Courtney Thornton A2 Media: December 2014

Thursday 11 December 2014

Conventions of Form and Genre (including Genre Theory)

Reason as to why I will not be able to edit my draft during mock week

I had originally planned to film clips for my music video the week before mock week, however due to unfortunate circumstances my actress is unable to be in my video anymore. I have luckily found another actress, however she is busy on the days I am able to film. This leaves me with no available time or opportunities to film before mock week. I will make up for this time by getting a lot of research and extra work on my blog before my next available time to film.

Health and Safety Precautions

8 Different Types of Stories Featured in Music Video Narratives

Wednesday 10 December 2014

'What Makes A Good Product?' (With Personal Feedback)

I have researched music videos in order to examine what it is that makes them a successful product. This will help me understand what I need to do when it comes to creating my own music video in order to make it as successful as already existing ones.

The first video I analysed was Follow - Crystal Fighters

Techniques and conventions used
There were many location changes, the cinematography was smooth, clear and made the video easier to understand. It was also edited to the beat of the song. Lip sync was also used which was believable and on time with the lyrics. The video was also filmed in stop motion which created voyeurism and makes the video stand out from others. Overall I think this is a very good video as it uses many different techniques and conventions which keep the audience entertained and engaged.

The second video was Amnesia - 5 Seconds Of Summer

Techniques and conventions used
Slow motion shots were used in the video in order to create flash backs as this is a love song. Lip sync is also used effectively throughout the video. In the mise-en-scene we see rays of light shining over the band when a flashback is supposed to be shown and the background is also blurry which creates verisimilitude. I dislike this video as it is not applicable to my personal taste and I also think it is very cliche and boring. This video creates no voyeurism for me whatsoever as I think the narrative is bland.

The final video I analysed was We Found Love - Rihanna

Techniques and conventions used
Many techniques are used in this video such as a voice over, different locations and montage edits. The room is also filmed spinning around at a really fast pace which matches the narrative within the video. We then also see slow motion scenes which is contrasting with the fast paced scenes and once again supports the narrative. The costumes also create verisimilitude as they match the rest of the mise-en-scene. Other techniques are used such as projection. I quite like this video although the genre is not suited to my personal taste. I like the use of slow motion and fast paced scenes and also the use of projection which I think creates voyeurism and makes the video stand out from other cliché love-story music videos.

Video Analysis with Abstract and Performance within the Narrative

Radiohead - Street Spirit

This video is entirely filmed in black and white which already creates a certain grey and gloomy mood, which is how some would describe the sound of the song. Throughout the video a lot of effects are used in order to slow people down while everything around them moves at a regular pace. A lot of the events that has been put into slow motion would potentially have a different outcome on the person involved if it was not to have been slowed down, for example the person falling backwards on the chair would've suffered an injury but in this case they did not. There are also a lot of shadows that travel across the screen and put the lead singer temporarily in the darkness. The same thing happens with bare trees which are glowing white until they go into the dark which could connote that they are losing their purity or optimism.
Overall, this video creates a very dark and melancholy mood which is known to be stereotypical of Radiohead. It also creates voyeurism through the use of effects.

The Three Different Aspects to Narrative

There are three different aspects to narrative. Some music videos may contain all three of these aspects, however some will only contain one or two of the aspects. The aspects are as follows:

Performance - This is simply a convincing performance from the artist or extras in the music video. Performance can mean choreography in a dance routine performed by professional dancers/the artist or just the artist lip syncing along to the song.
Narrative - This is how the story is shown. It is usually based on the lyrics.
Abstract - The purpose behind abstract videos is to create a certain feeling or mood.

Example of Performance in music videos:

Example of Narrative in music videos:

Example of an Abstract music video:

Monday 8 December 2014

Video Techniques and Influences from already existing music videos

Here is some research I have done into the effects and techniques I have found in already existing music videos and would like to use in my own.

Saturday 6 December 2014

Using Social Media to Gather Ideas (with Tutorial)

When I found Pinterest I thought it would be useful if I used it to create boards in order to gather ideas and also be inspired by images people have uploaded worldwide. Pinterest is an app and website that works as a visual discovery, collection, sharing, and storage tool. This makes searching for ideas a much quicker and in depth process.

When creating an account on Pinterest I created boards in order to help me find inspiration for the hair and make-up aspects of my music video. The process was straight forward and as follows:

After one quick search an endless amount of images and boards appeared. The process of pinning a picture I like to one of my boards was quick, simple and straight forward: