Oliver Turner A2 Media Studies

original idea:
The main basis of the plot will follow both a boy and girl with intermittent shots of the band playing throughout. In the initial scenes we will follow the boy in a school classroom. By using crab shots and also a tracking shot we will focus on the boy as a central focus amongst the other students. We could consider using a shallow focus here to blur out the background and highlight the boy as the central focus. The boy is seen at the desk slowly falling asleep where the scene is immediately cut to memories/dreams of the boy and girl together. We will most likely use a montage of shots to make their relationship feel more believable. Furthermore, throughout the music video we will use small (4 second) cuts of the band to give a certain context to the music and promote the song itself. Towards the end we will hear a sound bridge of a traditional school bell where we are brought back to the classroom at the beginning where the boy is seen alone, isolated within the classroom.

Current Idea (6/24/16) :
Our current idea is a little different as we have altered the plot and changed the protagonist from the boy to the girl. I think this will give more of an interest and reverse the gender stereotypes usually depicted within music videos today. We have also introduced effects such as powder paint and sparklers, thinking about using a long exposure and experiment with light throughout the clip. However, we are currently keeping with the idea of the school and the frequent shots of the band as I think this really works with the song's particular genre.
We have also thought about using fairly abandoned locations on set for the band to play in. I think this would look effective and really break up the confinement of spaces such as the school.

Since our song is quite upbeat and energetic we decided that we wanted to have a mix of both narrative and live performance from a band. We decided it would be good to have a mix of the two because it breaks up the footage a bit and makes the video more interesting to watch. Another reason we decided to do a mix of both is because the whole point of a music video is to promote the band and the song to encourage a person to buy their music, and  an easy way to draw attention to the band and their music is to make the video interesting and enjoyable and by putting the band in the video so we decided on that basis. Although we are using live performance we want to have an emphasis on the narrative as well and aim to follow that with the footage we are planning every scene of the music video to make sure there is nothing that would contradict the narrative that we are trying to follow.
The main reason behind using the live performance intermittently between shots of the narrative is to add a certain interest to the video and break out the time. I think it would feel a little dull focusing entirely on the storyline without some real background information or context in terms of where this music is actually coming from. We have to consider that this music video will be around five minutes long which is fairly long especially when deciding what shots to use and how the narrative will be structured. If one particular element is out of place within the scene, the entire narrative could be compromised. Therefore, we will dedicate as much time to editing as we do the filming side of the preliminary as to ensure that we keep consistency throughout our work and progress the creation of the end result. 

    

As a group we have assigned individual roles for each person within the group. This is done to make the organisation and process of the task significantly quicker and mirror more of the real processes involved in producing media today.
These are the roles each of us will carry out:

• Myself - Filming and editing
• Drew Anderson- Editing
• Sophia Diaper - Blog posts and taking pictures
• Emma Hagstrom - Album artwork and Branding

Filming:
This consists of taking the camera to our locations and deciding the scene and composition. It is this persons job to manage how the film will actually look like and what camera angles could be used. This person must think about the following camera techniques: Close-ups, Long shots, Aerial shots, crab shot, types of focusing (pull focus, shallow focus), and things like rule of thirds. This is critical to making a successful and well structured video. This person must also consider the timing of the music and how each shot should support what is being said in the lyrics of the song. If this is done incorrectly, there will be no rhythm to the music video and it would appear jumpy or out of place. The camera person should also think about the positioning of the camera and whether it should be used on a tripod or whether it should be hand-held.

 Editing:
This person's duty is to ensure that the end product and idea is met by applying visual effects to the video and manipulate it in a way that conforms to the song. Editing is usually the longest period of time between actually filming the video and the end result and distribution of the content. Effects could include: Image stabiliser, colour effects (saturation, exposure), speed/tempo, and animations. I think it would be really interesting to include some visual effects into our preliminary video as it will be an ideal time to explore with premiere pro and after effects a little more and ultimately see what will work with our song choice. I often find it most helpful to carry out some research through online tutorials on sites such as YouTube before attempting any form of editing. Also, as a group we have already had first hand experience with editing (I edited the entire film for my opening in AS) which means we are fairly familiar with these professional editing software packages. I have also learnt to back up files and keep a spare hard drive free for the footage as filming often requires large amounts of space and will need to be easily accessible. Files need to be named individually before editing and will need to grouped into one contained folder in a secure location otherwise premiere pro is unable to recognise the footage.

Blog posts and taking pictures:
This person must keep up to date with blog posts and taking pictures behind filming the music video. This is key to documenting our development and progress of the video and means we have visual evidence to support our work and the choices we made. It would also be good to film a "video diary" to better show the production process. This could easily be done and uploaded onto sites such as YouTube.

Album artwork and Branding:
This person is in charge of producing the branding of the music video and song. Examples include: a poster, CD album artwork and other merchandise proposals. I think this would be good to show as it will support the video itself, ultimately producing a more worthy and professional outcome. This could be done by using software such as Photoshop or Illustrator which make it much easier to visualise ideas and manipulate them later.

We have chosen to use Blink 182 "another girl another planet" for our preliminary task. As a group we collectively decided that this song best suited any form of music video with the idea of having both a boy and girl the two lead protagonists. Furthermore, we chose to use this because we thought that it would work best with the conditions that we have been given, as there is a conveniently long 42 second intro that would provide a great opportunity for the 30second long shot we need. Also,the lyrics are all about a girl and this gives a lot of freedom with what we can do and so we decided that this would be the best of our two to choose. Another reason that we chose to pick this song was when we discussed ideas that we could do for the two we had narrowed our list down to we where able to think of a lot more for the Blink 182 song but due to the lyrics and narrative of the "monsters and men song"it was harder to think of a suitable narrative that we could do so this ultimately influenced our choice greatly.

Genre: Alternative/Indie
Music video 1 - Vance Joy (Riptide)


Good/bad? This music video is by artist, Vance Joy. Perhaps one of the things that makes this music video particularly successful is this somewhat artistic, almost retro style of film. This is most likely achieved by using a particular film or camera lens (35mm) to give this appearance but also with editing techniques used later on. This particular film does not rely on a linear narrative, instead quickly cutting between a range of shots and scenes. This actually gives more interest into the video, revealing something that is not normally exhibited in music videos. Furthermore, these rather choppy cuts run well in parallel to the actual speed of the song, creating a rhythm that makes us more inclined to watch.

Original? Yes I would say that this music video is original as it is quite different from the typical music video. It does not follow a linear narrative and is structured in a way that engages the audience as well as keeping in time with the music.

Does it engage with the audience? This music video definitely appeals to an audience with its multitude of camera shots and jumpy cinematography which relates well to the upbeat tempo of the song.

Music video 2 - The Neighbourhood (Sweater Weather) 

Good/bad? I really enjoyed this music video, finding the greyscale colour captivating and particularly effective. The use of the silhouette's and somewhat chiaroscuro lighting gives interest and creates an almost melancholic feel. Throughout the extract, it extensively uses a dolly/tracking shot to follow and guide the film giving a very smooth and fluid feel to each shot. The video also uses slow motion effects (2:08) to allow the audience to observe the scene and become more immersive within the scene. Furthermore, there is some double exposure that is used towards the latter scenes of the clip that uses both a static image that is simultaneously used with shots of 

Does it engage with the audience?
Yes this music video does engage with its audience. Although, I would argue that it appeals to an older audience as it is slightly different from most music videos that teenagers would enjoy. I think what makes this video really interesting is the contrast between the seemingly quick tempo of the music against the predominantly slow cinematography.

Music Video 3 - Catfish and the Bottle men (Cocoon) 


Good/bad? I really enjoyed this music video and I think it is filmed extremely well. It conforms to a narrative storyline keeping interest in the film but it also doesn't over complicate the video. However, this particular film would appeal to a more alternative genre and target audience. In terms of filming the clip uses a wide range of shots including: close ups, wide shots, shallow focus, pull focus. This makes the cinematography much more interesting as opposed to it having just a few of these camera techniques. Similar to "the neighbourhood" the music is heard at a rather quick pace which is a stark contrast to the more subtle, slow pace of the camera. This actually makes the entire film seem as if it were a dream or fantasy, giving it this unpredictable element. Also, it appears that almost the entire film used a dolly or tracking shot to help keep the footage smooth and fluid. However, "stabilizer" effects could have also been used in the editing of the music video afterwards.
Ultimately, I really liked the clip as it explores a range of ideas that actually support the lyrics of the track and keeps it's audience engaged throughout.
However, this track may be difficult to understand from a younger audience's perspective or someone who is not particularly familiar with this type of music genre. The concept of the video is an abstract one but it is certainly entertaining whether you understand it or not.

To conclude, I believe all three of these music videos are original and explore very different creative fields, appealing to a complete range of people despite coming from the same music genre. It is clear that music videos are gradually becoming more of an art form, being filmed to establish a particular storyline or narrative and convey a message. This is something I must greatly consider and implement into my own work and the final cut of my music video I will produce later in the year.

In preparation for A2 coursework we have been given a trial effort over the next month to produce an original music video, and accompanying original CD cover for the release of the song. I will be working with:

• Drew Anderson
• Emma Hagstrom
• Sophia Diaper