My band playing live

This is a video of my band "Ask Lydia" playing my chosen song "ABC" live at the art center. I am not using any of this footage for my music video but i have similar footage, The clothing worn while playing live shows there indie rock image. They do these live shows to try get more attention from there target audience of 16 to 24 year old males and females.

Video analysis

The video i have chosen to analysis is "Empire" by Kasabian. This video was made in 2006 and Kasabian's album was named after this song. The song "Empire" is seen as indie rock and became very popular in the charts in 2006 till 2007.
The beginning of the music video is a boy running towards the band Kasabian who then gets shot down, this is referring to there other hit single "shoot the runner" and they add this in to represent there upcoming album. At the beginning of the video shows a woman dressed in fine Victorian according to the bands website, this woman picks up a dandelion which puts you in a sense of calm, but then it cuts to a boy running, and by his clothes you can tell he is in a war environment. The video is narrative and performance'd based; the video is based on the idea of a British colonial war most likely the Crimean war which was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining Ottoman Empire. Most of the conflict took place on the Crimean Peninsula, but there were smaller campaigns in western Anatolia, Caucasus, the Baltic Sea, the Pacific Ocean and the White Sea. This is shown through the costumes they are wearing; old fashioned military uniforms, carrying rifles. The scene starts off in a battle field, a large open field with various special effects such as smoke and gunfire, which leads to the young boys death.
One shot is very effective as it shows the boy running through no mans land which is baron and filled with old wagons and shows the devastation of the land. The variety of camera angles used are mid angle far away shot is used to show the young messenger running across the field, this suggests panic and the cutting down of innocence.
As the boy runs towards the band he is shot down and dies in the arms of the lead singer, as the beat comes in the boys blood merges with the mud, with close ups of the boys face as you can hear him take his last breath, this connotes the doom and gloom of the backing music and the visuals being put across in the bands lyrics. This also shows there are indications of an anti war ideology with the death and relief. This also shows how the there other song "shoot the runner" had died down and now it was time for a new song.
Juxtaposed to this is a scene of typical countryside, a woman walking through fields dressed in 19th century . She blows on a dandelion and the scene switches to the battle field with the soldier each being shot down, this may symbolize the butterfly effect; every action no matter how small has a greater effect elsewhere. The message boy "shoot the runner" is carrying a carton of milk, which connotes innocence through which he is ultimately killed; the milk and the blood merge together in the mud. This suggests that it is the innocent who suffer the most.
There are close ups of key images such as the dandelion, facial expressions and cannon fire. Pans show the vast expanse of land they are fighting across and help to show a bigger picture.
Most of the editing relies on jump cuts between scenes, this suggests edgy atmosphere, and adds quite jerky feel to it, as the woman is blowing the dandelion it shows lots of explosions and the band members and other solider's getting blown up, this connotes the idea of social class, where the rich are playing in lush meadows while the poor are fighting to save there lives in a torn up battlefield. The soldiers die for the "Empire", then as the woman finally blows the dandelion its as if she is blowing them away.
some of the images are superimposed this creates a sense of urgency which is commonly used in videos which feature war and it also shows how many things are happening at once, confusion and chaos. The editing also uses dissolves this shows the passage of time, to suggest they may have been fighting for days or even weeks. Slow motion is used to emphasis certain elements of the video and allows us to focus on details, such as the explosions going off and the woman blowing the dandelion.
The British flag is used a lot and so is the salute to the queens army, this brings in the British feel to the video, letting viewers know that this video is predominately British.
At the end of the video it has a close up of a gun about to be fired at the lead singer, the scene then switches to the lead singer with his hand up to his head saluting the man about to shoot him, the British flag scattered around give off the idea that he is being killed by his own men and people, as the soldiers behind the man with a gun hold there head in shame with an over the shoulder view, as the beat stops the man with the gun who seems to be a general for the army, shoots the lead singer dead and walks off.

Video analysis

The music video I have chosen to analyse is "Brainstorm" by The Arctic Monkeys. I have chosen this band because they really represent the British indie rock scene, with there heavy British accents and fast rhymthed guitar are a huge signifier into there genre. I have chosen this video to analyse because this is one of there more famous songs and they have put alot of thought and effort into the video to make it fit into the correct structure along with the lyrics and general mood to the song.


The song "Brainstorm" was written by the Sheffield-based indie rock[1] band Arctic Monkeys it is the opening track on their second album, Favourite Worst Nightmare. The song was released as the first single from that album on 2 April 2007, debuting at #21 in the UK Singles Chart. The song was noticeably louder and heavier than previous efforts, marking the band's evolved sound.

The opening of the music video shows the band from a mid angle shot from distance with the band, with a distant view of the shadows of the band mixed with the ammps and instruments which the band are so heavily affiliated with, the connotations of the lights up at the top of there heads shows there coming out of the light, as there was heavy media speculation into weather the band could come back with more popular music after there last album. The camera continuously jumps from scene to scene, showing women parading around which is a common conception into music vidseo's as it attracts a large male audience and is most common in rap music. The jumpy beggining to the video connotates the speed of the sound of the instruments.

Behind the female dancers is a large screen which flashes different colors, this seems to change color as the drum bangs, this video seems to link the drums with the actions quite effectively, as the drum gets faster and louder one of the female dancers goes with it.

Street Rats

Street rats

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My target audience

You are a Townie! Your job might be a bit boring but it brings home the bacon and helps you save up for those two weeks away to Spain. Your weekends are set in stone – trip to the shops in town, buy yourself something nice, head to the All Bar One with friends, have a laff, maybe go for a club, as long as there’s none of the indie weirdo music. Keep it straight, you say.

ABC song lyrics

last tuesday you told me how it would be
and then you,then you kissed me
and left the taste of your stale cigarettes
on my breath

ABC i'm just not quite sure how its meant to
ABC how its meant to be with you and me

and then you, then you turned and walked away
and then those clouds then they parted way
for my thoughts crystal clear
to write you a letter of love

ABC i'm just not quite sure how its meant to
ABC how its meant to be with you and me

Ask Lydia stills

These still pictures of my band are mainly in black and white as it gives off an indie rock image, the small looking venues mixed with dim lighting and black and white fade are a classic stereotype of the indie rock genre. The clothing in these pictures is a mixture of jeans, van shoes and cardigans, these would appeal to young white males of the indie rock genre because they can relate to there clothing and gives them something to affiliate with.

Andrew Goodwin

Andrew Goodwin

Target audience

Interesting videos task

This is a video from "IS TROPICAL" called "THE GREEKS" i found this video incredibly interesting as it was a completely different approach to a music video, and it really makes you think what the message the band and the director of the video are trying to bring across. There are a wide range of messages that this video could be trying to bring across in this video, such as kids minds being violent and kids being corrupted by the media and certain films to do with violence and war. Another thing this music video could be trying to bring across in its message is the idea that kids are becoming more like adults and are growing up very quickly, or at least there mind sets are. I also find the fact that the camera switches from happy images of children's toys back to the war situation very suddenly is very interesting as this video could be seen as very controversial. 

This second video is from "Junior Senior" and is called "Move Your Feet" I find this video interesting because it is unlike any other video I have ever seen. For starters it does not show the artists at all, and instead shows animations. There are some links between the lyrics and the visuals with lyrics such as "move your body" which are repeated generally through this song, are brought across in this video with images of different objects dancing.

If my band were to play at a festival

This is a picture of the latitude poster in which it includes a  list of the bands playing at latitude the current year, the green color of the poster shows the general mood of the festival, mellow and naturalistic. I think this would be good for Ask Lydia as there music is common to a few of the others bands on this page such as  The Maccabees and Empire of the   Sun. 

If my band were to play at a festival it would be Latitude, I have been to Latitude and got a brief idea of the type of band that would play there and i feel Ask Lydia would fall into that category. Latitude is known for getting new up and coming bands and the festival itself has a very indie feel, with many of the crowd's across the festival are dressed in very stereotypical indie clothing including indie pop and indie rock. Latitude is a fairly mellow festival with most of the performances being from bands who perform in a rock style way with a mellow and chilled out feel among'st  the whole festival, which is the sort of vibe Ask Lydia give across to there audience.

A picture of latitude festival during the day.

A picture of latitude festival at night.

An unsigned band

Here is an unsigned band i found on youtube called the Exiles. I found there video to be very interesting as they push the boundary's of conventional music videos. I like in the beginning of the video how you can see all the everyday surroundings of a British city or village, which shows how the band are not using expensive scenery to try create an image but they are using normal British imagery to create a certain atmosphere. Such as the garden fences and small grassy banks, which as a British audience we would be used to. The setting of this video is intrinsically British. I also admire in this video how a seem to be strange man dressed in a morph suit comes across a bunch of other men who are dressed the same to realize they are part of a band, which brings across as a wacky but funny image which comes across in there music as well, all to build a creative picture of this band.

Bands that influence Ask Lydia

The Strokes: The Strokes are an American indie rock band formed in 1999 in New York City. Consisting of Julian Casablancas (lead vocals), Nick Valensi(guitar), Albert Hammond, Jr. (guitar), Nikolai Fraiture (bass guitar) and Fabrizio Moretti (drums and percussion), The Strokes have been named one of the most prominent and influential rock bands to emerge in the 21st century.

The Libertines: The Libertines were an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât (vocals/lead guitar) and Pete Doherty (vocals/rhythm guitar). The band, centred on the song-writing partnership of Barat and Doherty, also included John Hassall (bass) and Gary Powell (drums) for most of its recording career. The band was part of the garage rock revival and spearheaded the movement in the UK.

The Arctic Monkeys: Arctic Monkeys are an English indie rock band. Formed in 2002 in High Green, a suburb of Sheffield, the band currently consists of Alex Turner (lead vocals, Lead/rhythm guitar), Jamie Cook (rhythm/lead guitar), Nick O'Malley (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Matt Helders (drums, percussion, backing vocals). Former members include Andy Nicholson










The rhythmic vibes and well struck cords and well struck messages of these bands have influenced Ask Lydia in  there attitudes towards music and song writing.

Inspirational video: The Drums - Best Friend

This is an inspirational video for me because its an Indie Rock band with what looks like the video being recorded as there doing band practice, I like the idea of this because I want to perceive the band in a way which affiliates to there personality's and how the band spend most of there time. I also like how its just a plain room with instruments, the musicians and an out of date tape player to show how they do not need tight tech equipment and flashy lights or dancing women or even a story line to show off there talent. This sort of video for me shows a sense of respect for there genre when the artist does not have to rely on anything but the music itself, this is also a common stereotype of Indie Rock music which many other bands take into consideration when concentrating on there music videos, and what i will also be taking in mind when i film my video.

 My chosen band, Ask Lydia

Video Costumes

For my video the band members will be wearing a collection of black and blue quite tight jeans, polo shirts and vintage looking jumpers. These are all stereotypes of the indie rock genre. Such bands as "The Drums" and "The Bombay Bicycle Club" show the image that Ask Lydia give out in there dress sense. It is not just band members who wear these, it is also people who listen to Indie Rock music, its a stereotype which usually is correct.

 This picture of the Bombay Bicycle Club show the generic fashion for the indie rock genre, wearing old looking shirts and dark, quite tight jeans.

Here is another example of the Indie Rock stereotype with this band The Drums wearing similar clothing to both the band Ask Lydia and also The Bombay Bicycle Club.

Actors in my video

I will be using the band in my video because i want them to be in the limelight and for my video to show what the band get up to, including practice and live performances mixed along with hints of stereotypes of precise genre's.

Location: The Norwich Arts Center

I have picked this location because Ask Lydia have played there a few times before and I like the way the stage has been set up, I also want to show live performances to show what the band are all about, live performances and good music.

Location: Elliot's house

I have picked this location because it is where the band spends most of its time, and in my video i want to portray the band how they actually are instead of painting a false image which the band do not portray. I have also picked this location because it is the classic stereotype of an Indie Rock band, the image of a band practicing in a small room, where big lights and special effects are not as important as the actual music that is being played. 

About my band

The band i have chosen for my A2 Media Studies music video are called "Ask Lydia" which are a four piece band from Norwich who play Indie Rock style music. The four people in the band are, James who is lead singer and also plays the guitar, Will who is lead guitarist and also does some vocals, Kai who plays the base, and Elliot who is there drummer. Ask Lydia have been influenced by such bands as the Strokes, the Libertines and the Arctic monkeys. Which all share the same rhythmic patters as Ask Lydia and they tend to hit the same subjects.

Pictures of the band:

 I used these pictures because the black and white and the run down area is common within the Indie Rock genre.

Intro

This is my new A2 media studies blog where i will be studying the music industry.