Christmas Filming

Over the past week I have thankfully finished my filming! Of course whilst editing the footage I will know for sure if this is the case, but I am confident I have some great performance shots which is what I set out to do.

I managed to capture some gorgeous performance shots in a field, it sounds basic but it looks really powerful due to the lighting and background; really accentuates the ongoing rural type theme. Originally, I had planned to get some performance shots in a petite 'wendy house' type location however I went off this idea as I felt it might break the theme of the video and appear a bit to random. My music video very much has the same flow throughout and would really like to accentuate this as much as I can.

We filmed late afternoon jut before the sunset so the lighting was really atmospheric and looked a bit like this...

I am excited to edit and see how all the footage looks together...

Symbolism

There a various visual metaphors used in my piece, one of which is the symbolism of the horses used throughout my music video symbolising the urgency and passion within their relationship. Horse riding is clearly a hobbie of the main character's, this becomes clear when she is horse riding on her own but also when her love is leading the horse for her.

Another visual metaphor is the use of the flower. Instead of questioning her love for this man by peeling of the petals of the flower in a 'love me, love me not' motion, the petal picking is in reverse and so gives the idea of a content, complete love.

The use of the wheel borrow presents a comical lift to the video exploring the laughter and joy within their relationship.

Ideas for my final filming over christmas..

I would like to have many more performance shots that can just be slotted in where need be here are some of my ideas...
-Retreating to a shed where she is reflecting on her emotions
- More intimate, close up shots to put in between the visual, metaphorical shots
- Possibly more close ups of the male gazing at his love
- Shot locations: under a tree, on a swing.

Editing Process..

I have been editing for a while and have structured my video by reviewing the footage and referring to my storyboard. Although set out nicely, my footage does have a few spaces that can be filled with more performance based shots. My actress lives in Wales and therefore is not around to film on demand, I am determined to film the last few shots over Christmas when she is home and by that point I will have edited  to the point that I can just slip the performance shots in.

Editing Decisions...

I need to decide whether to have my flashbacks in black and white and the est of the footage in colour... or if I have the flashbacks in colour (signifying joy and happiness) and the footage in black and white.
Here is an example of a shot of my footage both in black and white...

Reviewing Footage

After uploading my footage, I realised I had more than I had anticipated.
All the shots have great lighting and I am really pleased with the colours, I had imagined either the 'flashback's or the performance sections in black or white, I am yet to experiment and decide which will work best.
Due to the late change of actress, I imagined I would have to do film on several more occasions for performance shots, but this was by no means the case.
I would however like to do a few more metaphorical shots to give my piece depth and meaning.
I am hoping to do this this weekend, however I no longer have access to my actress as she is abroad...
My footage so far is promising, I just need to get as much material as I can incase I need to fill any time in my video.

Countryside: Dead Frogs, Angry Cows & Pretty Horses.

Filming this week didn't go fully to plan...

Extremely close to the start of my filming my main actress pulled out; I then had twelve hours before the start of filming  to find a new actress, show her the song, explain the concept etc etc, my other actor however was still up for it.
Somehow, I managed to pull it out of the bag and it worked out amazingly. I had beautiful weather, beautiful locations and my two actors worked amazingly well with each other to create wonderful chemistry on screen; I could not have wished for a better outcome.

I visited various locations in the countryside, some however where quite a shock when we came across cows that were shouting at other cows in the field opposite. The more I saw inspired me with more and more shots, we also went to a farm where we were able to film lots such as a tree-house, feed chickens, get lots of shots around the stables and even had my actress riding on a beautiful white horse in the sunshine!

As my actress was informed of this whole idea twelve hours before she had to be up and ready to hit the countryside, she obviously didn't know many lyrics. We tried to nail in a couple of verses in the car on the way there but it just wasn't enough time. For this reason, I think I might have to film again just with the main character or some performance shots that I can weave into the footage I got from the countryside.

Despite the huge panic 12 hours before shooting, it all worked out wonderfully. It seems everything happens for a reason...

An e-mail confirming location...

Lovely to hear from you.

It would be a pleasure to help you and I can set this up for you no problem.

I can show you some lovely areas of countryside, you'll be spoilt for choice.

Shame it's not today with the lovely sunshine.  The autumn colours will be amazing!

Can firm up details over the weekend.

Caroline X

FILMING SCHEDULE

My aim is to film all my shots in the countryside; even the private domain shots to ensure a country feel in everyway.

I am planning to be filming on a farm, but am waiting for confirmation, once that is all sorted it shall be very exciting.

This half term I am determined to get lots of footage done in one day to ensure the weather is the same for a set of shots, and show I am obeying the rules of continuity.

MONDAY 24^th OCT – Trip to the countryside…Stable shots, Meadow shots, Trees, Petals MAJORITY OF NATURE.

TUESDAY 25th OCT- Lakes, Ponds, any left over…this can be done locally

WEDNESDAY26th OCT- PRIVATE DOMAIN…a country house/ farmhouse (awaiting confirmation).

THURSDAY27thOCT-  ANY key shots that need to be repeated/ edited.




I will be taking my storyboard with me to guide my ideas for different shots. This is my storyboard, I am certainly not the best of artists.

Here are some ideas of visuals to match with lyrics, these will aid my specific shots.

Locations & Actors

I have finally chosen an actress for my piece, this is Becky.
I have chosen Becky as she has a natural, classy look about her which is exactly what I imagined for my music video. Becky would look good in soft, floaty clothes to symbolising the reflective mood or the piece. Due to the sorts of locations I am looking in to, Becky would also be in 'country life' attire, such as jackets and hunter boots.

Becky is also a performer so will be able to cope with the necessities that come with a music video such as lip syncing, performing in sometimes odd locations and portraying emotions through this performance.

I imagine my music video to be set in the countryside, locations such as meadows, stables, lakes/ ponds support the 'nature' idea to my music video.
The song really gives me a sense of clear minded reflection that can be explored through the idea of nature.

I shall keep this in mind throughout the filming and editing process in order to successfully appeal to my target audience.

Gender Representation

GENDER REPRESENTATION
In our previous class, we looked at how gender was represented in the video of Pussycat Dolls 'Buttons'.
In this video, the dolls are in an abandoned warehouse type place and are dancing rather seductively in different ways. It seems the gaze in from the point of Snoop dog as he starts the video and is clearly watching something... we know he is watching the girls as the head doll Nicole joins him in the shot. The rest of the video is designed to seem as if we are watching it though his eyes.

Where as the girls have very little clothing on, Snoop is very covered up in a hoodie where all you can see is his face, this is a huge contrast to the girls. 'The gaze' very much focuses on the body parts of the girls, lots of leg shots, ab shots and many direct, seductive looks to the camera. At the climax of the song, we are shown a shot of a steamy glass panel where all you can see is the girl's silhouette, this really accentuates the voyeurism present in the video.

In connection to my video, I would like to go the opposite way to the representation of the pussycat dolls and have the woman in my video much more sophisticated and elegant. 

MOOD BOOD

TRACK CONFIRMED

I am happy to have heard back from one artist who has given the OK for me to use her original track 'Emotional High' which I found on the unsigned.com website. 

AUTEUR THEORY

(French for author)

• ·         This is the idea that the artistic director’s creative style is so strong it is distinctively reflected through their work.
• ·         ‘The best films will bear their maker’s signature’...Whether it be a stamp of personality or ongoing motif.

Goodwin's Theory

Goodwin’s Analysis Theory (Applied to Alicia Keys- Falling)

·         

Music videos demonstrate ‘genre characteristics’- style & iconography

         The style in this video has an urban feel to it; this is also shown when she takes a walk through her neighbourhood. Alicia Keys falls in to the R&B/Soul category; the multiple shots of her performing the lyrics and playing the piano really reflect this. 

·          There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics.

          In this video, the lyrics very much conduct the narrative we see on screen, there is lots of lip syncing especially at the start of the video where Alicia is playing the piano and singing.  At certain points in the song when she says ‘you’ she repeatedly looks directly at the camera which emphasises the point she is making.

 There is also a close up shot of Alicia at the point in the lyrics where she says ‘I’m confused’. This shot really accentuates the vulnerability of her at this moment and captures the atmosphere of the song.

 There is a relationship between the music and the visuals

     The video opens with shots of Alicia playing the piano which emphasises the melody we are hearing in the song, the pace of the editing also changes with the pace of the visuals. For example, when she sings ‘oh, oh,oh, oooh’ shots change with each ‘oh’.

          We also see shots of prisoners looking very desperate in a field where they are clearly doing hard labour work. They then all come together to sing, this is a very powerful shot and amplifies the atmosphere of the song.

The record label’s demands...

The opening shot’s really set the atmosphere for both the foreboding video and the audio we are hearing. Alicia Key’s is known for her incredible talent in her piano playing and her amazing voice; the opening shots and close ups are key to her brand image.

There are also powerful shots where Alicia is on her own performing the lyrics.

    

  Intertextual reference

At the beginning we hear another of Alicia’s songs playing through the radio,  this provides further gratification/ pleasure for her fans; also something for them to relate to Alicia with.

       Voyeurism not present...

          In this video, Alicia Keys is very much in control of her feelings and appears strong and is a good representation for women.

Music Video Analysis

A NARRATIVE PERFORMANCE...

This music video shows Kanye West’s journey through the time of his injury in his jaw which was a result of a car crash. The video includes a montage of images, memories and characters that supported him through this time, the lyrics very much explain the material we are seeing.

TARGET AUDIENCE?

This video very much proves the determinism of this artist despite having his mouth ‘wired shut’; this is therefore a thank you to his fans, followers and family who have supported him through this time and show them that nothing will stop him making music.

CHARACTERS?

The characters in the video are all genuine people that mean something to Kanye, for example there is shot of himself and his mother (clearly meaningful relationship to Kanye)  at a private domain in their own home. We also see close friends of Kanye’s and also clips of his fans, at various performances. At the very end of the video, we are introduced to a picture on the wall behind Kanye which is in fact the album cover for Chaka Khan, who’s song ‘through the fire’ was the sample for Kanye’s ‘through the wire’. He also looks directly at the camera at this point and the words ‘Thank you.’ Appear on the screen, this again shows this is a meaningful relationship to Kanye.

TYPES OF SHOTS?

At the beginning, there is a black fill on the screen with white writing giving a brief overview as to what the following video was about . There is a diary theme to the video, with a montage of clips/ photos explaining and remembering his journey ‘through the wire’. These clips consisted of support messages, friends comical messages covering the emotional side of the journey and lots of medical pictures and videos exploring the clinical side of the journey. At the end, the shot takes us away from the montage, Kanye appears as if he had been looking at the montage meaning we were seeing it through his eyes. Behind Kanye is Chaka Khan’s album cover which is the artist who sampled ‘through the wire’ with her own ‘through the fire’. This is reflected earlier in the video when fire burns out one of the diary entries.

LYRIC CONNECTION TO VIDEO? 
There is a strong connection between the song’s lyrics and the visual of the video. Kanye is expressing his emotions of this time both through what he is saying and what we as an audience see, both sources compliment each other. For example,Kanye says ‘if you could feel how my face felt’ and we see a picture of his swollen jaw.

BRAND IMAGE/ATMOSPHERE

Kanye West appears very strong and determined through the video as he battles with an obstruction that too many would leave them speechless. Yet Kanye manages to make light of the situation and record a song. There is a strong sense of determinism in this video on Kanye’s part; however the nature of the video is himself looking back over a certain period of his life.  He comes across proud and thankful that he pulled through and this therefore gives this video has a reminiscent atmosphere to it.

This video really showed me how clever you can be with a narrative and include hundreds of little twists to make up a great story. By using so many different clips and images along with different characters, you manage to keep your audience intrigued and wanting to see more- a key aspect to a music video.

Inspiration...

Most memorable music videos…Inspiring?

The video for Justin Timberlake’s ‘What goes around comes back around’ is one of my favourite music videos due to the film like nature of the video and was ranked as itunes fasted selling music video of all time. The video begins with titles slowly appearing on a black screen accompanied by eerie sounds, which sets the atmosphere and forebodes events to come later in the video.

Shortly after the titles, we see a short dialogue between Justin Timberlake and his ‘love interest’ of the video, which is played by Scarlett Johansson, this dialogue was written by Nick Cassavetes who successfully adapted the screen play in order to make this song in to a short film. Award winning Samuel Bayer directed the video and included the two minute interlude from the track of which he used to his advantage to create the climax of the video.

This video has really inspired me to have some sort of dramatic performance either side of the soundtrack to have more of a short-film feel to it.

                                                         

Inspired...

Justin Timberlake’s ‘what goes around’ has showed me that a music video doesn’t mean starting when the song starts, and ending when the song ends. It’s about beginning a story, creating a world and ending that story or even leaving open to interpretation. I really like the idea of maybe breaking the song in the middle for the climax of my narrative and then bringing back the song for effect.

Quest to find an unsigned artist…

At first I thought I would find an artist with no hassle, but the more I contacted, the harder I found it! Also, I think I may have too high expectations for the song, so I may need to just see what I am able to have and work with what I’ve got. After all, it’s not the lyrics that are being examined, it’s my creativity!

The task for the advanced production is to produce a media portfolio, comprising of:

a) the main task, to produce a music promo for the single from the album/digipack. The music chosen must be copyright free/copyright permission given from the record company/artist. The music promo must reflect the forms and conventions of the pop video itself plus the forms and conventions of the genre of music.

b) subsidary task, is to produce the packaging for the digipack ie. the album plus video extras. This is to be produced on photoshop in the form of a net which then produces the album cover.

c) to produce a magazine advert for the digipack.
Both tasks B and C also need to reflect the forms and conventions of the media product and the music genre.

Title Research

In her shoes

·         Titles have contrasting- relation to characters? Colours- red and yellow.

·         Track played throughout, no lyrics quite a modern feel.

·         Second name comes in red and backwards but sorts itself out- relation to characters?

·         Two clips introducing characters- contrasting content

·         We see a pair of black high heels and a pair of mens shoes relation to title of film?

Love actually

·         Bright picture opening title sequence symbolises harmony and peace- relation to title?

·         Classical music

·         Examples of love shown in clip of different ages, races etc.

·         Voice over talking about love and includes the setting that we see ‘Heathrow airport’

·         ‘Love is actually, all around’ relation to title

·         Titles all have first letter in red- relation to title where ‘love’ is in red followed by actually in white.

Love and basketball

·         Simplistic

·         Acapella voice singing ‘love and happiness’ as first words –relation to the title carries on in acapella

·         First title is ‘ First Quarter’ – relation to basketball/ high school theme music comes in fully after this title

·         Clips start straight into film sets scene characters, music over top

·         Few minutes in, ‘Love and basketball’ in handwriting appears on black screen, a heart looking like a basketball appears next to it in red the sound of a basketball going in the net is heard- Relation to title

A lot like love

·         ‘7 years ago’ first and only title for a while –sets time

·         Sound of aeroplane taking off is heard, this proceeds shot

·         Film begins with naturalistic sounds.

The Holiday

·         Piano melody we hear is actually being played by a character- introduction to character

·         What we see is almost a trick, it zooms out and is actually on the characters monitor

·         Voice over begins narrative and introduces characters within the narrative

·         What we see now matches what’s being said

      Possible titles

       ...Pictures Present

...Production

Music by ...

Casting by...

Photography by...

Production design by...

Executive producers... + ...

Yesterday in class, we pitched our ideas to the class and teacher.

Originally, I thought I would be doing a thriller, after the day at the BFI (which I found very useful) I had an idea that wouldn't budge from my mind. Although everybody was saying that thrillers don't gain the greatest marks due to their lack in originality, I was sure that my idea was different. However, the idea was so strong in my mind that if I wasn't able to create it practically, I would be disappointed. For this reason I chose to do a more lighthearted romantic comedy.