Case Studies for Digipack

Final Music Video: Kiana ft. Drake - On a Wave

The first DRAFT of our music video

Editing again!

We're back to editing with our new footage of our models in the studio! Seems like things are picking up again.

NEW BEGINNINGS

Because of our circumstance, we've had to change our actress and actor and so we've shoot in the studio again.

Call sheets for all locations

Meetings

Evidence of our group meetings with the filming cast and the models.

GROUP UPDATE

Our group has unfortunately changed due to certain circumstances. Our group only now consists of 3 - Myself, Ania and Seema.

We will be using the same track and the same ideas, however, we will be using a different actor and actress to what we were previously using.

First time editing!

We finally got some footage of our actor and actress in the studio and so in this lesson, we started editing!

Completed Storyboards

These are our final storyboards which Seema has drawn and incorporated mine and Ania's ideas. Because we're going for a narrative based video, we tried to match up our lyrics with what is happening in the video to tell a story. Although we've created a story board, we may not entirely stick to it as we're still waiting on a reply from the arcade to have permission to film there. If we can, we will follow our story board, if not, we have to change it slightly in order to incorporate another loaction as well as continue telling our story through the locations we already have. We have also included some of the shot types in our story board that we will try to shoot in order to have a range of shot types to achieve a higher grade.

Reecces!

Here is a collage of our 4 locations:
* TV studio
* Embankment
* A house
* An arcade

Risk Assessments for all 4 locations

Ania, a fellow member in my group has put together all 4 risk assessments for the locations that we will be using to shoot our video. We all tried to think of as many hazards as possible to ensure maximum safety of ourselves and our actors when recording. It has also prepared us for anything that may happen in the location that would require emergency attention.

SPANNER IN THE WORKS!

Unfortunately, the arcade replied back to our email and so we arent able to record there anymore. This therefore means that we have to change our plans slightly and change our story boards.

PERMISSION FIRST!

Anieska sent an email to the manager of the arcade to ask for permission to record our music video there.

10/10/16 - Update on our storyboards

5/10/16 Lesson - The start of our storyboards

In todays lesson, we started creating our storyboards and put our ideas all down on paper that we had discussed in our group meetings and in our lessons.

3/10/16 Lesson - Analysing the lyrics!

In todays lesson, we looked at the lyrics to our chosen song and began analysing it, creating different ideas to include in our music video.

Time to Present our Pitch!

*At one point during the video, the sound is muted due to copyright purposes*

Aafter presenting our pitch, we decided on the 2nd song - 'Kiana ft. Drake - On a wave'. We chose this song as we thought it would be easier to work with as it shorter than the other song. Also, the 1st song is quite cliche and we wanted our ideas to be very orignal and different. We felt if we chose this song, we could play around with it a lot more, using more locations and more editing techniques to make it look effective.

The final product will decide if we've made a good decison or bad one!

Our Treatment/Pitch

Trip to 'The Infinite Mix'

Today all the media groups went up to central London (The Strand) to view an exhibition called 'The Infinite Mix'. The exhibition was full of weird and wonderful things. There was 15 rooms altogether scattered around the whole building, which all consisted of some sort of musical and/or visual piece. Each and every room was pitch black which made the audience focus solely on what was happening on the screen and eliminate any other external factors which may ruin your viewing.


One thing that benefited me from the trip is an idea used in one of the rooms which consisted of a Kendrick Lamar piece. There were two screens which showed the same setting, except it was different angles, for example, on one screen would show that a girl is in a pool and you can only see her torso. On the other screen, it would show her under the water. This was a different idea that created perception that I had never seen before and may incorporate into my own music video.

Music Video Ideas: Hmm??

In today's lesson, my group and I put our ideas on paper for the song 'leaving tonight - Jennifer Hudson ft. Neyo'. We were able to come up with ideas to put into our scenes, camera angles, how to edit it and how we should broadcast the final piece.

19/09/16 Lesson - Different Music Videos

In this lesson, my group and I looked at many different music videos of the same genre that we want to use for our music video - R&B. We looked at old songs as well as new ones in order to get an understanding of modernised ideas and to see what concepts have been kept the same and what has changed.

We looked at songs such as:
- Bow Wow ft. Ciara - like you
- Beyonce - broken hearted girl
- Nicki Minaj - Pils N potions
- Alicia keys - If I ain't got you

Preliminary Task

A2 MEDIA: beyonce -sorry from seema begum on Vimeo.

Case Study 3: Chris Brown ft. Keri Hilson - Superhuman

Artist: Chris Brown & Keri Hilson
Producer: Unknown
Date Released (On youtube): 25/10/09

This music video is about how two people (Chris Brown and Keri Hilson) were feeling very low and weak before they met each other. There is an unclear reason as to why but it leaves the audience guessing through the lyrics. Once they'd met however, they're lives completely changed and they both felt much stronger, much like a superhuman.

This video is narrative and conceptual based. This is because the music video matches the lyrics in the song, creating a story. Also, the concept behind it is that love makes you stronger and makes you feel as though you have super powers. This concept is expressed throughout both the song and the video.

Right at the start of the video, there is a high angled shot which sets the scene, showing the audience where they are based. There are tall buildings around suggesting it is in the city. It then cuts to a wide shot of Chris walking down the street lip syncing, cutting back and forth from a close up to a wide shot. This is done to further help set the scene as he walks down the street. This is done to suggest that he lives a normal life, walking down the street like any other person. It then cuts to Keri also walking down the street lip syncing, as she entices the audience with her seductiveness by wearing a low cut top and lipgloss.

There is a part in the video where there is a close up on Chris's shoes, walking through paper blowing in the wind. It then cuts and you see the same thing, except you see Keri's leather heels. This suggests that they're in the same place at the same time, prompting the audience that they're going to meet at any point. You then see a medium shot of them both bumping into each other at which point, Keri drops her phone. There is an extreme close up on the phone hitting the ground. This emphasises the phone, which is the cause of both of them meeting.

There is a cut where Chris is on top of some sort of platform dancing with a distinct blue light above him. It then cuts to show Keri on a balcony wearing a tight fitted leather dress, again looking seductive. It then cuts back to Chris where a special effect is used to show he has some sort of magical powers as you see a gush of power come from behind him as he bends down. This relates to the song title and lyrics - 'superhuman'. It then cuts back to when Chris and Keri are together and he saves her from a car hitting her. This further plays on the word 'superhuman', suggesting now that Chris has developed some sort of magical power, he is like a hero who can save her. As he picks her up and spins her, it is done in slow motion, emphasising to the audience that he is saving her, as well as slowing down the speed of things to further exaggerate how fast it all was happening.

Special effects are further used to show the car go on fire as it turns over. There is a wide shot of them both meeting in a dark lit scene where the car is in flames behind them. The car symbolises the love that they have gained for each other, as close up shots further show the intimacy between them both, whilst singing to each other. The dark lighting makes them shadow, highlighting the car on fire in the back. There are cuts showing extreme close ups of them as well as long shots.

As the song ends, there is a panoramic shot of them both staring at each other and singing, that slowly fades them out to the music.

The target audience age group would be around 16 - 24 for this song.

From this video, I have had an insight into how special effects are used and can be used effectively, as well as different camera angles and editing techniques to create contrast between each shot.

Case Study 2: Beyonce - If I Were a Boy

Artist: Beyonce
Producer: Unknown
Date Released (On youtube): 02/10/09


This video is about Beyonce suggesting that if roles were switched in her relationship, her partner wouldn't like all the things that she does and would be hurt or jealous by her actions. Beyonce is trying to get him to understand the way he makes her feel, but at the end of the song, she comes to a realisation that roles will never switch and so he won't ever understand.

This video is both narrative and conceptual based. This is because it has a clear storyline which is shown throughout the whole video, as well as putting forward the concept that men wouldn't like it if women treated them the way they treat women.


The whole video is kept in grayscale with no colour shown to create simplicity through the whole video as they want the audience to focus on the meaning of the lyrics and what is happening in the video. It can also be that it refers to the saying 'it's as clear as black and white' when you can see someone isn't happy with you or that you're hurting them.


At the beginning of the video, you see Beyoncé with her partner in separate cuts, phrasing words which are required in a relationship such as 'intimacy' and 'commitment'. On every cut, it gets closer and closer to their face until theyre speaking in unison saying 'you' and 'me'. However, on the word 'us' you fail to see their face, suggesting that an 'us' doesn't exist between  them.


There is then a wide shot of the kitchen showing that he has made breakfast for her but you see from her body language that she isn't interested and rushes off to leave for work. There is a cut to her walking out of the front door and walking down the steps in her police uniform. This is done in slow motion for the audience to take in that specific scene as it is used later on. It is also used to help show her status and her role and she is a police officer, it shows she has authority and a high status, which is also further shown by her sunglasses - even though you cant see if it's sunny or not as the video is in grayscale, it gives her a high status. This authority is further accompanied by an image of strength as she arrests males and shoots a gun in a fire range.


After being shown Beyoncé flirting with her colleague at work, it cuts to her partner at work where is he shown being loyal to her as his colleague comes in with cleavage on show, giving temptation, but as he is committed to her, he doesn't give in to the temptation like Beyoncé does.


Throughout the song, there is no lip syncing, however, there is a break in the song where you see Beyoncé sitting in front of the mirror doing her hair and her partner standing against the wall. There is a close up of both of their faces, which highlights to the audience that he looks intimidated by her and she looks arrogant. She asks why is so jealous and there is then an echo as they both say 'what', emphasising that a change is happening. It cuts back and forth from their faces showing their personality and status changing. The roles then switch and she looks intimidated and he looks arrogant. He then asks the same question she did 'why you so jealous?'. There is then an extreme close up on Beyoncé as you see a tear stroll down her cheek, symbolising pain and hurt.


There is then a flash back to the first scene, a wide shot of the kitchen, however, he is the one hurrying off to work. You then see him walk out of the house and down the stairs in slow motion, which again emphasises his authority in his uniform and makes you think back to when roles were switched and it was Beyoncé, making the audience link the two scenes together. You then see a close up of Beyoncé as it slowly fades out to the music and the song ends.


The target audience for the song is around 18 - 25 as it is an R&B genre song which particularly attracts that specific age group.


What I can take from this video is the use of colour as it remains grayscale through the whole thing, proving to me that bright or certain colours aren't needed in order to create a mood. Also the use of cuts, showing both sides of their story, even though it's only 1 person singing is something I can take from this as it made the video narrative and effective.

Case Study 1: Usher - Confessions Part 2

Artist: Usher
Producer: Unknwon
Date Released (On youtube): 25/10/09



This is a follow on song from 'Confessions Part 1' in which he told the listeners he was cheating on his girlfriend. In this video (part 2), he's been told that he's impregnated the woman he's ben cheating with and is trying to find a way to confess all of his lies to his girlfriend which whom he claims he loves dearly.



This video is both performance and narrative based. This is because the lyrics tell a story which he acts out through the whole video. Also, theres points in the video in which he begins to dance as well as put himself in real life situations, for example, at the beginning, he's in the studio working on new music which is something he would do in real life.



The themes and motifs in this video seem to be very simplistic and based in dimly lit photography studios. However, in the beginning of the music video when he was seen in the music studio before he was told about the news, it was well lit, suggesting he entered a place of darkness when he found out about the news.



When receiving the phone call, there is a close up to emphasise the shock and worry on his face as the audience try to second guess what is being said on the other side of the phone. As he walks out of the studio, his luxurious lifestyle is shown by his clothes and his surroundings. He has security with him which suggests that he is playing the role of his own character in real life which makes the audience feel as though it is real. There is a medium close up as he gets into the car and hesitates to close the door causing anticipation for the audience. On the lyric 'listen', he turns to face the audience and lip syncs, drawing in the audience, making sure they're engaged so that he can tell his story to them. There is an extreme close up of his ring and shoes which further emphasises his grand lifestyle.

There is a shot of Usher lip syncing to the song, sitting on a chair in a dark room. The lyrics concern how he is going to confess his wrong doings, at which point you can't see Usher clearly as it is dark, suggesting that he is embarrassed about them and wants to be kept anonymous. The cutting pace starts of fairly slow, however picks up slightly as you see his body language begin to express his stress, for example, when he is rubbing his head.



The cutting pace is faster and the room becomes brighter as the video goes on, suggesting he is becoming more confident to tell his girlfriend about the lies. This is when he begins to perform, dancing whilst singing.



At one point further in to the music video, you see usher on his hands and knees whilst his girlfriend is standing over him with her arms crossed. This suggests that she has more power over him and he has become weak at her knees. There are cuts of Usher taking off his shirt and then vest until his torso is naked, suggesting that she is slowly stripping away his dignity as it cuts back and forth showing her hitting him as he continuously begs for her. This can also be seen as a symbol of the truth being told and weight being taken off of his shoulders.



There is then a cut of Usher standing in front of a large mirror that shatters into pieces. The old myth that you get 7 years bad luck if you break a mirror intertwines with this, implying to the audience that he is going to have 7 years of bad luck now that he's cheated and caused another woman to get pregnant. This broken mirror can also suggest that Usher is broken inside or seems to break everything around him without physically doing anything.



As the song slowly ends, the cuts between different sets are at a medium pace and it slowly zooms out on him and fades.



I would say that the target audience for this song would be from 18 - 30. However, as this song is very old, I assume that the older generation would listen to it a lot more than the younger generation.

The thing I could take from this video is the narrative based performance. The video linked to the lyrics and the use of props and lighting was used effectively to create a mood as well as to help tell the story.

Music Promo Production Schedule

The Boy Is Mine - Media Project

This is the final result of using the camera's and editing a video for the first time, trying to familiarise ourselves with it before the start of a2.

Introduction to Adobe Premier Pro

1) Finder - applications - adobe - adobe premier pro

2) File - import - folder

3) Cltrl click, select new sequence, delete old sequence

4) I to cut from - O to cut to - Drag down

Drag audio to sequence