Going to Hell - A2 music video - final edit

Album art examples

For the accompanying ancillary texts to my promotional music video, I am going to create the front, back, inside sleeve and CD design as part of a digipak, including original images. I am also going to create a magazine advertisement for the digipak. Here are some images that I have chosen of influential album covers within the alternative genre.

These examples of album artwork shows us that there are a number of possibilities for alternative album covers, it could be a picture of the band itself in an everyday location such as the Clash and Beatles album covers, or a more abstract photograph of the band such as the Doors album cover. Another popular artistic choice for album covers is a thought-provoking or unusual image that's meaning is down to interpretation or has certain connotations such as the Nevermind album cover.

For my digipak I am not going to use a photo of band, rather I will use quite an abstract image with the name of the band and single on the front. I will then use stills from the music video along with some original black and white images of the band members to use within the gatefold of my digipak.

Shots left to film

Shots to be filmed

1. medium CU of guitar being taken off rack/picked up (1 sec)
2. CU of cable being plugged into guitar (1 sec)
3. medium CU of drum stick striking hi-hat (1 sec)
4. shot from top of bass neck looking down bass as bass player tunes (1 sec)
5. CU of beater hitting bass drum in profile view (1 sec)
6. CU of dial on amp being turned by guitarist (1 sec)
7. medium CU of guitarist strumming down once (1 sec)
8. medium CU of singer strumming upwards once (1 sec)
9. medium CU of bass player swinging bass forward whilst playing (1 sec)
10. medium CU of hand striking tambourine (1 sec)
11. extreme CU of singer's eye opening (1 sec)
12. CU of bass pick hitting bass string (1 sec)
13. medium CU of singer to left of frame, other band members set up equipment in the background – does as time lapse (4 secs) [filmed for 5 minutes]
14. [RE-SHOOT] CU of drummer's face looking at camera, no smiling (1 sec)
15. [RE-SHOOT] CU of singer's face looking at camera (1 sec)

16. long shot of band leaning against railing on stairway outside industrial building (1 sec)
17. CU of 'fire exit' sign behind industrial building, then zoom out slightly and track right to medium CU profile shot of bass player smoking (3 secs) [to replace existing shot]
18. over the shoulder shot of poster being stuck to wall by drummer (2 secs)
19. CU of poster being stuck to wall by guitarist (2 secs)

20. Low angle medium CU of drummer lip syncing “there's no one around” line in cemetery (2 secs)

The above shots are to be filmed in three separate locations: rehearsal studio, outside industrial building and the cemetery.

Planning for remaining shots

Here are some quick storyboard frames that I created to give myself a visual idea of how the remaining shots that need to be filmed should look roughly. I am going to capture quick 1 second shots, mainly including close ups, of the band members setting up in a rehearsal space which will be edited together quickly to match the fast pace of the song. I am also going to capture a shot of the singer facing the camera in a medium close up shot whilst the rest of the band set up equipment behind him, which will then be sped up as a time lapse during post-production.

My video is mainly performance based, however there is a small narrative element that I wish to achieve by showing the band members sticking up posters in certain locations, these shots are also yet to be filmed.

New location

I discovered this stairwell outside of an industrial building on National Avenue and felt that it would be a great place to capture a shot within my music video, perhaps with the band members leaning against the railing. I will also bring a camera with me and take a picture of the band as a possible picture to be used as part of the digipak. I will then put a black and white filter over to fit with the bland, industrial feel which is a typical feature of alternative band photos.

Shots left to film

Shots left to film

1. Tilt down from sky to show singer approaching camera from mid to medium CU in town centre (3 secs)
2. -
3. CU of poster being pinned to a tree by singer, pull out into medium CU over the shoulder shot (3 secs)
4. Medium CU of singer pushing camera away during drum fill (1 sec)
5. Long profile shot from down a side alley, showing the singer walk by down old town (2 secs)
6. Static shot of band logo (1 sec)
7. Static CU shot of “keep music evil” poster (1 sec)
8. Wide shot showing steps down old town, a car then drives through shot, suddenly the band appears on the steps sat down, bass player is leant against the wall and singer is playing guitar (4 secs)
9. Medium CU tracking shot of singer walking along pier playing guitar (4 secs)
10. Medium two shot of singer playing guitar in back of car with guitarist sat next to him looking out of the window (7 secs)
11. Medium CU of bass player lip-syncing “I want you to get what you can like crazy” then pull focus to singer in background who sings “seems you're all out of time” in pier area (7 secs)
12. Long shot of band turned around facing wall with singer facing forwards, singer and band both turn opposite ways and the band all point at the camera simultaneously (1 sec)
13. -
14. Medium two shot of singer lip-syncing next “there's no one around” line in back of car with band member next to him reading newspaper (4 secs)
15. Tilt down from sky into static long shot of underneath of a bridge, the singer walks away from camera with guitar on his back, beginning in mid shot, then long shot and then extreme long shot as he disappears under the bridge. The song will fade out and as the singer is out of view a “keep music evil” poster blows through the shot, the camera then tilts down and zooms into CU of poster. A foot then steps over the poster (30 secs)
    
    
    This is a list I have created of the shots left that need to be filmed, colour coded in terms of location. Yellow being town, green being inside a car, and blue being ella street.

Narrative theory applied to music video

In my music video for the song "Going to Hell" by the Brian Jonestown Massacre It has been created in accordance with the Sven Carlsson (1999) music video theory which states that "When a music video mostly shows an artist (or artists) singing or dancing, it is a performance clip." The main focus of my video is the singer who is shown through performance aspects as the lead musician and is therefore being used to market the band. I have interwoven basic narrative aspects with the performance element of the video as is traditional of music videos of the genre. My video follows the conventions of a traditional song performance clip, showing the vocalist in multiple settings playing his guitar and lip syncing. It has been created as a montage clip, favouring performance aspects over narrative elements. Michael Shore (1984) used such phrases as "recycled styles", "simulated experience" and "information overload" to describe music videos and this very much applies to my music video which simulates the experience of watching the band play and is unoriginal in nature. The video is not deliberately unoriginal, however the influence of past culture makes the creation of a totally original concept almost impossible. Within the diegesis of my music video (the fictional world implied by the narrative) it is normal for the singer/performer to walk around playing guitar in these separate locations as the representation that he is given as the powerful, confident, frontman of the band allows it to be so. Verisimilitude is created within the video through the mimed actions and lip-syncing of the performers, making it appear to the audience that they are watching a real performance.

Cast list

Sam Howell - Lead guitarist

Jack Heron - Bass player

Lewis Bailiff - Drummer