Analysing Florence and The Machine- Dog DaysAre Over

I believe this video comes under the category of 'disjuncture' because although the meaning of the lyrics are still uncertain (the artist herself even admitted to it having different meanings and she's not sure what exactly the song is about) they have no relevance to what is happening in the video.

This video appears to have been made on a very cheap budget as there are no special effects with props that can be very easy to source as well as simple camera angles. This goes well with the bands alternative genre as at this stage in her career, fans would not be expecting a video made on a high budget. It also adds a uniqueness to her as it's not like anything I have seen before.

There are many close ups of the artist in such a short space of time during this clip. The reason for doing this could be to emphasis who the artist actually is in the video as well as showing the audience who they want to see. There are various characters in the video and if you had little knowledge on the artist you'd be unsure on who they were- so by having lots of close ups you are immediately introduced to the artist and are shown that she's the main 'character' in the video. On the other hand, if you were a huge fan of Florence and the Machine you'd want to see her in the video, so this is also beneficial.

Although I said before I think this video was an example of disjuncture, I think that this clip could perhaps come under illustrate. This is because after the lines "you better run", the music quickly picks up pace and Florence is seen running as well as being chased. However, when looking at the rest of the lyrics and comparing them to the video I don't think there is any relevance.

I think the choice of clothing in the video have been very effective. Florence is originally seen wearing a tux which is very plain because it's black and white, and also very masculine. However, when she is 'captured' and 'transformed' she's seen wearing bright colours with glitter which is a much more feminine look. Due to the huge change in colours that she is wearing you notice a huge transformation.

During this clip, when it is coming towards the end of the song and the music is fast, there are a lot of jump cuts. This has been used to make the pace seem even faster. In the shots the characters are seen celebrating, and with the jump cuts used, the ephasises it andmakes it sppear like a lot is happening all at once.

I have learnt various techniques from this task, such as how a good video will have shots that match either the music or lyrics so the viewer can feel involved and know what's happening. You also need to think about props way ahead so you can use them effectively- the outfits used in this video are a good example.

Little Comets - One Night in October, video analysis

This video is one of my favourite alternative genre music videos;
It particularly catches attention with the first few seconds, as the opening is fast paced and upbeat it makes a statement to the audience. The introduction lasts 18 seconds and within this there are several shots of the band members from varying angles, some long shot and some mid shots; the camera zooms into them at a sped up pace once also. I feel that this emphasises that they are the main role of the video, and shows that they are the band themselves and not just actors cast for the video. All the clips are sped up within the introduction, this means the cuts between them are fast to suit the pace of the song. I think if we were to make a video for a fast paced song, making the clips speed up could be an affective way of editing.
The clips of the lead singer standing against a blackboard are effective as the shots have been cut and edited to show the lyrics appearing behind him as he sings them. 0:37 - 0:39 includes 5 shots edited together of the whole band and the title of the song within the chorus, this is a simple edit yet looks so professional when the cuts are fast in a video.
This video shows illustration through the words being written on the blackboard behind the band, as well as the extras used in the video during 0:40 - 0:54. These extras are used as fans almost as they are dressed in no uniform, just casual everyday clothing and are crowding around the lead singer.
As this video is just set in a large empty space, similar to a warehouse, it could be possible to recreate a setting similar for our group music video; either that or a similar camera set up, of the band members swapping positions and most of it being filmed in one position and setting. 1:54 - 2:02 is an instrumental section, the lighting used in these shots appears to be coloured flashing spotlights; the only problem we may have with our video is finding the right lighting for the setting we choose.
From 2:13 - 2:15 the low angle camera is focused on the four band members, this camera angle suits the tempo of the song and is either handheld or on a wheeled tripod as it follows them around the area they move within; this makes them the focal point.
The video ends abruptly sound-wise, but the shots build up to the climax of the end of the song well, the lighting gets dimmer and there become less and less people in the shots as it finishes.

Two Door Cinema Club - What You Know video analysis

Two Door Cinema Club - What You know

This clip I have selected is the first fourteen seconds of the music video. I have selected this part of the video as it shows disjuncture as the band members are not showed until twelve seconds in and even then we are only showed their backs - this creates anticipation for the audience. The clip incorporates on-beat editing with one long length shot of a close up of the dancer's feet. The dance is paced correctly with the rhythm and tempo of the music and the use of a tilt and tracking to create a nine second shot is used to reveal the mise en scene of mainly white, yellow, blue and red colours. These primary colours are very simple and create quite a happy, playful atmosphere - this reflects the song well in my opinion. The action in this clip seems quite fast paced with the glitter on the drums being hit at the same beat as the music. However, the last two seconds of this clip I have chopped illustrates the performers so the audience knows that this video will be mainly disjuncture but with a vague narrative.

This second clip I have selected shows illustration within this music video as it shows all three band members performing together. The contrast of the band members with the rest of the mise en scene helps to make the audience use the performers as the main point of focus. The use of a jump cut from the band together to a close up of the main vocalist's face follows the convention of making the majority of the music video focused around the lead singer. Also, the lead singer is placed in the middle of the two other band members to ensure the focus is on him - this, again, is another convention of music videos. The close up of the lead singer's face emphasises that he is distracted by something off-screen, which engages the audience as they want to find out what is lying off camera. This close up is then cut to an over-the-shoulder shot of the female the lead singer is looking at. Again, this video is not showing you the face of the person straight away as it helps to create intrigue within the video. The woman is then revealed by a jump cut to a close up of her face - and is very attractive. At this point we realise the narrative of the music video will be based around this female and the lead singer, as this would follow conventions of lead singers winning over attractive females. The close up of the lady's face is quite a long length shot as it uses a slow zoom on the lady's face to emphasise that she is the focus point for the lead singer.

This clip shows the change between scenes which signifies the chorus. This is done by a transition through a dancer. In this part of the clip we see strong conventions coming through such as miming the playing of the guitar and lip syncing. Also, the lady of focus to the lead singer is now showed to be in a bath with her bare legs placed on the side of the bath which is quite sexually inviting and her playful nature of blowing bubbles also matches the fast tempo and playful mood the song brings. The red, blue, yellow and white are still the main colours being used and the continuity of these colours is showed as the dancer passes through the door in a new outfit, but still abiding this colour scheme. Also, the band remains expressionless - they never smile. This is quite abstract as it does not suit the beat or speed of the music.

This clip shows the lead singer by himself without his band mates. The contrast of Alex Trimble's suit and all of the other lady's bright coloured clothing helps to make him stand out whilst he lip syncs and the camera tracks to follow him. The fact that Alex is walking amoungst many attractive women and is not being taken notice of or is not taking notice of any of the women is quite peculiar, however, this does suit the lyrics, as he says "I wouldn't test you, I'm not the best you could have attained, why try anything?" The fact that the lyrics are saying he's not good enough for this woman makes the shot seem relevant as he is being ignored by all females.

This part of the video uses a black background with one of the dancers performing a cartwheel - this is then put into slow motion and special effects with the colours red, blue and yellow are used. This use of special effects fits in perfectly with the rhythm and temp of the music and as the tempo increases, more dancers performing cartwheels appear on screen. This special effect is not a convention but similar things are done in this genre of music video and i feel that it fits in well with the happy, joyful atmosphere this song creates.
There is no other systems of looking in this video besides form the camera and there is mild voyeurism as the main lady Alex follows is in the majority of the shots - also, the bath tub shot expresses this.

Sleigh Bells - Riot Rhythm

The whole video for Riot Rhythm is Disjunction as the video is centered around a chess match whereas the lyrics are more centered on friends as the first line is ‘You've got a smart best friend, she's OK’.

The video both amplifies and contrasts the lyrics, but only loosely for amplifying it the as they have semantics of fighting which I feel are shown when the child is trying to beat the computer in the game of chess, and briefly touches on the lip syncing part but only with ah ah ah ah ah ah ah. But the main contrast comes in the form of the video containing hardly any singing from band members or the subjects of the video.

Unlike lyrical visuals the music does tie in with the visuals when we see the ginger child air drumming in time with the drums in the song

As a group Sleigh Bells genre is classed by Wikipedia as Noise Pop and Dance-Punk which is very diverse and after knowing this the video for Riot Rhythm starts to make sense, the dance and pop elements come out in the colors with yellows, greens, pinks ad blues. But then we see a hint of punk when it starts to rain and the child is dancing in the mud bare foot. I also see a bit of indie coming through with the computer being in the middle of the park

In terms of Voyeurism this video highly lacks in it the only part where it hints at it is when you see the evil cheerleaders

The video has reference to an era rather than film, tv or other music. The references comes in the form of the rubix cube, the computer and chess which are all associated with the late 70’s early 80’s. The style of dress and hair is also familiar with the 70’s

A2 Coursework Schedule

G325 Advanced Portfolio Cw Schedule Sept - Dec11 Lutterworth College

Evaluation Questions Of Busted Preliminary

1) Pre production (story boarding, prop lists etc)

Our remake of the Busted video, "That's What I go to School For" is an attempt of a direct copy. So conventions are not challenged or developed during the pre production process - we simply copy what has already been developed/challenged.

2) Production (filming etc)

 During the production process, we used the conventions such as: lots of close ups, few long shots and the editing is quickly paced. This keeps the audience engaged and helps to create an interesting video as there are many varieties of shots and differences of mise en scene.

3) Post production (editing footage etc)

The editing of this video was not as simply as we first thought as the pace of the shots is very quick, and so to be able to have the lip syncing in time at a quick pace is not an easy job. Lip Syncing is obviously a key convention of music videos and is commonly used throughout all genres of music.

Evaluation Of Skills Learnt - Busted Lip Sync Video

In class we formed groups in which we had to produce our own Busted 'What I Go To School For' lip sync video. Before creating this video, all individuals in our group were able to set up the tripod and were also fully familiar with all controls on the camera. For our video we made one continuous shot and used a tripod in order to keep the camera in the correct position for the shot we were trying to achieve. After this, we used a firewire to upload the video from the camera onto the school's Mac's. Again, from previous experience with the school's equipment, we were already familiar with this process. We then edited this shot with suitable starting and ending times and then laid the MP3 file over the top of the video and muted all sounds from the video itself. This part of the process we did not know how to do and we did require assistance. After this, we had to compact the file into one that was compatible with Youtube and then upload them. Unfortunately, the computer at school was unable to process my video, so we were asked to take the video's home to upload ourselves.

During this process, I learned to mute all sounds from the video and how to place music over the top of the video with good accuracy and timing. This skill will hopefully prove to be very useful for my A2 coursework, as we have to produce a music video. Also, now being able to convert and compact files into more compatible files will be a very helpful thing to do during my production of the coursework.

What I Learnt From The Prelim

I learnt a lot from the preliminary task! Originally I thought the actual shooting of the video would be difficult, but then I also found out how much work had to go into the pre-production part- that being the story board, which took a lot longer than expected due to the stopping and starting of the video and looking at what exactly was in the shot, then the shot list which was also a difficult task because people had different opinions of which order they should be in, and lastly the production schedule which was quite simple but I had to ensure that'd I'd written down all the props needed else the shot wouldn't fully accurate.

Although I didn't play a huge role in filming the video, I immediately got an idea into what has to take place and prepared myself for the stress that I'm going to feel when it comes to making our actual video! I discovered that to do this you must have a lot of organisational skills which thankfully I feel that is one of my strengths, so I should cope well with that part. I also noticed how hard it is to control a lot of people and make sure they are doing exactly what they should in each shot- this has made me decide that for the actual video I'd prefer to do a solo artist because it would mean little people to control.

I was very interested in how to do the editing as I'd never done it before or used the software so I let my partner Sam do the first half to show my what to do and I could watch to gain a clear understanding. It turns out it's a lot easier than I thought! However, I feel that I still need a bit more practice so I can fully contribute towards the editing when we make our final video.

Overall I really enjoyed this task, despite the hard work that had to be put in, I found it a fun task to undertake and I am really pleased with the final outcome.

What I Learnt From The Prelim

What I learnt from doing the preliminary task is; make sure that your shooting sequence is perfect and that’s at each shot every possible piece of information is written down (including what each band member has to say). Following on from this each band member must know the song and not be afraid to sing instead of lip syncing as this will both make the video appear more realistic and with then knowing the words the videoing will take less time. With shooting the video you have to have a camera man/woman that knows their stuff about a camera. When using someone to use the camera I would allow them time to get to know the camera so there shall be know problems t a crucial shooting time. Finally just to take more consideration on mise-en-scene and continuity as the can make or break a music video. 

Preliminary: Busted What I Go To School For (Meg and Harry)

Jess and Joe's Busted Preliminary Remake

Risk Assessment Of Busted Music Video Production

Hazard: Falls of men and equipment
Answer: Yes
Severity: Medium
Likelihood: Medium
Persons At Risk: all actors and crew (3+). All equipment.
Precautions: Minimise all risks that would cause people to fall and ensure all equipment is stable and secure whilst in use.

Hazard: Falls temporary structures e.g. Scaffolding
Answer: No
Severity: 
Likelihood:
Persons At Risk:
Precautions:

Hazard: Tripping Hazards e.g. wires for cameras/lighting or chairs
Answer: Yes
Severity: Medium
Likelihood: Medium
Persons At Risk: all actors and crew (3+). All equipment.
Precautions: Minimise all risks that would cause people to fall and ensure all equipment is stable and secure whilst in use. Also, tie back any cables or use matting to reduce the tripping hazard.

Hazard: Vehicles
Answer: No
Severity:
Likelihood:
Persons At Risk:
Precautions:

Hazard: Special Effects e.g. Flashing lights
Answer: No
Severity:
Likelihood:
Persons At Risk:
Precautions:

Hazard: Weapons
Answer: No
Severity:
Likelihood:
Persons At Risk:
Precautions:

Hazard: Burns From lighting
Answer: No
Severity:
Likelihood:
Persons At Risk:
Precautions:

Preliminary Shot Sequence

Shooting Sequence

Storyboard Of Shots For Busted Video Production

Shot List For Busted Video Production

Locations, Actors, Props and Technical Kit List

Preliminary Shot Analysis

Busted ‘That’s What I Go To School For’ Storyboard

Preliminary: Lip Syncing

This video shows the first attempt of lip syncing by myself and the group. It seemed quite an easy task at first but as I watched it over I became less confident as to how easy it was to try and make look like you were actually singing. Once the filming and editing of the video had been completed, I discovered to make your lip syncing look more realistic, you should sing anyway because your audio will be edited out- a tip for next time!