Danyal has lost his best friend in some catastrophic event, and still hasn't managed to let go of all these painful memories. These memories are taxing him to a huge extent, and he can't simply move on with his life because his loss is a very great one. In this music video, he is shown sitting on a bench with a withered rose in his hand which is loosely hanging by his side, mulling about some particular past event in which his late friend had been present. His eyebrows are furrowed deeply since he is heavily immersed in his thoughts, and keeps plucking the petals of the feebly clutched rose in utmost sorrow. When his intense thoughts start to weigh him down, Danyal gets up to explore his surrounding more properly, and to try casting aside these rather painful memories. The football field, which occupies most of the area is filled with laughter , and Danyal twitches as if something is causing him great pain. The surroundings are familiar to him, and he has lived in them with his friend on several occasions, which is why flashbacks concerning this particular place immediately start haunting him. After moving around a bit here and there while looking at the color around him; one of the boys playing in the football field, who is wearing colorful clothes rushes up to him and invites him to their game. Danyal looks at the football field properly and realizes that it is being occupied with new unfamiliar people, all wearing bright football outfits. And as the epiphany occurs to him, he lets go of all the painful memories burdening him because he now clearly understands the need to move on, as well as how to accomplish it. Smiling at the prospect of making new friends, Daniyal moves towards the football field having finally managed to better his life, and bring back happiness and joy to it.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Music Video- Synopsis
Danyal has lost his best friend in some catastrophic event, and still hasn't managed to let go of all these painful memories. These memories are taxing him to a huge extent, and he can't simply move on with his life because his loss is a very great one. In this music video, he is shown sitting on a bench with a withered rose in his hand which is loosely hanging by his side, mulling about some particular past event in which his late friend had been present. His eyebrows are furrowed deeply since he is heavily immersed in his thoughts, and keeps plucking the petals of the feebly clutched rose in utmost sorrow. When his intense thoughts start to weigh him down, Danyal gets up to explore his surrounding more properly, and to try casting aside these rather painful memories. The football field, which occupies most of the area is filled with laughter , and Danyal twitches as if something is causing him great pain. The surroundings are familiar to him, and he has lived in them with his friend on several occasions, which is why flashbacks concerning this particular place immediately start haunting him. After moving around a bit here and there while looking at the color around him; one of the boys playing in the football field, who is wearing colorful clothes rushes up to him and invites him to their game. Danyal looks at the football field properly and realizes that it is being occupied with new unfamiliar people, all wearing bright football outfits. And as the epiphany occurs to him, he lets go of all the painful memories burdening him because he now clearly understands the need to move on, as well as how to accomplish it. Smiling at the prospect of making new friends, Daniyal moves towards the football field having finally managed to better his life, and bring back happiness and joy to it.
Music Video- Concept
Daniyal is sitting on a bench, thinking about his late friend and other painful memories. He then gets up and walks toward a football field where they both used to hang out, and morosely watches it being occupied with some boys playing as if no such thing as sadness ever existed. The music video ends with Daniyal being invited by one of them to the game, and finally lets go of all his painful memories and towards making new ones, which involve new people and places.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry. It was separated from Time Warner Company in 2004. It also has a music publishing arm known as the Warner/Chappel Music which is perhaps one of the world's largest music publishing companies.
The main reason why I chose this institution is not because of the fact that it is indeed very famous, but because it has worked with several rock bands like Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin and Linkin Park which makes it a reason enough for me to personally be inclined towards it.
According to my questionnaire's results, it seemed quite evident that my target audience usually prefers songs of this particular genre. Also, looking at the successes of the rock bands affiliated with Warner Music Group-this institution seems like a best choice to work with.
Aerosmith is known for having sold more than 150 million albums worldwide, including 66.5 million albums in the U.S alone! The vocalist of the band Steven Tyler is also a judge for the famous musical talent show in the U.S called the 'American Idol' which has become one of the most popular shows in the history of American television. According to the Nielsen ratings, it is the most watched shows in America and the only one to have been number one for seven consecutive seasons.
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| Steven Tyler- frontman of famous rock band Aerosmith, and currently judge of American idol |
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| Aerosmith-a famous band being managed by Warner Music Group |
So, looking at the huge success of this particular rock band by working with Warner Music Group, I have therefore decided to choose it as the main, and perhaps the final institution for my music media product/products.
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| Linkin Park-another successful band working with Warner Music Group |
*Source of information- Wikipedia. Source of pictures-Google Images
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Institutions
I was searching for institutions which might be interested in buying my tracks and make a music video for it. Here are the institutions I've short-listed for consideration as the main institution I might try to work with:
1-Sony Music Entertainment
2-Warner Music Group
3-Universal Music Group
4-EMI
And here are their logos:
*Note: Since the results of my questionnaire showed that many teenagers listen to rock songs, I'll be picking an institution which mainly specializes in rock bands' products.
1-Sony Music Entertainment
2-Warner Music Group
3-Universal Music Group
4-EMI
And here are their logos:
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| Sony Music Group |
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| Warner Music Group |
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| Universal Music Group |
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| EMI |
Posters of Music Albums
So I was just browsing through random music album posters to conceive an original idea of my own. Since I have decided the genre 'rock' for my music video, I searched for album art on this genre specifically. These are the four rock music album covers I came across, and all of these present some very interesting ideas as to what the album is all about, and who are the main performers. Like for e.g, in Daughtry's case since the band was new at that time, their album focused more on the main singer so that the audience identified with him
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| Artist: Chris Daughtry. Album: Leave this Town |
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| Artist: Chad Kroeger. Album: All the Right Reasons |
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| Artist: Chester Bennington. Album: Meteora |
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| Artist: Scott Stapp. Album: Weathered |
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Questionnaire Results(A brief overview)
No of Participants: 16
Q1: Do you like music (Because if you don’t, then filling out the rest of this questionnaire is unnecessary)?
Q2: What genre/genres of music do you prefer listening to?
Q3: Do you like watching music videos?
Q4: What types of music video (e.g. narrative-one which has a progressive story) have you watched so far?
Q5: How long do you feel a music video should be (e.g. 3-4 minutes)?
Q6: According to you, is having performer/performers in a music video a significant inclusion?
Q7: Do you like concert halls? Have you ever been in one?
Q8: As a viewer, what elements do you feel are necessary for a music video?
A: Majority feels music video should have a good story, and in sync with song. It should be able to signify the various themes of that particular song. A few thought it best to have attractive females in the music video to make it all the more entertaining and worthwhile.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Shooting Plans
So after extensive discussion with my teacher, I have decided to make a narrative music video as it includes many elements which help in signifying the theme/themes more effectively to the audience. Also, the problem when making a performance video is that it only attracts attention if the band being shot is really famous. Furthermore, the audience of a performance video is niche compared to a narrative one, which is more widely viewed when compared.
Now that the problem is resolved, I have finally decided to start work on this project immediately, which is why I have set certain dates, and have noted certain requirements to ensure my music video's success.
I plan to shoot in the middle of October, probably after the 15th. And the reason is because, the weather will be more stable. And it will be more sunny to provide natural lighting for my music video, which I have decided to use as well, other than artificial lighting. Later on, after I have finalised my script, I shall put up a copy of my Shooting Plan so that I am all organised and set beforehand, so as to avoid time wastage.
Now that the problem is resolved, I have finally decided to start work on this project immediately, which is why I have set certain dates, and have noted certain requirements to ensure my music video's success.
I plan to shoot in the middle of October, probably after the 15th. And the reason is because, the weather will be more stable. And it will be more sunny to provide natural lighting for my music video, which I have decided to use as well, other than artificial lighting. Later on, after I have finalised my script, I shall put up a copy of my Shooting Plan so that I am all organised and set beforehand, so as to avoid time wastage.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Album Art- the codes and conventions involved
Okay so after researching a bit, here are the codes and conventions I came across:
1- The album art is supposed to represent the main theme/song of the album (for example Linkin Park's- a thousand suns) or the band effectively.
Here is Linkin Park- A Thousand Suns' album cover:
2- It's aim is to draw the target audience' attention by employing techniques like vibrant colors or text which will manage to address them.
3- It is meant to establish the album and artist/artists' name, along with their produced style or genre of music.
4-It should have persuasive elements like a promotional offer to attract the audience to a greater extent.
5- It should be creative in approach using imagery through text and a few artistic elements.
6- Lyrics should be included on the album's back cover along with other necessities like price, band name, list of songs in the album, genre, etc.
Here is the Linkin Park-A Thousand Sun's CD:
*Note: All these pictures have been picked from Google whose rights are therefore reserved on them.
1- The album art is supposed to represent the main theme/song of the album (for example Linkin Park's- a thousand suns) or the band effectively.
Here is Linkin Park- A Thousand Suns' album cover:
And here is the album cover's backside:
2- It's aim is to draw the target audience' attention by employing techniques like vibrant colors or text which will manage to address them.
3- It is meant to establish the album and artist/artists' name, along with their produced style or genre of music.
4-It should have persuasive elements like a promotional offer to attract the audience to a greater extent.
5- It should be creative in approach using imagery through text and a few artistic elements.
6- Lyrics should be included on the album's back cover along with other necessities like price, band name, list of songs in the album, genre, etc.
Here is the Linkin Park-A Thousand Sun's CD:
*Note: All these pictures have been picked from Google whose rights are therefore reserved on them.
Okay so I decided to make a survey on a website-surveymonkey.com which is user-friendly and more reliable for making a professional survey, as it provides tips and tutorials as well. I can send the link to the audience in question so that it can be available on a broader basis and hence generate more responses to help me proceed with my media project-which is to make a music video.
Click here to take surveySunday, September 11, 2011
Questionnaire
Age:
Gender:
Q1: Do you like music (Because if you don’t, then filling out the rest of this questionnaire is unnecessary)?
A:
Q2: What genre/genres of music do you prefer listening to?
A:
Q3: Do you like watching music videos?
A:
Q4: What types of music video (e.g. narrative-one which has a progressive story) have you watched so far?
A:
Q5: How long do you feel a music video should be (e.g. 3-4 minutes)?
A:
Q6: According to you, is having performer/performers in a music video a significant inclusion?
A:
Q7: Do you like concert halls? Have you ever been in one?
A:
Q8: As a viewer, what elements do you feel are necessary for a music video?
A:
So, after looking at several performance videos, I picked up one whose style seemed easier to copy because of the restricted camera movements, but nevertheless ensured effective emphasis on significant detail as per the audience' expectations. Here is the music video I picked. It's made on a song by the famous South Asian band Jal. The song's name is Dil Harey:
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And here is the cover my band mate and I did of the song:
It is quite evident that the background, despite its colourful texture doesn't go along with the song. Also, the fact that the main vocals are slightly inaudible ruins the main aim of the music video-which was to ensure maximum attention to the song as it is the priority for any cover being done on the original. It is to be noted however, that like the original, the performers have been included and the camera primarily focuses on their movements, and expressions. For example, during the beginning of the song the camera zooms onto the main vocalist's guitar fretboard to signify that he is indeed the main performer of the song. It cleverly moves the secondary performer out of the picture and thus effectively manages to tell as to who is the main performer in order to avoid confusion for the audience as the secondary performer also seems to be singing (as a backing vocalist that is) and since the camera movement is restricted, it might lead to confusion for the audience and they might fail to know as to who is the main vocalist here. However, many fine details have been missed in this low quality music video unlike the original one. No close-ups have been done on the performers, and the background has not been brought more clearly in focus. No change in camera angles has occurred, and panning from varying sides has not been done. Also, the names of the performers as it appeared in the original with each extreme close-up of the performer has been excluded. It is quite understandable that this is merely an option, however in the case that the video might be put up on YouTube, it is essential for the people to know more about the band (be it professional or amateur) and base their criticisms according to the level being represented.
Though it should be noted that towards the end, slight close-ups (though not sequential) have been done, this detail should have been evident throughout the play. It does not manage to effectively convey the mood as compared to the original one and the bad song quality does little to help. It seems that I will have to improve and refine the shooting techniques I am accustomed to in order to make a more professional music video with the resources available to me.
Though it should be noted that towards the end, slight close-ups (though not sequential) have been done, this detail should have been evident throughout the play. It does not manage to effectively convey the mood as compared to the original one and the bad song quality does little to help. It seems that I will have to improve and refine the shooting techniques I am accustomed to in order to make a more professional music video with the resources available to me.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Amateur Performance videos
Okay so here is a rough performance video I made for a song I composed with a friend. Us (the performers) being shown signifies the fact that this song has been sung and composed by us. There is no camera movement, nor a change of shots in a sequential pattern-of which I am well aware. However, since the target audience mainly comprised of fellow students, they did not mind the exclusion of these major components, and enjoyed watching us perform our new song. No significant editing has been done as it wasn't consider essential by me at that time. This is perhaps one of my very first performance videos, which is why I felt it necessary to have it posted in order to realize my current technical level, and hence try my best to enhance it with the continued passage of time.
Here is another performance video, and it is much better than the first one considering the fact that slight panning on both the performers (that being my partner and I) has been effectively done to signify who the main vocalist is, and the instruments involved. It does well to address the audience as to what the musicians were feeling when composing this song, as emphasis on their expressions during the video has been done in order to convey the mood of the song as shown by the performers in question. However, the camera maintains it stationary position for quite long periods of time, giving enough reason for the audience to believe that effort has not been put into making the video, making it thoroughly amateur.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Informal-based reviews
This was an amateur music video I made for my friends. The song used is Bullet for My Valentine's Forever and Always' which is a befitting song as it clearly signifies the meaning this video has to offer. I made this a two years ago, which is why Windows Movie Maker-an amateur editing software has been used. Surprisingly, this did not attract negative views from the specified target audience (fellow students) who felt that the music video touched their hearts to a great extent, and hence managed to complete its purpose.
Here is the feedback i received after posting this video on Facebook:
So after going through this short-lived experience, I can say after looking at this empirical feedback data that even if the quality of the music video is questionable, as long as it fulfils its purpose there remains a chance that the target audience would like it due to the fact that they would be able to understand. Also, a key element for making a music video is also highlighted here, which is that the music should be able enough to convey the mood and meaning of the video effectively which I believe my poorly made music video managed to do so. Just to make my claim clear, I will present here another music video I made during that same year along with feedback:
This song used in the music video is one of my own. It's called Iced and it's basically about finding hope even when all seems lost. The video is basically a slide show of the place I was making the song, and the other performers included. The pleasant background helps in signifying the meaning clearly, according to my opinion and that of its viewers. Here is the feedback I received shortly after uploading it on Facebook:
- Fareh Hussain and Anzal Muhammad like this.
Ozma Tahir my!my!what a fabulous work u both have done.BRAVO! n u3 are really looking great in the blue pic.well done sonnies,keep it up along with ur studies.waiting to see more of ur wonderful ventures.some people r getting jealous by my side
January 29, 2010 at 11:55pm ·
Mohsin Hussain thanx maami...but this is a small fry compared to what ahmed n i r planning for this summer...
January 30, 2010 at 11:03am ·
Ahmed Abdul Aziz change the chorus yar. the song is cool until dat "iced" word comes in 4X
January 30, 2010 at 8:23pm ·
Mohsin Hussain hey ahmed if u get time...try doing a cover of this song on keyboard...
February 2, 2010 at 12:12am ·
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