Music Video Final Piece

Craig Davis Music Video Analysis

According to Craig Davis' categories/genres of music videos, we have concluded that our music video is Illustration.

Illustration - 'either a straightforward performance video  or a simple narrative video (or a mixture of the two) that illustrates the meaning of the lyrics and visualizes the music in a straightforward way. It could be called music video 'denotation'.


Due to the nature of the song we decided to classify the music video under Illustration. The original song from our video, and the video that goes accompanies it (Kings of Leon, Use Somebody) is Indie Rock however Pixie Lott's cover version, and also her video would fall under the category of Acoustic Pop due to the pace of both the song and video.

Camera Shots and Movement


For our specific genre and also to coincide with the Illustration category, the type of camera shots and movements which we included were slow paced and still movements with a variety of long, mid and close up shots. We believe that because the music is so simple, and Pixie Lotts original video, the video should not contain flashy or complicated camera movements or shots, neither fast paced movements. Everything should flow very easily, and to do this, a degree of stability and a slow pace was needed. We contained several close up shots of Amy's face throughout the video to create a sense of intimacy and to portray her emotions whilst singing. This also allowed the audience to engage the difference between current experiences and past experiences such as the coffee shop scene.

A sense of intimacy is portrayed here, plus this scene is similar to that whole concept of Pixie Lotts original video which takes part solely within a studio. This relates back to the genre of Acoustic pop.

Editing

We used various transitions such as Non-Additive Dissolve, Additive Dissolve and Fade in and Fade out Dissolves. This is because we believe this made the overall affect of the video very floaty and seamless. This matches the light tones to the song which doesn't contain a heavy beat or fast paced rhythm.

Despite Pixie Lotts video being in black and white, we wanted to keep the colour as there is a very large variety within our shots. We believe that using a black and white filter would be quite boring and repetitive

Post-production digital effects


We didn't use that many post production digital effects as we wanted the overall look to be subtle and again quite floaty and seemless. Special digital effects tend to be used in pop videos, ones with a fast paced audio or quirky or possibly strange lyrics.

Lighting


The overall lighting of the video was very subtle, we used as much natural lighting as possible and never used artificial extra lights such as spotlights etc. We believe that the camera was able to create a very soft and delicate feel to the video due to the shallow depth of field affect that the lens made. 

4. How did you use media technologies in the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages?

Technology played a crucial role in the production of our music video. From the pre-production stage we decided that we’d prefer to use the DLSR camera that belonged to Jess. Paired with Taneshas 50mm we were all really excited to use the camera due to its ability to produce a very shallow depth of field and create clear, sharp images. Because two of the members owned DSLRs, we found it relatively easy to work with the camera due to previous knowledge. Therefore other than technical difficulties which arose from the camera itself, there were no errors in understanding how to utilise the camera to our advantage.

The camera in action on the first day of filming.

We also used a standard tripod for several shots to create a still and clear image. During our first day of filming in Costa Coffee, we were unable to obtain a tripod at this point and due to that we had to dismiss a variety of shots because of the amount of unsteadiness that can be seen within them. From this, we were able to understand the importance of the tripod and how it would set a higher standard for our production than if we did not use one. Post obtaining this equipment, we saw the importance of the tripod when using it in the park scenes. There is a specific close up where we have filmed it both with and without the tripod. In the end we chose to use the tripod used shot due to the steadiness. This shot in particular is in the video for quite a while and therefore we needed it to be still to avoid looking unprofessional.

The tripod we used to mount our camera. 

As mentioned in another post we were able to use a Slide track piece of equipment. This allowed us to create a very strong, clear and sharp image within the Pool/Diner scene which when added to the timeline, created the perfect intro to the new setting. From audience feedback we received very positive comments on this shot. The audience found that the shot was unique and something they’d only see in professional pieces of film or music videos.

Final Cut Pro was the editing software which we used to create our music video. Every group member had had previous knowledge on how to use the software due to their foundation productions from AS. Due to our camera equipment already being in .MOV, we were able to skip the process that we had to do previously for our foundation productions which was convert the files to .MOV. This was beneficial for us as we were able to add to the timeline a lot quicker and easier. The prior knowledge on how to render was very useful as during the beginning of the editing stage of our production, we were faced with technical problems with rendering and frame dropping however we were able to, with help, solve this problem. Some members of the group were stronger than others in the use of Final Cut Pro however we believe that this helped us when creating the final piece. The group members which were less strong were able to oversee the creative side of the video as opposed to the technical side which the other members had to focus on aswell. Final Cut Pro allowed us to experiment with various transitions which we believe are a strong point within our music video. We have used a wide variety of transitions for specific reasons, for example we used a transition titled “Additive Dissolve”. We used this transition when there was either a shot containing lights before or after the next shot it was to be connected with. In our music video we have used an Additive Dissolve in the very beginning in the transition between the opening light shot and the mid shot of Amy singing in the studio.

The 'Additive Dissolve' used between the two opening shots.

How we added transitions between shots.

How we rendered our timeline when required too.

We used the website Youtube.com to allow us to add our music video to our blog. We encountered problems when initially trying to add the video via Bloggers uploader and thus one group member uploaded it via the website and linked it through there. We also realised that this was a good way to receive audience feedback. We then advertised the video on Facebook and asked for feedback from friends and family. We found that the video was received very well with several comments of appraisal and Facebook ‘likes’.

Our production music video on Youtube.

When filming, Amy needed the music to be played in order for her to be able to lip-sync correctly. To do this we had to use both an iPod and iPhone. The MP3 player on both devices allowed her to listen to the music in ear (via earphones) very clearly and thus making her lip-sync to a high standard. This was a vital piece of technology which allowed us to create our music video to a high standard of professionalism.

How Amy was able to lip-sync well throughout the filming process.

Another technology which we used was Photoshop in order to create our CD cover and magazine poster as part of our post-production Digipack. We started with a 12x12cm blank template and as a group had to create a design which fitted in with the overall image of the music video, the music genre and the original artist. We believe that we were able to interpret this and represent all three elements well within the final pieces. This was an extremely joint effort between the group as this is where everyone could easily input and add to how the pieces should look.

Different annotations and evaluations as to why we decided on specific elements to add throughout photoshop.

3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?

As a group we decided the best way to recieve feedback from our production was through Facebook. Our target audience for our piece was the younger/teenage audience and Facebook is the most popular way for teenagers to interact now. I decided to add our video onto my Facebook page to see what reaction we would recieve, I did this by adding the youtube clip onto my Facebook status. The comments we recieved on our video made us all very proud, we had people 'liking' our video which is Facebook's way of people showing they enjoyed the piece. We had comments on how good the acting was, and how it felt like a realistic situation. This was our aim, that the acting came across as if the characters had been in the situations.

We also created feedback questionnaires for our audiences to fill out once they had been shown our final production piece. We gained several responses ranging from extremely excellent to some that included areas which we could have worked on. As a whole, we received very positive feedback and found it difficult to improve on specific elements in light of this feedback. Those which contained improvements such as "More variety in locations" we took into account and if we were to do this production again, we would definitely take heed on this. If we were to do this again we would use maybe one or two more locations, possibly in another daylight location as a lot of our shots were filmed at night time. Another shot containing a scene with both Amy and Ryan would have been beneficial to put across the message of how happy their relationship was, we can see this with the current scenes that we have, however we believe that another scene would have enhanced this message and made our production stronger.

Some filled out feedback forms/questionnaires.

2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

Consider how the video, magazine advert and CD case compliment each other- have you used a similar design, style or aesthetic across all 3. Also how does the advert and to some extent the CD cover help to sell the product. You could analyse representations or marketing strategies here.

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Before starting our music video we did a lot of research into music and genre's like our chosen song. We went through various different music videos, both of the same genre and different. These either inspired us or made us think we didn't want to pursue some aspects of them. As we chose our song 'Use Somebody' by Pixie Lott, we decided to look at acoustic music videos and take note on how these are performed.

This video is an example of a acoustic cover which inspired us. A typical acoustic cover has limited location shots, the entire video is located within the music studio. This is because an acoustic cover is to show off the music talents involved only, and how many instruments have been involved. This is a simple, yet very effective video as it shows a good variety of shots and how a music video can be produced without exotic locations.

This image is a print screen from the cover above. This close up is off the dominant male plucking his guitar. This is an image which as a group we loved because it shows off the talent of the male character on his guitar.

This print screen is from our music video, we tried to convey the image used in the other cover in our video with a close up of the male strumming his guitar. We did this from a different angle, but we felt we got the same effective shot. We also used the strumming in time with the beat of the song in our music video. It was a lot harder to sync up the strumming off the guitar in our video, than it would have been for the above video as that video would have been live. As we didn't film our video live, we had to match up the synching of the strumming and song once we got back to our editing suite. We managed to do this and produce a very effective shot of the strumming on the male's guitar.

We decided to look into acoustic videos, but within the same genre of our chosen song which is pop. We decided to look at a Avril Lavigne 'Wish you were here' Normally the typical Avril Lavigne song would involve lively, crazy locations with party and fun locations. This is the typical music video we would normally see Pixie Lott create, but they both change their approach when covering a acoustic song. As previously analysed, we can see from Pixie Lott's 'Use Somebody' music video, that she's gone for a studio set. This is the typical acoustic approach for a video, as we can see Avril Lavigne has also gone for this approach.

This is a shot that particularly inspired us, as well as the close up's of the strumming of the guitar which is the same type of shots involved in the other acoustic video we have looked at. This is a simple image of the main character singing into her mic, typically located within the studio. In this particular still, we enjoyed the fact that all the viewers attention would be on the lyrics, as you can see the singer would be lively singing the lyrics. 

These two still shots are from our music video, which are shots that we tried to create from Avril Lavigne's studio shots. We included both a medium wide angle shot of Amy singing on the microphone, and a close up of the microphone and Amy. We loved these shots and got our inspiration from Avril Lavigne's video, both these shots give a realistic attitude towards the video and as if Amy is singing these live which we aimed to achieve. 

As we wanted to take more of an original approach to a acoustic song, we included more exciting locations. Luckily we were able to film in my 'bar' room in my house, which created the exciting locations. The vibrant colours from the pool table, and the bar that is lit up creates a romantic feel. This helps us convey the story further, as we are aiming to produce a video about a romantic couple. 

Our inspiration came from the original artists of the song 'Use Somebody'. In their video of the song they include significant amounts of shots in a pub. These shots include a variety of 'extras' in the shots to create more of a lively and socialising atmosphere. As we aimed to achieve more of a romantic style to our video, we didn't add as many extras because we wanted all the main attention on the couple in the video. Although we did include a few extras in some pool shots, so the realistic pub setting would fit our aim.

After looking into acoustic video's, we realised that the typical approach to produce a music video from an acoustic cover are all based within studio's. Including a variety of shots around the studio's, of both the main singer and the performers involved through instruments. We decided to use these approaches in our video, but we also didn't want to copy these video's. We wanted to add the aspects of a typical acoustic into our video, as we were using an acoustic song, but also be original. We decided we would vary our locations to do this, and add more outstanding performers in the video. In the videos of acoustic's we have analysed, we realised that there aren't any 'extras' involved, and that the only people featuring in the video are the people involved in creating the music. We decided to go for a wider number of performers involved and include further actors. For various locations we used a studio, a bar room, a park, a cafe and various different locations around Manchester centre. This is something unique to acoustic music videos which are all set within a studio.

Analysis of one scene

In our chosen song 'Use Somebody' there is a ... between 2:14 - 2:29 in the song. For this section we knew we had to include fast pace editing and a variety of different shots. We managed to do this, and in each shot involved we varied the location. We included almost 'random' shots, as well as shots that fit the story to the video. We started this part of the fast pace editing with a close up shot of the guitar, which we have previously annotated. We included this shot because the strumming is synched with this section of the song which is the beginning of the fast pace bridge.

We included this shot next into the scene, which is a close up of the mug used by the main female in the video. We captured the fast dropping of the spoon in the shot, which creates excitement. This little movement adds a massive impact to the video and it is also an original shot. The focus on the cup makes the shot more impressive, being able to blur out the lights in the background with a nighttime effect makes the shot more effective.

This is a still screen shot, just after the shot of the balls being broke up on the pool table. This shot was created by the male character in the video breaking up the balls, and I captured the shot with the camera  from a higher angle than the pool table on the tripod.  

We included this image of lights into this section, as this creates a vibrant feeling to the video. Our first shot of our music video was a tracking shot of lights, so this image corresponds to the feeling from the start of the video. In the background to this shot is the 'Wellington pub' building which is a part of the video where Amy is filmed sat in front off. This is a famous old pub in Manchester, so this gives us exciting locations in our video. 

This medium close up was involved as it's a shot of Amy which includes fast movements in her eyes. This fast movements adds to the upbeat part of the song and the fast editing. The depth of field between the character and the leaves creates a shallow background so the character's actions are the main focus. 

A shot of guitar's has been included to link to the musical instruments as these are a main feature included in the typical acoustic music video. We took this view and added a simple shot to correspond to the usual approach. 

We included another close up of Amy's eyes which creates excitement and movement. This again adds to the fast pace of the scene and the facial expression involved is a serious face. This relates to the story of the video, as she's missing her partner and this is shown through expression.

This walking shot of Amy reflects to story, now she is on her own. The action of Amy moving her hair fast creates a upset feeling. We decided to produce this shot just on a tripod, and not a tracking shot. This is to create the effect of her 'walking away'.

This is our close up of a phone which is the story is Amy's phone. The message on the screen corresponds the the story in the video, that the female misses her boyfriend. This shot breaks up all the other shots which all involve characters and movement. Our inspiration for this shot came from the image below.

This is a capture a shot from Pixie Lott's music video 'All about tonight'. This shot shows the idea of the story in that video, which is about Pixie Lott partying. 

This is a still form the the Male character in our music video washing his face. This was our most 'random' shot as it didn't really match the story of the video. Although we felt it was one of the most exciting shots. It's a simple shot, yet adds an exciting touch. We got our inspiration for this shot from the image below. 

This is a still from the original track to the song we covered. Kings of Leon 'Use Somebody' video involves this shot of the character showering. This is also included in the bridge part of the song, where we have included ours. We loved this shot, but we couldn't video our male actor in the shower, so we used the sink image but it also gives off the same effective feeling.