Post 8 - Theories 2

Carol Vernallis - The Kindest Cut



Throughout her work, Carol Vernallis analysed editing in music videos and Hollywood films. Throughout this time she identified distinct approaches to each. Within these approaches she came up with the following identifications and approaches:

Music Video:

• Within a music video she identified that there would be a multiplicity of incomplete sometimes obscure paths within the story.
• The order of shots would be unconventional, there would be no typical order and they would shift more freely in between each different shot.
• Pop videos draw us away from the narrative by foregrounding other structures and elements by using discontinuity.
• There will be visual hooks to create continuity. This is where non continuous shots are linked together by a single feature, I.E. A shape or colour.
• The time, space, character and narrative are revealed in completely not like they would be revealed within a film. 

Hollywood Film:

• Within a Hollywood film there would be single clear paths throughout the story.
• There would be an order within the shots making them conventional to the piece.
• A unity of time and space would be shown throughout the film.
• Throughout a Hollywood film, the continuity would be thorough throughout meaning that the narrative would draw the audience in more. 

Phantasmagorical body - A body that becomes made up in our mind of the shots of body parts that we see in a certain point in the music video. 

Rock Mood Board

For my groups mood board we based it on the genre; rock. This is because we believe that doing a rock video would be a good, fun idea but it is also manageable to meet all the conventions at the same time. Within the board we decided to add the stereotypical costumes, hand signs and items that you would usually see within this genre. Skulls and the colour black are common things that I came across whilst looking at Rock. Also the use of eyeliner within the makeup and longer, darker hair. We also found out the instruments that are stereotypical and we would need within our music video to help stick to the conventions correctly.

Post 7 - Low Budget Ideas

Low Budget Idea Videos

For some low budget ideas for my own music video I will be analyzing another A2 music video which received high marks. I will be analyzing it to get some inspiration for some quick, helpful and easy ideas for my music video.

 A-ha! Imogen Heap



Right at the beginning, the first long shot is quite powerful in itself. It is very effective as the head coming up is in sync with the music. The circle of light that is surrounding the girl draws us directly to her which then leads us on to looking at the shadows. The shadowing from the leaves and vines in front of the girl is highly effective and can easily be replicated by old pieces of twigs and branches. The lighting plays a major role in this low budget idea as it helps build up the eerie atmosphere to the music video as a whole.

Another low budget idea that I think looks really effective is the use of fast paced editing. Going from one clip to another really quickly helps build up the atmosphere and tension to the video. Doing it in time with the music also helps as it all runs in together and you feel like you are part of the piece of work. Also, because the clips have a shaky feel to them it makes the audience feel more on edge and it makes them almost mesmerized by the piece.







I also think that because the whole music video has been edited to become quite dark it continues to carry the eerie vibe along the way. Within the video we only really see low key lighting shots with the occasional bright lighting. We only see certain dashes of colour at certain points when the viewer needs it. I believe the use of red on the fingernails and lips were a good choice as red portrays anger, violence and also sometimes love. This then connects in with the meaning and lyrics to the music.


One low budget idea that I have been inspired by because I had never really thought about doing it, is the idea of over layering clips. I feel that it is an effective way of almost disorientating the audience and it fits into the genre of this piece really well. The way they have kept with the idea of everything being dark and eeerie makes the over layering of the images/clips fit in nicely.


The Fix - Just Got Paid

Another Video that I looked at for some low budget ideas was an A2 version of The Fix 'Just Got Paid'. This video is highly successful in sticking with the conventions and connecting with the audience.

Throughout the video they have stuck to the stereotypical conventions of their music videos genre. At the beginning we get little clips of each of the members of the boy band. This helps the audience identify themselves with each member so that they know who the artists of the video are. The way they are sorting themselves out in the mirror is a low budget idea but it is very effective as it just looks like they are doing their own thing but we are almost invading upon that. We then get a shot of all of the boy band together which looks professional as this is a stereotypical convention of boy bands.

Another low budget idea that I feel is effective is the use of lighting. The way they have the bright lights in between them at the beginning gives the video a professional element. It also silhouettes the boys giving the beginning a more mysterious feel.  The lights then continue to get used throughout the video especially when the boy band are performing. When they are dancing, the use of the lighting makes it seem as if the band are in a studio of some sort which follows the stereotypical conventions.

Also adding to this point, the way the boys have made up their own dance fits in with the conventions nicely as this is what you would expect to see from this genre of music. This is an easy idea to do but the effects are much greater. By doing this you can also tell the effort that they have put into the video is of a higher quality.



One other thing that this A2 group has done which i felt fitted in well with the conventions is the fact that each band member had a character which gives them a personality to portray. They all had a part in the video and no one was left out. When they lip synched to the music each person had a certain voice from the song itself which made the continuity better. This also helped link in with the whole boy band feel to the piece.

Post 6 - Conventions Of A Music Video

Post 5 - Rock Music Video 2

For my second rock music video I decided to do Guns N' Roses' 'Paradise City'. I chose to analysis this music video as I felt it fell right into all the stereotypical conventions that a music video should follow from this genre.

One of the main conventions that this music video follows is the band plays live on a stage. This shows the audience that the band are all in it for the music and that their music is real. Throughout the parts where they are on the stage, we get close ups of the band members playing their instruments. We are introduced to the artists right at the beginning which helps the audience identify each person. 

The camera work throughout this video is very basic like the video has been filmed with the cameras from the people within the audience. This helps give the video a more fan friendly vibe as it is shot from a lower camera angle. This then helps get across the idea that the band is all about their music and connect to the fans well. Also, this makes us think of the main artist as a more powerful person as we are made to look up at him. 

The music is very typical of the genre because you can hear each musical instrument and the main singer individually.  It has the loud drum beats that go on pretty much throughout the whole piece. Its also stereotypical because the pace of the song is very fast throughout. Connecting back to camera work, we occasionally see shots of the band members playing their instruments at the same time that we can hear them. This gives the music video continuity and helps get across the real feel to the piece.

One thing that was not very conventional in this video is the editing. The editing is not cut in time to the music which means that the editing is quite jumpy which connects in with the vibe from the audience. By doing this, it makes the music video more realistic and not so product-like. The editing of the clips are quite slow paced which is quite nice as its a contrast to the rest of the video. 

Post 4 - Rock Music Video 1

For my first rock music video analysis, I decided to look at Marilyn Manson's 'The Beautiful People'. I felt that it fitted in well with the stereotypical conventions of the rock genre.






Performance pictures GIF:

Post 3 - Pop Music Video 2

                     


For my second pop music video analysis I decided to take a look at Justin Timberlake's 'Mirrors'. I chose this music video because I felt it didn't portray all the stereotypical conventions that a pop music video should. This video follows a narrative rather than having the artist perform live. At the beginning of the video we do not get introduced to the main artist and instead we follow the stories of some other characters which are not familiar to the audience. In fact, we do not get introduced to the artist until we are 5 minutes and 45 seconds in. When we are introduced to him, we get a stereotypical performance as he dances around what seems to be a set of mirrors. From previous looks at Justin Timberlake's videos, I can see a pattern as he dances in the majority if not all of them.

Up until this point because we have not seen the artist, the video hasn't been able to stick to the stereotypical convention that the artist will lip synch. Just after we have seen the long shot of the artist performing a dance for us, we get an over the shoulder mid shot of him lip synching into one of the many mirrors. At one point he makes contact with the audience by looking directly into the camera. 

By performing in front of a mirror, it makes it almost look like there is two different people within the shot. This is a simple but clever effect that doesn't cause for any high end editing software. This is an idea that I could see as being effective enough to use within my own music video. 

Going back to the beginning of the video, some more conventions are met.  As it is following more than one story within the video the characters are seen in more than one location. At one point however, both stories are intertwined together as a lady gives the younger couple a picture booth photo strip of the older couple who we keep going back too. This gives us another hint as to what is going on within the story.

The different locations that are seen within this video: