Thursday, 23 September 2010
Friday, 10 September 2010
Copyright Letter to Label
To the copyright holder
We are a group of A Level students working on an A Level project for a qualification in Media Studies. We are writing to request permission to use the following track as part of this project:
Black Heart by Calexico
With your permission the track would be used as the accompaniment to a short form video that is made purely for assessment purposes and will have no commercial usage. The video will be viewed only by members of the school community and the assessor of the examination board.
The artist and the copyright holder will of course be fully recognised in the pre-production and evaluation material that accompanies the project. We can also include a full copyright notice if required both in the planning material and on the video itself.
Yours sincerely
Ellie McGregor
***PLEASE NOTE***
For writer and publisher information, please check the ASCAP, BMI, Harry Fox Agency and All Music Guide websites.
If you are clearing film festival rights for an independent film without commercial distribution, please note that is not policy to issue quotes for additional rights (such as theatrical release, television broadcast, etc.), until such time as an actual distribution deal is in place.
Please complete the following and email to: edroche.chicago@gmail.com
Your name:
Company name:
Phone number:
Fax number:
E-mail address:
Mailing address:
PROJECT TITLE:
Type of project:
-Film
-TV
-Commercial
-Live Dramatic Performance
-Interactive Media Videogame
-Home Video/DVD
Other (please specify):
Production company (if any):
Distribution company (if any):
Overall budget of project and music budget:
Plot synopsis and approximate running time of project:
Requested song title(s):
Master recording: (Name of artist performing the song(s) you wish to use)
Timing and type of use:
(Please provide details on how the song(s) will be used in your project, as well as the approximate timing in minutes/seconds – i.e. up to 1:30 background vocal over opening titles, 0:45 background vocal over montage, etc.)
Requested rights/required media:
(Please specify exactly what rights you require – i.e. film festivals, theatrical, free/network TV, basic cable/satellite TV, pay/subscription TV, home video/DVD, common carriers (airplanes, etc.), Internet, live dramatic performance, etc.)
Length of term: (i.e. two weeks, five years, perpetuity, etc.)
Territory: (i.e.
Additional songs used in the project:
Estimated release date:
Summary/additional information:
Artist Profile
Our artist is going to be original and organic, avioding the look of being generic and mass produced. To do this we are going to use some stereotypical props which can be identified with as country and western i.e. guitar and a leather jacket. However, to avoid the over used conventions of this genre we are going to stay away from cowboy boots and hats. One of main reasons for this is that over time the populations outlook on cowboy hats has evolved and changed and they are now associated with homosexuality and as our artist is heterosexual with a love interest being female, we do not want to mix the message we are trying to send.
Our Record Label
Touch and go records is an independent record label based in the Chicago, Illinois.
Touch and Go Records came into existence in late 1980, when the Ohio punk band Necros decided they wanted to put out a 7" record. Being in high school at the time, and having no money, they were aided in this project by their friends Tesco Vee and Dave Stimson, who were the geniuses behind a fanzine called Touch and Go. The 7"s by the Necros and the Fix (a Michigan punk band) were recorded in late 1980 and released in early 1981, and Touch and Go Records was officially born.
Early releases for Touch and Go consisted mainly of 7" vinyl singles by many of the early '80s Michigan / Ohio hardcore bands, including the Necros, the Meatmen, and Negative Approach
Institutional Context
1. What is the history of the band?
They are a relatively new band of 2 years. They met in Nashville but once forming the band moved to Austin, Texas where they performed in the South by South west music festival. This is home to descovering other popular Indi bands such as MGMT They have broken away from the stereotypical country genre and in doing so have become more individual. Their songs have darker feel due to their lyrics not being about the common love intrests, but relating to death and struggle.
2. What genre(s) of music do the band/ artist fit into
The band genre is country. However, they have broken away from the sterotype country and are more alternative. This is why they attract a niche audience. This also assists their star image as they are very different and therefore are original in their own way.
3. What record label are the band/ artist signed to?
They are signed to ‘Touch and Go records’. This is an independent record label which is based out of
This correlates well with our band as they have a niche fan base and are not a huge pop sensation on a huge record label.
4. Who are the band's audiences?
Middle aged (50+)
Mainly white males
Those who listen to folk, indie music
Those who like country music, but with a bit of a twist.
5. What kind of visual images has the act/band created for themselves?
The band is normally portrayed as being alternative as instead of sitting on a horse, chewing straw and wearing a cowboy hat they are a bit darker. They still wear some conventions of stereotypical country I.e riding chaps but they may be with a twist like them i.e being black and menacing. This helps them relate to their country fans but not fit into the norm and be stereotypical.
Their videos also reflect their alternative feel by using strong special effects. They also avoid the norms by having flames and burnt down houses, with scarcows playing the violins. Their lyrics also show there alternative feel as they are singing about poison and sorrow as apposed to love and joy.
Initail Ideas
We decided upon using a country theme due to the fact that there is a clear stereotype of that Genre. These stereotypes are off the man sitting on the hay bail with a cigarette, black hat and guitar. This confirmed stereotype was useful as we know how to go away from the norm to create a more original idea.
The people we were thinking about were
Ryan Adams
Keith Urban
We were thinking about these two as they are new and modern and also have an alternative country feel.
Black Heart - Calexico
This is the band Calexico. We picked this song as it darker than the normal upbeat country. It also provides us with a chance to make our video darker and incorporate elements such as fire which we wouldn't have been able to make into the originally.
Our Production Group
Our production group is made out of 4 students from Hurtwood House.
1. Ellie McGregor
2. James Burke
3. Catrina Kirby
4. Cate Hoare
James and I shared a role as the director and editor. I was also in charge of the majority of the props and organisation of shoot day i.e. the shooting schedule. Cate was in charge of Location. Catrina was incharge of bringing the guitar for shoot day.
1. Ellie McGregor
2. James Burke
3. Catrina Kirby
4. Cate Hoare
James and I shared a role as the director and editor. I was also in charge of the majority of the props and organisation of shoot day i.e. the shooting schedule. Cate was in charge of Location. Catrina was incharge of bringing the guitar for shoot day.
Conventions of Album Artwork
Conventions of the Video Promo
These are the Conventions explained by Negus:
The explicit and unashamed promotion of the artist’s “image” (aesthetic/generic/ideological) as a specific product with a brand identity, ready for mass consumption
· The featuring of the artist (almost without exception)
· A wide and extensive use of shot types, camera angles and movement
· Repetition of reoccuring thematic elements and generically specific iconography (one key element often being dominant and providing the skeletal structure for the promo)
· A possible narrative structure
· A possible performance element
· The flexibility to disregard Realism!
· Shots cut tightly to the beat of the track
· Use of special effects (lighting, annimation, CGIs, in-camera effects)
· A carefully constructed Mise en Scene appropriate to the content and tone of the track
· High impact instantly!
Background to the Music Industry
Music video has a number of different functions:
· Promotes a specific single and, normally, an album
· Promotes a specific artist or band
· Creates, adapts or feeds into a ‘star image’
· Entertains as product in its own right
· Reinforces, adapts or undermines the ‘meanings’ of a song/track
They often contain an number of re-occuring thematic elements such as; Narrative, performance, thematic and symbolic
- Most majors also own, or license, a string of a smalled subsidiary companies in order to reach different kinds of audiences in different kinds of genre. These companies are known as 'Major-Independents'
- Finally, there are a huge number of small companies with little to no financial connection to the majors
- These companies often concentrate on a small number of artists, within specialized niches in the industry.
- Known as 'Independents'
• Visually stylish – ‘artistic’ mise-en-scene
• ‘Rhythmic’ montage, fragmented style
• Intercutting
• Experimental use of camera/editing
• Fast pace
• Conspicuous lighting and cinematography
Often break the rules of continuity editing
Music video serves a number of different functions:
–Promotes a specific single and, normally, an album
–Promotes a specific artist or band
–Creates, adapts or feeds into a ‘star image’
–Entertains as product in its own right
–Reinforces, adapts or undermines the ‘meanings’ of a song
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