Brightness and Contrast

I feel it is very important to experiment with the brightness and the contrast of the footage we capture. Having manipulated the images of our location shots I've found that in black and white, adjusting these elements on the images can bring out much more detail that otherwise would not be see. It makes the images much more vibrant and with will defiantly have to consider this in post production when editing our music videos. I have included an example of the affects of adjusting both brightness and contrast.

This is the image before the manipulation.

This is the image after manipulation.

Shot Ideas

A car pulling up at red light from the wheel at an extreme low camera angle and position works really well as we have discovered through experimenting, so does pulling away from a stationary position, where the car pulls away to reveal an interesting location.
•Use the car as a ‘dolly’ and film out the window, this will allow us to produce fast action shots (we found this to be a successful technique when filming some practice shots),
•Close-ups of feet walking.
•At the end of the song the car pulls up from behind the camera which is almost sitting on the floor, the car stops at the traffic lights, they turn green the music finishes and all that is heard and seen is the cars driving into the distance.

Our Pitch

We will shot the video as an up and rising British ‘Hip Hop’ group covering the track..
•We want the film to be more narrative based, filming the car and driver who are separate to the artist singing.
•We plan to have three separate narrative stories in the video with the camera following each and for the artist vocal performance (lip syncing) we intent it to mainly be the Corus section of the song.
•We would like the video filmed in black and white with high contrast.
•The location will mainly be industrial sites for the narrative sections and for the vocal section we plan to have it filmed in alleys, up against walls (very simple background which allow for strong shadows to produced across the singer face).

Location Shots

These are digital images taken on a recce trip up to the Lakeside area (3/12/07). We also took up a camera which we used to take a number of practise shots. The reason for this was because we were interested in understanding how effective night time filming would be and what lighting issues would arise so we could be prepare for the actual filming of the music video. We tried to look for locations that would both have an look urban, not particularly busy and conforms to the look we wish to achieve within our music video. We took up a generator that powered a spot light which we were able to use to light up areas of the location that we taking images of (such as the road in the image above).

Technical Anaylsis Summary

I have learnt that there is on average a cut every two seconds, this makes the video flowing and keeps the audience entertained. I music video cuts from one shot to another and then goes back to the original shot. This is in example when the video cuts from Dizzee Rascal to the horses feet back to Dizzee then back to the horses feet, to a POV shot from the boy, back to Dizzee gay then back to the horses feet.
The dark, outdoor scenes with a strong light on one section are an effective way of filming at night. The dark shadows also create strong moods and the light is often coming from above Dizzee, casting a shadow over his face and creates an attitude linked to the genre.
There is also a surprising amount of close up shots of not only Dizzee, which is responsible for creating a star persona but also there are mean close ups of less important.

planning review # 3 - CF

Well done - excellent pitch, reccie and a well considered idea. You still have some decisions to make about the narrative part, however I am very impressed with your response to the brief. You now need to organise your blog; add posts on reccie, practice shots, audience research, mise-en-scene, the narrative and camera ideas. Make sure your work is well documented on the blog.

Good work
Oli- your posts are still drafts - organise.

Product Analysis: Roots Manuva- Witness the fitness

What is the relationship between music and visuals?
This is a very unusual video in relationship to the music. As this genre of music regulary shows videos of women enduring objectification as well as the frequent refrences to over indulgence and wealth. Although this is appartent it is not to the extent that is expected. The backing beat of the track is in time with the cuts showing a clear relationship between the music and the visuals. Complying with Steve Artchers conventions of a music video as it has fast cuts, montage editing and post production digital effects which can be seen when the artist runs the three legged race.

What is the relationship between lyrics and visuals?
The link between the lyrics and visuals is quite ironic, as if you were just to listen to the music without the visuals you would expect to see the objectification of women due to the verse beginning, "Witness the fitness". Instead its all about keeping fit, which is unusual for this genre of music.

Are there close-ups of the artist and star image motifs?
The construct of the star persona is presented through when the artist pulls up in a Ferrari and the young children run to the fence screaming showing how the artist is well known and his fame is noted here. Also the use of the Ferrari connotes wealth and the "because i'm worth it narrative" presented by theorist Steven Hill is also touched upon within the visuals as the artist presents where he came from by showing the primary school, which doesnt seem to be an overly wealthy area, to now having the right to "material overindulgence" connoted by the Ferrari. The fact that the artist talks into the camera and his eyes seem as though they are "looking" at the audience through the lens of the camera causes the first person mode of address. The audience therefore feel closer to the star and feel as though they are being preformed for personally. This also helps the audience to relate better to the artist, reinforcing and creating para-social intimacy. This is also constructed through the artist being at an ordinary primary school as it makes him seem no different from the rest of us making him easier to relate to. Although he clearly sets himself apart again with the use of the Ferrari.

Is it performance based or narrative based? How much of each?
The video is mainly narrative based as we follow the artist as he prepares to return to his primary school for sports day. The text at the beginning of the video adds belidity and gives the audience quick backgound knowledge so that the text is read in the correct way. However the fequent shots of the artist lipsyncing show authenticity. This could also be seen as a meta-narrative as the artist tells the audience about his past and the fact that he still has the desire to succeed in his sports day events, this causes para-social intimacy as the audience feels they have found out more about the stars past experiences.

Ideological discourses?
The text would been seen as postmodern. Using Steven Connollly's ideas we are able to see the theme of "self-referentality" as the artist refers to himself, mocking himself by going back to his primary school to win the races he came last in as a child. There is also a sense of nostagia as the artist reverts back to his old primary school to forfill his desire for retro culture.

Representations?
The artist mocks himself in the text by showing how he has had to really try and prepare for the childs sports day and then turns up in a lycra running suit. Also with the cuts between his fridge with loads of eggs in and him buying them in the supermarket. This shows the audience that the artist doesnt really take himself seriously and presents his music as fun and something to be enjoyed rather than how other black rap artist present themselves- as serious gangsters. This is a very different interpritation to the black rap artist videos and this is why it could be viewed as a postmodernist text. The fact that the rap artist is coloured and has items that connote wealth reinforce the ideals that you are only able to succeed in this genre of music if you are black.

Techincal Analysis: The Streets-Never went to church

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUi-ATRnMwI

Duration-3 mins 37 secs.

The video uses slow cuts, due to the melow beat and lyrics.

- Mise- en- scene shot on location
- Black and white effective look, snow stands out more, reflections in window of train, the black and white could be seen as a visual style. - First person mode of address, talking/lip syncing directly to the audience
- performance based, as shots of him lip syncing which reinforces authenticity and helps the audience to better engage with Mike Skinner. - Could be seen as a disjunctive narrative, where the the video narrative is different to the lyrical narrative. - I interpreted a sense of nostalgia (relflective, regretfulness) Post Modern reference to Steve Connally, nostalgic-a desire for retro culture - Andrew Goodwin, lots of close ups - Reference to notion of looking, the reflections in train windows and mobile home - Para-social intimacy, feeling like you become closer to artist throughout, about his life. Mike Skinner is the only one on the screen to therefore engage with him more, as only focusing on him throughout. - ELS used to show his rural scenic location, makes him see more alone.

Inspirational ideas from "The Streets" videos.

Whilst researching music videos to deconstruct, I found that The Streets were suitable and focused on their music videos. When watching some of the videos I found some inspirational, imaganitive techinques used.

• Camera techiques used in video," Fit But Dont You Know It", the use of picture montage and how they are used as a framework at the beginning, with relatively quick cuts.


• "When you wasnt famous", with the silent start interacting with the audience wondering whats going to happen and considering the mise-en-scene.(Influencial technique for own video)


• "Dont mug yourself", how there is an effect of him gliding along the chairs in the cafe in the opening scene (a constant movement). Also how the pint of beer goes down. Quite playful and keeps the audience engaged.