Storyboards

This is a basic commentary on what our storyboards show:

James walks into a room where the band are projected onto this t-shirt. The camera zooms into the porjection and turns to band footage. This is followed by pop up city which focuses on an umbrella, that cuts to real life (james spinning an umbrella). The camera tracks james' movement along where he hands a girl the umbrella.

Moths beginning to follow james behind him and in between a silhouette of the singer sings along to the song (a few lines at a time, in beat with the music). We have C/U, W/S, and profile shots of James. At the instrumental 2mins 48secs in, James looks up and the camera tilts upwards too, panning across the sky where we will add in moths circling above. It then tilts back down to James where the whole video reverses.

The camera zooms out of the t-shirt to reveal James back in the room where he started, going full circle.

Star Image:Tracing Star Development through Music Video

The Star im going to analyse is Robbie Williams. I'm going to look at the begining of his career, the changes, and what he is up to now. Starting out as a young lad from Stoke-on-Trent, to joining Pop band Take That and launching a Solo career, Robbie has sold more albums in the UK than any other British solo artist in history and has won more BRIT Awards than any other artist to date.

Robbie's first solo hit after leaving take that, was a cover version of George Michael's "Freedom" in 1996. In Video Robbie expresses his happiness to be "free" from from the manufactured Boyband. He is clearly celebrating his seperation and is acting like a young mischievious boy. The song managed to reach no#2 in the UK single charts, twenty-six places higher than George Michael's original version.

Robbie's debut alubm "Life thru a Lens" held the singles "Old Before I die," "Lazy Days," and "South of the Border" made it onto the UK charts but struggled to make an impact on International charts. It was his fourth single "Angels" that skyrocketed Robbie's career and sales of the Album. Without knowing of the sucess it would bring, "Angels" became the biggest single in the UK so far, being certified 2x Platinum by the BPI and becoming one of his most well-known songs.The album eventually managed to sell over three million copies in Europe alone. This achieved success helped push Robbie through his battle with paranoia, schizophrenia, alcoholism, and drug addiction.
[VIDEO ANGELS]
the video for "Let me Entertain You" become an iconic one for Robbie. The video is filmed in black and white and features Robbie dressed as a member from the band KISS with the extreme face make up and a tight costume, dancing wildly on stage with a band and pole dancers.


Robbie continued to work with Guy Chambers who worked with him on his first album. The first single "Millenium"(1998) was inspired by James Bond music and the video references the Bond Films and aspects of Bond as a character. For example Robbie plays in a casino in a tux which later cuts to him driving a speed boat with an attractive woman.


By this time Robbie has become an established worldwide popstar and began working on his third album.His first single was"Rock DJ" which was released in 1999 and the video became of of his most controvercial. The content involved Robbie stripping...all the way down to his bones. He rips and tears of his flesh and muscles and flings them at the dancers around him. It's known for Robbie to be a cheeky chappy but for some channels such as Top Of The Pops it went to far and had to be censored. i remember having to wait up till 12 to be able to watch the video. It was a little gore, but ultimatly i admired it for the special effects and i was hooked on the beat of the song.

In Robbie collaborted with pop princess Kylie Minogue for single "Kids."

"Love Supreme" video, titled "Gentlemen racers" as seen in its opening credits, is a tribute to British Formula One driver Jackie Stewart. Williams portrays the fictitious character Bob Williams, a rival driver competing for the 1970s F1 World Championship. The video includes footage of Robbie digitally inserted in many scenes with Stewart, pursuing the championship title. The split-screen technique is used throughout,which is often seen in movies from the 1960s and 70s, and the scenes with Robbie were given a grainy texture to match the faded look of the original footage with Jackie Stewart. Also during the video fake newspaper headlines are shown of the race and characters to help narrate the story.

The Crimson Cucumbers coming your way!

Today Hannah and I were begining to create our group and put together a small profile the band's identity and what their ideologies are.we have 6 main catagories:

1. Artist/Group: Group made up of 3 members.
Lead Male Singer
Male Drummer
Female on Keyboard

2 Name:......
we are still thinking about the name at the present moment because it needs to be memorable catchy and inavative.It normally takes me a little while to make a name up for a product so i may have to leave it for a couple of days. By throwing random words/names together we have got

The Crimson Cucumbers

I think we will stick with this name though, because throughout the day it has grown on us and we actually remembered it! The Crimson Cucumbers sounds like a funky and creative indie band which is what we are going for. I guess it works in the same way as "The Arctic Monkeys"or "The Radio Dept." I think our group name stands out from the crowd and would become a popular and recognised name.

3 Back Story: The Crimson Cucumbers me and formed at University. They have a passion for music and art and favour indie bands. They began performing whenever they could at open mic nights and gained popularity in the local area. A Myspace page also helped the band gain popularity. They were later discovered by an independant record label who signed them on. The members enjoy staying small/indie than being mainstream.

4 Ideology: The Band believe they have a unique sound. They appeal to the public in their late teens and early 20s. They would like to convey a laidback attitude with a real passion for the music.

5 Image: The Cuecumbers, being in their early 20's, wear fashionable clothing with is smart, but still casual to portray their laidback approach in life. The Girl on the Keyboard is dresses very quirky and excentric.

6 Record Label: Island Records

Glogster

This is my glogster showing my taste in music and why i like certain genres.

http://beccky.glogster.com/Beccasgloggie/

The Avalanches

Another one of my favourite bands is "The Avalanches," who are an elecrtonic band from Australia. They belong to independant record labels, Modular Recordings, XL Recordings, and Elektra.

Their official website and the music track is very fun so take a peak ..
http://www.theavalanches.com/

This song is called "Since i left you" which their successful debut album which shares the same name. The song consists of approximately 3,500 vinyl samples
even though they are using other peoples samples, i think they create something that is totally their own. Sometimes i hate it when artists these days rap over a perfectly good song and call it their own, but i think The Avalanches are creating something different for the dj/party scene.This won Video Of The Year at the MTV Europe Music Awards.



In the video, two diggers underground find a tunnel that leads to a dance studio where a couple of girls are dancing in front of judges. The two guys seemed confused but then randomly break into a dance routine! The girls start dancing along too and the judges continue to mark their performance. Its amusing and very sweet. The song and the video are very uplifting and its makes me smile when i see it. It also has stylistic elements, of colour/black and white. It begins in black and white when the guys are underground, and the place they discover brings colour/life/fun.

Directed by Gondry

I didnt realise that Gondry directed some great videos!

this one by the chemical brothers is also repetitive, but it is the actress who has been repeated for effect. I feel hypnotised when i watch it! The editing must have taken ages.

Directed by Gondry

This video by the white stripes uses photo animation and is repetitive.

Directed by Gondry

These are the three music videos i have picked which were directed by Gondry.
I remember this video really well and it makes me think about when i was younger! i used to reanact the dancemoves of the robots around my living room! Each person/element repressents a different instrument and they move around in a cirle, like a vinyl record. Its become a very popular music video

Michel Gondry

Michel Gondry is a french film commerical and music Video director. He relies on videotography and camera tricks which play with frames of reference.I chose to look into GOndry because he has directed for one of my favourite bands Daft Punk and also Chemical Brothers. Gondry started his career making music vidoes for the french rock band Oui Oui. His videos caught the attention of singer Bjork and asked him to direct the video for her song "Human Behaviour." He later went on to direct seven Bjork music videos. Gondry has also created numerous television commercials. He pioneered the "bullet time" technique later adapted in The Matrix in a 1998 commercial for Smirnoff vodka, as well as directing a trio of holiday-themed advertisements for Gap, Incorporated.
Gondry made his feature film debut in 2001 with Human Nature, and " Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" in 2004. Eternal Sunshine uses many of the image manipulation techniques that Gondry had experimented with in his music videos. Gondry has directed short films, documentry films, advertisments and a tv episode for Flight of The Concords "Unnatural Love."

Music Videos
1993- 1999
"Let Forever Be" - The Chemical Brothers (1999)
"Gimme Shelter" - The Rolling Stones (1998)
"Another One Bites the Dust" - Wyclef Jean (1998)
"Music Sounds Better With You" - Stardust (1998)
"Bachelorette" - Björk (1997)
"Deadweight" - Beck (1997)
"Jóga" - Björk (1997)
"Everlong" - Foo Fighters (1997)
"A Change Would Do You Good" - Sheryl Crow (1997)
"Around the World" - Daft Punk (1997)
"Feel It" - Neneh Cherry (1997)

"Sugar Water" - Cibo Matto (1996)
"Hyper-Ballad" - Björk (1996)
"Like a Rolling Stone" - The Rolling Stones (1995)
"Isobel" - Björk (1995)
"Protection" - Massive Attack (1995)
"High Head Blues" - Black Crowes (1995)
"Army of Me" - Björk (1995)
"Fire On Babylon" - Sinéad O'Connor (1994)
"Lucas With the Lid Off" - Lucas (1994)
"Little Star" - Stina Nordenstam (1994)
"This is it (Your Soul)" - Hothouse Flowers (1993)
"It's Too Real (Big Scary Animal)" - Belinda Carlisle (1993)
"Human Behaviour" - Björk (1993)
"Believe" - Lenny Kravitz (1993)
"She Kissed Me" - Terence Trent D'Arby (1993)

2000- 2009
"Too Many Dicks On The Dancefloor" & "Carol Brown" (unofficial videos) - Flight Of The Conchords (2009)
"Soleil du Soir" - Dick Annegarn (2008)
"Declare Independence" - Björk (2007) [2]
"Dance Tonight" - Paul McCartney (2007)
"Cellphone's Dead" - Beck (2006)
"King of the Game" - Cody ChesnuTT (2006)
"Heard 'Em Say" (U.S. Version) - Kanye West (2005)
"The Denial Twist" - The White Stripes (2005)
"Light & Day" (movie version) - The Polyphonic Spree (2004)
"Winning Days" - The Vines (2004)
"Mad World" (Donnie Darko soundtrack version) - Gary Jules (2004)
"Ride" - The Vines (2004)
"Walkie Talkie Man" - Steriogram (2004)
"I Wonder" - The Willowz (2004)
"The Hardest Button to Button" - The White Stripes (2003)
"Behind" - Lacquer (2003)
"Come Into My World" - Kylie Minogue (2002)
"A l'envers à l'endroit" - Noir Désir (2002)
"Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" - The White Stripes (2002)
"Fell in Love with a Girl" - The White Stripes (2002)
"Star Guitar" - The Chemical Brothers (2001)
"Knives Out" - Radiohead (2001)

Response to Cd covers

Looking at all of The Radio Dept.'s abums as a whole they do keep a similar theme going, even when they are released years down the line. The band name is always either in the corners or like Pet Grief, at the top. The album title is then printed in a smaller font underneath it. The images chosen for the album do look a lilttle random but often envolve people. It is unlcear whether it is the band or not. I Artists havnt exactly promoted themselves but the name. Its all about "The radio Dept." not the members in it. The relaxed style of music does compliment the album covers which look dreamy and quite simple. Although the single "Freddie and the Trojan Horse" has a dead animal on the front, it looks calm and deserted. Ive also noticed that the titles of the albums/singles dont really have any reference to the picture in the background, again showing that its about the brand name. The albums have an arty theme and black and white images are a common feature.


The Radio Dept. -The Worst taste in music : this video combines film, and photography.

A closer look at The Radio Dept

The Radio Dept.

The idea for the band was first concieved by two schoolboys in 1995, called Elin Almered and Johan Duncanson. The name came from a "gas-station-turned-radio-repair-shop called "Radioavdelningen" which is Radio Department in Swedish. In 1998 they were joined by Martin Larsson,Lisa Carlberg,Per Blomgren andDaniel Tjäder.
The three remaining band members are in pink.

LabradorRecords signed the band up after the group sent recordings to a Sonic, a music magazine ( the magazine also came with a free cd with sampler songs!)

For great success all bands/artists need to promote themselves globally . The Radio Dept. are going on tour in 2010 to play in Japan, Denmark, and will be in the UK next month.


20 May 2010, Thursday, 7:30pm

Bush Hall
310 Uxbridge Road
London W12 7LJ
United Kingdom

For more info: http://www.bushhallmusic.co.uk/

*
Stag & Dagger Festival 2010 - London
w/ People Under The Stairs, Filthy Dukes,
Friday, 21 May 2010
Shoreditch, London,
United Kingdom

For more info: http://staganddagger.com/
*
Stag & Dagger Festival 2010 - Glasgow
w/ People Under The Stairs, Filthy Dukes,
Saturday, 22 May 2010

For more info: http://staganddagger.com

http://theradiodept.com/
of course, The radio Dept have their own website where fans can have their own login. The website features daily posts, samples of latest releases, a "community" page and even a "Discography"


http://www.labrador.se/artists/radiodept.php3
- Labrador records website with a page dedicated to band with information of who they, how they were formed and posts of their latest releases.

http://www.myspace.com/officialradiodept
the band also have a myspace, which is great for the fans because they feel they have a personal connection with the band members and they can also check for tour dates and post comments.


This is the poster for the China Tour in 2009. The photograph in the background takes up most of the poster and therefore catches your eye. However it is interesting that there is no colour but maybe thats the style of they were after. The name of the band is in bold, and white so it stands out and the tour dates are listed at the side. There is a lot of information but in the way its been positioned, the poster isn't overtaken by text. At the bottom they have included websites and record labels.

Single/ Album covers



Pet Grief
(album released 2006)











Freddie and The Trojan Horse
(single released 2008)













Lesser Matters
(album released 2003)













David
(single released 2009)














Pulling Our Weight
(single released 2003)

The radio Dept. - Pulling Our Weight

1995- present

The Radio Dept. are an Swedish indie pop band that i love! You might of heard one of their songs "Keen on boys" which was included in the soundtrack for the film Marie Antoinette.
The band isnt actually featured in the video, which is different and doesn't conform to the conventions of a typical indie video. I think the animation is very sweet and gentle which flows nicely with the rhythem of the song :)

Justice- D.A.N.C.E

The aniamtion in this video is very fast and eye catching. i havnt seen another video like this one before. I like the transitions between the moving images and that it stays on the t-shirts as thwe two guys are walking.

My favourite videos: Blur- Coffee and TV

I really like this video because the i first saw it from flicking through the music channel, and it caught my eye. im not a big fan of Blur, but the song grew on me because i kept watching the video. It tells a story as it goes along and the little milk carton is so sweet and his expressions make me laugh.

Brief!

1..,2..,1..,2..,3..,4...
For A2 media coursework i will produce a music video for a new artist/band who are releasing an exsisting song. I will produce a CD/DVD cover and a magazine advert for the track. On my Blog i will be documeting and researching music videos; ones which i enjoy watching and why,videos which i do not like so much and to look at the purpose they serve in advertising.