To do's

 Since I am almost finished with the project I need to have planned out the missing tasks for the portfolio to be completed. Overall, I need to further develop the Instagram account, and start the digipak which would involve both photoshoots of the band and the members and the content of the album itself; even though we are just displaying the song Memoria. For the record, the album will be named: The Last Rays of Light referring to the the experience of creating the music video, since we were going according to the time of day to film certain Rock genres. But during the process, we were definitely taking advantage of "The Last Rays of Light".

Therefore, for the album I could further develop on the idea of light to involve it for the art of the album along with the pictures taken during both of the filming days, the punk scene and in the aero plane station which together involve both playful and creative ways to approach the presentation of a band; and as I have discussed with the band, we have to agree on which pictures to include on the digipak.

So to do I have to:

-Ask Valentina (guitarist) for the pictures of the Photoshoot that we did, since we did it with her camera.

-Finish the editing of the video, for adding the bass line and possibly adding a filter.

-Start Digipak art

-Create album cover.

Instagram account

 So as I have been working on the Instagram account, I have started to plan out what I should do with the account since there I could share the moments from the band like great covers we have recorded or great pictures that we have together. But as I have seen through social media, other bands also create great content by involving the creation of Tik Toks regarding their band and material; for example, a great band that does this is the Tram Stamps, which is a contemporary Pop Punk band, composed by three young women; and their music has high quality but still is not recognized.

Such band, created enjoyable content since they made jokes regarding the music genre they did, or demonstrated what was the history or dynamic of the band, which I thought it was a good approach in order to share their content and give intimacy on the band. Therefore, I am looking forward for the account that I am managing, @flappertheband, to start creating funny content along sharing our memories and even or new song and music video. Also, I have been following many people that are Seniors from Cypress in order to have an audience for our content. The reason what I had such target audience, is because they will be people that appreciate our content by recognizing that we are from their same year as well as area. Lastly, probably I will adjust the "target audience" from the account in order to improve our presence on the "for you page" to the viewers, since there is an adjustment for the account in order to fit the age and gender group that you are striving to have more presence on. So yeah I will do that!

Completed the video

 Today I decided to start editing the video on iMovie, and since we actually ad great footage the editing was simpler than expected, so it is safe to say that I already finished the video :) 

As I have mentioned many times, I still don't have Olga's part of the bass lines so it could be added the video's audio but that could be filmed on the upcoming week to finally finish the video. But yes as I said before, I finished editing the video, and I am satisfied with the turnout since it does look playful and the quality of the filming, editing, performance is really good so yes everything worked thank God.

Also, it is amazing how our preparations on schedule the filming on certain times of the day according to the genre, worked; since we were relying on the natural light in order to have a sunny day for the Indie part; gloomy for the punk/goth and warm sunset for the Flapper band; and all that is captivated in our video. I'm so happy and excited to share the video through here but I will do so as soon as I have the music exactly as it should be without having the necessity to add any filters for the color or the "old" aesthetic since I think that will leave out much of the details that the changing and our performance is involving, and we don't really want to leave that out. On the other side I need to start working on the other requirements of the projects, such as the Instagram account. Meaning I have to recollect all the great pics we have as a band.

P.S: I forgot to mention that the video both starts and finishes with an oculus opening/closing. It's really fun to watch.

The music's audio

 Today I met up with Valentina, taking advantage that we are in the spring break to make additional touchups for the song's audio since as I was editing it, the vocals were not on the rhythm, so we adjusted both the lyrics and record again. Other than that, we planned out how the we would like the video to be composed, and its layering would be:

1st half: Indie (intro and 1st verse of the song)

2nd half: Punk/Goth (2nd verse of the song)

3/4: Parallelism on Indie and Punk/Goth and introduction of the actual band Flapper (Bridge of the song)

Ending: Flapper performance.

For this project I decided not to organize the shots of video with storyboarding because that was not the approach I desired for the video, but rather as I have mentioned it before; approach it by filming in full shot of the band, so the scene would be like  stage performance, and the other part would be composed by medium shots with hand held camera movements so there would be more intimacy with the band. Other than that, we filmed moments that we improvised or kidding around so we would use it as aside footage for the music video, as the band The Police does as well.

Overall, I discussed this with the band in order to start editing as finish as soon as possible so I would be more than good with following the schedule.

I just need Olga's bass part but I will put everything together and add that when I have it :)

Updates on recordings

 So last time that I was here, I forgot to mention that I started already editing the sound, meaning the song's audio in the Garage Band App, since Valentina already finished recording her guitar parts which she did by herself since at that time on last Sunday, I had to already leave. However, she finished recording it and sent it to me to start editing and putting all things together.

As I was doing so, it turns out that the beat on the bass and the drums are not going synchronically since the bass was recorded doing the old version of the song, since on last Sunday, before filming we got to record again the song, along with the touchups on my drum parts what would overall alter the rhythm. Consequently, Olga has to record her part again, adapted to the new version of the song. So I will have to wait on that, meanwhile I have the rest putted together, and today I will start on editing the music video and creating the feed for the band's Instagram account which for your information is @flappertheband

Music video style

 So yes the music video is already filmed, but soon I will start editing. Therefore, this involves decisions on the presentation of the music video, since the color scheme of the video's filter will influence to the look. 

Therefore, for the part of "Indie Rock", I will involve filter's that give the idea that the video is a VHS from the 80's, for the nostalgic look not saying that it is from such era but rather make the video look more vintage and home made like Mac Demarco's, Ode to Viceroy.

Therefore, the colors will be altered and the picture would look more blurry overall. Those would be the add-ups for the music since our wardrobes and the lighting of the video is already done to go along the music style.

On the other side, the punk/goth rock scene would have a darker tone by using a filter that highlights the cold undertones of the image, and darkens the shadows such as it is visible in The Cure's music video on Lullaby.

Overall, both video involve blue tones as the film's image, what is available for us since part of the music video's shots, show the blue sky. Therefore, I will get to start editing to see how I will be able to play with making the first part of the video seem indie, more sweet and fun outlook; then on the other side it would be intended to make it a darker tone.

Target Audience and distribution

 For the band Flapper our target audience is between the ages of 13-24 due to how it possesses the target audience of the Alternative Rock sub-genre and Indie Rock, which is mostly composed by a target audience of 38% of the ages 15-24. On the other side, 26% is composed of the ages 25-34, an as the ages increase the percentages of the audience decrease.

Therefore, our music genre would target the most on teenagers and young adults, which most likely are students and dependent on their parents, what overall influences how we would distribute our product since most of their economic state would not secure many investments in our products such as CD's or purchasing the album on iTunes. Consequently, we have decided to distribute our product through YouTube since it is an approachable medium to all such age ranges, and with the help of the algorithm we could be more present to the people who enjoy covers of their favorite rock songs or bands. And when the band possesses more content, we will look towards posting our content on Spotify.

On the other side, our target audience is different when it comes to gender ratio, since most of the times Alternative Rock bands possess a 66% ratio of men, women being only the 34%. However, since our band is composed by only women, probably this will be altered since the rock music genre, is mainly dominated by male artists and audiences because when it is compared to Grunge bands like  Nirvana most of their target audience where men, when on the other side the Grunge band Hole, which was mainly composed by women; appealed female audiences the most.

As a result, the band Flapper would create content for mostly female audiences of the ages 13-25, with the taste on Alternative and Indie Rock music, which would be easy to acquire through YouTube, and possibly through a website of the band, that soon will be created were more info of the band would be posted and the merchandise would be available as well.

Discussing with classmates

 As I got to reunite with classmates to discuss on our projects, I got the opportunity to delve deeper on my project compared to last time since many of my classmates where doing the same marketing project and my classmates were interested on my project's concept and mechanisms. As we discussed, we mentioned aspects such as how to create enough content for our blog posts, the editing of the video, specially the style intended in which I got to mention that our intention is to make a "home-made" music video in which we don't pretend to be cool Rockstars, just ourselves and if someone found that cool, ok good!

On the other side, as content for the blog posts Autumn recommended me to start planning out the distribution process for the music video, as well as demonstrating my target audience in order to highlight my decisions on the music video and content of the Instagram page. Therefore, I consider that I have to go over again the requisites for the project in order to plan out better how I would manage the content for the Instagram account, as well as how to denote better my target audience so through the distribution I could make evident that our content is for them! :)

It is filmed

 Today we have dedicated most of the day to filming and I am really tired. We started at 12PM at Valentina's house, but before we started filming we decided to first record the rough version of the song again so we could play it as the background while filming, and so that it would also be the closest thing to the definite version of the song. So we spent like 2 hours getting ready, making the last details and changes to record. We did so, and then got our outfits ready to first film indie, since our schedule of shooting was:

Indie: afternoon

Punk/Goth: later in the afternoon.

Natural us: Evening.

So "The last rays of light" would go according to the mood of the rock genre we were representing.

As I said before, we filmed with the "misfit" instruments to represent the theme of the song, and also have more fun on the representation of the band because even though it is a commercial music video, we decided to have fun on alternating the reality of what actual instrument each of us played. However, in last minute we decided that I would be the front-man in all the versions, and the only things we switched were the instruments, and actually I think that was the best idea so we wouldn't confuse in an unnecessary manner.

The afternoon went by and overall we created sequences of filming 3 versions of stationary shots and 3 other versions of handheld footage in random shots meaning low angle, close-ups on the instruments and close-up on the shoes. As I said on two blogs ago, as part of the indie style we decided to be quirky on camera and not really trying to be cool nor professional, just natural. On the other side, the punk side would influence the video to be not too self explanatory but rather represent the band as it is without the purpose of making everyone agree to it. However wants to listen, do so!

Lastly, we defined that there will be no reshooting so again it will come off as more natural. Therefore, this week will be designated for video selection and possibly start editing, but definitely spring break is editing time, perfect to meet up with the band and decide which filters to add and constantly ask for their opinion on how they like the video best.

Here I will leave a photo that was out of our comfort zone, but I believe that it at least demonstrated a deep part of our dark soul. (This is obviously not true, we are actually really lighthearted people).

Olga as Siouxsie Sioux, Valentina as Joey Ramone and me as Robert Smith.

Have a great rest of your day!

Memoria- Flapper

The main theme of the song is an unreciprocated relationship where the partner off the narrator is soon to be her ex. I personally did not want to base the song on love and relationships since it seems to be the most common thing as Eric Stefani says. But honestly, this is what comes more natural to me since I have many opinions towards the functioning of relationships; therefore, I thought it was relevant to make the song about how one may not be involved in the decision making of a relationship even though you are a member of that couple. The lyrics does not explicitly say boyfriend or girlfriend, so it could be interpreted  as any situation where one may not feel involved in the actions that may regard even one's future. So here we go:

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Asking for permission

To criticize too much

You are asking for an edition

Of something that's just not enough

Taking care if placements

To look for a good fit

You are making rearrangements

Of something that's just not worth it

It seemed like a good idea

It seemed like a memoria

Seemed, like you are for it

But you are not for it!

Misfit 3x

You are making the decisions

Ain't that just wrong

I'm standing here

And you, don't care at all

Everything is tasteless

And you thought that was right

You are working up on something

That soon, is going to die

Seemed like a good correction

Seemed like I needed intervention

But your just don't know nothing at all

Dancing without affection

This is not part of the possession

/this needs to stop

Just go home

Let's leave his all alone

-Seemed like

A good correction

-Seemed like

This needs intervention

-Seemed like 

Misfit 3x

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So yes, the song also demonstrates a misfitted couple since they don't understand each other, and the speaker is not proud of whom she is dating. Overall the song is named Memoria (memory in Spanish) and our album is named "The last rays of light".

I think this will eventually go far.

Also I already defined my drum parts and singing, so we are ready to film for tomorrow :)

Creating the song

Today we got together during the afternoon and decided to finish the song, finally! We have been writing this song since October but since we have been focused on making covers, we somehow left our song aside. However, finally we have putted together all our ideas, discussed a lot, how the bridge would be, how the chorus would be, etc... To the point where we created a song that lasts 3 minutes, starting with an ambiance from the guitar and finishing with a drastic stop. Overall, the song we have formed falls into the Post-Punk genre due to how the music "[goes] beyond the simple musical format of punk ( easy chords, playing fast ). Its more creative and more experimental and that is why stylistically it is not easy to describe. "

Therefore, our song is composed only with bass, drums, and guitar, with vocals in the Alto range, if I'm not wrong!  Lastly, today we also got to record only the bass sound by Olga because she had to travel, so we had to put everything together to have her part, but we did it! Lastly, as homework I have to finish the songs lyrics and define if I have to add anything to the drum sound before recording, also I have to practice it so it comes out natural on Sunday during the filming of the music video and recording of the vocals and drumming.

And that's it, I have to work.

Inspiration on details

For the music video we have decided to create a commercial indie music video, from which there will be scenes of the band mates joking around, playing, etc...and all through those times, they band mates will be dressed up in the first one as indie attire, the second one in punk, and the last one the truest version of Flapper. 

Overall the music video is built upon to show the nature of the band, so the listeners could obtain an introspective on the band and understand our inspirations and how random we are. Therefore, I am looking towards creating a song that represents emotions through a neutral light, and to whom the lyrics may speak to then they would understand but other than that, the tone of the video is be lighthearted throughout all its elements, and if the punk get's a little dark, then that's good too.

As inspiration for the music videos, we have come up with two more music video than the ones previously shown. The first one is from an indie band called Who Boy with the song "Toy Plane"; which for the last weeks, has been my favorite song from which we learned that for our video we can have a simple stationary shot.

On the other side of stationary and indie, we have Mk.gee with "Priorities" from which I learned that our suburban background would work for both Indie and to build the contrast on Punk so we would look like Edward Scissorhands. 

Lastly, for our video we have decided that since part of theme is the misfit, we will play each other's instruments. On Indie, Olga plays the guitar and signs, Valentina plays the drums and I play the bass. On punk, Valentina plays the bass and signs, Olga plays the drums and I play the guitar; from which I think we will represent the stereotypical positioning for the instruments since somehow we look like these are our actual instruments. And lastly we go to normal Flapper, were Valentina plays the guitar, Olga plays the drums and I play the drums while singing. We are so excited to change places, and actually play dress up of things that we would actually wear. It is weird but anyways, we have so much to do: finish the song including the lyrics, record, and film; all throughout the weekend :)

Arrangements

 We did film the videos on Saturday! in a really cool place were private airplanes are repaired, if necessary we will back to that place in Pompano for reshoots, but for the moment we are more than good. As we were filming, we also took plenty of pictures so they could be incorporated rapidly within the music video.

This was the location:

Here we have plenty of videos of us running and dancing which will be used along with some videos of us playing around in the beach, which were filmed two weeks ago.

Also, we have rescheduled our schedule, which now looks like this:

• Friday 03/12

Reunion from 3:30pm-7:00pm

-Finish song

-Record song

• Saturday 03/13

-Free

• Sunday 03/14

-Record Indie and Pun/Goth at Valentina's house.

• Week 03/15-03/18 EDITING

• Friday 03/19

Band practice for discussion, practice and video arrangement for improvement.

Lastly, we have decided to work with the app Garage band for the filming of the song, and for now my job is to recollect all the videos and photos, and finish up the lyrics and the song continuity for next Friday! Also, Olga and Valentina will share their outfit ideas for the music video.

Band Practice/The song

 Remember that I said that last Saturday we were creating the song, well lets forget about that version of the song since we decided to do it all over again since on Friday afternoon, as I was getting ready for practice I started singing a different version of the song which in my consideration I considered it was a better version since it stuck with the original idea that was set during the winter break; therefore we will go back to our roots on intentions with the song.

In addition we discussed on how the music video could be filmed, and we overall decided to film part of the video on Saturday during Valentina's birthday (guitarist) reunion for the original look of the band, and on the other side when it comes to the Indie and Goth/Punk, it will be filmed next weekend in the Valentina's backyard where the fence and grass of a typical suburb will contrast the Goth/Punk look and will go along the Indie one. Not that I am writing about, I think we will look like Edward Scissorhands if we are Punk/Goth in the neighborhood, which is GREAT!

Also we are looking towards creating a music video that is commercial and it possess no story line, but rather is more stylistic and playful, meaning we would like to provide videos of us joking around, then others of us playing as Indie and Punk/Goth and lastly, as Flapper the original garage and grunge band that it is. Therefore, tomorrow it starts the shooting of the joking around part (that sounded too planner but oh well). Also, it turns out that in our last practice we rearranged the vocals, to make me the vocalist since for the song that we are creating, I wrote the lyrics and melody so I can actually sing it pretty good for what we want it so it works best!

As a result, I have to finish the lyrics, tomorrow we will film and the song and vocals have been completely changed for the better.

To leave you an idea of how we are as a band, here I present Flapper as the cover for The Strokes song Juicebox!

Depicting the styles

 Since the inspirations of Indie and Punk Rock will be included styles in our music video, with our style as well; we have had the responsibility to got into our closets and see which outfits match these styles to determine what could be used for the music video. Therefore, I will show my final decisions on my depictions of style.

Punk/Goth:

I definitely was experimenting with the eyeliner because I don't wear it in this manner usually :( but I realized that I look like Evan Peters in American Horror Story:

When it comes to the Indie Rock:

Also this Friday there will be band practice in which we will discuss the music video, finish the song and which will be the rest of the outfits!

Style

 For the video we would like to create a quirky video that both emerges the personal essence of the band, conjoined with two different styles of Rock: Punk/Goth and Indie Rock.

Our inspirations for the Punk/Goth Rock are the bands Ramones and the Cure; therefore, for those scenes that we will interpret the band's style with a darker tone, these will be the inspirations for the outfits:

Even though Joan Jett is more Hard Rock and Hair Metal, here she looks pretty punk!

                                                  Punk/Ramones

                                                  Goth/ The Cure



On the other side of the rock spectrum, the indie style which is the current trend on Rock; will represented in our video as the artists: Her's and Mac Demarco:

                                            Mac Demarco and the band

Her's

The primary purpose of incorporating these styles of rock in our music video is to first have fun  with the creation and depiction of the band since we are looking towards creating a "home-made" and quirky look for the music video because those are pivotal aspects for the creativity of the band that creates independent and alternative music, meaning we want to create it for the sake of the art form and WE want to make it tot the best of OUR capabilities. 

In addition, this opportunity of the music video making is a great opportunity to explore all those styles that we as a band truly appreciate but reckon that is not part of the styling nature of the band since we would fall more in the categories of garage rock and grunge rock, as our loved bands: The Strokes and Nirvana.

The Strokes

Nirvana