I have had a look at music videos can have narrowed down a few that I like. They all have a narrative - I really like this in music videos as I find this makes them a lot more engaging and interesting to watch. It also helps the audience make more of an emotional connection to the music and therefore benefit the song by making it more memorable. I would also really like creating a narrative that would fit with the theme of the song as I would find exercising my creativity in this way very enjoyable.
This is 'Wishing Girl' by Lola Marsh
I really like this music video! The narrative is simple, easily portrayed and followed, yet still very powerful therefore appealing to the audience on an emotional level. The colours are really lovely through the video and fit with the more happy tone of the song which contrasts to the tragic ending. I also loved the use of the circle through the video, matching the shape to everyday objects and continuing the screen shape whilst focussing on the singers. I thought it was exceptionally effective, especially when they broke the circle and came into the foreground. It made the video memorable and interesting to watch - I really liked it.
'Cocoon' by Milky Chance
This video is really strange however it does follow a clear narrative that is well portrayed in the short time. I really like it and the themes it shows - it's quite dark, sinister and thought provoking. I think the pacing fits the music and I really like the use of contrasts with the gold of the men and the girl turning to stone, it's a really interesting idea that I thought was very well executed. I also really like the colouring of it, it's quite grey toned which adds to the darker tone and really contrasts with 'Wishing Girl' by creating a more somber mood, even though both videos end in tragedy. This was definitely something added in post production.
'Castle on the Hill' by Ed Sheeran
I really like this video, it's not got as much of a narrative as the others but instead sticks more to the story and the lyrics of the song. In this case it really works and I love how he's singing from the future as the video flashes back to the past, it really complements the song. The tone fits perfectly and I really like the recurring images like the fire, the swings and the constant referring back to him singing in the car. It makes the video cohesive and like it fits together very well. I also like the honesty of this video, it feels authentic and true rather than fake which music videos can often come across as. Overall its a really nice piece that I would love to take inspiration from.
I've been looking at music videos we can recreate for our prelim task and have found it difficult to find ones which are effective and interesting whilst also being achievable for us to do on a small budget. However, when looking in class on Friday with Rob and Ellie we saw a video which we think we'd be able to do. Our suggestion is 'Titanium' by David Guetta ft. Sia.
We really liked this because we thought the narrative was clear, concise and easy to replicate. There is only one real main character so we wouldn't have to carry out a huge casting process and rely on other actors.
The locations would be relatively easy to recreate - there are woods in Ilkley, we could easily film at someone's house and down a residential street.
The destroyed school would be more challenging but we think we could make a corridor in school look more dishevelled by adding some overturned chairs and tables and pieces of paper scattered down the hall. We may even be able to experiment in aftereffects to try adding rubble or dust to the shots.
We would be able to recreate some of the camera work relatively accurately such as the master shot of the school corridor, close up when he walks into the house and high angle shot when he's trying to open the door.
However some shots would be difficult to get such as when he's riding on the bike. In the video he's riding very quickly and there are close ups of it in motion as well as tracking the boy; it would be very challenging for us to gather this kind of footage but I'm sure we'd be able to create something, maybe just having the bike passing the camera from different angles and using different shot types rather than trying to track it directly.
I've noticed that a lot of the panning and tracking shots are done on a steadicam rather than handheld so the footage is very smooth and doesn't jerk with the movement of the camera man. We do not have access to this kind of equipment so may have to compromise the 'smoothness' of our shots by using our handheldDSLRs or having static shots and keeping them on a tripod.
We would be able to recreate the news report relatively easily in a similar way to how I did my news report in my AS film opening - using a green screen and adding it in.
Mise en scene may be challenging as there is not only a destroyed school to try and create but also a lot of details in the boy's bedroom such as the planets in the top right hand corner which it's likely we won't have. Again, with elements like this we'd just have to do the best we could with what we've got when dressing the set.
However, I think the most obviously challenging and therefore the most exciting element of recreating this video is the special effects. The boy turns out to have supernatural powers and therefore makes keys fly towards him and teddies spin in the air.
We would not have the software available to to this however, I think it is achievable. We could tie a thin piece of thread to the teddies and hang them down to make it look like they're floating. We could also do a similar thing with the keys, cutting two shots together using action matching to make it appear as one movement - we could have the first shot with someone yanking the keys off the table using the thread and then have a separate shot of someone throwing them towards the actor and having them catch them (arguably the most difficult part of the process).
Alternatively, instead of using string we could film someone throwing the keys onto the table then reverse the video so it looks like they fly up. Overall I think this is manageable and it would be very fun problem solving as a group over how best to recreate these scenes.
The scene at the end could be shot in the woods in Ilkley using torches or even just phone lights to create the sense that the boy's being hunted.
The final supernatural occurrence could be created in aftereffects to add a flash of bright light. Alternatively, we could shine torches into the camera lens from behind the boy causing him to become silhouetted and creating the illusion that the light's coming from him.
The illusion of the explosion would rely on people jumping backwards to make it look like they've been hit by a huge force. If possible someone could stand outside of the shot using a leaf blower to disturb the ground and add to the effect.
Overall I think this video would definitely be a challenge to recreate but it would also be very fun and is possible if we are creative.
Welcome to my new blog, Schnauzer Sound.
This is going to document my progress in the creation of a media package for a music video and promotional features for my A2 media studies coursework.
Currently I am unsure of a specific idea, theme or structure so I am going to begin conducting research into different music videos to see what I like and what is effective. I will also be looking at pacing, camera types, effects etc to start taking note of what is usually used.
I am really looking forward to completing this course!
