Marketing and Promotion

 4Kicks are a rock indie pop band. 

 They are signed to "Sony Music Entertainment."
  This is the second largest music company in the world. It is now owned and controlled by "Song Cooperation of America"

  It was a company founded in 1929 made from the merging of many record companies. It was created in the USA as a subsidary of Japan's Sony cooperation. The sony headquarters lies in New York, with a chairman who is called Doug Morris.

 The sony website offers users deals, in order to grab their attention to buy into their music. They have multiple strategies such as a "free listening trial" giving them a taster of different bands/artists that they might like.

 The website allows the user to filter through music by selecting genre's etc which they are most interested in, and shows them the most popular bands listened too at the moment. This will allow 4Kicks' target market the ability to find them, rather than 4Kicks having to promote themselves to appear into the public.

 Influential bands of our genre such as The Script, Scouting For Girls etc, have all used Sony Music Entertainment to promote themselves, which is why we have chosen to use them to promote 4Kicks. Proof of success with the same genre has encouraged us that they would be an ideal choice for our band to be promoted by.



 Marketing
 Traditional media institutions, where marketing is performed, are struggling badly to survive in today's modern market where the internet appears to be taking over. This year, HMV has gone into administration due to the large amount of sales of films and music which occur online instead of in shops. This is creating such media shops to die out, traditional methods of marketing such as this are shown to be losing their touch, due to not being able to keep up in today's competitive market occurring viraly.The main worry when marketing our band "4kicks" is that many of our target market (students) are beginning to download all of their media illegally, due to the ease of getting anything they want off a popular website without paying the costs which then benefit the artist.

Institutions

 Pop promos are usually put on heir through UK music channels. Different channels usually pursure different bands/artists according to their genre of music.

MTV

 
 An American music and video channel. It is based in New York City and it targets young adults. This is the same market which our band aims to impress due to young adults being the main buyers of indie music. It has a national broadcast and was first aired in 1980. It originally was lead by a range of dj's who would select tracks to play to the public, MTV has nowadays brought into reality shows and other TV programmes which could be popular with young adults. 

FLAVA

 

 Flava is a music company who buys into hiphop/RnB artists. The music channel will be looked at regularly by people interested in this genre of music, to look up the newest songs and artists who are breaking into the industry. It is available on "sky" on the music channel selection. This institution wouldn't appeal to our band, due to them promoting a specific genre of music which is the opposite to the style we are trying to promote.

KERRANG

 This music channel has a very narrow market. They mainly play heavy metal and/or rock. Although it has been shown to be hugely successful with it's target market of rockers, it isn't versatile with it's audience. The channel doesn't have a structured day of records which it will play, it allows it's viewers to text in and request their own music to be shown on the channel. This allows it's audience to be part of the channel and see their requested song, allowing them to become part of the channel.

 4 MUSIC

 
 This is a music entertainment channel based in the UK. The music channel plays a wide range of genre's, hitting a large market in which the channel can appeal too. 4Music is part of the Box Television group, and is one of few channels to be broadcasted on wide screen television.  Like MTV, the channel also broadcasts television programmes. This shows the channel deals with a range of different media, in order to gain their audience. 4 Music also broadcasts particular summer festivals, and has links with the host of 'T4 on the beach'. 

 4 music would be the best one for our band to use as it'n institution. They play many genre's of music, so indie pop would be able to be shown and appreciated and the large market which it shows off too will give our band a large amount of fans when their name begins to be recognised. If a festival could also be booked for our band, a large live audience would also give them the experience they need, playing to real people without editing from recording booths. This institution would be able to successfully launch our band into the success they need.

Story Boards

 DAY ONE
 As a group, we realised that by planning our two days of filming, we will get things done much faster and to a better standard. We have discussed different shots which we can film in order to get a varied selection for our music promo.
We will start off our video before the track comes in, this will demand the audience's attention through visuals before the melody of the song attracts them. In order to take this shot successfully from the floor, looking at the artists feet, we need to focus on how the shadows of the actors look on the camera, in order to make sure that we can see everything clearly, without no important factors being blocked out by shadowing.

 After this, the band need to be arranged in a way that each member can clearly be seen on their different instruments. The singer will appear in the foreground, the guitarist a level back and the drummer appearing at the back in the middle. This way, each member is seen clearly by the camera and the most frequent member of the band (singer) is in the main line of vision. It is important to remember that the music promo promotes the band, by showing each band members face clearly, it advertises them as a band and in the professional world, would help to sell their records.

 Due to the singer, being the most recognised member of any indie band, it is important to have many close-ups and large variety of different shots of him, this will make the audience feel the emotion behind the song and get the passion of the singer across. It is important that the way the lyrics are sung reflects the mood of the song. Our song is powerful yet sad, so an emotion of sadness should be shown through the expressions of the lead singer.

 A verticle pan of the guitarist will show the importance of the solo in the middle of the song. As a group we have asked the musicians appearing in our video to sit down, listen to the song and fully learn the chords. By having musicians who fully know the song, the performance will be more convincing and give our video the professional look which we are trying to create on a minimal budget.

 When filming a pan of the whole band, a large amount of space will be covered due to the size of instruments. The pan needs to be gradual, smooth and stable. We will attempt to do a pan like this by standing on a trailer, holding the tripod firmly on a cardboard board. This will then be pulled by Henry whilst I stand holding the camera firmly in place. If this goes according to plan, it should be successful and work how we have imagined.

 DAY TWO

 One of our shots for the narrative, is a shot of me looking in the mirror. You need to be able to see the back of me, from the camera, and the front of me via the reflection in the mirror. When Kingston appears in this shot, it is vital than only his reflection is seen. This will show the ghost like character which he is trying to portray. This shot will take a long time to set up due to the complex nature of it. Positioning both Kingston and I in the exact places where the shot works to our advantage will take a long time to get right. However if done correctly we will successfully get the vibe which our video needs in order to succeed.

 By having close-up's of Kingston with his dark make-up on his eyes, we are able to see he isn't exactly "human" in this section of the video. By being so close to his eyes, the audience will recognise his character easily and relate to the pain which he feels which is expressed through the lyrics.

  A pan of me looking at a photo of the old relationship which was taking place, will allow the audience to clearly understand the narrative we are trying to show. This shot will be a mid shot, however doing a pan indoors is much more challenging than doing one in an open environment. It is hard to manouvere objects which we would be able to place the camera on, in order to film a steady pan, keeping the shot the same throughout.

 The last shot of narrative which we are planning to do, is position the camera on the worktop of my kitchen on a downwards tilt. This will capture my character as being vulnerable to the presence of the dominant male, a typical convention of media. By showing the male singing, and the female character not even registering his presence will show his frustration of the scenario, and the girls innocence within the shot.

Things to think about

 

 In order to stick to the typical indie conventions and create a successful indie music promo, we need to ensure we follow the basic rules of a music promo. We need to think about costume, lighting, mise-en-scene, location etc to get the right aesthetic look for our band and fit into the stereotypical indie genre.

 We need to ensure that everything in each camera shot works well together to benefit our music promo, nothing random should be in shot that doesn't fit in with the the mise-en-scene as this will give our a promo an unprofessional look.




 In order to improve our filming skills for our music promo, we need to preplan shots and make them interesting. A large range of shots should be used in order to keep our promo interesting and varied throughout.

 As well as considering the types of shots we put in, we also need to think about the way in which we are framing them. Basic rules such as the rule of thirds should be thought about during filming in order to keep our shot types interesting and accurate with the right parts appearing. For example, a shot where the band's head is cut off would be pointless in selling the band to the audience due to them not being able to recognise their visual appearence. This would also give the music promo an unprofessional vibe. Even though the music promo will be made from a very minimalistic budget, we need to make it look as professional as we can through the use of clever shots, steady pans, and other filming techniques.

 In order to make this shot appear interesting, the lighthouse appears right on the lines in order to create a well set picture. It shows you the location of the lighthouse, the weather and the natural mix of colours appearing in the shot. In order to create this more interesting look in our own shots, this rule can never be broken when filming.

Convincing Acting

 When filming a music promo, the acting needs to appear very convincing else the audience won't believe in the narrative which we are trying to portray. In order to succeed, we got our group to try out 5 key steps we researched on the internet on how to "give a good performance".

 

Before the scene, take a moment to get in character. Think about their background, their attitude, etc. Most directors have you think about this at the beginning of the production.

 

Try some improv before the scene with others who are in it. If it's a romantic scene, try to have an improv where you are both at a romantic dinner, etc. It should get you warmed up for the real scene.

 

During the scene, avoid looking at people. It usually makes people uncomfortable, and the actors can get out of character very easily. If you need to look at the wall, that's totally fine. Just don't look at anything that will make you break character.

 

If the scene is a sad one, maybe conceal some eye drops. If you can hide them in your costume or hand, then bring them up to your eye, it will be a convincing crying act.

Just remember to stay in character the whole act. Otherwise, your scene won't be as emotionally charged, and the audience won't buy it.

 

 Lighting

 In order to film a successful music promo, we also need to think about our lighting within our location and the natural lighting we will also need to manipulate to work to our advantage. When researching into successful lighting, shots which are lit from the back often appear interesting. However, the picture demonstrates the way in which the foreground performers appear very dark as no light is hitting their face front in front. In order to get this interesting back lighting, and the ability to see the performers, we also need lights shining on the band from in front. The location where we are filming does have electricity installed and has working lights which will allow the band to be seen on the camera during filming. We will also bring flood lights when filming in order light up the background of the shot the way in which we want to. It will create interesting shadows for the camera to capture and give the video the indie vibe which we wanted to show.

 

Assigned Roles

 Day One

Me- On day one I will take charge and lead the group into arranging the band into a traditional 3 piece stance. I will also use one camera to film the long shots and mid shots of the band, to ensure we have a range of different shot types from a range of different levels. I will help to unload and set up all of the instroments, help clear anything which is in the way of the shot, and set the lighting up appropriately to get the best outcome through the camera.

Jess- She will be in charge of taking lots of stills throughout the day, in order for us to use to show what we did and how we did things, she is also needed to hold the lyrics in a discreet place so that Kingston will know the words to sing incase he gets stuck during any point.

Kingston- Will be featuring in the promo itself, acting as the lead singer. He will need to know the lyrics as well as possible in the short time before filming day, will need to act passionate about the song, dress to the dress code we decided upon and try to ignore the camera throughout the performance.

Henry- Will be in charge of camera two. This means close-ups, and extreme close-up's will be recorded on this camera by Henry. It is important that we do not get in each others way whilst filming like this, as neither of us can be seen on either camera at any given time as it would ruin the professional outlook of the video. Henry will also be the one who pushes the wheeled equiptment in the warehouse, whilst I am stood on a board, in order to film a steady pan.

 Day Two

Me- On day two I will be acting at the female character for our video. I will have little control in filming on this day as I will be appearing in most shots. It is important I try my hardest to give a convincing performance of a girl who was once in love, but now being haunted by the previous relationship. I will need to look distressed and convincingly hurt. I will also be the one doing Kingston's make-up on this day, to make his eyes look dark and scary.

Jess- Jess will be filming on this day using the HD camera which we have been leant. Multiple lenses come with this camera, so it is important that we all look at each different lense, before trying to film a scene. It is also very easy to get this camera out of focus, due to the large amount of dials which it has. A pratice run of each shot should be done before filming, so we are certain that it looks the way it should without characters going out of focus.

Kingston- On day two, Kingston will be acting again. Being the main character in our performance will stop him from being able to do a lot of filming. He can however help to set up equiptment and look at a shot set-up without appearing in it.

Henry- A long with Jess, will also be in charge of filming on day two. Henry knows the most about the new HD camera and so will need to teach us all how we use it to the best of our ability before we go ahead and film, as we are unsure of it, having never used one before.

Props

 On the days of filming, a range of props will need to be used in order to make our music promo look as realistic and professional as possible.

 DAY ONE

 

Drums/Sticks/Stall

 In order to ensure that our music promo looks believable, we need the right equipment to be on set as it needs to fit in with the soudn track of our song.

Guitar

  Instead of having any old guitar to appear in our band, we needed to ensure that the style suited the indie pop genre we have chosen to show. For example, a heavy metal guitar such as this would be a big NO in our music video, as the aesthetics would be all wrong and our band would look wrong and like we don't know our genre at all. In order to make it look realistic and believable, a guitar such as this will need to be used:

Microphone/Stand

In order to make the singer look realistic we need to use a real microphone. The stand will need to be adjusted to the right height to fit Kingston to ensure that it looks effective and realistic.

 DAY TWO

 Picture of the couple

 If the audience haven't by this point recognised that the girl and boy used to be a couple, by seeing a photo of the pair together and the girl reminicing the memories of them both, they will soon see the narrative which we are trying to put across too them.

 Bathroom mirror

 The bathroom mirror which we are using needs to have a lot of light around it. Luckily my mirror at home, in my bathroom does. Two bright lights are placed next to it, this will allow us to create that sterile look which bathroom's sometimes have, making the dark eye make-up of Kingston stand out, allowing the audience to recognise his character as unhumane.








 Mascara

  This will be used when the girl is looking into the mirror at herself. She will be putting on make-up as this is seen as an every day task, whilst doing this, the ghost like figure of Kingston will appear in the mirror, but he can NOT be seen from the back via the camera, merely his reflection has be seen. This gives the impression that he isn't really there and that he is only a figure of her imagination.

 

 We will use a male watch when filming our narrative performance. This is a prop which the female will look at whilst reflecting on memories of her past relationship. The watch symbolises the idea of time passing by throughout the video, and by reviewing an object of a male shows the audience how she is longing for the male to return.

Equiptment List

2x Video Camera's

 These should be FULLY charaged and cleared in order to fit as much film on as possible without having any technical issues.

2x Black Tripods

We need to check that both tripods have the clip at the top, in order to attach either camera to the tripod for a steady shot.

1x microphone

1x Microphone stand

1x Drum Kit

 Due to none of us having played the drums before, we have arranged to borrow the drum kit from one of our peers, who is acting as the drummer for our promo.

1x Pair of drum sticks

1x Drum Seat

1 Guitar

 This is being borrowed by the guitarist in our promo as none of our production team have any past playing guitar.

6x Hi Viz Jackets

 These will be provided by the company of the warehouse where we will be filming on day 1.

3x 50m extensions leads

1x Ipod (which will contain our chosen song)

1x Speakers

1x Double headed flood light

 This will be used along with natural light and normal electrical lights in the warehouse to give a back lit effect.

1x SLR still shots

1x SLR Video Shots

1x Large A3 sheet containing the lyrics

 If Kingston has forgotten any of the lyrics, or is unsure of a few words having them held up for him throughout the song will ensure a smoother take.

2x STD pallets with top boards

 2x STD pallet trucks

 Lastly, it is also very important that we bring the wires which our instroments need.
 The guitar will need the adapter which goes into the amplifier, so that when we take shots of the guitar it looks realistically plugged in, so that it is working electronically through the amp.

 The microphone will also need to have the adapter brought, in order to make it look like it is plugged in as well. A real band would have this wire in order to volumise the singer voice over the noice of the instroments.

Ideas we have practiced before

 When discussing the type of effects which we are going to add to our music video, we looked back at our prelim. This was our first attempt at a music video and we managed to use some things well, and others not so well.

 On the programme final cut pro, you are able to add an effect to make a shot look like it is a home video.

 We discovered however, that it looked wrong when using it for a performance purpose. To get the best from this effect, we would have to use it for narrative. This can easily be built into our plan, as our narrative shows a couple in love juxtaposed by the couple not talking, and the lead singer haunting her through her memories. This home made video style will work well when showing the happy side of the relationship, due to couples filming each other to then watch back in years to come. It also makes a shot much more interesting than just having two people showing signs of love, as it gives the audience an experience through the eyes of the home video camera.