*Summary of video: Starting with close up shot of hands playing piano. Some shots in dark room/ studio of the singer and some shots of scenes acted out by singer and the male in the video arguing. Some shots of contemporary dancers in possibly the theatre. There will also be shots of the singer in a bath to show vulnerability and insecurity. There can possibly be reversed scenes from our video to show she feels like shes always going back and never forward (things always remaining the same). Ending with close-up back in the dark room/studio of singer’s face when she shouts the last line of the lyrics for a dramatic ending.
*Professional music videos that inspired me: Jar of hearts by Christina Perri (the destructiveness about it), Go by Delilah, Diamonds (the star is sitting in a dark room and this is something that we wanted for the start of our video)- Things that make our video different would be that not many videos contain expressive dancers in it. Our video will also be quite subtle and simple compared to most videos nowadays that are quite futuristic in terms of using new and highly complex technology.
*Casting/ actors, props, locations: Male actor, main female singer and 2 contemporary dancers, studio, house location for arguing scene, dance theatre, piano.
*Any ethical considerations: No ethical issues.
*Length: 3:19
*Audience: 16-25, people who enjoy RnB/ alternative. People from this age group are most likely to understand heartbreaks and insecure feeling about someone.
*The audience felt that the contemporary dancing idea was a good thing and that it would make our video particularly different to others in today's music industry.
*The audience also liked the fact that our video will be quite simple as apposed to something too complex and hard to understand.
Things to be changed or considered:
* The black and white effect is too cliche. Maybe only use it as some points when it is really needed. Play with other effects that could go well with the video to make it a bit more different to the typical heartbreaking videos there are in the music industry. However, we wanted to challenge this criticism as we still thought it would be appropriate to use the black and white effect in our music video. If this is not successful, we can always look at other effects that may appeal to the video.
*We asked the audience what they thought about having some bath scenes where the female singer will be in the bath to show her vulnerability and insecurity. The audience suggested that it is very much like in Rihanna's video of Stay but that we could do it our own way so that it is different. Moreover, Stay's music video is all based being in the bath compared to our video which will only happen at some points not all the way.
*Some suggested that we should show in the video, the ways or times in which the male she is singing about, makes her feel insecure so that it would fit in better with the lyrics and what message it is trying to put across.
*Summary
of video: Starting with close up shot of hands playing piano. Some shots in
dark room/ studio of the singer and some shots of scenes acted out by singer
and the male in the video arguing. Some shots of contemporary dancers in
possibly the theatre. Ending with close-up back in the dark room/studio of
singer’s face when she shouts the last line of the lyrics for a dramatic ending.
*Professional
music videos that inspired me: Jar of hearts by Christina Perri (the
destructiveness about it), Go by Delilah, Diamonds (the star is sitting in a
dark room and this is something that we wanted for the start of our video)-
Things that make our video different would be that not many videos contain
expressive dancers in it. Our video will also be quite subtle and simple
compared to most videos nowadays that are quite futuristic in terms of using new
and highly complex technology.
*Casting/
actors, props, locations: Male actor, main female singer and 2 contemporary
dancers, studio, house location for arguing scene, dance theatre, piano.
*Any
ethical considerations: Space where the dancers will be performing (making sure
it’s a quite a big space so no one gets injured)
*Length:
3:19
*Audience:
16-25, people who enjoy RnB/ alternative
Today we analysed the lyrics of the song we have chosen which has helped us roughly think about what will happen in the video in each section of the song.
Synopsis of video: She is unsure about her love for someone
and is thinking whether to take a risk or not. She is walking through the
streets of London and this expresses the risk she is wanting to take along with
other things in the video such as the dog and the male getting "run
over" being connotations for her wanting to take a risk.
Is the video conceptual, narrative or performance based?: This
video is lip/synch based and is conceptual as she is expressing the whole
concept about her not being in control of being in love with someone. Walking
in the dark in London could create a metaphor for how she is feeling for
example "She's walking in the dark but doesn't know where she is
going"
Themes/ motifs: Words that could describe the video's theme
would be uncertainty, risk, mysterious, dark, and blinded. The theme overall is
about how someone has fallen in love unintentionally
Representations of stars: Delilah is represented as dark, majestic,
mysterious and this is shown through her dark clothing which expresses her
personality and the way she feels. The dog is represented as the fear of
falling in love and Delilah walks away with the dog at the end of the video.
This connotes that she takes a risk and accepts it. The representation of the
'man getting hit by the bus' and disappearing possibly shows how easily it was
for her to fall in love and becoming vulnerable in her situation.
Camera Shots: Unsteady point of view shots are used are
used to mirror her unsteady feelings towards the person she has fallen for. It
may also indicate she is walking towards an unsteady decision or path in her
life. Wide shots are used to show her walking in the streets of London at night
looking vulnerable and lost. A wide shit is also used at the end when she is
walking away with the dog. Tracking shots are used showing the camera moving
with the star while she is walking towards it. Several close up shots are used to
show desperation and lust in her face and ecu shots are used especially on her
lips and eyes. This could be the main focus points when she looks at the one
she loves? or possibly for more of a professional way of showing her
lip-synching.
Editing: Fast cutting rates are used when the song speeds
up to show her distress or possibly as a way comparing to her fast heart rate
showing that her love is intense and risky. Shot reverse shots are used between
scenes which show the location she is in which puts her in a vulnerable
position. Slow motion of the male walking in London is used to possibly hint
that something negative will happen to him. Fading in and out/ blurring is used
to introduce new scenes and the blurring in particular could connote the fact
that he has been blinded by his love.
Mise-en-scene: the location is in the streets of London at night
which brings out the mysterious feel to the video. Delilah's clothing is dark
which expresses her dark side in terms of her risk taking and her being
mysterious and majestic. There's the dog which again is used as her fear of
love and the red bus which supports the idea that the video was shot in the
streets of central London.
Audience: The audience includes between the ages of
16-25/30. This young age range mostly relates to this idea of being lost
because of unsure feelings for someone; people who have not settled down with
anyone yet. Furthermore, the audience would be those who enjoy alternative/RnB
music.
Ideas I would take from this video: this includes the whole
innuendo/double meaning of certain things in the video such as symbolic
locations, clothing, scenes/ shots and editing that express the lyrics and the
way the singer is feeling. For example, the actors in our video could be wearing dark clothes to express depression, sadness and hurt. Also, because we want our video to be simple, we would express that through the actors wearing simple plain clothing in parts of the video/song that expresses sadness and hurt.
Channel: lovemspenny
Title: Christina Perri- Jar of Hearts
Producer: Barrett Yeretsian
Date: Jul 27 2010
Synopsis of video: She got hurt by someone and she uses the metaphor "jar of hearts" to imply that he has been collecting hearts. In other words he's been collectively hurting people on and on. Also the sucking of the souls in the video suggest he has wiped the life off her. Right at the end of the video we see Christina sucking the soul out of the male which implies revenge or retribution. Furthermore, the Contemporary dancers dancing around her are to express the distress of the as Contemporary dance itself is very expressive. Is the video conceptual, narrative or performance based?: This video is lip/synch based and could be conceptual because it expresses the pain concept of the lyrics. It could also be performance based because of the Contemporary dancers. The two kind of mesh together as the Contemporary performance in the video is used to express its conceptual theme. Themes and motifs: When I think of the words that could describe and characterize the topic of "Jar Of Hearts" words like hurt, love, hate, discontent, revenge, retribution, pain, regret; and these are all expressed throughout the shots in the video. Representation of stars: The role of the star is to be the character who is hurt and in pain of what her previous partner had made her go through. She is the main subject and the soul who is trapped in one of his "jars". Christina is represented in quite a strong and powerful way even though she seems to be trapped in his world. She is portrayed as destructive with everything going on around her almost as if he has made a monster out of her and that she is fighting back for retribution. The several women in the video who's hearts are being "consumed" possibly represents the moments where the star herself has been "consumed". Camera shots/ angles: There is a medium close-up shot introduced at the start of the video and it immediately appears when the piano of the backing track starts to play. This is a good way to make the video dramatic and sudden. Wide shots are used to show Christina appearing from behind of "destructive" looking cars and the camera slowly pans when she is walking. This kind of shot is also used when the contemporary dancers are introduced into the shots and they are shown to be fight against the males in the play to express Christina's fighting back attitude.The panning is steady and gentle to appeal to the slow contemporary genre of the music and to somehow show that she is in a vulnerable situation. Extreme close-up shots are used to show the "sucking of the souls" in the video. A low angle looking up at Christina is used near to the end of the video where she is walking towards the male in the video to show her powerful attitude. Moreover, this then leads to a final wide shot where we see her walking over the male she has just "killed", she walking away showing that she is walking away from the pain and the she has accomplished her retribution. There are some blurred shots which become focused again which could expressed how she sometimes would fall apart but pulled herself together again. Editing: This music is very graphical in terms of the use of containing the hearts inside of the jars. The jar appears on Christina's chest almost like a moving tattoo which shows that she's "learned to live" with this hurt almost like you would live with a tattoo forever. Shots are introduced with fading in and out which again appeals to the smooth lyrical content of the song. The whole colour edit of the video is very dark and almost cinematic which fits into the dark content of what is going on in the video. The video brightens a lot when she has "restored" her heart almost as if she has been saved and has got away from the darkness. Shot reverse shots are used at quite a fast rate between the contemporary dancing and Christina lip synching to portray her fighting aggressive emotions towards her discontent. Mise-en-scene: The location as a whole is very dark and destructive which is kind of a reflective view of how she is feeling. There is smoke in most parts of the shot to show how she has been almost blinded and lost because of her pain. There are burnt petals falling from the sky and this enforces the idea how something beautiful turned cold and into ashes. The clothing of the dancers and the star are quite subtle and plain as apposed to the clothing of the men in the shots which are dark as if the men are the criminals and the women are their victims. Audience: Similarly to the previous case study, I would say the audience would be 16-25/30 years old who enjoy smooth rock/contemporary/ alternative music. Again, this age range could relate to the heartbreak and destructive relationships theme of this video. Ideas I could take from the video: I would like to use Contemporary dancers in my video to, as I feel it is an exceptional way of expressing heartache and pain. The lighting and scenes are also very dark in this video and this would be something to consider for my own video to reinforce to dark and mysterious feel to it.
Channel: RihannaVevo
Title: Rihanna- Diamonds
Producer: Benny Blanco, StarGate
Kuk Harrell
Date: Nov 8 2012
Synopsis of
the video: She is in open waters and looks very alone. She uses diamonds
as the "ecstasy" in her roll up. The diamonds represents the artistic
nature of the video. Using the diamonds as the ecstasy represents her singing
about how her partner/person she is interested is being compared to a
"vision of ecstasy". The video is very complex as it tries to
pin-point the truth about fiction. It raises questions like "Are the arms
of her and her lover coming together or going apart? Is she drowning in the
open waters or is she just under the influence of ecstasy?"
Is the video
conceptual, narrative or performance based?: the
video is lip/synch based and is conceptual. The bright lights in the video are
the concepts and expressions of the lyrics "shine bright like a
diamond" and vision of ecstasy to indicate that she is possibly under the
influence of drugs possibly because of her being hurt and running away. The lines are blurred between the idea about whether this video celebrates or criticizes the use of drugs, However, the singer in this video possibly uses drugs to heal her pain and comfort her which possibly suggests that the video celebrates rather than criticizes the use of drugs. Themes/motifs:
The
theme I get from this video is her trying to find beauty through the pain she
is experiencing Representation
of stars: As well as in Christina Peri's Jar of Hearts, Rihanna is
also shown to be destructive in this video. In contrast to Jar of Hearts
Rihanna seeks beauty in her destructive surroundings as we see everything that
is being destroyed, coming back together like how it was before. Perhaps her rebellious
choice of being under the influence of ecstasy has made her see things this way
and it is only making her seek pleasure in the pain and hurt she is feeling. Camera
shots/ angles: Ecu shots are used of Rihanna's hands running through the
diamonds perhaps to show how she lives for them/ is addictive to the ecstasy
which could also mean she is addictive to the person she is singing to as she
describes them as a "vision of ecstasy". Ecu shots are also used of
the hands coming apart which could describe that is why she is in pain because
possibly, someone has left her. Again, ecu shots are used of the smoke coming
out of her mouth to reinforce that she may be under the influence of drugs/ or
that the person she is singing about is the drug. A medium close-up shot is
used which introduces her singing. This happens quite sudden which is straight
to the point and makes the catch phrase of the song" shine bright like a
diamond" precise and important to what she is singing about. There are
wide shots of the broken things coming back together and unsteady wide shots of
her running and the horses running. This suggests she is always on the run. A bird’s
eye view shot is used when she is in open waters which slowly zooms out. This
shows how lonely she is in such a disserted place. Although she finds beauty in
pain technically, she is still alone. Editing: Fast
cutting rate or shot reverse shots are used between scenes. This gives us a
sense of running and an unsteady mind set which she could be in because of the
"ecstasy". Reversing is used of broken glass coming together, things
that are burning being put out, and hands coming apart. This shows she finds
comfort in ecstasy which makes her see things in a different way. The aurora
lights in the sky are also another editing technique that reinforces her vision
through the influence of ecstasy or the influence of the person she is singing
about. Mise-en-scene:
Locations
are all destructive and dark. Some are quite bright and subtle to show how she
sees the beauty in the pain. The clothing material she is wearing in the scene
of the horses is quite similar to the surface of the horse's skin which
suggests that she may be the actual horse in the video and that she is running
just like the horse is running. Props such as the diamonds represent her
addiction. The shattered glass may represent her shattered heart. The strong
white lighting are used to represent the message of the song "shine bright
like a diamond". Audience: I
would say the audience would be those who enjoy pop/RnB music. This type of
song is harder to understand because of the unsure theme of whether she is
really under the influence of drugs or not. I would say the age of the audience
would range between 17-25. Ideas I
could take from the video: For my own video, I would too have a medium close up shot of
the star in a dark room at the start of the song as soon as she starts singing
for a sudden effect and we could see straight away from her facial expression,
that she is unhappy and hurt. I would also have unsteady camera shots in my
video when the people are fighting or arguing to express the aggressiveness of
the situation
In todays lesson me and my group researched more videos that were to do with heartache, pain and love. We found that mostly, videos like these that looked more professional and successful, were the ones with the main star/singer lip-synching while there were other shots of her acting out her story/ heartache flashback. This is something we are hoping to do with our own video to express the singer's insecurity.
Delilah- Insecure. Chorus: "Though I'm hanging on a sign, I'm insecure You got me walking on a line, still I need you more And all the things I feel I hold 'em back from you And all the dreams I dream I'm sure they'll hold no truth I'm insecure"
Hook "I realize that it's me being so cold Trapped in a box where my heart's been for so long I realize that it's me being insecure"- she's been waiting for his sign about whether they would work or not. Personally, i feel that she is trying to explain that she needs closure and reassurance that she is not being insecure and holding on to something that is not meant to be. She is in a cold place.
*Camera shots - This would include ecu shots to show the singer's emotions and to express her sadness of her situation. We are planning to have wide shots to introduce other things in the shot such as possibly a piano, contempory dancers, the dark/mysterious locations and so on (these things would be shown to express the sadness of the song and to possibly mirror what the singer is feeling)
*Props and locations- fan, piano, black room, clear streets at night. The fan could be used in the scene/shot where the singer is in a studio/dark room where close up shots are being taken of her. It could also represent the cold feeling of her being insecure and being in love with someone and she would show that she's feeling cold para-linguistically (through body langauge, hand and arm gestures). The dark rooms/ studio represents the dull and gloomy sadness of the song which would as a result, appeal to its lyrics and what it means.
The dark clear streets could also be used as a location where the singer is walking through on her own to again represent the sad situtation that she is in.
*Camera editing - reverse could be used at the end where the whole video could be reveresed really quickly and we could show a scene where she first me the guy she falls in love with (going back to the beginning) this could enforce the idea that she keeps on going back to the beginning and keeps feeling hurt almost like a cycle from when they first met to when she got hurt which keeps going on and on.The black and white emphasizes the gloomy dull feeling she is expressing.
*Actors - Include Contemporary dancers (as they are very expressive through their dance and would be perfect to represent what the singer is feeling), the singer herself and possibly the guy she is in love with for the end of the video where it is reversed.
*Costumes - plain dark coloured clothing would be used for the singer to express that she feels plain, empty and cold.
*Similar songs/artists - Rihanna (Diamonds, Stay) Christina Perri (Jar Of hearts), Alicia Keys (Unthinkable), Leona Lewis (Run, Bleeding Love), Delilah (Go).
