1 minute music video idea

Brief: To create a 1 minute music video to the song "Dry Your Eyes" by The Streets.

Has to fit the melancholy theme to the song
Has to be 1 minute long


Ideas:

• Sad
• Break Up
• Loneliness
• Black and white theme - shows sadness
• Maybe done in the rain - also shows theme of sadness
• One actor on screen to present theme of loneliness - maybe he's lost someone - A partner of wife?

Main Idea: 

The video is going to be about a man who's partner left him before he had the chance to propose to her. The establishing shot will be at the mans house where he will be having dinner with his partner. 

She has a sad face and he asks whats wrong? She replies with "I'm sorry" and walks out leaving the man knowing that he has lost her. The Next shot is him walking into a river and falling to his knees. He then proceeds to open his phone and go to his photos seeing him and her being happy. He then deletes them hesitantly. The man then produces what appears to be a ring box and opens it to see a ring inside emphasising that he was going to propose to her at the dinner. He then the ring box into the river and the image fades with him bowing his head in a wide shot of himself. A message then shows up on the screen saying "Sometimes, I don't know what haunts me more... The Memories of you... Or the happy person I used to be." and then the video ends.

Locations: Geddington Church Graveyard, Geddington Ford.

Props: Ring, Ring Box

Costume: Casual Clothes

Actors: Myself 

Media Terminology

Glossary Of Moving Image Terminology

Aerial Shot 


A camera shot taken from an overhead position. Often used as an establishing shot.


Close Up 


A head and shoulders shot often used to show expressions/emotions of a character. Also can be a shot of an object, filmed from close to the object or zoomed in to it, that reveals detail.


Extreme Close Up 


A shot where a part of a face or body of a character fills the whole frame/dominates the frame. Also can be a shot of an object where only a small part of it dominates the frame.


Establishing Shot 


A shot that establishes a scene, often giving ther viewer information about where the scene is set. Can be a close up shot (of a sign etc) but is often a wide/long shot and usually appears at the beginning of a scene.

Master Shot

A master shot is the recording of an entire dramatized scene, from start to finish, from an angle that keeps all the characters in view. 


Medium Shot 


The framing of a subject from waist up.


Two Shot 


A shot of two characters, possible engaging in conversation. Usually to signify/establish some sort of relationship


Point-Of-View Shot (POV) 


Shows a view from the subject’s perspective. This shot is usually edited so that the viewer is aware who’s point of view it is.


Over the Shoulder Shot 


Looking from behind a character’s shoulder, at a subject. The character facing the subject usually occupies 1/3 of the frame but it depends on what meaning the director wants to create (for example, if the subject is an inferior character, the character facing them may take up more of the frame to emphaise this)


Reaction Shot 


A shot that shows the reaction of a character either to another character or an event within the sequence.


Camera Angle 


The position of the camera in relation to the subject of a shot. The camera might be at a high angle, a low angle or at eye level with what is being filmed.


High Angle 


A camera angle that looks down upon a subject or object. Often used to make the subject or object appear small or vulnerable.

Low Angle 


A camera angle that looks up at a subject or object. Often used to make the subject/object appear powerful/dominant.


Canted Angle (or oblique) 


Camera angle that makes what is shot appear to be skewed or tilted.


Pan 

Where the camera pivots horizontally, either from right to left or left to right to reveal a set or setting. This can be used to give the viewer a panoramic view. Sometimes used to establish a scene.


Track 


A shot whjere the camera follows a subject/object. The tracking shot can include smooth movements forward, backward, along the side of the subject, or on a curve but cannot include complex movement around a subject. ‘Track’ refers to rails in which a wheeled platform (which has the camera on it) sits on in order to carry out smooth movement.


Crane 


A crane shot is sometimes used to signify the end of a scene/ programme /film. The effect is achieved by the camera being put onto a crane that can move upward.


Steadicam 


A steadicam is a stabilising mount for a camera which mechanically isolates the operator's movement from the camera, allowing a very smooth shot even when the operator is moving quickly over an uneven surface. Informally, the word may also be used to refer to the combination of the mount and camera.


Tilt 


Where a camera scans a set or setting vertically (otherwise similar to a pan).


Zoom 


Using a zoom lens to appear to be moving closer to (zoom in) or further away from (zoom out) a subject/object when in fact the camera may not move (so, strictly not camera movement). Can be used for dramatic effect.


Continuity Editing 


The most common type of editing, which aims to create a sense of reality and time moving forward. Also nick named invisible editing referring to how the technique does not draw attention to the editing process.


Jump Cut 


An abrupt, disorientating transitional device in the middle of a continuos shot in which the action is noticeably advanced in time and/or cut between two similar shots, usually done to create discontinuity for artistic effect.


Cross Cutting 


The editing technique of alternating, interweaving, or interspersing one narrative action (scene, sequence or event) with another – usually in different locations or places, thus combining the two: this editing technique usually suggests Parallel action (that takes place simultaneously). Often used to dramatically build tension and/or suspense in chase scenes or to compare two different scenes. Also known as inter-cutting or parallel editing


Cutaways 


A brief shot that momentarily interrupts continuous action by briefly inserting another related action. Object, or person (sometimes not part of the principle scene or main action), followed by a cutback to the original shot.


Freeze Frame 


The effect of seemingly stopping a film in order to focus in on one event or element.


Eye-line Match 


A type of edit which cuts from one character to what that character has been looking at.


Flashback 
A scene or moment in a film in which the audience is shown an event that happened earlier in the film’s narrative.


Graphic Match 


An edit effect in which two different objects of the same shape are dissolved from one into the other.


Linear Narrative 


A style of storytelling in which events happen chronologically.


Montage Editing 


The juxtaposition of seemingly unconnected images in order to create meaning.


Parallel Editing 


A type of editing in which events in two locations are cut together, in order to imply a connection between the two sets of events.


Visual Effects 


Visual effects are usually used to alter previously-filmed elements by adding, removing or enhancing objects within the scene. (see Cross Cutting)


Match on Action 


A shot that emphasises continuity of space and time by matching the action of the preceding shot with the continuation of the action. (For example a shot of a door opening after a shot of a close up of a character’s hand turning a door handle)


Diegetic Sound 


Sound that can be heard by the characters within a scene/ sound part of the imaginary world.


Non-diegetic Sound 


Sound that the characters cannot hear and is not part of the imaginary world of the story. This includes a musical soundtrack or a voiceover (however this excludes a narration by a character within the story – referred to as an internal monologue and is diegetic).


Score 


The musical component of a programme’s soundtrack, usually composed specifically for the scene.


Sound Effects 


Sounds that are added to a film during the post-production phase


Mise en Scene 


Mise-en-scene, a French term meaning “place on stage,” refers to all the visual elements of a theatrical production within the space provided by the stage itself. Film makers have borrowed the term and have extended the meaning to suggest the control the director has over the visual elements within the film image. Four aspects of mise-en-scene which overlap the physical art of the theatre are setting, costume, lighting and movement of figures. Control of these elements provides the director an opportunity to stage events. Using these elements, the film director stages the event for the camera to provide his audience with vivid, sharp memories. Directors and film scholars alike recognize mise-en-scene as an essential part of the director’s creative art.


Costume


Costume, or clothing and its accessories, is also an important visual element in film. Directors concerned with verisimilitude (historical reality) often go to great lengths to research clothing style, textile, and dye likely to be used by folk of a certain era, for costume is an indispensable means of establishing authenticity. Costume as an aspect of mise-en-scene in film, however, gains even more significance when directors manipulate costume so that it functions in special ways in the film as a whole. Costume can serve to enhance the narrative, or story, for instance, by suggesting social position of characters. 


Setting


Setting, as an important visual element of film, includes all that the viewer sees which informs time and place apart from costume.


Lighting


To the film director, lighting is more than illumination that enables the viewer to see the action. Lighting, like the other aspects of mise-en-scene, is a tool used by the director to convey special meaning about a character or the narrative to the viewer.


Properties (props)


These have to be sourced and provide another aspect of verisimilitude - creating a sense of reality and believability for the viewer.

Plan B - Ill Manors

Ill Manors - Plan B

In the video "Ill Manors", the atmosphere is seen as chaotic and rage-filled. This is because the song is a reaction to the 2011 riots that occurred in London and is shown in the video with little snippets of the riots and switching to and from the actors in the music video who are dressed in typical "chav" outfits which are hoodies, ski masks or balaclavas. There are also a few scenes where it seems like a picture from newspapers such as the sun which is then criticised in the video when Plan B says "Keep on believing what you read in the papers" meaning that the media victimises the middle and lower class and the general public eat it up. This shows that the only way that the lower class are seen is through newspapers and are portrayed as dangerous and violent shown in the lyrics "Oi look there's a chav. That means Council Housed And Violent".  This is a sarcastic take on the British middle classes' stereotyping of chavs as thuggish and violent, referring to them as “chavs” meaning boy. The chaotic atmosphere in the video is further backed up by the camera movements where it is quickly jumps-cutting to the next scene and back and also to and from the videos of the riots which portrays a message of how anarchic riots can be when at full disarray. The music video is also set in Peckham and Inner London in which Plan B refers to it as a jungle and they are going on an "Urban Safari" solely added in as illegal migrants were presented as animals around the time that the riots were going on. 

The artist himself if represented as a lower class citizen backing up his community who struggle to speak out for themselves shown through the repetitive term of "rich kid" and the way he speaks in the video making it sound like he is illiterate and not well-spoken backing up his representation. He also is shown at the start of the video smoking what appears to be either a cigarette or a joint and throughout the video referencing to drugs and alcohol which backs up the way lower class citizens act because of the way they are treated.

Editing Using Premier Pro

We were given a task to create a music video in which we edited in clips of people on a Flyboard and spectators watching all to the song of "Oops upside your head".  I used my knowledge of Jump cuts to make the video seem like an advertisement or similar to the music videos of now-a-days.

I started by uploading the song "oops upside your head" into premier pro, an editing software most commonly used by big-time film producers. Then, I looked through different clips of people on a Flyboard and picked out the best ones to use in to correspond with the music. When I was happy, I trimmed the song to have excess on the end of the video and then used the fade effect on the song to give a smooth transition to the end of the video. I then rendered it and uploaded it to both my blog (see top) and onto Youtube. I found adding the songs and trimming them to keep up with the song quite easy because it was a very simple system after being used a couple times. However, I found keeping in time with the beat quite difficult as when I tried to making it transition from video to video with the beat, there were many times where there were black screens signifying that the videos weren't connected. I fixed this by trying my best to keep it in time to the beat even though there are bits where it doesn't.

Overall, I believe that the video is successful as most of it keeps up with the song with a bit of flair and it is quite lengthy for the amount of time I spent on making it. If I were to improve it, I would try and further correct it to keep it in time with the beat by lengthening some of the video tracks to connect with the others because there is one part of the video where there is a brief section where a black screen can be seen.

Learning New Skills

I can type in my blog.

I can add an image to my blog.

I can add a video from YouTube by embedding it into my blog.

I can add a hyperlink from my blog.

CLICK HERE to go directly to the OverClockers UK website.

Media Studies Induction Task

Why Study The Media?

The media is seen around the world through different genres; News, TV, video games and also through the internet. Some can be informative whilst others can secretly be instructive, making people blindly follow without them knowing. Studying the media can allow a person to understand the issues and solution to the world’s major changes and/or improvements that are or aren’t made aware.

There are many ways that media can be distributed and expressed. One example of which is through the news. There are three main subcategories that fall under news; the internet, television, and newspapers. Although the three are very effective at informing people of past, current or future events, they are mostly one-sided. This is due to the publisher or writers of many broadsheet articles and small chain newspapers belong to different government parties. An example of this is the Sun in which the publisher, Rupert Murdoch, followed under the jurisdiction of the conservative party so at the time of the general elections, the newspaper instructed the reader to vote for conservative without them being aware that they were being passively forced to. Another example of this is when the entire UK voted to either stay in the EU or leave. A lot of paper chains encouraged the readers to leave with subliminal messages or fancy artwork making them blindly follow under the influence of the governmental parties. Understanding this will allow a person to learn the basic element of how the media works.

Another example of this is through television; more specifically documentaries based on real-life events. These allow a viewer to see the problems and solutions that the world has or had by showing the information on both sides; the positive and the negative. This allows documentaries to be fair and unbiased which make it more believable and doesn’t influence a viewer to believe a biased event that the news creates. A more in-depth example is the documentary World War Two: In colour. Not only does the documentary show a more detailed view on the events that took place during the war, but it also shows a more detailed view on both sides of the event. It informs the viewer on the actions that the Nazis took and the actions that the allies took so it doesn’t give the bias view that the news creates which means it doesn’t just shows the ‘valiant actions that the allies took’ in which some people would believe but in the real world the allies had their negatives and in which a lot of the time they were pummelled by the Nazis and committed genocide against German children and wives of the Nazi soldiers. Understanding both sides of the story allows a person to get an even more in-depth view on the media; the good and the bad. 

One other example of media is video games. These, however, have mixed views upon them. Some people believe that all video games rot the brain and make children violent and behave in a poor fashion. This is only because they allow their children to play the more crude and violent games and not the ones intended for their age range. A lot of the influence of parents against video games have made the news. An example of this is in The Guardian named ‘Is video gaming bad for you?’ which although gives both sides of the story, it is mainly one-sided towards the negative impacts of video gaming which makes it unfair. A lot of video game creators now-a-days tend to develop games based on real life events. An example of this is the game ‘L.A. Noire’ which is based off the ‘Black Dahlia’ murder in which a woman nicknamed the ‘Black Dahlia’ was found dead in which the corpse was severely mutilated and severed at the waist. This snippet of information allows the player to understand the real life issues of the world along with the fact of war. This also creates an awareness of how the world issues can be manipulated to make events seem differently to what it should be, which is what some aspects of the media inhabit.

Overall, studying the media can be essential to understanding the problems that the world constantly throws at us and how we deal with it through fake news and lies spread through manipulation and conceptualisation.