Analysis of 8 music videos

Kavinsky - Odd Look



The narrative is linear since there are no flashbacks. There is a story about a woman who was being held captive by the customers and Kavinsky comes in and confronts the and saves the girl. The genre of this music is electro house or House. There is no lip synching involved in the music video. There is no multi image there is no rythmic editing in the music video but given that the name of the song was Odd Look the video was relevant with the name. This song is from the album OutRun which has a story. It is about a young man who crashes his car in 1986, killing himself but then he reappears as a zombie which makes electro-house music. There is the establishing shot showing the Halfway House Cafe which is a classic diner seen in the 80s. This creates a sense of nostalgia. In addition, it is set in the night which creates a dark and gloomy atmosphere for the audience. There is also low-key lighting which indicates that danger lurks in the night. The car is red the colour red connotes blood. The reason as to why a red car was intentionally chosen because it is hinting that something morbid will soon happen. It can Also suggest that the driver is a villain since his face is concealed in darkness. This is a close up of the mysterious driver observing what is going on from his car. We are still unaware of whether he is a protagonist and antagonist, a motivated cut follows up and it shows the POV of the woman's behind. This represents the dominant stereotype that men are impure, perverted and later in the video, the caucasian woman is held against her will. Which represents the stereotype that males are stronger than women and the woman is seen as a damsel in distress. Then the mysterious man enters the diner. He is portrayed as the knight in shining armour as he faces off against the man but you can witness that he is not human as he feels no pain after being shot by a gun and been hit by a glass bottle. After defeating the villains, the girl rescued by the mysterious man and is taken into his car and the video ends there.




God Dethroned - Poison Fog



There is no narrative. It is a performance music video because there shots showing the band God Dethroned. It often cuts to a burning building and excess smoke which represents the poisonous fog. There is also a close up on the guitarists performing their guitar solos. There are extreme close ups on the male guitarist's eyes and mouth to show that he is metal screaming and his eyes to suggest that his power and dominance. Which supports the dominant stereotype that men are doninant and powerful and beastly given the metal screaming in the video. Later in the video, it then cuts to a graveyard which represents lost souls. In my opinion, I think it links to the explosion you see in the beginning of the video and all the humans that died in the building. The song is also about human violence through the history and the brutal life can be.

Breaking Benjamin- Diary of Jane

The scene begins with the remains of an old household. The video is about a girl who wakes up in a bathroom and approaches the mirror only to find out that all the mirrors in the house are gone. Then she comes across a room full of mirrors. When sees her reflection in the mirror she gasped and then cuts to a grave with the female's name engraved which was Jane. Jane was wearing white. The colour white connotes light and purity. The fact that the girl wore a white dress in the video means that she was a spirit roaming the house but we didn't know that until the end of the video. Low key lighting was consistent in this video. Panning was used in this video to show the surroundings.


Avenged Sevenfold- Beast and the Harlot


The video was set in a stripclub, the reason being is because given that the title is Beast and the Harlot and the word harlot means prostitute. The scene begins with a stripper walking into a stripclub. There was a boy holding a lollipop and looking at one of the dancing strippers and it cuts to the boys leg and you could see that darkness is crawling up his legs which may represent that his spirit is tainted by darkness making him impure. There is also another scene where a womans us being taken by darkness since she had no pupils and the darkness was crawling her face. This video refers to men being beasts and women being harlots hence why the scene is set in a stripclub.

 Darude-Sandstorm

The genre of this music is electronica. There is an establishing shot of a man sitting on a staircase and the camera pans, showing us a building of which the escaping woman is is holding a brief case but is chased by two agents. There are visual effects such as slow motion. The observing man warps several times. However he appears unseen as the pursuers could see him but he could see them. The woman holding the briefcase  had more of a dominant role in this video because she was the target. There was rythmic editing as well. 

TFK - War of Change 

The genre of this song is rock. This is a predominantly a performance music video apart from the shots showing women wearing black. There was rythmic editing. They put white powder on the instruments to create a smoke effect which creates a black and white atmosphere/ monochrome. Quick cuts and slow-motion was being used in the video. Low-key lighting was used in this video to create a chiaroscuro effect which was fitting and they pulled it off effectively. The colours black and white were used together to create a sense of nostalgia in addition to the costumes the women were wearing, some of them were wearing masks.

Breaking Benjamin- So Cold

The video begins with an establishing shot showing a man wearing black which connotes death, emptiness, and despair. The next shot is of a man being punished since there was a match on action showing a man holding block and his legs are shackled. There is also a scene where a woman is holding a rose close to her heart. This gives the idea that the woman may be the wife of the man who is going to be killed. In this video the woman is represented as helpless and dependant because the man was the breadwinner in the relationship and he was providing for her now without him she will end up going through pain and anquish. The man was represented as a victim and impure and guilty which supports the dominant stereotype that men are corrupt, evil and demonic.

System of A Down- Chop Suey

This is a performance music video meaning that there is no narrative. There were a series of jump cuts in the video but it was used effectively and it suited the video. Men in this video are represented as wild energetic, and beastly. There was also rythmic editing and visual effects such as the medium close up shot when the singer and the guitarist went through each other as if they were poltergeists meaning noisy spirits in german. In my opinion, the discontinuity used in this video means that the intended audience doesn't want to think they like fast-paced action they like to be rough.

Skills

I use a lot of vocabulary orally and in my written work such as my proposal which has a wide range of vocabulary. I experimented with a camera filter in my short film as well as camera shots. I can reach the deadline and use the spare time to hone my editing skills because I like bringing the story to life which in my opinion is the most enjoyable part of the post production another thing I like about editing is that I can entertain my audience using different styles of editing such as continuity, discontinuity. Through trial and error I was able to frame shots correctly and effective enough to create a visual story and also act quickly upon receiving feedback from my written work in order to improve it instead of leaving it to the last minute. I have confidence in myself and the project I present such as my short film pitch and I was able to vary my tone of voice in order to engage the audience and enhance my presenting skills. I was consistent in eye contact most of the time when presenting my pitch. I was also consistent in maintaining my attendance to lessons. During the production of the 1 minute short film we didn't quite understand which role was assigned to which person. So we acted quickly upon feedback had a meeting about it and we felt slightly discouraged but we were able to pull ourselves together without any arguments and during shooting hours, I was able to support my team when it came to shooting the footage because they didn't know how to focus the camera. I also supported others outside of lessons since they didn't quite understand the concept of the task. Not only do I use a wide range of vocabulary in my written work, I am always open to the class in terms of answering questions orally; I contribute to the class and I share what I learned from A-level media and briefly taught the class some of the terminology that they were unfamiliar with. I also have the ability to identify trends in my research and I kept my research concise and used both primary and secondary sources in order to form a cogent research portfolio. I earned my skills through the use of Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro X. The ergonomics of Final Cut Pro was so much better because of how easy it is to use to edit and use transitions in the given project. Whereas using logic I had to rely on my curiosity in order to achieve a merit in my practical assessments on my first attempt. I was also vigilant when it came to starting a new project because dire consequences would occur if I was tampering with other people's work. My level of vigilance has allowed me to avoid all predicaments and made me aware of all deadlines and because of that it has allowed me to work effectively through the course. I always use my initiative meaning that I use my independent research in order to develop an understanding of the task and finish with ease. 

Short Film Feedback

Lawrence Akintayo

16.3: M WT D continuity and clear structure, sound and images ok til music drops and foley starts. Pacing issues shot walking into camera is achieved quite well but music break disarms it.

22.3: M WT D colour grading mostly consistent , lots of wandering to build but the flow on body and reaction shots are good, character established, depth of field and focus effective is sometimes have meaning. Technical quality is good – lacking the non linear effects for higher again ends with no resolution and twist not a twist – episodic?

Critique

Introduction

The three things that I have learned from his experience about the process of managing and organising film production is firstly, as a producer, I had learned that I had the most important role because I was in charge of the budget, locations, and scouting the locations for potential risks. Secondly, I learned that you have to be precise when choosing a suitable time and date for when you will film because of the weather. Thirdly, I learned that you had to have permission in order to use that location by contacting the film office. 

The problems we faced as a whole is that the jobs that we were given didn't match the production roles assigned to us as a group and our chosen location was too cold and it was also too far to travel. The footage we got from abbey woods was far too dark and grainy which caused the whole team problems because we couldn't use any of the shots.

Main Body 

The shooting schedule was realistic enough to achieve the footage before the deadline because all of us agreed to film on a day of which we were all free to do so. With that said, we were able to choose a day which was Wednesday 1:30pm so we were all able to achieve the footage. We also shot them in order of the shot list. We also needed to have contingency plans meaning that if any of the footage was unusable in terms of focus, then we would have extra time to acquire some pickup shots. 

The storyboard was detailed as it showed the action and each drawing also included the rule of 3rds so that we could build perspectives. and the arrow to indicate the direction of which the characters was walking in and each shot was correctly named. However it would have been better if the duration of the shot was included in the storyboard and whether we will be using ambient sound or using foley or royalty free music. The storyboard was enough to cover our 1 minute short film but not 5 minutes otherwise we would need more footage.

The Shot list for Paranoia was detailed and correctly organised because in each shot, we included a description of what was happening and it also helped the actors know when they will be filmed so they will be able to prepare when their turn comes. We also found the shot list to be of use to us as a team because it also included the duration of the shots unlike the storyboard.

The location recce was very detailed since it included actual pictures not google maps to show evidence that we actually went there and studied the locations in depth we had pictures of the backup location and our chosen location. After doing a recce, I scouted the chosen location and the backup location in terms of identifying  the potential risks which was hazardous to the team including the actors such as robbery and slippery areas. We also needed permission from the film office so I signed up for the website and sent an email asking for permission to film there but I didnt get a proper response from them so we decided to film there anyway. 

The was no dialogue in this short film so there were no lines to rehearse but still the actors were reliable as they were able to show up on the times we requested them to so that the process can flow smoothly. They also came in costumes to show their commitment towards the production of the 1 minute and so that their role in the film is solidified. They didn't really have a degree in drama but they were still able to play their parts effectively.

As a team, we didn't really understand our roles when we first started out. So we had a small meeting to assign the correct tasks to the person incharged of that role. So after that we fully understood what we were supposed to do and then were were able to do it before the deadline. Daniel was the director, Shanee was the camera operator, and I was the producer.

The equipment was checked and working properly and we were given a charger to charge the camera and we had a working tripod. I used my own SD card of which I spent my money on.

The call sheet was detailed enough since it included when we are shooting our film, the props needed, the actors and the team's contact details and where we were going to shoot. Our call sheet was effective that everyone had fully understood what was going to happen and everyone had great attendance throughout our shooting session.

Conclusion  

In my opinion I think we all had synergy between each of us as we were able to solve problems which would have botched our production process such as filming in Lesnes Abbey Woods which was terrible because the footage was grainy, it was raining, and it was too cold and dark for us to see anything. So we ended up using Chislehurst woods to reshoot our film in addition to accumulating pickup shots. The footage turned out to be so much better and we were able to use the single camera techniques effectively.

Prepare for Editing Paranoia

I opened up Final Cut Pro then clicked New event and New Project. Then imported all of the footage into one event. The editing assistant is in charge of prepping things up for the editor to edit.

I created 2 events in the form of bins and named them Woods and Crime scene so that it was easier to access and assess and footage and log each of the takes on whether they were usable and unusable for the editing. In the media industry, editors will have to take the footage into consideration because if there were any bad takes, then the editing assistant would need to consult the director.

Paranoia EDL

As the role of an editor, I created the EDL of my 1 minute short film. EDL stands for Edit decision list and it is important because it contains all the shots that I used and so that I can digitally send the footage to the person who will then complete the edit using soundtracks and special effects. In the media industry, that person would be paid more to input the soundtracks and special effects. To create the EDL by opening Final Cut Pro and clicked on file, then Export XML, then I saved it to the desktop so that I can drag and drop it into Microsoft Excel so that it opened up in code-like format which was the EDL for the rough cut of my 1 minute short film. When the person receives the EDL, they double click then the footage will appear rebuilt on Final Cut Pro so that they can augment it.

Paranoia final Edit