Tuesday 11 December 2012

Jim's Log 11/12/12

We have pretty much finished our Master Prezi, the only remaining factors to include are our ideas for videos which we have have started planning out in details to present too 'Our Krypton Son'. The ideas we are looking at for the song ill wind,  are all based on the premise that the song is about memories so we are looking to do a time rewind to see the band as young men. This is the basis of our idea, i will post more as our ideas are finalised.

This is Jim signing off

Friday 23 November 2012

Jim's log 23/11/12

We are still in the process of creating our master prezi, i have had to rearrange my original prezi to make it easier for everything to be moved into the master prezi so at the moment my prezi is a shambles to say the least, but the group prezi is looking really well. Also we have created some new videos to be used as examples and practice. Joel is also working on some photoshop work and is creating excellent images that will help in making the digi pack.

This is jim, signing off.

Friday 9 November 2012

Jim's Log 6-11-12

Now we have been informed of the song we are going to be creating a video for, it is called 'Ill wind' and it is from 'Our Krypton Son's' brand new album. This song is very upbeat and has a very catchy tune. We have begun creating our master prezi. This is an amalgamation of all of are prezis into one master prezi conatining the best from everyones research.

This is jim signing off

Wednesday 17 October 2012

Jim's log- 17-10-12

At the moment we are working on our Prezi's to present to small town america. These are too contain any inspirations, thoughts and research that we do for our coursework. I am currently working on trying to find bands/artists who are similar to 'Our Krypton Son'. Some bands/artists i have come across are Richard Hawley and Nick Drake.

Friday 21 September 2012

Analysis More Than Conquerors - Rage Against the Machine


The video for "Rage Against the Machines(RAM)" "Killing in the Name of" is amazingly similar to the video for "Bear Knuckle Fight" by more than conquerors, so much in fact that you could probably say that more than Conquerors may have drawn some inspiration from RAM's video. 

The first big thing that you notice when watching both videos is the constant flashing lights which is typical of live performances in general. The effect is an extremely effective way to show the energy that is in the atmosphere at one of the band live shows where by the entire crowd is jumping and everyone is enjoying themselves. 

In the videos both bands use a lot of fast shot changes to move between the band members and the crowd which demonstrates the bands focus on the fans and how they see themselves as being part of a group or a community with their followers. Both bands make full use of focus pulls to create smooth transitions between shots which is like you are looking from the crowds point of view and the person in blinking.

In the videos members of the band jump into the crowd symbolising their bond with the members of the audience and the fact that they are all one big community. This is used by both bands and it really represents them as what they believe and that is putting the fans first.

The atir worn in the videos are also very similar in that the band either wears normal clothes i.e. t-shirt and trousers or they have no top on which shows the bare bones attitude both bands  take to music as they believe that the music should speak for itself.

The Black and white effect that is used at the start of the video symbolises the fact that what is being said is black and white i.e. the singer doesn't hide anything he says what he feels and you see what he thinks just from what he says which was RAM's ethos where by they wanted to stick it to the man and to quote the name Rage Against the Machine.

The way in which the lead singer stands and sings to the crowd is almost like he is a religious leader preaching to his congregation, or maybe even a cult leader. This is actually how RAM portrait themselves as a movement against governmental control. The singer could be said to be rallying his followers against the "Man" which was really the whole ethos behind the band.

When Tom Morello play his guitar solo the camera sways from side to side and superimposition is used this creates the feeling of being high which thus refers to the bands music as being like a drug. This was also used in the more than conquerors video.

The two band are extremely similar but different in there own accords due to the differences of time between them.






Thursday 20 September 2012

Concentric Transitions



The above is a video detailing a plugin for final cut pro which gives us a new form of transition that could be very useful when it comes to making our music video as it is funky and odd but it also looks very professional. We could use this to move from shot to shot with ease whilst still being aethstetically pleasing to the viewer.

Wednesday 5 September 2012

STA-More than Conquerors

More than Conquerors is a band formed in early 2009 and rapidly found community acclaim in the bosom of their native Belfast the quartet’s charms also won them fans in acts such as Jimmy Eat World, Feeder, Twin Atlantic, General Fiasco, Fighting With Wire and Mojo Fury – shaping a super-tight live show and garnering an enthusiastic, sing-a-long fan base

        Signing to Northern Irish indie Smalltown America (And So I Watch You From Afar, LaFaro, Jetplane Landing) in early 2010, the band quickly released their debut EP ‘More Than Conquerors’ to an expectant audience. Drawing comparisons to a spunky, early Arctics and the aggressive, cerebral pop of Philadelphia’s mewithoutYou; the record’s sweeping choruses and angular rhythms gained ‘MTC’ recognition within the BBC Introducing platform and on BBC Radio Ulster’s ‘Across The Line’ radio show - surprising many with their ‘Rapture-style punk-funk ‘ and leading to a main-stage appearance at Northern Irish festival Glasgowbury in the summer of 2011.

Their latest EP ‘Boots & Bones’ draws from that same well of inspiration but also broadens the band’s sonic palette. There are audible elements of their much-missed hometown heroes Six Star Hotel on tracks such as ‘A Lion A Man’ and on standout track ‘Hunting For The Whale’ lead singer Kris Platt simultaneously channels the vocal purity of Lindsey Buckingham and the lyrical whimsy of Midlake’s Tim Smith.
Live the band are playful and passionate. They recently played the BBC Introducing stage at T In The Park, as well as a headline tour of the UK. Their hard graft has not gone unnoticed as they have now been added to the playlist on BBC Radio 1's national playlist. 




Above is the official music video for the song "Bear Knuckle Fight" from the album Boots and Bones by More than Conquerors. The video is a recording of one of their  concerts and aptly displays the bands energy and their very close relationship with their fans. Their strong relationship with their fans is reinforced by the fact that they are so close to them in the video and the fact that the camera looks at the crowd a lot as well as many of the shots of the band seem to be from the point of view of the crowd watching the performance.In the video lots of the shots of the band from the fans and their are a lot of canted angle shots which symbolises the listener being intoxicated by the bands music. Also the guitarist climbs into the crowd to play among them which adds to the impression of closeness. The lights are constantly flashing in the video which I think demonstrates the intensity and energetic  live performances of the band which have become their trade mark. 

        The band always wears there normal clothes when performing which demonstrates their laid back and comfortable environment they strive to create at their shows. The band treats all of their fans as if they where a member of the band which is probably how they have been able to gather such a dedicated following. In everything the band does they are very bare bones all about the music and the experience they give fans, they don't really focus on aesthtetics but instead letting the music capture the listeners heart.




The video for "A lion A man" is one that is very bare bones yet effective. It matches the bands general ethos of concentrate on the music and just have a decent music video so that the music can take full frontal position in the viewers mind. Saying that this video is simple but at the same time brilliant, the way in which the video is shot as a single continuous shot is very impressive and captures the eye of the watcher.



The above is the album art from the recent More than Conquerors  album called boot and bones, the picture is strange but in an odd way it suits the bands image, the bear head on the man's body shows the primal sense from the band also it relates to the theme of the album, the titles in the album mostly contain animal references for example: Bear Knuckle fight, The deer and the fox, Hunting for the whale,A lion A man. In my personal opinion I feel that this album was a spark of pure genius and it received great reviews from many critics and magazines.

Overall the band accurately lines up with Small Town Americas style of music producing in that "good music will be heard". Small town America only take on bands who's music they like and feel other people should have a chance to hear them not because they have a better chance of turning a profit because of having a main steam genre. This odd way of choosing bands to produce has lead them to the discovery of a band who i feel will someday attain global fan audiences for their electrifying and encapsulating music.