Moodboard

We put together a mood board of ideas about our music video.
Including:

- lyrics

- locations

- genre conventions

- similar bands

- band info

- costume

- lighting

- camera angles

- audience

We decided to create a mood board to gain further knowledge of the genre and to explore our own ideas and then put that into practise when we shot our own video.

Lyrical Timeline

Audience and Genre Research

Our genre would be considered ‘Indie Pop’ ^[1] due to the Indie, acoustic feel to the song, but also it is ‘more melodic’ than Indie rock or other indie genres. It could also be considered to have ‘Indie Folk’ ^[2] influences because of the acoustic tone.

The choice of music, other than Kankouran, for our audience may be artists such as Bon Iver, Mumford and Sons, The Smiths, Ben Howard. These artists are all of a very similar genre and would be the kind of music that our audience would listen to. I think that they would stay within the indie genre and not be massively a consumer of popular culture due to the nature of indie music and it originating ‘in Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early-80s and the dominant UK independent band of the mid-80s, The Smiths. ^[1]

Our audience would consume independent magazines and be interested in magazines such as ‘Clash’ ^[3] and ‘NME’ ^[1] but would be mainly interested in consuming media online on ‘websites like Pitchfork Media, and various parts of Tumblr.’ ^[3]

The gender of our audience is likely to be male and female, but mainly male; due to the genre being more male dominated than female. This is due to the fact that it is more difficult for women to be accepted in ‘Rock’ and ‘Indie’ genres. ^[5] However, due to the revival of the ‘Hipster’ ^[3] sub-culture in the 1990s it has become more accepted in modern society. Due to our band being an all-male band with a female guest vocalist this does re-enforce the typical gender roles in Indie and Rock genres, however the featured vocalist Evelyn Burke ^[6] would attract more of a female audience.

The sexuality of our audience would be quite open minded, coming from the ‘Hipster’ sub-culture of the 1940s and the ‘relaxed sexual codes’. ^[4] Meaning that our audience could be heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual or transgender. However, I think that a majority of the audience for this genre of music is heterosexual males due to the male dominance in the genre.

            The habitat of our audience would be ‘urban middle class adults and older teenagers’ ^[3] interested in independent music, non-mainstream fashion and alternative lifestyles, usually from quite stable middle class families and therefore having middle class values and usually would be quite well educated. They would also be between 16 and 25 years old.

            Religion amongst our audience would be ‘alternative spirituality or atheism/agnosticism’ ^[3] which in-tern reflects the need for individuality and to move away from traditional and mainstream values. I think that the majority of our audience would against organized religion and the traditional Christian belief systems we still hold onto in Britain. Although it is not directly associated with religion I also think that our audience would be against the monarchy and royals of Britain, as personally I do not believe we need to have a royal family, and I think our audience and the genre has a similar viewpoint. I think politics would be a similar viewpoint with ‘liberal or independent political views’ ^[3] and socialist views against the capitalist western society idealism.

            Money amongst our audience would probably not be much of an issue, but the revival of the 1940s ‘Hipster’ sub-culture means that ‘self-imposed poverty’ ^[4] is a contributing aspect to young people interested in the ‘indie’ genre. ‘Self-imposed’ meaning that they are trying to be or look much poorer than they are to not conform to the commercialised society we live in and also shows individuality to shop online or in charity shops. Money for bands and artists would be different because they need money to function but they would also be ‘self-imposed’ to look much worse off than they actually are to be true to the ‘independent’ roots of the genre – showing they have not ‘sold-out’ to commercial or cooperate labels.

            Clothes for our audience consist of some mainstream and high-street fashion; such as Topshop or Topman, however it would also consist of charity shop clothes, vintage clothes and clothes from online boutiques or websites such as ‘eBay.co.uk’. The revival of the 1940s ‘Hipster’ subculture into the 1990s and again into modern day has meant that lots of different types of fashion and alternative clothing are worn amongst the genre. The 1940s/50s ‘Rock’n’Roll’ type clothes are worn, as well as the skinny jeans and denim jackets from the 1980s, which in themselves were a revival of the ‘Mod’ era of the 1960s. The 1990s saw a revival of the punk era of the 1970s and the ‘grunge’ style was created through that, which is being seen more today as it has been another 20 years since its last revival because it is usually every 20 years a style or era is revived by a new generation then altered or added to in some way.

            Drink and drugs would be used within the genre and our audience would drink alcohol such a ‘Budweiser’, ‘Bulmers’, ‘Magners’ and other beers and ciders. The drug of choice would probably be cannabis due to the ‘use of cannabis and other drugs, relaxed attitude, sarcastic humor’ ^[4] of the 1940s Hipster subculture.

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1 - ‘Indie pop is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid-1980s, with its roots in Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early '80s (Josef K and Orange Juice) and the dominant UK independent band of the mid-'80s, The Smiths. Indie pop was inspired by punk's DIY ethic and related ideologies, and it generated a thriving fanzine, label, and club and gig circuit. Indie pop differs from indie rock to the extent that it is more melodic, less abrasive, and relatively angst-free.’

-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indie_pop

2 - ‘Indie folk is a music genre that arose in the 1990s from singer/songwriters in the indie rock community showing heavy influences from folk music scenes of the 50s, 60s and early 70s, country music, and indie rock.

A few early artists included Lou Barlow, Jeff Buckley and Elliott Smith. The genre is commonly related to freak folk, psych folk, baroque pop and New Weird America. The genre saw a significant growth from the early 2000s to present, beginning with bands such as Bright Eyes, Iron & Wine, Beirut, Bon Iver, The Avett Brothers, Arthur & Yu, The Decemberists, Okkervil River, Manel, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Mumford & Sons, and others.’

-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indie_folk

3 - ‘Hipster refers to a subculture of young, recently settled urban middle class adults and older teenagers that appeared in the 1990s. The subculture is associated with independent music, a varied non-mainstream fashion sensibility, liberal or independent political views, alternative spirituality or atheism/agnosticism and alternative lifestyles. Interests in media would include independent film, magazines such as Clash, and websites like Pitchfork Media, and various parts of Tumblr.’

-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hipster_(contemporary_subculture)

4 - Hipster or hepcat, as used in the 1940s, referred to aficionados of jazz, in particular bebop, which became popular in the early 1940s. The hipster adopted the lifestyle of the jazz musician, including some or all of the following: dress, slang, use of cannabis and other drugs, relaxed attitude, sarcastic humor, self-imposed poverty and relaxed sexual codes.

-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hipster_(1940s_subculture)

5 - It’s a simple fact the music industry has been, and probably still is, a male dominated industry. Women with guitars prior to 1977 and even then were seen as a novelty; an angle; as something not entirely serious. Women were seen as adoring fans, as wholesome pop models, as singer songwriters.

-http://www.punk77.co.uk/groups/womeninrockpart1.htm

6 - Songs written by Tarek Musa of Kankouran. Released 02 January 2012. Composition & Record Production by Tarek Musa with additional Vocals and Cello by Evelyn Burke

-http://kankouran.bandcamp.com/

Kankouran Research

'Founded in 1983, and incorporated in 1984 as a performing arts organisation, KanKouran is dedicated to the professional presentation of traditional West African performing arts via educational and culturally enriching performances, lectures, and workshops. KanKouran's mission is to expose local, national, and international audiences to its programs in order to foster a greater respect for cultural diversity, develop an appreciation for and understanding of West African culture, and enhance cultural exchange in the arts. Although the Founder and Artistic Director, Mr. Assane Konte, is a native of Senegal, the company’s performing artists are all from the District of Columbia area and represent various racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds. The company takes its name from the Mandingo people of Senegal. In Mandingo culture, a KanKouran is a guide who teaches young boys and girls the meaning of manhood and womanhood as part of their transition into adulthood. True to the name, KanKouran works extensively with young people through its junior and children’s performing groups, after-school programs, children’s community dance and music classes, in-school performances, and workshops in cultural diversity. '

                                  - http://www.linkedin.com/pub/kankouran-west-african-dance-co/7/a51/4b0 

    We thought that the reference to West African culture was very interesting and we wanted to explore it further. We thought it was fitting due to the band being relatively young and Kankouran represents the transition from childhood to adulthood, therefore the teenage years. Also this fits very well with the 'indie' genre and rebelliousness of youth. The fact it was set up in the early 80s, 1983, could be a coincidence, but also could fit to the current revival of 80s indie/punk to early 90s grunge - being fitting for the time that this concept of Kankouran came into western society.

EMILY CHAWAWA

   After thinking about costume and cast we decided we wanted to use a person of African origin as one of our characters and our friend, Emily Chawawa, kindly put herself forward for the role.

   Also for costume we wanted to use old costume, maybe Victorian or old west-African type clothing to reference the name of the band and the meaning that, but Victorian to reference the locations that we are using as they are very poignant locations in film and literature to connote danger and passion. However, we also wanted to use new clothing to show the modern-day aspect of the band and how it is used in modern society, with still complimenting the past. Using the revival type style of the indie genre which compliments 80s and early 90s fashion, as it is usually 20 years before something is revived by a new generation, with the skinny jeans of the 'New Romantics' era in the 80s being a revival of the 'mod' style of the 60s.

This constant backlash of fashion means that style is ever-changing and shows that nothing is ever lost, so reference the locations of meaning of the name of the band would be very similar to modern fashion referencing and relating to fashion 20 years ago.

Filming Location Ideas

For the look we are going for we wanted to find isolated, possibly barren locations which are beautiful to look at, too. We also wanted a strong element of movement and water due to the song being called 'Rivers' and about the movement and flow through life.

After looking around some locations around Norfolk we decided that we wanted something a bit more extravagant and that it wasn't what we were looking for. Luckily, Emily's family own a house in Devon and we are planning to travel down to the beautiful locations there towards the end of Summer to shoot our video. Emily is going on a family holiday before we going with the equipment and cast so she will be able to take location shots so we can get a very clear idea of what we are going to do.

We will still use some locations around Norfolk, but we thought the strong imagery of the beautiful locations of Devon made for a very strong basis to our video.

The locations we are planning to use are:

-Chesil Beach
-Beer cliffs
-Exmoor River
-Durdle Door
-Lulworth Cove
-Seaton beach
-Lyme Regis
-Cannonteign Falls

KANKOURAN - RIVERS (LYRICS)

When these rivers run dry,
Don't cry, Don't cry

I'll be thirsty too

When things ain’t right

Don’t sigh, don’t sigh,

We always get through

When the money runs tight

It's alright, alright

I'm rich in love with you

When tears run down your face

It's alright, I'll take care of you

Things change so fast, so fast

We gotta slow down

Breathe in! breathe out!

Chorus:

When I was young we used to run

We used to laugh,

we used to smile

We used to run wild!

Rivers run dry, the air runs tight, things change, we keep on chuggin man

When I was young we used to run

We used to laugh,

we used to smile

We used to run wild!

Rivers run dry, the air runs tight, things change, we keep on chuggin man

When the air runs tight,
dont fight, dont fight

I'll be breathless too

Things change so fast,

But we'll last, We'll last,

We know what to do

When the day turns to night

We'll smile, we'll smile

A safe life to share with you

Chorus:

When I was young we used to run

We used to laugh,

we used to smile

We used to run wild!

Rivers run dry, the air runs tight, things change, we keep on chuggin man

Shortlising Bands

Our initial choice of 5 bands/artists needs to be narrowed down to 1. After deliberating ideas and brainstorming we looked at what kind of genre would fit best with them and what kind of sound it would agree with.

Lewis Watson, Bribry and Kankouran, were our final choices. After emailing each of the artists and looking on their websites to double check that they were unsigned, and also permission to use their songs. (EMAILS BELOW)



KANKOURAN



BRIBRY



LEWIS WATSON



After reading these emails we saw that we had the best overall response from Kankouran and their producer, Tarek Musa. He seemed extremely passionate about what he does and therefore made us like the band even more and want to make a video for their song 'Rivers', and they also said they would love to see the music video when we had finished it.

We asked him what the song meant to him, personally, and he replied with:

“Rivers for me personally is about life and death. Growing up, things changing. Nothing stays the same. Life is always changing, there is no certainty from day to day. That kinda vibe... it's also about sharing that with somebody; that whole experience...it's really a dark song, but it's been done in a uplifting way.”

              -Tarek Musa (Kankouran)

This inspired us even more and gave us many ideas of using different characters and locations to show time and place and the movement of life. So we quickly decided to use 'Rivers' by 'Kankouran'. (BELOW)

We both personally love the song and would listen to it normally so we thought it would be great to do a song we wouldn't eventually get bored of. Also, we thought that the pace and sound of the song was quite original, quite folk-rock/indie with a slight electro vibe and the chance of pace in the song gives rise to a great variety of editing techniques, e.g. jump cuts. We love the style and look of the band and think we could use that as a basis and it will work extremely well with some ideas we've already had.