Filming had to be postponed due to poor weather conditions this week, the update is to film this coming weekend.
Good news, I’ve been hunting through second hand shops and I found a pristine condition croquet set! Being second hand it was only 5€, which really helps free up budget for other props/costumes, so I may rethink some of the planned outfits/mise-en-scene.
For now I need to clean the bats up a bit so they’re presentable for extreme close up shots.
1. Cast
Costume
makeup (for performance - 2 highly made up, some stripped - artificiality, maybe experiment with black and white - sweet child)
Lyrics timing sheet
21/01/2020
2. locations scout (fond de gras, tram, studio, gardens and fields)
film for sample cut + experiment with kit (gimble)
do animatic, do voiceover of track, with pics and sample footage (ties in with lyrics timing sheet)
23/01/2020 + 25/01/2020 (for fond de gras)
3. expand on planning for narrative scenes
brainstorming
23/01/2020
4. props/set dressing
24/01/2020
5. refresh and revisit genre egs
schedule all this - rough end point is Friday of next week
costume - maybe waistcoat? fob-watch? cane or hat (alice cooper, pimp association?)
2 locations - one very feminine w masculine touches, the other the reverse
maybe stockings and suspenders?
ripped jeans with fishnets
maybe bring multiple costumes to the sample shoots
subtle references, maybe to cabaret (cultural capital, simulacra)
in studio, maybe use colour masks, everything in black and white but the hair?
costumes for croquet players
make sure to complete ordering by this weekend
each ahve a feminine prop - parasol, nail file, that kind of thing
In my post on Goodwin's theory of music video I did an in-depth analysis of the music video to The 1975 - Robbers according to what he theorised encapsulated music video. He proposed the idea that every music video follows 6 conventions:
Music video demonstrates genre characteristics
Relationship between lyrics and visuals
Relationship between music and visuals (illustrative, amplifying or contradictory)
Demands of the record label requiring close-ups of the artist and/or recurring motifs
Frequent reference to a notion of looking, particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body
Intertextual references
He stated that there was a link between lyrics and visuals, which could be illustrative, in order to demonstrate the meaning; amplifying, in order to emphasise either the meaning of the lyrics or the visuals, or contradictory, meaning there is a direct conflict between the words being said and the image, disjuncture.
The same links may be found between music and visuals, through techniques such as cutting to the beat, slow-motion, zooms or long and short takes dependent on the speed of the beat.
Todorov argued that all narratives follow a 5 point structure:
Equilibrium
Disruption of equilibrium
Recognition of disruption
Attempt to reinstate old equilibrium/repair equilibrium
New equilibrium
This is general difficult to find in the music video format as it is a smaller medium than traditional storytelling or film, however some music videos to have some form of narrative, however in some it is difficult to pin-point exact structures, as a lot of it is polysemic.Some music videos it can be seen it are:
Equilibrium: the established equilibrium is that the main character is isolated form the world, her mum is out late working and she is alone in her house. We discover she is bullied in school, so not only is she isolated, but it is others who isolate her (shown through the mis-en-scene/costuming of "loser" written on her back)
Disruption: She discovers that when she is wearing her younger self's super hero outfit she has super powers
Recognition of disruption: when she is getting bullied in the park, she uses her powers to scare the bullies away
Attempt to reinstate old equilibrium: after being upset at her hypocritical behaviour (justified as it may be interpreted) she runs home back to her equilibrium of isolation
New equilibrium: she finds that her mum is home, and she is no longer isolated
Alt J - Breezeblocks - (alternative, 2013) This example took a completely non-linear approach to narrative, with the video being filmed entirely in reverse order, and all the shots being reversed too, and parts of the beginning and end being shown throughout. Fans have since reversed the video show that it shows in actual order (and example of User-Generated Content), and it is unclear whether Todorov's theory is meant to apply to the actual video, or the fan videos
Equilibrium: a woman is dead in a bath tub, with a concrete block on her, with a man with a wedding ring crying at her side. She is clearly not wearing a ring, suggesting that she committed suicide (perhaps she is his wife and she discovered he was cheating and removed the ring?)
Disruption: We see him attacking her, and discover he killed her. This is then disrupted again when we see her attacking him, and it is suggested that perhaps she isn't entirely innocent
Recognition of disruption: we see the woman sneak up behind him with a knife, and it is acknowledge by the audience that she is actually the perpetrator
Attempt to reinstate equilibrium: this is difficult to pin down, but I think it must be when the woman in the wardrobe is revealed to be his wife (the close-up of the ring) and he tries to console her
New equilibrium: He appears to be a good husband, coming home to his wife, but the audience knows that he is cheating on his wife, but the woman he's cheating on her with is going to try and kill him
This one was quite complicated, and doesn't really fall easily into Todorov's theory, as is common for music video, though many do have lose plots, often non-linear.
... Vernallis Vernallis, on the other hand argued that we can obtain no more visual information than we might derive from a single narrative painting, that music videos are only a suggestion of a story. This was backed up by Steve Archer, who suggested that music videos only focus on a fragment of the lyrics. I think this makes more sense, as from the examples I've looked at, it is difficult to exactly pinpoint the Todorov 5 point structure.
I wanted to make a music video with someone who would also be enthusiastic about the project
Asked indie local electropop artist AEM, who only had 1 music vid so far if she would be interested
others xyz
very enthusiastic
Is just finishing mixing the song, fake, now
I am doing an interview with her this weekend about the meaning of it (social media - how to build, how useful, how she uses, how she engages with audience/brand/expectations of the vid/her musical influences/visual influences, intertextualities/her audience/primary/sec, interact/queer imagery/how does she access music video/any thoughts on UGC vids (spontaneous or no)/album art for digipak (say ideas if I do))
Website - font sheet (headings/banner fonts)
What she expects from the vid - electropop, specific, for one of your own (2qs)
female artists on video she's found interesting
colour/colouring - run through thinking (heathers)
webisodes, staggard release
Pre-production
Started general and genre conventions research
Had some issues with getting it done to the standard I wanted
Taking longer than originally planned
Still been doing research on a range of conventions - Merch, effects of convergence and digitisation, how the music industry has changed, Goodwin
possible influences form those (understand and apply) - 5-6 likely influences
Initial ideas
Some initial ideas for the video: gender bending date idea (Butler), dual identity/self sabotage idea
Developed dual identity idea into looking at what's authentic/fake, self-sabotage/self-care
Some narrative - Heathers intertextuality, croquet scenes (one based off of Heathers, the other Alice in Wonderland)
The dual self is Winona Ryder from Heathers and Christian Slater (mr robot tv show, link), but both women - non-chronological and unclear whether or not they're the same person or in a relationship
2 sample clips so far
Performance location scouting
Influences:
Arian Grande - Thank u, next
Iggy Azalea - Fancy
Pixies - Silver Snail
Alice Phoebe Lou - Skin Crawl
Novaa - Club Paradise
Megadeth - Hello me
Social media - instagram finally working, twitter
Next month
Finish lyrics timing sheet
Make final vid plan
Some sample shooting (with or without artist, experiment with things like powdered paint)
it has all the same content as her instagram on it, only a different profile picture and some links to media coverage of her last song City Ties.
...
I'm not going to make a new facebook for her, as young people now don't tend to have facebook it's getting out of date, which explains why there's not much exclusive content on there.
I've picked out some particularly useful RSS feeds for the sidebar of the blog.
There's a live feed from The Guardian music news, and music business worldwide. I wanted to add one for Promo News too, but there were technical issues with the formatting.
...
...
Locations
post – publish and then add tbc, add what isn't there'
For idea updates, have 1 post that you keep going back to with date subheadings and updates
brainstorm long list of possible scenes
lyrics timing sheet
casting + characters
costume + props
lyrics analysis (focus, narrative/concept drive) ask ema for interview
major pack p17 - Goodwin
sample footage post (knife and cigarette)
context, then video reflection (influences, taking from and doing opposite)
log of what tech has been used (hard/software) experiment with kit
CIA
Conventions - playlist vids I've been looking at, can be multiple playlists (links list of playlists, general, genre, influences, one epic of all 'vids i have looked at')
list of themes + vids which fit (can be just 2-3 if they cover all, can be some contradictory ones) maybe soem very brief notes
Goodwin In my post on Goodwin's theory of music video I did an in-depth analysis of the music video to The 1975 - Robbers according to what he theorised encapsulated music video. He proposed the idea that every music video follows 6 conventions:
Music video demonstrates genre characteristics
Relationship between lyrics and visuals
Relationship between music and visuals (illustrative, amplifying or contradictory)
Demands of the record label requiring close-ups of the artist and/or recurring motifs
Frequent reference to a notion of looking, particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body
Intertextual references
The core of his theory was that any music video would demonstrate genre characteristics, in the way of costume, colour, editing, performance footage etc. Looking at a range of genre here are some of the characteristics I found:
Electronic
Bright/neon colours, particularly in pastel, and against dark backgrounds
Fast paced editing
Slow-motion
Costume is often edgy or kinky (collars, chokers, leather, boots, heels, latex)
...
Indie
Representation of the artist as ‘edgy’ (tattoos, drugs, working class backgrounds, boots, leather jacket, ripped jeans)
Natural locations are used for filming (a diner, streets, a hotel room), as these are cheaper and more accessible
Recreational drug and alcohol use, connotes a sense of rebelliousness, stereotypical of the indie genre
Low-key or no lighting is used, music videos are often filmed in the day
Performance footage, showing the lead singers' skills as a showman
A look connoting individuality and uniqueness (e.g. long hair, quirky, often vintage clothing)
Plot Synopsis: A young man (played by The 1975’s lead singer) and his girlfriend are the focus, the video, which follows their relationship through various scenes as they team up in a small town and rob a shop, partaking in recreational drug and alcohol use with their friends along the way.
1. Genre Characteristics
The 1975 are an indie rock band and there are many signifiers of this throughout the video:
Representation of the artist as ‘edgy’ (tattoos, drugs, working class backgrounds, boots, leather jacket, ripped jeans)
Natural locations are used for filming (a diner, streets, a hotel room), as these are cheaper and more accessible
Recreational drug and alcohol use in public locations
connotes a sense of rebelliousness, stereotypical of the indie genre
Low-key or no lighting (naturalistic) is used, as the music video is filmed in the day
Some performance is used, though as part of the narrative, showing the lead singers skill as a showman, and in one shot the lead singer is shown teaching his girlfriend to play guitar
A look connoting individuality and uniqueness (long hair, clothing) - more under point 4
2. Relationship between lyrics and visuals
The lyrics are relevant to the narrative of the music video, so no disjuncture is created, instead there is amplification and illustration.
‘Her balaclava is starting to chafe’ references the bandanas the couple wear when they rob the shop
‘One more line’ - the woman is doing a line of drugs
‘If you never shoot you’ll never know’ is heard when the lead singer is holding the gun
‘Now shoot him if its what you’re worth’ is heard before the music fades out to hear the sound of a gunshot from within the shop
‘We’re driving past my old school’ as the lead singer and his friend are driving away from the crime scene
‘She says ‘babe, you look so cool’’ - in the scene in the diner the girl gives her boyfriend a note with the same words written on them
3. Relationship between music and visuals
The lead singer of the band is seen lip-synching, amplifying the vocals
Cutting to the beat
Short, fast cuts as the pace increases
The music fades out for 20 seconds as the couple enters the shop, so that the shouting and gunshots can be heard to (diegetic sound), which increases suspense
4. Demands of the record label requiring close-ups of the artist and/or recurring motifs
There are many close-ups of the lead singer (Matt Healey), as he is the frontman of the band
No attention is drawn to other members of the band, as the lead singer is the most famous
The lead singer is seen taking drugs, drinking, and wearing ripped black skinny jeans and a leather jacket - part of his image and recurring motif (of when this music video came out several years ago, the band's motif has evolved since)
5. Frequent Reference to a notion of looking, particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body
Both the male and female bodies are framed voyeuristically,
both the male and female gaze theory may be applied
In the scene where the lead singer is performing, the microphone is held against his girlfriend’s mouth, creating a phallic image
The use of the gun, which is only ever seen in the lead singer's hand, never his girlfriend's makes for an interesting point on guns and masculinity, be it a toxic relationship, and also a phallic object, although a point is made on this in the video, as initially he is seen playing with it, and later is shot. The band has made note on regretting including the gun, as they are now notoriously anti-gun.
6. Intertextual references
The music video concept is based off of the film True Romance(1993), directed by Tony Scott and written by Quentin Tarantino, and the plot follows the story of an Elvis fanatic and a prostitute, who kill the prostitute’s pimp and steal a case of cocaine, and end up on the run.
The plot of the Robbers video is similar, and many shots very directly reference scenes in
the film, and the letterbox format of the music video also makes it look like a film
Side by side shots of True Romance and Robbers to show the references
I like this section in on the battlements where they appear to be in multiple places at once, its a simple effect but really effective when cut to the beat
Throughout the video performance footage in the car park is shot from in front, then at the end to show the conflict in the relationship, and the emptiness of the break-up/death (or death of the relationship?) the 180 degree rule is broken and we are shown things from the singer's point of view, it really throws you off, I like that it was saved for the end
In the bridge of the song there are these shots with loads of layering, with out of focus lights, and different shots of Evie herself, they worked well to show depth to the emotions of the character after her relationship, being overwhelmed, feeling everything at once, and that tied in really nicely with the underwater shots (as though she's drowning in these feelings) and the bath shots
The 3rd person point of view shots of Evie, that feel as though she is being watched worked well, especially since they're contrasted with the close-ups of her face where she is holding the camera. It was a notion of looking without being gratuitously voyeuristic, and the scenes where she is sexualised, she is sexualising herself (post-feminism)
All the performance footage is really brilliant, with the painted-on tattoos for realism and the performers actually having learned sections of the song
The effect on the drums when he first starts playing looks really cool and ties in with goodwin's theory (amplification)
The slow-mo cross-cutting worked really well
There aren't a lot of narrative shots, maybe expanding on that could have been good, and the baking scene was a little too cheesy compared to the rest of the video which is edgy. This binary opposition works to make the lead singer appeal to a wider target audience, as he is not only edgy, but there could have been other ways of showing the couple doing cute things together
The paint powder is absolutely brilliant
... Oliver Hendon - Gecko (overdrive)
By Ida
I really liked this one overall
The way she sexualised herself, showing a lot of skin, and then completely shoved it in the audiences face by smearing the red stuff all over herself was really well done, if i were to do it though I would want to make it even more repellant, doing something like setting it up with a girl licking ice cream, to it eventually ending in her smearing the ice cream all over her face.
The performance footage of her outside was really good, the make-up looked professionally done and she definitely had a consistent aesthetic
The solo dancing shots of the break dancer were high quality, and the hand held camera really kept my attention on the screen (with the mix of hand held and tripod shots)
... Nine Inch Nails - Sunspots
by Joe
I also really liked this one
The face paint was simple but effective
During the bridge theres a bit where everything was rewinded and sped up and it just worked really well
the layering was one of the better ones from all the examples
In this quickfire challenge I was shown a song by my teacher, and then challenged to come up with ideas for a music video, with the aim of then creating a short (approx. 1 minute) section of that music video. Adam Ant - Cool Zombie
protagonist wearing dungarees and flannel, chewing straw, progressively has more and more zombie make-up on, perhaps during chorus is in full zombie make-up (non-linear element)
or everyone else around him is a zombie - intertextual reference to of the dad franchise for an older audience, The Walking Dead for primary younger audience
About climate change - degenerative - maybe classroom setting, sitting an exam, students become more and more animalistic. Intertextual ref. to Nirvana - Smells like teen Spirit - outsider school setting.
Outsider in this classroom is protagonist, watching everyone devolve, at the end runs outside, the world looks apocalyptic somehow (look at FCPX plugins/filters, aybe layer flames over the top)
For a non-closed narrative, perhaps a police officer grabs them at the end (even though they are clearer smarter than other in class)
Point - don't always be too literal, not having an actually monkey, implied more through this degenerative behaviour
boy taking pictures of girl in car, suggested she's taking clothes off, he is encouraging her to, maybe lower the shoulder of her T-shirt
cuts to later, he's looking at the photos - they start moving, she flips him off, maybe does some gross things (maybe stuffing her mouth with dirty food
she grows old
focus on 3D with the photos
black and white
colour correction
have a go with motion
This one is definitely my favourite idea, and I want to work on my technical skills, especially in FCPX and having a first try with Motion
