As well as this ironic underlaying meaning to our use of the money, there is also a more direct meaning. The fact that the money is from a board game, monopoly, can also be directly related to our female protagonist. It is heavily implied within the video that she is literally 'playing a game' in order to gain money for herself, as well as being a metaphor for the economic climate and money-grabbing banker situation. Being the strong female character she is, she is in complete control of the game she is playing, which of course is again linked to the term monopolisation so rather than there being an ironic meaning, the use of monopoly money is also presenting the fact that the female protagonist is in complete control of the supposed male characters that she is taking financial gain from.
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
Monopolising
As well as this ironic underlaying meaning to our use of the money, there is also a more direct meaning. The fact that the money is from a board game, monopoly, can also be directly related to our female protagonist. It is heavily implied within the video that she is literally 'playing a game' in order to gain money for herself, as well as being a metaphor for the economic climate and money-grabbing banker situation. Being the strong female character she is, she is in complete control of the game she is playing, which of course is again linked to the term monopolisation so rather than there being an ironic meaning, the use of monopoly money is also presenting the fact that the female protagonist is in complete control of the supposed male characters that she is taking financial gain from.
Friday, 4 March 2011
Inspiration for music video
We focussed on this particular shot to influence two of the ideas from within our own video. Firstly we used the fact that Shaun was walking along the wall, and saw this to be a potential reference. We then took this idea as being from an existing media product and attempted a similar shot ourselves, shown near the beginning of the video (around ) where our acting band are shown walking across the pole in fast motion. We then added a reverse of the same shot directly after (as you can see from watching the video at the stated time) as this added an element of fun and quirkiness, hence conforming to the fun style of the ska genre. The movement of our actors (the way in which they are walking across the pole)can also be linked to the Madness Walk, previously mentioned, as we combined the idea of this scene from This is England with referencing an existing band of the same genre. (image blurred as screenshot from video).


Tuesday, 8 February 2011
Responsibilities
Our group for the planning and shooting of the music video consists of four members – Myself, Lizzie, Andy and Harley, however this group will be split into two sub groups for the editing of the videos to produce two differently edited videos. This will ensure that each member gets a larger input to the editing process and are taking up larger roles in it’s production. The majority of research has been conducted individually, though ideas have been shared within the group.
The group will be equally responsible for organising between ourselves, convenient times for shooting and getting actors/props together for shooting. We will all also be responsible for the care of the recording equipment (camera and tripod) during various stages of the shooting process.
Me
With regards to the production of our music video, I will be solely responsible for my own research and input to conventions of the genre to be included in the video. I will also be involved as an actor in some performance and concept aspects of the video, acting briefly as the trumpet player of the band. I will have a large input into the filming of the majority of shots and directing of the video. I will take my turn to be responsible for the looking after of camera and tripod to be brought to school each day and to shoots. Lizzie and I shall take equal responsibility with the editing of our video, using our own knowledge of both genre conventions and the editing programme itself to complete the production.
Lizzie
Will be responsible for both her own, and group input to research into conventions of the genre. She will take up largely a directing role within the group, and be in charge of ordering the actors to perform as looks best on the camera, however Andy, Harley and myself will also have large input into this also. Lizzie will most likely be taking the largest shooting role of the group, as the rest of us act as band members, jointly direct, and film during other shoots where we are not the focus of the camera. She will also be responsible for the looking after of the recording equipment, and have equal input with myself into the editing of the footage.
Andy
Will be responsible for both his own, and group input to research into conventions of the genre. Andy will be one of the main actors in the video, featuring prominently as the band’s guitarist. However he will be contributing as a joint director with the rest of the group, mainly from the lens end of the camera. When we as a group are conducting a shoot that is not focused on Andy, he will be equally taking responsibility for filming shots and directing. He too will have be looking after the equipment, and between Harley and himself will have equal responsibility for the editing of their own video.
Harley
Will be responsible for both his own, and group input to research into conventions of the genre. Harley will feature briefly as an actor as the band’s drummer. He will be equally responsible for the directing and shooting of the production when not the focus of the camera, whilst inputting ideas and thoughts towards shots and concept/genre conventions throughout the shooting and planning process. Between Andy and himself, equal responsibility will be shared for the editing of their own video, with constant input from both members on opinions and physical processes (the actual editing through Adobe Elements).
Tuesday, 25 January 2011
Shooting Schedules



Wednesday, 19 January 2011
Props (with elements of costume in detail)
Braces
Braces will be used relatively prominently throughout the video worn by both myself and Isobel as actors playing band members. Braces are iconographic of the ska genre, most noticeably in two-tone and ska/punk/skinhead culture, therefore we feel them to be an ideal prop and of near paramount importance to include as part of our costume! A band that can be used as a comparison to our own actors and decision to use braces are The Specials whose front man, Terry Hall, frequently wore them during live performances. An inter-textual reference to our video relating to and influencing our choice to fashion the ska style braces is Shane Meadows’ This is England, where throughout the film many of the characters including Shaun and Milky are seen wearing them.
Lipstick
During one of the montages throughout the video (likely to be near the beginning to make it look as though she is getting ready to go out) we plan to use a shot like this one we’ve taken of Izzy putting on lipstick. We will use red lipstick as it is very iconic of a deviant woman or femme fatale character, and brings about large connotations of a glamorous woman, potentially the type who are likely to be money-grabbing and wealth orientated! We see it as a fitting prop to use as itwould immediately establish the female actor as a perfect fit to this glamorous, money-grabbing stereotype, being the image that we are trying to achieve.
Guitar
For the performance aspects of the video we will be using an electric guitar belonging to our group member, Lizzie. Because of the reason that none of our group (other than Lizzie who prefers to take a more directing role) can actually competently play the guitar, we will be using Andy to pose as the guitarist of the band and mime playing the chords in synchronisation with the track itself to give the appearance of actual performance. It is of my opinion that performance is a vital element of a music video, if only for small appearances, and especially seeing as our video will be a flurry of concept based shots in the form of a montage, it will be important to include them to keep the video interesting.
Trilbies
The trilby hat has been heavily associated with jazz, ska and the two-tone subculture since it’s popularity peak in the early 1960’s. It has been fashioned at times by members of Madness, The Specials, Reel Big Fish and the majority of the cast from This is England. Seeing as it has been so prominent in many famous ska bands and media texts of the genre, and is so widely renowned for being iconic of the genre we felt it greatly necessary to include in our own video, worn by myself, Jack and Andy (actors).

Boots
We dressed myself, Andy and Izzy in Dr Martens style military boots. These are more commonly of the ska-punk/skinhead culture side of ska rather than the two-tone image of our band, however we felt it appropriate to still use them as part of our costume as they represent the ska culture in itself nevertheless, and give connotations of skinhead culture, which instantly links the viewers’ train of thought to the ska genre. Therefore, we felt them to be a significant contribution to the prop and costume element of our video. They were famously fashioned by the large majority of characters in This is England, which highlights their appropriateness and relevance to the genre.
Monopoly money
As well as using the play money in our video for the obvious reason of our song being entitle ‘Moneygrabber’ and the theme of the video being about a money-grabbing woman; there is also an underlying train of thought for including it. When ska music was reaching it’s peak, particularly ska/punk in the 80’s, when Margaret Thatcher was prime minister, the country was in the midst of a depression where many people were getting by with minimal amounts of money and employment was low (this being one of the main themes of This is England (TIE) ’86, so a great intertextual reference!). For this reason, we have chosen to use monopoly money in our production for some quirky stop motion animation, as it uses irony to present how the kind of ska fans like the characters of TIE value money so little, as if to say that it’s not important to them or their ‘tribe’s’ lifestyle, so the use of toy money presents this attitude and lack of need and care for actual money.
Mirrors
We will use mirrors in our production during the close-ups of Izzy when she will mime the lyrics, as if to appear as the lead singer of the band. Rather than simply filming her head on for all of the shots, as not for it to become tedious, we will film some of the shots via a mirror as if she is getting ready to go out whilst singing, i.e. putting on make-up etc. We have taken inspiration for this idea from TIE when the characters are shown getting ready in the mirror.

Initial concept sheet

Tuesday, 4 January 2011
Wednesday, 15 December 2010
Steve Bell
Thursday, 14 October 2010
Stop motion inspiration
We came across this video on Youtube, which sparked our initial ideas into the possibility of a stop motion animation. We felt that the irony of using monopoly money to portray the economic and political climate at the time ska was at one of it's peaks of popularity in such a way was just too fun and good an idea to pass up!
Still photos are taken of the monopoly pieces/money, and are then moved very gradually differently between each still, with the camera remaining in precisely the same position each time (or the process wouldn't work at all!). These stills are then pieced together to form a motion animation where it appears as though the pieces are moving by themselves. The higher the frame rate in stop motions (the more frames on screen per second), the more smooth the animation will appear. This however is not applicable to our own idea as we are moving each note piece by piece rather than over distance, so it would not be possible to make it appear smooth in such a way as this video does.
Having each watched this video we felt that the inclusion of a short stop motion feature could be a brilliant addition to our video, adding a different, quirky element! We then proceeded to experiment with our own monopoly set (Norwich edition for extra detail!), from which our pictures with an explanation are on the previous post.
Monopoly stop motion idea



These are a few shots of our practice run in one of our media lessons, where we experimented with the idea of stop motion by playing around with various arrangements of the money to see how to best form the letters. We captured the footage onto tape and will possibly use the animation in our final video.
Wednesday, 13 October 2010
Early Storyboards




Moneygrabber - The Skanx: lyrics
1,2,3,4
numerous huh’s
Oh yeah
Just a money grabber
Come on (x4)
Hey!
Yeah she’s a money grabber out for what she can get
Oh yeah
She’s a money grabber-er-er out for what she can get
Oh yeah
You betta’ watch out or she will get …..
Yeah – e – yeah!
Just a money grabber (x2)
Hey!
Just a money grabber (x2)
Hey!
Just a money grabber (x2)
Hey!
Just a money grabber (x2)
Hey!
Just a money grabber (x2)
Hey!
Just a money grabber (x2)
Hey!
Just a money grabber (x2)
Hey!
Just a money grabber (x2)
Yeah!
She will steal you money and your pride too yeah-e-yeah (x2)
O-yeah you betta’ watch out because she is bad news yeah-e-yeah
You betta’ watch o-o-out because she is bad news yeah!
Many huh’s
Come again, hey (x2)
More huh’s
Instrumental (2.07-2.34)
Huh just a money grabber (x8)
Hey she is poison no no no good for you yeah-e-yeah
She is poison no good no no good for you oh-yeah
She will catch you in her web then you’ll never get loose, yeah-e-yeah
She will catch you in her web and then you’ll never get loose
Huh just a money money grabber, huh huh
Just a money grabber (x2)
Hey hey yeah yarr
Just a money grabber
Yeah yeah yarr
She’s a money grabber
Hey hey
Just another money grabber
Just a money grabber
Hey hey yeah yurr
Hey just a money grabber
Just a money grabber
Hey she’s a money grabber
Just a money grabber ( x10) Together
Just a money grabber (x3)
Money grabber get out of my face, yeah!
Concepts
Our video is going to consist of both concept ideas and shots, as well as performance shots of the actors appearing as the band.
Due to our song being entitled 'MoneyGrabber', it was obvious to us that the main concept that the video would be focused around would be money, featuring a 'moneygrabbing' female character who represents the female lead singer of the band. This factor of our video could be referenced to the completely different yet relevant genre of rap, with Kanye West's song 'Gold Digger', where his main theme is also money-grabbing women!
The main topics of our video are going to be:
- Youth Culture - We will focus on how youth of the ska genre dress, what music they listen to and what their interests are.
- Money - A lot of our footage will be based around this, mainly with the use of monopoly money to present how the youth of the genre have an arrogant approach to the economic situation and are in their own almost 'dream world'
- Recession - A variety of our shots will feature recession-hit businesses, that have been struggling, to highlight the relevance to the genre, as this also links back to when the ska genre was big, when Margaret Thatcher was in power, linked with the poor economic situation this came with.
- Irony - By the use of monopoly money as opposed to real money, this shows how the characters are almost not taking the situation seriously, but are instead all about having fun. Shots of recession-hit businesses linked with the upbeat soundtrack and happy mood of the song is very ironic.
Monday, 27 September 2010
The Band - The Skanx: Background Info

Thursday, 23 September 2010
Costumes
Because of the fact that our video is of the ska genre (particularly two-tone), we have inevitably decided to aim to follow the genre conventions by dressing our actors in costume that is typical of the two-tone and ska punk genre, based upon other texts such as This is England, and similar artists such as Madness. The aim was to create the image of a genuine two-tone ska band and ska fans.
Two-tone costume
For our actor Jack, we have taken the approach of a two-tone ska fan, and dressed him in very much literal two-tone black and white. The classic black suit with white shirt was a very prominent style worn by adamant ska fans, and is very iconographic of the genre. He is also wearing glasses that can be likened to the likes of Suggs fromMadness (although, admittedly less aviator styled!). The classic ska trilby also featuresprominentlyin our video as it too is very iconic of the genre, and is backed up by the fact it is worn by artists of the two-tone ska genre such as members of The Specials. In terms of footwear we opted for a smarter feel which fits into the category of two-tone ska, and for Jack we avoided the military boot look used by other actors that crosses into the sub genre of ska-punk...

Ska-punk costume
Also featured in The Specials’ video performance for their song ‘Too much too young’ are braces that are very prominent within the genre, which is why we unanimously decided to include them in our costume (worn by myself!). An intertextual reference that can be drawn upon from our video with reference to the braces is Shaun Meadows’ This is England where the main character Shaun is wearing them throughout the film. He also wears Dr Martens boots, which are big military style boots, which we also included in our video worn by two of our actors.
We focused very largely on the costume used in both the film This is England and TV series This is England ’86 as we felt them to both be great examples of the particular style of clothing worn by typical ska fans and potential band members. A combination of Dr Martens boots, Fred Perry shirts, jackets and braces helped us to create the ska image we were aiming for. Despite establishing the fact that our band and song are more predominantly of the two-tone ska genre, we felt that using costume from ska-punk/skinhead influences would also be beneficial to the general appearance of acting band members and overall video itself.
Tuesday, 21 September 2010
Soundtrack: The Skanx - Money Grabber
Saturday, 4 September 2010
Potential Actors!


Friends, Jack Sauverin and Isobel Bailey (whom played the female character in our group's AS thriller production) kindly gave up their time over the holidays to come location hunting, and to get some pictures and small pieces of filming in costume for our early footage.
Jack is a large enthusiast of the whole Ska Punk genre and greatly enjoys the music, so would be brilliant to have as part of our cast! Izzy is also interested in the genre, and has a great eye for fashion so would also be an important asset! She is pole position to be playing the role of the woman in our video who is the main, stereotypical 'money grabbing' female. This idea was brought about obviously by the song title itself and lyrics including 'money grabber'.
Madness - One Step Beyond!
Ska/Ska Punk band Madness with their famous song One Step Beyond. Examples of the 'madness walk', an interesting idea that we thought possible to use in our own video, having attempted on our photoshoot in the previous post, shown at around 1:24.
Initial location and costume ideas photoshoot


Attempting the 'Madness Walk' as seen in Madness' video 'One Step Beyond'! We thought this dance to be very appropriate as it is a perfect fit to the ska genre we are researching and is also an example of intertextual reference by referring to the fact that it use used in many madness music videos.

We unanimously agreed that the urban background was iconic of the ska/punk era that we are covering, and hence fits the genre well. The extensive amount of graffiti also merges nicely into the genre.
In terms of costume on the day, we experimented with some iconic army surplus boots, large shirts, braces, trilby hats and smart/casual suits. The styles are iconic of the genre and hold an uncanny likeness to those used by the characters in both the film and tv series 'This is England/'86' directed by Shaun Meadows. This being one of the media products we took ideas and inspiration from. The boots, braces and shirts are extremely similar dress.


