running scene: first draft

 

The first 23 seconds of our music video is silent then leads into creepy music in which we decided that we are going to have our enigma running mysteriously, this is the first draft of what we imagine it will look like.

How it was put together: 

I composed the first part of the music video using MoviePlus X3.

 

 

1st shoot: running scene

research into running scene

At the beginning of the video, we have a scene where the enigma (Lily) is running.  We he audience are left questioning if she is being chased, we wanted the audience to question her presence as they should do throughout the video as the story behind her is never fully explain.

Research into running  scenes.

When researching running scenes I came across this clip from Bad Blood. Throughout the clip you can clearly see that the main girl is frightened, the audience is left confused as to what she is running away from, this was the type of atmosphere that we wanted to create.

how the running is made mysterious

they've framed her with the lighting and a medium long distance shot, you can make the assumption  that they've created the mysterious effect by also using a smoke machine and lamps in order to create this feel. In the clip she is running away from the light towards the camera.

Again she is running away from the light, but this time the light catches her silhouette creating this dark and doom effect.

here they've shown the fear in her face using a close up shot. She has been placed at the corner of the screen, maybe to show that she is vulnerable, in danger and alone. The light has been placed to the above her, coming from the corner (maybe to re-create moonlight), you can just about make out her expressions, but shadows on her face have still been created maybe to re-iterate the spookiness of the scene. Throughout this video, it is clear that the lighting is very controlled.

why we could not film in the bluewater hallways:

Originally we decided to have a running scene which we planned to film in the bluewater hallways as they gave the dark and gloomy effect that we imagined for our video, when we went to the manager suite to ask for permission to film in the bluewater hallways, we were told that unfortunately filming was not permitted at bluewater over Christmas and the new year. We then had to come up with a new location to film where we would be able to film our running scene, however still get the look we wanted, with that we decided to try the bluewater car park at nighttime.

lighting research

The lighting for our video will vary as our models are a variety of race. Our research helps us determine how to use the lighting in order to create the right tone yet also capture the model correctly. There is a blue tone to this video which promotes his feelings as it appears dark and dismal, this emotion is enhanced by his gestures and the close up of his head in his hands. We will do something similar to this when we create his conscience in a scene, he will use his hands and facial expression to create the tone as he will shut his eyes and drop his head in his hands. We will also experiment with a blue gel over the lens of the camera to create a similar effect as our research. The blue tint will be minimal as the room will be dark as we will control the lighting to highlight certain areas, therefore the black and slightly blue areas will create a cold tone that reflects his depression and his reflective mood.

 These shots in the same video use a red tint this is a stark contrast to the blue tint that comes before these scenes. The colour red is brought in through the lighting, the colour alcohol and the red cups. This makes the scenes appear quite ominous as red is related to danger and sinister moods. We will use red cups in our video as a lot of our research uses them in parties, we will have some girls wearing red and we will use a red gel over one of the cameras to get footage with a red tint as well as normal footage from the other cameras. As it will be a party in a dark room the light source will be minimal with only fairy lights hanging up therefore the red tint wont be too overpowering it will be seen the most on skin which is similar to the footage in our research. 

This video brings the red in by using a red light in the corner when it is mostly blue, the red scene then appears as if the reason he is feeling down, emphasized by the blue light, is because of the scenes emphasized by the red light. We will create something similar as our message is blaming the party and his drinking for our models depressive state therefore we will practice using torches that have a red gel around them to determine whether we can create a slight red light to ease the red scenes into the video in a way that will relate

I used this video as research into how an enigma is shown. This relates to our video as we will use footage that is created by our models mind therefore we need to highlight this so that people are aware this is a fabrication of his mind. We are using a girl similar to this video and we are using a boy that cant stop thinking about her. Therefore our plan and this video has a lot of related footage that we can take ideas from. 

This woman is shown in white and it is blurred to show a fuzzy image to emphasize what he’s seeing isn’t real. The man that thinks he is seeing this woman turns quickly and uses his facial features to show disbelief as he is aware what he’s seeing isn’t real. This will be similar to our video as the girl will never be in it properly therefore people can question her existence and whether she is dead or not.

Using this research as inspiration we will blur the footage we use of the girl as it will show her existence is questionable as the picture isn’t as clear as the others. We will put her in clothing that doesn’t suit the rest of the footage such as a white dress when she is in the bath and school uniform in the images of her. She will only ever appear when he is seen to be thinking therefore showing how he produces her with his thoughts. His facial features when he thinks he sees her at the party will show disbelief as if he knows she couldn’t be there, this will ensure the audience is aware of what she is in the video.

This is another video which uses similar methods in the video to incorporate a certain colour that reflects the mood. This is using red in a different way as it is a vibrant red which grabs the audiences attention. The tone is lively in this video as the bright red is creating a fun atmosphere rather than dangerous. This shows how the brightness of the colours can determine the tone therefore the lighting is crucial in terms of the message we want to convey. This video uses red cups, red lights and red liquor which is all the same as the other video therefore these are common features in music videos that would fit into our own as it will show how our research influenced our video.

These clips highlight how the main person has entered the party, the camera remains still in order to watch him in the crowd to show his popularity and importance within the video. This video uses the camera to capture the back of him walking in, we will do something similar however the camera will be on the front of him as he enters and then the back of him to create an array of shots that capture his entrance from different angles in order to vary them in the editing.

 

Costume research

storyboard for new music video (drawings)

new story board

This is the story board for the chorus (the chorus comes up four times during the song) each time the chorus comes up, the main outline showed by this individual story board will be the same with some minor changes, for example the headshot will alternate from with the main boys eyes opened, to having the main boys eyes closed. As well as that, in the shots where he is sitting down, instead of with just his hands on his head, we may change his location to maybe having him standing up or sweeping his hands over his head. (the first shot is the running scene shot which occurs at the very beginning of the video)

The above two screenshots is the storyboard of the first verse.

This storyboard is for the bridge, the bridge comes up three times during the song and similar to the chorus, the images shown in the story board reflect an outline of how the bridge will go, however again there will be minor changes for example the same bath scene will re-occur however it will alternate from the main boy going down to the main girl coming up to the main girl going down and the main boy coming up.

The above is the storyboard for the second verse which (the conscience scene). 

The message of our video

Alcoholism

The message behind our video is about the ways in which alcohol dependency can affect people’s lives. In our video you will see a young boy who is struggling with alcoholism. There are scenes of him at a party, by himself alone in his conscience and lastly walking around on the streets again on his own. This will showing the audience the different phases of his dependency. The reasons behind the alcoholism will be left as a mystery; we have done this to confuse yet intrigue the audience. Throughout the video there will constantly be reference to an enigma he has formed of a mysterious girl, the audience are left questioning who she is, Is she the reason behind why he is in this state, this will be a re-occurring question throughout our video.

Clips showing alcoholism

- 

Leaving Las Vegas - Lonely Teardrops

This clip largely relates to the story of our music video as the story is based on alcoholism. This is shown in ‘leaving Las Vegas’ at the beginning of the clip when he happily puts alcohol in his shopping trolley and further along the clip he goes in a depressing drunk mode. This highlights how he is hiding from his pain through the use of alcohol. This is what we want to show in our music video. In this video being drunk is also shown with the main character lying on the floor looking at his hands.

Travie McCoy: We'll Be Alright [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

 

Alcohol is shown in this music video through the use of red cups which automatically gives the viewer an idea that they drinking alcohol. This is due to red cups being commonly used in music videos that involve drinking, therefore, they are stereotypical. The scene is at a party which gives an idea that because they are teenagers, they will be drinking alcohol. It is also shown by the way they are acting as it is different to the way people usually act if they’re not drinking.

The Black Eyed Peas - The Time (Dirty Bit)

Alcohol is shown in this video with people holding cups of drink at a club which the viewer presumes is alcohol. Alcohol is also shown being poured into a cup. This is a simple method that is common throughout many music videos. The difference between these videos is how the clips show the effect of alcohol; as some use parties and some use destructive drunks.

Eminem - Love The Way You Lie ft. Rihanna

The use of alcohol is used a lot in this video. One way this video shows alcoholism is through the behaviour of the characters as they become aggressive (which is shown in picture 5 above.) Another way to show that alcohol is a part of this video is to show alcohol bottles even though they may not be focused. In picture 1, the man is looking into the beer bottle which suggests that he is in deep thought. In picture 2, the man is holding a bottle of beer in front of the girl which suggests he is drunk; by using the girl in the shot it indicates how the alcohol is affecting his relationship. In picture 3, there is a bottle of alcohol in between the two characters which looks empty, therefore, suggests that the two have been drinking. In picture 4, there is a bottle out of focus behind the girl. Although it is out of focus, it automatically brings attention towards the bottle as it takes up a large part of the screen.

Showing Depression

 

Eminem - Not Afraid

 

Depression and frustration is shown in this video through the way the man is sitting. Having his head in his hand and elbows on his knees produces the idea that he is frustrated and unhappy. The desolated building he is in reflects his mood as everything is in disarray. The setting produces the idea that he is self-destructive as he is struggling with his thoughts via his actions as reflected by the destruction of the setting. The camera angle is low which makes the chairs a large focus which acts as a frame for the model. This makes the eye focus in on the important feature of the scene.

Kendrick Lamar - Swimming Pools (Drank)

 

Depression is shown in this video with the use of the scenery and lighting. The room is completely empty to represent the sense of something missing which is a common reason for depression. The lighting is dark yet not black and white which ensures the scene is dingy rather than bright. This produces a shadow on the man which puts him in darkness; this is successful as darkness is a connotation of depression.

Detailed: association of scenes to lyrics

Together as a group, we then went into more detail about how we were going to re-create what we believed the lyrics to mean. This helped us decide the point to our video.

association of scenes to lyrics

As a group, we printed the lyrics of our chosen song, we analysed the lyrics and gave our ideas of what we thought each verse was trying to get across, and began thinking how we could re-create this in our video.

copyright letter

Here is the email we sent to the record label that Kendrick Lamar is signed to prior to the planning and production of our music video. We did this in order to ask permission to use the song. This is important because it allows us to use the song in confidence knowing that we are protected from copyright infringement law as we have notified them that we will be using the song and we have documented proof of this. 

new music video

We decided on this music video because we felt the lyrics has a clear message with which we would be able to portray in our video.

why we changed our ideas:

As a group we decided that the original video we wanted to try and re-create was not going to be the right type of video for our group. We felt that we couldn't get enough research to back up our reasons for doing certain things and would not be able to access the facilities to be able to film such an extravagant video. When we pitched our ideas we found that the audience was getting confused, they couldn't form an understanding of the point of our video, we felt that our 'story' wasn’t being portrayed in the way in which we wanted it to. We also found the way we composed our video did not make sense to a lot of people. This led to us going back to the start, and re-thinking all our ideas.

early script to accompany story board

Camera shots are used to demonstrate different aspects of setting, themes and characters.

Camera angles are used to position the viewer so that they can understand the relationships between the characters.

1) The camera shots starts with the parents watching a youtube clip on their laptop, the camera then zooms in on the party and the party then comes up on the main screen.


Plot is child is in trouble it’s the morning after the party that took place in the house while they were out.



Camera angle we will use: An eye-level angle. This puts the audience on an equal footing with the character/s. we see what they see as we are in the same position as them.

2) The party scene is now full screen, it will be edited to look like it is being rewound. The shot is of people arriving to the party they are walking into the house.




Plot – the camera shots are showing a journey as the party is shown to be rewound to show how the parents are viewing it but the shot is rewinding to give the audience an insight into what the parents are viewing. 




Camera movement we will use: An Evangelion shot.  This camera movement begins as an extreme close-up and zooms out abruptly, creating a blurring effect to emphasise the speed and size of the object. We will use this in an opposite way as the shot will zoom into the msuci video to make it full screen.

3) The camera shot now shows the outside of the house where you can see people partying through the windows.





Camera shot we will use: A long shot. It contains landscape but gives the viewer a more specific idea of setting. A long shot will show the viewers the building where the action will take place.

4) The main man is then shown walking into the party, the boys surrounding him show his popularity and importance.



Camera shot we will use: A full shot. It contains a complete view of the characters. From this shot, viewers can take in the costumes of characters and may also help to demonstrate the relationships between characters.

5) The lyrics in the song then say ‘roll the dice’ we will have large inflatable dice thrown up into the air by the people at the party.

6) The shot will then change to show girls dancing, this will link to the music and is generic to a party scene. The main girl will be wearing white to stand out, the camera shot will indicate her importance within the music video.





Camera shot we will use: A full shot. It contains a complete view of the characters. From this shot, viewers can take in the costumes of characters and may also help to demonstrate the relationships between characters.

7) The main boy and main girl will then hug as she walks away he looks back at her this will highlight that something could go on between them. The editing will then focus on her and blur the others around her to show how he is only interested in her. This will show a point of view shot as the audience will see what he sees.





Camera shot we will use: A mid shot contains the characters or a character from the waist up. From this shot, viewers can see the characters' faces more clearly as well as their interaction with other characters. This is also known as a social shot.

8) The party scene will show again there will be red cups used in order to stand out. The atmosphere will be shown in this shot to link to the beat of the music.




Camera angle we will use: A tracking shot and a dolly shot.  A tracking shot moves on tracks and a dolly shot is mounted on a trolley to achieve the effect in the example above. This camera movement is used in a number of ways but is most commonly used to explore a room such as a restaurant. By using a tracking shot or a dolly shot the composer of a film gives the viewer a detailed tour of a situation. It can also be used to follow a character.

9) There will be another boy that will bite into a ‘money sandwich’ this adds a fun vibe to the party which highlights the random shots that will be shown by the fast editing of the scene.

Camera shot we will use: A close-up It contains just one character's face. This enables viewers to understand the actor's emotions and also allows them to feel empathy for the character. This is also known as a personal shot. It will also draw attention to what he is doing as it makes him the main focus.

10) The main boy will then be shown alone with a spotlight miming along to the lyrics, this shows a range of shots that vary from the party atmosphere, it also highlights his importance within the video.






Camera shot we will use: A close-up.  It contains just one character's face. This enables viewers to understand the actor's emotions and also allows them to feel empathy for the character. This is also known as a personal shot as it establishes their importance.

11) We will then use a smoke machine while a girl is dancing, this gives an effect to the dancing which makes it more interesting and can be captured on camera effectively.

12) The shot then flips back to the boy miming to the lyrics in the same position against the wall.





Camera shot we will use: A close-up.  It contains just one character's face. This enables viewers to understand the actor's emotions and also allows them to feel empathy for the character. This is also known as a personal shot as it establishes their importance.

13) The main boy and girl then meet the camera shot is on the same level as them to make the audience part of the action.

14) A girl is then shown in a bath, this shot is a regular thing in music videos. We will use it to show the party becoming quite wild. She will be in her clothes with a full face of make-up to indicate how out of place the scene is in a bath.

15) The shot then flips back to the boy miming to the song.

Camera shot we will use: A close-up.  It contains just one character's face. This enables viewers to understand the actor's emotions and also allows them to feel empathy for the character. This is also known as a personal shot as it establishes their importance.

16) The main girl and her close friends will then dance to the music this will show her importance within the video while fitting in with the tone of the video and the music.

17) We will then show a shot of a spoon with the words ‘BAD BITCH’ written out using alphabet spaghetti, it will be hovering above a bowl of the spaghetti and will come after the girls are dancing to show it is sending a message.





Camera shot we will use: An extreme close-up. It contains one part of a character's face or other object. This type of shot creates an intense mood and provides interaction between the audience and the viewer. It will therefore make it stand out within the video as what it spells out will be clear.

18) The shot will then go back to party and show people raising their red cups and dancing to the music, this won’t be planned footage as we will see what the people choose to do in the party to make it more realistic, we wont restrict them as the song we chose will be playing therefore their actions will fit with the beat and tone.

19) The shot will then go back to the boy singing in the spotlight against a wall he will be wearing a fur coat and chains, he will mime along to the music. This will make the video more realistic as this is a common feature in music videos to show who the artist and main person in the video is.

Camera shot we will use: A close-up.  It contains just one character's face. This enables viewers to understand the actor's emotions and also allows them to feel empathy for the character. This is also known as a personal shot as it establishes their importance.

20) The shot will then reverse back to the party, this will constantly set the scene in order to show what genre the music video is. The constant party action will show the ellipses of time as we are cutting back and forth from different scenes.





The camera angle we will use: Panning is used to give the viewer a panoramic view of a set or setting. This can be used to establish a scene.

21) The shot will then be at a high level to look down on the boy climbing the stairs with the girl, he will then walk past the camera and it will follow their direction and show them going upstairs together.

22) The next shot will be of the people in the party pouring drinks into their cups to give the feel of a real party, we will also add a low angle shot where the camera moves through peoples feet, we will see red cups on the floor and heels. This will give an array of shots and editing in order to create a mix of scenes that vary.





Camera shot we will use: A mid shot. It contains the characters or a character from the waist up. From this shot, viewers can see the characters' faces more clearly as well as their interaction with other characters. This is also known as a social shot. 
This scene will then use a close-up to make the cups and drink the main feature.



23) The scene then switches back to the present time to show the parents walking up stairs in order to check on their daughter. They open the door we have the camera showing their faces at this point. We then change the shot to see what they are seeing.

24) The last shot will be of the boy and girl in bed, he will be wearing just a leather jacket and jeans and she will be wearing just his top, they will wake up and sit up in the bed looking at the parents. The video will then end. We will have writing edited on the screen to link to the video.