Month: January 2018
Summary Of Filming and Photography
Over the past few weeks, I have filmed and photographed my three tasks. These were a music video, a digipak and a poster. Having my plan for each task set really helped me to be prepared and get all my work done on time. I found the photography and filming stage very easy. Although there were a few mess ups I managed to work around them or fix them entirely which sometimes took my task on a journey that was perhaps better than I originally planned. Overall, I am happy with each of the outcomes of my photography and filming and plan to edit and hold focus groups to improve and progress.
Photography For My Poster
Today I took photos for my poster. The idea that I had chosen to follow was of a phone and earphones with a black background. I thought that this created synergy throughout my three tasks as this is a prop featured in my music video and the earphones are featured on my digipak. As they are symbolic of Emma’s escapism (a key theme in my video) I thought that this theme should be carried on throughout the entire three tasks.
To set up I took a black bed sheet and laid it flat on the floor to create the background. I then used a phone with a white front and white earphones as they stand out from the black background use to their contrasting colours. This is something I learnt to do from my research into real posters. I positioned my props so that the phone was facing up and to the left side of the page and the earphones were to the right of the page. This creates an image similar to the rule of thirds as I plan to have the title of the album and artist on the phone screen.
To ensure that the lighting for my photography was as good as possible I tested two types of lighting. The first was light fro my phone. This created a very bright white light which lit up the props well. However, when looking back at the pictures it appeared that my props looked too overexposed. The alternative style of lighting I used was a lamp light which gave off an orange glow. This was the more preferred choice as it illuminated the props while not making them too overexposed.
Overall, I am very happy with the way my photography for my poster turned out as everything went very smoothly and I managed to capture some good images.
Photography For My Digipak
Today I photographed the images for my digipak. For this ancillary, I chose the idea of having Emma on the front with overlays of light leaks edited over her face. This is a style of lighting commonly used in the indie-acoustic genre. From my initial idea I have also adapted some of the other covers to feature photos of some of the props as this will create synergy in both the mis en scene and themes.
To set up for the shoot I hung up a black bed sheet over my curtain rail using hair clips. This worked very well in blocking out the natural light to create a studio effect. For lighting, I used a torch as I wanted to create a spotlight on my actor. I then placed my tripod and camera in front of the setup.
When it came to photographing my actor I decided that she should wear the same costume as she had in the music video as this creates synergy and ties the ancillary well with the music video. Additionally, I positioned her with her eyes closed and her earphones in a mid-shot camera angle. This is similar to one of the shots that is a feature in my music video at the beginning and creates parallels between the two tasks suggesting that they are in some way linked to each other.
Overall, I am pleased with the way my digipak photography turned out as I believe that I was able to capture images that look professional in the quality and create synergy in their mis en scene.
Props And Costume
Introduction:
In this blog, I will discuss the costume and props that I chose to feature in my music video. I will relate them back to the typical conventions that I found in my research stages and reference any inspirations.
Costume:
The costume for my protagonist Emma was inspired by many of the music videos I analysed in my research stages. In particular, the music video for ‘Sick of Losing Soulmates’ by Dodie Clark features characters with similar clothing which I had ideas from. I’m my own video I have paired a grey jumper with dark jeans and boots as this is what I typically found in the indie-acoustic genre. When Emma goes outside to go to the park I have added an item of clothing. She wears a burgundy jacket with a fleece collar. This jacket was similar to one I had seen in my music video research. Personally, I think that the costume is very professional and conventional for its genre. It looks very simplistic which ties into the natural theme of the indie-acoustic genre.
Props:
I chose to use earphones instead of headphones for my music video as I found that headphones were too large are looked stranged. Additionally, earphones are smalled and offered less of a distraction for the audience when on screen.
In the scenes where Emma dresses up in the mirror, I chose to feature a pair of sunglasses. This was supposed to symbolise her desire to be somewhere hot and sunny; the total opposite of her reality. I also featured the scarf in this scene as scarfs were an item that I found in a few of the music videos I analysed.
When Emma is in the kitchen reading her book I specifically chose to feature ‘The Girls’ by Emma Cline. In the novel, a girl named Evie who is alone and bored finds herself joining a cult in the late 1960’s. Although Emma does not join a cult she is alone. The book could then be seen as an intertextual reference.
The diary is also a prop featured in the very early scenes of my music video. When Emma finishes her monologue a single close-up of the diary is displayed. I felt that using this shot as a transition from her daydreams to reality serves as a way for the audience to understand that her life isn’t spectacular and that she is also a creative kind of person in terms of both her writing and thoughts.
Andrew Goodwin’s Music Video Theory
Introduction:
To expand my knowledge of media theory I have decided to write about Andrew Goodwin’s music video theory. This seemed like a very relevant notion that links well with my coursework and can give me a better understanding of my product from a theoretical viewpoint.
The Concept:
Andrew Goodwin’s music video theory states that every music video consists of these eight principals:
- Links between the music and the visuals: If a song is very electronic and upbeat the director may include a dance sequence to reflect the style. This is also the same in regards to the editing of a music video. If a song is very slow the cuts between shots may also be slow.
- Links between the lyrics and the visuals: Music videos will often illustrate props or actions in the mis en scene that reflect the lyrics of a song. An example of this would be the music video for Vance Joy’s Riptide which literally displays visuals that directly link to the lyrics.
- Display of the typical genre conventions: Many music videos tend to reflect aspects of their specified genre in their visuals. For example, the conventions of the rap genre typically consist of low angle shots, cars and money.
- A variety of intertextual references: This is when a video will make reference to another media text. For example, the music video for Love Story by Taylor Swift makes reference to Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.
- Notions of looking: When the actor or singer in the music video looks directly at the camera. This creates the illusion that they are letting the audience inside the life thus feeling involved in the action.
- Voyeurism: Essentially voyeurism is the idea of looking at something for sexual satisfaction. Women are more often treated in this way through the use of camera angles and fragmented body shots.
- Demands of the record label: The artist’s record label will require certain things from their performer. This may be a lot of close-ups or for them to maintain a certain image throughout her music videos.
- Music videos are either performance-based, narrative-based or concept-based: All music videos will fall under the category of performance (where the actors dance or play in a band to the song. Most commonly seen in heavy metal videos where the band will be in front of a live audience), narrative (where the music video will tell a story or message to the audience) or concept (where the video presents an idea which is displayed in the mis en scene. This doesn’t have to be related to the music).
Links To My Own Music Video:
When thinking about this theory I found many parts that link into my own video. These were:
- Links between music and the visuals: The editing of my music video matches the pace of the song.
- Links between the lyrics and the visuals: The song I chose is about wanting to go back to a better time and be somewhere else. I have conveyed this through my protagonist Emma who wants to get out of her small village.
- Display of the typical conventions: I have used indie-acoustic/folk location conventions such as country lanes and parks in my music video.
- I have made an intertextual reference to the book The Girl by Emma Cline which is about a lonely girl who joins a cult in the late 60s.
- I have used the idea of the notions of looking when Emma looks directly at the camera with a sad expression after her daydreams have finished.
Inspirations
Introduction:
From my research I have been inspired by various different music videos. However, I have also been inspired from watching various Youtube videos and from some suggestions in my survey responses. The two video below are examples of this. i will discuss how they have inspired with and give examples from my music video.
Youtube Videos:
When drafting my storyboard I was inspired by this YouTube video by Dodie. In this video, she dances to music in a camera shot that is wide but slightly removed from the action. Furthermore, I also liked the reverse editing she used while she was dancing as I thought this looked cool. From this inspiration, I added in a scene where my character Emma is dancing in her kitchen. Below are the storyboard drawing and a screenshot from the music video.
Survey Response Suggestion:
When I created my survey for my target audience research I asked the question ‘What narrative based music video have you watched that you enjoyed and why did you think this was good?’. In my responses I received a comment that said “I really like the video for Breeze Blocks by AltJ because it kind of shows domestic violence but in reverse and its really citing with the music”. This inspired me to look at the music video for ideas in regards to editing and mis en scene. From watching the music video three times I came away with the following ideas for my music video. These were:
- Having some of the footage in reverse.
- Having the a blue tone to my shots.
- Making sure the lyrics match the action in the video.
Filming Day Three
Day three of filming for my music video commenced on 4th January 2018. In this session I filmed all of the exterior shots with Sophie in them. To prepare for this day I changed my camera battery the night before. This would ensure that my camera wouldn’t die when it came to filming. I also ensured that my SD card wasn’t full so that I had enough storage to film.
Me and Sophie woke up at 7:00am to start the filming day. This is as I wanted to make the most of the light given that it was winter. With Sophie dressed in her costume and all the equipment ready we headed outside to begin filming. We started outside my house with a shot of Sophie leaving the house. I used my tripod to film this part which created a balanced frame and avoided any shaky shots. Next we filmed Sophie walking down the road in the form of a mid-shot. Personally, I found filming this quite hard to achieve as I had to walk backwards with my camera whilst trying not to bump into anyone. Additionally, I also found it hard to keep Sophie in the centre of the frame as we were both walking at the same time.
After filming the country lane scenes with ease we next moved on to the park. This location was somewhat hard to film in as there were a few people around. For my music video I wanted it to be isolated and abandoned to make my character Emma look alone. However, I managed to film all of my shots without anyone in the background. I also think the fact that I am creating a music video helped as I am going to mute the background noise anyway.
In the last few exterior shots that I filmed I wanted hand held footage. When it came to film this I found it easy however, I do think that some of my shots may be too shaky. This is something I will ask for feedback on when I come to display my first draft to a focus group.
Jake Bugg Article
Recently while I have been planning my music video I have come across an article in the Independent. Jake Bugg who is a distinguished artist in the music industry made a comment saying “a lot of songs are rip-offs now aren’t they?“. This remark made me think about the theorist Kirby Ferguson. In his online internet series ‘Everything Is A Remix’ Ferguson states that may songs have been “copied, combined and transformed” into something new. This means that every song now heard on popular radio stations are essentially a remix of something else. For example, the song Stronger by Kanye West features sampling from Daft Punk’s song (…). As a consequence of this sampling and remixing, songs may then be considered ripoffs of other previous works. In my own music video I believe that I have taken inspiration from other sources such as youtube videos and music videos. I too am combining these ideas and concepts together to create my own work which when analysed can be considered a ‘rip off’ or just postmodern.
References:
Advanced Media Portfolio 