Amateur vs Pro

Amateur Vs Pro

I looked at two videos,  Lana Del Rey- Born to Die (pro) and an amateur video by the channel 'Luke Georgiades' which was also a Del Rey video ('Young & Beautiful'). The 'Young and Beautiful' song doesn't have an official video, but I thought that the A-level video was a good example to use for a blog post.

Lana Del Rey's music genre is mainly, indie and dream pop. Her video 'Born to die' is very hipster and 'dreamy'. For example the first scene has the American flag blowing in the wind as the backdrop, she uses a lot of flowers in the video, including her flower crown, which can be considered very hipster. The setting is very elegant and has a lot of art on the ceiling, it looks like an exotic church. In these scenes, she is also sitting on a throne, with a flower crown and a long white dress, with two tigers either side of her. She is portrayed somewhat angelic.

Her lyrics match her visuals, usually in hand gestures, like when she sings 'Oh my heart it breaks.' and she clutches her chest and at the end when 'We were born to die' is said and the man in the video is holding her, she is covered in blood and there is fire burning in the background.

The record label demands a lot of scenes of Lana Del Rey, as the artist of the music, as this is probably what the fans want to see the most, this is used in her video and I think almost every scene includes her.

The lighting is dim at points, especially when she is in a white, bare footed, walking down a hallway, this is to create a dream like effect to match the 'dream pop' genre and other scenes include a flash of a light in the scene to change the characters positions.

The video, I think, portrays a lot of voyeurism, fans would probably disagree, but I think that Lana is portrayed sexually, especially with the man in the video. The video, I feel, is very indie and alternative, the man has ear stretchers and tattoos. The main characters smoke and kiss a lot. I feel that the video is mainly portraying alternative fashion and sex.

Adding on to voyeurism, at the beginning of the video, Lana and her partner are both fully topless and leaning against each other, I feel that she is represented as weaker because the man is the only thing stopping her from being exposed. To me it also looks like her male friend is somewhat controlling, as in one scene, she is laying on the bed, the next he is next to her holding her and in the next, he has his hand around her throat.

Even at the end of the video, when Lana is dead, she has minimal clothing on, exposing her bra, covered in blood and the man is holding her loosely, letting her dangle, instead of supporting her. maybe this video is about a violent relationship.

The amateur video, (Young & Beautiful- Lana Del Rey) I feel, has really grasped the aspects of a Lana Del Rey video. they have really captured the dream like effect and the alternative and sexual feel to her videos.
They have used lots of close ups of the girl playing as Lana Del Rey, which was what the record label would demand.

The group have also captured the 'alternative' look, using black clothes, gold jewellery, heavy, black make up, drugs and cigarettes.

They have also used a sexual feel to it, as stereotypically lesbian scenes are considered more sexual, especially towards the male gender viewer. Another example of portraying the video sexually is when the main character runs her hand down her body a lot and the camera follows it.

The halo lighting used creates an angelic and flattering look on the person in front of it, which in this case is the girl playing as Lana.

The links between music and visuals are used just as they are in the Born To die music video. For instance, the lyrics 'Play with me like a child' the 'lead singer' pushes her partner/friend.

I'm not totally sure what happens at the end, but something about the lyrics when they say 'Will you still love me, when I am no longer young and beautiful?' makes me think that at the end when the main character dies that she has died 'young and beautiful' so that her partner will love her forever because she will remain young.

They have also taken the title of the song (Young & Beautiful) and made the singer beautiful, creating the right dress sense, make up and  hairstyle. I feel that this video has been very successful and have portrayed the right mood and an excessive amount of production and planning has gone into this.

_Andrea

Music Video Analysis- George Ezra- Blame it on me

Music video analysis- George Ezra- Blame it on me

• George Ezra is the lone singer in this song and a lot of the camera work is concentrated on him throughout the video.
• The video has a strong connection with the lyrics in a way that everything goes wrong for George Ezra in the video. E.G. being run over and tackled by a rugby team.
• George Ezra comes across as quite a cool and relaxed person showing what his personality is like.

• This video uses a lot of props and they use them well. E.G. the guns in the gunfight and the gold rugby ball.
• I really like the video as it is quite contrasting showing the items in luxury that are only causing bad things to happen to him.

• to sum up I think this is a good video with a good storyline, this is something in which our group would like to replicate with the creation of our music video.

_Brandon

Location

Location

We have decided what places we want to film in, we may decide against some places or even add some places, but at the moment we have definitely decided that we want to film at one of the group members houses and use a pop up set. 

We also want to use some woods near a group members house, but not for many scenes.

We thought using a long shot, looking up at the ‘band members’ walking along a bridge or overpass to the beat of the song would be a fun idea.

Using a music room for the band scenes would be easiest, because then we are able to easily access a drum kit and other instruments. 

We think a place like Rochester high street, that is very old fashioned and has a lot of historical background would be good to use as it adds to the quirky/alternative look and feel that we aim to give off. 

_Andrea

Shot list

Shot List

We have made a list of shots that we are going to need for our film, this is just our first draft and we have limited ideas at the moment, we will be developing our ideas further through out the course.
The shots we have so far are:

• Mid shots
• Long shots
• Extreme long shot
• Close ups
• Extreme close ups
• POVs
• Low angle shots

In terms of camera movement we have decided to use:

• Pan

And it terms of editing, we have decided to use:

• Straight cuts.
• Jump cuts

 _Andrea

Shot Types

Shot Types

• Point of view shot- We are going to use a point of view shot, to make the music video, direct towards the audience. This camera shot will make the video, more interesting, focussing independently on the artists of the video. It will also help present the message we are trying to portray, as we can rotate the camera between characters, and show the movement of the individuals. This shot type will be used in the fun scenes to show emotions. 
• Cut shot- We are going to use a cut shot to transfer between scenes. By using this we can change through the parts of the music video, but keep it flowing and making sense. It will also allow us to continue a scene without having to film insignificant parts of travelling to places, making the video more interesting, and fast paced.
• Establishing Shot- We are going to use an establishing shot to set the scene, showing the viewer, who the stars are. It will also set up the theme for the video.
• Close Up Shot- We are going to use close ups to show the actors in the video. We are also going to use it to show the scenes and locations of where we are filming in more detail. It was also show the happy emotions of the actors, giving more feeling towards the song lyrics.
• Dutch Tilt Shot- (A shot where the camera is tilted on its side to create a kooky angle.) We are going to use this shot to make the camera, go in beat to the music, mixing up the angles. Furthermore the song is about having fun, so this shot is something different we are going to use, hopefully making the image more interesting.
• Over the Shoulder Shot- This shot will give us the opportunity, to make the video personal and show the views of the video from our own eyes. It will also place the camera with the actors. 

_Bradley.

Mise-en-scene

Mise-en-scene

We plan to have a lot of props and other aspects of mise-en-scene in our music video. We feel that to give off the happy effect that ‘Ain’t it fun’ has on a viewer we need to use bright lighting, mainly daylight. We haven’t planned to film anything in the dark, so we need to use our time wisely and go out in the day rather than at sunset as I don’t think it will have the same effect.

We also plan to use bright colours, which will also create a happy feeling. These colours will be mainly in clothing and props. The props that we have discussed using are mainly instruments, brightly coloured balloons and a microphone. We have yet to discuss further what more we will use; I feel that it may be an ‘in the moment’ decision. I think at this time we aren’t too rushed to decide and still have yet to draw out a storyboard.

For makeup and costume, we are going for an ‘alternative’ look, as Paramore, as a band, are very different and look, almost ‘punk’. Their style is always changing, especially Hayley Williams with her hair. We are looking at mainly going for black clothes and maybe boots or converse. In terms of makeup we are only looking at me, as I will be taking Williams place as lead singer. I think simple eyeliner and maybe lipstick will create an alternative look and the other two will not be wearing makeup. 

We have looked at many different locations and sets and at the moment we have decided that we would like to film in places like Rochester and in my house, as we will be able to use my pop up set, this will give us a blank background and make the film look more professional. This also makes it easier to film and there are no distractions for the audience’s attention to be brought to. 

_Andrea

What I like to see in a music video- Andrea

What I like to see in a music video  

 In my opinion, I like to see people having fun and a story in a music video. I like videos that have quirky or different aspects to them an example of one of my favourite music videos would be ‘Prayer In C’ Lily Wood, The Prick and Robin Schulz.  I like the use of makeup, which is sugar skulls painted onto the people’s faces. The costume is also different and somewhat hipster as they wear smart clothes, but brightly coloured flowers, women wearing flower crowns and men wearing flowers on their blazers.  

 

The people in the video are all having a good time and I think this helps make a massive difference on the emotions of a song and the video. Most of them are riding bikes, skateboards or are in open top cars. I think the video creates a real summer scene and this song will be what people will want to listen to in the summertime, partly because of it. 

I also like the artsy use of the camera, filming when the people are putting on their costume and make up, this could show how they aren’t anyone special and are just normal people going out on the road and having a good time. I also like some of the shots they take like two people kissing on a bike, a girl sat at the front on the handles kissing the man steering it. 

 

I would like to include some ‘artsy ‘shots like these. Our group have discussed using balloons and as the lead singer is singing and having them in the background, I think a close up of them would be a good idea and is similar to some of the shots in this music video. I think if we used the right lighting and we slowed the shot down a little, it would have potential to be a good scene.  

_Andrea

What I like to see in music videos- Brandon

What I like to see in Music Videos

• When I watch music videos I generally like to see a story within the music video that goes with the lyrics of the song.
• I also like to see dancers in the music as because if there weren't any dancers then the music video would generally be quite boring.
• I like to the see singer play a part in the music video as it is their song and they should be seen in the video.
• If the artist is a band then I would like to see the band play a part in the video
• I would like to see the music video to have a relation to to the Album that the song is or a relation to the artist.

_Brandon.

What I like to see in a music video- Bradley

What I like to see in music videos:

• The lyrics have to fit in with the song, making it relatable.
• Have a good story to the video making it, interesting to watch.
• Band scenes, for me are quite important to make the song relatable and to draw the viewer in, if they recognise the singer they are more inclined to watch the video.
• It is also nice when, inter textual references are used, to link the particular song to, the album.
• I like the video by MKTO, classic. It changes between two single singers standing and singing to one another, to a story and this jump between fills a really good link.
• Furthermore I like, coldplay's video, 'a sky full of stars' as it has inter textual references to the album making the song relatable, it also has a part where Chris Martin, is looking at himself on stage through a TV screen something I would love to replicate.
• It is also great to have a whole band within a video rather than, just the lead singer, as the band as a whole should be recognised.
• Music video's should be, fun interesting and highly relatable.

_Bradley.

Ed Sheeran: Thinking Out Loud.

• The video of the song, is based closely around the lyrics, starting with the entrance of Ed and a female companion.
• The dance performed by the partners, follows the suit of the song as it is a contemporary piece, showing the dancers as very close lovers.
• Ed Sheeran is used in the video to make the song more personal, as the song is addressed to a certain person, so the use of him makes the song more touching.
• Their are effect used to make the video also give the theme of love, not only with the unison movements focusing singularly                                                                                      on the two dancers, but also the lighting                                                                                         effects.
• This is a really powerful video because it flows with the lyrics having been based around them.
• It is all about the lyrics making this video very, interesting to watch as, it goes along with the theme of the song making it relatable.

_Bradley.

Lyric analysis final

_Media Team

Lyric analysis part 1

_Media Team

Song analysis

_Written by Andrea

Questionnaire analysis

Questionnaire analysis

I have created an analysis to the questionnaire that I sent round to twelve people. I made pie charts to show the information given in the questionnaires answered. 

_Andrea