Music Video - Final

My Final video. I have sped up the music video to match the music and have gotten rid of boring bits by adding more shots and flashes. Using Adobe After Effects CS6, Mr Wallis taught me how to add in the CRT TV Static Effect which I think looks really cool as it makes the less flickery, less jumping chorus shots more interesting

Music Video - Draft

 

I have finished and exported my music video draft and it has been uploaded to the Ashfield School media channel on YouTube. This is a draft of my final product because there are are a few changes I need to make including issues with video speed not matching the speed of the song, there are some boring bits and shots I feel dont quite fit in where they have been place. I'm also going to put the video on facebook and get some feedback and ideas on how to improve it. I'll then make appropriate changes based off of my own views and the feedback I get.

Filming - Day 05 Kingsway Park

Itinerary: Light, Camera and my phone(to play the song)

Last night me and Gracie met on Kingsway park. I decided on this location as the batting cages on the park resemble well cages. I thought this'd be ideal for the 'Come on little Fucker you can let me out,' Lyric. I had originally planned to just use the side of a building site near my house as they mark the building site perimeter with a similar fence but Gracie suggested the batting cages which seemed slightly more appropriate.

I got shots of Gracie lip-syncing the 'Little fucker' lyric a few times. I think the shots look really cool as I filmed them without the tripod as the shaky look came out well in the other shots. I also again used the light as we filmed at night as the dark shots from our fourth day of filming looked really cool.

Filming - Day 04 Filming in the dark

On Moday 25th November, Gracie came round so that we could filmed some more. We managed to get quite a lot of footage. we went back up to my upsatirs where there is the nice plain white wall to use as the backdrop. I filmed her lipsyncing the two main verses in the light because the original clips were barely usable. We then did the same again in the dark using my really bright 20 LED light. I filmed this by hand, without the tripod to make the shot less boring and make the video seem less repetative and dull.

The shots in the dark were particularly hard for Gracie as it was difficult for her to read the lyrics which wasnb't helped by the fact that she was without her glasses. We managed though, and I think a lot of the shots we got look really good.

Filming - Day 02 No Success

Itinerary: Camera, Tripod

Location(s): Portland Park

We took the camera and tripod to Portland Park, planning to get some cool shots there and down the Quarries but it was too dark by the time we got there and Gracie was barely even visible in the shots; She suggested brighteneing them up in editing but that would create a lot of static and noise so we went back to my house.
On the way back to mine we managed to find a little residential road right near mine called Sylvan Avenue, that looked creepy enough at night so I managed to film a few shots of her looking mysterious walking around under lamposts and stuff.

 

Location - My Bathroom

Weirdly one of the filming locations I have chosen to use is the upstairs bathroom in my house. I chose to use this room for filming as it is a well lit room, with lots of natural and artificial light, but the main reason that i chose this room were because there is a plain white wall that can be used as a nice clean looking background to the lipsyncing scenes such as the ones we filmed Thursday. I also thought this room would be ideal as it is ver close and easy to get to for Gracie and it is crazy-easy for me to get to it as it is in my house.

Research - My Target Audience

To get a better idea of my target audience I took a look at the target audiences of the bads I looked at such as 'How To Destroy Angels' (HTDA), 'Nine Inch Nails'(NIN), 'Ministry' etc. and have deducted from this an idea of the audience that would enjoy the type of video I'm imagining I'll produce.

 

Trent Reznor's bands HTDA and NIN are aimed at a similar audience despite being music from very different genres (NIN make Industrial Metal music whereas HTDA make Post Industrial/Electronica music). Their audiences' are, particularly for Nine Inch Nails, are older (35-50 year old), Industrial, Alternative/Metal fans however a lot of their (NIN's) target audience was younger (20-25 year old) Industrial, Metal/Alternative fans back in the late 80's- mid 90's meaning most of their fans have aged with them whilst maintaining their like for the band's music.

I feel most of the people within NIN's, HTDA's and Ministry's audiences fall in the demographic range of E-C1 (maybe B also).

 

I feel my song applies well to a similar demographic as these bands; anyone from early 20s - late 40s. My song is  an Industrial Metal track so I feel it is also aimed at Alternative/Metal fans like NIN's music. However the song is quite fast paced, it is for this Reason I am picturing a fast paced, flickery video which applies more to a younger audience as I see thge product I am going to make to be energetic at the same time as looking industrial and alternative

Mature Science - Retox

 

Goodwin

The brutality and violence is one way in which this video reflects the genre and the genre characteristics; frequently in metal video there is excessive rampage and violence. In the video as they pull the KKK guy out of the man, it appears all slimy and gross this relates to Goodwin’s words as the lyrics say ‘Lubricating our driest generation!’ This makes good point as he seems to be referring to racists and murderers as “our driest generation”. AS the record label demands there are lots of shot of the lead singer’s face along with lots of shots of the band members playing their instruments the final point of Goodwin’s theory that I can see in this video is the use of close ups on eyes and lights reflect the notion of looking

Mise en Scene

The use of static/glitch effect they have added in the editing right at the beginning has been used to show the violence and volatility of the music. The video also does this when the human body is ripped apart and when the klansman is killed. The building in which the video is filmed is shown as empty and possibly abandoned like the locations I am planning to try and use. I feel they have chosen this location to show that they know what they are doing to these people is illegal (despite not being wrong because obviously the other guy is supposed to represent someone whom in the KKK)

 

Camera

This seems to have been filmed mainly on handheld camcorders to create the same jittery, faced paced and disjointed. A low angle long shot is used as they are carrying the person around; they are shown scuttling around with this live body as if trying to get it somewhere quickly without getting caught.

Editing

In editing they have added in static glitches like an old TV playing a video and have put lines over the screen throughout to hold on to the old TV feel.

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I really like this video and am going to try encapsulate a similar effect they have achieved from their editing however I also really like the use of playing clips backwards like they have done using trickling blood.

The Loop Closes - How To Destroy Angels

 

 

 

This is pretty much the sort of thing I want to have produced by the end of the year. I really like the whole general feeling of the video. I like the way that the video uses the a filter to create this affect of an old, broken television. I'm going to try reflect this in my video except using the shots I have listed earlier on this blog

Survival - Eminem

Being a huge fan of Eminem since childhood I was psyched when I heard he was back (again). On the 8th of October Eminem released the video for his new single 'Survival', which is incredibly different from his other awesome and recent single 'Berzerk'.

Eminem's music is incredible he's constantly producing great music. Just yesterday he released 'Rap God' which I think may be the best rap he's ever released (not the best song he's done but the best rapping). In 'Rap God' he is mainly just boasting like an obnoxious ass about how amazing he is at rapping; which would be annoying, if he weren't right.

Planning - Shot Ideas

Seeing as my video doesn't particularly need a narrative I have just drawn a few shot ideas rather than storyboarding. Instead of putting my crude little etchings on here I'm going to list a few of the shots and ideas in writing so as to not ruin my blog:

• I decided I'd get quite a lot of shots of my actor Gracie (who is transgendered and thus looks like a dude despite being mentally female) walking round abandoned places such as the few old factories and abandoned places in Kirkby whilst looking pretty vacant. I'll also get a few shots of her walking around town at night and in the rain.
• I'll use close-ups of her face looking serious as well as maybe one with her middle finger to the camera.
• There's a building site near my house that we used to go on and climb about on, we can break in and climb on there at night to get some cool idustrial shots
• We can use the chain link fence around the building site to look like a cage and use that shot to match the line "Come little fucker, can you let me out?" because "let me out" implies the artist is trapped or encaged within something.
• I'll use close ups and mid shots of her looking at the camera when it's raining showing her wet hair and clothes with a serious look on her face.
• For the line "followed by the vision of my God" I'm going to show the clouds and the sun because the sky connotes God and religion.
• Close ups of like moving worms and maggots and stuff that is 'angin'
• At the begining I'm going to have a picture of a perfect red apple and then at the end have it looking all gross.
• I'm going to get loads of shots of just normal things; I'm going to just film a busy road at night showing loads of cars.
• I'll get a bird's eye shot from a really high building like the big Westgate building thing in mansfield and film the town below .
• Shots down the Quarries including the running water in the little river thing. There's a little concrete shelter with grafitti everywhere, we could get a shot or two there of Gracie looking mysterious and sinister.
• Down the quarries there are some train tracks that we can get a few shots of Gracie on, just like walking about on them.
• POV Shots looking down on Gracie's feet walking around
• After feedback it was suggested that I just use few shots of my cat just doing cat stuff
• A blurred shot out of the bus window just showing the street, possibly when it's raining
• Sped up shots of people walking around, in groups eg. getting off of a train
• Feedback suggested I should only show the actor in blurred/unfocused shots, I may use this in a few shots to create more mystery around the actor.
• Something, like a glass or a window or something, smashing in slow motion
• Footage/ Stock footage of moths and other bugs
• A flickering light

 

Ten Little Girls - Curve

 

Goodwin

The video uses close shots showing the band members which, as Goodwin clearly states, is done to make the audience recognise them and remember their faces.

Mise en Scene

The video is quite dark and frequently uses high contrast to make the video look ominous and creepy. The video uses lots of shots filmed on a handheld camera; this is evident as the visual is shaky and unstable, an effect I quite like and will be using myself in my video. The video is mainly black and white with an exception of a few shots filmed in sepia or with a sepia-like filter, this is cool as colour would make the video seem too happy and would draw away from the cool dark feeling.

Camera

Lots of close-ups and big close-ups of faces are used to get the audience familiar with the band members. Fast camera movements along with short cuts are used to make the video feel disjointed and fast

 

Editing

Close-ups of instruments and other things are used as quick cutaways throughout, this creates an effect I am fond of too and may also be using. Slow exposure (probably) has been used to create a warm yet sinister feeling whilst again showing a big close-up of the lead vocalists face.

Planning - Location

The only sort of ideas I have for locations is that I wanna find derelict, abandoned buildings to film in. I have a few in mind. there's one in Sutton and a few place that'd be good in Kirkby. I also know of a few that might be good in Mansfield.

My actor for my artist is my good friend Gracie, She is transgender so it wont be an issue that my actor isn't a guy. I just need to get some shots of her looking dark and creepy whilst lipsynching in these different locations.

There's an old abandoned factory in Kirkby that is really easy to break in to and I can think of a few other locations in the Quarries that might be good to get some footage at. There is a giant (scarily high) tower thing above the train tracks that we used to climb a few years ago, we could also get some filming done on tracks and in a few other places in the Quarries that I can think of.

Timekiller - Project Pitchfork

I'm not really going to be using this video for research I just came across it when looking around on youtube. Project Pitchfork are an electro-industrial/ darkwave / goth band, I have literally just heard this song by them just now and I quite like them. I'm fond of the video a lot but it isn't exactly the sort of video I am hoping to produce, I just thought I'd post this because I like the use of bugs and stuff I'll probably use this idea a lot as I have seen it in a few other industrial music videos and I feel they could sort of add an essence of creepiness to my video.

(screenshot 0:25)

 

Came Back Haunted - Nine Inch Nails

Planning - Ideas so far

Stigmata - Ministry

The video for Stigmata by Ministry is the video I like most out of all the videos I have chosen to research as I want to make my video similar to this. I especially like the flashing of images that is frequently used in industrial music videos.

 

 

 

Krank - KMFDM

Goodwin

One of the points in Goodwin's theory states music videos present genre characteristics. This video does this by showing the band members playing their instruments, representing the stage performances shown in a lot of other metal and industrial metal videos. Another way that this video fits Goodwin's theory is the fact that the lyrics are directly related to the video; for example after the lyrics say "With another motherfucking Dirty Bomb" an explosion graphic appears as a woman falls into frame. It also relates to the notion of looking a lot showing loads of screens. Finally, this video fits Goodwin's theory as there are frequent close-ups of the band members.

Mise en Scene

The video is mainly quite dark with high contrast, this has been done to show the dark side of Industrial metal however the video uses quite a lot of electric greens, I believe this has been done to make it really obvious that they are more electronic than regular metal music. There has been lots of fire and explosions used to show the destruction and anarchy that their music reflects. The video has a sort of digital feel to it; heavy use of screens, static, glitch art and pixelated images have been used to exaggerate the digital feel to make it obvious that they have a much more electronic sound than most metal artists. The outfits used in this video are like Skinhead style if it were crossbred with Cybergoth, I really like their style but it is not for me and would not suit my song by any means.

Camera

Fast, jolty camera movements reflect the high-speed, crazy, alternative music lifestyle that KMFDM presumably lead. Lots of weird camera movemnts (including a spinning zoom out) make the video feel disjointed and thus more exciting. Low angles of the artist performing make them seem more important. The direct address to the camera makes the video feel aimed at you when you watch it, it isn’t just a video, it’s like a video for you which makes the audience more attached to the artist..

Editing

This video is so heavily edited I don’t know where to start. Quick takes and short cuts and cutaways make the video faster and more extreme and thus more interesting to watch. CGI oh people riding on falling A-Bombs make the video even more violent and extreme. Flashes of the band name help the viewer remember the name and help the band get their name out more. Every sing shot or scene in this video is edited to a ridiculous extent, all to make the video cooler to their target audience.

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This video is sort of exempt from Archer's music video analysis as it shows no narrative whatsoever. I really like this video as it includes fast placed flashes between images and text like a lot of industrial videos do. I plan to use this technique in my video as my song is industrial sounding too, however my track (track 4) is far from industrial metal and is much more industrial rock/goth/darkwave.

In the lyrics they say “Krank it to 11!” this is a intersexual reference to the American Rock-Mockumentary ‘This is Spinal Tap’.

Research - Steve Archer

All the information I could find about Steve Archer's theory is that he says that all music videos have some sort of narrative.He also says that all music videos switch between a performance of the music by the band/musician and the narrative. A great example of this is the video for Stan by Eminem (ft Dido). The Narrative shows a guy, Stan(ley) as he makes poor choices causing his, his wife's and their unborn childs' deaths.

This narrative is constantly being switched between narrative and performance as the characters in the narrative are singing the song.

Research - Richard Dyer

Richard Dyer created a theory known as star theory. This theory states that stars are constructed, artificial images, even if they are represented as being "real people", experiencing real emotions etc. It helps if their image contains a USP — they can be copied and/or parodied because of it. Their representation may be metonymic — Madonna's conical bra in the early 1990s, Bono's 'Fly' sunglasses, etc. Pop stars have an advantage over film stars in that their constructed image may be much more consistent over a period of time, and is not dependent on the creative input of others (e.g. screenwriters writing their lines).

 

Dyer proposes that:

A star is an image not a real person that is constructed (as any other aspect of fiction is) out of a range of materials (such as advertising, magazines etc as well as films and music).