In order to schedule out the production I’ve written a “To do list” of all the steps we need to take to complete the video.
-Script
-Storyboard
-Shot List
-Locations
-Gather props
-Find Costumes
-Plan Make up
-Film
-Edit
-Effects
The schedule we put together, starting on today: the 30th of September, and ending on the videos deadline: 21 of October.
Track: Protodeth – End Is Here
Genre: House Music
House music started in the early 80’s in America, specifically Chicago. House is typically up tempo with a steady drum beat and repetitive tune designed to be danced to. The stlye is also known for being simple and almost sparce, this being the main way to tell it apart from disco or club music.
The genre is popular in clubs as well as mainstream pop, and is even strong in the underground scenes: alternate and indie audiences. So House has quite a wide fan base that stretches out to about three key groups: Club goers, Pop fans, and more Alternate music fans. Some good fan bases to look at would be those of ‘Daft Punk’ and ‘Swedish House Mafia’, both prominent house artists.
A notable case of House music in film is 2010’s Tron: Legacy, which was scored House artists ‘Daft Punk’.
Codes and Conventions:
House videos are very driven by the beat of the song. As these videos don’t have lyrics to guide the story it’s even more important for the editing to be on the beat, as this severs as practically the only link to the song.
The videos will typically have a lot of bright neon colours and lens flares, often used to represent technology. Technology is a common theme in the videos, lights and machinery and robots. In fact robots appear in a great number of House videos, from ‘Greyhound’ to ‘Professional Greifers’. As House has strong roots in clubs I think this is an attempt to recreate that club atmosphere, machines and metal and flashing lights.
The artists are sometimes present in the videos and sometimes are not. Although when they are they never really get into characters, always assuming a very DJ like role. For example in ‘Grayhound’ the artists control and orchestrate the robot racing dogs. A lot of videos will also inter-cut shots of the artist performing to a crowd through out.
The videos do typically have a loose narrative, but shown in a more abstract way. The story will be very simple, almost more of an event then a narrative. They are very abstract in style, using weird images and characters. I theme i’ve seen in a lot of the videos is that of twisting reality, distorting something into a bizarre fantasy.
Target Audience Sheet:
I thought House fans would enjoy Sci-fi, for it’s imagination, creativity, and futuristic visuals. A lot of House videos fall into a Sci-fi genre, so it seems the producers are aware of this connection to. Clubbing and Djing in interests is an obvious choice, as House is very popular in clubs as well as with Djs and people interested in making music, experimenting with sound.
Examples of House music videos:
Today We were put into our groups for Music Video production. The group will work together to plan, shoot, and edit a music video, with each group member in a different role like director, editor, production designer etc. I’m in a group of two with Aaron.
First we worked through each of our video ideas, assessing their strengths and weaknesses. Based on this we made the final verdict on which video we would make.
With our video chosen, me and Aaron decided our roles in the production, using our personal skills audit as a reference to see which roles we would be good at.
Personal Skills Audit
Phoenix Smith
Creativity –
I’ll do a lot of research when starting a new project, which I enjoy doing. On the ‘Hunted’ video I looked at a lot of horror and thriller films, as well as collecting images that could inform the tone and look of it. I also did this when developing my 9 key frames, watching Zombie scenes and gathering zombie imagery. For Hunted I put in a lot to the visual look of the film, making props and costumes and suggesting the use of black and white. I also came up with the Limerick animation, thinking up how to show the poem with visuals, as well as creating the pictures for the elements.
I contributed a lot to the problem solving involved with the production of our short film; figuring out how to bring the ideas into the real world and achieve the harder shots.
Organisation –
I’m on time to all the lessons, and my work gets in on the deadline, in and out of class. Work is typically uploaded to my blog on time and with good presentation. I worked hard get paper work done for ‘Hunted’ and tried to generate notes for the group on our meetings and other parts of the process.
I don’t have much experience instructing others; as whenever I’ve been in a group I haven’t been in a leader role. However I have strongly contributed to the groups I’ve been in, making suggestions and doing my share of the work.
Technical –
I have a good knowledge of After Effects and Photoshop, having used them for many years. I made a fairly complicated opening title and end credits composition using After Effects for our ‘Hunted’ short film. These sequences got good feedback from the rest of the class and I was able to create them quickly and efficiently.
My work in class on Photoshop shows I have a very good command of artistic skills and how to use the programme along with those skills to create good quality pictures. My self-portrait, image collage, and masked picture of a cat exploding from a mans head all demonstrate this.
I have a basic knowledge of Final Cut, but I’m not as experienced in it as After Effects and Photoshop. However I have a good understanding of editing principles and can competently use Final Cut; for example my own edit of the bomb sequence from last year turned out very well.
I don’t have any experience in using college cameras, and whilst I could probably basically operate it, I don’t have any deeper understanding of its operation.
Persistence –
I’m persistent in completing tasks and projects and making them as good as they can be. For my work on ‘Hunted’ I worked late into the night to create a book prop for filming the next day, after our group made a last minute change to the filming schedule. On the animation unit I spent a lot of time outside of class creating elements for the Limerick project. In the end I created about 90% of the elements for the animation, including props and characters. I
Our first task after deciding on one track was to draw out 9 key frames from our video idea. These would be 9 shots, ideas, and elements that we would want to definitely be in the video. So our 9 highlights, the key points to build the video around.
I completed a first rough draft of this task, quickly sketching out the shots on post it notes. However I misunderstood the task a bit and rather than drawing my nine key frames, my highlights of the video, I drew a sort of compressed storyboard and tried to tell its narrative.
Even though it was wrong, doing this first draft got me thinking about how the video can be visually told and made me come up with good ideas for my key frames based on what I think works and doesn’t work from my rough. I can re-do the task, applying things learned from this first attempt.
Overall I think this version is not as rich and exciting as it could be. In my key frames I want to include more effects shots and interesting camera work. I also want to build in more “gags”, so rather than the whole video being these zombies bashing on instruments, I want to develop some further visual jokes. An idea a particularly like is that one zombie steals the others hand and runs off with it. This fits the dark humor I’m aiming for perfectly as well as being a great opportunity to use effects that will stand out to the audience.
In fact making my 9 key frames after this is a great next step, as my storyboard was a bit dull and uneventful, with the same thing happening for the whole video, and not really taking advantage of the premise. But in making my key frames I can create the really interesting visual and humorous center points of the video, and doing this storyboard first has really given me a strong idea of what those could be.
The final revised 9 frames. I kept a few ideas from the rough; the establishing shot, the hands on the keyboard, fighting over the guitar, and the two zombies forming a band. However I added some significant new frames that make the video much more interesting and allow for use of After Effects. These include a final shot of the two Zombies walking into the distance, a nuke going off in the distance, and a scene where one Zombie steals the others arm.
The next stage was to roughly sync my video idea to the music track. For this I mapped out the song on this timeline sheet, using colours to show the different sections of the song. I also described the changes in pencil, such as when the beat drops away or the synth sound starts building to something more powerful. With the song timed out I then wrote down the action of my video idea underneath, matching up the visuals with the music.
Here is an article by Corin Hardy, a director who works in the music video industry. In the article he talks about development of music video ideas and treatments.
Three things I learnt about developing ideas:
1) Develop the idea for the video fully. Even if it doesn’t end up being used the idea should be very well thought through and you should have the complete vision in your head, so that you would be able to answer multiple questions on it. Really get into the concept and be passionate about it as the more you invest the better it will be.
2) Have a good, original idea. The idea you have for the video should stand out amongst the others so that it stand a better chance of being remembered and chosen.
3) Always keep in mind what will fit with the song and what the producers are looking for. If the producers want something dark and filmic it’s no good putting forward a light and abstract concept. The video must first and foremost go with the track, and then also be along the lines of what the producers are looking for.
The next stage of developing my music video treatment will be to draw 9 key frames of the video. Having decided to go with the ‘End Is Here’ video treatment, I wanted to do a bit of research on the visuals of zombie films, how they use colours and images to create that very specific zombie tone. Now while my video idea is quite comedic, I think the key to making that work is by making the zombie vibe and genre very authentic to the audience. The contrast this would create, between the zombie mise en scene and the humour, will make the video will work and be memorable.
This also ties into the intertextuality in the video, something which I’ve learned is a key element of music videos, and would pull in fans of the Romero zombie films, The Walking Dead TV show, and zombie fans in general.
One image I’ve seen in a few posters, as well as in zombie films themselves, is the image of a zombies hand reaching out. This is often used in conjunction with another key zombie image; the bloody handprint. My idea for a comical and musical twist on this is to construct a shot of the zombies hand reaching out to the keys on a keyboard, playing some notes, and leaving a bloody hand print on the keys.
Another image to work in is the classic “zombies at the gate”, where the zombies are undeterred by the gate or wall in there way and keep surging forward, pressing at the obstacle. The creatures beating and pushing on the gate could be synced up to the drum beats of the song, a push for a beat.
Some more images I collected for general reference on the Zombie tone:
All my treatments were very well received, with good ideas and concepts that suited the songs and would be entertaining to watch.
The main feeling was that a lot of the treatments were very ambitious and would be hard to pull off. The one idea noted for it’s simplicity was the ‘End is Here’ treatment. With this in mind I think i’ll go ahead with that treatment. The idea for it went as equally well as the others, and it’s the most manageable out of the three.
I have chosen three songs that I can visualize really good and interesting music videos to. The songs aren’t well known songs and don’t have existing music videos so I won’t be copying anything, subconsciously or otherwise. I tried to pick a mix of tones and styles, Instrumentals, songs with lyrics, a darker song, a lighter song, etc.
Celldweller – “Kill the Sound”
This song has a really pacey beat that could drive a video well. The lyrics having enough meaning to construct a narrative, but are loose enough so I could really get creative with that narrative. It also has nice stages, so that the video can change direction a few times, develop the story.
Treatment
This video should be dark, mysterious, emotional, and brutal. My idea is that the video shows someone’s murder and aftermath of their death, but in reverse. The point of the idea is that it’s the killer turning his actions over in his head, retracing his steps and so going insane. This playing with time is inspired by the song’s lyrics, specifically “Feels like I’m running out of time”. This will have some intertextuality with films such as Christopher Nolan’s “Memento” and maybe even “Saw”. That genre of twisted physiological thriller is exactly the tone and look the video should go for.
We start on a black screen. Suddenly the darkness moves and we see its dirt covering the camera. The dirt is flying up and away from us as a man throws dirt on a grave but because it’s in reverse the dirt is flying up into his hand. This man would be the killer, and the video follows him as he travels back to just before the murder.
The video could show the victim’s family unpacking all of the murdered girl’s things, or running backwards out of a police station as they learn about the girl’s death. We can also show the killer getting rid of the body, perhaps wrapping it in a bag and then dumping it in something like a stream. A very nice shot to achieve would be of the body bag rising up out of the stream and floating into the killers hands. This would look very nice in slow motion, and creates this “beautiful nightmare” effect, which is the tone I really want to get into the video, as I think it suits the track well.
Our next set up is a dark and empty street corner. It’s evening, dark enough so that the street lamps are on and the whole scene has a gritty urban look, like a street from “Se7en”. The girl’s corps is dragged on by the killer and we see the actual murder in reverse. We see the girls still form slumped on the pavement, her eyes cold and dead. Suddenly life bursts back into them and she starts trembling and shivering. Living again, she twists and contorts up to a standing position, getting up by falling in reverse, resulting in beautifully nightmarish motion.
Cuts and marks on her body disappear as the killer’s knife drags over them. The stab wound in her chest draws blood back in as the knife is removed. The killer lets go of her and starts moving away backwards. At this climax the video can become frantic to match this point in the music, a lot of fast shots jumping around the narrative timeline. Here we see the killers face exposed in the struggle, revealing that it’s the same man who was throwing dirt on the girl’s grave at her funeral. The video ends with the girl returned to a completely normal state, alive and well. She stands on the street corner looking down at her Ipod. The killer slowly walks away from her.
Cut out to black.
Venice – “Satellites”
This song has really strong and vivid imagery, so I can easily visualize a video going to it. The imagery it brings to my mind is something very animated and upbeat, magical, which really appeals to me. It also has lots of different sections of build-up and chorus, which could be used very effectively in a narrative. I also wanted to include a song with real potential to have a performance based video. The lyrics here are such a driving force that shots of singers and instrument players could make total sense.
Treatment
What I want to do in this video is show the idea of people outside and above the rest of the world. They’re outsiders who don’t belong, but find a peace and epicenes in this existence. This idea is taken from the song’s lyrics, “this house is not a home” and the chorus; “we’re satellites.” Now I don’t want to literally translate this by using effects to put people in space or anything like that. I want to the video to be more metaphorical and grounded.
We open on a boy striding up a hill. It’s evening, and stars twinkle in the sky. The boy is a typical teen, hoodie and jeans. He spends the slower opening of the song climbing the hill and then turning to look out into the distance. He sees a city, buildings a people beyond the hill. The boy gets out an Ipod music player and puts it in his ears. He looks up at the stars, and then just as the music amps up he leaps forward, running to the buildings in the distance.
We see the boy running through the evening streets, street lamps creating lens flares so they almost become stars. The boy leaps and bounds through the city; separate and free from the others. Whilst running he throws his hood up, separating himself further from the rest of the world.
This is intercut with a family home scene. Two parents are having an argument, shout at each other. They’re son sit’s in the other room, forced to listen. It’s dark with low lighting, making it a hostile place and the shots are all tight and close up to build a sense of claustrophobia that directly contrasts the freedom of the running boy. But then the boy looks out his window and sees the stars in the sky. Knowing he has to get out he grabs a hoodie and runs out the door. Stepping outside we should immediately see the look of the video change, wide shots showing off the whole area around him, giving him huge space as he leaves the house. Once outside he pops his hood up and starts running.
This second boy runs until he eventually crosses paths with the first boy. They run together, both with hoods up. The two make a final jump and as they fall we go into slo motion. The background slowly fades to black but leaves the stars in the sky visible, leaving them falling in a space like environment. Fade out to black.
ProtoDeth – “End Is Here”
I chose this song because it’s quite simple in terms of the music arrangement, with lots of repetition, but builds an excellent tone and atmosphere to build a narrative around. It builds a dangerous, doom laden, yet slightly quirky tone in my head and I think there could be a really interesting video in that. The simplicity leaves room for a narrative but the song still has enough depth to guide it, the slower opening of the track would be establishing the locations and set pieces and characters, before it really kicks up a notch about half way through, when the action can really begin.
Treatment
The video will be set in a post-apocalyptic world. The colours will be dull and de-saturated and have a very sci-fi/horror look. The narrative follows two zombies roaming the empty landscape finding items and belongings and basically playing with them. The general idea is that the zombies are almost trying to get back to being human, or maybe discovering a human-ness inside themselves.
The slow first half of the song is used to establish the setting and characters. Pans across empty streets and deserted waste lands, introductory shots of the zombies in the distance and so on. In the final moments before the faster paced second half the two Zombies come across each other whilst scavenging.
The two zombies could come across things like shoes and bags and try to figure out how to use them. This can be tied back to the music, for example they find a guitar and try to play it, or find a keyboard. They might even try and put together a band. This would be so the zombies can play off each other, fighting over the objects and trying to get along.
The comical nature of these scenes will offset the darkness and intensity of the track in a very memorable way. This sort of black humour sticks with the audience. I think the track is just quirky enough so it does make sense for a more comical video, whilst still having dark elements.
The video ends with the two zombies finally getting along, working together to solve all they’re found objects. Their band is successfully formed and after a concert to no one, the two walk off into the sunset.
My technical analysis of the Foo Fighters song; “Best of You”
This first video was analysed as a group with the whole class.
The second video I chose and analysed myself using the pages grid provided.
PHOENIX'S MEDIA 