We have been looking at scenes shot in water in the hope that they will give us some ideas for camera angles.
In particular we liked the lilo scene from 'the graduate' (Nichols, 1967), as the fades gave the scene a really surreal and dreamy feel which we would like to emulate. It also uses similar props in a similar setting so this is a really useful clip.
Another film I looked at was 'Sunset Boulevard' (Wilder, 1950). As we want to try and experiment with shooting from under the water, this shot could be useful.
In terms of progressing our concept, we have reviewed a variety of footage from music videos and films for inspiration. One piece we looked at was from the film 'Inception' (Nolan, 2010).
The altering with physics, and playing with gravity is something artisitc we are looking to include in our music video. This will add to the illusion that he is not in a normal reality, as the laws of gravity will be broken.
We are also preparing to film parts of our music video, in the upcoming half term. Therefore, we are booking equipment, for example, a tripod, in order to start filming.
Also, as a group we have learned valuable information from audience research for our quickly approaching first shoot.
Methodology:
We made a survey using the website 'surveymonkey' to ask our sample audience specific questions about our music video, to hear their thoughts and opinions on our concepts and plans. The survey was asked to ten people, as we gained an understanding on the audience's views on the song, the narrative idea and what they wish to see in the video.
We asked a variety of closed questions, with the inclusion of open, ranked and semantic differential questions. Some of the results were as expected, these include the link to Radiohead's meta-narrative As Radiohead are a band who make artistic music videos, we wished to emulate this and our concept does this as it is an enigmatic idea that is open to interpretation.
Some of the results however were surprising, the questions that received such a response were having a male protagonist is not very important. This shows an emergent ideology from our audience, that the lead in a narrative does not have to be a traditional male role, especially in a music video for the psychedelic rock genre. There is a myth, a perception that most psychedelic rock bands need to have male leads in their videos and the group itself, but the audience challenge this in their views. Bands such as 'The Pandoras' are an example of such a group who consist of females and have psychedelic tracks in their works.
In evaluation, from analysing the results, it was a fairly successful survey as it highlighted the main areas to improve on before embarking on our shoot. We now know what areas of our concept need improving for repeatability of the video. For example, we need to include more shots that will help explain a narrative in a clearer way, as the audience stressed that a clear and believable narrative will be important to the success of our video.
We pitched our key ideas and storyline to the class in yesterday's lesson. There were a number of aspects that were positively received, yet it was clear a few areas that needed work.
People really liked our ideas to alter the effects of physics and time.
The class felt that this worked really well with the enigmatic nature of the song as well as Radiohead's meta-narrative.
The class also responded well towards our idea to experiment with the special effects and editing software.
The class seemed to think that the ending needed some work to be as strong as the opening. Our original idea was for the protagonist to appear in a room of green screens. Since our pitch we have thought of several other ideas. The most popular idea has been for the protagonist to wake up back on the lilo at the end of the video.
Another development has been with the antagonist. A possibility is for the man at the shore of the lake to be the same person as the protagonist, wearing the classic hospital gown like in '28 days later'.
Well done Jamie, Tom and Elliot. You have produced some good work this term. I am beginning to see development of ideas but as we start storyboarding, you will need to ensure that you update the blog in every lesson, considering how you have moved your concept on. You do need to look at the formatting of your blog as it is often inconsistent in font type / layout and you need to be conventional to blogs by highlighting key media terminology. Also you need to use the comment facility on the blog; you can start by reading my comments and replying to me. We need to start seeing specifics now and so this is a good time to post any other video ideas or pieces which inspire you and get the other to comment on this too.
·The genre of a Djent, Progressive Metal band is evident in the visuals of Monument’s “Gnosis” album cover. This because the detailed, chaotic and intricate imagery represents the complex music played throughout the album. Also it is common for band of this genre to construct songs based on abstract themes about life and the world we live in. Therefore the images of space and planets are conventional to the thematic material of the genre.
Media Language
·There are several visual techniques used in constructing this digipak. The most prevalent of these are the juxtaposition in colour and tone. There are major binary oppositions between light and dark with connote a sense of contrast between space and earth
·This album art work also uses several iconographic features, to reinforce a sci-fi vibe. It does this by using images of galaxies, planets and alien like symbols
·There are several meanings generated by the construction of these techniques, depending on how far a reader looks into the text. One philosophical reading a viewer could perceive is the representation of the ideology ofempiricism. This is because the universe, planets and our world are seen burning from our eyes, showing that our existence is seen and constructed through our vision and experienced by ourselves. One other meaning generated by this artwork is that we, as human beings are part of the universe we live in and that our minds represent all sides of existence, from creation and life to darkness and destruction
Representation
·Monuments are represented as an artistic band through their artwork of “Gnosis”. This is because they refrain from following generic genre conventions and instead adopt an abstract conceptual digipak.
·This adds to the meta-narrative of the band of being a progressive band by employing inventive and unique concepts
Institution and Audience
·Because of its artistic and detailed appearance “Gnosis” would be consumed in a focus viewing. This is because it’s not a product of generic conventions nor an advertisement so would capture the audience based as a separate entity to the music and band as a piece of art
·The video is simplistic in style, set in a multi-story car park at night.
·It follows a man being chased, but the audience doesn’t know why (enigma code)
·There is an amplifying relationship between the music and the video and when the music speeds up so does the running in the video.
·The lighting is saturated to give the video a grey, grainy quality.
·This complements the bleak location of the car park.
·There is an underlying meaning in the video. The most common theory is that the mob of people that is growing larger all the time represents the man’s fears, and they begin to go when he turns around to face them.
Radiohead – No Surprises
This is a performance/concept based video.
It is also a very simple video and is includes just one shot, a close up of Thom Yorke’s head inside an astronaut-style dome helmet, as it fills with water.
You can also see the lyrics of the song reflected in his helmet.
There are several lights reflected on the glass on his helmet which makes the shot more striking and artistic.
It was hard to film as Thom Yorke actually had to hold his breath for the duration of the underwater section of the video.
This gave the video controversy and increased the views.
Fatboy Slim – Praise You
Directed by Spike Jonze
It is a concept video featuring a group of people dancing in a shopping mall.
The main dancer is Spike Jonze.
Fatboy slim is also in the video as an extra in the background.
It is largely shot with a POV shot to create the illusion that this is real life and not a music video.
The camera quality is poor and the colour is not in full focus again to add to the effect of ‘home video’ style.
Radiohead – Just
It is part concept, part performance.
It is full of enigma code as the audience questions why the man is lying down.
This enigmatic style of video is highly typical of the band as well as their genre of music.
There seems to be no relationship between the lyrics of the song and the visuals.
It is similar to the music video for ‘Angel’ by ‘Massive Attack’ as both feature a growing crowd of people.
The Chemical Brothers – Electrobank
It is directed by Spike Jonze and stars Sofia Coppola
It is concept based and shows a gymnast who gets an injury during a performance.
The video has a very long introduction; the song doesn’t actually start until 1min 25seconds.
This makes the video feel more like a film with a narrative with a beginning, middle and an end.
It also includes the use of slow-motion.
Bjork – It’s oh so quiet
Directed by Spike Jonze.
There is a relationship between the music and the visuals. When the music builds and becomes more up-tempo there are large, enthusiastic dance sequences.
There is strong use of colour for example her bright orange dress.
Use of slow motion and tracking shots.
Concept based with Bjork within the narrative but miming the lyrics.
She floats about the street at the end, possible intertextual references here. Such as the closing scene of ‘Grease’ (Kleiser, 1978).
Daft Punk – Da Funk
It is a concept based video following a dog/human with a walking dog walking down the street with a boom box.
Has good use of titles.
Includes altering of time and speed such as the speeding up of traffic at night.
And use of slow-motion.
Includes dialogue.
No one in the video seems to know or care that the protagonist has a dog’s head.
At the end the dog has to make a choice between a possible relationship and a chance of love or his music.
Recently our group took part in a media trip to Brighton and found it a useful and valuable experience in preparing for creating our final music video. Our aim while we were there was to practice shots we planned on doing in our actually video to try see what was the best way to approach them and ultimately what looked good and what didn’t.
As well as general shots there was some key specific camera work we really want to try out, these include:
·360 degree shot
·Close ups
·Establishing shots
·Panning and tracking
·Camera shots that could be time stretched
·Bird’s Eye view with zooming out
·Low depth of field shots
We also filled a risk assessment sheet to ensure that while we were in a location such as Brighton and when on location reccie that the equipment we were using did not get damaged. I felt this was actually really useful as it made us think about dangers when filming that we had never considered. Many of the points that were discussed about the being cautious in Brighton were applicable to our actually filming as well. Judging the dangers of the sea and water to our camera and ourselves made us reflect on how we were going to film around the lake. Also it made us consider the practicality of filming in a public location and the problems we might face when we do.
1.Photoshop is a highly advanced program that offers many opportunities for creativity. For example you have complete control over the colour, size, shape and thickness of everything on the page. This freedom can only encourage creativity by allowing a completely blank canvas with no rules and conventions to stick to.
2.When using Photoshop there are a vast number of techniques and tools you can use, such as:
·Altering colour
·Altering sizes
·A range of fonts
·Importing images from the internet
·Erasing out any colour you don’t want to include
·Blurring colours and lines
3.I feel that I was successful in conveying the genre of music that would play at the festival instantly through the colours and images used. Also, the name ‘pulse’ has connotations of hearts as well as a regular beat. This works well with the heart monitor and the kind of bands who are playing at the festival; largely techno/electronic bands.
4.With regards to the digipak and advert I would give myself the advice to try and think of a simple yet striking image and work on this in detail so it looks as professional as possible. It is also key to try and develop an original idea that I can commit myself to entirely.
In principle the record label is run by a Record Company President. A Record Company President is in charge of managing business affairs and maintaining the legal department. The deputy of the conglomerate is that of the Executive Vice President who is the second in command. The vice president takes more of an active role in the company and is in charge of A & R, Promotion, Artist Development, Marketing, Publicity Department and New Media.
What is involved in a record deal?
A record deal or contract is essential a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist that allows the artists to make a record under the label and in turn allows the company to sell and promote it. If the artist is desired or popular it is often the case that the recording company pays a Royalty, a sum of money to convince the band to join their company (for example Whitney Houston who signed to BMG for $100 million). An artist under a record deal is nearly always only allowed to record exclusively under that record label, who also owns the copyright to their music. On top of this a record label takes about 80-90% of the money made on the artist’s albums.
How are musician promoted?
The signing of the record contract fundamentally means that the label will record and sell an artist’s music through mainstream music and CD shops. This immediately gives them exposer and makes their music accessible for their market. However a label also uses many other marketing techniques to promote their clients; as more interest gained mean more sales, which is great for both parties. Music labels have special branches in marketing called New Media departments that deal with modern means of advertisement such as social networking sites like Facebook and web 2.0 applications like Youtube that are used to distribute and share content. As well as new media, a label company invests in traditional forms of advertising. This can take the shape of TV commercials, print advertising, posters and billboards, and via radio.
Although performance based as features mainly shot of the drummer, as he is given prevalence, it has major influences of a narrative as it follows him through a story. On top of this the drummer featured is not part of the band and therefore it could be argued that this solely narrative
Features several surrealistic elements which amplify the meanings of the song as a whole, which include; a running fox, school girl with devil horns and three men throwing chips
Makes use of binary oppositions of light and dark, night and day to create stark contrasts that tie in with the instruments of the song
Completely Narrative, actual artist is not featured or shown
It has a heavy Noir film influence with the use of low key lighting, moral ambiguous protagonists as they are on the run from the police and a femme fatal in the form of the “masculine” looking female performer
This music video makes great use of location, by creating a sense of desolation and harshness through abandoned buildings, debris and power lines
Use of semiotics with the repeating ant sign which not only reinforces the bands image and identity, but also connotes a sense of tertiary and gang warfare which is a representation of the lyrics and title “Invaders Must Die”
Quite low budget film, majority of shots are done with a handicam to create a “in the action” feel and disjunctive frame effects are used to create a sense of insanity
Strong use of enigmatic code leaving the viewer with questions such as why is he is running? What is he scared of? And why are they chasing him?
The enigmatic code is one of the main reason this music video has repeatability, as it creates a polysemic, unanswered text
The video takes the form of a conceptual video with some narrative elements, as although it does have a vague plot line which maintains a sense of continuityit is very abstract and detached from the song
The video makes great use of semic code to express the messages that need to be conveyed. This is because they use familiar locations such as a empty car park and settings such as the dark to connote a sense of fear that everyone can relate to as it is a human reaction to feel paranoid alone in such circumstances
The binary opposition of the chased and chaser (hunter and prey) are unusually represented in the music video as they switch at the end, leaving the viewer wondering which is which
Camera work in the video is voyeuristic as it lingers and focuses on people’s features and expressions throughout the video. It does this to give the notion of looking to create an overwhelming theme of danger as this lingering “glare” creates hostility in the antagonists.
