FINISHED!!

So the project is over, its been fun and i am happy with the end result. So Blog closed.

Reflections on Project

This project i feel has been particularly successful. I think that the group had good skills in all key areas, and so both the final videos are of very good quality. The project has allowed me to utilise more special effects, and i have improved upon skills i had for Adobe After Effects. I have also been able to improve my editing skills through using a different form that follows music video conventions - that i have found to increase my understanding of how to convey meaning to an audience through a variety of different techniques, as well as creating interesting cuts and effects to make certain aspects of the video stand out. On the shoots my partici[ation in lighting and particularly camerawork i believe has improved my skills of adapting to deliver different syles of footage, with interesting angles. By dividing into 2 parts for the editing stage, i believe that as individuals we have gained more in the form of creativity and practical skills, and being able to do so i think is a reflection of how good the group dynamics were for the project, thus i would hope to complete further projects with Matt, Lam and Mike.

Final Productions

Album Cover

Myspace - http://www.myspace.com/boyinterrupted430

Video

Colourisation Effects

So in music videos, the colours are often distorted and adjuted in post, i have been applying different colourisation effects in After FX to a clip from prison break. Our video may benefit greatly from doing something along the lines of this, and if we used different shot angles, or certiain performance shots with different colourised effects it could seriously enhance the editing. It could be done on the beat etc. I know liam has been thinking of shooting in nightvision and cutting to normal shoot mode. The first effect is day to night. There is a better one that i will post in a bit. I am thinking that it may be worth experimenting with the colour correction i have tested, in our video, and not just leave it at b & W as at present. I will get some of our performance footage and apply these effects to it, so we can see if it is worth while. This is the clip below.

Also worth noting, after i watched this back is how the changes in colours, saturation etc really can create a different ambience and mood. Using colourisation methods such as this may enhance the disturbed persona we are creating for the protagonist in our video.

Research and Testing Post Production Effects

The group have researched into videos that have the same mood, and are from similar genres and in some of them there are several colour effects and flashes, which we like. I have done some research and can now do a load of different effects that will look really good. Below is some test footage from prison break i've applied the effects to. Comment and let me know which ones you like. They can all be disorientating, and i think that this may help amplify the protaganists mindframe in our video.

One of the effects is to look like being in a nightclub , and as we have been discussing using a shot as a POV of the protagonist in a crowded room with everyone staring at him ( possibly as he just kissed the boy) Then this effect would really enhance it. I think its at 23 seconds in.

Reflections on Todays Shoot

I think that for the number of hours we were actually filming for today, we have got a lot of high quality footage, and agian Liams acting was very good. The lighting also seemed better this time, as we were more careful over shadows cast by the camera as we moved around Liam performing. I've got to take the camera back in tomorrow and so will be in school early so shall capture our footage and put down a performance bed during my free periods 4 and 5.

Photos fo my room for the performance location.

I can move all the stuff out tomorrow morning, and it will make a much larger performance area, and so allow Liam to be more energetic.

Performance Location

so we are thinking of using a blank canvas type room ,a s i sighte din the last post, Matts room may work, but is a bit small, I am going to take some photos of my room and if we took the stuff out it may be more suited.

Performance Area / Bedroom

i think it would work well if we could use a location that is a sort of blank canvas, similar to the room in the first 12-25 seconds in this vid.

Painkiller - Freestylers - Feat. Pendulum & SirReal


If we can find a location like this at short notice, it will go with the grafitti and grungeyy / old film look we are after, juxstaposing it.

Tattooo

just found a better pic of what they are like,

Costume

Quick post, as we are thinking of a twisted messed up ortagonist, i;ve just realised of got some tattoo sleeves, so if we want liam can wear them and his arms will be covered in markings. Like Michael from Prison Break.


So kinda like the arms , not torso though. i think it could enhance the charcter, and make it more visually interesting perhaps.

Reflections on FINAL IDEA

The group have finally got our idea, and i think for it to work as it is going to be a challenge we need to mimick the shot structure in the original Kate Perry song.

The group meeting today we progressed from using a strong narrative to a largely performance dominant video. this is going to decrease the complexity in the video i think, as we wont have to find as many locations and it reduces complications on filming permission.

Although we want it performance based, i think we still need to use some segments of narrative, wih are not connecrted, rather a selection of highlights to amplify the lyrics of the song. Plus break up the perormance.

The song has a twisted dark sound, i think that we could use grungy textures imposed over the performance parts of the video, as Liam discussed in the meeting.

Some possible shots to relate the main protagonnist to the boy whose life he is messing with, could be him and the lads in a pub. Boy is at bar with girlfriend, protagonist gives a twisted glance, and we pan to see the 2 at bar. Although relating to the sony and theme the emphasis as a group is that the shots breaking up performance wshould be clever camerawork, and highlight frame composition rather than the content.

I think we need a shot in a club, and as the song is all about kissing a boy perhaps have to include this. But it may take things too far.

The line 'I’ve got my whole damn crew, come on what you gonna do' i see as having an agressive shot , perhaps we could have him and his crew walking into the club, whilst Liam lip syncs this line. In the sort of resevoir Dogs style. With clever angles and camera movements , which could be cut to emphasise the music. Disjuncive edits, etc can work with our song as it has a distinctive rythm.

Structure

As we are doing a song in response to Katy Perry's 'I Kissed a Girl' i think we should use a similar shot structure and performance based video, but with different content, effects and editing to portray our entirely different interpretation of the song.
We should show our aggressive character straight away rather than objectifying him, perhaps with a TV smash. instead of soft safe editing, we sould illustrate the more edgy, and aggressive artist + song with abrasive cuts to challenge our audience.

As we feel the song is sinister and somewhat narcissitic i think we should utilise colou effects to illustrate this, high contrast with black and white would do so.

Big Inspiration

The mise en scene and in particular the dress code, of the singer in this video are what i believe the group should aim for in our video with the Cobra Starship song. The video also uses interesting black and white effects. The lyrics are all direct address, and the editing is on the beat but also somewhat sporadic. I believe it is portraying a similar tone and character that we should for our video, and when editing and editing effects i think we should be influenced by this style and adapt it to our own form and song.

Inspirational Videos that have given some shot ideas and locations

Inspirational Music Videos
CASSIUS - THE SOUND OF VIOLENCE



Sick Puppies - All The Same


michael jakson & janet jackson - scream
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=VSbrJIGx9hU

Zoot Woman - 'Living In A Magazine'


Gnarls Barkley - Crazy
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=bd2B6SjMh_w


RHCP - cant stop

Album covers i like and that work in creating a Star image

I think that this cover is particularly successful in the way that it draws attention. The bold and colourful image on the front are eyecatching. It would be useful when desigining our cover to note that, in order to sell in shops it has to stand out form the competition and i tihnk that Sam Sparros cover succeeds in that respect. The different colours themselves suggest that it is a new and vibrant album, and the style of shot and sunglasses show the genre is somewhat undefinable but is part of the new wave of music.







This Blink 182 cover is similar to the sort i think our group should use. It consists of just the band logo, which creates a strong image that will be associated with the band. It could be particularly useful for our project as we are launching a new band. The song we are using ( Cobra Starship - I kissed a Boy ) has many controversial elements, the video in particular we intend to. If this is accompanied by an enigmatic album cover it could receive far more attention from the press, and overall more coverage and a stronger sense of identification for the group which would have a logo, that could be applied to merchandise, and other commerical interests providing a larger and more successful fan base, and more profits.

Here's your group work on Marketing!

BLK feedback

great blogging Max, i particularly like your location ideas, they are really exciting, i agree with all of them :-)

can you briefly label each of your youtube videos/potential tracks though please?

Music Video Analysis

Chemical Brothers: Star Guitar



A completely different style of music and video to Stan. It is not illustrative in the same manner as Stan and is far more concept based. The concept would be a train journey, and is therefore also contradictory as you would not necessarily expect the video to be of a train journey.

The video is fairly abstract when compared to other modern videos. The images do not necessarily link with the music in a conventioanl and expected manner ( like a big crashing cymbol may be shown normally with a cymbol beinhg hit in a music vid). It is somewhat more like older music videos when they were first made. A short film shot to music almost. But done in an extremely clever manner.

This video illustrates the different instruments of the music rather than lyrics ( as there are none) with repeat elements. For a particular part of synth or beat, a train repeatedly will rush past the window. For the same beat in the video which is continuous at the end there is a piece of old track, and 3 power things which pass the window as the beat is repeated. ( 3:47 in the video )

The temp and changes in the song are marked with new scenery or extra elements. AS the temp increases, the speed of the train increases. If a new instrument is introduced, a new visual element will represent it in the video.

From 1:30 in the video a particular sort of keyboard is introduced, as a long synth, this is represented by fading from day to night, to day. A fast paced beat kicks in , and concrete blocks rush past the window in sync with the music. The tempo slows, so does the train and the images. Again representing visually the music and not relying on the construction of a narrative, an image for the artist, or performance.

The video is similar to the daft Punk around the world music video done by the same director. Instead for this one objects are used to represent the musical elements where as in Daft Punk dancers do.


Eminem - Stan



Shows the obsession of a fan, in the star image and success of Slim Shady. It illustrates on several levels his unhealthy fixation. The video starts with a zoom through a window. Showing we are being given an insight into this private obsession. Stan is staring into a mirror. It is shot in a bathroom which is decaying creating a depressed atmosphere. Matching the lyrics . There are green colour tones throughout the video , emphasising Stan's envy , jealousy and idolisation.
The video is illustrative and amplifies the lyrics. It is a narrative performance. The video shows Stans obsession with Slim shady, his dying the hair, writing a letter in a gloomy shrine like room...

The constant flashes of light in the video represent Stand chaotic mind set and create strong impacts on the audience.

The video uses straight cuts between shots of Stan, but has fades out and in when switching between the parallel narratives to signify the change and make it more noticeable. ( Stand to Slim Shady) There are longer shots on Stan particularly when he is writing the letter. It shows he is central to the song. The video cuts from MCUs of Stan writing to longer shots, which track in a circular motion around his shrine room. It creates the idea of how his world revolved around his obsession with Slim Shady.

As the video is very illustrative with a narrative it relies heavily upon the acting performance, and less so on the artist performing. The realistic and grimy low key locations that the video is shot in relate to how it links in with Eminem. The song and video have been linked with representing Eminem's relationship with Kim, and he himself said he wrote the song as he receives mail form crazed fans. The video is used to strengthen Eminem's image as one of his songs telling the truth.

Possible style of Video

A popular style for music videos at the moment is a sort of homemade amatuer look.
Like in Nickelbacks vidoe for Rockstar.

I think that this style would definitely be feasable for us to do. But could end up looking like a poor attempt at a proffessional style of video if not done well. I also dont think it will work with the ideas we have for our boyband video. It may work if we incorporate footage of some 'boys being boys' mucking around though...