3. Main Effect
This is the second shot of our music video and
it is at this point you are made aware of the
fact this is a reversed shot, as the leaves acted
as a catalyst to spark that realization in the
viewers mind. From looking at Coldplay's video
for ‘The Scientist’ (a main focus point for our
own video) the opening is the main singer
falling up to his feet whilst lip syncing through
the backwards technique. Because of the fact
you're not aware at the beginning of the
video, it suddenly captivates you when you do
become aware of the technique being used.
We wanted our video to have the same effect
Screen shot from the opening of
Coldplay's The Scientist.
We found this type of opening
would be an excellent way to grab
the attention of the viewers early
on in our own video, as it would
keep them interested and
hopefully lead them to think about
the process of creating the shot.
4. Lip Sync
This is the third shot into our video and is the first of the lip syncing. As this shot
follows the first reversed shot of myself falling upwards, your are not aware of the
fact this shot is in fact reversed also. This subtle use of the backwards effect is key
in our video as it keeps the viewers attention, leaving you constantly thinking if the
effect is in use or not. The subtle approach for the use of this effect follows the
conventions of other Indie Rock music videos that I have researched into that also
use techniques as the main catch. As the main idea of this approach is to keep the
focus of the viewers, which is what I feel we have created.
5. Time Lapse
This screen shot has been taken from the first
time lapse seen in our music video. Throughout
our video we wanted to develop the idea of
interesting techniques being out to use (as it
would increase the attention of the
audience), so we decided to use this technique
on a number of occasions throughout the
timeline of the music video. From
looking at Radioheads music video for 'There
There‘ Thom Yorke is seen walking through the
woods in a stop motion like manner whilst the
clouds are flowing over his head at high speed.
This was the first time I saw this technique
being used in a music video and I wanted to
create the same effect it had on me upon first
watching.
The use of time lapse within a music
video was an instant grab for me, as if
we was to include this technique in our
own video it would enhance the
professionalism of the whole video by a
drastic amount. Mostly because of the
fact time lapses look visually stunning to
watch, but as we found out they are not
difficult to produce. Also being that they
are such a simple technique to carry out
it seemed only right that we included the
technique in our video.
Screen shot of time lapse from ‘There
There’
6. Camera Angles
Throughout our music video we have used a
number of different types of camera shots that
include; Close ups, Mid-Close Ups, Mid-
Shots, Floor Shots & Long Range Shots. The
most frequently used shots throughout our
video are the Mid-Shots & Long Range
Shots, as we wanted the techniques being
used to be presented around the main focus
(being the singer), without it getting in the way
or not being present at all. During the planning
stage of our video the type of shots that were
going to be used were thought about
clearly, allowing us to create the biggest
impact on the viewers possible.
Close ups
The use of close ups in our video
also helps with key information
finding its way clearly to the
viewer.
7. Camera Angles Continued
Screen shot from Radiohead's There There music Although camera angles are included in every
video genre of music videos, it became clear when
The use of close ups is also used in watching both Coldplay's & Radiohead's
videos that these types of shots are in main
Radioheads 'There There' with the focus use. Which allows them to make sure that the
being on his old shoes being thrown away effects being used are parallel with the focus
on the main character. Because of how we
when coming across cursed boots in the have planed our video I can say that the
forest. camera angles being used in our production
have the same conventional value as real
media products.
8. Colour Correction
From looking into the conventional use
of filters in other media products, it
became apparent that we needed to
include our own colour correction in
order to make our product look and
feel more professional. As our 'rough
cut' version of our video started to take
shape, it looked like a typical student
video with no treatment being carried
out on any of the footage.
Colour correction in our final production
From research on the Pinback we found they
are from San Diego, California and because of
this fact the idea of treating the footage to feel
like a warm summers evening seemed to fit
with the appeal and feel of the music itself.
Kings of Leon's music video for 'Radioactive'
has great use of this warm sepia tone colour
correction, which creates a summer time feel
that we wanted to replicate in our own video.
Colour correction found in Radioactive music
video
9. Narrative
The narrative within any music video is the key
focus (alongside technique) to draw and hold the
interest of the viewers and from researching into
the narratives normally found in the Indie Rock
genre, we came to find that 9 times out of 10 the
narrative is about the relationship between a
man or woman. Within our own project the first
thing we looked into before planning was the
story being told within the lyrics of the song.
"And when the seasons get you down, I'll come
running to tuck you in"
"And soon, all you'll have is the memory"
"And then you won't even have that memory"
The relationship that builds up
Through listening to the song, picking apart the between the main character and the
lyrics and seeing what images were being girl.
painted in our mind it became apparent to all of As the narrative is the most important part of
us that the song was about any music video, a narrative of this nature
memories, forgetting, and remembering about a
past life with a lover or friend. As all of this featured in our music video is something almost
became apparent early on in the production of everyone can relate to, due to the fact its been
our project, we moved quickly onto piecing abstracted with the technique and the lyrics.
together the story board around the narrative of Which makes you think and feel to what is being
the lyrics. presented to you, which also keeps your
Because our narrative is about the relationship attention throughout the video.
between a man and woman it's very
conventional when you look into narratives being
portrayed in real media products, resulting in our
music video feeling more professional.
10. Narrative Continued
Because of the technique being used to create
our video (being reversed footage) we needed to
use a number of abstracted shots to portray
important items to the audience, resulting in the
narrative of our music video being pushed Shot of flowers
further. From looking into abstract/loose fitting bouncing up off
lyrics of a number of Indie Rock songs (including
our chosen song), I came to find that the style in my body.
which these songs have been written means that
people can relate to them at any given time.
A good example of this is found in the lyrics of
Radioheads 15 Steps, where the song opens
with
"How come I end up where I started?
How come I end up where I went wrong?
Won't take my eyes off the ball again, Shots of Roses
You reel me out then you cut the string". flying upwards
These lyrics can relate to a number of different
feelings and the reason they stick in my mind is
because I relate them to people that have led me
on in the past.
Because of the fact I find that lyrics of most
Indie Rock songs act as a ignition or
spark, triggering memories and emotion, I
wanted to push this convention found in
professional products by incorporating it into
the narrative of our music video, by using a Time lapse of girl
number of abstracted clips. fading away from
singer (right)
The use of these clips keep the viewers mind continually
processing to try and match what they are seeing with what is
being said in the lyrics of the song. Because a direct message
is being given across it means the audience find/form their
own relationship with the song, all being drawn from their own
personal experiences.
11. Relationship Between Music &
Visuals
The entirety of the video has been based Overlay of
around the story being told in the lyrics, from
the aspect of what we as a group pictured in running one
our minds when listening to the song.
Although the idea of our music video was to
make it seem like a distorted dream/memory
with the use of reversed footage, we still
wanted the relationship between the lyrics and
visuals to have a strong link between them.
Some key lines in the lyrics such as "I'll come Overlay of
running to tuck you in" and "Down the window
see all of the colour's running down", were both coloured water
used as overlay clips that fade in over the top running down
of the previous lines of lip sync.
The use of these overlays creates a stronger
impact for these lines, resulting in the visual
images becoming more apparent and
meaningful in the viewers eyes. The use of
these overlays also creates more depth within
our music video, making it seem more Overlay of
professional as before the overlays were running
introduced the video lacked depth making it
seem ‘empty’ without them. The use of depth is water, two
also a convention used by almost every
professional media product, as more attention it
received from its audience as a result of the
video not lacking constant change.
12. Music & Visuals Continued
The other line that we wanted to make a key
moment for the visual was
"Word, fire, wind, hey", as at this point it cuts to a
message un-burning itself (in reverse) which
slowly reveals a quote about memories. This shot
fades in between close up lip syncs of the
alternating lyrics in the first outro of the song and
the use of this clip results in the viewers mind
being engaged even more.
Through close concentration you become aware of
the fact the message on the paper has great
relevance to the meaning of both the narrative of Burning letter
the video and the message being told within the revealing quote.
song.
From looking at Radioheads 'Karma Police' music video an important item is
shown in the hands of a man being chased by a car, to which he then uses
this item to set the vehicle on fire (which contains the singer).
The item shown is some matches, but the image found on the match box is
relevant to the producer of the video (look at my analysis of this video on our
blog for more detail) and it wasn't until I found the same image in another
media product (Blurs video for 'Universal') that I became aware of this fact. It
turned out that these images had great significance and I wanted to include a
image or item that had a big connection with the idea behind the music video.
By doing this it results in these messages becoming more meaningful once
found by the viewers, being in this case, the burning letter which includes the
meaningful quote about memories.
13. Editing & Location
Editing is the most important aspect we needed to bare in mind
through the production of our video, as from looking at the final
version compared to our ‘rough cut’ it includes the uses of a lot more
effects and cuts. From looking a range of professional
media products, its clear that editing is the 2nd most important tool
used to keep the attention of the viewers, as most videos do not
linger around the same location, but instead jump around to different
locations to keep the visuals looking fresh.
Location One: Cambridge (Quiet Location Two: London (Up beat
moments in the song) moments in the song)
14. Editing & Location (continued)
Overlay of Running Two
Location Three: London Two
The main edited effect being used in our music video
is the reversed effect, as this plays on our narrative
being about memories.
This screen shot shows the overlay of the backwards
running (which is in reverse), but the clip being overlaid
onto is in fact forwards in motion. Meaning that the lip
sync is forwards but this clip has also been reversed.
We wanted to create the idea that the main character
(e.g. the singer) has been separated from reality, stuck
in a memory, being the reason why we wanted to
Location Four: Cambridge Two backwards effect to play such a big part. A complicated
but effective narrative assisted by complicated editing
makes our video seem more professional when you
start to realize the processes carried out in the
production stage.
15. Clothing
When looking at any professional music
video, clothing is another key item that needs to be
taken into consideration as this is important detail that
portrays to the audience what type of group the band
or person belongs too. From research into the Indie
side of style I came to find that chequered shirts/
vintage clothing were a go. After producing a survey
asking people what they expect to see when picturing
a Indie Band member, the results came back showing
these clothes were in the right direction of style to
head towards.
This is a screen shot from our video showing
the style of clothing we kept constant
throughout, which I feel adds a more rustic
look/feel to the video.
From other Indie music videos it became
apparent that this is the style of Indie Rock, as
from looking at Kings of Leon's Radioactive
video more closely I came to see that
chequered shirts are also present.
Screen shot from Kings of Leon’s
Radioactive Music video showing clothing
16. Magazine Advert
This is our final magazine advert
document that was put together using
Photoshop. Our main idea with this
advert was to keep it clean and
simple, but to still portray a certain
strangeness about the band and what the
song is about (advertised as a
single, 'Proceed to Memory').
From looking at adverts from various
other bands, such as King's of Leon, it
seemed that many go with the saying
'less is more‘ and I feel this advert plays
along with the conventions of a typical
Indie band advert, as even the singer
(which in this case is me) is one of the
main focuses within the advert. Also from
looking at adverts for Radiohead they
seemed to focus mainly on the singer of
the band (Thom Yorke), where as some
adverts were simple a full page viewing of
Thom Yorke himself.
17. Album DiGi-Pack
This is the complete digi-pack design to accompany our music video and advert, which uses the same
conventions of any bands DiGi-Pack through the layout and what information is being displayed.
During the production of this digi-pack design the idea was to make it reflect (along with the magazine
advert) the narrative and meaning behind the song. Because of this, it has resulted in our digi-pack not
include much information about the band, but instead has been left up to the audience to build up their
own representation.
Also again from going along with the saying 'less is more', we feel the digi-pack is complete and fits with
the image we wanted to create for the band.
Because of the fact all of the images in the digi-pack have been edited towards a certain style whilst not
giving much information, the audience soon find a meaning to the images to the song. For example the
top left and bottom middle picture are both from London, which are two main locations that play a big
part of the music video, making the meaning behind these images becomes apparent.
