Performance Music Videos

A collection of camera angles, movement and lighting from the videos:

Pumped up Kicks by The Foster People
Plug in Baby by Muse
I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor by The Arctic Monkeys
Days are Forgotten by Kasabian

Key aspects to consider whilst filming performance aspects:

• The lighting in the videos by The Foster People put a lot of emphasis on the separate colour schemes used as well as where the the lights are positioned. For example, the room being red throughout the performance which corresponds with the menacing lyrics to the song. Within our own music video we would like to take this into account. Since we've planned to use a drama studio for the performance we would be able to experiment with different lighting before we start filming. 

• Throughout the music videos a selection of camera movements were used. In the videos by Muse and Kasabian the camera movement is very quick and distorting which often corresponds with the pace of the music. Whilst in the videos by The Arctic Monkeys and The Foster People the camera movement is far slower and is far less smooth which implies that the music video is almost home-made. I would like to incorporate this into our music video as it makes the music video more exciting. This is especially important in our video idea as the performance aspects take up a large portion of the video. Due to the speed of our song we would like to make the movement slower to resemble those who have the similar repetitive edge to their song.

•  All camera shots are used in almost all four of the music videos which suggests that we could experiment with all camera shots on the day and mix them together whilst in the editing stage. Similarly, due to the large use of camera movement in all performance videos there are many different camera angles used. 

The two music videos which especially stood out were:

 'I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor' by the Arctic Monkeys as it is extremely simple and matches the inexpensive view which we were aiming for. There are certain shots where a separate camera can be seen in the background - which looks similar to live shows which haven't been edited.

After watching 'Pumped up Kicks' by The Foster People we have decided that we would like to make a distinction between earlier practice run-through of band and the genuine performance, perhaps with subtle changes of clothing and lighting.

By Rebecca Gatfield

180-degree Rule

Narrative Theory

Contemporary Cinema by Allan Cameron

Modular Narratives express how time can be manipulated within a narrative. 

Anachronic Modular Narratives

Anachronic uses flashbacks and flash-forwards with no clear dominance between any of the narrative threads. These often repeat scenes through another person’s perspective, an example being Pulp Fiction and Momento.

Forking Path Narratives

Forking-Path Narratives displays alternative versions of a story, showing all possible outcomes which can occur from small changes in a single event. There are a number of plotlines that usually contradict the other. eg. Groundhog Day. 

Episodic Narratives

An Episodic Narrative is an abstract series of narrative anthology. An abstract series type of modular narrative is characterised by the operation of non-narrative formal system which appears to dictate the organisation of narrative elements such as a sequence of number or the alphabet. An anthology consists of shorter tales which are apparently disconnected but have certain similarities. eg. An episode of Survivors. 

Split Screen Narratives 

Split Screen Narratives are different from other modular narratives as they are articulated along events rather than a temporal line. This therefore splits the screen into two or more frames beside events within the same visual field in sustainable fashion. Eg. Timecode.

By Rebecca Gatfield

Diary

Filming – 25th of October

Those present: Rebecca Gatfield, Amy Thrush
                       Olivia Shillabeer, Liam Carroll, Oliver, Oliver, Rhiannon Gibbons.

During filming we came to the decision that our original idea would have taken more time than what we had, while we had present those who are acting in the video. To combat this we changed the aspect where the band performs the song while following our main character performed by Olivia. This allowed us to finish most of the narrative factors in one day, and therefore wouldn’t have any trouble if the weather changed on certain days of filming and allowing the muted colour scheme to stay the same. 

We were unsure what the weather would be like when we filmed, but it was the exact weather we wanted it to be. We wanted the weather to be dull and cloudy throughout the video as it meets the colour scheme we were aiming for, this therefore matches the black, grey and pale blues which we would use in the performance aspects. 

Props:

As we decided against using the instruments in the narrative we had fewer props than first planned. However, we used a number of props which we thought would make the main female character seem high maintenance. In this we therefore used large-brand coffee as the drink choice, and the mobile phone which is used is a Blackberry which is typically expensive and used among those in high power jobs. We also used a mirror in the narrative which implies that she is proud and self-important. The combination of the relatively small props may therefore allow the audience to understand the character’s taste and attitude. 

Setting:

Throughout the narrative we wanted to stick to our storyboard as much as possible, be as we were denied the ability to use the large store Sainsbury’s, we had to locate certain shots elsewhere. The settings used were; Borough Fields (shopping square), an alleyway, Noremarsh Park, the hallway and a kitchen. 

By Rebecca Gatfield

Filming Dates

Thursday 25th October

Filming – 1pm – 4pm (We need to film during these hours as it has to be busy in the scenes outside, and this is one of the busiest hours during the day. This allows the video to look more realistic. Also, during this time the natural lighting will stay relatively similar throughout.)

Equipment: Camera, Tripod

Props: Guitar, Bass Guitar, Backberry Mobile Phone, Costa cup, Mirror

People needed: Olivia, Liam, Oliver, Oliver, Rhiannon

Sunday 4th November

Filming – 10am – 11 am (Brief Scene within Costa can only be filmed on a Sunday due to request from the manager. This is because it’s the cafés least busy hours and therefore won’t intrude on those within it.)

Equipment: Camera, Tripod

Props: Costa Cup

People needed: Olivia

Monday 5th November

Filming – 3pm – 5pm (Performance scenes in the drama studio. Hours used due to times we booked out before the half-term.)

Equiptment: Camera, Tripod

Props: Guitar, Bass Guitar, Microphone, Fairy Lights

People Needed: Liam, Oliver, Oliver

The Auteur Theory

Certain aspects of our video may be able to become an aspect of us as an auteur, for example the use of a quirky twist at the end and the general muted colour scheme . Looking at directors as auteurs has allowed me to think about certain aspects in our video which can stand out - and whether or not it can be used to improve our video and make it more memorable. I think, for a video to be part of a certain style could give it a larger fan base and can make new audience pay attention to it as they are fans of the video as an auteur.

By Rebecca Gatfield

Storyboard

For our storyboard be began adding times to each page - however, we later found that each shot we were using corresponded with each line which we had timed below. We therefore printed out both the song times and used the storyboards to film and edit.

We found that due to problems with filming in certain areas that we had planned (eg. Sainsburys and inside Costa) that we had to make huge changes to our storyboard. 

By Rebecca Gatfield and Amy Thrush

Music Video Pitch and Feedback

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Amy Thrush and Rebecca Gatfield

Feedback:

An aspect which we need to consider whilst making our video is whether or not filming with instruments outside would affect the flow of the video itself, as the song itself has a fairly repetitive nature it may make having too much performance tedious for the viewer. An idea which we could consider is removing the performance from the narrative structure; this would however remove the abstract elements we were aiming to add. 

We would also have to consider whether the lighting we would wish to use would work, therefore we will have to do a check to see whether it will work on not before the days which we want to film. For example whether the lighting would distort the band images, or affect the camera and make it not focus. A way in which we have chosen to combat this is perhaps using fairy-lights for the flashing lights. With this it would be a matter of whether the lights would flash in time with music. We wanted to use fairy lights regardless, as it would give us the 'home made' look which we were aiming for.

Lastly, concerns were raised over whether the band would stray away from its genre too much. However, since the indie genre has a large range of styles within it, we would be able to make it look like an indie-rock band with a few changes. 

Footsteps – Song and Lyrics in Seconds

18 Seconds – Instrumental

“It’s been a long time, but I got by” 18 – 19, 20-21
“Taking the time without a day and night” 21 – 25
“You’ll never forget when there’s somebody behind” 25 – 29
“Staring into strait life lines” 29 – 32
Oh – 38
“And on the first day so they’ve explored” 33 – 37
“The memories there was to succeed to the point” 37 – 40
Oh – 41
“They always say they’re faster to the day” 41 – 44
“But I will take my time” 45 – 47

Instrumental 48 - 50

“And the footsteps that I-“ 51 – 53
“Take” 54 - 57
“They’ll be mine” 58 – 1:00
“Today” 1:01 – 1:03
“To take it or leave it all-“ 1:06 – 1:08
“Behind” 1:08 – 1:13
“This will never be” 1:14 – 1:16
“Tonight” 1:17 – 1:20

 “It’s been a long time, but I got by” 1:37 – 1:50
“Taking the time without a day and night” 1:41 – 1:44
“You’ll never forget when there’s somebody behind” 1:45 – 1:48
“Staring into straight life lines” 1:49 – 1:51
Oh 1:52
“And on the first day”  1:52 – 1:53
“So they’ve explored” 1:54 – 1:56
“The memories there was to succeed to the point” 1:57 – 1:59
“They always say they’re faster to the day” 2:00 – 2:03
“But I will take my time” 2:04 – 2:06

Instrumental 2:07 – 2:09

“And the footsteps that I-“ 2:09 – 2:12
“Take” 2:13 – 2:16
“They’ll be mine” 2:17 – 2:18
“Today” 2:19 – 2:22
“To take it or leave it all-“ 2:24 – 2:27
“Behind” 2:28 – 2:32
“This will never be” 2:33 – 2:35
“Tonight” 2:35 – 2:37

Instrumental 2:40 – 2:56

“And the footsteps that I-“ 2:57 – 3:00
“Take” 3:01 – 3:03
“They’ll be mine” 3:04 – 3:06
“Today” 3:07 – 3:10
“To take it or leave it all-“ 3:11 – 3:14
“Behind” 3:15 – 3:19
“This will never be” 3:20 – 3:22
“Tonight” 3:23 – 3:25

End – 3:27 second

We decided that to help plan our storyboard I would separate the song into specific lines of the songs until each pause which the singer makes and also beside the most prominent riffs by the lead guitarist. This allowed us to plan the video easier, as we would want to video to have many quick cuts to keep up with the repetitive pace of the song. It also helped us identify the song by seconds, and how many shots in the narrative and performance which we would need throughout.

By Rebecca Gatfield