Sunday, 26 February 2012

Ideas...

Prop List:
  • Laptop
  • Ipod
  • Picture Frame
  • Desk & Chair
  • Speakers
  • Pillow
Locations:
  • Wimbledon Common
  • Iva's House
  • Southbank
  • Bus Stop
 Cast:
  • Kimberley Griffiths
  • Rory Brennan

Intertextuality

After attempting to try out a Twiggy inspired eye makeup style we have decided to go with a more subtle 50’s makeup style. We dcided not to go with the twiggy eye make-up because Kimberley's attempt was not as successful as we expected it to be as the texture of the makeup wasn’t soft enough which is something that is important to have in our video. In the photos, the make-up looked satisfactory however, in the video would look childish and not of a high quality. Looking at people such as Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe from the film ‘Gentlemen prefer blondes’ we have been able to replicate the makeup in a subtle way so that we can incorporate it into our video without it looking shockingly out of place against the dark colour scheme.

Intertextuality

We looked into a way to include intertextuality in the music video. We chose to incorporate it though costume and makeup, as such we looked at iconic people and particular things that set them apart from others. Dita Von Teese and the 40-50’s pin up look was an idea, playing on the gender roles idea again. However we went for 70’s Twiggy and her eye makeup which is very British and iconic. Kimberley tested this out and accomplisheda decent outcome:


Storyboard



Problems and Solutions

Going over our storyboard, Myself and my group felt that we did not have a solid idea for our music video which is why we decided to change the song allowing us to have a proper narrative. The song we have now chosen is Moon and Moon by Bat for Lashes.
Kimberley has created a detailed story board so that we can accurately film all of it in the shortest amount of time. Because we haven't got much time left, we have decided that we will get more done with Kimberley and Iva doing the filming and myself and Almaz are dealing with other aspects of work that need to be completed, such as editing, and group and indiviual blogging. This time, what we are going to use is one of the larger and better quality cameras instead of different cameras so that the image will make the whole video look better, professional and not juvenile as much. The story board focuses predominantly on narrative rather than performance which is what I personally  find more interesting in a music video as it captivates an audience. The narrative aspect also fits in well with the slow tempo and solitary feel of the song. The story is about a girl waiting for someone to come home. You assume it is her boyfriend, however it’s not completely expressed what their relationship is based on. During the middle of the video, the male character is introduced when he comes home and she greets him warmly. The rest of the video is them together and then lastly as he leaves, she returns to a state of solitude and lovingness. With this idea, we wanted to really capture how someone can feel so alone and dependant on one person. In addition, one could look at the narrative as a brutal evaluation on the roles of men and women in society; that as a female she will always be waiting on him and his commitment to her is dependable on how he feels.
The colour scheme will be muted and dark colours, reflected to cold, lonely feel of the music video. The props will be very minimal as too many props and objects would confuse the audience and would not fit in with the video.

Saturday, 18 February 2012

Filming: Day 4

In todays filming, myself and my group went to Iva's house to capture more footage for cut aways.

Wednesday, 15 February 2012

Analysis of music video 1: Mirror

Mirror is a song by the American rapper Lil Wayne featuring the American pop singer Bruno Mars from the deluxe edition of his ninth studio album, Tha Carter IV which was produced by Ramon Reo Owen of the Soundkillers and directed by Antoine Fuqua. This music video consists if different genres such as Alternative Hip Hop, Soul, and R&B. Alternative Rap refers to hip hop groups that refuse to conform to any of the traditional stereotypes of rap, such as gangsta, bass, hardcore, and party rap. Instead, they blur genres - drawing equally from funk and rock, as well as jazz, soul, reggae, and even folk. Soul characteristics are a call and response between the soloist and the chorus, and an especially tense vocal sound. The genre also occasionally uses improvisational additions, twirls and auxiliary sounds.
The concept-based video startes off with a panning shot of the artist's eyes shut where you immeadiately get the impression that the artist his hiding something shameless from the audience as he is not able to look at us directly which is supported by the tatoo 'Fear God'. From there the camera then panns around his body showing the rest of his tatoos. One could say that there is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals which is what Goodwin suggested: 












'I see the scars that remain'
He is comparing all his tatoos to scars which to a certain extent sympathise for the artist. He sees his past and the choices he has made that are now scars which will be with him forever. In addition, a mirror shows scars; when you break a mirror, it can be put back together, but you can still see the cracks. He is saying that maybe he tried to fix his past, but the problems never were totally eliminated and the constant reminder of his mistakes is portrayed through his tatoos. Another example would be when he says:

' Mirror on the wall, here we are again'
Looking into the mirror, he is trying to figure himself out. Saying that he is in front of the “mirrror again”  suggests that he is constantly dealing with himself, trying to know and understand himself. So, it shouldn’t be an isolated action, but a constant feedback on ourselves. The only person that has always been there for him through good and bad times is himself, trusting no one. What Goodwin suggested allows the audience to visually see what the artist is trying to establish which gets you involved a lot more as you not only hear how the singer feels, but also see it for yourself making it easier to understand what the artist has gone through.The colour scheme of this music video is predominantly black and red which signifys evil, death, danger, silence and warning. It seems as if the artist himself is trying to warn the audience not to make the same mistakes he did not only symbolically with the use of colour but also visually with some of his tatoos such as, 'Understood', 'Fear God', 'Loyalty', etc. The fact that his hands are covered with these two colours conveys the mistakes or even crimes he has commited and when putting them together shows that he is in a position of confessing his crimes and revealing the dark truth. The fact that most of the cut aways is shown to be the black and red paint is like a constant reminder to himeself and audience of what he has done. Contrasting with these colours, we see the artist throwing white paint on the wall on top of the red and black. This could symbolise the artist trying to start a new beginning hence the reason why he is covering the dark colours with white which exemplifys that he is getting rid of his previous mistakes as white symbolises peace. While the white paint was thrown, you can hear a chime like sound; this is a clear example of the relationship between the music and the visuals which was also suggested by Goodwin. 
Through out the music video, the video cuts to the beat which symbolises how a lot has happened in his life and the fact that the editing is fast pace shows how quickly it has gone.
The demands of the record label includes the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work. In this music video, there are a number of close-ups which allows us as the audience to connect with the artist which is what is common in his other videos along side with his trademark tatoos and teeth. Other videos include, 'Bed Rock', 'She Will', 'How To Love', '6 Foot 7 Foot' and more.
There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, mirrors, stages, etc), for example, both artists look into the mirror. One could say that this has been chosen because the audience is meant to be the mirror and that they are looking directly at us confessing their mistakes. 
Throughout the video, you get the impression that he is on sexual display to a certain extent as you see him with out a top throughout. Also, in the beginning of the video, the audience is shown close-ups of the artist's body including his abs which implies the sexual display through the use of the camera work.
There is intertextual reference when the rapper alone in an art studio is painting an image of himself hanging on a cross with a microphone in his hand which relates to Jesus on a cross with blood dripping from hands (nail through hand).


Saturday, 4 February 2012

Album Art Analysis 2: Adele

19 is the debut album by English singer and songwriter Adele which consists of different music genres including Pop, Soul, Rock and R&B. What I had first noticed is the black background and half of Adele's face. The fact that the audience cannot see her whole face could suggest that she is hiding her true identity. The side of her face that we can see has light on it and the other half is hidden from the use of shadow which can suggest that she has more than one side to her personality. However, it can also suggest that the darkness is taking control of her. Not looking directly at the audience as her eyes are closed, supports the idea that she is hiding something as the eyes can reveal a person's feelings, but as we cannot see them, it suggests we are stopped from seeing the truth. Her eyes being closed can also exemplify that she is not able to look at the world and is shutting herself out. It is a very simple yet powerful cover with block colour, title and image. The use of colour white for the title and artists name stands out against the harshness of the black which could symbolise Adele living in a black and white world. The colour 'white' also has different connotations to it. For example, this colour signifys peace, innocence and purity which is what the artist is trying to portray not only through her album cover, but also through her songs.
‘ADELE’, is written in block capitals in a bold, whereas the ‘19’ looks more handwritten. This could reflect on the fact that the songs of the album are all written by her and maybe at that age.

Wednesday, 1 February 2012

Album Art Analysis 1: Christina Aguilera

Bionic is the sixth studio album by the American recording artist Christina Aguilera which was released on the 4th of June, 2010, by RCA Records (Sony Music). The album incorporates several different musical styles including R&B, pop, electopop and synthpop.
English artist D*Face has shown half of the artists face staring at the audience blankly with her trademark red lips opened slighlty. Her lips associates to sexuality because of the colour red which therefore links to voyeurism.
What stands out is the other half of her face as it looks almost mechanical as if it is a robot. This image conveys that there is more than one side to the artist's personality which is also established through the different genres in her music album. The right hand side looks as if it is the reality of celebrities as they are controlled in order to achieve something new and different everytime for the audience, which is also supported by the dark colours. However, on the left hand side, the artist looks more artificial and neutral.
In comparison to her other albums, in majority of them, she looks at her audience which is powerful as you are able to engage. This is something that could be considered when designing our abum cover for our music video. Looking at her album covers, the audience is able to figure out the type of genre by looking at the costume and colours to a certain extent which is another element that can be considered for our album cover.