Currently, in the UK pop music is still the most listened to music genre as shown by the research conducted by BPI and the chart from from Statista that I found during my research into this.
Research conducted by BPI.
Taken from Statista website.
However, both of these things also showcase the rise of people who listen to rock music and also dance music. Recently, the EDM (electronic dance music) has been dominating the charts with songs such as 'Where Are U Now' by Skrillex and Diplo ft. Justin Bieber. This is a massive hit tune with over 250million views on YouTube and also reached the within the top 10 on the charts.
It also shows that people have a varied music taste. Although, pop is the most popular, the other genres still have sales and since this survey was conducted in 2014, I feel like this year pop music will have an even less percentage compared to the others.
This is the official top 10 songs of this week (18-25th October 2015). As you can see there a lot of other genres other than pop that feature and the number one song is of the house genre.
Consumption
The way people consume music has changed massively. Online platforms such as Spotify, YouTube, Soundcloud etc have made it easier for the audience to stream music onto different platforms like their phones, iPods, computers and so on.
As shown above by the Statista graph, we can see that in 2015, the digital consumption of music has overtaken buying the physical CD by quite a lot. There has also been a rise in the percentage of people who stream music legally compared to 2014.
The kind of video I would like to make is something really exciting with lots of editing work, playing around with lights and performance shots. I want to make something that's visually stimulating, that will get the audience to appreciate the music video.
1. Fast-paced editing
An example for this is Pia Mia's 'Do It Again'. This video has so much fast paced editing especially towards the end. The shots between 2:22 and 2:26 have been edited together so well and so fast with flashing lights and other really cool stuff that I would love to include in my own music video.
2. Lots of effects
If you look at Justin Bieber's 'What do u mean' music video, it actually has such a cool concept where fans got a chance to draw whatever they want over him and this was then incorporated in the video to create some very snazzy looking shots as shown below. I would love to be able to play around in the edit suite like this and add crazy effects to my music video to make it look like this.
3. Playing around with lighting
In 'How Deep is Your Love', there are some really interesting shots of the model where its a close up of her and she's moving but really slowly at first and then it speeds up. The colour of the model also changed throughout the scene shown below and I think this was either done by adding coloured filters to the lights or in the edit suite. Either way, it gives off a really cool effect and it's really attention grabbing for the audience as well.
4. Performance
I would also love to incorporate some dance into my music video whether this is someone dancing on their own or people dancing as a group. I just think this works well for the type of fun and upbeat music video that I would love to do.
There are many audience groups in the music industry. People have their specific tastes in music which tends to change as they grow up.
The audience group that I'm interested in are:
Young Adults (17-21)
1. Young Adults
Young adults usually consume music through streaming services like Apple Music, iTunes, Spotify etc.
When talking to a few people that fall into this group, they said that they're music tastes had changed massively from when they were younger. For example, a lot of them said that they were fans of pop when they were younger but then they discovered other music that wasn't on the charts.
Most of them said they don't buy their music but if it's a band that they're really into then they can make an exception.
One of them even said 'Listening to chart music now makes me cringe a little, because it's all the same generic thing with no variation'
Below is a screenshot of the conversation I had with one member of this particular audience group.
I listen to a range of different music genres but these would be my three favourite genres to create a music video for this year: 1. Pop
Pop music tends to have a really good beat to accompany the song along with a good bassline. Pop music can also contain a range of different sub-genres within them and they're usually open to interpretation. This means, that we can interpret a song in our own personal way and create a music video to fit what we think the song means/implies.
For example, the song 'Locked Away' by R.City ft. Adam Levine is currently in the top 10 hits in the UK. It has a mixture of reggae and dancehall music infused in the song which makes it distinctive and so addictive. When you watch the music video, there is a range of different narratives taking place throughout the video which all have different scenarios. However, R.City revealed in an interview that the song was based on a true story: 'Our dad was locked up for five years. And during the time he was gone, our mum held it down. She'd take us to see him. They're still together to this day. They've been together for 36 years. So we thought that that was a great story to write about.' When you initially watch the video, you don't really get that from it but it has a deeper, more personal meaning than anyone would have guessed.
2. Hip Hop
Hip hop is a genre that I listen to on a regular basis. I love the different styles of hip hop you can get and also the way the beat can slow down and build up again in most songs. Again, the songs are open to interpretation and I would love to do a hip hop song for my music video.
An example of a hip hop song that I love is 'Feeling Myself' by Nicki Minaj. It has distinctive sections in the song and the slow bits can be used for a conceptual part or narrative whereas the chorus can be used for performance. She also uses intertextual referencing in her song with the line 'He in love with the coco' where she is referencing a very popular song called 'I'm in love with the coco'.
3. R&B
I also love listening to R&B music, mainly because of the beats. My favourite R&B/hip hop artist would have to be The Weeknd as his music is so unique and his voice is so distinctive. Again, I would love to do an R&B performance song for this project as it would be fun to film and also there are many amazing R&B songs out there. One that I'm loving at the moment is 'Hotline Bling' by Drake.
I consume music on a variety of different platforms such as the radio, my laptop, iPod and phone. I have different playlists to suit the mood that I'm in and music consumption has definitely become a lot more easier as new technology has developed, such as Spotify.
Again, I can listen to music literally anywhere; in my bedroom, on public transport, in the car, in the bath, at parties and gigs and so on.
I listen to different music at different times of the day. For example, on the way to school I usually listen to quite upbeat tracks in order to wake me up properly and get me pumped before school. When I'm doing my work, I can listen to literally any kind of music as long as something is playing in the background and when I sleep I listen to to slower music to help me sleep.
I listen to music with my friends, by myself and with my family.
I listen to music for a variety of different reasons which include reasons like escapism/diversion to provide something else to focus on as opposed to whatever bleak task I am doing, cheer me up, help me sleep, to create shared experiences at social gatherings and because I can relate to certain music and the lyrics.
What does music mean to you? Childhood:
Whenever, Wherever by Shakira
In year 5/6 this was my absolute favourite song of all time. When I listen to this song now it makes me feel really nostalgic as there a quite a lot of memories attached to this video. It reminds me of times in primary school during wet play, my friends and I would blast this song out and sing along to it and be absolutely mesmerised by Shakira. She was literally a goddess to us back then. I still, to this day, have this song on my playlist and it is just such an amazing song.
Early Teens:
Numb by Linkin Park
This song is really important to me as this is probably the first rock song I ever listened to and it made me explore music past the generic 'pop' genre and help me form my own music taste as opposed to just listening to something that my friends or parents loved. I used to play this song all the time, out loud and my mum always used to shout at me because I overplayed the song. Again, I still listen to this song quite frequently and I think it was definitely the beat that made me fall in love with this song.
Now:
Photograph by Ed Sheeran
This sons is one of my absolute favourite songs mainly because of the artist that sung this song. Ed Sheeran is one of my favourite artists and this song again has a lot of nostalgia attached to it because in the music video it's all reminiscing being a baby and childhood which made me think back to my childhood and all the memories attached with that. Also, Ed Sheeran is such a famous singer but the fact that he isn't fame hungry and is humble just makes his songs ten times more better for me as well.
For my music video project I will be working with Angela (left), Monica (centre) and Gift (right).
My Group Photo
Our Strengths
I really like my group members this year because I feel like we all have really good creative ideas and as a group of four girls I feel that we will be able to pull off a really sassy and attitude-filled music video. We've all had performance and lip-syncing training when we carried out our preliminary task and I think that as a group we will be really efficient and work well as a group.
Our Plan
We plan to meet at least twice a week with optional group meetings throughout the week whenever we're all free, probably after school sessions, if we feel we have to sort something out or if we're behind. Our planned group meetings are Monday and Friday during period one and lunch time.
We have also set up a WhatsApp group in order to communicate with each other daily about the progress of our project and also remind each other of meeting times, deadlines and any other important stuff.
In order to produce a good quality music video and also stick to our schedule we have set ourselves some working principles, which are:
Give everyone a fair and equal opportunity to pitch their ideas and listen to each other.
Make sure we all turn up to group meetings at the set time
Communicate with each other when we need to convey important messages
Be efficient during group meetings and get things done as quick as possible.
I really enjoyed the workshop day as it was a new experience for everyone and everyone was really enthusiastic about the music video remake which made the experience a whole lot more enjoyable.
These are pictures from our rehearsals.
I played the role of the lead guitarist in this video and I was kind of uncomfortable at first because I personally am not used to being in front of the camera. However, as the days progressed it became a lot easier as everyone was so encouraging and by the main shoot day it was all okay. Jasmine and Tash, our performance directors, really pushed to get the best out of us and they helped us come out of our shell and be able to perform.
Our set was already pre-made for us with the word 'RIOT' everywhere, just like in the actual music video. We also had a monitor set up where Dom, our director, could watch the shots as they were being filmed and also watch it back to see what we needed to improve/fix.
Jack was our cameraman and he needed our help with cable bashing and also pushing the dolly around on the track. We all took turns to do it and it was definitely tiring work but it was also fun. It also gave me an opportunity to speak to Jack about his profession and how he got into what he's doing now. It was very interesting to hear about another persons career path and it was also quite inspiring.
Above are pictures showing the shoot day.
The best parts of it were definitely performing but also encouraging our peers whilst they were on stage doing their thing. It was amazing to see us come together and really boost each others confidence and help each overcome the fears related to performing and being in front of a camera. Our crew were also so lovely to us which made the whole experience worthwhile and also amazing.
Below is a behind the scenes video that was shot on our workshop day which showcases how much fun and also how much effort we all put into it.
I have learnt an array of different things whilst doing tasks 1,2,3 and 5.
Task 1: Audition Video
Above, is the audition video that Angela, Iggy and I filmed for the casting of our music video remake. This was a new and nerve-wrecking experience for me because I'm not used to being in front of the camera. We took a few takes of this and the first take I was really embarrassed and wasn't really giving it my all. However, Angela and Iggy really pushed me and encouraged me and I ended up actually enjoying myself. It also allowed us to get a feel for performing and also encouraged us to learn the lyrics.
Task 2: Learn and Practice Your Performance
The next task was to learn our specific roles and then practice them so that we knew what we were doing when it came to the shoot day.
We had scheduled rehearsal sessions after school from Monday through to Thursday to ensure that we were fully prepped for Friday. I learnt that warming up before every performance/practice session was vital as you can seriously pull a muscle/cause harm to yourself if your body isn't fully warmed up and ready to work.
The hardest part of the whole music video to practice and execute was definitely the massive knee slide that the lead guitarist does in the video. It took a while to learn and it was also quite painful when the attempts went wrong, but in the end I managed it with the help of Jasmine and Tash. There was also a bit in the music video where it was focused on the guitarist and his solo. This was also a difficult part to learn but overall, I think it all went pretty well.
Task 3: Help to Plan and Organise Your Costume
Finding costumes for everyone was definitely a challenge. We all had to bring in clothes that we thought were appropriate from home and had a massive session with everyone there where we picked out our costume from a whole pile of possibilities. However, we didn't always get it right the first time around. For example, I initially picked out a costume after liaising with the teachers which we thought would look quite good. However, this costume didn't really look 'rock chick' enough so we decided to change it. In the end, we found a better alternative to the costume before and it definitely looked a whole lot better.
Costume before - orange vest top, black
ribbed skirt and black tights with black
trainers.
Costumer after - Bright orange crop top,
black vest underneath, black leather skirt
and black tights.
Task 5: Editing
Editing was definitely the hardest part of this whole project. We used Adobe Premiere Pro to edit it and we used layering on multi-tracks to make it easier for us to sync the video to the music and also cut up the shots as needed. It was difficult trying to get shot for shot match on these but Angela and I definitely tried our best to match the original shot as close as possible. As you can see above, the shot in the bottom right hand corner is the original shot and the shot in the center is the one we filmed and cut in. They both match pretty well. Below is another shot where we were able to get a pretty good match. However, this wasn't possible for all shots and eventually we had to learn to be creative and accept that not every shot will match perfectly.
Editing was very time-consuming and laborious and at times it was hard to carry on but we pushed through and managed to finish it. I also learnt how to grade and correct shots to adjust the lighting, brightness and contrast in order to match the original shots more perfectly. This was a hard and enduring task but it was still a lot of fun and the satisfaction after fully grading one shot was very pleasant. Adding the flashes and high exposure shots was definitely challenging as well but it helped bring the video together and adding them definitely made the video look complete as well.
Overall, this whole project has been a huge learning experience for me and I found myself really enjoying and now missing this whole thing. I learnt how to perform, get over my camera shyness, encourage, how to grade and also how to persevere through tough situations.
I was actually pleasantly surprised when we viewed the footage after our shoot day. It was a lot better than I originally expected because during the day it's hard to tell whether or not all the shots have been covered and if we've got all the footage needed to create a decent music video.
Below is our finished music video remake:
Although our finished edit took a while to finish, I feel that it looks quite good and once we added all the grading, flashes and high exposure shots the video just came to life. I am so pleased with how it turned out but it was definitely a struggle to get there. It looks a lot better than I expected as well for sure. I didn't know at the start that this project would be as good as it was and the final outcome made it all worth it.
Angela and I spent quite a while trying to grade the shots according to the reference that we had from the original video but at times we couldn't get an exact match which was quite frustrating but it also gave us the opportunity to make creative decisions about what we should do with the shot to make it look good. This was quite a fun task as you watch a shot go from quite a flat, normal shot to something with life.
Here is an example of one of our flashes:
I feel like the way we cut the shots and the sync with the music worked really well as if you watch the original and then our take on the video it should look pretty similar and the words she's singing match pretty well with the song and the lyrics. The grading process, I feel, was also quite successful.
Here is an example of one of our graded shots of the guitarist:
Here's an example of another one of our flashes:
If we had the opportunity to do this again I would definitely film the shot where the lead guitarist kicks over the drum kit as it would've matched so well with the original video and also would've been a lot of fun to film.
Obviously, we didn't get the opportunity to do this as we were using the school's drum kit and also health and safety issues. I would've also liked a bit more time to edit so that we could've fine tuned certain shots to make it as close to the original as possible. Also, in the video they use the lights overhead to do some of the flashes and I feel if we had done that, it would've been a little bit easier on us and also looked a bit better.
However, having said that, I'm really proud and happy with our final outcome and feel like the time and effort we dedicated to this project really shows through.
I think this prelim experience will have a huge impact on my approach to next term's music video as I have learnt some invaluable lessons from completing this task
Here is what I have learnt and how it will impact next years project:
Timekeeping is very very crucial, especially on your shoot day. I learnt that you have to stick to a very tight schedule with all your shot and timings written down so that both the cast and crew know exactly when and where to be. It also ensures that things don't run behind so that we can get all the shots necessary in time and not rush towards the end and miss shots out.
We also had a call sheet which was also important so that we knew what time we had to be in and what time each rotation started.
I didn't realise just how much time, effort and dedication this project requires especially since we have to do it all ourselves next year. This prelim task really prepares you for this and you know how efficient and organised you have to be next year in order to produce a good music video.
Sticking to your edit schedule and getting as much of it done early on really helps because then you have more time to add creative touches to your shots and it also means you're not rushing towards the end
Being organised and punctual is essential. If we're unorganised then it will have huge, negative impacts on our project.
This prelim task has also made me appreciate all the hard work that our teachers and crew members put in to make this task a success for us.
Here is a time-lapse video of our shoot day which showcases just how much work is required to make a project successful:
