Feedback #3

Saad - your technical analysis is here, but Toby - where is your eval? You must stick to deadlines otherwise I have to dock marks.

You must review the previous comments I have made, make amendment to existing posts and make a time with me to re-present your product analysis/moodboards to show me how you have improved the planning if you want to achieve a level 4.

Technical Analysis. (SaAd!!)

The video I have decided to analyse is 'sing' by Travis. I have chosen this because it is a light hearted, playful and charismatic example of disjuncture. (The sing is about singing to cheer yourself up.) The video basically involves the band appearing at a posh, high-brow dinner party and end up starting a food fight due to their immature attitude. The camera angles and camera movement used in the video is key in establishing the video's playfulness and the band's humor.

The only performance shots are in a T.V in the video and in this performance, the focus is very much on the music - meat shots, CUs of the instruments, etc.

At the start of the video, the band members are on bikes and look extremely immature. The scene requires several tracking shots alongside their bikes and a couple from in front of them and behind them. The use of CUs of their feet pedalling and the wheels allows the audience to see that they are too big for the bikes and creates humour. A couple of MCUs are used in this scene and show the band members are wearing suits, which contrasts with the fact that they are on bikes, again making it seem playful and funny. There is one CU of the lead singers face revealing a childish smile to establish his star persona. There is also one ped-up shot of the lead singer to really establish that he is too big for his bike.

Several of the shots of the lead singer show other band members in the background smiling and walking together. This is used to give the band a sense of togetherness and represent them as a tigh-knitted team. When the band first enter this huge house, an LS is used from the top of a big spiral staircase to show them entering the landing. This shows another contrast between them and their sorrounding. Also, it creates a panoramic view to make the landing seem even bigger than it is. The band's approach to the dining room is timed nicely with the chorus and features several cross cuts with the performance.

As they approach the dining room, a dolly shot is used from the band's P.O.V and shot-reverse-shot is used to show the band's reaction to seeing a crowd in the dining room and the crowds reaction to see them. (They look shocked and look down on them which adds to the video's light hearted humour.)

When these people all sit down at the table, mostly MCUs are used (Newsreader shots) as they are sitting at a table. However, the camera moves up and down the table to show all the poeple using a couple of tracking shots. Also once they sit down, several CUs and ECUs of the band members' facial expressions are used to show their reaction to seeing all this food.

The food fight starts as soon as the chorus starts and undercranking is used for several shots from this point on. Undercranking is first used to show a woman swinging a squid above her head and throwing it, and then to show the squids path from one side of the table to the other while all these 'mature' and 'upper-brow' guests sling food at each other around the table. Undercranking is also used when the lead singer dives sideways James Bond style to throw a cake.

From seeing all these types of shots used to emphasis the humour and personality of the band, it is obvious to me that we should use some similar techniques. Although our song is a different genre, we are taking a similar, light-hearted approach. First of all, undercranking is coordinated well with the song on several occasions - something we should do when our sing briefly slows down. Tracking shots and dolly shots are something which is used well at the start of the video when the band members are on their bikes. Something else I have noticed from this analysis is that there are no long, static shots and generally, there are lots of cuts and most shots only last a couple of seconds. (This is important to our concept especially as we plan on doing a chase sequence.)

Audience Research

This is a recording of the dicussion we had with our focus group:

A comparison was made to "On" by 'Aphex Twin', this kind of music is relevant to Quantic (our song) as it has little or no lyrics, meaning that most of their music videos are abstract or narrative based, or both. As Chris Cunningham was made famous by his music videos for Richard James and nearly all of his work is dark and sinister, this could be something to be inspired by.

Focus Group Results...

Having had a lengthy discussion with four fans of the genre, we have managed to come up with a lot of new ideas and have been given much positive criticism to think about. These are some of the key points raised during the discussion:

• 'shold be mostly happy, upbeat video'
• 'image of man on a train/bus comes to mind'
• 'similar to daft punk in terms of pace and rhythm'
• 'should definitely be disjuncture'
• 'not too keen on idea of clown in chase sequence as it doesn't 'fit well with the song''
• 'idea of clown is good but song isn't much of a 'chase song''
• 'fast cuts and shaky camera would work with drums in the song'
• 'should have visual motifs, i.e. something audience can relate to'
• 'clown should show flashes of his sinister side'
• 'may be a good idea to use stop motion as too much happyness may look cheesy'
• 'can invisage bright colours and lighting, daylight, etc.'
• 'can see someone doing a fast, funky dance'

We were also given the following suggestions of videos to look at which they thought were similar to this song and it's fast pace:

• Daft Punk - 'around the world'
• Fatboy Slim - 'weapon of choice'

One of the most eye-opening criticisms we came across was that the length of our song (4:43) could be an issue, and i can't halp but agree... Having said that, it seems we have a LOT of ideas so far - we just need to think up a way to fuse them all together into one video. Also, because we have a narraative based idea, i think it would be possible for us to make full use of the time available.

Our target audience appeared to like the idea of a playful, light-hearted video involving a clown. However, it seems that some of them also like the idea of a clown showing it's sinister side as clowns often have this sort of image. (Visual motif). Because of this, i see no reason why the clown shouldn't show both it's sinister side and it's playful side. If we do it in daytime, we can use shadows to make him look sinister. Also, our song has a few key changes which could be cues for the clown's persona to change.

Personally, i think we should still go with the idea of a man chasing a clown while the clown looks back laughing. Having watched 'weapon of choice' by Fatboy Slim', i think the man chasing should be wearing a suit as it would contrast well with his location and the silly image of the clown. I'm not sure about including any dancing mostly because it will look too cheesy unless we get someone REALLY good at dancing... and even then, it's not relevant to the narrrative.

Pull Focuses and jump cuts are something i definitely think we should use as the song is quite long and the more clever camera work and editing we use (e.g. overcranking and undercranking) the more it will maintain the audience's attention. Also, this is conventional of such narrative based videos - they feel more like short films.

Please put up a post with any new ideas or feedback you have asap!! xoxoxoxo

Feedback grade #1

Toby/Saad,

There is clear evidence of discussion and planning and your textual analysis is focused, however the posts are too short. You need to review these and also comment in detail on your mood boards.

Also - 3 out of 4 textual analysis say that they were posted by Saad - Toby can you confirm which are your two?

Currently this is a 3+ so you need to add more detail for a level 4. Invest the time for these vital planning marks - they can make or break a grade.

Focus group ideas. (Audience Research.)

For our focus group, we plan on gathering roughly five fans of the genre and analyzing their response to our chosen song. We will play them the song and ask them to tell us what kinds of ideas and images come to their mind (Synaesthesia). Also, we may ask them to write down any images, cameras shots, etc that they think go well with the song.
In general, we will have an open discussion with our focus group and possibly record the discussion. (Qualitative research.) Also, they will be jotting downsome things in the form of a mini-moodboard.
Here are some of the questions we will be asking:

1. What images come to your mind from this track?
2. What key words pop into your mind after hearting this track?
3. Have you heard any similar songs recently, and what did you like about their videos?
4. Can you reccomend any fresh, hip new innovative videos you have seen recently? (And liked?)
5. What is your favourite music video ever and why?
6. Can you reccomend any songs similar to ours?
7. What do you like to see in music videos?

We will then proceed to tell them the idea we had in mind and ask them for any improvements/suggestions as to how it can be improved.

Mood-y-boards. (annotated)

Basically, our idea involves a chase scene between a funny looking clown and a normal looking man. The moodboard on the left shows images of some of the key shots we think are necessary in our video- man running towards the camera, clown staring at camera and ooking sinster, etc.

The moodboard on the right features more detail on exactly what kinds of shots i think would work - the paragraph on the bottom left lists them e.g. CU of clown laughing, meat shot of the man when he first sees the clown, etc.Also, this moodboard includes more detail on the sorts of colours, costumes and props we will need. e.g. it says that the video should be filmed at night so that we can use shadows and natural lightr on the clown to exentuate his make up.

In general, these two moodboards show exactly what our idea is and some of our thought processes as we cam eup with this idea.

Massive Attack - Angel (posted by Toby)

As a convention of a massive attack music video, this is an example of disjuncture; showing no link between the track and the narrative based video. The only lip synching appearing at 2.48 where one non-descript member of the crowd mimes along to one line, and although he is not representing massive attack as an artist his appearance and 'random' context become part of their persona/image, associating them with highly conceptual music videos and maybe a more of an authentic artist and less commercial- perpetuating their selling point as a cultural commodity.

Most of the video is overcranked which creates a much slower pace to match that of massive attacks trip-hop sound, the slower speed at which the footage is played also means that each shot lasts longer, reducing the cutting pace. This is interesting as the video is a chase scene, where you would expect faster cuts. However this allows for more detail to be shown on the peoples expressions, e.g. the fear in the man being chased at 3.39.

Because the main character being chased is black, and the initial sequence at the car park looks like a planned attack there are connotations of a racial attack through intertextual imagery from films ect. However this is undermined by the mixed race of the members of the group, leaveing the reason for the chase a mystery and removing the issue of race from the video. This creates enigma and maintaining audiences attention through the suspense by making them want to see the conclusion.

The audiences expectations of violence are challenged at the videos conclusion where the main character 'faces' his pursuers and unexpectedly reverses the theme of the video by chasing them away. This can be considered a post-modern twist by giving the audience the recognized concept of a chase scene throughout the video but in a new way by changing the result.

xx

Clowns?

We were talking about having a clown feature as part of the narrative in our video; here are some videos to think about...

INGRID MICHAELSON - "The Way I Am" ~ Although this video is mostly performance based, its got lots of clownage in it, the clown man with Ingrid i think is a good style for if we wanted something a bit more sinister, with the beard, hat and tatty jacket almost remeniscent of chaplins tramp clown. Also the bit with the mirror at 1.09, maybe we could do something with reflections?

FatLip - "What's Up Fat Lip?" ~ Directed by Spike jonze with an amateur feel from the unsteady shots, zooming, and unglossed/galmourized 'authentic' representation of the artist. The entire thing is a performance and the clown costume is just a part of that.

Chris Milk (posted by Toby)

Gnarls Barkley - "Who's Gonna Save My Soul?":



This video is interesting because although it is narrative based and strong fantasy themes, there is still lip synching and lyrics from the song are put into context of the video e.g. when the heart addresses the woman dumping her boyfriend; "yet i never stopped to wonder, is it possible you were hurting worse than me".
The approach is a similar one taken by Spike Jonze in "Da Funk" for Daft Punk where the actual track is played in the background and the dialogue forming the narrative takes priority, this shows that the artisic element of the video in terms of directing/acting/editing is just as important as the track itself if not more.
The intertexuality of the video lies in the subject of a couple ending their relationship; a scene we have all experienced in films, reinforced with the cliched 'break-up' lines like "its not you its me" and also an american Diner as a setting adds to the videos cinematic feel. The use of intelectual diaglogue describing situations accessible to everyone such as how it feels to get over someone is done in an almost poetic way that is reminiscent of a Tarantino dialogue; a convention of his films.

Final Song Decision!!

After much deliberation, we have decided to do transatlantic - Quantik, because it just fits our idea perfectly. It's a fast paced, instrumental song and i think we could go mental with the jump cuts on this.

Quantic - Tranatlantic

xoxoxo

Possible track choice

Quantik - Transatlantic. Playful and fast-paced, which is perfect for what we have in mind. Also, this track has no lyrics which means that we wouldnt have to do any lip sinching, leaving the video completley narrative based in a more massive attack style.

An up-beat song like this would be effective with a sinister music video...the old contrastic music idea like Resevoir dogs ear cutting scene with 'Stuck in the middle with you' by steelers wheel.

We are scientists - Nobody move, nobody get hurt. (Posted by Saad))

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=L1w9LaeNgmw&feature=channel

• The video has genre characteristics at the start only when the band are shown playing their instruments and singing along.
• After that though, the video shows more disjuncture. i.e. there is no clear link between lyrics and video.
• The band have developed a visual motif through the hairstyle and clothing of the lead singer.
• Lots of handycam shots are used to show the characters' fear and the shots of them in the corridoor are panoramic to stress the distance between them and the bear.
• When they are running, there are lots of cuts and shots from the p.o.v of the bear - adds verisimilitude.
• Also, they are often shown running from a side-on angle. (Techniques that we should use in our video as we are doing something similar.)
• The use of handycam and frequent cuts creates a visually descented experience - something which is always effective in chase sequences.
• Pull focuses are also used to the same effect.
• The location of the chase contrasts with the man in a bear suit and makes him look really out of place - an effect which gives the video repeatability.
• The use of CCTV shots also adds repeatability and adds to the visually descented experience.
• The band are representing themselves as resilient and strong enough to escape their critics (The bear may be representing their critics) and this video may be their way of showing that they are capable of conceptual, narrative based videos. i.e they are mking a statement.
• Also, they display their unity at the end when they are shown together in the car implying that they are very much still a band. (As there were rumours of a split-up not long ago)
• In this sense, the video is part of their metanarrative and they are using it to convey a message to their audiences about the state of their band.
• So not surprisingly, they are doing their best to promote a positive band image.
• The video may be considered postmodern as it uses a familiar image of fear (bear) to construct a light hearted and playful example of disjuncture.
• The fact that we see the band performing at first and then we are with them throughout the chase creates a parasocial intimacy between the band and it's target audience.
• The mis-en-scene at first, when they are performing, is typical of performance based vidoes (guitars, drums) but this quickly changes whn the bear appears and they go out onto the streets.

Possible track. (15 Step)

Radiohead - 15 step

This song would be really good for doing a fast paced video with lots of jump cuts etc. It is from the album 'In Rainbows' and doesn't have a video. Post a comment to let me know what you think. xx

Adam Levite music video (Posted By Saad))))

tortoise - salt the skies

This video is really good and i think we could definitely do something similar. Very effective use of slow motion and it really goes well with the song because near the end, when the pace picks up a bit, there are more cuts. Lots of CU shots also are effective as they create a visually descented experience which videos like this often have - it adds repeatability. The use of random props and extreme CU shots creates a visually exciting experience as such slow shots are rare, even in music videos. This use of unusual props engages the audience and can be considered art as
It seems to be portraying an ironic and humorous kind of fear- men are shielding themselves from cuddly toys. This may be considered a negative representation of men, but i believe it is just a playful, humorous irony.
Also, as the music gets faster and more discordant, more props appear and they start hitting the band members. This shows that there is some link between the music and the visuals.
The band is shown standing together with defiant facial expressions at the end - this portrays a sense of unity and represents the band in a positive way.


Beck - Black Tambourine

This video, although performance based, has a visual twist in that all the visuals are created through the use of ASCII art. This is an unusual, perky way of making the video stand out and also creates a visually exciting experience as the sudience are forced to think continuoulsy about how the images are created. Also, the ASCII art creates a visually descented experience which creates repeatability. The change of colour half way through maintains the audience's attention and shows and is coordinated with the key change of the song.
The way Adam Levite has used a fairly everyday appliance (typewriter) to create such a visually exciting video is what might make this video be considered art.

Beans - mutescreamer

Although this video is performance based and has the typical mis en scene of hip hop videos (clothing, hat, glasses) it is made visually captivating by the excessive use of jump cuts and fast cuts. Also, the unexpected location (woods) makes the video eye-catching. Near the end, Levite also uses undercranking and and an editing technique to make it seem like there are two rappers which again makes the video eye-catching. The excessive use of jump cuts also creates a visually descented experience and the fact that there are so many shots of the rapper in different positions gives the video repeatability.

Weezer - Pork and Beans (Posted by Tobias.)

Directed by Mathew Cullen:

This video is designed for internet consumption, featuring 'Youtube celebrities' famous faces from the most popular viral videos to appeal to anyone who has seen them. This intertexuality relies on these viral videos' millions of views to appeal to a wide internet audience in the hope that internet sucess will translate into mainstream media coverage and unit sales, meaning that this novel concept renders the video as inherently commercial.

The video is post modern as it plays on a shared sense of modern culture to parody well known imagery, which in itself requires self awareness of being a construct; an example of this is the repeated looks to camera in keeping with the DIY aesthetic of the Youtube video.

The large amounts of refrences to youtube videos means that this music video requires focused viewing to take everything in and is almost designed for repeated viewings so that audiences can pick up on each refrence.

The fact that the video is described as a 'mash-up' of weezers favourite youtube videos creates a para-social intamacy between the band and their audience, which combined with the parody of the DIY aesthetic of youtube gives the video a more personal feel, and represents the band as authentic creating kudos for them. This is important as the songs lyrics are about individuality and "being happy with who you are", in keeping with the ideological discourse reinforced by the video that expressing yourself is something to be celebrated; e.g. Chris Crocker or Numa Numa Guy.

The fast cutting and montage editing could be reminiscent of the stereotypically short length of youtube videos.

The video starts with a kind of meat shot of the band playing their instruments in a bedroom, the mise en scene being a direct refrence to videos like 'Canon Rock' filmed on a webcam. This gives a feel of authenticity both by showing the band miming/playing along but also in a DIY environment. Here is also the first shot of the 'Numa Numa Guy', possibly the most famous example of a kareoke style, DIY music video where a member of the public can mime along to their favourite song publishing it on the internet.

The inclusion of these youtube celebrities miming to Weezers song and also when they are featured all together in the same room as the band in a shot of them performing show the celebrities in a new environment as they have never been seen, appealing to their audience, effectivley re-selling them in a new way.

Chris Cunningham?

Before directing music videos Cunningham worked at 'Spitting Image', building animatronic robot arms and sculpting caricatures for the TV series. In 1990 he worked on sculpture and animatronics for the film 'Alien³'. His work on 'Judge Dredd' propelled him, in 1995, to work with the late Stanley Kubrick on his then-unfinished project A.I. (which was picked up by Speilberg).


In 1997 Chris Cunningham became famous with 'Come to Daddy', a surreally dark music video for the electronic music of Aphex Twin. In 2000 Cunningham directed two abstract short films for the Anthony D'Offay Gallery titled 'flex' and 'Monkey Drummer'. Those works showed a very modern and hyper-realistic take on the world. In 2005 Cunningham released 'Rubber Johnny', a six-minute short that showed just how disturbing a vision Chris has.

Themes inherent in alot of cunninghams work show his personal interest/obsession with human anatomy and machinery or engineering. This is maybe most prominent in his award winning music video for Bjork's 'All is full of love' where her face features in a futuristic lesbian love scene between two robots in a factory; described by cunningham in the documentary series 'mirrorball' as "Karma sutra meats the industrial revolution, a chance to do something sexually suggestive without it being unshowable" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igg1DX40MS8.

As an auteur Chris takes a more artistic approach drawing on his own personal experiences for his music videos. One example of this is his use of 'synaesthesia', making connections between the sounds in the music and images in his imagination; when he first heard the Bjork track he wrote down the words 'sexual,' 'milk,' 'white porcelain,' 'surgery'.

"Mental Wealth" (1994) commercial for PlayStation

"Second Bad Vilbel" (1996) video for Autechre

"Back With The Killer Again" (1996) video for The Auteurs

"Light Aircraft on Fire" (1996) video for The Auteurs

"36 Degrees" (1996) video for Placebo

"The Next Big Thing" (1997) video for Jesus Jones

"Come To Daddy" (1997) video for Aphex Twin

"Only You" (1998) video for Portishead

"Frozen" (1998) video for Madonna

"Come On My Selector" (1998) video for Squarepusher

"All Is Full of Love" (1999) video for Björk

"Windowlicker" (1999) video for Aphex Twin

"Afrika Shox" (1999) video for Leftfield and Afrika Bambaataa

"Flex" (2000), using sounds created by Aphex Twin

"Monkey Drummer" (2001), using "Mt Saint Michel + Saint Michaels mount" from Aphex Twin's album Drukqs

"Rubber Johnny" (2005), using "Afx237 V7" from Aphex Twin's album Drukqs

"Sheena Is A Parasite" (2006), video for The Horrors

p.s. i love saad :)

Radiohead - Karma Police.

Radiohead - Karma Police: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=5LeLAELIxKY

• Camera is positioned to allow audience to see through the driver's eyes.
• This adds verisimilitude as the audience feel as through they are present and are part of the action.
• It is obvious that the video is narrative based and does not feature genre characteristics such as the band performing etc.
• There seems to be some sense of narrative as the figure in white is running away form the car, the audience are invited to wonder why this car is chasing the figure.
• However, it is not explained why the figure is being chased - narrative fuzz.
• There is not a complete narrative - the ending is completely unexplained and unexpected so the video has a degree of repeatability.
• The non-verbal language of the character in the back seat seems to imply he is not bothered and almost bored by the figure in front of the car.
• The construction of his persona by Glazer adds authenticity and allows the audience to recognize his 'grain of voice.'
• The video appears on the surface to be anexample of disjuncture.
• However, the gantle pace and rhythm of the music is in sync with the slow, smooth movement of the camera to show the character in the back seat and then back to the figure in white. i.e. there are hardly any cuts or sudden movements of the camera. (Visual technique.)
• The view of Tom Yorke leaning forward as he sings can be considered a meat shot. (Even though he appears to be mumbling, not singing.) This is another visual technique used to bring the audience closer to the lead singer.
• The appearnace of York at the start of the video and his disappearance at the end add enigma, mystery, repeatability and ultimately make the viewer think - the aim of videos in this sort of genre.
• There don't seem to be any ideologies being reinforced or challenged. However, the fact that the man being chased comes out on top (blows up the car) could be reinforcing the ideology that you should never underestimate the underdog.
• The video does not have any specific genre characteristics other than the narrative fuzz. i.e. it is not performance based.
• A vulnerable figure in white seems to appear in quite a few Radiohead videos so may be a visual motif established by the band.
• This may be considered as an intertextual reference to their other videos in which case the video can be classed as postmodern.
• The band have a reputation of having such postmodern videos in which they don't often appear so they are selling the product by using the same techniques that their target demographic has come to expect.
• The fact that Yorke is sitting in the back seat may be a reference to popular culture as it is most often the rich important people who sit in the back. The audience are able to draw ths assumption and form their own reading of the video based on this knowledge.
• (The mis-en-scene inside the car adds to this feeling of them being rich - leather, etc)
• Becasue of this, the video may be portraying the idea that such rich poepe don't treat poorer people (the white figure) in a decent way. The fact that the car is set on fire at the end might therefore be a reference to these 'poorer' people fighting back.
• This video is most likely to be cnsumed n the internet as it is not a very well kown song and fans of the genreknow that such videos are most commonly watched on YouTube.
• The narrative structure and appeal of the video mean that it requires focused viewing. (This narrative also adds to the videos repeatablity.)

The work of Jonathon Glazer

Wikipedia states that Glazer directed the following videos:

Karmacoma by Massive Attack (1995)
The Universal by Blur (1995)
Street Spirit (Fade Out) by Radiohead (1996)
Virtual Insanity by Jamiroquai (1996)
Cosmic Girl (Version 2) by Jamiroquai (1997)
Into My Arms by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (1997)
Karma Police by Radiohead (1997)
Rabbit in Your Headlights by UNKLE ft. Thom Yorke (1998)
A Song for the Lovers by Richard Ashcroft (2000)
Live with Me by Massive Attack (2006)

• Before making music videos, Glazer was noted for his adverts which were eye-catching due to their originality.
• He was named MTV director of the year in 1997.
• Glazer's best-known video by far is Jamiroquai's "Virtual Insanity," an unforgettable, how'd-they-do-that clip featuring a couch as singer Jay Kay's dance partner.
• He has made two feature length films, 'Sexy Beast' and 'Birth'.

• The term 'auteur' is french for 'horror' and is used mainly to describe film directors who are considered to have a distinctive and original style that makes them unique and appealing.
• In theory, an auteurs style is recognizable no matter what the genre, and sets them apart from all other competition.
• e.g. Romanek, Tarantino, Cunningham, Gondry.

Jonathon Glazer's unique style is most evident in his music videos - seemingly random events, unexpected endings, etc. His ability to construct a compelling yet enigmatic character is evident in the Unkle video 'Rabbit in your Headlights.' It is these distinctive feature of his videos which allow us to categorize him as an auteur. Also, his videos often feature subtle references to popular culture - a potmodern technique.

• Jonathan Glazer is most known for his Guinness ads. Jonathan Glazer was commissioned to make two Stella Artois beer ads.
• Glazer’s Nike Adfeaturing British football and the band Blur, are also well known.
• Since all these ads Glazer has stepped out with two feature films: Sexy Beast and Birth.

In 2005, 'The work of director Jonathan Glazer' was released as a DVD. It features his most famous music videos, adverts, short films and clips from his feature films. It also includes commentaries and interviews.