Plan For When Back After Half Term

This week, the objectives are to:

• Get Test Footage up onto blog *
• Get Rough Cut onto the blog after watching other groups pieces
• Plan shooting on an afternoon/ evening and think carefully about shot types and ensure that we will be incorporating a lot of close up shots, some random and cheesy footage and also moving shots so that the entire video is not static and therefore makes it more interesting for the viewers and our target audience 
• Book for the camera on Thursday?!
• Shoot some additional footage for the real music video itself partially according to the feedback from other groups 
• Edit together the captured footage into the timeline and finish off our music video
• Begin to start on the digi pack and other elements for our project 

Ideas After Looking Back From Our Rough Cut

Ideas-

Close up of hands
Close up of the pair together
throw the leafs up
throw leafs in eds face
make some of it darker
arguments
new first part
crying
running up together and then spinning round, whilst the camera is spinning the other way. Then pulls them back from each other.

Rough Cut Footage

Target Audience Research: Expectations and Viewing Habits

The target audience for a music video will depend on the expectations of the audience. Everyone will have a different feeling towards a different type  of music therefore no one will feel the same, this being an extremely important of music in general as there is such a diverse range of music all appealing to different people in different ways. The expectation when seeing a music video is that it relates to the music of the group and that it gives connotations that appear appropriate so that the target audience ensuring that they are enticed enjoy the video in a great way.

The typical expectations when listening the our music video would be, slow, romantic, boy and girl, cheesy and quiet emotional.

If you had a rock and roll song you would expect a lot of band shots and a group to be performing as this is a strong element to that genre and the attachments that go with it.

These would all be examples of the target audience.

Viewing habits would be habits the audience get into. They're quite like expectations, however these are more to do with seeing the same thing over and over again due to the elements within the video that cause the viewers to become obsessed in a positive way.

Research into filters and special effects

As a group we had ideas of what kind of special effects and filters we would like to include.

Slow motion was an idea we deicde on mainly because we wanted the past to be quiet slow and give more of an impact towars the audience watching. It also gave it more of a romance feel to it. Here shows how to do it on Final cut:



We also planned on using fading in and out. We came up with this as some of the parts weren't as smooth as planned and we wanted something to smooth it out for us. So we watched a video which showed us how to do it:



There was a clip which had a light in, we wanted the light to go out and put the footage at the end. So we decided to look into how we can do this. We typed into youtube and watched a video to see how long it would take to do this and how hard it would be. Due to us trying to attempt to and not being able to. We decided to change our minds.



Lastly we decided to look into black and white to represent the past. So we looked into a video to show us how to do this:

Thursday 20/10/11

The main plan for this lesson is to :

• Upload the test footage to the blog and add any additional notes that we want to
• Upload the Rough cut footage to the blog and QuickTime it 
• Check the blog is full and complete
• Add any pictures also to the blog that can be used as part of the planning stage

After Wednesday lesson 19/10/11

During the lesson we all had a chance to do some editing to share out some of the work. Charlotte checked along with Chris to see what we had to do and what our objectives were to do during the lesson and what still needed to be added to the blog. Charlotte and Chris also cut down some of the footage for the end part to the song which seemed to fit in really well.

Chris  did some editing and also uploaded some work to the blog. Both Charlotte and Chris made sure that we had got to the point at the end where we felt that we were happy with the product.

As a group we feel that we are in a position where we will be able to show the class the work we have produced, it is not a perfect music video yet but we feel happy that it can be shown and critiqued by our class mates.

Abbie also had ago at editing along with Ed, both of them also spent some time on the blog adding how they felt and how they feel the project has been going.

However Charlotte and Chris still feel that we may need to add some more locations and possibly use some of the time in the green/black screen room to add to the current footage that we have. More general locations are needed we feel to be able to add a bit more of variety into the footage and make it a bit more exiting for the intented viewers.

Filming Emotions

Charlotte-
Due to being absent on the evenings we had to film. I did alot of planning towards what needed to be filmed and when. So hopefully that made up for the absences. However i did do loads of test filming with the group and spent time putting input into what we needed to have done. For example making sure the background was clear when filming, Making sure that the background had nothing we didnt want in there. I have also spent some time editing for the group and being part of the decision to slowing down the footage and making sure that we have clear cuts between sequences.

I found that when doing the test footage, what you thought you had on the camera was sometimes not what was on the screen when you uploaded it. I also found you had to do about 15 filming shots before you had one good one which was ok to be able to use. Through planning a lot ahead and having a picture of what you want it helps a lot and you are able to concentrate on the small details.

Chris-

I have found the process of planning and production so far more challenging than I had originally envisaged it to be. However, the main thing has been for me to ensure that I have worked through any tough patches and kept my motivation to make a good quality and high standard of music video. When out doing the filming, there are many obstacles that need to be considered and when doing filming in the evening obviously one of the main problems was that the light drew in quite quickly meaning that we could only film for a certain length of time or else we would lose continuity if the light changed all throughout the video without us wanting it to. Additionally, when out doing the filming I found it occasionally difficult trying to use some different techniques, for instance, trying vertigo, slow zoom out to look effective and also doing moving shots as I had to take into consideration other people being around, the surface that I was on and also the conditions. After doing the main section of filming and then beginning the editing process, we realised that in some respects some additional footage would have been helpful however, we made use of all of the footage that we had, ensured to try and use some effects to create a more interesting music video from the viewers perspective and make the product fit well together with some good transitions and fades. Although the editing can take a while before it is to a stage where you are happy with it, one of the best things that I did was just to perceiver and have the objective that we really want to make a good quality and professional looking music video.

Acting Emotions

when it came to filming there where some challenges i had to over come as an actress. These difficulties where things such as learning the lyrics to the song, to overcome this we played the song out loud on chris's phone so i could sing along to it, which worked well as i could show the emotion from the song easier. The other advantage was that i couldn't hear my own voice so i didn't end up laughing and wasting the little filming time that we had. I also had to make sure Ed wasn't visable as he made me laugh every time he looked at me. This problem kept on occurring with the strange looks we got from onlookers especially the yellow back pack Spanish tourists. i also had to remember to do my hair the same each time we filmed and bring the same clothes, this wasn't so hard to remember and didn't really become an issue. it made it a lot easier to act as my group where extreamly professional about it and did not muck around. Over all i thought the whole thing was a success, however if we where given more time i would have liked to have shot some more of the flash back moments and get a closer shot of ducks.

Attempt to contact artist

We attempted to contact The Hush Sound to show them the video we have composed to their song You are the Moon. We found their email address at THEHUSHSOUNDBAND@GMAIL.COM this was the email address they quoted on their myspace account. We are still waiting on their reply with comments on how they think it fits in with their type of music and the feelings they wanted to portray to the listener.

Classification Research

When we began the music video project we had to think about the classification and the themes within music videos and how they might affect the viewer.

When looking at some music videos early on we viewed a shocking video, Rock DJ by Robbie Williams and found out that rightly it was only to be shown well after the water shed due to the components and actions that take place within the video.

This is the video:



This video could be seen as very disturbing to some audiences and so would be distributed with a classification that mirrors this. When creating a music video this has to be considered and during our production process so far we have thought about what may and may not be suitable to include within our video.

A typical element which can cause a change in classification is language, however as that is not present within our video this is not necessary and our digi pack will highlight that our music video is suitable for all.

Analysis Of 2 Students Music Videos

This Music Video, 13 P1-01 - Butch Walker  - Too famous to get fully dressed was done in 2010 by a group of students in a band style situation and they had to appeal to the specific genre, which was indie rock and rock/ rock pop.

In relation to the Goodwin's theory of analysis this video has appealed to the conventions  and incorporating...

The second video is:



This Video is 13T1 35 Music Video 2010 Final Full

This video is another group performance with the focus being on the artists and their instruments and voice.

In relation to the Goodwins points of analysis and appealing to the conventions of the genre and the style of music, this video has done...

Plan for Wednesday 19th October Lesson

For this morning we need to continue with editing of the footage and ensuring that everything is beginning to come together in a continuous way with good continuity lasting throughout. We need to consider that we only have this lesson and tomorrow before the rough cut deadline so really need the editing with effects and transitions to be as smooth as possible and ready with the possibility for some minor tweaking on Thursday's lesson.

Additionally we need to upload some test footage to the blog. This will include the footage of Ed on piano, some of Chris and also some of both of Ed and Abbie.

While this is going on, we obviously need to continue adding to the blog and be starting to think about the other elements of our music video project, such as the Digi Pack and the DVD.

Monday 17/10/11

This lesson we have done some editing.  Charlotte, Chris and Abbie have added in some of the techniques for example Timing, Colour scale and fading in and out. We have done nearly half of the editing process and still have some additional footage that needs to be added to our timeline.

We still need to make sure the transitions our smooth and not jumping from footage to footage.

Looking through the footage we have decided that we still need to get footage of people walking past. We will need Abbie to film in the green screen room. Then we will slow the people down whilst they are walking past.




We are now in the process of only having 3 hours left of editing before the rough cut deadline. We hope that by next lesson we will be at stage where we only have a small amount to do in order to keep thursdays lesson free for last minute touch ups.

Editing Process

While editing the different techniques we used were:

• Fading in and out
• Colour Corrector (Grey Scale)
• Timing (Slow Motion) 
• 
  
  
  Colour Correcter
  We have used the colour correcter to show the difference between the past and the present. While Ed and Abbie are together we have used the colour correcter.When its just Abbie we have left it in colour.
  
  Timing
  We have used slow motion in ours and lowered it down to 60 when using the colour corrector. It highlights the significance of the different clips.  
  
  Fading in and Out
  We have used fading in and out to make the pictures run smoothly.

The Things That We Have Not Decided to Include and/or Change

From previous planning during the earlier stages in the music video project after pitching and deciding on our ideas for our music video we had preliminarily discussed using dancers and incorporating a dance routine to show and evoke the emotion of the main protagonist (Abbie) and to show explicitly how the main singer feels. After starting to film and get some real footage to put into our music video timeline on Final Cut Express, we have not actually filmed anything in the way of dancers due to time pressures and also that we felt after viewing some of the initial footage that it may not fit into our video as we felt that the main focus should be on the main character (Abbie) and her lost lover (Ed) so we decided to maintain that particular theme and take out the idea of the dance routine.

We also talked about using a neckless which would represent and symbolise something of importance that the main protagonist (Abbie) was given once her other half had passed on. We have not yet been able to find a way in which we can fit this into the narrative where it is significant and a key part of the narrative.

As a group we also made the decision while out on filming to change some of the locations due to feeling as though they were better suited if in different places for the parts within the music video that we wanted to use. For example we decided to use a park with some swings, throwing leaves and having a playful fight underneath a tree and looking into the river alone. All of these were used due to searching, going back and looking at other locations on the Mac's and then decided, went to filming and felt that these decisions were more beneficial.

We are yet to get a crowd of people running behind and the main artist being in the middle and in the green screen, however after the rough cut viewing, it may be possible for us if our class members feel that it would be beneficial, to go out and film these elements.

However due to these changes we feel they were made for the better of our project and feel that we could potentially add them in if needed.

Thursday 13/10/11

As a group we uploaded the footage onto the Mac and looked through to see just what we had made the previous evening with regard to the piano footage in the music room. We were glad as we had some very promising footage with the angles that we were looking for and also a professional looking piece which ran throughout the entire song. We felt that we had enough close ups of Abbie and the song had been sung all the way through which meant we were able to sync together the song and the music on the timeline and from there can edit the other footage together.

Charlotte had already previously edited some footage together which were already on the time line. So Chris and Charlotte then went onto sinking together the footage of Abbi singing at the piano.

Abbie and Ed were also helping through explaining what they felt were good parts and bad parts.

Come Monday its going to be a tight deadline which means we are going to have to focus throughout the lesson to make sure we include all the footage and special effects. Hopefully through hard work and working as a group we will be able to come up with our rough cut deadline ready to be able to get feedback on.

Aims for Thursday Lesson 13/10/11

As a group we need to pull together and ensure that we make good progress as the rough cut deadline is coming up quite quickly being a week Friday, so we have to crack on with the editing of the footage that we have and make a good music video that could potentially be ready to be a final product.

Things to complete today:

-Get to a stage where we have a good range of footage on the timeline and special effects in place.

-Finish some of the draft blogs and upload more so we have a good range of stuff.

-Start to think about our digi pack and what pictures we may need to take while we have our artists in costume

Editing Techniques That Have Inspired Us and That We Would Like To Replicate in Our Video?

These are the things that we need to remember whilst filming our music video and that we have learnt through our practice filming:

- Remember to make sure all the clips run smoothly and there's no bumps or distortion
- Quick snappy images, ensure that video will not have parts that run on!
- Words to sink with the music - lip syncing
- Variety of shots
- Be aware of the surroundings
Thinking about continuity editing
Match on action
180 degree rule
Lighting conditions, linking with continuity
Costume continuity

What Do The Fans of The Genre Expect To See in Our Video?

 We think that the main theme that is evoked from this song when the audience listen to it is an emotional and sad song with a slow rhythm which emphasise these things. Thiswould best describe the style of music. Throughout the video audience would expect to see conventions within the video such as uses of different locations to maintain interest and focus on the video itself. Additionally there would be the expectation to have lots of close up shot types of the artist and focus on the main protagonistic figures within the video which are very a important very important element.

Throughout filming some test footage we were able to see what angles work best for the music video and for the genre of music and also what angels are not ao effective as we tried to film some sinilar elements that we planned to include within our actual music video. Although our test footage wasnt all aimed at what we are planning to produce, we still tried to focus on a main protagonist.

Mood Board- Charlotte's Work due to missing filming

On 12/10/11 i was unable to make the filming due to my train being cancelled. I did however spend alot of time planning the script and narrative for the group and made sure i got across what i would like them to feel.

So instead of doing nothing, i deicded once i got home i made a mood board to represent all the things we want in our music video and inspirations. The pictures would relate a lot to most our planning we did previously and also new ideas we have had since then.

I have also added in words which would describe our music video. These being how someone who has just broken up/lost someone would be feel. The two artists which are featured in the images are also the main inspirations for the music video. Most of our ideas came from looking at these two artists ideas and previous work.

After the Filming on Wednesday Evening

After college at the end of the day, Chris went to pick up the camera and we had planned to meet in the music room at 4:10.

Although we had planned to have a full group it only ended up being Chris, Ed and Abbie. Charlotte's train was cancelled and had no way to get into college. So Charlotte worked on the mood board for the group instead and put in put into the project that way.

All was ok though and Chris did the filming with help from Ed with Abbie playing her role.

The filming went pretty well and we got some close up footage of Abbie playing the piano at different angles and all the way through, giving us a point at which we can work on the rest of the video.

We filmed until about 6:15 pm and had a successful session in our minds.

Chris held onto the camera and will have it back to the media office in the morning, Thursday 13/10/11 before 9 am!

During the Lesson on Wednesday - 12/10/11

As a group we got the camera and uploaded the footage that we had captured on Monday evening out in town and there was a fair deal however some of it was not quite correct to fit in with the conventions and also we did not feel that we quite had enough variety of shot types.

So Charlotte stayed in the class room and added the music to the time line and started to edit piece's together which we could work with. From myself going through I realised that we had a lot of good footage for the narrative however we needed to get some footage of Abbi singing.

Chris, Abbi and Ed went out to the wooded area in college to try and get some additional footage and also use some more close up shot types and also have a bit of a play with different techniques such as vertigo and using different angles also.

At the end of the lesson as a group we planned out the after college filming which we would all attend in the music room which had previously booked and realised what was needed from that session to ensure a positive outcome and enough footage to fill the track.

Work for Thursday 13th

Hi Guys,

I hope your work is going well this week. Can you complete the following on your blog so that you are up to date for Monday.
- Finish your draft post about test filming
- Blog some editing techniques that have inspired you and that you would like to replicate in your video
- Blog some target audience research (what do the fans of the genre expect to see in a video -themes/performance etc)

Good luck with your filming.

After Doing some Initial Filming and Test Footage

After the test filming last thursday that Ed, Chris and Charlotte carried out, we uploaded the footage to the computer and it gave us an idea of the sorts of things that we would need to consider in our actual music video filming.

It helped us to think about the locations, e.g. we booked for the music room so that we could have use of it on the wednesday of this week in the evening  - 12/10/11

This lesson, we were in the music room doing some test shots and a bit of initial footage in the music room.

Additionally, we planned what we would do in both evenings of filming outside of college.

Monday 10/10/11 - Filming in Town

Wednesday 12/10/11 - Filming in college in music room


Test Footage
After we got back to the class room and uploaded it onto the mac. We were able to to see the kind of close ups we were looking for. We noticed we didn't really have enough close ups and that we needed to bare this in mind. We also had to move the piano because of a door which did'nt look great in the background. The room we were using was quiet packed as well with musical instruments so we had to move all of them around.

After Filming on Monday Evening

Ed and Abbie picked up the camera and the tripod from the media office at 3:25 at the end of college and they met Chris at the grand arcade at 4pm.

When met up, we headed to our first filming location which was queens road, where we found an avenue of trees near to a pathway and the river and thought of how that would fit into the conventions and plans for our music video idea as it was a wooded type of area which was quite in the way of people and was good to represent sadness in the present and happiness from the past.

We after the first bit of filming did some additional footage involving ducks to try and add a different and slightly strange but interesting feature within the narrative of our music video and also went and set up near to some of the colleges where Abbie was on a bridge by the river.

We also filmed in a cafe to show a past time where Abbie and her previous sadly past away lover and then in the present day, in there on her own.

After that we went to the park where we filmed some more footage of Abbie and Ed together   and in the park so that we were able to film the bits with just Abbie and also Abbie with Ed.

We filmed until 6:30 pm due to the fast fading of the light and that we did not want to get footage that would not be worth having if the lighting was not enough.

I felt that the footage was good and that we had covered a good amount of the target that we had set for that evening of filming.

Monday Lesson

Today we had the chance to start doing some initial filming for our music video. All the group was there and we were able to spend half the lesson in the music room with the piano.

We realised we had a problem with the background where the piano was, which meant we had to cover it up or move the piano. Chris went to text-styles and got some white material to match the paint on the walls however it still showed up on camera. So we moved the piano and all the chairs out the way so that the set was ready for filming and so that it did not look clearly like a music room.

After this we started filming with Abbi and Ed performing and Chris and Charlotte filming and making sure we got the right angels.

After we got the footage back to the media room we realised that it wasn't quite what we wanted and decided to use one of the days after college to film in there properly and make sure we got the footage right the next time and enabling us to have more time and less constraints.

Monday-Charlotte

Due to being unable to attend the filming session which took place after college, due to difficult circumstances. I spent time adding to all the planning and preperation i made sure i got across some of the ideas i wanted to see. I hope to be able to spend extra time editing to be able to make up for missing the filming.

Along with this hopefully i will be able to be present on some of the filming taken place in class.

Permission

Due to a lot of our areas needing permission to use we had to send emails and make phone calls to make sure we had access to them.

On 10/10/11 Charlotte, Chris and Ed went and asked the music room staff if we could borrow the grand piano at some stage in the week. We found a gap on the Wednesday and agreed, we later had an email of confirmation.

Another destination we also wanted to use was the Grand arcade. So Charlotte emailed them and asked to see if we could possible film for 20-30 minutes in there. 

We also had to have permission from the artist who we wanted to use the song from. So we had to send an email asking for persmission. We also needed to find out if there was anything they didnt want in the film and for any ideas they could give us.

 

Lastly we wanted to use the hospital, however we couldn't find an email address and didn't want to bother the hospital with phone calls encase someone needed to get through urgently. Instead we went over and asked, but the person we needed to talk to wasn't there. 

Call Sheet

The  call sheet is a filmmaking term for a sheet of paper issued to the cast and crew of a film production, created by an assistant director, informing them where and when they should report for a particular day of shooting. Call sheets also include other useful information such as contact information (e.g. phone numbers of crew members and other contacts), the schedule for the day, which scenes and script pages are being shot, and the address of the shoot location. Call sheets may also provide logistical information regarding the location. It is common to find weather information, sunrise/sunset times, local hospitals, restaurants, and hardware stores. Call sheets have information about cast transportation arrangements, parking instructions and safety notes.

We all have each others numbers so that we are able to contact each other and arrange meetings and filming times etc.

We have done our lesson plans to ensure that the filming process and the process of making the video is efficient and so that everything runs as smoothly as possible. It also sets ourselves deadlines to meet to enable us to keep track of where we are and what we need to do at set times in addition to this document.

This Thursday - 6/10/11 The group will collect from Holly/ Amar the camera and use this within the lesson time to film.

All the group will be aware of this as for the initial filming all of the group should input we feel and then for some of the other filming dates we may just have 2 or 3 members from within our group.

Monday's Lesson - 10/10/11 In the lesson will get the camera at 9:00 and we will plan to use the piano in the music room, where we will film some of the piano elements within the video. We will have the whole group for this filming to ensure that everything is successful and that we can set the scene correctly for our proposed sections of filming. At the end of the lesson one of the group/ all members 

Monday evening after college - 10/10/11 Ed and Abi will collect the camera at 3:25. We will need to have the costumes for ed and abi ad the neckalce and props. We will all meet outside the front of Grand Arcade and from there we will move to our main location being queens road. We will film our footage and finish at 7pm due to the light closing in and the wrong conditions for our filming needs. Ed will take the camera home.

Tuesday Morning - 11/10/11 Ed will bring the camera and give it in to the media office.


Wednesday's Lesson - 12/10/11 More Piano footage. Also some forest footage Abi's piano part. Chris film. All edit some footage.


Wednesday Evening - 12/10/11 Chris will pick up the camera.  Decide to film the remainder of Abbie's footage in the piano room.


Thursday Morning - 13/10/11 Chris will bring the camera back and give it in to the media office.


Thursday Afternoon - 13/10/11  Editing of footage so far.

 

Health and Saftey

Whilst out filming there are things we will need to take into account. Such as-

• Cyclists- Whilst out when filming we could be filming and they could collide with us.
• Raining- If it is to rain and we are out filming we need to be careful the equipment doesnt get wet and electric shocks us. 
• Transport- Being careful not to run into the road or film in places that are likely to cause harm to ourselves and others.
• Animals- Making sure we don't touch them encase we harm ourselves.
• Public- Be careful not to film people who may be unhappy about being filmed.
• Tourists with bright yellow back packs and a bad attitude!
• Birds (and their droppings)
• Trips hazards, e.g. shoe laces and objects on the pavements. 
• 
  

Shot List

Here is the shot list we have put together, it will also be used as a check list whilst filming. This means we will be able to keep track of what we have done and what needs to be done.

Questions Asked in Feedback to Pitch

After the pitch we were asked:

Where are we going to get the dancers from?
Answer = We have friends that are able to source some dancers and we can give them a routine that will fit into our video.

What intertextual referecnes will there be in the video?
Answer = We are not sure if they are necessary and if we will include them, but we may have some brands and other?! ...

Will we be able to use the locations such as grand arcade etc.?
Answer= We will ask permission and go for it as it will be a good busy location for our video.

When will you film?
Answer= During lessons and in evenings.

Brief Outline To Choosing The Music Video Song

After the decision on our 5 song choices we now need think hard about the song that we really want and then create the pitch for our decision to enable us to ensure that we get the song that we want.

We have to make sure that the idea that we have is achievable and attainable for us and also that it will work well and effectively.

It is not just about the decision of the song, we have to consider the further planning of the music video project and ensure that we make the correct decision and that the direction of the video is correct!

After taking all of this into account we decided to choose number 9. We felt that we would be able to show off all our techniques learnt over the past year and to be able to really get something great out of it. As a group we all had the very similar ideas in mind in the initial planning stages which meant it was clear to us all as to what we wanted to do in the video.

This meant that we were able to really start the planning process for our video, taking photos of proposed locations and also know what we plan to include within the music video. We feel very positive about our idea and hope that we will be able to carry it through and make this music video as we have began the process and want to see how the ideas that we have turn out.

Background Information on Artist and Previous Songs

The Hush sound previously known as The Hush is an indie quartet and the main vocalist and pianist within the group is Greta Salpeter.

The early beginnings of the band was formed by Greta and another member, the guitarist Bob Morris.

They were the first two members of the group and the founders of the newer recruits in later times

Lyrics

Through looking at the lyrics, it reminds us of the past and present. The main idea that came to us was the loss of someone. It showed how someone was there and then has gone. 


This is what gave us the idea for our narrative. Which shows how the main singer being a girl was once happy with her partner. Then she loses them and when she goes back to where she was once happy and spent a great deal of time with him, e.g in a open area where they used to walk together. He would no longer be there in the later narrative and she would be on her own and the emotion and sadness that she feels is then conveyed.


The lyrics of this song are as follows:


Shadows all around you as you surface from the dark
Emerging from the gentle grip of night's unfolding arms
Darkness, darkness everywhere, do you feel all alone?
The subtle grace of gravity, the heavy weight of stone

You don't see what you possess, a beauty calm and clear
It floods the sky and blurs the darkness like a chandelier
All the light that you possess is skewed by lakes and seas
The shattered surface, so imperfect, is all that you believe

I will bring a mirror, so silver, so exact
So precise and so pristine, a perfect pane of glass
I will set the mirror up to face the blackened sky
You will see your beauty every moment that you rise

Story Board

This is our initial storyboard for our music video, this shows the preliminary plan for the different locations that we plan to incorporate, the characters and actors that we will need to source and also routines that we need to plan and also the props that we will have to source etc.

Inspiration for our song choice

This video has similarities with the song that we have chosen for our pitch:

It contains elements and conventions that we envisage within our video.

These include:

• The narrative style - being a girl who has lost the one that she loved due to his actions
• The colours, being dark, with light sections, highlighting the past. - A black and white theme
• Costume - being mainly in white to contrast with the dark lighting and other dark elements within the video
• Female artist 
• Strong use of close up shot types on the artist
• Main focus on the artist and her life

This is the video for our inspiration - Christina Perri - Jar of hearts

Lesson Plans

The idea of us planning ahead of what we will do each lesson and out of lesson. Is so that we are prepared and that we all know what we need to do. It also means we are able to allow ourselves any additional time available for any hick ups which may occur within the production of our music video.
Here shows the lesson plans-

Wednesday 28th September  -Finish of planning for the Music that we want ready to give our presentation/ pitch on Thursday.

Thursday 29th September- Present our ideas to the class and pitch our thoughts and find out if we have got the song that we have pitched for and if we can go ahead with our plans.

Monday 3rd October - Planning and doing a storyboard for our video and the real decision making as to where and when we will film the following lesson and week. Call sheet and shot list, decide on filming days etc.

Beteen Monday 3rd and Wednesday 5th October - (All the group) Film footage in the music room with the piano. Start to finish 1.30minutes to do so.  Wednesday's Lesson - Piano room.

Wednesday 5th October- (2 members) Find dancers and prepare them with direction as to the routine that they will have to do. The dance routine will be perfomed either on a stage or in one of the deserted locations that we plan to incorporate within the video. We plan to record the dance routine within the next week.

Thursday 6th October- ( All members) Film with girl and boy at the guided bus way route/ Queens Road/ Chesterton Road. Past and present need to be complete. Try to do some of this during the lesson

Monday 10th October- Film the dancers with the girl singing, all members should be present ready to insure the dance routine is complete. Film Grand Arcade - Evening?!

Wednesday 12th October- Get any last footage that we need or haven't got due to difficult circumstances. Make sure we have everything on the timeline on final cut express. Editing

Thursday 13th October- Make sure footage is complete and we are happy with our Music video ready to get feedback on the Monday. Editing

We will also have 2 nights in which we will also do footage, however this is still to be decided and we should know once all members have found out when they are free.

Monday 17th October DEADLINE for the filming 

Costume For Others

The man who will play in our film, will wear trousers possibly not black and not very bright. We want the main person (Abbie) to be the main focus in the film. We would like a t-shirt to be worn( White) and smart shoes which will give the overal smart image to his look.

Out fit could possibly be purchased from Topman. Here shows a image of the kind if clothing we would like the man to be wearing. After speaking to Ed, he has agreed to play this role and here shows what he could possibley wear:

Dancers would be expected to wear white clothing. Dresses or white tights and long tops. We want it to contrast from Abbies clothing. It needs to be plan and not very over the top. Hair would be put back possibley into buns and little make-up as possible. We want Abbie to be the main focus of the video. Here shows the kind of outfits they could possibly wear:

Costume

The first idea that we had for the costume in the was:

Having the main artist/ singer wearing clothing that is

• Black
• Plain
• Simple

Listening to the song represented loss or losing someone to us. From this we decided that the colour of the artist's outfit would be black - a black dress of sorts like the one shown below. It represents the colour that would usually be associated with a funeral and when someone loses someone.

Keeping the outfit simple meant that the main area we would concentrate on would be the hair and make-up which would focus on her. Because the song is quiet calm and relaxed it doesnt need to have a over the top dress with a girl jumping around. It can have a focus of a plain and simple dress but with a glam look to hair and make-up.

Hair will be either wavy or straight with possibly a white/black flour or head band in her hair. Then quite sparkly and dark make-up to highlight the eyes to attract the audience to her face being an important part of the narrative and the emotion that we want to convey through our music video.

Here shows two dresses which are different but can both be great examples of what we aim to dress the girl in.

Adele is a great inspiration for someone who attracts the audience by the eyes. She wears quiet simple outfits which generally seem to be black. Then she wears black eye-liner and emphasizes her eyes to attract her audience.

Mood of the Music

The mood of the music in this song is quite dark and with aromas of sadness conveyed through the lyrics of the artist.

Within our music video, we plan to portray this through the images, lighting, locations and costumes and also the character that we use to play the role of the vocalist.

The mood of the music is very important as it is what is gathered from the viewer/listener and how they perceive the song itself.

In the music video, we need to create a mood which mirrors that of the mood in the song itself according to our viewpoints.

As the mood is dark, we will include dark costume, empty deserted locations adding to the suspense within the narrative of the video and also a variety of lighting types used which will evoke the mood as there are changes within the song which include the main resounding dark theme but with some lighter elements also incorporated. This will hopefully create an effective music video where empathy for the artist is created and that the viewers are able to identify with the narrative from their perception of it and also from the video and the song themselves they can discover the mood that they feel is surrounding this song.

Props to be used within the video

• There could be some kind of neckless to highlight what she had left from her lover. Something that reminds her of her partner and of the past.

• The piano in the music room - wihin college for ease, we will set this room up for filming and ensure that we can use it having plenty of time with no lessons needing to use it or other students. 

• We will make up the room to get it to look as though it is a recording studio or a concert hall to create the sense for the viewer that the artist in the video is in a location that appels to the style of the song and also the conventions of the narrative that we have created.

           

Colour and Lighting

Within the video for this song, we plan to have a dark setting, with low light, but with contrasting white costumes, to create a black and white style of video including lighter sections to convey the past.

This juxtaposing lighting should highlight the different periods of time and the emotion of the artist making the video more effective.

The filming for this video will be weather dependant as we need a day where it is not bright sunshine which should be ok as we live in beautiful Britain rather than somewhere like Barbados.

However, if on the proposed day of filming there are not suitable weather conditions then our back up plan will be to edit the video accordingly, changing the lighting using filters to create a darker effect.

Performers/ Performance styles

For this song, we plan to have the artist as the main performer throughout the video.

There will also be other characters within the video, but these will be background and not the focus.

The background characters will perform a dance routine behind the artist symbolising the movement that she is undertaking and her feelings and emotions. Additionally, we will have a male character acting as the previous lover of the main vocalist.This will include the need for flashbacks and highlighting the past that is between them both.

We plan to have Abbie as the main singer in the music video. Her other half is to be Ed and the background dancers are yet to be named however we are in the process of choosing and deciding. The filming will be done by Chris and Charlotte. Then the editing will be a group work with input by all of us. For the other picee's of work we have to do, we will be using a still camera to take photos along the way so we dont have to rush those at the end.

We plan to include dancers in this sort of style

 

Location

The locations that we imagine to have within the video are:

• A room in which the artist will play the piano, having the performance element. (The music room in college, where there is a piano)
• A deserted quiet and open area, to highlight the past and present, the lonliness that she feels. (We currently think that this will be along the guided bus way, in another surburban city location and maybe in a wooded area
• Her walking through a busy and unknown location with a lot of people quickly past her. (Hospital, Shopping centre...?)
• Looking out of a window - Cafe, restaurant or room

Location in pictures

Woods 

Open fields 

Walking along an open lane 

& Again 

A cafe which could be used

Hospital

Grand Arcade- Shopping Centre

Contact Details

Grand Arcade-
Phone: 01223 302601
Email: info@grandarcade.co.uk

Hospital- +44 (0)1223 245 151

Music Room- 01223 50740, long road cambridge cb2 8px

council-
Telephone: 0345 045 5200 (General Enquiries)

Potential Locations for the piano scene

These are the pictures of the potential piano location, we took them in college in the music room.

In the actual music video we intend to use the grand piano and ensure that there are no other people using the piano during a lesson or practice time.

Choices for Music Video and Final Five Initial Ideas

The categories that we initially had to look at when listening to the tracks that had been given to our group, to give our first impressions we had to think about:

• Locations
• Actors
• Colour
• Storyline
• Costume
• Props

After listening to the tracks and thinking about these categories for our first impressions, we discussed and thought about the 5 songs that we like the best and our initial ideas for our music video.

We have decided roughly that our choices are: 2,5,7, 9 and 11

Track 2:

We thought that for this song we would need a stage performance with a dance routine. Reminds us a bit of Take that and other similar boy bands. There are some elements of happiness and also emotion within the song. For locations, we would envisage there being a stage, a house an outside location, walking through a busy street/ urban location. There would be close ups of each of the boy band member, however, we think that there would be particular focus on one member, the lead. The band members would probable wear smart casual clothing, chinos and shirts for example.

Track 5:

This track with an unhappy aroma and feel to it, we feel could have the potential for slow motion video to add to the narrative that we perceive there to be. Within the music video for this song, there is definitely the need for performance, playing the guitar, banjo etc. This is a song that has the farm style feel and conveys to us a sense of that. Flashbacks could also be used, there could be potential for colour variation, perhaps intertextual references, looking into a television. The flashbacks could be used for the main protagonist within the music video and to show a happier time in his life?! The clothing would relate to the main location for this video, being a farm, casual and rural.

Track 7:

For this song, there is female solo artist and her band we envisage there to be some performance from the group. Some greatly diverse colours adding to the interesting feel of the video and also a range of different locations and visuals having a strong relationship with the lyrics and the song itself. There would be elements where the artist would have the spotlight and be singing solely with other members then gradually coming in, possibly in another location. The locations would probably include some urban locations, maybe a car park and then a room, or range of where a party may be taking place, people listening and raving to the song within our video. We could include flashbacks additionally to add depth to the narrative and therefore make the video more interesting for the viewer.

Track 9:

For this song with a female solo artist, we would literally mainly envisage there to be just her, in a room playing the piano and then there would be flashbacks throughout showing previous events, maybe highlighting the past and the reason(s) for her sadness. Additionally, we could show a girl on stage with a spotlight shining and then the reaction or the outcome, adding empathy and strongly conveying the emotion. We would consider the girl to be wearing black and in the present and then more colourful clothing in the flashbacks. There would be a lot of close up shots to highlight expression and add to the emotion.

Track 11:

Within the music video that we would think to create for this particular song, we would definitely add in a large section of performance from the group  as a whole. There would also maybe be some elements of the groups possibly on a night out, some footage of them returning home after a night out or something similar. There would be different locations used, no flashbacks, but probably some partying, a night club scene perhaps, or a gig situation with an audience of kinds. We imagine that there would be some slightly weird and wonderful happenings within the video for this song. The clothing would probably be smart casual and slightly indie.

Goodwins Music Video Analyse using - 50 Cent 'In Da Club'

This shows you the general expectations of a Hip Hop video. They have the main person raping away while there's alot of seductive dancing going on around them. From watching you can see the video it is a high budget video from the costume changes every 5 seconds. Along with the high fashionable places used. 

There is a lot of close ups used throughout the video to demonstrate his visual style. Throughout all his videos he has close ups used on him and always is shown as the centre of attention compared to the others. He also is featured with a lot of other well known artists which promote him by letting him look the leader and the main person.

Its very stereo typical his video as it shows his costume to be baggy clothes big bling chains and just the general look of a hip hop rap artist. The music fitted with the visuals as it was quiet a dance club music which was played in a club with people dancing freely to the music.

 

Analysis Of Product and Packaging for Madonna DigiPack

The digipack has a variety of different colours and textures on the cover and inside the pack.

There are interesting costumes highlighted on the cover and in additional pictures over the packaging of the DVD pack.

The product itself offers many of madonna's popular hits during the 90's. The videos that were made for this DVD have unconventional themes and costumes mirroring the time that now seem dated and slightly strange.


A difference from today's more popular style of music video is that in some of the videos she does not actually lip sync, however complying with the genre of Madonna's music there are dance routines and a strong narrative.


Additionally, in the videos by Madonna, there were few locations used and also the camera angles are in short supply and there is not a great deal of variety. In today's world of music and music videos, there are generally always a large variety of camera angles and many locations making the videos more interesting and giving them more depth.


The outer shell of the digipack seems to be unconventional.

Madonna DVD Digi Pack Pictures

 

Conventions of a DigiPack

A Digi Pack should include:

• A picture of the artist or group 
• The title of the album, single or DVD
• An age rating, film classification
• Track listing
• Bar Code
• Some additional photos
• An insert within the digi pack, CD or DVD - Information, Lyrics and some background on the album or DVD
• Duration of DVD
• Copyright information

Analyse Of different music videos

A spoof video

This video shows the kind of way now days artist tend to dance and they have over done it to make it funny. Having the funny dance and the weird video which shows a lady giving birth to a fully clothed boy makes it more funny and intresting to watch.

Through using  mise en scene conventions such as costume having everyone in bright colours and them in grey it makes them stand out more from the rest. It keeps you intrested and wanting to watch it with the funny dancing and weird footage.

A video with a message

This video gives a message through mise en scene and sound. It uses her costume which is very little to show that people are all different and unique and that they should be happy with what they have. She shows this also by having some parts where there are about 5 heads which are cloans and she shows that not everyone is the same.

Through her song and the words it shows that your mum brings you up to be you. That everyone is different and that you are born that way. Through using different angles such as long shots and close ups it shows different parts to her and how different she is. 

I think this gives you the message that you should be happy with yourself. That we are all different and not everyone is the same.

A video that shocks you

Lady gaga songs all come across as quiet shocking. Her costumes are either revealing or weird and wacky in which can come across to some audiences as offensive or wrong. You wouldn't want your 4 year old to be watching them as some of the lyrics as well come across as offensive.

'Judace' was the song of hers that i choose and found that the amount of clothing she wore wasn't suitable for certain audience. Also they have a lot of phsical violence in which it shows people lobbing bricks at her. This could come across as ok to people if they watch it and are influenced by it. The narrative of the story is generally based on violence and how to seduce someone. Its generally jsut a shocking video to watch and you would have to be careful when others who are younger are about.

a video chat presents a artist in a way we aren't used to seeing them

The mise en scene for the second video is the type of video she usually does. However for the first it is totally different to what she used to use. In the first one she uses a geek look and looks totally different to what she used to look like. Then in the second one she has the glam look which she usually has and is recognised for.

In both of the videos it shows a wide range of long shots and close up of her face. In the first one it shows she is fitted into the back ground and isnt very bright and standing out but once she changes outfit she then ends up being the main focus. In the second one it shows a lot of special effects used and also has her on her own while others our running around.

The first one has a short story to it in which at first would be good however if you had to keep watching it back it would get boring and wouldnt be intresting. But with the second one it doesn't so its short and easy to repeat over and overagain. 

Analyse Of Music Videos

Spoof Video



The video we chose is Jack Sparrow by The Lonely Island. This video is filmed to be a contrast between one man who wants to create one song and three who want to make a different song. The video starts with a slight introduction so the viewer knows that the video will have two angels, one of a club and the other a Pirates of the Caribbean spoof. They do this by changing locations and costumes, from suits in a club to a pirate outfit on the crows nest of a pirates boat.

Shocking Video



This video is just weird in general everything is just weird.

Additionally, in the way of the classification of this video there would need to be

Music With A Message



The message in this video, is the sad story of someone with no where to go with a drug addiction and works as a prostitute. This is done by not actually showing the artist at all in the video but instead show a story or insight into the life of someone who this video will relate to. This video shows what someone will go through at to get hold of enough money to buy the drugs they need to escape from the reality of their lives.

Magazine Advert -Beyonce 'Best thing i never had'

 

Our task was to create a magazine advert for a music video we had watched. I decided to choose Beyonce and her new single 'Best thing i never had'. Because she is such a well known music artist she doesn't have to have her face in the advert. Only her name should be the main focus. From what i had done i should have made her name and the name of the single bigger and more bold for it to come across in the right way.

I think the advert in some ways could come across as a advert for a new film at a cinema. Instead of what its actually meant to be a music video.  Also i could have worked on making the white around the stars the same colour as the background of the strip so it doesn't stand out so much.

I found using photo shop quiet difficult because of all the layers and not being able to move things or edit things as easy as i thought. I think i would need to leave about week to be able to get it fully complete and at a good standard. There also needs to be some planning and ideas so that its more easy for it to be done. It would also be good to have feed back on the products so we can then improve them instead of just doing them and getting feed back which isn't so good and having no time to change it.

Magazine Advert-Ed Sheeran

To edit the image of ed sheeran to create our magazine advert, we simply used colour filters. The filters gave the whole image a grey matte effect which we thought looked good, but to make it stand out we selected his hair and coloured it ginger just like it is in real life. We did this as we thought it caught peoples attention as it stands out from the grey background.

Music Video Analysis of Michel Gondry's Works

The videos that we watched and analysed were:

Kylie Minogue - Come Into My World

A music video with a looping cycle, repetition of actions and an unconventional feel to it through the lack of shots but a full setting with many actions being carried out by characters on set. Additionally, due to the doubling of Kylie within the video, this creates an interesting and memorable element to the video and there are other elements and objects that double and continue to do so within the video as she does. This  creates an exiting video with very good continuity, a slightly strange concept but very well shot and carried out with very good planning and routines drafted and rehearsed appealing to the conventions of the genre of which Kylie is in, Pop where a routine is desired and it adds an enticing element to the video withdrawing it from being uninteresting.

The Foo Fighters - Everlong

This is a music video again having similarities to the first in that it has a very strange concept but with supernatural elements and different realities being connoted. In contrast with the video additionally, there is performance used within the video, however due to the genre of this group, which is rock this would be expected, however another contrast is that there are a number of quick cuts and a variety of shot types utilised within this video and also contrasting colours used to convey the different realities within the video. Similarly, this is quite an unconventional style of a music video, with a number of locations used, strange costumes and odd, supernatural happenings taking place. This gives the suggestion that the work of an Auteur is at foot as the control of the video is at his dispense and Michel Gondry is able to make almost anything happen to make a very grabbing, interesting and slightly odd video by the Foo Fighters.

The Chemical Brothers - Star Guitar

The music videos for this group and song is similarly unconventional and fitting to the style so far seen in the work of Michel Gondry. There is again an enticing narrative, strange and supernatural occurrences and split realities, going from dream state to what is real life. As the viewer, one is drawn to the video itself and almost detached from the song itself as the video is very interesting and different to most others with its quick pace, rapid cuts and shifts and fading used with many effects and colour changes. Additionally, as with the first video analysed, there is doubling of a character within the narrative of this music video creating another element and adding to the diversity of the music video itself also appealing to the genre of the group and also the style that they like to evoque which is a little zany. Similarly with the Foo fighters video, there is performance within the music video, however it being the work of Michel Gondry, it is connoted in an unconventional and interesting fashion making it more enticing and enjoyable to view.

White Stripes - Fell in Love With A Girl

This video is unlike any other that we had ever seen done by Michel Gondry or any other director due to the fact that it was all films using lego, this appealing to the unconventional style that Michel liked to utilise and build upon within the music videos that he directs. This video is amazingly put together and fantastically filmed and created with great continuity and still complying with the style that the white stripes like to have and the conventions of the genre, with some performance and some different light/ colour being used. There is a quick pace in the video and again quick cuts and a variety of angles used. It is a greatly memorable video and extremely enjoyable to watch.

The Auteur Theory - Looking at Michel Gondry's Videos

The French film theory created by André Bazin can be applied to many forms of media today, e.g.  films, music videos, television programmes and others.

The film director Tim Burton would be an example of an Auteur as he distinctly creates weird and wonderful movies with similar styles, effects and recurring themes.

Our group looked at some of the creations of Michel Gondry, Director of a wide range of music videos for groups and artists including The White Stripes, The Foo Fighters and Kylie Minogue.

After analysing some of his music videos strongly concluded that he was an auteur due to the style that seemed constant throughout the videos that he had directed, conveying that he had been given the authority and control to make the decisions for the video, the filming, framing and its main direction.

For each of the videos, there were recurring themes, a wide range of similarities in styles, effects and camera angles, cuts and movements despite the fact that the genres of our chosen viewings were totally contrasting.

The videos all had an unconventional nature to them, giving them a sense of the unknown and slightly out of this world. In addition there were references within some of the music videos where there were dream states and the real world being framed and set in a different way either using colour or setting to differentiate them.