Saturday, 30 October 2010
Lyrics & Initial ideas
To come up with an idea that would suit the song and make a good video, I first decided to look at the lyrics and analyse them. I then annotated them with ideas that I thought would be effective and suit the style that I want to hopefully achieve.
Friday, 22 October 2010
Plans for half term
Over half term i am going to make a checklist of the things that i ned to get sorted so that i am then ready to get started with preparing for filming and actually filming after half term.
- Import and edit audience research
- Location research
- Create shot list the piece of interesting shots that I may want to include
- Decide fashion sense and style that i want to use in the video
- Create character mood board of the characters in the video
- Upload lyrical analysis and create a timeline for the song with my ideas along it
- Create storyboard
If i get all these done over half term and know that I am definitely ready to begin shooting then I will also try and set up some correspondence with people to get feedback or to arrange times when I will be able to film, e.g. if some is going to be filmed in a park or shop, then I need to get in contact with the shop and ask their permission and find out times that would be best for them.
Friday, 15 October 2010
Music Video Research
After reading a book called 'Making music videos' I have gained more knowledge into the background of music videos and why they are so important within the music industry. Below are some key points that I found.
- Record labels specialise in helping artists develop the highest possible sales potential through marketing their music via the internet, radio play, television networks and shows. They also sell through audio and visual distribution outlets, retail stores, iTunes, ringtones etc.
- The artist must be properly developed and 'rolled out'. Videos play a major part in an artists roll out.
- 'A music video gets the viewer to react to something, to make them feel good, because we're not coming up with the cure for cancer or AIDs doing this job. A great video should make you think and make you feel something. It has to be interesting and compelling stuff that isn't the same garbage you see from beginning to end.' JEFFREY PANZER - INDEPENDANT VIDEO COMMISSIONER.
- MTV is the benchmark for all music videos and an important gauge on what's popular. To get airplay the video must have certain production values and aesthetic elements; highly stylized lighting/set design, extravagent locations, expensive outfits, fancy cars, beautiful cast members/dancers, high end visual effects etc.
- Preproduction tasks include:
Performance - Feature artist performing. Often take place in various locations with performers wearing different outifts in each shot.
Concept - The artist neither perform nor, many times, appear in concept videos. Videos portray stories and images, never performances.
Story - Features a narrative. Has beginning, middle and end which is intercut with footage of the band/artist performing.
Gag - Relies on visual tricks. They can be shot live, also known as executing the visual effects 'in camera', such as using dolls that look like the band for the performance. Or the visual tricks can be postproduction, such as unrealistically long tongues, or impossible settings such as space.
Dance - Features choreographed dancing.
Animation - Features animated images.
Party or club - Features scenes taken place a party or dance club.
Film clip - Used when a song is featured in a movie soundtrack. Will include clips from the film that are intercut with the music video.
There are many differenct techniques used for coming up with video concepts:
Recycling ideas - Sometimes you assemble a collection of things based on a very simple theme, come from a simple place and then elaborate.
Beginning with the lyrics - Looking at the lyrics, analysing them and coming up with an idea that fits the story they tell.
Finding a solution to questions - The band - what do they look like? How do they act? Do they even want to act? What will they be comfortable with? Culture - What's going on at the time?
Finding the hook - Find one truly original idea and then work with it as the centre to create a whole concept. What is the thing that people are going to remember?
Finding the feel of the music - How the music 'feels'.
Identifying the artist - Know your market place, know your demographic, know who you're making the music video for.
Using movies as inspiration
Using books and comic books as inspiration
Being spontaneous - Coming up with ideas from everyday life.
- The basic elements of all treatments involve a narrative sequence or cut-a-way shots, mixtures of close ups, medium and wide shots or artist performing, two or more locations where artists performs, two or more additional locations where the story or cut-a-ways are seen, and two or more wardrobe changes.
- Shooting dynamic angles to tell the story enhance the videos overall look, and propel it from average to compelling is the directors goal. In addition to director must consider how to minimize unappealing shots such as double chins for beauty shots, or focus on slimming angles, especially for women, as well as beauty lighting such as ring lighting for close-up performance shots.
- In storytelling, there are different aesthetic things, for instance, how did the lighting help me tell that story? when did i go in for the close ups? If you want to be right there and intimate, you put the camera closer or you put a wider lens on it. If someone is watching someone talk, then you move a little farther away with a longer lens in order to give that feeling of distance.
- 'Wrapping out' has several meanings which apply at different times during a shoot. It can mean the completion of filming and removal of equipment from a specific location, the end of a specific day of shooting, or the completion of the entire production.
- Bluescreen and greenscreen refer to both the screen itself and the visual effects resulting from using a monochromatic coloured screen as a background for a scene.
- Rotoscoping is a technique that involves animators tracing live action movement, frame by frame, for use in cartoons.
- Computer generated imagery (CGI) is the application of computer graphics to visual effects in filmmaking.
- Record labels specialise in helping artists develop the highest possible sales potential through marketing their music via the internet, radio play, television networks and shows. They also sell through audio and visual distribution outlets, retail stores, iTunes, ringtones etc.
- The artist must be properly developed and 'rolled out'. Videos play a major part in an artists roll out.
- 'A music video gets the viewer to react to something, to make them feel good, because we're not coming up with the cure for cancer or AIDs doing this job. A great video should make you think and make you feel something. It has to be interesting and compelling stuff that isn't the same garbage you see from beginning to end.' JEFFREY PANZER - INDEPENDANT VIDEO COMMISSIONER.
- MTV is the benchmark for all music videos and an important gauge on what's popular. To get airplay the video must have certain production values and aesthetic elements; highly stylized lighting/set design, extravagent locations, expensive outfits, fancy cars, beautiful cast members/dancers, high end visual effects etc.
- Preproduction tasks include:
- hiring the crew
- hiring art department
- hiring equipment
- ordering the film
- securing location
- completing casting
- supervising wardrobe
- arranging transportation
- developing film
- transferring film to tape
- doing offline edit, where the editor takes raw footage and arranges it to the song
- creating rough cut of music video
- mastering final video
Performance - Feature artist performing. Often take place in various locations with performers wearing different outifts in each shot.
Concept - The artist neither perform nor, many times, appear in concept videos. Videos portray stories and images, never performances.
Story - Features a narrative. Has beginning, middle and end which is intercut with footage of the band/artist performing.
Gag - Relies on visual tricks. They can be shot live, also known as executing the visual effects 'in camera', such as using dolls that look like the band for the performance. Or the visual tricks can be postproduction, such as unrealistically long tongues, or impossible settings such as space.
Dance - Features choreographed dancing.
Animation - Features animated images.
Party or club - Features scenes taken place a party or dance club.
Film clip - Used when a song is featured in a movie soundtrack. Will include clips from the film that are intercut with the music video.
There are many differenct techniques used for coming up with video concepts:
Recycling ideas - Sometimes you assemble a collection of things based on a very simple theme, come from a simple place and then elaborate.
Beginning with the lyrics - Looking at the lyrics, analysing them and coming up with an idea that fits the story they tell.
Finding a solution to questions - The band - what do they look like? How do they act? Do they even want to act? What will they be comfortable with? Culture - What's going on at the time?
Finding the hook - Find one truly original idea and then work with it as the centre to create a whole concept. What is the thing that people are going to remember?
Finding the feel of the music - How the music 'feels'.
Identifying the artist - Know your market place, know your demographic, know who you're making the music video for.
Using movies as inspiration
Using books and comic books as inspiration
Being spontaneous - Coming up with ideas from everyday life.
- The basic elements of all treatments involve a narrative sequence or cut-a-way shots, mixtures of close ups, medium and wide shots or artist performing, two or more locations where artists performs, two or more additional locations where the story or cut-a-ways are seen, and two or more wardrobe changes.
- Shooting dynamic angles to tell the story enhance the videos overall look, and propel it from average to compelling is the directors goal. In addition to director must consider how to minimize unappealing shots such as double chins for beauty shots, or focus on slimming angles, especially for women, as well as beauty lighting such as ring lighting for close-up performance shots.
- In storytelling, there are different aesthetic things, for instance, how did the lighting help me tell that story? when did i go in for the close ups? If you want to be right there and intimate, you put the camera closer or you put a wider lens on it. If someone is watching someone talk, then you move a little farther away with a longer lens in order to give that feeling of distance.
- 'Wrapping out' has several meanings which apply at different times during a shoot. It can mean the completion of filming and removal of equipment from a specific location, the end of a specific day of shooting, or the completion of the entire production.
- Bluescreen and greenscreen refer to both the screen itself and the visual effects resulting from using a monochromatic coloured screen as a background for a scene.
- Rotoscoping is a technique that involves animators tracing live action movement, frame by frame, for use in cartoons.
- Computer generated imagery (CGI) is the application of computer graphics to visual effects in filmmaking.
Tuesday, 12 October 2010
Rethinking Song Choice
After researching people's opinions and getting some negative feedback on doing a 90's girl band, i thought my work might have more potential if i rethought my song choice. Therefore i decided to widen my search into any pop song, including current ones. After searching through for songs that were upbeat, feel-good and had a good topic/story that wasn't about love I have finally chose to do Eliza Doolittle - Pack up.
Sunday, 10 October 2010
Music Video Analysis
Gwen Stefani - Hollaback Girl
In this video, i feel the dancing goes well but i also like how it is not taken too seriously and is used and displayed as a bit of fun. This is enhanced more by the use of costumes and the outfits that the girls are wearing. The mise en scene of the video is extremely bright and uses quite primary colours, and reminds me a bit of a Tarintino film which i think is very aesthetically pleasing and looks effective. Another aspect of this video that i think is important is the attitude and swagger that Gwen Stefani portrays in the video, which really sells the song and the style which is important for the music video. From watching this i have realised that it is important to get the right feel for your video and important to get the right cast. This has now encouraged me to think more about the casting aspect of my music video and made the idea of auditioning for the main parts much more appealing.
Again in this video there is the similar theme of having the lead singer in every shot and lots of close ups of their faces as well as other scenes, usually in very normal locations such as on the street or something. Even having no location at all can be effective in a music video, for example the shots of the girls in the band outfits are done in a simple studio with a black background. I think this background against the bright and contrasting colours of the costumes used and the high key lighting also gives a really creative effect.
With the camera angles used in the video i feel that there have been a variety of shots, especially in the dancing/cheerleading scenes when they are doing flips etc which have been dealth with creatively e.g. having the camera from above. This is something that i would like to incorporate in my video. In a lot of Gwen Stefanis music videos she uses themes and ideas from films, e.g. in her 'What ya waiting for?' video she used the theme of Alice in Wonderland and made the whole thing based around the fantasy of that story, which is another direction that i could look at with the storyline section of my video. In the above video i feel that she is using a Quentin Tarintino style with the yellow and red colours; especially so with the use of the car which is a signiture piece of Tarintinos work and reminds me of films such as Kill Bill.
In this video, i feel the dancing goes well but i also like how it is not taken too seriously and is used and displayed as a bit of fun. This is enhanced more by the use of costumes and the outfits that the girls are wearing. The mise en scene of the video is extremely bright and uses quite primary colours, and reminds me a bit of a Tarintino film which i think is very aesthetically pleasing and looks effective. Another aspect of this video that i think is important is the attitude and swagger that Gwen Stefani portrays in the video, which really sells the song and the style which is important for the music video. From watching this i have realised that it is important to get the right feel for your video and important to get the right cast. This has now encouraged me to think more about the casting aspect of my music video and made the idea of auditioning for the main parts much more appealing.
Again in this video there is the similar theme of having the lead singer in every shot and lots of close ups of their faces as well as other scenes, usually in very normal locations such as on the street or something. Even having no location at all can be effective in a music video, for example the shots of the girls in the band outfits are done in a simple studio with a black background. I think this background against the bright and contrasting colours of the costumes used and the high key lighting also gives a really creative effect.
With the camera angles used in the video i feel that there have been a variety of shots, especially in the dancing/cheerleading scenes when they are doing flips etc which have been dealth with creatively e.g. having the camera from above. This is something that i would like to incorporate in my video. In a lot of Gwen Stefanis music videos she uses themes and ideas from films, e.g. in her 'What ya waiting for?' video she used the theme of Alice in Wonderland and made the whole thing based around the fantasy of that story, which is another direction that i could look at with the storyline section of my video. In the above video i feel that she is using a Quentin Tarintino style with the yellow and red colours; especially so with the use of the car which is a signiture piece of Tarintinos work and reminds me of films such as Kill Bill.
Music Video Analysis
5ive - Got the feelin'
This is a typical 90's boy band music video and it ticks all the boxes - upbeat, cheesy dance moves, parties and friends. Like the previous video, the lighting is very high key and the colours are bright and cheery. The video has no real in-depth storyline it simply shows the boys getting picked up, travelling to the party and them shows them at the party. I like how there is a dance routine incorporated into the video and is set in the middle of the scene. They also include other sections of dancing just randomly for example whilst in the middle of a conversation or whilst walking along. I think this is effective and also adds a bit of comedy to the video.
The use of camera angles and shots in the video are also interesting. Particularly is the one towards the end of the song where everyone is dancing in a circle, and as the camera rotates round the circle there are different people dancing in the middle of it as well. This is also like a point of view shot as if it has been filmed from a persons eye who is walking round the circle. I think it works really well and would be something i could experiment with within my music video as it adds an element of fun to it. Another section which i think is fun and works well is the end when everyone is in the pool, and there is a lot of scope for doing different effects in the water e.g. experimenting with underwater shots and different angles.
This music video goes especially well with this genre of song, and is a perfect example of a pop video. I think it's effective when they are all in the car at the beginning and all bobbing their heads to the beat, as this makes you want to join in/get up and dance. I think it is important for a music video to emphasise the beat and rhythm of the song and fit perfectly with it as it instantly makes it more watchable.
This is a typical 90's boy band music video and it ticks all the boxes - upbeat, cheesy dance moves, parties and friends. Like the previous video, the lighting is very high key and the colours are bright and cheery. The video has no real in-depth storyline it simply shows the boys getting picked up, travelling to the party and them shows them at the party. I like how there is a dance routine incorporated into the video and is set in the middle of the scene. They also include other sections of dancing just randomly for example whilst in the middle of a conversation or whilst walking along. I think this is effective and also adds a bit of comedy to the video.
The use of camera angles and shots in the video are also interesting. Particularly is the one towards the end of the song where everyone is dancing in a circle, and as the camera rotates round the circle there are different people dancing in the middle of it as well. This is also like a point of view shot as if it has been filmed from a persons eye who is walking round the circle. I think it works really well and would be something i could experiment with within my music video as it adds an element of fun to it. Another section which i think is fun and works well is the end when everyone is in the pool, and there is a lot of scope for doing different effects in the water e.g. experimenting with underwater shots and different angles.
This music video goes especially well with this genre of song, and is a perfect example of a pop video. I think it's effective when they are all in the car at the beginning and all bobbing their heads to the beat, as this makes you want to join in/get up and dance. I think it is important for a music video to emphasise the beat and rhythm of the song and fit perfectly with it as it instantly makes it more watchable.
Music video analysis
Natasha bedingfield - These words
I think this music video is a good example for the pop genre that i am looking at. The mise en scene with the bright, contrasting colours gives it a very light-hearted and sunny feel which I believe goes well with the type of song. The whole idea of the video is quite simple in the way that there is only one other character in it apart from the main singer and the large majority of the shots include her. The way this has been done is good and although there isn't a particular storyline that you need to follow for most of the video, it is still interesting to watch. I think it is still interesting without a big storyline because of the use of effects and props that have been used. I particularly like the use of the cucumber on the plate at the beginning symbolizing the style of the music at that point. The effects used in the video fit really well and they are quite simple to do, the use of stop motion has been used in the background of a few of the shots, for example with the books in the background. This is something that i would like to think about incorporating into my video, as I think having small bits of stop motion are equally as effective as having the whole thing done. The other effects that have been used in this music video are very achieveable especially with the use of After Effects. When the chairs are moving on there on and when there are mutiple versions of her in the same shot add a bit more to the scene and i think they work really well with the music and the rhythm of the song. The whole video is simple in both terms of production and editing which makes it a realistic thing to take inspiration from.
The mise en scene is perfect for the type of video i would like to create; fun, upbeat and happy. The only downside to this is that filming will probably take place over the winter months, and i don't have the available funding to go abroad and shoot which was probably the case for this video. The lighting is extremely high key which co-insides well with the pop genre and theme of the song/video and gives the right feel to the music video. The colour of the video is really well used and although the locations for the shots are not particularly spectacular (e.g. simply on a bench or down an alley way) they still work really well and the editing of having the same person in different places works well and is often used in pop videos. I also like the use of colouring to display different personalities, as in most of the shots here are bright and cheerful, clearly showing the happy side of the love story, yet there are also more grungy parts, for example in the alley way and also when there is just a simple black background behind her which gives the video more depth and breaks it up a bit.
The only disappointment i have with this video is that it does not include particularly interesting and challenging camera angles. Most of the shots are face on with her talking straight to the camera and this is something that i would change when making my own video as i wish to experiment with interesting and new camera angles and styles.
Another video that i also feel uses effects and camera shots really well is Black Eyed Peas 'Let's Get it Started'. All of the BEP videos have a very original and creative style to them which i think is really good, in this particular one i especially like the use of the sliding and rotating camera angles around a point.
I think this music video is a good example for the pop genre that i am looking at. The mise en scene with the bright, contrasting colours gives it a very light-hearted and sunny feel which I believe goes well with the type of song. The whole idea of the video is quite simple in the way that there is only one other character in it apart from the main singer and the large majority of the shots include her. The way this has been done is good and although there isn't a particular storyline that you need to follow for most of the video, it is still interesting to watch. I think it is still interesting without a big storyline because of the use of effects and props that have been used. I particularly like the use of the cucumber on the plate at the beginning symbolizing the style of the music at that point. The effects used in the video fit really well and they are quite simple to do, the use of stop motion has been used in the background of a few of the shots, for example with the books in the background. This is something that i would like to think about incorporating into my video, as I think having small bits of stop motion are equally as effective as having the whole thing done. The other effects that have been used in this music video are very achieveable especially with the use of After Effects. When the chairs are moving on there on and when there are mutiple versions of her in the same shot add a bit more to the scene and i think they work really well with the music and the rhythm of the song. The whole video is simple in both terms of production and editing which makes it a realistic thing to take inspiration from.
The mise en scene is perfect for the type of video i would like to create; fun, upbeat and happy. The only downside to this is that filming will probably take place over the winter months, and i don't have the available funding to go abroad and shoot which was probably the case for this video. The lighting is extremely high key which co-insides well with the pop genre and theme of the song/video and gives the right feel to the music video. The colour of the video is really well used and although the locations for the shots are not particularly spectacular (e.g. simply on a bench or down an alley way) they still work really well and the editing of having the same person in different places works well and is often used in pop videos. I also like the use of colouring to display different personalities, as in most of the shots here are bright and cheerful, clearly showing the happy side of the love story, yet there are also more grungy parts, for example in the alley way and also when there is just a simple black background behind her which gives the video more depth and breaks it up a bit.
The only disappointment i have with this video is that it does not include particularly interesting and challenging camera angles. Most of the shots are face on with her talking straight to the camera and this is something that i would change when making my own video as i wish to experiment with interesting and new camera angles and styles.
Another video that i also feel uses effects and camera shots really well is Black Eyed Peas 'Let's Get it Started'. All of the BEP videos have a very original and creative style to them which i think is really good, in this particular one i especially like the use of the sliding and rotating camera angles around a point.
Wednesday, 6 October 2010
Song choices
From the long list of 90's classics i have finally narrowed it down to the final four. I realised that because of the people available for me to use in my video it would be easier for me to do a song by a girl or group of girls. This would open up the variety of shots that i would be able to use in my video and ultimately make it better.
The four songs that i have narrowed it down to are:
- Sugababes - hole in the head
- Spice girls - wannabe
- B-witched - c'est la vie
- S club 7 - bring it all back
I am going to ask people to take part in a poll to see which is the most popular song out of the four. This will then hopefull enable me to get a better insight to what my target audience will want to see and hear.
The four songs that i have narrowed it down to are:
- Sugababes - hole in the head
- Spice girls - wannabe
- B-witched - c'est la vie
- S club 7 - bring it all back
I am going to ask people to take part in a poll to see which is the most popular song out of the four. This will then hopefull enable me to get a better insight to what my target audience will want to see and hear.
Tuesday, 5 October 2010
Audience Research Planning
For my audience research i have decided that getting the opinions of my audience would be a good place to start. As i am pretty sure on the fact that i want to do a 90's song i thought a fun way would be to get people in my year to sing their favourite songs that they can remember from the 90's/early 2000's.
Secondly, i am going to do some voxpops of my audience asking them mainly the following questions:
- What genres of music are you most interested in?
- Do you prefer happy or sad music videos?
- Do you prefer them to tell a story or is that not as important?
- What do you expect to see in a music video?
- Do you like upbeat music or prefer slower songs?
- Do you enjoy 90's music?
- What do you like to see in music videos that will keep you interested, e.g. different effects, good story lines.....
Friday, 1 October 2010
Top songs of the 90's
I have finally decided on the genre and what type of music video i would potentially like to make. I knew that i wanted to do an upbeat, feelgood song that i could make a fun and light-hearted video to. After looking through my music playlists i began to see that most of the songs that ticked all the boxes were from the 90's and early 2000's. This gave me a start place to look for song's from around that time zone.
Potential songs for music video:
5ive
- keep on moving
- got the feelin'
destiny's child
- bills bills bills
- independant woman
- survivour
- say my name
misteeq
- scandalous
- be with me
b-witched
- c'est la vie
craig david ft artful dodger
- rewind
sugababes
- freak like me
- hole in the head
britney spears
- hit me baby one more time
- crazy
shania twain
- man! i feel like a woman
robbie williams
- feel
- rock dj
spice girls
- wannabe
- spice up your life
- who do you think you are
lou bega
- mambo #5
eiffel 65
- blue (da ba dee)
hanson
- mmm bop
blacksteet
- no diggity
whitney housten
- it's not right, but it's okay
Lot's of these songs either have very dated videos, or do not have available videos at all because of their age. This makes them an even better choice as i would be able to modernise the videos/come up with a completely new concept altogether.
After using my own music choices, looking on the internet and talking to other people around me about what music they can remember enjoying from their childhood, these are some of the song's that were mentioned that could be possibilities for my music video.
Potential songs for music video:
5ive
- keep on moving
- got the feelin'
destiny's child
- bills bills bills
- independant woman
- survivour
- say my name
misteeq
- scandalous
- be with me
b-witched
- c'est la vie
craig david ft artful dodger
- rewind
sugababes
- freak like me
- hole in the head
britney spears
- hit me baby one more time
- crazy
shania twain
- man! i feel like a woman
robbie williams
- feel
- rock dj
spice girls
- wannabe
- spice up your life
- who do you think you are
lou bega
- mambo #5
eiffel 65
- blue (da ba dee)
hanson
- mmm bop
blacksteet
- no diggity
whitney housten
- it's not right, but it's okay
Lot's of these songs either have very dated videos, or do not have available videos at all because of their age. This makes them an even better choice as i would be able to modernise the videos/come up with a completely new concept altogether.
After using my own music choices, looking on the internet and talking to other people around me about what music they can remember enjoying from their childhood, these are some of the song's that were mentioned that could be possibilities for my music video.
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