Research Into Similar Products: Emotion - Lana Del Rey

As I am reshooting some scenes and filming additional scenes, I have been curious as to how I can make the portrayal of emotion more prominent. To do this I have looked at Lana Del Rey's video for 'Blue Jeans.'
A way in which emotion is shown in this video, quite obviously, is the mise en scene of Del Rey's facial expression. She paints a rather sad emotion on her face and is made obvious through the use of close ups throughout the video. This is something that I did not think of doing and so will consider doing more close ups when re-filming, therefore making my video more obviously emotional.



Also, the use of the black and white filter also adds a melancholy feel to the video as it makes it seem as though the relationship can only be one thing or another and so makes it sad in that way. It also makes it seem as though things have lost their brightness/happiness in this relationship and this could be an interpretation and idea that could be used in my own video as well.

Organisation: Shot List

As I plan to film some time next week, Ihave made a shot list so I don't forget anything. 

Next to some of the shots I have put that I need to film them as a video as well as in stop motion. I have done this in case the stop motion doesn't look good when pieced together with the rest of the video and so therefore don't limit themself. 

Drafting and Planning: Additional Storyboarding

As I plan to film some extra footage to fill in the gaps, I have storyboarded them to show what I want it to look like. 

In these new shots, I will have the characters touching each other more to show a glimpse of the closeness that was once there and to show a small bit of familiarity between the two. Originally, I was not going to include any touching in my video until the flashback scenes to show the distance, but I feel, that, with small gestures like the ones I will be filming, it will have a bigger impact  on the viewer because it will so a desire for things to be normal between the two again.

Drafting and Planning: Effects

Whilst putting my music video together, I have made some decisions on what effects I will use. I have used for two clips (so far) and effect called half and half greyscale, in which it creates a gloomy look. I have used this because it shows how, despite the fact they're together in the frame there's still sadness and tensions between the two. 

I have also used a blue effect to show a similar feeling. I used this colour to make it more interesting to watch. 

To make sure the blue is the same blue every time I use it, I have made a note of the specific data so I can get it right every time. 

I have also used a simple black and white effect for the flashback shots to give it a nostalgic feel and to make it clear that it is actually the past and not the present. 

Organisation: Flashback Footage

For the flashback footage, I have asked my actors to film videos of them in homely environments to get a real feel of how happy they were in the past. I really like the footage as it is very happy and so will make it clear that the two characters were once happy to be with each other. 

Research Into Similar Products: Stop Motion and Video Footage

As I have decided to use stop motion, but only in parts, I have decided to look for other videos that this too to see if it actually looks ok. I came across the video for 'Used For Glue' by Rival Schools which does exactly this. The video uses stop motion for to show the progression of the two peoples romance and video footage for content surrounding the bands performance. The use of stop motion is only small as well, so the technique is overdone which is how I also planned to use it so it gives me hope that my video won't be too much. This video uses a border around the stop motion photos so it's as if these are events are something to be remembered as they look as if they are photos in a frame which is a nice effect. 

 

Drafting and Planning: Practice With Stop Motion

To understand how stop motion works, I have been making practice videos using this technique. From this excercise, I have understood how many photos I'll need to fill a small amount of time. For example, in the video below, I used 76 photos which filled 12 seconds, and so when I do it for the real thing, I know to take a similar amount as I will need it to be about 10seconds long.


The video following my cats took 88 photos to do which totalled to 13 seconds.


To edit all the photo's together I used the youtube video creator and so the timings are not all accurate as it's very difficult to see the length of each. When doing stop motion for the real thing, I will be using MoviePlus and so will be able to put them together in a way that looks smoother as I will be able to type in the duration rather than use a slider. 

Research Into Similar Products: Stop Motion

After compiling all the footage I filmed this week, I have discovered that I have not filmed enough footage and so have spent the week thinking of more ideas. One idea that has crossed my mind is the use of stop motion. My favourite videos use this effect and I think it's very good at capturing expressions as well as nostalgia. The video for 'A Movie Script Ending' by Death Can For Cutie uses this and effectively out across the lovers sadness. 






The way in which it is used in the video 'Thirty Three' by The Smashing Pumpkins is another I quite enjoy. The technique gives the video a rather strange feeling which fits nicely with the concept of the track as well as the album on the whole. 





Therefore, due to the ways in which both these videos show a rather dramatic emotion, i know i can use this effect successfully and will attempt to do so. However I will not use it for my whole video.

Target Audience: Fonts

I have tweeted the image of the various fonts that I could use for my digipak, to find out which font would be better accepted by my target audience. 

 From this I have learnt that the third font is the better font as it appeals more to my target audience. One of the commenters later pointed out to me that if my genre of music was that of pop, the first font would be very good which confirms that the third font is therefore better for the indie genre I am targetting.

Target Audience: Response To Footage

After filming my footage, I posted it onto Youtube to see what other people thought about it.
I recieved a comment for my 'leg pan' video which said:

This is reassuring as it shows that the feelings I wanted to show, are made clear through shots like this, and so I know I am on the right track for achieving the feeling I want.

Another comment I recieved was the one below for my 'wonky Meg and Ben' video:

These comments are very encouraging to me as it shows that people can take various interpretations from the video and so I can only hope that when the video is put together, it will have the same effect as this.

A comment I recieved for the video 'Relax' was also lovely:

This comment is very useful to me as the aim of this shot was to show the separation and distance and this comment has shown that this has been effectively put across so this is very good for the overall product.

The comment I recieved for 'Meg Walking' was insightful as it offered advice on how I could improve my footage:

This is very helpful to me as it means that the shaky video definitely needs stabilising just as I thought.

The comment I recieved for the video 'Walk Away' was nice:

This comment also shows how the emotion I wanted to put across was shown successfully.

The final comment I found for the video 'Walking' was again, reassuring:

This comment reflects the exact intentions I had for this shot and means that I have again, successfully shown the emotion and got across the message that I want to show within my music video and so I can assume that overall, my footage has been a success.

Research Into Similar Products: Editing - Everything Everything

Now that I have come to the editing stage of my video I have been looking at ways in which I can make my footage look more interesting when pieced together. Everything Everything's video for 'Don't Try' is filled with inspiration.
The use of fades when showing the zooms from medium close up to close ups is something I quite enjoy and I can use when switching between the close ups of my two actors, in stead of or as well as the type of fade used in the 'Blackstar' video.



I also enjoy the use of mirroring in this video as it makes it more interesting to look at and offers different views of the same image. This is something I may also include in my video as I feel it could reflect the two different people and the two sets of emptions as being apart from each other, and so could bring a new meaning to some of my shots. The way it is only used for a second or so is quite useful as it means that the effect isn't overdone so still keeps it interesting.

Drafting and Planning: Photos For Digipak and Magazine Ad

Whilst filming my footage, I took the opportunity to take some shots for my magazine and digipak. I went through with the sparklers and took the photos in my back garden. 

I really like these photos as the dark lighting makes the sparklers and Ben and Megan stand out. It highlights their faces and how happy they are. When actually using these, I will zoom in more so that the cover has less negative space. I have decided that I will use the last three photos for my digipak as I think that they are the best images and show the sparklers well. They look exactly how I planned.