First Uncompleted Draft

For the first draft we were unable to complete the draft due to complications, we plan to film and edit a complete draft after Christmas or New Year. Below is what we have, for Music is my Radar by Blur:

First Draft - Kaleidoscope

1. Apply mirror effect to your footage (which you should have dragged into your timeline) with an angle of -45 degrees and a centre point of 1525, 1080
2. Right click on your footage in the timeline and click the ‘Nest’ option (the clip should show up in green in your timeline)
3. Copy the footage and paste it but make sure that the timeline marker is not in the middle of your footage because it will paste the footage where the timeline marker is (both should still show up in your timeline in green).
4. Next drag the pasted footage on top of the original and make sure they are the same length and start and finish at the same time.
5. Then apply the following to the pasted nested sequence (the one you have dragged on top of the original nested sequence):

• Horizontal flip
• Crop at 50% on the left
• Mirror at 90 degrees angle and a 1544, 540 centre

6. Then apply mirror at 90 degrees with a centre of 1544, 540 to the bottom clip (you may also want to apply a 50% crop to the right but it is not necessary unless you are planning on changing the opacity of the kaleidoscope sequences)

The Lumineers - Ophelia (Idea)

Looking at The Lumineers's music video for Ophelia there is a section in it where the lead singer is dancing free style and in time to the music. In our (Ben and I) music video we will record Charlie dancing through Beverley town.

Anamatic and Story Board

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Equipment

The equipment that I will be using with Ben Knapton is a Nikon D3300 camera with a standard 18-55 mm lens. With this we will use a tripod to keep shots steady.

Pros of the Nikon D3300:

• Small and light so handling it for long periods of time is easy
• It has high ISO performance
• Built in flash
• Live view and viewfinder
• Easy to manage and understand
• Records at 1080p
• Shoots at 5fps

Cons of the Nikon D3300:

• Not a major upgrade from the D3200
• 18-55 mm lens has limiting focus, so depth of field is hard to control unless you use a 50 mm prime lens and auto focus it, so with that in mind a 50 mm lens may be considered

Defining The Audience

Age: 5% are 15 and under, 61% (the majority) are 16-19. A little over 22% are 20-25 and 11% are 26 and over. By this we can say that out audience is mainly aged 16-19 which will be the main target audience.

Gender: Around 45% are male, 38% are female and 17% are 'other'. By this our audience is predominately male.

Ethnicity: In the survey there is over 60% that are white/Caucasian. There's other ethnicity such as Asian and Hispanic and Latino. We did get 5% who preferred not to answer.

Favourite genre(s) of music: Here this was an opened question where the people could tick more than one genre. 61% selected pop, R&B was the next popular one with 55%, and rock came in at third place of 50%. Other genres such as Country, rap, indie and folk were also selected so our audience has a wide preference of genre.

How do you consume music?: YouTube, Spotify, and TV/Radio were the three mainly selected ones with other people still buying prom the shop and on iTunes. Our audience seems to chose streaming over buying an actual copy of the music as Deezer and Soundcloud were also selected as a way to consume music.

What type of music videos do you enjoy?: 33% selected they enjoy a video with a narrative, performance and an abstract video came joint at 27% and only 11% enjoy an animation music video. In our music video we will create a narrative with a mixture of abstract and performance.

How often do you watch a music video?: Sometimes was the popular answer at 38%, often and rarely came joint at 22%. Only a small majority selected very often (5%) and never (11%).

Majority of our audience: 16-19, male, white/Caucasian, like pop genre, choose to stream music than buy it and like a music video with a narrative.

Theory Notes

Charks Sanders Peirce (1931)

• "We only think in signs", signs are words, images, sounds, colours, flavours, acts or objects. Such things have no intrinsic meaning and become signs only when we invest them with meaning.

Roland Barthes (1967)

• Developed the idea of semiotics

Christian Metz (1974)

• Language and cinema
• Experimental stage to classic stage (codes and conventions are established) then parody stage and finally the deconstruction stage

David Buckingham (1993)

• "Genre is not simply 'given' by the culture: rather it is a constant process of negotiation and change"

John Berger (1972)

• Ways of secrecy
• Men act and women appear
• Men look at women, women watch themselves being looked at
• Women are aware of being sen by a male

Jib Fowles (1996)

• In advertising male gaze and females are gazed at

Identity of the Band

To the right are shades of blue which could be incorporated into the music video, like in Blur's music video their colour scheme is red and black. This scheme is shown through mise-en-scene, the matching costumes that the dancers are wearing, the location, the lighting etc.

The font that was used to create the band's logo is called Chinese Rocks, from dafont.com

Blur - Video Analysis

54 Screen Shots:

Looking at the 54 screen shots it is obvious the colour scheme of this music video - black and red with white this is included so that it stands out more. In Blur's music video their colour scheme is red and black. This scheme is shown through mise-en-scene, the matching costumes that the dancers are wearing, the location, the lighting etc.

Lyric Analysis

You really got me seeing you

Really got me done y'all

Music is my radar

Really topped my joy y'all

Really topped my radio

Really got me done y'all

Dealing I'll be seeing you

Really got my beats now, on my ear now...

Aah don't stop me now

Aah don't stop me now

Aah don't stop me now

Aah don't stop me now

Aah don't stop me now

Aah don't stop me now

Aah don't stop me now

Really got me changing from my bill from job

Into a new life, oh you really got

Really got me singing elsewhere, oh my girl

Really got me dancin', dancin' in my head now baby

Tony Allen dancing

Tony Allen dancing

Tony Allen gets what a boy can do

Really got me dancin'

He really got me dancin'

But I don't give my soul

All ya'll need and yeah don't give a soul

You really got me driftin'

You really got me dancin'

You really got me dancin' in my head

Aah don't stop me now

Aah don't stop me now

Aah don't stop me now

Aah don't stop me now

Aah don't stop me now

Aah don't stop me now

Aah don't stop me now

Aah don't stop me now (You really got me dancin')

Aah don't stop me now (You really got me dancin')

Aah don't stop me now (You really got me dancin')

A line from this song, "Tony Allen got me dancing", was the inspiration for Damon Albarn and Allen to work together recording an album. This project eventually ended up as The Good, the Bad, and the Queen.

Cinematography

• Medium close ups
• Pans down from a wide shot of the posters of the bands faces on then pans right to the dancers
• Medium framing of the female dancers tracking backwards
• Over the shoulder shot of camera man - showing the viewer the behind the scenes of the music video
• High angle shot looking down on the dancers
• Wide shot of the male dancers
• Constant movement
• Low angle shot of male and female dancers
• Zooming in when a man whispers something into his coworkers ear
• Aerial shot zooming out from the centre of the circle
• Close ups to capture emtion and body language

Editing

• Cutting
• Quick editing

Sound

• 
  

Mise-en-scene

• Posters of the band members face in black and white
• People in the circle are wearing a suit costume to show their importance

Synopsis

I will be working with Ben Knapton to produce the music video. We have chosen to do the song by Blur – Music is My Radar.

This music video will star Charlie Sommerville, Ben Knapton, and Chloe Parry who will be the main singer and the star in the music video. The name of the band will be called 'Electric Blue'.

In the music video we will use a green screen to edit in different backgrounds where we will use rhythmic editing, so that the background will change to the beats of the song. Also with the green screen we will shoot location shots in Hull town and then edit Charlie into these shots but shrink him down so he appears a lot smaller to the other people. Whist in town we will choreograph a dance routine where Charlie dances in public, this will link into the songs genre of dace rock. Another idea is to edit in psychedelic patterns such as kaleidoscope effects. These kaleidoscope patterns will link into one of the songs genre of psychedelic rock. 

The equipment we will use is a DSLR camera, tripod to keep the shots steady, green screen, flood lighting and spot lighting in the studio. 

Music Video - R.E.M. - Losing My Religion

Lyrics

Life is bigger

It's bigger

And you, you are not me

The lengths that I will go to

The distance in your eyes

Oh no, I've said too much

I set it up

That's me in the corner [1]

That's me in the spotlight [2]

Losing my religion [3]

Trying to keep up with you

And I don't know if I can do it

Oh no I've said too much

I haven't said enough

I thought that I heard you laughing

I thought that I heard you sing

I think I thought I saw you try

Every whisper

Of every waking hour

I'm choosing my confessions

Trying to keep an eye on you

Like a hurt lost and blinded fool

Oh no, I've said too much [4]

I set it up

Consider this

The hint of the century

Consider this

The slip that brought me

To my knees failed

What if all these fantasies

Come flailing around

Now I've said too much

I thought that I heard you laughing

I thought that I heard you sing

I think I thought I saw you try

But that was just a dream

That was just a dream

That's me in the corner

That's me in the spotlight

Losing my religion

Trying to keep up with you

And I don't know if I can do it

Oh no I've said too much

I haven't said enough

I thought that I heard you laughing

I thought that I heard you sing

I think I thought I saw you try

But that was just a dream, try, cry, why, try

That was just a dream, just a dream, just a dream

Dream

[1] Look at the 4th screenshot

[2] Look at the 5th screenshot

[3] "Losing my religion" is a southern American way of saying "reaching the end of one's rope" or "losing your temper" or "losing your civility". 

[4] Look at the 7th screenshot

Representation

• Religion
• Love
• Homosexuality? - Looking into meanings of the song I came across a comment by someone who says that: "Losing my religion", is a way to describe them admitting their homosexuality. 

Theme

• Religion
• 'Losing My Religion' is title which says a lot about what the video is about
• Costume relates to different religions - Christianity and Hindu
• Spot light can resemble the holy light shining down

Ideology

• Tim O'Sullivan et al (1998) - "Ideology refers to a set of ideas which produces a partial and selective view of reality"
• Wings and the holly book
• Working class of the men
• Guardian angel

Screenshots From The Video

The band and extras are running around the room looking up, which I assume they're look up to 'god'. First, a man runs from left to right, the camera follows him panning left to right. Then another man runs right to left and again the camera follows him from the right to left.

This music video's editing is quick which matches the tempo of the song. After the second man has run out of frame the camera zooms into the milk that is on the window frame. Another man walks by holding a wing, presumably a prop for the music video. The camera cuts to a close-up of the glass which then falls and the camera pans down following the glass falling. "Don't cry over spilt milk" symbolising crying.

The lead signer is shown to be pacing around a room which could symbolise isolation. This room is dimly lit which also could reflect his thought of darkness, and loneliness.

[1] "That's me in the corner", the singer looks up into the right-hand corner for it to then to follow his eye line match and to cut to the man on the chair.

[2] He then looks to the top left-hand corner, and the camera cuts to the men who are in control of the lighting. 

[4] "Oh no, I've said too much", dim lighting shows that he appears to be depressed and upset with himself. Again there is the use of the spot light shining down from 'heaven'.

 

Music Video - Funeral Suits - All those friendly people

Lyrics

Count back, anaesthetise

Colours burnt into my eyes

Life for you is shades of grey

Help me, help me find my way [1]

Lost, lost, and never found

Hide your secrets, settle down

I am young and I am naïve [2]

Tell me something I will believe

Take me, take me far away

From this city's soul decay

Hid away 'til I was eighteen

Only saw colours on a TV screen

Skinny jeans and sunglasses

A fashion statement for the masses

What you're doing makes me sick

Over hyped and generic

Shine, shine like the sun

Spread your warmth through everyone

I asked you why people die

You said we all had a design

Slide into the sea

Landslide comin' down on me

I said I was into you

You said you were into me

You never answer on the phone

With your nicotine lips and your heart of stone

I look for you by the underpass

Looks like this love wasn't meant to last

You said you reap just what you sow

So tell me, where does your garden grow?

You said in time the pain would pass

Looks like the end is here at last

Burn, burn like a star

Burn a hole in every heart

Strung out on a trail of blood

Who knew the stars were not enough?

Smile, smile if you can

If you can't, I'll understand

See these stitches in my eyes

Smash computers, kill rock stars

Purge the past and waste my mind

Leave no scent or trace behind

One day when you bury me

When I wake up, what will I see?

Down, down underground

Dig for fire, dig for sound

What is on the radio?

'Cause I would like to say hello

Crawl, crawl through the dirt

Jesus, show me what you're worth

Can't you just send us a sign?

Tell us all that we're doing fine

Nights for sitting in the dark

Days for lying in the park

Wake me up from my sick dream

A requiem for this dead scene

You never answer on the phone

With your nicotine lips and your heart of stone

I look for you by the underpass

Looks like this love wasn't meant to last

You said you reap just what you sow

Well, tell me, where does your garden grow?

You said in time the pain would pass

Looks like the end is here at last

Count back, anaesthetise

Colours burnt into my eyes

Life for you is shades of grey

Help me, help me find my way

Mother, can't you help me now?

'Cause I've been drowning in the sound

Lying on the motorway

Writing songs and wasting away

 

 

My Interpretation of The Lyrics:

[1] "Count back, anaesthetise, colours burnt into my eyes, life for you is shades of grey, help me, help me find my way"

• With the music video opening up to a woman who is tied up in the trunk of a man’s car, presumably once unconscious maybe from aesthetic ‘count back, anaesthetise’.
• 'Colours burnt into my eyes' could mean when the bag is taken off her light is blinding and the colour / light is burning into her eyes. This is shown through an extreme close up being out of focus and darkened.
• ‘Life for you is shades of grey’: could mean the costume’s colour theme of black and white – shades of grey. It could also be referencing to the book / film 50 Shades of Grey, which is a book about a man who wants to dominate and control every aspect of the woman through their relationship after she foolishly falls for his vast wealth and outside charm
• ‘Help me, help me find my way’: the woman is being guided like a dog on a leash, she’s helpless with no sight of help (revealed by the aerial shots) her only help is the man and to follow him.
• This verse is repeated twice, at the beginning where we see the woman being dragged out of the car and along the road side.

[2] “I am young and I am naïve”

·         Due to her lack of life experience she believed everything this man told her, never questioning his motives as we see her being dragged along with little to no resistanc

Representation:

The mask of the guy, his hat and behaviour might refer to:

• The Plague Doctor
• Capitano (from Commedia de'arte)
• The modern manager/a high social-class man

The pig-mans might represent:

• The impulses of the masked man
• The average modern men

Screenshots from the music video, looking at cinematography

Extreme close ups:

 

These are used a lot in the music video, this is to be intimate with the two characters. The two main characters are the man who wears a mask and is dressed in a suit (the band is called Funeral Suits, so this could be linked to the bands' name as there is a man in a suit and a possible death (funeral) to the woman)). This man has kidnapped the woman who is shown to be wearing a red cloth bag over her head and a white dress connotations or danger and innocence.

Extreme close-ups are used to show detail and facial expressions in detail. In these nine screenshots, the man in the mask comes across as treating and has an uncomfortable feeling towards his character, he is shown and represented as the 'bad guy'.

The woman who is shown to have the cloth bag over her head makes the audience question 'why'.

Later in the video when the bag is taken off her we get a close up of her eyes squinting as the sudden bright light hits her and she has to adjust to the light change fast. The man in the mask has two pigs which are commanded to attack her and kill her, the camera then uses a close up of their mouths oozing with what appears to be blood is revealed. Increasing an uncomfortable feeling and unsettling feeling to the video.

Close-ups:

This video is full of close ups and extreme close ups. Above are close up shots, these are used to capture facial expressions. The two characters show two very different expressions; the man is seen to be full of joy and laughter at his 'game' and the girl is seen to be petrified, confused, and scared for her life.
I'm assuming they used a low f/ (aperture) when shooting this video, maybe with a 50mm or 80mm lens to achieve the soft out of focus of the background and the sharp focus of the close ups and extreme close ups. As the focus point is very specific and accurate which creates an uneasy and a confusing effect. This focusing of in and out of focus and use of pull focus reflects the woman's confusion and allows the camera to capture her feelings and emotions.

High, Low-Angles and POV Shots:

High angles are where the camera is above the subject (the woman), looking down. This position makes characters look weak, submissive, or frightened. The third screenshot is from the POV of the man after he's pushed her down onto the floor. With the use of a high angle, the woman looks frightened and defenceless.
The first, seconds and fourth screen shot is a low angle, looking up. This shows dominance and power. Low angles are used in the first screenshot as the woman in the trunk of the man's car and he has just opened it. A POV shot is used from the woman laying down in the trunk. The second screenshot is when he pushes his foot on the backs of her knees to make her collapses onto the ground. This resembles dominance as he's got full control over her. Finally, the fourth screenshot is when she trips over her thin air and falls to the ground. The two pigs are chasing after her and she throws sand as her defence weapon. This is also a POV shot from the woman as we see what she is seeing and become sympathetic towards her.

Areal Shots:

In this video, there is a drone used with a fisheye lens to create a wrapped fish-bowl effect. These shots are used to give the audience an idea of the location, that being the middle of nowhere. This feeling of isolation increases the sympathy towards the woman as it is clear there is nowhere for her to run for help. In the third screenshot, we see the two (man and woman) walking across the field. 

Out of Focus (editing / cinematography):

This is a style that is used throughout the music video, the use of blurring and soft out of focus. This is possibly used to strengthen the confusion of the woman. This also allows the editor and cameraman to pick what they want to show the viewer. The very carefully selective focus points create uncertainty of what is happening and increase the worry for the woman's safety. The fourth screenshot is when the man takes the bag off her head - the symbolises the blurriness of her sight as to her lighting has gone from dark to light, which will blind her as she scrambles to gain sight again as her life appears to be in danger from the man and his two pigs.

Two / Three Person Shot and Long Shots:

These camera shots are used as often as the soft out of focusing is. This allows the viewers to see what is going on and makes the story easier to follow. The two shots are used at a long shot when we are shown the man dragging the woman by the neck by rope similar to a man walking his dog. The leash giving the man control and power§ over the dog, which is seen here - the man 'walking' the woman dragging her along to where he wants her to go.

Over the shoulder shots are used from over the woman's shoulder this leaves the audience helpless and unable to help her. All they can do is watch from behind her and hope she will be okay.

Bottom row, third screenshot from the left, there is pull focused used. The could insicate the man's power more as the pigs act as his slaves so being blured out this empasises it.