Sunday, 25 May 2008
Edited footage so far
If you don't want to scroll through the whole blog, this is a broad selection of footage so far.
FA Cup Final - Portmsouth v Cardiff
Unable to get tickets to the FA Cup final, I went to Wembley on the day to get footage of the fans...
Birmingham City v Blackburn Rovers
***************Most successful attempt****************
After observing the nature of the chants the Blackburn fans were singing, which were mainly taunting the Birmingham fans about the fact they were getting relegated if they lost this particular match. I then created a chant based on the relegation issue as well by singing 'we'll never play here again' which emphasizes Birmingham will be in a lower division next season, and suggests they won't be back in the Premiership again.
I get interrupted at the start of the chant and have to start over because the fans all jeered to the action on the pitch. In this scene I actually give up and finish the chant because of the lack of interest by the fans. However incredibly when I finish on the line 'here again', from the back of the stands the crowd pick it up and below 'AGAIN', then carry the chant on without me. The chant then gets louder as it travels down the stand at which point I realise they are singing it and join back in.
It is important to know that this was not as easy at looks! As you can see from the clip below, I had many failed attempts to get a chant going before this one. The reason I believe this particular chant took off is because it was witty, simple, making it easy to catch on to, and the fans understood the reasoning behind it, which they related to.
Me trying to stary chants...
Doncaster v Southend Playoff semi final 2nd leg
Every match I go to, I test the waters first by attempting to get known chants going. From this procedure, I get an understanding of what the crowd are like, whether they are a singing crowd, or just miserable and want to watch the game. If I am unable to get a known chant going, I have a good idea of how difficult or easy it will be to get my new chant going.
Meeting the fans and REDaction
I contacted Arsenal Football Club to enquire about getting a message on the big screen in the stadium, to help get the crowd to sing my chant. They responded by saying this would not be allowed because there is an organisation called RED ACTION, which created the chants, and deals with this kind of thing. So I contacted Red Action through their website, from which Mark Brindle the chairman, contacted me. Through email conversation with him, I asked him if it would be possible to meet to discuss chanting, and also to hear about this organisation, which was quite interesting. He was open to having a chat with me and suggested I come to the end of season party where there will be a lot of chanting and singing going on, and many creators of a lot of Arsenal chants.
The older guy in the yellow top is Mark who is the chairman of REDaction. It is interesting because speaking to an older football fan, he really has allot of opinions because he can compare today's experience at a football match to how it used to be when he was younger.
Mark’s theories and opinions of football chants were a very accurate observation on football chanting. I shared a lot of the same views as Mark that I had gained from my own experiences. This was interesting because I don’t think you would be able to gain these views without actually putting getting involved to experience it.
********* This is getting ridiculous now ********* *********
A karaoke like thing was going on at the event where Arsenal fans would sing songs. The twist however was that the words from all of the songs had been changed to football related lyrics.
It really made me become aware of the depth to this whole football anthem genre..
The older guy in the yellow top is Mark who is the chairman of REDaction. It is interesting because speaking to an older football fan, he really has allot of opinions because he can compare today's experience at a football match to how it used to be when he was younger.
Mark’s theories and opinions of football chants were a very accurate observation on football chanting. I shared a lot of the same views as Mark that I had gained from my own experiences. This was interesting because I don’t think you would be able to gain these views without actually putting getting involved to experience it.
********* This is getting ridiculous now ********* *********
A karaoke like thing was going on at the event where Arsenal fans would sing songs. The twist however was that the words from all of the songs had been changed to football related lyrics.
It really made me become aware of the depth to this whole football anthem genre..
Leyton Orient v Bristol Rovers
This particular occasion was dreadful for getting chants sung. Once again at the match the away fans were very lively and singing, however I was in the home section with the Leyton Orient fans.
As you can see they are adamant not to chant with me! I think this was down to a few factors.
1- The chants probably weren’t that great
2- They were aware we were filming and were put off by this
3- A lot of seats were empty and everyone was quite spread out, so people were very self-conscious of singing because it drew a lot of attention and you really stand out.
As you can see they are adamant not to chant with me! I think this was down to a few factors.
1- The chants probably weren’t that great
2- They were aware we were filming and were put off by this
3- A lot of seats were empty and everyone was quite spread out, so people were very self-conscious of singing because it drew a lot of attention and you really stand out.
Manchester City v Portsmouth
Looking to attend a football match I found it incredibly difficult to obtain a ticket for premiership games. This particular weekend the only game tickets were available to the general public was Manchester City v Portsmouth, which I attended.
I have been to football matches before but obviously focusing on the match, so it was interesting going to the match just to observe the fans. I noticed that in the whole stadium, it was mainly one section where most of the chanting came from. Also I became aware that the Portsmouth fans were incredibly loud, and chanting more than Manchester Coty who were the home team, even when losing. My guess is that this was because the Portsmouth fans took the whole occasion as a day out to have fun, seeing as though they had travelled all the way up from Portsmouth.
It was difficult to capture fans chanting simply because you never know when a chant will erupt.
Introduction
Project Summary
I will investigate the genre of football chants, looking at where they come from, how they start and sustain as a strong tool for communication.
Context (Background)
Football has evolved from being a game to a business, and with the rise in ticket prices has attracted a new fan base at stadium matches. You can now see a significant amount of crowds in “suits” that lack the passion and enthusiasm of the die-hard lifetime fan head to toe in club colours.
Rationale
With the emerging shift of audience at football matches, it is a good area to investigate to look at the effects of this change, and if the chanting process remains the same as it may have years ago.
Elements of risk and challenge (originality and direction against the status quo)
- Getting involved with anthem writers/originators, to get a greater understanding of how football chants and anthems come to surface and sustain.
- Composing my own chant, and single handily getting it exposed and sung at a Premiership match. This is vital as I will then be able to construct my own views on the genre and the communication process involved.
I will investigate the genre of football chants, looking at where they come from, how they start and sustain as a strong tool for communication.
Context (Background)
Football has evolved from being a game to a business, and with the rise in ticket prices has attracted a new fan base at stadium matches. You can now see a significant amount of crowds in “suits” that lack the passion and enthusiasm of the die-hard lifetime fan head to toe in club colours.
Rationale
With the emerging shift of audience at football matches, it is a good area to investigate to look at the effects of this change, and if the chanting process remains the same as it may have years ago.
Elements of risk and challenge (originality and direction against the status quo)
- Getting involved with anthem writers/originators, to get a greater understanding of how football chants and anthems come to surface and sustain.
- Composing my own chant, and single handily getting it exposed and sung at a Premiership match. This is vital as I will then be able to construct my own views on the genre and the communication process involved.
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