Music Video's

Today in class we looked at 3 different types of music video's and the different techniques they use.

Firstly was OK Go's- The Writing's on the Wall

What we first noticed about this is that fact that it is one continuous edit which is very difficult to do. I like this idea as it makes it flow and look rough around the edges. It was very creative as it continually kept on playing tricks with your eyes.What I also really liked was the use of colour in the video making seem lively and bright.
Another example that I've found of bright colour that works well is Katy Perry's Birthday lyric video (link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqYxyd1iSNk) I think the pop of colours in this video really reflect the fun and silly side of the song. Depending on the song I choose, colour or lack of plays a really important part in setting the tone for the video, I will need to think carefully about my colour treatment and use.

The second song we looked at was Hozier's -Take Me to Church

Probably more controversial than the previous example, but it shows a good example of how at first the lyrics and the video don't necessarily match, but actually on reflection do. It is also another good example of how colour reflects the mood, as the black and white highlight the darkness of violence. Its also a really nice example of how you don't need the most complicated range of shots in order to create an impact.

Thirdly- alt-J-Breezeblock

This video I found was the hardest to understand because of the video playing backwards, but it was very successful in challenging conceptions and first looks, as from the first couple of shots you assume the man was in the wrong, but as the video plays on, the story unfolds. I also liked how it took a literal stance with the lyrics as it told like a mini-story.

Another music video that follows the lyrics literally is Riptide by Vance Joy. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJ_1HMAGb4k)   Although this video however does not tell a story as such, I still thinks it's really effective and different. I could definitely take this stance with my video as I think it fits with the indie/alternative genre of song that I want to take. 

Youth Culture Film

In our exam-based lessons we are starting to look at how youth are being represented in films, and the common themes in them. I chose The Perks of Being a Wallflower as I thought it was a really good youth film and also book.

Youth Cuture Film

Here's the clip that is linked in the presentation- 

I chose this film as I think it represents youth well as everyone has got an issue or a problem that they are having to deal with and it doesn't sugar coat these issues. 

Documentaries #2- Persuasive Elements

This week in class, we looked at a more controversial documentary, Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) by Michael Moore. Moore is an American filmmaker, director and political commentator. The documentary looks critically at George W. Bush, the War on Terror and the links between them. It also looked at the media coverage of these events. Intense controversy was caused as this is a very one-sided biased opinion on these events, however it is still the highest grossing documentary of all time. Around 2 million copies were sold on the first day of release.

Here's the trailer-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Zf2nCiBJLo&list=PL02D9F74117FF1DCE

The main themes I found when watching the documentary where -

• Racism
• Injustice
• Distaste for power combined with his speculations
• Political issues
• Fear
• Death     

These are very sensitive issues and it is important to discuss them with care as many were affected by what happened. 

Technical Analysis
To try to convince the audience on his opinion Moore uses several persuasive techniques:

• Extended Edits- The use of longer cuts seems to emphasise the scene. Either it makes it uncomfortable or awkward as Moore keeps cut long, doubt creeps into an audiences mind about what the person has said. It can also make emotional scenes more intense. This all persuades the audience to his point of view.
• Selective Cutaways are used to emphasise the perhaps falseness of statements made by people in power and then the reality of the situation. This has impact because the audience can see the unreliability of governments, making it a persuasive technique.

For example near the end of the documentary Moore focuses on the bid for oil in America. Moore uses cutaways to show how Government said that the people will profit from the oil, however what Moore shows portrays something different- 

From around 1minute 30 we start to see Moore's cutaways disprove what people are saying making it very persuasive for an audience watching, convincing them on Moore's opinion.

• Emotive Scenes- These are used to shock the audience, persuading them again to agree to what Moore is saying. 

Other techniques he uses as satirical music, the way he represents people he disagrees with and the juxtaposition between shots, for example Bush laughing and then shots of war and the devastation in Iraq.

I found the documentary very interesting to watch as it informed me of information I was unaware of, however as I've said it is very important to be objective as it is someones opinion argued incredibly well, by using evidence that fits to their argument. 

If you would like to find out more about the documentary here is a link to IMBb- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0361596/

Documentaries

Documentaries can often divide people's opinion. Some say we shouldn't show certain issues, whilst others argue that it's important to learn about what goes on in the world.

To explore this issue about censoring what we see, in class we watched the documentary The Boys Whose Skin Fell Off (2004) (I'll link it at the bottom of the post). It's about the last 4 months of 36 year-old Jonny Kennedys, a sufferer of EB (Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa), life. This condition causes skin to tear and fall off at the slightest touch. He had this condition his whole life.

In the documentary there are lot of topics explored, some which could cause controversy:

1. Religion

2. Euthanasia

3. Family Issue's

4. Community

5. Attitudes towards death

I found this documentary very interesting and moving as it shows someone in a lot of pain, however he stays positive and continues to live his life. I also think as a society that we need to explore these topics as it's important to not ignore the difficulties and challenges that can happen. I personally think that this documentary was important to make as Jonny Kennedy wanted to make it to raise awareness of the condition, which before watching, I'd never heard of. It also promotes the charity he set up DEBRA -https://www.debra.org.uk/. for those with the condition.

Here's the link to the programme-http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-boy-whose-skin-fell-off

A2 Creative Briefs

Having just received our A2 briefs for our coursework, I thought it would be important to talk about the top 3 that I am really interested in doing.

First- A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following three options:
 1. A website homepage for the band
2.  A cover for its release on DVD
3. A magazine advertisement for the DVD

I really like this idea as I love the idea of combining both music and the filming together. Also I think it is a really good chance to be creative with your work. I have researched on YouTube some really good examples of A2 music videos as well as actual music video's.
Here's a really good student music video -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1o-mhtrFT0. What I like about this is the different range of shots and how it tells a story.
A professional music video I am really loving at the moment is Lana Del Rey's West Coast - I love the mix between handheld more naturalist shots to the spinning camera movement making it dreamy. I also love the colour treatment of black and white as I think it captures the mood of the song really well. The video suiting the music is really something that I will focus on if I decide to do a music video.

Secondly- A short film in its entirety, lasting approximately five minutes, which may be live action or animated or a combination of both, together with two of the following three options: 

1. A poster for the film

2. A radio trailer for the film 

3. A film magazine review page featuring the film

Having not seen many short films, I have less idea's for this brief, but again I think it allows you to be really creative which is what I like about it. I again did some research and found a really good short film called Awake - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_KYiNXHrks. I like the really clean cut shots of this piece and you could tell that they had really thought about mise-en-scene: something that I can apply to whichever brief I choose. 

And finally-  An extract from a new documentary TV programme, lasting approximately five minutes,together with two of the following three options

1. A radio trailer for the documentary

2. A double-page spread from a listings magazine focused on the documentary 

3. A newspaper advertisement for the documentary. 

I think this brief is probably one of the hardest to get authentic, which is probably why I find it appealing. In class we are going to be looking at several documentaries and the issue of censorship, so I will feature one that we have looked at in my next post.

Thanks for reading :)

Looking back on AS Media Course

Today in class we were asked to do a mini-review on last years Media Studies course and our final productions as a sort of base point. This will hopefully be able to show how far I have come at the end of the A2 course :) 

First of all, this is my groups final production - The brief was to create a opening sequence of a new film.

 The Creation and Production Process-

The base plot was created by the director, Katie Bannock, and throughout both the pre and production stages we adapted and changed the idea to suit locations and other suggestions. This resulted in lots of changed storyboards which meant that some shots we edited out or changed in the post-production stages. 

Production took quite a long time as we found it difficult to get the correct shots without taking about 20 per each scene, but we wanted to make the editing processes easier but getting perfect shots.

The Challenges and things that Worked Well

Challenges include working with new technology and time management. We tried to use a Steadicam as we wanted to created floating shots within our piece, however found that it was incredibly hard to set up properly and probably in the end made filming much more difficult as it accentuated the wobbliness of certain shots. Time management was an issue as as I mentioned filming took ages to which meant that we had to set up more times to film, meaning we had less time to do post-production and meant that it was tight to get it finished on deadline, but fortunately we did :)

What we did well was I think after-effects as we managed to take out most of the unbalanced shots such as the one at the beginning of our piece and also allowed us to colour correct our piece, resulting in the right mood I think for our production. Sound also worked well as it again added to the effect of the piece and created an unsettling feeling with the use of the lullaby. 

If you have any question about our piece, please feel free to ask :)