Lighting

We were taught about lighting in a class work shop today and this is an example of a fill light. Fill lights are used to reduce the contrast within a shot and illuminate areas which may be in shadow. As you can see, the light has been placed to one side of the subject and she is lit really well. Fill lights can naturally occur during filming and for our music video this will probably be the case unless we film in the studio and require a fill light

Here is an example of a back light. If a back light is the only form of lighting present then the subject will appear almost blacked out on the screen, with maybe only a silver outline around them. This can create certain moods and is generally used to disguise identity like in CrimeWatch when witnesses are making statements. Aside from that, back lights tend to be used with other forms of lighting and not on their own.

This is the result of using a back light with no other lighting. The subject is completely lost and there is no directly obvious message being conveyed. As a result, we will not be using unaccompanied back lights in our music video.

Alternative music videos which do not have a story line:

This is 'CocoRosie's' song 'Gallows' which does not follow a story line at all. The music is haunting and the music video has clearly been made to match this: Shots of the subjects in darkness being naked with wet hair is definitely chilling, as is the hanging of the man. However, any questions the audience may have cannot be answered by the music video. Like why is the man being hanged and what connections the female artists have to the male. Furthermore, the imagery is picturesque and photographic, like the shots of the owl and the landscape. All of which set the mood and signify an extreme indie/alternative genre.

Here is another alternative music video which does not make use of a story line but still manages to pull in an audience through its abstract approach. 'See Spaces' by 'Teeth' simply uses one idea throughout. A girl's head is being covered in what appears to be luminous green paint and as the video develops, the paint becomes thicker and the girls face becomes more visible. This is the sole structure of the video and aside from this, there is nothing else, yet the video is still a success.

This is 'iamamiwhoami' with the song 't' which simply shows the artist walking naked through the woods while wearing a crown. The video opens with a shot of what appears to be a space of open water which was probably for visuals. Again, this music video is extremely unconventional but manages to speak to a niche market; the indie/alternative genre.

All three videos do not follow story-lines which is why Chloe and I feel that our music video will be a success.

Breakdown of Lyrics

Chloe learnt the song lyrics to make shooting lip synching scenes practical and sufficient while I broke down the song lyrics by counting the length of each line in its seconds. I did this by watching the original music video on YouTube and pinpointing when the beginning and end of each line occurred. I then recorded this on a Microsoft word document.

Bat for Lashes: Pearl’s Dream (intro lasts for 15 seconds)

There's a place I must go 15-18sec
There's a place I must go 19-22sec
It's not a place I have seen 23-26sec
But I'll get there in a blue dream 27-30sec

Down an ocean road 31-34
Past a sign that says 'good love town' 35-38
Into a darkness where the stars do drown 39-43
Where the starry me needs to be free 43-47

And when the battle was done 1.03-1.06
I was promised my sun 1.07-1.10
But with a thousand nights gone1.11-1.15
To any kingdom I run 1.15-1.18

And when the battle was done 1.18-1.22
I was promised my sun 1.23-1.26
But with a thousand knights gone 1.26-1.30
To any kingdom I run 1.30-1.34

There's a place I must go 1.34-1.37
There's a place I must go 1.38-1.40/1
For my heart is a child 1.42-1.45
That stumbles lonely for the arms of the wild 1.45-1.50


[ From: http://www.metrolyrics.com/pearls-dream-lyrics-bat-for-lashes.html ]

Hear the desert sigh 1.50-1.53
Sing the city's lullaby 1.53-1.56/7
The giant iris of the wide blue sky 1.57-2.01
Showing me the way 2.01-2.04

And when the battle was done 2.06-2.09
I was promised my son 2.10-2.13
But with a thousand knights gone 2.14-2.17
To any kingdom I run 2.18-2.21

And when the battle was done 2.22-2.25
I was promised my son 2.26-2.29
But with a thousand knights gone 2.29-2.33
To any kingdom I run 2.33/4-2.37

You know that it's time to go up, up, up, up, up 2.46-2.52
Had a big machine riding your shoulders 2.53/4-2.58

FADE OUT
You know that it's time to go up, up, up, up, up
Had a big machine riding your shoulders
You know that it's time to go up, up, up, up, up
Had a big machine riding your shoulders

We Have Band; Visual Ideas

‘We Have Band’ are an alternative band. Chloe and I particularly liked some elements in their music video ‘You Came Out’ in terms of visuals. It has been an initial idea of ours to use colourful makeup on the face to aid with cutting to the beat and to fit with our dream-like theme. We looked at this music video for inspiration as they have successfully cut to the beat due to using decorative face make-up.



These are some of the images which we thought were particularly successful due to the eeriness of the composition of the make-up and because of the dark setting in conjunction to the blank emotionless expressions on the subjects' faces; possible effects which we may attempt to create.

Our Music Video Pitch;

Music video pitch; Chloe and I intend to create a music video which leaves the audience wanting more and feeling as though they want to watch the music video again and again.
We aim to achieve this by using the indie/alternative genre as our guideline. We will shoot appropriate dream-like footage with some very fast cuts to show changes in thought and feeling.
We will use a diverse range of shots such as the long establishing shot, close ups, extreme close-ups, medium shots, and long shots, in the hope that the extreme close ups will give the audience snippets of information while wanting to see more of the subject which will later be conveyed using a range of other shots.
The song lyrics ‘there’s a place I must go, it’s not a place I have seen, but I’ll get there in a blue dream’ are prevalent in that they act as the foundations of our music video; ‘there’s a place I must go’ signifies a sense of urgency making the audience want to find out what this is. ‘Blue’ possibly poses as a motif throughout and ‘dream’ is the sole basis of the music video.
There will not be a storyline as such as this will detract from the impression of a dream, although the obscurity will come together to symbolise the sense of a dream. We have chosen to be inventive with our music video as we feel this will speak out to our target audience.
Fast paced editing will highlight feelings of importance and keep the audience entertained throughout.
Lastly, the video will act as a means to promote ‘Bat For Lashes’ and the single ‘Pearl’s Dream’.

Our Song choice

As a group, Chloe and I have decided to make a music video for the song 'Pearl's Dream' by 'Bat for Lashes'. Reasons for this song choice are that the lyrics are abstract in their content in that they are about a dream; Dreams can be extremely unpredictable and unusual in their content which is the kind of effect we want our music video to have. In addition, Bat for lashes are of the alternative/Indie genre and we feel that the diverse and original nature of our music video will further reinforce this field.
Another reason we opted for this song is because of its continuous beat; allowing us to effectively cut to the beat. Furthermore, the pace of the song is perfect as it is neither too slow nor too fast which will make lip-synching more than achievable.