Sharing the video on social media

I have decided to share my first edit on social media sites Facebook and Twitter. I have stated that I would really appreciate the feedback and hopefully I will get some comments.

First Edit of Music Video

This is a first rough draft of my music video. I used the edit suites at college and for the first hour or so of my allocated two hours I was still getting to grips with the software. The editing suites are completely different to the iMacs I am used to editing on but they are a lot faster.
I have included the first fifteen seconds from the opening monologue sequence because when I was filming this was the only footage that I could take in my locations (Wyke theatre) because of the exam mock week taking place.
After the Christmas break I will be able to get full use out of the theatre including more space and better lighting.
I made the conscience decision to film in monochrome because I felt that it would enhance the mood and the feel of the video, I wanted it to feel abstract and very artistic and looking at the footage I have edited I believe that I have got the feel. The editing techniques also help enhance the feel of the video using ghosting and layering effects.
If I were to film the sequence again after Christmas I would use more of a variety of shots and use better lighting, but as I have stated above circumstances have limited the different angles of shots.

Practicing crop tool on FCP

When I first drew my storyboard I wanted there to be a section in the music video where there would be multiple heads on the screen at the same time.
when I had finished my first bit of filming on Monday 15th December I decided to have a go at editing this on the iMac. I played around a bit at first with the effects tools but couldn't figure out how to do it so I goggle searched tutorials on how to edit split screens and multiple faces on Final cut Pro. I then watched a tutorial on YouTube and it turns out to be quite simple. You layer the video multiple times and then crop the layered clips and move to wherever you want on the screen.
This was the result:

Filming Diary - Friday 12th September 2014

Filming Diary - Monday 15th December 2014

On Monday 15th December 2014 I took the first footage for my music video. I decided to film the first section in the theatre but it proved to be rather tricky. Because it is mock week at the college the chairs and tables were out so I had to push them back and them rearagnge them exacly how they were when I found them.
I also decided to film in black and white to give it more of an artistic and darker edge. This first section is all interprative and contemporary dance to no music but spoken word. I feel like this gives it a different edge to existing music videos, alothough there are music videos out there that do follow this convention.
Footage from Monday:

Locations

Wyke College Theatre

The theatre at Wyke is an ideal location for me to film most of the music video. The lighting available will enhance the feel of the video and more in particularly the dance sections. The theatre will also provide a large space for the dancers to perform and for me to get a variety of camera shots.
For me to get the theatre I have had to book through the Drama teacher at Wyke and I aim to film there on Monday 15th December 2014.
Wyke College Green Room
The green room available at Wyke will give me the opportunity to film the sections such as the colour screens, which I have already had test shots for, and the computer face animation section. Although the room is smaller than what I would have liked, it still provides me with free access and the ability to film the trickier bits, which require a lot more editing. Again like the theatre I have had to book out the green room.

These two locations are the main locations for my music video, although I am looking at booking out a white space in the centre of Hull.
The health and safety grid will be posted shortly.

Gathering Audience Responses

More Dance rehearsals

I have arranged for some more dance rehearsals for the coming Friday (5th December). In this session I hope to get the dance finalised, therefore allowing me to get some actual filming done. 

So far I am happy with the way the dance rehearsals have gone and feel like I am on target to getting a first draft done by the Christmas break (19th December). 

Dance Rehearsal 2 (21st Nov 2014)

Second dance rehearsal for the music video, includes the second section to the dance.

Added floor routine.

Costume, make up, location and lighting ideas

For my music video there will be quite a few costume and wig changes. The first costume the performer starts out in is a plain black leotard and a black wig/wet hair. This section is before the song actually starts.

Created Image for Piet Mondrian

For the Piet Mondrian inspired section of the video I have decided that it would be easier if I created my own composition image. This was done on Microsoft Powerpoint using the line and shape tools. It allows me to manipulate the shape and style of the image rather than getting a fixed image off the Interent. It also allows me to be able to design the dress/skirt and top that the performer will wear during the filming, I can decide where the colours on the clothing will be. This is similar to a part in the Katy Perry video 'This is How We Do'.

 

Color screen editing Final Cut Pro (FCP)

This is the test shot video for the colour screens section in the video. At first I was unsure on how to edit the background of the clip on FCP; but I watched tutorials on Youtube and I found easier to manipulate the background.
I chose the clip I wanted to edit then draged it into the editing timeline. I then chose the image that I want to go under the clip, in my case it was the colour screens like in the 'Countdown' video by Beyonce. I next selected the clip and added the 'Keyer' effect to it. It then deleted the green screen and added the image to the background.
As you can see I need to touch up on the edges of the video and maybe not have the performer moving as much as she was. In the actual section in my final product she will be wearing a black turtle neck jumper and a black wig. The colour of her face and the background will change.

Green Screen Test shots

These are the test shots I took from the green room to create a colour screen test. Last Tuesday (11/11/14) I encountered problems with the green screen. The recording was fine it was the music that was the problem. The music hadn't downloaded properly onto my phone therefore I was unable to play it for the performer to dance to.
On Friday (14/11/14) I brought in my iPad that had the muic downloaded on it and that solved the problem.

Focus Groups

I have filmed a mixture of both friends and media students to get a balenced approach on the questions I asked.
The media students where able to give more detailed answers becasue they are also in the middle of researching and gathering audience feedback. Whereas the group of my friends could give a non media approach to the matter and just discuss what they as non media students like to see in a music video. Also in focus group two there is a mixture of male and females to get a gender balanced approach as well.
Focus group 1


Focus group 2

Audience Survey

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world's leading questionnaire tool.



I have also posted the survey on Facebook and Twitter to gain a wider audience response 

Dance Rehearsal 1

Rather than on the Thursday, me and Martha arranged for a Friday meeting in the dance studio. I played the song and then we continued with the choreography. Tilly Needham (the other girl in the video) also helped out with the choreography and it was decided that in the dance sections it would look better with three performers rather than one. Tilly is now involved in the dance section in the music video and I am now looking for another girl to be in the video.

 

Text messages to arrange rehearsals

These texts show the arranged rehearsals for the dance part of the music video.

As you can see I have arranged for a rehearsal on Thursday 13th November at Lunch Time.

Motion capture

Storyboard

Credits - So far

Main Performer: Martha Godber

Dancer: Tilly Needham

Hair and make-up: Amelia Grimes 

Narrative Theory - Smooth Criminal, Michael Jackson

According to Tim O'Sullivan all narratives have a common structure, starting with the establishment of plot or theme. In this music video we start off with Michael Jackson's shadow at the end of an alley way, he then runs around the corner and opens a door. Music starts playing but this sounds very enchanting and recognisable from a Disney family film. This then creates the theme of enchantment and that something magical might happen. O'Sullivan then states that the understanding of the theme is then followed by the development of the problem, an enigma and an increase in tension. This can be seen as Jackson entering through the door, the audience wanting to know what is on the other side. When the camera cuts into the next scene, beyond the door, and the mise-en-scene completely juxtaposes the sound of the music. 

The entering of Jackson in the club can be seen as the disequilibrium of the music video, he has disturbed whatever was going on inside before he entered. The use of disequilibrium is a stage used to show the progress of narrative within a media text from a theory by Tzvetan Todorov. Todorov stated that there are five stages within a narrative, they are as follows:

1. A point of stable equilibrium, where everything is satisfied, calm and normal.

In this music video the stable equilibrium is not seen, this is inside the club what the audience doesn’t actually assume is there. The music relating to a fantasy family film leads the audience into a false sense of security for what happens next.

2. This stability is disrupted by some kind of force, which creates a state of disequilibrium.

The camera cuts into a medium close up of Jackson inside the building and the music ends abruptly, this automatically creates tension along with the close ups of other characters faces who seem to be startled and confused at Jacksons presence.  There is also a low angle shot of Jackson during this silence sequence which also indicates that he has some form of power during the narrative.

It is also at the disturbing of the equilibrium that the mise-en-scene establishes the time period of the piece. Jackson’s suit with black arm band, trilby hat and spats along with the low key lighting and other characters wearing similar clothing items create a feeling of dark nostalgia, sending audiences back to the gangster period of 1920’s New York. Other music videos such as Madonna’s ‘Vogue’ and Weezer’s ‘Buddy Holly’ also incorporate nostalgic and iconic imagery from distinctive parts of decades to create a visual meaning of the songs for audiences. ‘Vogue’ referencing 1940’s Hollywood and famous actress Marylyn Monroe; ‘Buddy Holly’ referencing the 1970’s show ‘Happy Days’ which the show itself is based in the 1950’s America.

3. Recognition that a disruption has taken place.

There is recognition that the equilibrium has been disrupted by Jackson’s character this is shown by a low angle close up on his face. The camera then cuts to a long shot and his character flicks a coin into the duke box. The song then starts playing and this I believe is when there is complete recognition of the equilibrium being disrupted.

4. It is only possible to re-create equilibrium though action directed against the disruption.

To re-create the equilibrium in this music video the characters try and kill Jackson’s character. This is shown in the form of dance, creating the feel of it being like a musical theatre sequence, a bit like the musical ‘Bugsy Malone’ which is also set in 1920’s gangster New York.

The dance section is very important to this music video especially, it not only adds to the performance element to of the text but it creates iconic imagery. A bit like his ‘Thriller’ music video the dance moves are recognisable worldwide such as the famous lean over. This also reiterates points that are made regarding the performance of a music video determines the end success of the product which is the song.

In this section there are also Hollywood movie techniques that are incorporated into it to create more of a narrative instead of it being purely performance based. Techniques, especially used in thrillers, where the camera is behind both the antagonist and the protagonist and shows the antagonist sneaking up on the protagonist holding a weapon thus creating the feeling that the protagonist is about to get hurt. But in true Hollywood fashion the camera cuts to in front of the protagonist and they shoot behind them without even looking.

5. Restoration of a new state of equilibrium. The consequences of the reaction are to change the world of the narrative and/or the characters so that the final state of equilibrium is not the same as the initial state.

In the music video I feel that there isn’t a new state of equilibrium and that the end of the video is open to interpretation. This is where the video can be seen to be breaking the conventions used by theorists such as Todorov. Jackson’s character, the disturber has not been killed or taken out, but rather he has become liked by the other characters. This is shown by them dancing together. But then again some of the dance moves could connote that Jackson’s character has the power over them and that the likeness is forced upon them by the authority he possess.

There are also silhouettes that appear towards the end of the piece, they seem to be holding weapons of some sort, again this is completely open to audience creating their own meaning by their understanding of history. I understand these silhouettes to be those of the Nazi soldiers/SS and reinforcing Germany’s ban on swing music during the late 1930’s. This I feel completely changes the tone of the piece.   

 

Monologue for Interprative Dance section

The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance

It allows man to express himself, to record the reactions of his personality to the world he lives in.

Our creativity possess the power to transform, to illuminate, to educate and to inspire like no other generation before us.

Everything we create has meaning and that meaning is something that is unique to us.  My art is special to me, it is my place on this Earth in reality and out of it.

This is the first section of the music video where the performer will be performing an interpretative  dance to the words being said. Looking at other music videos such as Rihanna's 'We Found Love' a British accent probably will be best. 

Music Videos in History - YouTube and Vevo

From Elvis and The Beatles' film debuts to Michael Jackson's 'Thriller', music videos have now entered a whole new era. When YouTube was introduced back in February 2005 it opened up a whole new format of watching and sharing music videos. With over a seventh of  the entire Earth users on the video sharing site including me and more non users using the site, it means that music videos are easer than ever to watch. Gone are the days of going down to the local Blockbusters to rent the video or paying to watch MTV on satellite TV, you can open up the interent type in 'YouTube' and watch almost every single music video made.
Here is the History of YoTube by The Gregory Brothers:

Vevo:

Music Videos in History - Iconic Imagery and Artistic Vision

Thriller - Michael Jackson 
In 1983 Michael Jackson released a thirteen minute music video, directed by John Landis, for his song 'Thriller'.
The video has been voted the most influential music video of all time and was named "A watershed moment for the music industry".
Costing almost $1m dollars to make, it took the idea behind the music videos to a whole new level. Thriller had Hollywood movie narrative conventions, more specifically into the horror genre. It made the video more of a short film and a chance for new directors to get into the business. It had become more of a form of entertainment making it more of a promotional weapon when it came to selling the tracks.
Along with making this music video Michael Jackson created iconic imagery. The red jacket, the zombies and the dance routine have become world famous and can be instantly recognised.



Vogue - Madonna
Along with 'Thriller' creating iconic imagery, Madonna created her own with the music video for her song 'Vogue'.  The music video then became more important than song. The music video created reference to values of 1940's upper class civilisation and especially the fashion magazine under the same name as the song.
'Vogue' also now started to look more into the performance of an artist, with the music and the dance becoming very iconic in clubs around the world. The famous line 'Strike a pose' is a worldwide phenomenon the hand actions are easily recognisable.

The two music videos have become very influential in modern performance based videos.




Sledgehammer - Peter Gabriel
With the music video for Sledgehammer Peter Gabriel created a groundbreaking product. No video had ever been made like it before and he is pushing the boundaries on what can actually be done. He creates an artistic vision using techniques such as stop frame animation. This then in turn creates a whole new meaning for the future of music videos, they can be done to show the true identity of the artist, like in this music video Gabriel is saying that he is 'artistic and groundbreaking'.
Again with this music video it reiterates the fact that a music video was there to be enjoyed by the audience and became more important than the song itself;people where not only talking about the artiste but about the music video as well creating a whole new era for music.
These three music videos paved the way for the future of the medium.

Music Videos in History - MTV

Early music videos were called promotional videos, as I have explored with The Beatles. They were films of gigs but back in 1981 a new TV channel aired for the first time. This channel was MTV and it would go on to become one of the most viewed music channels in television history.
The first Music video to air on MTV was the 'Buggles' track 'Video Killed the Radio Star followed by the Pat Benatar tune "You Better Run".
Originally the music videos centred on helping artistes gain exposure. The videos where introduced by the young Video Jockeys (VJs). Since it first aired the channel has helped audiences connect to music on a completely new level compared to the feature films back in the 60's The Beatles produced.
BBC's Top of The Pops began playing music videos in the late 70's but was limited on how many they could show. Instead they had the band play live in the studio.
Early on MTV concentrated on rock music and played artists such as Journey and The Police. Other 80's rock acts like Van Halen and Eurythmics found fame promoting their videos on the channel. 

Music Videos in History - Elvis, Cliff Richard and The Beatles

Media Language

Audience

Representation

Genre

Narrative

Using Conventions from Media Texts

Post-Production

Research and Planning

Creativity

Digital Technologies

Genre Research - Electropop

Electropop is a style of music characterised by the use of electronically created sounds, with a synthesizer as the primary instrument.

Synthesizer:
The synthesizer is an electronic musical instrument that generates electric signals wich can be converted to sound through loudspeakers or headphones. Synthesizers can generate new timbres and imitate other instruments, they can be controlled by by a variety of different devices.

In 1959-1960 Harold Bode developed a modular synthesiser and sound processor, and in 1961 developed a paper exploring the concept of self-contained portable modular synthesizer. His ideas were adopted by Donald Buchla and Robert Moog.

ELECTROPOP
Electropop first became prominent in the 1980's. It had prefigured in the 60's and 70's by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, dico and particularly the 'Krautrock' of bands like Kraftwerk. The genre arose in Japan and the UK in the post-punk era as part of the new wave movement of the late 70's to the mid 80's.
The early pioneers included the Japanese group Yellow Orchestra and the British bands Ultravox and The Human League.
In the late 80's the Pet Shop Boys adopted a sound that was very successful in the US Dance Charts, but by the end of the decade the genre had largely been abandoned,
By the end of the 00's new music and sounds had been created in the electropop genre by artistes such as Lady Gaga, Ke$ha, Owl City and La Roux.

Yellow Orchestra - Fire Cracker (1980)


Pet Shop Boys - It's a Sin
 La Roux - Bulletproof


Owl City - Fireflies



TOP 10 HOT DANCE/ELECTRONIC SONGS  (15th October 2014)

1. Break Free - Ariana Grande ft. Zedd
2. Rather Be - Clean Bandit
3. A Sky Fyll of Stars - ColdPlay 
4. Blame - Calvin Harris ft. Jon Newman
5. Waves - Mr. Probz
6. Turn Down For What - DJ Snake & Lil Jon
7. Summer - Calvin Harris
8. Hideaway - Kiesza
9. Heroes (We Could Be) - Alesso ft. Tove Lo
10. Bend Ova - Lil Jon ft. Tyga 

Skills Development Essay

Before I started my media course at college, I studied media at secondary school, achieving an A. The coursework practical this year is rather similar to what I did back at my secondary school, the aim was to create a front page, contents page and a double page spread for a magazine. I believe that the resources that are available to college compare to those at school have helped me to develop my skills in media.

The digital technology that I have used over the past two years has significantly improved with every task that I have completed. Back in secondary school I was limited to a 10 mp camera that didn't really give the best quality photo, which then had to be edited onto a very outdated version of Photoshop or publisher, that compared to the technology and the knowledge of the technologies that I have gained this last year, wasn't the best situation to be in. When I moved to college the digital technology had improved, especially the camera. The college magazine main image was shot from a 12 mp camera rather than a 10 mp one; this allowed me to get a better quality picture; which I then edited on n iMac. Prior to coming to college I had never used an iMac in my life. My understanding was that they worked exactly like a normal PC. But it was to be a lot trickier than that. It did take me a while to get used to the equipment but I feel as though I adapted pretty quickly in order to finish my college magazine. Another technology that was introduced to me was blogger, I had heard f blogs but had never used them, but I believe that it is a rather easy way of storing work and sharing it to the public. This was another technology that I had to adapt to; it was a struggle at first to get used to all the different buttons like the difference between new post and new blog and how to re-design the page. After making the college magazine it was time to get on with the real coursework and create a music magazine front cover, contents page and double page spread. Again the camera quality had improved again and this time I had bought my own camera that had a quality of 16mp, this allowed me to capture a high quality photograph and focus on the mise-en-scene such as the makeup and the costume. Along with the improved quality of the camera, my Photoshop skills also improved from the college magazine. I now could use tool efficiently like the cut tool and the blur tool. Cutting the image and blending the model’s hair better than the college magazine was a target of mine when I started the music magazine and I believe that I improved and I’m satisfied on how the image looked.

Another area of practice that I feel I have improved is my creativity. Back in secondary school the magazine that I created was not only limited by the technology but was also bland in terms of creativity. But I believe that moving to college and studying other subjects such as drama and film when you have to create high quality products has helped me to improve my creativity. Looking back from my college magazine I feel as though even though the conventions are the same, I have used them in a more creative way and fitted them to the genre of the magazine, which was rock. This leads to the research and planning, back in GCSE media there wasn’t much planning and research to be done and the product was constructed based on what looked well and what didn’t. Stepping up to A level proved a big stepping stone on the planning front. Every single detail had to be uploaded to the blog and I admit that in the college magazine I didn’t do enough research and planning and the magazine was constructed over the period of two days, which was not enough time to produce a good quality product. However during the process of the construction of the music magazine I believe that I improved quite a lot for the research. Researching existing magazines and the genre of the magazine allowed me to develop a better understanding of the medium and what is expected from me. Overall my blog is dominated with the planning and research which includes existing magazines, different font styles, the history of the magazine, the history of the chosen genre, the iconography of the genre  and the codes and conventions that make up a front cover. I am now hoping that I can continue the appropriate research and planning that is needed to develop my A2 product.

The next area of practice that I believe my skills have developed in is using conventions from real media texts. This relates to the planning and research tasks that I completed throughout the music magazine. Again at GCSE there wasn’t much thought put into the conventions of the front cover, the research put into them was very minimal compared to the thought process and explanation that is needed for AS media. The conventions from real media texts started again during the college magazine task, completing the L.I.I.A.R analysis of existing front covers enabled me to understand what makes a successful front cover and what is needed for creating the college magazine. Moving up to the music magazine task I looked at existing music magazines that fitted the genre of rock which included ‘Kerrang’, ‘Q’ and ‘Mojo’; because I had a L.I.I.A.R analysis from the college magazine I could then develop a much more detailed document of what should be included on my front cover, double page spread and contents page. These conventions included such things as the Masthead, which should be at the top of the page and should stand out to the audience.

In conclusion I feel as though from GCSE to completing the music magazine at AS level my skills have developed rather sufficiently and they will continue to develop during the A2 music video task.

Initial Idea 3

My third initial idea is probably the one that I like the most. The first section consists of a voice over of what art means to the performer. This will be done by collecting primary audience research along with quotes from the internet.
While the voice over is playing the performer wil be performing an interpretive dance around the lyrics.
After the dancing there will be some heavy breathing, then the music starts playing.
The actual music video again will be abstract but because of the beginning section, I feel that there will be a lot more meaning behind the video. It will show the 'creativeness' and what art actually means and is shown by the performer. I will include some hand motifs throughout the video and although some of the mise-en-scene may look simple it will be effective.

Initial Idea 2

The second initial ide that I have is the exploration and parody of popular music videos. This is similar to the Blink 182 music video to 'All The Small Things' where they parody other mainstream groups and artistes with their actions and mannerisms.
The idea would consist of a number of music videos such as 'Single Ladies', 'Vogue', 'Thriller' and 'Born This Way'.
Again there would be no narrative and would be rather abstract.
Looking back at this idea I feel that this would be very difficult to pull off as it would prove to be very expensive and time consuming getting all the costumes and make up.

Initial Idea 1

The exploration of modern Art 

I will be exploring different paintings and the works of modern artists such as Andy Warhol and Piet Mondrian. There will be no narrative at all and will be consist of the performer dancing, becoming the art and creating symbolism that represents the art piece. 

I feel that this fits the theme of the song I have chosen, as art is one of the more dominant themes in the song. 

Lyric Analysis

Colour Screens Test

I edited the colour screenshots together and added the music to test out what it might look like in my Music Video. This will enable me to get the timings right when it comes to editing the real product.

Treatment (50 Words)

Song - Applause

In my music video I am looking for the theme of modern art. I believe that when looking through the lyrics art is a dominant theme and the song is very performance based and abstract rather than narrative. Included also will be the use of binary oppositions such as dark vs light and sanity vs insanity.

Idea for Music Video

Looking at the 'Countdown Video' by Beyonce, I liked the idea of the changing colour screens and outfits. I have decided that I will be using something similar in my music video, but with the hair and the costume the same colour (black) and the face paint and the background changing colour:

TEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF EXISTING MUSIC VIDEOS (VIDEO 3)

TEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF EXISTING MUSIC VIDEOS (VIDEO 2)

Where Have You Been - Rihanna

TEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF EXISTING MUSIC VIDEOS (VIDEO 1)

Work Bitch - Britney Spears

Mood Board for 'Applause'

Lyrics Timing

Applause - Lady Gaga

Timing the lyrics will help me when it comes to editing the music video, allowing me to determine when the cuts shall be.

I stand here waiting for you to bang the gong 0:14 – 0:20

To crash the critic saying, "Is it right or is it wrong?” 0:21 – 0:26

 If only fame had an I.V., baby could I bear 0:28 – 0:33

Being away from you, I found the vein, put it in here 0:35 – 0:40

I live for the applause, applause, applause 0:41 – 0:44

I live for the applause-plause 0:44 – 0:46

Live for the applause-plause 0:46 – 0:47

Live for the way that you cheer and scream for me 0:48 – 0:51

The applause, applause, applause 0:52 – 0:54

Give me that thing that I love (I'll turn the lights out) 0:55 – 0:58

Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch (make it real loud) 0:59 – 1:02

Give me that thing that I love (I'll turn the lights out) 1:02 – 1:05

Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch (make it real loud) 1:06 – 1:09

(A-P-P-L-A-U-S-E) Make it real loud 1:09 – 1:12

(A-P-P-L-A-U-S-E) Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch 1:13 – 1:15

(A-P-P-L-A-U-S-E) Make it real loud 1:18 – 1:19

(A-P-P-L-A-U-S-E) Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch 1:20 – 1:22

[Verse 2:]

I've overheard your theory "nostalgia's for geeks"  1:23 – 1:28

I guess sir, if you say so, some of us just like to read 1:30 – 1:34

One second I'm a Kunst, then suddenly the Kunst is me 1:37 – 1:41

Pop culture was in art, now art's in pop culture in me 1:44 – 1:48

I live for the applause, applause, applause 1:49 – 1:52

I live for the applause-plause 1:52 – 1:54

Live for the applause-plause 1:54 – 1:56

Live for the way that you cheer and scream for me 1:56 – 2:00

The applause, applause, applause 2:00 – 2:02

Give me that thing that I love (I'll turn the lights out) 2:04 – 2:07

Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch (make it real loud) 2:08 – 2:10

Give me that thing that I love (I'll turn the lights out) 2:11 – 2:14

Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch (make it real loud) 2:14 – 2:17

(A-P-P-L-A-U-S-E) Make it real loud 2:20 – 2:21

(A-P-P-L-A-U-S-E) Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch 2:22 – 2:24

(A-P-P-L-A-U-S-E) Make it real loud 2:27 – 2:28

(A-P-P-L-A-U-S-E) Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch 2:28 – 2:31

[Bridge:]

Touch, touch

Touch, touch now

Ooh-ooh-ooh-hoo

Ooh-ooh-ooh-hoo

Ooh-ooh-ooh-hoo

Ooh-ooh

The section above is from 2:32 – 2:44

I live for the applause, applause, applause 2:44 – 2:47

I live for the applause-plause 2:48 – 2:49

Live for the applause-plause 2:49 – 2:51

Live for the way that you cheer and scream for me. 2:51 – 2:54

The applause, applause, applause 2:55 – 2:57

Give me that thing that I love (I'll turn the lights out) 2:59 – 3:02

Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch (make it real loud) 3:02 – 3:05

Give me that thing that I love (I'll turn the lights out) 3:06 – 3:09

Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch (make it real loud) 3:09 – 3:12

(A-P-P-L-A-U-S-E) Make it real loud 3:14 – 3:16

(A-P-P-L-A-U-S-E) Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch (make it real loud) 3:16 – 3:19

(A-P-P-L-A-U-S-E) Make it real loud 3:21 – 3:23

(A-P-P-L-A-U-S-E) Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch 3:23 – 3:26

A-R-T-P-O-P 3:26 – 3:28

Ideas for music video - Piet Mondrian Artwork and Katy Perry

Piet Mondrian was an important contributor to the De Stijl art movement and group, which was founded by Theo van Doesburg. He evolved a non-representational form which he termed neoplasticism. This consisted of a white background, upon which was painted a grid of black lines and three primary colours.
 - Wikipedia















Artwork -

 I like the idea of using simple colours and design. This can be used on a white wall and being projected onto. It can also be used in the theatre at Wyke where it can be projected onto the screen and the artists wearing similar clothing, blending into the screen. Just like in Katy Perry's 'This is how we do' video as shown below:

This can be achieved either on a green screen and green clothing or by using clothes similar to the one in the video and setting them against a background.

The style is also used in other forms of media, including this magazine advert advertising a Ford Fiesta.
The bold black lines and the primary colours stand out and make the piece look very effective.
The dresses that the models are wearing in the advertisement I will also consider using when deciding on costumes.

Existing Music Videos

Crystal Fighters - Follow (Alternative Electro)
The narrative is very abstract and there isn't much of a storyline, but there is a little. It seems as though the woman is being followed by a scarecrow but in the end the scarecrow is being followed by the woman.
Techniques Used:

• Lip Syncing
• Start an stop editing which matches the pace of the song
• costume changes
• Shadowing effect with the lighting
• Props
• Thus video breaks the convention of glorifying women starts and with the costume and make-up that she is wearing somewhat un-glorifies women.

5 Seconds of Summer - Amnesia (Pop)
This video is episodic and features teenagers having fun with their girlfriends. It is sort of a love story and features flashbacks.
Techniques Used:

• Slow motion
• lip syncing
• underwater cameras
• handheld cameras in some of the flashbacks, a bit like memories
• Stereotypical boy band 'jamming' in a garage
• the editing matches the tempo
• blurred effects like shallow depth of field
• asynchronous sound

Rihanna and Calvin Harris - We Found Love (Pop/RnB)
This is a different type of love story music video it features the abuse of drugs and the smoking, and the narrative on screen matches the lyrics, the location does also.
Techniques used:

•  Voice over at the beginning ( something that I am going to consider in my music video)
• Flashbacks
• A Variety of locations
• montage editing
• connotations of the locations and the lyrics such as 'We found love in a hopeless place' they are in a 'tacky' flat in what is probably the east end of London.
• Fast and slow editing, one object is going fast and the other normal or slowed speed
• images projected on plain white wall

Chosen Song

I have decided that I am going to try and create an abstract music video that will focus heavily on the mise-en-scene. It will be a very abstract video and will have no narrative involved, I wanted to avoid the cliche love story and go for something different.
The song that I have chosen is Applause by Lady Gaga. Although the song already has a music video I will be steering away from the content in it, but will be taking a couple of the ideas and making them my own. As seen in previous posts I will also take influence from the Katy Perry music video for 'This is How We Do'.

Youtube

You can follow and subscribe to my Youtube channel at https://www.youtube.com/?hl=en-GB&gl=GB . My AS Film project is also up there.
When I start rehearsing the music video I will post updates

THE BRIEF AND CHOSEN ANCILLARY TEXTS

To create a promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following three options:

• A cover for its release as part of a digipak (CD/DVD package)
• A magazine advertisement for the digipak (CD/DVD package)

Evaluation

During the course of the transition project I found that there was a couple of challenging things, but the most challenging thing that my group and I found was the editing. This took up quite a lot of our time and there was some quite elaborate and hard edits that needed to be done in order for it to look similar to the original music video. But we found a way to get over this and in the end the finish product was satisfying. Another thing that my group and I found challenging was matching the music to the lip syncing of the actors, to improve this we could of played the music under the camera for the actors to hear and get the timings right.
 

If I am successful in moving on to A2 this coming September, I will feel like I am prepared to make the product next year. But there are a few things that I will be doing differently because of the little things that didn't go quite so well doing during transition period. For example if I choose to do the music video promotion product, I might not use as much lip syncing in my video. I would like to have it more performance based and this will be helped by the fact that I study drama and performing arts as well. The lip syncing parts I do in the video though will have to be timed a lot better than the ones in our transition video. But it was a learning curve and I can only improve for A2.

Doing this transition task over the past three weeks I believe that it has been a great help to me. I have learnt that making a full music video takes a lot of time and a huge amount of effort. My group and I chose a music video that was very challenging when it came o both filming and editing. The locations where very site specific and it is lucky that we live in a town that has a huge water fountain just like the one in the video and the editing was very sharp and had to be very precise to look correct. All of this has given me the experience to know not to over complicate things and to properly think things through for next year. Looking back now I know that by doing this task it has given me the confidence to improve on the areas that were weak.

Developing onto A2 next year will be a big step up from AS and the standard of work will rise sufficiently but I have every confidence in myself that I will create an original piece of work that is of A2 standard, but this is only possible if I put the amount of effort in needed in research and planning before actually making the video. Working over summer will help me get straight on with the work when we return in September. 

 

Looking back on the past three weeks, the group and I are very pleased with the outcome of the product. For the video that we chose there was a huge amount of editing and that was only the first minute of the video and I believe the group tackled the challenge well and the finished video has a lot of similarities to the original witch we are pleased about. I think that the product is successful because we created a schedule and plan and we stuck by it and kept by it. We had all of the filming done rather quickly which left us with plenty of time to edit. Another reason I believe the product was successful was because of the performers; they gave a good performance for the camera which created a better atmosphere in the video rather than it looking like people are not confident and don't have a clue what they are doing.

What I like the most about the final product is that the people in it gave a performance and made it look very similar to the original piece, the location that we chose was also a huge factor in delivering the verisimilitude and I believe that it did look like the original in the end. My least favourite bit about the final product is that some of the shots and the lip syncing are different and out of pace to the music that is playing. To improve on this for A2 I am going to have to film on a tripod and have the music playing at the same time for the actors to lip sync with.

Our Video:

Original Video:

Final Product

Here is the final product from our group. The Starstrukk music video by Natasha Newman, Daniel Rother, Nusuri Bibi and Daniel Sparkes

Video footage of turning heads and running

Footage - 16th June 2014
Location - Queens Gardens

Props and Costume

From Natasha Newman's Blog

A2 Media Studies: Print Screen Storyboard (Natasha's Work)

A2 Media Studies: Print Screen Storyboard: These are all the shot's included in the music video. There are 77 as it is very quick pace. They are ordered in reverse chronological ...

Camera Training

On Thursday 12th June we received camera training

We went through the basics such as how to frame the shot, for example if we are to film a shot that requires a medium close up, we should zoom in on the subject instead of leaving space above the head. We also got showed how to look after the camera using the clip-on feature on the tripod. I believe that after receiving the camera training my group and I feel more confident when we go out and film this coming Saturday (14th June 2014).

Lyric Timings

Because we are only doing the first minute of the video the lyrics stop at a certain point:

Nice legs, Daisy Dukes,
Makes a man go [whistles],
That's the way they all come through like [whistles],
Low-cut, see-through shirts that make ya [whistles],
That's the way she come through like [whistles],

'Cause I just set them up,
Just set them up,
Just set them up tonight (to knock them down),
'Cause I just set them up,
Just set them up,
Just set them up tonight,
to knock them down

I think I should know how to make love to something innocent without leaving my fingerprints
Out,

Nice legs, Daisy Dukes - 24 - 25 seconds

Makes a man go (Whistles) - 26 seconds - 27 seconds

That's the way they all come through like (whistles) - 27.5 seconds - 31 seconds

Low-cut, see-through shirts that make ya (whistles) - 31 seconds - 34 seconds

That's the way she comes through like (whistles) - 34.5 seconds - 37 seconds

'Cause I just set them up - 38 seconds - 39 seconds

Just set them up - 40 seconds - 41 seconds

Just set them up tonight (to knock them down) - 41.5 seconds - 44 seconds

'Cause I just set them up - 44 seconds - 47 seconds

Just set them up - 47 seconds - 48 seconds

Just set them up tonight - 49 seconds - 50 seconds

To knock them down (overlap from 50 seconds)

I think I should know how to make love to something innocent without leaving my fingerprints out - 54 seconds 62 seconds