Feedback from group on Pitch

Below are the questions asked by the class when our group presented our ideas.

Q - "What sort of lighting are you going to be using throughout your filming?"

A - We have chosen to use all natural lighting in our filming, however the time of day and weather are going to be very important when deciding when to film. We are looking to be filming on a dry evening to have the perfect conditions. We are ideally looking for a low sun, for a bright but calm lighting. We all just imagined the weather to be dry when we discussed the filming, so we will aim to film during that weather. We will consult the weather forecast when deciding the filming date.

Q - "What forms of editing will you be using?"

A - The group had decided that we would be looking to keep the video as simple as possible in terms of editing, so through the main part of the video will be kept simple, with basic cuts. As for the flashback sections, we thought we would edit the clips in post-production by adding a "Fuzzy" border around the clips.

Q - "Who will be the actors in your video?"

A - Our group decided from the beginning that the video would only have two characters, the male singer and the female "Girlfriend character". Mark has been chosen to play the male character with Harriet playing the female.

Location Ideas

We have many ideas as to where to film our music video, we are still yet to decide where is best.

Burwell

This is one of our possible locations, fortunately one of our group members lives here and another can drive. Also, there is a pub nearby which we can also film in as we need bar scenes. 

Wicken Fenn

This location is quite far away although it has the perfect atmosphere depending on the weather. 

Our other locations include Waterbeach and Steeple Morden 

We will decide by next lesson.

Deadlines

Deadlines

• Monday 17th October: Music Video Shooting Deadline
• Friday 21st October (last lesson of week): Music Video Rough Cut Deadline:
• Friday 11th November (last lesson of week): Music Video Final Deadline

• Friday 25th November (last lesson of week): Ancillary Products Deadline
• Friday 16th December (last lesson of week): Evaluative Commentary:

Cameras

1. Before the rough cut deadline, you will be able to take a camera for 2 overnights or 1 weekend. The first opportunity you will have for filming is Friday 30th September from 4.10pm.
2. Between the rough cut and the final deadline, you will be able to have a camera in the lessons and for 1 overnight. No weekends.
3. You can have a stills camera in the lessons and for 1 overnight, from the point where filming commences. It is possible to have your video and stills cameras at the same time. This actually might be advisable.

By watching this video it has given us a few new ideas as to what to include, it is extremely similar to what we are pitching and has given us an insight as to what type of mood to try give off etc.

Our pitch to have track 7 - "Tenbucks - Mayday"

Our group would very much like to film a video for the track 7 of the mix-CD. The song we have chosen is called "Mayday" by the german band Tenbucks.

The reason we have chosen this song is because as soon as we heard the track for the first time and discussed our idea, we all had very similar ideas, and just generally enjoyed the song.

The song would suit just having just two actors in it. A man who sings and a woman who would act as a 'love interest'. The location would be mostly outside, by a river, a wooded area and flashbacks of the two in various romantic scenes such as lying in a bed. 

the costumes would be just casual clothes in order to make the man relatable to the audience. the woman would also wear casual clothes.

The lighting in the video would be bright sunlight as it would contrast with the sad subject of the song in order to amplify the depressing tones of the song. 

The props will be a guitar played by the man in the video, by the river and in the woods. the narrative will be a man remembering the relationship he had with the woman. he will have flashbacks of significant times in their relationship in the locations he visits. 

The colors will be normal greens and blues and white, however, the flashbacks will be faded and slightly transparent to make it apparent the man is having a flashback. 

The overall mood of the song will be quite depressing, despite this our video can brighten the mood and make the song much more meaningful. 

5 Favourite Tracks

Our group was set with the task to listen to 12 anonymous tracks and write about the best features and any ideas that came to mind when whilst we listened.

Our favorite 5 tracks are as follows:

1. Track 3 gave us a feeling of excitement as the track was sexy and mysterious. The color that came to mind was red; the reason behind this was that red is symbolistic of love and passion, this can be mixed with   the color black to show the mysterious side of the track.

The locations the came to mind when we heard this track were potentially a bedroom, or outside in a city setting - walking down a street or outside a club.

2. Track 7
we all agreed on our ideas for track 7 in that we all believed the video would be best suited to a single male playing guitar by a river or in a forest, whilst having flashbacks to a happier time, most likely with a  girl.

The color that we envisioned was a dark blue to add to the sad and sorrowful sound imagined when listening to this track.

The only prop that we imagined we would have to include is the guitar for the male actor to play throughout, unless we can think of any props required in the flashbacks.

3. Track 8
Track 8 again made us feel excited, and we all discussed that the track made us imagine the colour grey, when listening to the track we all thought of just a male, rapper walking through the city, on a busy day, walking amongst or though crowds.

The only prop we thought we would need is a microphone especially since the lyrics state "me, myself and my microphone"

4. Track 9
This song instantly made us think of an indie type of girl in a field, we got this idea off other videos and fitted her voice into a stereotype. It made us feel happy and gave us possible ideas for our own video. The song reminded us of different bright colours associated with summer.

We wouldn't really need a prop if we were to do this song as it is really simple, despite this the girl would need to be wearing flowers in her hair and a dress etc.

5. Track 12
We knew who the artist was straight away with this song as he's well known, the song reminded us of a typical video of girls in different scenes such as in a bar, bedroom or against a car. We imagined the colours to be classy, for example red, black or gold. (sexy)

For this video we would need many props as our idea is quite complex, this includes buying new outfits and finding a car to film with.

Auteur research - Spike Jonze

Our group was given the task to research an "Auteur". Our chosen Auteur was Spike Jonze, the man behind cult hits such as "Fatboy Slim - Praise You", "Beastie Boy - Sabotage" and "Da Funk - Daft Punk". We noticed multiple artistic signatures throughout the clips, most of which will be explained below.

The first thing the group had realized was that Spike Jonze tends to have a lot of hand held camera work. The effect of this is that it gives the viewer the feeling of involvement. A good example of this is in the "What's up fat lip" video, where the camera wobbles and follows Fat Lip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SK_WfF6hf2E&ob=av2e

The second thing we noticed is that all the videos include members of the public, this includes shocking, disturbing them and doing things out of the norm. An example of this is ''Fatboy Slim - Praise You,'' this video involves people dancing in what looks like a shopping centre. The public seem generally surprised and try to ignore them, this relates to when you see buskers in the street.
Also, the camera seems to be held by one of the public and once again this gives off a more realistic effect.

Reviewing 5 different type of music video

1.  A spoof video "The Lonely Island - I Just Had Sex"

Our group decided to review the song "I Just Had Sex" by the Lonely Island. We enjoyed the video because we all found the song catchy and thought the lyrics and clip were funny.

There are various story lines running throughout the video. For example, the asian family watching the performance. This is also an example of voyeurism, as you can watch the actual music video on the Asian family's TV, over their shoulders.

The video is highly representative of the lyrics, almost matching lyric to a clip in the video.

2. A video with a message "P Diddy - I'll be missing you"

We thought this video was a clear choice, with a strong message in both the lyrics and the visuals. The song clearly shows P Diddy's sorrow at losing someone close to him. 

The lyrics clearly state "What a life to take, what a bond to break; I'll be missing you" whilst showing slow clips of the singers/songwriters involved in what seems to be a church - only illuminated by candles.

There are clips in this video where P Diddy is seen to be standing in large open field with clear, blue skies. We thought that this imagery suggest that he is in heaven or another world.

3. A video that shocks - "M.I.A - Born Free"

The Born Free video is obviously aimed to shock the audience. The topic is very controversial and mirrors Nazi Germany and the Holocaust.