Research Into Exisiting Music Videos - Professionally Made

After a search on google we found out that the safety dance was of the new wave synth pop genre, we therefore found 3 existing professional music videos of the same genre as our research.

New Order - Blue Monday

Blue Monday by New order has a very abstract music video. None of the video is lip synced and there is no narrative or live performance in the video. It is made up of lots of almost random videos put together, it is a very abstract video even though there is no sort of narrative at all. Some parts of the video are filmed in stop motion. The video contains no dialogue or much interaction between characters seen in the video. There are a couple of shots of the people in the video laughing however no actual dialogue. There looks as if there is 2 or 3 locations however these appear to just be different coloured rooms and an all black room. There are also no credits in the video. Overall even though there is no narrative the video works very well and fits the song well.

Pet Shop Boys - Love Comes Quickly

This video is very different to Blue Monday by New Order despite being of the same genre. Pretty much all of the video is lip synced and features the main singer singing the song, however it is not a live performance. It also has no narrative, it is just the singer singing into the camera with various images faded other the top and other effects. There is one main character in the video which is just the main singer of the band, he is centre hot for almost the whole video, there are various other people that appear other the top of the video of the main singer singing. There is no dialogue just the lyrics of the song. There is one location but other images appear faintly over the top of the video of this one location and these could potentially be from other locations but it is not clear. There are no credits.

The Human League - Don't You Want Me

Some of this video is lip synced however some is not. Once again there is no live performance in this video. The video interchanges between lip syncing the song and being a sort of narrative about a film set. It often mixes it up by having shots of the film shoot and then one of the main singers walking through lip syncing the song. There are more characters this time, the two main consisting of members of the band who lip sync the song between shots of the narrative. There is also a couple of locations including a house and a street and the inside of a car. Once again, however there is no credits.

Video Update #1

A2 Coursework Brief

We had the choice between two briefs. One choice was to make a short film lasting approximately 5 minutes, along with a film poster and a film magazine review. The other choice was to make a promotion pack for an album; including a music video, a digipak, and a magazine advertisement for the digipak.

We decided on doing the album digipak as we wanted to continue, adapt and improve our preliminary task, which we felt laid some great groundwork for our final piece. Naturally we plan to re-film a lot of scenes to make sure we create a more solid storyline, but we may still reuse some scenes. Regardless, whether we re-use scenes or not, we will still stick to the same idea and the same main character/actor.

Evaluation Question 4 (Preliminary)

How did you use Media Technologies in the Construction and Research, Planning and Evaluating Stage?

 We used multiple different media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluating stage.
Firstly in the research stage we used mainly laptops/computers and the internet (specifically youtube and google images). We used this to firstly listen to the son and learn the lyrics, this was to try and spark an idea that could link to the song and its lyrics. We also used youtube to watch various other music videos from the same genre as the dafter dance so that we got a realistic idea of what real media products similar to ours looked like. We also used the internet to research possible areas in Norwich that we could use to create our media product.
For the planning stage we all used the internet and laptops to finalise research our locations. We also used phones to contact our actors and arrange filming times. We also used cameras to take photos of our final locations once we had been to see them.
In the construction stage we used video cameras to film our actual film along with memory cards to store our footage on. We also used tripods to stabilise the cameras and we used a drone and a go pro for some alternative shots. Whilst we were filming we were also still using computers and the internet to do regular blog posts about our filming. We then used adobe premiere pro on computers to edit all of our footage and to create our final media product. Furthermore we used a camera to take various potential photos for our cd cover and then used adobe photoshop to edit our chosen photo to create our cd cover.
During the evaluation stage we used laptops and computer sand the internet (in particular blogger) to continue with our blog posts and answer the evaluation questions.

Evaluation Question 3 (Preliminary)

What Have You Learnt From Your Audience Feedback?

We received audience feedback from multiple students who we played or music video to. 

The main thing we received in terms of feedback was that once the main character had transported to the different planet there wasn't much clear direction in terms of what was happening. Another big piece of feedback we received was that certain shots lasted too long.
From the audience feedback me and my group have learnt that my shots should be much more varied to ensure that shots aren't to long and don't get boring for the audience. We would also need to include more camera techniques, such as whip pans, to make it more interesting. Also we would need to make sure there was more of a clear narrative to the video to ensure the audience didn't get confused. This would give the video more direction and story. We could do this by re filming the second half of the video and giving clear indications to the audience as to what is happening rather than just jumbled clips of people running around. We could also potentially try to link the music video to the lyrics of the song more as some people couldn't see the link between the lyrics and the video even though we did try to base the music video around a couple of key lyrics from the song.

Evaluation Question 2 (Preliminary)

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary text (CD cover)?

We feel that our CD cover links very well to our video as it shares the same name as our song for the music video. Not only this, but we chose to use a picture of our actor in costume with the tent used in the music video. This obviously directly links the two products to each other.

We also chose to use text that was not necessarily formal-looking; more child-like and fun. This is quite an effective link as we imagine that the whole album would follow suit with the sound of The Safety Dance - this sound being upbeat and lighthearted. Therefore, it makes sense that the album cover be just as fun and bright. We matched the text colour to the colours used frequently in the video and the costume; for example, red. This also went some way to effectively linking the two products.

Having said this, in retrospect, it may be more effective to create a more subtle link between the final product and the album cover. Often on album covers the cover may not necessarily be linked at all to any of the music videos made for the songs. Take for example The Smiths' 'The Queen Is Dead' album cover:

While the title 'The Queen is Dead' is also the title of a song on the album, the visuals themselves have no relation to the content of the album or its music videos. Despite this, the album cover still seems to work brilliantly alongside the content of the album. In some ways, this subtlety could be a far more effective link than the directness of our own album cover.

Next time around, perhaps exploring the art of subtlety might be a better approach, whilst still maintaining the fun and childishness of our original attempt.

Evaluation Question 1 (Preliminary)

In what ways does your media product use develop or challenge the forms and conventions of real media products?

In most real media products a child is presented as vulnerable, naïve and ignorant to the real world; a classic example would be Kevin from Home Alone. Our music video really takes advantage of and enhances this view. We use a lot of close ups to show the emotions on his face whether he's confused or scared. Also the fact that his emotions are really exaggerated and clear to see means that the audience is able to connect with the character more than others. For the first minute or so the shots are relatively close up making the viewer feel as if they are part of this characters journey, this is also done with the video transitions when there is a change of location. All these techniques are to present the child as innocent and free. Another convention we used was the representation of a child's imagination which is normally portrayed as illogical and sometimes weird. This shown in the middle section where the footage is chopped up and out of order almost representing this stat of mind. 

In the last section of the video an adult figure is introduced and this character completely takes control of the scene. We use high camera angles and a tilt shot to show this character's authority and charge over the other characters. This is also symbolised by his suit and he is normal centre of shot. The fact that he grabs power and is a representation of the real world, this character is able to bring him back to reality.

CD Cover (Preliminary)

Final Cut (Preliminary)

Images During Filming (Preliminary)

Day 1 -

Day 1 consisted of filming the start of the music video. This meant the majority of the house shots (inside and out).

Day 2 -

During this day of filming, we shot the ending scene (first picture), and then headed out into Wreningham forest to film the main body of the video. For this we brought along a few extras. In the picture below is Jasper on the far left (in our group) and then Caitlin, Tom and Katy. We also employed the help of Nick who lent us his drone to film a few shots.

Day 3 -

Here we filmed the ending of the main body. After being unable to get all of our extras together, we had to change the ending and get Jasper to be in it. Jasper posed as the king of the imaginary land. We filmed at the fort at the Lizard in Wymondham. 

1 Minute First Draft (Preliminary)