Casting first draft ideas



First draft idea's of storyline

I was hesitant when having the initial idea of filming in Trafalgar Square as it is a busy location with tourists and being in Central London. But I think it would be a perfect location for most of my filming as the song is recalling a memory and so it should be a memorable place which Trafalgar Square is. I will need to get permission to film in the park and cafe I want to film close up and showing the relationship between characters in my video which I think should be fine to get hold of. It is a local park and I won’t be filming children so gaining permission I doubt will cause any problems. And I know the owners of the cafe I need to use, so it shouldn’t be a problem for them.

Depending on how my planning for my video goes the location and storyline may change but for now this is what I am aiming for as I think it will be the most effective with the music.

Ben Howard- London lyrics and annotations

I think it is important to keep referring back to this page as this was my initial reaction when first reading/listening to this song. This could be similar to other audiences initial reaction so by referring back to it every so often it keeps my ideas grounded and believable to the audience. By doing this exercise I think I have a better understanding of what Ben Howard is singing about. I can now use this in my video as it will have a better link.

Ben Howard- The Wolves Presentation

The wolves

View more presentations from hannahbark.

Ben Howard- The Wolves Official Music Video

Untitled from hannahbark on Vimeo.

Above I have highlighted some of the parts of Ben Howard's video
which reflects his style of video for his songs and how they are useful.
For example his folk kind of style of songs the countryside would be
an effective setting for his video which he uses.
I think this video is one of the few to reflect the style of Ben Howard's
genre of music. The fading and dull shots keeps the warm
atmosphere and sticks to it's indie/folk style of music.
I will refer back to this video and another one of Ben Howard's to
refresh my mind on the style of shots, variation
of shots and colouring in editing.

Research on Ben Howard

Copy of Ben Howard on Prezi

Detailed Ben Howard questionniare

Here are two of the five responses from this questionnaire, one male and one female aged 16-18. They both seemed the most interested in the artist judging from their responses. By focusing on them I thought it would more beneficial for my music video, to create the most effective piece for this artist. They had similar responses to the questions, for example question 4 how they felt when listening to the artist, relaxed, calm, nostalgic etc therefore I want my video to mirror this feeling, possibly through lighting or the way I cut each shot. The artist is also relatively new in both responses, as they have only recently heard of him. I want a lot of close ups on the 'artist' in my video to sell him and to make his face recognisable to audiences.

Ben Howard Questionnaire

From the results of this questionnaire from 10 girls and

10 boys most people categorised Howard's style of

music as 'folk' or 'indie' showing that the genre he works

within, which is folk and indie, is clear in his songs.

Tallying the results from the question asking to rank serveral

statements in their order,  it is very clear as every questionnaire

ranked 'I like the genre they sing'.

It is interesting that the range of ages from 11-21 were willing

 to pay up to £30 to see Ben Howard perform live.

 I find this interesting because the amount Ben Howard

charges to see him perform are usually under £15.

 And so from my questionnaire it shows Howard

could potentially charge more, as people

would willingly pay. 

Something I aim to focus on is the ninth question,
asking if they would be interested in knowing more
general information about Ben Howard. i will try
and incorporate that into my music video. Looking
and analysing the lyrics I will see if there a message
or story Howard is trying to get across. I will try and
recreate that which will give an insight to Howard's
story, giving them a better understanding of the artist.

Music video questionnaire

From the results below I have decided to focus my audience on the age group 17-21 year olds, I will have to bear in mind what will attact this audience and what will keep them entertained. For example on one specific survey from this age group they watch music videos everyday, so to keep it as entertaining as possible I thought using a variety of shots so everytime they watch the video they see something different each time keeping it fresh.
I have also found that the most popular type of music is Dance, Acoustic and Pop with either a Live Performance or a comedy
style video. Ben Howard is a talented guitar player so from the information showing that the majority of this target audience prefer live performances I think it would be a good idea to get a shots of a character playing the guitar.

From researching this age group and their music influences etc I found many find their love of music through gigs, concerts and clubs. Nightclubs are usually most popular for 18-25 year olds, where dance, pop, drum and bass and dubstep is played and from this it could suggest that this type of audience have quite an urban, gritty atmosphere which would link nicely with the type of music I would be using in my video. Many prefer gigs to concerts as they are more secluded and a bit more personal with the audience. I feel I could use this to my advantage as Ben Howard doesn't do many big concerts but prefers small gigs in bars and pubs.

Letter to Island Records

When finding the information to get in contact with Ben Howard's record label I was pleasantly surprised. I had only started listening to his music recently and I hadn't met anyone who had heard of him, so I didn’t think he would very well known or heard of. So when I found out that his label was Island records I was really surprised that a label supporting artists such as Kelly Rowland, Florence and The Machine and Tom Jones would have such a new, not very known artist. I was pleased because I really enjoy his music and thought Island Records will really expose him and get his music out there.








Since my last post on 11th July, Ben Howard has released his new album 'Every Kingdom' and it reached 7 in the UK charts. He is also touring England in the New Year 2012

Mood board

When initially listening to Ben Howard's 'London' I immediately pictured wintery/autumn weather. The dull dark colours and shots of the surroundings will a couple of my main focus'. Researching similar genres, their music videos also focused on surrounding and weather, steering away from pop disco parties but focusing more on countryside or a gritty city feeling. This is good because at this point I am thinking of using a city location but filming throughout December to create that dull, cool atmosphere.