Component 3

This is the Lip-Sync, test-shoot footage we took and edited.

What Went Well:

• We managed to learn a lot about editing, as well as gathering footage together to cut.
• Transitions
• Usage of mid-shots, close-ups

Even Better If:

• Variety of shots
• More footage
• Utilise more editing techniques

As Kurt Cobain has been dead for almost 30 years, me and my partner decided to instead Private Message his wife, Courtney Love, as she owns his estate (up to 98% of Nirvana in total).

Me and my group have decided to go with a combination of both my initial pitch, and new ideas taken from Lewis’ mini pitch.

Good things:

• Our current ideas on how to utilise MES seem fruitful, and will benefit the narrative
• The narrative planned seems to mesh very well with the music and theme of the video
• Variety of ideas will help to diversify the video, with differing editing techniques and usage of MES to contrast
• Fairly simple, easy to follow yet meaningful.
• The song is 4 minutes long
• Enough content to match the length

Targets:

• More planning on the technical aspects
• More planning in regards to locations, timing, access to instruments and so forth.
• More discussion with the actors.
• Need to practice editing techniques more
• Refine cinematography skills
• Develop a clear outline of tasks to follow in a structured order

My Pitch

Basic Outline: Following a man in a suit, who slowly becomes more and more disheveled. Carrying a bin with a chain, he symbolically carries the “weight” of the world, giving it away. Another figure is presented as a sort of duality to the man, the one who originally had to carry the burden, but “sold” it and left it behind.

Reasons for the choice of song:

• Good narrative potential
• Relatively somber, but still grunge (rock).
• Lyrics generally vague, feeding into a lot of ideas.
• Good length, allowing for breathing room for the narrative.
• Allows for good usage of MES, through close ups and editing.
• Fitting to the beat and matching the lyrics is also fairly simple.
• Illustrative song, meaning that connoting themes and issues and matching things such as lyrics to the video will be easy/ier.

I have decided on this music video, selected from the examples I have seen of class 2020

My reasonings for this are as follows:

Effective editing;

• The cuts and “disjointed” effects fit the song quite well, as well as effectively representing instability in a visual manner.
• As well as this, the editing matches the beat, and lip-syncing remains consistently accurate throughout the video.

Narrative: Performance;

• The ratio between narrative and performance is generally around 40:60, tending to lean more towards performance for long periods of the video.
• The edginess of the video’s performance coincides with that of the song, fitting well.

Star Representation;

• As mentioned before, the “edginess” of the video works well, especially with the low-key lighting in several scenes, the drab clothing and contrasting crown etc. works well to represent the star as someone fitting the genre
• In regards to the crown, it is a focal point in the song itself, used effectively within the narrative.

From viewing this video and analyising it, I have picked apart elements I will want to use in my own video. For example, with the editing, I have noticed techniques that I will want to take note of, as well as recognising how to create an effective piece of media through the usage of MES, editing, and incorporating the narrative/performance well in order to represent/connote meaning.

The Strengths:

• Variety of shots, with continuity between.
• Clear sense of progression, from walking outside the building to the inside, then leaving to fall.
• Conveys the sense of “loneliness” well, using editing.

The Weaknesses:

• The camera position was sometimes slightly off-angle (not on purpose)
• Could use more shots and footage, to pad out the video more
• More editing techniques could be utilised to make the video more unique and high quality.

Through making this montage, I have learnt how to use the camera to effectively capture a scene, and how to use post-production to emphasise the intended effect well. I have also learnt that continuity is very important; scenes need to connect well with clear signs of progression. I will reflect on this. Finally, I realised that checking through footage and doing double-takes is very important, in case of some poor lighting or focus; creating backups is a must. I will make sure I look back at this montage as a template to work off, and to improve upon.

This montage has helped me see what I must do in order to convey the narrative well, through a linear fashion relating to continuity, as well as the experience I garnered through editing, filming, coming up with ideas and implementing them through the story-board format etc.

PDF

In this analysis, I have picked apart the music video uploaded by mgmtmusic of the song “Little Dark Age” (developed by MGMT). I have paid particular attention towards the the 80s aesthetic focus of the video, as well as the theme of death and mystery clearly illustrated through the usage of colours black and those which contrast, reflecting perhaps a certain amount of class divide in clothing.

PDF

I watched and analysed three different music videos, deconstructing each one and decoding its themes, and how the performance/narrative reflect such themes. As well as the themes, I’ve seen how each aspect of the video fits in with conventions to the medium as a whole, as well as attempting to compare it to the genres they exist within.