Music Video Techniques

Number of Cuts:

An example of a large number of cuts used well is Katy Perry's Hot N Cold music video. Using a large number of cuts in a music video is a good thing because it makes the video more interesting. adding to that is having the cuts the shots in different locations. In Hot N Cold met the intended affect as the audience want to watch more. watching a long shot will get boring as you'd be watching the same thing for a very long time. An example of where cuts is used badly is Little Things by One Direction. There are numerous long shots in the video and the pace is quite slow. The intended affect of the video is to present One Direction as a humble simplistic boy band. The institution achieved their goal but the music video is quite boring not only because of the lack of cuts but the shots are in black and white. One Direction's fan base are teenage girls and so the video would appeal to them as the video presents the band as innocent lad working hard on their music to please their fans. 

Special effects:

One Directions music video for You and I is a good example of well used special effects. From 2:47 the band walk in to freeze frames. The intended affect of this special effect is to do something different and more interesting. Although the technique has been successful the effects done come until over 2 minutes in to the video. Before that there is very long shots making the beginning quite boring. The video would appeal to their audience as the band are just having fun making music. An example of bad special effects is 90s music by Kimbra. Throughout the video the special effect look fake. At 1:26 you see starts that shine out which although it looks cool but its obvious it's not real. 

Cutting to the beat:

A good example of cutting to the beat is Alexdandra Stan's Mr Saxobeat. Cutting to the beat is a good technique in fast paced like at 0:22 music because the shots change fast making the video more interesting. Gold Forever by The Wanted is a music video in which they don't cut to a beat. The first cut is at 2:05 and this is one of the only cuts in the music video. Throughout the video the camera is following the guys around as various random things are happening. Having little cuts can make the music video boring but this song was purposely made funny as it was made for comic relief. 

Varied camera language: 

Tick Tock by Kesha uses a range of camera language which help to amplify the lyrics and the mood of the song. for example at 0:40 a high angle is used at the word "tipsy" which shows she's high. At 1:08 there is a pan which is fast paced. This makes it more interesting and people want to watch the music video. Another Love by Tom Odell is a music video in which it appears that it was only filmed in one shot. Throughout the video there is only a straight on shot of Tom Odell lip synching and the camera is zooming out. At 3:53 the is another close up of Tom's face in which you can clearly see his emotions. Not using a range of different camera language can make the music video seem long and boring.

Green screen:

Using green screen in videos is good for the institution as they don't have to use read location or even spend a lot of the set. Black Widow by Iggy Azalea uses a lot of green screen. The backgrounds that are used are beautiful and look cool. At 3:36 the shot is colourful and interesting making it appealing to the audience. Using green screen well is quite creative as it looks good and it entertaining to watch. Technotronic's music video for Pump Up the Beat is an example of bad green screen. You can clearly see the shadow on the green screen at 1:08 which makes it obvious that a green screen was used. 

Lip Syncing:

The artist is able to preform and dance in the video without having to worry about singing too. Bad lip syncing can make people not want to watch the artist live as they think their music is auto-tuned as the artist is not singing. Heart attack by Demi Lovato is a good example of this. At 0:19 you can see her lips are sync with the song. It looks like Demi is singing herself. An example of bad Lip Syncing is Wannabe by the Spice Girls. At 1:06 you can see the artist's lip syncing is way off. Bad lip syncing can distract the audience from the music video as it is clear that the artist or actor is not actually singing. This also make it look like the artist can't sing and perform at the same time. 

 

My Artist's Identity

My Artist

Josh Woodward

www.joshwoodward.com

The song is called Golden sunrise and it is a pop country song however the artist focus's mainly on acoustic, pop, and rock music. Josh Woodward is from Ann Arbour in Michigan in the USA. His age is not specified on his website but he looks like he is in his late to mid 20s. Woodward wants to be able to provide free music to people and so has given creative commons for us to use and download his music for free. 

My Actor

Eoin will be playing my the main character in my music video. The costume for my actor to wear will be quite plain and conventional for example leather boots and belt, cowboy hat and plaid shirts. I have chosen to use Billy Ray Cyrus as a style icon for my the costume as he has a cowboy look but is casual. 

 

Golden Sunrise By Josh Woodward (Lyrics)

The song I have chosen to do is Golden Sunrise by Josh Woodward. www.joshwoodward.com

Golden Sunrise lyrics 

Sheltered from the sunlight

In the shade beneath the tree

We hide behind the shadows

Like an orphaned refuge

The apple tree of knowledge

Shed its fruit along the way

The injury is fading but the

hungers here to stay

until the day that there’s no memory 

of what we used to be 

golden sunrise

close your eyes

found your dark skies

made you blind

the heads all 
turn the darkness

when the sun engulfs the sky

the brightness overwhelming

to the unadjusted eye

we’re taught to follow blindly

like there’s nothing here to see

the slave to some philosophy

will somehow make you free

then you will be so gladly handcuffed

enlightened from above

golden sunrise

close your eyes

found your dark skies

made you blind

with ignorance or virtue

question is a sin

is there no remedy

for the state that we are in?

with knowledge

it like an old disease

we wont be awake to see that we are free

golden sunrise

close your eyes

found your dark skies

made you blind

another day of darkness for the ones that have seen the light

broken eyes are shining in the darkness of the night

never see the beauty of the world as it is

The song is about how ignorance is bliss. There is a deeper meaning to the song. I think the artist is saying that a greater power is hiding the truth from us and we are taught to follow a crowd. If we break away from the crowd then we are in danger. The sunlight can be seen as knowledge, People are not allowed to question. Life is happier without them having the knowledge of the truth. They're not allowed to see the truth and if they do they are forced to stay away. 

$99 Music Video

99dollarmusicvideo.com is a YouTube channel that post music videos made with under $99. They want to showcase "music videos from todays best independent bands and up-and-coming filmmakers, all made with a budget of under $99" On their music channel you see a lot of acoustics music. An example of this music video at 0:54 you see a guitar. 

There is a lot of creative control as you see a rang of different type of music videos. The artist can make their music video how they want and be as different or similar as they want. The audience can participate through the comment section on YouTube. The audience have the ability to give their feedback and telling the artists what they liked and did not like about the music videos. It can also be used to give feedback to the artist and tell them how they can improve their videos. 

I don't think it is possible to produce a profession quality music video in under $99 as professional music videos are shot in HD which is quite expensive to produce. Although you would be able to come up with a professional idea for the music video which has the ability to be made in to a professional music video without professional equipment it is impossible. Also professional editing software, location, costume, make up, and lighting are factors that professional music video budgets are spent on. 

Permission For Song

I did not need permission from the artist as he has given creative commons. I have permission to use his music as I want for free.

Production Log: Week 1

This week we decided who we will be working with and what video we will be doing. We also made a basic plan for the our music video. Chloe and I are working on her music video idea called sweetheart by Robert Staines. 

We decided on an idea with this the start of the process to produce a music video. We took Chloe's idea's and developed them further to create a basic music video. Looking at the Lyrics we came up with the different shots and scenes we will use in the music video. We spoke about where we would film the shots for example we will be filming the first two shots at Riteeka's house in which we will have her breaking glass in one shot which will be illustrating the lyrics. In the second shot which will be shot in her garden she will be burning a picture of Theo. The reason we decided to do this shot in the garden was because we didn't want to burn anything in her house. We realised we will need two or more pictures of Theo to burn as we will have to take one shot from Riteeka's point of view and another in which you can see her. 

There weren't any major problems this week as we didn't do much however Chloe was absent during the lesson in which we decided what music video we will be doing. This was sorted easily as we recorded our video in which we spoke about why we became partners and the music video we will be doing during the following lesson. This also meant we had to work quickly to come up with our plan for the music video. We got it done within the lesson so we did not fall behind. 

Next week we will be working on our shooting script. 

Pitch Reflection

Are there any areas of the presentation you would like to give more detail on? 

I didn't give much detail on my crew which will consist of Me and my partner who will be working together to direct and edit. Sanjeet is good at make up and costume designing so she will be helping with that. The reason I have chosen to use green screen is because living in England its never sunny and so to create the right scene I would have to use a green screen. I will include performance in my music video because in a country music video you normally get people playing acoustic instruments and so I will include a shot of someone playing a guitar. Also by adding performance it will make the music video more interesting. In my music video I will be using Goodwin's theory of illustration and contradiction. Illustration will amplify my lyrics and will allow me to tell the story I have interpretative from the lyrics. The lyrics contradict each other and so by using contradiction I can further amplify the lyrics. Also the negative and positive imagery in the lyrics will be put forward for the audience to see.

What did the audience identify as the strength of your music video idea?

One strength of my music video was the idea. My idea was very creative; I came up with a story in that is not very common. My idea is thought provoking. The song I chose has strong imagery that I will pick up on. Another strength of my music video is that it is practical to shoot and has a practical budget. The locations I have chosen are local so are easily accessible. another practicality of local locations is that they don't require money for travelling to. You will only need an oyster card that has free bus travel. The only money I will be spending to produce my music video is on costume. although most of the costume is commonly found in a guys wardrobe I will have to buy a cowboy hat.  

What did the audience identify as the areas of improvement?

An area in which I can improve my music video is buy giving it a specific genre rather than a general one. I need to focus on my target audience. Although my song is pop country the audience is very broad and so there is a risk that there will not be no audience for my music video. similarly another issue with my music video is that the shots will be filmed in London which is not a typical thing in a country music video. 

What changes will you make to your music video concept based on the feedback you received?

As a result of my feedback I have changed my target audience. My target audience are people who live in the country. Their age range is around 18-25 as the song is thought provoking and would require a level of maturity.

Rationale