Star Image

Star image is about how we want stars to be 'like us' but also have aspects that are 'not like us' so we have something to aspire to or be envious of, some might live vicariously through them, to get to be someone they will never be. Although they may change their image quite regularly but still keep a consistent image of 'them'.

Avril Lavigne is a key example of this, she has changed her style quite a few times but still keeps aspects of what is seen as her by being different, putting green in her hair, wearing a few punk looking things etc, it's almost like she's still the same but just cares more about how she looks, before she didn't care how scruffy she looked, now her image seems quite important. But this does tend to happen to artists as they get older or more famous.
She is still viewed as rebellious and exciting by her audience though.

Digipak

I thought I'd have a look at some digipak's in preparation for when I do my own. Seeing as my main band influence is Biffy Clyro these are all of theirs that I could find. As you can see they are rather strange and tend to be cartoons, they are done by Storm Thorgerson who was the sleeve designer of Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. They are rather strange and it's not the kind of thing I was planning on doing but it is interesting to look at it and if I was artistic at all I probably would do something like this but I want to do maybe a picture of my main character in silhouette or something along them kind of lines in a woods maybe, something nature-like.

Filming Problems

I had a lot of issues with my first lot of filming due to the camera being far too shaky, it looked very unprofessional so I decided that the footage was pretty much useless. I am now going to use a big pram to keep my camera stable, obviously there will still be some movement but hopefully this will work much better, although I may still use some of the experimental footage. I have still used this footage to do a mock video, I have not put the sound to it as it's too short but it was just my way of seeing how it would work with different kinds of cuts and transitions, I also wanted to try my different fillers to mimic those of 'Victory Over The Sun' and 'Opposites' but this video does not show my narrative as it is only one lot of footage, for my narrative to be seen I need the different people, different clothes, different kinds of locations etc. So this is purely just testing with my editing skills at a fairly basic level but I do think it looks rather good considering this. I have used jump cuts, cross blurs, cross dissolves, filters, reverse, slow motion, fast motion, etc.

Music Video Tropes

I was having a look at a website about Tv and Music Video tropes. The trope that I probably hate the most is 'Three Minutes of Writhing' I have a strong hatred for video's that are over sexualised, I find it quite discriminating to women and just disgusting and pointless really, it has no meaning and it is purely because it's what men want to see. I want to do something much more meaningful and subtle. So as you can guess this will definitely not be a part of my video, but what I found that am using is the 'The Invisible Band' which is when the people who made the music are absent and are being replaced with any number of other visuals, in my case it will be the main character, Atlanta.

Genre Ideology

As my genre is alternative rock/indie the ideology affects the visual aspects, for example, as it is 'indie' it is meant to be independent, so not highly funded etc, therefore the actual video quality doesn't need to be great, it can be quite basic as long as the quality of creativity and camerawork is of a high standard it will still look very good, which works very well for me as my camera is very old and not great quality as expected when I am a student with no money. 

Costume wise it doesn't matter much, as long as there's a few strange/different outfits to make it stand out and give a maybe rebellious/standing out from the crowd feel to it, along with some rough or 'real person' clothes to make it feel very real and like they are just like everybody else.

I think the location could be anywhere but more of a rundown place or a bit glum looking place would do best, don't want it to look too good or expensive. And the weather should be a bit gloomy because of the depressing emotion being prominent throughout, this isn't hard at all considering it's set in england, where it always rains. I do want a couple of bright shots though to show the transition, the difference between the character being happy to being sad. Hopefully there will be a few random sunny days coming up.

Target Audience

I was thinking a lot about what my target audience and I couldn't really decide, I mean ideally I would like my audience to be around my age and a little older but I wanted to be more accurate, so I had a look at my stats/analytics on my Youtube channel to see who was actually watching. 'I'll Get There' is actually in my top ten video's on Youtube recently. Here are my stats;

55-64yrs = 10.5% (US) 13.6% (Canada)
45-54yrs = 17.7%  (UK) 27.4% (US) 40% (Brazil) 11.9% (France) 27.2% (Canada)
35-44yrs = 15.8% (US) 13.1% (Brazil)
18-24yrs = 12.8% (Brazil)
13-17yrs = 60.6% (UK) 25.7% (US)  66.6% (Germany) 17.8% (Brazil) 58.1% (France) 35.2% (Canada)

UK = 60.6% 13-17
Female 72.9%

US = 27.4% 45-54
Equal

Germany = 66.6% 13-17
Female 76.5%

Brazil = 40% 45-54
Male 61.7%

France = 58.1% 13-17
Female 66.8%

Canada = 35.2% 13-17
Female 63%

My main audience seems to be women who are in their teens or are middle aged so this is who I will try to aim it at. Aiming at my own age group shouldn't be too hard although I think mine might actually appeal more to the middle aged group as I don't like the simplicity and cliché of what is typically aimed at my age group. I want it to be more meaningful, deep and symbolic.

Evaluation

I did an evaluation of a previous music video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcYYLXZykJ4&feature=player_embedded

I had a look at the use of camera work and there were a few nice shots for example the sun shining through the tree and the character looking through the fence into the field.

There was quite a variety of shot types but I feel they could have been used better or there could have been more of them.

The weather, place, clothes and props were thought about a lot, it looks quite gloomy and obviously the sun peaking through the tree was thought about to show a glimmer of hope. The clothes were very sporty which was the aim and it was in a run down basketball court which fits very well, it seems like she's trying to get better and it's very typical to start somewhere run down.

I think that the meaning is clear but there was not much of a story line, there wasn't really a narrative and it didn't reach anything, there was no point to it, no climax. I also felt that the acting let it down quite a bit, obviously it is hard to find people to act professionally but there could have been better talent chosen, she even laughed a few times when she shouldn't have, it made me feel quite awkward and it wasn't very professional looking.

There wasn't a variety of transitions and there were no effects and there was far too much repetition, it got very boring.

All in all I thought it was basic and I wouldn't give it a very high mark as it doesn't look like a real music video.

This has made me feel I must ensure that each scene isn't too long/cut efficiently to keep the audience interested.

Editing

There are many different editing techniques, such as; continuity, cut, cross-cutting, slow motion, filter, reverse, dissolve, green screen, fast motion, captions etc

We were focusing on continuity editing and looking at how important it is. These cuts make us feel we are watching the action as it happens, the cuts disguise any gaps.
We then watched a clip from 'Tsotsi' which used ellipsis to cut things out to save time, it did appear very real and I didn't feel it jumped at all, the diegetic and non-diegetic sounds carried on over the clips which made them link and flow well. This uphelp the illusion of spatial and temporal continuity, I think the sound was most important in that but also how the camera followed the people, it didn't jump from place to place, it makes the audience not even realise the ellipsis, they almost forget that there was other time in between that because it is clear we didn't need that time to be seen.

Montage editing is the opposite but also another one of the most used editing technique, the most famous example is probably 'Psycho' and montage editing is probably very important for a music video, it's like a mash up or 'discontinuos editing' it doesn't rely on keeping things in time, it can go from one place and time to another very fast, I think I want to use quite a mixture of these two editing techniques as I want to montage but have some idea of time and when things happened but there will be large gaps of time as it is meant to show the change over months.

My Strange Choice

Skins cast singing Wild World - Cat Stevens https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyMi_itzgFs&list=FLp4CGBaNUhdzZmTqLqxdmhw

This is admittedly a very odd video to have as a music video influence, it is the cast from a TV series called Skins, at the end of the first series all of the cast members sing this song, it fits with all of the situations going on at the time. The reason this is an influence for me is because I like how it makes a sad situation almost funny, for example the person who just got hit by a bus and is thought to be dead starts singing as well, obviously none of the actors are reacting to this singing, even some men in the toilets who are weeing are singing some 'la's and I like this, I like the idea of actors singing like it's nothing, almost like they don't realise it, it creates a strange feeling of it being real but not real at all. I just like how different a way it is to end a series as well. What I wanted to use was the idea of extra characters in my video lip singing backing bits like 'ohh's etc. I thought it would give a strange but maybe quite funny or nice feel to it, but I'm not entirely sure that it will fit yet so I will test it and see.

Some Of My Influences

Biffy Clyro - The video was directed by Elliott Sellers, while 'Opposite' was produced by GGGarth Richardson and was recorded in Los Angeles

Radiohead - The 'Just' video was directed by Jamie Thraves, who was hand-picked by the band after they saw several of his experimental short films. It was shot near Liverpool Street Station in London, and intersperses footage of Radiohead playing the song inside an apartment with scenes of a middle-aged man who lies down in the middle of the pavement just outside of the apartment building.

Skins - "Everyone" is the final episode of the first series of the British teen drama Skins. It was written by Bryan Elsley and directed by Adam Smith. It first aired on E4 in the UK on 22 March 2007. It is not told from the point of view of any characters but in a third-person narrative, a first for this show.

Storyboard 2

Here is the storyboard for Atlanta taking pills and Joe yelling at her(the first flash)

Storyboards

Here are some story boards of where the characters will be and what they will be doing, the '*'s show when there will be a flashback. I have also decided the order of the flashbacks, what they are, who they are etc;
1. Atlanta taking pills - With Joe
2. Lack of communication - With George
3. Pinned up against a wall, about to be hit - With Davo
4. Walks in on being cheated on - With Louie
5. Forced to take pills/alcohol - With Davo
6. Long distance/boyfriend leaving - With Max
7. Being controlled - Joe
8. See's he's in love with someone else - With Davo
9. Competitive relationship - With Louie

Influence Four

Biffy Clyro - Victory Over The Sun http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mR9HdYx4U2E&list=FLp4CGBaNUhdzZmTqLqxdmhw

This video is slightly harder than the rest to analyse because it is very open to the interpretation, the thing that is both an issue but brilliant about Biffy Clyro music video's is that it doesn't make much clear, it gives ideas but makes it very much up to the person to make up their minds about what happened or what it means, this is an issue for deconstructing because nothing I say can be for certain, but I think it's brilliant because it's exactly what I want my music video to be like, I want to create something where the audience really have to think or where it leaves them wondering, forcing them to make up their own minds about how it ends, this means that they kind of get the ending they want, it's a great way to please a wide variety of people because surely they can't be dissapointed by an ending they create in their own head. I also like the idea of the frustration from the ambigious ending. But the reason that this video is harder than most is because I can't tell if it's doing a 'cult' story line to almost make fun of overly religious people or whether they do agree with it and personally I have no religious beliefs so this makes it a difficult decision for me. But I think I have come to the decision that it is saying their fans are like a cult.

It starts off with an almost establishing shot in a confusing manner, it doesn't actually show you where it is or what's happening but it gives a bit of an idea, there is mist or smoke and it is a very orange glow which indicates that there is a fire. It then goes straight to the lead singer posing in a 'Jesus on the cross' kind of position as a silhouette which then fades into the sun/fire shining through some spaces which then fades into his fingers on the guitar. This then pans up and fades into an image of two hands holding a light, signifying god and the sun?

It then stats focusing in on faces of the people in the cirle of this 'cult' and they all look sad or stern. Which means they have had some recent saddening experiences or something to be angry about, this fits with the lyrics 'It's not right, no it's not fair' which could imply something unfair has happened to these people and they want revenge or he is showing them how to feel better so they are following him. While this happenes, the lead singer, Simon, is still singing but looking quite menacing like he's hiding something or something is about to happen. There are flashes almost of either what's happened or what is about to come, they tend to be of Simon looking Christ-like and of a building burning, this could even be showing the 'cult's thoughts of how they see him and what they want to happen.

The first time that the song appears to build up it has close ups of individual people with a light in the background and them all closing their eyes one by one, this happens quite fast. It then goes back to the circle of people when the build up stops but then the song really does build up and it does the close ups of the individuals again, this time they are all opening their eyes. Once it finishes the build up, there are two people running across a field but we do not know why, it could be them running from the 'cult' or authorities or something symbolic, running from their thoughts etc.

The biggest sign to me that it is saying their fans are like a cult was what is seen in between clips of the couple running there's all of the people who were in the circle now in a room, some blindfolded, with the lead singer touching them on their shoulders, like what happens at some religious seminars, they then all flop forwards and back up again(like a head bang or dance) and then they start falling to the floor and having what looks like seizures, once again like in religious seminars, others are bouncing about, but they do look like they are dancing to the music, head banging and jumping about, this is subtle but still quite clearly there.

This continues, the running, burning houses, dancing etc until the couple end up back in the room from the beginning with just the lead singer, this still leaves the audience wondering what happened, but it's up to the interpretation, it could be that they were running from the cult and ended up back there or that they were running for the cult and were coming back to show what they have done etc. All in all I think that the whole video is trying to show their gratification of their fans and audience, this fits with the lyrics very well, for example; "I can only make you see the moon,
You can touch it but that's up to you
This is happening because of you
Stay special brother you stay true" I think that this is trying to say that their music could help you see things but really it's all you, it's all what you do, not them, people worship them but really it's just in the person themself. This fits very well with the video as although he may be the 'leader' they are all choosing to do what they do because they feel it helps them etc.

What I want to take from this is the individuals opening or closing their eyes, that shot is very interesting and I think it's very effective, obviously I'd do it differently to fit my video, I may just use it once at the end where my main character may be surrounded by everyone who hurt her and then it's just a clip of her, close up, opening her eyes then walking away.

I also want to use the mish mash of clips, giving idea's as to what's happening, just flashes of things happening. I probably will also start with images that have something to do with what will happen and an establishing shot.

Influence Three

Imagine Dragons - Demons

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWRsgZuwf_8&list=FLp4CGBaNUhdzZmTqLqxdmhw&index=2

This music video starts as if it's just a live recording at a concert but then the people screaming in excitement get quieter and the hands moving start going slower, everything gradually slows down and reaches a point of silence until the lead singer moves to the mic and sings with the camera in a slightly canted angle and is applying to the rule of thirds in an artistic way.

As you can see, he is to the side rather than the middle or taking up the whole image, this is to create a mysterious feel, and to show the light shining down on him and the darkness behind him, to show his dark past.
It stays moving in slow motion, to then zoom in on an audience members face, to show a flash back of her crying due to a family member loss/a funeral scene. It then zooms back out to her at the concert smiling. Everyone then comes out of a slow motion when it hits the chorus but as it goes into the second verse it goes back to slow motion as it closes up on another audience members face and then it shows another flashback, closing up on a boys face, zooming in then zooming out to show this boy looking in the mirror being unhappy with what he sees. It comes back to the audience at the concert and it repeats this another two times with another two people.
I think the whole idea of doing this is to show that everyone has something dark in their past, everyone has their demons, it could be someone in a huge crowd smiling, or someone walking in the street, but everyone has gone through something. At the end it then zooms in on the lead singers face, like it did with the other people, and it shows a clip from a previous concert and him singing to a boy with cancer, it is quite an emotional clip and it is to raise awareness of a charity, this is quite abnormal of a music video, but very sweet, some do considerations at the end or 'in memory of's but not something like that, it's effective and really makes the audience connect to the band as people more because things like music video's seem to create a bit of a barrier and I think this breaks that barrier.

What I want to take from this is the shot above, I want to do something with that kind of shot, from the rule of thirds, making the main character to the side slightly to show that something is behind them, there is a past, I think I will use this before some kind of flashback. I also want to play around with lighting as much as I can, as the video goes on it will get darker and darker, even by just natural light and then right at the end I want a bright light to show her breaking free from the darkness/depression. I want a lot of symbolism. I may also use a zoom before a flashback, I will play around with it a bit and if it works I shall use it.

Experiments

I want to experiment with doing shots where the camera moving with the main character and shots where it is watching the main character moving towards the camera but I personally think that moving with the character would be more effective as it can go on for longer and is a cliche for music video's, which means it works, it is also used in most of my style models. I think it gives a person feel to it, almost as though the audience is the main character or is being spoken to by them and understands how they feel.

I did try to do some shots but my main issue at the moment is that when I walk with the camera it is far too much movement, it just looks very bad quality as the camera moves up and down as I walk. But I have now found something which will hopefully work, I have gotten a big pram which is very stable and should make the movement a lot smoother, so I can finally start doing my final recordings, although I'm not looking forward to going out and about with a camera on top of a pram but all for the good of media!

Inspiration

My brother is a big inspiration of my work, he has done a few music video's himself, although it is a different style to mine there are aspects I would like to have in mine. For example I'm using my original song, as did he.
He recorded his by plugging a SingStar mic into his laptop, so it has a rough edge to it, this is something I hope to do as this is actually very typical of 'Indie' music, it is made to sound like it's not professional but still it sounds good enough to be enjoyable. That homemade aspect to it is a big part of Indie music, this means I want this for my music as that is my genre, well it's a bit more Alternative rock/indie, so I want my music video to look professional, well as professional as possible with the quality of my camera.

Here are my brother's music video's:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5p7dLlbFF0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vysgwAG7Xhw

Considering they were done very low quality and with very limited resources I think they are very successful and fun, I do want to create this 'real' feel to my music video, I want it to be relatable and really make the audience feel something, my brother does this but in a different way, it feels very fun and amusing, where as mine will be more serious and touching, hopefully.

All in all I'm a very proud little sister and I hope to create something as creative as my brother's, he both wrote and sang the song, he features in the video and just recorded and edited it with his friends, I think that takes skill to just decide one day, not knowing anything about music video's but make one anyway, . I mean they're better than some professional ones I've seen, the editing is actually at quite a high standard, with lots of slow motion, black and white, etc, which goes to show that having a good quality camera and editing resources doesn't mean anything.
The song of mine that I am using is called 'I'll Get There' and here is the link to the actual recording, I am still deciding whether to use the audio from this or just completely re-do it and make it sound like my brothers;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIXKAe2-HKA&feature=c4-overview&list=UUp4CGBaNUhdzZmTqLqxdmhw

Influence Two

Biffy Clyro - Biblical http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrbMNBNMksk&list=FLp4CGBaNUhdzZmTqLqxdmhw&index=1

This video is a series of enigmas, it starts off with the main character (the singer) laying on the bed in deep thought, it then flashes to show different things in the room and then has a shot in the mirror almost implying that there's two sides or repetition or maybe some confusion which is a symbolic code, like the idea of opposites associated with mirrors for example Alice through the looking glass, (referential code) which is about there being a completely different world beyond the mirror.

He is then singing the lyrics while still lying on the bed then as the lyrics say 'play another song here then you can leave' the fact that he sings them lyrics, it makes them appear more significant to not only the song but the narrative, it may mean he's hanging on and doesn't want whatever is about to happen. He stops singing and looks at the phone which is ringing, answers it and the first shot after he's picked up the phone all you can see is his torso and his chin which is used to imply that the audience will not find out what is said on the phone and the fact that it is his torso, it could be saying that it is a matter of the heart. When he then puts the phone down there is a flip/reverse shot where the screen literally flips almost as though it's looking through the mirror perspective and then it flips back. This implies that there's more than one story line going on at once, or a different version. But as it then flips back again it shows that it is back to the story line that we've so far been watching and the other line is coming soon.

After the phone call he puts his shirt on and gets some money, for this there are some jump cuts, I think that the jump cuts are used to show what's happening but not show more information than what's needed, it wouldn't make sense if it went straight from him putting the phone down to him going outside so it's a good filler that things are getting serious maybe. He then goes on to be quite violent, to start off with he throws what appears to be a random man into a pool and then he kicks over a water dispenser and then he smashes the window of a car filled with three men. I would say that this violent streak shows the anger from whtever has been said on the phone and his self-distructiveness. The three men then follow him with bats and you see one hit his back but then it cuts to him lying on the bed again and he sings 'baby if you could would you go back to the start' which links with the fact that it is back to the start.

The next few shots are very similar if not the same as the beginning of the video such as the torso and chin shot and the jump cuts of him putting his shirt on which makes the audience wonder why this is happening and that it may just be completely repeating itself, I think that this draws the audience in some more as they are curious as to whether it actually will. But then it all changes, instead of throwing someone into the pool he helps a little boy out, instead of kicking the water dispenser over he throws the guy behind the counter the money and instead of smashing the window of the car with three men in he just jumps over it. But the three men with bats still follow him and beat him up, which this time we see.
This could show that no matter how we go about things, bad things will happen, or that we get punished whether we do bad or not, or that even if you could go back and change what you did(which is what the song appears to be talking about) there would still be the same outcome. I personally think the point is that it's up to the interpretation of the viewer, there are so many possibilities and that is what makes it good.
When he gets beaten with bats, it could be an intertextuality or referential code of Casino - Joe Pesci's death(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8t9x_y3vFic), which is a very famous/iconic scene.

What I also noticed was a 'cosmo appearance' where in the first section the bassist of Biffy Clyro is in the background of the pool scene and then the second time around the dummer of Biffy Clyro is in the background of the pool scene. They do this often in their video's because the lead singer is usually the most well known of a band but the other members should be acknowledged so they make them background characters.

What I want to take from this video is maybe some kind of mirror shot, but definitely a reverse/flip shot to indicate two different stories. I do also like the torso shot, I think that is a very good way of showing the mystery and telling the audience that they are not going to find out certain parts of the story, so I might use that for when my female character is taking her pills to show the mystery of whether that is really the problem.
I also like the jump cuts, they stop the scene being too long and boring but show what's going on, only problem is, they will only look good if they're done well, if I can do them well then I will, if not then it'll just end up looking quite disjointed and confusing.

Influence One

Biffy Clyro – Opposite

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAWFcAfN3kc&list=FLp4CGBaNUhdzZmTqLqxdmhw

This video starts with a ticking clock, signifying that he may have run out of time. Then it has the lead singer as the ‘main character’ as they tend to be the most known or desired out of the band. There are then flashes of him falling to the floor with shattered glass around him, this makes the audience curious as to what has happened or what is happening, the song seems to describe a break-up or letting someone go, so to start off with this could appear to be a suicide but because it is an unknown the audience are more intrigued and these flashes continue throughout the main character walking and singing the lyrics as strange things go on in the background, such as the tree’s bending, meaning a bend or breach in reality. As the video goes on you see more and longer clips and it eventually shows the true, full story at the end; it ends with the main character lying on the floor after a car crash and still singing the lyrics while appearing to be dead which is rather sinister but moving at the same time, showing it's all over, it's too late, it was uncontrollable. After you see him die there is a very interesting image that I would like to try and replicate;

I think it's very interesting, showing the bent reality or what is happening in his head and the actual reality of his death.

What I want to take from this is the 'flashbacks' of the reality of things, and each time it is a longer clip, making the audience curious until I reveal the real story at the end. I also want to take the reverse things where it rewinds, and almost create a slightly different side of things. I have also come up with an idea where I do a ticking motion with my camera of someones face and as it reaches half way it fades to the next scene.