Thursday 8 June 2017
Friday 26 May 2017
Music Video: Styles, Conventions and Techniques
When making music videos there are many different styles, conventions and techniques that the director can implement and as there are not any rules when it comes to the making the productions directors can get creative and use different techniques. In this assignment i will go over all of the different styles, conventions and techniques that are used by directors when making a music video production and give existing examples. The examples i give will most likely not only have one style, convention or technique and may have many of these cross over with other videos.
The first style used is in concert and 'as live' footage. In concert is the when the video contains live footage from previous concerts and blends it in with the rest of the music video. The other half of this is 'as live' footage which is the director filming the artists performing on a stage as if they are playing live when they actually not. This allows the director to do what he wants with the artists performance and can get then doing relevant things to the rest of the video. An example of in concert and as live footage is Twenty One Pilots - Car Radio were near then of the video the artist goes on stage and then proceeds to walk through the crowd with everyone one looking at him. This video was clearly planned out for the video so it would be "as live" rather than actually live.
The next style is narrative and interpretive which are both styles based around the song lyrics and how closely they follow the visuals. In some cases the visuals of the video could have absolutely nothing to do with the lyrics and is just interesting to watch however they can also follow closely creating a narrative literally taking the lyrics and creating visuals based on what is being sung. The director can also take a interpreted approach by taking the lyrics and creating visuals based around the same kind of ideas rather than following along. The example I have chosen is Same Smiths - I'm Not The Only One in which it follows along a story of a couple and the struggles they are going through and is complemented by the artists lyrics playing along about relationship troubles whilst the visuals follow.
The next style is surreal videos which are a styles based on being unusual to the viewer and would normally leave the viewer with questions. This style would be unconventional and would surprise the audience with its strange narrative or visuals. These types of videos would not normally have any relevance to the lyrics.The Example of the style is Coldplay - Adventure Of A Life Time in which the lyrics have very little correlation to what is going on in the video. The video contains monkey versions of the artists (Coldplay) and start to dance and perform in the jungle as if they are the normal band performing. This is surreal as the way in which the monkeys move and perform as if they are humans and in reality they are CGI characters.
Impressionist music videos are a style that tries to capture the emotion that the song has without following the lyrics too closely. This is a more artistic style as it tries to use visuals to give the audience emotions that the song has already achieved. This makes this style hard to pull off as the songs emotion is usually given by the artists performance and translates them emotions through visuals which can be a difficult job. The example I have chosen for this style is Nero - Guilt which CGI mixed with computer effects and transitions give the video a dramatic and high focus atmosphere which takes the views attention and keeps the focus on the visuals throughout the whole video. The lyrics are always important to a song however this video is based around the visuals and tries to avoid the audience thinking to much into the song and keeps the attention on how it looks.
Inter textual:
Synergy is a music video created to promote both the artist and a movie or another media product. If it is a song to go on a soundtrack of a movie then the video will often contain clips from the movie or could have recreation of scenes from the movie. Synergy normally means that the song is connected to the other media product meaning they are directly connected and not just references. An example of synergy is Wiz Khalifa - See you again ft. Charlie Puth which was a song that was made to be on the soundtrack for The fast and furious which is a movie about cars. This song was also created to be played during the film at the end of the movie and was a tribute to one of the actors that died during the filming of the production. As the movie was based around cars the artist in the video are see and around various cars which keeps with theme of being like the movie and makes a connections between the different media products.
Allusion is when a music video has references of events, people, historical figures or another media product. This can be a recreation of a event or a twisted version of an event.
Pastiche is an imitation of another artist or artists style which is paired up with parody which makes fun of the original product.
Homage is paying respect to an influence which you take aspects of their work and use it in your music video to remember their work and carry on their style and work.
Animation is another type of style and this style is purely based on if there is any animations in the music video. This can be any amount of animation some may only have a few shots with it and some are entirely animated. This can also be either stop motion or digital, both would be considered the same as animations. The example of Animation I have chosen is Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc, The whole video is animations and tells the videos story purely through the animated characters. The artists of this video (Gorillaz) are known for there music videos as all of them are animated and normally contain the same characters that are based around each of the members of Gorillaz.
Lip-sync is where the video contains an individual mouthing the words of the song to show them either to be the singer or mouthing over the singer. In most cases it is the artist mouthing over their own song. This technique is used for narrative reasons most of the time to add to the story or to put an interesting spin on a everyday event. This would also be used to speed up the song or slow down the song and can be used with other effects such as a story being played in reverse but the singer is still singing forward. The example I have chosen for this style is Coldplays - The Scientist which is a video telling the story of a car crash and what happens after however is played in reverse so the audience don't see what happened until the end of the video. Throughout he whole video the main singer of Coldplay is featured and is mouthing all of his songs in reverse so when it gets reversed he is still singing it the right way around and the singer spent a while learning how to sing the song backwards so when they filmed it looked natural.
Music videos are often edited in interesting ways as there are no rules when it comes to continuity and editors will be able to get creative, because of this there are different kind of editing techniques that can only be used in music video production. The first editing technique is cutting to the beat which is essentially used to edit the footage around the beat of the song, this gives a flowing rhythm throughout the video and will feel natural to the viewer. An example of this Editing technique is The White Stripes - Hardest Button To Button and revolves around the technique as the artist use the instrument as the video moves around. This video works by every time a beat is hit the artist moves forward keeping the previous scene still there making there look like the artist is being duplicated and they achieved this though the use of editing.
Post-production effects are also an editing technique which is adding in effects to the video to make it more dramatic or something for narrative reasons. Another reason is to attract people to the video as there are interesting effects going on and also attract different audiences for the artist. All effects are added in during the editing process and are used to do things that would be difficult or impossible to do practically. Effects used should always fit into the genre of the song. The example for this technique is Eminem - Love The Way You Lie ft. Rihanna and in this video it follows the story of a dysfunctional couple and one of them ends up burning there house down and this is where the effects come in as it would take a long time to build a house to burn down they set a little fire and then used editing to make it look like the whole thing is fire, this is all done digitally after production.
Split screen is another editing technique which is essentially splitting the screen in to show different events going on at the same time showing the audience more than one story to follow at once. This can be used in different ways to show contrast between the story's or could show the same event from different perspectives.
Chroma key is a music video being shot using large amount of green screen/ blue screen to make the artist or subject of the video look like they are somewhere that they actually aren't to give the viewer something interesting to look at whilst they perform.
Camera Movements is a technique used in all types of media productions and is used in music videos to give the video flow as each shots should flow onto the next shot without looking jumpy. This technique is purely for the audience feel excitement, to feel immersed in the video without being distracted. The movements used are pans, tracking shots, tilts and crab shows which all have a unique movement to them. The example I have found for this technique is Twenty One Pilots - Stressed Out which has many different movements as the whole video was shot with hand held meaning the camera had nothing to rest on making all of the shot feels shaky and wobbly which give off the effect that it is more personal and less professional made. The importance of camera movements are large as if there are no camera movements all shots would be static, feeling the same and would likely bore the viewer.
Camera angles and shot types are also used in all types of media productions and is using the camera in different angles and distances to give off a certain tone or meaning and is completely dependent on the directors preferences. The shot variation could also include aspects of mise-en-scene. This technique is crucial in giving the the director the ability to make it theirs and give it a specific tone and atmosphere. The example I have for this technique is Justin Bieber - I'll Show You which contains the artist (Justin Bieber) wondering around a beautiful country side and gets various different shots of the views. I chose this video as the location really allowed the director to get many different types of shots to try and capture the beauty of the location. All of the shot are captured to look as its from the artist perspective. All of the shots in this video are diverse and different form the other shots and very few shots are done in the same way. This videos theme is that the artist is free and is able to do anything and is why the location is so open and is also why the shots are mostly from his perspective.
Mise-en-scene is the arrangement of the set which would include lighting, objects and the settings. This is used to create certain moods by using the set to fit what the songs overall theme. This can be an impact on the finished product as if not done properly the set will look out of place and as result will make the whole video look weird. It also give a tone to the video and would help to invest the audience. The example I have found for Mise-en-scene is Coldplay - Hymn For The Weekend which features the artist performing in public in India whilst background footage shows the main singer walking around the streets of India. The mise-en-scene is extremely important in this video as the setting of India needed to be shown in a appropriate way as most of India struggles with poverty. As India has issues with poverty you would expect the streets of India to be dull with no life or colour, however in this video they mange to find the life and colour in the most poor and struggling places and mange to show the beauty in it.
The first style used is in concert and 'as live' footage. In concert is the when the video contains live footage from previous concerts and blends it in with the rest of the music video. The other half of this is 'as live' footage which is the director filming the artists performing on a stage as if they are playing live when they actually not. This allows the director to do what he wants with the artists performance and can get then doing relevant things to the rest of the video. An example of in concert and as live footage is Twenty One Pilots - Car Radio were near then of the video the artist goes on stage and then proceeds to walk through the crowd with everyone one looking at him. This video was clearly planned out for the video so it would be "as live" rather than actually live.
The next style is narrative and interpretive which are both styles based around the song lyrics and how closely they follow the visuals. In some cases the visuals of the video could have absolutely nothing to do with the lyrics and is just interesting to watch however they can also follow closely creating a narrative literally taking the lyrics and creating visuals based on what is being sung. The director can also take a interpreted approach by taking the lyrics and creating visuals based around the same kind of ideas rather than following along. The example I have chosen is Same Smiths - I'm Not The Only One in which it follows along a story of a couple and the struggles they are going through and is complemented by the artists lyrics playing along about relationship troubles whilst the visuals follow.
The next style is surreal videos which are a styles based on being unusual to the viewer and would normally leave the viewer with questions. This style would be unconventional and would surprise the audience with its strange narrative or visuals. These types of videos would not normally have any relevance to the lyrics.The Example of the style is Coldplay - Adventure Of A Life Time in which the lyrics have very little correlation to what is going on in the video. The video contains monkey versions of the artists (Coldplay) and start to dance and perform in the jungle as if they are the normal band performing. This is surreal as the way in which the monkeys move and perform as if they are humans and in reality they are CGI characters.
Impressionist music videos are a style that tries to capture the emotion that the song has without following the lyrics too closely. This is a more artistic style as it tries to use visuals to give the audience emotions that the song has already achieved. This makes this style hard to pull off as the songs emotion is usually given by the artists performance and translates them emotions through visuals which can be a difficult job. The example I have chosen for this style is Nero - Guilt which CGI mixed with computer effects and transitions give the video a dramatic and high focus atmosphere which takes the views attention and keeps the focus on the visuals throughout the whole video. The lyrics are always important to a song however this video is based around the visuals and tries to avoid the audience thinking to much into the song and keeps the attention on how it looks.
Inter textual:
Synergy is a music video created to promote both the artist and a movie or another media product. If it is a song to go on a soundtrack of a movie then the video will often contain clips from the movie or could have recreation of scenes from the movie. Synergy normally means that the song is connected to the other media product meaning they are directly connected and not just references. An example of synergy is Wiz Khalifa - See you again ft. Charlie Puth which was a song that was made to be on the soundtrack for The fast and furious which is a movie about cars. This song was also created to be played during the film at the end of the movie and was a tribute to one of the actors that died during the filming of the production. As the movie was based around cars the artist in the video are see and around various cars which keeps with theme of being like the movie and makes a connections between the different media products.
Allusion is when a music video has references of events, people, historical figures or another media product. This can be a recreation of a event or a twisted version of an event.
Pastiche is an imitation of another artist or artists style which is paired up with parody which makes fun of the original product.
Homage is paying respect to an influence which you take aspects of their work and use it in your music video to remember their work and carry on their style and work.
Animation is another type of style and this style is purely based on if there is any animations in the music video. This can be any amount of animation some may only have a few shots with it and some are entirely animated. This can also be either stop motion or digital, both would be considered the same as animations. The example of Animation I have chosen is Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc, The whole video is animations and tells the videos story purely through the animated characters. The artists of this video (Gorillaz) are known for there music videos as all of them are animated and normally contain the same characters that are based around each of the members of Gorillaz.
Lip-sync is where the video contains an individual mouthing the words of the song to show them either to be the singer or mouthing over the singer. In most cases it is the artist mouthing over their own song. This technique is used for narrative reasons most of the time to add to the story or to put an interesting spin on a everyday event. This would also be used to speed up the song or slow down the song and can be used with other effects such as a story being played in reverse but the singer is still singing forward. The example I have chosen for this style is Coldplays - The Scientist which is a video telling the story of a car crash and what happens after however is played in reverse so the audience don't see what happened until the end of the video. Throughout he whole video the main singer of Coldplay is featured and is mouthing all of his songs in reverse so when it gets reversed he is still singing it the right way around and the singer spent a while learning how to sing the song backwards so when they filmed it looked natural.
Music videos are often edited in interesting ways as there are no rules when it comes to continuity and editors will be able to get creative, because of this there are different kind of editing techniques that can only be used in music video production. The first editing technique is cutting to the beat which is essentially used to edit the footage around the beat of the song, this gives a flowing rhythm throughout the video and will feel natural to the viewer. An example of this Editing technique is The White Stripes - Hardest Button To Button and revolves around the technique as the artist use the instrument as the video moves around. This video works by every time a beat is hit the artist moves forward keeping the previous scene still there making there look like the artist is being duplicated and they achieved this though the use of editing.
Post-production effects are also an editing technique which is adding in effects to the video to make it more dramatic or something for narrative reasons. Another reason is to attract people to the video as there are interesting effects going on and also attract different audiences for the artist. All effects are added in during the editing process and are used to do things that would be difficult or impossible to do practically. Effects used should always fit into the genre of the song. The example for this technique is Eminem - Love The Way You Lie ft. Rihanna and in this video it follows the story of a dysfunctional couple and one of them ends up burning there house down and this is where the effects come in as it would take a long time to build a house to burn down they set a little fire and then used editing to make it look like the whole thing is fire, this is all done digitally after production.
Split screen is another editing technique which is essentially splitting the screen in to show different events going on at the same time showing the audience more than one story to follow at once. This can be used in different ways to show contrast between the story's or could show the same event from different perspectives.
Chroma key is a music video being shot using large amount of green screen/ blue screen to make the artist or subject of the video look like they are somewhere that they actually aren't to give the viewer something interesting to look at whilst they perform.
Camera Movements is a technique used in all types of media productions and is used in music videos to give the video flow as each shots should flow onto the next shot without looking jumpy. This technique is purely for the audience feel excitement, to feel immersed in the video without being distracted. The movements used are pans, tracking shots, tilts and crab shows which all have a unique movement to them. The example I have found for this technique is Twenty One Pilots - Stressed Out which has many different movements as the whole video was shot with hand held meaning the camera had nothing to rest on making all of the shot feels shaky and wobbly which give off the effect that it is more personal and less professional made. The importance of camera movements are large as if there are no camera movements all shots would be static, feeling the same and would likely bore the viewer.
Camera angles and shot types are also used in all types of media productions and is using the camera in different angles and distances to give off a certain tone or meaning and is completely dependent on the directors preferences. The shot variation could also include aspects of mise-en-scene. This technique is crucial in giving the the director the ability to make it theirs and give it a specific tone and atmosphere. The example I have for this technique is Justin Bieber - I'll Show You which contains the artist (Justin Bieber) wondering around a beautiful country side and gets various different shots of the views. I chose this video as the location really allowed the director to get many different types of shots to try and capture the beauty of the location. All of the shot are captured to look as its from the artist perspective. All of the shots in this video are diverse and different form the other shots and very few shots are done in the same way. This videos theme is that the artist is free and is able to do anything and is why the location is so open and is also why the shots are mostly from his perspective.
Mise-en-scene is the arrangement of the set which would include lighting, objects and the settings. This is used to create certain moods by using the set to fit what the songs overall theme. This can be an impact on the finished product as if not done properly the set will look out of place and as result will make the whole video look weird. It also give a tone to the video and would help to invest the audience. The example I have found for Mise-en-scene is Coldplay - Hymn For The Weekend which features the artist performing in public in India whilst background footage shows the main singer walking around the streets of India. The mise-en-scene is extremely important in this video as the setting of India needed to be shown in a appropriate way as most of India struggles with poverty. As India has issues with poverty you would expect the streets of India to be dull with no life or colour, however in this video they mange to find the life and colour in the most poor and struggling places and mange to show the beauty in it.
Tuesday 23 May 2017
Music Video Research and Planning
We have chosen a song by Yung Lean who is a 20 year old rapper from Sweden. The song We have chosen is Kyoto which is Rap song based around the artists life.
Lyrics Analysis
Yung Lean – Kyoto
Do me, I'm a do me
(Comfortable being
himself)
I'm a make her mine,
I'm a make her mine
I said fuck the
shine, I said fuck the shine
Bitch, I grind,
bitch, I grind
Yung Lean swerving in
see me fucked up
See me swervin'
through, they want me locked up
Been locked up, in my own mind
(Has/Had mental issues)
My thoughts will
never be shut out
I got an empire of
emotional
Squad see me crusin',
crusin' in my go kart
I'm War ho, I'm
Warhol
I'm Wario when I'm in Mario Kart
(Sees himself as a villain
to society)
Topping the charts
Ace in my cards
(Talking about how
great he is)
Choppa my locka when
I'm writing these bars
Koka Kola Veins, I'm insane
Trip through memory lane
(Saying he is on
drugs often)
Out in Narashino and I see my own white shadow
A tad too close
(Experiencing drug
side effects )
Rad with a bad
diagnose
Coke-filled nose
Too weird for them
other fuck boys
Catch Lean and sad
boys
Out in Europe, sippin' cristal
(Talking about his
different experiences with drugs)
I'm smoking loud with
my lost boys
All this money don't make me sad
though
(Talking about how he
enjoys his life style)
Rubber bands in my
pants bur
Don't close your eyes
And lean back though
Ya'll ain't ready for
the lean attack though
Lean, lean, lean
Yunging with my Team
Pumping RZA eating
pizza
Man I'm living my dreams
(The life style he
has hasn’t affected him yet and he’s enjoying his life.)
My life I've
comprehended, it's not a lie
I'm dependent on my
team
When I send it, I
spit fire I'm an element
I'm everything
(Making himself sound
great)
You're irrelevant
Take it easy
Yeah we getting it
BBC pants yeah I'm getting rich
All this love I'm melting it
(Again saying how
great his life is and that because he is currently relevant he is untouchable)
Don't let me down I'm
not meant for it
If you ask me, I
might come for it
I'll take back to the
rain forest
My heart and soul,
yeah you tore it
I don't want to be here,
but my lives more of it
(He doesn’t want to
be famous he just want to be loved by his fan)
There's more of it
S-A-D B-O-Y-S
See me in the club
with it tatted on my chest
S-A-D B-O-Y-S
See me in the cut
with it tatted on my chest
See me on the bus,
blowing sesh
(With all his money
he still human using public transport)
Nothing less, we the best
Fuck the rest
(He only cares about himself
and his friends)
Water in my lungs
Finna quest
I won't hit the earth
(He’s untouchable)
Fire, water, dirt
Too turnt, too burnt
Make mistakes, I guess I'll
never learn
(His life style causes
many mistakes)
See, see that's my
firm
Nike, Nike on my
shirt
Bubbles bubbles, blowing bubbles
But I guess they'll never burst
(He is currently on a
high point of life and is convinced that it will last)
Empire of my state of
mind
I'm a do me, I'm a
make it mine
I say fuck the shine
I say fuck the shine
(He hates the fame)
Bitch I grind, bitch
I grind
I'm hard to find
(Maybe hard to find
emotionally)
The concept of the lyrics is that it is the artist talking about his life style and the benefits and issues that come along with his life style. He talks about great his life is when he states "Man I'm living my dreams" Which tells us that he does enjoy certain aspects of his life, however this could be a front be puts up to his audience but in reality he hates the fame that has come along with the line " I don't want to be here" which could be his inner thoughts but he cant express these thoughts fully so he suppresses them. He also talks many times about the drugs he gets involved in which he talks about in positive ways with the line "Trip through memory lane" which is saying whilst hes high he is think of his fondest memory's, but he flips this later when saying "smoking loud with my lost boys" which I would think he is saying he is lost as a person ans is surrounded by people who are also lost as people and they don't know who they are and who they want to be. This could all be about the artist while he is high and the positive expression is he during a good drug experience and the negative could be him during a bad drug experience. I personally feel the meaning of this song is to highlight the weight of fame and that on the outside artists have to pretend to be happy with their success when in reality they are unhappy people who do not like the life style they have.
The imagery I got from this is a certain individual dressed extravagantly walking around the streets putting up a front that he is all together and sane dancing along with the music and lip syncing with effects over the top of this the give of the effect that he is mentally struggling. It could also be seen as the effects are side effects of the drug he has taken. Another image I get from this is once again and certain individual in the back of night clubs doing as many drugs he can get his hands on whilst lights flash around and and again effects over the top to show how out of it the person is.
The narrative of The lyrics would be that the artist is having issues with his life and that the life style of famous rappers can cause major damage I their lives, along with that the fact that they must appear fine to their audience as their lives are so public. The artist is trying to shed light on what he actually thinks rather than what his audience hears and his making parallels by including both sides of his thoughts.
The Genre of Yung Lean's music is Hip Hop however his music is very unique and because of this fits in many different sub-genres. Yung Lean is known for the sub-genre Vaporwave which is a electronic type music that is characterized by the surrealist fascination with the entertainment and technology in the 1980's and the 1990's. Vaporwave and be identified visually by the different cultures that are shown during the video. These Vaporwave music videos can use any type of culture however Yung Lean tends to use Japaneses culture in his videos, using both Japanese settings and customs from japan whilst also using in many of his videos Japaneses text. The song we have chosen also uses Japanese culture and is also title Kyoto which is a location in Japan.
The pace of the song is quick rapping so it is upbeat and moves quickly throughout without any noticeable breaks or stops, this means there should be no point where the video slows down and should keep to the with the tempo of the song to make it look like it belongs. The theme would would be street rapper and the video would be have to fit with the flow of the song.
The duration of the original song is around 4 minutes 40 seconds however we have gone and altered it and got rid of the unnecessary parts and is now around 3 minutes. This means that we need to capture enough footage to cover the whole 3 minutes and must keep up enough quality to keep the audience engaged until the end of the song.
Yung Lean is a very different artist then the typical Hip Hop star these days and lots of this is down to his style and the unique way he dresses. Thought the time since he started his career Yung Lean has changed massively and this is mainly due to the impact that fame had on him changing his attitude and other metal elements that have changed through growing up since he is still fairly young. Another huge impact on him has been his drug use which has not only physically changed him but mentally has changed him. Yung Lean has a very unusual sense of style and can be seen wear very odd cloths varying from a bucket hat and a tracksuit to a dress and women's sunglasses. Yung Lean also has his own merchandise company "Sadboys" which prominently focuses on their logo a sad face and Japanese writing. Yung Lean can sometimes be seen promoting this merchandise and in his music videos, background actors can be seen promoting the clothes. Yung Lean is not usually seen wearing make up in his music videos however when performing live on stage can do some random and unique things. On one occasion Yung Lean performed live and came out on stage with fake blood on his face with no significant reason or meaning behind why he did it. Because of Yung Leans unusual style he has now became a iconic artist in the Hip Hop genre.
Yung Leans music videos all have a similar tone and atmosphere of being sad and depressing mixed with relaxing and weird and all of his videos gives off a surreal feeling. Yung Leans music videos all have the same 80's/90's feel and is a huge impact on the way he does his music videos by using certain locations and themes. Yung Lean is known for Vaporwave music which uses heavy nostalgia to involve the audience and because of this the videos all give of the same kind of atmosphere. One example of Yung Lean using heavy nostalgia is in one of his music video the whole thing is him in front of a green screen with 80's/90's items in the background such as drinks, game controllers and current events going on in that time. Many of Yung Leans other video contain him and friends in different locations in Japan and revolve around him in urban areas of Japanese locations.He does this as lots of his music revolves around Japanese culture.
Yung Lean in most of his videos uses some kind of product placement. He uses this to get more promotion for his video and sometimes may get extra money for the placement. In Yung Leans early career he used items of nostalgia such as Pokemon cards and Nintendo controllers to give the audience certain feelings whilst also using existing products and promoting them. In recent videos Yung Lean uses more branded items of clothing such as Nike and Adidas and also references these brands in some lyrics. In terms of narrative there normally isn't any as Yung Leans lyrics don't really tell a story and more conveys deep and discreet meaning that he lets the audience interpret in their own way. As he doesn't follow a story he usually goes to urban places in Japan and get footage of him walking around the location with his friends whilst also getting cinematic shots of the landscape and building. Much of Yung Leans video include heavy use of of visual effects and is used to give off a psychedelic feeling as if you are seeing what Yung Lean is seeing and brings all of themes together under what Yung Lean sees of the world just as his lyrics do.
Yung Leans music videos all have a similar tone and atmosphere of being sad and depressing mixed with relaxing and weird and all of his videos gives off a surreal feeling. Yung Leans music videos all have the same 80's/90's feel and is a huge impact on the way he does his music videos by using certain locations and themes. Yung Lean is known for Vaporwave music which uses heavy nostalgia to involve the audience and because of this the videos all give of the same kind of atmosphere. One example of Yung Lean using heavy nostalgia is in one of his music video the whole thing is him in front of a green screen with 80's/90's items in the background such as drinks, game controllers and current events going on in that time. Many of Yung Leans other video contain him and friends in different locations in Japan and revolve around him in urban areas of Japanese locations.He does this as lots of his music revolves around Japanese culture.
Yung Lean in most of his videos uses some kind of product placement. He uses this to get more promotion for his video and sometimes may get extra money for the placement. In Yung Leans early career he used items of nostalgia such as Pokemon cards and Nintendo controllers to give the audience certain feelings whilst also using existing products and promoting them. In recent videos Yung Lean uses more branded items of clothing such as Nike and Adidas and also references these brands in some lyrics. In terms of narrative there normally isn't any as Yung Leans lyrics don't really tell a story and more conveys deep and discreet meaning that he lets the audience interpret in their own way. As he doesn't follow a story he usually goes to urban places in Japan and get footage of him walking around the location with his friends whilst also getting cinematic shots of the landscape and building. Much of Yung Leans video include heavy use of of visual effects and is used to give off a psychedelic feeling as if you are seeing what Yung Lean is seeing and brings all of themes together under what Yung Lean sees of the world just as his lyrics do.
Tuesday 16 May 2017
Friday 21 April 2017
Single Camera Production Techniques
When filming for a production there is two different ways to film. The first is single Camera production which is filming only using one camera to capture the scene and the other is multi-camera production which is is using many different cameras to get different angles. The camera is the piece of equipment that captures the visuals of the scene and is directly involved in getting the audiences attention. On some occasions in single camera productions more than one camera is used and this is only done to make use of a difficult scene being shot like an explosion or something expensive. Directors do often like single camera better as it gives them the freedom to move the camera around compared multi-camera which is set to the angles in which the cameras are set up. Single camera is much more time consuming as it requires a scene to be performed over and over and as it takes longer will also cost more.
Lighting in single camera is much more complicated as you must set the lighting for each shot individually which gives the scene a certain tone and allows the director to experiment. In multi-camera production the lighting inst as varied as the lighting should work for all angles which makes all of the shots look exactly the same or similar, because of this it is hard to give off different tones and styles and because of this it can sometimes look fake.
When filming in single camera it is important to start the scene before you plan to start it leaving a space at the beginning and at the end to make it easier to match up audio with the shot and can also avoid noticeable jump cuts. Just like any other production sound effects and music would be added in post production. In multi-camera productions it is easier to mic each character separately as it would be direct and clear, for some productions the point of the show would be self-aware that they are being filmed for example talent shows such as X factor would use visible mics as they are filmed. In single camera productions it would be easier to use a directorial microphone to get all of the scenes audio. This method is used as the director can shoot the scene without the microphone being seen which in Multi-camera would be hard to keep the equipment out all of the different shots compared to one shot. When shooting a scene you must be aware that extra audio will be added to the scene and do not always need to see the dialogue being spoken such as narration, over the shoulder shots or cutaways. In these cases the audio would be recorded separately and be edited over the top of the visual shot.
Coverage is the amount of footage you get for each shot and is important to get different options for each scene so when it comes to editing you will be able to use the best out of many rather than being stuck using a shot that isn't quite right, has bad acting or has a continuity error. If you are filming with a digital camera it is cost effective to shoot as much as you can as it is stored on an SD card and would be costly however if shooting with film would be more costly the more takes you do and would be ideal to rehearse without cameras rolling to get it perfect before shooting the scene. When shooting single camera it is important to do scenes more than once changing the camera angle to get various shots to give the editor as much chose as possible. In single camera production it is important to get a master shot of the whole scene to edit around, these would be either wide or long shots to capture everything in the scene before cutting into different angles of the scene. In multi-camera production there are many cameras already capturing different angles so pauses in shooting wouldn't be as frequent and would shot large amounts of scenes in one go needing large amounts of dislodge to be learnt and memorized compared to single camera where shots would be filmed separately giving actors breaks often.
For both types of productions the editing stage can take a large amount of time as there is a lot of footage to go through and edit together to get the final product. In multi-camera productions there is a lot of wasted footage that isn't needed however is cheaper and less time consuming compared to single camera production which would take longer to film but more of the footage is used. In single camera production it is normally filmed in bunches depending on locations and cast needed. If a program is filmed live it is always Multi-camera as it would need to jump to different angles as quick as possible and only multi-camera can do that, this would be used for live competitions such as X Factor and also used for sporting events such as football. Live filming cannot be done live and can only be edited together after production. Shot logs are essentially a list of shots filmed along with a description on how usable the shot is in the final product.
In TV production their are many different genres which use either Single camera or Multi-camera productions. Period dramas are set in specific eras of the past to make the audience feel like they are watching people of that time, because of this they have to give it the correct atmosphere costumes and dialogue and are used to create the appropriate tone and style. As it needs to have a certain feel and style it would be filmed using single camera production so the director can have full control over what the viewer is seeing. An example of this is a new TV show from the BBC called Taboo which is set in industrial England and has a very dark and gritty tone only captured from the way it is filmed.
Crime Drama is a genre based around following a criminal or authority figures and are story based meaning that the director needs to focus on the plot and character development. Crime Dramas are typically single camera as the characters would need to be focused on through different shot variations to move the plot forward. Single camera would allow the filmmaker focus on plot defining moments allowing it to be captured in artistic ways. Lighting is a huge factor in crime dramas as it would normally have dark themes meaning the lighting would also have to fit the themes. An example of crime drama is the BBC's Sherlock which is based around a detective who solves crimes around a city and has many dark themes.
Horror is a genre based around scaring the audience by using supernatural insentience or murderers and the genre is used to scare the audience or make them feel uncomfortable. The technique used most is a jump scare which is the director using the camera to make something surprising happen to make the audience react and because of this horror is typically single camera as the filmmaker needs to personally chose where the camera will go and move which cant be done in multi-camera. Horror is also story based meaning the camera needs to be able to focus on different events and objects which can be achieved using single camera. An example of this is black mirror which is a TV based around different futuristic technology and the negative effects it would have on humanity which needs to focus on different events which could only be achieved through single camera.
Comedy is a genre based around making the audience laugh and relax using jokes and situations you can relate to. Comedy sitcoms can be filmed in both ways with the single camera being more story based and Multi-camera being more character based as actors are allowed to react naturally as their reaction would be in the same shot rather than separate. Single camera is used to show events through the protagonists eyes compared to multi-camera which makes you fell like you are there with the characters experiencing events with them. An example of a sitcom using multi-camera is Friends which is a TV show about a group of people living in New York and it is filmed with many cameras around a set and reuses the same sets for most of the production. An example of single camera is Scrubs which is a TV show about medical staff in a hospital and uses various locations as it is single camera.
Soap opera is a genre based around real life situations and normally contains a lot of drama. soap operas are usually filmed with multi-camera production as lots of characters are used it is easier to film them together and as scenes would take place in the same areas it would be necessary to make a set which is perfect for multi-camera. Soap operas can also be single camera especially if a real house location is needed as it would be impossible to maneuver equipment in such spaces.
There are also different formats in which a show can be filmed and the first type is a series which a run of episodic programming with a set main cast that doesn't change but the situation/story line changes with the character having to deal with something different every episode. There can be sub plots that run through the whole show but isn't the main plot. An example of this is The Simpsons which every episode a certain event happens with one of the characters and in the next episode has no connection to the previous. Although character can develop throughout using sub plots that do carry on between episodes. A series TV show would have each episode having its own beginning, middle and end. A series is commissioned in episodes rather than seasons and would be given a set number of episodes to fill out.
A Serial can also be given a certain amount of episodes however some shows like Soap operas can be never ending. An example of a period costume drama based off of a existing book such as Game of Thrones. In this show the characters are all the same in every episode and the story develops over the course of the season. A special kind of Serial is soap operas which have the same characters from episode to episode and also have a story that develops over the course of many episodes however these shows have no protagonist and have many different characters with equal screen time(Ensemble cast). These shows will also have no end point will continue with other plot points if one ends. An example of a soap opera is Coronation Street which runs on endlessly with no end in sight with no seasons and as result no season finales. Coronation Street is the longest running soap opera, this is because of how quickly they can be produced as they use Multi-camera production which could be filmed much faster than single camera.
Single Dramas are self contained production that is a one off form normal programming. The story would be told in one single episode just like a TV movie that tells a story in one go without the need for multiple episodes. The minimum running time for these productions is five minutes.
In conclusion single camera production would be lengthy process and would consume more time to produce compared to multi-camera and a result of the longer production time will also cost more than multi-camera. The single camera is also more likely to have continuity errors as different shots from different takes will be used and could have little mistakes that aren't seen when filming. This could also make the scenes feel forced and stunted compared to multi-camera where the actors are playing out the scene in full. Although there are negatives there are also many positives such as the fact that the director has much more control on what is happening on screen and would allow them to get stylized and unique shots to make it look artistic. The lighting can also be controlled much better as you would be setting up lighting for one ca,era and not multiple. Single camera would also help the actors get into character as they will go over their scenes multiple times. There are many other positives such as The production will feel more personal, Variety in location due to less equipment, single ca,era productions can also have much tighter budgets as less equipment is needed and also footage can be shot together some the crew and cast aren't waiting around as long. An example of Single camera is The office which is a show about office workers and there exciting lives.
In conclusion multi-camera production would harder to light each scene as there are multiple cameras to worry about and not just one and because of this some shot will look fake. The director also has very little control over what shots are being filmed as the cameras are set up to get all of the scene at once meaning the director has little control. Location would also be limited as you would need enough space to fit all of the equipment which is why sets are used. There are also lots of positives such as There are far less re-shoots as the whole scene would be recorded at once meaning a scene doesn't need to be redone form many different separate angles, also because of it all being one big scene it is likely to have less continuity errors. In multi-camera production the action doesn't need to stop and start over and over as the whole scene would be captured in one take and this would also look natural rather than cutting loads of different angles to put an action scene together. Filming can be done in a quicker amount of time as more one take scenes would be done. When it comes to live TV multi-camera is the only way to achieve this as a live event or show would need more than one angle and would need different things that need to be record at the same time. An example of multi-camera production is The sitcom Friends which Is filmed on a set and would reuse the same sets often. This show uses multiple camera to get certain characters reactions to the scene and would have a camera focusing on all of the characters at the same time.
Lighting in single camera is much more complicated as you must set the lighting for each shot individually which gives the scene a certain tone and allows the director to experiment. In multi-camera production the lighting inst as varied as the lighting should work for all angles which makes all of the shots look exactly the same or similar, because of this it is hard to give off different tones and styles and because of this it can sometimes look fake.
When filming in single camera it is important to start the scene before you plan to start it leaving a space at the beginning and at the end to make it easier to match up audio with the shot and can also avoid noticeable jump cuts. Just like any other production sound effects and music would be added in post production. In multi-camera productions it is easier to mic each character separately as it would be direct and clear, for some productions the point of the show would be self-aware that they are being filmed for example talent shows such as X factor would use visible mics as they are filmed. In single camera productions it would be easier to use a directorial microphone to get all of the scenes audio. This method is used as the director can shoot the scene without the microphone being seen which in Multi-camera would be hard to keep the equipment out all of the different shots compared to one shot. When shooting a scene you must be aware that extra audio will be added to the scene and do not always need to see the dialogue being spoken such as narration, over the shoulder shots or cutaways. In these cases the audio would be recorded separately and be edited over the top of the visual shot.
Coverage is the amount of footage you get for each shot and is important to get different options for each scene so when it comes to editing you will be able to use the best out of many rather than being stuck using a shot that isn't quite right, has bad acting or has a continuity error. If you are filming with a digital camera it is cost effective to shoot as much as you can as it is stored on an SD card and would be costly however if shooting with film would be more costly the more takes you do and would be ideal to rehearse without cameras rolling to get it perfect before shooting the scene. When shooting single camera it is important to do scenes more than once changing the camera angle to get various shots to give the editor as much chose as possible. In single camera production it is important to get a master shot of the whole scene to edit around, these would be either wide or long shots to capture everything in the scene before cutting into different angles of the scene. In multi-camera production there are many cameras already capturing different angles so pauses in shooting wouldn't be as frequent and would shot large amounts of scenes in one go needing large amounts of dislodge to be learnt and memorized compared to single camera where shots would be filmed separately giving actors breaks often.
For both types of productions the editing stage can take a large amount of time as there is a lot of footage to go through and edit together to get the final product. In multi-camera productions there is a lot of wasted footage that isn't needed however is cheaper and less time consuming compared to single camera production which would take longer to film but more of the footage is used. In single camera production it is normally filmed in bunches depending on locations and cast needed. If a program is filmed live it is always Multi-camera as it would need to jump to different angles as quick as possible and only multi-camera can do that, this would be used for live competitions such as X Factor and also used for sporting events such as football. Live filming cannot be done live and can only be edited together after production. Shot logs are essentially a list of shots filmed along with a description on how usable the shot is in the final product.
In TV production their are many different genres which use either Single camera or Multi-camera productions. Period dramas are set in specific eras of the past to make the audience feel like they are watching people of that time, because of this they have to give it the correct atmosphere costumes and dialogue and are used to create the appropriate tone and style. As it needs to have a certain feel and style it would be filmed using single camera production so the director can have full control over what the viewer is seeing. An example of this is a new TV show from the BBC called Taboo which is set in industrial England and has a very dark and gritty tone only captured from the way it is filmed.
Horror is a genre based around scaring the audience by using supernatural insentience or murderers and the genre is used to scare the audience or make them feel uncomfortable. The technique used most is a jump scare which is the director using the camera to make something surprising happen to make the audience react and because of this horror is typically single camera as the filmmaker needs to personally chose where the camera will go and move which cant be done in multi-camera. Horror is also story based meaning the camera needs to be able to focus on different events and objects which can be achieved using single camera. An example of this is black mirror which is a TV based around different futuristic technology and the negative effects it would have on humanity which needs to focus on different events which could only be achieved through single camera. 
Comedy is a genre based around making the audience laugh and relax using jokes and situations you can relate to. Comedy sitcoms can be filmed in both ways with the single camera being more story based and Multi-camera being more character based as actors are allowed to react naturally as their reaction would be in the same shot rather than separate. Single camera is used to show events through the protagonists eyes compared to multi-camera which makes you fell like you are there with the characters experiencing events with them. An example of a sitcom using multi-camera is Friends which is a TV show about a group of people living in New York and it is filmed with many cameras around a set and reuses the same sets for most of the production. An example of single camera is Scrubs which is a TV show about medical staff in a hospital and uses various locations as it is single camera. Soap opera is a genre based around real life situations and normally contains a lot of drama. soap operas are usually filmed with multi-camera production as lots of characters are used it is easier to film them together and as scenes would take place in the same areas it would be necessary to make a set which is perfect for multi-camera. Soap operas can also be single camera especially if a real house location is needed as it would be impossible to maneuver equipment in such spaces.
There are also different formats in which a show can be filmed and the first type is a series which a run of episodic programming with a set main cast that doesn't change but the situation/story line changes with the character having to deal with something different every episode. There can be sub plots that run through the whole show but isn't the main plot. An example of this is The Simpsons which every episode a certain event happens with one of the characters and in the next episode has no connection to the previous. Although character can develop throughout using sub plots that do carry on between episodes. A series TV show would have each episode having its own beginning, middle and end. A series is commissioned in episodes rather than seasons and would be given a set number of episodes to fill out. 
A Serial can also be given a certain amount of episodes however some shows like Soap operas can be never ending. An example of a period costume drama based off of a existing book such as Game of Thrones. In this show the characters are all the same in every episode and the story develops over the course of the season. A special kind of Serial is soap operas which have the same characters from episode to episode and also have a story that develops over the course of many episodes however these shows have no protagonist and have many different characters with equal screen time(Ensemble cast). These shows will also have no end point will continue with other plot points if one ends. An example of a soap opera is Coronation Street which runs on endlessly with no end in sight with no seasons and as result no season finales. Coronation Street is the longest running soap opera, this is because of how quickly they can be produced as they use Multi-camera production which could be filmed much faster than single camera. 
Single Dramas are self contained production that is a one off form normal programming. The story would be told in one single episode just like a TV movie that tells a story in one go without the need for multiple episodes. The minimum running time for these productions is five minutes.
In conclusion single camera production would be lengthy process and would consume more time to produce compared to multi-camera and a result of the longer production time will also cost more than multi-camera. The single camera is also more likely to have continuity errors as different shots from different takes will be used and could have little mistakes that aren't seen when filming. This could also make the scenes feel forced and stunted compared to multi-camera where the actors are playing out the scene in full. Although there are negatives there are also many positives such as the fact that the director has much more control on what is happening on screen and would allow them to get stylized and unique shots to make it look artistic. The lighting can also be controlled much better as you would be setting up lighting for one ca,era and not multiple. Single camera would also help the actors get into character as they will go over their scenes multiple times. There are many other positives such as The production will feel more personal, Variety in location due to less equipment, single ca,era productions can also have much tighter budgets as less equipment is needed and also footage can be shot together some the crew and cast aren't waiting around as long. An example of Single camera is The office which is a show about office workers and there exciting lives.
In conclusion multi-camera production would harder to light each scene as there are multiple cameras to worry about and not just one and because of this some shot will look fake. The director also has very little control over what shots are being filmed as the cameras are set up to get all of the scene at once meaning the director has little control. Location would also be limited as you would need enough space to fit all of the equipment which is why sets are used. There are also lots of positives such as There are far less re-shoots as the whole scene would be recorded at once meaning a scene doesn't need to be redone form many different separate angles, also because of it all being one big scene it is likely to have less continuity errors. In multi-camera production the action doesn't need to stop and start over and over as the whole scene would be captured in one take and this would also look natural rather than cutting loads of different angles to put an action scene together. Filming can be done in a quicker amount of time as more one take scenes would be done. When it comes to live TV multi-camera is the only way to achieve this as a live event or show would need more than one angle and would need different things that need to be record at the same time. An example of multi-camera production is The sitcom Friends which Is filmed on a set and would reuse the same sets often. This show uses multiple camera to get certain characters reactions to the scene and would have a camera focusing on all of the characters at the same time.
Wednesday 15 February 2017
Thursday 9 February 2017
Purpose of Music Videos
The music industry has come a long way in the past hundred years with music videos being significant to the popularity of music these days also bring the media industry in and collaborating with artists to make music videos. In 1941 an invention of a jukebox that plays videos along with music was the start of music videos. Throughout the years it has progressed to what we have today with music TV channels such as MTV and also using the internet to spread the video with Vevo that uses YouTube to allow mass viewing from all around the world. This essay is to show the different types of music videos and what goes into the process along with why certain videos have promotion and some don't.
When making a music video the main goal is to promote the
artist and their music, the video needs to represent the song and show the
artist to who they are or want to be. The music video needs to show clearly who
the artist is and gather new fans or entertain existing fans, the best way to
promote them is by putting their name in the video so the viewer has no doubt
on who it is. The example I have chosen is a song by The Chainsmokers with
their music video for closer. At the beginning of their video a title shows up
with their name showing clearly that they are the creators of this song and
allows new fans to look them up. Also in music videos the director can choose
to feature their name somewhere in the video and can be done in different ways.
The director isn’t always featured and would normally go unknown from the
general viewer. The example I have found is from Michael Jackson's bad which is
directed by Martin Scorsese who is an already famous movie director and as
Michael Jackson was so big he had long expensive short films to go alongside
the music. As it was directed by a big movie director his name was featured at
the start with his name flashing up.
When making a music video the producer has a huge part in
deciding on what can be in the video or not and have certain producer strategies
that they use. If the artist is part of a major label they are unlikely to have
much control on what happens in the music video. The artist may have an image
that them must keep to so big pop-stars wouldn't be able to feature drugs or
sex as it wouldn't keep to their image. on the other hand, you would be able to
have a bigger production, including more promotion and other famous people
featuring in the video, such George Ezra's listen to the man featuring actor
Sir Ian McKellen. Independent band and self-produced artist would have more
freedom and be able to make their video be what they want however they would
have less production budget and wouldn't be able to go to the same levels that
major labels can go to. An example of self-produced artist would be Justin
Bieber before he was picked up by his label and was uploading videos to YouTube
of himself singing and playing guitar and this was how he was found. Music
videos could also be made in the name of art making strange artistic and
experimental videos to express the artist.
When an artist releases a song and music video the aim is to
make money and through many different services will make the artist money. The
artist would get paid the more the video in featured such as on TV channels and
radio stations and only big artists would be featured on these platforms as the
stations and channels would only take the safe bet by playing popular artists
otherwise the viewer wouldn't continue to watch/listen. An artist can also get
income from services such as YouTube and Spotify, also could be bought from
online stores such as ITunes. Artist have many ways to make money and having a
good music video would add interest to the song.
These days there are various media outlets to view music videos and because devices like mobile phones could be used to view video anywhere at any time unlike in the past when the only way to view media is through the TV. There are still TV channels dedicated to showing music videos but they are not as popular as they used to be as there are easier ways to view them. The ITunes store allows people to find and buy any music video they wish to then watch at any time. Mainly people view music videos through YouTube and the service Vevo Which has every big artist being presented and uploaded to the internet for everyone to watch, artist also get money from the views on their videos.
There is also synergy inmusic videos which is the promotion of something using a music video and can span lots of different medias such as video game, movies or merchandise. A good example of this is Disney who when releasing a movie normally would release such things as music videos and merchandise and would use these things to promote their new movie. The hope for synergy is to use different marketing to make as much income as you can and a good example of this is the movie High School Musical which when the movie was released the songs were put on YouTube and many different types of merchandise were sold such as school bags, clothes, CD 's, party bags, card games and many other items. This could also just be made when a movie needs a song for the soundtrack and artist could make a song and music video in the same style as the movie maybe using footage from the movie and this helps everyone as the artist will get paid and the movie gets promotion if the song becomes popular. An a example of this is wiz kalfia's see you again which was the song for fast and furious 6 and was also a tribute song to Paul Walker who died during the filming period and as it was a tribute to Paul got very popular also giving the movie lots of publicity.
Music videos are popular as they are a interesting visual to go along with the music being played and can also be done in many different ways making many music videos unique. Unlike other media products music videos do not have to follow any rules giving the creator freedom to make whatever they want. When music videos were introduced artist discovered that having a video along side gave their audience something extra to see from them and it caught on up to today were it is almost unheard of for big artist not to have a music video along with there songs. The future of music videos is unclear however in my opinion I feel that music videos will stick around as long as music is still being created and cant see them stopping anytime soon. I feel that music videos will only progress as better technology is developed.
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