Cinema Maaaan

Hey :D

As we've been storyboarding, one of our ideas that developed was using a cinema screen in which we would layer shots to create the impression of our main character being played on a film in the cinema. We all really liked this idea as we thought it would link our different locations together and we could create different looks with the mise en scene. For example, more of a dramatic look for inside the cinema, with the dark lighting and dramatic make-up, contrasting against more of a bright and airy feel for our outside locations (which we think should be either the beach or in a big open field). As we were really keen on the cinema idea, I contacted the old Hollywood theatre cinema in Bury (we thought this would fit with our style than the multiplex as it would look more authentic and retro) to discuss using the cinema to film in. Unfortunately the manager replied saying this wouldn't be possible at the time we needed to shoot as it was moving to another operating company :( :( so i guess its back to the drawing board. Luckily we did have a back up idea in the pipeline in case the cinema screen idea fell through. Its essentially the same idea but using billboards in town instead.
Jess is on holiday at the moment but hopefully me and Lorna will be getting together to do some more storyboarding, a long process but hopefully our planning will be worthwhile! :D
Hannah xxx

Textual analysis (Kate Nash)

I asked an ex-media student for a detailed response to Kate Nash's 'Foundations' music video. the reason for doing this is to explore personal opinion and what potentially works well..and not so well within a video! This can then help us when storyboarding our ideas because we will have first hand examples of themes that the audience like/dislike.

Here is the video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhC4E055OsY

Ok, so the first question I asked was 'Which do you find the most memorable part of the video?' in response I found that the sequence of Kate eating the lemons with the lyrics, "You said I must eat so many lemons, cause I am so bitter" really stuck out to the ex-media student because of the direct link between lyrics and visuals (below)

They then went on to say that the recurring theme of animating simple objects such as the toy dinosaurs was memorable to them, once again linking lyrics with image, "Everyone we're with will be embarrased" even though they are inanimate objects, the childish twist of having toys rather than real people creates a more conceptual feeling to the video


I then asked 'Do you like the video, and why?' The reply I got was positive, they thought it was a fun video by the way that some of the lyrics matched the visuals in a conceptual and playful way. Another favourite part of the video for them was the shot where the lyrics are "..and humiliate me, infront of our friends" followed by Kate looking over at the fish bowl implying once again that the goldfish substitute real people.


Next, I asked if 'Overall do you think the video sells the song, or does it clash?' the reply i got was again positive due to the underlying narrative structure within the video, they then went on to say that the kitsch references throughout compliment the artist and their independant style.

'Likes and dislikes within the video?' Likes; the animation of objects, giving them a sense of life! and also the high angle shot of Kate on the stairs looking up towards the camera as she sings directly into it. They then went onto say they liked the compostition and framing, as it's not central.

Dislikes; singing into the camera too often.



Finally I asked 'What do you think of the locations?' to this they replied that the house offers a location we can often associate with due to it being very realistic and naturally lit, especially as the song targets relationships/friendships therefore can easily be related to our own everyday lives. They also liked the use of the different rooms throughout the song.

Sorry had to cut that last post off because I was about to run out of time on the school computer. :P

EDITING:

Use of effects such as reverse and split screens all the way through the video is something we're very interested in trying. We have actually tried split screen out on Final Cut and will post the results of that at a later date. I find that special effects such as this create more interest in the video at the same time as being good evidence of editing skills :)
One of Goodwin's six is applied in this video. Linking the music and the visuals. Cutting on the beat is very prevalant in this video. We also want to use this as our song has very distinct drum beats.
Cutting between a good mix of of shots such as close ups, wide shots, mid shots etc is something that will influence us alot in our editing process. Again this creates variety and will stop the audience becoming bored.

MISE EN SCENE:

The costumes used in this video, although they reflect Lady Gaga's fashion sense, may not be the right style for us. Leotards and lots of leather may appear too glamorous for our song choice and we are aiming for a more kitsch and retro feel to our costumes. Although her costumes weren't necessarily our style, her hair was. wearing bows and hair accesories, is something we feel we could use in our video, particularly bows to add to the kitsch feel we want to portray. Extravagant make up is something we had previously mentioned and shown examples of, we are still keen to use this in our video :)

Lady GaGa Textual Analysis :D

Hi again :). Ok so here is some long awaited video analysis of Poker Face by Lady Gaga. The video was directed by Ray Kay, a norwegian director who has also directed videos for Ciara and Cheryl Cole's new single.The printscreen button on my computer is not working for some reason so I can't show examples like Jess has done but I'll post the video and state times for each of my points.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ngf5Oo_XrjI

CAMERA WORK:
All throughout the video, close ups of Lady GaGa are used, as mentioned in the Katy Perry video below, this is something we're very interested in tryng out, as we want our video to contain alot of direct adress to camera and close ups. I particularly like the shot composition at 46 seconds.
In terms of camera movement, the camera frequently zooms in and out on the beat (i can't quite remember if this has a name, but its sort of like a crash zoom). 3.30 seconds is an example of this that i particularly like.
A good variety of close ups and extreme close ups are used, it shows variety which is something that we are very keen on showing to keep the audience entertained. I particularly like an extreme close up of Lady Gaga at 2.48 seconds.
Katy Perry's crowd shots would probably influence us more than Lady Gaga's as the latter seem to have more sexual connotations which tend to fit with RnB or rap rather than our genre. We're hoping for more of a quirky feel if we are to use crowd shots.

Brainstorming!!

We are currently Brainstorming for our lives! We were initially struggling to link certain locations/parts of our music video ideas together. However after a few genius ideas, and inspiration from a previous students media work 'Addicted to Bass' from last year, we came up with having part of the music video in a cinema and having a different location showing on the screen. Through using Final Cut Express we hope to learn how to do this by cropping and layering two sets of moving image. This would then work as an instant link between two locations! We are extremely excited about this and will be going into the cinema in Bury St Edmunds within this week to ask for permission. We hope it all goes well :)

Textual Analysis :)

Ideas for our Music Video :) I've decided to look at two different Music Videos and thoroughly analyse them in order to see if their is anything we would like to contain for our Music Video and any other ideas that I thought worked well!

Firstly I've decided to look at Katy Perry - Hot and Cold. Along with the textual analysis I have also collected some audience research to compliment and also in some places challenge my own opinions. Audience research is key to the success of any project because ultimately you are making your product for other people to enjoy and more specifically in the case of our Music Video - to watch :)

Here is the Katy Perry Video, it's directed by Alan Ferguson and has gained over 74million views on YouTube along with being nominated for Best Female Video at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lkaf9PdlNM
(the video is copyrighted therefore won't embed)


I've decided to analyse the Music Video using categories:

Camera Shots/Angles:

• There is a low angle shot at 28seconds, here the shot contains three characters: Katy Perry, the Groom and a young girl. It's a complex shot that has the perfect angle to incorporate carefully three points of view and and I think it matches the silence in the Music Video at that point very effectively.


• At 1minute 49seconds there is a extreme close up of the right hand side of KP's sun glasses, this is an idea which we really liked and felt we could use effectively within our Music Video, but maybe change the brand of sunglasses to keep the intertextuality of our Music Video relevant with our themes. Below is a screen shot of this part of the Music Video.

• There is also a shot of KP's feet and a Zebra's feet, this shot is mid shot and I feel very effective, it adds a quirky nature to the Music Video and this is the type of effect which we are going for. (below is a still of this shot.) The shot is more conceptual as it only shows part of each of the bodies and this is good as it pulls focus away from having a primarily performance based music video which sometimes can get very labouring and repetitive.

Mise-en-scene:

• When looking at props within KP's Music Video I found many which were slightly random and concept based, although the video has a narrative surrounding Katy Perry's chase of her husband-to-be that won't commit, there are some objects and props which you wouldn't expect. For example the bicycles, we loved this idea and it's an object which we intend on featuring in our Music Video.


• Furthermore within Mise-en-scene I particularly like the green eyeshadow which Katy Perry wears in one of the final locations within the Music Video, it is similar to the creative styles we have experimented with in previous posts and intend on using this.


• To compliment the extravagant make-up KP wears lots of costumes which at one point reflect the location she is in, e.g - wedding dress and a church, however later on in the video she is riding down the street on a bicyle wearing the same wedding dress and this is therefore a contrast. I like this idea as it links different locations throughout the video together through costume and also adds to the conceptual image of the Music Video.

Editing:

• The main editing point which stood out to me was a complex shot where by KP is being shown singing on the screen of a Nokia phone which her husband-to-be is holding. This is technically challenging and even though we were not looking to use a mobile phone like that within our Music Video, I felt it was still a memorable part of the video which worked well surrounding the performance aspect. Furthermore after this shot the video goes back to a full screen shot of KP singing with the same black background and white wedding dress, this matches the two locations together and works effectively.
  
• 
• As you can see above each shot leads in to the other effectively :)
  

Sound:

• Because I have been mainly analysing the visuals to help us when making our video and the main sound contained is the song itself there is only really one point which I feel is relevant to make surrounding sound. This is that within the video there is a point at the beginning where it is silent and this lasts for 15seconds. It is used as it's important to the narrative however I don't feel that it would work effectively within our Music Video as we are not intending on focusing on narrative as heavily as Hot and Cold does.

Audience Feedback:

I asked three Year 13's at our 6th Form to comment and answer a few questions surrounding the Katy Perry video. I felt that Audience Feedback would be extremely helpful when approaching our Music Video as the audience are the ones watching and supporting our work, therefore it has to be enjoyable for them. The questions I asked and comments/answers made are shown below:

• What was the most memorable part of the video for you?

1. Mostly enjoyed the involvement of random objects, such as the Zebra. 2. Thought that the part where KP was riding a bicycle through the streets was memorable. 3. Enjoyed the dancing at the end where more people were involved.

• Do you think that the lyrics and visuals combined well?

1. Lots of the straight cuts were on the lyrics and sound changes therefore they helped emphasise the song. 2. The dancing was effective as a lot of KP's hand gestures were linked directly to the lyrics.

• Overall do you think that the video sells the song well or does it clash?

1. Thought that the song was suited to it's narrative however felt that some of it was too obvious and the costume and editing wasn't inspiring enough and lacked a high technical element.

• Any parts of the video that you liked/disliked?

1. Liked the performance based elements e.g the dancers. However felt that some of it e.g the make-up was over exaggerated and maybe should have been used better but does believe also that it made the video more vibrant, which was needed.

From my Audience Research I have picked up many points which as a group we can discuss and work on, I particularly like number 2's point about hand gestures linking directly to lyrics and this is something which I didn't pick up on myself, therefore showing just how helpful audience input is.

I will post another video with analysis soon, hope you enjoyed this one and learnt as much as I did making it!

Jess :)

Kinga Burza

Im going to talk about Kinga Burza as a music video director and how she could be very influencial in our own work. Okay so here's a brief biography, Burza was born in Australia before moving to London in 2005. Shortly after, she signed with film company 'Partizan' of Michel Gondry fame in 2006. Whilst at university, Burza began to teach herself by making amateur films of her boyfriend (Sydney musician Jack Ladder) and other friends she had with bands.

Since being in the UK, she has created music videos for artists such as; Kate Nash, Ladyhawke, Katy Perry, Calvin Harris, La Roux and Noisettes. All of which I would say have elements of originality and huge creativity, and I feel that Burza portrays this in their music videos with kitsch costumes/sets and playing with animation and frame compostion.

Burza directed Kate Nash's 'Pumpkin Soup' in 2007, I like the way she plays with kitsch elements in all of her videos for example in this video I have taken this still from the line, "You're chatting to me like we connect" I particularly like the concept of them both sitting on the oversized telephone rather than something simple like a shot of a basic phone call conversation.

Another example of Burza playing with the surreal ideas of oversized objects is shown in the picture below of the exaggerated love heart sweets, once again it's a recurring theme in her work, especially with Kate Nash.


I've been looking at a few of the Kate Nash videos by Kinga Burza, in the video for 'Mouthwash' i really like this shot of Kate in the mirror singing the opening line, "This is my face. Covered in freckles..." I like the relationship between lyrics and visuals as she sings to herself in the mirror, and we can see this due to the positioning of the shot.


The final video I looked at for Kate Nash was 'Caroline's a victim'. The stills below show Kate putting the cassette into the player at the start, and pressing the stop button at the end. I like this idea because it's almost as though this is just a girl in her bedroom having a sing a long listening to her favourite song :) It is also marks the start and end of the song very clearly but once again with a kitsch twist of the retro cassette player.



We are hoping to get layering into our music video via experimenting with final cut express, I think this shot in the bedroom has worked effectively with the layering, to show Kate three times over, each time playing a different instrument. When we try this out we will have to make sure the camera is perfectly still so we get the perfect shot!!


I love this close up from 'Caroline's a victim' as she walks across the bedroom floor, it's simple but adds variety within shot types, which is important in any pacey up-beat music video! Once again keeping with the kitsch elements by having 'Caroline' in cloloured tights and colourful mise en scene surrounding her.

These are just a few inital videos by Burza that stick out to me for inspiration when looking at ideas and concepts for our own video. I have mostly looked at her work with Kate Nash, because we also are creating a video by a stong independant female musician (Santigold) with exciting artistic visions! :)

Licensing Request

Helloo, as part of our coursework we have to had attempted to make contact with the record company that owns the song we are using. So we wrote an email to both Downtown Records (UK) and Atlantic Records(US) to ask them. We weren't really sure which one owned the rights to the song so we emailed both to be on the safe side. Here is a copy of the email we sent:

To whom it may concern,

We are a group of students from Thurston Community College, currently studying Media Studies at A level. We are contacting you to ask your permission for use of the song L.E.S Artistes by Santigold. We would be using the song for educational purposes only, so as to create a music video as the coursework part of our A level. If you are interested in finding out more about how we will use the song, we have compiled a blog as part of our coursework. You can find it at : http://www.lhj-blogathon.blogspot.com/

Thank you for your time,

Hannah Ridyard
Jessica Gladwell
Lorna Buckle

I'll blog again soon with some video analysis and to put up the further more detailed ideas we've had for shots and storyline and stuff. Byee :D xxxxx

Ancillary Task!!

We have been thinking alot about what to do for our Ancillary tasks! So far after some research and thought we have decided on a DVD Music Cover and a Web Page. We are very eager to design both and show off our creativity skills! Below is a picture of an DVD Music Cover which we thought worked well, obviously the music genre is different to ours, but we really liked the use of photos and thought it might reflect well with our ideas for split screen within our music video.

As well as this we are interested in a Web Page, however we do not currently maintain the skills to produce one, therefore we are very excited about learning to use iWeb on the Apple Mac's at 6th form, we hope it'll be a skill we can hold for future at university too :) Below is a screen capture of The Wombats Web Page, which is promoting their new single 'My Circuitboard City'...

As you can see these are only a couple of our ideas, but we are feeling positive and can't wait to get stuck into learning new things and creating some fanstastic Ancillary Tasks!

Jess :)