task 1 - purpose of music videos
Purpose of Music Videos
A music video, much like it sounds, is a visual film that accompanies a song. Often called a 'Promotional Video', these were not industry practice for some time. Although many songs featured some video clips to accompany their songs, it was not until the renowned success of Queen's 1975 hit Bohemian Rhapsody and it's partner video that it became an industry norm to produce a video along side their song.
By creating a promotional video, it meant that the video could be used instead of a live band for shows at the time like Top of the Pop's, which required the band play live. If the band couldn't make it or were busy, the video could be used in its place, meaning that people didn't miss out on a place on the show.
In 1981 MTV was launched; the channel played music videos all day every day. This channel was a new medium for music and branched out and appealed to a newer and wide audience. The 80's were a pivotal and influential year for music because of the videos and they grew to an even greater and sophisticated level when film directors began directing and creating videos, David Mallet directed David Bowie and Queens Under Pressure video.
Horror film director John Landis directed THRILLER, perhaps the most famous and influential music video of all time, in 1983. Michael Jackson's THRILLER shot to worldwide fame when it was released because of its scope, catchy lyrics, dancing, direction and length, an astonishing 14 minutes. The video incorporated many horror elements, such as zombie dancers, werewolves, a voice over from horror legend Vincent Price and the director, who directed An American Werewolf In London. It was after this music promo that they became more respected and expanded into a grander scale.
Almost every song that followed was accompanied by a music promo. Some of the videos that followed have become very iconic because of their innovative direction and style that was unconventional at the time. Sledgehammer is one of the iconic videos, taking inspiration from Jan Svankmajer and the stop motion he is most famous for. The entire video is shot in a stop-motion style all while the lead singer sings along to the song. Another famous video is Take on Me, which features a combination of live action and a sketch style animation. This video has been parodied in many forms, a notable appearance in Family Guy. These parodies and references of the song are perfect examples of how iconic the promo is and how much influence it has.
Recent years have showcased bigger production videos and equally minimalistic artful videos. Lady Gaga is a perfect modern example of big production music promotions as her videos - like her music itself - are fast paced and extravagant. For example, Telephone - the continuation of her previous song Paparazzi - follows Gaga after she confesses and is arrested for the murder of her boyfriend. Telephone begins with her in prison and then bailed out by Honey-B played by Beyoncé. The two then go on a murder spree in a diner, killing all the diners’ insider with poison. The video closes with the two being chased by police in a big yellow vehicle called Pussy Wagon, which is a direct reference to Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill. This video is heavily influenced by Tarantino’s filmography and he personal landed Gaga the Pussy Wagon after she explained the videos concept to him over lunch.
The video received a great critical reception and is noted for being a pop culture event with its Tarantino references, Thelma and Louise style story arc between the two female leads and has since been named one of the best music videos of the decade so far. This music promo runs for full 9 minutes and is a great example of how production companies have taken great stakes in music by giving huge budgets to produce big videos. Other big production videos include
In a great contrast to the big production music videos, there are also minimalistic and artful videos. Lorde's music video for Tennis Court is a simple continuous talking head shot of the singer as she stares into the camera. She occasionally moves her hands into frame and sings along to small sections of the song. Another example is the video for Not Made of Stone by Lykke Li which, like Tennis Court, features a continuous shot traveling around a woman’s upper body in a low-lit unidentifiable location. The camera pans around her for the entire video as she changes facial expressions; she does not sing a long. These videos, along with several other examples, show how a music video does not have to be a big production but can be simple and more thematic.
From the examples explored above, it is clear that music videos have grown since they first aired nearly 50 years ago. Much like the growth of cinema, as new technologies came forward, music videos became more advanced and moved away from live concert footage into full original productions covering a vast number of styles and formats.
A music video, much like it sounds, is a visual film that accompanies a song. Often called a 'Promotional Video', these were not industry practice for some time. Although many songs featured some video clips to accompany their songs, it was not until the renowned success of Queen's 1975 hit Bohemian Rhapsody and it's partner video that it became an industry norm to produce a video along side their song.
By creating a promotional video, it meant that the video could be used instead of a live band for shows at the time like Top of the Pop's, which required the band play live. If the band couldn't make it or were busy, the video could be used in its place, meaning that people didn't miss out on a place on the show.
In 1981 MTV was launched; the channel played music videos all day every day. This channel was a new medium for music and branched out and appealed to a newer and wide audience. The 80's were a pivotal and influential year for music because of the videos and they grew to an even greater and sophisticated level when film directors began directing and creating videos, David Mallet directed David Bowie and Queens Under Pressure video.
Horror film director John Landis directed THRILLER, perhaps the most famous and influential music video of all time, in 1983. Michael Jackson's THRILLER shot to worldwide fame when it was released because of its scope, catchy lyrics, dancing, direction and length, an astonishing 14 minutes. The video incorporated many horror elements, such as zombie dancers, werewolves, a voice over from horror legend Vincent Price and the director, who directed An American Werewolf In London. It was after this music promo that they became more respected and expanded into a grander scale.
Almost every song that followed was accompanied by a music promo. Some of the videos that followed have become very iconic because of their innovative direction and style that was unconventional at the time. Sledgehammer is one of the iconic videos, taking inspiration from Jan Svankmajer and the stop motion he is most famous for. The entire video is shot in a stop-motion style all while the lead singer sings along to the song. Another famous video is Take on Me, which features a combination of live action and a sketch style animation. This video has been parodied in many forms, a notable appearance in Family Guy. These parodies and references of the song are perfect examples of how iconic the promo is and how much influence it has.
Recent years have showcased bigger production videos and equally minimalistic artful videos. Lady Gaga is a perfect modern example of big production music promotions as her videos - like her music itself - are fast paced and extravagant. For example, Telephone - the continuation of her previous song Paparazzi - follows Gaga after she confesses and is arrested for the murder of her boyfriend. Telephone begins with her in prison and then bailed out by Honey-B played by Beyoncé. The two then go on a murder spree in a diner, killing all the diners’ insider with poison. The video closes with the two being chased by police in a big yellow vehicle called Pussy Wagon, which is a direct reference to Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill. This video is heavily influenced by Tarantino’s filmography and he personal landed Gaga the Pussy Wagon after she explained the videos concept to him over lunch.
The video received a great critical reception and is noted for being a pop culture event with its Tarantino references, Thelma and Louise style story arc between the two female leads and has since been named one of the best music videos of the decade so far. This music promo runs for full 9 minutes and is a great example of how production companies have taken great stakes in music by giving huge budgets to produce big videos. Other big production videos include
In a great contrast to the big production music videos, there are also minimalistic and artful videos. Lorde's music video for Tennis Court is a simple continuous talking head shot of the singer as she stares into the camera. She occasionally moves her hands into frame and sings along to small sections of the song. Another example is the video for Not Made of Stone by Lykke Li which, like Tennis Court, features a continuous shot traveling around a woman’s upper body in a low-lit unidentifiable location. The camera pans around her for the entire video as she changes facial expressions; she does not sing a long. These videos, along with several other examples, show how a music video does not have to be a big production but can be simple and more thematic.
From the examples explored above, it is clear that music videos have grown since they first aired nearly 50 years ago. Much like the growth of cinema, as new technologies came forward, music videos became more advanced and moved away from live concert footage into full original productions covering a vast number of styles and formats.
purpose_of_music_videos.docx | |
File Size: | 18 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Task 2 - conventions of music videos
codes_and_conventions_of_music_video.docx | |
File Size: | 18 kb |
File Type: | docx |
task 3 - music video ideas
Ideas for a Music Video Production
Idea 1: Crazy in Love – Beyoncé – Fifty Shades of Grey Remix
Released in 2015 as part of the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack, this remix of the 2003 hit is a slowed down and more sexed up version. In the context of the film, the song mirrors the films character Anastasia Steele as she falls in love with Christian Grey.
My music video would be shot in complete black and white to play on the Grey element of the soundtrack, film and novel. The promo would only feature close ups and extreme close ups to emphasis intimacy and sensuality found within the song. It would not feature a linear narrative and be a montage of intimate shots alluding to sexual things.
Idea 2: Human -Christina Perri
This song, released in 2014, is an emotional song about a woman who has broken up with a recent love. Throughout the song she sings about how despite acting like she is strong, she feels emotional because of the break up, because she is only a human.
I would start by filming a short film featuring a happy couple outside in a field. It would be filmed from one perspective (like a found footage film) often swapping between the male and female and showing them being loving together. This film would then be projected onto a large black curtain, as the main singer (the female in the video) sings about her heartbreak. By having a projection of their happy times with an emotional singer in the foreground, it would show her remembering their happy times together while she currently suffers.
Idea 3: Gods & Monsters - Lana Del Rey
A poetic and expansive story about the biblical character Eve, Gods & Monsters follows her as she is cast out of heaven and down to earth, becoming a stripper and loving a petty criminal. Throughout the song she uses oxymoronic phrases to describe living a life following religion and living a life without it.
My video would feature a split screen to show the contrasting life paths. A third screen would feature an anonymous pair of lips singing along to the song; anonymous so that the viewers can project themselves into the character for a more immersive video. The video would be more thematic than telling a narrative because the song itself is quite metaphoric and open to interpretation than a straightforward song.
After looking over each of the songs, I have decided to choose Gods & Monsters by Lana Del Rey. I have decided to produce a video for this song because I believe it will offer the most experimental opportunities than the other songs, as this song is metaphoric and more ambiguous. Also, it would allow me to create a video that doesn't follow conventional music promo tropes and clichés associated with aforementioned music promos.
Idea 1: Crazy in Love – Beyoncé – Fifty Shades of Grey Remix
Released in 2015 as part of the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack, this remix of the 2003 hit is a slowed down and more sexed up version. In the context of the film, the song mirrors the films character Anastasia Steele as she falls in love with Christian Grey.
My music video would be shot in complete black and white to play on the Grey element of the soundtrack, film and novel. The promo would only feature close ups and extreme close ups to emphasis intimacy and sensuality found within the song. It would not feature a linear narrative and be a montage of intimate shots alluding to sexual things.
Idea 2: Human -Christina Perri
This song, released in 2014, is an emotional song about a woman who has broken up with a recent love. Throughout the song she sings about how despite acting like she is strong, she feels emotional because of the break up, because she is only a human.
I would start by filming a short film featuring a happy couple outside in a field. It would be filmed from one perspective (like a found footage film) often swapping between the male and female and showing them being loving together. This film would then be projected onto a large black curtain, as the main singer (the female in the video) sings about her heartbreak. By having a projection of their happy times with an emotional singer in the foreground, it would show her remembering their happy times together while she currently suffers.
Idea 3: Gods & Monsters - Lana Del Rey
A poetic and expansive story about the biblical character Eve, Gods & Monsters follows her as she is cast out of heaven and down to earth, becoming a stripper and loving a petty criminal. Throughout the song she uses oxymoronic phrases to describe living a life following religion and living a life without it.
My video would feature a split screen to show the contrasting life paths. A third screen would feature an anonymous pair of lips singing along to the song; anonymous so that the viewers can project themselves into the character for a more immersive video. The video would be more thematic than telling a narrative because the song itself is quite metaphoric and open to interpretation than a straightforward song.
After looking over each of the songs, I have decided to choose Gods & Monsters by Lana Del Rey. I have decided to produce a video for this song because I believe it will offer the most experimental opportunities than the other songs, as this song is metaphoric and more ambiguous. Also, it would allow me to create a video that doesn't follow conventional music promo tropes and clichés associated with aforementioned music promos.
ideas_for_a_music_video_production.docx | |
File Size: | 103 kb |
File Type: | docx |
task 4 - pre Production
Biography of Lana Del Rey
Elizabeth ‘Lizzy’ Grant was born in 1985 New York. She attended a Catholic elementary school before moving to a boarding school in Connecticut at the age of 15, mostly to help with her alcohol dependency. It was here that a teacher exposed her to music and pop culture. After declining to attend State University of New York at Geneseo, she took a gap year and lived in Long Island working as a waitress. It was after this that she went to Fordham University and studied metaphysics.
At the age of 18 when she lived in New York, she began to sing in nightclubs, going by the name of Sparkle Jump Rope Queen or Lizzy Grand and the Phenomena. She always sung but never thought about pursuing it is an actual career until 2006, after a live performance at a live song writing competition. It was there she met Van Wilson who was a representative of 5 Points Records. He helped record a 3 track EP called Kill Kill still under her Lizzy Grant title in 2008.
Her EP was shelved however and she began to work community service for a number of years. She moved to England with one of her managers Ben Mawson, for a few years but returned to the US in 2011. It was this year that she uploaded a self-made music video to Videogames, on YouTube under the stage name Lana Del Rey – a name she made up that reminded her of the glamour of the seaside in Miami and Cuba.
The same month her video was uploaded, she saw an immediate response form fans and critics alike, winning a Q Award for Next Big Thing and an Ivor Novello for Best Contemporary Song. She later signed a joint contract deal with Interscope Records and Polydor. They bag to work on her second album titled Born To Die, which was released in 2012 and reached number 1 in 11 countries. Her album sold 3.4 million copies, becoming the 5th best selling album of the year.
Later that year she released what she called ‘more like an EP’ titled Paradise. Because of the small track listing of the album, only 8 tracks, it was also released along side a re-release of her Born to Die album featuring 3 new tracks titled Born To Die The Paradise Edition. In 2014, she released a short film titled Tropico, a thirty-minute short film about sin and redemption following Adam (played by Shaun Ross) and Eve (Played by Lana) as they are cast out of heaven, down to Los Angeles and eventually becoming born again Christians as the rapture occurs.
Her third album Ultraviolence was released in 2014 and gained some controversy for graphic language and imagery of sex and violence, something gained with all her albums also. But this didn’t sway critics who gave the album positive reviews and it still debuted at number 1 in the US. This was her second consecutive number 1 album in the UK.
Analysis of Lana Del Rey
Described by Douglas Wolk as a ‘self-stylized gangster Nancy Sinatra’ and ‘Lolita lost in the hood’ Lana Del Rey has been noted for her cinematic and pop culture sound, references and style. Her voice is described as an expansive contralto vocal range that spans 3 octaves. She has a unique ability to shift between a higher pitched, almost child like voice - heard notably in Jealous Girl and Off to the Races- to a more deeper and sultry voice - notable in Gods & Monsters and Born To Die. In a majority of hers songs she shifts between the two and sometimes incorporates elements of alternative rap like in National Anthem, Diet Mountain Dew and Noir.
There are several motifs and themes that feature throughout most of her songs. Besides the cinematic sound and production of her songs, one of the most common themes in her songs is America. Several songs Come When You Call Me America, American and Chelsea Hotel are directly named after some of the countries iconic culture. Other songs feature lyrics '..I fell asleep in an American Flag', 'Diet Mountain Dew baby New York City...' and 'Roses, Bel Air, take me there...' that reference cities within the states and various pop cultural objects. Some songs are directly inspired by living there and her life at the same time - Videogames, This Is What Makes Us Girls and Boarding School Days - most notably.
Religion is also a common theme; Lana herself attended Catholic school and is a self-identified Roman Catholic. Although none of her songs are named after religious references, besides Gods and Monsters, there is imagery and lyrics that directly reference it - 'Mary prays the rosary for my broken mind’, 'Me and God, we don't get along so now I sing' and 'You talk lots about God, Freedom comes from the call'. Combining religious connotations with her dark twist on freedom, sex and pop culture allows from some interesting imagery and tones through her songs.
Sex and sensuality feature heavily throughout most of her songs. Where most of her songs feature references and allusions towards themes and pop culture, when it comes to sex and sensuality Lana is more direct and obvious, 'F****d My Way Up to the Top' and 'Cola aka P***y' are graphic examples. 'My p***y tastes like Pepsi Cola', '...looking to get f****d hard...' and 'I know what the boys want, I'm not gonna play' are examples of how she both directly references sensuality throughout her music and alludes to it.
One notable inspiration for both her music and persona is the novel 'Lolita' which is notoriously known for its exploration of sexuality and innocence. References to the love-heart shaped glasses pop up in numerous songs- 'Off to the Races' and 'Diet Mountain Dew' - as does some of the books quotes - 'light of my life, fire of my loins'.
All of these themes and motifs culminate and are expressed in the short film Tropico. The thirty-minute film, written by and starring Lana Del Rey, the film follows the biblical characters of Adam and Eve in a tale of sin and redemption. The film opens with a recite of poetry, flowing into the song Body Electric, where they both eat the forbidden fruit and are cast out of heaven to earth. On earth and during Gods and Monsters, they live carefree and wild lives in L.A; he follows a life of petty crime and she becomes a stripper. Finally during 'Bel Air' they become born-again Christians and dance in a meadow as the rapture (depicted as an alien invasion) begins. The film combines, poetry, literature, religion, pop culture, sex, violence and redemption in the cinematic fashion attributed with Lana Del Rey.
Elizabeth ‘Lizzy’ Grant was born in 1985 New York. She attended a Catholic elementary school before moving to a boarding school in Connecticut at the age of 15, mostly to help with her alcohol dependency. It was here that a teacher exposed her to music and pop culture. After declining to attend State University of New York at Geneseo, she took a gap year and lived in Long Island working as a waitress. It was after this that she went to Fordham University and studied metaphysics.
At the age of 18 when she lived in New York, she began to sing in nightclubs, going by the name of Sparkle Jump Rope Queen or Lizzy Grand and the Phenomena. She always sung but never thought about pursuing it is an actual career until 2006, after a live performance at a live song writing competition. It was there she met Van Wilson who was a representative of 5 Points Records. He helped record a 3 track EP called Kill Kill still under her Lizzy Grant title in 2008.
Her EP was shelved however and she began to work community service for a number of years. She moved to England with one of her managers Ben Mawson, for a few years but returned to the US in 2011. It was this year that she uploaded a self-made music video to Videogames, on YouTube under the stage name Lana Del Rey – a name she made up that reminded her of the glamour of the seaside in Miami and Cuba.
The same month her video was uploaded, she saw an immediate response form fans and critics alike, winning a Q Award for Next Big Thing and an Ivor Novello for Best Contemporary Song. She later signed a joint contract deal with Interscope Records and Polydor. They bag to work on her second album titled Born To Die, which was released in 2012 and reached number 1 in 11 countries. Her album sold 3.4 million copies, becoming the 5th best selling album of the year.
Later that year she released what she called ‘more like an EP’ titled Paradise. Because of the small track listing of the album, only 8 tracks, it was also released along side a re-release of her Born to Die album featuring 3 new tracks titled Born To Die The Paradise Edition. In 2014, she released a short film titled Tropico, a thirty-minute short film about sin and redemption following Adam (played by Shaun Ross) and Eve (Played by Lana) as they are cast out of heaven, down to Los Angeles and eventually becoming born again Christians as the rapture occurs.
Her third album Ultraviolence was released in 2014 and gained some controversy for graphic language and imagery of sex and violence, something gained with all her albums also. But this didn’t sway critics who gave the album positive reviews and it still debuted at number 1 in the US. This was her second consecutive number 1 album in the UK.
Analysis of Lana Del Rey
Described by Douglas Wolk as a ‘self-stylized gangster Nancy Sinatra’ and ‘Lolita lost in the hood’ Lana Del Rey has been noted for her cinematic and pop culture sound, references and style. Her voice is described as an expansive contralto vocal range that spans 3 octaves. She has a unique ability to shift between a higher pitched, almost child like voice - heard notably in Jealous Girl and Off to the Races- to a more deeper and sultry voice - notable in Gods & Monsters and Born To Die. In a majority of hers songs she shifts between the two and sometimes incorporates elements of alternative rap like in National Anthem, Diet Mountain Dew and Noir.
There are several motifs and themes that feature throughout most of her songs. Besides the cinematic sound and production of her songs, one of the most common themes in her songs is America. Several songs Come When You Call Me America, American and Chelsea Hotel are directly named after some of the countries iconic culture. Other songs feature lyrics '..I fell asleep in an American Flag', 'Diet Mountain Dew baby New York City...' and 'Roses, Bel Air, take me there...' that reference cities within the states and various pop cultural objects. Some songs are directly inspired by living there and her life at the same time - Videogames, This Is What Makes Us Girls and Boarding School Days - most notably.
Religion is also a common theme; Lana herself attended Catholic school and is a self-identified Roman Catholic. Although none of her songs are named after religious references, besides Gods and Monsters, there is imagery and lyrics that directly reference it - 'Mary prays the rosary for my broken mind’, 'Me and God, we don't get along so now I sing' and 'You talk lots about God, Freedom comes from the call'. Combining religious connotations with her dark twist on freedom, sex and pop culture allows from some interesting imagery and tones through her songs.
Sex and sensuality feature heavily throughout most of her songs. Where most of her songs feature references and allusions towards themes and pop culture, when it comes to sex and sensuality Lana is more direct and obvious, 'F****d My Way Up to the Top' and 'Cola aka P***y' are graphic examples. 'My p***y tastes like Pepsi Cola', '...looking to get f****d hard...' and 'I know what the boys want, I'm not gonna play' are examples of how she both directly references sensuality throughout her music and alludes to it.
One notable inspiration for both her music and persona is the novel 'Lolita' which is notoriously known for its exploration of sexuality and innocence. References to the love-heart shaped glasses pop up in numerous songs- 'Off to the Races' and 'Diet Mountain Dew' - as does some of the books quotes - 'light of my life, fire of my loins'.
All of these themes and motifs culminate and are expressed in the short film Tropico. The thirty-minute film, written by and starring Lana Del Rey, the film follows the biblical characters of Adam and Eve in a tale of sin and redemption. The film opens with a recite of poetry, flowing into the song Body Electric, where they both eat the forbidden fruit and are cast out of heaven to earth. On earth and during Gods and Monsters, they live carefree and wild lives in L.A; he follows a life of petty crime and she becomes a stripper. Finally during 'Bel Air' they become born-again Christians and dance in a meadow as the rapture (depicted as an alien invasion) begins. The film combines, poetry, literature, religion, pop culture, sex, violence and redemption in the cinematic fashion attributed with Lana Del Rey.
biography_and_analysis_of_lana_del_rey.docx | |
File Size: | 20 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Proposal
I have decided to create a promotional video for Lana Del Rey's 'Gods and Monsters'. The song is classified as an Indie Pop track featuring sultry vocals over a light rock instrumental. The song itself is moody and atmospheric; featuring strong language, sex references, sexual connotations and oxymoronic phrases - 'Gods & Monsters', 'I was an angel, living in the garden of evil' and 'f**k yeah give it to me, this is heaven...' are notable examples of oxymoronic phrases. The harsh lyrics paint a contrasting picture between a life following a religious path and one not following a religious path.
A promotional video for Gods & Monsters does already exist, however it is not a conventional music video because it wasn’t created for the song specifically. The video itself is that second chapter of Lana’s short film Tropico and follows Lana’s character Eve who becomes a stripper after being cast out of heaven to earth. The video is very cinematic in terms of combining an expansive story with a variety of camera shots and presented in a widescreen format similar to a film. My promo will contrast differently to this video as it won’t follow a linear storyline, a particular set of characters or a cinematic format.
As the song deals with religion, it is easy for viewers to become offended by some of the lyrics, some of which could be seen as blasphemous, and by some of the images that might be included in the video. As the song is explicit, my video will contain adult material, no sex or nudity however, to mirror the story of the song and the lyrics themselves.
The video itself I want to take a more thematic approach to the imagery opposed to directly showing the lyrics on screen with visual representations. By doing this I believe it will represent the song better because of its interpretive lyrics and the style of song itself. Although I will show some visuals that directly represent lyrics, a majority of the song won't.
The actual presentation of the video, I would like to do it mostly in spilt screen, two or three at a time. I got the idea of doing a three-way-split from two sayings; 'Sex, drugs and Rock n' Roll' and 'Father, Son and The Holy Spirit'. These two sayings perfectly illustrate my interpretation of the song, which is that it is about living either a life in religion or a life outside religion and how the two can intermix for some people. One split screen will feature only religious references, one will feature the opposite and the final will feature only pair of lips, singing along to the song occasionally intercut with imagery from both other screens. The idea of the third screen is that it is anonymous and anyone can be in that position.
For the visuals themselves, I want to them to be a montage/compilation of imagery rather than show a linear narrative. For the religious montage I am going to record establishing shots of churches, crosses and cathedrals as well as close ups and various panning shots. As it is stated in the Edexcel Unit Guide that 'Found footage is fully acceptable for inclusion with learners’ own footage as long as it is substantially modified by edit or effects' I am also going to intercut found footage of religious ceremonies taking place as these would be hard to record otherwise. I am going to add filters over the top to make it look different and seem more cinematic and vintage, a common visual seen in Lana's music videos themselves. I am also going to film some staged pieces of footage intended to be visually striking for thematic reasons more than meaningful intention. Several of Lana's music videos, Videogames, Carmen and Summertime Sadness feature short pieces of footage which are meaningful to the theme of the song and video rather than directly reference the song itself.
The footage that shows the opposite life to religion will be mostly, if not, fully original footage but again not following linearity. A combination of footage showing alcohol, partying, sexual allusions and carefree lives will feature throughout this section. All of the footage (besides the partying) will be staged with the intention of evoking provocative emotions and imagery on purpose. For example, the lyric 'Fame, Liquor, Love give it to me slowly' will play over footage of alcohol, flashing lights (representative of fame) and kissing faded over one and other.
The final screen will just feature a pair of lips singing along to the song. The entirety of this piece will be the lips only and cutting away to something else rarely and never being prolonged. This piece will be entirely in black and white as to add to the anonymity of the character on screen. Mentioned previously, this is intended so that the viewer can project themselves into the situation of being torn between the two paths.
The editing and pacing of the music video will be quick cut, with the shots varying lengths, colours and filters. The footage itself won't be cut at all even length and some will cut to another piece and maybe another, while another screen is still on the same clips as before. There will also be times where one screen will take over the entire frame for a few moments and then revert back to either a split or three-way split screen.
proposal.docx | |
File Size: | 147 kb |
File Type: | docx |
task 5 - production
task 6 - evaluation
Music Video Evaluation
Pre-Production
This part of the task was simple for me to complete quickly but detailed. As I am a huge fan of Lana Del Rey I found it easy to watch her videos and research her music, persona, themes and style and be able to formulate that into the research and proposal. I knew the song had strong language and sexual references and that I wanted to keep them in and not use a radio-edited version, what I most like about her music is the often harsh language and sexual explicit phrases sang in a soft and raspy voice over a slow music beat.
I also knew that some of the footage I wanted to shoot I would have to get through found-footage as filming in churches wouldn't have been easy to do or even filmable all together. I doubted churches would allow filming if they knew the songs subject matter and lyrics but I also personally wanted extravagant and lively church scene, which I knew only to find online.
I had all of the scenes I wanted to stage already worked out in my head and where they would fit on the song. For example I knew I wanted high-heels, tights and clothes to drop over the 'I was an angel, looking to get f****d hard' lyric because it was sexual and the corresponding scene fitted well and was specifically designed to suggest a sexual overtone.
Production
I began production on the day we were given the task because I had a clear vision of what I wanted to see in the music video. I knew I wanted to show contrasts between religion and non religious lifestyles and what this would incorporate. Using a couple of friends, I staged several scenes to film all of which appear in the video. Footage of churches, cathedrals and graveyards were done in local locations and I ran into no issues or problems doing so.
The singing lips that appear throughout was the most difficult to film, not only because of the long ones-shot take but also because I could see if it was going to be in sync with the track for the video, despite using the same track for both. After the first take was done and uploaded, it was apparent that I could not edit or crop the footage down to fit the split screen because I filmed too close to the lips. Upon re-shooting, I stepped further back and made sure more of the face was in frame so I could edit out what was necessary and when. However the problem this time was that it was too noticeable out of sync. The final re-shoot worked more than the others despite still being slightly out of sync in some parts.
Post-Production
The lengthiest part of the entire task, post-production was both simple and complicated. I began by cutting away all the footage I knew I didn't wan to use and then placing them around the timeline to which part of the song I wanted. Because I wanted to split screen it, a lot of time was dedicated to cropping, moving and lining up clips properly. I began finding that it was taking on average 3-4 hours to render the video each time I wanted to move something, so I opened a new timeline and began from the start; adding what I knew would be the opening sequence and then added the footage slowly throughout the song.
Trouble came when I uploaded the singing lips. The first issue was than when I uploaded the final shoot of the singing lips, I was unable to stretch it to fit the screen fully. Instead it is left with two black columns either side of the clip, with the clip above and below filling the screen completely. It looked odd and strange at first but eventually I found it to oddly work with the video but has no deeper meaning behind it besides a happy accident.
The second issue was although the singer sang to the same track used in the video, it would occasionally go out of sync, sometimes more noticeable than others. A large bulk of that was the middle and having already re-recorded the footage twice (which took a while to set up because I recorded another person singing) I didn't want to shoot it again. I was able to solve this and another issue by simple cutting down the song. Because both the verses and chorus' start and end on the same musical note progression, cutting it and re-attaching it to another point was easy and it unnoticeable in the final version. This also solved the problem I had that I didn't have enough footage filmed, despite filming many different things. Because I wanted the editing to be quick and in montage form, I needed more clips than originally anticipated. This did not however impact the overall tone, feel and look I had originally intended to create.
Overall the final music video is still true to the original vision I had, despite being 3 minutes shorter than the original 4:55 minute run-time and the split-screen not working quite how I imagined. There would be a great deal amount of extra planning needed if I were to do it again but the length of time we had to do the task and the other work we were doing along side it, I feel I have created a thematic and unique music video through both the combination of found-footage, staged footage and the juxtaposition of religion, partying and sexual allusions.
Pre-Production
This part of the task was simple for me to complete quickly but detailed. As I am a huge fan of Lana Del Rey I found it easy to watch her videos and research her music, persona, themes and style and be able to formulate that into the research and proposal. I knew the song had strong language and sexual references and that I wanted to keep them in and not use a radio-edited version, what I most like about her music is the often harsh language and sexual explicit phrases sang in a soft and raspy voice over a slow music beat.
I also knew that some of the footage I wanted to shoot I would have to get through found-footage as filming in churches wouldn't have been easy to do or even filmable all together. I doubted churches would allow filming if they knew the songs subject matter and lyrics but I also personally wanted extravagant and lively church scene, which I knew only to find online.
I had all of the scenes I wanted to stage already worked out in my head and where they would fit on the song. For example I knew I wanted high-heels, tights and clothes to drop over the 'I was an angel, looking to get f****d hard' lyric because it was sexual and the corresponding scene fitted well and was specifically designed to suggest a sexual overtone.
Production
I began production on the day we were given the task because I had a clear vision of what I wanted to see in the music video. I knew I wanted to show contrasts between religion and non religious lifestyles and what this would incorporate. Using a couple of friends, I staged several scenes to film all of which appear in the video. Footage of churches, cathedrals and graveyards were done in local locations and I ran into no issues or problems doing so.
The singing lips that appear throughout was the most difficult to film, not only because of the long ones-shot take but also because I could see if it was going to be in sync with the track for the video, despite using the same track for both. After the first take was done and uploaded, it was apparent that I could not edit or crop the footage down to fit the split screen because I filmed too close to the lips. Upon re-shooting, I stepped further back and made sure more of the face was in frame so I could edit out what was necessary and when. However the problem this time was that it was too noticeable out of sync. The final re-shoot worked more than the others despite still being slightly out of sync in some parts.
Post-Production
The lengthiest part of the entire task, post-production was both simple and complicated. I began by cutting away all the footage I knew I didn't wan to use and then placing them around the timeline to which part of the song I wanted. Because I wanted to split screen it, a lot of time was dedicated to cropping, moving and lining up clips properly. I began finding that it was taking on average 3-4 hours to render the video each time I wanted to move something, so I opened a new timeline and began from the start; adding what I knew would be the opening sequence and then added the footage slowly throughout the song.
Trouble came when I uploaded the singing lips. The first issue was than when I uploaded the final shoot of the singing lips, I was unable to stretch it to fit the screen fully. Instead it is left with two black columns either side of the clip, with the clip above and below filling the screen completely. It looked odd and strange at first but eventually I found it to oddly work with the video but has no deeper meaning behind it besides a happy accident.
The second issue was although the singer sang to the same track used in the video, it would occasionally go out of sync, sometimes more noticeable than others. A large bulk of that was the middle and having already re-recorded the footage twice (which took a while to set up because I recorded another person singing) I didn't want to shoot it again. I was able to solve this and another issue by simple cutting down the song. Because both the verses and chorus' start and end on the same musical note progression, cutting it and re-attaching it to another point was easy and it unnoticeable in the final version. This also solved the problem I had that I didn't have enough footage filmed, despite filming many different things. Because I wanted the editing to be quick and in montage form, I needed more clips than originally anticipated. This did not however impact the overall tone, feel and look I had originally intended to create.
Overall the final music video is still true to the original vision I had, despite being 3 minutes shorter than the original 4:55 minute run-time and the split-screen not working quite how I imagined. There would be a great deal amount of extra planning needed if I were to do it again but the length of time we had to do the task and the other work we were doing along side it, I feel I have created a thematic and unique music video through both the combination of found-footage, staged footage and the juxtaposition of religion, partying and sexual allusions.
music_video_evaluation.docx | |
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