T-shirts

In preparation we have decided on the exact shots we would like to test and will post a shot list shortly

- Group -

Pitch Feedback

After our pitch yesterday we got feedback from other media students and our teacher. We have had suggestions as to who we can use to play the 'Tinie Tempah' role in our video.
Our targets for our following group meetings are to properly decide on the structure of the video, to ensure that the video progresses. We already have this by not showing the featuring artist until he starts his verse but we need to ensure that we plan this well. We also need to decide on an identity for the main artist and the featuring artist, which we will do in upcoming meetings,
- Mel, for the group -

The Pitch

Today we pitched our idea for our music video to our class and teacher. We prepared a detailed treatment as a group which explained our overall ideas about how we want the video to look and what sort of style we are aiming for. In a group meeting, we prepared answers to questions on what we knew about our chosen song, the genre of the track, the artist and the target audience (see other posts for these.) In our treatment, we focussed on the content of the video, applying Goodwinn's theory, as well as the artists and their image. We also included some information on the camera style and editing that we are aiming for. (click here to see the treatment.)

Tanya, for the group

Location

We've been in talks with a studio, which is mainly used for photography but is used for video shoots as well, which is perfect for the sort of location we want. They provide lighting, a white and black backdrop and the owner has said that he could give us a deal on a weekend, which would obviously be the perfect time for us to shoot. We are still emailing about what sort of deal he can offer us and fingers crossed its a good one! but for now here's a behind the scenes look at a music video being shot there ('Day One' being shot in the studio):

Behind The Scenes - Chanel Fusco "Sad Goodbyes"

- Mel, for the group -

Knock You Down - Inspiration

Knock you down was quite an inspirational video as it is also about two contrasting guys. I found that the range of shots used in particular and the gestures of both Neyo and Kanye West were what made this video more interesting to watch.

Other ideas I got from watching this video were:
As we have location limitations, we could base the performance within the narrative. Therefore, as well as the studio shots we could have the main guy singing in his bedroom thinking about the past. This is where we could add in the flashbacks of him and his best friend when they were younger to anchor the line ‘school boy fists’.

Other shots could include:
- a photo of the guy and girl in his room- he could perhaps rip it
- shots of him sitting on the bed thinking
- hand on his head to show he is upset
- Looking at himself in the mirror – ‘who’s gonna take you home..if it isn’t me’



This split screen using colour and black and white would be good to highlight the contrast between the two guys especially when the song goes ‘who’s gonna take you home?’… ‘I’m gonna take her home’

Aarti

Genre and Target Audience

The Genre of our Track
Mr Hudson’s music in general cannot be defined by any single genre as it is so varied. It is said to be a mix of RnB, Hip hop, Electro-Hop. His music has also been described as 'cocktail jazz meets hip-hop’.

This song in particular contains signifiers of many different genres for example, it has quite a mainstream RnB beat which is conventionally repeated throughout the song. It is also influenced by the genre of hip-hop which is evident from Tinie Tempah’s part. The instruments themselves ranging from drums, to electric guitar, to keyboard to steel pans, signify a variety of genres. On the whole, ‘the cocktail jazz meets hip hop’ can be defined through Mr Hudson’s voice itself.

Target Audience
Because of the range of genres, this song has quite a wide audience appeal. However, the primary target audience would probably be fans of music produced by artists such as Mr Hudson (especially after the success of Supernova) , Kanye West, and Tinie Tempah. We think that the Secondary audience would probably young people in their early teens (about 13 years) to people in their early twenties. We also think that the song would appeal to both genders, females because of the two male leads and males because of the song.
-Aarti, for the group-
UPDATE:
While our target audience has not greatly changed, there are some adjustments to be made. Our primary audience would be (older) teenagers (15-20) of both genders who are fans of mainstream music particularly steered towards the R&B genre. Our secondary audience would be fans of sub-genres of R&B, this would be a more underground style of music, for example music that focuses largely on rap e.g. N-Dubz and D-Fam
Here is a typical audience member:

- Group (Mel & Tanya) -

More About Our Chosen Artist & Track

Artist
Mr Hudson (Ben Hudson a.k.a Ben McDowie) was originally part of a band, Mr Hudson & The Library, which were signed to Universal, but is now branching off on his own with Kanye West as his mentor, and is signed to G.O.O.D Music (Kanye's label) as well as Mercury records. He has listed many influences, from The Police and David Bowie to Ella Fitzgerald and Dizzee Rascal. Due to the amount of influence over his music a clear genre can't be defined. His music has a mix of R&B, Pop, HipHop and has been described as 'cocktail jazz meets hip hop'. If you see him on stage you should expect to see a steelpan and a piano along with the relatively usual drumkit, guitar etc.

"I wanted to make a mainstream record, not structured or ornate. The first album (with his band) feels like an Escher drawing, all these layers and you don't know where you're going at any point. The way the songs are written and produced on this one is much more direct. It's not trying to reinvent the wheel.
It's straight, no chaser.”

Mr Hudson describes his aims for his debut solo album

Track
The song is off Mr Hudson's debut solo album, 'Straight No Chaser' which will be released in early October. It was originally Mr Hudson Ft Kanye West but we chose to go with the Radio One Live Lounge version which features Tinie Tempah instead. This is because the lyrics of his verse fit the themes of the song a lot better. Obviously as Mr Hudson's album is a hybrid of various genres this track also goes the same way. With a mainstream R&B beat, mixed with a drum kit, electric guitar, steelpan and keyboard, he plays on many genres, including R&B, Pop and many more. And then with Tinie Tempah featuring a slight mainstream hiphop feel is added and then Mr Hudsons vocals which give it that 'cocktail jazz meets hip hop' feel.


- Mel, for the group -

Meeting...

In our lesson yesterday we discussed ideas for our video. Watching the 'Celebration' video, I realised that the floor is wood, so if we can't find a plain studio then a stage could work if it's lit properly. As we have suggested before, we could show the boys when they were younger which we thought we could do this in black and white. Tanya also suggested doing stop motion for this part of the video to make it appear more like a home video. The boys could also be in a school uniform further highlighting their connection to each other, so its made clearer to the audience. We thought the boys could be doing something that people expect of boys for example playing a video game or playing football. We also have started to plan for our final treatment and have decided to use the half day today to get ready for our pitch.
- Mel, for the group -

Final Song

Here is the song that our group is doing for our video:
Mr Hudson Ft Tinie Tempah - Anyone But Him


Lyrics:
Anyone but him
I'd rather hear you’d had the whole football team
than have to watch his filthy lips on your skin
Anyone but him

Anyone but him
With schoolboy fists, we can take this outside
But knowing my luck that … would win
Anyone but him

Who's gonna take you home, who's gonna take you home
Who's gonna take you home, if it isn't me

Anyone but him
My blood boils as my eyes turn green
Is this the best of the best of the scene
Anyone but him

Anyone but him
With schoolboy fists imma take this outside
But knowing my luck that ___ would win
Anyone but him

Who's gonna take you home, who's gonna take you home
Ohhh who's gonna take you home, if it isn't me…

Anyone but him
Look past the leather in the dash and the rims
And you will see his whole hustle wears thin
Anyone but him

Anyone but him
He's gonna take what you can't take back
And then's he's gone out the door on a whim
Anyone but him

Who's gonna take you home, ohhh who's gonna take you home
Listen, who's gonna take you home, if it isn't me…

Tinie T:
*Yes, Yes, Yes*
*Umm, Ye*
Umm
You win some, you lose some
I ring ‘em, I take ‘em out for Dim Sum and use ‘em
I can hear the two of ‘em, whispering in the loo,
They’ll be like he’ll sex us and he wont even text us
Like Houston, I’m reckless
English like my breakfast
And she date my manager, said he look like Kanye West does
I press her, then I press up
I sex her then I dress up,
Schoolboy fists but I throw punches like I’m Lennox,
I never heard a man so jealous, so jealous,
So tell us about those letters,
You know she let me open every single one you sent her,
When you cry for her attention, just remember I’m the centre
And on the first night she let me enter, HA!

Mr Hudson:
Oooh
Who’s gonna take you home
*I’m gonna take her home*
Who’s gonna take you home
*I said I’m gonna take her home*
Noo, who’s gonna take you home, if it isn’t me…
*Me! Me! Me! Me!*

Who’s gonna take you home
*I’m gonna take her home*
Who’s gonna take you home
*I said I’m gonna take her home*
Who’s gonna take you home, if it isn’t me…
*Me! Me! Me! Me!*

Who’s gonna take you home
If it isn’t me…
Who’s gonna take you home
If it isn’t me…
Who’s gonna take you home
If it isn’t me…

As we have suggested before, there is clear rivalry between the two artists over a girl. We have chosen not to do the Kanye West version of the song, which is on Tanya's blog, as the lyrics in Kanye West's rap don't show this rivalry as clearly whereas the Tinie Tempah rap does.

- Group -

Initial Ideas for 'Anyone But Him'

Today in our meeting we looked at the songs that we each have found and also looked for others. We looked at Mr Hudson's 'Anyone But Him' in a bit more detail and came up with some initial ideas for the video.

Overall the basic story is that Mr H. dated a girl, they broke up and then his best friend went behind his back and started dating her. When he finds out he is telling her that he excepts that she's moved on but doesn't want her to move on with his best friend. His friend has betrayed him and is now really arrogant about it as we can tell in his rap.

- We thought we could show ECUs and the silhuette of the second guy until he starts rapping meaning that he would be a mysterious figure until we see him.
- We realised we could play on the rivalry and could show the two artists to be complete opposites
- We also thought that we could do flashbacks to them as children, suggesting that they are lifelong friends and thats why the main singer is saying 'Anyone But Him' as its his best friend that has turned on him and become arrogant and cocky.
-We also thought we could cut to shots of the girl a couple of times, and cut to shots of the girl with the new guy.

- Group -

First Meeting

Welcome to our group blog, we can't wait to get started...
We had a very quick meeting at break today and we have all quickly discussed the songs we have in mind. We're going to have another group meeting next week to discuss things further, and hopefully finalise a song.
- Mel, for the group -