Filming Update - Completion of Stop Motion Filming

I have finished filming all of the stop motion footage, that I intend to include in my video. Whilst filming I also took the liberty of creating some extra shots, should I not have enough. Also, my main ideas have been fairly complex, and as I was filming, I thought of another way of using my stop motion, without the actual filming being more complex. I created a few shots using my crayons, appearing in a circle shape, with others on the outside the opposite way, which I intend to edit, in a music equaliser way, with the number of crayons going up and down, in correspondence with the music and beat, which I think will be simple, but effective. Also whilst filming, I looked over the footage with my actor in it, and think when editing that I may adjust the colour saturation to give it more colour, and a different texture, however I will need to see how it looks, as it may not be quite right for the video.

But, the main point of this post was to highlight that all the stop motion footage has been successfully completed, and now the only pieces of footage I need are my playground sections, which will be filmed in the next few days.

Here are a couple of pictures I took of my set up whilst filming:

I also intend to work on my ancillary text ideas over the next few days, so will upload those, and an update about them, when they are suitable completed.

Filming Update 2

Well today was my second day of filming the stop motion section, which went fairly successfully, although, I did not manage to complete all of the stop motion today as I had intended. This was simply because, as I was filming, I added certain extra shots, that I can add or take away as appropriate, to make sure I have plenty of footage. Also, the lighting I was using, is slightly influenced by the outside light, as I wanted the whole thing to look quite bright, so if I used all artificial lighting, a slightly off white tone would be produced. I have found I can slightly recreate the lighting, as I have a daylight lamp, however it is not that bright or large, so I can only slightly lengthen my filming time when using it, or I will be able to use it, if daylight from outside isn't bright enough. I could not incorporate this today, as I had to practise with the light, to check that it looked okay, rather than carrying on filming, with the wrong lighting. I am aware though, that some minor light changes can be made on Final Cut, like adjusting the auto levels, contrast or brightness. I am not relying to heavily on these effects, as if they are used too much, it is often too obvious, and the lighting cannot be made accurate enough with them.
I plan to continue filming on the 24th of Dec at which point I am certain all the stop motion footage will be completed, as I have now done the majority of it, and can extend my filming, if necessary with the daylight lamp I now have. Also if I finish the stop motion filming early, I may take some practice shots, and possibly actual shots, of the playground I am using in my video. However, if I don't have time for that, I will be filming my park scenes from the dates 27th Dec to 1st Jan to allow for extra filming to be done, and change in weather conditions, and also I think on these dates, the park will be not that busy, which is what I need.
I will post again after my next day of shooting, a summary of the days events.

Filming Update

Well on the 16th of Dec I filmed the section of my music video that involves an actor, singing, for the second verse. This was fairly successful, as I filmed the entire part, several times, so I have different shots to choose from, rather than having to make do. I think the lighting was good, but I will need to check this once it is uploaded, as it was quite highly lit, but sometimes what looks good on the camera screen, doesn't quite transfer to the computer as well. Also the only real problem I had, was the make up I had intended to use. Firstly I had to substitute the blue colour for a green instead, and I change the colour/shapes slightly, although this was just due to circumstance, but I am still very happy with how it looked. But I had to put a lot of make up on my - thankfully willing - actor, as the first lot I put on, didn't seem  to show up that well.  After applying more, I was happy with  the colour, but again, I need to see how it looks once uploaded, because if the colour is not as strong as I want it to be, then that section will have to be filmed again. Hopefully this will not be the case, as it would put me back slightly in my schedule for editing and creation of ancillary texts, but if it needs to be done, then it will be. Also there was only a little problem with my actor, in that, he had learnt most of his words very well, but there were still a few little bits that he was uncertain about, that had to be filmed many times. This is another reason I repeated many shots, to make sure the mouth looked right, and that his 'singing' was convincing enough, as I have seen from the previous student work I have analysed, sometimes the 'singing' isn't hugely believable, and I made a point of wanting to avoid that in my own work.


Also today (21st Dec) I began filming my stop motion parts of the video, which I thought went particularly well, especially as it was the first time I had started on my stop motion this year. I managed to get the right lighting for my video, so I was happy about that, and the actual stop-motion itself seemed to go quite smoothly, no matter how time consuming it actually is. I laid the white background on the floor, so I could move my pieces easily on get a solid, steady base.. So far today I filmed the first 30-40 seconds, although I did film some extra different animations that I hadn't planned, as I didn't want to end up with not enough movement in the shots, thus slowing the pace. Tomorrow I intend to film the rest of the stop-motion footage that will be included in my video, as I will be able to get the lighting the same as it was today, and I will also be better acquainted with the actual process of filming stop motion, as before today, I had not filmed anything in stop motion for quite some time. I will be prepared more realistically for the time it takes, and the precision that I need when filming, meaning the filming process will be easier, and more manageable tomorrow - in theory.


I will post again tomorrow evening, to update on how the filming went.

My Chosen Song

I have already put a link on here to the song I have chosen to do, as I was unable to embed the official video because it was disabled, however here is the audio of the song:





After serious consideration of the song, discussing it with a teacher and listening to it many times, I have decided to remove the 60 second instrumental towards the end of the song, as it would make the song over 5 minutes long, and I feel the extra footage for the one minute would be slightly unnecessary, and may make the video seem too long, or more like a short film. Also by cutting a part out of the song, I will be furthering my skills using certain technology, as I will need to learn how to do so effectively, with the software available.

Make-up/Costume Idea

Within my video on of the verses will be sung with an actor in shot, so I came up with an idea for their costume/make-up in order for it to link in with the r est of my video.

I intend to use bright coloured make up, in geometric shapes on the actors face, to link with the bright coloured crayons and buttons etc. that will feature in the stop motion section of my music video. By keeping the rest of the actors face clean, and blank, as well as the background being white, a similar effect of having a blank canvas will be created in these shots. However I do need to test these shots, to ensure that they look right, and will fit in with the rest of my concept, or if I have to alter it in any way.

Self Evaluation - Planning and Post Production

To assess how well I am currently working, I have reviewed my blog so far, and marked what I have done, making notes of other tasks I need to do, and how to improve, in order for my work to be of level 4 standard.

I think I have researched similar products and potential audiences proficiently, but I do not think it is of excellent standard yet, as I have only researched one ancillary text in 2 formats, and have only done one questionnaire, so I need to carry out different questionnaires in future, to improve this. I think this is similar to my organisation of actors, locations, costumes or props as I have made some main decisions about actors, locations and props, however I need to improve this by making a record of the planning and progress I have made with this.

I feel my time management has been almost excellent, as I have completed all the tasks necessary at this point, but I need to continue to plan to complete my ancillary tasks etc. To allow me to reach level 4. I think I have been careful when presenting my planning and research, in trying to ensure it is neat, clear, easy to understand and easy to use. I think my use of digital technology or ICT has been essentially excellent as I have used many hyper links in my blog posts, embedded videos, uploaded pictures and uploaded videos when I was unable to embed them. I have also been able to link certain words to relevant articles,  to allow people to quickly access certain sites when more information is wanted or useful. I also think I have worded my posts with clarity, to make my ideas easy to understand by others, and successfully show readers the progress of my planning and music video.

The level I would give myself for each criteria are as follows:

- Research into similar products and a potential target audience - Mid Level 3

- Organisation of actors, locations, costumes or props - Low Level 3

- Work on shot lists, layouts, drafting and storyboarding - Low Level 4

- Time management - Mid Level 4

- The level of care in the presentation of the research and planning - Low Level 4

- Skill in the use of digital technology or ICT in the presentation - Mid Level 4

- Communication skills - Low Level 4

I would put my work at a mid to high level 3, around 14-15 marks. I have not given myself full marks as there are some features in level 4 that I feel I have achieved, but not to as fully as I could have done , so a level 4 grade would be inaccurate.

Ancillary Text Analysis - Band Website

I chose the 'Marina & the diamonds' website to analyse, as she is quite new, so her website would be quite up to date with any new features on a band/singer's website, so is useful to me as I can use similar features when I create my webpage.

Audience Research - Planning and Post Production

I constructed a fairly basic questionnaire, just to get an idea of my target audience, what they like or dislike and any opinions or clear trends there may be. Here is a sample of the questionnaire I distributed:

From the data I gathered, I can see that the audience I am most likely aiming my product at are in the age ranges 13-17 and 18-24. I have not only chosen these age ranges because they were the most common answer, but also because I used opportunity sampling - asking whatever participants were available to take part - showing that these age ranges are the most accessible audience for me, so it is logical that they are my target audience.
I found that 90% of the people I asked liked music videos, so making my video well is essential. However I got some quite unexpected answers for the question "How often do you watch music videos?" with 63% watching them 'sometimes' and 32% watching them either 'rarely' or 'never'. I found it to be quite an anomaly that only 5% watched them all the time, yet almost all the people I asked said they liked music videos, but hardly ever watched them, suggesting that although they like music videos, watching them is not a high priority.


Also in my questionnaire I asked if the participants were aware of the differences between a concept, performance and narrative based video, as simply asking them which is their favourite, unaware if they know of the differences, may have caused some unusual results. I also included that question to get an idea of my target audience's knowledge of music videos, and whether it would have an effect on my music video. I found that quite a high percentage - 63% - did know the difference and although a smaller percentage were unaware, it was still fairly high - 36%. This shows that the style of music video I make will matter a lot, as my target audience will be able to understand it better from knowing the differences, but also that as a fair few aren't as knowledgeable, I have a little more freedom with my video.


Overall the favourite style of video was narrative, with the main reason for people liking it was because they found it the most interesting and liked it to link with the song. Although my video doesn't really have a narrative, my concept does link with the song, so I hope my target audience will like the link, even without a narrative. But the only combination people stated they liked was narrative and concept, which I found interesting, as they are quite different ideas, so to want a mixture, seemed fairly unusual, however it was helpful to me to see that some people did like concept videos. My results also showed that, generally speaking, my target audience prefer the music video to reflect the music and lyrics, as 100% said that was their preference. This result is useful to me, as my music video has quite a strong link with the song, and often reflects the music, which is what my target audience want, so it should be successful in that respect.


I also asked what people's favourite genres of music were, to get an idea of how many would be aware of, or like my chosen song, and if it would greatly affect the reception it would get when shown to others. The most popular genres were Pop, Rock and Metal, this was mildly reassuring to me, as MGMT's music is Pop/Electro, so as that was one of the favourite genres, hopefully my target audience will be familiar with the band, or song, and like it. However, as Metal and Rock were also quite popular, I may receive quite mixed reviews of my video, as these are quite different styles to the song I have picked, and the style of my video.


Overall I found this initial research to be quite useful, in giving me some general ideas of the audience I am aiming at, and helping me draw some tentative conclusions about their preferences.

Ancillary Text Analysis - Digipack

Taking Back Sunday - New Again

The digipak I have decided to analyse is Taking Back Sunday's fourth studio album titled 'New Again' and was released on June 1st 2009.

This digipak is quite elaborate, as not only the album CD and song booklet is included, in the 6 panel fold out case, but a DVD is also included, containing the 'Making of the album' and a 'Track-by-track commentary by the band'. I think this bonus was included to form a link between the band and the fans, allowing them to see 'behind-the-scenes' possibly to create the sense that they are a part of the band, and as a kind of gift to them for staying fans of Taking Back Sunday. The DVD extra may also have been included, as 'New Again' was released quite a long time after their previous album 'Louder Now', so the band wanted to show they were still around, and maybe giving themselves the chance to explain the inspirations behind each song, if their style had changed at all.

Here are a few annotations I made, now with the accompanying digipak panel:

 The band's name and album title is found on the front of the digipak case, which is highly conventional of a digipak. However it's placement is slightly unusual as it is in the top left corner, in fairly small font, and a light colour that makes it blend in with the picture, causing the most attention to be drawn to the car, and the girl seen through the windscreen. But it could be suggested the name is in the top left, as that is how the English language is written, so the viewer would immediately see it, as that is how they naturally read.

The band have said previously that the number 152 always appears somewhere on their album covers, on this album the numbers are shown very discreetly on the fuzzy dice hanging on the rear view mirror, with one dot, five dots and two dots, on each dice, respectively. Also on both the CD and DVD a speedometer design is printed, one in a grey blue, and the other brown, both with the needle pointing at 152 mph on both, as illustrated below:

There are some recurring themes in the album artwork, such as old cars, which appear on the outside of the album, and within the song booklet (see below), maybe to show a different interpretation of being 'New Again' showing the old fairly beaten up cars, possibly representing the band/band members, being slightly worn, but classic and just as good as they used to be. The distressed look of the cars follows on into other parts of the artwork, like the CD and DVD (above) that have a worn look to them, with the colour scratched off, and the font on the front cover also has a similar effect.

There is only one picture of the band in the whole digipak, and it is behind where the CD fits, so obscures them entirely. This may be the band trying to suggest that the music is more important than who they are, or what they look like, or that it comes before them, or that quite literally they are behind the music.

Inside the digipak are all the credits to producers, engineers etc. as well as who the band thanks, where the songs were recorded, the band's management and some endorsements of brands. Features like these are very important in albums, to make sure any people involved or relevant get the credit and acknowledgement they are due. The artwork inside uses the same colour palette that is used throughout the album, it is quite muted, consisting of quite neutral colours like blue, green, brown and grey, and also many different darker shades of these colours. These colours could connote a sense of calmness about the album, and the music on it, or the band themselves, or is possibly intended to be contrapuntal to the music to create a vivid contrast and ambiguous impression.

These are some annotations I made of the back of the digipak (With the image I am referring to, below)

The back of the digipak has a similar image to the front, with the girl motif stood with her back to us, and look down and into the distance. This creates a very ambiguous kind of narrative, as nothing is known of the girl, not even her face is shown. But the feeling that she is lost seems quite strong, as the setting is very bare and isolated, and she has abandoned, presumably her car, with the most obvious reason being that it has broken down. But maybe she chose to stop in the middle of nowhere, to think, or because the setting she is in means something to her or reminds her of something, she could even be waiting for something/someone.

This recurring image is incredibly ambiguous and could be interpreted in many different ways, this puts me off slightly of this style of cover, however if it is supposed to represent the band's style, i.e. fairly mysterious, then it works quite well.

Shot List

This is the shot list I made, consisting of most of the shots I will be including, however there may be some change when I'm filming, but I will keep to the list as best I can. I've also included any props I need, the locations of each shot, what is going on in it, and the type of shot I am using. This list will be very helpful when filming, as I can cross off each shot once it is completed, and it will also help me stay more organised when filming my stop-motion sections, as it may be difficult to keep track of what shots are needed, or if there are any repetitions. This will be helping alongside my storyboard, so I have a visual plan and written plan, to ensure everything is how it should be.

Storyboards of the Idea

I have drawn up essentially every shot, and stated any repetitions of shots i.e. for chorus'. I also included some or the lyrics, to show what the actor I intend to use will be singing, there are also a few light pencil sketches, to show anything changing in the shot, like something appearing, and also the minutes and seconds at which a certain shot will appear, to keep my filming as organised and accurate as possible.

My Final Idea

After thinking about the 3 ideas I gave myself to choose from, I chose 'Kids' by MGMT to make my music promo for and my two other ancillary texts. I picked that song as it is quite upbeat and catchy, so will work well with the fairly unique idea I came up with for the video. This is another reason I chose that idea, as it is quite creative and distinctive, making it possibly more interesting than the other two ideas, as it isn't as basic. I also like this concept, being a combination of animation, with some performance, and time lapse footage, creating quite an interesting mix. As well as this, the video is party influenced by the director Michel Gondry, due to the playful feel in certain parts of the video, like the bright colours I intend to use, the use of children's toys, and the incorporation of stop-motion, that Gondry's style is familiar with, as I demonstrated in the White Stripes video analysis. My idea for the song, is also very different to the song's official video, so it will be interesting to make a video with a different interpretation of the song.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cAQlDf9Vs0 - The official video Kids by MGMT

Music Video Ideas

I had a few different ideas for my music video, so I made a mind map with them all on, to decide which would be the best for me to do, which was most possible, or which idea I thought would work out the most successfully. Here are the pictures of my mind map:

The mind map as a whole

An idea for the song 'Cannonball' By Damien Rice

An idea for the song 'Kids' By MGMT

An idea for the song 'Heaven Help Us' By My Chemical Romance

After the construction of this planning technique, I was most drawn to the MGMT video idea, as it seemed like it could be an effective video to go with the song, as well as allowing me to be very creative when I film.

Textual Analysis of Previous Student Work - Made Up Love Song No. 43 by The Guillemots

I like the idea behind this video, as it contrasts well with the song, but I do think it is quite similar to the song's official video, so the group could have been slightly more adventurous, and thought up their own original idea, however they carry this one off quite well.

Strengths

- There is a nice variety of locations used (especially the beach scenes) that seem quite fitting for the slow, slightly folk-like song.

- I think the tracking shot of the actor running, is a really interesting thing to do, and acts as quite a distinctive feature within the music video. But I think the execution of that particular shot didn't work as well as it could have, as his singing at the same time, doesn't quite fit, letting it down slightly.


- I also like that they incorporated a few of Goodwin's Six into their video, most specifically the music matching the visuals, as the singer runs into the distance as the faster drumming begins. It also makes the video appear more like a "typical" music video, by adhering to Goodwin's ideas.

Weaknesses

- The sound quality doesn't seem to be as good as it could be, but I'm unsure as to whether this is because of it being uploaded to You Tube or because the version used wasn't high quality.

- The actor’s acting doesn’t seem to quite fit with the lyrics at certain points i.e. (2.49) as he smiles when singing some sombre lyrics, and also acts unconvincingly sometimes, suggesting that they are not really taking it seriously enough, or putting enough effort in, which begins to interfere with the tone of the video.

Similarly to the previous student work that I analysed below, I can see that lighting is definitely a big issue when filming, and will be very conscious of that throughout my filming process. As well as this, I will also have to make sure that any actors I use convey the right meanings that I would like them to when singing, to make sure it is convincing.

Director's Study - Spike Jonze

Spike Jonze, whose real name is Adam Spiegel, was born on October 22nd 1969 and is an American director, producer and actor, whose work includes music videos, commercials, film and television. His most famous films he has directed are 'Being John Malkovich, and more recently and adaptation of 'Where the Wild Things Are', he has also directed many music videos by bands such as Daft Punk, Kanye West, and also the very well known song and  video 'Praise You' by Fat Boy Slim. Jonze starred in the film under the pseudonym of Richard Koufey, along with a fictional dance group, the 'Torrance Community Dance Group.' It was shot guerilla-style (so on location without obtaining permission from the owners of the property, much like the casino shots in the Beastie Boys video 'Sure Shot' that Jonze also directed) in front of puzzled onlookers outside a movie theatre in Westwood, California.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppdWrsHJeEE
I tried to embed the video, but it had been disabled by request, so this is the link to the Praise You video.

The idea of guerilla filming seems to be a style Jonze favours, as he has used it in at least two videos, and it could also be considered to part of Goodwin's six, as it creates the idea of voyeurism, as the audience are able to see things from a hidden perspective, on film, that they wouldn't necessarily be allowed to see like that. The idea of voyeurism is a strong theme in the Praise You video, as it gives a POV shot, from the audience gathered around the dancers, showing them watching how they react to the song. There is also the idea of the music matching the visuals, from Goodwin's Six, as the dancers, move accordingly to different beats and sounds in the song, making it a "typical music video".


Norman Cook (Fatboy Slim) is briefly seen in the video as one of the many onlookers, while Jonze is talking about the dance. The video reportedly had a budget of US$800 to produce, and most of the money went towards a replacement boombox and food for the cast and crew. The video won three major awards at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards: Breakthrough Video, Best Direction (awarded to "Torrance Community Dance Group") and Best Choreography (awarded to "Richard Koufey & Michael Rooney").

Textual Analysis of Previous Student Work - Mr Bojangles by Robbie Williams

This music video is narrative based, and tells of "Charlie Chaplin" and his trip to the future. I thought the use of the colour change from black and white to full colour, was used very effectively, and creates a nice contrast, and definable difference between the two times, helping the narrative run more fluently. Many long shots are used to emphasise the space around "Charlie Chaplin" and also to make the most of the wide range of locations featured, in an appropriate way rather than using the shots, just for the sake of it. Also the 360 degree shot of "Charlie Chaplin" is very well attempted, if a little unsteady, but shows the impact of London, and how different and confusing it is to "Charlie". By including the "Charlie Chaplin" character, the video has a much more relaxed and fun feel to it, which mirrors the song itself, so adheres to one of Goodwin's Six. There is also a link between the lyrics and visuals, as Robbie Williams sings "Mr Bojangles, come back, and dance" Charlie Chaplin begins to make his way home, again a feature of Goodwin's Six. There is also an intertextual reference, as "Chaplin" finds and sits by a large statue of himself, from the future. Not only does this incorporate another of Goodwin's Six, but it is also quite a post modern idea, and creates a sense of self-reflexivity as "Charlie" can see what an influence he will eventually have.

Strengths

Very original idea and a good, strong narrative that fits with the song.

Good use of varied locations.

Convincing acting which enhances the believability of the narrative.

Interesting floor level shots of "Charlie Chaplin"chasing his hat and when he throws the hat over the camera allowing for a visual match transition.

Weaknesses

Sound quality isn’t as clears as it could be and lets it down slightly. However being uploaded to You Tube may have reduced the quality.

Some steady shots are a little unsteady, slightly wobbly.

The low lit shot at 1.49 seconds is a little too dark, losing the detail and lessening the professional feel of the video.

In my video I will endeavour to keep all my shots as steady as is necessary and will re-film certain shots in order to get them as steady as possible, if they are not. I will also be very conscious of the lighting I will use in my video and try to keep it as consistent as possible, for continuity; as well as make sure I don't lose any detail in any shots from them not being properly lit.

Textual Analysis of "Blue Song" by Mint Royale

It was directed by Edgar Wright, who has directed mainly films such as "The Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy", "Hot Fuzz" and "Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World". It features three well known actors; Julian Barratt, Noel Fielding, Nick Frost and the lesser known Michael Smiley.

The video is narrative based, as it shows the story of four men robbing a bank; one of which staying in the car for their quick escape when the others get back, and what he  comes across whilst doing so. There are also scenes at the beginning and end of the characters dialogue, creating a much stronger narrative, than it just being a music promo.

It also includes elements of a performance video, as Noel Fielding “sings” or mimes to the song, but as it his not him actually singing on the track, and he isn’t on a stage or somewhere usual for a performance, it isn’t entirely a performance video.

There are also many cuts on the beat, as it is a sampled and remixed track, which is quite conventional of the genre of the song, linking to one of Goodwin's Six of the video matching the genre of the music. Many tracking shots are used, which is quite unusual as they move around Noel, while he stays in one place, however it does create a strong sense of movement, which sort of mirrors Noel as he is dancing, the viewer feel they are moving in a similar way. Many mid shots that zoom to a close up are also used, possibly trying to make it seem like the viewer is there with Noel. However, most of these shots are through the windscreen, with only very few from the side (giving the impression that the viewer is in the car) creating quite an obvious separation between the audience and Noel.

Quite high key lighting it used throughout, with very few shadows, giving the video a fresh feel. The fairly muted colour palette of light blues, greens and greys also adds to the fresh feeling of the video, whilst also producing a seemingly calm atmosphere, which contrasts with what is happening in the bank, and with the red alarm going off at the end of the video.

One of Goodwin’s Six is the idea of voyeurism, and there are many notions of looking throughout the music video, especially using mirrors to demonstrate this idea; the sunglasses Noel also wears sunglasses, which add to the idea being able to see other people or things, without them being able to tell.

Another of Goodwin’s 6 is featured, which is the music and visuals being linked which happens at certain points in the song. For example at 2:25 Noel notices a pigeon outside, and whilst paying attention to this the music reaches a bridge, until 2:48 when Noel gets back in the car after cleaning his bonnet, and the music comes to a slight crescendo and into a kind of remixed instrumental break. Also throughout he dances to the music, changing as different notes and rhythms are heard, again linking the music to the visuals.

Also there are many close-ups of Noel which is one of the ‘record labels demands’ however, he isn’t the artist, so this may not necessarily count as one of Goodwin's 6.

I particularly like the video as the narrative is quite interesting, and compliments the song quite well which can sometimes be a difficult task, when the song is fairly ambiguous as "Blue Song" is. I also like it due to the fairly well known actors that star in it; which was probably the idea, that people would watch the video - thus hear the song more - as they liked the famous people in it.

Director's Study - Michel Gondry

Michel Gondry was born on May 8th 1963, is a French film, commercial and music video director and a screenwriter. He is noted for his inventive visual style and manipulation of mise en scène. Although he has directed many music videos, he has also directed feature films, such as: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Be Kind Rewind, and most recently The Green Hornet, which is quite unusual of a music video director, to also direct such major films too. He first began directing music videos for the French band Oui Oui, his very first music video in 1988 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuK9fgTYubw (Junior et sa Voir D’or), but since then he has directed for many more well known artists such as Massive Attack, Daft Punk and The White Stripes.

Gondry said a lot of his inspiration comes from the film ‘Le Voyage en Ballon’ as “When I watch this movie, I dream I’m flying and then I do stories where people are flying. I think it’s directly influencing.” Many of Gondry’s music videos are concept based, and he often uses physical things, objects/shapes etc. to represent sounds and music within his videos.

For example, here in the video for Daft Punk’s ‘Around The World’ Gondry has used people, to represent different sounds and beats within the song, and each part has a different costume, to highlight the change. Also the lighting is used to indicate a change in the song, so when some beats or sounds aren’t playing, the people representing them, aren’t lit up, and are in the shadows, to illustrate their absence. Coloured light is also used behind them, in a way that resembles a music equalizer that is constantly in time to the music, also changing colour in contrast to the different pitch and volume of the main beat throughout. This fits with some of Goodwin’s six, as it shows a link between the music and the visuals, as well as a link between the lyrics and the visuals, because when the lyrics ‘around the world’ start (at about 1 min), a group of four spacemen begin to move, to link with the lyrics.

Michel Gondry has influenced me a lot, with my ideas for my music video, and I am now quite strongly considering creating a concept music video, with different shape and colours and objects representing different sounds. I like concept music videos as they are very unique, and offer quite an individual interpretation of a song; that an audience may not have considered before viewing the video, possibly making the music seem more prominent, as the lack of narrative or performance means sole focus can be put on the music.

Textual Analysis of "Helena" by My Chemical Romance

It was released in 2005 and directed by Marc Webb, who has directed many other My Chemical Romance music promos such as “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)” “I Don’t Love You” and “Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na)”. “Helena” was filmed in the Immanuel Presbyterian Church in LA, California, where most of the video takes place.

It is mainly a narrative video, with a performance element combined with it, as the band play in the church to the funeral goers, which is part of the narrative. The song is about Gerard’s deceased grandmother, but the narrative isn’t about her, it is about a young girl who died tragically, her memorial service and her passing into the afterlife.

Inside the church quite high key lighting is used, with a fairly dark colour palette of reds, browns and blacks, giving an unusual vibrancy to the darker colours and also to the tone of the video, as it is a lot brighter than would be expected of a funeral. However at the end of the video, as the coffin is being carried outside the palette changes and becomes far more muted, consisting mainly of greys, blues and blacks, but still has high key lighting, keeping quite a high level of detail throughout the video. This gives it fairly high productions values, which sort of goes against the theatrical nature of the video that is created by the rich reds and browns used, and the dancers, as theatre often has an improvised element to it, but the video feels like it’s been perfected a lot. The colours appear to only change after ‘Helena’ has danced through the church, possibly signifying her departure into the afterlife, causing the colour in her life and her friends/family etc. to be washed away with the rain. The rain in fact, was not planned in the video at all, it just happened to rain as they were filming, so Webb used it to his advantage, as he thought it would enhance the sombre atmosphere in pathetic fallacy fashion. All of the costumes are quite formal, black suits and black dresses for the females, inkeeping with the tone of the funeral and adding to the sober atmosphere. The band are derssed slightly differently as they have red ties and red accents to their clothes, possibly symbolising blood, and also to show a differentiation between them and the attendees.

Straight cuts and jump cuts are used all the way through the video creating a faster pace to match the song, as well as being cut on the beat to quicken the pace, much like in the “Fell in Love with a Girl” music promo. The camera work is fairly sophisticated as a varied range of shots are used, to convey some strong meanings throughout. A high angle shot type is commonly used, when looking down on Gerard or the dancers and funeral goers which could be showing either the ceremony from Gerard’s perspective, or possibly from ‘Helena’s’ perspective, as it is above them inferring she may be in heaven. Some low angle shots are also used, mostly down the aisle, looking up at the funeral goers or in the slow zoom towards Gerard at 1:36 which may be referring to ‘Helena’ as it is how she would see the people there from her coffin as she is carried out.

The video holds true to many of Goodwin’s six, firstly there is a link between visuals and lyrics, mostly because of the gestures Gerard makes as he sing i.e. as he sings “like the match you strike to incinerate the lives of every heart you stole” he motions as if he is striking a match, making his performance seem more dramatic, supporting the theatric feel of the video. There is also a strong link between the music and the visuals as the dancers within the video dance in time with the music, and make different moves to amplify the change in the music. This is shown quite obviously towards the end of the video as ‘Helena’ dances down the aisle in the bridge of the song, and spins round in time with the faster strumming of the guitar at (2:36), "dying" as the bridge ends. There is also the slight idea of voyeurism within the video, from the high angle shots making the audience feel like they are looking down on the people in the church, possibly like Helena is. Also quite strongly at the very end of the video, as the shot is from inside the hearse, as the coffin is put inside, making the viewer feel like they are in there with her, or like they are seeing it from her perspective. Also Gerard looks in through the hearse window, highlighting the separation between them and how they won’t be together again. Finally there are also many close-ups of Gerard’s face, as well as a few of the other band members too, as Goodwin states is a common theme in music videos, generally requested for by the music label.

I particularly like the video as the narrative is strong, and is parallel to the song as well. I also think the narrative is better because the band are included in it, showing that they have had an input on it's outcome and were actually involved.

Textual Analysis of "Fell In Love With A Girl" by The White Stripes

"Fell In Love With A Girl" was released in 2002 and the music video was directed by Michel Gondry and features Gondry's son, at the beginning of the video.

The video is a mixture of concept and performance based, as it is mainly The White Stripes performing; however the band is portrayed as being made out of Lego, holding up the idea of it being a concept video also. This also includes a postmodern theme by using the Lego as simulacra of the band, as it shows very little detail, but the block colours and shapes resemble Jack and Meg. Many other images are depicted out of Lego throughout, such as; people chasing each other, swimming and cars moving, with many of these transforming into shapes and somewhat psychedelic patterns.

It is quite typical of Gondry’s style, as it has a playful atmosphere, mainly due to the whole video being made out of Lego; but also as its production values, are not as high as they could be. This slightly highlights the constructed nature of the video (which again is quite postmodern) but also adds to the ‘playfulness’ of the video by giving it quite a childish edge, as it’s not quite “perfect”.

High key lighting is used throughout, which enhances the bright colour palette consisting of mostly white, blue and red, as well as some green, black and yellow. The primary colours also maintain the childlike quality of the video, making it seem more lively and is also quite intriguing to watch as the palette is fairly limited so it's interesting to see how it's used. Straight cuts are used consistently within the video, which not only adds to the lively atmosphere of it, it creates a much quicker pace, suiting the upbeat tempo of the song.

The video adheres to  most of ‘Goodwin’s Six’ elements that are common in most music videos, however there isn’t really a sense of voyeurism or any intertextuality. There are a few close-ups of Jack and Meg, as Goodwin stated, but due to the Lego, their facial features are only really picked out at one point, however this may amplify the intended result, if the audience can recognise who it is from some simple shapes. One of the most prominent aspects of Goodwin's Six that "Fell In Love With A Girl" highlights it the link between the music and the visuals, as almost constantly throughout the video the Lego pieces move in time to the music, and alter to accommodate different elements - archetypal of Gondry's panache. For example some lit up red and green Lego blocks are used to represent a kind of equalizer image which corresponds to the opening chords. Similarly to this, the visuals match the lyrics, but only really at one point (1:23) as the lyrics are "she turns and says "are you alright? I said I must be fine cause my heart's still beating" where assumedly Meg is shown lip-syncing the 'girl's' part and Jack the boy's, to illustrate the song, but that is the only part that incorporates that specific feature.

I liked the video as it is quite an original idea, as is most of Gondry's work, but isn't really what would be expected of a White Stripes music video, creating a clever contrast between the song and the video, whilst enhancing it slightly, as it exaggerates the pace and movement almost, of the song.

Director's Study - Sophie Muller

She first directed the Eurythmics video ‘The Walk’ in 1982 however it was not made commercially available but can be found on youtube, but when I searched for it, I was unsuccessful. She has directed many videos for No Doubt, Shakespears Sister, Annie Lennox and Blur, as well as doing a few selective videos for slightly more contemporary artists like The Killers, Coldplay, Beyoncé, Pink and many more http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_Muller#Selected_videography

I came across this director after finding out she directed the video  for ‘Mr Brightside’ by The Killers; I found this very interesting, as ‘Mr Brightside’ had previously only had a very basic video   as they were signed to an independent record label (Lizard King Records), so had a small budget and  this was the UK version:

However, in America they were then signed to Island Records and the band themselves decided to make another higher budget video, starring Brandon Flowers—the lead singer— Izabella Miko and Eric Roberts, in a kind of love triangle. Sophie said it was inspired by the 2001 remake of the film Moulin Rouge! And subsequently the narrative took place within a burlesque show. It also includes the performance element of music videos as The Killers are shown to be part of the show, playing their song.

This is the higher budget video.

She said her real goal was to become a successful director in her own right, and her chance meeting with John Stewart and Billy Poveda of ‘Oil Factory’ - an established film production company - provided her with the opportunity she needed.

It is said her ‘trademark style’ in most her videos has the artist/s in a dim isolated room, ‘Mr Brightside’ on really holds true to the idea of the room being isolated, but lighting seems to be quite important within the video, with the fireworks, and high key lighting in the ‘burlesque hall’, as shown in the pictures.

Similarly the video for ‘Why’ by Annie Lennox,  has Annie sat alone, in the dark, except for her lighted mirror, upholding her style.

Blur’s ‘Song 2’ video that Sophie also directed has the group in one low lit room, with many shadows, and again alone, as is her style.

Finally the song ’4 In The Morning’ by Gwen Stefani, that Sophie directed has Gwen in an empty house, showing she is isolated, but the lighting is played with a lot in this video, as there are certain points—like in the picture, where there are many shadows and very little light at all, but other scenes where the room has quite high key lighting, that also seems very ‘warm’ sort of negating the ‘isolated’ quality of the video.

 "4 In The Morning" - Gwen Stefani

I like the style of Sophie’s videos, as many of them are narrative videos, but narratives that suit the song, which is something that often makes me like the song more, if the video is more parallel to the song. Whereas concept videos I find can detract too much from the song, and make it appear to be about something it isn’t. I also like that narrative is used in Sophie’s music videos, because the actual artists are generally a part of it. They are the ‘characters’ involved in the stories created and, I find it very interesting to see how the artists portray and act out their own song as I think it helps clearly establish exactly what the song means to that singer or band, so I can make a stronger connection to the song.