Final Music Video

Reasons behind changing ideas..

The original storyboard we had was completely different to the final music video posted. In the story board we had a lot of adventurous scenes needed to be filmed, which we didn't have the acting skills to do, time to do or places to do. Therefore during filming we realised this and decided to just film as much as we could, but along with some other 'on the spot' ideas any of my team had. For example, we originally had numerous muggings, and a scene where a girl finds the balaclava and throws it in the bin. However, the original actors we had in mind weren't available on the day of filming so we had to cut that bit out, and replace it with some of the 'on the spot' ideas. Some of the smaller scenes we originally had also had to be cut, which didn' make a difference in the short run, but when a few more had been cut because they didn't look right i started to notice there was a lot of gaps that needed to be filled. We had filmed a lot of bloopers and funny scenes of the day of filming which i had still marked up but dismissed them, so i decided to go back and look if any of them could fit in with the storyline. For example, there is one of the main actor messing around and jumping out of the camera man, so i added that in to emphasise the control the balaclava had on its wearer. Some of the on the spot ideas came in useful in filling gaps in footage also. One of these being when we filmed the view of the traffic, we had the idea of filming the actors feet from behind walking up the stairs, which could then be sped up in the editing phase.

Below is a clip from my music video which shows some of the bloopers being used, and also the clip of the feet walking from behind.

Overcoming Editing Problems

When looking back at our recorded footage, i realised that the only footage we had of dean putting on the balaclava didn't look right. We then tried to make the music video without it included but realised it didn't make sense as people who watched it wasn't sure how he got the balaclava on. We came up with the solution of playing the clip of him taking off the balaclava in reverse so it looks like it's him putting it on then leaving.

Another problem we had during editing the footage of the actors singing the lyrics all looked the same and because they were filmed against the sun, you could't see the miming properly. To overcome this, we adjusted the brightness setting to make it clearer. To overcome the problem of them all looking the same, we matched the beat to zooms onto the face. At the end of one bit of miming, the word 'crime' is said after a short pause, so i zoomed into the mimer's mouth to make it look more interesting.

Speed was also a very important part of my music video, and i felt that to get the best looking music video i had to make sure that the beat fitted with what was happening on screen. Therefore certain clips had to be faster/slower to fit in. Below if a video of all the bits of my music video i either slowed down or sped up to achieve the best video i could.

Editing

This clip shows me arranging my clips in the process of making my music video. I shortened some clips to finish it off, along with rearranging the remaining clips to make sure it fitted with the length of the track

Editing- Synching Up.

This clip shows me editing my music video- synching up the track to the video. I started by unlocking the audio track enabling me to move it. I had to guess where to move it, and keep going by process of trial and error. When it was synched up I relocked the audio to stop me accidentally moving it again.

VLOG

VLOG from Emily Fallows on Vimeo.

Three Column Storyboard

New Marking Up Footage

When I begin editing my footage, it's vital that I know where all the clips are, and what each clip shows to save time. In iMovie, I created two bins named part 1 and part 2, referencing the two different sections of clip I filmed separately.

If I opened one of these bins, I find a series of bins with different names and a 3 digit code, for example BS1, which means balaclava struggle 1.

If I wanted a certain bit of footage, I would open one of these folders and use my code to figure out what bit of footage shows what to select it.

The code to decide which bit of footage to use is the following,

Marking Up Footage

In class today, we learnt the skill of marking up footage. This means to keep a code for your footage so that you know what each bit is without watching it, making it easy to find and edit footage in the future.            To demonstrate this skill, i used different bits of filming from previous students to order it using my own code, keeping a record of the code on a spreadsheet. This is an image of the different bins- referring to the first 2 digits of the code.

If i then opened one of these bins, for example Bin 1 (Project 1) i would see the following.





















To know what the code means, i would check my spreadsheet, which tells me each individual code, and what type of footage it is, and a copy of what the code means.

Conventions

Conventions

Lyrical Interpretation is any way that a director chooses to interpret lyrics into a music video. Different lyrics could be interpreted in different ways by any one, so by interpreting them in a certain way in the video creates a visual interpretation. In Dizzee Rascal- Sirens, the director has made a clear difference between what is heard in the lyrics and what is seen in the video. This would be done to make the audience think about the song in a different way, compared to what they originally thought.

Extending/Consolidating Meaning is two very different things. To extend meaning in a music video is to take the audience past what they originally thought the song meant, by adding another layer of meaning into the music video. This would be done to make the audience re-think their first ideas, and could be said to happen in Dizzee Rascal’s Sirens. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPpxxrl0xhM In this video, you think its about young people being arrested, but its about the way young people are viewed in society and that becomes clear in the video, especially between 3:11 and 3:20. Consolidating meaning is the opposite of this, and is a music video, which cements what you originally thought about the song in the video, showing the same thing. An example of this is K Koke’s I’m Back video, where he sings about coming out of prison and having fun, and that’s what’s shown in the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mpt6zhdlgGk

Allusion means making an indirect reference to another person, piece of work, place or object in your music video. An example of this is on the radio show Fire in the Booth, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqgtYHlKhqA  where K Koke makes references to Stonebridge, the place he grew up throughout the whole song. This could be done to show respect for the place/person being referenced, or in a negative way to make fun out of them.

Links to Other Artists are links made from one artist to another in a song or music video. An example of this is Eminem, who makes links to Dr Dre in many of his songs. This could be done for different reasons, either to associate

with this artist or to disassociate yourself with them. Eminem uses this to associate himself with Dr Dre, as he is an influential person in the music industry, and being known to associate with Dr Dre would be good for your career. On the other hand, Eminem often links with Michael Jackson, making fun out of him and therefore disassociating himself with him. This could be done if the artist is being viewed negatively in the media, so by disassociating yourself with them you are popular with current public opinion.

Interpretive are those that allow the viewers to watch it and make different interpretations of what the video is about, gaining different meaning of it. In Pink’s music video for Try, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTCDVfMz15M she sings about a break up, but shows a dance where she attacks her partner with paint. This could be seen as a dance, or fighting depending on how the audience see it. Making an interpretive music video allows the audience to make their own decisions about what the artist is singing about, and sometimes they want to watch it again and again to understand it.

Techniques

Techniques

Cutting to Beat refers to when a music video mirrors a beat in the song. This doesn’t have to be done on every beat but is done when you want to draw attention to either something happening in the song or video, which can be done by making the beat of the song match a changing shot or color in the video. This can be seen in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rItjtkz4-Y between 0:46 and 0:53.

Effects describe different techniques you can use in a music video to emphasize what’s going on in the video. For example slowing down/ speeding up footage is a good way for artists to draw attention to what’s happening in the video. Effects could also be adding colour, or adding animation. This can be seen in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBpWdwXzpMk between 1:00 and 1:10.

Mime/Lip Sync is how music videos are made, and is a technique where the video of an artist singing the song is taken, the audio is taken off and then synched up so it looks like the artist is singing the recorded song. This is done to stop the artist having to sing perfectly and perform in the video at the same time, so singing isn’t even needed as long as they are miming the song. Lip-synching is true for most music videos.

Camera Movement/Angles are seen in most music videos and there are many different angles that can be used. A high angle is used to make the artist look small, and a low angle gives the artist power/dominance. If you’re filming a live show, making camera movements prominent show excitement and add energy, allowing the audience to enjoy it more. Camera movements also emphasize talent, doing a close shot of a guitarist would showcase how well he can play, for example.

Chroma Key is a special effects technique where one colour is removed from viewing and made transparent, so an image can be put in behind for example, or to make usually impossible things possible. Also you could use chroma key to make one colour stay in place, when all other colours are black and white. It’s commonly used in all types of media, from music videos to news forecasters, and can be seen in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSQUOMCnOBg

Styles

Styles

Parody is a piece of media created to mock, or comment on a pre existing piece of work. It is usually very specific, mocking one thing whether it be an artist or singer. Eminem’s We Made You video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSdKmX2BH7o  is a parody of numerous artists including Amy Winehouse, Kim Kardashian and Jessica Simpson. One reason this is done could be to make others laugh at the artists they are referring to, and like Eminem more for pointing out their faults.

Homage is a show of respect or dedication to something, done in an artistic yet serious way. An example of this is Beyoncé’s Single Ladies music video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m1EFMoRFvY where she pays homage to Bob Fossey’s choreography.  

Pastiche is an imitation of another’s work, usually done in a lighthearted tongue-in-cheek. It is usually done quite respectfully and is broad, imitating a whole genre. In one of Blink 182’s music videos they pastiche various boy bands and a GAP advert. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ht5RZpzPqw

Referencing means making references to another artist or piece of media in your work. This could be as vague as referencing a genre of music. In Just Lose It, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dcVOmEQzKA Eminem references Michael Jackson the whole way through. This could be done in a positive way, or a negative way in this case.

Animation is the display of images to create the illusion of movement. There are many different types of animation that can be used, such as CGI; full animation or rotoscoping. Animation can be seen in The Gorillaz music videos, and could be used to set themselves apart from other groups in the same genre, making them notably different.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLnkQAeMbIM

Genre-Specific music videos are those that are in keeping with others from the same genre. They share characteristics depending on the genre, one example being rap videos. Rick Ross has parts of his music videos that portray his wealth and popularity through expensive cars and female attention, typical for rap videos. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTJYn1SFGas

In-Concert (Live) music videos are those that use footage filmed from one of their gigs or shows as their music video. This can be seen in the Arcade Fire video for Ready To Start, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oI27uSzxNQ This could be done for many reasons, to save money making a music video, but also to showcase their popularity through the number of people attending the gig.

Narrative music videos tell story through a series of connected events the viewer can follow. This would keep the viewer interested, as they want to know how the story ends, and can be seen in K Koke’s Turn Back, where he shows the story of a young girl forced to sell drugs for money.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=porH0c2uM9A