Sunday 30 September 2012

Research Into Music Video Forms & Conventions


All music videos are constructed of forms and conventions, which could be the relationship between the lyrics and visuals, different genre have different styles and iconography and intertextual references to other music videos, films or TV.


Lyrics to give the song a subject matter and give a sense of mood and feeling to the song, which alongside the music to obviously advertise the music and the artist but also to give a tempo to the editing.

The genre to appeal to a particular audience. Each genre will have its own set of forms and conventions, whit different ideologies. These will be evident in the mise-en-scene, editing, themes, performance and camera work/styles; this will be made more obviopus though the camerawork, which is also important. The way the camera is used can convey meanings or genres in a video. It can also help narrate a story. The camera movement can accompany the movement if the performer, and also give a live performance a more dynamic feel by circling the artist(s) or by using close-ups to create a sense of intimacy with the artist and the audience.

The most commonly used editing in music-promo videos is a fast cut montage style, to keep the audience engaged and fit the tempo of the music; however some videos use slower editing and transitions to easily establish a mood. It is also common for artists with a broad audience to use split-screens, colourisation and CGI effects to make videos more attractive and appealing to watch. 

Narrative and performance in music-promo videos is often fragmented which suggest the storylines offer complex meaning in a non-linear order leaving the audience wanting to watch them again. Music videos often cut between narrative and performance of the band/artist. Also carefully choreographed dance is also used in some video’s more popularly pop. 

According to Andrew Goodwins's theory he talks about repetition. Images are repeated to mirrow the images or lyics of the song on the screen. they rely on this repetition because they wasnt the audience to become familiar with the genre. Andrew Goodwin discusses amplification (the introduction of nerw meaning to the lyrics that dont contradict them;) and disjuncture (when the video and lyrics have little connection. )

Monday 17 September 2012

Pitch Presentation

Final Treatment 

The original ideas we wanted to use that we had each thought up over summer, turned out to be harder to create successful videos for than we had first expected. We have now reached the stage in the production where we have successfully come up with three narratives that the video will hold. The song we have chosen to do was found by our group member Jess Adam, and is called 'Breathe Me - Sia'. The song when we first listened to it made us all think of bullying in schools, different types of people, and the socially outcasted. We took inspiration for the way we want to shoot the video from 'I fink u freaky'.


We want to run with the idea of some people being socially outcasted, and shoot it on a set that contains lots of broken furniture, wild paint, water etc. The actors that we get for that day on the shoot will be kids from Hurtwood, who we will then dress up and paint on in order to make them fit in with the narrative that they're different to most normal people. The second narrative that we have came from taking inspiration from 'Beautiful - Christina Aguleria'. In her video we see her as the 'god-type' figure, showering out hope and justice for all those who were obviously bullied or different. In our video, we want to have Georgie Morton, playing the same type of role for Sia. 

Music Video Treatments


1.  Bass Cannon – Flux Pavilion

Set: In Hurtwood House. (TV Studio, Private Study, Cafeteria, Football Pitch & Path down from theatre)

Star Image: The music video should appeal to the teenage/young adult age range. The main ideologies represented in the video are sexual appeal, rebellion against (school) order, wanting to get out and be free of stress and work.

Scene 1 – The Classroom

The video will start with a close up of a clock ticking, slowly zooming into the shot from a slow angle perspective. It will then cut to a close up of a schoolgirl taken from a high angled perspective looking up at the clock longingly. We see an extreme close up of the teacher looking over his glasses with a vile expression across his eyes and lower mouth, taken from his eye line.

The cuts between these three shots become quicker and quicker until the drop of the song comes in. As the edits quicken the teacher’s eye starts to twitch and the schoolgirl begins to breathe more heavily and look more anxious. A few smaller shots are added of ‘bitchy’ looking girls and ‘gawping’ boys, staring in the direction of the schoolgirl.

Props for scene: White school shirts and red ties, back jeans for boys and black skirts for girls with long white socks & high heels. A pencil with a rubber on the end for the schoolgirl to be chewing on. 



Scene 2 – The Walk

A slow motion shot of the schoolgirl walking out the classroom door with a tight fit black dress on. Behind her follows hundreds of pieces of flying paper either being thrown or catapulted out from the dark room behind her. The shot will be edited at a normal pace at first but then will slow down as the paper starts to fly out of the door.

Next we see an extreme close up shot of the schoolgirl walking down the theatre path as she strokes her hand through her hair, taken from the side on.

A close up shot of the end of her dress is provided from the level where the fabric ends on her legs. As she walks towards the camera we see her hands gently pull down the fabric to cover herself up a little more in slow motions.

The next shot shows the schoolgirls face with a cheeky smile as she walks towards the camera again in slow motion. The shot will be a close up.

The next cut takes us to the football pitch with a couple of handheld close ups of the boys playing football as the music breaks into the verse again. They all seem to be concentrating hard on their training.

A medium shot down the touchline shows the schoolgirl walking away from the camera down the pitch, looking over towards the boys once.

A wide shot shows all the boys suddenly stop concentrating, stand still and turn to face the schoolgirl.

A medium long shot shows ‘the coach’ and another man talking in the corner of the field. The coach turns around having being alerted by the other man that the boys had stopped playing. The coach turns around at starts running towards the boys.

A reverse shot is taken from behind the coach as he runs towards the boys.

A worms eye view shot shows the boys running frantically, pushing each other out the way to get to the schoolgirl in slow motion in a long shot.

A medium long shot is used to show two boys carrying a big crate of water running up behind the coach as he shouts at the boys. They pour the water over him and as it splashes on his head and shoulders, the beat drops again and the shot is put into slow motion.

Props for scene: Tight fit black dress and accessories, football kits, boots ball etc., big water jug.

Scene 4 – Dance & Cafeteria

A variety of close up and wide shots will be used to film 3 – 5 of the dancing girls in the studio. Behind them will be a set of strobe lights flashing to create a dizzying but awesome effect. The girls will be dancing in sync to the music with each other, emphasizing the sexual undertone to the music video. The dance will be a rave/hip-hop genre.

We see the schoolgirl walk into the ‘club’ in a close up shot.

We see all the boys behind her in school uniform in a still shot as they look into the club with a still motionless expression. The camera will then move across them into their eye line on the tracks.

In the next shot we see the ‘bitchy’ girls from her school standing, facing each other looking over their shoulder into the lights where the schoolgirl is standing.

The shots are juxtaposed with those from the cafeteria at school where the schoolgirl is pictured again in her school uniform as she walks past all the boys as they’re eating, stroking her hand along their backs.

We then see a few extreme close ups of the boys reactions through staring eyes, twitching fingers and shifting bums.

In a few close up shots we see the hands of the boys and bitchy girls stop being held by one another and the reaction of the girls faces as all the boys stand up and stand behind the schoolgirl.

An extreme close up tilt shot shows the schoolgirls hand pull down the leaver for the ice cream machine. The tilt leads our eyes down to the ice cream coming out.

Next we see the boys’ reactions from a birds eye view shot taken from on top of the ice cream machine. The first boy will be leaning on the table, the second on the window, in this continuous pattern to the back of the line.

Another close up of the girl holding the ice cream close to her face is shown as she smiles cheekily. A shot of a boy’s reaction is then seen in an extreme close up.

A wide shot of the teachers table is then shown as they look disgustingly at the girl as she walks past, some of the teachers have to turn around because they’re facing the wrong way.

A reverse shot is provided as the schoolgirl looks over her shoulder in a medium close up taken from her eye level.

In a medium long shot, we see one teach stand up and start to shout at the girl.

Here, an animation of an angry schoolteacher will be inserted into the video, sort of like this one that I found on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwMEQkCdeGM

We cut back to the ‘club scene’ where we are provided with medium long shots of the schoolgirl flicking her hair backwards in super slow motion with the strobe lights still flashing in the background.

A variety of (extreme) close ups are provided of different types of alcoholic drink, the boys and girls faces in the club.

We then see a worm’s eye view of the girl at night, outside, spray painting on a wall. A wide shot shows her spraying the words “…”

Props for scene: Spray paint, black hoodie, ice cream machine, strobe lights, alcohol bottles, school uniforms, table wear, dancing clothing for girls, mist machines and red filters for lighting.

Scene 3 – Wake Up

The teacher from the classroom at the beginning of the video is seen clenching his ears to stop the sound of penetrating too loudly, as blood starts to come out of his nose and he collapses on the desk. Taken from a bird’s eye view.

When the chorus stops we cut to a shot of the schoolgirl sleeping on the desk, shot from her eye level in a wide angled perspective. She is woken up by the teacher and told to get on with her work, as all the other boys and girls along with thw teacher have gone.

Fade to black…

2.  The Finish Line – Snow Patrol

This music video will feature a ‘James Blunt’ lookalike and possibly a partner for parts of the video. The video will consist of shots of our character in the woods, parts of our school and possibly Cranleigh. The shots during the day should be made as dark as possible to emphasize the loneliness of the character, or be put into black & white when editing. I would like to have a little movement in as many of the shots as possible, however for scenes where the character is moving (e.g. washing his face with water or walking down the street) they should be put into slow motion. The shots that are put together may not make sense when put together. However, I am hoping that the final outcome is one of visual nature.

Scene 1: Studio

Shot 1: In the studio, a beam of white light opens up from the ceiling down onto a white, dirty bathtub where we see the man’s head resting on the edge, taken from the height of the bathtub with a wide angled perspective. Smoke can be seen around the feet of the bath.

Shot 2: A high angled shot, from the tap end of the bath shows the man covered completely with red roses. His arms are rested on either edge of the bath as he stares blindly into space with a faint smile on his face. Taken as a medium long shot, the lighting remains consistent.

(Clothing: The man’s clothing will be ‘indie’ e.g. tight jeans, pointy shoes, rag scarf, low cut v neck shirt & denim jacket. Accessories: Rings, earrings, long ropey necklaces.)

Shot 3: A close up of the petals, the lighting of this shot will be edited to provide a strong contrasted tone, there is also a large depth of field in the shot.

Shot 4: An extreme close up of the rings on his fingers, also with a strong contrasted tone.

Shot 5: A close up of the face from a high angled perspective (using the crane) so his focus is just below the camera, as his smile still slightly shows on his face.

Scene 2: Football Pitch Bench

Shot 1: A close up, over the (left) shoulder at eye level shot is taken of the man with a strong light coming over his right shoulder across his face to highlight his hair and features is taken. The smile on his face is broad but shy, as he sings; “the earth is warm, next to my ear”. 

Shot 2: An extreme wide shot, taken from a low angle shows the man sitting on the bench. The shot, taken from the football field looking up at the man, will silhouette him against the sky and background. “insects noise, is all that I hear”

Shot 3: A medium close up, taken from a low angle shows the man and a girl sitting on the bench, heads close together, looking at each other. The lighting is strong so that the expression is clear on their faces. 

Cross Fade.

Shot 4: A shot reverse shot sequence shows the couple for a split second however; as they move into each other, the girl fades away (editing). The shot is taken from the height of the top of the bench with a strong depth of field. “a magic trick, makes the world disappear”

Scene 3: Top Car Park – All shots use daylight.

Shot 1: We can see a car pulling into the car park, but the driver’s identity cannot be seen. The medium wide angled perspective in which we can see the upper half of the man’s body and the car pulling in, allows us to see (in slow motion) that the man is waiting for someone. As the shot goes on, we see the man start to run towards the car rapidly. There is a pull focus from the man to the car as he moves towards it. “A distant motorcade and suddenly there’s joy.”

Shot 2: We are provided with a medium shot of a random man getting out of the vehicle, closing the door and look awkwardly at him. The random man begins to walk away into the building.

Shot 3: A close up from eye level of our man shows a lost, and dejected expression on his face as his eyes move slowly from side to side once.
The shot then pans around to the door, pulling out and into focus between the two subjects to show this time, the girl walking into the building, but looking expressionlessly over her shoulder. “The snow and ticker tape blurs all my senses numb.”

Shot 4: Medium close up of man sitting on wall of huts at the top car park, looking directly into the camera as it slowly zooms into his face from just below eye level as he sings; “It’s like the finish line where everything just ends. The crack of radio seems close enough to touch.”



Scene 4: Staff bathroom, path behind the tennis courts & a boarding room.

Shot 1:  We see a slow motion close up shot, from the side of the man washing his face in the water coming out the tap. As he moves his hands away we see his eyes slowly open. The lighting is extremely powerful from the other side of his face, silhouetting him strongly. “Cold water, cleaning my wounds.”


Shot 2: A medium shot from behind him to the left shows him take in one, long, deep breathe. We see this action in the mirror and the lighting must remain consistent. 

Shot 3: A wide angled shot from behind the man on the forest path shows him holding a single red balloon, standing all on his own, it floats silently beside him, filled with helium.

Shot 4: A short close up of his hand, with a wedding ring.

Shot 5: In a boarding room, we see the man sitting on the edge of ‘his’ bed. It is a medium shot, where at first we see his upper body from eye level. The camera then tilts downwards towards his hands, which rest on his lap holding a knife to one wrist, steadily tapping it against the veins. On the floor we can see pictures of him and the girl surrounding his feet. “I’m done with this, I’m counting to ten.”

Shot 6: We see a door in a normal shot, the man goes to up knock on it but clearly can’t sustain the courage to rap on the wood. We see his head drop and arm lower slightly.

Shot 7: From an inside window we can see the girl watching the man with a pondering expression. In a one-man shot, we see her peer through the window, knees tucked into her chest and arms wrapped around them to keep them tight.





Scene 5: Studio, forest

Shot 1: Extremely low angle shot of man singing into a microphone with a white beam of light on him, along with smoke rolling around his ankles. In the shot we can see his whole body, head to toe as the camera moves on the tracks from right to left. He we sing; “I feel like I am watching everything from space, and in a minute I’ll hear my name and I’ll wake…”

Shot 2: Medium close up of the couple in the forest holding each other closely and they both sing; “I think the finish line’s a good place we could start. Take a deep breath, take in all that you could want.”

Shot 3: Consists of all shots where the man had been alone now including the girl. These shots will take place as the music begins to fade out.

Monday 10 September 2012

A2 Media Studies - Brief For the Year



The Brief of my A2 course

1. A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following three options:
                   
a website homepage for the band;
a cover for its release as part of a digipak (CD/DVD package);
a magazine advertisement for the digipak (CD/DVD package).

The Assessment

All material for all tasks to be produced by the candidates with the exception of acknowledged non-original sound or image material used in a limited way in video/radio work. Further guidance will be available in the support materials. For music video, permission should be sought from the artist for use of the audio track.
The centre will be expected to allocate marks according to four levels for each of three categories:
  • Research and Planning
  • Construction
  • Evaluation
In arriving at a level for each category, teachers are advised to look for evidence of ‘best fit’. It is possible both for a candidate to be placed in different levels for each of the three categories and to receive quite different marks from other members of the same group responsible for producing an artefact, according to his/her contribution. Teachers are asked to support marks with written comments under the three categories on the assessment sheet.