Progress Update - Filming with Anne and Stan

To recap, the aim of our video is to outline and reflect upon the different stages of grief and loss. In doing this, we planned to film an elderly couple and conform to the ideologies of losing someone you love. On Saturday 27th of September we filmed with Anne and Stan, a couple who are friends of Molly. 

We are so thrilled with the stunning shots we filmed, and they look beautiful in both colour and black and white. The major shots we filmed are that of Anne reflecting at the window(a medium close up), thinking of the happy times with Stan which then leads into a flashback of Anne and Stan together. The shot of Anne reflecting at the window provides perfect shadow and natural lighting. We have also included shots of the couple together,  and close ups of them holding hands. 

We have used a variety of close ups, medium shots and we have also used a tracking shot to show them as they walk together. The shots that have been put into black and white are representing Anne after the loss of Stan as this could represent the feeling of emptiness and sadness. However, to create a contrast between the present time and flashbacks of happier times we kept the footage of Anne and Stan together in colour, to help to represent the mood of the happy memories compared to the current time after the loss of Stan.

We feel like these pieces of footage will work well in our overall music video as we can cut back and forth between several stories of loss, this being one of them. It will also show all different kinds of people; young, old, male, female etc experiencing loss.

Molly Masters

Our Progress - Filming Update

So far we have filmed the first part of our music video; Emily's storyline, which involved her packing her suitcase in the bedroom. We will also see her getting extremely upset as she does not want to leave. This is what we have done so far but we have planned to film the start of our next story line this coming weekend (27th September '14). Emily will also need more filming as we want to hopefully film a flashback of her and her partner before they split. 

When filming Emily's scene, we felt that it went quite well as we were able to get all of the shots we initially wanted. We were able to get the shots of her packing, which involved close ups, ariel and medium long shots. We did find that with some of the close ups of Emily's face, the quality wasn't as good as with some of the longer shots. 

The general outcome was more grainy than what we would have liked and the way the shot was lit was also not preferable, but we have tried to fix that slightly during the post-production by altering the brightness and contrast. However, we do quite like the shot because we think that it was framed quite well and captures her emotions well. Our video is also predominantly going to be in black and white which we think represents the overall theme extremely well. Thankfully, the shots we managed to get work well in both colour and black and white. 

Out of all of the shots we got during this time, we think that the shot from inside the closet was one of the ones that didn't work as well. 

It was difficult to get adequate lighting and so the shot appears a bit dark or darker than we would have liked. We were also not sure about the bar across her face. Obviously this was inside the closet and couldn't be taken out but we also think it could work well because it means we can only see her eyes. Her eyes might show the emotion that we want to portray in which case the shot works well. 

We think that Emily did very well to illustrate the kind of emotions and tone that we wanted to show and this is why we think that our shots represent her feelings quite well. For example, the first close up (above) was used to show how she feels whilst packing her bags whereas we also used medium long shots to show all of her and the room she is leaving. 

Molly Masters

Audience Research - Who is the audience for our music video?

The audience for any music video is presumably linked to that of the artist; as it is often that the audience are inclined to watch the music video after being fans of the song or the artist already. However, a particularly captivating music video can attract a wider audience of keen interest.

Particular elements attract an audience to a music video, in particular the genre or theme. Our music video promises to carry the theme of loss, love, and heartbreak. This is clearly already provided and symbolised within the lyrics of our chosen song, Make It Without You by Andrew Belle, but will be reinforced by the narrative of our video. Our narrative will capture the lives of several different characters before and after losing someone of importance to them. We hope to make it an emotive video, and an idealism that many of the audience can relate to easily.

Andrew Belle's music undoubtedly attracts an audience who are fans of acoustic, slow music, which is very similar to that of popular artists like Ed Sheeran and such. For this reason, it can only be assumed that due to an existing fanbase, Belle would find an audience within his own success, regardless of the pull factor of the genre or narrative.
We would estimate that these fans/ followers would average between late teens (approximately 17) and perhaps up to the age of 40.

Music videos which hold similar values, and attract similar audiences to our own is that of Ed Sheeran who, as previously mentioned, makes acoustic music which is likened to that of Andrew Belle. His video for his song Give Me Love, follows a relative theme of love, and is emotive for the audience to view, as empathy is drawn from them throughout. Several of Belle's music videos already focus on relationships, therefore i think our video follows the existing theme. Because of this, i think that the existing fans of Andrew Belle's music and music videos would also be interested in our video.

Molly Masters

Our Music Video Preliminary

As part of the project we have made a preliminary music video. The video only consists of lip syncing which gave us experience as we have had to overlap the original song and make sure that all of the lip syncing and the song is in time.

The preliminary is only short and simple as we did not spend much time on something that was essentially practice, therefore giving us more time to continue with our final project of our music video to the song 'Make It Without You' by Andrew Belle. However, in the preliminary we have done some lip syncing to 'Hey Soul Sister' by Train. 

Jess Hunt

Our Progress - Keeping Ourselves Organised

During the Summer holiday we decided to use a notebook in order to record our ideas neatly, and to file our pieces of inspiration. We have utilised the space and sectioned areas for different pieces of appropriate planning. For example, we have recorded shot type ideas, and categorised them into 'narrative shots' and 'filler shots'. We have paper clipped in sketches of the shots (so that we are able to manoeuvre them from the book to a table to create an interchangeable storyboard) with short descriptions underneath to clarify exactly how we want the shot to appear and why it is relevant to our narrative.

The book has also been a useful tool in which we can record our ideas in relation to the lyrics of the song (as seen in planning in a previous post). We have the lyrics noted as well as the order of the shots as we would like them to appear in order for them to occasionally link to the lyrics directly. We need the shots to be precisely planned so that we don't waste any time when filming with our actors.

This is only a brief update, and a post to introduce the planning book, but others will follow to conclude our planning and preparation before filming.

Molly Masters

The Pathetic Fallacy

We have purposefully postponed the majority of our narrative filming to target the Autumnal seasons which will provide appropriate pathetic fallacy for our characters.
We hope that the darker and cloudier days will be representative of the empathetic and emotive feelings of loss.

Adele // Someone Like You has similar themes in this sense because for the duration of the video, she is seen walking along an empty street in Paris. The city Paris is obviously associated with romance and love, or this case the loss of it. The video is entirely set in black and white which represents the feeling of emptiness and loneliness. 

These are the kind of feelings we want to portray in parts of our video and so we have considered using black and white for particular sections; such as in the moments of flashbacks, in which the characters may be feeling empty and lonely. 

Molly Beecham

The Visuals in Relation to the Lyrics.

These are screenshots of our initial planning for the visuals in relation to the lyrics. On the first, we have annotated the lyrics sheet with ideas for which shots/characters/story lines will go where. 

 On this second sheet, we have noted down every significant/obvious beat throughout the song. This will help us when we start to edit our music video as we will know where to put the main shot cuts.

By Molly, Molly and Jess

Music Video Treatment-What We Plan To Do

Treatment

After much deliberation, we decided upon ‘Make It Without You’, a song by Andrew Belle. We have known and planned for a long period of time that we would like to concentrate the theme of our music video on death and loss. The lyrics of this song completely mirror our ideas and we are glad to have had confirmation from the artist to entitle its use for our project.

We have chosen to section our treatment into the areas often focused upon during a music video analysis.

Camera

We have currently decided on a selection of key, central shots of which the theme of the music video will orientate. These each include a storyline to follow which narrative runs throughout in a continuum.  In addition, we have analysed the lyrics of Belle’s song (which has been published on the blog) and have organised exactly where we would like each separate narrative to take place to fit with the lyrical meaning.

The following are a few descriptions of our key shot ideas:

Man sitting alone
We intend to reinforce the idea of loneliness with a medium shot of an adult man sitting alone at a bar, perhaps from a side on view. This will connote his solitude and be a simplistic addition to embellish the lyric ‘I never cared much for the taste of gin, I still don’t know, but it’s been helping’.

Panning shot of photo frames

We feel that a panning shot displaying an array of different family photographs would reinforce loneliness and possibly infer the break down of a traditional family unit (as displayed in the photos), by a death or loss.

Woman taking off wedding ring

A close up of a woman’s hand and her taking off her wedding ring, to us, feels like the perfect shot to portray the end of a marriage and loneliness.

Ill child in bed with mother at side

This would be a very emotive shot (presumably a medium two shot), as we intend to have the child in an authentic hospital bed, with the mother at her side holding her hand for support. Here, the theme of sadness is continued, and will probably strike a chord with the audience’s emotions.

Parents swinging a young child – progression shot

We have had a particular idea of continuing one shot with the removal of one character to show the obvious effects of loss. We intend for the first shot to be a medium shot of two parents (from the back) swinging one young child between them, which will then cut to the same shot, but without the mother. We intend for the hands between the father and the child to remain swinging, but for a close up on the child’s other empty hand to follow to truly emphasize the loss.

Close up of piano being played and silhouette of lip syncing

These two slightly abstract shots will be the addition to our performance element (of which our video lacks if it was just a narrative). We intend to use technical lighting to create a superficial shadow effect for a lip syncing silhouette

Editing

In terms of editing, we are hoping to integrate cuttings of old family videos for a nostalgic authenticity. We hope that this will provide a flashback element for the audience to link with the narrative. We also have debated on putting the whole video into edited black and white to fit with the sombre and reflective tone of the narrative. We also hope to fit every cut with the beat of the piano being played. 

Mise en scene

Our mise en scene is wholly based on our characters and location of our video. We will use a range of locations, such as outdoors in the woods walking, in a house, at the park etc. We also will include characters such as an elderly couple, a married couple, a sick child, a woman leaving her husband, an a man at a bar alone. 

characters

Molly Masters

The Song We Have Chosen & Permission Letter

As sai before, we have chosen to use the song 'Make It Without You' by Andrew Belle. Below is a link to the song:

We have also included the emails between us and Andrew Belle's management and permission letter we received as proof:

 

The Notorious BIG - Sky's The Limit - Music Video Analysis

Notorious BIG is a Hip-Hop/Gangsta Rap artist and so we would expect his music and videos to follow the conventions mentioned by Goodwin. We would expect the video to portray wealth through material items and lots of women perhaps. Admittedly this video does show this and is indeed about the aspirations of youth; as expected, however but it does this in a different way. 

A certain type of people are represented in this video. Much like other Hip-Hop/Rap videos, mostly by black artists, it is blacks that are represented or perhaps those who have not had the best background. We feel like there are two main ideas behind Hip-Hop/Rap videos; the sense of community or the sense of 'get rich or die trying' (Above, right) (or something along those lines). This is so clear in the catchline 'Have what you want, be what you want'. As opposed to something like Wiz Khalifa's 'We Dem Boyz' (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX6K7waag5Q&list=PL4Ti6KPQUwnw3-bbvVEkaH1mUi4v-8cJH) in which there is an overwhelming sense of community, this video focuses on the aspirations of these people and the sense that success is having expensive material items. This sense of wealth is shown from the very beginning of the video, where we see expensive cars pulling in to big driveways and security cameras, again suggesting wealth. Throughout the video, wealth is represented in other ways such as a big house with pools and limousines to escort him. 

Gender is being represented in a very stereotypical way. Even though everyone is played by children, we still see females dancing in swimming costumes in the background. This agrees with many other music video in which the female body is objectified. It is a very common thing to see in music videos, especially those of Hip-Hop or Rap genre and so this video reinforces that stereotype. Furthermore we see female maids in typical maid outfits. This could conform to the stereotype of female inferiority and male superiority, as the men have the wealth and are seen relaxing in the pools whereas the females are the ones waiting on them. Also men are seen with more important jobs, like body guards and music artists.                           


Most of the takes used in this music video are moving shots; the camera rarely stays still. Each take fades into the next and they are only about 2-3 seconds long.
Within the video, there are a few close up, near the beginning, to show the 
                                 expensive material items that would be contribute to the overriding idea of wealth. 
A lot of the other shots throughout the video are medium shots. This shows of the house behind the people and the location of the video. As well as this, there are also lots of close ups of the characters, and the children playing them. I think one of the main reasons for this is to emphasise the fact that children are playing adults. 
The camera angles are also quite often from a low angle, especially when the main character is standing on his balcony. This obviously gives the impression of superiority and importance. This could further suggest that having wealth and success therefore put you above other people and gives the perception of superiority. 
                             

Molly Beecham

Music Video Analysis - Robbers by The 1975

The music video to the song 'Robbers' by The 1975 is very intruiging and beautifully literate; the narrative in particular is captivating, in my opinion, and very true to the lyrics and original views of the band. The video encompasses both a narrative and performance elements. The narrative follows a robber and his girlfriend and their life leading up to a major robbery.

Representation, Stereotype and Gender
The music video seeks to capture the lives of these two young adults who are clearly living outside of the law in a deserted town. Key themes such as intense drug culture, sex, alcoholism and criminal activity are captured. There is also the assumption that these runaways have no employment, and a stereotype is conformed that all criminals are involved in more than one illegal act (e.g. theft and drugs).
Their lifestyle is also included in minor elements such as the lighting, which is mostly natural, but when inside their house is dark red, which is associated with blood, murder, danger, love and lust, which is a large summary of their emotions and life.

Although, despite the obvious conformations of many of society's stereotyped views towards criminals, I feel that their relationship together whole heartedly challenges our stereotypes. Throughout the video there is the picture painted that they truly love each other and have fun together in spite of their intentions to rob money and kill people. This is seen by them dancing and singing together, going to the cinema, skating, and the way in which the female protagonist reacts to her boyfriend being shot in the final scenes. 

Editing 

One of the most captivating elements of this movie is the fact that the editing is purposely not in a chronological sequence of events. It includes repeated images to create motifs and symbolism. For example, the bloodied hand on the wall makes the viewer first assume that it's the blood of a victim but it's revealed at the end that it's from the protagonist when he is shot. The napkin also is repeated and then is revealed at the end to present a love note from his girlfriend which she wrote in the bathroom whilst taking drugs. 

Another interesting feature of the music video is that it does in fact cut the music out for approximately twenty seconds in the middle of the video to add silence and dialogue for suspense and effect as the two protagonist characters rob the petrol station, an event that has been long awaited throughout the entire duration of the video. The music cuts to allow the protagonist to shout 'Everyone get down!', presumably threatening them with his gun, and then is followed by multiple gun shots. The silence that follows is short but effective as the audience is left in suspense as two who has been shot. 

The lyrics that follow 'now everybody's dead' also imply the fact that not only the protagonist was shot, but also other innocent people in the petrol station who got in their way. 

Camera shots, Angles, Composition and Movement
The camera shots in this music video are stunning and capture perfectly the mood and themes intended by the director and band (who were heavily involved in the video's performance and planning). My particular favourite shot is that of a two shot as both protagonists walk up to the petrol station which they intend to rob. This shot is the longest take in the whole video, emphasising it's importance as the climatic point of the narrative which everything has been leading up to. The two shot also focuses on their unity as a couple, as the female protagonist kisses him over his balaclava and they approach the crime scene hand in hand.

In contrast, the camera shots throughout the video are often in quick takes and transitions, which imitates the pace and anticipation for the robbery, as well as mimicking the passion and lust of the couple. In addition to this, I noticed the use of a handheld camera motion as the protagonists exit the crime scene, and Matty has been shot. This creates a sense of realism for the audience, as if they are involved in the moment, and that they have experienced the casualty with the characters.

Mise En Scene

The mise en scene in this video is key to the authentic atmosphere and emotives. One major part of the music video’s mise en scene is the fact that the lead singer plays the role of the protagonist in the performance as the robber, and the whole band is involved (they are seen in the van as they oversee the robbery). The video also involves a performance element within the walls of the house, when the protagonist is seen to be singing into a microphone, almost serenading his girlfriend, whilst lip syncing to the song, which provides an interesting contrast in location and meaning of the song to them.

There are also a series of motifs and symbols featured in the video, for example, the bloodied hand on the wall. The audience assume at first (as the image is repeated throughout) that this blood is from a victim of their crimes, when it in fact is concluded that it is the blood of the protagonist. The napkin is also another repeated motif, and it is only revealed at the end of the video that it is a love note from the female which reads ‘you look so cool’ (a line from the song).

The setting/ location is also a key part of the mise en scene as they are seen to have been living in a desolate and rural area, with little money or possessions, presumably because of their unemployment and heavy drug use. This location confirms the assumed stereotype of their dangerous characters, as it appears to mirror the same.

By Molly Masters

Jennifer Lopez-I Luh Ya Papi featuring French Montana- Music Video Analysis

This music video is a pop video. The overall video has a small amount of performance and it is symbolic. However, we think that the finished product is slightly satirical as it subverts the stereotypes of rap and hip-hop music videos as there is voyeuristic treatment of the male bodies instead of the female bodies.



Throughout the music video Jennifer Lopez is the more dominant character as she objectifies the men, making them appear as sexual objets for the women which subverts the general subverts the stereotypical rap/hip-hop music videos where they voyeuristically objectify the female bodies.  However, she does flaunt her body from the way in which she is dressed (plunged jumpsuits etc.) She is also flaunting her wealth as the men stereotypically do in rap/hip-hop music videos. She does this through dancing on the driveway (which is in some ways the master shot)which shows the audience the property that she owns, and the cars (Ferrari's and Rolls, Royce's, she also has a large amount of chains that she puts on at 01:46. At 02:10 she is using a Nokia tablet to take photos of the man pulling himself out of the pool.


At 02:15 the camera goes to a medium shot of one of Jennifer's friends stood with her arms around the men who are stood around her wearing swimming pants, which is
again showing their bodies
off. However, it is also showing of the females body to a certain extent as she is stood posing with the men.





 As it returns to the chorus (02:16) it goes back to the master shot of Jennifer dancing with her back in dancers on the driveway in front of the cars and house. This is again showing off her wealth as well as subverting the stereotype of Andrew Goodwin's theory that is that the female bodies are always treated voyeuristically, as the men are cleaning her cars shirtless with some jewellery which connotes some wealth whilst she is sat in the background with her friends talking. There is also use of a graphic match 02:18

end of the vertical shot

During this part of the music video (02:25) there is also a vertical shot of Jennifer dancing in front of the pool which is again connoting her wealth. As the camera vertically moves up Jennifer's body you see her chains that she is wearing, she is also flaunting her body by the way in which she is dancing, this is due to the clothing that she is wearing and it is showing more of her body than usual items of clothing.


At 02:29 again shows the male body in a voyeuristic manner as he is stood washing the car and he rinses of the sponge over his body to make the water/soap run down his body, therefore making his body the focus of attention to the audience (especially the females. Also his muscles draw attention to him as his arms are extremely muscular as well as the lower abdominal area.

At 02:35 the setting of the music video changes to Jennifer on a yacht, which is also a stereotypical setting for rap/hip-hop music videos, but this time it subverts the stereotype as it is Jennifer who has the yacht and is  voyeuristically advertising the male bodies. The fact that she is on a yacht also connotes wealth as well as what she is wearing. Her sunglasses, earrings, rings and wrist cuff are all gold which is helping to connote wealth.

At 02:38 there is a medium shot, from a sideways angle of four males in swimming pants, walking up the yacht, most of their bodies are on show and they are tanned, this is subverting the stereotype of females being voyeuristically treated in music videos. There is then a medium shot from behind of the men which shows their bums (even though they are wearing swimming pants) and their muscular backs, this is again subverting the stereotype because it would usually be the females doing this. 




At 02:42 there is a close up used on one of the males in the music video, he is wearing swimming pants, sunglasses, bracelets, a watch and a necklace. This subverts the stereotype as well as attracting more of a female audience as he has a muscular body and he is on a yacht.

At 03:19 there is a medium shot of Jennifer with one of her friends and 2 males. This shot is also connoting wealth as Jennifer's friend is holding a gold bottle of champagne, the background is sky scrapers which makes the setting look as if it is an expensive place to be, and they are still on the yacht. The male bodies are also being shown which is again subverting the stereotype.

When French Montana starts his rap the audience is again shown a connotation of wealth as he is wearing a variety of chains, a ring and his watch looks expensive. When Jennifer is stood next to him, she is also connoting wealth as she has Gold bracelets and rings on as well as gold earrings. However, the lights in the background  make it appear as a stereotypical rap/hip-hop music video as if they are going to dance even though they just stand there whilst French Montana is rapping (stereotypical of a rap video).


At 03:54 the stereotype is backed up because French Montana has 2 girls dressed provocatively and they are also dancing in a provocative way. 






At 04:33 there is a graphic match of Jennifer dancing in a room of lights and then her stood in front of the pool dancing. The graphic match also connotes wealth as when she is stood in front of the pool you can see the yacht, her house and the pool. There is also males stood around the pool in swimming pants which is showing off their bodies.

At the end of the music video it returns to Jennifer sat on the sofa with her friends and her manager planning the music video saying how if it were a males music video it would be just like the one she did but voyeuristically treating the females bodies.

Jess Hunt