Monday, 5 January 2009
Sunday, 30 November 2008
Feedback #3
Guys,
I am concerned about your planning grades so far. At the moment there are a number of gaps on this blog. You don't seem to be taking the deadlines very seriously and your analysis are still a little brief.
You need to seriously consider the grade you are aiming for in this unit and invest some time in improving your entries. I will review your current grade for the research element of planning as of level 3 (C/B) for planning ONCE more. All gaps need to be complete by the time you do your pitch.
Last chance to improve.
I am concerned about your planning grades so far. At the moment there are a number of gaps on this blog. You don't seem to be taking the deadlines very seriously and your analysis are still a little brief.
You need to seriously consider the grade you are aiming for in this unit and invest some time in improving your entries. I will review your current grade for the research element of planning as of level 3 (C/B) for planning ONCE more. All gaps need to be complete by the time you do your pitch.
Last chance to improve.
Friday, 28 November 2008
Textual Analysis,Chemical Brother Believe. (Appendix 21)
What have you learnt from this exercise?
Having analysed a narrative based music video which is the style of music video we intend to create, it has given me an insight into how a music video of this nature needs to be made, i can see in detail the type of shots needed to be used as well as being able to see how music is incorparated to match the track, it will make it much easy when coming to create our own music video, because we will be aware of the basic structure needed.
How long are the shots?
Most of the shots are between onw and three second shots, which consist of alot of detail, this helps to create an effective and believeable narrative.
How are they cut?
Most of the shots are very quick cuts from scene to scene showing the enviroment of which the video is shot in detail as well as giving the viewer a real insight into the video and helping them to be able to understand it in detail.
What shot size is predominantly used?
The main shot size within the video was Medium Close Ups, this allowed to give the main characters constant emotions, therefore alligning the viewer within as well as alos making it apparaent the goings on of the other charcters within the video and the background enviroment.
How does the camera move?
The canera rarely moves within the video it mainly showed static shots of the enviroment and the happenings of the video, when moving cams were used in tended to be a steady cam showing POV of the Man.
Are there any long static shots?
There are no long static shots the longest being about four seconds, this helps to create a detailed narrative, and really helps to bring the viewer into the narrative.
Relationship with lyrics/music?
The music throughout the song is linked towards the narrative, while changing the tempo and beat to match the masn emotions the subconsiously links the viewer towards the man, and therefore reinforces the narrative.
How is the narrative constructed?
The narrative is constructed by having many deatilied shots and it slowly builds up to the chase scene being man and machine, the music also helps add to the narrative as it is linked to the shots.
Are any types of performance shots repeated?
What will you now use from this when planning your own work?
When planning i will be able to use the ideas of how the shots should be and how to build up the narrativefor the planning of my music video.
Having analysed a narrative based music video which is the style of music video we intend to create, it has given me an insight into how a music video of this nature needs to be made, i can see in detail the type of shots needed to be used as well as being able to see how music is incorparated to match the track, it will make it much easy when coming to create our own music video, because we will be aware of the basic structure needed.
How long are the shots?
Most of the shots are between onw and three second shots, which consist of alot of detail, this helps to create an effective and believeable narrative.
How are they cut?
Most of the shots are very quick cuts from scene to scene showing the enviroment of which the video is shot in detail as well as giving the viewer a real insight into the video and helping them to be able to understand it in detail.
What shot size is predominantly used?
The main shot size within the video was Medium Close Ups, this allowed to give the main characters constant emotions, therefore alligning the viewer within as well as alos making it apparaent the goings on of the other charcters within the video and the background enviroment.
How does the camera move?
The canera rarely moves within the video it mainly showed static shots of the enviroment and the happenings of the video, when moving cams were used in tended to be a steady cam showing POV of the Man.
Are there any long static shots?
There are no long static shots the longest being about four seconds, this helps to create a detailed narrative, and really helps to bring the viewer into the narrative.
Relationship with lyrics/music?
The music throughout the song is linked towards the narrative, while changing the tempo and beat to match the masn emotions the subconsiously links the viewer towards the man, and therefore reinforces the narrative.
How is the narrative constructed?
The narrative is constructed by having many deatilied shots and it slowly builds up to the chase scene being man and machine, the music also helps add to the narrative as it is linked to the shots.
Are any types of performance shots repeated?
What will you now use from this when planning your own work?
When planning i will be able to use the ideas of how the shots should be and how to build up the narrativefor the planning of my music video.
Geering's Technical Analysis Evaluation of Teardrop (Appendix 20)
What have you learnt from this exercise?
I have learned that there are many different shots in a music video, more than expected. There are filler shots when required, for instance if there is no vocals or there is a drop in the music.
How long are the shots?
The shots vary in length depending on the desired effect from the director. The are some quick cut shots which last less than a second and some shots that can last up to 22 seconds. Each different shot has something to establish. Whether it is anchoring a beat in the music or it is showing the audience some lip syncing.
How are they cut?
There tends to be just straight cuts, although in the video i analysed there were some fades too. Howwever this is due to the dark setting and is relevant to the type of video we aim to shoot.
What shot size is predominantly used?
Close ups, be it extreme close-ups, medium close-ups or normal close-ups themselves, they are predominantly used. Yet for our video, we hope to do a sort of chase sequence where we will need to mix both establishing shots with reaction shots.
How does the camera move?
The camera mopvements arevery smooth which suits the song's tempo and rythmn. So again our will differ due to its fast paced beat and its drops in rythmn.
Are there any long static shots?
Yes, reaction shots are used combined with ECU's and when the foetus is 'singing' along with the track there are some long static shots. One 22 second shot at the end, one ten second static shot in the middle and a few 3 and 5 second static shots around the track as a whole.
Relationship with lyrics/music?
The foetus mimics / sings along withthe track in a lip sync-like manner.
How is the narrative constructed?
The fller shots of the uterus establish that the foetus is in a womb. Whilst this can all be inferred via ideological discourse that the foetus is being sung to by it's carrying mother.
Are any types of performance shots repeated?
No, although some shots are similar, there are alot of different angle of the foetus, giving the feeling that it is suspaneded in the 'weightless floatation' that is provided by the amniotic fluid.
What will you now use from this when planning your own work?
The fades are a brilliant idea in a darkened situation as they look vastly more subtle and help the narrative flow far more easily. The mixture of shots we will have to use has also come to light during this analysis. Our track has slow moments and fast paced drops in music, so we will have to uses shots accordingly.
I have learned that there are many different shots in a music video, more than expected. There are filler shots when required, for instance if there is no vocals or there is a drop in the music.
How long are the shots?
The shots vary in length depending on the desired effect from the director. The are some quick cut shots which last less than a second and some shots that can last up to 22 seconds. Each different shot has something to establish. Whether it is anchoring a beat in the music or it is showing the audience some lip syncing.
How are they cut?
There tends to be just straight cuts, although in the video i analysed there were some fades too. Howwever this is due to the dark setting and is relevant to the type of video we aim to shoot.
What shot size is predominantly used?
Close ups, be it extreme close-ups, medium close-ups or normal close-ups themselves, they are predominantly used. Yet for our video, we hope to do a sort of chase sequence where we will need to mix both establishing shots with reaction shots.
How does the camera move?
The camera mopvements arevery smooth which suits the song's tempo and rythmn. So again our will differ due to its fast paced beat and its drops in rythmn.
Are there any long static shots?
Yes, reaction shots are used combined with ECU's and when the foetus is 'singing' along with the track there are some long static shots. One 22 second shot at the end, one ten second static shot in the middle and a few 3 and 5 second static shots around the track as a whole.
Relationship with lyrics/music?
The foetus mimics / sings along withthe track in a lip sync-like manner.
How is the narrative constructed?
The fller shots of the uterus establish that the foetus is in a womb. Whilst this can all be inferred via ideological discourse that the foetus is being sung to by it's carrying mother.
Are any types of performance shots repeated?
No, although some shots are similar, there are alot of different angle of the foetus, giving the feeling that it is suspaneded in the 'weightless floatation' that is provided by the amniotic fluid.
What will you now use from this when planning your own work?
The fades are a brilliant idea in a darkened situation as they look vastly more subtle and help the narrative flow far more easily. The mixture of shots we will have to use has also come to light during this analysis. Our track has slow moments and fast paced drops in music, so we will have to uses shots accordingly.
Tuesday, 25 November 2008
Focus Group Results (Appendix 19)
We played our focus group our chosen track, and got them to write down anything that came into their heads related to the track.
- night time, street lighting was one response....
- another came up with 'the great binge' which we found quite interesting. So, we researched it.
'It is a term used by historians to describe a period from 1870 to 1914 when drugs were developed and widely consumed, alongside strong alcholic drinks. Which without todays prohibitions would be coonsidered excessive.'
The "binge" started in the 1860s, when Absinthe became popular in Europe. After the Franco-Prussian War, most French vines were destroyed by the phylloxera epidemic, destroying the supply of wine. This created an opening for the then new and unfamiliar drink.
other responses included ;
- clubbing
- friends
- drugs / overdose / tripping out
- eary voice
settings that were not asked for but were surprisiungly given were as follows:
- city / urban backdrop at night
- a club
- ibiza / kavos / magaluf
- house party
- a sports training session
- just pitch black... this final one we felt could be quite enigmatic and found the possible setting insightful as we hadnt thought of things like and intense training session for sport.
However, with the sporting idea it would be hard to tie in the line 'under the influence' which is repeated time after time. It may work well for an energy drink advert though!
By the time we had played it a second time, and shown the participants our mood boards...it was clear that our thoughts were on the same 'wavelength' to that of the rest of our target audience.
- street racing came up (our headlight idea)
- drugs came up over and over again...the name and the repeated tag line are hard to avoid, yet we feel as a group that any drug consumption my be very subtly touched upon if we are to include it in our video.
- alcohol was another reoccuring item on people's lists.
This, we feel could be a key part of our video's narrative. Alcohol combined with our character's binge drinkin behaviour could lead to many things, aiding in the completion of a four minute video.
We then asked our participants what music videos they have seen and liked. There were a mixed bag of genres, bands and artists...
- robbie williams (Rock DJ)
- adele (chasing pavements)
- chris brown (superhuman)
- chris brown (with you)
- aerosmith (don't wanna miss a thing)
- the script (the man who cant be moved)
- kardinal ft. akon (dangerous)
we then asked each person why they liked it.
Rock Dj :
- the 360 degree camera action
- he was my favourite artist when i was younger
- it portrays alot of his personality / attitude (cheeky chappy)
- the lion pants!
Chasing Pavements :
- like nothing seen before
- quite abstract, lying and moving with the camera facing down onto the pavement
- simply a great song
- quite a hard narrative to follow *negative*
Superhuman
- "Chris Brown and Keri Hilson's chemistry"
- Emotional song
- Lighting and texture of footage, (soft lighting, high exposure)
- "He's hot" (a female participant's p.o.v!)
- "Stylish"
- Well shot (keeps audience interested, and "i'd definately watch it again")
With you
- Jenny from the block like setting..."home town"..."boy next door type thing"
- "I love the way his jumper changes colour!"
- Smooth dance moves "I think he moonwalks!?"
Don't Wanna Miss A Thing
- "Just Amazing"
- "Bits from Armegeddon are in it and it's a fave of mine"
The man who can't be moved
- "The lyrics EXACTLY match the video" (visual and audio relationship)
- its a really sad song
- "it seems really real...like the news reporters"
Dangerous
- Classic R&B blingage on show
- "The girl is buff aswell as dangerous!"
- the collaboration is clear to see within the video
- "where its set looks nice and sunny"
We found this session really informative and we learned alot about how other people, both boys and girls perceive music videos and how we can adapt or collaborated ideas as a group to tap into the zeitgeist!
- night time, street lighting was one response....
- another came up with 'the great binge' which we found quite interesting. So, we researched it.
'It is a term used by historians to describe a period from 1870 to 1914 when drugs were developed and widely consumed, alongside strong alcholic drinks. Which without todays prohibitions would be coonsidered excessive.'
The "binge" started in the 1860s, when Absinthe became popular in Europe. After the Franco-Prussian War, most French vines were destroyed by the phylloxera epidemic, destroying the supply of wine. This created an opening for the then new and unfamiliar drink.
other responses included ;
- clubbing
- friends
- drugs / overdose / tripping out
- eary voice
settings that were not asked for but were surprisiungly given were as follows:
- city / urban backdrop at night
- a club
- ibiza / kavos / magaluf
- house party
- a sports training session
- just pitch black... this final one we felt could be quite enigmatic and found the possible setting insightful as we hadnt thought of things like and intense training session for sport.
However, with the sporting idea it would be hard to tie in the line 'under the influence' which is repeated time after time. It may work well for an energy drink advert though!
By the time we had played it a second time, and shown the participants our mood boards...it was clear that our thoughts were on the same 'wavelength' to that of the rest of our target audience.
- street racing came up (our headlight idea)
- drugs came up over and over again...the name and the repeated tag line are hard to avoid, yet we feel as a group that any drug consumption my be very subtly touched upon if we are to include it in our video.
- alcohol was another reoccuring item on people's lists.
This, we feel could be a key part of our video's narrative. Alcohol combined with our character's binge drinkin behaviour could lead to many things, aiding in the completion of a four minute video.
We then asked our participants what music videos they have seen and liked. There were a mixed bag of genres, bands and artists...
- robbie williams (Rock DJ)
- adele (chasing pavements)
- chris brown (superhuman)
- chris brown (with you)
- aerosmith (don't wanna miss a thing)
- the script (the man who cant be moved)
- kardinal ft. akon (dangerous)
we then asked each person why they liked it.
Rock Dj :
- the 360 degree camera action
- he was my favourite artist when i was younger
- it portrays alot of his personality / attitude (cheeky chappy)
- the lion pants!
Chasing Pavements :
- like nothing seen before
- quite abstract, lying and moving with the camera facing down onto the pavement
- simply a great song
- quite a hard narrative to follow *negative*
Superhuman
- "Chris Brown and Keri Hilson's chemistry"
- Emotional song
- Lighting and texture of footage, (soft lighting, high exposure)
- "He's hot" (a female participant's p.o.v!)
- "Stylish"
- Well shot (keeps audience interested, and "i'd definately watch it again")
With you
- Jenny from the block like setting..."home town"..."boy next door type thing"
- "I love the way his jumper changes colour!"
- Smooth dance moves "I think he moonwalks!?"
Don't Wanna Miss A Thing
- "Just Amazing"
- "Bits from Armegeddon are in it and it's a fave of mine"
The man who can't be moved
- "The lyrics EXACTLY match the video" (visual and audio relationship)
- its a really sad song
- "it seems really real...like the news reporters"
Dangerous
- Classic R&B blingage on show
- "The girl is buff aswell as dangerous!"
- the collaboration is clear to see within the video
- "where its set looks nice and sunny"
We found this session really informative and we learned alot about how other people, both boys and girls perceive music videos and how we can adapt or collaborated ideas as a group to tap into the zeitgeist!
Sunday, 23 November 2008
Wednesday, 19 November 2008
Textual Analysis #2 Goldfrapp-Happiness (Appendix 18)
"Happiness" is a folktronica song performed by British duo Goldfrapp. The song was written and produced by Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory for the duo's fourth album Seventh Tree (2008). It was released as the album's second single. The music video for "Happiness" was directed by Dougal Wilson. The video features a young man, dressed in a white suit, jumping for joy through his neighborhood. The video begins with Alison Goldfrapp sitting on a stoop when suddenly the young man appears from a cellar door. Goldfrapp makes additional Cameo appearances in the video as a black haired bus traveler, a police woman, a bush trimmer, and a braided flower stand keeper. Will Gregory makes similar appearances as, among others, a trash collector and a mailman. The video concludes with the cast of background characters coming together along with the young man, who then jumps in a circle with young children and a dancing dog. In the final scene, two elderly people – Goldfrapp and Gregory – arrive to join.
The video undertakes a narrative approach, visually the video is clearly set in a residential area of London, this is apparent by the culture references dotted about the video, mainly through characters and occupations; binman, policeman and women, lollipop man etc. The video appears to be one continuous shot, but when analysed closely you can see cuts as objects pan past close to the camera. Light colours are emphasised as greyer and darker objects fade in to the background. The video features a digital technique to create the effect that the music is pulsating through the street. There is subliminal advertising of Goldfrapp throughout the video as both members appear as characters, with Alison mouthing the vocals, which adds a performance, shot but different to usual performance shots. The video is theatrical and although has a narrative video it still advertises the band and song, but manages to maintain a more artistic approach and look. There is a huge amount of cultural reference within the video. The video is about happiness and is set on what in what we could consider in today’s society, a normal boring street that is mundane and dull. The video challenges the representation of britain as a society, and the man in the suit bouncing represents happiness, and as he travels he spreads the happiness to others and makes joy out of normal tasks. The video is entertaining as it features classes and iconic social groups all joining together and dancing about which makes the ideological discourse.
The video was high in the charts, and all the is generically a smaller genre of music, but is technically POP. Goldfrapp is highly established within our society so they are recognizable.
The video undertakes a narrative approach, visually the video is clearly set in a residential area of London, this is apparent by the culture references dotted about the video, mainly through characters and occupations; binman, policeman and women, lollipop man etc. The video appears to be one continuous shot, but when analysed closely you can see cuts as objects pan past close to the camera. Light colours are emphasised as greyer and darker objects fade in to the background. The video features a digital technique to create the effect that the music is pulsating through the street. There is subliminal advertising of Goldfrapp throughout the video as both members appear as characters, with Alison mouthing the vocals, which adds a performance, shot but different to usual performance shots. The video is theatrical and although has a narrative video it still advertises the band and song, but manages to maintain a more artistic approach and look. There is a huge amount of cultural reference within the video. The video is about happiness and is set on what in what we could consider in today’s society, a normal boring street that is mundane and dull. The video challenges the representation of britain as a society, and the man in the suit bouncing represents happiness, and as he travels he spreads the happiness to others and makes joy out of normal tasks. The video is entertaining as it features classes and iconic social groups all joining together and dancing about which makes the ideological discourse.
The video was high in the charts, and all the is generically a smaller genre of music, but is technically POP. Goldfrapp is highly established within our society so they are recognizable.
Here is the link to the music video- http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=So93Iny2HWI
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