Deadlines/Brief

Music videos are so 80s/90s, right? They belong with the era when MTV screened wall-to-wall vids instead of 'reality' TV? Try telling that to the millions who bought Gangnam Style; were they really simply loving the music? 1.6bn (and still climbing) have viewed the video on YT, not to mention the many re-makes (school eg, eg2), viral ads + celeb link-ups (even political protest in Seoul) - and it doesn't matter how legit it is, this nightmare for daydream Beliebers is making a lot of money, even from the parodies + dislikes. All this for a simple dance track that wouldn't have sounded out of place in 1990 ... but had a fun vid. This meme itself was soon displaced by the Harlem Shake. Music vids even cause diseases it seems!
This blog explores every aspect of this most postmodern of media formats, including other print-based promo tools used by the industry, its fast-changing nature, + how fans/audiences create/interact. Posts are primarily written with Media students/educators in mind. Please acknowledge the blog author if using any resources from this blog - Mr Dave Burrowes

Tuesday 25 June 2013

FCProX FX: Stan Bush: Dare experiment

IGS Media Technician John has started editing a video for Stan Bush's Dare, popularised through its inclusion in a 1986 animated Transformers movie OST (though I have to confess being unfamiliar with either of these!). The highest google ranking for vids goes to a UGC/fan-made vid from 2008 featuring footage from the 80s and newer Transformers flicks.
Arguably, then, the target aud for a vid for this today would have crossover appeal to an older, 35-44, age range from its original release as well as a contemporary youth audience (though the AOR nature of the track, and some dated/80s elements of this, might well limit youth appeal). As an independent artist in his own right, John's own auteur stamp is evident, with the fantasy themes and abstract style that marks much of his work (in film and other media) suggesting a more niche appeal than the very mainstream original use of the track.
The early, initial guide cut (not much further than laying down a basic guide track + starting some FX experiments) is embedded below, followed by a summary feedback from a sample of 17 year-old Media students. I'll add further details of FCProX tools used, and further cuts as they become available.

Monday 17 June 2013

Golden Oldies topping pop charts: Black Sabbath

These cool cats top today's charts!
43 years on, their new album exploded into the charts
2013 has seen Rod Stewart set a new record for gaps between number one albums: 37 years.
With the geriatric Rolling Stones seemingly the biggest live draw on the planet, its increasingly hard to argue with Simon Reynolds' proposition in Retromania that the old is dominating the new in a format (pop/rock music) that was once defined by its freshness and novelty.
Further evidence comes this week with the news that Black Sabbath have quickly broken Hot Rod's record, with an incredible 43 year gap between number one albums. Their new effort, 13, is the band's 1st no.1 since 1970's Paranoid. They're also a top draw at festivals this summer.
See this article, though its been a widely reported news story.
Septuagenarians with a firm handle on social media
As someone who went to see Heaven and Hell (Black Sabbath with Ronnie Dio on vocals) live not so long ago, I'm not entirely surprised by this. Then again, like many long-running acts, the Sabs were seen as a joke for a large chunk of the 80s/90s.
I wonder if Beliebers will be queuing up to pay hugely inflated ticket prices to see a silver-haired Justin belt out 'his' hits some decades into the future...

You can view the video for their lead single, God is Dead, here.
As the YT screenshot below demonstrates, the Sabs (or at least their record label), are fully up to speed with social media (lets not forget that singer Ozzy Osbourne was a reality TV pioneer, with The Osbournes success helping to underpin MTV's shift from video channel to reality TV dreck/awesomeness (delete as age appropriate!).



Wednesday 12 June 2013

Picturing Ideas: Timo Maas + the vision thing

Can you picture a vid for Timo Maas' Pictures?
A solid idea is central to a successful video project, to get momentum going, to make it possible to have a meaningful sense of target audience and how your media language choices will pander to them, to simply hold together the whole project.
That doesn't mean it has to be complex, or take agonised weeks to formulate.
It also doesn't mean you can't radically shift your idea once you start practice shoots and testing the idea out, not to mention the scope of post-production (editing) to transform an idea into a new shape and direction.
I was thinking about this on the way into work this morning, listening to the following track, Pictures by Timo Maas ... have a go at listening + brainstorming ideas for yourself before you read the text below the embedded vid... (the lyrics can always help this process!)

(you can also listen on soundcloud)
Here's the notion that hit me ...