I started editing a couple of weeks ago now and I thought I would publish this post for an update of how I am getting on. I am finding it more difficult then I initially thought it would be. I am trying to be more innovative with my editing techniques. Rather than just editing clips together, I am trying to make use of the tools available like split screen and duplicates.
In this shot I have played around with the focus of the camera. The lights make a nice effect and when the focus comes back into position it features the artist.
In this shot I am trying to create an image within side another image. I am playing around with the fact that she has an alter ego and when she looks in the mirror she sees her darker side. At the moment I am trying to get to grips with the technology. Although I have used final cut express before, I have not used it in this much depth, I am trying to use clips of youtube to help me and learn as I go.
In this shot I am planning to use a split screen. The shot will feature her and her alter ego on the same bed at the same time and they will take it in turns to sing.
I think that the shots used are too simplistic, they tend to all be mid shots that have the characters positioned in the middle of the frame and standing still. They could have been more creative with the shots used and following the characters with the camera making the camera having movement rather than just watching the characters stand still within the frame.
I felt there were too many uses of the same shot making what could have been a nice shot being over used and predictable that it would be used over and over again. This shot is where the camera was focused on the shot and then pans up towards the sky. I think they should have used the shot once which would have been effective but they overused it and need more shot variances.
They used photos towards the end of the video, this felt like they were being used to fill in gaps in the music video because they were photos probably taken from the shots which we have just seen previously.
I think for it to be a good music video, they need to have different locations within or make it clear that this same location isn't just one.
Likes:
They have used colour correction to make the shot of them man singing lighter and a different colour with the tone of orange/yellow creating the 'sunshine' effect which matches the song lyrics 'I think the sun will shine through'.
At the beginning of the music video they make plenty of cuts to reveal the location of the video to the audience. They start of well however towards the end of the music video the shots become long making fewer cuts and not having as great as effective as it did at the beginning.
They have used a billboard shot from photo booth however for my liking this shot ruins the feel of the video. They are suppose to be a famous group therefore you would expect them to have a real billboard.
There are some minor lip sync errors which do not always go to the music well however I think they have done extremely well with such a fast song to actually be able to get some good lip sync in.
I think they have done colour correction well however I think it is over used.
Likes:
I like the fast walking sequence at the beginning, it gives you a sense of the streets and this is where these people are suppose to be from and are creating the whole feeling of the streets.
One thing that I think makes this video stand out and it will be highly unnoticeable to most is the cuts to the beat. They make this look really simple but in reality it would take extreme patients and time. I think they do this really well in the London sequence. In the song it scratches so this group have then decided to try and mimic this sound movement within their music video music by using the slightest little cut movements.
'BAM' - The group have noticed a sound drop and taken advantage of it. The sound is very fast paced and then the beat drops and the group does a stand still shot but with the actors jumping back into the screen which shows great placement of actors within the frame.
Pictures created to the lyrics 'what the Helen of Troy is that' so therefore they have pictures taken from the film Troy and bring them in a the right time matching the lyrics.
Shot duplicate - They have used layering adding two shots together which has created a very nice shot with him talking to himself in the same shot. I think this is effective and shows good final cut skills. I hope to reduplicate this in my own work. The shot has been made black and white however they have used colour correction to make the colours of his top stand out.
The costume, locations and props are very suiting to this genre.
Performance based videostend to show the band or artists mostly performing there song, possibly at a gig or in a studio setting.
Green Day - American Idiot
Green day's video is clearly based around performance. The video features them performing like they would when playing live at a gigs. The appear to be in just one location, a warehouse type which gives the feel of their genre, punk rock. It features the band playing the instruments with attitude which is typical of this band and this genre. It makes many references to their album which they has out at the time with the grenade.
These videos are very similar with the locations and being in a warehouse location and having a large background drop. They are also featured having their instruments and playing them like they would if when at a gig. However they bring a bit of narrative in when they have the police intruding which is more creative than green days. They also have attitude just like green day which will also be typical for bands to have attitude.
Narrative based music videoshave a storyline, and tend to follow that storyline throughout the whole of the video.
Taylor Swift - You Belong With Me
"You Belong with Me's" accompanying music video was directed by Roman White. In the video, Swift portrays both the protagonist and antagonist, which she respectively described as "the nerd, who is pining away for this guy that she can't have" and "the popular girl." Swift described the popular girl's persona as "horrible and scary and intimidating and perfect". Her love interest is portrayed by American actor Lucas Till, she was intrigued by his "cool look", embodying a "dreamy guy". In regards to his acting on the video, Swift said, "He's absolutely perfect for the part and really fun to be around, too."According to her, the video's plot is "charming"; she also said that, "the whole video, I'm just sitting there pining away, wishing I could be in her position."In regards to the video's conclusion, White explained that Swift "becomes who she really is", while Swift thought it was a happy ending.Swift commented, "One of my favourite things about this video is that there wasn't a standard performance scene. This video was pretty much all story line and I'm narrating it in the moment, basically narrating while all this is happening around me."
The video commences with Till arguing with his girlfriend through a phone call. As soon as Swift, as the protagonist, notices, they begin to communicate by holding up signs through their bedroom windows. Till closes his curtains, and Swift holds up a sign saying, "I love you". As the song's chorus approaches, Swift starts to sing and dance in front of a mirror, changing to different clothing multiple times. Afterward, Swift is sitting in a bench while reading a book. Till arrives and the two converse. Then, Swift, as the antagonist, arrives in a red convertible car and Till gets in it; Swift, as the antagonist, kisses him and gives a vicious look towards the protagonist. Suddenly, she is seen cheer leading at a football game while Swift's other persona is in the bleachers, performing in the school band. After scoring the winning touchdown, Till moves toward his girlfriend and finds her flirting with a teammate; meanwhile, Swift, as the protagonist, stares in amazement. Back in their bedroom windows, they again communicate through signs, Till asked Swift, as the protagonist, if she was attending prom and she responded, "no, studying". Shortly after, Swift is seen entering prom with a white dress, no longer looking like a nerd, while all her peers stare in amazement. When Till spots her, he walks towards her and Swift, as the antagonist, attempts to impede him, but he ignores her. Ending the video, Till and Swift reveal folded signs saying "I love you" and kiss.
This video has frequent close ups of the star, Taylor Swift, this would be because the labels would demand to promote her within. This comes under Goodwin's Seven. It is a narrative because it follows a storyline of a high school crush and romance. The storyline works well with the editing they tend use straight cuts to show that time has past since the last scene and it makes the story seem more realistic rather than using fancy edits to show the fact that it is constructed. This music video, the audience would be able to relate to as they are young teenagers and they might go through the same experience.
Katy Perry - Last Friday Night
In the late 1980s/early 1990s, Kathy Beth Terry (Perry), a nerdy teenager with braces, headgear, and over sized glasses, has just awakened the morning after a house party, surrounded by passed-out party goers. A male guest, Aaron Christopherson opens the door to her bedroom and congratulates her on having the "best party ever." Puzzled as to what happened, she goes online, only to find pictures of herself in various compromising positions, including one picture of her licking the stomach of the boy in bed next to her. The video then goes into a flashback of the events that occurred the night before. While doing a Sudoku puzzle, Kathy hears loud music from the house next door, and goes over to complain. She is greeted by Rebecca Black (who appears in a homage to Black's viral video "Friday"), who invites her in. A nerdy Everett McDonald (Glee star Kevin McHale) ogles Terry from afar and fantasises about being with her.
Kathy, however, is more interested in Steve Johnson aka "The Jock", an attractive football player, who turns her down because of her appearance. To cheer her up, Black gives Kathy a makeover, ripping off her headgear with pliers, waxing her upper lip, dressing her in tight-fitting neon clothes, and teasing her hair out. Steve becomes enamored with her, and everyone starts dancing. Kathy and Rebecca are also seen playing Just Dance 2. Musician Kenny G, despite not having played the saxophone on the song's actual recording, plays the saxophone solo on the roof while Hanson act as the house band. The entire party ends up moving to Kathy's house, where she throws up after drinking too much. Everett punches Steve for trying to fondle Kathy's bottom (Visualised by him as a medieval sword fight with Kathy as a damsel in distress).
At the end of the night, Kathy finally passes out next to Steve. The video shifts back to the next morning, where she looks at the photos with regret, but is also ecstatic to have a naked Steve passed out in her bed. The film ends with former teen idols Corey Feldman and Debbie Gibson as Kathy's parents, Kirk and Tiffany Terry confronting Kathy about the state of the house; Feldman makes several references to The Lost Boys, in which he starred.
intertextual reference made within, this also refers to Goodwin's Seven. There are features of Rebecca Black within and also many stars of the hit TV show glee in which the audience would be familiar with as her audience is a younger generation so therefore are likely to watch the show.
This music video starts with a style of a motion picture beginning, with the camera panning down a typical American suburban street. In the style of a film with dialogue at the beginning and the end to conclude it and makes Last Friday Night into a short film however is in fact a music video. Also to add to this is that at the end of the music video it has running credits with bloopers emphasises this was the style they were in fact going for.
In case I haven't been clear about my idea for my music video I thought I would actually explain what the concept of it is and what I am planning on doing in it. The song that I have changed to is Marina and the diamonds radioactive. My music video is about a girl around the age of 18 she is unclear who she actually is and who she portrays herself as. Like many people are, they are still finding themselves and this is the process she is going through at this moment. This therefore means my target audience for Marina is a young audience mainly a female audience that are around the age of 14 to 30. She has her innocent side where she wears pretty pink and white clothes to portray this through the connotations of wearing this clothes give. Also they are outfits that Marina would wear therefore resembles her and pays tribute to the actual artist and the target audience would also be into fashion so therefore they like seeing what she wears next and can model it on themselves from inspiration. She also has a dark side which is when she wears black clothes with red lipstick. She features on her own has both of her personalties but then they come together at important stages through the music video. They often come together for the chorus where they are in the same shot - I will achieve this in the editing stage. She goings through the song playing on the idea of which person she actually wants to be and she has to fight for who she wants to be also. At the end of the music video it will be unclear of who she has chosen to be as she featured in a white dress but with how she has her hair as her dark side and also is still wearing the red lipstick. The final shot will then fade out and have an out of focus shot and will leave the audience with unclear view of who she actually is or whether she has chosen to be parts of both.
Here are my shots list for my music video. I have booked out an HD camera to film over the weekend and then filming will be underway. Also Story boards will be coming soon once I have taken photos from the set and added them on. I would draw them but it will be a thousand times better this way - promise.
I have changed my initial idea and song. I have changed the song from Paolo Nutini's 'New shoes' to Marina and the Diamonds 'Radioactive'. My main character will have an alter ego in which she fights with in my video to see who comes out on top! There will be several costume changes and these outfits will give a sense to the audience which alter ego she is at the time.
Her character will appear to have two sides of her, having an alter ego meaning one side of her being good and one being bad, a devil style. She will appear in a number of dresses and in costume which will be able to show her good side and her bad. To portray her good side I will mainly dress her in pale colours and white colours because that will show her innocence. Also to show her dark side, she will appear in dark colours like black to show her dark personalty.
She will wear pale colours to represent her innocent side.
My character as her alter ego will appear in a back dress with bright red lips to connate a devil.
This concept music video of stop motion is work I would love to put into my own work. I think this video is unique and no wonder it has had over 20 million views on youtube even from a not well known artist.
The stop-motion wonderment that is the video for his song "Her Morning Elegance" is totally mesmerizing. It was shot in all stills, so thousands of photos from a camera hanging over the bed had to be edited together to create this little gem.
This music video is about a girl and what happens through her sleep. Kind of like a dream and what she is thinking about happens accept there is a lyric match at some points therefore that triggers a prop to come into the shot and also the bed sheets may change colour which sets the scene in a different location but within the same location of the room.
This video may seem so simple within its first watch however it is so complex with thousands of shots being taken and edited together. It may be simple with the fact it is one girl on a bed with the appearance of the artist and they wear simple white and black clothing. Every time the actors move by the slightest a shot must be taken which takes a lot of time.
This video is set in one location taken from still shots which have been edited together to make this great stop motion music video. The camera is placed in the same place throughout making all the shots consistent with another.
This video demonstrates a few of Goodwin's 7. One of Goodwin's theory is that there is a link between lyrics and visuals which there are within. Also a believe there is a link between music and visuals because the tone of the song is soft and calm so therefore this would be something that you could associate with sleep so therefore makes fitting visuals.
I love this video is is unique and therefore stands out for me. I would love to use stop motion in my video however I don't think that it will fit in with the tone of my video so therefore I would be able to use it however if I would have chosen another video I would have loved to take this idea forward and added it into my own work.
