Shooting Schedule

Before I started looking for cast members I had to ask Mr Nugent and Mr Hitchinson for permission to use the band practice room and equipment on wednesday 10th November, I have also spoken to Mr Rankin about using a classroom in one of the school buildings. I then created a Facebook event invited members of cast to confirm if they can be there. Any unfinished scenes will be completed on Tuesday 16th November.

Scenes will be filmed in the following order:
1. Classrooom scenes
2. Band performance
3. CCTV and school gate shots.

Props and Locations

Props:

Drums

Guitar

Bass

Football (for freedom shots)

School papers (classroom scene)

Male + female costume: Punk clothing such as checkered shirts, print t-shirts, ties, black jeans and (formal wear for teacher).

I will ask the cast to bring what they have to contribute to their own costume. I will also shop for parts of the uniform in Primark and the bands accesories in Claires and vintage markets to find 70's punk accesories. This will help make sure that I get the mise en scene which I desire for my video on point.

Locations:

The main narrative of the video will be shot in school where I will use a classroom and playground. The performance of the band will be shot in a music practice room as I will also have access to the music equipment. The practice room is small which will help me show entrapment through the band aswell as the students. I may also use back streets of Brick Lane which have grafitti all over the place, this is for the shots of the teenager and his friends having fun.

Anamatic Storyboard

By Melisha

Target Audience

The targeted audience for my music video will be British male and females from 14-22 year olds, particulary students considering the meaning of the song. This is because punk is more relatable to teenagers and they are more passionate about music so therefore they may be familiar with the genre. I have chosen both male and female because gender isn't necessary in music, it is universal. I would also say that my target audience is mainly working class as punk is more relatable to this audience.

In order to appeal to my audience I will include costume which they are familiar with, a diverse cast and feature a performance as this is a typical convention in the punk genre. I will also match a range of cuts to the beat of the song as they do in many punk rock video's.

Understanding Punk Genre

Music movement started in the 70's with multiple reasons and causes. The British movement supposedly was started by one of the following: The ecnomic disaster that occured in the mid seventies, and the youth's lack of patience with the british government. A movement made out of boredom by Johnny Rotten, lead singer of the Sex Pistols.

The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They are responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians. Inspired by the poverty in their area and ignorance of the goverment at the time, they produced songs that shocked the nation showing something different to all.

After looking at music videos by other punk bands like the Sex Pistols such as The Clash I noticed most of them do not feature a narrative, Punk videos are usually performance based throughout. 'Anarchy in the UK' is an example of a performance based video, my music video will be a change as it is both narrative and performance based. Pink Floyd's 'Another Brick in the Wall' is another punk video based on rebellion against the education which I looked at for inspiration, the kids in the video go totally wild and destroy school equipment which I found exciting.

I also looked at new wave punk bands such as Sum 41. Their video 'Motivation' is performance based and inspired me as it is shot in a small bedroom with lots of high angle, low angle shots and the use of a peep hole camera, it seems as if there is a hidden camera in the room.

Whilst looking at the style of these bands I noticed key features such as spiked up hair, wristbands, studded belts and torn clothing. To get the correct mise en scene for my video I will use this kind of style on the band and lead character in my video.

Pitch

After looking on MySpace I didn’t find a song that I would like to use so I looked at the songs on my recent playlist. After going through songs I noticed the Sex Pistols have a message that is relevant to the idea’s I have for my video. I would like to base my video on anarchy and portray individuality through the lead character. The song I have chosen will allow me to use these ideas as it has the same kind of theme, this song is 'Schools are Prisons' which does not already have a music video. It is from the punk genre so I will be using some conventions similar to those in punk videos.The song is about how education takes away the years we can never get back and doesn't actually teach you how to stand on your own two feet outside of school and how to feel free. I like the idea of the song as I have seen articles related to the topic 'Schools are being turned into "prisons" as children are subjected to increasingly sophisticated surveillance and security measures,' (reference to an article).

I would like to use a simple storyline in my video as a complicated one distracts from the visual impact and lyrics of the song. To show the message of the song and express the depth of the lyrics I have decided to base the video around a male teenager in school who is sick of feeling trapped inside school. As the lyrics imply lack of freedom I will show examples of entrapment through the lead character. The video will start with close up shots of fences around the school will show how the students are trapped inside. This then cuts to a typical classroom, modern day setting. Teenage boy is bored of the lesson and begins daydreaming, and this then cuts to more shots of fences in front of outside of the school and shots of CCTV cameras will make the school seem as though the students are being watched the way prisoners are. One student comes late and before the teacher allows him to enter the lesson he is being stopped and searched the same way a prisoner is. The students will be wearing modern punk wear to represent their individuality and also a development of punk in the 21st century. Shots of students messing around in the classroom will show them breaking free from rules signifying anarchy. As my video will be both performance based and narrative based I will have shots of a band playing in a small room to enhance the portrayal of entrapment. High angle shots will make it look as if the band are being caught on camera which sybolises the security measures used in prisons. i will possibly use shots of students behind the fences will make them seem like prisoners behind bars or close-up shots of students singing the lyrics 'schools are prisons' to show a students response of feeling trapped in school. At the end the lead character is shown trying to escape and goes on top of a roof, from there he throws down papers from his school work, this shows him breaking free from education and portrays anarchy through the character. Other students climb on the roof following the boys example and begin having fun with him. A shot of the papers falling down in slow motion will finish the video.

Star Image Analysis: My Chemical Romance

My Chemical Romance are an American rock band who formed in 2001. They earned popularity with their hit single “I'm Not Okay (I Promise)” and later “Helena”. The band signed to Eyeball Records and released their debut album I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love in 2002. They signed with Reprise Records the next year and released their major label debut Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge in 2004; the album was a commercial success, they became one of the biggest bands on the modern rock scene, going platinum in the U.S. and selling over two million copies worldwide. The band eclipsed their previous success with their 2006 concept album, The Black Parade, which gained generally favourable reviews among music critics. The Black Parade shot to No. 2 on Billboard's Top 200 album chart, selling more than 240,000 copies its first week of release, and spawning four Modern Rock smash singles. Dubbed “Album of the Year” by Blender Magazine and cemented MCR’s status as a world-class rock band.

Their first official music video was ‘I’m Not Okay (I Promise)’ taken from their major label debut album Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge. It is their fourth overall single. It reached #86 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and, in March 2005, #19 on the UK Singles Chart. The music video was directed by Marc Webb, both narrative and performance based, mainly narrative based. It depicts life inside a fictional American high school in the form of a fake movie trailer. The band appears as a group of outcast, dorky students who are repeatedly harassed by another group who are portrayed as jocks. The band members then attempt to take on the jocks and ultimately have a showdown in a hallway, with the band members armed with croquet mallets and the jocks with lacrosse and hockey gear. The band wears a uniform in the narrative and stand out with their messy gothic hairdos. In the parts of the video where they are performing we see their style properly with the same scruffy hairdos and black clothing. The lead singer wears heavy redish eye make-up with an extremely pale look making him appear almost like a vampire, this look is similar to the one in MCR’s previous video ‘Vampires will Never Hurt You’ which was taken off their first album I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love in 2002. This look makes them appear typically ‘emo’ giving them a post-hardcore image. It also shows a slight change since their last video which wouldn’t have been recognised by their new mainstream audiences. This video seems to encourage individuality and the bands image contributes to this as they stand out here. Mid shots and long shots are frequently used on the band performing giving the audience a chance to get familiar with each member of the band as they are still quite new.

After the release of Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge the band had received an extremely positive response from mainstream communities, however, they received some negative responses from the underground music communities. This was due to their changes: the band replaced Matt Pelissier with Bob Bryar on percussion; signing to a new label, Reprise Records; a change in image and style and the fact that they had gained a measure of mainstream popularity. MCR's image changed right after the video shoot for "Helena"(the second video which emphasized their ‘emo’ appearance) when they decided that they wanted to be a band with a uniform, from a post-hardcore image to a more punk fashion. This new uniform look was first featured in their third music video ‘The Ghost of You’; this video marked the changes in their musical style, fanbase and overall image.

In 2006 MCR started recording their third studio album ‘The Black Parade’. The video for the first single off the album ‘Welcome to the Black Parade’ released on September 26, 2006 showed many changes in the bands appearance and music style. The song became the group's first number one in the UK on October 15, 2006, staying there for two weeks. The video introduced a new image of MCR and the Black Parade imagery spawned a wide cult following. It is both performance and narrative based. The video opens with a hospital patient in bed, it then cuts to the small television above the bed featuring an extreme close-up shot of MCR’s lead singer Gerard Way who starts singing. The close-up shot has been used to show Gerard’s new look, he has lost his heavy eye make-up and longish hair which here is now bleach blonde. Throughout the video the patient is being taken by death in the form of a Black Parade. On the main float stands My Chemical Romance playing "Welcome to the Black Parade". Behind the float are dozens of masked figures. The bassist Mikey Way has much shorter hair along with lead guitarist Frank Iero, the other lead guitarist Ray Toro has also dyed his hair black. The drummer Bob Bryar also has a new side fringe typically recognised as an ‘emo’ feature. The bands are all wearing their new trademark military outfits which soon became popularly worn by MCR fans. This song is much more up-beat than their previous songs with the lead singers same aggressive voice.

Over the next few years, after a break, Gerard announced to NME magazine what he would like the new album and band image to be like, "it's not going to be hiding behind a veil of fiction or uniforms and makeup anymore." The bands very recent music video ‘Na Na Na’ is the first single off their fourth studio album Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys. It shows the bands whole new image and very much changed musical style. The music video is much more colourful than their previous videos; the song is much catchier and upbeat sounding like a party anthem. The ‘emo’ look is no longer noticeable in the bands dress wear but a very punky rockstar image has been used. The lead singer now has bright red hair wearing a leather jacket. This video is very different from their other videos, much comedy and more action with the band driving full speed in a car. The lead singer is driving with bassist Mikey next to him who now has a blonde hair style wearing a red leather jacket. The two lead guitarists at the back are bopping their heads to the music, Frank has longish black hair and Ray has kept his same hairstyle. The band appears fun and mischievous in this video showing a difference with no performance and just a narrative.

The bands change in image is clear through their videos and music. As they became more popular their fanbase changed along with their appearance and musical style. Their change in appearance is shown from one video to another showing their development. This is a good idea as it helps the band draw in different audiences through changes whereas some audiences may see them as a sell out band.

MCR 2001

MCR 2004

MCR 2006



MCR (2010-present)

Textual analysis: Bullet For My Valentine- All these things I hate

The video I am analysing is by Bullet for my Valentine called ‘All These Things I Hate’. The video was directed by Scott Winig, the song is released as the third single from their debut album The Poison in 2006. The band generally falls under the genre of Metal/Screamo. This song features their usual screamo vocals but is the softest on The Poison album.

The video follows the typical conventions of a rock/metal video as it is both narrative based and performance based, there is a story going on and also shots of the band performing. Another convention typically used for videos of this genre is the gothic wear, the band and the characters all wear dark clothing, the lead characters also have many tattoos and dark hair matching the bands costume. The characters may match the band to show that they are reflecting the bands experiences in their story. The video depicts a series of what seems like predictions made by a young woman. It starts off showing the outside of a motel and then cuts inside to show a young couple. After saying goodbye to his girlfriend the boy leaves the room, walks out onto the driveway, and gets into his car. His girlfriend realises he has left his necklace behind so goes after him. As soon as he pulls out onto the road he is slammed into by a truck and killed. This appears to be a nightmare though up by the girlfriend. This relates to the title of the song ‘all these things I hate’. These series of events repeat a few times, with minor variations each time.

The video begins outside of a motel and slowly turns inside of the couple’s room, before the couple are shown, a close up shot shows the lead singer starting to sing; this follows the timing of the song. The close-up shots are significant as they promote the artist, this is the bands debut album so this video are using these shots to familiarise the audience with the artist. It then cuts to couple who appear deeply in love, in-between their story it cross-cuts back to the band with the lead singer in focus frequently making it seem as if he is narrating their story. The dark atmosphere used, specifically on the band, is another typical convention used in rock/metal videos.

Throughout the video we see a wide range camera shots, the most frequent shot used would be close-up shot, mainly on the lead singer, and this may have been done to show that he is narrating the story in the video. Close ups are used also on the girlfriend to show her reaction to what happens which is key in this story. Mid shots are also used many times to show the whole band so they become more recognisable with the audience.

The song starts of soft and slow in pace to match the characters performance but gets much louder and faster when the action begins, e.g. when the truck slams into the boyfriend’s car. The music returns to its slow pace when the girlfriend wakes up and realises this was a nightmare and this happens throughout the video, this shows the video changing pace with the music. The same events happen constantly throughout the video, one part shows a range of shots playing one after the other at a high speed to show that the same thing keeps happening. It also shows a clear link to the title ‘all these things I hate’, the girlfriend hates seeing her boyfriend get killed and is forced to see it in a nightmare over and over. When a solo in the song is played, the video begins showing fast cuts matching the beat of the guitar.

When the lyrics ‘Torn apart at the seams and my dreams turn to tears’ play, a shot of the girlfriend getting up to chase after her boyfriend is shown. This illustrates the lyric as she starts off happy with her boyfriend and then ends up in tears when her boyfriend is killed. At one point slow motion is used when the truck slams into the car which shows a significant relationship to the lyrics ‘all these things I hate’. One of the final shots is of the girlfriend looking out a window and seeing the truck that would have killed her boyfriend pass by. However, the boyfriend is not there. The band is playing in a graveyard throughout the whole video and ends with the lead singer crouching over what seems to be the coffin of the boyfriend. There is a lot of camera movement particularly on the band which is a typical feature in rock metal videos like Guns 'N Roses 'Sweet child of Mine'. It highlights the importance of the band while promoting them and allowing the audience to get used to them.