X x video experiment x X

(Developed Idea)


















(Original Idea)

In order for my partner and I to create a sophisticated and successful music video it is important that we experiment with different aspects and try out new ideas. We decided that to portray the lyrics 'lost in a fairytale' it would be effective to show the artist as though she was trapped in a glass ball. The best way we could think of achieving this was originally to place a still photo image inside the glass dome. We chose to pose the photo in a way which would look like she was pushing against the glass as if she is 'trapped'. We began to think about how we could expand on this idea into something more sophisticated. We began to explore into how we could make it look like the artist was actually inside the dome and moving around inside it.

Firstly we shot the female playing the singer against a blue background. We tried a range of different movements to make it look as though she was walking around inside the dome, banging against the front of the dome as though trying to get out and also feeling the edges of the dome and rocking from side to side.

Once the footage had been transferred on to the editing suite the blue background gave us the opportunity to make the background appear invisible. We then recorded some footage of the glass dome as it was been shaken up, when it was empty at the required location in which we wanted the scene to take place. Once this had been transferred onto the editing program we simply took still footage of the dome as the snow is in the air and stretched it for 6 seconds. We then edited the blue background footage so that only the singer was visible and cropped the image to fit snugly inside the dome and finally faded it inside the dome.

Although there are significant improvements to be made we can see from this small experiment that our idea is possible and with a few tweaks such as setting changes and framing work our video will look professional.

Prop, Location, Costume and Cast List

My partner and have decided that she will play the main role of the singer/music artist within our music video and I will take on the role of shooting the video and we will both take-part in the editing process.

The reasons for choosing Ellen to star as the mian singer is because we have both had past experiences of working in situations were you have to rely on other people turning up and we did not want to put ourselves in that position. This way we do not have to work around other people and rely on them to be able to turn up where and when we want them to.

Another reason for this decision is that it is hard to get other people to fully understand what we want them to do in the acting postition and if we got someone to act who we don't know that well there may be confidence issues with the actress and this would slow our progress down and with a short amount of time we can't afford to spend any longer than we need to on shooting a scene. As we both know exactly how we want our video to look it will be more effecient for one of us to take on role of actress and one of us to take on role of camera woman.

Music Video Synopsis

The video depicts one girls story of love and lust over a boy who is out of her reach. The boy is forbidden to her and in that sense it makes him her ‘guilty pleasure’. The video poses the question of whether she is in reality or is it all a dream world, this reflects the idea of getting caught up between fiction and fantasy. This boy is constantly on her mind, portraying him as her ‘sweet dream’, but the constant heart ache and uncontrollable lust can just as easily turn him into her ‘beautiful nightmare. This element to the video makes it a ‘must see’ music video for females as they will be able to relate their own thoughts, feelings and experiences into the medium enabling them to connect to the artist on a deeper level.

story board

Animatic

In order to develop my story board to get a further understanding of how my music video will come together I have created an animatic, this basically a moving storyboard. All the clips have been edited to the song sequence so they appear for the correct duration and point in the song.

I created my animatic by taking individual photographs of each shot within my storyboard. As you can see through the video above the quality of the pictures are not that good, however this isn't an important factor as you can still get the feel it.

As you can see, the animatic has been put together in a basic straight cut format. In the actual video there will be a range of different transitions to create flow, but for now I just want to be able to see roughly how my video will look. In the process of doing this I have already noticed clips which will need to be altered and there are places where I will have to create an extra scene or cut a scene out. It is for this reason why it is important that I made the animatic because from a storyboard alone I would not have been able to spot these mistakes as I would have had no idea how it would form together.

Target Audience

This questionnaire is designed to help me develop a full understanding of my target audience at whom my music video will be aimed at. It will enable me to get a clear idea of their lifestyles, music interests and what they like to get out of a music video. The results which I obtain from this questionnaire will enable me to progress in the planning stages and apply my knowledge into the making of my video.

I handed my questionnaire out at college, to family members and also managed to get responses from a small number of people when handing out my questionnaires in the town center. This allowed me to get a more representative and valid result as it includes a range of ages, interests and ideologies.

I needed to create a questionnaire that was simple to fill out for the respondents and that will allow me to easily define the likes, needs, and buying habits of my audience. In order to make my questionnaire successful I made sure that it was relatively brief, no more than two pages as I did not want to make it look daunting for potential respondents. Also I provided apparent instructions on how to answer the questions and I worded each question with clear and concise language. I included different types of questions to gather general and more specific responses through the use of multi-choice questions for most of the survey and a few short answer questions. I made sure to avoid asking for identifying information as this may offend the respondents; instead I opted to ask general personal questions to help me determine my respondent’s demographic category.

Demographics are defined as "the statistics that characterize human populations". These can be broken down into characteristics such as; age, gender, occupation status, location, family status and lifestyle. It is important to know these qualities as they will belong to those who will be willing to watch/listen to and buy my music video. Once I have drawn up a demographic profile for my target audience I will be able to use this information to help me define my target audience.

The results which have obtained from my questionnaire can be summarised into the following points;

• More students use social networking sites then any other occupation. The most popular genres of music for students appeared to be pop, indie and R&B. In other categories there was no significant difference in genre, the popularity was spread out, showing that people have a mixture of what they like.
  
• Students, Part-time people, the retired and the unemployed appeared to spend the most amount of time participating in leisure activities, on average 3-5 times a week. The majority who downloaded music was students and those who work part-time.
  
• Location did not have a huge significant difference in the type of activities liked, the engaging of social networking, the way in which music was listened to or the genre. However people in the countryside seemed to listen to the most music per day compared to those in towns or cities. This may be due to the isolation factor, having further to walk or less other activities to participate in.
  
• The most hours of music listened to in a day was the 13-17’s and 18-25’s on average this was 2-3hrs.
  
• The age categories that preferred to listen to their music on CD was the 6-12’s, 35-49’s and the 50+. Out of those that said they did buy CD’s it was found that albums were the dominant seller to those aged 26+. Whereas compilation CD’s were the favourite amongst those who bought CD’s in aged 25 and below.
  
• I found that the retired tended to rely on the radio for their music enjoyment, did not engage in social networking and enjoyed genres such as classical, country and rock ‘n’ roll. And the location had no significant difference.
  
• Those aged 13-17 spent the least amount of money on music purchases per month, the majority averaging on spending £0. Yet nearly all of the respondents said that they use music downloading sites and listen to music on I-pods, which leads me to the conclusion that they use downloading sites which enables them to listen to music for free.
  
• The majority who participated in this survey is an active user of a social networking site (the 50+ being the least). I found those who downloaded music and spent the most on music purchases was a MySpace user. I have come to the conclusion that this is because MySpace is more dedicated and well known for launching music careers.
  As a whole more females watch music channels than males. On average females rated the importance of the music video in relation to the artist at 9. In comparison to males who only rated the importance on an average of 6.5. However when asked which aspects of music videos they most valued the majority of females opted for all four options available, whilst the majority of males opted only for the artist.
  
• When asked ‘from what angle do you prefer music video’s to take those who chose abstract tended to be rock fans and mostly males. Females aged 6-12 and 13-17 the majority opted for dance. Females aged 18-25 seemed to value the story-telling angle behind the music video. It was made evident that those in age categories above 25 did not show as much interest in music videos as a whole.
  

Audience Demographic Profile;

Female, white, aged 18-35, with an interest in social subjects and the internet. They can be found in a range of locations, but the majority live in larger cities.

My Defined Target Audience;

Women 84.6%

Men 15.4%

Age
6-12 3.2%
13-17 13.4%
18-25 54.2%
26-34 17.2%
35-49 7.2%
50+ 4.8 %

Occupation
Student 35.7%
Part-time 29.3%
Full-time 13.4%
Retired 2.6%
Unemployed 19.0%

Technology Ownership
Ready access to the internet
Owns an I-pod/Mp3
Owns a mobile phone with music facilities
Ready access to sky/ free-view/ virgin-media

Social Qualities
Regular participation in networking sites
Listens to music on average 2.5hrs per day
Have a keen interest in R&B music
Regular viewers of music channels
Takes part in leisure/social activities regularly
Consumes music in CD format and by download

What I have learnt

In order to produce a high standard and effective production I must first be able to understand the conventions and techniques of music videos. I thought the best way to do this would be to deconstruct pre-existing music videos and analyse how the technical areas such as; cinematography, mise-en-scene, sound and editing relate to the media form, narrative and style.

Close-ups are used frequently to establish the artist for the audience and create a sense of importance of the artist. Establishing shots are used sparingly compared to in film for example as there are less locations within the video but rather repeats of the same location, say in the chorus for instance. Therefore the audiences are already comfortable with the whereabouts of the artist. More often then not the artist(s) will perform a dance routine or bands may include a short sequence from an on-stage performance. This requires the use of a long shot so that each movement and performance can be viewed by the audience in order for them to get the best voyeuristic pleasure. The angles are mainly straight-on, however in particular parts of the song in relation to the lyrics it may require the depiction of the artist to be of authority and in power and therefore a low angle is used. Just as if when they are being portrayed as inferior and powerless then a high angle is called for. If the video shows the artist being very active and moving around then tracking shots are used, although this is not apparent in most videos as the majority are still shots, but make use of the zoom function. Zoom in can often create a sense of intimacy and being brought closer to the artist. The zoom out function is not commonly a technique used within cinematography, as it can create a disoriented effect, however this can be useful if is this tone you want the video to adapt.

In addition to this I noted that the main focus (the artist) was placed slightly off centre in relation to the central frame, because this actually brings greater attention to them. Placing an image in the centre of a frame makes it visually inactive, in the relation to how the audience views it. You want the audience to have to scan the image, this relates to the rule of thirds, creating intersections to where the human eye is drawn. Therefore by placing images around the frame you encourage concentration from audience.

The dominant sound in music videos is the featured song. This diegetic sound remains central for the duration of the music video as the artist is constantly responding to the music within the video. However after conducting my analytical research of existing music video’s I have found that there is often a non-diegetic piece of music at the beginning of the video and occasionally at the end. As music videos often have narrative behind the video the sound that is played before the song starts is key to help set up the narrative, to adapt the tone and film noir. For example in ‘Sweet Dreams’ a unearthly and menacing lullaby is played in the run up to the song. This immediately connotes danger to the audience giving them an idea into the meaning behind the lyrics.

Once the video has been filmed the making of it happens in the post production stage of editing. A sign of good editing is that to the audience it appears invisible by creating continuity. Because the soundtrack is running underneath all the changes the action appears continuous. Short and fast shots are used which cut to the beat creating a sense of rhythm that heightens the power of the scene/song. For example as the tempo drops the shots are long, keeping the pace slow. As tension builds in the song, perhaps leading up to the main vocals in the song, shots become shorter to build energy. I have noticed that inter-cutting is sometimes used as this conveys tension and emotion for the audience. Fades are used to create the sense of a passing of time. It was made apparent that fades are frequently used at the end of the video to signify closure usually fading to black. And depending on the song context dissolves are used most commonly found to signal the beginning or end of a dream sequence, I will take this into consideration particularly in relation to my song choice as it primarily focuses upon dreams.

Lighting plays an important role within the mise-en-scene as this helps to establish the film noir which the video is aiming to create. This is things like mood and tone. A contrast in lighting can often be used to represent a binary opposition within the narrative or to represent the lyrics. Say if the representation of a busy city needs to be portrayed then lighting can be used to create these effects. Lyrical interpretation can often be established through lighting also, for e.g. if the video employs an abstract tone. Props play a big role within music videos, to help create authenticity within the video and also through lyrical representation. These props may play a key role within the song in order for the audience to readily accept the narrative and video as a whole. Within the mise-en-scene as an entirety, if there is little effort made with it then it will be difficult for your audience to be able to engage within the filmic world.

I have learnt that many artists use their music video as a chance for the audience to grasp a better and deeper understanding of the song and the lyrics behind it. It is no longer just a song that you can dance and sing-a-long to, but a story that the lyrics tell as you watch it unfold in front of you. I have also found that within many videos the artists tend to play on the typical stereotypes of which we perceive them to be like. However at one point throughout the performance in the video they try to convey a message to their audience that underneath all lights, camera and action they are normal people, with normal feelings. This allows the viewer to feel more valued in the sense that they can relate to the artist on a more personal level. I aim for my music video to employ this technique.

It is important to the artist that they are able to represent themselves to the viewer. Costume can play a very big part in the depiction of character. I have noted that the majority of artists, mainly females I might add like to entice the viewer with a little added sex-appeal. It is necessary for the artist not to come across as raunchy or face criticism for their fashion flaws in the sense of revealing too much. Many have great voices and maintain a strong subjectivity throughout their songs or performances. Artists such as Whitney Huston and Aretha Franklin are rarely criticized in this sense; the sole factor being is that they do not need to be vulgar or raunchy. They have been around for quite sometime and are respected on the merit of their talents alone. They have proven themselves. It is the younger generation of singers that are the most troublesome. I will therefore make sure that my video strays away from any excessive sex appeal.

I feel confident now that I am familiar with the codes and conventions which are expected within the music video. I will be able to use my knowledge of these aspects and put them into the makings of my own production in order for it to be a success.

"Sweet Dreams" lyrical analysis

Beyonce:Sweet Dreams

Beyonce has created an alter ego whom she calls ‘Sasha Fierce’ this is someone who takes over when she is on stage to protect who she really is. In her recent album ‘I am Sasha Fierce’ there are two disks, I AM…, provides Beyoncé with a musical showcase for a group of intimate heartfelt ballads, it is about who she is underneath all the make-up and drama. While the SASHA FIERCE disc gives voice to a more fun, sensual, aggressive, outspoken and glamorous side to Beyoncé's up-tempo, dance-oriented persona.

The singer wanted to break out of her traditional R&B genre and explore new things, she wants people to hear songs with stronger song lyrics and in singing these songs she feels the emotion in the story is sold so much better, this can be seen in the song ‘Sweet Dreams’’, which I have chosen to analyse. According to Beyoncé, "SASHA FIERCE is kind of the opposite, she's more the other side because sometimes you don't want to think, sometimes you just want to feel good. She's the party girl, she's bootylicious. She is but I'm not. She's my alter ego. I'm finally revealing who I am."

I have chosen to analyse the video to ‘Sweet Dreams’, as this is the song I have chosen to create a music video to. I therefore thought it would valuable to do an in-depth analysis so I can get a better understanding of the meaning behind the song, adapt ideas and also to enable for me to take on a different approach to the original video.

People often misinterpret the real meaning to Beyonce’s songs are simply viewed by most people as being “sexy” or “fashion” or just about love and relationships. But there is a much deeper meaning in her songs and I think this is reflected in her video to ‘Sweet Dreams’. For the reason that, within the video and lyrics lies hidden symbolism and references to dark themes such as possession and mind control. The lyrics of the song and the imagery of the video have a supernatural and unearthly quality, where Beyonce professes her love to someone or something she calls a “sweet dream or a beautiful nightmare”. The song reflects upon the new Beyonce she has created, her darker alter-ego ‘Sasha Fierce’. When this other side of her comes out she is no longer in control but rather being taken over by someone else. But ultimately this is not a real person. So this state of mind control can be a sweet dream, which is a blissful state where the boundaries between reality and fiction are blurred or it can be a nightmare that she is no longer in control of her own body and allows herself to do things that ordinarily she would not be comfortable with.

The film noir sets up a very distinctive style to the video. The careful use of lighting has been depicted to convey a particular atmosphere and mood for the song. There is a contrast between light and dark made evident throughout the video. This could be interpreted as the representation of the binary opposition, good and evil.

The video begins with a long shot which shows Beyonce lying on a bed in a dark room, with black pillows and we can hear the diegetic sound of her heart beating. Note she displays contrasting colours, on the top she wears white and the bottom half is covered by a black sheet. This could represent the good side of her and her darker alter ego. Within the mise-en-scene and sound a tense atmosphere has immediately been created. A lullaby tune begins to play which is different to one you might expect to hear, it adapts an eerie and unwelcoming tone, this signifies danger. As the video follows the conventional shot syntax we get a close-up of her face to establish character for the audience and to illustrate emotion, which then switches to an extreme close-up of her eyes to illustrate that she is asleep and begins twitching which indicates she may be dreaming. The camera begins zooming in and out in sequence with her as she toss and turns to the beat. Although zooming is unusual because of the possible disorientated effects, however it has been purposely chosen to represent disorientation within her sleep. As the lullaby grows louder it depicts a menacing tone but it also sounds like a triumphant tune, this may represent the new creation of ‘Sasha Fierce’

A long shot displays her being risen from her bed, guided by a dove. This could have several connotations depending on how deep you read into it. A dove is associated as a symbol of peace and love and religious connotations can also be made. Given the context within the scene we create darker connotations such as a holy sacrifice usually a dove would be symbolised as peace and good nature, but it has a holy connotations like a sacrifice maybe? The dove could be the beautiful element to the nightmare that is taking over her body. An extreme close-up focuses upon her eyes as they open wide and we hear a piercing scream. This gives closure to the scene whilst conveying a sense of danger to the audience.

The opening sequence before the song is important to establish narrative, mood and atmosphere. It has given the song a more serious set up, which in-turn may lead to the audience reading into her the meaning behind her lyrics through visuals in her video, instead of just viewing the dance element within the video. The film noir sets up a dream style to the video. The lighting used is unearthly and ominous and is always in contrast with a darker side; maybe to represent the dream and nightmare element. An extreme long shot locates Beyonce in an alternate world. It is represented as being far away from reality through cinematography such as tracking away from her, detaching her from the real world and through the mise-en-scene. For example a white horse is seen running in the background this represents that she is in a dream, faded editing is often used where Beyonce will be replaced by an emerging second image of her, this type of editing is usually used to signify the beginning or end of a dream, and this is an iconic element to the song. The narrative is non linear, as it does not flow in any type of chronological order, this is conventional of music videos as their main focus is not on narrative but on the artist and song itself.

It is common in music videos for there to be backup dancers. The backup dancers in this video appear similar to Beyonce; the duality theme has begun to represent her alter egos. The backups never overpower the main singer; they appear in order of height establishing her as the most powerful, this is represented through costume, her hair is big and unruly while theirs is up tight and scraped back and Beyonce is wearing knee high boots her posture is more outspoken showing confidence and authority. They can also be used to portray the singer’s emotions or thoughts, for example in one scene they appear literally broken in half as if illustrating her state of mind.

The editing of this particular music video uses match on action through out, I believe this is used to create a realistic music video and a video that is easy to view, without confusion for the audience as the concept behind the video is already very intense. The cuts are also so well integrated to the music video, and at times match with the beat of the music and lyrics that the audience are almost unable to notice the cuts within the video itself. Apart from a few obtrusive straight cuts which are used for dramatic effect such as when she appears in a new location or as a new character. Transition editing is also apparent, this type of editing is used to signify the beginning or end of dream sequences and is therefore suited in relation to the song.


In total Beyonce changes her appearance five times. Outfit changes are important in music videos to adapt to different locations, moods or character. As a female artist she creates added voyeuristic pleasure from adding sex appeal as most of her outfits are not provocative or offensive, but sexy and revealing. However the outfits are not what you would see one wearing on a daily basis but are iconic to the style of her video.
Her outfits are all black up until she changes into a silver, shiny dress which portrays her as feminine and glamorous. At this point her lyrics make reference to prayers which reflects upon God. It is important that dark themes and negative connotations are not linked with this as it could offend her audience. Her innocence is portrayed through the use of her arms down by her side with her hands sticking out rather child like might present themselves. Lyrical representation is used in her hand gestures as she forms a prayer shape.

In order to portray to the audience emotion and atmosphere, there are scenes whereby she appears in a mirrored room reflecting multiple Beyonce’s. This connotes a sense of confusion and being lost or caught up in something, trapped even. Her frustration is made apparent when she smashes the mirror into a million pieces creating a montage and fragmented scene. The pace is slow and the glass glistens in the light, this continues with the unearthly atmosphere, the pleasure element is suggested in the movement of the glass. It appears to be glistening in a magical sense suggesting it is not threatening like glass usually would be it is not thundering down but floating in the air, it has been given a ‘beautiful element’.

Out of the glass her robotic alter, Sasha Fierce is born. We pick this up through costume and body language. She appears wearing a robot suit boasting tin/metal like qualities and appears like a copper colour. This is important so the audience can understand the change. Her dancing changes from her usual ‘body poppin’ routine to a robotic dance style to compliment the outfit. I believe she has chosen to portray her self as a robot to represent that when Sasha Fierce takes over from the real Beyonce she is in a state of mind control and operates like a robot would.
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The final image ends with the camera panning down Beyonce’s body, and ending with her legs. This used to show the audience the new found confidence within herself and portrays her new controller by bringing closure to the video and in turn ending the dream by saying ‘Turn the lights out’, and the screen goes black.

kings of leon:Use Somebody

This song was the fourth song on the band’s 4th album ‘Only by the Night’ released through Columbia Records on 23rd September 2008. According to the Use Somebody Song-facts, Caleb Followill wrote this song about longing for somebody to have a cuddle with while feeling lonely on the road. He wrote on the band’s website: “It’s about being far from home.”

The first shot is a long, inside looking out shot. Bringing us in to the diegetic world through the living-room of what seem like ordinary people watching television. Through the windows you see the New York skyline which has several connotations such as night life, fun, excitement etc. This could be to signify the contrast between lifestyles; the kicked back lifestyle that they are believed to have and the busy, non-stop lifestyle that they do have.
There is a combination of ELS, Aerial shots tracking and swooping into and over the busy, illuminated, vibrant city of New York by night, also known as ‘the city that never sleeps’, something which can be related to the famous lifestyle, as they are always busy and on the go. The lighting is very important in this video, setting up the film noir and is predominant in the first 33 seconds of where the camera goes in and out of differently coloured lights from different sources, such as buildings, vehicles, stages etc

The fast paced editing represents their fast pace lifestyle, movement and always on the go. Along with the sped up footage of the road, cars and shot of the aeroplane taking off, this may also indicate that they are on some kind of journey, as they are a new band are still finding their feet. There are numerous intercuts between that and footages of them playing live performances with live audiences, bright lights, live bands, this complements the other locations that we establish their 'rock star' lifestyle. The low-key lighting acts as a tool for mystery, the band are wearing sunglasses at night and get out a chauffer driven car, this relates them to 'stars'. The band appears alive, enthused and excited on stage which reflects upon the location.

A rock video wouldn’t be the same without including elements that represent and illustrate the stereotypical outlook of the rock genre; sex, drugs, rebellion, a carefree lifestyle/attitude. These are reinforced by scenes such as a band member blowing smoke at the camera, reflects rebellion and attitude, he has long black hair and tattoos are visible illustrating the stereotypical ‘look’. By controlling the mise-en-scene in this way the audience is likely to accept it more readily and therefore get more voyeuristic pleasure. The montage sequence of editing is achieved mainly by cuts but the first time we hear words being sung, is when we see an overlap, when a lit up New York building is faded out to be replaced slowly by an extreme close up of the lead singer, connecting the two key elements together; stars are a source of light, in respect he is a star, he is now the light. This is the first time where we see the editing, visuals and lyrics all intertwined.


The extreme close up is used to establish character and emotion, there is certain sadness in his eyes which the audience can relate to as his desperate plead is made obvious when he sings “you know that I could use somebody”. He is looking up to the sky as if looking for God to help him. The video cuts to a flash image of him on top of a girl in bed and we see a close up a cross necklace that is dangling down, this reflects religion and God and connotates as a savior. This puts the audience in a position to feel sorry for him. The straight cut back to him on his chair signifies his loneliness. He now sings at the camera as if singing to the audience, this brings them in further, making them believe him and feel part of valued member of an audience.

The video goes black and white for about 20 seconds as we see shots of the band rehearsing and hugging each other before a performance, laughing with one another. Having drinks in a bar. This signifies the normality in their lives; they are trying to convey to their audience that underneath all the bright lights they are just as normal as the next guy. This makes the band seem very down to earth and can help people relate to them, this is the boys, not the rock stars. The music at this point is very slow, this reflects on the mood and the audience are able to pick up on the tone as being far away from reality, but the tension along with the beat begins to pick up until we see them actually performing live and the colour comes back, bright and strong, this is the return of the pop stars.
It is known that within the rock genre they like to focus more upon the music than elements such as dancing. It would make it less authentic as you would not expect a rock band to do a dance solo. Instead their priorities lie with their dedication to the music; this is represented in the guitar solo which is performed. This is a conventional element of the rock genre and helps define it. This allows the audience to get more enjoyment out of it.

The single seems to try to withdraw a stereotypical viewpoint on pop-stars and people in the music industry whom are judged to fame obsessed and believe they are better than everyone else. It is in some way a message to let all the fans out there know that even though it may be hard to believe because in reality they are never left alone, but deep down they are lonely at times, just like everyone else. It tells the audience and their fan base that they are down to earth this is something we can all relate to. And something we are perhaps looking for in music artists.