Problems & Solutions

Editing Music Video

Before we started to edit, we imported all of the clips we had filmed in the abandoned building onto Adobe Premiere Pro. At this point we haven't filmed our 'clubbing' scene yet. Once all the clips were imported we watched through them all to see which clips we liked and which ones we didn't and started to begin the editing process. 

Once we had looked through the clips and imported them all, we imported the song 'Chandelier by Madilyn Bailey' (cover) so we had it on the pc and Adobe Premiere Pro. 

Firstly, we put the over 3 minutes worth of footage of our actor dancing to the song with a long shot because it made it easier for us to then put the other clips over the top where we thought it worked best. To help with putting clips in certain places we put the music on and matched it with the first clip so she's not dancing out of time. Some of the clips we edited on top of the video, for example, was a close up of the actors feet whilst she's performing a pirouette and then edit it back out to the long shot of her pirouetting because it gave a good effect and the audience will be able to see what dance move she's performing up close.  
We decided not to change the contrast or lighting of the clips we've gotten because we felt as a group the natural lighting was enough and we liked how it looked. 

Once we decided that we had finished the dancing section of the music video and placed the clips where we wanted, we then filmed our 'clubbing' scene and uploaded it to Abode Premiere Pro. We watched through the 6 clips we managed to film of Phoebe (the actor) and discussed what parts to take from them and which bits we didn't want, this made it easier for us to then know what clips to transfer onto the music video and find a place to put them. 

The only editing we did on all of the 'clubbing' clips was cropping the bottom of clip because we wanted the effect of her looking naked but whilst filming she had a sleeveless top on so in the clips you could clearly see she had a top on, hence why we had to crop them. To do this we used the 'Crop' button under the 'Transform' tab, after clicking on these you go onto 'Effects Control' which comes up with the option of 'Scale' enabling you to zoom in or out on the clip; we zoomed inwards. 

Again, we decided not to change the lighting or add an effect to these clips because we thought the colour lights were bright enough and liked how they contrasted with the black background.                                                   

For our final bit of filming we had the same actor in the same back ground (black back drop) but instead of disco lights we've used UV paints which represents the pain and hurt she's feeling. Like the other clips we downloaded them to the computer and transferred them to Adobe Premiere Pro and together we decided where they'd fit best; some related well to the lyrics. 

After uploading the clips, cropping them down and placing them in the appropriate place where they work best, we decided that you could see too much of the hand held light on our actors face so we wanted to turn the lighting down to make the UV paint look brighter and her face darker. We did this by clicking the clip we wanted,  then on tab which is labelled 'Video Effects', then 'Colour Correction' and lastly 'Lumertri Colour', which we had to drag onto the clip and this enabled us to change the brightness to how we wanted. Too change the brightness we used 'Exposure' and 'Contrast' and fiddled around with both of the levels to get the perfect brightness for our music video.

After we changed the brightness on all of the UV paint clips, this made us want to also change the brightness on some of the disco light scenes to enhance all the different colours. This was done through the same process as before but instead of going onto 'Exposure' and 'Contrast' we went onto the 'Colour Wheels'. The colour wheel we used was 'Highlights' because we were wanting to highlight specific colours in scene, for example in this screen grab we highlighted the dark blue because this was the colour the disco light was at the time. The other people in the group and me were happy with the results of editing the clips and thought it made the music video more effective and stand out. 

Filming Notes

This will be taken with us to the set when we go to film because we can easily look down the list and ensure that we don't miss anything important out. 

LIGHTING 

• Disco light

EQUIPMENT

• Cameras
• Tripod 
• Shoulder rig

SHOT LIST 

• Tracking shot of the actor dancing around the set 
• Long shot of the actor dancing 
• Close ups 
• Panning 

HEALTH & SAFETY 

• Warm clothing 
• Broom to sweep away broken class

COSTUME 

EMILY 

• Black over-sized hoodie 
• Skin coloured tights 
• Black dance shorts 
• All black shoes 

PHOEBE 

• Off the shoulder top to give the effect of her being 'naked'

PROPS 

• Red cloth 

Risk Assessment

Permission Email

Permission Email 

This is the email we sent to Madilyn Bailey asking for permission to use her song. We had to go onto her YouTube channel which provided us with the email address under the caption 'Business inquiries' and we used  Sarah Weichels (sarah@sarahweichel.com). We didn't create an actual form for her to sign due to the distance of where each of us live; she lives in America and we live in the UK. This could be a disadvantage for us if she changes her mind because we don't have a proper signature from her saying we're allowed to use her song, so she has the chance to change her mind whenever she likes. The reason for us emailing for permission is to let them know that we're using their song for educational purposes and that's all because they have ownership over their songs. 

If we don't get a response from them, we'll continue to use the song for our music video. However, if they do email back saying we're not allowed to use their song then we'll have to remake our whole music video, update our blog and redo our story board. 

Reflecting on filming

Reflecting back on the first time filming 

Overall the first time we filmed went to plan and we got all the shots we wanted, so we won't need to go back and film at this moment in time. 

We planned to film for no longer than two hours (ended up only taking us an hour and a half) in the morning because we wanted to get the best natural lighting and this worked out well because it was a clear sunny day so the sun was shining through the windows creating good lighting and we didn't need to use any lighting sources of our own. 

The only aspect of the filming process that didn't go to plan was that we were going to use a different room in the abandoned building for our filming but before going to that room, we looked in the area that we've used for the music video and we decided we much preferred it compared to the room we were initially going to use because it was a bigger space, with less safety hazards e.g broken floorboards and glass. And the lighting was much better too. With this in mind we had to change our camera angles and develop the dance into fitting the space and coming up with ways she can interpret the dance into all the different rooms, like they do in the actual Chandelier music video. 

Copyright law

http://www.ocr.org.uk/Images/68934-unit-g324-advanced-production-guidance-document.pdf

"There are 13 multi-media briefs outlined in this unit.

 Q What does OCR state in the specification in regard to these briefs?

 All material for all tasks to be produced by the candidates with the exception of nonoriginal sound or image material used in a LIMITED way in video/radio work… For music video, permission should be sought from the artist for the use of the audio track.

 Q What does this mean for centres?

 Brief 1 Music Video Promotion Package 

OCR respects the rights of artists and labels and requires centres to ensure materials submitted for assessment are not infringing copyright law (the onus being on centres to interpret current copyright law). If centres use found audio material OCR moderators are not in a position to police such actions: it is the responsibility of centres and candidates to ensure appropriate permissions are sought. As copyright permission plays no part in the assessment criteria, candidate marks will not be automatically penalised. However, centres should be aware that they may potentially be breaching copyright law and this is at their own risk (full links to current copyright law can be found in the appendix of this document). For example, if a candidate places found audio material (accompanying their video) for download on a website homepage they create for a band as part of this brief then this would be at the centre’s and candidate’s own risk if copyright law is infringed. 

Copyright free options available for Music Video in G324:
 • Approach local bands and get permission to use their material
 • Approach unsigned bands on ‘My Space’ etc and get permission to use their material.
 • Collaborate with music department/students in your centre on the project
 • Create your own music or sound track."

Lyrics

Chandelier

Sia

*The lyrics I've highlighted give the 'hints' to what the song is about and showing what emotion the song is touching on. 

The song is a long metaphor for partying to excess and about the emptiness and pain that accompanies alcoholism and substance abuse. The lyrics relate to some of the clips we have filmed, for example, "I'm gonna live like tomorrow doesn't exist" is shown by our dancer because she's dancing around the abandoned building care free and not thinking about anything else but the dance. Another example of the lyrics inspiring our choice of clip is "Party girls don't get hurt", this helped us decide on the 'party' scene with the disco light because our actor is showing her distress and the close ups show her crying. The lyric "feel my tears as they dry" is reflected in my text when my older actress draws two blue lines (neon paint) underneath her eyes to represent the tears Sia is singing about and "sun is up i'm a mess" is shown again in the neon paint scenes when she has lots of mixed neon paint all over her face and hair to show the 'mess'. 

Analysis of the lyrics: 

"Party girls don't get hurt, can't feel anything when will i learn, i push it down, push it down." - used drugs and alcohol to hide the pain. 

"I'm the one for a good time call, phones blowing up, ringing my doorbell, i feel the love, feel the love".- she threw parties to feel appreciation from others and thought the partying and drinking would make her feel better. 

"1,2,3,1,2,3 drink".- drinks drink after drink until she's too drunk to remember anything. 

Party girls don't get hurt
Can't feel anything, when will I learn
I push it down, push it down

I'm the one "for a good time call"
Phone's blowin' up, ringin' my doorbell
I feel the love, feel the love

1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3 drink
1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3 drink
1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3 drink

Throw 'em back, till I lose count

I'm gonna swing from the chandelier, from the chandelier
I'm gonna live like tomorrow doesn't exist
Like it doesn't exist
I'm gonna fly like a bird through the night, feel my tears as they dry
I'm gonna swing from the chandelier, from the chandelier

But I'm holding on for dear life, won't look down, won't open my eyes
Keep my glass full until morning light, 'cause I'm just holding on for tonight
Help me, I'm holding on for dear life, won't look down, won't open my eyes
Keep my glass full until morning light, 'cause I'm just holding on for tonight
On for tonight

Sun is up, I'm a mess
Gotta get out now, gotta run from this
Here comes the shame, here comes the shame

1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3 drink
1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3 drink
1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3 drink

Throw 'em back till I lose count

I'm gonna swing from the chandelier, from the chandelier
I'm gonna live like tomorrow doesn't exist
Like it doesn't exist
I'm gonna fly like a bird through the night, feel my tears as they dry
I'm gonna swing from the chandelier, from the chandelier

But I'm holding on for dear life, won't look down, won't open my eyes
Keep my glass full until morning light, 'cause I'm just holding on for tonight
Help me, I'm holding on for dear life, won't look down, won't open my eyes
Keep my glass full until morning light, 'cause I'm just holding on for tonight
On for tonight

On for tonight
'Cause I'm just holding on for tonight
Oh, I'm just holding on for tonight
On for tonight
On for tonight
'Cause I'm just holding on for tonight
'Cause I'm just holding on for tonight
Oh, I'm just holding on for tonight
On for tonight
On for tonight

Story Board- First Draft

 This is the story board for our original ideas of how our music video is going to look and what scenes/clips will go where. 

These are the first shots of our storyboard.

1. Close up of dancer pulling the red cloth above her head. 
2. Wide shot of the dancer dancing in the abandoned building. 
3. Medium shot of Phoebe looking into the camera. 
4. Wide shot of dancer dancing. 
5. Tracking shot through a hole in the door following the dancer. 
6. Medium shot of phoebe flicking her hair around. 

These are the next set of shots. 

1. Wide shot of dancer dancing. 
2. A medium shot of Phoebe standing on the side and pulling her hands down her neck. 
3. Wide shot of dancer dancing. 
4. A tracking shot of dancer in a graffiti room dancing around it.
5. Wide shot of dancer dancing. 
6. Wide shot of dancer dancing using the prop. 

1. Medium shot of Phoebe touching her neck. 
2. Wide shot of dancer dancing. 
3. Medium shot of Phoebe flicking her hair around. 
4. Wide shot of dancer dancing.
5. Medium shot of Phoebe grabbing her head. 
6. Wide shot of dancer dancing. 

1. Medium shot of Phoebe grabbing her head. 
2. Wide shot of dancer dancing. 
3. Close up of dancers feet doing a turn. 
4. Wide shot of dancer dancing. 
5. Close up/tracking of dancer going around a pole. 
6. Wide shot of dancer dancing.

1. A medium shot of Phoebe standing on the side and pulling her hands down her neck.
2. Wide shot of dancer dancing. 
3. Medium shot of Phoebe's back whilst she plays with her hair. 
4. Wide shot of dancer dancing. 
5. Tracking shot of dancer doing Penché.
6. Medium shot of Phoebe with arms in the air. 

1. Medium shot of Phoebe looking away from the camera laughing. 
2. Panning/close up of dancer smiling. 

Recce & Location shots

This is the location we've decided to use for the dancing scenes because i feel like it goes with the theme of the song and it can reflect how the girl is feeling e.g. run down. 

Originally we were going to use this location for our black back drop but had come to the conclusion that actually it wasn't suitable enough for our music video because it looked too much like a 'school setting', this is how we came up with the idea of changing our original location to another. 

The location we then decided on after that was the dance studio in the school because it's a large space, so we won't be too cramped whilst filming but also it has a large black curtain which covers up the whole mirror. We thought this would look best for our music video because it'll look professional and give the effect of a black backdrop, which is what we were wanting. 

Lighting Plan- Abandoned building

Scenes at the abandoned building 

For the most part of the scenes in the abandoned building we'll be using available lighting because it gives a heightened sense of verisimilitude, this will add to the realism of the music video which will make the audience feel like the scene is real and they'll be able to relate to the emotions of the song. If on the day the lighting isn't as bright as we're wanting we'll add an alternative standard light to give more brightness, if needs be. 

Lighting Plan- Dance studio

Dance studio with black back drop

The only lighting in this scene we'll be using is 'disco' lights, to portray a party/club scene to emphasize the alcoholism. 

Lighting Plan and Examples- Dance studio

The other type of lighting which will be in our music video will be colourful disco lights because the theme of alcoholism. We believe disco lights link to alcoholism because it can represent a 'club' like scene as this where the younger generation tend to drink the most. The colourful lights will also create an effective look on the actors face. Another reason for having the lights only on the actors face is because we want to give the effect that even being in a 'fun' place she still feels alone, hence the reason we're having no other actors with her. 

Lighting Research and Examples- Abandoned building

 

In terms of lighting, my group and i have decided to use a lot of natural lighting as the abandoned building has a lot of windows and open gaps to outside and we're hoping for the sun to come through the gaps to give a unique cool look.  The reason for us choosing natural lighting because it should create shadows so the dancer can play around with them and add a visual effect to the music video. 

Shot List

Shot List 

High Angle

We'll be using high angles throughout the music video on our dancer because high angle shots give a good effect on isolation and having someone look weak and this is how we want our audience to see the dancer. These shots will be done in the abandoned building as this is where the dance routine will take place. 

Close Up

Most of the close ups will feature in the scenes of the older girl in the empty room with the black backdrop because we want to focus it on her expressions and the emotions she's feeling and by using a close up this will give a clear understanding for the audience on how she's feeling because they can see them clearly. 

Long Shot 

The long shot will be included when filming the dancer to show the location and to emphasis the fact she's alone and isolated. By emphasising this the audience can relate to the dancer and feel sorry for her. 

Panning

Panning shots are going to be involved for us to pan the dancer and her movements and give the effect of the audience moving with her and being able to see every move she is performing but also getting a good look at the location.  

Tracking

To track the performer, we'll use a shoulder mounted camera because it'll enable us to track the dancer and to ensure that'll we'll get a steady shot and for the filming to look smooth. 

Pitch

Lucy: Our music video will feature the song ‘Chandelier’ by Sia, we will be using a cover version by Madilyn Bailey due to the copyright policy.

Ellie: After researching about this song we found out it has a clear narrative behind it, this being alcoholism and partying. 

Lily: We focused on these two key points and will be involving these through the movement of dance. With this in mind, our main character is a dancer and therefore gives a more visual effect. 

Lucy: The other character will be an older girl who is portraying the partying and drinking side of the music video, we will show this by doing close up shots of her facial expressions and having colourful lighting to represent the club like scenes.

Ellie: Our location will be set in an abandonded building during our dancing scenes to represent the character’s mood. The other location we have chosen is an empty room with a black backdrop which will feature ‘disco’ lights to portray her as a ‘party animal’. 

Lily: The performers we will feature within our music video is a young female dancer and an older female during the party scene. 

Lucy:  The costumes will be simple, the dancer will be wearing an oversized hoodie with dance shorts underneath, whereas the other female will be wearing an oversized hoodie with fish net tights- this gives some sort of connection to both the characters.

Ellie: The only prop we’ll be using is a red cloth which the dancer will use to signify the battle she is facing against alcoholism. The red represents danger and the bright colour will contrast with the dark/low key lighting of the location. 

Production Schedule

Schedule plan: 

Friday 4th November- I'm going to look at our potential location. 

Next week- begin filming for the scenes in the abandoned building of our actor dancing. 

Monday 21st November- finish filming for abandoned building.

Friday 16th December- begin & finish filming for club scene.

Monday 9th January- rough cut shown to peers and teacher getting feedback on what we can improve. 

Friday 20th January- begin filming the close ups of our actor to show her emotion, due to our teachers & peers agreeing it needed more emotion. 

Monday 30th January- final cut and screenings at the Uni. 

Model Release Form

Due to one of female actors revealing her body (shoulders & chest but will give the effect that she's nude) in certain shots, we needed her to sign a release form saying that she agreed to act in our music video under the circumstances of the content we were wanting. This also was required for my video to be published without her rejection in the future. Our actor was 18 during the time of filming so we didn't need to get any parental consent. 

Target Audience Analysis

To help with creating my music video to aim it well at my target audience after finalising who I wanted my target audience to be, I looked at a real life example to see to how their video fits the target audience.

For example, the music video ‘Side to Side’ by Ariana Grande ft Nicki Minaj is a good example of a pop genre and fitting to specific sort of audience. Firstly, it fits the pop genre by the upbeat song and the dancers dancing in background which goes with the beat. After watching the whole video, it’s clear that the audience age is for around 16 year olds and older because of the revealing outfits they’re both wearing and the lyrics feature swearing and some explicit lines which aren’t suitable for a young audience. They also follow the Laura Mulvey theory ‘The Male Gaze’ because of the body parts on show and how they’re dancing, by using this theory it shows that the video is trying to aim for an adult audience. However, there are lots of physically fit males with little clothing throughout the video too to get the women audience watching as well as men. 

Target Audience Research

In my market research it included a question regarding target audience: "What age group do you think is most suitable for watching a pop music video?". The feedback i got from this question was clear that a lot of people agreed on the age range between 17-25 years, me and my group thought this was suitable for our music video because of our song choice. 

The song my group and i wanted to use was 'Chandelier' by Sia because we liked that its genre was pop and the story behind the song contrasted a lot with its genre. This worked well with the target audience from our feedback because the issues we wanted to include and present from the lyrics are quite mature topics (addiction, drinking and depression) and felt that targeting it at a older audience will give us better results because they'll be able to understand what it's about and how they're sensitive topics, whereas a younger audience will struggle to grasp the ideas in the music video and fully understand them. Another reason why we decided on this target audience is because we're going to use two teenage girls and by the audience also being teenagers themselves it'll make the music video easier to relate to and appeal to them more than, for example, a music video full of middle aged adults. 

Market Research feedback

Once i got my market research results after everyone filled out my survey, i put the results into pie charts so i can see clearly what people prefer in music videos and i can use these results for my music video. 

From the results i got, i can see that my music video should have an audience of 17 to 25 year old's because more people thought that's the age range for most suitable to watch a pop music video. Luckily, most people said they preferred performance based music videos and originally we wanted ours to be performance based because we're including a dancer! Lastly, this result will help me and my group to know which area the public recoginse and focus on the most in music videos, so we can ensure that'll we'll focus on it and make it as good as possible. The result we got said that camera angles were most important in a music video and mise-en-scene was closely in second. 

Market Research

Market Research

For my market research i used the website 'Survey Monkey' to publish out a survey to everyone in my media class. I asked questions which would help me target the right audience for my music video and see what people liked and disliked. Once i got back all my results i counted up the scores and then made them into charts to make it easier for me to see what i'll need to use in or for my music video. 

These are screenshots of my questionnaire, i'll make another blog post on my feedback: 

Roles of the team

The roles included in making a music video are the cinematography, mise-en-scene, sound and editing. In our group of 3 we've all decided on what role we'll each have, i've decided to have the role of cinematography, Ellie's role is mise-en-scene and Lily's role will be editing. We've agreed on these roles for each other because we believe these are the roles that we're better at. In my role of cinematography i will be doing  the filming and working out the shots which will fit with the music video best. 

As my role as cinematographer in order to prepare myself for this, before filming our music video i practiced holding the camera, figuring out how it works and using the shoulder rig to get used to it and know what movements looked best with this. Once it got to filming the proper music video, i felt prepared and that we could jump straight into it and not have me mess about with the camera trying to figure out how to use it, which would waste a lot of valuable time. 

Types of Music Video- narrative, performance & abstract

Types of music video 

Abstract music videos don't have a story to it and are usually quite a random and obscure. Abstract music videos are very popular to a wide range of audience that enjoy watching the unusual themes in the video. There is no specific genre or type of music that have abstract music videos, normally any artist will do one. A successful abstract video will keep the audience entertained and constantly looking at what or who is on the screen. For example, 'Light it up' (feat. Nyla & Fuse ODG) by Major Lazer is a very abstract music video because it features dancers but they're all edited weirdly and it's very colourful with no story to it and it's very random to the lyrics of the song. 

Narrative based music videos will feature no lip syncing, the narrative will often relate to the song in some way, the lyrics will often be reflected within the story and the artist will either be apart of the narrative, an observer or won't be featured in it at all. Other features of a narrative video are they're often fast paced, use intertextuality and sometimes they mimic other films and TV genres. For example, 'I'm Not the Only One' by Sam Smith is a narrative music video, the story is about a woman finding out her husband is cheating on her and they've used a well known actor, Dianna Agron to bring up more views on the music video because all her fans will want to watch the music video as she's in it. 

Performance based music videos often contain shots of the artist performing, can be a live stage performance with shots of the artist/band and audience, often includes lots of close ups of the artist, there can be particular visual style that goes with the artist (a motif) e.g. particular clothing, actions, props, type of images and the artist will often perform in an unusual place. For example, 'Perfect Illusion' by Lady Gaga is a performance music video because mostly all of the music video is Lady Gaga performing to a crowd in a unusual place. 

Treatment

Idea for my music video: 

Music: 

The song i have decided to use for my music video is 'Chandelier' by Sia but i'll be using a cover by Madilyn Bailey on YouTube due to copyright reasons. I've decided on this song because it's popular and has a good story behind the lyrics which i thought i could use to get a good creative music video out of it. 

Location: 

For the location of the music video, i'll be carrying on with the theme of a run down building like in the actual music video but also have scenes in a empty room with a back black drop because i want a contrast between the story line (the lyrics) in the music video and the dancing. 

Lighting: 

The lighting we will mostly be using is low key but include colourful bright 'disco' lights for the scenes where we're filming using the back drop. The reason for the low key lighting is because the theme of the song is quite negative and a serious topic so we need the lighting to also portray this and the reason for the disco lights is because it can link in with the theme of partying because it'll be like she's in a club. 

Costume: 

I'll be keeping it simple with the costumes, for example because the girl is dealing with alcoholism so they'll be wearing over-sized hoodies to look scruffy and run down but also keeping it simple. With the over-sized hoodie they'll wear dance shorts underneath because they'll be dancing. 

Props: 

 I'm including minimal props because i want the focus to be on the lyrics and the characters but one prop i'll be using is large piece of red cloth to signify the battle she is facing and we'll be able to include it in with the dance and by it being red will add a bit of colour to the scene making it very effective and stand out. 

Genres of Music Mind Map

By creating this mind map of the genre of music it helped me decide on what genre i wanted to do for my music video and it enabled me to see what artists were in that genre so i could look up that artist and see what their music videos are like and get inspiration from them. The genre of music i'm deciding to do is pop because it's one of the more popular styles and i enjoy the types of music made in the pop genre because they're usually upbeat with good lyrics.