Ideas behind the lyrics

Girls Aloud - Lyrics Sheet

0:15 Your eyes, tell me how you want me 0:20

I can feel it in your heart beat 0:24

 I know you like what you see 0:29

 Hold me, I'll give you all that you need 0:35

 Wrap your love around me 0:38

 You're so excited,

I can feel you getting hotter, oh baby 0:44

I'll take you down, I'll take you down 0:49

 Where no one's ever gone before

 And if you want more, if you want more

 More, more 0:58

Then, Jump! 1:00

 For my love

 Jump in! 1:02

 And feel my touch

 Jump, if you want to taste my kisses in the night then,

 Jump for my love 1:12

 I know my heart can make you happy

 Jump in! 1:16

You know these arms can feel you up

 Jump, if you want to taste my kisses in the night then,

 Jump! For my love 1:26

1:30 You told me, I'm the only woman for you 1:36

 Nobody does you like I do 1:39

 Then make a move before you try

 And go much farther, oh baby 1:44

 You are the one, you, you are the one 1:49

 And heaven waits here at my door

 And if you want more,

 If you want more, more, more 1:58

Then, Jump!

 For my love 2:01

 Jump in! 2:04

 And feel my touch

 Jump, if you want to taste my kisses in the night then,

 Jump for my love 2: 12

 I know my heart can make you happy

 Jump in! 2:16

You know these arms can feel you up 2:20

 Jump, if you want to taste my kisses in the night then,

 Jump! For my love 2:27

When you are next to me, 2:33 (Oooo)

 Oh, I come alive (yeah) 2:39

 Your love hurts inside (Oooo) 2:47

 Oh, it feels so right (Yeah) 2:52

 Come to me if you want me tonight (Jump) 3:01

I know my heart can make you happy

 Jump in! 3:07

You know these arms can feel you up

 Jump, if you want to taste my kisses in the night then,

 Jump! For my love 3:17

Instrumental 0:22     Finishes 3:39

The Co-op Film Festival

On the 6^th October 2011, IGS Media students from years 12 & 13 visited the National Media Museum in Bradford for the 45^th anniversary of the Co-ops Film Festival.

The National Media Museum

>>>>>>
We arrived at the museum at 10am to find Oliver and James Phelps signing autographs (Fred and George Weasley from the Harry Potter franchise) this was a great start to the day. Immediately I got in the queue to get a picture with them, being such a Harry Potter fan. After waiting a quarter of an hour in line, Faye and I finally got a picture with the twins and then were asked, following meeting them, if we had any questions we would ask the twins in a question and answer session we would later attend.

James (left) Oliver, me & Faye >>>>>

We both made some contributions which included questions such as if the twins still met up with member of the Harry Potter cast, or if the two had any phobias. At 11am I attended the Q&A session with James and Oliver, where they were both interviewed and asked questions that students from different schools had wanted to ask the twins. 

At 11:45am I had the chance to interview Alicia Walker the Co-op Film Festival organiser who kindly answered some of my questions about the festival.
These questions included:

1. Exactly how long has the festival been running for?

2. How did you first get involved with the festival?      
                                           
 3. In your opinion what’s the best film entry you’ve had this year, and why?                     
                                                                                                                          
4. How do you see the festival developing in the future? (possibly with technological advances)             
                                                                                        
  5. The co-op film festival is a national film festival; do you ever get film submissions from international places?
                                                       
6. Do you think the festival is known internationally?       
                             
7. What do you hope the festival will achieve in the long run?    


8.How do you publicise the festival?


At 12am we all had the chance to see our own film openings and other films that had been submitted by other school in Screening 1. The screening lasted half an hour and included the film openings from students in our year which included Waxed, Wrenched and sleep tight. All of these film openings received a reward and looked really great of the big scene.

Britney Spears Re-make

Music Video Day

In the last term of year 12 the Media Studies department organised a music video day. On this day we attempted to re-make the original song ‘Hit me baby one more time’ by Britney Spears. This day involved shooting all material needed for the day in a short time span of four hours. This proved very difficult as to replicate each scene with the highest detail was challenging and took much longer than expected.

I took on the role as project manager for my group. This involved organising people as to where they needed be and what they were doing. The day started with us all in groups watching the scene we were focusing on replicating and working out shots and dance moves we would have to copy. Later on we practised our miming for the performance of the video.
When we began to film the gym scene I found myself organising the choreography and filming for some of the shots in the same hour and a half. This was very stressful and at times frustrating but overall we got all of the shots we needed for that particular scene.


At the end of the day we imported all the clips we had filmed on to Final Cut Express and watched everyone’s scenes from the music video we filmed in that day. The clips all looked very professional and replicated the shots in the actual music video well. The next week we started editing our section of the Britney Remake and made it as similar to the actual music video as we could.


The end music video looks very much like the original video, especially the editing. The shots are all very well framed and have obviously been filmed with attention to detail.


All in all the day was a great experience and helped all of us involved in the day with our organisation skills and time management. At times the day was stressful but the finished video shows for itself that replicating the music video was a success.

Threw it on the ground - Final Vid

Untitled from HarrietHarding on Vimeo.

Girls Aloud background information

Girls Aloud – Jump

·        Girls aloud are a British Irish pop band based in London.
·        The band was formed in 2002.
·        This girl bands genre is pop, and appeals to a large range of audience which includes the tweenage, teenage and early adult audience which ranges from around 10-28 years of age.
·        They were created through the ITV1 talent show Popstars The Rivals in 2002.

·        The group consists of Cheryl Cole, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh.
·        They are signed to Fascination Records and Polydor imprint.
·        The group achieved a string of twenty consecutive top ten singles, including four number ones, and two number one albums in the UK.
·        All their albums have been certified platinum, with their albums The Sound of Girls Aloud and Out of Control both selling over a million copies.
·        The song was covered by Girls Aloud in 2003 but was originally released by The Pointer Sisters in 1983. The song Jump (for my love) raced quickly to number #3 on the pop charts.
· The band split up in 2009.


·        Both Cheryl and Nicola have both successfully launched their solo careers with Nicola selling her hit Dance to the beat of my drum, being very successful abroad. Whilst Cheryl has sold the most records out of all the girls with some of her song such as Fight For this Love and Parachute reaching number #1 in the pop charts.

Threw it on the ground - How we made the video

The winning pitch was…. Threw it on the ground by The Lonely Island. This music video that was presented by Connor O’Loughness, was very popular with the rest of the class and so was chosen by the class to be re-made.

The original music video includes Andy Samberg the main vocalist on the band being given free things such as a hotdog, and then him angrily throwing them on the ground. This video focuses on a narrative and performance aspect. The video clearly has a comedy aspect and focuses mainly on Andy Samberg facial expressions, which makes the video even more comedic.

During filming the reenactment of the video I contributed by filming the energy drink and hotdog scene. I also organized a lot of the props that were included in the video such as the glasses and hotdogs etc. Filming was a challenging experience especially outside in windy conditions. Another aspect that I found difficult to film was getting the object that was being thrown on the ground in shot, as I needed a close up of the image, there was quite a small area that the item had to hit.

We had little time to film during school and managed to get scenes filmed in just under 45 minutes. We had to do other scenes outside school such as the birthday party scene and the Hollywood phoneys scene which took up more time as it involved more props and setting up for the framing of the shot.

With the use of Final Cut Express we could edit our music video remake to the highest quality. The slow motion tool and layering technique was proven most effective when editing and gave a impressive look to the overall video just as much as the official video. Final Cut Express can be difficult to work with at times, especially with having to render clips continuously. However I believe that the quality of the product is far more advanced than iMovie which I previously used through my AS year.

All in all filming was proven difficult at times, and we had to film all scenes in a short period of time of around a week, however the finished product is proof that the footage you can film and edit can be very effective and professional looking. 

We are the ocean - Confessions

Artist: We are the ocean

Song: Confessions


Chris’ cut

Criteria:

Holding the shot steady, where appropriate:
P
I would give this music video a proficient as the beginning shot is unsteady. This looks unintentional and does not look professional. I would have given this video a basic if it wasn’t for the rest of the shots being held very steady and meeting the criteria well.




Framing a shot, including and excluding elements as appropriate:
P
This video is at the higher end of proficient as the shots are filmed well with the appropriate backgrounds and angles. I noticed that the shots were framed in a particular away to stress the importance of the emotion the characters were feeling. Such as when the male and female characters are shouting at each other the camera is tilted and frames just their faces and expressions.

Using a variety of shot distances as appropriate:

P
This video did use a wide range of shots that were displayed well and I would think they were border-line excellent. However compared with Joy Divisions video which clearly uses every single shot type known to mankind, this video is in the proficient category.

Shooting material appropriate to task set:

Selecting mise-en-scene including colour, figure, lighting, objects and setting:

P
The clothing for the characters was done well as it showed the persona of who they were, through what clothes they were wearing. The film was edited in black and white which portrays a more serious meaning with a dark edge. The setting was well based in a train station and in the female characters house which gave the video more meaning. There was minimal lighting and objects and so I would give this video a minimal proficient.




Editing so that meaning is apparent to viewer:
E
I gave this video an excellent as their editing goes well with the dark and angry concept to the video. They included their clips in black and white throughout the video as it increases the dark and gloomy feel. The editing of the clips is of a faster pace when the speed of the song increases and they are also slowed down when the intensity of a shot is being portrayed.

Using varied shot transitions, captions and other effects selectively and appropriately:

E
I gave this video an excellent as there is a wide range of transitions and captions the selected clips portrayed the videos message well as the dreary and dark feeling is apparent right from the start of the video. Other effects including the shaking of the camera to make the shot feel more angry and tthe viewer more involved in the scene.

Girls Aloud - Jump Music Video

Vodcast - Super Bass & Dancing Queen

Music video idea.....Party Rock Anthem

Party Rock Anthem

Artist: LMFAO

Released: 2011

Genre: Electro house

I think this would be a really great music video to perform, as the original music video is quite simple and concepts from that music video would be quite easy to repeat. Some of the music video could easily be performed at school such as the dancing/ shuffling parts, I imagined speeding the dancers up in the editing process to match the fast beat the song. It also could be easy to use willing students from other years to be background dancers. The start of the music video begins with the artists waking up from a coma and walking outside to notice then whenever music suddenly begins it has an infectious disease where no one can resist the urge to dance. Instead of waking up in a hospital like in LMFAO video, we could use students waking up from a sleep on the floor at school (possibly on grass or different locations around school). I imagined a close up would be used for this part to focus on the dancers being asleep.

Toxic - Britney Spears

Song: Toxic

Arrtist: Britney Spears

Year of release: 2004
Director: Joseph Kahn

Genre: dance-pop, electro pop

Characteristics: plane, outfits, wigs, diamonds, lasers, characters, secret agent.

 

Relationship between lyrics and visuals: in the song Toxic Britney Spears sings about being addicted to a lover, the visuals are paired with Britney in scantily dressed clothing miming the words to the song. Britney appears naked covered in diamonds in a couple of shots and flirts with the camera whilst miming. Britney's music is aimed at a tweenage/teenage audience and so does not hold a great example, featuring her nude except for a diamond thong (not the best role model) These revealing outfits are obviously targeted at a male audience and the male gaze theory can be applied to the video as a whole. The video on the whole seems to be targeting a male audience however Britney sells her music to a much larger percentage of females than males. This is possibly due to younger females wanting to imitate Britney because of the way she looks and the way male's respond to her. The lyrics are not specially portrayed in the music video but it is obvious that Britney is singing about a male and the video includes Britney cavorting with different males so is similar in that sense. The lyrics ‘too high can’t come down’ are matched with Britney being aboard a plane in her sexy air hostess outfit.

 

Relationship between music and visuals: Toxic features varied instrumentation such as drums, synthesis and surf guitar. It is accompanied with high-pitched strings and breathy vocals. Britney’s movements and dance moves are in time to the rhythm of the music and are synchronised to the different beats in different parts to the song. The same beat continues throughout the whole song and is synchronised well with the different scenes in the video, including when Britney moves in synch with the music to get through the lasers.

 

Close ups of artist: the main close ups include Britney’s facial expressions. This is usually her flirting with the camera trying to entice the viewer.

 

Performance and narrative based: the storyline to the music video is that of Britney acting as a secret agent in the search of a vial of green liquid. After she steals it, she enters an apartment and poisons her unfaithful boyfriend. The video is also performance based as it involves a naked Britney posing, Britney acting as an air hostess and secret agent. All of which involve the pop star in revealing and outrageous outfits. 

Youtube hits: 46 million

Girlfriend - Avril Lavigne

Song: Girlfriend

Artist: Avril Lavigne

Year of release: 2006
Director: The Malloys

Genre: pop, punk pop

Characteristics: pitch and putt, dodgem cars, photo booth, school toilets, Avril playing three different characters, teenage, live band, geeks and Goths.

Relationship between lyrics and visuals: this music video has the largest link to the lyrics to visuals than any other music videos I have deconstructed. Most of the song lyrics link visually to the music video is some way or another. E.g. ‘hey hey, you you, I don’t like your girlfriend’ is paired with an image of Avril dressed as one of her characters grabbing the attention of the protagonist male and ignoring his ‘geek’ girlfriend who appears shocked. (The ‘geek’ female character is also played by Avril in a ginger wig). Also the lyric ‘I could be your girlfriend’ is paired with Avril grabbing and playing with the male characters shirt in a playful and provocative manner. Avril mimes a lot of the words to her song to the male character. Such as her miming ‘No it’s not a secret’ and then putting her finger to her lips. This makes the lyrics and visuals tie together nicely.

Relationship Between music and visuals: the song doesn’t begin in the music video until Avril kicks the male characters leg and he and his girlfriend both turn around. This focuses the audience’s attention on the Goth character and how she is trying to seduce the male character. When the electric guitars begin the play the visuals are matched with Avril and her band members playing guitars, on what appears to be a stage with a back drop. The drums and guitars that are being played are also matched with jump cuts of the band members and Avril playing on the stage.

Close ups of artist: the music video has certain close-ups of Avril playing herself with her long blonde extensions and fishnet tights. Other close-ups include Avril playing her different characters the close-ups are mainly used to show the characters facial expressions.

Narrative and performance based: this music video tells a story that is explained through characters Avril plays. The story is about a girl who likes a boy who has a girlfriend. This girlfriend doesn’t have much in common with the male and the story explains that actually the girl who likes the boy has much more in common with him than his current ‘geeky’ and snooty girlfriend. The music video is also performance based as it includes Avril playing her guitar with a live band on a stage. Other performance elements include the locations and the actions of the characters.

Youtube hits: 160 million!

I Want You Back - Jackson 5

Song: I Want You Back

Artists: Jackson 5

Year of release:  1969
Director: Stephen Lance & Mairi Cameron

 

Genre: soul, funk, pop

Characteristics: colour, live stage, band, instruments, family, fringe clothing, waistcoats

Relationship between lyrics and visuals: as the music video just contains the Jackson 5 live on stage singing, the visuals may not as be a specific as they could have been if they had the technology to do so in that era of time.

 

Relationship between music and visuals: the music is live and includes an array of instruments such as guitars, a piano, drums etc. The visuals include the Jackson 5 playing and singing live in front of a studio audience. The main singer of this song was a very young Michael Jackson backed up vocally by his brothers.

 

Close ups: Michael Jackson is the main focus of the close ups in this music video as he is the main singer of the band for this particular song.

 

Performance based: the music video contains the band the Jackson 5 singing live from a studio audience. The song ‘I Want You Back’ explores the theme of a lover who decides that that he was too hasty in dropping his partner. An unusual aspect of this song is that its main lead vocal was performed by a preteen Michael Jackson.

Youtube hits: 4 million

Dance wiv Me - Dizzee Rascal

Song: Dance wiv Me

Artist: Dizzee Rascal

Year of release:  2008
Director: Luc Edwards

 

Genre: hip hop, nu-disco

Characteristics: bar, women, revealing clothing, pimps, DJ booth.

 

Relationship between lyrics and visuals: Dizzee sings about a woman he has found at a bar and how he wants her to come and dance with him. The camera focuses on the woman’s body in her revealing clothing, especially when Dizzee sings about how attractive she is. The music video is definitely focused on the male genre as the shots include lots of young, thin and attractive women.

 

Relationship between music and visuals: the song begins with a DJ mixing songs together the visuals back up this by a DJ standing in a bar with headphones on, mixing songs. The song continues to sound like it is remixed by a DJ live and the music video compliments this may making it seem like they are all dancing to the DJ live at the bar. The background dancers all move in time to the beat which makes the music seem even more realistic that it’s live.  

 

Close ups of artist: there are a few close ups of Dizzee and Calvin Harris, mainly just showing their facial expressions and reacting to what’s going on around them. There are also close ups of the women and their body’s which is apart of the male gaze theory that this video includes.

 

Performance based: this video is mainly performed based as it involves Dizzee dancing with different women at a local bar, surrounded by pimps and women. Calvin Harris acts are the barman and watches the situation rather than getting involved in the dancing etc.

Youtube hits: 11 million

All the Small Things - Blink-182

Song: All the Small Things

Artist: Blink – 182

Year of release: 2000

Genre: pop, punk

Characteristics: live audience, dance studio, arena, airport, beach, fans.

Relationship between lyrics and visuals: the song is written by Tom DeLonge who initially wrote the song about his girlfriend (later wife). The lyric ‘roses by the stairs’ was inspired by a real night where DeLonge came home from recording to find roses laying at the top of the stairs. The lyric ‘you’ll be at my show’ is reflected in the music video as the fans in the audience are all mainly female. 

 

Relationship between music and visuals: the song begins with the introduction of a band playing the guitar and drums at a fast pace. The video also includes fast pace shots of the band playing their instruments in a studio and underground arena. The same beat continues throughout the song, towards the middle of the song the beat slows down, with this the pace of the music video also slows down along with the music.

 

Close ups: there are a few close up of the artists which include their face’s singing and also to show their missing teeth/ fake teeth, which ads to the humour element of the video. Other close ups include the screaming fans in the audience, and of the bands body’s.

 

Performance based: the video is performance based as it involves the members of Blink182 singing and dancing around different sets and locations. The humour aspect is added to the music video as the boys from the band wear false teeth and/or black marks on their teeth to make it appear that teeth are missing. The male members also appear naked on a beach, wear nothing but their underwear on stage and eat flowers in parts of the video. This idea makes the artists appear a bit crazy and odd which can be a good thing for a brand image. The video does not appear to have storyline, but mainly a group of ideas.

 Youtube hits: 25 million