Preliminary Task Planning

Planning

For our preliminary task we have decided to do Ellie Goulding's 'Your Song' as it is an easy video to replicate but also uses various camera shots which is great practice for our real music video. The location for her video is in a park with various shots of the sun shining behind her so we are going to try and re create this. Also her outfit is a woolly hat and a coat which we can also easily wear.

         

Mood Board

Mood Board

• This mood board is a clear representation of all my song ideas tied together. 
• I have decided on the song Wings by Birdy as i feel it collaborates all my ideas into one song and the lyrics flow well with my idea.
• It was good to research other songs as well as it allowed me to brainstorm initial ideas which has helped me make the decision I have
• This board shows images like the costume ideas, setting and the types of shots I want to include.
• The storyline I'm thinking of doing is starting off with one person dancing for the entirety of the song however for the chorus I might get a group of people to dance so that the climax the song is also shown through the music video as well.

I also have a pinterest board where i will be putting images that relates to my music video.
https://uk.pinterest.com/islareid2/media/

Song Ideas

Song Ideas

• I have decided to go with a slow and moving song which has some meaning to it so that I can base my video on the song lyrics and make a story line as it is easier to create.
• By choosing a slow song I am able to use various effects such as slow motion and black and white which connotes the story line behind the song lyrics. 
• I am thinking of incorporating dance into my music video as that is something I am passionate about and is also a creative art which can express a story.

Choice 1

I chose this song because it has a clear story line and i could easily create a dance to represent this as well as other camera shots of things such as nature and close ups of the character to represent their emotions and surroundings. Like in the video itself i would use the black and white filter at points to show the feelings of the character. Secondly, I also had an idea of filming in a sunset as well as this would reflect the song lyrics well and tie all the shots together as if it was a story.

       

Choice 2

This song is another slow piece with lyrics which tell a true story about growing as a person. I thought i could show this through the dance by getting the character to start off low on the ground and then having someone save her by reaching for her hand and releasing her and letting her grow through dance. The duet could allow lifts and balancing on her to represent the character needs her to 'grow' as a person and i think on the climax of the song this would look great. Lastly, I would use close ups of the duet holding hands and the main characters facial expressions and intimacy between the characters and those would be my focus points throughout.

      

Choice 3

This is a very moving song which actually begins as acapella as there is no music in the background. I think this song is different and a good contrast to climax into the music entering in the background and continuing to build. For this song i would use reflections of the character looking into water and once again choreograph a duet dance of two friends or lovers to show they need each other and if one 'falls' so does the other. Also, the characters could mirror each other at points to show they feel the same and express the same emotions about one another. Similarly, filming shots on hills representing them overcoming obstacles as well as POV shots to show them 'falling' at points in the song as well.

     

Choice 4

This song would be great if i focused on one persons life and created a story line. I would show her in a bedroom or in a bath looking upset, however have the comparison of her when shes dancing to show her two different sides and that dance helps her release and be free.



                  

Choice 5

This song helps tie in all my idea into one. This is the song i am going to do my mood board on as it has an inner meaning within the lyrics and therefore i could create an Amplification video on behalf of Andrew Goodwin's music video categories. The sing title 'wings' can illustrate various connotations of meanings making it a very versatile song.

          

History Of Music Videos

History Of Music Videos

A music video is a short film of video that accompanies a complete piece of music most commonly a song.

1920s-

The first versions of what we would call a music video came from the 1920s from vitaphones shorts and Spooney Melodies.

1930s-1960s-

Musicals were dominated genres in film as many were used to promote the songs. The Beatles made a film called 'A Hard Days Night' which was a mock documentary but was established for the music video.

1964-
Top of the pops was made by the BBC. It was a great way to promote an artists single.

1970- MTV arrived and was the phenomenon that gave so much power and importance to the music video.


1981- The first video ever played on MTV in the USA was 'Video Killed the Radio Star' by the Buggles. As MTV is a 24 hour programme music videos were needed to broadcast and so they became an important part in artist's careers.

1980s- David Bowie scored his first UK number one in nearly a decade thanks to his catchy promo for 'ashes to ashes'. Secondly, Michael Jackson was the first to create the idea of a short film- a music video with a beginning, middle and end.

Mid 1980s- Music videos came to play an essential role in the marketing of a band or artist.




Modern Era-
The key development of music videos was the recording and editing process. Due to the increase in quality of cameras promotional videos are able to be produced quickly and cheaply. Michael Jackson was the first to produce a short film for his song 'Billie Jean'. One of the first official music video was Queens 'Bohemian Rhapsody'.




2005- One of musics major forums 'Youtube' was created. The first YouTube video, titled Me at the zoo, shows co-founder Jawed Karim at the San Diego Zoo. This website allows any artist whether they are famous or not to publish their songs and covers and create fame for themselves. It's a great website to put yourself out there and in return have hundreds of thousands of people admiring your work.

Today-
Nowadays music videos are shown on TV channels for pure popularity and have an aesthetic value. the videos are appreciated for their visual value. Music  videos these days include elements of artistic value so extreme that fans are watching the on mute to appreciate the visuals.

Group Evaluation

Strengths

We were a very hardworking group and were very organised when creating our film trailer. We also worked well together as a group and worked on our piece in out of time hours to enable that we finish it. Secondly we never had disagreements representing that our group were all confident in our trailer idea and believed that it would work.


Weaknesses

We could of coordinated better because all of us could not make our filming days as we were all busy through different days. Apart from that I feel we all worked really well together and have no other weaknesses as a group.


Improvements

Overall our trailer could be improved with higher quality camera use and better make up effects to make it more realistic. Also, next time we could split up the editing work as i was the main editor and others only did minor roles so we can share these out next time.

Personal Evaluation

Personal Strengths
I feel I contributed to our group piece by being the main editor of the piece and being in the film trailer. This enabled me to get to grips with the software Final Cut Express which will help me working alone this year. I also am a very organised group member as I had all my blogs done on time and was an active member of group discussions and planning. I was very hardworking and this clearly shows through my blogs ad the layout of them.


Personal Weaknesses
I  would say I am a bit of a perfectionist as I was very critical of my own work and wanted everything to be the best it could be. This made me work overly hard on my blogs and on our trailer and therefore got stressed out regularly when working on it. To help next time I could create a schedule of when I should work on media and therefore i allow time for my other subjects and helps me not get as stressed as I was last year.


Improvements
To improve for next time I would feel more confident on my own work and continue to work hard so my work can sustain a good standard. This will be shown through my consistent blog posting and each one will be of equally high standards to please myself and therefore come out with the best possible grade I can.

History Of Documentaries

History of Documentaries 

1895- 
This is the year when documentaries began, when the first films were invented by the Lumiere brothers. They created a camera that could only withstand 50 feet worth of filming. These films were short and unedited and they were called 'actualities'. There most famous film 'Un train arrivee' showed a train pulling into a station and the audiences were so shocked to see moving photographs.

1922-
Documentaries that we know of today began with 'Nanook of the North' and this was created by Robert Flaherty. This was the first feature length factual film using the 'creative interpretation of reality'

1930's-
Grierson created a poetic approach to documentaries. His film 'Nightmail' began as an international film using poetic elements of the film form.

1935-
'triumph of the will' is a documentary film renowned for its camera movement and for the first documentary to use political propaganda.

1950's-1960's-
The next major development was called 'Direct Cinema'. Its aim was to create political and social events directly. Cameras also developed in this time therefore allowing them to be handheld making recording more spontaneous.
Cinema vérité is a french cinema movement created around this time. It heavily uses handheld camera movements, diegetic sound and natural lighting. It falsely convinces the audience that they are directly viewing the film

1980's-
Rockumentaries use the typical codes and conventions of a documentary and makes the audience think it is factual when really it isn't.

2000s-
An enormous rash of television programs utilizing some of the techniques of cinema vérité hit the network and cable airwaves—so called "reality TV." These include MTV’s Real World and programmes such as big brother.