Hi! Welcome to my A level media blog. My name is Molly Sullivan (0816).

I'm in Group 4 with Maisie MacGregor (0506), Mari Leach (0440), and Ellie Brackpool (0100)

You can navigate my blog by using the column on the right hand side where you will find the following labels:
A2 Prelim, A2 Research and Planning, A2 Production and also a link to all of the work I did for AS.
There's also a link to the Latymer music video blog as well as a live link to the group's Facebook group.

Click here to access the group's Facebook page.

Thank you and I hope you enjoy my blog!

Our Music Video

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Front and back cover of the album.

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Inside covers of the album

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Thursday 18 September 2014

Research - Influential/Inspirational Album Covers

Album artwork is a crucial component to an artist's packaging and the way in which they represent themselves to their market and to the rest of the industry. Some artist's take on a very simplistic approach with a simple photograph of themselves, whilst others go to the other end of the spectrum, hiring famous artists to create unforgettable album covers that are always associated with the artist and their brand.

The 1975 - Self -titled album.


The XX - Coexist
Arctic Monkeys - AM

These three album covers are all good examples of simplistic cover artwork that remains very effective. They have all stuck to very clear and simple colour schemes. The 1975 are now very much associated with black and white colour schemes, a theme which they continue to explore within their music videos and the outfits they wear on stage. The XX's album art for Coexist is a very simple concept which works brilliantly; it is a very simple design and shape, sticking to a plain backgrond, however the colour pattern in the centre design is very interesting and has captivating colours. The Arctic Monkeys' cover for AM shows how they have matured as a band, creating a much more simplistic cover, sticking to black and white, however the design is still clever and has signs of their old quirkiness as the two waves in the middle create and A and an M - to match the title.

Nirvana - Nevermind
This cover of Nrivana's album Nevermind is definitely influential to any artist when researching album artwork as it is one of the most memorable and well-known album covers of all time, printed on thousands upon thousands of posters all over the world. Although the shoot was a fluke and the baby was only put into the pool twice, this image has become iconic. The use of a child chasing a dollar bill on a hook could be seen as a response towards the American society at the time and their attitudes to money and the way their children were raised - being tempted and bribed by money.

Paramore - Selftitled album cover
This album cover of Paramore's self titled album - their first album after the departure of two of their members - is a good example of a band/artist shot album cover that looks effective. Even though it is just a picture of the band infront of a plain background it still looks really striking; the powder paint on the members has added a really fun and quirky effect and adds a nice splash of colour. The black background makes the picture really pop and makes the font stand out well.


King Krule - 6 Feet Beneath The Moon
I really like this album cover as it is very unique and different to what you would expect from a young male solo artist. The only thing I would maybe change about this album cover would be to add the artist's name or the album title but I do think it looks great how it is. It's clear that cubism was an influence on the album art and I think it makes a really interesting picture.


This M.I.A album art is really interesting and would definitely stand out from the other albums on a rack at a store. This album cover is full of contrasts. The background is quite trippy and the black and white colours contrast with the bright colours of the images in the foreground. The peace symbol that is in the centre of the image constrasts with the images of machine guns and army tanks - symbols of war and violence. The two different fonts are on opposite ends of the scale, one is bubble writing, very bouncy and round whilst the other is purple font with jagged, sharp edges. All of these contrasting components make up a really vibrant and interesting album cover. 

Semiotic Analysis


This is the official video made for 30 Seconds To Mars' song City Of Angels
off of their fourth studio album, Love Lust Faith and Dreams. The video was a Bartholomew Cubbins Film, Bartholomew Cubbins is the alias by which Jared Leto - the lead singer of the band - goes by.



The video is almost like a short film, it begins with Kanye West comparing Hollywood icons, famous objects, and architecture to the city of Los Angeles. He is then followed by a series of commentary from several different residents of the city, some who we recognise and some who we don't, and their  relationship with the city of LA. This video captures the city in it's entirety, from the Hollywood Hills to the Hollywood Boulevard, and the struggles along with the successes of the entertainers who live there. The film featured many famous faces such as Lindsay Lohan, Selena Gomez, James Franco, Ashley Olsen, and Corey Feldman, adding to the familiarity of the film for the audience.

Archive clips of Marilyn Monroe, James  Dean and Elisabeth Taylor are included as well, iconic faces in the world of entertainment, recognisable to people all across the world. Leto did not only use famous faces for this film, but also hired people aspiring to make it big in Hollywood, including a young homeless man, a silver street performer, a Superman impersonator, and a porn star/single mum among others in similar positions to them. I think that this was an integral part of the film as it provided a much more realistic and far less glamorous view on the entertainment industry, looking at people who are still trying to reach their dreams, but aren't quite there yet.

Thursday 11 September 2014

Research - Influential Styles/Movements/Periods - of Film, Music Video, Art, Adverts, Fashion etc



This video is a montage of the new House of Vans in London that is a new social hub for skating and arts. It seems to have a really good vibe, full of creativity and energy among young people. It's a really good example of the type of youth culture I would like to portray in our video.


Gif from Skins generation 2


Gif from Skins generation 2
The two gifs I made are from clips of Skins episodes from the third series. Skins is a show that represents people of our own age, doing typical things that people our age do, often frowned upon by adults but it is often quite relatable to our own characters, or characters of our friends. Although the story line is somewhat exaggerated and could be seen to glamourise abuse of drugs and alcohol, mental health, among other touchy subjects, it also gave a sense of release and freedom to our generation, showing us that perhaps some of things we feel aren't so abnormal.



Here is a trailer made by 4Creative for the second series of Skins. The reason why Skins has influenced/inspired me in this process is because I would like to create a narrative for my music video that focuses on one close group of friends, like the groups in Skins. However, I would like to create a more light-hearted, summery feel to the video, and not explore the darker and more psychological sides to the characters like they do in Skins.



This is one of my favourite songs ever, and I first heard it when it was played on Skins in the series 5 finale. This song has a very nostalgic feel to it, a song which always reminds me of summer with my friends. The lyrics are quite coming-of-age styled, with phrases such as "we are a mess, we are failures, and we love it" all to a really cheerful tune, giving off a care-free attitude. 

This was the first time that I had actually watched this video - which is strange as it is one of my favourite songs - but while watching it I realised the first half of the song that's filmed in the day time, is right at the bottom of my road! And all of the shots by the field/forest and golf course are all places where me and my friends go in the summer for field parties etc. So this was really strange for me because I uesd this song as inspiration for my video I want to make based around my friends and having fun, to find out it was filmed in the exact same spot where me and my friends hang out!

Research - Influential/ Inspirational Music Videos, Album Covers and Websites



I really like the lighting in this video, filming at dusk/sunrise has a really nice effect. I also really want to use the London background like King Krule uses in this video. Another thing that inspires me in this video is the use of the flare - if we could find a way to incorporate flares/flame/sparklers into our video I think it could look really cool if we use it correctly. It's really nice how the red light from the flare is almost the only source of light that allows us to see him, it creates a dark atmosphere due to the time of day, however it also adds warmth so it does not come across as cold or sinister.




This is one of my favourite music videos of all time, it has really inspired me to film our video outdoors, even if the weather is bad, you just have to embrace it. The use of the young kids singing along is really great and adds a comic effect to the video. The scene is very relatable for me as it reminds me of the annual cross country run we had to do in school every year at primary and secondary school where we had to run through the muddy forest in our ugly PE kits - there is something distinctly British about this.




The video for Praise You by Fatboy Slim is definitely a game-changer in the world of music videos. It was the catalyst for the flash-mob craze which still goes on today. I love the grainy/VHS/retro look to the video, and the vintage styling of everyone in the video. I think the video is really inspiring and it makes me want to get up and dance and join in with them, it carries a very care-free attitude and is definitely uplifting. Although the dancers in the video are taking their roles very seriously, the video has such comedic value to it, and is just so much fun to watch.




The thing I really love about this video is that you can clearly see it is set in the city, something I hope to do with my own music video. I also really like how it is following the short journey of a man following several different characters, and the fact that the voice doesn't fit the man's character is really interesting and is quite unique in this way. I like this effect because it means that we don't necessarily need an actor whose appearance matches the voice of the singer on the single.




The thing that inspires me about this video is the narrative; I love how the characters sometimes interact with the camera, singing into it and playing up to it. This has influenced me and my ideas as I would like to have a similar narrative, following around a group of friends getting up to their usual mischief about town.




What really inspires me about this video is the setting and the whole theme of the song. The use of the two parrallel views of one city is brilliant and makes it really interesting to watch. It also includes lots of references to popular culture, things that some of the audience will recognise- like the mock of the Rough Trade record store in Brick Lane. I also really like the styling of Lily Allen, her style is quite quirky, she definitely has a girly side as she is wearing big hoop earrings and a very outlandish dress, but she mixes this up with a pair of Nike air max trainers which give Lily her very iconic and unique look.



I really like the different settings of this video, going from a very urbanised, concrete landscape, to areas filled with more greenery, marsh-like land. The use of the two young boys as actors has worked really well as they are compared to two of the real band members - Pete and Carl. The two boys are likeable characters and we empathise with them in a way, as they are two cheeky looking lads who are left in a desolate looking area, where they are the only life around.




I do really like this video, however I have taken more inspiration from the lyrics of the song and the music itself. Some of the lyrics of the song say:

"All the crazy s*** I did tonight,
those will be the best memories."



Admittedly, these aren't the most thought-inspiring lyrics I have come across but it is the vibe and the theme of being young/care-free and having fun with friends on a night out, which I would like to use for our own music video.

Research - Suitable Tracks for the Single

At this stage I'm currently finding it really difficult to find a suitable track for the single as all of the tracks that I really want to use are tracks which I'm uncertain of wether or not they fit the criteria, as they are relatively new/possibly well known songs. However, here are a few songs that have the sort of vibe I was looking for, even though some of them are not exactly what I was looking for.










Research - Genres of Interest

I have a really wide taste in music that reaches over a variety of genres, such as; indie rock, alternative, funk rock, hip-hop, ska, punk, pop punk, EDM (in general), hardcore, metalcore, metal, grunge, DIY punk, melodic hardcore/emo. However, I am aware that some of these genres are very niche and so they only appeal to a very specific target market which can be hard to reach successfully for a brand new artist on the scene.

This is a music video for a hardcore/DIY punk band Your Demise who appeal to a relatively niche market compared to artists like Beyonce.

Bearing that in mind, I have to take in consideration what music is selling well at the moment, and what genres of music I am familar with as it is always a good idea to stick to what you know. The two genres that I would really like to explore would be indie/alternative hip hop - artists like King Krule and Jamie T - and the other genre which I am interested in is dance music -  a genre which is becoming increasingly popular, and is featuring more and more in the top UK charts, thanks to artists such as Disclosure and Chase and Status.

A gif of a video taken of Chase and Status' set at Reading Festival main stage 2013 - showing how huge their crowd was (I was up at the front there)
Reading Festival Line-Up Poster 2014

At Reading Festival this year me and my friends, along with thousands of other people went along to many more acts in the dance tent than we did the year before. The dance tent at Reading featured artists such as Netsky, Pendulum DJ set, Aluna George, Secondcity and Sigma; drawing in huge crowds that exceeded the size of the tent. The tent was hugely popular thanks to all of the great acts which were to thank for some of the biggest anthems of the summer.


This is the video for I Wanna Feel - Secondcity, one of the biggest tracks of the summer. This is the sort of song, genre, and style I would like to use for our own music video.

The sort of song I would love to use is something with a feel-good, nostalgic, summer tune which is loved by everyone but young people especially. Something that as soon as you hear it reminds you of your friends, good times, summer evenings and general happiness.

Wednesday 10 September 2014

Research - Record Labels


A record label is a brand or a company that is associated with the marketing side of the music industry. They represent artists, managing the production and distribution of the music of an artist and their brand.

There are 4 major labels that represent up to 75% of the music sold on the music market each year. An artist that is signed to one of these labels are either signed to the central label, eg. Sony, or they are signed to a subsidiary label of this company, eg. Columbia Records. Subsidiary labels like Columbia have their own staff, artists and often manage their own finances. However, they are still answerable to the central company.

The four major labels are:

  • EMI 

EMI's subsidiary record labels are EMI Records, Parlophone, Virgin Records and Capitol Records.

Parlophone has artist's such as Two Door Cinema Club, The Verve, Lily Allen (outside of the US), Gabrielle Aplin, David Guetta and Gorillaz,



  • SONY BMG

Sony BMG has several subsidiary labels includin g Columbia Records. Sony BMG is the label to artists such as Bruno Mars, Frank Turner, Foo Fighters, La Roux and Rizzle Kicks.


Their subsidiary label Columbia has artists such as Adele, Beyonce, Daft Punk, DJ Fresh, George Ezra, One Direction, London Grammar and Secondcity. 

  • Warner Music Group

Warner Music Group's subsidiary labels include Warner Bros Records and Atlantic Records. It is also the label of artists such as Biffy Clyro, Green Day, Foals, Linkin Park, and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
  • Universal Music Group


UMG is the largest music corporation in the world. It owns labels such as Interscope, Island Records, Def Jam, and Motown; labels to artists such as Justin Bieber, Eminem, Disclosure, Jay Z, Lady Gaga, The Killers, Avicii, The 1975, Swedish House Mafia and Sam Smith.





Independent Record Labels


Dominio Recording Company 

Domino is an independent record label based in Londo n, that also has branches in New York and Germany, that was founded in 1993. Success for the label didn't come immediately as they were releasing more established American rock and and unusual British music that was sidelined during the BritPop era. Recent more high-profile releases from bands like Arctic Monkeys and Franz Ferdinand have acted as a catalyst to the increasing credibilty of the label. Domino is now one of the UK's longest running and most successful record labels. 




Research - What is Selling Well


This chart shows the album sales in the UK by the country of the artist's origin, the figures show that 51.9% of the albums sold in the UK last year were of UK artists, and second were American artists who made up 33.8% of album sales. These figures demonstrate that UK artists sell really well in the UK and that new British artists are often welcomed with lots of support in the UK.



The chart below shows the best selling singles of the past year in the UK and how long they remained in the top 10 for. According to this, almost all of the best selling singles of the past year have been of the Pop genre, singles like Happy, Story of My Life, and Trumpets are all examples of singles from this genre. Although, artists like Martin Garrix, Mr Probz, Avicii, and Clean Bandit have also made it into  the top selling singles, which shows that music belonging to the umbrella term EDM is growing more and more popular.

Top selling singles in the UK charts over the past year,

Headline from a BBC online article published in February 2014
Digital album sales and a surge in streaming boosted total digital revenue in 2013 to £365m - up from £326m in 2012.
Streaming revenue increased by 41%, bringing total UK revenue to £730.4m - the first growth since 2009.
£54.7m was generated last year alone through subscriptions on streaming sites such as Spotify.
The BPI said some 7.4bn songs were streamed in 2013, double the levels of 2012.
Digital album sales also grew 19.5% to £160.5m, helped by the success of new British acts like Bastille - who scored the biggest selling digital album of the year with their debut Bad Blood.
However sales of vinyl LPs grew 49% to £12.1m, the highest level of annual income for the format since 1995.
From these stats taken from BPI's figures, it is clear to see that the use of digital streaming and digital downloads is how music is now selling and is vital to the UK market. It also shows that new indie-pop Birtish bands such as Bastille are selling albums more than anyone else. This means that there is still a strong desire for this type of music in the UK and people are still buying albums. Also, there is an increasing income from vinyl LP sales, with bands such as Arctic Monkeys releasing their albums onto vinyl as well as CDs. As vinyl is becoming more popular among the younger generations it gives an insight into the groups of people who are spending their money on buying music.

Tuesday 9 September 2014

Research - Current Trends in Popular Music

According to YouTube these are currently the 10 most popular music videos on the site:

And these are the top 10 music tracks being listened to / watched in the UK at the moment. All ten of these tracks would come under the 'pop' genre, the only exception to this could be the Robin Schullz remix of Waves by Mr Probz.



These are the top 25 highest selling singles on iTunes at the moment. The majority of these songs come under the pop genre, and the few exceptions to that are tracks that come under the dance/pop category so they are not drastically different. There is a clear lack of rock music in the top 25 downloads, and 'pop' is definitely dominating the charts in the UK. However; Sam Smith, Ed Sheeran and George Ezra all appear in the top 25 and are all young male British singer-songwriters which shows a new emerging trend in the market. 



MTV held a poll online through Twitter in which music fans sent in tweets voting for their 'hottest summer superstar' this year. In first place was One Direction, after receiving an astonishing 56 million votes via Twitter. This does not only show how many fans they have but also the dedication of their fandom, who beat the Beliebers (Justin Bieber fans) when he came second on the list, receiving 47 million votes. 



The rest of the top 10 'Hottest Superstars of the Summer' was mainly solo female artists, with the likes of Taylor Swift, Rihanna and Lady Gaga, all receiving millions of votes each. This shows that female pop/r'n'b artists are very popular at the moment, especially among the viewers of MTV and frequent users of Twitter.

This list also shows that boy bands are popular at the moment with One Direction dominating the poll by a long way, leaving little room for any competition. However, new Australian boy band 5 Seconds Of Summer have come in 5th position raking in 18 million votes, not even half as much as 1D, but still managing to get more than Rihanna, and Coldplay - artists who have been releasing records for years before 5 Seconds of Summer had even formed. 


Sunday 7 September 2014

Research - What Kind of Music Video I Want to Make


I would really like to make a music video that wasn't shot entirely in a studio, however I know that we have access to a great space in school that we can use as our studio and I know this works well, as I have seen videos filmed in the school's studio as well as filming in there myself. Saying this, I would like to film outside and in different locations, especially around London to give the video a very British look to it, rather than an Americanised studio-filmed video.



This video for King Krule's track, Easy Easy sums up the sort of vibe I want my music video to give off. An almost nostalgic style of filming, using fish eye lenses and other effects so that the video isn't so HD looking. It is filmed in different locations and is a very active video in the sense that there is constant motion of the camera and of the artist, switching between scenes. This is how I would like my video to be filmed. Also, I really like how it has familiar features of places, with my video I would like to film in places like train stations or places where we could use the city as the backdrop, utilising the city we live in as much as we can and use London to our advantage; but I know that this isn't always practical and can be more difficult to film effectively in an uncontrolled environment.





The video for Sticks n' Stones by Jamie T is another good example of the type of video I would like to make; it's shot outside and is clear that it was shot in London. It has the feel to it where it almost looks like one of their friends' shot it, and that they were doing it themselves, not with a proffessional cameraman or in a studio. I also really like how the video is not just focusisng on Jamie T but is full of friends all interacting with eachother, almost like we as the viewers have been watching in on a day in their life; it's a very fun and playful video in that sense.





There are lots of things that I really like about this video although I don't like the song very much. I like how the video is styled to give it a very retro - 90s look to it. I think that the mixture between studio shots of the singer and shots of other people working/dancing/driving is really nice and I love how they have included lots of shots of people at parties/festivals/clubs. It would be interesting to try and replicate something like this although it's obviously very difficult. The colouring and effects on the video make it really look like it could have been recorded in the 90s on an old camera. The styling and costumes of the girls in the video are really cool and show a very retro/vintage side of themselves. I also really like how they have used projected images over the singer in the studio shots, I think it creates a really effective look although it is quite simple.





The thing that I like about this video is that it's all shot outside and doesn't focus solely on the main singer - Paloma Faith. I like how it cuts between shots of ordinary people going about their usual business, rather than having shots of professional dancers and models like in lots of music videos. Although the video doesn't follow a complicated narrative it is still fun and interesting to watch and the characters are all likeable so the audience enjoys watching them. It has a very feel-good nature to the video which matches the song.





Research - My Music Consumption



















Music is generally a huge part of my life and has definitely shaped the person I am today. When I wake up for school I like to put on some upbeat music while I'm getting ready to help wake me up a bit, at the moment The 1975 is the album I play in the mornings as it puts me in a happy mood. I have to listen to music on the bus to and from school every day, the thought of getting on public transport without my headphones genuinely horrifies me.

The three pictures below are screenshots I took on my phone are from the album section in my iPod. These are all album covers of songs I have on my own, the pictures show a wide range in
genres amongst the albums, from classic rock, to indie/folk, and from metalcore to hip hop. My personal music libary is very diverse. However, I don't have much recent music on my phone as I have been using my Spotify premium account a lot lately which lets me listen to loads of music in playlists I create for about £5 a month.







                             

As well as music being a part of my day-to-day life, it also plays a huge part of my social life, I love going to gigs and concerts as often as I can, and I would say that the money I've spent on buying tickets for shows outweighs the amount of money I've spent on buying music, tenfold. I've seen over 90 bands/artists live and have been to 7 festivals, where I 've created some of my most favourite memories!

These are 4 photos I took myself and I think they are good examples to show the different ways I experience live music. The first two pictures were taken at The Camden Underworld when I was seeing a band called Your Demise play their last ever show. They weren't a huge band but they had a really dedicated fanbase and to be part of their final ever show as a band was special, the atmosphere in that small, dingy venue that night was something contagious and it's a night I won't forget.



These pictures show just how small and intimate the gig was, the stage only being two feet off of the floor without a barrier between the fans and the band. This meant that there was constant stage diving and at the end, I got on stage with the band for their last song. This is the reason I like being at small gigs, the atmosphere is something you just cannot match at a stadium or an arena sized concert. The sense of community is a lot more stronger in venues like The Underworld.


At the other end of the spectrum of live music experiences is the festival. I took these two pictures at Reading Festival this year at the main stage. The vibe in a festival crowd is so different, when a song gets played that everyone knows and the whole crowd sings along, it's one of the best feelings ever and the music unites everyone to create an amazing atmosphere.



Friday 5 September 2014

Research - What Music Means To Me

The following videos are songs that have been significant to me at different stages in my life.

The Who and Red Hot Chili Peppers are two bands that were played a lot at home, and in car journeys from when I was born; I still listen to both of these bands, and have seen the Chili Peppers live. Music that I listened to when I was a child has very much influenced my music taste today. Although The Who have been a band for longer than I've been alive, I borrow their albums from my dad to put onto my iTunes and still listen to them today. The Chili Peppers, along with Green Day were some of the first modern bands that got me into punk/rock music, introducing me to countless different bands of all different genres that I would never have discovered otherwise.






Mr Brightside is a song that is significant to me, and a lot of people my age. Whether you like this song or not, it's almost impossible to claim that you have never sung along to this song at the top of your voice at some sort of occasion. Mr Brightside is definitely an anthem of my generation and will stick with me forever. It's one of those songs that if it was played in 50 years time, I would still know all the words.





The song Naive is important to me in a very similar way as Mr Brightside. This song reminds me of my friends and good times in general. Me and my friends all love this song, and is definitely one of my most played songs ever!



Basement are without a doubt one of my favourite bands. I only started getting into Basement when I heard the news that they were breaking up as lots of people I follow on twitter were going to their farewell tour. Ironically, after listening to them just once they quickly became an obsession of mine..right after they had just broken up. Luckily for me, they have since got back together and I got to see them at Reading Fest this year; even though I went on my own as none of my friends know them, I still had the best time and can't wait to see them again at their show next month!




Basement are a really important band to me, they represent a period of my life where my music taste really expanded, and I feel like a completely different person with the bands I listen to now as it's almost like belonging to a community. This 'community' is made up of people I've met through Twitter and sometimes Tumblr who all have the same shared interest in music, especially the same 3 or 4 genres and sub-genres. Meeting these people through Twitter and then seeing them at shows and festivals is great, and is now a major part of my life. The following for Basement aren't huge, and they'll never sell out Wembley but their fan base is incredibly loyal and intense. I've picked this song from this record as this was the first album I ever bought on vinyl and this song is one of my favourites.