Asking Permission.

To be able to use the song 'The House That Built Me' in my coursework project, I will need to contact Sony Music and ask for their permission. Due to the fact that it is for educational purposes and not for public viewing, I am almost certain that they will allow me to use the song. However, in the event that they do not permit me to use the song, then I shall have to change it.

I have researched the contact information for Sony Music and have found that I will need to email Liz Young at marketinginquiries@sonyusa.com who is the Executive Vice President of Corporate Communications.


Dear Liz Young,

I am writing to ask you if I could use the song 'The House That Built Me' sung by Miranda Lambert for the educational purpose of part of my Media Coursework. This will not be shown to the public and will only be seen by myself, my teachers and the examiners.

This will include the lyrics of the song which will be lip synced by the actress I am planning to use. The music video will include my own original images showing my own interpretation of the lyrics. My coursework also includes the making of a digipack using the song title.

Please do not hesitate to email me back at abigailmorey@gmail.com if you would like to know any additional information of my work and the use of the song, including information such as a storyboard.

Your Sincerely,
Abigail Morey.

Losing A Partner.

At the start of the project, I was working within a pair with Kimberley Dalton. Kim has informed me that she will not be retuning to the school after the Christmas half term which means that I now have to work individually to complete my music video.

Not working with Kim has made my project slightly more difficult as I have to film and edit by myself whilst also working on blogs and the rest of my A-levels. This will mean that my time shall be stretched however, she has offered to help where she can.

As previously mentioned, Kim was going to be a big part of the filming process as she is going to be the artist. At first, this worried me as I was unsure where I would be able to find another person to play the part. My thoughts were that I could swap my role for hers, meaning that she would only have to take a couple hours out of her day to film the few scenes. However, Kim has agreed to continue the work as she would if she were still here.

Replying To Comments.

Comment On Blog: Existing Songs.

Mr Higgins16 December 2014 at 06:54

Some good points, but try to break your analysis down a bit, particularly looking at parts of the video which promote the artist and song. Use screen grabs to illustrate your points.

Also, you need to demonstrate more analysis and especially of songs or the genre similar to the one you have chosen.

I shall post another comment on this blog with another detailed analysis of this music video using your advice to help me with what I need to add.

I am also doing an analysis for another country song soon but it is from a different artist. This song is from an artist similar to Miranda Lambert and has the same production company so this will help enforce my own ideas for my music video.

Comment On Blog: Storyboard 1.

Mr Higgins16 December 2014 at 06:47

What do you feel you've learnt from this storyboarding process? How has it helped you visualise your music promo?

From the storyboarding process I have learnt that it is easier to keep your ideas written down in one place so that it is easier to keep them how you originally wanted. I have also learnt that it easier to plan filming times as you would be able to see what scenes are similar and work on a section at a time, this would also be helping when coming to re-film parts.

It has helped me to visualise my music video as it clear shows which parts are flashbacks due to the transitions I have chosen to use. The use of visual images would also help me to when I come to editing my video as I would be able to match the clip to the pictures in the storyboard.

However, from my storyboard, I have seen that some of these scenes are repeated and I may need to include a wider variety of shots and angles to make it stand it out.

Replying To Comments.

Comment On Blog: Storyboard 2.

Frankie8 December 2014 at 02:26

Good idea of shot and transition shown here. Quite a lot of close up head shots??? Remember to show as much variety as possible. Always make sure that you have the pace and rhythm of the music in your head when filming these shots from your story board. Also remember that a storyboard is a plan - and these can change. That is not a problem.

The close-ups are mainly used for the chorus as this is mostly where the lip-syncing is, I realise that most of these shots are straight shots. However, some of these may be changed to side profiles, or angled shots to show more effect and the artist in a different light.

The pace and rhythm I am hoping to keep the same lengths as the lyrics although it may be argued that these could be too long. Whilst filming and editing I will asses how long the shots are and whether or not they should be shorter. By doing this with my first set of filming, I will be able to organise another filming session where I can film extra shots or re-film the shots that aren't usable.

The transitions I have used are Cuts, Fades, and Dissolves. I have used fades and dissolves to indicate what shots are flashbacks compared to present day. The fade is when the artist reflects back on her life which is when the flashbacks come into scene and the dissolve is used for when she comes back to the present day and the reality that she is no longer living in the house that she grew up in.

Comment On Blog: Storyboard 4.

Frankie8 December 2014 at 02:28

Some more variety of shot shown here, Abi. Good. Once this filming is done, remember to upload any shots you've rejected and say why you did not feel they could be used.

Thank you for the compliment, I have tried to use variety of shot however I also wanted the shots to be repetitive for the chorus so I was able to create a repetitive sequence.

Replying To Comments.

Comment On Blog: Song Lyrics

N Sills28 November 2014 at 02:24

What did you find surprisingly or enlightening when you compared your ideas with the real video? How was it different? How has this helped you with planning your own video?

When we compared our ideas to the real video we were shocked to see that it was nothing like what we thought it would be. We noticed that just from one set of lyrics they could be many different interpretations and ideas of which could be at two ends of the spectrum.

The video was different from our own ideas as we thought that the song would be sung by a female who has lost her husband to depression and how she failed to saved him. However, the real video was sung by a band and showed shots of all different types of people holding a picture of the person they lost. Towards the end of this video, the people were smiling and although still sad about their loss they were able to be happy and continue with life.

This has helped us to plan our own video as we saw that we could use an artistic perspective whilst still being able to create a narrative. This gave us plenty more ideas which we could use in our music video, which we have included as flashbacks.

Storyboard 4.

Shot Type: Mid Close-Up

This is an out of focus shot as she has forgotten her identity, however this would clarify when going into the next the shot. To do this I would have to use different levels of blurred scenes so that it will slowly clarify to show the artist.

Shot Type: Mid Close-Up

Camera Movement: Zoom In

Transition: None (Continuation of Shot)

Shot Type: Close-Up

Angle: Tilted Down

Transition: Fade

Shot Type: Long Shot

Camera Movement: Pan

Transition: None (Continuation of Shot)

Shot Type: Long Shot

Camera Movement: Zoom In

Transition: Dissolve

Shot Type: Mid Close-Up

Camera Movement: None

Transition: Cut

Shot Type: Mid Long Shot

Angle: Tilted Down

Transition: Fade

Shot Type: Mid Long Shot

Camera Movement: Zoom Out

Transition: Fade to Black

Storyboard 3.

Shot Type: Mid Close-Up

Camera Movement: Zoom In

Transition: None (Continuation of Shot)

Shot Type: Close-Up

Angle: Tilted Down

Transition: Cut

Shot Type: Long Shot

Camera Movement: Pan

Transition: Fade

Shot Type: Over The Shoulder

Camera Movement: None

Transition: Dissolve

Shot Type: Mid Close-Up

Camera Movement: None

Transition: None (Continuation of Shot)

Shot Type: Mid Close-Up

Camera Movement: Pans To Face

Transition: Fade

Shot Type: Long Shot

Camera Movement: Pans Up and Down

Transition: Fade

Shot Type: Extreme Long Shot

Camera Movement: None

Transition: Dissolve

Shot Type: Close-Up

Camera Movement: None

Transition: Cut

Shot Type: Mid Close-Up

Camera Movement: Zoom Out

Transition: None (Continuation of Shot)

Storyboard 2.

Shot Type: Long Shot

Angle: Tilted Down

Camera Movement: None

Transition: Fade

Shot Type: Long Shot

Camera Movement: Zoom In

Transition: Dissolve

Shot Type: Mid Close-Up

Camera Movement: None

Transition: Fade

Shot Type: Mid Close-Up

Camera Movement:

Transition: None (Continuation of Shot)

Shot Type: Mid Close-up

Camera Movement: None

Transition: Dissolve

Shot Type: Side Profile

Camera Movement: Zoom Out and Pan

Transition: None

Shot Type: Close-Up

Camera Movement: Pan

Transition: Cut

Shot Type: Extreme Close-Up

Camera Movement: None

Transition: Cut

Shot Type: Close-Up

Camera Movement: Track

Transition: Fade

Shot Type: Mid Long Shot

Camera Movement: Pan and Zoom In

Transition: Dissolve

Storyboard 1.

Shot Type: Establishing Shot

Angle: Tilted Up

Camera Movement: Zoom Out

Transition: None (Continuation of Shot)

Shot Type: Extreme Long Shot

Angle: Tilts down to eye level

Transition: Cut

Shot Type: Mid Close-Up

Camera Movement: None

Transition: Fade

Shot Type: Close-Up

Angle: Tilted Down

Camera Movement: Pan Up

Transition: Dissolve

Shot Type: Point Of View

Camera Movement: Tracking

Transition: Fade

Shot Type: Two Person Shot

Camera Movement: None

Transition: Dissolve

Shot Type: Point of View

Camera Movement: Zoom In

Transition: Fade

Shot Type: Long Shot

Camera Movement: None

Transition: Dissolve

Shot Type: Close Up

Camera Movement: Tracking

Transition: Cut

Shot Type: Mid Close-Up

Camera Movement: Pan

Transition: Cut

Miranda Lambert.

1983: November 10th, Miranda Leigh Lambert was born in Longview Texas.

1993: Miranda entered her first country music talent show.

2000: Aged 17, she started her own band 'Texas Pride' whilst still in education. However, focused on a career in music, Miranda graduated early.

2001: Another talent contest led to some acting work, appearing in the teen comedy 'Slap Her She's French'.

Her family helped her to finance her first recording.

2003: She passed the auditions for the reality TV show 'Nashville Star' and was the second runner-up landing her with the opportunity of a record label with Sony Music.

Commercial Success.

Debuting at the top of the country music charts, 'Kerosene' surprised some listeners with its fiery lyrics. Her songs struck a chord with the public as the album sold more than 900,000 copies. 'Kerosene' earned several positive reviews from a variety of sources including 'Rolling Stone' and the 'New Yorker' magazine. Miranda Lambert had several award nominations from the Academy of Country Music, including top new vocalist, which she won the following year.

In 2007, Miranda Lambert had another hit album 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend'. This album started out at the top of the country album charts and reached number six on the Billboard 200 charts. The album became a popular hit as it reached to a wide audience due to the diversity of songs within. At the 2008 Academy of Country Music Awards, 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend' won album of the year.

She now has her own website in which she advertises tours, links to her social media accounts and uploads music videos and photos: http://www.mirandalambert.com

Sony Music Nashville.

Sony Digital Audio Disc Corporation (DADC) is one of Sony's primary businesses along with the Sony Corporation, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sony Financial Holdings.

Sony's DADC manufactures compact disc, DVD's, UMD's and Blu-ray disc's. It primarily services Sony Music Entertainment owned record labels but it also manufactures discs for other labels.

Key Dates.

May 1983

Sony's first Digital Audio Disc Corporation's plant opened.

September 1984

Sony produced it's first CD 'Born in the USA' by Bruce Springsteen.

November 2008

Sony bought Glenayre Technologies which manufactured the discs of Universal Music Group.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entertainment_Distribution_Company

Sony Music owns many record labels including:

• Columbia Records
• RCA Records
• Epic Records
• Arista Nashville
• RCA Records Nashville
• Columbia Nashville
• Legacy Recordings
• Sony Music Latin
• Masterworks
• Vested In Culture
• RCA Inspiration
• Provident Label Group