Music Video (Final Cut) 'Darling Are You Gonna Leave Me' - London Grammar

Ancillary Task: Final front album cover.

Ancillary Task: Alternative front and back album cover.

Ancillary Task: Inside front cover of album.

Ancillary Task: Inside back cover of album.

Ancillary task: Final back cover of album

Ancillary Task: Final magazine album advert.

Ancillary task: Magazine advert alternatives

Ancillary task: Typography

These are the fonts that we found and thought would best fit for our album cover and magazine advert:

• Agency FB
• Blair ITC Light
• Orator STD
• Marquiesette BTN Lined

Album cover analysis - White Hinterland, 'Kairos'.

Album cover analysis - Miami Horror, 'Illumination'.

Magazine Advert Analysis - The Horrors 'Skying'.

Magazine Advert Analysis - Eminem 'Encore'.

Magazine Advert Analysis - Evanescence 'The Open Door'

Codes and conventions of music album magazine adverts.

The image:

• The image should link to and be of relevance to the actual album cover itself.
• It can be the same image as on the album or it can differ in it's appearance by being enhanced for example.
• I noticed that usually just over half of the advert is the actual image and the lower half has all the details saying 'album out now' etc.
• Sometimes there is a border around the entire ad, however some adverts do not have this; both look equally as effective. 

The text & information on the advert:

• The artist/band's name is typically the largest piece of writing on the advert.
• The name of the album tends to be smaller than the artist/band name but it still has to stand out and be noticeable to readers. 
• The advert will either have the album's track-list on or the artist/band's tour dates on which also state the venue they will be located at. 
• In smaller writing which is always at the bottom of the advert, there is usually information of websites which are relevant to the artist/band and production team names.
• In some adverts, I have noticed that there is reviews from newspapers and magazines stating how much they rated the album. 
• 'Album out now' is always featured on music album adverts, clearly stating to readers that it is available, making them more likely to go out and buy it. 
• Adverts sometimes state where their music is available to buy at, for example: iTunes or HMV. 

Famous/Iconic Album covers.

Editing: Applying black and white effect to our video.

To compliment the tone and vibe of the song we believed that a black and white effect would be appropriate for the video. However, this would only look effective if we made sure that each piece of footage was colour graded to exactly the same saturation, otherwise the video would lack in the way in which it flows. We made sure that all the footage was exactly the same tone of black and white using the colour corrector on final cut pro.

Colour Corrector settings.

Editing: Adding a TV logo to our music video.

In order to make our music video appear as if it would be on a music channel, we decided to add in an MTV logo. By looking at other music videos that have appeared on the MTV music channel, we learned that the logo always appears on the top left area of the visuals. We applied this to our video. However, there are several different MTV channels, some of them being MTV Dance, MTV Rocks and MTV Base. The genre of our song choice and music video did not fit in to any of the specific MTV categories, so we decided to just stick to the original MTV logo, as the original MTV plays more of a broad range of types of music videos anyway.

We found a HD picture of the logo that we wished to use and saved it and then imported it in to Final Cut Pro. To apply it to the actual video, we dragged it on to it's own layer on the editing timeline and extended the logo out so that it would remain in place throughout the entire video. Once this was done we were able to position it to where we wanted it to go on our music video (top left corner).


                

This is the logo which we applied to our video.

This is our video, the MTV logo is in the top left hand corner.






Editing: Adding titles to our music video.

In typical music videos which appear on music channels such as MTV, there are titles stating the name of the song and the artist(s). This is to make the audiences aware of what they are watching and also if they like the song/video they are more likely to download it because they know what the song is. The titles most commonly appear on the bottom left hand side of the music video.

In order to make our music video appear like it would have been on a music channel we added titles at the beginning and end of the video, on the bottom left hand side.

This is how we did it:

1: Click on 'sequence'

 

2:Click on 'Add master template'

 

3: A selection of title effects come up, we used 'weave'

 

4: We typed in the song information in to the video effect settings and applied to how we wanted it to look and positioned it in the place which we wanted.

 

5: This is what it looked like finally, we made it that the titles appeared for about 4 seconds then disappeared, this was also applied to the end of the music video too.

Target Audience / Genre.

Our target audience for our music video is aimed at teens and young adults. The genre of the song and video is indie so it would mostly target people who listen to this genre as this type of music is not very mainstream. The video features a seventeen year old girl; Kitty who is singing to the song. Her outfit (vintage type clothes) reflects outfit conventions of indie genres. Due to the song 'Darling Are You Gonna Leave Me' being quite different from other songs, particularly vocally, it makes the song stand out so it is bound to be watched/listened by a wide range of young people.

Storyboard.

Shot list.

Overlay effect.

We wanted to create more interesting visuals within our video.We discovered that we could overlap footage over each other. It appears effective because of the contrast of both the different footages.

 

In order to create this overlap/overlay effect, we researched on the internet and youtube to find out how to do this. All you have to do is place the footage directly on top of the other footage on the timeline of Final Cut Pro X.



This is the overlay that we used in our video:

Changing colours of objects in footage

In our video, we decided that we wanted to make certain aspects of our music video appear in colour amongst the black and white background. We wanted the glass bottle and the powder paint to appear in colour. We used the internet to research how to do this.

Editing: Applying slow motion effect.

We wanted to have certain parts of our video in slow motion such as our shot of the glass smashing and some shots of Kitty. We used Youtube to discover how to do this and the video we found was very helpful in guiding us what to do.

Editing: Widescreen letter box application.

Through research and watching various music videos, I noticed that they all have a black letterbox added to them. In order to make our music video look professional and polished, we decided that we must add this to our video. We used youtube to find out how to do this and we found this tutorial: 

After watching this video we applied the widescreen letterbox effect to our video, footage by footage.

Step 1: Select a piece of footage that you want the widescreen letterbox effect on from the timeline.

Step 2: Click on effects and find 'widescreen' effect and click on it.

Step 3: An option for format will come up on the footage viewing box on the tabs above it and then you click on the size 2:35 : 1

Finally: The widescreen letterbox effect is completed and should look like this around the video: 

Treatment.

Our music video will feature an urban, dark theme throughout, portraying the lyrics and emotions within the song. Our two locations reflect the urban, indie vibe, these locations are in a studio set-up, a forest and a subway. We plan on linking certain aspects of the lyrics and visuals to one another. For example when she sings the lyrics, 'burns in the distance is higher', there will be a visual of a flame lighting her cigarette which will emphasise the power of the word 'burn' within this song. As a group we decided that we will add a black and white effect to our video because it matches the conventions of a lot of London Grammar songs and it conforms to the dark atmosphere being portrayed by the visuals and the song and the lyrics. We want our music video to be effective in a simplistic way so we think that extreme close-up shots of Kitty's face will be particularly effective but there will be some dramatic visuals in the video too, for example, smashing glass and tearing up paper.

Re-filming

Due to some of our previous footage being not quite up to our standards, we decided that it be necessary to film certain parts again; in particular the tracking shots of Kitty in the subway. This needed to be filmed again because our previous footage kept cutting out the top of her head which made it look unprofessional. Also, in our first shoot we thought that using glitter to throw in front of Kitty would look effective, however it did not show up very well on the footage. As an alternative to using glitter, we used pink/red powder paint (in re-filming) as we thought it would stand out more on camera and just look a lot more interesting.
We decided to re-film the smashing glass, but this time opted to using real glass as we believed it would look more realistic than using sugar glass. However, smashing real glass is dangerous so we took in to account hazards and safety precautions to make sure no one got hurt.

Organization and time management were vital for re-filming due to Kitty being unable to film for very long. Before the filming time came, we wrote down a list of things that had to be filmed so we knew exactly what to do so we could get straight in to filming without wasting time and being unclear on what needed to be done.

Sugar glass.

For our music video we wanted to film glass smashing, however this would raise safety issues as it could harm us in the process of smashing it. We needed a solution to overcome this issue. Through research, we discovered something called sugar glass which turned out to be a good alternative to using real glass to smash. Sugar glass is commonly used in films/music videos as it is safer to use, easy to make and cheaper than using real glass. Sugar glass is made by using basic household ingredients and heating them up to make a gooey mixture which then needs to be left to cool down, resulting in a solid sheet.

We used this link to inform ourselves about the sugar glass making process:
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Sugar-Glass

Piecing footage together.

As we have finally picked out the footage that we definitely want for our video, we decided to follow the storyboard and arrange it accordingly on the Final Cut Pro editing timeline. This has now given us a basic template that we can work around and shape. Every lesson and in our free's we plan on consistently editing our footage to a high professional standard. In order to help us produce an effective piece of work, we will constantly ask our teachers and peers for feedback on how we can improve our music video bit by bit. We hope to add lots of cuts that flow with the pace of the music and lyrics and any other interesting effects that we an apply to the video through editing.

Lesson 18/09/14

In today's lesson we went through all of the footage that we had filmed and we decided on which footage we are definitely going to use for editing and we organised it in to a folder for easy accessibility. We also began editing the beginning part of our music video. This is the shot of the camera tracking Kitty walking down some steps. As we want our video to be in black and white, we colour graded the footage and changed the saturation levels to achieve this urban effect of black and white. Also, we added a slow motion effect to the footage which really enhanced it and fitted well with the songs beginning instrumental. We researched how to do these effects on youtube which had very useful and informative tutorials.

Changing the saturation of the footage( to black and white)

This video showed us how to create a slow motion effect.

Music video locations

For our music video we decided to use a variety of locations to shoot our footage on and when the time comes to editing we will decide what parts of the footage we will use and combine the different footage from the different locations to make sure the video will be full of variation. We decided to use a subway which had interesting lighting, a studio and woods.

Conventions of indie music videos.

As the genre of our chosen song is indie, before filming we thought that it would be helpful to research in to the conventions of this genre.

Live performances are very common within music videos of the indie music genre. With live performance music videos, a lot of attention and focus can be paid on the artist or band who is singing. By focusing on the artist/band, the emotion they are feeling and showing can be recognised and appreciated in more detail and the fans/audience may feel more at one with the artist and their special genre of music. Live performances intertwined with a narrative within indie music videos are also very common to see, this is usually done to break up the video so that there are more visuals to simulate imagination and emotion, yet audiences are not completely detached from the main focus which is the artist or band. The narrative within the video may not follow a particular story but may just feature shots of random visuals, sometimes abstract, for example a blurred person arguing with someone perhaps. The narrative will be linked in some way to the mood of the song though.
The music video for 'Nightcall' by London Grammar our chosen artist features a live performance and a narrative intertwined with eachother and the music video is very effective and clever in what it shows.

Here is the video for it: 

In terms of mise en scene, indie artists and bands tend to have their own unique look to them and this can be established through their choices of location, their outfits, lighting and props that are used. For example, in London Grammar music videos, the band tend to wear clothing that is vintage and simple, so not very much emphasis is placed on their clothing but more attention is paid to Hannah Reid (vocalists) voice and the emotion that the band are expressing as they are singing. In terms of location in indie music videos, they tend to be set in places such as parks, halls, studios and subways. They are usually filmed in these locations due to the video having quite a low budget. However, the artist can enhance the locations in many different ways so that they do not look as standard. Quite commonly, indie music videos are likely to contain some kind of instrument such as guitars and drums being played by the artist. It reflects the artists talent.

Low budget tunnel location.

Live instrument playing

In indie music videos, close-ups will be used in order to establish the artist but they may not be consistently used throughout the entire video because that would cause boredom upon some viewers. Therefore, a range of different camera shots and editing are used in indie music videos. For live performance videos, tilt and pan shots are commonly used to really capture the essence of the song and video and the atmosphere of the location. Effects such as black and white can be quite common in indie videos to make the videos appear older than they actually are to make the video seem more interesting and appealing towards audiences.

Filming

Our filming went well. We shot in two locations and got a good amount of footage to work with for editing. The footage that we shot in the subway was the best of the locations, in particular the tracking shot of Kitty walking towards the camera proved to be very effective and edgy. We ensured that we brought all the right props and equipment. However, we will need to go back and re-shoot some extra footage.

Risk assessment.

Having a risk assessment is an important thing to have discussed and prepared before filming because it outlines the potential risks and hazards that could occur while filming. It is supposed to help us decrease hazards and look at the ways in which we can overcome these if worse comes to worse. 

Here is our music video risk assessment: 

Public Insurance Form

The purpose of having a public insurance form was to show that we did have permission to be filming in public places incase anyone asks what we are doing. We ensured that we had this form with us when we were filming in public places.

This is the form:

Music Video Analysis - 'Chocolate' by The 1975

As our song choice for our music video is of the indie genre, I decided to analyse a video of the 1975 who create music which is of the same genre as London Grammar (chosen artist). I have learnt many conventions by analysing this video, which I hope to apply to my own music video, particularly the use of the black and white effect.


Background information on The 1975:
The 1975 are an English indie rock band which consists of four members; Matt Healy who is the main vocalist and guitar player, Adam Hann who plays the guitar, Ross Macdonald who does bass and George Daniel who plays the drums and contributes to vocals. They have released several EP's and one of their albums hit number 1 on the album chart in September 2013. The fact that their album reached number one means that they have a wide range of audiences who listen to their music, not just those who are interested only in the indie music genre. They are signed to  many record labels which are: 'Dirty Hit', 'Polydor UK', which are both British music record labels and 'Vagrant' and 'Interscope', which are American music record labels. The band have a significant feel to their music and style which makes them unique and an interesting band.


Lighting / Colour:
The music video has been edited in to a black and white format throughout because The 1975 are known to always have everything in black and white; their clothes are black and white, their pictures are, their artwork is and so are the majority of their music videos. This is done so that the band stands out significantly from other artists and so that the band are recognised in a specific way which they have control of. However, in this particular video the black and white effect establishes quite a dull atmosphere reflecting the nature of the song. The lighting does not enhance the 'high' of smoking marijuana but highlights the actual dependence that some people have on it and that it is not as amazing as everyone would think. The use of black and white also portrays a sense of being detached from reality which could be seen as a visual representation of the feelings that are felt while smoking marijuana.

In certain parts of the video, there is the use of spotlights upon the band members that make it only visible to see their silhouettes, this makes those particular shots more abstract and mysterious.

Silhouette created by using a bright spotlight- lead singer

Silhouette created by using a bright spotlight- all band members

Narrative:

Direct visual representation of smoking marijuana in the video.

The music video itself does not follow a particular narrative but portrays a vibe of just passing through life through featuring different concepts throughout such as driving in a car for what seems to be a long time due to the mood of the lyrics and visuals. The term 'chocolate' in this song symbolises marijuana and the lyrics are based around that kind of lifestyle. The lyrics: 'No we're never gunna' quit it, no we're never gunna' quit it no' are stating that there is no way of getting out of that lifestyle. The fact that the word chocolate is used to replace the word marijuana makes the song appear secretive, suttle and a lot less explicit by not directly singing of the drug. Some of the lyrics such as 'and my car smells like chocolate' are visually represented throughout the video, shots of the band in a car reflect this lyric. The lyrics also briefly mention a girl, who is most likely a lover to the main band member and the music video establishes a relationship between these people through the visuals. Further towards the end of the song, the lyrics are about getting away from the police otherwise they may get caught with their 'chocolate', this represents one of the negative aspects of being caught with marijuana and the lyrics state that they are very aware of that. The narrative of the lyrics also imply a sense of immaturity and hedonism, supporting the drug.

The band roaming in a car in the video

Mise-en scene: 

The video begins with a mid-shot that zooms towards the lead singer in some type of dark, isolated subway. You can tell that it is in a subway due to the large long LED lights, the brick wall and hand rail that it is included in the shot. This location makes it feel as if no one should really be there. The tone of the song however contradicts the visuals because the song is upbeat yet this location is dark and dingy. The arrangement of everything in the shot is very simplistic. 

Opening subway shot. 

In every mise en scene, the lead singer is present throughout signifying that he is of importance and is the main focus of what's occurring in the visuals. Also, the joint that he is smoking is in most location shots which highlights its focus.

Focus/emphasis on lead singer in car location.

There are several but few different locations that are used which are in a subway, car and studio. All the locations are basic but effective due to the set-up within them.

Location: In car

Location: Studio.

Location: Subway 

Costume and Props: 
The lead singer and the band wear simplistic black clothing throughout the video apart from some of the studio shots where the lead singer is shirtless. This style of clothing conforms to the indie genre as in most indie videos, costumes are not over-complicated, they are just simple. However, when the lead singer is shirtless with the girl in the studio shots, it reveals a more bare, vulnerable appearance in comparison to when he does have clothing on. This suggests that when he is with that girl he is more of a soft person and not trying to keep up the image of smoking marijuana. The most prominent prop throughout the music video video is his joint of marijuana which is significant in the narrative and the lyrics, showing how he does smoke it regularly. The overall costume look is that which the 1975 tend to wear in most of their media. 

Camera angles and shots / editing work: 

The video begins with a blurred out mid-shot, featuring the lead singer of the band and the camera is zooming in slowly further towards the lead singer as if the audience is just entering the narrative and video themselves. The angle of the camera makes it seem as if the audience is actually there watching him smoking, yet he is wrapped up in what he is doing. 

Blurred establishing mid shot at beginning of the music video.

The camera shots/angles in the car location would be expected to be a bit rocky due to the movement of the car but in this particular video, the camera produces a still smooth shot of the car driving. It seems as if the camera is attached right at the front of the car.

I think it is effective how there is the use of close-ups featuring the lead singer breathing out the smoke from his mouth and the camera really captures the detail of it.

Close up shot of smoke.

Close up shot of smoke.

I think that this particular shot is effective because the 360 degree shot emphasises each of the band members together and symbolises that they would not be the same if say one of them were not there.

 In terms of editing, there are quite a few shots, throughout  the whole video, but the shots are held for a while, not suddenly alternating quickly. I think that this is effective because it allows the viewer to look and see what is actually happening in the video. I like how that in the beginning of the video it changes from distant mid-shots to a close up shot when the lead singer begins to sing which gives some clear identity to who is singing. The editing in this video definitely contrasts with the editing in an upbeat mainstream pop music video for example.