Week 4: Talk from an Exec Prod at The Mill

Today, Ollie Allgrove, an executive producer at The Mill, a video fx company, gave us a talk on how to exploit the resources that we have access to, to the best of their and our ability.

Ollie

• started as a runner for low budget short films
• Became a producer of promos/advertisement
• works for The Mill (themill.com) (most awarded advertisement company)
• he is an “artist, technologist and maker of all media working at the frontier of visual narrative”

Key Tips

• making a promo for the product: make sure the video is reflecting the emotions of the song and the image of the artist.
• writing a treatment: balance of words and photos - write it as a love-letter to the artist (attract the artist not the corporate scum) - tell the story with images more than text.
• make a storyboard / timeline: puts whole video into perspective - opportunity to change anything unwanted.
• producers must take the key points
• all about communication, a good treatment, and making people and the artist fall in love with the video.
• set an achievable goal of a final product, but make sure it pushes you and challenges your abilities.
• use the resources that you have and blow everyone away with how they were used so innovatively.

One main tip that really stuck with me was how important it was to innovatively use the resources that we have in order to blow everyone away with what you achieved.

Week 4: Research Into Conventions and Potential Target Audience

Week 4: NEW IDEA

Over the weekend, my group and I decided to scrap our two original ideas and come up with a fresh one.

We decided to use this song:



It has this night time minimal vibe that includes a lyrical narrative of someone being called to do something every night. We came up with a very original plot line with 3 performance features: a hand dance (tutting) section for the choruses, a drum pad performance - playing a red coloured drum pad with blue gloves on -  and a lip-sync during the vocal parts.

The narrative consists of an event/meeting that occurs on a rooftop every night where 30 people meet. One person sits in the bedroom next to the rooftop looking through the window with a list of names - he selects one person each night to eliminate using a red laser pointer. Another boy is wearing fluorescent blue (LED light-up) gloves. This person places a red dot sticker on the back of the person that was selected/pointed at to confirm the selection. This person, with the red dot, does not return the next night. Each night, the number of people meeting at the rooftop decrease until only a single girl is left. The guy with blue gloves has fallen in love with this girl and sacrifices himself by placing a red dot on himself.

Here are some photos of the rooftop and the bedroom next to it...

 Here is the drum pad we can use...

We want to place this record player next to the drum machine as well.

This is the look we want to create with the light up gloves (using uv blue paint or LED gloves)...

Here is the laser pointer we want to use when selecting the people from the window.

Week 3: Putting Together Timelines

Today, each of us put together a timeline of all the events/scenes/shots we could think of for the track. 

This is what I put together...

This is what David and Ed put together...

We are going to combine the two to create our final timeline for our music video.

Week 3: Looking for Inspiration for Foam Video Theme

Today, we searched the internet for professional high-budget cheesy pop videos, looking at colour schemes, costume, decorations, etc.

Katy Perry - Last Friday Night

This video employs the themes of a typical frat/sorority house party and a nerdy girl's transformation from shy to "prom queen". Party decorations are everywhere. The colour grade is very saturated and bright. The costumes are very stereotypical and tongue n' cheek.
This an example of extremely cheesy pop videos. I'm not particularly interested in making something that is such a joke. I want our video to be a little more sophisticated and crisp.
(cue the next video)

Miley Cyrus - Wrecking Ball

This video may seem like a jokey cheesy pop video, but actually it has the simplicity and sophistication (in terms of set design, costume & cinematography) that I think the group and I are a going for. 

Speaking of Miley, this screenshot of her "BB Talk" video, although being incredibly tongue n' cheek, gives you a good idea of the simple and crisp look to the bath shots.

These are some of the images we would like to include in our video.

Week 3: Group Idea Feedback from Luke

On Thursday we pitched our 2 main group ideas to Professor Luke. He gave us some feedback on the ideas.



Summary of feedback for Foam Idea:

• Not enough elements in the foam video concept.
• Foam is easier to use than water/paint/etc. (its not as messy)
• Shooting with foam is time consuming - performers are dry - they then get wet/foamy - then they need to dry off and re-do their make up / hair.
• Foam is more boring than water (not as much variation in movement).
• Foam is related to cheesy pop - song choice needs to represent this better.

Solutions to Issues Raised:

• We could maybe use a children's ball pit instead of foam, or set up a foam party.
• First scene could show girl running a bath - use of water and foam liquid (slow-motion) = lots of aesthetically pleasing shots.
• Change the song to a happier/fun-based track.
• Shoot the girl blowing foam out of her hands onto the camera lens.
• Include shots of a little (white/black) dog/cat in a small bucket of foam - shaking foam off.
• Light up the foam using disco lights // colour it with food colouring.
• Add group of gospel singers in purple church robes clapping and backing vocals - cover them in foam.

Feedback for Split-Screen Dance Idea:

• Incredibly difficult to pull off -  a lot of planning needed - making sure the camera is the same height for both scenes, and both dancers are always in time.
• Both screens need to show dancers in real locations.

Solutions to Issues Raised:

• Remove narrative to idea.
• Create a purely dance video.
• Shoot it at two opposite looking locations in the city (one dirty back alley, and one smart street/park).

In conclusion, the group and I have decided to go ahead with the bubble/foam video concept. We now need to think of more elements to make the video denser, while deciding on a full-on pop/fun song........... 

Week 2: Presentation by Polydor Records' Video Commisioners

Today we met a Video Commisoner for Polydor Records, called Emily Tedrake. She spoke to us on how the music video commissioning and production process works in the professional world, giving us advice on how to carry it all out ourselves.

Polydor Records:

• http://www.polydor.co.uk/
• Urban / Indie
• Substrate of Universal

How the Commisioners work:

• send out track to 5 - 10 directors
• put together images/clips for preferences
• select the best idea from a director with the artist
• organise budget, equipment
• edit & then delivery
• roughly 10 man crew for a £5k budget - depends on each idea
• they are the middle man between the label, the artists & managers, the director and the crew - high intensity - lots of effort.
• £20k on female hair & makeup in a video
• Went to uni - then lots of interning to find the right job

TIPS for Music Video Production:

• 1st video for a band is very important as its the first impression/representation of them
• create a treatment for our idea - put together detailed scripts/ideas/moodboards/brief/visual-references (clarity is v important)
• really important to have everything very organised and structured - makes life easier
• TOPTIP: shoot lipsync/beauty shots first (keeps the artist/actor happy - most important shots done) - any other extra shots, weigh up how much time it will take to shoot vs how much time the shot will take up in the video to see if it’s worth it.
• Match artists tastes with directors tastes in order to showcase each other and harmonise.
• Shoot each scene throughout the whole song - maximise amount of footage shot.
• Make sure the edit is musical (works in time - not discombobulated)

Polydor Videos:

Jax Jones - House Work
... an example of a tongue n' cheek dance music video.

 - this video has the simple, sophisticated and fun look that our group is going for with our own production.

Dusky - Sort it out Sharon

... an example of a more alternative dance music video that is very visually stimulating, but is slightly too serious and dark for us.

Rosie Lowe - Woman
... an example of a more organic female (message sending) video, again with a sophisticated look, but an overly serious narrative/message.

Week 2: Group Pitching 2 Main Ideas

Today, my group and I pitched our two main ideas to Professor Luke using these Prezis. A post will follow explaining the feedback he gave us, and the improvements we come up with for the issues raised.

Week 2: Group Placement & Initial Development

Introducing JED - (Jonty, Ed & David) - my group and I are going to produce a Pop Music Video for our A2 Media Studies Coursework.

List of Music Video Ideas From Group Members...

3 Favourite Ideas - 1, 4 & 8

- But we have decided to combine different elements of each concept to create two or three main final concepts that we can then pitch to Luke (Professor Media).

Concept 1: A girl and a boy dancing in split screens to an electro-acoustic track ("Coming Over" - Kygo / Dillon Francis)

Location: tbc

Issues:

- Dancers are in high demand

- Which apartments are we going to use

- How are the dancers going to interact

- Needs other elements to fill in gaps to reach 3 minutes

Concept 2: Using foam machines, we create multiple shots and scenes using foam (with added colour) featuring a female singer (Cassie Jackson) for the song "Intoxication" or "White Tiger". 

https://soundcloud.com/genranon/intoxicationdemo/s-r2lj2


Scenes:
Cassie in bath tub full of coloured foam, engulfed up to her neck, in middle of blank white room. (wide, mid, close ups)
Close ups of foam against skin, straight face, lipstick, foam moving, overflowing out of bath on to floor, coloured spots (using food colouring)
Cassie standing in middle of white room in colourful outfit. 2 foam canons either side of her shooting foam over her. Reverse and slow motion shot on drop.
Cassie dancing / keyboard player (Jonty) / drummer (Callum) in middle of room playing while foam is shot over their heads / onto them / drummer hits coloured foam off the drums.
Tap runs very slowly (alt-J Breezeblocks) - slow motion of droplets falling / ink droplets.

- Mood board

Similar videos:

These 2 videos show the use of a bath and water very effectively. The use of slow motion in "Stay" could also successfully be used in our video. On the other hand, "Fineshrine" includes plenty more elements in the video. For example the lip-sync performance and the photos on bed scene. This tells me that we need more scenes related to the bath and foam/bubbles.

Week 1: Briefing & Ideas Feedback

Music Video Production Tips

Today, Luke, the Centre of Knowledge for Music Video Production at Hurtwood House, gave us a talk on all the do's and don't's of Music Video Production.
I noted down all the points that I felt were necessary for myself to remember during the production process.

Approach the production as a real production company that is doing their best to market their artist and their track to make as much money as possible. Focus on the website and digi-pack just as much as the video itself. Evoke the feeling of the song and the character of the band in one.

http://www.radarmusicvideos.com/home/about-us

Use the following:

Incomplete narrative - encourages multiple in depth viewings to be able to understand it

Specific visual graphic quality - makes it distinctive (stand out)

Correspondence with and communication of the star image to the audience

e.g: Alt-J - alternative, strange, different, creativity and artistry-focused



Presenting Music Vid Concepts

Today, I presented my 3 Music Video Concepts to my class. Following my presentation, I received feedback from my class and teacher...

IDEA 1

• Shot of window through other window is not possible. Green screen could potentially work but would look unprofessional.
• Need more elements to the video (add performance elements - vocals/drums/dancing) to take up 3 minutes.
• Strong narrative

IDEA 2

• For it to work, it has to be outrageous enough to be funny. For example...

However, I don't want it to be as spoofy as this video - I want the video to look as professional as possible.

• Our school doesn't look like a school, so may need a different shoot location.

IDEA 3

• Scenes need more depth in order to get more shots out of them (adding performance elements like drums).
• Shots are practically easy to put together and look aesthetically pleasing.

3 Initial Music Video Ideas

(1) Coming Over - Dillon Francis & Kygo 

Original Video

My concept for this video is based around two different apartments with two different people living in them. 

 

A dull, bored and poor young man lives in his apartment which is dirty, boring, lifeless, grey and messy. He does not enjoy his life. He spends all his time staring through his window into a window in the opposite building. 





This window leads to the incredibly colourful, eccentric, vibrant and modern apartment, where a young, happy, clean, attractive and rich girl lives. He can just about see her dancing around to music and is mesmerised by the vibrance of life in that flat. The girl catches him peeking all the time and just ignores him and continues with her life, but one day she feels lonely and decides to call him over. 

When he arrives at the door, she lets him in and he becomes lost in the colour and vibrance of the flat (similar to when people enter "Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory). 
But after a few minutes of taking it all in, he realises that even in a place filled with what looks like happiness, the girl struggles to stay positive, and that what she needed was somebody to connect with despite having every material thing she could ask for.

• Dillon Francis is a very playful and childish electron dance music artist. He loves to mess around and poke fun at other people, while creating very energetic music. Kygo has a clean and romantic image who creates melodic tropical music.
• The performance would be the young man lip-syncing the lyrics of the song in a very monotonous and emotionless way.
• Stylistic elements include the use of video effects to distort the colourful scene to look like a wonderland, dingy colour grade for the scenes in the man's flat.
• Some of the lyrics from the song ("all I can think about is coming over") indirectly link to the idea of the man craving to come over to the girl's flat. Originally written to express his craving for the girl (and sexual interaction with the girl), but my concept presents the idea the man purely wanting to discover what it's like inside the girl's apartment.
• The concept is quite romantic at first glance, but has a deeper meaning in that the grass may not always be greener on the other side (despite it seeming that way).

(2) MYSTYFARI - Jonty Harrison 



or

Recess - Skrillex



My concept for this video revolves around a group of girls taking over a school by starting various anarchic activities. For example, a large food/pillow fight, spray painting walls/trees/etc, and dancing on cars. "Mystyfari" is a track I personally made a year ago and it has this very obvious jungle vibe to it. I felt that the best way to present a jungle (without actually doing so) would be to use an energetic school situation, which led to the idea of a recess situation - "Recess". During the food fight, a tall rigid man in a suit holding a briefcase would be walking through the middle of this food fight in slow motion. 

Over time he would become more and more dirty, and gradually his angry face turned to a smiley expression. The girls would be in ripped uniforms and covered in paint while holding megaphones. 

There would also be a car (the headmaster's) that the girls climb onto and perform an aggressive dance routine on.

As an artist, I am a mixture of emotions and situations conveyed. I don't have a definitive style. Skrillex, however, is very playful and childish while being incredibly loud and aggressive - his main goal is to get people to have fun (similar to Dillon Francis).

Stylistic elements include lots of colour, childish (prep school) things, and anarchy.

(3) Dungeon - Jonty Harrison

(https://soundcloud.com/genranon/dungeondemo/s-hC6wP)

My final idea uses this drum and bass track I produced over the summer. This is an example of when my image as an artist has a darker energy to it. The concept consists of a young man, dirty and rotting, dancing like he is mad, behind rusty bars in an abandoned prison. He is raging and foaming at the mouth and is shaking the bars trying to get out, while smiling. His rags are torn and bloody, and flow as he dances. He also has chains attached to him that ripple and spark against the bars.

Shot idea: Place the small cage (with the man in it) in the middle of the studio with chiaroscuro lighting and circle the the cage with the camera on tracks/dolly.






There is also a little girl in Sunday dress playing the piano outside in the dingy woods. You could use really wide shots of this scene, and extreme close ups of the fingers on the keys.




Finally, there are are facial close ups of an old man in old army uniform, saying the phrase "... or expire". He also shows expressions of aggression and victory on his face.

Inspired by...