Prelim Music Video task - Shoot Reflection

Creative arts evening

For the evening we planned to shoot a large majority of the final video including the main boxing scene and the lip-sync section and instrumental elements to the final piece however soon found this would be more of a challenge than we had originally hoped. 

We ran into a large number of problems whilst trying to shoot the video and many more problems I think will occur in post production. Firstly we had a limited green screen space so getting wider shots such as 2 shots and mids was very difficult and also meant we didn't have a lot of space for camera movement as the environment was so small which was a big problem as the video revolves a lot around handheld camera. To resolve this we had to limit our movement and increase the movement of the talent in order to replicate a similar effect.

My roll for the task included a large variety of elements but in essence I saw myself as the director and set manager for the shoot, ensuring everything ran as smoothly as possible and that all shots needed were captured in the most efficient way possible to maximise the time we had on set. I spent a large amount of time on the camera being the most knowledgeable camera operator of the group it was far easier to explain my desires through physically setting the shot myself. We had a monitor on set which was a huge help in explaining what I wanted to people as I could just point. I had also brought along a smoke machine which I thought would help enhance the lighting colours and give more drama to the shot and feel this worked very well. 

The next problem we faced was time limitation. We only had access to our talent for just under 40 minutes so we had to re arrange the order in which we got our shots to maximise the shooting time with our boxers and ended up working completely from memory and abandoning the script and shot list we had created purely due to time limitations. This was a group decision and we thought it would be best to capture as much action as possible from a range of angles as oppose to copying the existing video. This on reflection was a good idea as we are now sat on a larger range of footage which gives us a greater flexibility in post meaning we are more able to replicate the mood and story of the music video with the same editing tempo which will hopefully lead to a similar overall feeling and thus match to the original video.

Our lighting effect was limited to one light on the night as we needed 2 lights to backlight the green screen and eliminate shadows to allow a cleaner key. This meant we could only use one colour at a time so we were limited to our desired colour effect meaning the lighting was not as impactful. Thankfully we had access to some great gels which made the footage look great in my opinion allowing us to achieve somewhat of the characteristic look we sought after which would make the video.

Organising talent was a lot easier than expected and we had a lot less problems with confidence and actor ability than I had thought so we ended up getting a lot more done than id hoped and with a last minute gather of props ended up making a video I thought looked very aesthetically pleasing and visuals which would compliment the song very well. The beat of the song was a huge element I focused on the theory of in order to achieve perfect timing and I based all my camera movements off this beat in my head which hopefully means the camera movement looks rhythmic in the final piece.

The final issue we faced was knowledge of the lyrics as I don't think we were able to get all the lip sync shots we wanted however this is not a major issue as we can easily pad out lip syncing with the extensive amount of footage we got of the boxing and other story elements. 

A main feature of the video is a background which is covered in bokeh like light elements and I quickly became aware of the fact the environment interacts with the environment so to help achieve this in post I had the idea to place track points onto the green screen which would move like the environment however this meant the crosses had to be in shot at all times. 

Overall I feel shooting the prelim music video was a large success given the amount of time we had to plan and shoot the video its self and how the group worked together in order to achieve what will be the final video and I look forward to working in post in order to replicate the largely successful music video creation of the song Believer by Imagine Dragons.  

After creating a first render of the video I was able to reflect on post production and the issues that arose. The first job in post was the key each shot. For this we used the Luma key tool within final cut pro which removed the background of each shot allowing us to place different environments behind the subject. This worked very well until we encountered camera movement within the green screen shots as the background would not interact with the movement of the camera. To amend this I pre placed black crosses on the green screen as tracker points. After pre rendering the keyed shots we exported them into an after effects composition where we created a Null object layer and tracked the motion of the crosses to the object. We then linked the Null object layer to the environment before making minor adjustments manually. Unfortunately we were unable to track all shots due to time limitations however the outcome of the shots we did track was greatly successful.

Another issue we faced was having to contrast background colours to the lighting of the shots. Unfortunately abandoning the shot list lead to not knowing the correct lighting for each character meaning in some cases we had to contrast the background shot with the coloured lighting in order to maintain the different environments for each character vital to the storyline.

A final issue I identified was the smoke machine interfering in the keying of the shots. Unfortunately the particles of smoke were too fine to be registered cleanly within the screen its self leading to a poor key in the smoky areas which ruined some shots. To fix this next time I would overlay fake smoke on top of the shots in order to retain a clean key throughout as I priority.

Overall the video was a huge success giving the time limitations we had and if we had more time in post we could have evolved it into something almost professional looking. I have learnt a lot from this video mainly green screen techniques as it is not something I have worked with in the past.

Seafret Atlantis Music Video analysis

I chose this video to analyse as I am particularly interested in the genre of music it is based around and really loved the narrative concept behind it. I feel it was shot really well and had an almost in the moment feel to it and was able to submerge me within the action enhancing my connection with the music giving me further reason to love the song. Directed by Jonathan Entwistle, Atlantis is a narrative piece which ties to the lyrics and music of the song yet at the same time drifts to produce a viewer interpretable piece which is hugely visually compelling. The piece is based on Identity and life experiences and escaping the hardships of the modern world as an innocent child and is almost from the perspective of the protagonists thoughts and mind.

Lyrics and Visuals relationship

Overall I feel there is no concrete connection between the visuals and lyrics however I do feel there is elements where the lyrics compliment the cinematics of the final piece. Conceptually the lyrics provide additional emotions which carry through with the song and shift accordingly throughout. The song explores themes of escaping which seemingly is what the boy is doing as he plunges into a dreamland in an attempt to flee from his problems enforced by the song through the Chorus which states "run Atlantis" The visuals are more linked to the musical style and mood as the editing speeds up in cuts and cinematic help to reinforce emotion through the extensive use of handheld camera throughout the video which connotes underlying fear and helps submerge us within the characters realm. The narrative finally resolves by leaving the dreamland and entering back into reality as the song reveals how reality cannot be avoided and that you should embrace reality and its hardships no matter how hard it may be.

Cinematics

A   large majority of the video is shot handheld and really reacts with the action and emotion in the video. There is also a huge emphasis on colour to distinguish  between reality at the start and the land the child becomes entwined in. The colour palette has clearly been altered to create this almost flawed dream land as the narrative focuses on global crisis so a more grunge  look is applied to the what would be considered a dream like place however still retains the dirty like, non stereotypical appearance to what seems to be the protagonists happy place in his mind. Frequent close-up shots are used throughout to help emphasise emotions of the protagonists as the Non- Linear narrative progresses. The close-ups bring us as a viewer to a more personal level with the protagonist and helps evoke impact of the video and establishes a stronger connection between the audience and the character and thus helps create meaning to the song the video is placed with. Similarly 2-shots are also used frequently which connotes a unity between the boy and the creature he has befriended in the dream like world. The unity helps once again enhance emotion and create a stronger connection between the viewer and the protagonists as the emotion shifts as the story progresses.

Alternatively wide shots are also used to create isolation of the protagonists from reality as after watching the video a few times I decided that the white monster could be the child's innocence and purity and is hidden and taken away from him in reality in what seems to be a Stop correcting “distopian” world. He is forced to abandon his innocence in reality and is only able to live his childhood within his mind in this other world he has been forced into. The wide shots present a distance from reality as it depicts them as being small in frame and also creates separation and vulnerability of the boy.

Representation 

Childhood innocence is a theme represented throughout the video as the narrative progresses and the boy is forced to leave the white monster behind in his mind. Once again it is apparent the boy is forced to abandon his childhood in the war stricken reality he lives in and has almost become forced to prioritise survival. The video shows the boy reuniting with his innocence and childhood as he becomes unconscious and is able to be happy and explore the world in his head he has missed out on all this time. The video also explores independence as most young children of that age would be dependent on an adult figure however in the narrative he seems to be leading the other character who seems significantly stronger and bigger compared to the boy around the location showing a lack of fear and an inquisitive nature which most children retain throughout childhood. The boy is then chased by reality and eventually forced to leave his innocence behind as we assume he is forced back into reality by the end. the narrative enforces a huge ambiguity throughout the story leaving a large amount of interpretation down to us as a viewer which I feel works really well as it allows each person to connect with the video on a different level more suited personally to them. This once again allows a unique effect of the video specific to each person, the personal connection the video helps enforce also helps to achieve its primary purpose to market and increase revenue for the band as the video may help to inspire and connect certain emotions or inspire certain life messages to each viewer they would then associate with the song and therefore it would lead to a purchase or repeat listening's to the song increasing the bands revenue from the production.

I really like the emotion behind the narrative of the video as I feel this is also a trend which runs throughout most indie style music video as they help to project a certain outlook on life to evoke emotion or understanding to the video something which I would like to recreate in my final piece. Abstract features also such as the use of representing childhood as an emotion also helps convey certain messages leaving the viewer in depth of thought and impacted once the video has concluded.

Pace and editing Styles

As far as editing goes the piece is very simple and mainly all shot practically. there is very little complexity to the editing style and cuts of the video which provides a very minimalist piece which creates a very contemporary feel linking back to the genre conventions of the piece. The cutting of the piece is very minimal and conforms to the beats of the music creating a very comforting watch throughout as the pace seems to retain the same as does the song so the experience despite being quite stressful towards the end still compliments the dream like world the protagonists are within. Graphically there is no evidence of any graphic overlays which once again links to genre conventions as through research I found this genre of music often creates realistic looking videos mainly shot practically to create a very humble feel to them retaining warm emotions which would be clouded by loud graphical work and heavy colours. the videos specific to the genre are very subtle and I find enjoyable because of this factor, they are a "light watch"

to conclude I really like this video by Seafret and feel its a very creative way of telling a story and I feel it is shot very well and coloured excellently. In addition I love the narrative concept and feel it links to the style of their other videos I shall look into when planning my music video and I shall use this video as inspiration for my project as I love the concept and message in which I as a viewer took away from it after watching and would like to replicate this within my work.

My 5 Favourite mmusic videos of all time.

Hunger of the Pine- Alt-J

Atlantis- Seafret

Nobody Speak- DJ Shadow

24K Magic- Bruno Mars

Sugar- Maroon 5

Previous A2 students work analysis.

This is my favourite video of last years class' work for many reasons but mainly due to the complex story line and execution of this. I really like how it projects emotion through out and really work well enhanced by the song. There has clearly been extensive planning as I felt the cut from the main video to the projection on the masked characters face work almost seamlessly in many cases which would have had to be done with planning. In addition I really like the way the video is edited and the conclusion to the video following the track is really well executed with sound levels and poignancy giving a very loud yet physically quiet message to end the video on which I really enjoyed. 

I think the video suits the music very well as it carries the same level of emotion as the song its self this is mainly due to the editing style speeding up on the faster and more loud sections of the song with calming longer takes are used for the slower points to the song and I feel this is very well done. 

Techniques winch stand out to me in this video would be the projection technique which gives a very nice and contemporary feel to the final piece enhancing abstract values which help tell the story of the characters in a very unique and captivating way. Overlays are used such as a distressed filmic overlay which helps to enhance the mood of the piece linking to the more rustic genre of the song which compliments it very well. Finally they incorperate a lot of POV shots used for very short cuts and in a high volume throughout which I feel can work very well, as the story provided is a series of memories which we see through the subjects eyes so aspects such as composition would not be the main focus this complimented by the more cinematic outcuts from the story being the masked figure work really well to produce a compelling final piece. 

I really liked this music video of last years students work as I loved the concept of motion tracking emojis and think this really helped to create a unique element surrounding the video almost as if the only two characters that matter are the centre of the story and this helps take distraction away of other people in the scenes. I like the editing and feel the video progresses in energy levels really well it also has a very clear story which I could follow easily unlike many other music videos from last year.

I Think the music works really well to the story as it helps enhance emotion of the story and really compliments the shots used. The music builds up at a similar rate to the story which works very well also.

The main technique I like in this video is the motion tracking the emoticons to the peoples faces which helps give a unique element to the film and gave a nice modern twist giving a more contemporary feel to the final video 

First Post!

Hello!

Welcome to my blog for A2 media studies 2017-2018. Here I will be logging all my progress and planning towards my final media product at the end of this course. My name is Miles Charlesworth and have a huge passion for film making and cinematography. I run a small production company already and relatively successful YouTube channel. You can find out about all my other media ventures through my website here. I hope you enjoy reading this blog as I will hopefully have made it as interesting to wade through as possible.

Thanks for reading and I urge you to leave a comment to let me know what you think!

Cheers!