Presentation

Opening Video


Part 1


Part 2

Promotional Poster Design

JAMES HANMAN

Digipak Design

JAMES HANMAN

Disks

 

Designs

Online Poster

Magazine Poster

Digipack Cover


POSSIBLE DESIGNS
Paul Birchmore

Final video

FINALISED STORYBOARDS

Possible CD case design

                      

By Paul Birchmore

EDITED SHOT- TO BE USED IN FINAL VIDEO

Guns N' Roses, O2 Arena, 13/10/10 - Concert review

Guns N' Roses were one of the most rockin' bands around in the 1980's, the peak of mainstream rock/metal, writing some of the most famous songs in rock history, and selling out concerts worldwide. They were also infamous for their rock 'n' roll lifestyle, partying all night, drinking, drugs, women etc. Guns N' Roses were the stereotypical rock band and acted as an inspiration to millions, and were a large inspiration to this media studies project. Unfortunately, the ego of the lead singer led to the band's downfall, with all other members, bar the keyboardist, departing in 1996, leaving Axl Rose on his own. This didn't stop him however, and he recruited a new set of musicians to fill in. Axl and his new band began touring in 2002 to mixed receptions, claiming the band were a disappointment and lacked the magic of the past. Also, the much anticipated album "Chinese Democracy" was nowhere to be seen, after first being confirmed to be in the making around 1993, and was becoming a laughing stock.

Chinese Democracy was finally released in November 2008, 15 years after being initially announced, to mostly positive reception, including from myself. However, the band's form on tour was still poor, with Axl living up to his reputation by frequently coming out late, whilst also having a poor voice. This still didn't stop me from buying tickets to see them back in the summer as, despite Axl being the only original member, I always feel the lead singer is the most important person with the band. I was very worried whether or not I has wasted my money on a bad show, especially when a show in Dublin ended in Axl walking off the stage during the first song on then not returning.

Also, the 80's are long gone. Axl no longer looks like this:

But instead looks like this:

So, I departed to the O2 with my expectations low. I thought the band would come out late, they would play a short set, and Axl would sound terrible. Wow, was I proven wrong.

They came out the same time most bands do, about half hour after promised. Axl had obviously done some vocal training in recent weeks, as voice sounded fantastic, I dare say it sounded like it was 1987. The setlist was long, combining old classics, such as Nightrain, Welcome to the Jungle, Rocket Queen, and, of course, Mr. Brownstone, with new songs like Better, Chinese Democracy and Sorry, although I am glad to say the old songs largely outweighed the new. Axl had also obviously changed his attitude. Someone threw a bottle at him during the second song, an act which usually doesn't end well, with Axl even stopping the song and walking off stage. This time, he finished the song and said after, "now, we don't want to go throwing things because, if you miss me, you might hit my nice friends at the front of the stage". Another sign of Axl changing his ways was when someone threw a KFC bucket on stage (bare in mind that there is no KFC even in the O2 or in the surrounding area, so whoever brought it made a big effort to do so). Of course, ex-GNR guitarist Buckethead famously wears a KFC bucket on his head, and he left the band in not so good terms. What did Axl do? He saw the bucket, and put it on his head whilst singing the rest of the song, causing the whole crowd to cheer. The gig ended with an amazing performance of Paradise City, with Axl coming out after to say a heartfelt thank you to the audience, a sell out crowd of about 20,000 people.

This was a great shock to me, and you could even say it was a dream come true. To see so many favourite songs of mine performed so well, even when it seemed impossible, was something truly amazing, and will go down as one of my favourite gigs ever. The only downside? The gig the next day, the extra date added to appease demand, had the return of Duff Mckagen, the band's former bassist, and a performance of the song Patience, one of my favourites. However, I am still over the moon to see such an amazing performance, and to see the inspiration to our media project back on top form.

animated band interview SCRIPT

BUTCH – Hello, I’m Butch Lightning and WE are WHITE LIGHTNING!!!!!

And this is ‘behind the band’

Q1 – the first thing I see, when I look at you are the crazy clothes and wild hair! Why have you made the decision to dress like this?

KRIS – Why aren’t you dressed like this?

SPLASH – What he means to say is, Rock N’ Rolls been born again and we’re simply helping it become what it once was.


BUTCH - And plus, I mean what other genre of music allows you to dress as awesome as this and lets you get as many girls as we do! Well me and SPLASH, not sure about the other two..

Q2 – so I understand 2 of you played together in a different band, what made you change to WHITE LIGHTNING, and more importantly sign SPLASH?

BUTCH – yeah,  we used to play in ATMOSFEAR but our tastes changed and so us two formed WHITE LIGHTNING, but something just wasn’t working. Don’t get me wrong,  Kris is simply amazing, but sometimes after he has been shooting up he just doesn't have the energy we need, so I felt we needed someone else on board, to help liven up the band.. And that's where SPLASH comes in. And well Sticky Riz was the best drummer we could find on Facebook.

KRIS – sorry man, what was that? I wasn’t listening.

(BUTCH SIGHS)


_________________________________________________________________________________


Q3 -  (To SPLASH) So how did you feel when Butch and Kris approached you with an offer of joining the band?


SPLASH - Oh man it was such a great moment in my life, a lot better than my 3rd wedding, that's for sure. I've heard a lot of Butch's solo stuff and some of the ATMOSFEAR records and I just find his lyrics and vocals out of this world.

Q4 – fans have been asking when is your next track coming out and what song is it?

BUTCH –Well we’ve just finished recording our cover of GUNS N ROSES Mr Brownstone, and are currently working on a video to complement the track, so it should be out pretty soon!

SPLASH – it’s always great to hear that rock and roll still has a fan base as well, so at least we know all our hard work isn’t for nothing!

Q5 – and finally, a question for Sticky Riz, I’ve noticed that you don’t say much, is there any reason for this?

RIZ – I say quite alot actually (LOOKS AROUND IN PANIC)

BUTCH – (COUGHS) erm... give him a set of drums and some sticks and he’s happy, no time for talk, when you’re keeping the beat for....

ALL FOUR – THE WORLD’S GREATEST BAND!

KRIS – WAHHHHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY!

Well that’s all on ‘Behind the band’ see you next time folks!

TEST FOR ANIMATED INTERVIEW

the above video shows two basic movements of the characters

this video shows a glimpse of the the interview, before audio has been added


Above are test shots, for one of the upcoming interviews with WHITE LIGHTNING, however unlike the rest this one will be animated. The shot below, is one of the frames from the animation, that shows how the interview will be set out, all four members will sit/stand  still, with occasional movements, the characters will also lip sync what the band have said, to bring the animation to life. the video will also give you an impression of the members characteristics.

I have made the characters from an extremely abstract perspective, to give a true sense of surrealism, i have also based the rough designs on the body shapes of the characters in the band Gorrilaz, as the animation appearing in our finalised music video will be similar to that.

By Paul Birchmore

White Lightning!

"Bloody Fantastic" "Best gig I've ever been to!" "F*****g Sh**"

Were just a few of the comments the band received after their first performance of their long anticipated Knee Deep In Brown tour. Laying down the foundations of what is set to be a fantastic and unforgettable tour. The lights dimmed, then the magic started. 

Sticky Riz was first to come on stage, and gave a thundering beat for the crowd to clap and cheer along to with his murderous hands beating down upon the drums like some kind of crazed mad man. As he kept up his magic, on came, what can only be described as the second best guitarist in the band.. Kris Shred. Sprinting out whilst wowing the crowd with a gut-busting solo. It seemed as if they had really been working extremely hard on this tour, and all the hard work was surely paying off. With the crowd crying out for more the temptation to impress proved too much for SPLASH. In his trademark fashion, he came out like a wolf ready to pounce on its pray, slowly and staying low, he finds his way to about mid stage with a look upon his face that could only be described as bloodthirsty. The beat starts to rise in tempo, SPLASH starts to rise then begins his jumps, the jumps his many adoring fans have seen many a time before. The crowd become a living, pulsating beast and with SPLASH as their master his jumps become higher and higher. The beat reaches a climax, with SPLASH launching himself up into the air, with an explosion of fireworks he comes crashing down. Then there was silence..

Then suddenly, out of no where the stage is emerged in a ploom of smoke. Behind the smoke is the figure of perhaps the most beautiful man ever to grace this Earth, a man who no woman can resist, a man whose voice is so powerful that God himself becomes a stuttering wet mess where he stands.  A great explosion shakes the ground to a stand still. The only way of describing what happens next is if you was to stand next to a space rocket on launch off with a hearing aid pressed against the rocket of the ship. The crowd (particularly the women) couldn't contain their selves and burst into extreme passion. The perfectly ripped and dripping wet body of Butch Lightning was standing above them, like some kind of idol just out of touching distance (probably a good thing seeing as though the women were going wild) That's when the real show started..




Matthew Allen

THEY ARE COMING!

 

With White Lightning's tour approaching closer each day, the design department at Colonel Paul HQ are creating posters that have dominated the city as 'the world's greatest band' returns to play in the city that made it great!

created by Paul Birchmore

Latest news..

Today, the band were hard at work on their new song, 'Mr Brownstone' at Banana Road Practice Studios. The day started off well with Butch only being 2 and a half hours late for practice this time so this put the band in a what seemed a endless good mood.
The band weren't just there to perfect their already incredible playing, oh no, they were also at the famous Banana Road Studios to get new footage for their upcoming music video, which, if rumours are to be taken in to consideration will blow you away!
Roughly 20% of the two hour session they had booked was spent on playing the song and filming, the other 80% was Butch and Kris trying to decide whose hair was blonder. Butch won of course (he wouldn't let it be any other way).
So as another day of working hard, or hardly working, comes to an end, I managed to speak to the band (mainly Butch) about how they thought today went:

NME: Hey guys, great seeing you again, how was today?
Butch : Yeah it was pretty good, we ran through the song a couple of times, and I don't know about everyone else but I was great. I mean obviously SPLASH was pretty rockin' but I looked smokin' tonight!!"
NME: Thanks for that Butch..
Butch: No problem man, see ya around!


Matthew Allen

Trailer 2

Practise Editing with our test shots- Trailer for a 'tour'

James Hanman

Trailers

Teaser Trailer



I made this teaser trailer using stop motion. Paul Birchmore

Location List - 28th Sepetember

  

This is the large room at Banana Road in Erith, where our first real performance will be shot this weekend

The Small Room, although its still really not that small. We can also use this room if we need to.

James Hanman

White Lightning UK Tour Dates

White Lightning- Knee Deep in Brown Tour 2010/ 2011


Bexley Grammar School Hall- Welling- UK
Bexley Grammar School in General- UK
Banana Road- Erith- UK
Sticky Riz's Crib- Bexleyheath- UK

James Hanman

Props of Lightning!!

• Guitars x2
• Drum Kit x2
• Drum Sticks
• Mic Stands
• Empty beer cans/ bottles
• Autograph Paper
• Empty Fridge
• Games Console
• Mirrors and lots of them

James Hanman

Shooting Schedule

Mondays- 1: 25- 5: 00 (school)
Thursdays- 3: 45- 6: 00 (Sticky Riz's Love Shack)
Saturdays and/ or Sundays- Anytime between 11 and 6

James Hanman

THEN AND NOW

Before the transformation into worldwide successes, the members of WHITE LIGHTNING were once young school boys from Bexley.

During their transformation into stars, the costumes they were destined to wear were also changed, from magical to absolutely stunning!

By Paul Birchmore

Becoming stars!

The Band - left to right

                                                 Butch, Kris, Sticky Riz and SMASH

Butch on one of our sets

One of our fans

                                                        AND MANY MORE!!!

 

A BAND IS BORN

After discussing both costumes and positions, the creative minds at 'Colonel Paul...' have created the worlds most amazing band, WHITE LIGHTNING! With 'Butch Lightning' (Matthew Allen) taking control as lead singer, followed by guitarists 'SPLASH' (James Hanman) and 'Kris Shred' (Paul Birchmore) and last but not least, 'Sticky Riz' (Adam Riza) who, in 2010, was voted the best drummer in White Lightning.
The band plan on releasing their first cover, of Guns 'N' Roses' Mr Brownstone, later this year. With hoardes of fans following them, the next few weeks look to be very exciting for the band.

By Paul Birchmore

Drug scene test version

Due to my 'test subject' (my younger brother) being only 11 i have left out the 'taking of the drugs'.
however still edited all of the other shots, to give the appearance that he has taken drugs.
Paul Birchmore

Storyboards for test shots

Storyboard 1 - before editing

Storyboard 2 - with edited shots

The drug scene in our short film, will be quite difficult to produce due to the requirement of CGI, to make it effective, therefore, with the help of my little brother i have run a test version to see if it will be possible.

Paul Birchmore

Existing Product Research 2

'I Disappear' - Metallica

This song was written for the Mission Impossible 2 soundtrack, therefore the video features a particular scene of the film, in which Tom Cruise climbs a tall rock in Monument Valley, in Utah. Metallica are shown in the performance aspect of the video, playing on the top of the very same rock.

In keeping with the film, the band allocated each member roughly 30 seconds each in which they would act out scenes from their favourite action movies, an idea which influenced our ideas. We thought that before coming together at the end to defeat Mr Brownstone we would show each band member struggling with their own personal problems, all of which made worse by the presence of Mr Brownstone, who threatens to tear the band apart. Each of the 4 of us will be allocated a small amount of time to show our own characters in a state of turmoil, based on an individual addiction or sin, if you will.

James Hanman

Existing Product Research

'Community Property'  -  Steel Panther
This video has influenced our ideas for our own music video project as it highlights typical rock excesses, and shows how boredom on the road can lead rock stars and bands right into the arms of their vices, in this case sex, as it is the theme of the song. However our song is based around the idea of drug addiction, and we are exploring a number of other vices which often affect bands. We have chosen fame, alcoholism, sex and of course drugs.

The video also makes good use of its shots and editing. The black and white shots, and handheld shots evoke a sense of documentary, which would interest fans as they like to feel close to their favourite bands and get to know them, and the 'access all areas' feel that is suggested in these types of shots could be useful in our project as it will appear more personal, more encouraging of the fans to feel as if they are interacting and are actually partying with the band backstage.

Another aspect of the video we liked was how it presents a picture of stereotypical self absorbed rock stars, an image we want to create our own characters in. this can be shown through the low angled shots, together with shots of us singing and grinning right into the camera.

James Hanman

                    Me and James test-drive the new outfits at a local practice studio (possible film location)

Costumes

As costume plays a major role in our music video we decided to get everything sorted, done and dusted well before filming began. And as you can see by the picture, the costume has turned out extremely well, even better than expected. So lets talk you through our costume, spandex to spandex..

Lets begin with the feet. Shoes are an essential to any outfit and especially ours (Glam Rock). Me and James have both opted for the "High Top" option, with both pairs of trainers having vivid and stereotpical "rock" colours; Black, White, Red and Purple.

Secondly coming to perhaps the most important item at our disposal are the tight, but excellent, colourful leggings/spandex we acquired with as little embarrassment as possible. These are really the iconic feature of any Glam Rock outfit, so it was essential that we managed to get some, my particular favourites are the zebra print!
It is important to know that we will each be having different style of leggings, to represent our personalities, or just who ever gets the coolest ones first!

The jackets are one of the items that really sets us apart from the each other in the band. With maybe opting for a full leather jacket or even a sleeveless denim jacket equipped with fully working fingerless gloves. This in itself is very iconic and fits the general conventions of Glam Rock superbly.

We then opted to majorly over do it with the accessories, we have fake tattoo sleeves, bracelets, necklaces and even a top hat...

But none of these would be worth anything without the help from the wigs. In both Dire Black and Poroxide Blonde, the group have plenty of options of what to wear, how to wear it and what to do with it!

Matthew Allen

Ideas for online poster/ CD case

idea for online band poster/ cd case Paul Birchmore

Promotional Poster Idea

James Hanman

StoryBoard Ideas

The initial idea for the storyline

Paul Birchmore & James Hanman

THE SUBS AGREE ON A SONG!

After presenting our ideas to the class and receiving feedback on these choices, we the mighty Oven Baked Subs and our Colonel have decided to go with 'Mr Brownstone' by Guns N Roses.
It is the strongest idea as we believe it is the song we can be most creative with, and could explore the controversial yet strangely popular music industry topic of drug addiction, obviously in a much more implicit way.

The Performance aspect will be acted out by us, as we have access to musical instruments. We aim to film these parts in a number of locations, creating a sense of live experience and touring which rock fans cherish and favour in their favourite bands. We could film on the school stage, in the blacked out drama rooms and in a practise/ studio facility which we have access to. To establish the rock and roll aspect we will be dressed as stereotypical rock stars, a mix of heavy metal and glam rock, and enact a number of classic moves, such as Chuck Berry's 'Duck Walk', Pete Townshend's 'Windmill' and the 'Powerslide'. The character of Mr Brownstone will appear in several shots, sometimes in the background, other times more prominent, to show that they cannot escape the stigma attached to being famous rock stars, the addiction is ever present, in the backs of their minds.

The narrative/ concept side will consist of the band going about their business offstage, engaging in activities such as autograph signing, photo shoots, relaxing and several others, but no matter what they do Mr Brownstone always appears, trying to tempt them into giving in. By following the band we can address the stigma of being a junkie which is often associated with this form of music, and at the end of the video explore how they overcome the excesses of fame and money with their love for music, an idea which is strongly supported by rock fans, appealing to most rock fans 'all about the music' attitudes. And the strength of the temptation to give in to addiction is notoriously extremely strong amongst rock stars, due to the pressures of fame and the boredom of not being on the road. We also felt that this would give us a lot of opportunities to make Mr Brownstone appear at extremely awkward times.

In making this project, we have several different options for dealing with the subject of drug addiction. We can show the darker side of being a famous rock band, and spread a message promoting the music over the drugs, and we could even almost parody it, making it a lighter form of entertainment, in a way mocking the stereotype.

Song Idea #3- Guns N Roses

Song: Mr Brownstone
Artist: Guns N Roses

This song was written by GNR band members Slash and Izzy Stradlin about a regular day in their existence as decadent rock star junkies, 'Brownstone' being a euphamism for heroin. If we were to choose this song to make our music video, we would juxtapose a narrative with performance. We would act as the band once again, this time dressed as something of a middle ground between the traditional decadent, menacing heavy metal look and the outrageous Glam rock image, and act out the key live moves such as the 'windmill' and the 'duck walk'. we would couple this with a narrative, showing how they try to resist their addiction, or 'Mr Brownstone' who will appear throughout the video in human form as a symbol of temptation. This would be a good video to do as it appeals to the typical theme of music videos for rock bands which deal with controversial subjects (drugs, violence etc.), and almost seem to unintentionally pass them off as 'cool'. We would appeal to the genre conventions of a rock video by making the band seem powerful, but the character of Mr Brownstone even more powerful.
Editing would not be difficult for this song as it is not a horrifically fast song, but fast enough to be exciting to viewers.

Song Idea #2- Black Sabbath

Song: Iron Man
Artist: Black Sabbath

By choosing Iron Man we could produce a video which shows elements of performance, narrative and concept, all of which intertwine at points. Narrative and concept are the closest of the 3. Driven by the lyrics, the video would follow an 'Iron Man' (one of us dressed to look like a man made of metal), and how he tries to fit in with everyday life and society but he is turned away because he is different and nobody understands him.

The Performance would show us as a heavy metal band, dressed presumably in black, and with lots headbanging and aggression, and a focus on being evil due to genre convention. The narrative and concept would mix half way through the song, with the Iron Man finding acceptance finally in the metal band, he would be shown playing the guitar solo, symbolising his triumph. we would then inter-cut shots of the band with similar shots only this time with the entire band dressed as an Iron Man, emphasising his acceptance. shots of the band would be long shots and some low angles, but that would change to a lot closer ones once the lyrics shift in Iron Man's favour.
Similarly, Iron Man would need to be presented as weak and oppressed through high angles and framing at the start of the song, but this would shift to higher angles once he needs to be shown as empowered. Editing on the beat should be easy enough as the song is not that fast, but still maintains its traditional heavy rock sound.

Song Idea #1- Steel Panther

Song: Eyes of a Panther
Artist: Steel Panther

Steel Panther are a comedy-rock band who parody the rock music produced by the 'Glam' and 'Hair' Metal bands of the 1980s, and ironically celebrate over-the-top excessiveness of the infamous Sunset Strip on Hollywood Boulevard. We hoped to represent this kind of feel by using this song for our music video project. Such a video would require a large amount of performance, which would involve us all dressing as ridiculously stereotypical rock stars, lots of make up, big hair and spandex, and performing all of the classic rock star moves such as 'the windmill' and the 'duck walk'.
Together with this, we would include mock 'backstage footage' of the band indulging in typical past times and activities such as signing autographs, walking around with a large entourage, and writing new songs.
We would have to use lots of male gaze, as it applies to genre convention, and lots of low angle shots of the band, to highlight their superiority and status. Editing would be somewhat difficult as the song is so fast, yet it is not impossible.

The Group Discussion of Possible Songs

Idea for music video (cartoon)

a short video i made, showing an idea, that we could use in our music video
starring LUKE!
by Paul Birchmore

King of Rock - Run DMC

The music video for the song "King of Rock" by the group Run DMC uses many conventions that are common in the music video genre. The video can be seen as being all of the three genres of music videos at the same time. The video has a loose and basic narrative, that the group are not considered "rock" enough to enter a rock history museum. Regardless of the security guard telling them this, the trio break into the museum and, through the song, try to explain and prove that they should be considered the "king of rock". This also links to the concept that black rap artists are usually stereotyped as not liking and not belonging in the traditionally white genre of rock music, and Run DMC believe this is an unfair generalisation and rap artists should be allowed to converge with rock music if they desire. Run DMC created the genre of "rap rock" and this concept conforms with the bands style and image. The video also fits into the performance genre, as the duo lip sync with a band performing at certain points in the video. The video also follows the lyrics at points and fits in with the set of a rock musician. An example of this is the lyric "there's three of us, but we're not the Beatles", at which point the group moves next to a model of the Beatles and put a hat over the model that resembles John Lennon. The song was released in 1985, meaning that John Lennon was shot three years previously so that, when the song was released, there were only three members of the Beatles alive. One scene in the video shows the front duo of the group standing next to a small TV, watching a video performance of Little Richard, a traditional black artist. The small TV connotes that the group think they are bigger and better than previous black artists before them, further shown by the duo shaking their heads at the camera before pulling the plug on the TV, showing their disapproval and that Little Richard does not belong in the museum. The band then plug in another TV with themselves performing on it, turning and nodding at the camera, displaying their approval and belonging in the museum. At the end of the video, it is seen that the band have painted their name and the song title in red on the plain white walls of the museum. This can be seen to mean several things. It symbolises how the band have forever left their mark on, not only the museum, but on the rock genre. The red paint contrasts with the white walls, connoting how the band are changing the rock genre and making it vibrant. Finally, the scene is an example of intertextuality as it references a similar scene from the film "The Shining".

Run DMC's record label won't allow the embedding of the actual music video, but here is the song.

You shook me ...

The music video I have decided to analyse is the AC/DC track “You Shook Me All Night Long”. The video is in fact the second of two videos made for this song. The first was similar to other AC/DC tracks and was directed by Eric Dionysius and Eric Mistler. But six years later David Mallet worked with the Rock Legends and made a new video based around Brian Johnson’s home town, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, in 1986.

The video is one of the more controversial videos of AC/DC as it contains many leather clad women and even one ex page 3 model. The aim of the video was to be more controversial than the band had ever been before.

The women in the video are all wearing black, which symbolises impurity and mischievous manners.  

The video is very lyrically driven as they are what really feeds us the narrative. “she told me to come but I was already there” Now this can be taken in two very different ways, of course the literal meaning of the woman told him to come round, but he was so eager to be with her, he was already at her house. But there is also the more smutty meaning, which I’m sure we can all see for ourselves without further explaining.

It was conventional as it had elements of performance and narrative and even a tad of conceptualism in the video, which all make a fantastic video.

As I mentioned earlier the industry hadn’t yet experienced many videos with a sexual nature at this moment in time so this video was shall we say a bit of a shock to the system but also influenced many bands and performers into using the predominant male gaze tool to attract men to watch their videos.

The narrative section of the music video is in black and white, which can represent the fact the band are still the same and haven’t changed just because they have different and new video, and also to make it clear that it’s the narrative and the performance is in colour, where they really bring the song to life.

Matthew Allen

Short film ideas - Anger

Narrative
A man walks around town. From his point of view he is speaking and acting normally, from the others around him he is shouting and behaving more aggressive than usual. People act strangely towards him in normal day situations (e.g. going to a shop, asking an elderly woman if she needs help crossing the road), repeatedly telling him to calm down. Not understanding why he is being told this, his anger continuously grows, until he ends up in a rage. Upon his return home, his wife tells him how laid back and calm he is being that day, causing him to punch her in the face.

This is effective as the audience is unaware which perception is true, the protagonist's or the others around him. It also allows us to experiment with the different perceptions of the man i.e. the man believes he is wearing a normal suit, others believe he is wearing something very strange.

Abstract
Starts with a man getting fired from work by his boss, then goes on an angry walk. During this walk, everything he sees (posters, people, dogs, babies) has the same face as his boss, causing his anger to increase as the walk continues. At the end of the walk, his boss comes to find him, telling him that it was a mistake to fire him and offers his job back. There are two possible outcomes to this scenario, him either taking or rejecting the job offer, and, as this is only a concept, we are unsure which option he will take

Montage
Several inanimate objects, such as lampposts and phone booths, shout random and unprovoked abuse at random passers by. The people being shouted at are confused at who is doing it and start blaming and accusing the other people around them, causing brawls in the street.

We feel that this concept is probably our most original and unique of the three.

Music video analysis #2: Papa Roach

Scars- Papa Roach
Scars was released in 2005, acting as the band’s comeback single, it also became the bands biggest hit, peaking at #15 in the U.S. The song deals with getting tired of trying to fix everyone else's problems, but having a hard time because you care so much. You can't stop caring, so you tear yourself open for the people you care about, and then ‘heal’ to prepare for the next time you have to do it. And then, at one point you still care, but you just can't do it anymore. You have to tell them, "You fix yourself”.

There are two videos that have been released for this song. One of the videos tells the story of the singer’s girlfriend who is always drunk. She ends up getting too drunk and passes out at a party at his house. She wakes up the following morning and grabs her coat, knocking a candle onto a mat stained with alcohol, consequently setting the house on fire. The singer then returns home later in the video to find his house burnt down.

The video I am analyzing however is the original video that the band were not pleased with, therefore they re-shot, creating the one mentioned above. In the original video, all of the scenes are computer generated, with the band and other actors superimposed into them. The video is shot almost entirely in a black and white, in a surreal, fictional world. In this video the protagonist tries to help his girlfriend, who keeps using him to her advantage. Until the end, when the man realsies his mistakes and overcomes his problems.

The video contains a narrative story as well as performance based, shots, making it a combination of the two. During the video only particular focus features can be seen in colour, during the narrative storyline. The red thread, the protagonist uses to sew himself up with, is particularly effective as it attracts the audience’s attention as it is key connector between the lyrics and video, which can be seen when the lyrics, “I tear my heart open, I sew myself shut” are heard.

“My scars remind me that the past is real , I tear my heart open just to feel", these lyrics are also incorporated in the song at numerous occasions, emphasising the video on screen.

The constant use of CGI is also extremely effective as it increases the surrealism in the video, such as the doors, ‘protecting’ the characters hearts, the falling clocks and multiplication of the protagonist as well as the location, where the band are ‘performing’, allowing the audience to empathise with the ‘victim’ (protagonist) as his thoughts are project to them.



Paul Birchmore

Stop-motion Pete

At the end of last year, we began to experiment with stop-motion animation. James (the one that is no longer with us) and I decided to replicate Pete Townshend's infamous guitar windmill, due to us being fans. It was a quick, single lesson project and gave us an insight into creating stop-motion animation. It also gave us an indication of how long and painstaking creating stop-motion animation is.



And here's the man and the action that acted as our inspiration. I like to think that we replicated it perfectly...



Adam Riza

The producers at Colonel Paul have been working extremely hard recently as the start of their new project is about to take off. They have been set the task of producing a music video unlike any other which must be both original and innovating. It is rumored that the project, aptly titled "Honey Badger", is still in the process of selecting a song for the music video. It is likely that the shortlist of songs will be up shortly.

Be prepared to be blown away.. Yet again.

Matthew Allen

Synopsis and Summary of 'Nocturne'

The scene begins with a young boy peacefully sleeping in his bed when he is suddenly awoken by a loud crash, eyes open wide. He startles and gets up. Turns on his light. Sees his piggy bank all over the floor, he sees his window is open, with wind blowing the curtain, thinking it was that he shuts the window and clears away the money and returns to bed. What he doesn’t see was a shadow moving in the background, his shadow, but with a mind of his own. He sneaks off screen just as the young boy turns off the light and we can no longer see the shadow. The boy returns back to sleep and closes his eyes, but within 5 seconds there is an even louder crash, this time the boy is frightened, and pulls himself under his cover. There are further crashes and bangs, and thuds, boy stays under until it is all finished. He gathers the courage to sneak out of his covers, but he doesn’t turn on the light, he appears round his room, treading carefully.
Objects look totally different to what they should be and the boys imagination runs wild. Turns light on and everything seems to calm down. Turns off again and everything goes mental, every is banging, knocking, loud thumps, bit of screaming. The boy starts to weep as he cowers in corner/floor. Creaks are heard coming up the door. Builds up nicely, then the door slowly opens, then the door opens, all you can see is a shadow, the boy shrieks, the mans father smiles as he turns the light on.

Soundtrack to Colonel Paul's 'Nocturne'

'Nocturne' Short Film Project

In class we were given the title 'Nocturne', and had to come up with an idea for a short film, based purely on the title and its connotations. This task was also given to successful director of modern films such as 'Antichrist' (2010), Lars von Trier whilst he was attending film school in Denmark in the late 70s- early 80s. We were not shown von Trier's version of the film until each group had pitched their respective ideas back to the class, as we could observe how different or similar each film pitch would be, and as it would influence our ideas for the title.
Our task was to construct a basic synopsis, storyboard, possible soundtrack and poster for the film, as well as to write the opening paragraph of a magazine review.

By ..................


     

            This is the poster for this short film. i created it on paint, using my younger brother Luke as the protagonist.
Paul Birchmore