Unit29 - Music Video production

The Purpose,Styles,Conventions and Techniques of Music Videos 

Music videos have changed over the years changing their styles and purposes of them.Bands and Artist started to make music videos through out the years as they became more popular and being a good way to brand them and advertise there music.New technology also allowed the quality of music video change and include more effects and ideas.

A Hard days night was released in 1964 by the Beetles which was one of the first music videos that changed the purpose of music videos by including a narrative and showing the band like they have never seen before.In stead of showing just the Beetles performing in this video it shows the band together running from fans ,having fun and showing that they are just normal group of lads.This video shows of each individual band members personality's showing they are good fun and fans and the audience of the video can see the band in a new perspective.This video would help brand the band to the public by showing there a normal group of lads which people could refer them selves to and identify them and showing there real people.This video is very clever because through out the video is the band getting chased by fans which shows how successful they are and were at the time and this would happen at the time because of how popular they were.The close up shots in this video are cleverly used to show the happy expressions of the band members face which makes the band look positive and good fun which is what people liked ,but it also shown the artists as icons by giving there faces an image.This technique is used through out the video which is branding the band showing of there styles through there costumes and the style of there hair.The purpose of this video was for a start of a film which was called A Hard days night but people took the concept of this and the new  music video era was born because Now the Artist or band could now be branded as well as there music which could make them more well known and successful.

Top of the Pops

In the 1960's television was becoming very popular because family's and the public could afford to have one and they started to be introduced to every one all over the world.More channels were being created and in 1964 Top of the pops was born were the top artists in the charts would perform there songs.Television open a new door for how music was viewed and listened to and was a great way for Artist to promote and play there work and for them to be branded.

Abba released Mamma Mia in 1975. In this music video it shows the band performing shown by a wide range of shots such as close ups, mid shots and master shots. The music video only showed the band performing but during the 1970s most music videos were like this to put on early TV. During the early seventies most videos would show off each of the band members to promote them and to sell them to the public and also because now TV was starting to become a world phenomenom. Music videos were starting to be streamed on TV channels. Also these music videos were for brand awareness.

In 1975,  Queen released the music video for Bohemian Rhapsody. This music video was one of the first to have major video effects and creative filming techniques and camera angles which made the video look ahead of its time. This video became very iconic for the time and is still iconic today. The band were filmed on a black background where you can only see the heads through four spotlights which became well remembered by many people. This image became the album cover and was a good way of promoting the band. The major effects in the film were fade transitions from shot to shot and duplications of the band which were in sync to the part of the song. This music video also changed the meanings of music videos because it had a narrative but it was also followed by performance elements and showing the band perform on a stage. This music video really helped promote the band and became one of Queens most successful videos still known today.




1980s

In 1986 an American Hip Hop group was born called NWA who were from a poverty place in America called Compton.NWA members were involved in gang crime and were victims of police brutality and cruelty because of there ethnicity and background.The purpose of this music video was different to other music videos because it was not just about promoting the group it was also use to send a message and to express what they have to put up with,what they experienced and them standing up and raising awareness of police brutality.brutality were one of the first voices of the streets of america and they originated gangster rap and hip hop.In this Music video Straight out of Compton is set in the streets of Compton showing footage of crime ,poverty and police brutality.There is a number of different shots such as master shots,mid shots,pan shots and high angle shots to set the scene of Compton showing the reality and the every day to day life of Compton.This music video is very fictional compared to other videos showing things that were actually happening and how the group felt about them .At the start of the music video there is a line of dialogue when it say "you are now about to witness the strength of street knowledge"which sums up the hole narrative of the song and music video showing the reality of the streets.This video was also was directing at the police by them giving a voice representing the African american community and saying how they are not scared and they hatred towards the police.In some of the shots of shows NWA walking in front of a massive group walking through the streets of Compton showing that they are the people of Compton voice.

The Music video for Michael Jackson's Thriller realised in 1992 and directed by John Landis raised the bar for Music videos and for music around the world which boosted and promote the music industry making it more popular then ever.Unlike normal Music videos MJ changed music videos by creating short films out of his songs such as thriller which lasts for over 15 minutes which is longer then the average 3 to 5 minutes.A famous director from Hollywood Elmer Bernstein Who had previously worked with Landis on An American Werewolf in London worked on the video to make it scary and a horror film. A lot of effort was given when making this video compared to previous music videos creating a new way of directors to get known for there iconic and successful video.Also in the video they had a famous Hollywood actor Vincent price who was well known for horror films do a voice over which added effect making the video even scarier and better.            
   
In the music video the special effects at the time were at a very high standard through the transformation of Michael into a wear wolf and into a zombie which was used to scare the viewers giving the video Horror features and conventions.Also the mise en scene used in then video was very clever such as the locations such as the grave yard to create a Horror atmosphere and the costumes and make up of the backing dancers who looked like zombies and also on Michael when he transforms .The choreography of the dances in the music videos are very famous and are repeated all round the world.One of the things people remember Michael is his great dancing and moves such as the most famous move the moon walk and choreography pieces in his music video such as Thriller.On MTV Michael's videos were played over and over again because the viewers loved his iconic and well constructed music videos which helped promote his albums.The thriller album became the most successful album ever as it still is today.

In the 1980's most artists were now making music videos. In 1985 a group called A-ha released their music video for "Take on Me" which became recognised and iconic as it is still remembered today. It is remembered for its video editing of how it creates a new dimension in the video when the characters are pulled into a comic and are shown in a pencil sketch which at the time amazed people and was technologically ahead of its time. This video had a very iconic narrative of a love story which also had performance elements of the band performing.

In 1986 Walk This Way music video was released which broke down the racial borders between races. In this music video and song, this is iconic because it is rock music and hip hop which are merged together into a duet. This song was originally from Aerosmith in the 1980s but in 1986 Run-D.M.C. did a cover with Aerosmith in. This was iconic because these two genres were completely different and were not thought to work together. Also in this video, it shows both races performing together which broke down the racial barriers. In the video there is a wall seperating both groups singing different covers of the song. Aerosmith break the wall which then Run-D.M.C. come through after the singing battle shown by shot reverse shot. They then perform together at the end on a massive stage. This was one of the many videos that broke down the racial barriers on TV and the music industry. Run-D.M.C. were not just a regular rap group, they rapped to rock music when in this video shown they shocked people because of this. This shows that music videos in the late eighties as videos were made to show meaning but also to be iconic for being different and creative.

MTV

Tv was rapidly becoming popular and accessible by everyone in the late seventies and eighties once colour tv was introduced and more channels were created. Like Top of the Pops, MTV was created in 1981. MTV was a new way for artists to show a glimpse of their music video. The structure of music videos would be 90 seconds of footage which would hook you in to the video and then there would be a filter which is replaying footage which would be blended in for the rest of the video. Because TV was consumed by a lot of people, it was a great way for artists to promote their work and themselves where lots of viewers would see and talk about what they have seen on TV.

The first music video to be played on MTV was "Video killed the radio star" by the Buggles which was released especially for MTV. The song is about how the video generation will "kill" radio which many people thought it would. This proves how the era was becoming so popular and consumed that it was taking over media types and ways to view music. Technology had improved during the eighties and the special effects in this music video would blow people away and amaze people because of how it was futuristic for the time. People could now also record the video using video tapes and players which they could then watch the music video over and over again. From then on this changed the meaning of music videos because people wanted them to be iconic and ahead of their time so they would be talked about and well know through TV.

In 1997, Daft Punk released 'Around the World" which became number one in the dance charts. This song was very famous and well down also for the music video. The music video was directed by Michel Gondry. It was his first attempt at bringing organised dancing to his music videos. The dancing was choreographed by Blanca Li who got very famous for how they composed it. In the video, there were five groups of characters representing each different instrument in the song. The platform they were on represented a vinyl record. Four robots walking in a circle which represented the robotic singing voice; four tall athletes wearing tracksuits with small bobble heads which were walking up the stairs representing the base guitar; four skeletons representing the guitar line; four women who were dressed as synchronised swimmers representing high pitch keyboard; and four mummies dancing representing the drum machine. All these were in synch to each of their individual instruments. Music videos such as this changed because famous directors and choreographers wanted to create iconic art out of the music videos which would be well known and famous and also to raise their own profiles.

Johnny Cash Hurt was released in 2002 and was nominated for a Grammy for best music video.This video was different because it reflected Johnny Cash's life and career and was a retrospective view of events and feelings. It was directed by Mark Romanek and they used old film footage that they found of Johnny Cash. They used this to show his journey and to make the video moving emotionally. There were close ups showing his performance element and the expression of how he is hurt in his face.

Viral Music Videos 

New social media sites such as Facebook,Twitter,YouTube and many more different sites has created a new digital age by taking the world on-line.Videos can now be shared  all around the world on the social media sites. When the videos become popular and shared and viewed around each of the sites, they become viral because they have been viewed many times and are being talked about. they become well known across the world.

An example of this is, a musical artist from Korea was not known outside his country until he released his Gangnam style music video which went viral and was shown across each of the internet platforms and became the most viewed video ever on Youtube. This music video was well known for its weirdness and its fun and the iconic presence of the artist Psy. People loved this all over the world and Psy in a matter of days became a global phenomenom which gave him massive success. All this was from his video going viral on the internet. During the latest generation video can now be easily watched all over the internet and people want their videos to go viral for publicity and to promote them as an artist so as to get them well known. This music video has been talked about all over the world which has been free publicity for Psy which is part of a chain effect that lead to global success. People are now copying his style of video because they too want to be well known and have the video go viral.

October feedback

You are working methodically toward completing assignments and are making sound progress.  Your communications assignment was very promising.

You now need to ensure that blog posts are thorough and that research informs analysis.

 SMART Targets 

Use the assignment brief and my web-log to guide you.

Discuss the principles of editing and demonstrate how you have used them in your own films.

Work effectively to deadlines

Research Log

Research Log –Brandon Moss

I skimmed and scanned through three secondary sources to find out more about understanding about video editing and editing through the years. When going through the sources I had found I annotated them in great detail pulling out relevant information I needed .The purpose of my research is to understand a wide range of knowledge of editing methods, editing techniques and how editing has changed for an article I am writing about understanding editing.

I annotated all three articles and found out a wide range of methods and techniques about film editing. In the book I read called “Digital Video Handbook” using the page about editing principles I found out that the technologies have massively advanced from hanging lengths of film over a bin scratching at the film to advanced software were u can easily edit the film sequence using digital technology. With this information I wrote a section about of the technologies changed over the years for editing change film over the years. Also in the book I found out about 3 editing techniques, which were Insert Edit, Overwrite edit and four -point edit which I used to write about methods a techniques of editing and how to edit using software’s. One of the online articles I used was about the 180-degree rule in detail and I used this to write about the rule in great detail after learning and understanding the rule. The third source was an article about Montage editing, which was broken down into 8 detailed tips and how it linked to editing on software. 

 

Secondary Source		Relevance to my project
Digital Video Handbook –equipment techniques projects editing, Tom Ang		I found a section called Editing Principles, which explained 3 methods of editing which were Overwrite edit and four -point edit which. Also in this section it wrote about the advancement of technologies .I will use this in my article to write about the principles of editing and the generations of film technology
Learn about Film http://learnaboutfilm.com/film-language/sequence/180-degree-rule/		This source was an online article about The 180 degree rule, which was in a lot of detail and a diagram, which I will use to write about editing rules.
Post Production: 8 Tips For Editing Montages http://www.steves-digicams.com/knowledge-center/how-tos/film-and-video-production/post-production-8-tips-for-editing-montages.html		This online article was a detailed article about editing Montages which was broken down in to 8 tips .I will write about the 8 tips of montage editing and I will put this in editing methods section of my article.
The Rule of six https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2WGP4dofgQ)		This source is a video of Walter Murch explaining the six rules of editing. I used this video clip in my article and I annotated the rules and I wrote about techniques that Walter Murch would use.
Apocalypse Now intro: The Doors, The End (1979) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIrvSJwwJUE	This source was a video clip of the opener of a film produced an edited by Walter Murch, which I deconstructed explaining the different techniques used.

 

Star wars Visual effects https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIlYk7KQe-s	This source was a clip from a documentary on the making of the visual effects of star wars which I used for my project by writing about the techniques of editing and props used which I put in my visual effects section fro my article of understanding film editing.
The City of God-Chicken chase https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASPvpdaQpRQ	This source is an opener of a film called the City of God which I deconstructed and put in my MTV style of editing section in my article

Understanding Video Editing

Understanding Video Editing

180 degree rule 

The 180-degree rule is a basic guideline regarding the line between the two characters, which is called the line of action. On one side of the 180 degree line the cameras will be placed when filming .If the camera is passing the line or on the other side its called jumping or crossing the line which means the 180 degree rule has been broken.

In this scene the 180 degree rule is broken when the camera crosses the line. Some directors break the rule to add dramatic effect in there films and in certain scenes. Even if the characters move the line must not be crossed at any time staying on the correct side of the 180 degree line.

The scene starts off from this side of the 180-degree line of action.

The camera then jumps the line and switches to the other side of the line breaking the 180 degree.




Montage Editing 

Montage Editing is a technique in film editing which is a series of shots which are edited together into a sequence.Some montages are faster then others depending on the situation and scene or the emotion trying to be created. Montages are normal used to emphasise meanings or to show different types of shots and different views instead of one image to add extra effect.

 

Montage editing was created by a Russian director and theorist Sergei Eisenstein in the 1920s.Eisenstein believed that film montage could create more ideas to create more impact and effect  instead of just one image.

 

 Here is an example of his work from the start a variety of different shot and shot types are shown in a Montage sequence .All the variety of  shots  are shown in quick succession one after the other and especially in this sequence a number of  different statues arm shown from different angles and shot types to create and show different meanings.Also the different statues show different cultures and backgrounds. This is what Eisenstein was trying to create by using a series of shots all shown together in one sequence  to add more emotive effect and to show more detail of what he was creating.

 

 Here is an a example of a montage of shots in the shower scene in Psycho.When the attack happens a quick transitions of shots are shown of the victims face reacting to the attack showing the characters emotion in detail from different shot types.The montage is very quick in this scene to create tense suspense and added emotive atmosphere .The shot types are close ups show process of the victim being murdered through a variety of shot types and in quick succession which add emphasise and a lot of detailed emotion which is a very creative way of showing a death in a scene .

  Here are some of the shots that are in the sequence of the victims death showing a variety of different shot types which all reflect the death but in different way to add more effect in the scene.

 

Also in the sequence of shots there is symbolism when the pan and the close up of the drain is shown because it symbolises the victims life going down the drain. 

 

Parallel Editing

Parallel editing  is the technique of alternating two or more scenes that often happen simultaneously but in different locations.It means two different scene happing at the same time shown by cutting shot to shot .

In this scene in the God father two events are happening at the same and are cutting between the two different shots which are happening at the same time.In this clip there is a male character who is in a church at a service whilst in the other shots is a gangster going around murdering a number of people at the same time.The use of Parallel editing may lead and link  all the scenes happening at the same time to merge into just one scene.

Walter Murch

Walter Murch is a well known Film editor and sound designer who is well known for his editing techniques.He has worked it many major films such as The Rain people in 1969,The God Father part 1/2 and also Apocalypse which he won his first Academy Award in.

To Make a successful scene Walter came up with six points to follow here are the top 3 main points : 

1:

Emotion-When editing the scene its important to create the correct emotion you are trying to impose or create and not creating false and wrong emotions different to what you are trying to create.

2:

Story-when editing the story need to be understood and corrected to match  to the plot of the film .Also make sure it advances the story and keeping it alive .

3:

Rhythm-This is very crucial to get right because the rhythm of the music or ambient sound has to be in sync to the video footage and the music needs to create the appropriate atmosphere for what is happening in the scene for example:for a horror film tension would need to be created through a slow but disturbing rhythm and beat which would build up and get louder when approaching the climax of the scene .Also the pace of the music is very important as well because it can lead up to climaxes in the scene or created emotions through the layers and pace of the music/ambient sound.The music would have to been in sync to the video footage to match the cut for example:when there is footage of glass cup falling the sound effect must match up and go off ant the same time for it to work.

Apocalypse

At the start of the clip there is a distant noise of a helicopter which has been panned and distorted to create a disturbed feel.  After this a typical vietnamese jungle setting is displayed.  As the music starts a fade of smoke occurs at the bottom of the screen.  The smoke starts to become more visible and appears in a wavy motion which creates the impression of a dream.  The song 'The End' plays with a melodic guitar sound which enhances this feeling that you are in a dream. The panning distorted helicopter sound then returns and then an American Attack Helicopter goes across the screen shown by a mid shot and the peaceful background is then bombarded by a napalm strike.  This is very good imagery used by Walter Murch because he displays a dream like atmosphere, destroyed by the nightmares and horrors of the Vietnam War.  There is then a fade of an American soldier smoking a cigarette, who is depicted staring as though traumatised,  with the battle scenes in the background symbolising him dreaming about the horrors of Vietnam.  The use of the flares to signal the Vietnam war links to the smoke coming from the Soldier's cigarette.  The music then drops in to 'This is the End' which links to how the Soldier is feeling.  This is yet again symbolisation of how he uses music and visual effects to show the emotion felt by the Soldier. A really good shot that is used by Walter Murch featuring a helicopter's blades which fade into the blades of a fan, then fading into the soldier looking up at the fan with a look of guilt on his face.  This symbolises how the Soldier is thinking about the war which shows how traumatised he is.  The shot then shows a close up of images of a woman's photograph and letters giving us information about the character from the start of the film.  
Then it pans through to alcohol and drugs and then a gun making the viewer question 'Is this the End for the American Soldier'.  The fact that he has to take a gun to bed shows that he is traumatised and scarred.  Also there is a close up of the Soldiers face showing the thousand yard stare.  
It is clear through the whole of this opening sequence that Walter Murch is trying to create and symbolise the Soldier's emotions and experiences by the use of edits, video effects and a variety of camera shots. 

visual effects and editing of star wars

When filming in star wars they created a lot of visual effects using a variety of methods,technology and props.For the space battles and vehicles they used small models and props which would be hanged by a small crane with behind it a green or blue screen.The way they filmed the movement of the Vehicles was using stop motion animation which would of took them ages to complete.The magnificent detailed backgrounds would be edited into the blue and green screes which would go with the models.The backgrounds would be made separately and added in when editing.When the Vehicles were destroyed in battle they carefully simulated this by applying a small charge which would be detonated on cue simulating the destruction of the Vehicle.A famous scene were the rebels attack the death start is simply made by a small but very detailed model of the trenches of the death star with blue and green screen background followed by a camera on a crane which would be remotely dragged across simulating the point of view of the rebel pilot.In the scene of obi one tacking down the shield generator instead of them spending millions on the set and background they got a artist to create a glass painting which would be used as a background in the film. 

MTV Style Editing

The City of God film is based in Rio Janero In Brazil set in the iconic Favela slums.This film is in Portuguese and is known for its MTV Style editing.The films editing is very static and shaky camera footage during the chase scene of the chicken giving a realistic view of some one chasing the chicken from a point of view shot, also its shows the point of view of the chicken running and its emotions and how it links to the main characters emotion through the flow of shots giving it continuity and symbolising roar emotion from both characters with a strong link.  

In this scene of the close up of the knife being sharpened symbolises danger towards the chicken and the boy because there is extreme high crime rates in these slums and gangs and the boy could be in danger of murder of knife crime.This shot is emphasized through editing by the clip being sped up and made faster to the point were its static with very loud sound effects of the knife causing tension and ongoing penitential dangers that will occur in the film.

  Through out the opener of the film the boy and the chicken are shown to be in the same situation and a like through symbolism from the different shots. In this mid shot its shows how the chicken is vulnerable to its surroundings and how small it is compared to the objects in the background. This is the same as the boy who is shown to be vulnerable compared to the high-scaled favela slums.

 

In this mid shots shows the expression and body language of the boy on the left that he is scared and worried about what is going to happen or about something that has happened. Also in this shot it shows the poverty of the location the boys are.

 

In this scene it shows the chickens point of view .It shows how vulnerable and small the chicken is to its surroundings and how rundown the area is and shows the poverty and poor conditions. It also gives the viewer the chance to view what it would like to be a chicken. This scene would have been filmed with a camera attached to a chicken to get such an accurate point of view.

 

 I this mid shot of the gang leader show the characters insanity and emotions. Also it highlights the gun, which is a symbol of danger. Also this shot has been edited to focus on the gang leader to show his high profile and power in the favela and that he is a massive danger and villain in the film .

  At the end of the chase this shot mirrors the boy and the chicken at the end of their journeys and its like fate brought them together. This master shot also shows the location and rundown quality of the conditions of the favela. This shot is very powerful because it symbolises the boy being the same as the chicken and they are both in danger .

Hand held cameras,point of view Shots and new Generation of editing 

Hand held camera shots are used mostly to show the point of view of the character and to view other characters.When editing this method viewers believe the character is recoding what is going on with a hand held camera or device .This method is used to make the films seem realistic and make the viewer feel that they are there.This is effective especially for horrors because The jumps,paranormal events and the scares all seem more real through the characters point of view and camera lens.The Paranormal Activity franchise is especially known for this filming technique and edit making its so terrifyingly realistic and popular.Modern horror films now use this technique when editing and filming such as the Pyramid ,all the Paranormal Activity and most horror films released  at the box office starting a new generation and style of filming and editing.

Also there are new films which are based using new digital technology and software's.This new horror film called Unfriended is based on people using social media sites such as Skype and Facebook which are very popular during the new digital age .The story line is a friend posts a embarrassing video clip of a girl on you tube which goes viral ruining the girls life.This leads to her committing suicide and coming back to life murdering all of the friends involved through a Skype call .The way this film is filmed and edited is like your looking on a laptop which is a brand new way of interpreting a film and giving the viewers a brand new point of view of the character making the film more realistic.Most of the film is a point of view of one of the friends lap tops and how she goes from having a fun Skype call and it ending up leading to her death.This is a clever way of editing and filming  because it uses well known social media sites which people use on a day to day basis which would apply to a new digitalised modern audience.This film was realised in 2015 and it could change the way some films are produced and edited.

How i used the principles of editing in My Own video

For this video I used some of the  principles of video editing to make a short chase scene.From the idea of the city of god chicken chase I decided to use this idea to film a chase scene .In this chase scene I used a variety of editing techniques.When editing the footage I put in some black out transitions to add dramatic suspense to my video.To add the black out transitions when editing I cut out the unwanted footage and with the remaining footage I spaced out in the sequence with the black out transitions separating them.Also throughout this video I created a Montage of different shot types to add more effect then one shot type.For the examples of different shots i used in the montage sequence was some close ups,extreme close ups,mid shots ,master shots ,panning  and held camera shots.Just like the psycho shower scene I used this montage at a fast pace to add tension to the chase.Also like the filming of paranormal Activity I used hand held shots to show the viewer the point of view of the victim running in the chance and the character chasing him.This makes the video more realistic for the viewer bringing this short film alive.