Narrative Workshop

"Music Videos are simply an extension of the lyrics"- Andrew Goodwin

How could you prove/disprove this?

Gather screenshots of music videos and compare them to the lyrics spoken at that point, evaluate if they match up
Look at specific genres of music and decided if they greater reflect the music/lyrics or the band/artists views
Evaluate conventions of genres and how they affect the video, for example rap videos typically portray a lifestyle whilst rock band groups portray the atmosphere at live shows and performances

What does it mean?

Suggesting the video is an extension of the ideas or moods that the lyrics portray
Suggests it could create its own individual film/form of media
Could be the preferred reading from the band or artist
The video is the lyrics told in a visual way

What is the main idea behind this?

That the music video can be more than literal possibly a metaphorical interpretation
Is content built and defined by a product that already exists
It can only add to but not improve or alter the original product

How significant is this?

Not  very much, as the music video often also reflects the attitudes or ideas of a context/time
It can be more than a product of words, it can be the product of the thoughts and feelings of not only and individual artist but also a generation or time frame
Furthermore the video can also make its own independent statement in conjunction and separate from the message/ideas of the song (existing as its own idea)

What evidence can you already present for this?

Music videos such as Lego House by Ed Sheeran which tells its own narrative independently from the song, however  the lyrics are quite ambiguous and so an interpretation of the lyrics
Music videos from boy bands such as One Direction and Justin Bieber portray the ideas and concepts of the artists as they are typically designed to appeal or feature female leads, as to attract the audience and portray the bands image

Do you agree with this? Explain your answer 

To a degree, yes
They may not necessarily be a enjoyable or good extension but they do expand upon pre-created content
Saying its "simply" the lyrics is maybe not looking at it in enough detail, other things have influences
Almost always reflects the mood or tone of the song e.g. Happy and Sad



Narrative Workshop:

For the next task we were challenged to create a narrative based on a short synopsis. We planned and filmed this the whole way through creating a narrative independent from the performance. Once the filming was complete we edited the narrative into a coherent storyline and exported it, after this we took our original performance and mixed it in with our new narrative attempting to portray the storyline whilst having our performance shots equally relevant and frequent.



Evaluation:
So far I have learnt that the mood of the song and lyrics can have a great effect upon the narrative, for example our narrative synopsis involved friends spreading rumours but due to the content of Taylor Swifts "Never Ever Getting Back Together" The story, unintentionally, came across in the style of a relationship.
 Furthermore I have learnt that choosing an appropriate song to construct with the narrative will improve both the clarity of the narrative and the relevance of the performers. In addition the use of multiple performers in our own music video made it unclear to the audience as to who they should identify with meaning that a solo performer who is at the centre or the narrative during filming would allow the audience to clearly see the main subject of both the narrative and lyrics. Finally the effectiveness of markers and lip-synching is greatly improved when the performer speaks the lyrics aloud as it makes the singing more believable and maths the vocals much more effectively.
I have also noticed that our music videos have been edited much differently from the film openings we made previously. For example the editing within our music videos are much more fast paced and quick using jump cuts and specific important shots to effectively communicate the narrative.

Peer Assessment:

What did you understand from the narrative ?

David- "There was a clear conflict between the man and the woman, with another person  continuing to spread rumours"

Luke- "Two people are together (man and women) the man goes on to gossip to another man behind her back, the girlfriend eventually finds out and they fight"


How well did it work alongside the song?

David- "Very well, the song was about break-ups a theme clearly shown within the narrative through the conflict between the characters"

Luke-"It  worked well with the music, because it follows a very similar narrative to that suggested by the song"


What did you think overall about the final outcome?

David- " It was effective although occasionally confusing due to multiple performers lacking a clear protagonist to identify with"

Luke- "It was a nice clear narrative that worked well with the music video creating an effective overall product that reflected the typical conventions of the a music video"

Lip-Syncing Workshop

Critique of Amatuer Taylor Swift's from Riko101

For this workshop we were challenged to create a short music video with a focus on performance, framing, composition and lip-syncing. We all used the Taylor Swift song "Never Ever Getting Back Together" and all videos were filmed on the school premises. After creating our music videos we then critiqued and evaluated our class mates own music videos suggesting improvements or alterations. Finally as a group

Poster

Composition

1st Attempt

2nd Attempt 

These pictures were taken in response to a task that reviewed our use of composition. We were given a theme to display or evoke through choice of objects/people and several of the techniques designed to aid and improve our composition. In my case I had to contrast broken and working taking this theme into account as well as the areas of: Depth of Field, Framing, Symmetry, Rule of thirds, Colour, Negative space and Leading Lines. After finishing our first attempts we reviewed our efforts as a class and decided to focus on specifically one or two of the key aspects listed.

 In my second attempt I had the focus of depth of field and rule of thirds, this helped me think about the framing of objects within the shot being subtle but by utilizing the depth of field they remained the focus of the composition.

I think if I were to take more pictures I would improve my focus on theme, as I don't think my objects/actions effectively reflected my theme. Also I would I have considered a more plain background in order to achieve a greater use of negative space adding to the use of compositions.

3rd Attempt 

Task 1- Skills Development

Post-Production: 

During our research and planning stage of our 2 minute film opening I took and extended look into the sub genres that were part of the overall genre of gangster film. We looked into and studied the conventions and styles of each genre by watching the openings and evaluating aspects such as mise en scene to study the typical characters and locations featured within each of the genres. From there we continued and decided that the sub-genre of British Gangster was the most appropriate to the resources and locations that were available to us.

We then researched into the companies behind these films and how they are funded, produced and distributed some famous and independent gangster films. We discovered that they were mostly funded by the larger conglomerates and then being produced by smaller film companies. Like our genre, we decided on a producer and distributor that was appropriate to the conditions under which we would be making our film based on this research. In addition we also went to look at the directors involved in gangster films researching into people such as Quentin Tarantino. Through this research we also studied his films for further conventions and techniques involved, discovering features of violence and crime that would be easy to replicate within our own film.

Now that we had researched into the style of film we were making and had a good idea of the production we began to research media theories such as Todorov and Barthes to gain insight into the structure behind films in general. This helped to understand the inner working and general pacing and production of a film also assisting in knowledge of the content of our opening. E.g.: How much story should be shown, Fast paced vs. slow paced etc.

Finally to gather additional ideas for our audience and how to appeal to them we sent out a survey using survey monkey that was able to gain responses about how they think the film should be paced and the story/themes within the film. This was incredibly useful for us as it allowed us to combine this knowledge with our genre research in order to make our film opening conventional yet appealing. In addition it allowed us to create our ideal audience member using voki, further crafting our target audience and our understanding  of them.

Planning:

Our next stage was applying our research and deciding how to utilize it in our final film. We begun with initial ideas in the form of a mind map and mood board, outlining costume, equipment, software and plot. We then went on to physically visit our locations and gather photos and video that would allow us to study and evaluate it beside our research. During this stage we created a slideshow containing and compressing our essential images and possible shot types for our final film. This helped to build upon our ideas and start to organize the filming stage of our coursework.

Once we found our location we began to turn our initial plot ideas into a script. During this time we applied our research into the dialogue and descriptions making sure that our slang and props were appropriate and relevant without hindering or restricting the story. In addition this allowed us to draw up a storyboard that assisted in deciding on shot types and props in a visual way that further helped with visualising the final piece. After this stage we were able to create both a costumes and props list describing what we needed in order to create our film. Furthermore we gathered any relevant items we had already and recorded them on our blog.   

Moreover we continued to plan detailed features of the film such as finding genre appropriate titles and music. The font was done using the internet and then comparison with the research to see if it was conventional. The music however consisted of contacting a local band in the area called The Showhawk Duo who cover traditional music in an acoustic style. Finally we continued arranging the production by contacting actors and creating a timetable that we could follow depending when each member was available.

Construction:

This stage involved the physical on location filming. Our initial stage was inconsistent and the sound/lighting was muffled and difficult to see. However it gave us a good experience into the interactions with the actors and actual filming including on location re-drafting and evaluating the shot types and plot. Although this initial film was not the standard  of quality we wanted to achieve it allowed us to look at the elements we thought were weak and decided on how to improve it whilst expanding on the elements that did work. Furthermore we also gained and recorded feedback from our class in order to gain outside opinions' and recommendations from some of our audience.

 We also went back and did several re-drafts of the script and various alternative edits to experiment and evaluate the features. It also allowed us to get in contact with our actors and create another filming schedule for re-filming to apply these improvements and suggestions.

Evaluation:

Our final stage allowed us to evaluate our final construction and our course work overall. We looked at how well we had been influenced by our inspirations, comparing screen shots from both our project and films such as Get Carter, 44 Inch Chest and Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. We evaluated how well we were utilising lighting and composition of our shots in comparison.  Our next stage included evaluating our four main features: Mise en scene, Camera, Editing and Sound and the effectiveness of each stage we had used. The final stage involved considering the choices we made regarding the institutions and audiences, if they were appropriate and also how we attracted/ appealed to them. Finally we considered what we had learnt and gained from each stage including technology and our preliminary task, it let us see how we have progressed and the improvements made in every stage of our task.