Another Powerful Video

This is another finding I have come across whilst doing my usual internet rounds. I think the video pretty much speaks for itself in terms of the concept, but it really made me think… are we spending far too much on our little luxuries such as film promotions and movie marketing? 

I'm just thinking that with the infamous rise of the internet, and ever-developing technology that there are far better ways to put money to use; why should we create a hype about another film when there are people dying? 

The above clip is a typical example of how we could better use parts of our money and actually demonstrates very clever marketing; I will definitely remember this film now! It is this sort of 'thinking outside the box' (what box?!) which will lead to the greatest ideas and most innovate discoveries, therefore it is definitely something which should be promoted! 

We should be trying to constantly break conventions so that we can create new ones and become better thinkers, meaning we could use our time and money more wisely. 

Unfortunately there are far too many restrictions and pressures placed on profits and results which limit creativity in many situations, but maybe with the help of videos like these, we can try to move on from the sticky structure of film making. It is certainly something I will be aiming for. 

Powerful Video

I came across this short film whilst doing my usual social media rounds, and couldn't forget it for days.

I think the message it is conveying is so so powerful - it has a lot to do with the contrasts between the first and third world. It has obviously been designed to make an impact on people so that they realise they should apprieciate what they have rather than complain when things do not live up to their personal standard.

I observed that a large number of the comments were to do with technology, "I hate it when I leave my phone charger downstairs" and , "When I can't walk and text at the same time". This really got me thinking; we have become so absorbed by the innovation of technology that we now expect certain things as standard; everyday these standards are rising and I wonder, when and where will this chain of greed and competition end?

Of course I cannot be certain of what lies ahead, but if our technology develops at the rate it is, it is logical to predict that one day we will be completely controlled by technology. This of course has its pro's and con's and I imagine you could battle it out pretty well either way; only time will tell what will actually happen, but in the meantime we can but debate. I cannot deny that technology is an amazing outlet; I'm using it at this very moment in time! However I feel like we need to learn that it is not something to be abused, and we should embrace and perfect the technologies we have available before developing more.

Anyway, I decided to research into how this concept was thought up, and discovered that it was central to a hastag on social media site, Twitter called #firstworldproblems (click to view feed on twitter). The hashtag is made up of tweets from people living in first world cultures expressing their everyday issues with a touch of sarcasm and a dash of ignorance. Examples include,

" I haven't even had my nails done for 24 hours and have somehow managed to already break one"

 

"My dad got new wifi for our house and didn't tell me the password"

 

"Did an intensive hair mask yesterday and now my Skullcandy headphones keep slipping off head"

 

Additionally, I found the picture on the right accompanied by the caption, "Well, which one is right?!?!"

 

This video made me realise the strength and impact of contrasts. If you put one entity beside it's opposite, the effect will become exaggarated, when really all you have done is extend the process. It has inspired me to ensure we have plenty of contrasts within our music video, and also to make similar content on a personal level - maybe reverse the effect and have first world people saying third world problems, or a look into commercialism etc.

 

"First world problems are not real problems" - Water Aid. 

Powder Paint Fight: Lighting Research

Lighting is going to be a key factor within our music video, as it will affect many other elements, such as depth, colour and focus. We knew from the planning stage that we would be filming undewr extremely low light level conditions, and were considering hiring generators to power spotlights we could also rent.

We wanted to maintain the effect that it was nighttime, so wanted to get the light balance and contrasts in place so that we could achieve this. After a test shot, we decided that the one LED light that attched to the top of our DSLR camera would create this effect, as it did not dazzle or take away from the image, yet you could see all the subjects on focus.

We did initially want spotlights placed behind the actors (so as part of the setting) so as to create a silhouette/shadow effect, but we dicided against this as it would have affected the light entering the camera lens and not made the collour come accross so clearly, which is one of the main elements we are aiming to portray.

Lastly, we agreed that we should use a bright white light rather than adding any colour filters at this stage, as this would allow us to demonstrate the full spectrum of colours we were aiming for without them being masked by any sort of particular coloured haze. If need be, we could apply a colour filter during the editing. Filming it with plain white LED's basically gives us more freedom in the post-prooduction, as we be limited as to where we could place for example, a scene with a blue filter which might be frustrating if the composition is good.

Audience Research

John Newman's demographic ranges from anywhere over 5 years old really; his music is upbeat and lively, appealing to younger generations, but also has a blues/jazz twist which makes it more sophisticates, broadening its appeal to older audeiences too.

I would say that the majority of his audience would however be teenagers/young adults, purely because they have the best access to such content through being active internet users. This is where a large percentage of new music is marketed and distributed now as opposed to more tradidtional methods, i.e. CD.

Our audience appeal will be similar to this. We are targeting more so the party/dance culture which appeals to teenagers/young adults. We are doing this through the creation of a bold, lively and vibrant visual to match the upbeat, electronic dance remix. We must be careful not to turn away audience members that are not part of this age category; everyone is individual in their music taste so we are not going to appeal it to a concrete, narrow audience by any means, however it is simple to observe that it will most likely appeal to the aformentioned demographic.

Powder Paint Fight: Actor Research

In our music video, we are planning to have three couples. In order for the video to seem realistic, we set out to find three actual couples rather than annonamous boys and girls so that their relationships would come accross in their body language and gestures, making it more believable for the audience.

We chose reliable people who confirmed the date and location, and briefed them on how to do their gair/make-up. We also gave them their costumes which we had provided. Just in case, we alse asked 2 couples to be 'reserves' in case any of our definates couldn't make it.

We wanted the couples to be of a similar age to those who would be listening to the track and watching the video, meaning it is more relatable. Therefore, our actors ranger from 16-19 years old. This also links to the party culture and young, energetic vibe we are trying to create within our music video.

Powder Paint Fight: Location Research

We had to brainstorm a wide range of locations, as obviosuly we have a huge logistical dillemma in the fact that we are going to make a huge mess, so will have to choose an appropriate place.

We originally thought of places such as abandoned houses/warehouses, the woods or a field, purely because we wouldn't have to worry about the powder making a mess. The problem of this was actually finding a place like this that would fit the conventions. We were left locationless, with 15kg of powder paint and were a little bit disheartened.

 But then we remembered an intimate location under neath our local bridge. It has huge arches which you can walk under, and one particular one was very desolate and disused - perfect! The space was big enough to fit everyone in.

We realised we will definitely need some form of lighting, as the location wasn't fabulously lit even in broad daylight, so this was something we had to consider when confirming the location.

Powder Paint Fight: Hair & Make up Research

Hair and make-up is going to be an important factor within our music video. We wanted to link to John Newman's retro style, so have decided to opt for a vintage look rather than a modern take. Therefore, we have decided that the, 'half up-half down' style will work really well for the female actors; it will ensure that we can see their faces, yet it will add to the concept of movement within our piece too, which perhaps a more controlled hair do would not allow. We wanted again, to relate to the dance/party vibe within our music, therefore, the actors will wear bold eye-liner and red lipstick to represent getting dressed up for a night out or a party. We thought that foundation/colour of skin wouldn't be of quite as much importance, as soon they would be covered in paint!

Powder Paint Fight: Costume Research

Initially, we thought that a 60's style fashion would look great as it would highlight the movement through all of the statement dresses. However, we then realised that this would not work so well with the modern, stylistic setup we are creating for the second scene.

We then became inspired by Tyler Shields' photography work, 'Chromatic'. His models wore white and black outfits which made the colours stand out very well.

From here, we made the decision that the girls will wear white, sleeveless skater dresses and black high heels, whilst the boys will wear dark trousers and a smart white shirt. We chose these outfits as they are a mixture of smart and casual, so can be dressed up/down as appropriate. Therefore, this holds connotations with partying.clubbing, which is where our song would be most likely to be heard; we are making small links for the audience to match the visuals to the music.

Powder Paint Fight: Prop Research

The most prominent prop we will be using is the powder paint. This is a chalk-like substance which creates some great effects when used in a variety of ways.

We had to be aware of the quantity we would need, as we want to avoid re-shooting down to a lack of supplies, and we also wanted to get as much footage as possible.

Another consideration was the cost side of things. We didn't have a huge budget so wanted to get the best value product.

Lastly, we thought about which colours we wanted to use. We decided to go for bright, vibrant colours as these would provide a greater contrast against the darker setting. We have chosen pink. blue, green, orange, red and yellow and have ordered 2.5kg of each which we think will be enough to last us for this shoot, and hopefully some left over too.

Love Me Again: Lyric Analysis

Synethesia

Today we learnt about the concept of synaesthesia, which by definition means, "the process of picturing sounds in the mind's eye". It is often seen as the joining of senses, for sensations in one modality (e.g hearing) produce reactions in the form of a sensation in another modality (e.g. colour) as well as it's own. These experiences are not often driven by sensory representations, but more so by symbolic ones, such as letters, numbers and words. It can also be known as, 'thought beats' or, 'seeing sounds in your head'

Andrew Goodwin is a contemporary theorist and on the subject of synesthesia in relation to music videos, he believes the most succesful sort is:

"A clip that responds to the pleasures of music, and in which that music is made visual, either in new ways or in ways that accentuate existing visual assosiations"
                  ~ Andrew Goodwin (1993)

I like his ideas; he is basically saying that when the visuals of media content complement the features of the sound, it all seems to come together and exaggerate what the visuals already in place. Also, when you are able to take in and understand the information your senses relay to you, you tend to have more interest in the content you are viewing, which in turn make the content more popular.

Steve Archer also provided many of his own ideas and opinions on the matter in the February 2004 edition of MediaMagazine. He believed that in order to judge appropriately, you need to fully be aware of the music and how it makes you feel.

HOW WE USED SYNAESTHSIA TO OUR ADVANTAGE
We did a task whereby we were asked to draw patterns, lines or markings - whatever came to mind - on paper, whilst listening to a certain music track. We basically had to draw what the music made us feel or what we felt represented that track to us the best. This would give us a better understanding of how the feel of the song affects the visuals that come naturally to us when listening to a particular type of music, which reinforces the importance of identifying and applying conventions of a certain genre. 

These are the two tracks we listened to:

Tina Moore - Never Gonna Let You Go
Being an upbeat and dance sound, our page was filled with jagged lines and short, snappy swerves which represented the repetitive, catchy beat. It was a very loud and dynamic page, filled with energetic, bouncy markings which demonstrated that the track made us feel so.

Phoria - Red
This track in comparison had a much slower pace and less energy. The marks we made were much more flowing, continuous and spherical. It is still a powerful song, but uses it's impulsion is different ways to the above song. The marks we made became more dynamic towards the end when the son increased its pace and energy, giving a sense of empowerment.

I thought I could adopt this approach within our music video, so I put my headphones in and had a go whilst listening to our chosen song, 'Love Me Again' by John Newman (UCF Remix). The result looks dynamic and filled with energy, which links to the song itself - being a dance/pop combination, it is designed to raise your heart rate and effectively motivate you to get up and dance. I think this is reflected in my own synaesthesia where there are lots of spiky lines and big shapes which represent the loud, pumping energy within the song.

The Creativity Debate

As part of a refresher task we were all asked to define what creativity is. I think this is always a challenging and thought-provoking discussion seeing as everyone's thoughts and opinions are so different; you can learn a great deal simply through listening to other interpretations.

I have gathered some quotes from a range of people who have shared their views on what creativity is:

"The ability to share, improvise, invent, discover and create entities through any kind of source in any different way. It is not a pretty painting - it is a process which may or may not result in some kind of outcome"
      - Selina Swift
~  This is my own definition which I came up with at the beginning of our class discussion. I wanted to eliminate this idea that creativity is art, because although creativity helps with art, it is certainly not limited soley to that activity. Creativity has a part to play in absolutely everything.


“Curiosity about life in all of its aspects, I think, is still the secret of great creative people" 
      - Leo Burnett
~ This quote particularly caught my eye as, being a curious person myself, I can account for the fact that wanting to know about something often automatically consequences in taking (creative) action to satisfy the question. It evokes a kind of child-like sense of wonderment, which Burnett is implying the majority of people lose. 


“Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try" 
     – Dr. Seuss
~ I really like this definition because it is poetically creative within itself. Also, it is suggesting not to confine yourselves into a narrow minded way of thinking; you should consider every aspect and beyond


I think the mistake many people make is trying to concretely define something which is so broad, that it is effectively indefinable within one sentence. To experience creativity is the best shortcut to understanding it externally.

Genre Investigation: Rock

Rock music originated in the 1950's as 'rock and roll', after being heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music. It also drew strongly on a number of other genres, including blues and folk and incoporated influences from jazz and classical sources.

Musically, rock is centered upon the electric guitar, usually as part of an ensemble including bass guitar and drums. Song structure-wise, rock is usually within a 4/4 time signature using a verse-chorus form, with heavy, dramatic guitar and/or vocal solos. However, it has expanded in conventions ever since it's roots; some of the greatest songs were musical experiments which became known for their originality and innovation.

Like pop music, the lyrics are often inspired by romantics/love tales, but also addresses a wide range of other themes including those more socially or politically based.

The generic conventions of rock music videos include:

• Documenting live footage - adds energy and focuses on the talent of the musicians.
• Often focuses on the lead singer, close-up shots of them whilst the rest of the band are represented through more-so through wide shots and mid-shots.
• Focus on the instruments used and the musical element within the piece
• Strong links between the visuals and the music - often cuts to beat.
• Often fast paced to recreate the energetic live performance.
• Shots of the audience/crowd
• Expressing strong emotions such as anger, love, depression or regret.

Modern rock videos appear to be swerving towards creating a narrative within their videos, perhaps to try to gain more popularity through crossing genres, however it is no doubt that the most generic and successful rock videos are heavily performance based. 

Grenre Investigation: Indie

Indie music is an abbrieviated term for independant music and the name is very much self-explanatory, in that it is unique and unusual - which is often why such tracks slip into this category, as their style is outside of genres which already exist.

Indie music, like most genres has crossed over and separated into several other branches of genre. For example, you can now find indie-pop, indie-rock etc. Alongside this, the style of music has also appeared to converhe out into the fashion world, with the outfits worn by popular indie artists becoming adopted not only by the people who listen to it, but by a large part of the fashion world in general; the codes of dress reflect the codes of the song, and it seems like a natural progression for it's listeners to uptake an individual style of fashion to match their unique taste in music. What I love about this type of music is the almost total artistic freedom to create whatever they feel like, as many indie artists are under smaller, independant labels which mean they for the most part they're not under so much pressure to make a hit single. This arguably means they can push the boundaries further in that the conventions can be totally whacky and surreal, yet it won't face such harsh criticism being in a lower limelight.

Indie music is generally part performance based and predictable as they give their target audience what they expect and what they are used to seeing. A lot of indie music is about live performances e.g: festivals and acoustic sets and is very much about the music itself. When there is a storyline as part of the music video indie music videos can either stick very closely to the lyrics of the song or digress into something far fetched and spontabeous that has very little to do with the lyrics, however this concept would be stuck to throughout, and could represent a more personal venture for the artist.  Below are two examples of well known indie music videos.



Although she is not an indie artist as such, Taylor Swift's collaboratin with 'The Civil Wars' pushed her into the genre in this occasion. The music video meets many of the conventions of an indie music video; a forest setting, innocent blonde lady walking around in a white dress, abandoned house etc. It's very isolated and artsy.

Ben Howard fits the indie genre perfect, and this is personally one of my favourite songs. The visuals differ in terms of desaturatated colours, sepia tones and black/white hues which give the video a reflective, vintage feel. The bike links to journey's and simplicity; he could use a car or taxi but chooses to take it slower so that he can properly take in the city surroundings, which is highlighted in the establishing shots of the location.

Textual Analysis of Stay The Night - Zedd featuring Hayley Williams

'Stay The Night' is a song by German/Russian electronic dance music producer Zedd, featuring vocals from Hayley Williams (of Paramore) . In terms of genre, it falls under Electro House Ballad with a mix of electric/clubby beats and pop style vocal. Due to it's crossover in genre, it was positively received by a mass audience as it appealed to more than one music type. 

It features an elaborate, contemporary dance between a man and a woman which represents them battling through their relationship, alongside a vibrant close-up performance by Hayley. I absolutely love the editing within this music video; the majority of the shots include some sort of overlay with another which ives it a very dreamy feel. There is a prominent concept of contrasts too, with the red and blue setups throughout, possibly representing different emotions or people etc. The video is extremely dynamic, with constant movement from either the camera itself or the subjects in focus. 

The links between the lyrics and the visuals are not particularly statement, but still exist nonetheless, but more so through concept rather than the narrative. For example, "you kill the lights" relates quite heavily to the dark backgrounds throughout the whole video which makes the subjects stand out even more, and also relates to the concept of night time. Following on from this, in both the pianist and Hayley's setup, there are tiny stars and moons which are out of focus most of the time, but which become more prominent through some pull focuses. A link which does occur between the lyrics and visuals is the element of staying the night, as we can assume from the gestures and setting that the man is trying to convince the woman to stay; red could represent anger and blue could represent sadness or regret. In a lot of the dance moves the man tries to grab or hug the woman who just turns/moves away. 

There are strong connections between the music and the visuals. For example, when we hear the piano playing in the background, a shot of a pianist comes up. Furthermore, the pace of the cuts really match the pace of the song; at the beginning they are more flowing and faded, but throughout the song they start to build up alongside the rhythm until the end where they are extremely quick and choppy, which mirrors the build up of electronic tempo within the song. 

There are several points in the song where clever editing is used, whereby Hayley's actions will link to the dancers, and flow in as one movement, for example at 1:35 where she rolls her head back and before you know it we're thrown back into the dancing scene. As a narrative, this could connote that the dancers represent the emotions in her head; the man is blue, which could represent safety and calmness whereas the woman's section  is red, representing anger and passion. Either way, it is extremely successful as it keeps the audience on their toes and engaged within the meaning of the song. Hayley is kept recognisable to the audience due to her statement ginger hair, bright red lipstick and bold black and white clothes. Although this is her first solo track, she has not made any dramatic changes to her image which shows how she has stayed herself throughout her musical career. 

There is not a theme which closely follows the notion of looking; the music video is more artistic and genuine, although I suppose arguably there is admiration and love between the two dancers, but it's more emotional than sexual. 

This music video clevely intwines narrative, concept and perforance elements together; all three elements complement and bounce off each other creating a dynamic and exciting visual to accompany the sound. Overall, I really love this music video and wouldn't do anything to change it. The overlay effect is definitely something to consider using in our music video as it keeps the visuals moving and adds lots of energy. 

I Share, Therefore I Am

I stumbled across this short film on the social media platform, 'Tumblr' whilst browsing through my Dashboard, and being a sucker for anything social media-related, decided to see what it was about.

 

The Innovation of Loneliness from Shimi Cohen on Vimeo

I found the content of the film very extremely interesting; it is about how social media can affect our psyche on a day-to-day basis. It was brilliantly constructed, so I was easily able to follow the author's points. I guess you could say that it does expose social media in a mostly negative light - the argument is approached with balance and consideration of the positives - however the conclusion (that we can potentially become lonely whilst being surrounded by people) is certainly in most people's eyes not a good value to hold. 

I also found the distinction between being lonely and being alone was particularly thought provoking, so decided to do some more research and try to distinguish them further. It lead me to discover that the key difference it seems is that being alone is a positive state of mind, where a person is content with being only with themselves; a state of mind in which they can be to calm themselves, recover and overall figure themselves out. Whereas in stark contrast, being lonely is a negative state of mind where a person feels sad/upset at being left alone; a state that arises from a certain situation in a person's life which leaves them discontent or heartbroken. 

The visuals really support the voiceover and are used to illustrate what is being said, encouraging imagery to be created within the audience. I am by no means an animation expert but it is clear to see that there is a distinctive, modern, retro-like style which is maintained throughout.  

"We're sacrificing conversation for mere connection, and so a paradoxical situation is created, in which we claim to have many friends whilst actually being lonely"

The audiences thirst for why and how is soon fulfilled, as the autor describes that advances in social media and technology are to blame for the barrier that appears to be forming between the importance of the quality of a friend and significance the quantity. You don't have to look very far for evidence either; on Twitter, the figure underneath the word 'followers' is to some people the most important aspect of their account, and many go out of their way to increase this number without actually considering who they are looking for - for some, their 'friends' are merely the figures. 

Time and control appear to be the main reason that connection is replacing conversation, and building our own personal profile/images to be as close to perfect as possible is the driving force. But why is this dangerous? The film concludes with the sentence, "If we don't know how to be alone, we are only going to be lonely". In other words, the autor's concern is that social media means we have the potential to never be alone, as we are always surrounded by our connections - which means we effectively do not have the chance to find a place of serenity and peace. He believes that this in turn, will lead to humans feeling isolated and dissatisfied, rather than being content and happy within themselves. 

Personally, I think his points are extremely tempting to agree with, as he poses such a clear argument and you only have to log on to any chosen social media platform to see it in action. However, I think he has been rather stereotypical in his points. It is certainly true that many people use social media to promote themselves and become as popular as they can be - which is part of human nature - however he does not take into account the fact that there are many people who use social media for thousands of other reasons aside building their image. For instance, people who use networks purely to reconnect with friends, or people who already have a clear sense of who they are and actually just enjoy the function of social media etc. I actually think that the character building aspect is an extremely positive outcome, as it promotes development within our society. So although I understand his points and agree with the basis of his argument, our conclusions differ, as I believe that social media has an insane way of bringing people together - what's the harm in connections?

Textual Analysis of Gold Dust - DJ Fresh

'Gold Dust' is a true-to-type dance video and closely follows the typical convenctions of the genre, which include:

• Fast pace/tempo
• Bouncy
• Lively
• Upbeat
• Raises heartrate - motivational and makes you want to get up and dance

The video focuses in on American culture and follows a 90's/retro type theme  and we actually learn a lot about the kind of world they live in. It provides a different outlook on life for the typical type of person who will access the video (mainly first world countries) and won't have necessarily experienced this culture before, or in such a positive light anyway.. In this way it is actually rather heartwarming to see how such what appears like a simple activity can bring together a whoel community. In order to emphasize the pace of the higher intensity content, teh video also contains several slow motion shots - often panning close ups - which break up the video and keep teh audience interested and following; if it was all rapid and quick, important details would be missed and the viewer could potentially get bored.

Being a heavily concept based video, the lyrics do not have a clean cut, direct link to every single visual in the song. However there are are still several moments within the music video where the lyrics and visuals do come together. For instance, at the lyrics, 'running away', the skippers are moving away and travelling from the camera, and on when teh lyric, 'hands up' is sung, the skippers out their hands up. Also in terms of costuming, there is a gold jacket worn by one of the partakers - which does have a reference to the song title and content. It could be seen that the skipping is also linked through the lyrics, 'jumping'.

The relationship between the music and visuals within Gold Dust is very positive; the visuals often match the tempo and rhythm of the song, e.g. during the chorus, the beat is fast paced and steady, but the skippers' jumping is in time with the music. Alongside this, there are parts of the video which are hold a slower, winded-down tempo, at which point the visuals slow down too. These sections include lots of close ups and slow motion shots. This is extremely effective as it provides a real contrast to the fast paced content, and actually in turn exaggarates it more - like it's in fast forward.

A wide range of close ups of the artist and image motifs are empoyed throughout the video, especially of the young children admiring and observing the older generations skipping. It appears that they are quite run-down and don't have a lot of money, so skipping has been handed down from generation to generation as a pastime. Another link with the artist within the video is the text on the tops worn by the matching girls. It reads, 'The new front ear', which could connote to frontier. Frontier, by definition means, 'an outer limit of field of endeavour, especially one in which the opportunities for research and development have not been exploited'. This subtly links to the name 'DJ Fresh' as it is a fresh, new, developing thing which has the potential to evolve into something huge.

Furthermore, within the video, there is great emphasis placed upon the women in the video. At several times, close ups and panning shhots are used to highlight the female's attributes, bringing them to the audiences' attention. This is voyerism, and in turn makes the film appear as if it is viewed with a male gaze. The females within the video are percieved as one of the main focuses, and this is empasized further as everyone crowds round to watch. Close up, slow motion shots of the men's reactions are employed, showing them looking impressed/satisfied, especially when the rather provocative, matching girls appear. The fact they match actually makes it seem as if they lose value as individuals - all females are the same and objects to be won.

The music video is wholey concept based with an essence of narrative intertwined into the concept. So the skipping is the concept, but the culture and everything related to it seems to tell a story within itself.

Overall, to improve it, I think I would intertwine some more narriative into the concept, however it does suit the genre and is very successful as it is. I think it is a really interesting music video and touches on an activity which perhaps we took for granted at the age of 6.

Textual Analysis of Breathe Me - Sia

'Breathe Me' by Sia is an extremely cleverly-done stop motion type video which features a polaroid photo-like framing which gives the whole video a very authentic, vintage feel. In terms of genre, I would say that it falls under a collaboration of pop, indie and soft rock which makes it rather unique and unusual in it's style.

There is a strong link between parts of the visuals and the lyrics within this music video. It has quite emotive lyrics and if I had been given just the track to make a music video to, I think I would have found it quite difficult to convey the thoughts and feelings of the writer through the visuals. However they have been very clever wth the concept of piling photos up as it gives a feeling of stress/emotion piling up and it becoming too much, which connotes more to the meaning of the song as a whole rather than the lyrics as such, but a successful one nonetheless. Another example would be tht at many points througgout the usic video, Sia is shown curled up in a ball, hugging her legs "unfold me, I am small, and needy", and in contrast, at other times is shown walking around and sitting down. One large factor I noticed was the fact that with the exception of the last section, the video is set entirely in the confines of a house. I thought that this could link to the lyrics, "lost myself and I'm nowhere to be found" in that she feels trapped and isolated within her own body. We see evidence of her leaving e/g shots of her going up and down the stairs, at which at some points she changes clothing momentarily which arguably furter relates to the fact she has lost herself, and doesn't know who she is. However, the video seems to have a happy ending as she manages to escape her house and runs free in the streets outside. Her happiness is shown through the contrast of lighting - it is much brighter outside which suggests freedom and happiness.

The visuals also link to the music as the rate at which the photos are being placed down is generally sycronised with the beat of the song, although there are notable exceptions such as when it is held on a certain photo for effect, or when a tracking zoom shot is used and we are absorbed into that scene. This gives the video quite a jolted, broken-record type feel to it but it works really well, and perhaps connotes to the lyrics - it's not going too smoothly at the moment?

The character in the video is the artist themselves so there are a number of close ups of Sia within the video. This is similar to a lot of her other content where she features again, such as in, "clap your hands" and, "You've Changed". I think it makes her videos more personal and intimate, and also means she can continue her creative vision, seeing as she writes the majority of her songs herself.

Breathe Me contains aspects of concept, narrative and performance within it; the concept surrounds finding yourself and/or someone to help you do so, the narrative follows on from this concept whereby we see her journey to escapism and there is performance intertwined within the former elements. In reference to the notion of looking, I think a large factor would be perhaps her looking through old photos and wanting the audience to feel the same - she wants to evoke emotion within the audience where they can somehow relate to the lyrics, music, video or all.

Overall I think that this is a really clever video and I absolutely love the song - it suits the visuals perfectly and is exactly what I would have wanted to see when listening to it.

Textual Analysis of Do It All Over Again - Elyar Fox

Elyar Fox is an up and coming pop/dance artist who has risen to fame though filming himself singing at home and uploading these videos to YouTube; a concept which is becoming more and more popular for new artists. His music is growing in popularity and his debut single 'Do It All Over Again' was hugely successful in the charts. It follows conventions of both pop and dance genres:

• Fast pace/tempo
• Catchy, memorable bassline 
• Bouncy
• Lively
• Upbeat
• Raises heartrate - motivational and makes you want to get up and dance

The music video is very up to date in that it focuses on many of the latest trends in terms of content sharing. For example, at the very beginning of the music video, he starts the song as if it were him singing from his bedroom, which links to how he begun his journey as an artist. It poses as a nice throwback for his regular audience. Secondly, there is reference to the concept of selfies which has beome a huge epidemic on social media platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat. 

The relationship between the lyrics and the visual elements of the video hold many links however they also have some contrasts. There are subtle links such as, "To wake, wake me up, up, up in time" which link to the bedroom setup and also the darker set layout, which could link to nightime. There is also huge emphasis placed on the girl within the visuals who we would assume to be who he is singing about. Lyrics such as, "She works me overtime, my heart's working overtime" and, "So hey girl, hey girl, why you hesitate, girl?" give further evidence, as she is in most of the shots when the girl in the song is mentioned. Furthermore,  the lyrics, "Do it all over again" are represented in many forms, but through a spherical type set up. The camera frequently pans 360 degrees around the subject(s) from a low angle point of view, which represents repetition, and ties into the meaning of the song. 

 

Another important aspect to this music video is the idea of technology and sharing, which link to the lyrics. Although this does not necessarily link to the music or the visuals, I thought it plays such a huge role in the video anyway I could not ignore it. It is based very much around the platform YouTube and frequently shows shots where the content has been cut into a YouTube type frame. There is much emphasis placed on the view count which is shown to rise massively, connoting both to Elyar's rise to fame and the popularity of the YouTube clips which link to the artist in some way. Additionally, further current trends such as the selfie are addressed, which builds Elyar up as a current, modern artist which is appealing in terms of his image. 

In terms of the links between the music and the visuals, there are quite strong links between the beat of the song and the cuts of the clips in that they often cut to the beat. This makes the visuals easier to follow which means the video is more interesting for the audience. The song also has quite a dancey/electrical tone which links to the blue/purple hues of the setup, but I imagine this was enhanced through colour correction in the editing. 

A large proportion of the video includes close ups, mid shots and angled shots of the artist, which is a common feature in debut music videos as the record label likes to introduce the new person. When he is more established they may tend to experiment with slightly more artistic concepts as I feel like this is quite a 'safe' music video. It works very well for the artist though and represents him as coming from the humble beginnings of his bedroom and using social media to his full advantage to raise his image. 

Furthermore, there is great reference to the notion of looking within this music video. There is a particular girl which the lyrics centre around, so they have transferred this in the music video by focusing on someone doing their make up from a clever point of view angle of her mirror, so it is as if she is looking right at the audience. From a low angle panning shot which follows her to where she sits down, we can see that she is wearing quite a short skirt and is wearing make up, as if she wants to impress someone, so I would say there are very subtle hints of voyerism embedded within the music video. There are also female dancers and other female characters taking selfies with a similar camera angle setup; there is lots to suggest that they are to be admired. 

This music video is more so a mix of concept and performance rather than having any obvious narrative to it. It covers concepts such as selfies, YouTube and 'doing it all over again' - linking to the title of the song. The narrative is very subtle but is basically centred around him gaining popularity, which as a debut appearance is what the record label and indeed the artist are looking for. 

Overall, to improve it, I think I would intertwine some more narriative into the music video, or take it out completely as it is a little bit confusing to follow the action at certain points within the video, so I feel that having either more or less could improve the watchability slightly. Nonetheless, I think that this video really suits the artist and is a great introduction to his work for those who haven't seen it before.   

Recreating Bittersweet Symphony: Result & Analysis

Here is our final recreation of Bittersweet Symphony:

 

Overall, I think we definitely grasped the whole concept of a continuous shot which follows the actions of one character. Due to a limited amount of time to film, we could not get the representation of the main character spot on, mainly through costuming, so this is one thing we would improve if we were to re-shoot. Another thing we could improve would probably be the location choice, but we were again limited by time and by budget, so could not shoot on a bustling high street as the original version does. Despite these, I think we carried out the task accurately, and it was well co-ordinated and framed.