Risk Assessment - Miss Georgiou

 

When filming a risk assessment is vital in making sure that the filming process is carried out safely. By identifying possible hazards and looking at how to prevent these, we can then prepare ourselves for anything that we may come across when filming.

Our video was filmed with the use of a car so there were many dangers that we had to look out for when carrying out the filming process. The way we dealt with this was by being cautious whilst filming and making sure we were safe at all times.

Trailing leads whilst filming provided a hazard as they could have caused us to trip and become injured. By covering these in gaffer tape it eliminated the hazard and meant that we could continue filming safely.      

Our production included things like fireworks and flares which also provided hazards, such as burning or causing harm to others around us. By wearing gloves and other items of protective clothing when filming it eliminated this risk and helped to insure our safety

We eliminated the danger that was presented when filming in the car. Much of our presentation was filmed whilst in the moving car which meant there was ample opportunity for us to have an accident or to become distracted when filming. To eliminate this we made sure that the driver was never holding the camera or that the camera was not placed somewhere that could have been a distraction. This meant we could concentrate at all times and stay safe.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Planning Editing Styles

A variety of editing styles is essential within a music video because it keeps the audience engaged. Having a variety of editing styles stops the video becoming repetitive and creates different effects with each style for the audience.

Three editing styles that we want to use in our own music video are;

• A time lapse
• Fast timing of shots
• Slow timing of shots

The slow timing of shots is something to conventional to our genre of music. The effect of this editing style is that it engages the audience from the outset, usually by setting the scene. This will be used at the very beginning of the video when the music is building up as the beat quickens. This ties in with the theory of Goodwin as it provides a link between the music and the visuals. Slow timing of shots also allows us to introduce the narrative, and familiarise the audience with the main character of the video through longer shots showing the characters face and costume.

The fast timing of shots will be introduced when the beat quickens and the chorus comes in. This will provide a link between the music and the visuals, just like the slow timing of shots. The pace and timing of the shots, will represent the action that is going on within the video. As the night picks up and the characters are seen driving the car and going to clubs we hope the timing of shots will portray the fast paced, wild feel to it.

We wanted to make the night seem never ending and give the audience a feel that they are on the journey with the main characters. Through the time lapse we feel that we could show a long period of time passing and possibly suggest that the main character is under the influence of alcohol or possibly drugs. We felt this gave the video quite a unique feel and by not particularly conforming to the genre stereotypes made the video more attractive to viewers.

Through the use of editing styles we want to establish a strong link between the visuals and music. We want the pace of the song and pace of the editing to match in order for us to completely engage the audience and create the strongest effect possible.

lyrics analysis- Miss Georgiou

The lyrics of a song are important in engaging the audience. If lyrics are successfully matched with the visuals then the song can be entertaining for the audience and make them more inclined to watch the video. Lyrics can evoke emotion and connect the audience with the artist or the group. With a successful music video to match the lyrics, this sense of connection between the viewer and the song can be strengthened. Through making our music video relatable and engaging we aimed to create this in our own production.
We printed off a copy of our own song lyrics, and went about annotating them. We looked for repetitions in the lyrics and tried to identify opportunities for the different timing of shots, whilst also seeing where we could use Goodwin's theory to provide a link between the visuals and the lyrics.
Analysing the lyrics of our song was important in seeing connotations in the lyrics of the song and seeing if the words used could impact the decisions we made in our productions.
In our music video we decided to follow Goodwin's theory and have a direct link between our music and our visuals. The effect of this is that it provides the audience with more of a viewing experience and extends the feel of escapism.
When analysing the lyrics for our song 'Blame' by John Newman and Calvin Harris, we decided to start of with a slow timing of shots. This is a technique used in many of the songs that we analysed and decided that the effect of this in the first verse would be good for establishing the scene of the video. We felt that the effect of this timing of shots was one that could successfully entice our audience into the video from the outset. The effect of this is that it also builds an element of suspense as the pace of the song begins to pick up. The lyrics below show when we will use this slow timing of shots.
The repetition of the lyrics "don't blame it on me" partnered with the visuals of our video, we felt, would make the song entertaining, engaging and easy to remember for the viewers of the song.
At the chorus of the song we made the decision to bring in a quicker pace to the song by matching the timing of shots to the music. Editing our shots in time with the music strengthens the link of the lyrics and visuals.
We went about identifying pivotal parts of the song like the 'bass drops' which were a good opportunity to incorporate in some fast editing, especially in the build up to these drops. These are an important part of a dance song, and they probably hold more importance than the lyrics themselves, as the songs are primarily based around the rhythm.

Planning setting and iconography - miss georgiou

Iconography and setting are important elements of a music video. They set the scene and can engage the audience in the video. They also give the audience an insight into the life of the performer and are a key to any narrative sequence.

In our video we are using 5 different locations;

• In a club
• On a road
• In a car
• In a house
• In a forest

The club location has been chosen so that we can conform to stereotypical elements of our music genre. Videos like blame and my love are both set in clubs and achieve giving the audience an insight into the artists life successfully. The club setting has limitations in that the lighting may be to dark and good footage may be difficult to collect. Also clubs may have certain limitations on whether you can or can not film inside the club. However the good thing about this setting is that it is not weather permitting and the fact it is indoors means we can collect footage at any time. The setting also means the song has the opportunity to become a club song, by being recognised as a dance track through the conventional setting, which will in turn increase the exposure of the song and therefore the popularity. 

The setting of the street is one used frequently within our video. The limitations of this are that we may not be able to find a street that is empty long enough for us to film. From a health and safety aspect it could also be dangerous to film on a road with cars passing by. Also when planning our music video our ideas included the footage in the street having dry weather, so if there is rain or bad weather it could push our filming back. However, the use of this setting represents our characters are relatable, as by showing them here rather than in a big mansion, we can seem closer to home for most viewers.

Filming in the car is a low risk location. However when filming the shot of the car going over the camera there is a danger of the camera possibly being damaged, which we will have to plan ahead for. The shots from the point of view of the car could also be dangerous if the camera is not secured properly and also if the weather is raining the camera will not be used outside of the car as we planned.

The forest location is something which could make the filming tricky. Lack of lighting and also possible bad weather could make the floor muddy and therefore unable to film on. Similar to the club if the lighting is to dim then picking up anything on the camera will not be possible. However, this is a setting not seen in any other videos that I have analysed, so therefore breaks the conventions and offers the audience something new and unique.

Planning artist image- Miss Georgiou

Artist representation is important in a music video as it something which can put across the lifestyle of a musical artist. This is something that can attract the audience by giving them a further insight into the artist or character that is in their video. It can be the key in portraying an artist in a certain light. Whether that is extravagant or down to earth.

In my own music video we will not be featuring our artist. We will need to focusing on representation the characters in our video well, and in a way where they can connect with the audience and make the video entertaining for the viewer. As may viewers will want to see the artist, we have to compensate by representing our characters successful and making sure the fulfil the expectations of the audience.

Our characters chosen, are the same age as our target audience, 18-25. The costuming of the characters will be things like jeans and trainers and other simplistic clothes. This type of clothing keeps the characters looking like regular people. This makes the video and the characters in the video more relatable. This use of costume is quite conventional but at the same time unconventional. In some videos like Summer by Calvin Harris he is seen to be wearing a plain white t shirt with jeans. However in some videos like Otis by Jay z and Kanye West, they are dressed very well with jewellery and nice clothes, which gives more of an insight into the lives of the artist, showing there wealth.

 By not using the artist we think that the audience could relate to the video more, as the artist was in it he would look more superior.

Initial Group Planning ideas- miss Georgiou

The members of my group are me and Harry Fagan. In our first meeting we discussed what our favourite genres of music were and decided on the genre of house music. We discussed our favourite artists from this genre and chose the artist Calvin Harris. We chose the song blame as we felt it was current and we both enjoyed the song, which we felt would make it easier to analyse. We printed off the lyrics for the song and analysed them. After annotating them we found that the lyrics were relatively simple and repetitive. Because of the simplicity of the lyrics we felt it would be easier for the lyrics to link with the visuals, and make it a more engaging video for the audience. We used an a3 sheet of paper looking at different elements of our music video. We looked at things like mise-en-scene which we decided would be set on a road for the majority of the video, with it being filmed from a car. We also decided on props like smoke bombs and lasers. We decided that we would where normal clothes in order to appeal to an audience and seen ordinary. We looked at artist representation which is where the costuming came under, and decided this would relate to 15-20 year olds as the family argument at the beginning of the video would be relatable to our audience. When looking at cinematography we chose to use a handheld camera to film the scenes within the car, with wide shots also use to establish the scenery that the car is travelling through. Close up shots will provide a link between the actors and the audience as they can see there emotions and feelings throughout the video.  The editing will show a contrast in slow and fast timing of shots. This was something seen in a Calvin Harris song and other house music, which start of slow and build the pace as the tempo of the song does. We felt the narrative style of music would engage the audience more than a performance based video which we felt were repetitive and slightly boring. Once we had chosen the song and had a rough idea of what we wanted to include, we had to apply for copyright. Emailing Calvin Harris's record label, Fly Records meant that we could ask for permission to use there song without breaking copyright laws by uploading their song to Youtube without their say so. We also began to look in more depth at the video and decided on things like where we were specifically going to film and where would look appealing to an audience. We wanted to choose scenic destinations while also making the video relatable for the audience. We decided on range of shots being filmed at viewpoint in loughton which provided views across london. The effect of this was that it created a sense of escapism for the audience watching. When looking at the actual narrative itself  we thought that the theme of friendship  would create an appeal for the audience through the relatability. Looking at the artists image was another important thing to decide on especially when creating our digipaks. Each member of the group had created a digipak, which we then extracted ideas from to create our group digipack. We decided to present the artist as a serious musician, with a professional attitude towards his music. This was done through the layout and typography of the digipack, as well as the images of the artists showing him as serious and focused. I believe that the group meetings where the most important and key feature im creating our project. The discussions helped us gain advice from eachother and combine ideas, leading to an altogether greater final piece. I feel that we were successful in listening to eachother and taking on board constructive critiscm, which then allowed us to make the necessary changes and get the best out of our group. I think our group also worked well when it came to our storyboard and also to our filming schedule. Our successful completion of both of these meant that when it came to filming our music video we had the advantage of knowing what we were doing on what day, meaning we could be more time efficient. It made the whole process more stuctured and allowed us maximum editing time, to perfect our production

Music Video inspiration

Consider 3 music videos that you have watched, which have provided you with inspiration for your own production. Focus on; micro elements, music video style, artist representation, music video genre, theory, choice of song etc.

When deciding the style, storyline and production of our own music video, we looked at three others to give us some inspiration in what we were going to include. As the song was from the same genre and produced by Calvin Harris I felt this would be a useful song to analyse. Calvin Harris was also the artist of our own song 'blame' which we created the video for. In Summer, it is clear to see that at the beginning of the song a slower timing of shots is used, to create an atmosphere which almost feels like the calm before the storm. This is backed by the timing of shots becoming faster as the beat picks up through the song. This use of shot timing is effective in providing more of a link between the visuals and the audio of the song, which is something I felt I really wanted to include in my own production. The artist, Calvin Harris, is featured in the video and seen walking along a long road whilst he sings the song. By featuring the artist the video may seem more attractive for an audience by being able to see someone they view as an idol or a favourite artist. It also tied in with Dyers theory of an artist being ordinary yet extra ordinary. It achieved this through the outfit of Calvin Harris wearing a plain white t shirt and jeans, unlike many other artists who are seen to wear more expensive designer clothes in their video. However the extraordinary side is created through the portrayal of his lifestyle as the video includes a large number of woman and fast cars, a lifestyle which most do not live. The video is not a full narrative bus has an element of that about it. Although there is no real story the narrative does follow the artist in a drag race with another car, which can be seen as narrative. Being able to follow this through the video does it make it more engaging and entertaining, so this is another element of the video that has influenced my own production.

The second video I analysed was Californication by The Red hot Chilli Peppers. Although this song is from a different genre to Calvin Harris, as a video I found it very interesting. The video itself is done in the form of an animated video game. This is something unique which I have not seen another artist or group create. Because it is so different to usual music videos the song is incredibly entertaining for the viewer to watch. The colours used are incredibly bright and engaging and the whole video is one that portrays it as something different to conventional videos. With the editing software available, I am unsure if the animation would be able to be achieved but if possible I believe that any element of making the video look animated or like a cartoon would provide something different for the audience and make our video stand out. Like Summer the video is a narrative, which kept me as the viewer engaged wanting to see how the video ended. However unlike summer the lyrics did not match the visuals, which I believed did not effect the song due to its unique nature.

The third song I looked at was the song we would be producing a video for, Blame by John Newman and Calvin Harris. By looking at a second song by Calvin Harris I wanted to see if there were any reoccurring themes in his videos and the genre itself. Similarly to Summer, the timing of shots is one of the most important aspects of Calvin Harris's videos. This highlighted to me that to be successful in building suspense in a song and to capture the audience the link between the visuals and audio would have to be created through the timing of shots. The artists are again featured, in a less relatable way this time. This is done through the setting of a mansion with attractive women walking around and John Newman dressed in expensive clothes. However, this too can be entertaining for an audience getting to see inside the life of their favourite artists and seeing how they live.

In addition to these 3 songs I also looked at the video for the song by clean bandit, no place I'd rather be. This song was a current, modern and mainstream track, with a high level of popularity. By analysing a song like this, we could see the conventions of popular music videos and by analysing the techniques used, we hoped to replicate the success of such a video. The timing of shots, as found in the previous three videos, is vital in enticing the audience into the video, and grasping their attention from the outset. This is created through the use of a slow timing of shots at the beginning of the video which initially sets the scene. The setting at the beginning of the video immediately connects the audience with the main actress, as the house she is shown in is not a huge mansion or unrelatable expensive house. Instead it is quite a normal house, which is going to be relatable to a higher number of people listening. The clothing of the main actress also reinforces the relatable element to the video, as the clothes being worn are quite simplistic and again more relatable than many artists who are seen in expensive designer clothes. The video follows the main character throughout the video and this is something we wish to include in our video. We feel the effect of this is that it creates a stronger link with viewers and the actress. Our own video is going to follow the main characters on a night out, following what they get up too. There relatable antics and actions are something which most people are going to have done themselves, which makes it more engaging for the audience.

The final video I analysed was My love by Route 94. The uncoventional lighting at the beginning was something we felt gave the video its own individual feel and would be immediately recognisable to an audience when the video was played. Although the editing software has limitations we wanted to try and create something similar to this. In the video it is implied that the main character has taken drugs. After the point of consuming the drugs the editing is sped up and made more frantic and fast. We tried to emulate this in our video. A series of shots show the main characters to be taking shots of spirits. After these shots and the shots in the club, the pace of the video picks up. This implies to the audience that our characters are drunk or possibly under the influence of drugs, which can make the video more engaging to the audience and more conventional to the dance genre.

I felt that all of the videos that have been analysed, played a large part and had a big influence on the elements that were included in my own production. The more common and conventional elements like the slow timing of shots at the beginning of the videos were ones that we also felt we wanted to include. Videos like route 94, my love and also no place I'd rather be showed us various ways that were very effective in creating a connection between the artist and the audience. Shots like handheld ones and close ups were effective in tracking the main character and showing the audience an insight into their lives, making it either relatable or engaging for the people watching.