AY: Print Analysis

 

Les Friction - Who Will Save You Now? (Single)

 

 

• The signifiers present in this image are the silhouette, the clouds in the background, The building in the background, the field, the text of the band name and there is a sepia colour of the image.
• The link below shows some of their album artwork ideas. All of them have very similar themes as there is always a single silhouette in each picture. In addition there is always a light source at the centre of the image creating shadows and slightly obscuring objects. http://www.last.fm/music/Les+Friction/+images/73863640
• The album name is not included in the image but the name of the single from which this comes from anchors the image as it looks like the man is looking through binoculars for help
• In addition to this, the tall statue in the background looks slightly like a church steeple which connotes sanctuary and safety.
• The clouds connote authenticity and create a dark image associated with depression and 'gloom'.
• The back story of the album amplifies the images in the album cover. Set in 2048, it is about how humans have the ability to travel to different dimensions leaving behind a 'shell' of their bodies. Whilst they are gone, the earth is consumed by anarchy and they must find a way home.
• The light shining through the background represents a symbol of hope that the humans will find a way to return and fight against their enemies.
• The field holds strong connotations with farmers and peasants suggesting that these people are being suppressed by governments.
• This strongly relates to societies throughout the world where people are living in dictatorships and beginning to rebel.
• I think that this album cover is amplifying social issues today which conforms to the indie genre of the band
• It also makes it more appealing to its target audience of a working age as they are the people who would most suffer from this sort of society.
• Finally the font used for the text amplifies the band name. In the letter E, F and R the font looks as if it has lightening bolts in the stem of each letter. Friction as a force is used to create sparks and fire which is associated with anarchy and rebellion. In addition to this, it also relates to thunder storms further anchoring the images of the clouds in the background



HW: Technical Analysis

 

 

The Vaccines - Norgaard

 

 

 

Technical Analysis:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- Very short video and song

 

- This allowed me to see how much material is needed to make even a short music video

 

-  Fast cutting rate

 

- Good example of a mix of narrative and performance which we can maybe use as an example for our video

 

- Allowed me to see how nearly every shot is in slow motion and they rarely use steady camera shots most of them are moving in some way

 

- Looks very simplistic as nothing significant is going on and it is all set in a studio

 

- Video is effective as it almost doesnt seem complete and so leaves the audience wanting more

 

- The band is present however they arent the center of attention or the main focus of the video so they could also be considered to be absent

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





Group: Concept Development

 

The Neighbourhood

Concept Ideas:

 

- Our chosen song is 'Afraid' by indie band The Neighbourhood

- The song is above with a visualette, but its not an official video

- We want to go for a narrative with small bits of performance

- Our concept revolves around a male main character who goes about daily events but is seeing another person ( possibly an alternate version of himself) doing the same thing as him

- We want to convey the idea that he is being replaced which amplifies the lyrics of the song

 

 



A Grade Shot Ideas:

 

- Man looks in mirror, goes down to wash his face and when he looks back up there is another man in the mirror

- The ending shot would be the man being replaced by the other person, the other person walks into his place and the man disappears (transition)

- A lone drummer with a 3 piece drum kit plays under a spotlight

- Slow motion shot of one man walking forwards while everyone else walks backwards, (practised in Brighton, came out well)

 



AY: Technical Analysis

 

 

'Iron' by Woodkid

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• This video is almost completely shot in slow motion 

• The only shots that are at the correct speed are when the man is striking the drums in time with the music and when the man is reading from the book

• The cutting rate is generally fast through with most last 2 or 3 seconds which make the video very exciting 

• The band is completely absent from the video leaving it as a very much conceptual video 

• CGI is used within the video giving it a sense of other worldliness 

• The black streaks and explosions in conjunction with the white background look very simplistic but at the same time incredibly visually arresting 

• The whole video is shot in black and white leaving the focus on the action within the shot

 

 

HW: Print Text Analysis

The Neighbourhood - I Love You

 

 

Analysis:

 

 

- Black and white scheme which amplifies the bands indie image

- Connotes anti-conformity with the upside down house, and upside down 'cast system' triangle

- These are juxtaposed with the heart in the middle, which could connote love and compassion in between all the anti-establishment messages

- No linguistic signs present, the meaning of the cover is implied through the images not text

- The images anchor the sounds heard on the album, dark schemes with meaningful and political messages in front of melancholy sounds and rhythms

-  Another signifier would be the clouds in the background represented with a black and white colour scheme, these could connote freedom as clouds are connected with skies which are very spacey

- However with the black and white it looks like a dark setting you might associate with rain clouds, this is quite an unconventional use of this image as it would normally be used to connote 'blue skys' and freedom

- This album is a good promotion of the product (the band and the music) as it will relate to its target audience through its unconventional look which fits the indie genre, therefore it would appeal to teenagers and youths that are into the indie genre and would like the darkness and anti-conformity messages embedded into the album cover

 

 

AY: Brighton Reflection

Where did you go and what were your aims?

We went to the coastal city of Brighton with the aim of practising location wreckies and a range of shot types that we could later use for our final piece. We were given a list of shot types that we had to capture including two inside and two outside and we already had our own ideas of what we wanted to film and how it should look for example we practising shooting a MS pan of a single person walking backwards through a crowd of people walking forwards so that we could then reverse the footage when editting it together. An example of this can be seen on the right. In addition to this the trip allowed us to look for other possible locations that we could come back and film for our proper shoot, for example shots of graffiti.


What did you achieve?

We managed to collect all of the footage set by our teachers and extra practise shots that we had considered using in the final piece. The day was also especially useful as it gave us the chance to film in crowded locations and presented us with the opportunity to work out innovative ways to incorporate them in our footaage. Aswell as this it allowed us to practise using Harry's new camera as none of us had ever used it before and we could add in effects such as colour alterations before filming. Finally, we had the opportunity to wander round some of the more quirky streets such as the lanes where there were some very interesting people and locations that we could use for practise shots.


What Problems did you encounter?

Throughout the whole day we didn't have any major setbacks. The only major issue we had was the strong wind that didn't die down for the whole day. This forced us to find shots that were further back from the shore so that we could capture steady tracking shots. Having said this, we were able to film inside the arcade on the pier which defeated the issue with wind and by the end of the trip the wind had died down enough for us to capture a few shots of the beach. Other than this we did not have any major problems. This surprised us especially when filming indoors as we were allowed to film in a cafe and a news agents without any difficulty from members of the public and shop staff.



What did you learn from the day which you can take to the next shoot?

I think that the most important thing we learnt was making sure we got enough footage for each shot for example if we wanted to use time stretch and speed up the clip we would need to collect at least 5 minutes of footage to make sure that there is enough. We also learnt that we would have to plan our shoots to be at appropriate times of day depending on how many people we need in the shot for example if we wanted a shot of a man walking through a crowd of people we would have make sure it would be on a busy enough day for the shot to look affective. Furthermore, we would have to choose an appropriate location where there would be big enough crowds that perhaps created a certain look for example it would be better to go to a big city such as London as there would be lots of people there and there is a vast range of different types of people from different cultural backgrounds.


Here is the video of our Brighton shots.

DW: Brighton Reflection

Where did you go and what were your aims? 

We went to Brighton in Sussex to refresh our filming skills, begin the creative process of filming a piece and also start to consider what type of shots and content look good in a music video. We had a list of seven set shots that we had to get: a panning - establishing shot, high and low angles, time lapse, POV handicam, 360' pan, tracking shot and a variety of CUs. We then had to choose two shots that we wanted to include, for us this was an upside down shot and a shot where it appears as if the public are walking backwards but the focal person of the shot is walking forwards. We chose these two shots because of what we had considered using in our actual music video; an upside down shot is a good way of causing disjuncture and unease amongst the audience, and the walking backwards shot was something seen 'Eleven Eyes' by Heights ft. Sam Carter which has been desirable since seeing - and something we wanted to see if it was achievable. All of this was to be done in at least two interior and two exterior locations. 

What did you achieve? 

All of the shots we set out to capture, we got - and more. As we were walking around Brighton we saw some fantastic locations; whether they were covered in graffiti or simple a winding street, all of them fit the aesthetic for the song we chose on the way down - 'Marijuana' by Chrome Sparks. We chose this song because of its varying tempo and intensity, plus its aptitude to fit with a set of slow motion, slightly obscure shots. These locations were where we utilised the POV handicam, making the camera like eyes, we focused the camera on where we were looking thus giving it a sense of exploration. We spent a while trying to film a seagull taking off so we could reverse it and put it in slow motion; when we got it, we looked back at it, reversing it frame by frame and it looked better than expected.  We succeeded in getting our two creative shots that we set out to get, on camera play-back they looked interesting and different - what we were going for. 

What problems did you encounter? 

On the whole, the day was very successful; there wasn't a location we couldn't film at which was not expected, especially for the arcade, but proved very useful. The only setbacks that could be considered are things that are to be expected on a public shoot; people not wanting to be in the shot so you have to abandon some footage, and others being quite the opposite - doing anything they can to get in the shot! However, I think I can speak on behalf of all the group in saying we were pleasantly surprised at the lack of these setbacks - the amount of people who didn't mind being in shot or for us filming in their shop/cafe was really useful as it reduced the amount of time looking for locations thus increasing our filming time. The only other setback was the weather, it was exceptionally windy and at times raining which more-or-less stopped us filming on the beach - however there was a point where the weather was neutral, this was when we got our seagull shot.

What did you learn from that which you can take into the next shoot? 

Being the first shoot to do with a music video or anything like that, we realised the sheer freedom there is. With AS, we had to restrict ourselves to genre conventions and stylistics - that is far less apparent in a music video. So, with that in mind, with the next and with each shoot, no matter how much storyboarding has been done, we will not limit ourselves to shooting only that - we never know what we may see that might inspire us to use. Also, not to be put off by the public; there only seemed to be three or four people out of hundreds who didn't want to be filmed, even less is the number of people who messed around in front of the camera, therefore there is no reason not to film in public spaces. Lastly, we are now seriously considering going back to Brighton, its range of locations and general culture is great for filler shots.

Here is the video of our Brighton shots.