FILMING: BAND PERFORMANCE SCENES

On the 19th of November, I and my group were able to fill the first major scene that would be featured in our music video. We decided to use our school gymnasium as it is very large giving us plenty of space to film as well as use lighting and props.

We were able to use our friend Huw Carey as our drummer whilst Elliot and I played guitar and bass/vocals respectively. Ellie was on the main cameras and we also borrowed Huw's GoPro camera for the shoot so we had someone experienced to help us with filming and positioning. Ellie used two cameras to gain a variety of shots and experiment with different angles and lighting combinations to try and get the most professional looking shots we could.

This was the basic setup for the instruments and the cameras. We had one that would shoot face on and a second that would shoot low and at angles. The drum-kit took center stage and me and Elliot stood at either side to distribute the screen time as evenly as possible.

Unbeknownst to us we had access to a smoke machine which our teacher was able to get for us. We used this to add depth to our lighting when filming to create some very dark and creative shots. The fact that we could utilize the large gymnasium meant the smoke dissipated evenly and quickly so we were not completely hidden in smoke while on camera.

This is me striking a pose in conjunction with the smoke machine, we had not used the lights at this point so as to try and preserve the bulbs, but we were able to get a sense of how the camera would react to the sue of smoke and how we would appear. As you can see the effect gives an edge to what might have otherwise been a bland photo.

Here we are utilizing the GoPro to get closeup shots of us playing our instruments. We decided to film the scenes with the GoPro first as it was one of the easiest shots to set up.
Huw simply held the camera in place and we adjusted the angle to get different shots. We did not fix it to the instruments as we did not have the clamp attachment for the camera and holding it in place allowed us to move the camera freely and try different positions on the instruments to see which yielded the best result.










This was the Camera we used to film the front facing shots. Its a Canon 100 and we used it primarily to film the front facing shots as it was attached to a higher tripod and had a better zoom capacity than Ellie's camera which we used for closer, low angle shots.
We used the canon to film our entrance to the music video, the three band members playing all at once and towards the end used to to film panning, close ups of the individual band members.



Overall, the shoot went extremely well, and although we were time pressured due to a late start because of the lack of availability of the school gym until 4pm, we got a lot of brilliant work done. The shots we have taken will provide us with near a minutes worth of screen time for our music video. We will review what we have filmed on Thursday 20th November and begin to start editing the shots so that they are ready to be incorporated in the music video when new scenes are filmed. 

FIRST DAY OF FILMING

Today we had the opportunity to film one of our first scenes for the video. This scene is meant to be a direct reflection of the shallow and materialist values that stereotypical Americanism represents.

The scene shows Ellie driving into the distance followed by a tracking and zooming shot. As she moves away a handful of money is carelessly thrown out the window.



Here is a picture of the tripod and the car we were using during the filming of our first shoot. The weather was sunny and crisp and therefore it was an ideal time to film this scene as we could see everything clearly when filming and  the weather reflected the Californian image. 

This scene is influenced directly by Adorno's Theory of the culture industry. Adorno suggested that today's society influences and encourages needless materialism and that people are kept satisfied by this need for things that are not actual necessity's, which has been manufactured by a huge industry that churns out basic brain food to keep the human population satisfied .

Here we printed  out 5, 10 and 20 pound notes to use as props that would be realistic enough to be recognized (although there will also be a closeup of the money before it is thrown so the audience knows what it is).








Bibliography: 
Adorno, Theodor (1991), The Culture Industry: Selected essays on mass culture, Routledge, London.

CALL SHEET: MONEY THROWING SCENE

A2 Media Studies Call Sheet: Money scene

·                     Track – Red Hot Chilli Peppers: Californication

·                     Length – 3 mins 22 seconds

·                     Shoot date – tbd

·                     Location – Money throwing out of car window – Ellie’s Car – in car

Crew: [Ellie Walton, elliepw@hotmail.co.uk,]

·                     Crew: [Elliot Hogan, hogan.elliot@yahoo.co.uk, 07825563046]

·                     Crew: [Max Day, maxday@hotmail.com]

·                     Camera equipment (Nikon Camera (Ellie’s cam) and tripod from media)

·                     Lighting equipment (N/A as will be done in natural daylight)

·                     Props (Photocopied money – preferably £20 notes)

CALL SHEET: HANDBAG FIGHT

Call sheet A2 Media – Handbag fight scene

Track: Californication

Track length: 3 minutes 22 seconds

Cast and crew required:

·        Ellie

·        Elliot

·        Paris

·        Max

Equipment:

·        Canon camera

·        Camera battery (charged)

·        Camera lenses

Props: Stereotypical cop

·        Handbag

·        Police badge

·        Hawaiian shirt

·        Baseball bat

·        Sunglasses

·        Fake handlebar moustache

·        Doughnut box

Band members:

·        casual clothing

CALL SHEET: BAND PERFORMANCE

Call sheet A2 Media – Performance shots

Title of page: A2 Media Studies Call Sheet for Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Californication

·                     Track – Red Hot Chilli Peppers: Californication

·                     Length – 3 mins 22 seconds

·                     Shoot date – Tuesday 18th November 2013

·                     Location – School small gym, Claremont Fan Court

Crew:             [Ellie Walton, elliepw@hotmail.co.uk,]

·                     Crew: [Elliot Hogan, hogan.elliot@yahoo.co.uk, 07825563046]

·                     Crew: [Max Day, maxday@hotmail.com]

·                     Camera equipment (Nikon Camera (Ellie’s cam), Media camera's from Mrs Mann x 2, Huw Carey's 'Go-Pro' and tripods from media)

·                     Lighting equipment (Lightings from media, x3)

·                     Props (Musical instruments brought over from Music School, Drum Kit, Mic Stands, brought in guitars etc)

Props required - Band members:

·        Casual clothes

·        Guitar

·        Bass guitar

·        Drum kit

·        Microphone + stand

·      

LYRICS ANALYSIS

'CALIFORNICATION'

Here we have synced the lyrics of the song to what will happen in the music video. This outlines for us what we want to happen and when and will be able to give us mores consistency when it comes to editing.

(song intro builds up)             We see a RHCP fan lying on his bed on his phone. A close up sh Psychic spies from China     
Try to steal your mind's elation
Little girls from Sweden                          
Dream of silver screen quotations       
And if you want these kind of dreams
It's Californication

It's the edge of the world
And all of western civilization
The sun may rise in the East                  
At least it settles in the final location
It's understood that Hollywood
sells Californication

Pay your surgeon very well                                    
To break the spell of aging
Celebrity skin is this your chin             
Or is that war your waging

Chorus:
First born unicorn
Hard core soft porn               
Dream of Californication
Dream of Californication

Marry me girl be my fairy to the world
Be my very own constellation
A teenage bride with a baby inside
Getting high on information
And buy me a star on the boulevard     
It's Californication

Space may be the final frontier
But it's made in a Hollywood basement
Cobain can you hear the spheres
Singing songs off station to station     
And Alderaan's not far away
It's Californication

Born and raised by those who praise
Control of population everybody's been there and
I don't mean on vacation

Chorus

First born unicorn
Hard core soft porn                

Dream of Californication      
Dream of Californication

PLANNING: DEFINING CALIFORNICATION

'Californication

The process by which the American television and film industry, for the most part based in California, spreads their own highly sexualized, consumer driven, version of American culture that heavily emphasizes sex, violence, celebrity, and youth as both virtues to be extolled and goals to be achieved. Ignoring and often doing everything in their power to blur, if not erase, the dividing line between the fantasy of the cinemas world view and reality. This process has become pandemic with the proliferation of reality television wherein a person can achieve "Californication" without possessing any real talent but rather just the ability to make a fool of themselves on a world wide stage (See: Snookie)

e.g.The sudden popularity of this actress is merely a case of "Californication".

-Thank you Urban Dictionary.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers "californication" is an amalgamation of the words "california" and "fornication". The band uses the word to satire and mock what is percieved to be life in california and that the image everyone round the globe is fed through media, is simply not the truth.

In our music video we are attempting to exploit this view, such as its preoccupation with plastic surgery, self-image and conformity to the California scene for fear of feeling an outcast or alien.
In our music video, we have people spending money unnecessarily that they don’t need to spend, such as pimping out their car, throwing money out of the windows of cars, adoration of brand names, coveting of other people’s things.


The theme of self obsession and the constant need to churn out a glorifying image ties in directly with the Andy Warhol quote "everyone will be world famous for 15 minutes". This highlights what the Chili peppers tried to achieve in their song, by pointing out the shallow and empty promises of everyone wanting to be a star even if it will only be for 15 minutes.

Most people who have never been to California, imagine sea, sand and healthy living. The Red Hot Chili Peppers challenge this perception of Californian life by presenting the shallowness, narcissism and materialism that is actually an everyday part of life. It seems evident that would the band’s lyrics alert us to one of the areas that are the subject of moral panics.

REQUESTING PERMISSION

This is the email we sent to the Warner Brothers music label, requesting permission to use the song Californication for our non profit coursework. We did not receive a reply however this email serves as proof of us at least asking.

HOW THE RHCP DEVELOPED THEIR BRAND

The Chili Peppers have developed a huge global following since their inception in the 80's. What makes them so popular is that they are unlike just about any other music act in the world. Their musical style incorporates odd blends of psychedelic melodies, hardcore punk and smooth, jazzy 70's funk.

Their huge fan-base is a good reflection of how their odd yet surprisingly harmonious musical style has attracted people from around the world.

This is just a few examples of the different style and influences the RCHP have incorporated into their music. Their style is so original and strange that it is almost impossible to class them as a single genre or attribute them to a single demographic. The Chili Peppers have attracted fans from just about every other genre, from punk, to jazz, psychedelia and hard rock fans. This huge and infinitely varied fan base has built them a following that saw them inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame and secure them a title in the musical history books.

This ties in directly with the "star theory" created by Richard Dyer. According to his theory, the Chili Peppers are true Pop performers. They have an image and identity of their own, but they have shaped music in a way that has had a noticeable impact on our culture and will be remembered for it for a long time to come.

RESEARCH: TRENDS

Recently there has been a large diversity in the popular trends of media, not only in the most obvious areas such as music but in film and television as well.

During the summer what tends to be popular is the upbeat pop and rap numbers that are able to work their way high into the charts, Miley Cyrus to Daft Punk have all had considerable radio time showing the diversity that has been popular over the last few months. Large festivals such as Reading are also a big part of the summer music scene, playing artists old and new typically with bands who have been very popular in the previous few months headlining, e.g. Eminem performing at reading last summer coinciding with his recent resurgence in popularity.

These are just some of the artists that have been popular over the summer

1. Miley Cyrus
2. Daft Punk
3. Lil Wayne
4. Jay Z
5. Storm Queen
6. Calvin Harris

However there has also been evidence of trends in television. Relating to our own song and music video, it is not hard to see all the "Americanisms" and stereotypes that have been concocted by producers and large companies. Programmes like CSI, glorify the images of women on golden beaches and an idealistic life in Hollywood or Los Angeles. This has helped spread the stereotype of California across the globe.

Our song Californication deconstructs this image a piece at a time showing how fake it all really is, stating it very plainly in lines like 

"Space may be the final frontier but its made in a Hollywood basement"


 

MORAL PANIC

Moral panics refer to an intense feeling expressed by a population in response to an issue which could threaten the social norm.

Media is often in the forefront of causing moral panics; many films, documentaries, music videos and even songs can cause large controversy and spark debate over whether they should even be allowed to be viewed by the general public because of their content.

There is a long history of satirical art raising eyebrows. Films in particular can cause great controversy, the Monty Python film "life of Brian" while being a critical success caused an uproar in the christian and catholic world, who accused the film of blasphemy and the Python troupe being deliberatley insensitive to peoples religious ideals. The Pythons replied with the simple answer that they were openly debating what it meant to follow a religion rather than thinking for yourself, but the film sparked a worldwide debate on what could be considered fair to exploit in a film and whether satirizing what people held so close to them should be allowed to be parodied in the first place.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers song Californication reflects a genuine moral panic about the ways in which American society is moving rapidly further towards a shallow, commercial, artificial and ultimately unsatisfying life style. All that Adorno (1991) predicted about the culture industries creating ‘false needs’ is explored and satirized in Californication. Ironically, here we have an example of a successful media production criticizing itself: far from Adorno's theory of blinding and passifying the consumers, the band are in the forefront of those telling audiences to wake up and be aware of their passive acceptance of what is false and unsatisfying.

The stereotype of California being a glorious and almost paradise place is so wide spread that revealing some of its more unpleasant sides could have potentially caused large controversy and certainly served as a wake up call for many people of what California is like in reality


There is a music genre associated with moral panics - Heavy Metal. This heavy music often  features violent imagery, loud aggressive lyrics, controversial subject matter and overall loudness. This often breaks the fourth wall and often challenges peoples perception of what can be considered actual music and has historically caused considerable amounts of concern among the public.

For example the band Cannibal Corpse has been banned from performing in several countries due to the violent nature of their music and artwork and an American government official even accused them "of undermining the national character of the United States". Their artwork has also been banned in many countries due to it featuring very gory and horrific imagery

 Similarly the metal band slipknot has come under fire several times for their apparent "indocrtination" of their fans specifically in a single case in 2003 involving a pair of young killers who blamed the lyrics from the song "Disasterpiece" for their vicious crime. Similarly a documentary made about their history  was banned for showing images of fans carving their logo into their bodies with razors to make a "scar tattoo".

These are only a few examples of what kind of reaction controversial ideas and images can instigate in people, even if the concepts are only lightly hinted at.

Artistic freedom is something that is widely permitted in today's society and in my opinion there is a huge amount of flexibility that has allowed artists and musicians the freedom to express themselves in almost any fashion in the name of the art. I believe this to be a positive thing for any kind of creator or artist, as artistic and emotional freedom is a very important aspect in the accepting society we strive to create. However I do believe there is a limit to where something can be considered art especially when they are bordering on the very extreme, such as Polly Morgan whose art takes the form of animal taxidermy and can involve putting animals in almost grotesque situations such as this squirrel in a martini glass.

MEDIA THEORY: RICHARD DYER'S POP STARS

Last week we learned about a theorist named Richard Dyer, whose ideas are somewhot similar to Theodore Adornono's idea of a mega culture industry, but attibuted to individuals rather than a whole market.

Dyer states that a "Pop Star" and "Pop performer" are in fact two different meanings. A pop star is characterised by a meteoric rise whether by a positive or negative means and is world known for short period of time but will ultiamtley be shleved and have no legacy. A pop performer is simply a performer of a popular art form that has a lasting impact on musical or artistic culture.

A pop star has become primarily about the image and is in all essences a brand. this can be attributed to their management and they will do almost anything to promote their "brand". For example we read about all kinds of sordid love affairs and negative behaviour in the sun and heat magazine, however it draws attention away from music to focus soley on the star. A good example of a pop star would be Miley Cyrus who has recieved considerable amounts of media attention latley. Making a drastic change from an innocent Disney child star to the next Lindsay Lohan, has gained her considerable attention which has been primarily negative especially in light of her sexual MTV performance. However this does work  in accordance with Dyers theory - that any publicity is good publicity and Cyrus has revieced A LOT of publicity making her successful in the eyes of her contractors.

Dyer did also propose that a true Pop performer will have a significant impact on the world and will do so even after they have left the limelight.
Freddie Mercury is a prime example. His flamboyant and outlandish behaviour became  an iconic part of his image while at the same time he is recognised as one of the greatest Rock singers of the 20th century. This has ensured that the music he recorded with Queen will be remembered for many years to come. This is already evident, e.g. the song Bohemian Rhapsody is still considered one of the great rock songs and many people still know the lyrics almost 40 years after its release. Freddie Mercury died an icon and in accordance with Dyers star theory this is how he will remain for years to come.




Bibliography

• Richard Dyer Stars (1980)

MUSIC TELEVISION CHANNELS

These are some of the main channels that solely show music videos during their airplay. These are the the channels that I watch in my own time. I have also chosen them because they bear some relevance in genre (or did) to my song choice. 

MTV

MTV is an american owned company and one of the most succesful and groundbreaking music television channels. MTV was initially intended as a music only TV channel intended to show all the latest trends and popular genres (as a result the content it has showed has varied drastically over the years) however it has also branched out into reality television in order to reach a wider audience.

MTV shows what is currently in the top charts. This means it has seen  a huge variety of acts over the years, from Guns N' Roses in the mid 80's to Jay Z in recent times. They also own a number of children's channels like nickelodeon. MTV is an american owned Company however it does have a european stationed branch and in fact a majority of its views and income is primarily european. It also now hosts reality shows like "the only way is essex no longer restricting itself to showing solely music videos.


KERRANG

Kerrang is a television station owned by Box Television and is in connection with the popular Kerrang magazine. All of its programme content is music videos, the majority of which is open scheduled, for text requests from their playlist.
The TV station's playlist is mainly nu metal and pop punk, although there are exceptions eg. Tenacious D, Beastie Boys and Bloodhound Gang. Rap artist Eminem has also many of his videos played on Kerrang, which has caused controversy among long-time fans as Rap is generally not popular amongst the fans of the genre.

SCUZZ TV

SCUZZ is a British music television channel owned by CSC Media Group. It launched on 17 April 2003 and has gone on to be the highest-rated rock TV station on UK satellite. The channel plays a broad range of rock and all its subgenres. The daytime tends to play more pop-punk (similar to Kerrang) as well as classic rock and heavy metal. During the evening the channel becomes predominately based around much heavier music ranging from traditional heavy metal, hard rock and punk to deathcore, death metal, black metal etc. which no other music channel currently plays. The music Generally becomes more underground and heavier as the night goes on.

Bibliography:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTV

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerrang!_TV

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scuzz

CONSTRUCTION: CALIFORNICATION - INITIAL TREATMENT

The genre of our music video is  rock from a mainstream American band which is known for its…
Our video opens with the band picking up instruments and beginning to play. There are 4 band members: guitarist, bassist, drummer and singer.
There will be shots of the band playing all through the song cut in with quick editing.
There will be a narrative treatment that loosely illustrates the lyrics.
The story of the video will be a girl (Ellie) crossing through different environments in a dream-like world reflecting the dream-like state of Hollywood. In this we intend to convey the preferred reading of the text as an exposé or satire on Hollywood values.
Amongst the scenes are Hawaiian shirts, cocktails, overweight americans etc.
As she goes through these different scenarios, various obstacles will arise to block her path and they will have some connection to the lyrics e.g “pay your surgeon very well”.  Someone in white with a scalpel will attempt to perform an operation on her.
She will transition through the various locations and at the end she will wake up in front of the tv watching a Hollywood blockbuster (this will be chosen to be something particularly trashy to reflect the plasticity and fake-ness of Hollywood) like Legally Blonde.

RESEARCH: SHOT COUNT ANALYSIS

SHOT COUNTS

Track: “I want to break free”

Artist: Queen

Director: Dave Mallet

Release Date: 4 May 1984

Length of video: 4 minutes 28 seconds

Number of shots in 30 second segment: 11 shots

Average length of shot: 4 seconds

Shot number	Shot type	Shot length	Shot description
1	Still shot	4 seconds	We see a still shot of the roofs and chimneys of a large number of council houses in an urban area.
2	Close up	4 seconds	A close up is seen of an alarm clock billowing steam.
3	Close up	3 seconds	Brian may pulls the duvet away from his head and he is seen to be wearing a woman’s hair net.
4	Panning	2 seconds	The original still shot of roofs begins to pan steadily to the right gradually zooming in as it does.
5	Close up	3 seconds	Brian mays hand is seen fumbling to turn off the alarm clock
6	panning	2 seconds	The panning shot continues to pan and proceeds to end its pan focusing in on a single window of the house where the video takes place.
7	Wide angle	3 seconds	Brian may is seen getting out of bed, it is revealed he is wearing a woman’s nightie
8	Close up	3 seconds	A close up of him pulling fluffy pink slippers is seen
9	Close up/ panning	4 seconds	The video cuts to another room of the house focusing towards the ground. From the side of the screen a vacuum cleaner is pushed through and as it moves back and forth the camera moves steadily upwards
10	Wide angle	5 seconds	On the note of the guitar chord, Freddie mercury is seen pushing the vacuum. As he enters the main room he is seen to be dressed totally as a woman.
11	Close up	2 seconds	A close up of john deacon dressed like an elderly, conservative grandmother reading a magazine.

RESEARCH: MEDIA THEORY - THEODORE ADORNO

Today we examined the media theorist Theodore Adorno.

Adorno's theory is very relevant to  our groups song choice and the message behind it. Adorno states that all culture is in fact an industry, that has been set up by larger corporations as a carefully calculated investment, rather than human creativity flowing into our world by its own accord. This culture extends to art, literature, music and film and it is designed to keep the human population calm and contained by giving our minds easy and unchallenged food for thought, rather than new things that challenge our way of thinking and would have us think outside the box. This industry keep us occupied and sedated while the  corporations behind it, are able to do what they wish without resistance.

This theory ties in strongly with the lyrics of californication, stating that what we think we know to be artistic and creative is actually just one huge, fake, corporate product designed to keep us engaged and prevent us from progressing as people so that more money can be made out of us.

It is easy to see, especially in today's media world, why someone would think this way. With a steady stream of very bland and image obsessed pop stars who have mass appeal (especially with younger audiences) and a relatively short shelf life and have the purpose to simply make money rather than challenging the film or music world with groundbreaking new material.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Adorno, Theodor W. (1991), The Culture Industry: Selected essays on mass culture, Routledge, London.