Production Research - Test Shots

In my music video I want to use a prism to fortify the abstract sections of my theme. I have tested out the prism in a couple of shots and pictures to see how the light refracts off of it. 

Production Research - Locations

For my music video, I have two locations planned.

The first location I have chosen is Epping Forest. I feel like this is a good secluded area and will connote my themes well. The section of Epping Forest I am going to use is opposite my house and I have a lot of experience in the area, therefore, I know the best spots to film and roughly when the area will be free to use. It also makes it easily accessible for me and it's easily accessible by bus too. Also, if this area isn't available to use for whatever reasons, there are many other sections of Epping Forest that I can use as a location.

My second location is a science lab. I want to use one of the science labs at college, however, I still need to speak to the science department about getting permission to do so. Hopefully I will be able to use some of the equipment too in order to make the video more authentic in the scenario of making medication. There is a slight risk when using a science lab to film as there is glass around that could be smashed and there are also chemicals that are able to cause damage to equipment and people.

My Target Audience

My target audience is kind of niche, as it is targeted towards people who suffer from mental health illnesses such as anxiety and depression. This audience seems to be turning into more of a mass group as a lot more people nowadays seem to be diagnosed with mental health related issues.

The age range for my target audience is around the ages of 14-21. This may seem like a large range, however, due to the subject matter and the form of media it is, it's a lot more likely that these age ranges would enjoy/relate to it. The main gender my video is targeted toward are males, hence why I will be using a male actor around the age of the target audience as the main character in the video. The socioeconomic level doesn't matter for this audience as anxiety and depression are things that can affect any group of people at any time in life. The marital status of my target audience is going to be single/unmarried considering the age range of the group. The main psychographic of my target audience is most likely going to be Doomsdayers they are people who do things at their own pace without relying on others for help, a lot like the concept in my video. These people are also very loyal when it comes to people that they trust, however, it's difficult for them to find people to trust. The target audience are going to be very interested in social media, considering their age. This also makes sense since social media is said to be one of the leading causes of mental health issues in young people.

There are a lot of competitors for my target audience as mental health is a largely used subject in music and everyone is keen to see how that is portrayed in the music video. however, due to it being a music video, the competition is lowered slightly as the viewership depends on the music artist's fan base and certain people may not all like the same music.

My USP is going to be the hidden factors in the video. These are going to be actions and object etc, that are going to be relevant if someone was to analyse the video, however, these would stand out and be obvious to people who are able to relate. Also, a lot of anxiety sufferers have their own stories and will see things that others won't and will interpret things differently, therefore creating a larger understanding of the issue.

Contextual Research

1) The first example of my type of product was the music video for the song 'Video Killed the Radio Star'. The video is abstract in concept always referencing to how the new era of music video was going to kill the radio industry. 'Video Killed the Radio Star' is classed as the first music video ever due to it being the first song to be played on MTV. However, some sort of 'music videos' have been around since the early 1900s. Mainly shown in movie theatres these videos were most likely all performance based consisting of the artist primarily singing and potentially dancing in front of the camera. Another music video that some people say is the first is the video for Bohemian Rhapsody. This is one of the first examples of a modern day music video that we would expect today, even if some people don't regard it as the very first considering the circumstances in which it was made. The video was made as Queen wasn't able to appear on 'Top of the Pops' and was filmed in the studio so a lot of people don't class it as a 'music video' even if it does have a lot of striking similarities with modern music videos.

2) One pioneer of the music video industry is Francis Lawrence. Being a worldclass director, he has been commissioned to direct music videos. Lawrence has directed videos for artists such as Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez and Gwen Stefani. However, his most iconic music video would be 'Bad Romance' - Lady Gaga. This music video was placed as the Number 1 music video since the year 2000, as of July 2018. The video itself seems extremely abstract to those who don't really look for a further meaning, however, looking deeper you can tell that the video is actually narrative based. Another example of a pioneer in the music video business is the band Queen. Their video for Bohemian Rhapsody is deemed as their best music video was their first. The reason why there was a video for this song is because the band was booked to appear on the hit show 'Top of the Pops', although they weren't able to make the recording, therefore this video was created. This is one of the first examples of a modern day music video that we would expect today, even if some people don't regard it as the very first considering the circumstances in which it was made.

3) Ever since the first music video was created, directors have been thinking of different ways in which they would be able to get a message across to an audience while using an original idea. Throughout time, music and video have both come together to create a performance for an audience to watch, however, the way that it's presented has changed drastically. Music and video first began to work with each other back in the early 1900s with musicians performing shows in big theatre halls which were recorded. Although these cannot really be classed as 'music videos' even though there is a performance aspect in them. These videos mainly consisted of the artist dancing and singing to their song in front of the audience on stage. A lot of 'music videos' back then, that were recorded, were screened in cinemas for people to watch as that was the only place where videos were shown at the time. Music videos now are normally edited to cut at the hi-hats and kicks in the song which gives the video an effect that flows with the beat. Almost all music videos now are uploaded to YouTube where people are able to watch at any time they like.

https://matheussiqueira.com/a-brief-history-of-music-video/

https://www.tiki-toki.com/timeline/entry/139468/A-Brief-History-Of-Music-Videos/#vars!date=1929-06-01_00:00:00!

https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/7454390/mtv-first-music-video-video-killed-radio-star-buggles-anniversary-35

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8r-tXRLazs

https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/list/8466543/100-greatest-music-videos-of-the-21st-century

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1349376/?ref_=ttfc_fc_dr1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrO4YZeyl0I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8r-tXRLazs

https://www.songfacts.com/facts/queen/bohemian-rhapsody

Case Study 1 - Ways Music Video

Introduction:

This is a music video for the song Ways by Roman Lewis. The music video is abstract, however, it incorporates performance aspects too.

Textual Analysis:

My interpretation of this video is that what we see in the background is a representation of what's going on in Roman's head during the scenarios given in the lyrics of the song. This video uses a green screen to change the background and add crazy effects that don't exactly correlate to the song in question. However, in terms of a low-budget music video in the abstract category, this is very well produced as it uses a small amount of equipment and a lot of editing, which is the most accessible thing to a lot of people. The camera uses a mid shot to capture the artist.

Mise-en-Scene:

The location for this video is in a studio in London that has a green screen.

A prop used in this video is a bottle of beer. This is used to connote how people lose their inhibitions when intoxicated and tend to find people more attractive a lot easier.

Roman's costume for this video is a tracksuit. Something that you would expect someone around his age to wear casually. Most likely to a party, where there would be alcohol, hence the bottle in his hand.

The video has an element of performance considering that it consists of Roman dancing in front of the camera to his song while mouthing the words.


Editing:

The takes in the video are quite sort and some overlap to create certain effects like multiple people in a single shot. There is a small transition between the establishing shot of Roman walking into the studio to the shot in front of the green screen. This transition covers the screen in an old-fashioned blur and when it fades we are met with the new shot.

Audience Analysis:

 The target audience for this video and song are most likely people around the same age as Roman himself, that being 16-25. The song is about the many different ways being young changes someones's perception of falling in love, however, you wouldn't assume this from the music video due to how abstract it is. This target audience is en mass as it incorporates and can be understood by many people.

I think this is their audience because it's a relatable topic for people of those ages and these people may find a deeper meaning within the lyrics of the song or something that means something to them personally.

Case Study 3 - On Point Music Video

Introduction:

This is a music video for a rap song. This song and the video that goes with it are both disses directed at the YouTuber Logan Paul. This video was directed and created by Konstantin with the intention of insulting Logan Paul after KSI, another YouTuber, made a song intended to make fun of Logan.

Textual Analysis:

 This video utilises a lot of different lighting techniques. The beginning of the video uses mainly natural light, but also uses a softbox to brighten the actor's faces. The later shots inside use three point lighting to give the actors depth, contrast and saturation. Other shots use red gel lighting to connote things such danger and anger or green gel lighting to connote someone's kryptonite/weakness.

At the beginning of the video there is a lot of diegetic sound as the characters are having an audible conversations that go with the storyline of the video. Later on in the video we can see performance shots and can assume that because the band is playing instruments to the music that the music is diegetic, even though we know it's been added in post. The storyline shots where characters are talking to each other are all filled with direct sound.

One of the main props used in this music video is the Infinity Gauntlet. This is worn in the end of the video by the artist to destroy his enemy. The glove is seen as a symbol of destruction and power by those who know what it is and this is the connotation that the director was trying to put across, that KSI is stronger than Logan Paul and is going to win the fight they're having. Another prop that was used was an axe, dragged across the floor. This is a clear reference to 'The Shining' (1980), when KSI axes the door down and places his head through the broken door frame. The wielding of a weapon such as an axe also asserts dominance in terms of a fight, almost as if the wielder has a drastic amount of power over the person without a weapon.

The location for this music video takes place in a mansion and around the grounds of said mansion. At the beginning of the music video we see Logan Paul and his friends leaving a forest and entering the grounds of the house. This is a hidden reference that hints to the suicide forest incident of January 2018 that Logan Paul had. In the next scene, Logan sees KSI and instantly ditches his friends to get away, running towards the house. Him running to the house is a small detail used to connote how Logan is rude enough to ditch his friends to run in the direction of money, the mansion being the physical representation of money in this instance.

This music video utilises costume very well. In the beginning of the video, we see Logan comforting his friend after he admits to being scared. During this scene Logan opens up his jacket and show his shirt saying "we're Mavericks". To someone who isn't trying to analyse the video you would see that there's a bird on the shirt that looks like Logan's merchandise, however, looking closely, throughout the music video we can see that he changes shirt each time he 'takes an L' and the bird on the shirt slowly begins to die. At the end of the video, we can see that the bird has transitioned from parrot with a full body of feathers to just the skeletal body, connoting how Logan is now, dead.

The editing in the video is clearly a representation of how KSI expected the boxing match between him and KSI was going to play out. The scenes we see Logan in are sped up quite fast, referencing to how his head is going to be spinning after KSI knocks him out in the fight. Meanwhile, the scenes involving KSI are either normal paced or slowed down, showing how he is going to be able to relax and cruise along during the fight.

Audience Analysis:

The intended target audience are both Logan and the YouTube audience. Because this is a diss track, there needs to be elements that are disrespectful to Logan, however, it also needs to be understandable from an audience's perspective. Although this video has two target audiences, one is niche (Logan himself) and one is en mass (the audience KSI has and the rest of YouTube users).

This music video was only advertised by KSI and the directors on their social media. However, due to the large following of KSI the video has 30 million views on YouTube. The use of social media to advertise and market this video in terms of target audience is an outstanding move by KSI because people's awareness of the video will grow considering the age of the audience he has and their inclination to share this type of stuff on social media, thus, further promoting the video.

This music video was very well received by both audiences. Both Logan and KSI's audience have said how this is the best music video of his and potentially the best YouTuber music video ever. A lot of people argue that the quality of the music video completely out-classes the quality of the song itself, which is something I agree with.

Industry Analysis:

This video was produced by a small team chosen by the directors Konstantin and Meji. The whole reasoning for this music video was purely to get into Logan's head prior to the boxing match he had with KSI on August 25th. However, only he truly knows if it worked or not.

This product has an international reach as it was released on YouTube and is accessible to anyone who has internet access.

This music video uses steady-cams to stabilize shots and a camera rig called a Trinity that rotates the camera around 360 degrees for whirlpool effect shots.

Case Study 2 - Location Music Video

Introduction:

This is a music video for the song 'Location' by Khalid. The video is mainly a narrative, however, it does have some elements of a performance video as Khalid can be seen dancing around in the El Paso desert. The video and song are about Khalid would travel the world to be with this specific person. The demographic for this video and song are most likely people between the ages of 16-25. The reason for this is because these are the ages where people are mainly focused on finding love, therefore, they can relate to both the song and the video as they would most likely have someone they would drop everything for if they asked.

Textual Analysis:

At the beginning of the video we are greeted by establishing shots of El Paso and the car which Khalid is driving. The video utilises a lot of mid-shots throughout and a couple of close-ups for cinematic type shots. There's also a few long shots used in the video, mainly whenever the car is in view to get the whole car in shot. The camera is moving in every shot of this video. Although, some of the shots have been slowed down in post and it looks like they are stationary. The movement of the camera is almost always horizontal with a face on angle. This gives the viewer the impression that they are equal to Khalid in this narrative video and are able to relate and compare themselves to Khalid in this situation. Most of the shots of the love interest in the video are from a low-angle and move vertically. This could mean that she has a lot of power in this type of situation. However, the final shots we see of the girl are from a high-angle, showing that she is vulnerable on the bed and now that she has finally met up with Khalid something is going to happen between them both. The lighting from a lot of the shots are mostly natural, considering a lot of the shots are outside. Although, I can assume that they also had light boxes directed at the faces of the actors and artist so that we could see their faces clearly. This would also be the case for the scenes shot inside. I think that two lights were being used. The tungsten lights of the room and the white lights from light boxes.

The sound in the music video is non-diegetic, however, we are able to assume that sections of it are also diegetic considering that we can see Khalid lip syncing to sections of the song. Baring in mind, this only happens in the shots where he is on his own.

Mise-en-Scene:

One of the main props in this music video is the car. It's the main form of transportation that Khalid uses in order to get to the locations that are pinged to him throughout the video. It's the second main focus in a lot of the scenes considering that in a lot of the desert shots, it is the only other thing in the shot other than Khalid himself. Another main prop used in this video is the American flag. This is first seen wrapped around the car wing-mirror early on in the video and is later worn by Khalid. This prop represents what nation Khalid affiliates with because of how much he travelled as a child he didn't really have a place he specifically called his 'home'. So this flag has the meaning that El Paso, Texas, USA is where he considers his home.

The location of this music video is El Paso, Texas. This location was chosen because it is the place where Khalid feels most at home. Due to his parent's work Khalid would move around often. He has lived in so many places that he never really has a place that he considered his 'home' until he moved to El Paso. This is where he graduated from High School and the city that he feels accepts his creativity the most.

Khalid is dressed in a grey shirt and jeans. You can visibly see that Khalid is sweating a lot in the desert scenes. This is to most likely emphasise how long he's been waiting for this girl to send him her location.

Editing:

The editing in this video is quite slow. This follows the beat of the song which is slow in general, however, there are sections of the song in which the speed of the hi-hats increase. It's at these points in the song where the editing turns faster.

At the beginning of the song the editing consists of cuts and slow transition fades. This most likely represents how Khalid is taking things slow and doing things at his own pace. However, when he receives the notification for this girl's location the editing speeds up, most likely to connote how quickly Khalid is going to travel to the location provided; dropping whatever he's doing and rushing to the scene in order to see this one girl.

Throughout the music video the clips have all been slowed down in post. This connotes how things are going slowly for Khalid in terms of his love life. Even the scene of Khalid speeding off in his car are slowed down drastically. This connotes how Khalid feels it takes forever to meet up with this girl even though he knows exactly where she is.

Audience Analysis:

This music video was advertised widely when it was released as the song was a very popular song as of it's release after being promoted by Kylie Jenner. The video is accessible mainly on YouTube and Vevo. However, this music video didn't really need to be marketed and advertised because of Kylie Jenner's input towards making the song so popular. The only aspect of advertising this video gave was advertisements on the YouTube homepage when it was initially released. This gave people who were interested in the song/video an insight as to what it entailed.

This video has been received very well by the target audience as it currently has over 300 million views on YouTube, making it the second most popular music video on the Khalid YouTube channel as of March 2019.

Industry Analysis:

The producers of this music video are Khalid himself and the director (who is referenced to only as "@alex_dimarco"). Although, the licensing for the video was bought by Vevo. Khalid isn't a company himself, however, he does have a team working behind him to produce a lot of his none music content, such as music videos. This team could be big or small, but we don't know the number of people who work with/for him.

The reasoning behind the video was to visualise the feelings of Khalid in a format with multiple dimensions. So, instead of just audio, we now have a visual aspect too, giving us a wider perspective on the meaning and context of the song.

This video has a large outreach as it is uploaded to YouTube meaning that it's accessible to anyone who has internet connection. This music video is available on a lot of different platforms, but the main platform it's available onis YouTube. This was most likely funded by Khalid himself.

Presentation Reflection

I believe that another positive of my presentation is that I was able to clearly present an idea to my audience while keeping them intrigued. However, I feel like my presentation could have been clearer considering how I was attempting to not give away too much of my idea away as it contains a load of hidden connotation that would have no longer been hidden if given away.

Although, I wasn't given any feedback about my presentation, nor was I asked any questions. Because I cannot say for sure if the audience fully understood my concept and idea.

Presentation Proposal

Unit 8 Project - Proposal

Section 1:

Through units 1-7 I have learnt many new media skills and most of these will be needed in order for me to complete my unit 8 project the best that I can. One thing that I learnt was how to manually focus a camera and perform focus pulls. Another set of skills that I learnt from the previous units are editing techniques, such as cross-cutting and transitioning. Through these techniques and many others, I have been able to learn how to create a moving image piece that flows correctly with context and doesn’t look blocky and static. These techniques interested me in moving image and made me want to test myself by using the techniques, and because of my interest in music, I have chosen to do a music video for my final project.

Section 2:

My idea for a creative project is a music video using the song 'Sad Still' by Quinn XCII. The song is about how mental health is still seen as a negative thing in society to some people and how people are forced to try and fight it alone or hide the condition. The main theme that I have gone for with the video is to ironically go the opposite to each theme. The concept of the music video is of a man suffering from a multitude of mental health issues and how he attempts to find the solution to his problems on his own. This will be represented by him in a science lab mixing chemicals and creating pills and tablets that he thinks will sort his issues out. In the verses of the song, the beat speeds up a lot (to emphasise how the artist's head feels with anxiety and depression), during these sections of the song the video will be set in a forest to emphasise how isolated he feels. This represents how he doesn't feel fellowship with anyone as he believes he has to face everything alone, never realising that there are people out there going through the exact same thing.

Section 3:

Throughout the project, I am going to continuously record and evaluate my progress through a video log and voice notes. After I complete the project, I plan to summarise my work in a written evaluation that thoroughly goes over each stage and aspect that brought my project to fruition. I also have plans to take part in a small podcast with some other students in order to explain and adapt our ideas together.