The Psychologist - We knew that for this role we needed someone with actual knowledge of psychology, as while we know some information, we do not have extensive knowledge of the subject. Out of convenience, we thought that using a psychology teacher would be the best person for the job. We immediately thought of Mrs Edmunds as she is my psychology teacher.
Main Character - Originally, we thought that we should get an adult of some sort, somebody middle aged. The trouble we had is that we struggled to envision anybody we knew in this role. We changed our idea to using a younger person, perhaps in their 20s, as this is far easier to cast. We plan to use Jasper's older brother, Henry.
The Family Member - After our previous success with using Toby as our actor in our preliminary task, we decided we wanted to use him again - this time as a younger brother or nephew of our main character.
The Presenter - This could be anybody, but we decided to go for a younger-looking person, someone who is completely comfortable in front of the camera and properly understands the documentary style we are going for, we would like to use Jasper for this.
Wednesday, 30 November 2016
Tuesday, 22 November 2016
Monday, 21 November 2016
Initial Ideas
1. Continue with the Preliminary
The first idea we had was to simply build on our preliminary idea and improve it. Originally we thought that perhaps we could re-use some of our footage from our original piece, but upon discussion and review, felt that it would not be worth it and we needed to create more substance and narrative.
From this, we created a slightly new idea, sticking with the same song and actor. Our idea was that Toby (our actor) would be in a boring lesson and he begins to daydream about a world in which he is a superhero and needs to save the land. Along the way he meets his friends (that we see in the classroom) who lead him to a sort of boss battle in a tower; the boss being the evil teacher we saw in the classroom. Toby wins, his friends chant his name. This creates a sound bridge from the dream back to reality where we see it is really the teacher calling Toby's name to try to get his attention.
This idea did not go ahead as we could not gather nearly enough extras for the video, despite numerous efforts.
2. Change Our Idea Completely
Our second plan was to change our idea and move away completely from our preliminary task. This next idea was to focus on visuals and aesthetics, people driving through fog etc. We wanted it to be downbeat, mellow - the complete opposite of our preliminary. We then thought it might be easier to create if we have some sort of a narrative, we came to the idea of blurred lines between reality and the imagination. We thought that again, we could use Toby and he could be playing with toy cars and making them crash or playing with action figures and making them fight. Then, somewhere in the world, the car crash and the fight is happening. This idea would carry a strong message about the world we live in.
This idea did not go ahead as we knew that finding a song would be extremely difficult and we wanted it to look professional - not just cross cuts. We weren't sure how well we could do this, particularly with our lack of editing skills.
3. The Idea we have Now
We moved on from this idea of blurred reality onto dreams. We completely jumped away from the idea of music videos to short films. We got thinking about the idea of a 'mockumentary' and all the possibilities and clichés we could play with. Originally, we thought about the idea of a man thinking that he is stuck in a dream. However, from that we thought it would be interesting if a man had had a dream when he was younger and he has spent the rest of the life searching for a specific person he has seen in that dream. He becomes obsessive, and it affects his whole life, his relationships etc. We are looking to include interviews with his friends and family and also a psychologist.
The idea will follow a short part of the man's day - a sort of Louis Theroux type documentary.
The first idea we had was to simply build on our preliminary idea and improve it. Originally we thought that perhaps we could re-use some of our footage from our original piece, but upon discussion and review, felt that it would not be worth it and we needed to create more substance and narrative.
From this, we created a slightly new idea, sticking with the same song and actor. Our idea was that Toby (our actor) would be in a boring lesson and he begins to daydream about a world in which he is a superhero and needs to save the land. Along the way he meets his friends (that we see in the classroom) who lead him to a sort of boss battle in a tower; the boss being the evil teacher we saw in the classroom. Toby wins, his friends chant his name. This creates a sound bridge from the dream back to reality where we see it is really the teacher calling Toby's name to try to get his attention.
This idea did not go ahead as we could not gather nearly enough extras for the video, despite numerous efforts.
2. Change Our Idea Completely
Our second plan was to change our idea and move away completely from our preliminary task. This next idea was to focus on visuals and aesthetics, people driving through fog etc. We wanted it to be downbeat, mellow - the complete opposite of our preliminary. We then thought it might be easier to create if we have some sort of a narrative, we came to the idea of blurred lines between reality and the imagination. We thought that again, we could use Toby and he could be playing with toy cars and making them crash or playing with action figures and making them fight. Then, somewhere in the world, the car crash and the fight is happening. This idea would carry a strong message about the world we live in.
This idea did not go ahead as we knew that finding a song would be extremely difficult and we wanted it to look professional - not just cross cuts. We weren't sure how well we could do this, particularly with our lack of editing skills.
3. The Idea we have Now
We moved on from this idea of blurred reality onto dreams. We completely jumped away from the idea of music videos to short films. We got thinking about the idea of a 'mockumentary' and all the possibilities and clichés we could play with. Originally, we thought about the idea of a man thinking that he is stuck in a dream. However, from that we thought it would be interesting if a man had had a dream when he was younger and he has spent the rest of the life searching for a specific person he has seen in that dream. He becomes obsessive, and it affects his whole life, his relationships etc. We are looking to include interviews with his friends and family and also a psychologist.
The idea will follow a short part of the man's day - a sort of Louis Theroux type documentary.
Friday, 18 November 2016
Success of a Music Video
I think, as with all media products, that the success of the outcome is subjective. One person may love a music video, think it is innovative and interesting, whilst another might think it is boring and cliché. It depends on the person.
I think the best music videos really tie in with the song it's representing; moments where a beat in the song matches an action performed in the video, for example, are simple but extremely effective. On a different note, I feel that successful music videos avoid clichés, e.g. a rap video including supercars, girls in bikinis etc.
A successful music video should also reflect the vibe/atmosphere of the song. If it is a fun, upbeat song, then make the music video follow suit. If a song is downbeat, but the mise en scene of the music video reflects that of an upbeat song, this can create an element of confusion and detachment.
I think the best music videos really tie in with the song it's representing; moments where a beat in the song matches an action performed in the video, for example, are simple but extremely effective. On a different note, I feel that successful music videos avoid clichés, e.g. a rap video including supercars, girls in bikinis etc.
A successful music video should also reflect the vibe/atmosphere of the song. If it is a fun, upbeat song, then make the music video follow suit. If a song is downbeat, but the mise en scene of the music video reflects that of an upbeat song, this can create an element of confusion and detachment.
Tuesday, 15 November 2016
Consumption of Music Videos
A few years ago, perhaps prior to 2005, consumption of music videos would have primarily been through TV on music channels. A popular one would have been MTV, occasionally shows were created out of showing music videos. For example, the popular cartoon characters Beavis and Butthead used to have a show narrating music videos. This would have most likely been the most popular, if not the only way of consuming music videos in the 80s-90s.
Nowadays there are many different options available to view music videos. Some music streaming apps e.g. Apple Music, now have the option of downloading the music video instead of just the audio. This is one way of consuming videos. Another way, probably one of the most popular options, is through YouTube. YouTube is an extremely popular video sharing website and is often the first platform artists choose to release their music on. This attracts a huge audience to consume music videos in this way. Naturally, there is still the option of watching music videos on TV on music channels such as Bliss, MTV etc. Music streaming websites also provide music videos occasionally, some artists will partner up with these sites to exclusively release their music e.g. Kanye West and Tidal.
These are the main ways music videos are consumed.
Nowadays there are many different options available to view music videos. Some music streaming apps e.g. Apple Music, now have the option of downloading the music video instead of just the audio. This is one way of consuming videos. Another way, probably one of the most popular options, is through YouTube. YouTube is an extremely popular video sharing website and is often the first platform artists choose to release their music on. This attracts a huge audience to consume music videos in this way. Naturally, there is still the option of watching music videos on TV on music channels such as Bliss, MTV etc. Music streaming websites also provide music videos occasionally, some artists will partner up with these sites to exclusively release their music e.g. Kanye West and Tidal.
These are the main ways music videos are consumed.
Friday, 11 November 2016
History of Music Videos
To generalise and summarise breifly, in the current music video era that we live in today the adoption of the 'Sex Appeal' of females has monopolised the music industry, opposed to choosing the more traditional and quality methods because today they are less profitable. Of course there are still many different, interesting, imaginative and heart felt videos being produced however in main stream media what we see most of the time is sex appeal. Another important change is that we can now access videos easily on youtube.
Friday, 4 November 2016
Song Choice
How important is song choice?
Song choice is very important as the genre of the song and also potentially lyrics are usually what shapes the actual music video itself. If the song doesn't fit the music video then the product as w hole i.e. the song and the video has a much lessened effect. Sometimes however artists decide to go for a music video to accompany a song that has absolutely nothing to do with the lyrics and is of a completely different mood to the song, if pulled of effectively this can make for a very good music video, however it is hard to get this right. Most of the best music videos should convey the same sort of emotion as the song itself, for example a sad song should have a video that if you watch you should feel sad. For our coursework we have decided that we will actually make the music video and have that done before we actually decide the song, this will enable us to play hundreds of songs over our music video and try to find something that fits perfectly over the top. This saves us trying to think of a song we like and instead we can create a powerful video and find a song that fits instead of having a think of an idea to go with a specific song.
What genre of music are you thinking of using?
As we plan to film our music video and then find a song that fits over the top we aren't thinking too much about thee genre on the song yet. However based on our ideas it will most likely be a quite down beat one or a song that would go with a very dream like video.
What genre of filming do you think will fit with this genre of music?
As we are focusing on getting the video done first and then finding a song that will fit with the video after. This means we already have quite a good idea of what type of film making we wish to go with and once it is filmed we will find a song that fits with this. Our genre of film will either be quite a downbeat genre of video or quite a dreamy imaginative genre. Either way we want our video to be focused on good lighting and multiple camera shots and angles. We also want our video to be very fluid in all the different shots and character movements.
What songs are you thinking of using? Why?
Because we wish to focus more on the quality of the music video instead of trying to mold a video around a specific song we won't choose your song until after our video is made. We believe this a better way of doing it as once our video is done we can just play loads of songs over the top until we find the perfect one, this means we focus more on making a quality video rather than choosing a song. Also it could lead to us finding a song that fits better with the video than if we decided the song before we did the video.
What genre of music are you thinking of using?
As we plan to film our music video and then find a song that fits over the top we aren't thinking too much about thee genre on the song yet. However based on our ideas it will most likely be a quite down beat one or a song that would go with a very dream like video.
What genre of filming do you think will fit with this genre of music?
As we are focusing on getting the video done first and then finding a song that will fit with the video after. This means we already have quite a good idea of what type of film making we wish to go with and once it is filmed we will find a song that fits with this. Our genre of film will either be quite a downbeat genre of video or quite a dreamy imaginative genre. Either way we want our video to be focused on good lighting and multiple camera shots and angles. We also want our video to be very fluid in all the different shots and character movements.
What songs are you thinking of using? Why?
Because we wish to focus more on the quality of the music video instead of trying to mold a video around a specific song we won't choose your song until after our video is made. We believe this a better way of doing it as once our video is done we can just play loads of songs over the top until we find the perfect one, this means we focus more on making a quality video rather than choosing a song. Also it could lead to us finding a song that fits better with the video than if we decided the song before we did the video.
Setting
Setting generally refers to the environment in which a media product is taking place e.g. a house, in the woods etc. It is quite an important aspect of film making and can make or break the product, depending on how fitting/well-made/well-chosen it is.
In terms of music videos, often the genre of the song is what decides on the setting. Sometimes even the lyrics of song can decide the setting, depending on how strong its narrative is.
In terms of music videos, often the genre of the song is what decides on the setting. Sometimes even the lyrics of song can decide the setting, depending on how strong its narrative is.
Pop
This song by Bruno Mars is definitely a pop, upbeat song. The song is quite repetitive and catchy, the lyrics refer to the idea of a rich man and a player and so the video certainly fits with this idea since they are all in Vegas in lavish cars and hotels surrounded by girls. Generally we can say that Vegas is the setting for this video. I would say this does fit into conventions of pop videos as barely dressed girls are involved and there are fancy cars.
Rock/Metal
The conventions of this genre of music tends to be the band playing in a gloomy warehouse/somewhere derelict. There tends to be focus on the band and a lot of slow motion. Mainly, in terms of setting, everything tends to be gloomy and grimy.
I would say that genre can influence the setting of a video, but perhaps not as much as the lyrics of the song. Often the lyrics can lead the narrative. Setting is hugely important in creating mise en scene as creating a setting can lead to a completely different atmosphere/lighting etc. If a song was sad but the setting lead to an upbeat, light mise en scene, this may confuse the viewer. If the song is sad and the setting is a dark place, this is going to create a better understanding for the viewer.
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