I was quite an introspective reflecting and reviewing back on what we've learnt over the past few years and made me realize how far I've come and also how much I've forgotten :). It was quite challenging to make as I had to practically relearn everything so I had when to the old presentations our teacher gave to us and looked at my past class works which was really annoying and time consuming. Although at the end of the day this gave me more knowledge about technical elements and theories which can help me find the right shots, mise en scene, editing sound etc. to use when shooting or in post production and find out which media theories can be applied to my music video. In the future I want to experiment with the formatting maybe using a mind map to help see how everything relates to one another.
Overall this classwork was really fun and instresting as we got analyse the diffrences between reel and real personas of real bands/artists which helped create a plan on how we will shape our band's persona. I think the only problem I faced was trying to research the members persona especially their real personas as we can never really know so the closest thing we can get to it was intimate interviews and infering from known facts/biography of the individual but thankfully I was already knowledgeable in the band members as I have been a fan for a long time. I think in the future I may want to find a band that has a greater contrasts between their reel and real personas as for RATM their reel and real personas were basically the same.
Although Sagara was the one who made the Location Scout and Risk Assesment I was pivitol in suggesting possible locations as I was the one who came up with the idea for the narrative so I had already thought of possible locations. One thing I liked about the location was the proximity as most of them are close by especially as most of them are close to school which would make travelling easily. One problem is that we may need to get permission to shoot in these places such as in our school's MPH which is ussally only used for big events, so we may have to give the school a proposal and a plan of how we're gonna shoot at the MPH. So I think next time we should find locations which are more readily present and easier to shoot in where permission is not nessesary as changing locations may mean we have to rework certain scenes.
WHY: - Our team decided to go for a bleak, oppressive and dark mood. This is because such coloring scheme and mood will represent the suppression imposed by the politician upon the journalist, and in the larger scheme, the people. This theme was inspired by the music videos we researched especially Just by Radiohead as it had an old timey film type of look. Also this color grading and style was also suggested to me by my IT teacher when I pitched him the idea/concept of my music video as he thought it would be the most suited.
Reflection:
Although Maisie was in charge of making the mood board I helped her by giving suggestions of pictures to choose and also giving her my general idea for the theme and mood of the music video which was dark and bleak. One problem we encountered was actually finding images for the moodboard where even when we had a good idea on the theme and style we still found it hard to find images that would fit. To solve this I think we should've utilised apps such as pintrests more and as well refrence our genre research for example music videos that had a similar style or feel such as just by radiohead. I think next time it would be better to organise the mood board for example maybe one moodboard for each scene or per aspects of the music video such as character or location.
The lyrics sheet was pivitol on finding the right timing of the scenes as we wanted certain scenes to happen when a certain lyric was said or a certain part of the song such as a guitar solo or opening intrumentals. It also helped to build and develop the narrative as we are able to sequence and find the flow and make a story that progresses and follows it. It was also useful to brain storm ideas though most of the ideas came from me and were inspired by Rage Against the Machine like polictical messaging and music videos. So in all the lyric sheet acted as the bassis of the music video that will be visualized and expanded in the actual storyboard itself.
Storyboard:
Like how the lyric sheet acted as the basis of the music videos ideas, the storyboard is the visualisation of those ideas which help us see how to frame certain shoots and which camera angles will work best which helps us make the best possible shot. The storyboard will also help us later in the production and post production process as it has time frames and shots which will help us not lose focus when shooting, in addition it also shows which editting transitions will be used which can help the edittors as they do not need to think of one on the spot.
Reflection:
Comming up with ideas for this song/music video was actually quite easily as before term 2 I had already listened the song and had an epiphany of how a narrative music video for this song could go which I then sent to my now group member Sagara. As well being a huge fan of the songs original band, Radiohead, helped me easily be able to identify the song's messages and read between the lines which helped contribute to the idea making. However one concern I have when shooting this music video is the logistics as many scenes require a large amount of people to act as a crowd which may be hard to find, we also need to move alot of music intruments and equipment to a parking lot where we plan on shooting the band scenes which may be hard especially for the drums and amplifiers. One problem I ran into was trying to explain my idea to the group as it was pretty solid but had alot of holes in it though with discussion and communication we were able to fill them up. In the future maybe I would try to make the scenes easier to shoot with better logistics and management.
This shows the process and the decisions behind picking our actors from the screen test.
Band Members/Artists:
For the artists/band members we wanted the actors to be comfortable with and be able to play their respective music video to ensure that the performance looked accurate and realistic and as well make the acting look more natural. This did narrow down the number of people we could use but would result in a much better final product. For the screen test we requested them to send a video of them performing.
Drummer:
Abi:
Abi is one of our juniors he is an excellent drummer in many students band such as After Six which have played in public local events in malls. As well he has shown off his skills in local competitions and school events. He is very enthusiastic and always available to do activities which is great. One of my teammates Maisie has as well recently started a band with him which brought him onto our radar.
Here is a video of him playing drums at a local event in Living World Mall Bali:
Marvell:
Marvell is a good friend of mine who is an excellent and multi instrumentalist. He has been playing drums ever since he was kid but now has ventured to other instruments such as bass or keys. He as well had extensive knowledge on sound recording and sound rigs which may come in handy when we shoot at the studio. Being a multi instrumentalist as well makes him more versatile.
He often posts drum covers on his you tube channel MarvLix:
Final Choice:
In the end we choose Abi as he was more available which meant that he could join more shoots and as well he would have nicer chemistry with the rest of the "band" due to him being in a band with one of our group members.
Guitarist:
Maha:
Maha is new guitar player but he shows effort and is a fast learner already being able to pick up songs he's only been playing for half a year but is a already a capable guitarists. He primarily plays acoustic guitar however it wouldn't be hard to transition him to an electric guitar that is used for our song as he has the basics covered. He is also comfortable singing which could make him a possible contender for a singer. However he is also a media student and our shooting schedules might clash.
Maisie:
Maisie is one of our group members which means she is readily available for shoots this makes it easier to schedule and find time. As well she is a talented guitarists playing for many bands in and out of school. She primarily plays rock music which fits right into our song.
Here is a video of her playing guitar:
Final Choice:
We went with Maisie as we were worried our schedules might conflict with Maha's and she is a member of the group she is more readily available and convenient. As well she is more comfortable with electric guitar and she is familiar with these type of songs which makes the acting more natural. However we might
Bassists:
Sagara:
Sagara is one of our group members which as mentioned before makes it easier to schedule time to shoot as he will be more available. However he has little experience with Basses as he is more of a guitar player although he has always been eager to try out the bass which could mean that this could be a great opportunity for him to try it out. As well the conversion from guitar to bass is easy as they are similar instruments.
Heres of a video of Sagara playing guitar:
Candra:
Candra is both a guitar and bass player he took several lessons as a kid and now is able to recall his bass playing ability. He is a capable guitarist and bassists this means that he is versatile in the shoot or as an actor due to his ability to play both bass and guitar. However Candra is also a media student so our schedules might overlap.
Heres of a video of Candra playing electric guitar:
Final choice:
We ended up going with Sagara as we is apart of the group and thus has the same benefits as Maisie however like Maha we have another role for Candra in the narrative.
Vocalist:
Gosha:
Gosha is a student and good friend from another school and the lead vocalist of the band AFTERSHOCK which plays in their school events such as Rock On and competes with other schools in Battle of the Bands where they achieved runners up and their bassists was deemed the best bassists. Gosha is a comfortable and confident singer who primarily sings rock songs which means the acting/lip-syncing will be far more natural.
Heres Gosha singing with his band at a school function:
Narrative:
Politician:
Journalist:
Candra:
I have worked with Candra before on a previous media project called Mark Choi: The Revenge and he is a wonderful actor with great range of emotions and body language/actions which would be great in a music video where there is no dialogue nor sub titles especially with a complex character like the journalist.
Here is Candra in a screen test where he is instructed to introduce himself:
Here is Candra in Mark Choi:
Guard:
Maha:
I have also worked with Maha in Mark Choi: The Revenge, where he plays a tough and stoic Mafia Boss which I think would work well in role such as a bailiff or secret service type of guard.
Here is Maha in a screen test where he is instructed to introduce himself:
Heres Maha playing the Mafia Boss in Mark Choi:
Reflection:
I'm quite excited to shoot with these people as I had previously worked with them and had a lot of fun shooting with them and i hope that continues with this project. For the band scenes I am as well excited to shoot with them as I know they are capable musicians and I have seen them play first hand and I can't wait to see it again. I hope we are able to schedule a time with everyone and be able to shoot successfully.
This blog outlines the regulations we followed as well outlines the process of asking permission to use the song for our music video project.
Media Regulation:
Before starting the project our teacher reminded us about the rules that cambridge recommends us to follow such as avoiding sensitive topics such as Suicide and drug use and avoid dangerous acts such as harsh violence or shooting in or with motorised vechicles. Simultaniously we have to follow the regulations of the schools which meant our product could not contain explicit imagery nor explicit language These regulations aim to protect and keep us safe however some may argue that they limit and censor our creativity. However these rules did not impact our production or our image as we kept these rules in mind since the beggining and made sure our video did not involve content that would violate the regulations.
If we were talking in the sense of govermental regulation Indonesia uses Lembaga Sensor Film which is the regulatory body which sorts films and other content onto 4 age ratings shown below taken to from their website.
According to the age ratings of Lembaga Sensor Film, our music video would fall under 13 years above as it features implied violence with the execution scenes however we did not explicitly show the deaths of the prisoners but only implied they were hit by a weapon. However our music video does feature mature themes of political corruption which would make it a higher age rating however those themes are not as explicit due to the lack of dialougue and have to be interpreted by the audience and as mentioned by Stuart Hall audiences can have multiple readings of a text. This would aswell fit our target audience of Teens and young adults.
Permission:
Background:
Pierce The Veil:
To respect the artists copyright we wanted to write an email to the music label behind the song. After the quick google search we found that the Karma Police cover by Pierce the Veil was released under Fearless Records which is distrituted by Concord which is an independant music company which owns Fearless Records which is one of the world's leading independent rock labels.
Radiohead:
However the song Karma Police which Pierce the Veil covered is made by Radiohead and released by Parlophone which was a subsidiary of EMI which was bought by the Universal Music Group in 2012 but Parlophone is now owned by Warner Music group, as in 2012 Universal Music Group wanted to buy EMI but the European commision would only allow it if Universal Music Group were to divest Parlophone which allowed Warner Music Group to aquire it. However as of 2016 the ownership of Radiohead's discorgraphy with Parlophone was transfered to XL records which is a birtish independant label due to Warner Music Group making a deal with Impala ( Independent Music Companies Association) a non profit trade assosciation to divest 30% of Parlophones catalougue to independant labels with artists approval.
So to play it safe we decided to email both XL records and Concord/Fearless records.
XL Records:
Contacting XL records was quite easy they had a contact us page on their website where users could submit messages so I wrote a simple message stateting how I'm a year 12 media studies student in Bali making a music video for my final project which uses one of their songs.
Concord:
Finding the contacts for Concord was quite easy as they had a page on their website for License Request forms however the process was a bit long and tedious as it was letigious and very formal which is the right way of doing things.
The first page lists our the diffrent types of License Request forms as shown below. This required me to do some research on the types of License Request Forms which I found on
This helped me conclude that the one I needed was a Synch or Synchronization License Request Form as a music video has audio and visual elements and a synchronization license is required when music is used in combination with visual media. This includes movies, TV shows, commercials, YouTube videos, and more.
After clicking on the Synchronization License Request Form it brought me to the next page where I had to fill in general information regarding my production ( The Music Video).
This included a synopsis where I gave a little description of the narrative of the music video. As well as the location and where it would be published/uploaded.
Next up is the song request this had me explaining the song used which was Karma Police - Pierce The Veil and how and how long it was used including a description of how it was used.
Lastly They allowed me to upload a few files that would help them better understand the music video and such I uploaded the storyboard and Statement of Intent which would give them a good idea of what the music video is about.
Lastly Submitted YAY!
Reflection:
For the media regulation section it was quite easy as I was just rehashing what was told to me by my teacher about the rules by cambride and the rules by our school regarding the content we could/couldn't include. As well finding the indonesian regulations by Lembaga Sensor film was quite easy as it was on their website with an optional english translation their regulations are also very descriptive which allowed me to get a specfic understanding of the ratings.
For the permissions things got a bit confusing as it was hard to find the exact owners of the songs but for Pierce the Veil it was fairly easy as they had an independant record label which was owned by an independant music group. However for Radiohead as the song Karma Police is old and due to media consolidation where media companies buy out and aquire one another the song rights changed hands alot which caused me to go on a rabbit hole to find the history behind the record companies.
For the asking permission part this was really intresting as it gave me first hand experience on how to license the use of a song from a record label however the process was somewaht complicated and letigious especially for a student however the experience I will find useful for the future.
