Yellowcard - Way Away

One of the main features of this video is that its visual effects and after-editing make it look quite striking. They most likely used de-saturation, changed the colour balances and put the contrast up. This is the look that I want for my music video except perhaps with the saturation slightly lower. To do this I will need to experiment with the video adjustment tool to try and achieve the effect that I want.
The shots are taken from a wide variety of angles, but mostly worms eye to give the band the image of more power and influence. There is also a large amount close ups on the band's faces and of the instruments, perhaps to show the emotion on their faces and the skills of the bands members with the views of their instruments.

There is no clear narrative in the story, but it seems to show everyday life of a teenager, and perhaps him escaping because he is fed up of mundane life.

The band's look tries to convey that they are young and perhaps punk rocky.

In my opinion the music video in the narrative is very mediocre, but the performance side I enjoyed because the band put a lot of spirit into it and the effects look good.

Yellowcard - "Way Away" (Dir. Patrick Hoelck) from Patrick Hoelck on Vimeo.

By Samuel Austin

Email for music permission

Dear sir/madam,
I am writing to inquire if I can use Mayday Parade's song Ocean and Atlantic for my A2 Media project music video. It will in no way make any profit or be sold to any individual and is being created solely for examination reasons.
Yours faithfully Samuel Austin

Mayday Parade - Ocean and Atlantic lyrics

Jessie says she's been here for a thousand days
A thousand days to her that just don't mean a thing
Cause the city makes a perfect place to sleep
And daddy's coming home
He said he brought her things
Like jewels from every coast and songs for them to sing
But singing never got her very far
And this whole coast is full of pin-up paper rockstars

She said she'll run
Until her feet don't touch the ground
And as the waves carry me out
Keep listening
She'll never make a sound

So keep it coming and the details quiet
She's like the ghost that keeps you up all night
And she'll be a secret you can keep
Keep me

Cuts on paper hearts
They can be awful deep
Lips from wear and tear on different city streets
Don't all need a home, but just a place to sleep

So I will run
Until my feet don't touch the ground
And as the waves carry me out
Keep listening
She'll never make a sound

So keep it coming and the details quiet
She's like the ghost that keeps you up all night
And she'll be a secret you can keep
Keep me
Keep me

And still she finds that every time she runs
She leaves behind another piece of her
On every city street

So I will run
Until my feet don't touch the ground
And as the waves carry me out
Keep listening

So I will run
Until my feet don't touch the ground
And as the waves carry me out
Keep listening
She'll never make a sound
So keep it coming and the details quiet
She's like the ghost that keeps you up all night
And she'll be a secret you can keep
Keep me
Keep me

So keep it coming and the details quiet
She's like the ghost that keeps you up all night
And she'll be a secret you can keep
Keep me
Keep me

Samuel Austin

The silence - Mayday Parade

This music video features the same band as the band that I took the music from for my music video (Mayday Parade) and incorporates many of the same feature that I will in mine. It has a narrative of a lonely/pensive woman and takes many slow moving shots of her.
Most of the shots of band members are taken from a worm's eye point of view, perhaps to make the band members seem taller and perhaps more intimidating. The shots of the whole band outside of the hot air balloon have the singer further forwards than the rest of the band and the camera focuses on him, perhaps as a substitute for a lone shot of the singer. The shots in the hot air balloon also incorporate the same all-band layout where the singer is further forwards and the band is slightly out of focus, but to a lesser degree. They perhaps have the singer positioned this way because he has few solo shots and being the singer he is the frontman and so requires more attention.
Some of the effects used in the video include the out of focus effect on the band in the shotsof the singer, to perhaps portray the band as more of a background to the singer. There are also some shots of the woman in the narrative parts of the video thatstart out blurred and focus in, perhaps so the viewer also subconciously focuses in more on the main character and understands the emotions she is trying to convey
The band's look tries to convey that they are fashionable and well-kept, since their clothes all look expensive and smart and their hair, for example is styled.
In my opinion this is a good music video in the performance sections, but the narrative is somewhat simple and doesn't particularily represent the lyrics of the song effectively.

Mayday Parade - The Silence from Brittany Loved on Vimeo.

By Samuel Austin

The Final Episode (Lets Change the Channel) – Asking Alexandria

One of the main features of this music video is the large repertoire of quick cuts that are used in time with the fast paced breakdown which is a part of the main riff. The fast paced cuts fit in well with the aggressive tone of the song and with the pace of the double bass drum most notably. There are a mixture of low and high angles (going up as high as birds eye view) to give as many different perspectives as possible during the music video. The camera focuses mostly on the singer of the band but also shifts between band members and occasionally does a whole band shot, perhaps to re-orientate the viewer after an array of quick cuts. The camera also occasionally takes shots of items around the room such as glasses of water and light bulbs flickering, perhaps to set the scene.
Some effects that are used in this video are slow motion, particularly of the crash cymbal using high FPS, and the use of reverse motion to make the video more dramatic. To create the sense of chaos and aggression the camera is also shaky and shifts in and out of focus at times. The whole video has been edited to look darker and has been de-saturated to perhaps convey the dark atmosphere the band creates.
This video has no narrative at all and is a performance video by the band.
The band’s look is also representative post-hardcore/metalcore genre, with the long dark hair and the dark clothes and black instruments.
In my opinion this is an effective video since it conveys the aggressiveness and how ‘brutal’ it is with the effects uses such as the de-saturation and the quick camera shots and makes it a very dramatic sequence using techniques such as slow motion.

Asking Alexandria "The Final Episode" Music Video from greg ephraim on Vimeo.

By Samuel Austin

Equipment/software Used

The equipment I will use in my production will be:

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• A tripod

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• A long life battery and charger
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• A video camera
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• Macs

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• Lamps for lighting

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• Music equipment

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• The software I will use to order the clips and put effects on it is iMovie 9.

By Samuel Austin

Production Information

The production I am proposing is a music video of the song Ocean and Atlantic by Mayday Parade. My music video will include both narrative and performance, the narrative will take place during the verses and at times during the chorus and break, and the performance will take place during the chorus and break predominantly. my music video is influenced by other music videos such as The Silence also by Mayday Parade since it follows a similar narrative to my own music video of a lonely woman, and The Last Episode by Asking Alexandria since it uses many different shots on performance since all of the video is performance based. The reason I have chosen this specific song for my music video is partly due to personal taste, and also due to the fact the narrative is clear and easy to follow.

By Samuel Austin