Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. Most of the time, music videos are an artist's subsiduary media which helps to sell their singles and albums. Since MTV was launched in 1981 with "Video Killed The Radio Star" the music video has grown to be a key element in music marketing, making audiences identify a track by its music video. From 1992, the music video medium has become that of a mark of the music video auteur, giving directors credit for the success of a music video in the credits. Directors such as Mark Romanek and Michel Gondry came into the medium successfully because they brought a unique vision and styles to the videos they directed.
From 2005, the internet became video-friendly with file-sharing websites such as Napster, which enabled users to share both tracks and music videos. The introduction of YouTube in 2005 made access to music videos even easier, without having to sign up to view content. YouTube was also a success for the music industry because it marketed videos better because the audience can view them quicker and easier than before. Some artists and marketers began to see success as a result of videos seen mostly or entirely online, the band OK GO exemplified this trend, making their success and fame through their video being on YouTube, gaining over 43 million views.
The record company is a key part of the music industry, they sign up an artist or band and then pay them an advance which covers all costs such as marketing and costumes etc. The record company then produces a brief, budget, deadlines etc. The way that the music industry makes money through this is by employing a commisioner who works out what percentage the record company gets of the profit including the advance paid to the artist, the artist then earns the rest of the profit after the advance is paid back and commision is paid. In the production of the video, directors come forward pitching ideas to the record company (including storyboards), then the producer comes up with a budget and if that is accepted by the record company then the proposal is sent to the client and if they approve of it then the production unit is set up.
Friday 6 February 2009
Thursday 29 January 2009
evaluation of shoots
Before we actually shot our footage we went on some location reccies and shoot walkthroughs, this enabled us to plan the exact shot and shot size which we needed for the actual shoot. It was also useful because it showed us what problems we were likely to face when doing the actual shoot, one of these problems was the amount of people that were around and we did encounter some problems with this when doing the actual shoot.
Our first shoot wasn't very successful because we filmed it early in the morning so the lighting wasn't very good. Also, we were filming outside a train station and this made it difficult to shoot the longer shots because it was busy with commuters. Furthermore, it was raining when we performed the shoot which lowered the quality of the footage.
Our second shoot was more successful because the weather was better and we filmed later in the day which meant that the streets were not as busy as before. Also, the shots themselves were of a higher quality because we used a tripod which made the camera a lot more steady than in the first shoot.
Our third shoot was successful because we managed to film a lot of footage because the location wasn't very busy. Also, the lighting for the close-up leg shots was better than on the second shoot because the sunlight wasn't as strong so the throusers weren't as bright and the shot looked better.
Our fourth shoot was a re-shoot of the first shoot, it was successful because we achieved what we needed to in that the lighting was better in the re-shoot and we got the camera angles right. In the fourth shoot we also filmed the opening sequence of the music video which was going to be difficult because we needed to use a strobe light to give the feeling of the end of a party. These shots were difficult because the camera had trouble registering the facial details of the actors, we got round this by using phone lights to slightly light up their faces. Also, the camera had trouble focusing because of the flashing of the strobe light, we overcame this problem by slowing down the flashing of the strobe light.
Our final shoot was successful because we found a few new locations which would fit in with the opening sequences. Also, the new footage which we got will help to give the video a sense of a journey.
Overall, our shoots were relatively successful because we only had to re-shoot two sequences and the rest of the footage we successfully shot first time.
Our first shoot wasn't very successful because we filmed it early in the morning so the lighting wasn't very good. Also, we were filming outside a train station and this made it difficult to shoot the longer shots because it was busy with commuters. Furthermore, it was raining when we performed the shoot which lowered the quality of the footage.
Our second shoot was more successful because the weather was better and we filmed later in the day which meant that the streets were not as busy as before. Also, the shots themselves were of a higher quality because we used a tripod which made the camera a lot more steady than in the first shoot.
Our third shoot was successful because we managed to film a lot of footage because the location wasn't very busy. Also, the lighting for the close-up leg shots was better than on the second shoot because the sunlight wasn't as strong so the throusers weren't as bright and the shot looked better.
Our fourth shoot was a re-shoot of the first shoot, it was successful because we achieved what we needed to in that the lighting was better in the re-shoot and we got the camera angles right. In the fourth shoot we also filmed the opening sequence of the music video which was going to be difficult because we needed to use a strobe light to give the feeling of the end of a party. These shots were difficult because the camera had trouble registering the facial details of the actors, we got round this by using phone lights to slightly light up their faces. Also, the camera had trouble focusing because of the flashing of the strobe light, we overcame this problem by slowing down the flashing of the strobe light.
Our final shoot was successful because we found a few new locations which would fit in with the opening sequences. Also, the new footage which we got will help to give the video a sense of a journey.
Overall, our shoots were relatively successful because we only had to re-shoot two sequences and the rest of the footage we successfully shot first time.
editing progress
So far with editing we have come across some problems, these being; firstly the first day of shooting was to dark as we filmed early in the morning. This also had the problem of it raining so when we came to edit the footage it was bad quality and needed to be re-shot. So when we re-shot this footage we did it later in the day and used to the editing software to turn the contrast down and make it look darker than it was. This effect worked but we had to play with the settings so that it looked the same as clips from out original shoot.
After uploading out footage onto the editing software we deleted useless footage and then placed the footage we had in a time order. We decided that placing some transaction between the clips would make it easier when we came to finalising the footage at the end. Some shots we had difficulties editing were the time-lapse shots, we did not realise that we had to have a shot of the empty ally so when the we faded out one clip using the opacity tool the other clip could be faded in. To overcome this we cross faded two shots so when one faded out the other faded in, giving the same effect with what shots we had, saving us having to film more footage.
Other problems we are having is making sure the each shot is not to long as otherwise it will become boring to the viewer, to make sure this didn’t happen we used lots of quick cuts which should be in time with the beats of our track.
Looking further into our editing we were having problems with our strobe, this is a problem as the lighting conditions were slightly different as the cameras would not pick up enough light. To overcome this we turned on a light but as the shots became lighter the strobe didn’t show up on the characters faces, we turned the contrast down but this didn’t help very much. So through the editing we used quick cuts to get between light shots, this has worked out but is still slightly different from our plan.
We realised that just cutting between each shot made the video boring, to overcome this we used dissolves and fades to cut between shots. The fades that we used were the fade to black and then back to a shot. This worked well as it fits in with the music but also allows you to change backgrounds without making it to obvious. Dissolving shots meant that long shots can be cut down allowing the same background to be there but the character moving from one place to the other. This also worked really well as we had a static camera when filming these shots.
After uploading out footage onto the editing software we deleted useless footage and then placed the footage we had in a time order. We decided that placing some transaction between the clips would make it easier when we came to finalising the footage at the end. Some shots we had difficulties editing were the time-lapse shots, we did not realise that we had to have a shot of the empty ally so when the we faded out one clip using the opacity tool the other clip could be faded in. To overcome this we cross faded two shots so when one faded out the other faded in, giving the same effect with what shots we had, saving us having to film more footage.
Other problems we are having is making sure the each shot is not to long as otherwise it will become boring to the viewer, to make sure this didn’t happen we used lots of quick cuts which should be in time with the beats of our track.
Looking further into our editing we were having problems with our strobe, this is a problem as the lighting conditions were slightly different as the cameras would not pick up enough light. To overcome this we turned on a light but as the shots became lighter the strobe didn’t show up on the characters faces, we turned the contrast down but this didn’t help very much. So through the editing we used quick cuts to get between light shots, this has worked out but is still slightly different from our plan.
We realised that just cutting between each shot made the video boring, to overcome this we used dissolves and fades to cut between shots. The fades that we used were the fade to black and then back to a shot. This worked well as it fits in with the music but also allows you to change backgrounds without making it to obvious. Dissolving shots meant that long shots can be cut down allowing the same background to be there but the character moving from one place to the other. This also worked really well as we had a static camera when filming these shots.
Friday 9 January 2009
Evaluation of Storyboard and Animatic
In order to successfully put together our animatic, we filmed each shot in our storyboard for around 5 seconds. We then loaded the footage onto a computer and loaded the soundtrack onto it. We then cut the shots down in order to make them fit where they were meant to go in the narrative. We then edited the shots to fit them into time with the track.
The storyboard and the animatic will be useful to us in the filming of our music video because we will be able to plan each shoot and know what the actor(s) will need to do in time with the track. The storyboard will be especially useful in this because we will be able to take it to each shoot and use it to perform each shot with the correct camera movement, shot size and shot length.
The animatic will be useful because it will help us to edit the footage in time with the track. While editing the footage, we will be able to compare it to the animatic and time it to where it is meant to go in the music video.
The storyboard and the animatic will be useful to us in the filming of our music video because we will be able to plan each shoot and know what the actor(s) will need to do in time with the track. The storyboard will be especially useful in this because we will be able to take it to each shoot and use it to perform each shot with the correct camera movement, shot size and shot length.
The animatic will be useful because it will help us to edit the footage in time with the track. While editing the footage, we will be able to compare it to the animatic and time it to where it is meant to go in the music video.
Friday 12 December 2008
Evaluation of Pitch
The main thing that we gained from our pitch was the fact that we need to incorporate a female character in the music video because the lead vocalist is female. The class agreed with us making the video postmodern by having a female character following the male character which will undermine dominant ideologies. Another factor of the response to the pitch which affected our idea was that we need a wider range of locations in order to keep the audience entertained. Furthermore, because we won't be using any performance shots, the narrative would need to have be depth and detail with a wider variety of shots and locations.
Furthermore, another piece of feedback we received from the group was how we were going to give the feeling of the video being set at night. A way that was suggested to overcome this was by filming in the early hours of the morning, at dawn.
Sunday 30 November 2008
Feedback #3
well done - some interesting technical observations. Your blog has improved, however can you go back do the following so that it is easy for me to review your previous grades:
1. change titles to start with your initials so I can see whose analysis is there at a glance (for all posts)
2. Double check spelling, punctuation, paragraphing - use subheadings if necessary
3. Can you let me know if you have made any changes to your textual analysis as per my feedback so that I can go back and re-read them.
At the moment, you are working at a 3+/4- level. To secure a level 4 (which you all need) for planning, then you must go to town on this blog.
Also - all analysis should have a link to the actual video or imbed the clip.
1. change titles to start with your initials so I can see whose analysis is there at a glance (for all posts)
2. Double check spelling, punctuation, paragraphing - use subheadings if necessary
3. Can you let me know if you have made any changes to your textual analysis as per my feedback so that I can go back and re-read them.
At the moment, you are working at a 3+/4- level. To secure a level 4 (which you all need) for planning, then you must go to town on this blog.
Also - all analysis should have a link to the actual video or imbed the clip.
Thursday 27 November 2008
Technical Analysis – Africa Shox – Leftfield and Afrika Bambaata
Evaluation
It is evident from my analysis that the duration of each shot does not exceed more than two seconds. However there is a longer shot of around 25 seconds but this shot uses camera movement to design a fluid, interesting shot. This technique seems to be an alternative technique to fast paced cutting. This is because the camera moves in different directions resembling a journey. It is not still so the shot doesn’t necessarily seem longer than the others, at least it is not obviously longer than the other shots when viewed passively. This effect adds fluidity to the process of revealing and anchoring s with the main character. It also gives us more detail of where he is and his surroundings which is s good way in setting the location. Other than this shot, the majority of the shots are between 1 and 2 seconds long. This follows the timing of the music and can add more detail in mise-en-scene whilst telling a longer story in a short amount of time. The shots follow in chronological order and are continuity edited. This allows for the narrative to flow through the invisible cuts.
The movement of the camera is also essential to making the cuts go unnoticed. For example, when we see the pigeons taking off, the camera starts pedding upwards. It then cuts to a shot, still pedding up, of the pigeons flying higher up. This means that the middle part of the pigeon’s flight not in the sequence but the audience will fail to notice this. This technique is seen throughout and by cutting whilst the camera is moving, to a shot where the camera movement is continued, the cutting goes unseen.
The majority of shots and MLS, MS, MCU and CU. This allows the main character to always be the focal point of the video, thus giving us the meat which builds up a star persona. These shots also position the audience with the character which means that a certain degree of emotion can be obtained through POV shots an reaction shots. This video uses this technique to convey pain and anxiety.
The video also uses other techniques. It is fairly voyeuristic of pedestrians and films them from low camera angles which connote degradation when used I this way. The camera also zooms into a group of pedestrians from a distance which has connotations of the paparazzi intruding, stalking and spying. The video also uses still shots to good effect. When the main character’s arm breaks off we get a still CU of another man’s face which doesn’t react to the situation or help the main character. The fact that he is filmed in CU with a low camera angle makes the man seem pretty sinister. However, this is anchored further as the camera doesn’t move, as though it had been stopped dead by the man’s callous.
I think it would be a good idea to use the voyeuristic shots used in this video and also using still shots in this way would be a great help in constructing the mood of our video. Furthermore, I will use cutting on action to conceal the cuts and I may even use a longer, more fluid shot to match the baseline in our chosen track.
It is evident from my analysis that the duration of each shot does not exceed more than two seconds. However there is a longer shot of around 25 seconds but this shot uses camera movement to design a fluid, interesting shot. This technique seems to be an alternative technique to fast paced cutting. This is because the camera moves in different directions resembling a journey. It is not still so the shot doesn’t necessarily seem longer than the others, at least it is not obviously longer than the other shots when viewed passively. This effect adds fluidity to the process of revealing and anchoring s with the main character. It also gives us more detail of where he is and his surroundings which is s good way in setting the location. Other than this shot, the majority of the shots are between 1 and 2 seconds long. This follows the timing of the music and can add more detail in mise-en-scene whilst telling a longer story in a short amount of time. The shots follow in chronological order and are continuity edited. This allows for the narrative to flow through the invisible cuts.
The movement of the camera is also essential to making the cuts go unnoticed. For example, when we see the pigeons taking off, the camera starts pedding upwards. It then cuts to a shot, still pedding up, of the pigeons flying higher up. This means that the middle part of the pigeon’s flight not in the sequence but the audience will fail to notice this. This technique is seen throughout and by cutting whilst the camera is moving, to a shot where the camera movement is continued, the cutting goes unseen.
The majority of shots and MLS, MS, MCU and CU. This allows the main character to always be the focal point of the video, thus giving us the meat which builds up a star persona. These shots also position the audience with the character which means that a certain degree of emotion can be obtained through POV shots an reaction shots. This video uses this technique to convey pain and anxiety.
The video also uses other techniques. It is fairly voyeuristic of pedestrians and films them from low camera angles which connote degradation when used I this way. The camera also zooms into a group of pedestrians from a distance which has connotations of the paparazzi intruding, stalking and spying. The video also uses still shots to good effect. When the main character’s arm breaks off we get a still CU of another man’s face which doesn’t react to the situation or help the main character. The fact that he is filmed in CU with a low camera angle makes the man seem pretty sinister. However, this is anchored further as the camera doesn’t move, as though it had been stopped dead by the man’s callous.
I think it would be a good idea to use the voyeuristic shots used in this video and also using still shots in this way would be a great help in constructing the mood of our video. Furthermore, I will use cutting on action to conceal the cuts and I may even use a longer, more fluid shot to match the baseline in our chosen track.
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