Friday, 26 October 2012

Making the Space Helmets

 
Space Helmet Creation:
In order to keep the low budget, quirky and humorous feeling we are looking for from our music video we decided to create our own helmets from paper bins, tin foil and spray paint.


First we bought several waste paper bins to create the main section of the helmet. The bins are lightweight and sturdy and have a conveniently placed visor flap lid.



Next we cut the bins down to a more manageable size, and also so the actors could see out of the lid. It would be a serious health and safety risk to have no visibility  so they would just have to make do with reduced visibility instead.


We then masking taped the visors' edges and sprayed them black to give the sleek look that Space helmets visors usually have. The masking tape stopped the rest of the lid being sprayed black. Several coats were applied.








The rest of the helmet was sprayed white multiple times to give the pristine white look commonly associated with space helmets. This will help to create a semi authentic feel while keeping the quirky concept.
The final helmet with customised effects and "space damage" so the band members have different features on their helmets.
   

Tuesday, 23 October 2012

Prop Planning

Props form a major part of a music video, and mise-en-scene can be used to really sell the atmosphere in the promo. Because of this we will have to choose our props carefully. The storyboard illustrates random landscape features or items being used throughout the promo. The thinking behind this is that the Astronauts are exploring the familiar as the abstract and alien, and in theory it should come across as quirky and humorous. The locations we are planning on using will be a supermarket and some rural areas, one with an abandoned container present.

Firstly though, the astronaut actors will be wearing space helmets. By making our own low budget space helmets for the main narrative characters, they can help bring the low budget and somewhat comical feel intended for the promo to life. These helmets will be made from rounded bin lids and tin foil and their creation can be seen on a separate post.

The finished helmets: Images coming....

Co-Op Props:
These props will be your general supermarket items and some quirky things that normally you would walk past. These would include wrapping paper, which could be played with as swords or telescopes to investigate what they do, A small toy space shuttle which could be closely inspected and a reference could be made about it's size, spare bin lids which could be tried on as a new hat and toilet rolls, which anything could happen with. These are all things we generally take for granted, but how would an alien or person from another world react to them? This helps to connote the idea that our society makes no sense at all to outsiders and we as humans are not very straightforward beings. This along with the upfront comical aspect will help to give a deeper meaning to our promo video.

 
      
 


Exterior Location Props
Props for the exterior locations, such as Hills and Holes and Maxey Lakes could be anything. A abandoned shipping container is at Maxey Lakes, so that could be used as a quirky set piece for the footage shot there. The promo is all about exploring what we take for granted as the unknown, and this would be a perfect prop to investigate. Other items that would be taken to the outdoor locations would be a football and a sledge. These items would need some serious explaining to an alien creature, and they could be used to get some comedic footage.

Performance props:
For the performance, instruments and a microphone would be used to help keep this part of the video grounded in reality. The electric guitar would be played by Niall, the bass by Luke and the drums by Sam. The fact that you would be able to see the performers playing the instruments would help to give the video an authentic feel.


Monday, 22 October 2012

Lighting Planning

The locations we have chosen, both rural and urban, are already well lit. The rural shoots will be shot during the day, as the light decreases quickly in winter. Because of this, the majority of indoor urban shoots, like the supermarket shoot, will have to be done at night. Lighting is not a problem for these locations, as the artificial light from these places is more then enough to allow the camera to be utilised to it's potential.

In the band room however, if we do decide to use this space, we will have to artificially light the interior. 2 desk lamps would be used to light the performance from below, to help create massive and quirky shadows against the blank white walls and a strobe light will be added to add a obscure effect to the scene.


I have used the 3d modelling programme Google Sketchup and the image manipulation package GIMP to simulate the potential lighting effects we are planning on using in our promo video. The top left image is a recreation of the band room we are planning on using. It has been cleared out and has rough models of the band members and the instruments in it. The top right image has had a semi realistic shadow effect applied. The bottom two images show the lighting we want to use for the majority of the performance, and then the effect we want the strobe to deliver when switched on.



These types of lights are certainly going to be used in our performance. The strobe light, top right has previously been discussed. The Desk lamp, top right, will be used to light certain features from below and give a sense of depth to the performance shots. The bottom lamp will have the lamp shade taken off it and will be placed at a low angle. It will be a static light that will be consistent throughout all performance shots to add a sense of continuity and familiarity whilst the strobe and the quick shot changes are taking place.
EDIT: The Band room idea was trialled and there just was not enough space for the shots to work effectively. In that case we are going to change the idea and location. Instead of being restricted because of the small space, we are going to use Sam's car which is tiny, and frame the shots really tightly. This will add a quirky and comical element, because everyone will be crowded in, but we are going to light the car from the exterior using flood lights. This is going to give a really crisp and professional look to the video and should raise the quality of the performance shots.



We wanted to give the music video a quirky narrative which is balanced out by a more serious performance. The inclusion of bright, strong lights will help to give the band shots a much more professional and high budget feel in contrast to the narrative which we are making for it to specifically look low budget.



Location Ideas and Planning

Co-operative, Market Deeping
Our initial ideas had us visiting supermarkets, quarries and beaches and some of the choices we may have initially had, under scrutiny, have become unrealistic or unavailable. After contacting the local Co-Op, we are allowed free run of the shop floor after 6pm. This is a great turn of events, as one of the major locations we wanted to film in was a supermarket, and having their full cooperation will have made our task much much easier.

Emailing the manager.


Maxey Lakes:
Our other ideas included the use of a beach, but realistically, a road trip to the cold sea side isn't "fun". The use of the local lakes at the village Maxey could potentially allow us to create a similar feel. After scouting it out there is also a container alongside the shore, which could be integrated into the storyboard. If the container was to be treated as an alien concept it would help to add to the humour being generated from the scene.


Quarry:
Another location would be an abandoned quarry in Edenham. We have scouted it out already and have taken a location video, however, we are struggling to get permission from the estate owner. If we were to use this location, performance could be really well done here, instead of a band room as it is enclosed and alien in feel because of the limestone backdrop.

Hills and Holes:
Hills and Holes, Barnack, was suggested as well for another rural location. Because of the unique, bumpy landscape, lots of quirky and humorous adventures of the Astronauts could be filmed here. This location would be ideal for some quick shots in the main video, and in theory should be quite fun to film in.



The Fish and Chip Shop:
Another Urban location that was suggested would be the Boundary fish and chip shop in Market Deeping. The shop has a bright neon sign outside which would add to the quirky feel, and the idea of 3 astronauts buying fish and chips is comedy in itself. The shop is well lit inside so it would be suitable to film in at night, and this location would be another great, humorous filler if we need to add in more footage!


As mentioned before, performance was originally planned to take place within a band room. This room is in Niall's garage, and has white walls and a wooden floor, and has ample space once the furniture has been moved out. If the quarry does not work out, we would have to use this space. Another very real option is to use Sam's morris miner car, as this is a retro and quirky. Lighting it from the outside would make the interior look very very stylised and unique, and some incredibly tightly framed shots could make the promo video appear very slick indeed.


The interior of Sam's car. These photos have given us a rough idea of what space we have to work with and will help us to plan camera angles, lighting and performance.





Sunday, 21 October 2012

Costume designs and Planning

Initial Sketches

Realistic looks at the different costumes



The use of suits and home made space helmets is the idea we decided to go with. The space suits we were thinking of using initially, turned out to be too thin and flimsy, and the Star Trek costumes were too expensive to buy so we took space suits literally. The helmet helps to add to the quirky, home made feel, and this whole concept could help to deliver a comedic element to the light hearted video we are planning on making!



 (The space helmets are pictured above, along with me lurking in the background....)

For our music video we are doing a comical and quirky narrative alongside a serious performance. We decided upon merging all of our different pitch ideas together, so that there would be a serious performance aspect and a quirky narrative which merged the idea of space helmet clad explorers, funky suited band members, the Star Trek cheese and humour. Because of our merged ideas, and the difficulties of telling people apart with white helmets on, we decided for all of the band members to suit up in different coloured suits. This would help to tell these people apart, tie in the funky suit idea and would also add a serious element to the performance, as the suits would be kept on.

Saturday, 20 October 2012

Mood Board and Wordle and Inspirational Images



The moodboard I have created for our project helps to illustrate the comedic elements we wish to showcase, along with the space exploration theme that underpins our project. The arctic monkeys were a big inspiration for the band we are using, and so some of our influences will come from them. Alongside this, the Beastie Boys, the Automatic and space exploration will all help to shape our promo video. The use of a fisheye lense will be key to creating the quirky atmosphere and the television head imagery will play a key roll  in the video.

Wednesday, 17 October 2012

Theories


Music Video Theory
Post modernism is a key theory which ties into popular music and pop culture. It is the basis of how we consume entertainment and is key when marketing and constructing promotion is concerned.

Post Modernism states that…
      Faith in science, history, progression of society and religion has collapsed. These things are called a grand narrative.
     People constantly change and update their identities.
     Buying and consuming products helps us to create ourselves.
     Information Technology and society converge into Social Networking and online activities.
     There is very little distinction between real life and simulated life.

Andrew Goodwin identified 4 recurring features present in most music videos:
      Music videos feature characteristics from metal, rock, pop or dance genres, featuring dancers, shots of the band, crowds etc.
      Lots of close ups of artists, bands, and instruments. These are because of the record label’s demands and certain styles and iconic features can recur.
      The ideas of looking, and also sexualising the female body.
      Intertextual references!

Intertextuality: Referencing other media.
Exhibitionism: Showing off some sort of sexual gaze and body and such.
Theories:

Steve Archer’s Theory:
<    There needs to be a strong, logical connection between performance and narrative.
      Dancing or an extra visual aspect to add a need to watch the video again.
      Music video will cut between narrative and band performance.
John Stewart’s Theory
      Lots of close ups of the artists face and thorough lighting.
      Contains elements of TV adverts.
      Intertextual references from possibly anything, including cinema and photography.
      Incorporating, raiding and reconstructing: Using the familiar to make your work even more recognisable.
      The video allows the viewer to be closer and more personal with an artist then a live performance.
      Mise en scene can be used to emphasise themes and lifestyles that we might aim towards.

Music Video Pitch




As a group we have pitched 3 main ideas. Two of these ideas have been designed to be lighthearted and upbeat in order to fit with the song. The other idea is a more serious approach, and this also could make a plausible and funky video. The three ideas have been constructed so that the

Monday, 15 October 2012

Audience Research Video 3

Audience Research Video 2


For this video interview we continued to ask members of the public questions regarding their music taste and what they think of our chosen song.

Audience Research Video 1


The first of our audience research videos. These first 3 interviews will help to establish some of the opinions and views held by the people we are aiming to create the video for. These ideas will be used to help us create a video that appeals to the song's audience.

Monday, 8 October 2012

A2 Music Promo Track: Space Elevator


The track we have chosen for our A2 Media Coursework is called Space Elevator. The track uses a blend of upbeat music and light hearted lyrics to create quite an uplifting song. The tracks interesting ideas of a space elevator allowing them to escape the "ghetto" could be metaphorical, and could be applied to them creating music to express themselves. The lyrics repeat often and these can be used to drive a creative, offbeat video.

Because of the song's upbeat and quirky nature, a light hearted and quirky music video could be made for this song. My merging a quirky narrative and a serious but stylish performance, the video could look upbeat, funky and aesthetically pleasing. The video could follow in the footsteps of the Beastie Boys' Intergalactic video.

Beastie Boys- Intergalactic

Monday, 1 October 2012

Music Video Analysis: Oasis

Music Video Analysis of Oasis: Wonderwall


Conventions:

Camera Angles:
- Close ups of the lead singer allow for the audience to feel close to the performance, engrossing them into the song and the narrative of the video.
- Shots of the band included a variety where they are all sat on a bench and the camera tracks across them slowly, so you can see each band member in detail.
-  There are lots of close ups of clowns and other circus acts and this somehow plays into the unusual narrative.
- There were long shots of band members playing instruments on their own in a white room, which helps to give the shot a sense of isolation and sadness which seems to be a recurring theme throughout the video.


Editing and Effects:
- This promo video features lots of fades and straight cuts which occur in time with the music to help amplify the beats and notes, for example.
- The video is presented in black and white, except for some key objects which are coloured in blue, green and yellow in post production, which helps to highlight key objects which can be linked to the narrative and the song.
- There are some shots where the lead singer is spinning around as the camera is stationary (it appears) and this is used to mimic the spinning boards that knife thrower targets are strapped to in a circus, which helps to add to the slightly surreal feel of the video.
- In some of the more intense sections of the song, the shots change with what can be described as a camera flash, which helps to add to the idea that the performers are on a stage and everyone is watching, which helps to add to the idea of loneliness.
- Near the end of the video there is what can only be described as a multilayered spinning singing Noel Gallagher. It is a very surreal and bizarre shot which helps to create an unnerving atmosphere, and helps to add to the feelings of isolation and loneliness that is present in the video.

Lighting:
- All the video is very well lit, and is presented in black and white. The well lit environments presented in black and white help to create feelings of loneliness and isolation, especially with the expansive white backgrounds.
- In some shots the background is black, which is used to remind viewers of the backstage of some sort of stage performance, however objects in the foreground are always well lit.

Narrative:
-The narrative present in the video seems to tie into the loneliness of performing life and how it is a life that has the potential to be very lonely. The lyrics suggest that the person in question needs to be saved from his life by his "Wonderwall".
- The video does not really have a story, but it has a narrative in the sense of it shows parts of a lifestyle.

Mise en Scene:
- The video uses a blank, white location for most of the shots, which help to create this isolated feel.
- The props and costumes of lots of the characters are featured in circus performances, such as hanging saws, showgirls and clowns.

Genre:
- Oasis is an indie rock band, and this song is paced slowly.


Music Video Analysis: Muse

Knights of Cydonia Music Video Analysis
 
 
 
Conventions:

Camera Angles:
-The video has a similar opening to old western films with the freeze frame and the titles popping up.
-The shots are medium and close which helps to feel like the scene is action packed.


Editing and Effects:
-  titles popping up. and it cuts in time with the music, which is slowly building up, which gives the impression that these opening scenes are the first steps of the narrative.
- Some shots establish that the lyrics being sang are directly linked to the events in the narrative, because of the use of a cross fade
- The music at this point is fast paced and the cuts relay this, however the crossfade goes with the lyrics, not the beat of the music, which is unusual yet also helps to continue to establish a link between the performers and the narrative which continues to reinforce this video as an amplification video
Lighting:
-

Narrative:
- Muse's song Knights of Cydonia has a quirky, surreal and interesting narrative which helps to draw viewers into the small story and the song itself
- The video illustrates and amplifies the song whilst taking inspiration from classic western, kungfu and sci fi movies.
- Performers are always shown as being separate so it gives the impression that the band are similar to narrators of a story: separate yet involved with the narrative.

Mise en Scene:
- The costume and setting is similar to Western attire which helps to enhance the feel of stylisation within the video.
- The performers are wearing clothes which are smart and dark which is not exactly the same as the western and Kunfu costumes that the cast of the narrative.

Genre:
- The fact the narrative is so stylised, helps to draw interest into the song and also shows an insight into what message the band are trying to deliver to the audience, as it could be showing the themes and genres of films that have influenced and inspired them.


 

These sections involve the performers lipsyncing and playing instruments in sync with the music.This is a Mexican playing the trumpet. This shot is actually shown when a fanfare plays in the song, so this could be classed as a shot of a performer. This helps to make the music feel like part of the narrative. The fact that the Mexican is the only person in the shot makes him central and makes the viewer feel like they are out in the desert, listening to him play his trumpet.


This is another shot that helps to bridge the gap between the narrative and the performance, however in this shot the performers are the main focus. This helps to make the Promo video seem directly related to the song, as even though this is a close up shot of the singer, he is situated within the setting of the narrative, which helps to make the two seem linked. The shots change with the music still bit in this section it focuses on the band, which helps to remind people that this narrative heavy video is still a music video, despite the band appearing as holograms. The band sings in sync with the music here too, and they are the main focus of this segment as this scene is within a big block of lyrics.

This shot helps to make the narrative and the performance feel  like they directly link to each other. The performers and the characters featured on the narrative are being shown in the same frame, despite them being in two different areas as several shots have been merged so the narrative appears as the central focus. The performers take a secondary role again, acting as background performance during this scene, as the music at this point is instrumental. The scene is well lit as the scene is supposed to be set out in the desert.

Music Video Analysis: Mumford and Sons

Mumford and Sons: Little Lion Man music video analysis!


Conventions:

Camera Angles:
- Tracking and panning shots of the band performing the song to give the impression you are watching Mumford and Sons play the song live.
- High angled shots of the location to give a sense of scale that would be present if you were actually at the location.
- Shots from the back of the band performing, to give a backstage feel to some shots, allowing the viewer to feel very close to the band and become absorbed in the music track even further.
-  Lots of close ups of band members playing individual instruments helps to highlight certain parts of the track and also helps to add variety into a full performance video, to help the viewer stay engaged. The unusual instruments featured in the video also make it more quirky and interesting.


Editing and Effects:
- This promo video features primarily straight cuts which match the tempo of the music. For example the song is mostly quite fast, and the shots change with the beats, however near the end of the song it slows right down and builds up, and the shots match the pacing all the way through, slowly changing faster and faster.
- There are no real effects in the video, such as multiple shots on the same frame, as most of the added effects utilise the ideas of lighting.

Lighting:
- Some shots are cleverly lit, so most of the artist featured in the frame is only lit partially.
- In the main band shots, the whole area is well lit by hanging lights, which help to reinforce the folk genre the band is famous for representing.
- The lights seem to pulse in time with the music in certain sections. These are particularly obvious at the very beginning of the video when the music starts, and during the build up section of the video at the end. This quirky use of lighting helps to make something so simple that we normally take for granted, become something that helps to draw in the viewer even further.

Narrative:
-Unusually the video doesn't seem to follow any narrative at all, and is purely performance.

Mise en Scene:
- The video uses the location of what appears to be some sort of village hall. The interior is heavily wood based which helps to tie into the folky genre the band belong to.
- Lots of lights are strung across the hall, lighting it in a very stylised and striking way.
- The band members are dressed smartly which help to establish them as presentable and professional musicians.

Genre:
- Mumford and Sons is primarily a folk bad which uses some rocky elements.