We were originally going to use the song 'Rough Cut' but Amber Rubarth, however after noticing past students had used this song we decided to study theirs and then reach a decision;
Positive of the video;
The dissolves which were used in the music video are very effective and the fades work well
The narrative of the music video links very well with the lyrics of the song, and the video mirrors the words
Some effects from final cut express are used effectively
Negatives of the music video;
Some of the shots seemed off putting as although the camera angle seemed straight the background of the shot was not a flat surface and the horizon was often slanted
There were not as many close up lip synching shots as what we would have expected for a music video
The opening sequence didn't seem strong enough to fit the music, It seemed emotionless
We have began to look at what music channel our video would be shown on, after some thought it is believed the MTV would be most suitable for our music video.
This is because MTV has various channels, such as MTV Base MTV Hits, MTV Dance, MTV Rocks and more, this means that on MTV our Music video has more of a chance of being shown.
However MTV Rocks seems most suitable for our music video, as being a regular viewer of the channel it is noticeable that the channel is not limited to only rock music. It often shows Indie music and songs which are likable which are not in the chart. Music by Birdy and Ellie Goulding have often been shown on this channel. Because we feel Allie Moss is like both of these artists we believe the video will do well on MTV Rocks.
Howver MTV are not the only music channels which we play the video, Channels such as Viva, The Chart Show, VH1 and 4 Music may also be likely to show our music video. Many of these channels however show the Hit 40 UK or songs which are in the charts. This means it is less likely to be shown, unless shown as a 'VIP track of the week'
Now that we have successfully cut all the clips so that they are shorter and easier to handle we can begin actually editing our footage to our song. We are hoping to achieve a good music video and have it split so that the lip syncing and other footage is split to a good standard.
Below is an image of us beginning to edit;
As we are lucky enough to have a photography student in our group, as he wants to edit some of our footage to make the colours seem brighter or more vintage he decided to test out the editing techniques on a small part of footage.
Pros;
Connor is very comfortable about the photoshop techniques and software, so he is able to edit pictures easily. he can easily change the colour and contrast of images.
When editing a clip in photoshop he took a screen grab of what he was doing, which is shown below;
Cons;
When the clip had been exported and put into photoshop it became recognisable that the picture was pixilated, we hope it will increase when we put it back in final cut express. However if we export the whole footage into photoshop it will be even worse, so we would have to do it in small chunks which may prove to be time consuming and we may not be able to edit all the clips.
Recently we filmed at London, we went to Temple to start with hoping to film in a small park, however when we got there we noticed that it didn't open until 12, and at this time it was about 11.20. So we decided to walk round for a bit, just round the corner we found a secluded area which we believed would fit our music video well. The benches and the flowers made it seem very vintage so we decided to film there. The image below is of the setting which we was filming in, and the image below that one is when we were actually filming the footage.
After we had filmed there we went back to the park by temple, we set up the camera and the tripod and were prepared to film, when we were approached and asked if we had a filming permit, after explaining to them that we were from Robert Clack and it was a part of our filming project they still said we needed a permit, as none of us had any money we had to leave that idea and try to think of something else.
We then went to oxford Circus, we found filming here was simpler than what we thought, we managed to get different angles of lip syncing and just some close ups of my face, images of this are shown below.
We then went to Hanover square to film some more footage, however due to our lack of direction, we could not find Hanover square so we settled with a closer park, which we believed had a nice effective as it would fit our music video well.
After we had filmed some footage we uploaded it on ti the computer and placed it in Final Cut Express. We wanted to see if the song made these clips look like the belonged in the song as it was mainly scenic footage and we wanted it to look cute.
When watching the clips with the music it became clear to us that they looked cuter and had more of an emotional impact when you could hear the music in the background. When the clips were shown without the sound they didn't have that much of an affect.
These are two of the images which we want to use in our overall footage, however the problem which we have with them is that they are slightly dull and lacking in the colour which we hoped they would of had, as when we filmed that section it was cloudy out which made the day look grey. We could try and enhance the colour and contrast of the images on Final Cut express, but we have photography student in our group who works well with photoshop and we are hoping he will be able to export the images into photoshop and edit them.
Before filming in London we decided to make a plan of the day, after we have filmed at London we will have one more filming session on Thursday and then that will be the filming completed hopefully. We will obviously have to re-film some things if we believe we have made a mistake or it is too a good enough standard, however we do have enough footage which means that we may be able to replace clips with something else.
As a member of our group has recently been to London he knew some good places which we would film in, so he drew up a plan so we were organised for the day.
Our Journey will start of at Dagenham east train station, where we will then travel to Temple, we are hoping to recreate some shots of pictures which Connor had previously taken on a photography trip he went on, below are the images showing the location and what we are hoping to achieve;
After filming at Temple we are planning to travel to Oxford Circus to film at Oxford Street and Hanover square, this is also a place where Connor had recently visited so he knew what he was hoping to achieve with filming here.
We are hoping to use different shots with this footage as well as we have already used a variety of shots in our footage, such as a pan shot, long shot and extreme close up. We are also hoping to use all different angles for he same piece or footage as it will provide a better effect.
We want to experience with slowing footage down, this is why we are filming in Oxford Street as it is very busy and the slow effect will have more of an impact, we have sped the song up and downloaded it only our phones so I can easily sit and sing the same speed as the new faster song. By singing faster it means that when we slow the footage down we are hoping that the lip syncing will be in time with the song and the slow motion will be effective.
After filming the montage section we noted what we think would work well together and what clips we believe we should not put in the music video.
From the image above it is obvious that we have a lot of footage, this can be seen as a negative as only a small section of the music video will need this footage, however it means that we have a large variety of clips to chose from and we will probably not have to re-film anything as we could change the clip we want to use if it is not to a high enough standard. Below is an image of the editing process;
As a group we came together and drew up the storyboard for our music video. This meant we had a visual of all of our ideas. WE then put the images into final cut express and made it into an animatic, this is shown below;
Recently we have tried to film a lot of the montage section. We are hoping to get this all completed by next week as we need to move on to film the other sections of our music video.
The montage section is supposed to be a a group of memories which the two characters have together over a long period of times. The weather is constantly changing, which it being cold and sunny so this has helped us. Also we are continiously going to different locations changing our clothes which gives the impression its been over a long time.
The music video is a way of an artist reintroducing themselves and changing their image. We thought it would be a good idea to research artists who have to change their image either because they have to or because they need to.
One of the group members chose to research Rihanna, as an artist she changes her image as she feels she wants to in order to maintain a large audience. However i have gone for a different approach by choosing Cheryl Cole, this is because she has to change her image because she was portrayed nagatively in the media.
Cheryl Cole started on Pop Stars;The Rivals when the girl band Girls Aloud was formed in 2002 at the time they were one of the biggest girl groups. Cheryl Cole is in the middle of the image below;
However in 2003 Cheryl is accused of assaulting a black cleaner in a nightclub toilet and was therefore charged with racism. This meant that Cheryl had to change her appearance from the young girl she was into more of a lady. The marriage of Cheryl to her husband Ashley Cole however formed a conspiracy from her being done for racism, as she married a black man. This is to show that she is not a racist and therefore hopes to keep her ethnic fans. (Cheryl getting married)
After all of this she continued with her music in Girls Aloud however with them having a temporary break she continued with her solo carrer and joined xfactor.
(cheryl on x factor)
After a divorce with her husband she also had to show she was a stronger woman and released singles such as 'Promise This' The new cheryl cole is shown in the image below;
By researching how artists change and why they change we can link this back to our own work. We understand that because Allie Moss is a female and from the type of music she has she is more likely to relate to either female teens or young women. However in our music video we do not want to limit it to just one fan base. So we decided to include a relatable male into our video. This means that we can widen our audience and attract a male fan base as well. Also we may have hope of attracting a male audience by using an attractive female character.
An image of the relatable male to both male and female audiences
Over the weekend myself and the other female of my group were busy so Connor went out alone to film landscapes which we can use aspart of our footage. He took different kind of shots, from long shots and close ups with a different focus on each one, we believe by filming this it would help to ‘set the scene’ of our music video, withthe leaves being different colours and autumnal. This idea was inspired however from Ellie Goulding’s ‘Your Song’ who also uses these kind of shots.
Over the next week we hope to film some of the beginnning of our music video, we will be watching the weather updates as we hope for some sunshine for the filming of our montage.
The footage that we originally had planned to film on a beach may not be a posibility anymore as the weather hs become colder, and the days are shortening this means that we have to think of new locations whichwemay be able to film. As a group we came together to think of new ideas in a brainstorm;
Public Transport such as a bus, station or a train
This would provide good footage, as many people feel isolated and alone. Also our female character will be alone in a group of people, which will reflect her loneliness against the contrast of the large group of people. Lip synching at this location may be an opition for us aswell.
Grassy Place, place with crops, with wind
As our song is about the character being lost in her world, and our music video is abouther losing her boyfriend we thought it would be good to use long crops. This is because the girl will be surrounded and look lost, which will reflect on her emotions. As we know that there is a field like this nearby it will be possible to film. The crop technique is used in the song ‘Winter Winds’ by mumford and Sons, the song is about chosing to love or not and being lost i confusing so by walking through the fields it looks cute.
A Secluded Forest like area with Scattered Sunlight
This would look like an idylic location in our music video as she will look alone, and like there is no one else in the world with her. Also the sunlight shining through the trees will look like hope is shining on the girl. A member of a group recently went on a photography trip and took a picture of a location, below is the picture he took ;
A Busy Urban Area such as London during day and night
London may be a good idea as there will be alot going on and there will be a few attention grabbing shots, also places such as Oxford Street and Camdem show to be well known places, also with the rush of people behind the female it will reflect on the girls isolation.
A deserted Vintage looking house/room
This location was inspired by Birdy’s ‘Skinny Love’ music video, this will create a vintage look aswell as an isolation theme as. However this location will be hard to find unless we know someone with a cute coloured bedroom and had permission to empty it, so the likelyhood of filming in this location is minimum.
Today in lesson we added all of our footage onto final cut express and began editing it.The music has not yet been added to the footage, this is because the lip syncing has not been filmed yet. So the footage we have edited mayneed to be moved around anyway. Below is a print screen of the editing which we are currently doing
Our original plan was to use a beach in a music video for the montage section, we was going to show it as the section where the boy and the girl met. However as we were hoping to use Walton on the Naze as we know the beach well. However this idea became almost impossible when weather began to get colder and we was finding it hard to gain transport to the location.
After realising we would be unable to film at the beach we tried to think of other 'vintage' locations where we could film the couples scene. We came up with a secluded forest area and a crop field for the girl to sing in alone.
Some of our new locations included;
- London for some of the lip syncing scenes as it was easy to get too and it only took a couple of trains.
-A local country park which was easy to get to
-A forest that was nearby, as it would be secluded and section the couple off from the rest of the world
- A play area in a local park, easily accessible
- One of the characters house as we could use 'home made videos' this would give the video a sense of realism and help the audience relate to the characters
A song which I believe has a lots of product placement in it is the film 'Telephone' by Lady Gaga and Beyonce. The point of product placement is so that the artists and the directors of their videos can get money for advertising products within their music video. Also because of the advertisement of the products in a music video it makes viewers want to purchase it.
The 9 things which are advertised in this video alone ; 1:34: Heartbeats earphones. 2:06: Virgin Mobile. 2:17: Diet Coke. 4:15: Virgin Mobile (again). 4:24: HP Envy ‘Beats Limited Editon’ laptop from Monster. 4:28: Plenty Of Fish dating site. 4:44: Chevrolet. 5:37: Polaroid. 6:24: Wonderbread. 6:36: Miracle Whip. 8:31: Polaroid (again).
After researching about product placement we decided to try and not use this in our footage. We believe it will make the footage look tacky and take attention off of what the message of our music video.
We did film a section of our video where the boy and the girl text each other saying ' I Love You' however as they done this on blackberry phones we saw this as a form of advertising and decided not to use that footage.
Allie Moss is a singer, vocal coach and guitarist from new Jersey. She often performs though as the lead guitarist for singer/songwriter Ingrid Michaelson, she performed on her European tour in 2010. However during the summer of 2010 she returned home for a State-side tour of her own.
Allie is most popular for her song 'Corner' which became popular from being in the BT infinity advert, this helped it to reach number 70 in the UK charts.
In an interview Moss talks about her song corner and explains why she sung/wrote it. She says 'sometimes when you’re faced with a difficult problem in your life, what you really want or need is just a friend to stand by you through it, rather than fight it.' By researching this it has benefited us as now we can interpret Moss's meaning of the song into the video and it makes us feel that we are on the right tracks for our music video. The interview with Allie Moss can be seen here; http://www.thestarscoop.com/music/allie-moss-interview-i-have-more-guts-in-me/ Allie Moss also attending a fundrasing event in London, when it became clear how popular she is when all tickets were sold out. The article says 'The acoustic performance is sold out, mainly to residents of Wendlebury and the surrounding villages. You can find the rest of the article on; http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-13295992
The song 'Corner' was also played in the hit television show 'Pretty Little Liars' during the second season, the serious was then very popular with 3.68 million viewers. The target audience for this show is mainly young females and the fact that the song 'Corner' (our song) was played in one of the episodes it shows to us that maybe the main audience for our music video would be females.
