Potential Locations Research

I have created a questionnaire n Google Forms to help understand the needs of my audience in terms of the setting of my music video. I have been provided with a link to the questionnaire and I am going to send this to the same group of people that answered my first questionnaire, so as the different needs of different demographics don't get confused. In my free period on 9th December, I am going to analyse the results I obtained. Below is the short questionnaire:

Shot Inspiration

For inspiration of what I can include in my video I am going to watch videos with a similar atmosphere and identify parts that I would be able to recreate.

Gold Dust - DJ Fresh

This video has an atmosphere that I would like to replicate as it seems like it is low-budget, yet fun and entertaining, despite not including a strong narrative, which is what I am aiming for. It is important for me to have a lot of interesting shots to keep the audience engaged without an appearance of the artist or strong narrative. Predominantly belonging to the first 30 seconds of the video, I have found many shots at the beginning of the video that I would be able to create myself which are listed below.

To the right is an establishing shot that opens the video. It sets the scene for the audience.









The image on the left is a shot of two boys casually playing basketball, which gives the audience a sense of the sports culture on their environment.




The image on the right shows a boy skateboarding - it has no relevance to the storyline but it adds to the street atmosphere.

Above is a close-up of a random guys face

The image above shows a young boy on a scooter which again evidences the culture and street atmosphere. The right image shows a longshot of a boy walking with his basketball within his environment. Below shows a different boy about to shoot his basketball. In the background is a boy riding his bike.









A girl drinking water before the double
dutch tourney begins

To the right shows a meaningless image of a boy hanging onto what looks like a playground pole. It adds to the atmosphere really well as it makes the area look rundown and ultimately adds to the low budget feel.

Image of random group of boys spectating
the double dutch

Above shows an image of hands playing card games & the image on the left shows a low angle shot of a boy with his basketball. We can see the building which looks like a block of flats in the back & the low angle shot makes him seem proud of his environment.



Day 'n' Nite - Kid Cudi

This video is set in a supermarket/corner shop and this is a vibe I could replicate to add to the casual & colourful style I am aiming for. The video shows a negative representation of females which I wont be recreating, however there are certain shots that I have taken inspiration from, which are posted below:

The corner shop setting is also present in A Tribe Called Quest's 'Oh My God' music video, so I know that if I include scenes with this location I will be fitting the video perfectly with the genre. Shots of the shop used in this video are below:

We can witness a clear distinction between the shops in the 'Day 'n' Nite' and 'Oh My God' videos, where the shop in the images to the left looks more run-down. Perhaps this is because this video was made in 1993 and Kid Cudi's video was made 16 years later in 2009. As I have mentioned in my previous research, hip hop videos in the 90s were less about showing off their wealth, so it is understandable why the shop in the video looks this way. Also, ATCQ's videos were made on a much lower budget than more recent videos.

Time Management - Schedule

To keep organised, I have planned what I will be doing in my four extra hours of media work in the next two weeks:

27/11/15

In this study period I will start in-depth research into real products for shot inspiration.

2/12/15

In this study period I will continue the above research as it will probably take more than one hour.

3/12/15

I will be designing a questionnaire about the potential location of my music video.

9/12/15

In this free period I will obtain audience feedback for the potential locations.

Audience Feedback

Having four sisters and their friends and boyfriends between the ages of 15-24, I had access to 12 mixed gender and mixed cultured young people, who I shared my findings about editing techniques and camera movement with (in the previous two blog posts). I played them the song for the music video (The Hop - A Tribe Called Quest) and asked them which techniques they would like to see most in the video for this song.

• The overall opinion to the time lapse shot, was that it is interesting but wouldn't fit with the song.
• Around 60% of people said that they like the stop-motion effect, so I will consider using this is my final product.
• 10 out of 12 people want to see hand-held camera shots as this would create a more fun atmosphere and make the video seem more accessible and similar to something that they could do or make themselves. 
• Everyone liked the tracking shot and they felt like it gives a lot of character to the video. It makes the audience feel like they are there in the video. 
• Most people felt that the slow motion idea doesn't fit with the mood of the song.
• 8 out of 12 people felt that panning shots are interesting.

Camera Movement

Camera movement will be essential to the mood of my video, as the song I have chosen evokes a lot of different vibes that will need to be matched with the video. The four main camera movements in film are:

Hand-held camera: This is literally holding the camera with your hands to film. It gives a shaky effect and can be used to create tension. In music videos, this shaky movement can set a fast, tense or dangerous tone for the audience. This style of camera movement can be used by some artists to portray their personality. 

Slow motion: This is an editing technique that takes place after filming and can draw focus to the emotions of a shot. Slow motion shots are often used in music videos as it can work well to create a certain atmosphere and enhance the mood or to match the beat of the song. 

Panning: This is the most commonly used camera shot as it can follow the artist in a music video and draw the focus onto the artist or the events of the video.

Tracking shot: These shots can move back and forwards, from side to side or curve round. It can be used to follow the artist which gives them lots of attention and increases their star image.

The video below is 'The Psychology of Cinematography' and has been very helpful in teaching me how to use the camera to get the correct movement, and the effects of this. It also teaches that 'using movement lets the audience move throughout the scene', which is the type of effect I want to achieve in my video. 

How To...

As 'interesting editing' has been voted by my target audience as one of the most important aspects of a music video, I have started to think about potential editing and shots I can include in my music video. However, these are more complex than those that I used for my AS coursework project, so I am unsure of how to do them.

I decided that I will be using Adobe Premiere Pro to edit, as I have access to the software in my media class room and this will give me the most professional looking finished product. Also, I have a decent understanding of the features because I have previous experience with this software.

YouTube provides access to a huge range of tutorial ('how to') videos, so it would be a great idea to take advantage of the videos it offers. This will be the most informative and quickest way for me to research and learn about shot types and editing techniques, because I am not sure exactly of what techniques I will be using, so I will be good to have a knowledge of a range.

How To Time-Lapse

How To Stop-Motion

How To Tracking Shot

Mise-en-scene

Mise-en-scene is a French term meaning what is put into the scene or frame. It is the visual information in front of the camera and it communicates essential information to the audience. Each aspect of mise-en-scene has hidden meanings within a film and sends signals to the audience about how we are supposed to feel at a certain point. I am going to keep the mise-en-scene within my music video consistent throughout, as I want them to feel the same vibe through the entire video. The five areas of mise-en-scene I am going to be looking at are settings & props, costume, hair & make up, facial expressions & body language, lighting & colour and the positioning of characters/props within the frame.

Settings & Props

From looking at different hip hop videos, I have noticed that they are all situated outdoors to create a street vibe. Some are literally filmed in a street and others are filmed in what looks like basketball courts etc. The images below shows shots of different hip hop videos with these settings.

Pete Rock & CL Smooth - T.R.O.Y. (1992)

My research has shown me that the backgrounds of hip-hop videos show either bricks, pavements, wired court walls or simply the sky. This is because the artists have not come from wealthy backgrounds and they want to represent where they're from. As these scenes can be found anywhere and don't have to be made or hired, like in high budget music videos, I will be able to replicate these settings.

I am also interested in filming in corner shops, as I found in my last post 'Shot Inspiration' that it can work quite effectively. As I know the owner of an off-licence in Tottenham, I have been able to get permission to film at this location.

In addition to this I think filming in record shops would add a sense of authenticity - records were much more commonly used in the 90s. This setting can be seen in hip hop videos such as:

Dilated Peoples -
Worst Comes To Worst (2001)

Having been inspired by those that I have seen in hip hop videos, I am thinking of including many different props in my music video, such as:

A vinyl record/record player

A Tribe Called Quest -
Oh My God (1993)

Gangstarr - Above The Clouds (1998)

Speakers

Skee-Lo - I Wish (1995)

A basketball

Facial Expressions & Body Language

Hip-hop artists create casual and positive vibes through their facial expressions & body language. They are often seen smiling or laughing, and always move freely with their bodies.

Lighting & Colour

The colours are very bright and there is a predominant use of highlighting to evoke the positive and fun atmosphere.