Tuesday 23 December 2014

Filming Technique Idea

This is a technique I want to include in my video. I trialled it in the same white wall location that I did my first filming in. I wanted to see how the colours would work and if you would still be able to see the actors. The photo was uploaded onto Instagram to see the reaction and if people would like it. I used Sponge-bob as a random video as it had vivid colours so I could see what would work well. 
  • the light blue is the best for seeing Jacks face still well. 
  • The yellow/orange isn't a very good colour
  • Also making the projection too visually complicated doesn't work well (lots of colours mixed and lots of details.) As you can see in the picture it doesn't look very good.


I've decided after trying it out, it will work for how I wanted. Even if the projections were in black and white, or just on one half of the screen.


Thursday 18 December 2014

First Mock Up

PROBLEMS FACED

1.When I first decided to edit my footage I realsied the quality was not as good as I wanted. When filming outside of college I don't have access to a laptop so I couldn't check the footage on  big screen. 

2.Due to college and work commitments both me and my cast have limited time we are available to film. When I get home from work/college it is dark which effects the continuety of the footage. I need it all to be in similar lightings and weather so that the video will flow without noticable changes.

3. I created a draft using the footage I took on the first day of filming. I struggled to upload my first draft onto youtube. I did some research online and know I need to log back onto the edit suits and save it to a different format. As the way it was saved onto my hard drive wouldnt' let me upload to Youtube

Story board finished and scanned

Here are the links to the story board I have created for my product! Enjoy

Tuesday 9 December 2014

First Day of filming - Sunday 7th December


Close up shot used for my first filming shots. This is Kate the actress.

I am using the same watch that I showed on my props list.


Extreme close up of the face, for this shot. I decided to experiment with only having half the face in the shot, because If I can I would like to have both actors one the screen at the same time singing, when it is in a bit of a harmony.

This is how the tripod was set up for filming, in the centre of the room. The room has a large window and light from the door also,against the white walls creates a simple and crisp look that I wanted to achieve.

Today was a successful day of filming and got shots achieved that I wanted to get, in time ready for the editing session I have booked in for Wednesday the 17th December


Friday 5 December 2014

Mock up Ancillary Text - get ideas

 This is an abstract album cover idea for cage the elephant and it doesn't feature the band on it. The large photo of the elephant is representative of the name of the band. The name of the band is in the middle. I also did this google mock up to have a go at refreshing my photoshop skills. It was only a quick mock up, but I want to develop before starting the ancillary texts for my blog.



Tuesday 2 December 2014

Premier Pro Help

As I am new to using this program, I felt like it was essential to get some help for myself before beggining. I have searched the internet to find some videos and also some step by step written guides to learn the basics then build up from there.


https://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-pro/how-to/edit-correct-gopro-video.html
This is the link to the official tutorial created by Adobe creative cloud.
This is a how to use video for premier pro, it includes lots of different features of how to make a video. Its a new technology to me so I felt without research I might struggle.


                                       



Tuesday 25 November 2014

Props List

I'm going to be using a variety of props, most I already have but I will have too also buy some.

Bikes will be used in my music video, to show the main actress in the video travelling to see her boyfriend. It works well with the lyrics because they say 'If you wanna ride' it could be by using public transport, but riding a bike is showing that there's a lot of effort to get to someone.


 

A watch is used in my video to highlight the time that is being passed and that they're waiting for each other. There will be close up shots of the watch ticking on a persons wrist so you know they're looking at the time and noticing it.



This watch will feature on the female actresses wrist, we will see it in the first few shots when the character is being introduced.

Wednesday 19 November 2014

Theories

REPRESENTATION THEORY- 

Laura Mulveys Male Gaze

This theory is about how the audience view women who are presented in the media. Laura Mulvey states women are there to be seen and that the use of camera portrays them as sexual objects through shot types and movements. 
She focus's on;
1) How men look at women from those images
2)How women look at themselves from them images
3)How women look at other women.

 The media emphasizes the curves of female body, refers to women as objects rather then people and the display of women is how men think they should be perceived.
Female viewers view the content through the eyes of a man and women are often sexualised. It's the perspective of a heterosexual man (camera lingers over the curves of a womens body)

Mulvey States: 
  • In film women are typically the objects, rather than the possessors  this is displayed by the control of the camera.
  • Camera uses particular movements to perceive women in an idealistic view. Some my disagree with this and feel liberated   
On Tuesday the 16th September 2014, All 5 out of the top 5 music videos in the UK charts showed examples of Mulveys Theory. 
Calvin Harris - Blame, Lily Wood and Schultz - Prayer in C, Sam Smith - Only one, Talyor Swift - Shake it off and Iggy Azelea ft Rita Ora - Black Widow. 
  • Emphasis on body 
  • Showing Women as objects 
  • Pleasing Men 
  • Females view through the eyes of males? 
  • Women sexualised + viewed based on sexual desire? 

Richard Dyers Star Theory
The idea icons and celebrities are constructed by institutions for financial reasons and are built to target a specific  audience or group of people.

Can be broken down into 3 sections:
  • audience and institutions
  • constructions
  • hegemony (cultural beliefs)

Audience + Institutions
Audiences want to consume what they believe is ideal - institution then modifies the stars image around the target audience. 
Constructions
Star is built for an audience and is not an actual person, a person is created for the audience to identify with so stars can differentiate between different stars- and why they like them or not. Star is built specifically with someones signature to them. - see a lot of people copying celebrities.
Hegemony
(leadership or dominance, especially by one state or social group over others)
We relate to the star because they have a feature that we admire or share with them. This develops from an admiration into a idolization. Some people may attempt to replicate.

HE STATES: 
"stars are commodities that are produced by institutions"
"A star is a constructed image, represented across a range of media and mediums"
"stars represent and embody certain ideologies"

"A star is an image not a real person that is constructed (as any other aspect of fiction is) out of a range of materials is) out of a range of materials (e.g advertising magazines etc as well as films and music) " 1979  

Stars are made and groomed to meet the ideal.

Tessa Perkins Stereotyping


  • Preconceived or prejudice idea of a group of people, in general.
  • People might stereotype - try and help us to understand different groups of people we might not otherwise come across.


STEREOTYPES

are assumptions we make based on groups of people when we put people in boxes based on on the media,how do we know they're actually like
Tessa Perkins - Stereotyping is not a simple process and contains a number of assumptions that can be challenged. She identifies 5 assumptions;


  1. Stereotypes are not always negative (eg The French are good cooks).
  2. They are not always about minority groups.
  3. Can be held about ones own group.
  4. They are not rigid or unchanging.
  5. They are not always false.
implications of stereotypes
stereotypes are erroneous in content (usually wrong) and about groups that have little or not social contact. 




Monday 10 November 2014

Costume, make up, location and lighting ideas


http://vimeo.com/67356505 - Sparkles and Wine, Opale. Full video

Filming diary


I have set up a diary online to keep a record of filming and the processes within filming digitally, instead of creating a handwritten version I thought by using the technology online would allow me to keep  it all in one place and be able to go back and add and edit posts. The photo I set is the album cover for the album that I have taken my chosen song, off.

Available to see at; http://diary.com/s001695



Possible place my music video would feature

YouTube is a massive influence in an artists music video popularity, it allows for a video to go 'viral' and suggests relative videos to people, that are similar to the ones they are already watching. Now people can discover new music and their videos at the same time as listening to music genre's they like. If a video has lots of views it also is seen as a suggestion to watch on the YouTube homepage, which will encourage a vast viewing audience. YouTube is accessible to view and upload onto from all over around the World which shows the way more technology has caused the globalization of music videos. The video needs to be good to compliment the song, and can effect how popular a song is. An example of how powerful YouTube is the song 'Gangnam Style' which created a world wide dance craze of people copying the dance move. The music video meant a lot more people were consuming the song by watching the video and downloading the song, ultimately making the song more money because of the influential video.


Instagram is a social media which is very popular with my generation, artists can show behind the scene shots of filming and create a 'buzz' around the pre-release of a music video/album. This causes people to be interested in it being released and excited to see the video. Instagram also allows an artist to post short clips of video, which can give people tasters of the video, This app is available on mobile phones and also on computers, so people can access it whilst on the move. If its interesting people are likely to look on Instagram whilst they have a spare few minutes and they can like posts, which will appear on other users who follow that persons feed. This widens the viewing audience. Also searching hashtags is a way of finding new things, a post can be found under a few different searches when the artist hash tags a variety of relevant words.

Music Channels are influential on how many people see the video, genre specific music channels also exist these days, which can help people view music videos they like. Music channels are no longer exclusive to people who pay for Sky or Virgin TV subscriptions. VIVA and 4Music are for everyone to see as they are channels that are on free-view which has been rolled out across the entire country. Free-view is the minimum required to be able to watch television. 

Sunday 9 November 2014

Health and safety grid

This is my findings on the health and safety of my cast and myself when filming.


Research Questionnares

I wanted to ask some questions to not only the target audience of my product, but I also wanted to get other peoples opions and general feelings of music videos overall. The conventions, what people are interested and what would make them want to watch my music video. To get an idea of what people want in a music video, instead of just looking at existing products I decided to use social media to get some feedback,from a range of people and ages. I want to be able to cater for my target market,but also find out what people are looking for in general. Perhaps to intise new viewers in to watch the video.


This is the initial question I sent out over Facebook to a group of students


This is the inital inbox I set up and sent to people;

I got alot of responses from alot of students from Wyke Sixform College. As you can see all the feedback was from females. I felt this research is too biased to just use without questioning it. My next step was to ask a wider audience after the intial research.



















Friday 7 November 2014

Narrative Analysis

I chose to analysis this music video because it follows a clear narrative that fits with the lyrics and you can understand it. It also includes theories and is an example of a music video that follows a narrative and also includes a performance from the singer, there is no abstract in this music video. This is a popular convention in music videos because it gives the audience the familiarity of a story they can relate to but also an aspect of performance.

Tim O’Sullivan: The video goes along with the argument that it has follows a kind of story, that is understood because it is similar to real life, not exactly the same as a personal experience, but the narrative of this story does follow the conventions. The  Diegesis of the video is set in a real place which is similar to real life so relatable and creates verisimilitude. This further develops the understanding of the audience  because it appears real as it's being watched. The protagonist in the video is using her facial expressions in close up shots to helps deepen the understanding.
- The use of flashbacks in the narrative going back to  a different times helps create understanding, again by telling a story which realistic.

Kate Domaille: The music video fits within one of the 8 original narrative types, in this the singer is showing that she is still in love/has feelings for someone she used to be with. Him and his new partner have come round to the house and she is having memories of their time together, i believe this shows evidence that it is based around one of the original narratives; Tristan and Iseult which is about a love triangle. In this video she still loves him, but he is now 'spoken for' by being in a relationship with another woman.


Tzvetan Todorov (1977)
• Stage 1: A point of stable equilibrium, where 
everything is satisfied, calm and normal.
At the start of the video, everything is alright and we just see people we think are friends visiting her house. Everybody appears happy and calm with the situation. 

• Stage 2: This stability is disrupted by some kind of 
force, which creates a state of disequilibrium.
The main character and the man start begin to show a tension, when they knock arms with each other and also when he accidentally walks into her. 

• Stage 3: Recognition that a disruption has taken 
place.
The two characters look at each other, the things also cause her to get flashbacks of their time together, we then realize that they used to be a couple. It is after the tension between them is recognised

• Stage 4: It is only possible to re-create equilibrium 
through action directed against the disruption.
Gwen the main character in the narrative is acting against the tension by being overly friendly and also trying to get on with the other woman. She is acting against wanting to talk to the man and be like old times, so diffuses the situation by engaging in group chat.

• Stage 5: Restoration of a new state of equilibrium. 
The consequences of the reaction is to change the 
world of the narrative and/or the characters so that 
the final state of equilibrium in not the same as the 
initial state.
 All the characters appear to be getting on, outside the house and the songs lyrics are reflecting this 'I know we're cool' she's acknowledging that theyre no longer going out but are now okay with each other. She has accepted the new lady.



Friday 17 October 2014

An example of a Theory which helped to develop my ideas - A type of music video I did not like.



I decided to do this post because I came aross this video on YouTube when looking for inspiration for my music video - I felt like this music video was a prime example of Laura Mulvey's Male Gaze Thoery. The whole idea of this video is too show off the men and objectify the women of the video, showing off their curves. The way the first man we see is surrounded by woman who are not wearing many clothes means that the music video is here to make the song look better. As I have learnt it is important for an arstist to have a music video along side the song to help promote it - but I think this song shows off ladies to the extreme to get more popularity for the song. Tyga the rapper is wearing expensive jewelery to show his wealth, which fits with the Rap genre.
After watching this video I know I want to create a much more narrative based music video with some live performance. This song is of a different genre which makes me feel I have chosen the right song and genre because I do not like the style of this music video that send out messages of woman who are there to please the men. It conforms with Laura Mulvey's theory in this way. I think the way the main lady is dressed in a bikini and has the ideal figure shows the videos aim is to attract male fans.

History of Medium

Thursday 2 October 2014

Treatment


I want to portray a boy and a girl, in a love story the song talks about being able to go home - using conventional shot types and editing to the beat of the song I want to make it visually interesting. The pace changes throughout so it allows for difference speeds instead of too fast or to slow. I want to use imagery that is iconic of the lyrics so its tells the narrative of the song as it goes along. I will use lip syncing for the male and female singing parts. I want to include a part in the song that is instrumental and quiet singing, my actors dancing with each other in front of a projection of Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers to represent that old style romance is still alive. Without the sound out and my song chosen song still playing.

Friday 19 September 2014

Initial Ideas:Narrative&General Ideas

Some initial narrative ideas I have come up with for Home By Now by BBC, I think there are 3 approaches I could go down when creating a narrative. I would like to create a music video showing the relationship between two people, not necessarily the traditional 'cheesy' love story,but a modern take on a couple. It could be showing just good friends or a couple, but is showing how they mean something to each other and how they are willing to travel and put effort in to see each other. I want to use editing to the beat, the change in pace during the instrumental would make an interesting time to use montage editing. I would like the pictures to start slow and get faster as the music does. I also have a idea where it is a medium close up shot of the singers (one at a time) and its lots of pictures one after another when they're mining the part that is quieter and slower and over lapping each other. Creates a bit of  serial look as the sound is not conventional as in it has more of an echoing sound. - Stop motion.

Lyric Timings

0.00-0.31 (Instrumental introduction)
0.32- 0.36 If you wanna ride, you can come out and see me
0.37-0.40 I could be home by now
0.42- 0.47 If you wanna ride, you can come out and see me
0.48-0.51 I could be home by now

0.52- 0.54 When the whistle blows
0.55-0.57 And we pull out slow
0.58- 1.01 This is where I build my home
1.03-1.08 And I wait for you so patiently
1.09 - 1.12 Letting you find your own

1.14- 1.20 If you wanna try, you can come out and see me
1.20-1.24 I could be home by now
1.25-1.30 But anywhere I am, tell me you're waiting for me
1.31-1.34 I could be home by now

1.36-1.40 If you wanna try, you can come out and see me
1.41-1.44 I could be home by now
1.46-1.51 If you wanna try, you can come out and see me
1.52-1.55 I could be home by now

2.17-2.23 When I am old, let the tension flee
2.24-2.28 I was born crying out and it's come back to me
2.29-2.33 When everyone else is setting up to fall
2.34-2.38 I'll just think back on it all

2.40-2.44 I'll remember long drives, sitting in the back
2.45-2.48 Looking out and endless snow,
2.50-2.55 Waiting in the silence, if you won't spill your heart,
2.56-3.00 I'll chase you for the words you owe
3.03-3.10 And you and you know and they're begging "come home"
3.11-3.20 And you and you know and they're begging "come home"
3.21-3.31 And you and you know and they're begging "come home"
3.32-3.39 And you and you know and they're begging
3.40-4.34 - A slow and echoing singing
  "come home"(If you wanna ride, I could be home by now)

And you and you know and they're begging "come home"

(If you wanna ride, I could be home by now)
And you and you know and they're begging "come home"
(If you wanna ride, you can come out and see me
I could be home by now)
And you and you know and they're begging "come home"
(If you wanna ride, you can come out and see me
I could be home by now)
 And you and you know and they're begging "come home"
4.34 (END)

Lyrics Analysis

I have analysed the lyrics from my song, I think it tells a story but perhaps not at directly as some other songs would.

 


Wednesday 17 September 2014

My chosen song

This is a band I have seen live 3 times, so I really felt I wanted to make a music video that would do justice to one of the songs of their latest albums. My interpretation of this song was that it was a love story. But when listening in depth to the lyrics I think they are singing about wanting someone back and/or that they are willing to wait for this person. The beat is not extremely fast but this song appealed to me because of the narrative I would be able design around it. I am going to take inspiration from how the music was preformed live, as well as looking at live and studio versions uploaded to YouTube. Some photos have been included that I have taken/have been taken whilst seeing them.