Final Music Video!

After a spending months planning, filming and editing our final sequence for our music video, "Narcissistic Cannibal", is complete! The final version includes the story of Noxa and her version of a personal purgatory, which takes place in a never-ending forest, that taunts her through eery signs that have been left for her. We mixed this in with artistic shots that are metaphors for our character and how she is feeling during the song. We have all worked so hard to create this video and we now, finally, have completed it!

Shotgun Records presents Noxa - 'Narcissistic Cannibal':

A Trip To The British Film Institute

For a trip we went to the British Film Institute to learn about making music videos and to meet a music video director for a Q&A. The trip was great and overall I learnt a lot and cannot wait to try out everything I have learnt.

If the powtoon does not show up please use this link:

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Making an Animatic

Over the past few lessons my group and I have been working on an animatic to help us gain a better idea of what we want to film for our music video. We have sketched out the shots on post-it notes and have taken pictures of these notes before starting to edit the images alongside the corresponding lyric or sound.

Although we do not have enough shots for the entire  song we still have a lot of shots to film whilst we come up with new ideas. The animatic gives us an idea on what lyrics in the song have shots related to them and how they will look.

Performance Shots - McBusted: Air Guitar Analysis

Performance shots are used in many videos of all sorts of genres as they allow the audience to see the band in action and can create a facade that the viewer is watching them perform like they would if they were watching them live. Many performance shots are similar in the fact that it is just the artist or band lip-syncing their song, sometimes with added props or instruments so I decided that I wanted to find a performance video that brought something new to performance shots as I know them. I remember watching, one of my favourite bands, McBusted's "Air Guitar" when it first came out and it came to mind when thinking of a new performance shot.

 

For a majority of the video McBusted are seen in a hall and are playing their instruments and lip-syncing while being surrounded by and cheered on by a crowd of, presumably, there fans. To match the song lyrics the instruments and sometimes even a band members body disappears, just like a air guitar would not actually be there! It is a clever use of performance shots that still match the lyrics of the song in such a interesting way.

 

 

 

 

My favourite shot in the entire video is when the band is 'teleported' to a field with no instruments. This could be a metaphor for how the hall filled with their fans is actually all in their mind as they play their air instruments. The editing on this particular scene is amazing as it is so smooth and all of this scene is still a performance shot and it adds something new to the video rather than them simply standing, singing and playing their instruments.

 

 

This video is really creative and if my group and I decide to use performance shots I defiantly want to add something new to the shot, just like McBusted have done, to make the sequence more visually interesting.

Carol Vernallis's Theory

Carol Vernallis has a theory on music videos called "The Kindest Cut: Function and Meanings of Music Video Editing". Her theory explains that there are 4 main aspects of a music video:

• Narrative
• Editing
• Camera Movement and Framing
• Diegesis

NARRATIVE

Vernallis states that a music video is a response to the music, meaning the song comes first and the video is based around the sound and lyrics. She also states that the narrative of a music video does not need to be complete, this is shown through artistic narrative that leave the viewer questioning what they have just seen. Other narrative stories can leave the audience hanging by not completing the story or answering the questions that they raised in the video. A video that leaves many unanswered questions is Green Day's "21 Guns". After researching the plot it turns out that the couple in the video robbed a bank and the police are shooting their apartment but this plot is very unclear and requires several re-plays to fully get a understanding on what is happening:

EDITING

The editing of a music video typically has to match the tone and beat of the song and the most common cut to achieve this effect is the jump cut. Unlike a film a music video requires a different method of editing as continuity edits are not needed as much as they would be in a film. Rules such as the 30 and 180 degree rule do not apply as strongly and the transitions between texts are something noticeable, however this brings back the viewers attention.

CAMERA MOVEMENT AND FRAMING

Vernallis believes that music videos contain camera angles that move in time to the music and more extreme shots, such as close-ups and establishing shots, to show the characters emotions and expressions in more details to get a better feel of the song and how the character is reacting to the lyrics. There is always a theme amongst all of the shots which usually relates back to the lyrics. This is similar to the unanswered questions. A video were there are many close-ups and long shots is Eminem's "Love The Way You Lie". The close-ups of the two characters capture their emotions and how they are reacting to the story, Rihanna and Eminem also have some close-ups where they are serious faced to match the tone of the song. Eminem also moves in time to the music when we is shown in the field to help create a sense of rhythm and pace within the song:

DIEGESIS

Diegesis is the world created inside a video and how the characters react and behave to match the narrative that is at play. Characters may move in time to the music and the video and shot could hint or show glimpses of a characters personality and their mood from the way they are presented but will never fully disclose who the character is and why they are the person that they are in the video. This similar to the narrative as there can be many unanswered questions about the characters presented in the video.

Goodwin's Theory

Andrew Goodwin stated that there is a theory behind music videos that involve 6 different points:

• Genre Characteristics
• Relationship between lyrics and visuals
• Relationship between music and visuals
• Star Image
• Intertextual References
• Voyeurism

As the genre of out chosen song is a alternative song with a hint of rock to it I wanted to find a song of a similar genre and see if it matches Goodwin's theory. I chose Paramore's "Only Exception", the song is more of a rock song that ours but it still falls under the same genre:

  

The genre characteristics of this type of music are that there will be performance shots, which there are plenty of. The singer is surrounded by the musicians whilst she holds the microphone and sings which is a common feature of music videos of this genre.

The lyrics of the song explain that the person in the song will never fall in love because of her parent's marriage falling apart, however she falls in love with a man and he is the 'only exception' to this rule. The visuals follow this and tell the story of the woman and how she decides to stay with him through a unique set where each door leads to the next part of the story development. The visuals do not precisely follow the lyrics as the performance shots break the flow of narrative but the story is linked to the idea of falling and realising you're in love.

The scene with her father could link back to the theme of love as the main protagonist loves her parents, as her father is the parent shown it is likely she prefers him, which shows a different kind of love and that she will still love her father even though she never wants a romantic partner.

The music and visuals are interesting as overall the colours are fairly faded but not so much that the scene looks washed out. Love songs usually contain a lot of pinks and reds and there is a particular scene where these colours are used but overall the visuals are fairly normal. As a sad sounding song with happy lyrics the visuals are not overall sad, except for the sad looks given from the character, yet the visuals are not extremely colourful like a happy, positive song would be. A small detail that stands out to me is during the wedding scene the singer is wearing black, a contrast from all of the white surrounding her, and black is typically associated with darkness and depression, whereas white is pure and clean. I think this could be a small detail to show that the song is representing both the happy and sad times that can be experienced when you are in love.

Paramore's image is that they are a rock band with a female lead, they use many performance shots and have a very dedicated fan base. Although this video was created almost 5 years ago their loyal fans still adore both the song and the band and have watched the band blossom into who they are today. Their image today is still very similar to how it was back in 2010 and they still have a alternative rock style to their name which they still maintain, even after some members left. Some fans have stated that Paramore has turned into a pop group and dislike their more current music but dedicated and loyal fans will buy the songs despite the change in genre as they have watched the band grow. The band's image continues to show in both fast song (Misery Business), sad songs (Now), happy songs (Ain't it Fun) and the slower songs like Only Exception.

PARAMORE IN 2010

PARAMORE IN 2015

When watching the video again, I tried to spot some intertextuality however I could not spot anything. A small piece of information that links back to Paramore's fans. During the scene where Haley Williams can be seen lying on letters, these letters are actual letters that fans sent them. The band selected their favourite and placed them in the video and although it does not reference a TV show, film, piece of art or any other intertextuality, it does give a small nod towards their fans and their appreciation.

This video is very tasteful and at no point are gender sexualities exploited like voyeurism would suggest. Each outfit covers up everyone's body in the video, this might be because it would not match the song or visuals but also because it does not suit the band's image. However during the scene where Haley Williams is lying on the bed of letter her legs are being shown and the camera gradually shows more of her legs, this could be interpreted as the male gaze following her body down to her legs. Her body language is very open and inviting to the audience and the bird's eye shot could show her vulnerability about falling in love yet this could be taken in many different ways. Despite the music video not displaying any sexual content there is still a scene that could be interpreted as voyeurism due to her dress showing off her legs.
 

 

Overall the video ties in well with Goodwin's theory. Most of the arguments that Goodwin stated in this theory can be applied in this video and prove his theory to be correct. There are some contrasting points, such as the amount of voyeurism displayed in the video and how much the lyrics match the visuals, but overall this music video could be applied to Goodwin's theory.

Music Video Analysis - A Great Big World: "Say Something"

When talking to my group we discussed using a slow song but some issues were raised when we talked about editing. Slower songs require slower editing and that can cause the audience to lose interest and after watching a few videos we decided to think about whether we wanted to use slow song. However one of the videos we watched was A Great Big World's "Say Something" and I wanted to go back and analyse the video in more detail.

The song itself is full of emotion and has a very moving message to it: "I am here for you". Many people spoke about how sad the song was when watching it but I think there is more behind it and want to find out what it is that makes this video so emotional. When reading through the comments of the video many people were explaining their loses as the song lyrics trigger this emotional train of thought and the video itself provided images that would make maybe people feel sad. Every scene in the video takes place in the same dark and open spaced area which creates a certain atmosphere.

The opening scene starts with one of the singers from A Great Big World playing the piano in the same dark and empty room. To me, this brings out the theme of isolation due to the mist and darkness that fills the room so that nothing else can be seen. Both the piano and the singer blend into the background suggesting his own isolation in the scene.

The second scene that is introduced is two people, presumably a couple from the way they are dressed, lying on top of a mattress bed before quickly cutting back the the piano scene and the singing begins. The editing here is very smooth as it introduces a new scene but quickly cuts back for the lip syncing and then having a close-up on each of the couple's face. The man looks angry or tense whereas the woman is upset and facing away from him. This could suggest maybe narrative plots: Is the male the dominant character in the relationship? Have they fallen out of love or where they ever in love? Is one of them abused? There is also a short cut from the woman's face to a water droplet falling which I like to interpret as a tear drop, which represent the current situation of the relationship. The woman also sits up and looks over at the man but he remains lying down, looking away from her. This scene can be interpreted in many different ways which is why I think many people could relate.

During the previous scene there is a cut back to the singer and a shot introducing Christina Aguilera as the female singer. The close-ups on both singers shows there serious faces to match the somber feel of the video. A new scene is then introduced: a young girl sitting alone on her bed. The space around her is dark - which could continue with the theme of isolation - yet she is wrapped up in white sheets. I believe that this is a symbol for her being the light in the darkness and the dark in this particular scene could represent fear. The girl then hides under her covers and a short, and dark, clip plays of two adults arguing. I missed this scene when watching the video for the first time and I think it gives a lot of meaning to this scene. The adults are most likely arguing, something that no child likes to hear, so the young girl flees to her bed but when the arguing continues she hides under the bed. Everything about the girl is related back to the colour white: her clothes, her bed sheets and her bed posts showing her innocence about the whole situation, which is matched by her hiding under the bed. Under her bed is a dog and I think that the dog represents the girl. Dogs often want the attention of their owners - in the girl's case her parents - and in this case when the parents argue she hides just like the dog.

The next scene, in my opinion, is the most emotional. A hospital bed is shown with an old woman lying inside, beside her is, presumably, her husband who is crying by her bedside. The theme of this scene is love and loss and it is presented beautifully. The edits are smooth and are in time with the piano making the sequence flow. Each edit back to the elderly couple shows the true sadness of the man and how he cannot cope without his wife. The sequence is the most relatable in the entire video as it links back to the song lyrics "say something, I'm giving up on you" and captures true human sadness within a couple seconds. The shots in this scene are similar to the first one. Shots of each character's face and many of them together except, unlike the first one, the man in this scene actually shows sadness towards his partner.

The next scene is back at the piano and it reveals that all of the stories are in the same room and one by one the emotionally hurt person in the scene walks over to the centre to be group together as one. This scene is beautifully edited: the woman in the first scene gets up and walks away leaving the man only to watch her go, the young girl is offered a hand which she takes. They all then have their own walking away shot to match the line of the song "I'm saying goodbye" - a powerful line matched with powerful visuals, each character is leaving the one they love because it is time to say goodbye.

This video is one of the best videos I have ever seen and it has completely changed my opinion of slow songs. This video proves that a slow song that have a good pacing, a narrative and performance shots and still make the audience feel all sorts of emotions and that is exactly what this video does. The editing and narrative and overall look of this video is something that I strive to have in my own music video and I will defiantly be re-watching this to get more ideas during the planning phase.

Lighting Workshop Edit

When editing the lighting workshop sequence I decided to take a small section of the song and work on editing the green screen effects and some filler shots to see how well they flowed together. I also decided to use random images for the green screen to see what worked rather than linking them to the song. As there were shadows on the green screen making the all of the green disappear was a little more difficult and can still be seen in some shots. I, personally, am not a fan of green screens and I hope to avoid using one in my final piece.
This is the end result:

Lighting Workshop

Today (15/09/15) the class went to do a lighting workshop. We went to the drama room, as the black interior would make the lights brighter and better, to setup the green screen, lights and cameras. We had 3 tasks to complete during the workshop: lip-syncing in front of a green screen, reciting a horror narrative with dark lighting and an interview scene. However before we could start any of these tasks we had to setup.

After we had completed setting up we went straight into the first task: the lip-sync. The person lip-syncing would be singing "California Girls" by Katy Perry and could do whatever felt natural to them. We had two classmates do this, one lip-syncing and the other dancing with some props, in front of the green screen. The green screen would allow us to make the setting match the song lyrics (or not if we decide something else) rather than having a plain background.

Next up was the horror narrative which I had to perform and despite not being the best actress I think the effect makes up for my acting! The effect darkens half of my face to create a mysterious look which matched the script I was reading. As I did not get to see the effect until we had finished filming I was surprised and happy with the outcome. I would love to use this effect in my own music video, if we choose to have a dark theme or song.

The last task was the interview scene. We decided as a class to have the person being interviewed in front of the green screen so we could change the background, similar to the lip-sync. We had the interview off-screen so only there voice could be heard and the person being interviewed would have to make up the answers which were perfect. Overall effect was really clear and nice and it will be interesting to see how this piece is edited.

As an extra task we were ask to make a lens flare effect however we ended up making a silhouette which, in my opinion, was even better! A classmate held a rainbow coloured umbrella behind her and in front of the camera so the colours glowed and created a silhouette. This technique would be really good to use in a dark themed video as it creates a sense of mystery and the unknown.

All of the footage that we collected today will be edited together so we can test our editing skills. We can edit images into the green screen and use Adobe After Effects to make the sequence more exciting to watch.

Overall I have learnt a lot about lighting and how much it can impact a shot. There are so many techniques that would be interesting to use depending on the song of the music video. Lighting is something I will defiantly keep in mind whilst shooting our music video.

2015 Grammy Award Winning Video

In 2015 the Grammy award for "Best Music Video" was given to Pharrell Williams for his video "Happy". As of 14th September 2015 the video has a huge 23,504,379 views on Vevo and 724,650,547 views on YouTube! The song itself hit number one in charts all over the world so it was no surprise that the video was going to be a following success. The song was also originally part of the "Despicable Me 2" soundtrack, which Pharrell Williams was present on more than once, and is where the song gained its popularity. People heard the song created a word-of-mouth which lead them to the video creating more views for Pharrell Williams and Despicable Me. A good use of synergy!

I think that the reason the video was so popular is because it is just so positive! Following the song's lead the music video shows a diverse group of people all clapping, dancing and singing along with the music and it lightens the tone of any situation. Many celebrity actually make appearances throughout the video and even the minions, from the film "Despicable Me", have a dance scene!

 The song showcases people simply having fun and others that are dancer yet they all have the one thing in common which is the happy theme.

Something else I liked about the video is the editing pace. The video is edited to the beat making it quick and snappy. This also sets the tone as slower editing would created a longer effect making the video have a different atmosphere. I hope to edit my own music video in this way rather it is slow or quick so that it matches the song and visuals perfectly.

Interesting Music Videos

There are many videos that are creative and entertaining so when it came to pick 3 that I wanted to present it was a hard choice. I finally decided on 3 that I think all have their own differences and some have similarities.

Weightless - All Time Low

I found this video as I am a huge fan of the band and the video really lives up to the song. I choose it because of the unique use of subtitles to give it a humuorous and fun look to it.

Elastic Heart - Sia

I found this video through a friend and all of the controversy around surrounding it. Despite this I think it is an artistic piece that can be interpreted in many different ways.

Cheap Shots & Setbacks - As It Is

I found this video through twitter and I instantly liked it. It is a performance narrative that relates back to the song. It sends a positive and creative message to all of the listeners.

Our First Group Ideas

Today my group and I discussed possible ideas for our music video and settle on these few ideas:

Although these are only 3 small ideas they will all come together in the end and will help us to choose what we want to include in our video.

Influential Music Video Directors

There are so many talented music video directors out there and it was really difficult to pinpoint who I wanted to study as each have their own style. Some directors focus more narrative and others focus on cinematic shots which makes each music video unique, interesting and have its own design.

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Music Video Anaylsis - a-ha: "Take On Me"

Many music videos use effects and animation to bring something new to the video and capture the audience and create word-of-mouth, and back in 2010 a-ha did just that. The song "Take On Me" by a-ha really showed a new and inventive style to present a music video:

The video is made to look like moving images that are hand drawn. Later in the video this effect is explained: a girl is reading a comic book in a café.

The woman is then pulled into the comic book and becomes hand-drawn herself. This changes makes the video more visually interesting as a everyday woman has been pulled into a comic book!

The video then moves forward in a similar way. The two explore the comic world and run away from two policemen.

In the last section of the video the comic man is beaten up after the woman escapes the comic world, only for the man to come back to life and enter the normal world. He flashes between being a comic and being human before finally becoming a real man and he joins the woman in the real world.

This video is a great example of balancing narrative and interesting visuals and I believe that is why it stands out so much. It can be watched over and over in order to find out the story in more depth or to just admire the comic effect.