Reverse Storyboard

W/C 14th July

This week we did a reverse story board. to do this, we picked an already existing music video and we took screen shots from different parts of the video and analysed them. W were mainly looking at the different interesting places where the camera was placed and Mise en-Scene.

Equipment Audit

The visual switcher allows for the director to film using four cameras at the same time and while filing can switch between the different cameras. To the left you will see four different screens showing you what the different cameras are filming and to the left is the final footage.

The fill light is used for general lighting. This would be used particularly if you was to film using green screen as you would need the green to be extremely bright, which is what this light does, makes everything that bit brighter and clearer.

The dolly is effectively a trolley on wheels which enables the director or the person shooting the footage to push the mounted camera along the action. Because it is on wheels, the means that the footage is kept stable, however, it can only be effective if used on a smooth surface, such as indoor, outdoor setting might be less effective if wheeling it over grass or the pavement for example.

The Cannon XM2 main benefit is that it is able to shoot very well in low light conditions, therefore making the film much better quality.

The Sony HVRA1E camera is able to film in HD quality. Therefore when you view the footage back it will be in high definition, again increases the quality of the filming.

The spot light can be used when filming the artist in a performance. They are used to create a specific effect, depending on the position it is placed. For example, if it is placed directly behind the artist a silhouette effect, however if it was placed to one side it would give a glowing effect.

Autocue is used if the actor I am filming doesn’t know the lyrics to the song. This can make the overall video better because it means the actors will looks as though they are the real artist and it makes it more believable.

The Cannon 550D camera is good for filming depth of field. This is where it films the main object in the image in perfect quality, however blurs out everything else in the background.

The Crane allows for me to look high/low angle shots as well as also swing the camera swiftly along a performance. This would be effective if filming a live performance or a Spectacular view 

Music Video Analysis

The main male artist of the video is wearing a suit and looks very presentable.

The video begins and we the audience are presented with a shot of a woman in a swimming pool and the sun glistening behind her, and then we also see two other women in the reflection of the pool with bikinis on and one woman stokes her leg in a seductive way. This support both Goodwin and also Schwichtenberg’s theory about music videos as they say that music videos are dominated by males and females react or that women are treated voyeuristic.

As the beat begins to build up, the edits are cut quickly to and throw between the females and the male artists. This is known as cutting to the beat. This technique is repeated though the video when the beat begins to build up, so does the editing. Again this can be related to Goodwin’s theory as there is a relationship between music and visuals.

As the male artist is a photographer for the video’s purposes, he is in control of a digital camera and there are a few shot where we see the action through his camera. It makes the audience feel as though they are a part of the filming, as we see what the artist is seeing at the same time.
As the video progresses we also find out that the video is filmed in to separate locations. We have the location by the pool and then also we have another location where we see the artist is a room with pictures hanging on the wall. When the filming as taking place in this room the colour in which the film is shot in is a red colour. With also hints of blue. This gives an interesting affect to the video.

Also in this room we see the male artist with one of the female models. However the audience may be left wondering if it is real or not because when the video cuts to the next scene (the next verse of the song) the model quickly disappears and he is left in the room looking at his pictures.

In the second half of the song it appears as though the female models before vicious and we being to see them gathering and walking in unity. We even see one of the unleash her hand, of which her extremely long nails and appears and she walks ahead of the other two models looking very confidently. Eventually she arrives at the photographers door and she pushes it open and the video cuts to show him in full light, not in red and this video end on this shot as if its to say ‘to be continued’. This is like a cliff-hanger and would make the audience want to watch the next video the artist releases to see if they are connected and maybe find out what happens next.




This song was also apart of the soundtrack for the film ‘Romeo Must Die’ which she also appeared in as an actor. Therefore, as expected there is intertextuality from the music video and the film. There are shots where we see her partner from the film in the music video, and as he is able to perform martial arts we see him do some in humane things. this is a postmodern view, when you cannot distinguished between real and simulated.

The female artist in the video is wearing a bikini top with a matching neck brace and leather bottoms with chains dangling.

The video begins and we are presented with a wall of mirrors, which are used very cleverly throughout the video to created different types of effects, which is what I believe makes this music video as effective as it is. We then see the actors from the film pushed the mirror door and come from behind it, as the music begins. It then cut the female singer in a room full of more mirrors and some dancers behind her. There also appears to be what looks like a moon above her which is reflected on the floor, this could be because there is mirrors below her or the directors may want the audience to think she is dancing on water. Next we are introduced to the male singer, who is stood in front of similar mirrors to what we saw earlier. There are several mirrors, therefore reflecting several images. As like in a film, we have now been introduced to all the ‘actors’, just before the music reaches it crescendo. The female singer then performs a dance routine as the camera both zooms in and out before using the mirrors to their advantage again and we see the artist in the mirror, which is turning which again, looks effective. This also allows for the location of the scene to change without the audience so much as noticing. In the new location the room is more plain, which just her in (no dancers) and when the music says ‘if I say no would you turn away’ she also turns away and looks to the left, therefore as Goodwin says there is a relationship between the music and the visuals. Then again the same technique used to change the location is used again, the mirrors come across the screen and we are put back in the original location with the dancers.

The actor who starts along side the female artist of the song has now again reappeared, and we are in a new location. We see him doing some martial art moves; however a very simple move looks a lot more effective as he does it in front of several mirrors, therefore looks like there is more than one of him. The female singer then performs something similar. Instead of martial art moves, she begins to dance in front of the mirrors, in a separate location to the actor and therefore looks as though mimicking him. This cutting between the two actors continues as though it’s a dance off.

Then in another new location, we see the female artist emerge from a doorway a walk about onto a narrow ‘bridge’ which is made up from three metal beam, which she narrowly walks across. She is then spotted by the male actor is standing below, as though waiting for her. He then spots her, looks up and smiles. The camera then zooms in, in a staggered fashion and we see him again do something strange and jump up on the ‘bridge’ using his martial arts skills. The considering how narrow the metal beams are, they then spin around in an embrace. The camera then cuts to the mirrors again and we get a shot of all the actors again; the female single, male singer and the actor, before we are back with the dancers alongside close up of the artist. One of the dance moves which is particularly effective is when she nods her head to the beat of the music.

The camera then cuts and we see the actor hold the female artist hands while she walks along a mirrored wall and then picks her off the wall and spins her round, this again looks surreal.

At the very end we see a clip from the film. Its also the end bit of the film, where they are fighting in a ring of fire. This is played in slow motion.



The video begins and we see the artist name emerge on the screen. As the music begins we get flashes of a silhouette in front of an ever changing coloured screen.

This then cuts to an extreme close up of a woman lips which are mouthing the word to the song ‘I wear my sunglasses at night’. Another cut is used and we go back to the artist who is in front of to being with a blue back ground, but then changes to red. When they lyrics say ‘blue’ there is a blue screen, then when they lyrics say ‘red’ there is a red screen. This can be related to Goodwin theory when he says that there is a relation between visuals and lyrics.

An extreme close of a woman face then appears and the audience attention to drawn to her eyes because if the extremely long eyelashes she has. Then as the lyrics say ‘eyes on you’ she raises her eyes and special effects are used to highlight her eyes further.

Another cut, to a female silhouette however this time and we see her dancing to the music and special effects are used to outline her body. This may be viewed negatively as some theorist, particularly feminists would say that woman’s body is there to be looked at and appreciated by men. Similarly, there is a shot a woman’s leg, which we see her stroke upwards in a seductive manor, feminists would say this has been included for male’s pleasure.

Similar techniques are repeated throughout the video, until the end.

W/C 07th July

This week we looked at similar already exiting products and anaylsed them. This is included the Digipak, Magazine advert and music video's analysis.

Also this week we looked at all the different types of equipment that is avaiable for us to use. We thought about why it would be good to use them.

W/C 30th June

Due to strike action, it meant that we lost a lesson this week, however we recovered this lesson on the following day, where we began to look at similar already existing products on the market. We began to anayse Digipack front covers, which is the front cover of the artist album, their released music video and lastly an anaysis of a magazine advert.

W/C 23rd June 2011

At the beginning on this lesson we looked at already existing music videos and disscussed what ws good about them and made a personal decision if we would like to use the same technique as what was used in the video. This was to try create some idea of how we would like our videos. The techniques that i decided would be could and would consider to use in my video were:

- Narrative Plot
- Butterfly Effect
- Multiple Personalities
- Screen within Screens
- Dance Routines
- Role Reversal
- Green Screen

I thought these techniques were good becuase they were affective. The videos that have used these techniques are memerable, and i blieve if you can automatically associate a song with its video, then the video has done its job well. This is what i would like to achieve with my video.




In the second part of the lesson we continued with our research.

Digipak Analysis

Analysis

A2 Media Studies Coursework

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Resource Audit

W/C 16th June 2011

This week we began the work for the course.


Firstly we put together a resource audit, which is all the resources that we have easy acess to, which might help to complete the music video. Its split into cast, crew, props and costume and lastly location. Who i know would be able to perform in front of a camera comfortably, who i know who is good with using camera's or the programmes needed to edit the film ect., what props or costumes i have access to and where where is close to me that i would be able to film the video.


Also this week we began to do our research into music videos. Topics to research into were:
- The purpose of Music Videos
- Development of Music Video's
- New Technologies/Directions
- Conventions of Music Videos
- Generic elements to Music Video's
- Technical features of Music Video's
- Theoretical approches to music video's
- Comtempoary issues surrounding Music Video's