Saturday 6 May 2017

Styles of music videos

Narrative:

In real terms, the term 'narrative' refers to a following of a story which therefore means that something has a beginning, middle and end whilst also referring to the way in which the story is told. In the world of music videos, A narrative music video would be one which similarly follows a story however the way in which this story is told is different from just sitting down and telling a bedtime story however focuses on communicating a story to an audience. The use of a story-line is often used to further help interpret the lyrical content of the song and this form of music video is most commonly but not always used in songs which as associated with movies (film soundtracks) where scenes of the film are able to cut into the song or aspects of similar sort however this form of music video can be applied as long as it is done correctly.

An example of this is 'Ed Sheeran: Lego House' which is a music video about an obsessive teenage fan whom tries to follow the life of the artist due to a mental breakdown which essentially leads him to idolising Ed Sheeran. I believe that this is a very creative way of showing this especially due to the fact that the artist is rarely shown until the end.



Interpretive:

An Interpretive music video is one whom  means something which looks like something else however holds a different meaning which therefore enables the audience to make their own interpretations or ideas as to whatever they have found means.


'Get Lucky' by Daft Punk is an example of an Interpretive video and not simply because another artist 'Skylar Grey' covered this song and created a new video to it which consisted of her showing how lucky she is through things such as winning money, winning a car in a game show etc which takes a completely different view from the original song as the Daft Punk version doesn't take the title of the song so literally.

Performance:

Performance music videos literally are a live performance or contain footage from a live performance of the artist performing.


This is an example of a performance music video. This video is performed by Kanye West & Jay Z ans titled 'Ni**as in Paris' . Performance videos are often known for showing live performance as aforementioned however this video is special due to its mixture of a live performance not just being simply performed or taken from a random video edit however the use of visual effects and animation here if very effective as it enables it to not just be any black and white video however one which helps us to be much more visually engaged to the video.


Surreal:

A surreal music video is a music video where something is so strange that you don't even believe that it's real. Most animated videos fall under this category however below is a very good example of a Surreal music video and are most commonly known for allowing the artist to play with their freedom through expressing themselves without the fear of breaking narrative structures and boundaries.


This video is an example of a Surreal music video which is titled 'E.T' by Katy Perry Featuring Kanye West. This video is clearly surreal as it contains various supernatural and mystical beings which seems to be a concept derived from the film 'Avatar' which therefore already places the video in the surreal category as it is quite out of the ordinary/strange. From the spaceships to the aliens to the pitch of the voice, we could say that everything in the video is a bit mystical and strange.


Animated/Animation:

Animation music videos have classically been used to experiment with story-telling techniques, music videos will often use animation through the likes of digital animation, stop motion or etc in order to present a different feel of the video and essentially make it more interactive.



This concept of Animated music videos works well for the Gorillaz simply because firstly that was the concept behind the band in the first place in the sense that the Gorillaz are a band which are virtual, the entire concept is formed by the lead singer who is Damon and the 4 animated members do not actually exist however are animated members. I believe that the use of animation here is very effective due to the fact that their own personalities and characters can be very much more real than an actually physical person is able to be in the sense that the ability to place with the character still exists, they have the ability to do, think, feel and express whatever they want which is really effective in storytelling.


Conceptual:
A conceptual music video is one which takes the idea of a 'concept' or an idea which are usually unusual therefore may even be surreal to some extent. When watching a conceptual music video, expect no lip singing or narratives however this type of video is most commonly praised for it's special effects and styles which make it unique.


                                                                                                                                                                Red Hot Chilli Peppers song 'Califorcation' is a great example of a concept based music video where it is in a form of a animated video game which not only is very engaging and visually different to the audience but also, shows technological changes.                                                                                                                                                                      

Tuesday 7 March 2017

Weekly Production Log 6

This week, I spent my time ensuring that I caught up with any outstanding work to do with my Music video which was missing or any work in general from this unit as well as making sure that I was on track with everything which had gone on as previously stated however this was also the week in which myself and my group started to film and put together out filming through the beginning of our editing process.

There were many times where frustration did hit us as we were faced with many decisions to make concerning our filming locations, what exactly we could add to make our film more interesting and things of such sort which did actually proved.
I will make sure i update this blog post to also keep it updated with what my team were up to this week when I wasn't actually present just for my own understanding and for the purposes of the post.

Thursday 2 February 2017

Artist's Identity

Image result for black woman headshot collage   This is an idea of how exactly I want some of the 'extras/cast' in my music video to look and here are the styles which the females in my videos will be inspired by and the looks they will go for. Of course, They will not be exactly the same or naked as shown in the picture however this is just an idea of how each cast member or character has a different look or personality to them which represents their style and who they are. I believe that this is the easiest, most effective way to show this.








Image result for grime artists swagImage result for grime artists swag
I have chosen the following outfits as my Artist’s identity due to the fact that I believe that it goes with the theme of the song whilst also representing the style, theme and character which I’m going for. The outfits which I have shown here are similar to what I would like my artist to wear due to the fact that I believe that this fits in very well with the nature and background of the song which also links to the fact that i believe that my artist does need to be black simply because i believe that it fits much more with the identity of the artist and the original song as well as the dialect used in it but also, the artist which i choose would need to be someone who has a sort of confident nature towards them and in not easily swayed therefore knows them-self as the lyrics used show and represent this for instance, although they are well mannered, they still have a side of them which consists of 'Attitude' and that 'Money Motivated type of lifestyle'.


Beach-combing Activity


  1. Big Tobz Ft WSTRN, Avelino & Donae'o - Uno My Style RMX



This video which is a remix to my original music video song was found by myself during the beach-combing inspired me to have a white background and a fun type of minimal theme to my music video interpretation. I believe that this was one of the first things that captured me simply because the minimal black and white editing as well the white background is very effective and I believe should be incorporated in my music video simply because I believe that it allowed me to connect much more with the artists as there were no distracting backgrounds as everything was kept minimal as well as it helped me as a viewer to focus much more on the video rather than anything.




  1. A$AP Rocky - Fashion Killa (Explicit Version)


This video was found by myself during the beach-combing activity which we were set as a task and was originally one of my first ideas for the music which i wanted to execute however was changed. Due to the nature of my song and after transcribing my lyrics, This song was one of the first songs which popped up in my head due to the fact that the main lyrics in my song were 'Uno My Style' and in this video shown above 'A$AP Rocky and Rihanna' use the concept of Fashion in order to create something which doesn't look tacky or fake however really shows their personalities, lifestyles and Fashion sense which I would like to incorporate in my music video in the sense that I would like my artists or those in my music video to also be able to express their personalities and fashion sense in the video ie Through the choice of clothing or etc.



  1. Work REMIX (Explicit)

This video was found by myself during the beach-combing activity which we were set as a task and to be quite honest, I wasn't really drawn to the visuals or the actually editing in the music video itself even though it was very good and was an aspect which I really respect because it was different it was shown and wasn't your usual rap video however I can say the aspect which I was really drawn towards was the attitude of the artists in the sense of the personalities and the confidence which is shown which reflects the nature of the song. It highlighted to me also that similarly to my choice of song, I must ensure that my artists attitude comes across as confident and also captures the audience in this way in the sense that they mean what they say, essentially 'cocky and confident'.


  1. Maleek Berry: Kontrol (Official Video)

This video was found by myself during the beach-combing activity which we were set as a task and I believe this is where I got the most inspiration from for my music video idea and also beforehand even before the music video pitch as well as when my group was decided and we were looking for different ways in which we could present the video. The level of creativity in this video is completely crazy in the sense that the way everything was just visually expressed was truly wonderful from the introduction right to the end of the video, it was simply so playful from beginning to end and fitted very well with the theme of the song. The concept which I would grasp the most through coming across this video in the beach-combing activity was firstly, the playfulness of the video, It led me to understand that not every video must be simply a man walking down the street or just so simple to the point where it becomes cliche but this video reassured me that it was ok to let my creativity flow sometimes as being creative goes a long way. Secondly, I understood that little goes a long way in the sense that, the different characters portrayed by the girls in the video shown by the way they are dressed, they way they present themselves in the form of body language, how they look and the props which they had, everything formed the video and allowed it to come together which was in a sense really magically and honestly did inspire my creativity especially because before even watching this video, I already had in mind some similar concepts to this.

Wednesday 1 February 2017

Cast and Crew List

Cast & Crew List 

Cast 

Male Lead - Ibrahim Bangura 

Ariana 

Habon 

Melesha

Mercedes

Extras(Yet to be updated and discussed)



Crew 

Ariana - Director & Editor 

Mercedes & Melesha - Camera Woman & Editor 

Habon - Lighting, props manager & Editor

Props and Equipment List


Props List

- Bubbles 

- Bubblegum 

- Lollipop 

- Lipsticks (Different Colours) 

- Phone 

- Leaflets

- Fountain Candles

- Artist's Personalised Jumper 

- Fake money
Equipment List

- Camera

- Tripod

- Mac computer 

- Spot light 

- Gel lights 

- Speakers 

-Copy of shooting Script and Call Sheet for the day