As we discussed, we are a group of students studying A2 Media Studies at Harrow Weald College. As part of our A-level cirriculum, we are making a music video and hope to use your song "No More". This would involve posting the video up on YouTube.We would like to request your permisson to use your band and music to produce a music video and digi-pak.
Our group roles are as follows; Ameera Aziz- Producer Alexander Bradbury- Director/Assistant Producer Daniel Bond- Video Editor Gavin Man- Cameraperson/Operator
Producer
Responsibilities Producers generally have control of the entire film production and their primary responsibility is to create an environment for the cast and crew to best utilise their efforts. Therefore, the producer is held accountable for the completed film’s overall success or failure. The producer’s responsibilities extend over all four production phases:
Research & Development- Producers have the responsibility of selecting screenplays, securing rights, selecting the screenwriter and story editing team, raising the development funds and overseeing the development process.
Pre-Production- Producers bring together the member of the creative team (i.e. Director, Cinematographer and principal cast) and raise the finance for the production. Then, they choose key personnel (i.e. Line Producer, Associate Producer and Production Manager) and Heads of Department (i.e. Production Designer, Editor and Composer). They also partake in location scouting, and endorse the final script, schedule and budget.
Production- Producers are in constant consultation with Directors and approve all script changes and cost reports.
Post-Production and Marketing- Producers constantly communicate with post-production personnel (Editor, Composer and Visual Effects staff). They then consult with all production staff for approval of the final print and are most often involved with marketing and distribution of the completed film.
Skills Producers must be good motivators and negotiators and must be determined to do whatever it takes to get the best out of the film. They must be highly-skilled communicators with thorough knowledge of the narrative as well as all creative aspects of the film-making process (i.e. screenwriting, directing, editing, and composing music). They must know how to prepare a budget, secure finance for the production, control the overall production planning, control finance expenditure, ensure compliance of safety regulations, monitor progress of production and supervise the editing of the final film. Producers must also be able to work efficiently under massive pressure.
Producer’s Assistant
Responsibilities Assistant Producers are highly proficient administrators who work closely with the Producers throughout the entire production process. They must be highly organised and flexible and have a good overview of the production process. Assistant Producers responsibilities are specified by the Producer daily throughout production. These can range between any of the Producer’s duties for which they need assistance or cannot see to at that point in time.
Skills In addition to the basic skills of a Producer, an Assistant Producer must be adept at organising, planning and time management, as well as have strong communication skills. They must have excellent clerical skills and have a strong sense of loyalty, responsibility and confidence.
Director
Responsibilities A Director may either write the script or develop an early draft to create a vision for the film. They then select the cast, crew and locations for the film, as well as direct rehearsals and performances of the actors. The Director also manages the technical aspects of the production process (i.e. camera, lighting, sound, effects etc). During post-production, the Director works closely with the Editor to reach the final visualisation of the film.
Skills A Director must possess strong creative and visionary skills to be able to constantly create something original. They must be passionate and committed to the film and the industry. Directors must have strong leadership and interpersonal skills to be motivational and inspirational to get the best performance of all members of the production tams. They must also have widespread knowledge of the entire film-making process, both technical and creative. A Director must have a high capability for intensive work, attention to detail and strong determination.
Cameraperson/Operator
Responsibilities A Camera Operator works with on-set equipment and utilises complex technology with creative skills to produce the desired picture for the Director. Activities of the Camera Operator consist of; • Preparing and setting up equipment (i.e. tripods, monitors, lighting, cables and leads, and headphones) on-site prior to filming. • Suggesting how to best shoot a scene. • Planning shots that would be difficult or tedious to recreate (i.e. Explosions) • Practising for pre-determined shots. • Studying the scripts. • Finding solutions to technical and practical problems. • Taking instructions from the Director. • Working quickly and efficiently. • Taking full responsibility in situations with one camera. • Keeping up to date with development of new filming methods and equipment. • Repairing equipment. • Staying aware of health and safety issues.
Skills A Camera Operator’s main asset is technical skill and relevant experience. It is helpful for a Camera Operator to have; • A good theoretical and technical knowledge of cameras; • An interest in lighting, video, film or theatre; • Excellent hand-eye coordination; • Good hearing and colour vision; • Knowledge of editing; • Patience; • Attention to detail; • Knowledge of sound engineering. It also helps for a Camera Operator to possess a driving licence and understand the maintenance and emergency repair of filming equipment.
Video Editor
Responsibilities Video Editors work closely with the Directors to meet their requirements for the film’s vision. The Editor’s skill determines whether or not the vision can be realised. The video editing process consists of two stages;
Offline Editing- Working with the raw shots from the set in a relatively low cost editing suite. Includes sorting, rearranging and forming a digital rough cut according to the Director’s wishes.
Online Editing- Working with high cost equipment to create a more polished version of the final product. The Editor must be extremely technically competent, as the minimum requirements are set for broadcast standard. Any extra effects and materials for high-resolution are added here.
Skills Video Editor’s must be prepared for performing the most tedious tasks of all. They must also be skilled with the necessary editing software packages. Personality traits crucial for a Video Editor include; • A keen eye for detail; • Reliability; • Perfectionism; • The ability to listen to others; • Excellent communication skills, both written and oral.
We played our video to some of our target audience and here are a few quotes as to what they thought of the video
‘’I thought it was really good actually. The way the story and the performance like blend together, it’s pretty clear what the message is and it’s shown beautifully. The black and white effect used was really good making the story like more significant”
“Yeah, it was pretty good. The lighting used in the performance bits impressed me a lot because of the way the shadows worked with the story line, like the guy ‘shadowing over’ the girl. Also the different coloured lights I think you used gave it a good effect.”
“I like how the editing goes in time with the beat of the song, it’s like proper in your face and fast paced. It goes with the domestic violence because that’s supposed to be like really aggressive just like the editing. It’s brilliant” “I liked the different shots used, like there was a lot of close up of the lead singer like elaborating on the lyrics and stuff. I would’ve liked to see more effects like shaking the camera around. But overall it is still a really good video, put well together”
We then asked them to look at our print projects and this is what they said
“I like how the colour of the band title matches the colour of the song list at the back, it links the digipak together, I also like the use of black and white to make the orange standout and I like how at the back the images look as if they photographs”
“The spine of the Digipak is very unique, I like the way the spider is hanging from the word Trantula. I do like the layout, but I don’t really like the colour orange”
“I really like the look of the magazine advert it looks like its advertising a rock song, because off the colours and font, and the logo looks cool”
“I didn't really get why there was a rose on the front at first, but now I think it's kind of clever, the colour theme is good”
Music videos generally reveal messages and values from the film-makers perspective. This is good to analyse how representation issues are portrayed.
Music videos generally use the “gaze theory” to attract and capture the interest of their audience. The gaze theory is related to Sigmund Freud’s concept of Voyeurism to refer to the pleasure that can be gained by looking at a sexual object.
One version of the gaze theory is the “male gaze” that is to do with using a female body in a video to create a powerful controlling gaze at the female on display. An example of this is Christina Aguilera’s 2002 hit; Dirrty. Mulvey 1975 suggested that women are often solely used for display rather than for a narrative purpose to increase the predominately male profit margins. Goodwin (1992) argues that female performers are often objectified in music videos through camerawork and editing with body shots to emphasis the sexualised treatment of the star. This suggests that women are used in music videos just for a sexual purpose, suggesting they are not equal to men. Also he also notes that in male artist’s videos there is a similar representation of women where women are used to boost the male star ego.
Another version of the gaze theory is the more complex “female gaze”. The female gaze is used to empower women and is used to describe when women look at men as sex object. Exhibitionism is a term used to the independence of female artist such as Madonna. Allot of research has been written about the representation of women and race. For example in rap music, the explicit Jamaican dance-hall moves show female-body confidence has influenced mainstream performance styles.
All these areas, come together to describe the notion of a “queer gaze” where representation is used to grab the attention of male and female artists to appeal to a homosexual audience.
Moving on to how an artist’s star image is representation; it is all about how an artist is perceived by the audience. Richard Dyer (1979) quoted “A star is an image constructed from a range of materials”. Within pop music, these materials include the songs – as in what they sing about and their musical structures like genres. The image they present in their singles and albums. Another material used to promote their star image is their media coverage; this involves what they say in their interviews about their career and personal life and most significantly their music videos, which helps draw up the image presented in the other material. Artists use each music video to reinforce their existing image. There are certain characteristics used to differentiate the artist from other celebrities in the scene. This is related to iconography which refers to visual features that regularly accompany a performer like Michael Jacksons glove on his left hand.
An artists’ star power refers to how much power they have over their career and it can take different forms. The first is economic power, which gives artists a status that allows them have artistic power, to have creative control over their own image and how they are represented in the media. Furthermore certain artists use their ideological power to influence the public. This can be in the form of their unique fashion trends such as Madonna or attitude towards the audience such as Bono from U2.
Before planning a script for this music video, we analysed other music videos to give us a more skilled approach to our own project. We looked at different music genres, like Hip Hop, R ’n’ B and Punk and found that they all had their own distinctive characteristics. For example in 50cents video –I get money, includes the common Hip Hop convention of lots of good looking women dancing around, a form of voyeurism; and in Hinder’s lips of an angel, characteristic of “grudge” music included the band presented themselves as no different from minor local bands ( i.e. not with a large audience in a big stage).
Other similarities I found was that in all the videos we looked the, the artist took a main role in the narrative as well as the performance depending on the structure style. This suggests to me, that in our music video the lead singer in the band should take a role in the narrative we decide to produce.
In addition music videos are a way to publicise an artist and their star image is important to represent in music videos. For example In Rihannas Take a bow video, she’s making a statement that she’s not a little girl anymore, which also works well with the title of the album “good girls, gone bad”. This tells me that when we construct our video, we should take into consideration, what kind of image we are trying to give off, in terms of dress, attitude and behaviour of the artists on screen.
Furthermore, music videos tend to have a fast pace and have lots of jump cuts. Also in terms of camerawork, there is a range of shots, including lots of close ups and tracking shots. I think camera movement is important in music videos to make it more interesting and this gives me an idea about what kind of things we need to add in our music video.
From analysing the questionnaires we distributed we have come to many conclusions which would benefit our end product. We distributed the questionnaires to our target audience of older aged teenagers. Our findings were from 50% females and 50% males; by doing this we can use our findings to generalise it to the rest of our target audience; this is because we have an accurate male to female ratio. The band focuses on reggae/hardcore rock music. Most popular genre in music for students would be either rock or urban. The band has a mix of the two which gives the band a likeable factor. The questionnaire shows us that there are more than half of the people like reggae, however less than half like hardcore rock. The questions were asked separately, but when we asked if people be open to a mix in the both, most were interested. Most rock videos consists of performance based concept, we asked if people would prefer performance, narrative or concept. Most people preferred concept and story; this may be because most urban music videos have less performance and more narrative. We have decided to mix the both to attract both genres. Because we are focusing on a band we wanted to find out whether to focus on the lead singer only or the whole group, this would help our filming on the performance shots, as people prefer to focus on the whole band rather than the lead singer. We asked if people would prefer a happy ending or a twist in the ending, this would help our storyline on how to end it. Most people prefer a twist as an ending; this would leave people thinking, creating more of an interest in the music video. Because the song is based on domestic violence issues, this would interest people who have had experience within this field, that can relate to and understand the lyrics. From the graph, we can see that 50% of the audience would like it, although it wouldn’t be a complete necessity for the video. Before planning a script for this music video project, we needed to analyse other music videos to include similar aspects to the theme. We analysed music videos from a few different genres such as hip hop, punk and R’n’B. The graph shows a clear indication that hip hop and R ‘n’ B were the most popular music videos amongst the audience. When further asked why, one of the main reasons were the popular uses of voyeurism, and how they tend to attract the male gaze
Research-14/10/09 Initially we need to find out what the general forms and conventions are for music videos and then research into the theme (Domestic Violence). Also for additional knowledge we need to analyse two music videos each to get a broader understanding of the styles of music videos. Then we need to find out what our target audience are looking for in music videos, and we will do with with questionnaires and focus groups.
Proposal-21/10/09 After we have got all our research covered and we know what interests our audience then we will all come up with video ideas that we will then agree upon to match our chosen song.
Script development-4/11/09 During the script development stage we need to come up with a scene by scene storyboard. We need to analysis the song to find the write timings for each scene. Think about camera angles and camera movement
Pre-production-2/11/09 Organise actors and decide on location. We need to decide on what props, if any, we need and get hold of them before the shooting of the music video. Furthermore we need to decide on customs. Go over all the arrangements with artists, so that understand what is going on.
PRODUCTION 9/11/09
Shoot 9/11/09 Actual filming of our production, including, environment, band, make-up/ costume, actors and props.
POST PRODUCTION
Editing 11/11/09 The editing of our production including special effects, inserting soundtrack, different cuts.
Audience Feedback This invloves summarising this feedback then improving our production either through more shooting or more time on editing or both.
PRINT PRODUCTION
Design a DigiPack 13/11/09 This invloves using the video to design the front cover, back and inside of a Digipack.
Magazine Advertisement 13/11/09 Create a magazine advert to advertise the digipack, music video and band.
Blog Uploading our project onto the blog, this will be throughout the project and not just at the end. Blog layout Making a home layout that will be the same for all members of the group to make it look presentable, this may include uploading our production video and other music videos that have gave us inspiration.
Skills development log- planning A record of the skills that have been picked up whilst creating our production. This maybe editing skills or filming techniques.
Eminem, real name Marshall Bruce Mathers III, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor who was first overlooked and taunted by many due to him being white, where black and Latin rappers were the norm, but has since been hailed by many as one of the greatest lyricists of all time. His rise to fame started with his major-label debut album “The Slim Shady LP” in 1999. The following album, “The Marshall Mathers LP”, became the fastest selling hip-hop album in history, selling over 1.79 million copies in the first week just in the US and earning the title of Fastest Selling Solo Album Ever in the Guinness Book of World Records. It has been certified 9x platinum by the RIAA in the US and has sold over 19 million units to as of August 2009. In all he has released nine albums and appeared in nine films, including 8 Mile for which he was nominated for sixteen awards, of which he claimed ten.
The third single from “The Marshall Mathers LP”, “Stan”, is by Eminem featuring British pop singer Dido. It peaked at number one in the UK and Australia and is ranked #290 in The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, as well as #45 About.com’s Top 100 RapSongs.
The lyrics tell a fictional story of a fan obsessed with Eminem who writes to him but receives no reply. The first three verses are from Eminem as Stan trying to contact him (the first two being letters and the third a voice recorder), while the fourth is Eminem attempting to write to Stan, only to realize that he’d already heard of his suicide on the news.
Eminem himself alongside “DJ Mark, The 45 King” produced the song using a slightly modified break from Dido’s “Thank You” as its basis. The opening lines of “Thank You” are also sampled as a chorus. It has a slow tempo and the programmed sounds have a very dark and depressing feel to them.
The original music video is 8:15 minutes long, but due to many censors in the verses and a shortened intro skit, the short MTV version is 6:00 minutes. It was nominated at the 2001 MTV VMAs for Video of the Year, Best Direction, Best Male, Best Rap Video and Best Cinematography. It was also ranked as #1 and #3 of MuchMusic’s 100 Best Videos and 50 Most Controversial Videos respectively.
It is a closed, single narrative structure with some parallel editing showing Eminem (appearing as himself) on his tour bus reading fan mail and Stan (played by Devon Sawa) in his house with his girlfriend (played by Dido). Although the video is non-linear with its many flashback scenes, it closely follows the lyrics of the song.
The intro skit of the video starts with an establishing shot of an open window, tracking towards it as a thunderstorm rages outside. We then see a mid-shot of Stan in the bathroom as he bleaches his hair in the sink (this shows his idolism of Eminem, since he bleaches his hair blonde). We then see an over-the-shoulder shot from behind him, showing his expression in the mirrors reflection as his hair turns blonde and he smiles. There is then a shot of Dido, seen to be pregnant, walking across the hall and knocking on the door to check on him. He fiercely opens it and shouts at her, showing his violent nature is not uncommon. A two-shot from the mirror has he her asking what he’s doing and expressing her concern about him “taking this too far”, which shows how much she cares about him and his well-being. He stares at the mirror and asks her if she likes it absent-mindedly, as if he is actually talking to someone in his own head, possibly Eminem himself. His mood switches when she keeps calling him “Stanley” and he shouts and raises his hand which visibly scares her. He then grabs her, pushes her towards the toilet and leaves the room and she sits. This sequence shows that this is their lifestyle and that his abuse has become the norm.
The music then begins with Dido singing the chorus, seemingly to calm herself down after the encounter with Stan. The camera then tracks downwards from a side view mid-shot of her on the toilet, through the floorboards to a long-shot of Stan in the basement. Then camera then sweeps across the room where we see a montage of Eminem photographs, posters, magazine cut-outs etc covering the walls and some parts of the ceiling. Stan sits at a cluttered desk where he has a number of envelopes with the same address on them (presumably Eminem’s) ready to send and a small television with an Eminem documentary. He then starts to write a letter as the first verse begins. The lyrics for the verse are the words from his letter and he says them out loud along with the track as he writes. The first line also has the sound effect of a pencil scratching paper.
The first verse has Stan writing to Eminem saying that he’s received no reply and his first two letters must not have gone through. He shows his devotion, mentioning his room full of posters and pictures as well as referencing some of Eminem’s old underground material, going as far as to say he’ll name his child Bonnie after his song “Bonnie and Clyde ‘97” if it is a girl. He mentions how similar they are, because of them both being fathers and empathizes about his uncle’s suicide, saying he had a friend who did the same thing. He ends by claiming he is his biggest fan and hopes for a reply.
The shots of the first verse are parallel edited and are mainly of Stan in the basement as he writes, alongside Dido upstairs as she sits alone, seemingly worried and feeling neglected. Some close-up shots of Stan’s face show him to have a dark and demented side to his obsession with Eminem. There is also one mid-shot of Eminem in his tour bus as he reads a letter. There is also the use of special effects when Stan is looking in the mirror in the basement and sees Eminem performing in it.
The first chorus begins with Stan finishing his letter and going back up the stairs to the main house. We then see a two-shot from the kitchen showing Dido looking through the fridge and Stan watching television. They start arguing and then he starts losing his temper to the point where he falls on the floor, before he storms out as Dido looks helplessly on. This all shows more of their abusive relationship and Stan’s instability. Alongside the shots of this scene, we see shots of a post office were a single letter falls of a trolley unnoticed. We see a close up and then an extreme close-up of the letter which reveals that it is Stan’s letter to Eminem.
The second verse is another letter from Stan, where he is obviously frustrated. He starts off optimistic, but wavers a bit by the second line “I ain’t mad/I just think it’s fucked up that you don’t answer fans/”. He also expresses his annoyance at Eminem for apparently ignoring him at a concert and refusing to sign an autograph for his little brother Matthew, who he described as loving Eminem even more than himself. The deterioration of his sanity then shows through when he says “Sometimes I even cut myself to see how much it bleeds/it’s like adrenaline, the pain is such a sudden rush for me/”. He also talks about how his girlfriend is jealous of his love for Eminem, but she doesn’t understand. He ends the letter with “Sincerely yours, Stan/P.S. we should be together too" which shows his growing obsession.
The style of the shots during the second verse are very similar to first, except they are slightly faster and more haphazard, showing that Stan is gradually losing his mind. The letter is written at the same desk and we still see Dido sitting alone upstairs. We see other scenes of Eminem’s show with him performing and Stan and Matthew in the front row, as well as him leaving the building and the brothers waiting outside in the snow to meet him, but bodyguards drag him away. We also see tracking shots of Stan’s desk with Eminem’s album artwork as he writes of his self-harming, suggesting that he believes he is following Eminem’s example. At the end of the verse we see Stan take a photo of him and Dido and replace the image of her with a torn picture of Eminem, showing his devotion and that he would rather be with Eminem than his girlfriend.
The second chorus shows Dido wake up during the night to see Stan with asleep with an Eminem magazine. She sneaks downstairs to the basement, as we see Stan wake up and notice she is not beside him. The camera tracks downwards through the floorboards from the bedroom to the basement and we see Dido enter and shockingly discover the doctored picture that used to be of her and Stan. Stan then appears behind her and grabs her. We then see a black car racing through torrential rain, the sound of the engine serving as a sound bridge for this shot and the opening shot of the third verse.
The third verse begins with Stan driving the car and shouting into a tape recorder. He has now clearly gone over the edge and freely expresses his anger and resentment towards Eminem for not reply to him for “six months”. He mentions his sorrow and the goes on to further vent his anger, saying "I hope you can't sleep and you dream about it/And when you dream I hope you can't sleep and you scream about it/I hope your conscience eats at you and you can't breathe without me/”. He then interrupts himself by shouting “shut-up bitch I’m tryna talk” to the back of the car. He then continues with “that's my girlfriend screaming in the trunk/But I didn't slit her throat I just tied her up, see I ain’t like you/cause if she suffocates, she'll suffer more and then she'll die too”, again referencing Eminem’s “Bonnie and Clyde ‘97” where he fantasizes about slitting his wife’s throat, before putting her in the trunk and dropping her off in a lake. Stan then wraps up and reveals he is “almost at the bridge”, implying he is about to drive off. He realizes too late that he has no way of getting the tape ton Eminem, saying “oh shit, I forgot, how am I supposed to send this shit out?”
The shots of the third verse show close-ups of Stan in the car as he drives at “90 (mph) on the freeway” through the rain. There are some over-the-shoulder shots from behind him showing a picture of Eminem hanging from the rear-view mirror. We also see an oncoming car’s headlights in the distance. While he vents his anger, we see sped-up flashback of Stan wrecking the television and furniture with a baseball bat and ripping the posters of the walls in the basement. Near the end of the verse, there is a road block which he ploughs through and drives off the bridge. The car falls in slow-motion, splashes into the lake and sinks.
The fourth verse is Eminem’s reply to Stan, apologizing for not doing it sooner and he had been busy. He asked about Dido’s pregnancy, sent an autographed cap for Matthew and apologized for missing them at the show. He then expresses his concern for Stan’s attitude and tells him not to take his lyrics seriously by saying, “but what's this shit you said about you like to cut your wrists too? /I say that shit just clowning, dog, c'mon - how fucked up is you? /”. He advises him to get counseling and to treat Dido better, before telling him about a similar story that “made him sick” some weeks before about “Some dude was drunk and drove his car over a bridge/and had his girlfriend in the trunk, and she was pregnant with his kid/ and in the car they found a tape, but they didn't say who it was to/” Realization then hits him what the name of the man was and that it was the Stan he was writing to.
The video addresses many serious issues, such as domestic abuse and psychotic fan obsession. Although he sometimes writes songs of a violent nature, many expressing thoughts of his ex-wife, this video seems to show him from a more realistic point-of-view, as a man who writes songs and performs them rather than the psychotic wife-beater of his artist persona.
The shots of Eminem reading mail in his tour bus and performing onstage show him as an entertainer. His reply to Stan’s letter shows him as a regular human being, watching the news and giving advice on his relationship. It shows famous people as powerful, but unable to control how others receive their actions. Eminem may have used this song and video to show critics, some of who oppose his use of profanity and violent scenarios in his songs, as well as his fans that he is an entertainer whose lyrics and thoughts are his own and should not be taken so seriously.
Stan is used in the video to represent the people who worship their idols as Gods, which Eminem is against. Stan is shown as unstable and highly psychotic. Throughout the video there is torrential rain, along with loud, non-diegetic thunderclaps and lightning flashes which can be said to connote the inner, violent turmoil and instability of Stan’s mind, as opposed to the calm atmosphere of Eminem’s tour bus. Many of the shots in the basement track around him either at a high-angle to show his engrossment in the letter, or low-angle which shows shadows on his face and gives him a more demented look. In the first verse, his expression shows him as slightly out-of-touch, yet he seems to be writing to an old friend. In the second begins to really lose his mind and shows his anger and frustration through his words, expression and body language. By the third he has truly lost his sanity and shouts and screams in anger and rage.
Dido is shown as an innocent victim of Stan’s psychotic behavior, as she had nothing to do with the letters and she still paid the price. Her vulnerability was further portrayed by her pregnancy and scenes where she would silently sit in corners on the floor. Her body language when she argues with Stan connotes pleading, as opposed to his frustration and anger.
