Filming and editing

On Wednesday 21st January, Will and I along with two friends set off to Brighton in two cars packed with instruments and camera equipment. We spent the majority of the day making footage in the lanes, performing on the beach and filming from the pier. Luckily the weather was perfect so we were able to make use of the day as we proposed. With all our footage recorded from Brighton we continued to record back at school including close up of band members mimming and a background animation that will feature within the chorus of the song.

With all our footage recorded in time, we were able to make a start on editing the vast amounts of film we have...

Storyboard and Animatics

We began our storyboard during the Christmas holiday period at our houses. During this time we were able to finalise our ideas and listen to the track whilst timing our shots and making relationships between the visuals and lyrics. We drew a grid on A3 paper and drew the shots that we would later use when filming our video. After various discussions we were both clear of our ideas and could add them to the storyboard. We regularly contacted eachother to ensure we were up to date and both working which allowed us to come back to school with our storyboard complete, however we had to change a few shots due to them being to complex.

Once we were back at school, we started to film the storyboard so we could upload the footage onto Premiere Elements and create the animatic for our music. We filmed every drawn shot for ten seconds then later editing the footage correctly in time with our chosen track. The reason why we are creating an animatic is to ensure our ideas are suitable for our chosen track and to determine our shots are long enough so nothing is missing. It is also allowing us to modify our ideas efficiently so that our video is easier to film, giving us an idea of the number of shots that we have to shoot and the length of time desiginated to those shots.

Pitch Evaluation

The pitch was failry successful however using other people from the groups ideas we know have a greater idea for what we want in our video. We had a very basic idea before we presented our pitch of the three memebers of the band filmed at different locations who seem lost and by the end are together on stage and have just performed to an empty audience. People suggested an idea from the Kaiser Chiefs video 'Love's not a competition but im winning', where each member of the band are filmed around different parts of the iconic central park New York, however the camera seems to be watching as if the audience are spying on the band memebers, then the band all meet at the end to perform, which we found an interesting idea which we could incorpoerate into our idea. Filming infront of a green screen was another idea due to the magical themes of Klaxons past videos, by using the green screen this could allow us to change the background and produce special effects, however we would not be able to produce the special effects that are seen in videos such as 'Golden Skans' and 'It's not over yet'.

Overall the pitch helped us with new ideas and its helping us produce a clearer concept, and we believe that doing our mini-storyboard we will be able to develop a clear and successful concept.

Pitch

Feedback #3

Well done - your research is well focused on your concept. I'm looking forward to seeing more posts documenting your ideas development, reccie etc in preparation for the pitch.

Technical Analysis

The Wombats - Moving To New York

From producing the technical analysis and watching the video in great detail, i have learnt that during the course of the video, the shots last mainly between three to four seconds with various use of graphic art work only lasting a second long and some lasting less than a second. The longest shot is nine seconds long and is a medium shot of the lead singer while the background behind him changes. This would have been made infront of a green screen then the effects added later. A common shot in the video is of the band performing on the television making the video narrative based and performance based. The most coomon shot size in the video is the MS (Medium Shot) of the singer face on looking rather tired and stressed. This has relevance to the songs title and its meaning as it is about insomnia. Other common shots are CU (Close Up) of the television, eyes and hamster that plays a key role within the video as he talks to the animal, making him appear like hes loosing his mind. Various shots consist of shooting from low angles with a high camera tilt, focusing forward and tracking. The shots that use tracking slowly bring the camera forward or backwards making you focus your attention on something particular, for example the television with the band performing. Static shots are used several times when the frontmand in singing to the camera but are very short and quickly cut to another shot. A shot that particularly stands out is the shot of the band blurring on the television, this is created with the use of graphics and is continuinly cut to between other shots, this shot only lasts for 1 second at maximum before moving on.

There is a relationship between visuals and the lyrics of the song, for example 'am I losing touch or am I just completely off the track?' suggesting is he loosing his mind, which is then backed up with him talking to a hamster and imaginine things. The narrative is constructed through this link between the lyrics and the visuals and there are a number of performance shots in the video which suggest the video is of the indie genre. For example the three to four second shots of the television showing the band performing, playing instruments and wearing skinny jeans. These are conventions often connoted with the indie/rock genre.

The narrative fuzz of the video makes it unclear as to whether he is living in New York or if he should move there. Other lyrics such as 'And I don't know why I want to voice this out loud,It's theraputic somehow' suggest he wants to tell someone but he can't and how he finds it theraputic. Other parts of the narrative, including the shots of the singer at work in an office are constructed with the use of continually cutting back to the close up performance shots on the television. These performance shots are repeated throughout of the band playing there instruments creating verisimilatude. Pedding is used from a high angle shot to a low angle shot of the singer in his bedroom which quickly cuts to a POV shot of the television, these all add the experience of watching the music video and add to our understanding of the video.

When planning our work, we shall consider the different shots often used within the indie/rock genre music vido production and plan to use many of them including quick montage editing which create meaning within the video. We could incorporate performance shots and take into account that they add to the realism of the music video, however as we are most likely to create a narrative music video we may not need to include this element. Close ups of the frontman singer are often good to show the star persona of the band. The length of the shots made me realise just how many shots we need to include to fill the length of the song, while most of them being only a few seconds long.

Product Analysis 3 - Technical Analysis

Foals - 'Olympic Airways'

By carrying out the technical analysis task i have learnt how much detail needs to go in to making a music video due to the fact that the shots are so short, as seen in the video, the longest shot is 7 seconds with nearly all the other shots lasting 2 to 3 seconds, and as the video lasts over 4 minutes this shows how many takes and re-takes would have to be shot in order to put a music video together. As well as the length of time of the shots, the different camera shots, movement, and angle also differs a lot throughout the video. There are a lot of CU and BCU seen in the video of instruments and the band members playing them, help to construct the narrative rather than go with one of the key elements of a music video by being the demands of the record label. The CU feature, showing the band members, is seen in all of the Foals music videos so they reinforce this ideology of themselves in this music video.

The shots that accompany the introduction of the song, the first 23 seconds, all fade at the end of each shot to black then go to the next shot. The first shot lasts 7 seconds, one of the longest in the whole video, there are 5 other shots that last 3 seconds in the introduction that all use the fade at the end of the shot. This introduction to the video and song establish the location through the use of a number of short cuts rather than using one establishing long shot. A handi-cam is used in the introduction to the song, this then allows the camera to track along the floor, there also being relevant CU shows as well. From then on jump cuts are predominantly used going from one shot to a different shot, there are a lot of tracking shots seen in the video, as whole video is over cranked, so all the motions that are acted by the people seen in the video are in slow motion. This also allows the camera to get closer to the artists for example, there is a performance shot where a handi-cam is used and the camera tracks from a MS of the band to a CU of the lead singer.

There are a number of links between the lyrics and the visuals seen in the video. For example in the first chorus when it says, "Let's disappear 'till tomorrow", there is a low angle CU of the lead singer as he pulls a black cloak over his head to disappear. The narrative is constructed through this link between the lyrics and the visuals due to there being a number of shots that have this feature. There are a number of performance shots in the video which comply to the conventions of the indie genre. There is also a BCU of the drummers feet, he is wearing plimsolls and you can also see his skinny jeans which also have connotations with the indie genre. There are also a number of performance shots repeated, for example the low angle MS of the band performing is seen a number of times, and there are also a number of BCU shots of instruments and the band members playing them. One that stands out which is repeated a number of times is a shot when the lead singer is standing to the right side of the screen, however it is a CU of him with the rest of the band out of focus in the background. The lead singer is singing the song in almost all of the shots of him when he is seen like this. The lead singer is renowned as a recluse and this shot reinforces this as he is segregated from the other band members, and the fact that this particular shot is repeated reinforces this idea.

This video has a number of shots that i particulaly like. I especially like the first 6 shots and the way they fade at the end of each shot. Throughout the whole video i like the use of over cranking and having a handi cam to track through, as it enables the camera to get as close as possible to the action. I think the set up of the first chorus and how the band members are seen when they are singing, "Dis-a-ppe-ar", with one band memeber sitting behind the other in a zig-zag formation, and the shot being a MS so we are able to see them all saying disappear is a very good shot to use. The main thing i have learnt in doing this exercise is the number of shots in the video, much more than what i had first thought, and it has given me a better understanding of the different camera shots, movements and angles that are necessary within a music video.