Due to the violence and gore shown in my video (despite being brief) i thought it would be wise to also make an alternative version in order for showing on television before watershed, and for those likely to be uncomfortable with the content of my original video.
I would keep the video the exact same except for the self harm images, here i had 2 options:
- Pixelate the images in my video.
or
- Cut these images from my video and replace with alternative footage.
I originally played around with pixelating the footage however came to the conclusion that this did not work as it made my video look messy and unprofessional, not an image i wanted.
This meant that i would have to replace my original footage with alternative footage.
As my music video was to have self-harm and death in it i understood that this may be seen as offensive to certain audiences. However due to these reasons i would only allow this video to be broadcast on media channels after watershed hours. Further to this i aimed this video to mainly an online audience, through sites such as YouTube as this stays in touch with the artist for he does not release a lot of videos.
I would use my music video as a front for online advertising and promoting for Beck more than what i would use it for on the television.
I would use my music video as a front for online advertising and promoting for Beck more than what i would use it for on the television.
Now my footage had been captured it was time to edit my video.
I had captured my footage onto my editing software which was Adobe CS3 Pro and was ready to edit, however due to school technical difficulties all of my footage had been deleted by the school database so i had to capture it again, this process happened about 5 times so a lot of time that i could have used for editing was lost due to errors in the software. However, eventually this process was overcome and i was then able to start and complete my editing process.
I wanted to keep my video fairly simple and steer away from the path of making it a spectacle, as a result i opted to use minimal effects and transitions hoping to keep the audience engaged in my video rather than any effects, i also changed my video from colour to black and white.
I tended to use the same transitions and effects in my video, for example a black-to-white transitions, or whit-to-black, or fade to black/white.
I had captured my footage onto my editing software which was Adobe CS3 Pro and was ready to edit, however due to school technical difficulties all of my footage had been deleted by the school database so i had to capture it again, this process happened about 5 times so a lot of time that i could have used for editing was lost due to errors in the software. However, eventually this process was overcome and i was then able to start and complete my editing process.
I wanted to keep my video fairly simple and steer away from the path of making it a spectacle, as a result i opted to use minimal effects and transitions hoping to keep the audience engaged in my video rather than any effects, i also changed my video from colour to black and white.
I tended to use the same transitions and effects in my video, for example a black-to-white transitions, or whit-to-black, or fade to black/white.
My filming had all gone to plan however afetr looking back on it all i decided i wanted a little more footage of the abusive male.
So i filmed the next day and i was now completely happy with all of the captured footage.
I had over 50 minutes of footage which was a considerbale amount for a music video so i would have to edit a lot in order to get a finlased piece that i was overally happy with.
So i filmed the next day and i was now completely happy with all of the captured footage.
I had over 50 minutes of footage which was a considerbale amount for a music video so i would have to edit a lot in order to get a finlased piece that i was overally happy with.
Despite the filming going well, there were still some minor errors:
- In the shots in the bathroom sometimes the camera was reflected in the mirror and could be seen in the shot.
- After a few minutes the blood dried up so more had to be applied.
- When filming shots outside the rain affected the camera equipment so it had to be sheltered.
- Again outside sometimes ot was hard to get a shot where the camera was on a perfect level and not wonky or to the side.
- As i did not film the male/girl together i had to estimate where the other person would be in the shot as well as i could which proved fairly difficult.
- For the scene where the girl hangs herself i did not use a rope for safety reasons so i had to cut the shot off half way up her torso. However i lifted the girl onto the branch who then hung with her hands, this was the difficult part as she could not hold the branch for long so i had to take many short shots for this scene.
It was now the day of filming... i started the filming process by preparing the rooms which i was using in my house, for example removing an unnecessary mise-en-scene like television remotes.
I then prepared the camera with a new film in it and set up the tripod accordingly ready to use. Next i prepared any props such as, knifes, pens and a letter.
The last thing that i had to prepare was the blood which would be used in the girls self-harming scene.
To make the blood i bought 2 containers of fake blood, flour, red and purple food dye. I placed the fake blood into a bowl and added some coloured dye and then some flour, i mixed this is all until i was satisfied with the bloods colour and texture.
Once the mise-en-scene and all props were ready i was ready to film.
All of my filming went really well and there was no troubles or errors whilst filming.
The only thing that held me up a little bit was the weather.
In between locations i had to walk from my house to an alley way, then onto some woods/fields.
Because it was raining heavily i had to keep the equipment sheltered and covered form the rain in order to stop any damage to it.
To conclude the day went well and i had captured the majority of the footage that i needed for my project, however i decided i would use one more day to capture a little more footage to add to my video.
I then prepared the camera with a new film in it and set up the tripod accordingly ready to use. Next i prepared any props such as, knifes, pens and a letter.
The last thing that i had to prepare was the blood which would be used in the girls self-harming scene.
To make the blood i bought 2 containers of fake blood, flour, red and purple food dye. I placed the fake blood into a bowl and added some coloured dye and then some flour, i mixed this is all until i was satisfied with the bloods colour and texture.
Once the mise-en-scene and all props were ready i was ready to film.
All of my filming went really well and there was no troubles or errors whilst filming.
The only thing that held me up a little bit was the weather.
In between locations i had to walk from my house to an alley way, then onto some woods/fields.
Because it was raining heavily i had to keep the equipment sheltered and covered form the rain in order to stop any damage to it.
To conclude the day went well and i had captured the majority of the footage that i needed for my project, however i decided i would use one more day to capture a little more footage to add to my video.
After playing around with some ideas i finally chose to use one of my original ideas for the album cover just with a few alterations.
I wanted to use a screenshot of my footage of the girl walking down the alley way isolated but to then add some text onto my cover on top of the image.
The idea that i chose is seen below:
ENTER SCAN HERE.
I wanted to use a screenshot of my footage of the girl walking down the alley way isolated but to then add some text onto my cover on top of the image.
The idea that i chose is seen below:
ENTER SCAN HERE.
For my album cover i did not want to include a picture of Beck, instead i wanted to use something that would have connotations to my music video, for example perhaps a screenshot of my footage with text. I had a few very brief ideas as seen below that i sketched out for starting ideas:
ALBUM COVER SKETCHES HERE
I was still unsure whether or not to use too much colour on my album cover, as seen in Becks official album covers he uses a lot of bright and fluorescent colours, however i was unsure if i should do this as the use of bright colours does not match up to the narrative of the song.
ALBUM COVER SKETCHES HERE
I was still unsure whether or not to use too much colour on my album cover, as seen in Becks official album covers he uses a lot of bright and fluorescent colours, however i was unsure if i should do this as the use of bright colours does not match up to the narrative of the song.
In the meantime i furthered my research into Beck's album covers.
Beck has released 8 major label albums. The two of Beck's most renouned albums were Odelay and Sea Change. Odelay was awarded Album of the Year by American magazine Rolling Stone and by UK publications NME and Mojo. Odelay also received a Grammy nomination for Best Album.
I found a little background and information to these 2 albums covers on Wikipedia as follows:
Odelay
'The title is a phonetic English rendering of the Mexican slang interjection "órale." The phrase "odelay" is repeated in the lyrics during the outro of the song "Lord Only Knows".
The album's unusual cover photo, which has been misinterpreted as a mop head jumping over a hurdle, is actually a real photo of a Komondor, a rare Hungarian breed of dog with thick matted hair. The image was chosen at the last minute after Beck failed to decide on an album cover. The image was presented to him by his girlfriend and was chosen almost out of desperation. The typeface was chosen by a record company worker.'
Sea Change
'Sea Change was released with four different album covers, each version containing distinct artwork on the CD and the booklet. There are also different hidden messages (lyrical snippets) written under each version's CD tray.
The original cover art for the album was used as an effigy in the music video for Beck's single "Lost Cause".'
Beck has released 8 major label albums. The two of Beck's most renouned albums were Odelay and Sea Change. Odelay was awarded Album of the Year by American magazine Rolling Stone and by UK publications NME and Mojo. Odelay also received a Grammy nomination for Best Album.
I found a little background and information to these 2 albums covers on Wikipedia as follows:
Odelay
'The title is a phonetic English rendering of the Mexican slang interjection "órale." The phrase "odelay" is repeated in the lyrics during the outro of the song "Lord Only Knows".
The album's unusual cover photo, which has been misinterpreted as a mop head jumping over a hurdle, is actually a real photo of a Komondor, a rare Hungarian breed of dog with thick matted hair. The image was chosen at the last minute after Beck failed to decide on an album cover. The image was presented to him by his girlfriend and was chosen almost out of desperation. The typeface was chosen by a record company worker.'
Sea Change
'Sea Change was released with four different album covers, each version containing distinct artwork on the CD and the booklet. There are also different hidden messages (lyrical snippets) written under each version's CD tray.
The original cover art for the album was used as an effigy in the music video for Beck's single "Lost Cause".'
As i had a few days remaining until my filming began i wanted to have some practice with the equipment so i could be fully prepared for the filming of my proper project.
I used the exact equipment that i would use for my project, i.e. camera, cassette tape, and tripod.
I did a preliminary filming task where i set up my filming locations as they would be in my project and my sister played the abused girl.
I did this in order to familiarise myself with the equipment and so i could get an understanding for the angles of the shots i would use in my project.
I used the exact equipment that i would use for my project, i.e. camera, cassette tape, and tripod.
I did a preliminary filming task where i set up my filming locations as they would be in my project and my sister played the abused girl.
I did this in order to familiarise myself with the equipment and so i could get an understanding for the angles of the shots i would use in my project.
I had to practice making any wounds/injuries for my video.
The wounds/injuries that i had are as follows:
Slit wrists - I would use PVA glue, apply to skin and let it dry, then peel for fake skin.
Blood - I purchased some fake blood but added a little flour/food colouring to make it thicker and more realistic.
Fake Skin - Again just PVA glue, apply and dry.
Injection - Used a syringe and injected it into the fake skin/blood.
Black Eye - Mixture of dark make up (blusher/mascara etc.)
I researched how to make good fake skin and found numerous videos on YouTube, an example video is seen below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIoQ8eRp_iM
http://
The wounds/injuries that i had are as follows:
Slit wrists - I would use PVA glue, apply to skin and let it dry, then peel for fake skin.
Blood - I purchased some fake blood but added a little flour/food colouring to make it thicker and more realistic.
Fake Skin - Again just PVA glue, apply and dry.
Injection - Used a syringe and injected it into the fake skin/blood.
Black Eye - Mixture of dark make up (blusher/mascara etc.)
I researched how to make good fake skin and found numerous videos on YouTube, an example video is seen below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIoQ8eRp_iM
http://
Whilst i was waiting to film i looked at some more music videos to gain a little inspiration and some more ideas for shot types i could use.
I browsed through some videos on Youtube and found some good results, for example one can be seen below:
Micahel Jackson - Stranger In Moscow
http://
Michael Jackson - Stranger In Moscow (Official Music Video) - Funny bloopers R us
I did not only look at music videos though, I also used movies for inspiration. For examples specific scenes in films such as:
American Beauty
Fight Club
Forrest Gump
Shawshank Redemption
At each fo these films i did not look at their main plots but either at a tiny plot within their main plot or purely jsut at some of there themes and motifs.
Each film had depictions of what i want in my music video and therefore i used these as an influence for my video.
For example 'American Beauty' has isolation/death in it whilst 'Fight Club' has violence.
I browsed through some videos on Youtube and found some good results, for example one can be seen below:
Micahel Jackson - Stranger In Moscow
http://
Michael Jackson - Stranger In Moscow (Official Music Video) - Funny bloopers R us
I did not only look at music videos though, I also used movies for inspiration. For examples specific scenes in films such as:
American Beauty
Fight Club
Forrest Gump
Shawshank Redemption
At each fo these films i did not look at their main plots but either at a tiny plot within their main plot or purely jsut at some of there themes and motifs.
Each film had depictions of what i want in my music video and therefore i used these as an influence for my video.
For example 'American Beauty' has isolation/death in it whilst 'Fight Club' has violence.
So now i knew what i wanted to film and where to film it i had to decide what the mise-en-scene would be in my production. Below are they key locations for filming and what i wanted to mise-en-scene to be.
Home Lounge - In my home lounge i would film the parts in my video where the girl is attacked and where she is with her friends. I wanted to keep the room as simple as i can. I had 2 cushions on the sofa and i had nothing on sight in the window or on the window sill. For the shots of the abusive male all that was visible behind him is a TV. However when panning you can see through the lounge windows, although i did not alter anything outside the house as i still wanted my set to have a homely feel, therefore leaving the garden untouched.
Home Bathroom - In my bathroom the shots of the girl self-harming and her crying would be done. I moved anything from the shelf under the mirror into which she looks and then only shot the corner of the room, once again i tried to keep the set home-like but plain.
Alley Way - For the shots that where to be filmed here i wanted a naturalistic set and therefore did not alter anything at this location.
Fields - For the shots that where to be filmed here i wanted a naturalistic set and therefore did not alter anything at this location.
Woods - For the shots that where to be filmed here i wanted a naturalistic set and therefore did not alter anything at this location.
Home Lounge - In my home lounge i would film the parts in my video where the girl is attacked and where she is with her friends. I wanted to keep the room as simple as i can. I had 2 cushions on the sofa and i had nothing on sight in the window or on the window sill. For the shots of the abusive male all that was visible behind him is a TV. However when panning you can see through the lounge windows, although i did not alter anything outside the house as i still wanted my set to have a homely feel, therefore leaving the garden untouched.
Home Bathroom - In my bathroom the shots of the girl self-harming and her crying would be done. I moved anything from the shelf under the mirror into which she looks and then only shot the corner of the room, once again i tried to keep the set home-like but plain.
Alley Way - For the shots that where to be filmed here i wanted a naturalistic set and therefore did not alter anything at this location.
Fields - For the shots that where to be filmed here i wanted a naturalistic set and therefore did not alter anything at this location.
Woods - For the shots that where to be filmed here i wanted a naturalistic set and therefore did not alter anything at this location.
As i was showing self harm in my video i would have to either use camera tricks or make up to show this.
I opted to use make up as i thought it would look more real and therefore effective and also because i saw it as a challenge.
I did not really know how to do this as first, in my video the girl would inject herself and slit her wrists and i was unsure how to show this. I google searched for ideas but nothing really came up that helped me. However i then went on YouTube and searched and the majority of results that i got related to Halloween makeup and cosmetics.
It showed me how to make fake skin and i took this idea and thought i could make fake skin on the girl and cut that as if she was cutting her own skin.
Cosmetic ingredients needed for my filming:
- PVA Glue
- Syringe
- Blusher
- Skin coloured Foundation
- Mascara
- Facial powder, black/blue
- Artificial Blood/Red food colouring
I would use these things to create effects such as blood, cuts, bruises and black eyes in my video.
I opted to use make up as i thought it would look more real and therefore effective and also because i saw it as a challenge.
I did not really know how to do this as first, in my video the girl would inject herself and slit her wrists and i was unsure how to show this. I google searched for ideas but nothing really came up that helped me. However i then went on YouTube and searched and the majority of results that i got related to Halloween makeup and cosmetics.
It showed me how to make fake skin and i took this idea and thought i could make fake skin on the girl and cut that as if she was cutting her own skin.
Cosmetic ingredients needed for my filming:
- PVA Glue
- Syringe
- Blusher
- Skin coloured Foundation
- Mascara
- Facial powder, black/blue
- Artificial Blood/Red food colouring
I would use these things to create effects such as blood, cuts, bruises and black eyes in my video.
I next began my lead up to filming. I knew in my head what i wanted my video to look like so i was able to make a story board, these will be scaned onto my blog soon. In the meantime i wrote a call-sheet for people taking part in my film explaining the locations and costumes needed. It was as follows:
A2 MEDIA PROJECT FILMING SCHEDULE
Project Song – ‘Lost Cause’ by Beck
Video Synopsis –
The video portrays domestic violence without ever actually showing the abuse. It focuses more upon the physiological effects endured by the abused girl (Charlotte) set upon her by her abusive father (Steve). The video follows the girl as she struggles to cope with the situation she is in, ultimately leading to her taking her own life.
Filming Dates – Sunday 4th October. 1-6pm approx.
Cast/Characters –
Charlotte Taylor – Abused/Suffering Girl
Steve Foyle – Abusive Male
Elliott Edwards – Friend 1
Rachel Tolley – Friend 2
Daniel Yardley – Friend 3
Costume –
Charlotte – Casuals, although nothing with sexual connotations
Steve – Jeans, trainers, white t-shirt
Elliott – Tracksuit trousers and t-shirt
Rachel - Casuals, although nothing with sexual connotations
Dan – Jeans and long sleeve shirt (or hoody)
Additional Information –
Make Up – Elliott Edwards
Filming Location – Elliott’s House, surrounding streets and Pinner Hill Golf Club
A2 MEDIA PROJECT FILMING SCHEDULE
Project Song – ‘Lost Cause’ by Beck
Video Synopsis –
The video portrays domestic violence without ever actually showing the abuse. It focuses more upon the physiological effects endured by the abused girl (Charlotte) set upon her by her abusive father (Steve). The video follows the girl as she struggles to cope with the situation she is in, ultimately leading to her taking her own life.
Filming Dates – Sunday 4th October. 1-6pm approx.
Cast/Characters –
Charlotte Taylor – Abused/Suffering Girl
Steve Foyle – Abusive Male
Elliott Edwards – Friend 1
Rachel Tolley – Friend 2
Daniel Yardley – Friend 3
Costume –
Charlotte – Casuals, although nothing with sexual connotations
Steve – Jeans, trainers, white t-shirt
Elliott – Tracksuit trousers and t-shirt
Rachel - Casuals, although nothing with sexual connotations
Dan – Jeans and long sleeve shirt (or hoody)
Additional Information –
Make Up – Elliott Edwards
Filming Location – Elliott’s House, surrounding streets and Pinner Hill Golf Club
Next i came up with my finalised/full video synopsis.
Video Synopsis –
The video portrays domestic violence without ever actually showing the abuse. It focuses more upon the physiological effects endured by the abused girl set upon her by her abusive father . The video follows the girl as she struggles to cope with the situation she is in, ultimately leading to her taking her own life.
Video Synopsis –
The video portrays domestic violence without ever actually showing the abuse. It focuses more upon the physiological effects endured by the abused girl set upon her by her abusive father . The video follows the girl as she struggles to cope with the situation she is in, ultimately leading to her taking her own life.
So now that I had a plot structure I had to strengthen and deepen the it. As I wanted to represent certain motifs in my video, violence, drugs, suicide and bullying, I needed to think of how these motifs could be placed into my plotline.
My ideas were as follows:
VIOLENCE – Father represents to violent figure in the video, inflicts violence upon girl. However girl shows another side of violence as she inflicts it upon herself (self harms).
DRUGS – The use of drugs will only briefly be shown through the use of a syringe, girl will use drugs due to her suffering caused at the hands of her father.
SUICIDE – Shall be shown at end of video briefly, girl will take her own life.
BULLYING – Shown as the father bullies his daughter. Bullying shown in a family/home environment.
My ideas were as follows:
VIOLENCE – Father represents to violent figure in the video, inflicts violence upon girl. However girl shows another side of violence as she inflicts it upon herself (self harms).
DRUGS – The use of drugs will only briefly be shown through the use of a syringe, girl will use drugs due to her suffering caused at the hands of her father.
SUICIDE – Shall be shown at end of video briefly, girl will take her own life.
BULLYING – Shown as the father bullies his daughter. Bullying shown in a family/home environment.
However, after thought i came to the conclusion that i liked the obscurity of his album covers. I would keep to my original idea of making the cover relate to the video however in terms of any text on my album cover i would make that obscure, probably full of bright colours and maybe lots of varying fonts.
This text would be on top of a direct screenshot from my video.
This text would be on top of a direct screenshot from my video.
As you can see from the pictures Beck's album covers are often pretty simple, although with a bright text overlaying them. He does not appear in every cover and therefore i am not going to be putting him on my piece.
From what can be seen the covers do not directly make referance to the songs, however i think i will probably make my cover relevant to my song.
From what can be seen the covers do not directly make referance to the songs, however i think i will probably make my cover relevant to my song.
Now that i had a rough storyline i needed a full plot, i knew that i wanted DOMESTIC VIOLENCE as my foundation for the video and that i wanted to include BULLYING and DRUGS in it too.
In order to come up with a full narrative story i did a brainstorm of things to do with these themes.
After doing so i had a rough story for my video...
Girl at home.
Bullied by father.
Suffers domestic violence.
Self harms and takes drugs due to it.
Cant take any more so she commits suicide.
I decided that this was now my plotline for the video and all i had to do now was to develop my ideas further and to make my plotline have as much depth as possible!
In order to come up with a full narrative story i did a brainstorm of things to do with these themes.
After doing so i had a rough story for my video...
Girl at home.
Bullied by father.
Suffers domestic violence.
Self harms and takes drugs due to it.
Cant take any more so she commits suicide.
I decided that this was now my plotline for the video and all i had to do now was to develop my ideas further and to make my plotline have as much depth as possible!
Now I had a very small basis to work on with my themes/motifs that I wanted in my video I had to check if the dialogue in the video would match up well to the lyrics of the song.
I checked this by simply checking the lyrics for Beck - 'Lost Cause' online and reading them through, they are as follows:
Your sorry eyes; they cut through bone
They make it hard to leave you alone
Leave you here wearing your wounds
Waving your guns at somebody new
Baby you're lost
Baby you're lost
Baby you're a lost cause
There's too many people you used to know
They see you coming they see you go
They know your secrets and you know theirs
This town is crazy; nobody cares
Baby you're lost
Baby you're lost
Baby you're a lost cause
I'm tired of fighting
I'm tired of fighting
Fighting for a lost cause
There's a place where you are going
You ain't never been before
No one left to watch your back now
No one standing at your door
That's what you thought love was for
Baby you're lost
Baby you're lost
Baby you're a lost cause
I'm tired of fighting
I'm tired of fighting
Fighting for a lost cause
I thought that the lyrics matched up to the song very well and that the action should match too.
I checked this by simply checking the lyrics for Beck - 'Lost Cause' online and reading them through, they are as follows:
Your sorry eyes; they cut through bone
They make it hard to leave you alone
Leave you here wearing your wounds
Waving your guns at somebody new
Baby you're lost
Baby you're lost
Baby you're a lost cause
There's too many people you used to know
They see you coming they see you go
They know your secrets and you know theirs
This town is crazy; nobody cares
Baby you're lost
Baby you're lost
Baby you're a lost cause
I'm tired of fighting
I'm tired of fighting
Fighting for a lost cause
There's a place where you are going
You ain't never been before
No one left to watch your back now
No one standing at your door
That's what you thought love was for
Baby you're lost
Baby you're lost
Baby you're a lost cause
I'm tired of fighting
I'm tired of fighting
Fighting for a lost cause
I thought that the lyrics matched up to the song very well and that the action should match too.
In order to maximise the effectiveness of my project i wanted to take a look at some well known music videos that contained the same rough context as mine.
An immediate video that shot to mind was for the song 'Run Away Love' By Ludacris and Mary J Blige.
This video shows the effects of troubles at home, violence, drugs and drinking.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWKrDGm5dog
http://
I chose to study this video as when i first saw the video, as well as listening to the song, it had huge impact upon me. In my opinion the video allows for the song to emphasise it's huge impact upon the audience.
Examples of other videos that i looked at are as follows:
Eminem - 'Stan'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahZgsNvVA4I
http://
Nine Inch Nails - 'Closer'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4VAv8y2hHM
http://
Nine Inch Nails: Closer (Censored) (1994) - Click here for the most popular videos
Each of these videos show at least one of the aspects i was looking for, by watching them i gained an idea of what was the best way to portray them in my video.
An immediate video that shot to mind was for the song 'Run Away Love' By Ludacris and Mary J Blige.
This video shows the effects of troubles at home, violence, drugs and drinking.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWKrDGm5dog
http://
I chose to study this video as when i first saw the video, as well as listening to the song, it had huge impact upon me. In my opinion the video allows for the song to emphasise it's huge impact upon the audience.
Examples of other videos that i looked at are as follows:
Eminem - 'Stan'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahZgsNvVA4I
http://
Nine Inch Nails - 'Closer'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4VAv8y2hHM
http://
Nine Inch Nails: Closer (Censored) (1994) - Click here for the most popular videos
Each of these videos show at least one of the aspects i was looking for, by watching them i gained an idea of what was the best way to portray them in my video.
As I was thinking of possible ideas for my plot I thought it may be a possibility to put a little bit of each initial idea together and to make them all into my plot. I would have to take, SUICIDE, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, BULLYING and DRUGS, and then combine them all into one big storyline for my video.
I thought it would be best for DOMESTIC VIOLENCE to be my foundations of the video because then I could show/include aspects of BULLYING and then also have room to develop some DRUG taking and SUICIDE in my video as well.
I had to look at each of my potential options and work out the potential advantages and disadvantages of each one.
SUICIDE – Very brief idea, not much potential depth, only shows 1 aspect, no real plot.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE – Good idea, room for developing, easy to film, use house, cheap, can use male/female, young/old.
CAR CRASH – Not much depth in plot, would have to use somebody’s car, no plot.
ROBBERY – Potential for development, robbery from many different angles/aspects, would have to use a house to rob though
BULLYING – Lots of room for development, good plot, bullying at home, work, and school. Suffering due to bullying can be shown.
DRUGS/ALCOHOL – Would be easy to film, can show horrors of drug use and the effects and consequences it can have.
I immediately threw away the ideas if Robbery and a Car Crash. However, i liked the other 4 ideas and thought that there was potential in them all. I thought it was a possibility to maybe include an aspect of each of them in my finished project.
SUICIDE – Very brief idea, not much potential depth, only shows 1 aspect, no real plot.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE – Good idea, room for developing, easy to film, use house, cheap, can use male/female, young/old.
CAR CRASH – Not much depth in plot, would have to use somebody’s car, no plot.
ROBBERY – Potential for development, robbery from many different angles/aspects, would have to use a house to rob though
BULLYING – Lots of room for development, good plot, bullying at home, work, and school. Suffering due to bullying can be shown.
DRUGS/ALCOHOL – Would be easy to film, can show horrors of drug use and the effects and consequences it can have.
I immediately threw away the ideas if Robbery and a Car Crash. However, i liked the other 4 ideas and thought that there was potential in them all. I thought it was a possibility to maybe include an aspect of each of them in my finished project.
Now that i had decided some of my key themes that i would be using in my video i had to come up with a plot/storyline.
I would have to incorporate these themes whilst still maintaining a video that would be easy enough to film and low budget.
A few brief ideas that i thought of as possibilities are as follows:
- Suicide, persons struggle with life.
- Domestic Violence, persons struggle with violence at home.
- Car Crash, panic due to crash.
- Robbery, chaos caused by robbery.
- Bullying, child facing confrontation and bullying.
- Drug/Alcohol Abuse, psychological/physical effects of drug taking.
I would have to incorporate these themes whilst still maintaining a video that would be easy enough to film and low budget.
A few brief ideas that i thought of as possibilities are as follows:
- Suicide, persons struggle with life.
- Domestic Violence, persons struggle with violence at home.
- Car Crash, panic due to crash.
- Robbery, chaos caused by robbery.
- Bullying, child facing confrontation and bullying.
- Drug/Alcohol Abuse, psychological/physical effects of drug taking.
I decided to do my whole video with live action rather than anything else.
As i decided to do a narrative video i have to come up with a whole storyline, plot and characters.
At first i found it very hard to come up with an idea, i looked at loads of videos on YouTube and started to take small notes on common themes that i saw in videos.
Some examples are:
Innocent victim(normally girl)
Crying
Death
Suffering
Poverty
Violence
Young children
Fighting
I found that these were the common motifs in the videos so i decided to take some of these and apply them to my video.
As i decided to do a narrative video i have to come up with a whole storyline, plot and characters.
At first i found it very hard to come up with an idea, i looked at loads of videos on YouTube and started to take small notes on common themes that i saw in videos.
Some examples are:
Innocent victim(normally girl)
Crying
Death
Suffering
Poverty
Violence
Young children
Fighting
I found that these were the common motifs in the videos so i decided to take some of these and apply them to my video.
In order to make the video as best as i could i had to fully understand what a 'music video' actually is.
Wikipedia's definition is 'A short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music/song.'
'Music videos use a wide range of styles of film making techniques, including animation, live action filming, documentaries, and non-narrative approaches such as abstract film. Some music videos blend different styles, such as animation and live action.'
I had to decide what style of film i would like to do. (animation/live etc.)
As i have had no previous experience in animation i ruled that option out straight away, i decided that live action film would be best with a narrative approach to the film.
Wikipedia's definition is 'A short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music/song.'
'Music videos use a wide range of styles of film making techniques, including animation, live action filming, documentaries, and non-narrative approaches such as abstract film. Some music videos blend different styles, such as animation and live action.'
I had to decide what style of film i would like to do. (animation/live etc.)
As i have had no previous experience in animation i ruled that option out straight away, i decided that live action film would be best with a narrative approach to the film.
Here are some videos of the songs that i looked at as preliminary ideas:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_BwSTF3Qnk
http://
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4L_DQKCDgeM
http://
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGwDYBWEDSc
http://
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_BwSTF3Qnk
http://
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4L_DQKCDgeM
http://
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGwDYBWEDSc
http://
My FINAL choice of song is seen below. 'Lost Cause - Beck
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ER7wJgZxBIk
I listened to many songs like these in order to get a rough idea of what type of song to choose.
Okay, so i have now chosen my song, but now i have to come up with a whole plot line for the video.
Whilst i was researching what song to choose i watched the videos to the songs, by doing so i could gain a picture of what professionals in the industry found to be a moving video.
I often found that death, war, poverty and abuse were common motifs in a sad music video. I decided i too would choose a video with these rough motifs, specifically violence, as i thought i would be able to film this with no great troubles and i myself found the idea of violence attracting as to me, i found it the easiest way to be effected emotionally!
I also needed to gain a little background information on Beck, wikipedia has the following information.
Beck Hansen (born Bek David Campbell, July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist known by the stage name Beck. With a pop art collage of musical styles, oblique and ironic lyrics, and postmodern arrangements incorporating samples, drum machines, live instrumentation and sound effects, Beck has been hailed by critics and the public throughout his musical career as being amongst the most creative and idiosyncratic musicians of 1990s and 2000s alternative rock.
The four time platinum artist rose to underground popularity with his early works, which combined social criticism (as in "MTV Makes Me Want to Smoke Crack" and "Deep Fried Love") with musical and lyrical experimentation.
As seen Beck is known for his social criticisms and oblique/ironic lyrics, this furthered my wishes to do a video that would shock or surprise its viewers with some social context and meaning to it.
Whilst i was researching what song to choose i watched the videos to the songs, by doing so i could gain a picture of what professionals in the industry found to be a moving video.
I often found that death, war, poverty and abuse were common motifs in a sad music video. I decided i too would choose a video with these rough motifs, specifically violence, as i thought i would be able to film this with no great troubles and i myself found the idea of violence attracting as to me, i found it the easiest way to be effected emotionally!
I also needed to gain a little background information on Beck, wikipedia has the following information.
Beck Hansen (born Bek David Campbell, July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist known by the stage name Beck. With a pop art collage of musical styles, oblique and ironic lyrics, and postmodern arrangements incorporating samples, drum machines, live instrumentation and sound effects, Beck has been hailed by critics and the public throughout his musical career as being amongst the most creative and idiosyncratic musicians of 1990s and 2000s alternative rock.
The four time platinum artist rose to underground popularity with his early works, which combined social criticism (as in "MTV Makes Me Want to Smoke Crack" and "Deep Fried Love") with musical and lyrical experimentation.
As seen Beck is known for his social criticisms and oblique/ironic lyrics, this furthered my wishes to do a video that would shock or surprise its viewers with some social context and meaning to it.
After looking at my results that i took in i was able to come up with a few brief ideas.
On the whole people prefer to have... Narrative, Sad, B/W, Slow... music video without having the band in it.
Taking these things into account i drew up a spider diagram chart with many little ideas, for example i had band ideas such as Coldplay, Snow Patrol and Eva Cassidy.
Because i had chosen to do a sad song, or just a slow song i researched the 'Best 100 songs to make you cry'. I looked through YouTube and many other sites in order to find out the songs that people found most moving.
When on YouTube i read comments left by people and found many reasons as to why they found such songs to be so sad/moving.
I came across artist such as Billy Joel, U2, Beck and Tracy Chapman.
I listened to songs form these artist, along with others and found a song that i decided i could comfortably make a video to match it and that i personally found moving and sad.
My final song choice was 'Lost Cause' by Beck
On the whole people prefer to have... Narrative, Sad, B/W, Slow... music video without having the band in it.
Taking these things into account i drew up a spider diagram chart with many little ideas, for example i had band ideas such as Coldplay, Snow Patrol and Eva Cassidy.
Because i had chosen to do a sad song, or just a slow song i researched the 'Best 100 songs to make you cry'. I looked through YouTube and many other sites in order to find out the songs that people found most moving.
When on YouTube i read comments left by people and found many reasons as to why they found such songs to be so sad/moving.
I came across artist such as Billy Joel, U2, Beck and Tracy Chapman.
I listened to songs form these artist, along with others and found a song that i decided i could comfortably make a video to match it and that i personally found moving and sad.
My final song choice was 'Lost Cause' by Beck
The results for the questions were as follows:
1 - Narrative (13) Spectacle (7)
2 - Sad (12) Happy (8)
3 - Coloured (9) Black and White (11)
4 - Sad/Slow (13) Happy/Upbeat (7)
5 - Yes (3) No (17)
After looking at these results i could gt a pretty good idea of what people preferred to see in a music video thus enabling me to start on a rough plan!
1 - Narrative (13) Spectacle (7)
2 - Sad (12) Happy (8)
3 - Coloured (9) Black and White (11)
4 - Sad/Slow (13) Happy/Upbeat (7)
5 - Yes (3) No (17)
After looking at these results i could gt a pretty good idea of what people preferred to see in a music video thus enabling me to start on a rough plan!
The questionnaire that i handed out to people was as follows:
1 - Do you prefer a narrative music video or a spectacle?
2 - Generally, do you think a 'sad' video or a 'happy' video looks better, or which do you prefer?
3 - Do you prefer a coloured video or black/white?
4 - Generally, do you prefer videos for sad/slow songs or happy/upbeat songs (which do you find more effective?)
5 - Do you find it necessary that you see the band in their music video?
The results will follow!
1 - Do you prefer a narrative music video or a spectacle?
2 - Generally, do you think a 'sad' video or a 'happy' video looks better, or which do you prefer?
3 - Do you prefer a coloured video or black/white?
4 - Generally, do you prefer videos for sad/slow songs or happy/upbeat songs (which do you find more effective?)
5 - Do you find it necessary that you see the band in their music video?
The results will follow!
And so it begins...
Right, so my work begins, the idea of this course is to make your own music video to any song you wish.
To start i have to decide the type of music video that i would like to do (spectacular, happy, sad etc.) and the song and artist that i would like to do i to!
As we have only just started I'm still really unsure as to what i would like to do, and because I'm working by myself it means i have to decide every aspect of my project.
To help me decide what sort of video i would do i did a very short questionnaire which i handed out to 20 people.
This was so i could just gain a little insight into what others wanted to see in a music video.
To start i have to decide the type of music video that i would like to do (spectacular, happy, sad etc.) and the song and artist that i would like to do i to!
As we have only just started I'm still really unsure as to what i would like to do, and because I'm working by myself it means i have to decide every aspect of my project.
To help me decide what sort of video i would do i did a very short questionnaire which i handed out to 20 people.
This was so i could just gain a little insight into what others wanted to see in a music video.
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