Filming schedule

In order to finish my filming with enough time to edit, i needed to plan out roughly some of my filming dates. With such a large amount of filming to do, it was best to do it over a week.
I filmed from the 26th October onward till about the 3rd of November. I filmed in a range of places, from my room, to the bullring, to Sutton park. This helped the film look more realistic.

Ancillary products

My ancillary products, the DVD CD and advertisement for my film were designed to look simple. I got this idea from other Gym Class Heroes artwork. It is quite plain but with a strong message. A broken heart symbol is subject of the products, reinforcing the storyline and message of the song. The pink writing is a recurrent theme running through all aspects of my music video.

Storyboards

I storyboarded my initial ideas for the film so that filming would be easier and more efficient. Here are some pages of my storyboard:

My proposal

Having brainstormed ideas for a music video, i have finally reached a decision. I will be producing a music video to Gym Class Heroes' 'Makeout Club'. My film will be a hybrid between a performance film and a narrative film. I will film an actor, lip syncing along to the song for the performance element, and will video other actors to emphasise the narrative part of the video. The lyrics have a obvious storyline; the story of a man who is a bit of a 'womanizer' and wants to change, but always finds faults in his relationships. The storyline will be videoed from a first person view point, so that my filming schedule is less demanding, and to really capture the lyrics of the song. I will film the performance piece in a park, to compliment the opening lyrics.

Questionnaire Results

I asked twelve females and eight males to complete my questionnaire, they all ranged from the age 15-42. Here are my results:

3. The most popular genre of music was a mix of indie, R&B and electro.

4. Narrative videos were most popular with 10/20 participants opting for it.Three preferred abstract videos, and seven favoured performance videos.

5. Nobody claimed to like serious videos, but six participants said they enjoy comedy videos. Fourteen participants said they enjoyed elements of both in music videos the most.

6. 50% of people like realistic costume, and 50% like surreal costume in videos.

7. I found that people aged 15-24 spend more time watching music videos. They said they tend to watch two to three hours a week watching music television. Participants aged 33+ watch less than half an hour of music television a week.

8. MTV is the most popular music TV channel, closely followed by 4music and TMF.

9. 19 people circled internet, showing that this type of media is being embraced by all ages. Three participants age 38, 40 and 41 circled the radio option, perhaps contributing to their lack of video viewing on television.

10. 11 people watch music videos on Youtube, four watch videos on band websites, three watch videos on social networking sites (derived from 'other' option)and it did not apply to two participants.

11. 100% of participants believe that a music video has a effect on a songs likeability.

These are my results, i am going to use them to adjust my video in order to attract my key demographic.

Questionnaire

I decided my primary research is going to be in the form of questionnaire. This way i can locate trends and patterns in certain demographics, in regard to what they enjoy in music videos. This will be comprised of quantitative and qualitative questions so that my results are relatively accurate and reliable. I will distribute twenty questionnaires to a variety of people, who range in age, gender and ethnicity.

Age: __________ Gender: M / F (please cirlcle one)

Occupation: ________________________________

What is your favourite genre of music? (If more than one please state both)
_________________________________

What is your favourite type of music video? Abstract Performance Narrative (circle one)

Do you prefer slower or faster paced videos? ________________

Do you prefer comedy or serious videos? Comedy Serious Elements of both

Do you prefer surreal/flamboyant outfits or everyday costume? _________________

How much time do you spend watching music television a week? (circle one)

Less than half an hour half an hour to one hour one to two hours more than two hours

What is your favourite TV music channel? (circle one)

MTV TMF The box 4 Music VH1 NME Kerrang Other
If other please state ____________

Do you consume music video through any other media?

N/A Internet Radio Other (please specify) _________________

If you use the internet for music, what website do you use to watch music videos?

N/A Youtube Google video Band websites Other (please specify) ___________

Do you believe music videos make a impace on a songs likeability?
Yes No

Thank you for taking part in my questionnaire.

Documentary- The history of Freemasonry

The opening of this video shows a quote "Speaking the truth in times of universal deceit is a revoloutionary act"-George Orwell. Although we arent too sure of the meaning of the quote, we are drawn in to ask what this has to do with the Freemasons. The background is Black and the writing is white, making it look quite mysterious. The first video footage we see is a town, and as the camera pans around it accompanied by bell chimes which are symbols of religion. Three guards march past, a symbol of the high Freemasons status. The camera focuses on grand buildings which reflect power. The camera focuses on the sky behind a high building, this compliments the narration 'who believe they are spreading the light'. The sun moves behind a cloud as we hear 'but they are actually very much afraid of the light.' We can hear thunder claps, which has connotations of evil and disaster. This is prophetic fallacy. The cloud conceals the sun completely as the narration prepares us for the rest of the documentary by telling us what they will be discovering in the documentary. The camera tilts down from the top of a tall religious building to the bottom and fades to red for the titles. This has connotations of danger and blood. The powerful music that accompanies the titles seems to have a eerie ring to it. This sets the tone for the rest of the documentary, mysterious and powerful.

Lady Gaga- Lovegame

The beginning of the video shows a busy city at night, with some men opening a vault in the ground with 'Haus of Gaga' engraved on it, the name of her fashion line. She appears in a dingy room with two men, wearing only diamonds, stuck on her body and a bit of coloured body makeup. Both men have words shaved in their hair, a clever promotional ploy. One has 'Love' which is reinforcing the song, the other has 'Fame' which is reinforcing her album 'The fame'. Also a lyric in her song ties these together; 'Do you want love or you want fame?' Next she appears with a crowd of men, wearing a white leotard which contrasts with the black outfits the men are wearing and the dark, dirty location, and carrying a glowing staff, perhaps symbolising her power over both the men and the music industry. She is also wearing a headpiece, reminiscent of barbed wire, this is an artistic fashion statement, which Gaga uses often to express herself. The camera pans vertically allowing us to see high angle and low angle shots of Lady Gaga. She is performing in the middle of the gang of males. She later moves down the stairs of the train station and performs a dance routine with males, all dressed in black. She is in white and this helps her to stand out. They move to the barriers in the train station, and then to a train where they are hanging from the ceiling bars and dancing around Gaga who is lip syncing. A quick subtle outfit change sees Gaga moved to a car park, performing a dance sequence on cars with her dancers. Low angle shots of her on top of cars makes her seem superior and powerful. She is now wearing a black leather jacket, tights and studded underwear. This gives off the same urban look as the locations. After getting intimate with all of the dancers she traps herself in a security booth with a officer of some sort. This shows her influence and strong sexual power. The final part shows another dance routine in the train station. Here she is more part of the group of dancers. Her final dancemove shows her and the boys grab their crotches; this is a symbol of Gaga's power not being only sexual as she can fit in with the group of men without flirting. The dark backgrounds are lit only by a few bright spotlights. The video serves as a means to promote Lady Gaga, and by portraying her in a dominant and provocative light, does so.

Master Shortie- Dead end

The establishing shot of the video shows Master Shorties silhouette in a studio dimly lit by lights. The next scene is one used frequently in music videos, a club scene. This shows people dancing and having fun, this promotes the song. The camera moves rapidly, to close ups of him lip syncing and scenes of a dancing crowd. The lighting in the club are neon rave inspired flashes of primary colours. Over the course of the video the artist moves to lip-syncing in a white shadowy room. The wall behind him has bright red and yellow graffiti on it spelling out the title of his song 'Dead end'. There are blue splashes behind the title. A band member is standing behind Master Shortie playing his guitar with one foot on the wall behind him. They are both in bright colours, the band member in bright blue and Master shortie in bright orange. He then moves into a space-inspired set. With a night sky blue background and beams of light soaring past him. The video consists of more bright backgrounds, one designed to resemble a graphic equaliser found on a hard-fi system. From this point we become aware of a narrative developing. He finds himself attracted to a girl in the club, even though he has a girlfriend. (The camera reverts to the scene where Master shortie is in a studio set with a girl to show this). In a scene later he meets her in a bathroom and the camera portrays the sexual tension by putting the scene in slow motion. Another scene in slow motion is one where he is running after this girl down a grimy looking corridor. The jump cuts are often and focus mainly on close ups of sexual symbols e.g. hands on hips.
Overall the video is meant to represent Master shorties urban roots, and his rebellious image. The bright colours stand to accompany his energetic music.

How to tell when a relationship is over-Tony Roche

The location of this short film is a small everyday kitchen, making the characters and their relationship relatable. The first shots before the title shows the couple in happier days, laughing and joking. The last shot before the title shows what the relationship has become, boring and monotonous. The title flashes up in white font, accompanied by a bell chime. The connotations of which is death of the relationship, supporting the title. As the signs that signify the end of a relationship appear, a simple drum beat accompanies the comedy on screen. It builds up as the film progresses, bringing in a bass guitar, keyboard etc. The mise-en-scene varies, the wine compliments the 'You try to get the magic back' scene as it has connotations of romance and luxury. Dimmed lights are meant to set a cosy atmosphere, but the lighting in this scene makes it look a bit drab and uninviting. The 'You feel like youre in a French film' scene employs clever techniques to achieve the French theme. The scene is in black and white, cigarette smoke is all throughout the kitchen, the male is wearing a smart black suit, and the accordian music is all reminiscent of Film Noir. In the 'The other person isnt there anymore' scene the ticking of the clock signifies the passage of time and impatience.

The Trampolinist- Chris Robert Mellors

The film begins with a acoustic guitar non-diegetic track. The title of the film appears in small white ink against a dark background. The establishing shot shows the back of a house, the handheld camera is being used to portray a first person point of view. The diegetic sound of rubber expanding as the person jumps up and down is heard. The camera moves to a close up of the male on the trampolines face looking bored and monotonal. The camera moves up and down with the man as he bounces. The camera then moves into a low angle shot behind the male, most of the shot showing the gloomy sky. It then jump-cuts to a wheel of a bike turning, as if it was abruptly made immobile. The next shot shows the man jumping on the trampoline again, but in the background and the camera is closer to a windchime hanging. The tingling sound is heard. The camera moves into a shot of the mans shoes on the trampoline. Next the man is still bouncing on the trampoline, although there is sudden rainpour. The next shot of him on the trampoline shows a summery day, accompanied by jungle sounds. The camera moves from close ups of the man, to long shots of him, focusing on the greenery. By this point, it is apparent that there is a real passage of time through the seasons, as the next shot shows the man on the trampoline surrounded by snow. Then him bouncing at night. The camera focuses on the house and we hear the diegetic diologue; "Linda! When is he going to get a bloody job?" The sound of the man on the trampoline continues through the credits.

Miley Cyrus- Party in the USA

The song begins with stereotypical American imagery; flashy signs. We then see a car park with lots of upbeat people, wearing southern outfits. Cowboy boots, cowboy hats, denim shorts and waistcoats. This is symbolic of Mileys hometown, as mentioned in the lyrics of the song. The camera shows a medium long shot of miley lip-syncing leaning on a car with a wind machine blowing her hair. This is a common thing in female artist' videos. It then shows a close up of Mileys cowboy boots, reffering again to her heritage. Then a medium long shot frames miley with her crowd of followers walking, part dancing and generally having fun. A male climbs out of the boot of a car, which is meant to be comic and display 'teenage behaviour'. A male greeting confirms her popularity.
She then grabs a microphone, jumps aboard a van and begins performing. The crowd are all dancing and looking admirably at Miley. The camera is on a crane and zooms in and out on miley, and above her. Dancers appear in shots, performing various stunts to contribute to the upbeat song. Miley performs briefly at what looks like a tin fence with some sort of logo on it. The logo is rope shaped, which may be in relation to a lasso, a southern symbol. The next location Miley performs in is infront of a American flag, which is very fitting. This compliments the song title and lyrics and American audiences may feel that they can relate with Miley through the patrioism. Glittery confetti falls around Miley, which has connotations of celebrations. (Champions get confetti to celebrate their achievements). A slow motion effect is added as miley dances and sings. The location moves to a playground at night-time. This may be a representation of Mileys maturation. Her friends and dancers are all around her, thrusting her into the spotlight. Smoke machines give the background a mystical effect. The chorus moves miley and her dancers onto a stage, once again in front of the USA flag this time with flashy stars, and the Letters USA above the flag. The camera pans around Miley and her entourage, zooming in on Miley occasionally. The low angle shot of miley shows her superiority and power. On the last chorus the dancers flee the stage to let Miley finish alone. The video flicks back to Miley joining in with the dancers in the abandoned playground and lip syncing as well. The video finishes with Miley, the dancers and the crowd, dancing and having a good time.

Dizzee Rascal-Bonkers

This popular songs video is abstract, as it follows no real narrative but is just a collation of video clips. It does however, throughout the video have Dizzee lip syncing the lyrics, making it a performance video also. The video begins with setting the scene, on a alternative universe which is noticable by the effects on the mise-en-scene in the video, giving it a plasticine look. This contributes to the 'Bonkers' and abstract nature of the video. The first part of the video shows Dizzee on a bed, in a truck. The background is ice blue, as is Dizzees outfit, which has eyes, all over it blinking. The camera jump-cuts from close ups of Dizzee lip syncing, to long shots of him interacting with obscure items. The chorus shows a aerial shot of the artist lip syncing while buildings and cars pass by him. He is larger than the buildings, making him the main focus, making him look like the owner of the 'alternative universe'. On the part of the track where the beat repeats itself, the video shows dizzee lip syncing and his movements are repeated in sync with the tracks skipping effect. Every skip has a different colour scheme. After this there is a typical dance video scene, where the camera weaves between a crowd of people dancing to the track. Then Dizzee pops up from the middle of the crowd wearing a attention seeking red t-shirt. The connotations of this angle suggest Dizzees power and influence over the crowd. The camera cuts are fast and often, contributing to the manic nature of the video. The next scene shows Dizzee lying in a white room, with many different layering effects. He is lying down as the song has reached a chilled out calmer melody. When the scene returns to Dizzee on top of his world, it is darker, and his outfit has changed into a dark hoodie. This suggests a passage of time through the progression of the video. He then is transformed into a shark outfit, this is a random expression of Dizzees personality; he's 'bonkers'. Later on the dancers return in neon skeletal outfits, once again a reflection of the song title. The colours are flashy and bold and suits the song.

Bobsboxes- Matt Watt

Bobsboxes is a short film about two lovers who live in T.Vs opposite sides of a T.V. shop and attempt to meet finally in the flesh. The opening begins with a soft and mellow acoustic guitar which is non-diegetic. The font in which the title appears is plain and white against the black background, perhaps to reinforce the idea of television. The establishing shot shows a small narrow street of shops and traffic, the focal point of which is 'Bobsboxes' the television shop. We see a man open the shutters and enter the shop. The next shot takes place within the shop and the camera pans horizontally to the right and as it pans onto a television with a male walking across the television screen. He stops and stares out of the television to a high shelf. The camera jumps to a shot of the high shelf the male was looking at. We can see a young woman inside it. The camera jump cuts back to the males screen, and he continues to walk across the television screen and it has been edited so that it seems the male is walking from one television set straight through another. This had to be edited carefully to make sure there was no problems with the continuity of the clip. There is the mise-en-scene of sale prices to make it seem more realistic. The camera then jumps to a shot of the whole shop, allowing us to work out the location. The camera is in the aisle between the two television sets and is showing a long shot of the shop owner, unaware of the inhabitants in his televisions. The camera jump-cuts back and forth between the two, framing the woman in a low angle shot, perhaps meant to be from the males point of view. This could be an expression of his feelings, she is superior and he longs to be with her but she is out of reach. The camera now moves to close up shots so we are aware of the couples' emotions. The male is still looking up at the woman in a lustful way, and she is looking down at him and waving. The male runs inbetween two screens and throws his clothes into one, then he re-appears in a tuxedo which appears to please the lady. He then holds a key towards the woman and she joins in and jumps several television sets to the one on the same height as him. The jump-cuts become more rapid as they get closer together. The male then jumps from his television set to hers, and as he falls backwards, as does the television. There is a close up of her hand, trying to clasp his, but before she can reach the televison falls and the diegetic sound of a thud is heard. The camera zooms out slowly as the shop keeper picks up the television. Earlier shots of the couple are shown again but this time in slow motion, to provoke an emotional response from the audience, as if the two inhabitants have died. The last shot is a freeze frame of the shop from the long narrow and busy road. The quiet music continues as if in memory of the couple. BBC- Film Network

Short film- Contraction - Christopher Hewitt & James Cambourne

The opening titles of this short film is accompanied with the ambient sound of gusts of wind. There is a greyish background and the title slowly formulates onto the screen in a technological font. The esablishing shot portrays a close up of a man staring into the camera as it zooms in on his face. There is a non-diegetic sound, a high pitched technological ringing which intensifies as the man closes his eyes. The screen cuts back to the greyish background, and the next shot shows a medium shot of a female on a rooftop, the camera moves from a over the shoulder shot and pans around her and we see the male lying on the floor, then the camera jump cuts to an aerial shot of the two. The camera slowly circles them. The next shot is aerial to begin and the woman begins to give the man CPR and the floor has been edited and lifts up everytime she pumps his chest. This gives the audience the effect of how the man is feeling, that he is jerking alive steadily. The brief of this film was to portray the conception of rebirth. The next shot is a medium shot of the girls hands on his chest and the camera tilts up to show her holding her head in panic. The camera switches to an extreme long shot, revealing the location of a group of roofs in a red-brick estate, perhaps homing factories as well as the mise-en-scene suggests. The camera switches back to the protagonists, in a long shot. The camera movement is jerky, which may be a attempt to get the camera to portray the atmosphere. We now here the diegetic sound of the womans breathing as she pumps the mans chest. The camera constantly moves from long shot to close up and back again. The man begins to move and the non-diegetic technological sound intensifies again. He sits up and the camera stays in an over the shoulder shot as the one and only piece of dialogue is delivered "where did you go?" The next shot is over the shoulder of the woman, allowing us to read the males face. She is gesticulating alot, but we hear nothing. This along with the ambient sound of wind and that high pitched ringing suggests that what we can hear is what the male can as well as he has just been "reborn". The way the sun shines over the camera may be pathetic fallacy as he is now alive and the metaphorical storm has passed. BBC Film Network

Brief history of Documentaries

Film maker John Grierson used the term 'Documentary' in 1926 to refer to any type of non-fictional film. The first "moving images" in this case were documetaries, showing a train pulling into a station etc. Early films like these were called 'actuality' films, with little narration or storylines which is now a key convention of documentary. This was due to lack of technological advancement, and so most of the first films were less than a minute long.
Eugène-Louis Doyen a French surgeon made a series of surgical films in the late 1890's, though used as just a means of improving his work.
Romanian professor Gheorge Marinescu made his own set of science films in his neurology clinic sometime between July 1898 and 1901. He called them "studies with the help of the cinematograph" and published the films.
Documentary progressed through to the 1920's producing some of the most influential documentary films of all time, including h Robert J. Flaherty's 'Nanook of the North' in 1922. This brought about a more complex artistic view in documentary, and embraced 'Romanticism' which places emphasis on strong emotions such as terror, awe, horror and trepidation.
Through to the 1940's, documentary was being used as political propoganda. The most popular example of this is Leni Riefenstahl's film Triumph of the Will (1935)which concerned the nazi political party congress in Nuremberg.
In Britain,the Documentary Film Movement was formed under John Grierson. Including film makers such as Harry Watt, Alberto Cavalcanti, Basil Wright, and Humphrey Jennings. Their productions were an amalgamation of poetry, education and propoganda. Examples of their work include 'Drifters' by John Grierson and 'Song of Ceylon' by Basil Wright.
Although there are problems with documentary, such as bias reporting which can lead to social problems, it is still very popular today and has produced revolutonary films such as Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine and D.A Penny Bakers with Don't Look Back.
Now Documentaries are popular when merged with television, creating shows like 'supersize me' and reality TV which in its contemporary sense, documents celebrity or luxury life, or is infused with gameshows to create programmes like 'Big brother' or 'Americas next top model'.

Brief history of music videos

The arrival of sound films in 1926 made way for musical short films which could have been interpreted as music videos, but not as we know them today.
In the early 1930's, cartoons often featured a live performance from a artist. Walt Disneys' early animated films were based heavily around music. Disney programmes still known today such as 'Looney tunes' often included music from upcoming Disney productions.
When the Panoram (visual dukebox) was invented in the 1940's, 'promortional clips' were common which was also a early form of music video. These were short musical films, promoting mostly Jazz artists, comedians and dancers.
The first official music video was released in 1894, when sheet music publishers were still in charge of the music busisness. Edward B. Marks and Joe Stern were the first to use images to help promote sales of their song 'The Little Lost Child'. They used still images mereged with a live performance, which became known as a form of entertainment called the illustrated song.
Hollywood musical films, have served as a format, regularly imitated in music videos even today. For example Madonna's 1985 video for 'Material' girl was reminicent of 'Diamonds are a girls best friend' took from the film 'Gentlemen prefer blondes'. Many of Michael Jackson's videos were heavily influenced by choreography from musicals; including 'Thriller' directed by John Landis, and 'Bad' directed by Martin Scorcese which was influenced by the fight scenes in 'West Side Story'.

MTV was launched in America, in 1981, this revoloutionised music, and visual accompaniment to music in the form of a video became a neccessity to all Artists to promote their songs.

Brief history of Short films

Short films began in the 1910's in the USA. It was then common for a film to consist of one long feature film and a few short subjects afterwards. These were usually comedy. These short films were very popular until the 1930's when interest and demand declined. In the early 1950's television was introduced and brought about the fall of short films due to it broadcasting old short films, and a variety of new media. Thus, by the end of the 60's short films were dissapearing.
In the 1980's the term 'short film' was used interchangeably with 'short subject' which was this type of films original name.
Now, short films are popular again, diverse in themes. Some deal with the same themes as feature length films, but most tend to be more abstract, dealing with surreal film and with artistic value.