Since doing my last diary post, which was the holiday one, I have written my music video proposal, which just outlines my initial ideas for what I’m going to create. I wrote about my target audience, concept, possible equipment I might use, models, possible locations (or lack thereof, I’ll explain this in a bit), costumes, choice of song, similar videos, etc. A lot of the stuff that I talked about I had already mentioned in previous posts, especially my holiday diary post, because they’re ideas that I’ve been working on for a while now.
Also this week I went back over previous work that I’ve done and just made sure that everything was really detailed and clear, so I did some little explanations on stuff like my 10 iconic music video stills and the equipment checklist.
In my last diary entry I mentioned uploading my location recce, I haven’t uploaded yet, mostly because the concept for my video requires it being shot entirely in extreme close-up, so the location isn’t really important, or actually necessary at all, because if I do it right you shouldn’t see the background. Having said that, I know the location recce is an important part of planning my video so I post that soon, but my location will probably just be in one of the media rooms, with a plain white backdrop, possibly with some bits filmed outside for a different lighting effect.
My music video idea is for the song ‘Short Skirt/Long Jacket’ by the band Cake. I chose this song because I thought the lyrics would be interesting to present visually, as when I listen to the song I get clear mental images of what is being sung about. Because the lyrics are about a girl and the models I will be using are all female, my video will be aimed at men, probably aged 16-30.
Rather than have a single model in my film, I would like to use a large group of girls to represent different aspects of the girl being described by the lyrics in the song. All the models will be filmed in extreme close-up – like the video for ‘Animal Arithmetic’ by Jonsi – using studio lighting and either a Canon XM2 HD Camera, a Canon 55OD Camera or a Sony HVRA1E Camera. These all allow for high quality footage, meaning my video will look professional. Like videos such as ‘Get Over It’ by OK Go, I will visually represent the lyrics using these models and also some props, for example, when the lyrics say "eyes that burn like cigarettes", the video would show one of the model's eyes, followed by another's lips blowing out cigarette smoke, or something similar.
The costumes for my video will be based on the descriptions from the song, so one of the models will be wearing “a short skirt and a long jacket”, they will have lots of make-up and painted nails, so as to look very glamorous. My video might use a band, also filmed in extreme close-up, so that when the song begins with the bass line, I could show it being played on the bass. Due to the fact that I will be shooting entirely in extreme close-up, location is not a particularly important part of my video, as you will not be able to see the surroundings very clearly or at all. I will shoot inside one of the media rooms against a white backdrop, much like the way in which I carried out the photoshoot for last year’s coursework.
After having filmed my video, I will edit it together using Adobe Premiere and After Effects. I aim to use many cuts in the editing process, timing them with the music so that the two fit together well and my video looks professional. There are a few problems that I might encounter when it comes to making my music video, though as I do not require outside locations, there are less potential issues. One problem that may occur is not being able to find a suitable filming day, because I aim to use so many models, who may not all be available at the same time. Although I could shoot the models individually, I liked the idea of shooting as many as possible at once, as I found last year that they felt more comfortable and were more willing to pose if they were not alone. This means that my video will not have an awkward atmosphere, as the models should look more natural. To try and ensure that I can get them all at the same time I will ask them to sign an agreement form that says that they are willing to work at certain times. I will also need to be sure that I know how to work all the equipment properly, so that I use it to its full potential.
I know the holidays are definitely over now, but I wanted to do this post after I had finished all the work I wanted to talk about. Over the summer I did some more thinking about an idea for my music video, and I decided that the idea I had for Short Skirt/Long Jacket by Cake (see Diary Entry One) would be very effective if done well and also fairly simple to do, especially in comparison to other ideas I have had. The idea was basically that I would use many female models and shoot them in extreme close-up, visually representing the lyrics. For example, when the lyrics say "eyes that burn like cigarettes", the video would show one of the model's eyes, followed by another's lips blowing out cigarette smoke, or something similar. This would also take inspiration from the OK Go video that I also mentioned in my first diary entry, which uses visual representations of the lyrics by zooming in on objects, e.g. when the singer shouts "hey!", the video cuts to a bale of hay. My video might also use a band, also filmed in extreme close-up, so that when the song begins with the bass line, I could show it being played on the bass. However, I first need to find a band that would be willing to learn the song. Additionally I would like the focus of the video to be more on the models than the band. For this video I could make use of the HD cameras available at school, as well as the studio lighting. So, as I had pretty much decided on a song, I analysed the lyrics, which I did by printing them out, scribbling all over them and scanning them back in, a habit I have picked up from English Literature. This process was particularly important for my music video as I'm focusing on visual representations of the lyrics, so I think it's vital that I work to understand the lyrics (and the themes and ideas presented by them) if I want my video to be successful. Another piece of work that I have been working on is my location recce, which I have not yet uploaded as I wanted to take some photos of locations around school that I could use, e.g. the OK Go video that I have already mentioned uses an empty bingo hall, a look that I could recreate using an empty school gym. Once I have added these photos then I will upload that too, which should hopefully be in the next week.
Before creating my shot list or storyboard, I wanted to analyse the lyrics of the song I am using. This is especially important for my idea because I want to visually represent some of the lyrics through the models and props, e.g. having the model snip through some red tape when the lyrics are "who uses a machete to cut through red tape". I decided the easiest way for me to do this was to print out the lyrics and annotate them like I would a poem.
