Thursday 5 December 2013

Church permission


To get permission to film in the church we had to email them. They did not email back so we contacted them by telephone instead, we made our plans to film inside the church over the phone after they had given us permission.

Making the video

Making the video




From watching the making of, tips and how to videos i learn some key things we need to include when it comes to planning, filming and editing our video. I feel researching into how other people have made music videos will really help when we come to making our own video. Firstly we need to think of is what the consept of our video is going to be by listening to the song and lyrics over and over again to figure what it is that we want and weather it will go with the tone and theme of the song. Then we need to plan in depth what we are going to film by doing a story board, where the locations are going to be, when we are going to film, who will be in it our video and their information and what equipment and props we will need to film. By planning we will be more organised when it comes to filming our video and will know exactly what we need to get shots of,  where and how long for. The main thing we need to do when we are filming is to make sure we have plentey of shots of what we need so that we have alot to work with when we start to edit as if we do not have enough we would have to go back to the locations with out equipment adn actors to re film. Another thing i learnt that would help to make the lip syncing look better is to have the music playing while you are filming so it becomes easier to sync up when we are editing. Then finally when we come to editing we need to be sure that we know how to use Final Cut Pro properly to  get the most out of it. I noticed that usually in music videos the cut between clips is in time and with the beat of the music, the lip syncing is in time with the music and there are many diffrent second long clips that cup between eachother. 



Special effects research


Green Screening

I firstly looked at green screening and different examples of clips from movies where they have used a green screen on a much larger scale to create a bigger, better and much more professional setting. Green screening is used in most movies and videos because it has many benefits if you use it correctly for example it is easier to set up a green screen and change the location rather than going to each location to do each shot and get it right, lets you easily change the background if you decide to go with another idea and lets you be creative with what you can put behind then subject. 
I then looked at different videos on how to set up a green screen, tips when filming and how to edit to help with our video incase we decided to use a green screen. 



I learnt by watching videos on green screening that there are many things to think about for example a very basic thing that you need to make sure of is that you are wearing clothes that are not close to the colour of your screen in the background otherwise your subject will not be clear or seen when you add a background. When setting up the green screen you need to make sure that there are no creases and an even colour green screen which may cause shadows and also use lighting so that your subject is not dark and against the background making it even. When you come to actually shooting the video use a fast shutter speed to make sure that there is no motion blurring and therefore making it harder to key and mixed with your background. When editing you need to make sure you get rid of anything that isnt meant to be there around the subject to make it look more realist to the background but make sure you dont get rid of any of the person to make it look unnatural. By changing the colour, lighting and saturation you can make the person match the background even better. 

I then looked at different special effects, editing techniques and tutorials on how to use and edit using Final Cut Pro by watching a variety of different videos on youtube. It has really helped me to gain a better understanding of how to use the software and things we need to think about when we come to editing our video. I firstly looked at a videos on the basic things for example how to insert videos and also what keyboard methods I could use to make it easier and quicker when it comes to using Final Cut Pro. I then looked at a video talking about the positives and negitives of final cut pro to gain a better understanding before looking at more videos on how to use the software in more detail for example how to cut and move clips and changing the colour.

  

Different music genres

POP
  • Party atmosphere
  • Everyone happy
  • Location-beach, usually abroad on holiday having fun
  • Girls dressed up or in bikinis
  • Quick cuts from clips to show they excitement
  • Uses bright colours and lights
  • Colorful clothing
  • Make up and hair done
  • Partying/ Drinking/ Dancing
  • Attractive people
  • usually a clear and simple narrative


    Justin Bieber - Beauty And A Beat ft. Nicki Minaj


    The Video is a big, over the top pool party with everyone dancing and having fun. There are bright lights and colour everywhere making it upbeat and happy, which is a very stereotypical thing of a pop music video. There isn't much of a narrative they are just having a party which makes it easy to follow and watch. It’s a very summery, light-hearted and fun video as through out the video they are just dancing and singing there is no deep meaning in the song. Justin is wearing normal casual clothing and is holding the camera for most of the video while dancing and singing with the other people in the video. WhereasNicki Minaj is wearing a bright pink girly dress with perfect hair and make-up standing out from everyone else in the video. There are girls dancing around poles with bright flashing lights in their bikinis and summery short clothing to get the male attention and appeal to the men audience as well as woman. The lip syncing is in time and all the dancing is very choreographed and in time with the music. The video is upbeat to go with the music and they have used editing techniques to make it look more professional and planned out for example when he goes under water and there are the cameras with him on the screen singing. The party is very over the top showing off how much money he has to spend on pool parties, how popular he is and how glamorous his life as a pop star is. He is holding the camera in most of his music video which makes it a bit different to most pop music videos as the shots are not perfect as he is holding the camera which makes it look shaky in some parts but is clearly well thought out and planned whereas in most music videos the shots are very clean cut and perfect to make it look professional. 

    ROCK



    • Dark clothes
    • Instruments
    • Skinny Jeans dressed casually
    • The band Jumping around stage
    • whole band playing their instruments rather than being part of the story in the video
    • Typically alone when they are playing in the video
    Foo Fighters- The pretender




    It starts in a dim lit room with instruments then when the lead singer walks out and picks up his guitar the lights turn on the music is quite soft and quiet but then when the other members of the band appear and start playing it starts to get into the song. They are dressed casually in t-shirts and skinny jeans in black and white which is typical in a rock music video. They are all playing their instruments and jumping about. There is a simple narrative as it is mainly just the band members playing but it also cuts to a row of police charging at them. It is all taking place in the same room which also add to the simple narrative. They keep the narrative simple and easy to follow but still keep it interesting to watch. As there is a very simple narrative it lets audience can have their own interpretation on of the song and relate personal experience to lyrics. The main colours are black and red which is very typical of the rock genre but is quite bright with mainly white walls and flooring whereas usually the stereotype would be for it to be dimly lit and gloomy setting. It starts with an establishing shot to set the scene then it mainly uses quick cuts between clips of the band members, their instruments and the police to go with the fast pace and speeds up at the chorus. then it becomes slower cuts and uses slow motion when the police start to charge at them before the red glass smashes and then the shots speed up and become closer. Then right at the lead singer smashes his guitar on the floor before it ends which is a very typical thing for a rock video to do. When the red background smashes it shows the anger and fight the band have against the police and their passion towards the song and their facial expression also help to set the angry mood of the song and music video.

    HIP HOP/ RAP
  • Flashy car
  • Suits and expensive clothing
  • Chains and jewelry
  • Glamorous women dancing
  • perfect hair and makeup
  • often set in a club, in a big expensive house or the beach surrounded by women
  • they use the location to show that they are rich for example showing off their big house with a pool and flashy cars
  • they show off their money and their glamorous lifestyles


  • It starts by setting the scene with an establishing shot and showing a big house and then the gates in front of the house as a bright red flashy, expensive car dives in. As he steps out of the car it shows his bright white trainers before showing his body and face to show the importance of what he is wearing. As he opens the door there are many woman in short revelling dresses and underwear with their hair and make up done to try and appeal to the male audience. It has fast cuts between clips of him with his car and chains and then him with the girls. He is wearing a white top and tattooed with chains, rings, a hat and a fur coat which is very stereotypical of this music genre so it has kept with the codes and conventions. The girls are dancing wearing red which is the colour associated with lust and sex. this music video is trying to show that his life is very glamorous and is showing off his money with his expensive clothing and cars.


Monday 25 November 2013

History of music videos


History of music videos

1975: the First music video is considered to be Bohemian Rhapsody by the British Rock band Queen  for the bands 'A Night at the Opera' album in 1975. Bohemian Rhapsody became a commercial success, staying at the top of the UK Singles  Chart for a total of nine weeks and in January 1976 selling over a million copies



1979-1981: The Buggles 'Video killed the Radio Star' was first recored by Bruce Woolley and the Camera Club. It was released as their debut single on 7th September 1979 on Island Records from there album The Age of Plastic. In 1981 it became the first music video to be aired on MTV. The song placed number 40 on VH1’s 100 Greatest One-hit wonders of the 80’s (even though it was released in 1979).



1983: Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ was released in 1983. The music videolasted for a total of 13 minute 43seconds. It was MTV’s first world wide premiere video and voted as the biggest influential pop  video of all time. The video had a large impact on the population and sparked the merging of filmmaking and music. Thriller was also labeled as the most successful music video, selling over 9 million copies. It was alsothe first music video to ever be introduced into the National Film registrywhich was an honor for being culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.


1989: "U Can't Touch This" is a hit single by MC Hammer from his album, Please Hammer Don’t hurt ‘Em in 1990. The song became the artists signature song and is considered as this most recognizable and popular record singles to date. The music video included a range of dancers and the individual artist rapping to the song


1994: The British alternative rock band Blur’s song Park life is considered to have an iconic music video in 1994 (according to NME). The band are shown outside, supposedly in a park. The editors have used different techniques such as changing the colour (to black and white) and repeating certain parts of the music video to fit with the song lyrics. The band recently released another music video with the band (shown when they are older) with the same lyrics, however does not include the entire band.
 


2000:  In 2000 John Legend released "Ordinary People”, a single from the album Get Lifted. The music video is shown entirely in black and white, to fit with the slow soul genre. There is a clear link between the visuals and lyrics. When the artist sings ‘This time we’ll take it slow’ the creators have used a slow motion editing technique. Also during the instrumental, the scene shows a group of people playing violins and various instruments, which link with the song and music video.


2008: The artist Adele, a British soul singer released a single in 2008, Chasing Pavements. The song entered as  2nd in the UK single charts. The music video links closely with the song, in the video there appears to be an accident, showing the victims dancing in certain points. ‘Should I give up, or  should I just keep chasing pavements’ suggesting should they fight for there lives. The video has a chronological narrative which is easy to follow, using a range of different camera angles and techniques which have developed from the first clips made.



2011: Over the years, music videos have developed in a number of ways, such as the abstract narratives, quality and style. In comparison to the first music videos made, artists of have resulted in making more provocative videos, an example of this is Rihanna’s S&M video, which has strong sex references which sparked negative opinions of the artist, mainly from parents of the target audience as it was seen unsuitable for the young generation, and was criticized with sexual lyrics that were quickly censored (on radio).



In 2013, Bastille released as number one single, Pompeii, The music video focuses on the lead singer Daniel Smith, running away from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in Pompeii, with the lyrics "Great clouds roll over the hills, bringing darkness from above”, highlighting the catastrophic event. The video helps to represent the natural disaster in Pompeii and shows people with black eyes he realises the ash from the volcano has caught up with him. 



           Overall, music videos have changed and developed overtime. These have changed due to the range of technologies which are being used to appeal to their target audience and the specific genre of music. When music videos where first introduced, they were fairly simple, with just the artist singing. However nowadays videos have a lot more happening in the scene to keep the audience hooked. Also, with new technologies the creators are able to add the recorded version over the top of the music video, using very well timed lip syncing. 

Researching Music Labels

Music labels are a brand or trademark connected with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Music labels are often publishing companies that control productions, manufacturing, distribution, promotions and enforcing copyright for sound recordings and music videos.

The major music labels manage well know artists, these are Warner Music Group, EMI, Sony Music Entertainment and Universal music group.

Universal Music group was founded in 1934 as Decca Records USA and is one of the largest American music corporations. The institution is located globally, in Los Angeles, Hollywood, New York, London, France and more.  Universal Music group have signed a number of well known artists for a variety of different genres, these being artists such as 50 cent, Akon, Amy Winehouse, Coldpaly and Kanye West. UMG  operates as a subsidiary company and owns Universal Music Publishing Group, this being the second largest publishing company in the world.

Warner Music group is another American major global record company, headquartered in the city of New York. he cooperation is know as one of the 'big three' recording companies, signing artists such as  Gnarls Barkley, Cher, Madonna, Muse, Frank Sinatra and many more. The institution was founded in 1958 as Waner Bros. Records. with over 3,000 employees, and a revenue of  $2.7 billion. in 2010 Warner formed a partnership with MTV networks, this being another major cooperation that overtook Vevo (currently a music channel) as the top online music video sharing network. Showing the combination between record labels and other medias such as television also known as media convergence.

There are three main types of Labels produced, this being Vanity Labels where the artist will control nothing more than the usage of the name on the label, Sublabel which refers to group artists, and finally Independent recored labels (or indie), that release any non-mainstream music regardless of large corporations. Within the music industry, upcoming arts are becoming increasingly reliant on record labels to widen their target audience and consumers, to distribute their newest products among a largely spread area. When researching music/record labels it shows that with the advanced technology like the internet, hard copies of CD sales are plummeting, therefore, need to move with other media technologies to distirbute their products to suit their target audience.