Maroon 5 - 'This Love'

Lady Gaga

Media Story Line

Shot type: Mid shot Lighting: Bright back light Others: Mid angle shot Shows signs of naturalistic lighting.	Shot type: Birds eye view Lighting: Side lighting in a bird’s eye view Others: Natural moonlighting with image of innocent of child .	Shot type: Mid shot Lighting: Gloomy lighting Others: uses a fade in effect to switch from one shot too another.	Shot type: Close up Lighting: top lighting Others: Straight cut to this shot .
Seconds: 3:03	Seconds:3:06-3:07	Seconds:3:10-3:11	Seconds:3:12-3:15

Shot type: Mid shot Lighting: Top lighting Others: Hand held shot showing movement in the shot .	Shot type: Long shot Lighting: Naturalistic lighting Others: The clouds used to show time periods.	Shot type: Close up Lighting: Gloomy lighting Others: Aggressive movement in the camera works showing handheld .	Shot type: Mid shot Lighting: Bright top light Others: Uses handheld shot for this shot just not as aggressive .
Seconds:3:16	Seconds:3:18-3:20	Seconds:3:21-3:23	Seconds:3:25-3:26

Shot type: Ex close up Lighting: front lighting Others: Straight cut shot to this shot like a zoom in shot.	Shot type: Close up Lighting: Dull lighting top light Others: Uses fast cuts shots .	Shot type: Long shot Lighting: Naturalistic lighting Others: another fast cut shot too random image.	Shot type: Close up Lighting: Dull light shot Others: Uses handheld shot aswell as a straight cut shot .
Seconds:3:27	Seconds:3:28	Seconds:3:29	Seconds:3:30

Shot type: Long shot Lighting: Gloomy and dull Others: The shot shows a storm is about to coming as well as begin handheld to show aggressive movement with the actors action.	Shot type: Close up Lighting: Dull yet bright in the back lighting Others: Uses a straight cut to the shot .	Shot type: Ex Close up Lighting: Dull and Back lighting Others: Uses fast rhythm straight cuts to catch up too music space.
Seconds:3:32-3:33	Seconds:3:34	Seconds:3:35

Pk

Sweding Task

For our preliminary task, we had to swede a music video, in order to improve our skills in filming editing. In our thriller, it was the first chance we had to film and so many of the shots looked messy and unprofessional. In this video we needed to include a wider range of shots and show how our skills have grown. We chose to swede Foo-fighters video, best of you. This music video is a performance video, also including some narrative, and is therefore a hybrid video so uses both types of video. This allows some of the narrative theories to be met. The video incorporates a wide range of shot types and camera movement, including panning, tracking and zooms, for example a low angled shot of Dave Grohl uses panning to show the performance. 

When thinking about what video would be best to shoot, we decided an area wanted to improve was our use of framing. Throughout the video there's a lot of use of the rule of thirds, that creates points of interest for the audience. From this we've learnt how to use the lighting in the frame and think about everything in the mise-en-scene, for example when shooting the performance outside, it was important to get the clouds and skyline how we wanted, and get similar lighting as in the Foo-fighters version.

In our video, the extreme close-up shots we needed show shadows onto parts of his face. This portrays him to be half good and half evil. We needed to consider the lighting, and use the filler lights and backing light. In the shots of his face, it's important to use the lighting to create the effects we wanted to establish and the image and metanarrative band had wanted to establish. When filming our shots we didn't think enough of the lighting, even though we were filming outside we should’ve used artificial light to create the effects we wanted. In our music video, we will use a variety of lighting to represent the different character types. 

While filming it was important to consider the mise-en-scene. For example when we were shooting just a shot of the performance, we needed to have no backing so they appeared on a roof. Due to the constraints at school it was difficult to get the mise-en-scene as we were restricted as to where we could film, however we needed to establish the general look of the scene and include what makes up the shot. The mise-en-scene effects the whole appearance of the video. 

When filming our thriller, we struggled with being able to vary our shot types and movement. This was partly because of lack of equipment, and that we couldn't move the camera and hold the shot still, but also because of lack of experience and time constraints. We wanted to improve the variety of shots we could use. Last year, I was in a separate group from everyone else in my group this time. In their video, the camera movement they used was much better than in ours. In order to do a tracking shot, they used tom's car driving at a steady rate in order to keep the camera from shaking and get the shot they wanted, which looked really good and created the effect they wanted.

We also learnt the importance of the tripod and this kept the camera more steady, establishing a more valid, reliable shot. 

In our thriller, one of our strongest parts was the lighting. There were certain shots which used had a lighting shot over half of it, as we were trying to copy an Alfred Hitch-cock style of shot, where the lighting shown a envelope being opened. In our sweding, the lighting was the hardest thing to get right as we were filming outside and so continuity was important. When we were looking at it we decided that filming in the morning would be most appropriate, as the shots appear to be either morning or evening and so morning was the only option because of time constraints at school. In our thriller, we found that 'steadi-cam' shots just looked messy and unprofessional, and so we knew to avoid them in the clip of or music video to swede, and in our story-boarding of our actual music video. In our thriller we had too many shots of the same thing. It was supposed to cut between a variety of shots of a hostage to create tension, but we put in too many shots and it lost the suspense. In our sweding, it’s different as we are copying the shots of a current music video, but in our own music video, it’s important to remember this. In our thriller, we had to learn to use a variety of different technologies, in our thriller I did the radio on garage band and learnt how to change the tempo and pitch of the music, and how to use final cut express to edit and have transitions between the shots. In our thriller there was a big transition between our preliminary and our thriller, but it was important to use the skills we had acquired in our thriller. We learnt that it was important not to leave the filming until the last minute, and when we were filming our shots, we had a few left that we needed to shoot, and decided to get them done and find all the props we needed. 

While filming, we overestimated what we thought we could edit and then couldn't edit as much as we wanted and the whole thriller didn't look professional and the editing and timing didn't rescue the shots enough. Throughout the first year, when filming we had no idea how much we could change through editing or how long it would take, and when it came to editing this was harder than we expected due to the amount of time it took, and how hard it was to get the exact timing we wanted. We found that finding music that was appropriate to the shot difficult and although this won’t be an issue in our music video, we will have the opposite problem in trying to match the images shown with the music and creating a narrative that matches with the image the band are trying to portray. An issue we struggled with last time was timing, and in a music video this is vital, as lip sinking and band playing in time is important to match. 

Semiotics - Signs and Symbols

Theories of signs, or semiotics, is the the science of sign and signifiers and how they are used to create different labeling of objects and create concepts. The labeling of an object through works and or pictures, and the meaning forms. They are strongly related to context, and can often mean different things to an individual. In order to decode a shot, you have to look at the connotations. Everything used in a video is a sign that is to be split into signifiers and sign. There are 3 readings that can be received from the audience, the preferred reading, the negotiated reading and the oppositional reading.  Polysemic signifiers are photos and videos, which are iconic signs that represent real things and people; each signs suggests different meaning to the audience. Iconography is the use of polysemic to identify a genre. These can also be conforming to the Barthes codes, including the semiotic, symbolic and cultural code. These are all directly linked to signs, motifs and symbols used and the connotations of these.

The use of semiotics change how the video appears.
Adorno musical theory in the 1950’s challenged this, saying that the pop culture simply creates meaningless, thoughtless texts. He said there was no need to engage in these texts as they are meaningless with no cultural, moral or academic value and audience become passive and voyeuristic, and the meanings simple wash over them.

Example

In the Foofighters version of 'The Pretender' the use of the semiotics change the whole video. In the opening, the use of bandages around his wrist show wounds, fighting, blood but also have connotations of healing and power. The warehouse setting allows the cold and emptiness to be demonstrated, and shows how the band only have their music. The riot police demonstrate the strength, and injustice, order as well as the force and how they are fighting against a order and a group of unidentified, faceless people. The line on the floor shows division and barriers and how they are trying to keep them at distance the border and separation cuts them off from the rest of the word, showing how they are different and deserve to be identified as a unique but struggle being against the conventions of the music. The use of these together create a metanarrative and give the performance video more of a story and gives the illusion of how they are battling normality. 

Ellie