Trainline Woods- Music Video Location Idea

I've been looking for locations that I could film my music video at, I went to t he Trainline Woods and took some pictures of the parts there that I think would be effective for sections of my music video. I think this trip was also worth while because, by visiting these locations and taking these photographs, I have a better idea of what I think my music video will look like and where I want to film parts of the video. I went in the evening to this location and because it is very sheltered I think I will have to do shots in the afternoon, to make sure I have enough light. I like the fact it is by the water edge because I think it looks very picturesque. Also, all the trees and the branches give it quite an edgy vibe which I think could fit well with the surreal mood. 
Why I think these locations are good:

• The natural setting of the world would be good for outdoor shots of characters in the forest and would reflect the natural mood of the song.
• When it begins to go dark, the woods can look a bit surreal and therefore match the indie genre well.
• I think having natural shots combined with modern shots would look really effective as the two locations would contrast with each other, causing interest to the audience. I also think that Indie is a combination of new and old so this would link well with the genre as well.
• If I want to do a masquerade type music video then I think that this location would be effective because the woods are seen as a mysterious place and so would be fitting with my props and storyline. 

Denham Woods- Music Video Location Idea

I decided to start looking at locations that I could film my music video at. I went to Denham Woods and took some pictures of the places there that I think would be effective for parts of my music video. I think this trip was worth while because, by visiting this location and taking these photographs, I have a better idea of what I think my music video will look like and where I want to film parts of the video. 

Slice The Pie Feedback

The underlining message that I got from the first response was that it is important to include my artists in my music video. The said that they 'do not think that it should have a story within it' although the lyrics of the song should be refleted in the mood of the video and stick to the theme of the song. From the second response, they disagree and say that the artist doesn't need to be included, they think that the video can be creative or simple and that it's up to the creator to decide what message they want to convey.
I'm glad that I did this research because I did get responses and they show me that people have mixed views on whether aritsts needs to be in it, I personally agree with the first response that they should be included. However, I'm dissapointed with the fact that I only recieved two responses from my message because I would have liked to get more opinions from the public.

Analysis of Album Covers

I decided to analyse album covers because part of my task is to create pages for the album of the debut song/album which my music video supports. I decided to make these two collages of album covers so that I could compare and look in more detail at them. When researching different types of album covers, I discovered that there are generally two kinds of album cover. The first type is very colourful, playful, artistic and usually does not show the artist/band.  The second type of album cover tends to be more bold and in black and white or neutral colours and usually contains an image of the artist or band members. These types tend to make more of a statement then the artier type of cover because of the contrast in the black and white. I think it was a bit easier to find the colourful artistic covers because with modern technology, people are being more adventurous with them, rather than being plain with just the band members. I have also learnt from analysing the covers, that the band name and the title of the album is sometimes bold and striking and in others is smaller and isn’t as significant as the design, suggesting that it can be either the name of the band that draws attention to potential buyers or it can be the actual design on the front which attracts the public. After looking at all these albums, they show that there isn’t once certain way to design a cover.  I like both of the types of designs and when I come to creating my album pages, I will look back to this post so that I can be inspired by the variety of designs. 

Analysis of Sminoff Advert

In this shot the character is dressed in a full tiger costume and is hiding behind a tree in a forest. They then poke their head out from behind the tree, looking directly into the camera. I really like this shot because the character is in full costume making it look really effective, especially with the contrast of the bright orange of the outfit against the green wood background. I think it makes the video look really mysterious and puzzles the viewer, making you wonder why they are there and what they are doing in the woods.





In this shot, a character is dressed in a full black bird costume and runs through the wood. For the same reasons as the first screen grab I looked at of the tiger character, this looks really effective and stands out in the ordinary wood setting.




This shot shows a couple costumed characters in the background walking towards somewhere in the wood. In the foreground is a person with a goat mask on, this use of shallow field of focus makes you eyes linger on this goat person to begin with and then the people all walking in the same direction; where are they going?



←  Big cat mask, colourful, flowy dresses. Stands out, eye-catching.

←White mask, and white, shiny costume making the character look ghost like- this colour really stands out against the green of the foliage.

This shows two characters arriving to this wood party on a small boat, on the water. This shows a different location, making the scenery more varied; this holds the viewers attention. I like the use of the candles, making dim lighting. However, with the quality of the camera I will be using the candle light may not be enough to make a clear enough image.

This close-up of the face with this intricate mask on, shows that they have varied the distance of shots in the video because many of the shots in the video so far are long shots, this is to show all the different costume designs. So this close-up breaks it up and shows a more detailed shot.

← This is an extreme long shot of all the characters joined together, partying.







Summary:
The reason that I decided to analyse this Sminoff advert is because I wanted to do a textual analysis of something that I found inspiring. This advert video inspires me because I really like the costume/masks theme of the wood party that they use and I like the fact that it’s set in a wood because all of the colours stand out against the scenery. I like the surreal effect that it gives on the viewer. I would really like to make a video that had a slightly bizarre factor to it; I want to do something using masks because if you are wearing a mask then nobody knows who you are so therefore adding a mysterious element to the video. I’m going to begin to look at locations that I could set this part of my music video.

Laura Mulvey Music Video Example

I have taken these screen shots from the music video for the song ‘Destination Unknown’ by Alex Gaudino. I chose to analyse this video because I think it strongly follows the Laura Mulvey’s theory of the ‘Male Gaze’. Laura Mulvey is a British feminist film theorist. The Male Gaze suggests that all media text especially is shot from the perspective of a heterosexual male. In the sense of cinematography, Mulvey explains that the camera lingers on the curves and shape of the female body, in a way that a heterosexual male may look at a female.
This music video stood out to me as a great example of the Male Gaze because in almost every shot of the video, it shows a woman being sexualised. This is shown firstly, through the clothing that these young women have been dressed in. They are all dressed in exactly the same outfit, taking away any individuality. The outfit consists of a black mini skirt, a matching black bra, a cropped jacket and black high heels. These ‘skimpy’ clothes are stereotypical examples of sexually suggestive clothing. There is a contradiction in the doll-like portrayal of the women dressed in ‘majorette’ costumes and the womanly features that are highlighted throughout the video in close-up; legs, bottoms, stomachs and chest.
Secondly, the women have been beautified in the video; they achieved this by applying make-up such as coral, red lip gloss and ‘perfecting’ foundation. This is not only unrealistic but makes them appear robotic. Red lip-stick is another typical accessory used to portray a sexual female image. Further emphasis is placed on this image in the many extreme close-ups of the women licking their lips, and applying the lip gloss.
The camera constantly focuses on their figures and assets. I have noticed in the video that the audience hardly ever is shown one of the woman’s faces above the lips. This shows that they do not want to be able to identify these women as separate people, that they want to focuses mainly on their bodies. By their eyes and faces being hidden by their uniform in this deliberate way, some may say that the eyes are the windows to the soul, so this video could be seen to deny these women of their very souls. For all these reasons, this video supports the Male Gaze theory. 

Looking at Laura Mulvey and 'The Male Gaze' Theory

Textual Analysis of The Script- Nothing Music Video

History of Music Videos

powerpoint music video history from Phoebe Atkinson on Vimeo.

Here, I have made a power point on the history of music videos. I researched music videos so that I could find out what they are, what there purpose is, when they were first made, what types of techniques are used in them and how they draw in fans to an artist or band. The reason for researching this is to broaden my knowledge of old and current music videos. By finding out the types of techniques that are used in them, I will know what styles are available for me to create in my own and by finding out exactly what they are, my task to create one will be made clearer. I also think that finding out how they draw in audiences will help when I begin to research audience targeting later on.

Mindmap of Music Video Choice

Test Shots for My Short Film

This is some test shots that I shot for my short film idea which I've explained in the below post. I experimented with the shots because I wanted to get an idea of what it could look like. After doing these
test shots, I found out that you are not allowed to turn the camera on it's side because it distorts those shots
when you put the shots together because with film you cannot mix vertical and landscape shots and you can only hold the camera horizontally. Therefore, I'm happy that I did these shots because I learnt about using
a film camera and it helped my realise that I would rather make a music video but keep the masquerade theme. After this experiment, I weighed out my options and I have chosen against the idea of making a
short film for the reasons in the below post.
video for test shots from Phoebe Atkinson on Vimeo.

Storyboard for Shot Film Idea

This was my storyboard for my short film idea of the masked thief. I drew the story board as a way of planning my footage shots, so that I would know which shots to take when filming, which helps you stay on track. As I have changed my idea to a music video, I didn't need to develop this storyboard. However, if I was going to follow this short film idea I would have developed this storyboard further, adding text which would include the location of shot, the action in the shot and any additional information that would assist my filming. I hope to include this type of text on my storyboard for my music video text. 

Changing Idea

Film Genres