Updates and new decisions

The location for our music video is extremely rural. We wanted it to be deserted and isolated to emphasize the pure love of the young lovers. The two people used in our video were able to portray the theme of true love excellently, we thought it would be very forced but the chemistry on set was just what we wanted to capture. Even though creating our video to the highest quality possible it has been hard for all of the group to be present on every occasion of filming. With two of the group having job commitments it has hindered our progress slightly. Another variable that has been hard for continuity has been the snow. We thought having the snow in our background looked beautiful, however it has been hard to film shots as the snow has been melting fast however so far we have six minutes of footage. Our teacher said that after looking at our rough shots that our framing and camera movements and angle are really good, and the are some very beautiful shots. He said that our storyline to the music video is clear. Even though there is not much more left to film, there are some crucial shots to represent the love between them. Shots such as close ups of them holding hands and of the couple looking happy together. We want to show the nostalgic memories of the couple, so it will make the individual shots of them even more heart braking.

Costumes

For Lucys's costume we have decided to use neautral colours because these are linked to the woodland setting we will be using for our music video . From looking at other acoustic music videos, brown is a typical costume colour so we will therefore be sticking with the codes and conventions of the genre. We have also decided to use layers with the clothing for a deeper reason. We wanted to show that Lucy is wanting to feelprotected and secure, and this will be connoted by varies layers of clothing.

Storyboard

Music Video Analysis- Regina Spektors 'Us'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fczPlmz-Vug
This video is the most interesting and thought provoking acoustic video that i have come across. It uses thousands of still images at the start, to combine together to create a scene. It shows Regina unpacking a box to create a room. The items that she is connoted with is a piano, this happens to be the first thing she unpacks from the box. this could emphasize the importance of a piano within her music. As the music video begins Regina enters the room through a window, this could be a link to her album cover which has the image of a closed window behind her. This could suggest that she is breaking free, or is entering back into a restricted room where just like the album cover she is enclosed in a tight room with just a piano. There is then a mid-shot of Regina, which puts emphasis on her being a solo artist and is establishing that this video is solely about her and her music. The still images become slower, however the transitions become quite harsh as images of darts hits a map. This creates  complex thought in my mind, as i feel this could suggest that because the images that are not of her are hard hitting and have a different pace and transition, it could show that the outside world to her is completely in contrast to being alone with her piano in a room. This transitions by the music video director could emphasize this. Like most acoustic videos, this video includes a variety of close-ups, i think this is used so the audience pay attention to the detail as this type of shots helps to convey the themes of the song. There is then a controversial image of Regina creating a cartoon city and watering it, this is a powerful shot as i believe this could be hit at urban life and how it needs nature and nurture in order to survive. This is common of acoustic videos, as they want to show a bucolic and idealised view of nature and portray a negative view of urban modernity. There is fast paced long shots used to show images of past iconic leaders, and men in archaic clothing. I think Regina wanted to portray the past in a positive life, and shows how we should pay more attention to the ideals and nature of the past. Extreme close-ups of her lips show a very sensual and femine side of Regina, the bright red lipstick she is wearing could symbolize that she is a powerful and dominant woman, the emphasis on her lips suggests that we should listen to her. The repeated image of a spinning globe could connote that the themes of her music ca reach world wide, or a different interpretation could suggest that this is a reference to how quick time passes. Another contreversial image used is a suited man with a pigs head, i think this yet again is mocking the wealth and modernity of society and how we have become 'pig headed'.

How we gained permission from the artist

From knowing Lucy Dines socially, i knew that she was a talented singer/ song writer. When asked the create a music video i immediately thought of her as i wanted the music genre to be acoustic. I shared her YouTube videos with my group and they agreed that she would be perfect for our genre and videos idea. I messaged her using a social networking site and asked if she would consider letting us film her and stated that once the video was complete that she could have a copy of it as well. As i know that she is interested in pursuing a career in music. I asked if she had any gigs coming up and she invited me to watch her band 'Bella Diem' perform at the 02 academy. We have arranged many meetings with Lucy in order to gain information on her strengths and weakness's, to make sure that when filming her we capture the best of her. From the gig we obtained a CD which included four of her tracks, and we used this to help us decide on which song we would like to create a music video for. In the end we went for Lucy's own song 'bullet' as we felt this would portray the music genre excellently and it a heartfelt song that comes with powerful evocative imagery.

(a photo from the gig they played that we went too)

Music Video Analysis- Laura Marlings 'New Romantic'

Laura Marlings 'New Romantic' begins with a zoom shot that shows her sitting on a wooden chair in a spotlight playing her guitar. In my opinion this directly shows the simplicity of acoustic music. The beginning zoom shot ends with a close up of Laura's face which captures the raw emotion of her singing the first line  'i know i said i loved you, but I'm thinking i was wrong. I'm the first to admit that I'm still pretty young'. Whilst singing this line, it is clear from the close up the realisation that Laura is feeling at this moment, this makes the lyrics and performance of the song even more real and evocative for a viewer. Slowly a mid-shot is used showing Laura from the side with images projected on the brick wall behind her. The images are of hearts and music notes, this could be a symbol for the most important things in her life- love and  her music. The director then uses a long shot, showing Laura alone on the chair playing her music. This is quite a sad and powerful image, as it suggests the insignificance of her and could also highlight that when creating her music she is alone and lost in her own thoughts. The theme of complex love occurs when two icons of male and female shadows are projected onto the wall, the use of these symbols to represent each gender could connote the idea that both male and females are the same when it comes to love. Throughout the video a variety of images appear on the wall, but the most striking one in my opinion is the close up of her hand plucking the guitar strings. Even though it is just a simple image, it believe that is shows how isolated she is in her music. Another long shot is used again, to change the tone and atmosphere of the video, within this long shot occurs shadows and images- the time they are on the floor. 'Sorry' is projected in bold letters, this could be to convey the message of the entire song. A shot that doesn't occur right until the end of the video is an extreme close up, this is of Laura's eyes. This is the first time Laura looks directly at the camera, this could suggest that she finally gains to power to believe in her lyrics. The clothing and overall presentation of Laura is bland, wearing a simple grey top and black skinnies. The could connote her simplicity and show that she doesn't rely on her looks to gain fame is the music industry.Overall i have gained knowledge and ideas from this video. I enjoyed the simplicity, location and the images on the wall and floor. These are suggestions that i will share with my group. I do however think the clothing she was wearing created a very bleak and uneasy look to her, and will use this negative impression to make sure that the clothing our artist wears is suitable for the video and creates the right vibe.

Music Video Analysis- Jack Penates 'Have I Been A Fool'

Typically music videos start with a stationary shot, but interestingly Jack penates 'have i been a fool' starts with a ped-up shot of him running down a street with a bunch of flowers at his side. This could have been used to emphasize that he is a solo artist and not part of a band. This is typical to the acoustic genre, as most acoustic singers create there music solely by themselves. This shot automatically entices the audience, and makes them ask questions such as 'what has happened prior to this scene in the video?'. This is a common but useful technique found in quite a few music videos in which we will consider using it in ours. After the introduction of the song, Penate knocks on a front door and begins to sing the lyrics to the song. We are then introduced to a character in the music video who clearly shows that the clothing in this video has been well thought out. She is wearing typical winter fashion, which includes a woolly hat and a military coat. By wearing layers it could suggest that she is trying to protect or hide herself. This type of analysis helps you empathise with the characters in the videos and relate to their experiences which makes it more evocative to watch as an audience member. When this character opens this door, the directors have included two quick close up shots of hers and Penates faces, by using these shots we are able to almost become each of the characters and see through their perspective. By using this shot in the narrative it makes the video become more personal to the audience. Penate leads her to a car and then we she enters the taxi, the character becomes another women. This creates a promiscuous image of Penate and suggests he fits the typical 'lads-lad' image. I think that this breaks the stereotypical image of a male acoustic singers, as typically they are portrayed as being emotional and heart-felt and create and idealised image for female viewers. Using quick mid-shots of Penate and the original female character leaving the taxi into a natural environment shows certain images in more detail but creates an overall impression of the scene to the audience. Penate picks up a guitar and serenades to the girl, this is very typical of an acoustic based video, as it shows that he is capable of playing an instrument and writing the songs. It also gives a more performance based side to the video. Long shots are then used to show Penate with a number of different girls walking off in front of him, i think long shots were used to suggest that Penate has no intimacy or emotions towards these girls however the original girl from the start of the video is repeated image. This could promote the idea of there being that one person who you continue to love, this is a very typical idea of an acoustic video as they mainly promote the theme of everlasting love.