Kahlil Joseph - Until The Quiet Comes (Inspiration)

Flying Lotus - Until The Quiet Comes

I was listening to the Until The Quiet Comes album and I found myself re-watching this short film and I admired the resourcefulness of Kahlil Joseph to create a music video, short film rather, of a hybrid structure: narrative and performance, and how he used interpretive dance to bring in the element of performance as majority of the music is electronically produced and makes it exceedingly difficult to incorporate into a video. I feel that, as a group, we need to devise a way to bring in an element of performance as our song choice is likely going to be electronically made.

I also enjoyed the sound editing in slowing the tempo of See Thru To You at the beginning to give the video an ominous effect and the helped enrich the dramatic effect of the narrative. Also, the editing of three songs to keep the audience interested as a lot of the music in the album is ambient and also, it marked a transition in the narrative.

The slow motion of the dancing with the slow speed of the music complimented each other perfectly and the lifelessness of the background actors and the life of the 'dead' actor gave the video a hauntingly beautiful effect.

In Depth-Video Analysis Script

Kanye West – Touch The Sky Script.docx

Music Video Director Advice - Mr. Ayoolo

Today, we received a guest lecture from Mr. Ayoolo, detailing how he got into the business of music video directing.

Sir, encouraged to always make storyboards and treatments as this prepared planning while help when you try and shoot a certain angle, also if it fits into the storyline and message one is trying to create.

He also stated that we shoot at different locations and be innovative and find areas we can just go and shooting without prior planning permission. He also stated that location is key in constructing a media text. location is just as important as props, costume and other elements of mies-en-scene.

It is also better to shoot out of sequence and take the opportunity as quickly as possible as there are other mitigating variables that can affect filming, i.e. weather and the public.

Mr. Ayoolo stressed that efficiency and creativity are key in the success of music videos, not budgets.

This is Mr. Ayoolo's video:

Editing To The Beat

Today, we did a technical workshop in which we learned how to edit to the beat effectively and how to use the slug as an editing guide to cut shots in rhythm with the soundtrack. We manipulated and changed the pace of shots and employed both rhythmic cuts and irregular cuts.

It was incredibly helpful as it alleviated some of the stress of working out how long a shot or a sequence must be and the effect of chopping up a sequence to match with the music. Also, as the video was four times as longs as our music mix, it gave us more coverage and thus allowed to be more creative.

This is the original video in which we edited to our music mix:




This is the edited video I made:

BBC Industry Article - Charlotte Church

An interesting BBC article in which Charlotte Church confronts the sexist music industry, for reasons Laura Mulvey highlighted. It seems to be there is some type of revolution aginst the sexual exploitation of women, as Charlotte Church has been one of a few female artists who have expressed their outrage against the media depiction of women. (link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24528022)

Britney Spears has recently censored her latest music video as the revealing nature of Spears inspired fear that her children will see the video.

Jimmy Kimmel/Kanye West Saga

These series of clips show that celebrities have the power to take control over their image and that their image doesn't have to be manufactured by major record label producers via online and TV media. However, even though, they're presenting a 'real' image it is still manufactured by the artist in a way that they see fit.

The Kanye West interview with Zane Lowe which I blogged about earlier, created a lot of buzz on the internet and TV shows. It even sparked a parody of the interview by comedian Jimmy Kimmel on his Kimmel Tonight, performed by children.

(Zane Lowe blogpost link: http://lingardra2media.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/kanye-west-bbc-radio-1-zane-lowe.html)



This response on Kimmel's show caused an even bigger stir than the parody or the original interview. The spoof caused an online feud between the two and insults over social networking site Twitter.



Kanye then appears on an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live and both speak about Kanye has been misrepresented in the media and felt mocked by Kimmel and the two resolve the feud.

(Part 1)


(Part 2)

Inspiration Post for Music Video

Our music video has an Alice In Wonderland theme and so the group decided we would employ some intertextuality in our product. Our Alice, A. takes an hallucinogenic called 'M.H.', the initials of Mad Hatter and goes through a journey of a dark, gritty underworld, looking for the girl with a white rabbit tattoed on her shoulder as her guide home. Alice's character interchanges between Hero and Princess.

My group came up with the idea that we'll have a helper or donor character who is a drug dealer. The dealer gives A the drug but also offers her a piece of advice in case she gets lost or trapped; which is "follow the white rabbit".  Those words would become diegetic sound and echo at different parts of the music video.

My group were inspired by Tree of Life - Lacrimosa sequence and thought it would be put to effective use if we created a similar sequence when A. 'trips' under the hallucinogenic and falls into wonderland.

 

As a group we hoped that we could imitate the visuals of Kendrick Lamar's Swimming Pools when A. stumbles into a lucid wonderland.

Kendrick Lamar - Swimming Pools - Falling shot

I was inspired by the opening of Joel Schumacher's Falling Down  opening sequence. The use of diegetic sound creating a claustrophobic crescendo and fast cuts/ extreme close-ups of Michael Douglas' face and surroundings before he has a nervous breakdown was something we hope to incorporate in our video.

Mr. Coppard introduced me to Skrillex's First Of The Year (Equinox) video which inspired me as I liked the creative take on fairytales and the twist within the narrative. It also uses some of the techniques that were used in Falling Down, such as the use of diegetic sound. Also, the lighting is quite Fincher-esque and helps create dramatic tone.

Richard Dyer Essay

To what extent does a pop stars image influence their audience?

In terms of Richard Dyer’s Star Theory, the terms “pop star” and “pop performer” are interchangeable. The difference between pop stars and pop performers is that pop stars may simply be awarded fame for being pop stars, appearing on reality TV shows or amidst controversial news and the like, or have an identity or persona which is solely not restricted to their musicianship. Both pop stars and pop performers are/become media constructs who directly influence their audience via fashion choices, music, celebrity persona, controversy etc. An example of a pop performer transitioning into a pop star is Kanye West.

Source A

Kanye began his rapping career having a ‘real’ image of a somewhat nerdy, funny, intelligent political activist. At this stage in his career, Kanye is clearly a pop performer rather than a pop star. Kanye at first was viewed as an ambassador for the "African-American" community, his subversive and comedic lyrics reflected social attitudes towards materialism, institutionalised/racial injustice and drug abuse. The critical and commercial success of Kanye’s first two albums launched him into the media celebrity culture and was put up on a pedestal, with audiences quoting verbatim Kanye lines in everyday conversations shows Kanye’s influence on the political attitudes to long-term and prevalent issues. Kanye’s fashion choices reflected his celebrity persona at the time; Kanye is presented as wholesome and politically conscious, also clashes against the approved style choices of hip-hop culture. Pink wasn't considered to be acceptable at the time in hip-hop as the genre embraced a hyper-masculine and possibly homophobic views.

Source B

Kanye’s image changed from pop performer to pop star during his third album (Graduation). Kanye began to conform to the cosmopolitan look, a record label's decision to appeal to a generalised market and place rappers on the same platform associated with celebrity socialites, such as Ryan Reynolds (Source B). Kanye’s music became more commercial and broad, lacking the political punch he was famous for; also fans began to follow the fashion trend of sporting the glasses in Source C. However, Kanye's dress sense brought a level of sophistication to hip-hop, as it broke some stereotypes that hip-hop is a "ghetto", aggressive culture that only speaks to black people, but is rather an all-inclusive genre, regardless of race.

Source C

Source D

Another rap artist that has similar impact as Kanye would be Eminem. Eminem presented two images simultaneously: the irreverent and outlandish comedian and the aggressive, but powerful lyricist. The influence of Eminem's music video implementing satire changed perceptions that hip-hop needn't be aggressive and sombre, but can express humour and unity. The use of comedy paved way for artists such as Kanye to incorporate comedy or skits in their videos, also, the humour brought in a wider fan base, mainly increasing White fans as they now has a figure in which they felt they could relate too. His more macabre side of his persona, broke the glass ceiling for white rappers to become known in a Black/Latino dominated genre, as before Eminem there was no White rappers that was able to compete as the same level as the Blacks and Latinos. Eminem is now heralded as not only one of the greatest White rappers, but one of the greatest rappers of all time ever.

Source E

Andrew Goodwin - Theory

Andrew Goodwin

Narrative Analysis

Frank Ocean - Pyramids

We track Frank Ocean's hazy journey through a strip club called "Pyramids". The club becomes surreal as we move through the club in Frank's perspective, through P.O.V shot. Frank is delirious from the alcohol and is search of a stripper named Cleopatra. The video is plays in a non-linear sequence as we see cut-away shots from riding his motorbike in the vast open desert, where he stumbles across a musician (John Mayer) playing a guitar solo.

Michael Jackson - Bad

Michael Jackson plays an ex-gang member who goes off to boarding school. On his return to inner city New York on the winter break, he runs into his old gang. The narrative is an example of Todorov's equilibrium theory. The leader of the gang (Wesley Snipes) accuses Michael Jackson of losing his roots and becoming a priggish, snotty 'prep' student. The arising results in a duel between the two of who's 'bad' and who isn't. The music video also employs Levi-Strauss' binary oppositions: Michael wins the duel as the 'good', smart, law-abiding character whilst Wesley Snipes the immoral thug loses. However, the video breaks social stereotypes that nerds are usually meek and weak and at the mercy of the thugs and bullies, challenging Levi-Strauss' theory of media texts conforming to societal values. On the other hand, one could argue it does conform to Levi-Strauss' theory as the good and moral character prevails and being a law-abiding, intellectual person is considered to be virtuous, whilst those who live outside of the law are deemed vicious.

A-Level Student Video Evaluation

Euan Baker Music Video - Wykes Sixth Form College

In the mies-en-scene, Euan uses the setting of a forest to construct the vast, overwhelming aspect of nature that connects with the tinny, ambient sound of the song selection and the gaps of silence between the noise in the music and the eerie, hallucinogenic vocals connoted with woods and fairytales. A quest through the unknown and the surreal.

Euan starts off with enigma codes and rhythmic cuts of flashing images of a liquid poured in water, this may connote that he consumed some form of liquid and causes Euan's perspective to be surreal, also there is consistency in lighting and colours, because the video is shot monochromatically, succeeding from the black-and-white images.

Euan employs a voyueristic shot, we look at Euan wandering suspicious of something following him, but unable to locate or identify  the cause of his suspicions. Euan uses a blur which contrasts with the focus of shots previous and also connotes the observer is not human and also through the angle of the shot connotes the observer is a predator.

In this sequence, Euan used slow-motion to heighten the drama of the jump and submergion into the unknown. The effect of the slow-mo makes the audience think slower and absorb the image and understand the narrative of the video clearly.

Spike Jonze Auteur Theory Case Study

Missing parts from Spike Jonze interview: "Also I like to bring in an element of comedy; the actors usually perform the comic moments straight, so we laugh at the absurdity of the characters, such as in Being John Malkovich when John Cusack’s wife Cameron Diaz falls in love with Catherine Keener (Cusack’s colleague), who Cusack is also in love with.

All three of my feature films are fantasy: Being John Malkovich, Adaptation and Where The Wild Things Are."

I also wanted to include my favourite Spike Jonze short film. A story of an awkward male robot (Andrew Garfield) who falls in love with an uninhibitited female robot (Sienna Guillory). It details the course of their romance and the sacrifices that come with love.