Experimenting: Shot 1:50-58

When scouting locations this weekend I did some practice shots of one important shot in that location - 1:50-1:58, the introduction of the interlude. 
I have put together the video below to explain my process...

Scouting Locations #1

Yesterday I managed to go to my first location - the river/ grassy area.
As we have just had Summer things have wildly overgrown and there is a lot of greenery. This will probably die down as we head into Winter, so depending on when I film the locations may change slightly. I quite like the idea of a more bare, wintery feel, but time constrictions may not allow for this.

 As well as the river there is a woodland area on the way to the river beach that may be good for a few scenery shots for cutaways.

Here is the grassy beach area of the river location. The grass was a lot taller than I expected so may be hard to film in. Also there are risks involved which I will go into in my Risk Assessment.

1:41-1:49 includes a shot of rapids of the river, so it was good to take some test shots of this to use. There are also plenty of stones for the artist to throw into the river. I did a few test shots of the 1:50-1:58 shot which I will post later...

One issue that I found was that the ripples were quickly moved away by the running water.
Below you can see the density of the grass...

But also there is a more sparse patch which I probably won't use, but may be a good place for some running about or dancing.

Next I travelled to a different location, crossed a bridge...

... and went to the location for 2:28-2:41, which can be seen in my practice video for Run.

Under the bridge may be a good 'plan b' location if it starts to rain.

 I took a few shots there last year and they turned out quite well. Below is an example...

Further up, there is a field that maybe useful for a few shots of the artist running around in.

There is also a waterfall that I also used last year (see below), but it has changed a lot and has overgrown so I probably won't use it. 

However, I managed to get some great shots of the water that I could use. 


I'm looking forward to getting to the other locations this week to see how they'll work out as well.

Run

I thought I'd post this video which I made over the Summer as a way to practice using lots of camera angles and setting film to a soundtrack. At that point I wasn't sure what I'd be making so it was just a way of trying out different things and to push myself a little before my coursework properly started to get me ready.
Also, the video features one of my proposed locations for 2:28-2:41, so is a good way of seeing what it will be like on screen.

Critiquing Existing Products: Rihanna

I thought it would be a good idea to look a little closer at other music videos already made to look closer at their editing techniques and structures in terms of locations and when they switch between them.

The first good example of this is Rihanna's video for Only Girl (In The World) which not only uses a lot of editing techniques like repetition, but is also a great example of colouring as the video is tinted red to match with the Artist's (then) new hair. This gives the whole video a staple style, which is then associated with the Artist.


The first 15 seconds (before the song has even begun)...

The video opens with the artist on some dunes seen from an establishing shot. We see a flash of her in a bed of flowers, which then cuts back again to the dunes, but this time with a mid shot. There are flashes of the artist's face and light flares as we see the artist from a great distance in a long shot. There is a lot of movement as we see a shot of her face again and then her in the flowing dress on the dunes once more with it blowing in the wind (thus matching the sound of wind). She is walking in slow-motion adding an ethereal element to the video, then the editing gets extremely fast as many images of the artist in various locations and poses flash across the screen and then the song kicks in. This is an effective way to begin, establishing the location, artist and feel of the video before fastening the pace dramatically to keep the audience watching.

0.15-0.30 Intro of song 
Now the song has started the editing doesn't slow down, reflecting the fast beat of the song. A lot of editing and camera techniques are used such as slow-motion, jump cutting as the artist takes off a piece of clothing and repetition of shots as a shot is played and then rewound and played again, sometimes backwards. It is playful, symbolising the feel of the song and the brand of the artist. Already about 3 'locations' have been established... 
1. On top of the dunes

2. In a valley of grassy desert

Jump Cut Example

3. A bed/wall of roses

Repetition Examples

0.30-1.00 Verse 1

The artist sings the first few lines of the song in 2nd location but she is moving and dancing as well as editing techniques such as jump-cutting her movements are being used to keep the established pace.

First few lines of the song, with repetition editing

Then in the gap between lines flashes of the other locations are used. The 3rd location is then chosen for the artist to sing the next line, before cutting back to the grass valley is cut back to for the next line. 
Then another 'location' is shown, of the dunes but this time in a different costume, but then it cuts out to show the artist jumping next to a big tree in the middle of nowhere, and then zooms out even further so the artist is all but a dot.
4. Grassy tree

The 2. location seems to be the main location for the artists singing as it cuts back to this for the next couple lines. Then a change in cutting during the gap in singing, as shots of the artist running down a dune, whilst zooming out and then a cutaway to the artists feet running and then a long shot zooming in to the artist of her standing half way down the dune.

Then it cuts back to 2. as she sings some more lines. But before she finishes singing (a break from the convention established so far) it cuts to her smiling in the 3rd location as rose petals fall on her in slow-motion, before back to 2. to lead into the chorus.


1.01-1:47 First Chorus
As the beat changes dramatically for the chorus so do the editing techniques to reflect this and to give it more impact.
She appears to fall quickly into the bed of roses, but then in time to the beat, moves around/falls further (see below). The technique uses jump-cutting which makes the change in beat a lot more dramatic and emphasised. 

Next, we see a close-up of the artists face as she sings part of a line, again in 3. but from a different angle and colouring. 

Then back to 2. to belt out some more, however very quick flashes of another location (3.a - 3. from a distance) are shown in time to beat, again emphasising the dance melodic beats which dominate the song. And then suddenly the 2. location changes as she is now standing in a field of flowers (location 5.), which is intercut (again in time with the music) with a close-up of her face as she sings and moves her hand across her face.

It then stops on 5. part way through the chorus for a few seconds, so quite a long time for the video, and then cuts to a mid shot of her singing, with wind being blown at her face, her arms above her head and the camera quite shaky - much less 'glossy' than before, as the artist gets caught up in the song. Then a long shot of 3.a with the wind blowing her back and the flowers in the ripples as if the music/her singing had done so. Then a close-up of her from an entirely different angle of 3.a as she looks into a flower and then up again, with the camera still from the original angle of 5. It then becomes clear that 3., 3.a and 5. are meant to be the same 'location', however 3. has different flowers and she is wearing a different costume, so it looks very different.
The wind picks up and the flowers in 5. are moving dramatically, she sings into the flower from the 3.a angle above, and the 3.a long shot of the wind through the flowers is shown, as the chorus picks up a notch.

New location, shaky camera movements and wind in the flowers

There is then a completely different change in location for the climax of the chorus - 6. she is on a hill in the grassy desert but with huge coloured balloons flying around and an interesting camera movement around the artists face as she sings. 

Camera moves around the artist as she sings

She maintains eye contact as it moves around her head (a similar idea that I have for 0:00-0:18 in my video).

Slow-motion is used a great deal as she swings around with a shawl with the balloons moving around her.


1:48 - 2:16 Verse 2
Interestingly the start if the verse begins with her singing from the same angle the end of the chorus uses of the camera moving around her face. It then cuts to a long shot of another location - 7. featuring a grassy desert with a giant rose. 

Rose location, including a shot from the previous location during gap in lyrics

Repetition editing is used once again signalling a verse as she dances in 7. around the rose. A shot of 6. is used in the break from the lyrics. She then caresses the rose, which various cuts if her in different poses around it, for the next line and break. 

The next line is sung in 6. the break using both 6. and 7. slow-motion movements. A slow shot of her singing and lying by the rose is used - pause in the action, contrasting from the chorus. 
But then, as this verse is incredibly short, a new technique is used where many shots are shown, very quickly almost making a continuous motion, as the chorus begins. Shots include...

2:17 - 2:48 Second Chorus 
She is in various poses from 7. ending with her on a cliff edge (8.) with a light flare, throwing her arms back as she sings the first line of the chorus, cutting to different angles in 8. a long shot, an extreme close-up of her face - again in time with beat like in the beginning of the first chorus. As the beat kicks in she is still in location 8. 

As it has been throughout the video the editing is done completely to the beat, which may be because the genre of the song for the artist is more dance-y than she has been and so wants to play up this fact. 

The entirety of this second chorus is based in location 8. which is unusual so far, but as it pre-bridge then they may have wanted to keep it simple so the bridge and last chorus would have more potency.


2:48 - 3:18 Bridge

Quick editing, location 9. intercut with 6.

Another location is introduced (9.) as the song changes into the interlude.

Lots of repetition editing used to match music

Here the editing techniques are more exaggerated as the beat is much more dominant in the song and there are editing tricks in the song itself with manipulation of the artists voice, so the editing reflects and matches this.

Noticeable use of blur, as well as transitioning into location 11.

3. is quickly shown again, before leading into the second half of the Bridge which shows another different location (10.) of the artist on a swing, swinging high above the grassy desert, matching the lyrics "take me high".

The Bridge ends with a studio location (11.) with green screen special effects of fireworks. The artist is jumping in slow-motion with the fireworks going off around her. This location is used until the end...


3:19-4:11 Third (and last) Chorus
11. is used until the end of the song, but is intercut with shots of previous locations as this is the climax of the song. 

Also another location is shown - 12. is of a tree (possibly 4. but at night, matching the fireworks theme of 11.) with colourful lanterns glowing in its branches. 

The climax of the song uses a new location intercut with previous locations

Colour seems to be a big part of the video as the colourful balloons (in 6. and 9.) are a staple of the video and now the same colours are used again for the lanterns at the end. This could be to emphasise the pink/red tones of the video which highlight the artists unique bright red hair.
The last shot (fades to black):

There are 12 locations overall...

1. Top of Dunes
2. Valley of desert
3. Wall of roses
4. Tree in desert
5. Field of flowers
6. Hill Top with Balloons
7. Giant Rose
8. Cliff Top
9. Ladders in Lake
10. Swing
11. Fireworks
12. Lantern Tree




The amount of locations used here has made me think that using lots of different locations is a good idea, fits conventions and keeps the video interesting to watch. I thought that perhaps I had too many before this, but now I don't! If I think carefully about costumes (i.e. how many costume changes per location, if any) then I will be able to follow the right conventions for the genre of a dance video. As there are quite a few costumes changes in Rihanna's video also.
Costume changes adds to the movement and pacing of the video, keeping the audience engaged. However, I will need to be think about whether quick cuts and editing will be enough for my video. The Rihanna video is more pop-dance, and as fashion is a huge part of popular music that is appropriate. However, I am using a dance remix, so there is less emphasis on fashion in dance and more symbolism and focus on the beats.


The 'narrative' to Only Girl (In The World) is that she is the "only girl in the world", thus this is represented by Rihanna being alone in this 'rose-tinted' (literally!) world. It makes a more dramatic impression, whilst being symbolic, artistic and looking good on screen which is of course incredibly important in contemporary music videos were competition is tough. But as you can see... 

...the video has 173,574,107 views (correct on the 17th September 2011, and increasing on average 300,000 views a day) so it has made its mark on the industry. As previously looked at, YouTube is the main market for Music videos nowadays and therefore social media has an impact on how music is shared and viewed. Other alternatives to YouTube are music channels on television, which are much more restricted on what they can broadcast at certain times - which YouTube isn't as much. So this has a bearing on the content of music videos as the institutions that run them can not show them if they deem them not suitable. This is something I have taken into consideration so, unlike Rihanna's video which is full of sexual references, I will tone down this and focus on making it as stunningly beautiful as 'Only Girl' is. Or as much as I can with my budget and equipment.


Another consideration is audience... 

As you can see Rihanna's key audience are females between 13-24 years and older males. The genre of dance is generally targeted towards 16-24 year olds and stereotypically males, so this may be something to look into in order to make sure I am engaging my target audience.