Preliminary task evaluation

The aim of our preliminary task was to illustrate quite a deep and, in truth, slightly confusing narrative of someone trying to find themselves. As a group, we all decided to go a little on the strange side of things and focus on impriving our knowkedge and skills in editing rather than the camera shots and movements with a result which seems quite interesting. We used a variety of effects such as speeding and reversing footage in addition to fades, feathers and keying. Overall, the video was a success in my opinion but I believe there was much more potential in the concept.

I was personally took charge of creating the website for our group and opted to use the website 'weebly' to create it. While it was easy to use and create a web page that suited the genre of the video, I felt a little limited frequently due to the restrictions of the free version. This meant that there was so much more I felt I could do without the limitations.

After an abundance of printing, sizing and trimming issues with the CD covers we were eventually able to complete the final piece. I feel the artwork accurately reflects the themes associated with the genre and I'm pleased with how it has turned out.

Band website and CD cover

We have created a band website in order to promote our video:
www.aspreliminaryleavingyou. weebly.com
We have also designed and created a CD front and back cover:

Finished Preliminary Task

Here is our finished preliminary music video of 'Leaving you' by Savoy & Sound Remedy:

Similar music video textual analysis

Due to the similar genre, I have chosen to do a textual analysis on the song 'You're on' by Madeon because our song doesn't have an official music video.

Camera
The video features various camera shots that are used in a very voyeuristic nature such as close ups and two shots of the seemingly attractive people that feature in the video. The frequent low angle shots used on the mysterious futuristic aspects of the set may suggest the human fear of the unknown since these aspects seem to be represented as quite intimidating.
Mise-en-scène
The video uses a very bright and plain colour scheme which gives a futuristic and technologically focused theme which matches quite well with the genre of the music.
Editing
Similarly, the editing matches the genre and the technological tone of the video by using many futuristic looking special and visual effects which are used to 'wow' the audience. The bright lighting and colour scheme reflects the upbeat and cheerful tone of the song itself.

Song Choice for Preliminary Task

After much discussion, we have decided on a song to use in our preliminary task. we decided on 'Leaving You' by Savoy and sound remedy. It is a song that I am personally unfamiliar with but other members of the group knew. I believe that this track contains an even mix of instrumentals and vocals to be able to be creative with.

Pharrell Williams- Happy

We have been looking at the Music video to 'Happy' By Pharrell Williams due to its significance of being the "First 24 hour music video"

Textual Analysis:
Camera:
There are two main shots used in this video; mid shots and long shots. Every person in the video is always dancing, so mid shots are used to show the person dancing and what they are wearing. This shot is mainly used on Pharrell, the lead singer, to show that the focus is on him, and that he was the most important person in the video. Long shots are also used a lot, to show the location of the dancers as it is varied throughout, and to show the person in the shot dancing in their entirety.
Throughout the video, the angle of the camera does not change and is always aimed straight in front of the people/person dancing. However, as the people dancing are always walking forward, the camera shot used is always a tracking shot moving backwards, most likely using a dolly to do so. 
Editing:
Cross cutting is used constantly in this video. Pharrell Williams is the main character in the video, so he takes the predominate position, but cutaways are used throughout to show the other people dancing. No transitions are used at all in the video as it seems to appear realistic as possible, and simple cutaways are used throughout.
Mise-en-scene:
Throughout the video it cuts away to different people dancing in different locations, such as in a street, a school, a kitchen and in a church. There is a large variety of people in the video, showing all different cultures, age groups and social groups. For example, there is a shot of a young girl dancing enthusiastically, and another shot of an old man dancing outside of a shop, showing the variety in types of people who enjoy this song and like his music. The location of the video constantly changes, as the idea is that everyone all over the world and in different places are all singing and dancing to the song. It was probably filmed all in one city, but all of the dancers are shown in different locations to suggest that none of them know each other. The lighting throughout is natural as it is all taken during the day, as it is meant to appear as a naturalistic video, showing normal people living a normal life.

We were also tasked with recreating a 1 minute version of the video ourselves. Here is our video (first one in the playlist):

Storyboarding 1st attempt

This is my first effort at storyboarding the music video for 'Californication' by the Red Hot Chili Peppers