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

Foo fighters – Best Of You

In order to improve our skills for our music video, we are going to Swede a current video for 30 seconds. We have chosen to do Foo fighters - best of you, as we believe this will challenge our current knowledge and techniques and make us improve so we can grow and develop our skills. The 30 seconds we have chosen consist of many different shot types and angles that we are going to try and re-create.  In order to help us, I have analysed and storyboarded the 30 seconds.
This is video, from 3.05 to 3.35 seconds through.

3.05

The image of a door and frosted window, the frosted glass suggests mystery and allows the character to be uncovered. The unknown sense keeps the audience intrigued, while using Barthes ‘Proairetic’ code of leaving something un-established. The silluete of the hand is clear, showing how the character is leaning, potentially through pain or the sense of giving up. The enigma code is enforced here as there is equivocation, where the reasons are unclear. A hand evokes control or power, and seems as if the character is reaching to the audience. The image gives the impression that the character is male and is alone. The lighting coming through from the corner is naturalistic, and the blue tinge represents the icy unknown atmosphere and evokes the unfamiliarity. The slight low angle suggests that the character is superior and the lighting across half of the image shows how there are many sides to the character, with good and bad aspects to the nature of him and the story.

3.08

The image of the bed represents their vulnerability, the women and the little boy shows how they are dependent. She is wearing pyjamas which symbolises feeling defenceless and at home. The image evokes that they have been left and are alone, and not through her choice. It suggests they have been abandoned and only have each other. The lighting doesn’t show either faces and covers the boy almost completely, showing how he she is protecting him and she is the most vulnerable. This conforms to male gaze theory, as it evokes the woman as weaker and as an object to protect and look after children. The white bed sheets evoke purity, with no covers which show that they are exposed. The bird’s eye view shows the mise en scene of  the bed and how they are in the middle and allows the audience to not see her face, taking away the opportunity to feel you are getting to know the character or any synthetic personalisation. Propps narrative theory can be applied here as she is clearly the culprit and has faced issues, but must also be a hero in order to help her son.

3.12 - 3.15

The low angled show of the main singer Dave Grohl shows him to be superior and makes him appear God-like. The Rule of thirds is used to be aesthetically appealing to the audience and easy to watch. Propps narrative theory is imposed here as he appears to be the hero. The naturalistic lighting evokes him to be singing outside, showing how the band are rebelling and are more free and don’t push boundaries, breaking conventions and regulations. The sky appears to be a turquoise blue colour, suggesting it is late afternoon/evening, evoking how they lead normal everyday lives and then come out of their mould in the evening, revealing their true personalities and doing what they truly believe in and love to do. The closed eyes evoke how he is passionate and emotive and he’s putting his all into his the performance side of the video. The dark, casual clothing represents the style of music, and also shows the informality. It evokes the idea that the band is at a practice and is at ease with their audience. The camera angle pans round revealing the band and through quick editing, straight cuts to a close up of the singer. The extreme close up f his mouth demonstrates his passionate feeling that accompanies the song and how the microphone and he are almost one. It shows the closeness between the musician and the performance, how he can reveal himself through his performance. The facial hair demonstrates masculinity and evokes power. This conforms to the male gaze theory suggesting men are superior to women. The it then straight cuts between images of the band and shows how they are performing despite that there is no one there, and how they feel relaxed when performing. The use of low angles throughout evokes that they are to be admired and looked up at, and suggests that they’re dominant.

3.26

Here there is a very short clip of a young girl. She has her eyes closed suggesting she is hiding something but the expressin on her face suggest excitement or thrill. The white lighting suggests her to be angelic, and the use of a child suggest innocence and purity. The red arm strapp could evoke danger or passion and combined with her sutably red hair, it re-enforces the whiteness of her skin, evoking clarity and cleanliness, but also enforces danger or risk. Her eyes are closed which enables Barthes proairetic code to be enforces, suggesting that it is something to hide and stops personlisation with the auidence making her much harder to read. The neutral angle also confused the audience as they dont know how to read her, and the mid-close up only shows her face. The shortness of the clip makes it even harder and makes the audience question. The shot appears random, but links back to the image of the women and the little boy, and helps create the narrative. Barthes semiotic code would suggest that she represents something, like the innocence of the band or how they are young inside and waiting for a reason for living, trying to make a difference in the world. It could shoow how they still feel young inside or how they havnt reached their full potential yet. On the other hand it coluld be evoking new starts or how their lives havnt been fulfilled yet.

3.27

This is an image which evokes the power behind the song. A proposal is a once in a life time thing, and isn’t done lightly, reflecting the tone of the song. It conforms to male gaze theory suggesting that the man is of power and in control. The image also holds connotations of happiness and joy, as well as obviously love and eternity. This image also gives the impression of maturity and respect, reflecting the image the band wants to portray. This also conforms to Propps narrative theory, as the woman is the prize. This opposes the feminist theory and suggests that women are powerless and are in the hands of men. There’s binary opposition between this image and the previous image, between the connotations of youth and innocence with the mature, adult connotations of that this cause the audience to think. The lighting in this is bright with a yellow tinge. The use of Barthes code in the semiotics of yellow suggests that yellow signifies sunshine and joy and energy. It’s a warm colour to reflect the warm of the type of image. The extreme close up focuses on the hands being the main image, without seeing the characters faces. The use of the neutral angle allows the audience to focus on what is in the image and the mise-en-scene as a whole image, conveying emotion, affection and love.

3.28

Immediately after this is the image of a lion jumping up at birds. This is interesting and is binary opposition between this and the previous image, showing rage, death and panic.  The extreme long shot uses naturalistic lighting to portray the animals in their natural habitat. The use of the image portrays fury and anger as well as terror and fear. It evokes how the band has had to battle to get to where they are today and in everyday life there are disasters. The image allows the audience to see how a small mistake or misjudgement can be fatal. The use of Barthes enigma code is used here as the audience don’t find out if the birds survive and get away or are caught. It shows the circle that all animals have to go through and the battle just to live. The powerful image holds many connotations and the animals in the background show how theres always other people affected by one person or things actions. the extreme long shot allows the scene to be set and the lion to be shown in full in the centre. The rule of three has been applied vertically, in order to create points of interest and focus the audience on the lion. The chaotic wings evoke it being hectic and disorderly, and how things happen beyond your control. The image strongly evokes power and masculinity reflecting the image of the band. This is also use to regain thier mascuilinity from the previous image shown, as being in lve can be seen as a sign of weakness by other men, the powerful image here demonstrates mascuilinty and influence.

3.29

The last image before cutting back to cuts of the performance piece shows a yellow bang. This suggests fire and blaze. The use of the yellow suggests caution as it evokes a fire and therefore panic. The yellow bang seems to be a turning point in the music video as if before it had been building up to an explosion. This could reflect how the band have been building up to and explosion and hope that this song is their explosion and can really take off. It could also reflect how it’s too much and it all loses control. The crash of the yellowy orange fits in with the orange lion beforehand, which shows how the lion had power and control, ‘winning’ the situation and suggesting that he had killed the birds.

Ellie

Narrative theories in AS Thrillier

Narrative Theories – AS Thriller.

For the thriller we did for our AS, it was important that we established narrative theories. There are 4 main narrative theories, Todorov, Propp, Barthes and Levi – Strauss.

Todorov

Todorovs theory suggested that there are many parts to a story line, and that every story goes through the basic stages of Equilibrium, Dis-equilibrium, Realisation, Attempt to restore /resolve, resolution, re-equilibrium. For our thriller, we established equilibrium by him getting up in the morning and carrying out regular daily tasks, such as eating breakfast, doing his teeth etc. this quickly moved into dis-equilibrium when a strange letter came through his front door. Realisation was relatively quick to happen as he opens the letter and sees the code on the back and then ‘realises’ he’d been pulled into a scam or abnormal situation. Attempts of resolution, as our thriller was only the first 3 minutes, this would be further in the film. however because of the planning and storyboarding we know that in attempt to resolve he would take the photos into work and he tries to find a reason for the code. Resolution occurs when he then found that his boss is the villain and the hostage is saved by the wife and they get together against the boss. Re-equilibrium is then established as he can then go back to his normal life and is then promoted and so the balance is re-established, and he can go back to his normal life.

Propp

Propp’s theory gave the idea that each story has a villain, a dispatcher, a helper, a prize, a donor, a seeker hero and a false hero. In our thriller we had some clear roles, for example the use of the hostage as the villain, a dispatcher, who was the person who posted the letter, a prize – of freeing the hostage and ‘helping’ his boss, a donor, when he goes to the office his boss provides him with a way of helping.  The seeker hero is the main character who seeks to free the hostage and move up in his company and on with his life, and the false hero, who is the boss. Incidentally the helper is also the boss, often occurring when roles mix and so the false helper and heroes aid the main character but also want to cause trouble.

Barthes

He proposed 5 different codes.

            The enigma code – a narrative device used to play on the audience by hiding some information. It enforces tension and suspense. This is used by 3 techniques.

·       Snares: deliberately avoiding the truth.

·       Equivocations: partial or incomplete answers.

·       Jammings: openly acknowledge that there is no answer to a problem.

            The Proairetic code – This is also used to build tension, referring to any other event that will cause problems and indicates that something is going to happen.

            The semiotic code – This refers to connotations within the story. The use of motifs, signs and symbols influences what the audience can associate with what they see. It gives additional meaning to what they actually see in front of them.

            The symbolic code – this is a lot like the semiotic code, however incorporate the use of paradoxes and oppositions. For example the conflict between a young girl and an elderly man could show the struggle between life and death. It focuses on paradoxes and antitheses (direct opposites)

The cultural code – this is dependent upon the shared knowledge of the world or a particular culture. The audience can recognize certain things as being part of a particular culture.

In our thriller we used all of the codes, using the enigma code and the proairetic code to build tension, not telling the audience where the letter had come from or who it was from or what the code meant. The flashes of the hostage created more tension and kept the audience questioning. We used the semiotic code and symbolic code when choosing props and setting. For example we decided bran flakes would be the best cereal, the books and pens on the table etc. in order to truly show his character.

Levi Strauss

In our thriller we used binary opposition between male and female, as the main character and ‘hero’ was male and the hostage was a female or ‘villain.’ This conforms to the usual stereotypes on men being weaker than women, and the opposition is apparent. We also used binary opposition between light and dark, shooting some hostage scenes in black and white and using lighting to show characters having a ‘dark’ side or another side t their personality.

Ellie