this picture was taken as I would prefer to have this kind of shot where trees are not too visible.
Tuesday 27 September 2011
Planning - Location 1
Having decided on what I wanted for one of my locations I went out and got some pictures. the actual shoot will hopefully have a more overcast day than this, as well as having a lot of colour grading.
this picture was taken as I would prefer to have this kind of shot where trees are not too visible.
this picture was taken as I would prefer to have this kind of shot where trees are not too visible.
Tuesday 20 September 2011
Research- Music video task
The initial Genre I chose was Alternative rock however after further research I found that the more general but more accurate genre would simply be rock. many of the genre conventions used in alternative rock apply so the research I have gathered is still relevant, but by redefining the genre i should be able to more closely create a video which complies with the songs style and genre.
For the task I chose to look further into this song by Nirvana.
the genre of this music video is "Alternative Rock". I chose to look at it as it is representative of it's genre and displays elements such as Goodwin's theories very clearly, the key genre themes and conventions that I begun to pick up on when researching videos was the portrayal of the band as a whole, they weren't marketed as a singular person. this is clear through the use of a band name rather than the name of the singer.
As I was beginning to identify key themes and ideas of Rock videos and the kind of areas the songs and videos explored, such as the selling of the band and there music as the product rather than perfectly crafting a particular image, and also the common technical aspects used such as blur effects and having a wide usage of shot types thought primarily focusing on shots at the extremes of distance, I found this Prezzi slideshow, which perfectly outlined the ideas on conventions I had formed about the genre.
Some of the information in there is not quite accurate for my genre as it focuses more heavily on indie music instead of Rock which is the genre I have chosen to investigate.
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For the task I chose to look further into this song by Nirvana.
the genre of this music video is "Alternative Rock". I chose to look at it as it is representative of it's genre and displays elements such as Goodwin's theories very clearly, the key genre themes and conventions that I begun to pick up on when researching videos was the portrayal of the band as a whole, they weren't marketed as a singular person. this is clear through the use of a band name rather than the name of the singer.
As I was beginning to identify key themes and ideas of Rock videos and the kind of areas the songs and videos explored, such as the selling of the band and there music as the product rather than perfectly crafting a particular image, and also the common technical aspects used such as blur effects and having a wide usage of shot types thought primarily focusing on shots at the extremes of distance, I found this Prezzi slideshow, which perfectly outlined the ideas on conventions I had formed about the genre.
Some of the information in there is not quite accurate for my genre as it focuses more heavily on indie music instead of Rock which is the genre I have chosen to investigate.
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Research - reference video
Another video I found which closely matches the style I will be going for in my music video is Boston by the band Augustana, the use of different shot types from huge, wide angle shots, to close ups of the artists face, is exactly the style of camera usage I am aiming for in the outside locations of my video (perhaps inside but space constraints will limit this).
Also seen in this video is the use of a beach as a set, this is something I've thought about but would take some serious planning to achieve, as to have the shots I want an overcast day would be needed, when there are few people around, which for the beach means a very early start. this will be something I think about as the logistics of it may not be feasible.
This music video also has the same kind of lighting and colour filters I aim to use in my video, especially the very washed out,blue look. I may also incorporate the use of glare from the sun as seen in this video into my own. as this would be effective in establishing the right "feel" of the video.
Also seen in this video is the use of a beach as a set, this is something I've thought about but would take some serious planning to achieve, as to have the shots I want an overcast day would be needed, when there are few people around, which for the beach means a very early start. this will be something I think about as the logistics of it may not be feasible.
This music video also has the same kind of lighting and colour filters I aim to use in my video, especially the very washed out,blue look. I may also incorporate the use of glare from the sun as seen in this video into my own. as this would be effective in establishing the right "feel" of the video.
Thursday 15 September 2011
Research- Mood board
Gathering reference images
Now that I had a few ideas in my head I decided to gather a collection of reference pictures, this is a technique I often use when attempting to get a clear grasp of what I want and turn ideas into something more cohesive and focused. I first went to Google, because they have a powerful and easy to use search engine.
Now that I had a few ideas in my head I decided to gather a collection of reference pictures, this is a technique I often use when attempting to get a clear grasp of what I want and turn ideas into something more cohesive and focused. I first went to Google, because they have a powerful and easy to use search engine.
Unfortunately Google image search didn't turn up a large amount of images that matched the ideas I had, despite a number of different search queries/settings.
So instead I turned to Deviantart, I hoped they would have more of the kind or images I was looking for rather than the promotional material Google search tended to show.
Mood-board
After finding a good selection of images I chose to make a mood-board, with the various ideas I was forming and the feel I was attempting to achieve I felt it would be a good way to collate what I had, plus it would give a clear indication of what I was trying to achieve.
I created the mood-board in a program called Gimp (GNU Image Manipulation Program) a free to use, open source image editing software.
Research- Examining Genre Techniques
Colourisation/Colour levels
Whilst looking further into music videos I started thinking about the kind of techniques used that would be relevant for my track. going by the feel of the song I felt that an almost washed out colour pallet would be appropriate, such as is seen in this video from the Alternative Rock band Placebo.
The blue colourisation in this video helps to enhance the moody feel of the song and I think this would be suitable for my piece. this type of colouring is also shown in the video Seize the day by Avenged Sevenfold.
Another technique I noticed used sparingly in the avenged sevenfold, video but heavily in the Placebo and other videos I found was the use of depth of field to single out the singer or a specific action, this technique seemed to be repeated through many videos including the Nirvana video from the previous post and in this Video from the All-american Rejects.
The All American Rejects - The Wind Blows - from Rich Lee on Vimeo.
I decide I would use this technique in my video as it would add an interesting element to the video and also tie in with the conventions of the genre.
Whilst looking further into music videos I started thinking about the kind of techniques used that would be relevant for my track. going by the feel of the song I felt that an almost washed out colour pallet would be appropriate, such as is seen in this video from the Alternative Rock band Placebo.
The blue colourisation in this video helps to enhance the moody feel of the song and I think this would be suitable for my piece. this type of colouring is also shown in the video Seize the day by Avenged Sevenfold.
My plan so far is to have a selection of different locations ( most likely 3) and to inter-cut between them, so the use of colourisation would most likely be limited to one of those locations. this would work to give each location a clear distinction which separates it from the others which should give the video a greater amount of variety, which in turn should help to keep it engaging for the audience. the use of differing colour balances can be seen also in the previously mentioned avenged sevenfold video.
Depth of field
The All American Rejects - The Wind Blows - from Rich Lee on Vimeo.
I decide I would use this technique in my video as it would add an interesting element to the video and also tie in with the conventions of the genre.
Wednesday 14 September 2011
Research- Defining genre
I initially didn't have a clear idea of what the genre f the music video was, this meant I had some difficulty finding videos to analyse for genre conventions, however after playing the track to my brother he suggested they sounded slightly like nirvana. so I had a basis to start from, the first video I looked at was this track
In this video I noticed a lot of techniques which could be interesting to use, such as the use of depth of field on Kurt Cobain's face also what stood out straight away was the colour change of the background throughout the video, a technique which is also seen in this video
10 Years - Shoot It Out found on Rock
though the second video is slightly away from the genre of the song I am using I think the technique could be an interesting one to utilize, though some thought will have to go into how to use it without seeming it "tacky"
From this start I decided to look into Alternative rock as the genre for my piece, the style of the song may stray slightly more towards conventional "Rock" however this is such a broad term which encompasses so many diverse sub-genres that identifying conventions would be near impossible due to the huge differences between those sub-genres for example the tropes of Industrial rock would be hugely different to those seen in say Country-rock, I will however be relating to rock videos which match the style of the song.
From the beginnings of my research I have begun to Identify some of the key conventions of the genre such as usually long shots are used showing the whole band rather than just one person(the singer), this shows that within the genre the focus is on creating the Band as the product to sell rather than the emphasis being on an individual.
By choosing Alternative Rock as a genre, it allowed me to use a wide variety of different styles from the many sub-genres that name entails, this means I can create a piece which is not only representative of the genre by incorporating the conventions and trends seen across the entire spectrum of videos, but also to create a somewhat original piece by utilizing the variety seen within the same genre.
In this video I noticed a lot of techniques which could be interesting to use, such as the use of depth of field on Kurt Cobain's face also what stood out straight away was the colour change of the background throughout the video, a technique which is also seen in this video
10 Years - Shoot It Out found on Rock
though the second video is slightly away from the genre of the song I am using I think the technique could be an interesting one to utilize, though some thought will have to go into how to use it without seeming it "tacky"
From this start I decided to look into Alternative rock as the genre for my piece, the style of the song may stray slightly more towards conventional "Rock" however this is such a broad term which encompasses so many diverse sub-genres that identifying conventions would be near impossible due to the huge differences between those sub-genres for example the tropes of Industrial rock would be hugely different to those seen in say Country-rock, I will however be relating to rock videos which match the style of the song.
From the beginnings of my research I have begun to Identify some of the key conventions of the genre such as usually long shots are used showing the whole band rather than just one person(the singer), this shows that within the genre the focus is on creating the Band as the product to sell rather than the emphasis being on an individual.
By choosing Alternative Rock as a genre, it allowed me to use a wide variety of different styles from the many sub-genres that name entails, this means I can create a piece which is not only representative of the genre by incorporating the conventions and trends seen across the entire spectrum of videos, but also to create a somewhat original piece by utilizing the variety seen within the same genre.
Sunday 11 September 2011
Main Task
This is the track I have chosen for my main task
I chose this track because as I listened to it I found myself thinking it would make a good music video and was able to picture certain shots and ideas in my head, despite having very little exposure to this genre of music and the music videos created for it.
As I'm usually more involved with the technical side of production, I instantly thought of specific shot's I could use and the kind of colour grading I would want. however for that to be successful I will need a solid concept for the video, so in my research I will not only be looking at how the videos are constructed, but also at the content of the videos, this should allow me to create a video which conforms to the ideals and conventions of the genre and create a piece which is representative of the music.
I chose this track because as I listened to it I found myself thinking it would make a good music video and was able to picture certain shots and ideas in my head, despite having very little exposure to this genre of music and the music videos created for it.
As I'm usually more involved with the technical side of production, I instantly thought of specific shot's I could use and the kind of colour grading I would want. however for that to be successful I will need a solid concept for the video, so in my research I will not only be looking at how the videos are constructed, but also at the content of the videos, this should allow me to create a video which conforms to the ideals and conventions of the genre and create a piece which is representative of the music.
A2 Media
Having completed AS level media and enjoyed doing so, I’ve
started the more advanced A2 level.
This year will see me completing a music video as my main
task as well as two ancillary tasks. I’m looking forward to this challenge as creating
a music video instead of a short film should be an interesting experience, which will allow me to use techniques and ideas which would not be suitable in short films.
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