Lily Allen: Everybody's Changing - Lyrics

You say you wander your own land
But when I think about it
I don't see how you can

You're aching, you're breaking
And I can see the pain in your eyes
Says everybody's changing
And I don't know why

So little time
Try to understand that I'm
Trying to make a move just to stay in the game
I try to stay awake and remember my name
But everybody's changing
And I don't feel the same

You're gone from here
Soon you will disappear
Fading into beautiful light

`Cause everybody's changing
And I don't feel right

So little time
Try to understand that I'm
Trying to make a move just to stay in the game
I try to stay awake and remember my name
But everybody's changing
And I don't feel the same

So little time
Try to understand that I'm
Trying to make a move just to stay in the game
I try to stay awake and remember my nameBut everybody?s changing
And I don't feel the same

Everybody's changing
And I don't feel the same.

Music Videos relating to songs : Research No. 4

Three ways in which music videos work to support the song are, Illustration, amplification and disjuncture, they are highly useful in generalising the effects of different music videos.

Disjuncture
Disjuncture is a term used to describe music videos which mean very little and have hardly any form of relation to the song. They work by ignoring the original song by creating a brand new group of meanings and conventions. This is a redical tecnique used by arty bands to show their difference and originality. Normally disjuncture videos do not make much sense and may be based on artistic, random and abstract imagery. For example "Da Punk" by Dark Funk, directed by Spike Jonze.

Illustration
A Music Video can paint a general picture of what the lyrics mean and the genre of the song, and can even provide an actual group of relevantly selected images. Illustration is one the most renowned and most classic sample of visualisation, everything in the music video is based on the source of the pop song.

Amplification
The most persistant type of video increases value to the song. Amplification is seen as the mark of the true music video Auter - the director as the artist. This type is different to Disjuncture as it is related to the song and still has links to the meanings of the lyrics in the song with the video still enhancing and developing the ideas.

conventions of music video : Research No. 3

In order to use, develop or even challenge the forms and conventions of music videos, we must first be able to understand them.This will require me to investigate each individual different area within music video. Upon doing this, Nikil and I can conduct our own investigations which will show us first hand experience of what the general public want to see within the music video we will create.

To aid us in our research regarding Music Videos, we have decided to create a questionnaire and our sample group is 100 people of both genders and their ages range from between 13 - 60 years. The purpose is to try and define what type of music is most popular for creating music videos, how long is the preferred average music video and what sort of content is most ideal for the public. Below is the questionnaire which I will hand out to 100 participants:

1.) What genre of music videos do you like to watch?
a.) County & Western b.) Drum & Bass c.) Pop d.) R & B e.) Rock

2.) What do you like to see portrayed in a music video?
a.) Love relationship b.) Band orientated story c.) News + Politics d.) Imagery of the Future

3.) Which of the following would you want see more?
a.) Cartoon Animations b.) The Band playing c.) Computer Generated Graphics


The results of my questionnaire shows a number of different results. You can see that there is a trend where the majority of people who took the questionnaire prefer to watch music videos based on Pop music (52% of the results) that has a love relationship involved in the footage (66% of the results) as well as the additional of some footage of the band actually playing (87% of the results). These results will help me narrow down what type of song I should create for a music video and what to include within it. Doing this would allow my music video to attract the vaster majority of the general public as I have found out what is preferred amongst the public.

Synaesthesia Research No. 2

I now needed to achieve an idea of how to create my music video. In order to do this, I would have to start a psychological process called "Synaesthesia", where you picture many things like inspirational ideas, but mainly sounds, within your mind. This is paramount in the circumstances of understanding music videos, as they assemble on the soundtracks visual aspects and associations to establish a connection with the audience and to exercise the providence of any possible, additional pleasure.

Within this approach you would need to begin with the actual music/symphony and to establish an understanding of how the song works by taking into account the way it has been stacked and piled on with sound. To begin, lyrics do not need to be analysed and compared word for word throughout, but considered for the what they show the mood and general feeling to be. The lyrics are vital as they create the subject matter and storyline. Key Phrases, the Chorus and Key Lines will have a meaning and a part to play in the visuals associated within the song.

Roland Barthes created his theory about the "Grain of Voice". It means that the singing voice is more of an expressive instrument, personal and unique to the singer, therefore being able to create and develop associations in itself. Barthes believes that this should result in a lot more close-up camera shots on the singer, as they should be identified as the most important person in the band.

Voices of the songs may contain trademarks that work with the start image, for example, Micheal Jackson's yelp, which defines him apart from other singers. Having the singer as the story teller makes the music video stand out to others on TV, as they have " a first person mode of address" instead of the hidden "fourth wall" of TV narration.

Outline on Music Videos

A music video is a short piece of video or film which includes a full song. Music artists use music videos mainly for promoting their albums. Around the 1980’s, music videos were first coming into production and being played on the first music channels – MTV and VH1.

Pop-Up Video
Pop-Up Video is a VH1 television show that "popped up" Bubble — officially called "information nuggets" — containing wry witticisms and trivia throughout music videos. The show was created by Woody Thompson and Tad Low and premiered October 27, 1996. For a time, it was the highest-Nielsen Ratings program on VH1, until "Behind the Music" had overtaken it by 1998. Although VH1.com still listed Pop-Up Video in its programming roster, it has not been aired regularly on the network since it was ended on August 8, 2002, and the show's page is now an error page, meaning that it cannot be displayed any more.

It used to run on Canada's MuchMusic and MuchMoreMusic. The show, until recently, aired nightly on VH1 Europe, but is currently run only on special occasions, such as Pop-Up Video weekends. As of December 2006, Pop-Up Video airs on VH1 Classic.

Dancing in the Distraction Factory
This is a book of which I was recommended to read by my media teacher. He said that it is a comprehensive, integrated analysis of MTV which provides new ways to understand television and popular music narratives. Reading it would help boost my knowledge of music videos in order to assist me make the guideline to creating my own.

The author of the book, Andrew Goodwin, has an approach that is multidisciplinary, highly detailed, very perceptive-and it works in relation to his ideology about music videos. The industrial approach to music television covers a lot of ground and provides the kind of clear, focused thinking so often lacking in other accounts of MTV. It is a thoroughly researched and annotated book that is accomplished in focusing upon the heart of music television and its relationship with popular culture of today's society.

This book firmly takes on the postmodern analysis of MTV as it deliberately portrays the unmeaningful images which are called in the trade 'blank parodies' of other texts. Goodwin, the author, achieves his ambition to 'advance and reframe' the debates around music video and music television. It's smart context has an impact on the debates surrounding popular culture. Andrew Goodwin’s co-editor, Garry Whannel, is a corresponding editor of the international communications journal Media, Culture, and Society. This has helped Goodwin out as he can prove that he also has an expert's opinion upon his shared ideas.

Mirror Ball
Mirrorball was originally created at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in 1996. Its aim was to prove to the world that the best music videos were worth more than a passing critical
glance and that their directors were talents worth watching. It proclaimed that pop promos, rather than short films, were where the next generation of Hollywood stars would learn and advance their film-making skills.

Mirrorball was a seven part series on shown on Channel 4 in 1999/2000. The program looked at the work of pop promo directors; Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry, Jonathan Glazer, Chris Cunningham and Dawn Shadforth, Jonas Auckland & Roman Coppola With the exception of Dawn Shadforth, Jonas Akerlund & Roman Coppola- all the featured material featured in the Mirrorball programs can be found on the Palm DVD releases "The work of director..."

In the years since it was launched, Mirrorball has co-produced two television series (in conjunction with Blackwatch Productions) for Channel 4. Mirrorball has toured the UK extensively presenting film events at the National Film Theatre, Curzon and at regional film theatres across the country. Mirrorball has also participated in international festivals in Australia, Japan and throughout Europe presenting curated programmes of work by promo directors from all corners of the globe including Sonar Festival, Barcelona and SxSW, Austin.

Inspirational Music Videos : Research No. 1

For a part of my research, I simply watched some music videos of various genres so I could select the most effective ideas and conventions for the music video Nikil and I were going to create. I also thought that it would be a good idea to view songs that had a similar theme or melodical mood. For this, Nikil and I had a kind of film-night/sleep-over where we watched several music channels for a long period of time, mainly MTV2 and Kerrang in the hope that our selected song "Everbody's changing"would be portrayed on at least one of the TV channels ..... fortunately we were'nt disappointed. At the same time we also noted down our top 3 most favourite music videos of the night: Green Day-When I Come Around, Red Hot Chilli Peppers-Under The Bridge and Incubus-Drive. The purpose being to use these as inspirational tools when we were to construct our own music video, in particular the effective use of camera angles.

Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Under The Bridge
Under The Bridge was released sometime in March 1992. It begins with the guitarist (John Frusciante), playing his guitar on a small platform inside a studio. Behind him is a view of a desert and an inverted sky. This lasts for the whole first introductory solo. The guitarist is only ever seen in this position. The singer (Anthony Kiedis) then appears, coated in purple light with a starry background behind him. After a while, a city skyline appears below him.

In several clips of the video, the bassist (Flea) and the drummer (Chad Smith) can be seen, playing away at their instruments. A lot of superimposition is used for these moments (several clips being placed over one another so that all of them are visible). One technique used for this is to position the clips in different sections of the screen, e.g. the drummer will be playing on the right whilst the singer is standing on the left. This ties in with the idea of "Mise-en-scene", a key camera shot where you can see many things happening all at once. The singer then walks through the streets of a city, while the camera focuses on different people throughout.



The director of the video, Gus Vant Sant, said that this was vital as they believed the studio portion would not convey enough emotion. He also said that it is needed to be combined with "an outdoor, streets-of-Los-Angeles theme." Near the end, the singer is seen running along a river, and an atomic bomb is going off in the background. Around the same time, the other members are shown through superimposition.

Near the end of the video is a clip where a car is driving down a road at night. This clip is in slow motion but the frame rate is significantly cut down. This makes the many street lights look more dazed. The video ends like it started, with the guitarist playing on the pedestal. Now, the background is an inverted ocean instead of a sky.

Green Day - When I Come Around
When I Come Around uses a lot of cameras which are 'tracking'. It uses the conventional format of having a storyline running parallel to the band, but the band is not performing. They are just walking through streets. The singer, is still lip syncing. This supports the idea that the singer is most important as he is in front and he is the only member doing what he would do while performing.



Whenever the band is shown, the camera is in front of them and the band is following the camera. The story is quite original - a person is standing in a house, and he looks over the street through the window to see someone else. That person is then looking at another person smoking in the streets, while he is looking at a couple kissing. The cycle continues until the last person looks back at the first person the viewer saw, making a continuous cycle.


Incubus - Drive
Drive is a more modern song than When I Come Around and uses an interesting effect throughout the video. The lead singer is shown 'drawing himself' on some paper. The video shows the band performing, but only the guitarist and singer are shown playing their instruments all the way through. Most of the time, it shows the band relaxing, however, sometimes the turn-tablist, bassist and drummer are seen playing.

There are almost no still camera shots because the camera rarely stands still, usually zooming in or panning round one of the band layers, for example, during the guitar solo, the camera is upside down, giving the video a very peculiar image to it. The guitarist is shown the most here, but all the other members are seen as well, also playing upside down. The drummer has been filmed playing but has been slowed down by editing the clip into slow motion, which can be easily noticed due to the drumstick which he is spinning with his hands. This not only looks awesome but the clip has to be in slow motion because if the drumstick was spinning rapidly, it would not fit into the slowish tempo of the song. As the solo ends, it switches from the Guitarist playing upside down in a smooth transition to the singer standing the correct way up.



The music video draws to an end when the audience is able to visualise the iconic animation of the singer ripping up the piece of paper he had originally been drawing on at the start of the music video, showing a full circle to the baseline to the video's convention. The location of the video was shot at the fairly modern McNamara Alumni Centre.

After carefully and thoroughly examining these renowned media videos, I hope to utilise and adapt some of the techniques used in these videos for the benefit of our video as they are professional and look highly effective.

Song Ideas

We began to plan what song we were going to select for our music video almost immediately after we finished our AS Project. Nikil and I discussed what songs we wanted and how we could attach some filming to whatever song we had chosen so that we could create a music video.

Our first chosen songs:

• ACDC - Black in Back
• Creedence Clearwater Revival - Fortunate Son
• Jimi Hendrix - Purple Haze
• Stranglers - Hanging Around

At the very start of the project, Nikil and I thought about what we could do to create an ideal music video. We had originally discussed about the idea of incorporating some footage from 3 video games we both knew and played quite a lot; Battlefield 1942, Battlefield 2 and Battlefield Vietnam. A close contender for the music video was the track "Purple Haze"written during the Vietnam War (1965 - 1975) by the legendary Jimi Hendrix. This game play (footage from a video game) would have ideally fitted into the video as it illustrated genuine historical combat footage and hence clearly demonstrates the war. It portrayed this in two ways firstly at a certain time of the year in Vietnam there is a natural purple haze that forms in the top canopy of the rainforest. Secondly, it has been well documented that due to the horrors of this war many very young soldiers turned to drugs in order to cope and block out the scenes of warfare, and therefore this led to them functioning under the influence of drugs and their thought processes being hazy.

The starting point of planning of our project was to combine the selected song we would have carefully chosen with various types of different military/battlefield footage, for example, air strikes by high-speed jets mixed with the gritty ground combat and the addition of naval combat too. We had planned to create and obtain the majority of this footage from using a screen capture software called FRAPS that we were both very familiar with and knew exactly how to use. We would then use this computer program to record the audio and visuals from our gameplay whilst playing military action games such as Battlefield 1942, Battlefield 2 and Battlefield Vietnam. These three video games are very realistic in comparison to a real battlefield and depict an idea picture of what we wanted. We know it is realistic because they were reviewed by game testers and people who genuinely fought in these particular battles. These reviews both stated how realistic all 3 games are.

Our idea was to compare the combat from the times of World War 2, the Vietnam War and Modern Warfare. The songs that we were going to choose were also made and released around the time of the Vietnam war, so it would suit the style of the video we wanted.

To obtain some actual military/battlefield based footage, Nikil and I had planned to go to an air show at Duxford, Cambridgeshire. Attending an airshow would enable us to observe and film different war planes from the various ages. They would be on display and would fly insane stunts and flybys over the area and in front of us. We would film the planes as they flew over perilously low doing stunts and simulated dogfights. This real-life footage would be absolutely ideal to enhance our music video and to help portray the devastation and reality of war.

One of the camera shots we wanted to use was to a "Mise-en-scene" camera shot. Ideally I would have had someone dressed up in a military uniform, preferably the singer, positioned and stationary at the end of a runway whilst a plane is taking off directly above them. We would have then edited this clip by slowing it down and mixing it with a sort of purple-haze effect.

Below is a screen shot from the ideal video we were going to use:

However, after we analysed the songs, we realised how they would be difficult to approach in consideration to making a music video. This is because the lyrics to the songs did not really give us a clear picture of an ideal story upon the results we found through the questionnaires. But all was not lost... I was listening to my friends I-Pod when I first came across the song "Everybody's Changing" by Lily Allen.

I had recognised the song as it was originally sung by Keane. After listening through the entire song I knew that this song would be the ideal piece of music to create a video. The rationale was that upon hearing the lyrics I knew that I could easily create a story-board. I personally don't like this version of the song sung by Lily Allen. My preferance is the original release by the group Keane, but their track was too lengthy and therefore, wasn't suitable to make an effective video, whereas Lily Allen's version of the song is just the ideal amount of time.

Our Media Group

Last year for my AS Media Project I created a group. Within our group was me, Nikil Giri and Matt Smith. This group achieved all the filming and editing within the designated time frame, resulting in a successful project. In this academic school year Matt Smith left our group so for the second phase I am now paired with Nikil Giri for the A2 Project. We hope to accomplish the same success as we did last year or even succeed further.

Below is a link to the final piece of work I submitted for last year's course: www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaBLn5VAFb4

Below is a link to the original version of our AS media work:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcgDca78bvw&feature=related

Below is a picture of Nikil (Left) and I (Right).

Brief Introduction

Hello, I am Peter Berrisford and this is my A2 Media Blog. For my project I have decided to create a music video. To support this, I will incorporate two other forms of media. This will involve me creating a magazine advertisement and an album cover for my artist/band.