Costume Research

Below is my research into my character costumes. Some images came from research into similar bands and other are just generic searches on google.

Costume Research

Props

Although I do not use many props in my music video to create this effect below I used a basic fibre optic Christmas tree. It was a spur of the moment bit of filming but I really like how it turned out.
Below is some examples of shots I filmed.

To create the first to shots in the sequence above, I got my main female character to lie flat on her back whilst I held the Christmas tree over. This created a really nice effect as the tree changed colour over her.

To create the shot to the right, I zoomed right in on the actual tree whilst it changed colour to make this bright effect. I really liked this, but would like to try speeding up to create a dazzling effect on the audience.

Inside Locations

Although most of my scenes occur outside, I have two main inside locations. Firstly is the grand Poundon House in Oxfordshire. I chose this location as it's an easy accessibility for me and my actors, also they have an amazing winding staircase that I wanted to feature in my piece. I use the staircase as a sort of metaphor as I overlay two shots of a spinning staircase that create quite a jarring effect.

The second inside location is just a standard bathroom like the one shown below. I used this location to film my scenes where my female character is submerged by water. I chose just to have a white bath tub as it does not distract from the main focus which is my female character. 

Website Analysis

Below is some websites from artists similar to mine and also some things that I have decided I want to feature on my own website. 

Website Analysis

Possible Change of Artist

At the beginning of this process I was set upon James Blake's Limit to Your Love, however whilst searching for other tracks by Blake, using Soundcloud I stumbled upon London based artist Solarris. His remix of Blake's Retrograde really captured me, as I loved the more upbeat spin he'd put on it. Matching his music to parts of my music video I'd already edited, I loved the result. It fits well to the movement of my shots as the beat never seems to end in this remix. I have contacted Solarris and have asked permission to use his track. Hopefully I will receive an answer soon!

Time Management

The chart below it what I used to keep me on track with my timings. 

This was an important tool for planning my filming dates, editing and just generally gave me  a structure to work with so that I could complete my coursework in good time. This meant that I had enough time to edit my shots and complete my ancillary texts as well to a good standard so that I wasn't rushing. 

Ancillary Texts #2

For my second ancillary text I have chosen to do a DVD cover for the release of my music video. In order to gain more understanding of the general conventions of a DVD cover I decided to look at some examples. 

Above is my annotated DVD cover for the Best of Bowie. I really like the style of this cover and will probably model mine to something similar. I especially like the mix of different images of Bowie's face as it shows his identity through the years. I might want to try something similar with my two main characters as it creates a kind of confusion, an effect reiterated in my video, also my music video focuses on my characters faces constantly, meaning I would be able to successfully link my DVD cover and my music video. 

Stop Motion Opening

During my pre-production stage I had decided to definitely use my female character on a swing as my opening seconds. However now having started to edit my piece, I don't like this idea as I feel it looks unnatural within my video. Struggling for idea's I started to look at stop motion or time lapses. Stop motion is a technique that enables objects or people to appear to move on their own. 

Here's a great example- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOMFod_Qnhg

My new thoughts for the opening of my video as to have a single rose with a simple backdrop of either the outside locations of my shots or a plain block coloured background, that decays. To do this I will need to take a photo of the rose in the same position for the number of days it takes to die. I feel the idea of decay fits to my concept as it symbolises the death of their relationship; a factor I want to enhance by using a rose for the flower.

Stop Motion is an incredibly hard thing to do right and for it to look good. I think the key is making sure I keep the flower in the same position and my distance from the flower the same. Lighting I think might look really interesting at different times of the day. For example in the video, a similar idea to mine with the flowers, the different lighting really enhances the decay.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-Oai5XtJmk

In an earlier post I talked about having a powerful symbol, and I think I want to make the rose a symbol for the both the girls fragility and the decay of the relationship.