Our video so far, and changes

The changes that my group and I have made so far have benefited us and our music video as now, after receiving both positive and negative audience feedback, we have adjusted and changed the content and concept. 

Firstly, the shots of past and present were not that clear so as well as using a fade transition, we also changed the filter of the past shots (romantic filter) we also adjusted the colouring palette to black and white, and enhanced the brightness. 

This shot consists of the back of the "man" which is relevant in our concept because we wanted the "killer" to remain anonymous until the very end of the music video. 

Secondly, we added another shot of myself lip syncing, however, decided to not include the eyes and the majority of the face as we wanted to adhere to the anonymity of the people in the video. We also included this shot throughout the video as most music videos include repetition.

Thirdly, we decided to include the shot where the murder actually happens. However, we wanted to subvert from the cliché murder scenes, and instead we made it as discreet yet apparent as possible. We also edited to the beat, which is a convention used a lot in the rock genre. 

However, after receiving negative audience feedback, we realised that it may not be apparent enough so we went out and filmed another shot of a rock being dropped on the ground. This may be cliché but we feel like we could make it work, if we edited it to the beat and didn't make a big deal of it. The shot includes a close-up which is a convention of music videos in general.

We also included over-laying shots in our music video as we feel this is very effective. It could also represent the period of time in which it takes the spirit to appear. 

Different angles of lip synching

Performance is a common aspect in rock videos however, we didn't want to include instruments or any performance except for lip synching. We used different angles to film this so that it was more appealing:

The black and white shots show that they are in the past.

The harsh colouring defines the 'dead' body.

We used the filter "Romantic" to give it a softer focus.

Editing

Today, Charlotte and I decided to edit our footage in the media room. We are currently editing the intro of our song, and finding it challenging to match our shots with the beats of the song. However, this is something we will include nonetheless as it a convention that most music videos conform.

  

Shooting schedule

We created a shooting schedule so we can plan ahead and set a date for each day we will need to film. We will only need three separate days - one of them including another actor to play our killer. We made a list of props that we will need, and also listed the locations we will need to film on.

Planning our video

So now that we have come up with a new idea (incorporating Maroon 5's "Maps" video into our own), we have come up with a story line and even some camera shot ideas and where we took inspiration. 

Here, we have planned out what happens before the accident and after the accident. We found this very useful as we can now base our shots on the story line and certain aspects of it, for example a time lapse of the cafe.

We planned out what is going to happen in order in our music video, keeping our original footage but saving it for near the end.

We watched a bunch of music videos and took inspiration from certain shots, for example, slower takes which means we will edit some footage to be in slow motion which is seen often in music videos.

After we came up with the theme of death for our music video, we listed some ideas of why the guy would want to kill the protagonist. Here's what we came up with: revenge, jealously, mental illness, catching him doing something. We have decided now that it is revenge. 

Editing footage

I took a photo of my group editing our footage on iMovie. So far, we are really happy with what we have got but we have decided to go back to Trent Park and re-film one or two different shots. We also realised we haven't got enough footage for the intro and after a lot of thinking, we have also decided we aren't happy with our continuous shot for the first verse.

Story board

Here are our storyboards for the intro and first verse of our song:

Digipak design and band name

This is another image that Shoi took while we were out filming that could possibly be used for our Digipak design. I want my Digipak to contain at least two different images of the artist to be used as star quality image which is something commonly illustrated on Digipaks of the rock genre.

Also, my group and I have decided on our band name and song title in a Whatsapp group in which we are all added on. 

Band name: Enemy's Song

Song name: Half Remain

We got the inspiration for this from lyrics in the song we have chosen.

Filming

Yesterday, my group and I trekked to a forest location to film for our music video.

(image of Trent Park found on Google images)

(set up of filming first verse)

We decided to use an outdoor location instead of an indoor so that the enhancement of the natural light is contrasted with our concept of death. Also, we felt like the woody environment suited the song better as well as the genre.

Many music videos of our chosen genre (rock/alternative rock) are shot outdoors, especially in a forest. For example, "Decode" by Paramore.

We gained inspiration from this music video for the location, performance and also the lighting of the shots. In this video, the shots use low-key lighting however, my group and I have decided that we will brighten the footage so that our shots are brightly coloured and almost transparent.

I am worried that because all our shots are filmed outdoors in the same location, that the video may be a little repetitive however we do have studio shots of performance which we may need to use -

- such as this shot. The extra lighting provided sharper shots and a more professional look.

Inspirational video and our concept

We were greatly inspired by Panic At The Disco's video for "This Is Gospel". We like how original and edgy the video is, how it can represent many different aspects of emotions and we also like the idea of the medical theme.

We thought we would incorporate the beginning of the video into our one as we really like the idea of the medical surgeons working on the body. Our new concept is similar to PATD's but we added our own ideas and twist.

Our chosen song "Part 2" is basically about a relationship that once was, but my group and I really did not want to include couples or anything cliché like that. So instead, we changed the concept slightly. We wanted to include the theme of death without making the video look terribly unprofessional and to do that, we are going to edit the transparency of our shots so that it looks like the spirit is coming out of the body that lies on the ground.

Filming

For the past couple of days, my group and I have been filming in various locations for our new song choice. Our chosen genre is rock/alternative rock and in all the music videos we have been watching that match that genre, performance is included as well as narrative. 

So, we have decided to include both performance and narrative. We turned the photography room into a studio using a black back drop and lighting. Later, on iMovie we edited the footage in black and white so it looks more professional. 

We also filmed in a local wooded area for our outdoor shots. We wanted a selection of both indoor and outdoor shots to create diversity and also a contrast between light and darkness which can represent a lot of different moods and emotions.

Change of plans...

For the past few weeks, my group and I have been very unhappy with our music video concept and song so we decided to change it all.

Our new song is "Part 2" by Paramore:

We chose this song because it suits our favourite genre (alternative rock/rock) more and the female vocalist made it easier to lip sync to. Previously, our first song choice "Smallpools" is a male band which meant relying on a friend outside of the media group. Unfortunately, we could never find days where we were all free to film so as a group, we decided to choose a song with a female vocalist.

Paramore is a three piece American rock band:

The Smallpools and our idea...

The Smallpools are an American four-piece indie pop band that formed in 2013. They are signed with RCA Labels who are quite big in the record industry, having signed with artists such as Shakira and Kelly Clarkson. The band have also toured with Two Door Cinema Club, a very popular and known band.

My group and I came up with an idea for our music video featuring the song "Mason Jar". We brainstormed the locations, actors, camera shots and many other details that would be highlighted in our music video. 

Song choice

From the start, my group and I believed (One Of Those) Crazy Girls by Paramore was the perfect song for our music video. However, after a lot of thought and inspirations, we have decided on a different song called Mason Jar by The Smallpools.



Smallpools' genre is completely different to the genre my group and I originally wanted to do, which was alternative rock. The reason why we decided to scrap the Paramore song was because we believed our idea for the music video was too predictable as it followed the lyrics exactly. We want to add our own twist with our video and to do that with this song would be too hard. We searched for a long time for a band with a song that we liked, preferably with a female vocalist. However, when we came across the Smallpools' "Mason Jar", we really liked it.

Chosen song

For a while, my group and I have decided on (One Of Those) Crazy Girls by Paramore as our chosen song for our music video. Our preferred music genre is alternative rock and Paramore is a band that has been producing alternative rock for years.

Possible song choices

My group and I have chosen a few songs that we would like to do this year:

Paramore - (One of Those) Crazy Girls

You Me At Six - Fresh Start Fever

All Forgotten - Deadweight

Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros - Home

We would prefer to chose a song that hasn't already got a music video and preferably one that is upbeat. Luckily, my group and I have similar music tastes and we enjoy listening to bands such as We Are The Ocean and A Day To Remember so choosing a song is quite easy for us. However, we really like the Paramore song we chose and have already got a clear idea of what we want to do. We are very excited about doing Paramore as they are one of our favourite bands and having a female lead singer means finding a female lip syncer easier as we attend an all girls' school.