Time Changes in Music Videos

One of the main focuses of our music video is the fact that is flashbacks from the present to the past, showing two different times in the girls life. I have therefore thought of music videos which share this trait to see how the difference in time is shown, for example through colour or just appearances.

Katy Perry, The One That Got Away

The music video to 'The one that got away' shows the life of an old women reminising back to her past when she was young. This is shown in the video through changes in colour. The images below show two occasions in the video when it flashes between her current life and her as a teenager. The modern day is quite bright and white in colour, while the past is shown in an almost sepia tone which appears to be a warmer colour. However, there is not a large range of colour which shows it could be her memory fading slightly.

Kesha, Tik Tok

I have based a lot of my music video research on this song as it links very well to our own plan. The video shows a girl who is quite wild waking up after a night out; this is shown in very brief flashbacks reflecting her memories of the night. The flashbacks, as with Katy Perry's video, are shown in a different colour scheme, this time being black and white. This effectively separates the flashbacks from the main storyline, meaning the audience cannot get confused and shows that it has happened in the past.

Rihanna, We Found Love
This music video has also been referred to a lot during my research as the storyline is similar to our own, with a relationship breaking up. Like the above two music videos, this one uses flashbacks, showing the happy couple who have know become bored and separated. However, unlike the two above, this music video does not use a change in colour to show the contrast but instead shows the time changes just in the appearances of the couple. They look happy and relaxed in the past but in the present are depressed and looking dirty/ uncaring.

Lighting in Music Videos

Different Types of Music Video

Music Video's can be made in various ways. They may or may not:

• Film real People
• Include the singer/ band themselves
• Be animated
• Include the songs lyrics
• Use special effects

Special Effects
An example of a music video which uses special effects is 'Earthquake' by Labrinth. The video is almost completely special effects which would have been added during editing, after the artist himself had been filmed.

Animated

An example of a music video which has been animated is 'Heartless' by Kayne West. This video has a cartoon style but animated video's can also be in a 3D style, like Justin Bieber's 'Santa Claus is coming to Town'. Animated music videos do no require filming using a camera as they involve using a computer to create the different images and put them together.

Music Videos With Lyrics

 Some music videos add lyrics of the song, either on their own or with footage of the band/ artist. Neyo did this in his music video 'Closer'. Not all lyrics were shown and only one or two words were put on the screen together at the same time, keeping the artist himself as the main focus of the video.

Most Common Music Videos

Many music videos do not include any of the above qualities; showing just people and different settings. However, these can either include the artist/ band or feature actors who do not actually have anything to do with the song. An example of a music video in which the artist barely features is 'Lego House' by Ed Sheeran. Though his picture is shown in the video and he can be seen walking out of a lift for a few seconds, the rest of the video features a boy.

Contrastingly, Take That's music videos always star the band, but manage to include them in a story rather than just filming them in a studio.

Researching Colour in Music Videos

Many modern music videos edit the colour of the films. This can include making the music video black and white which can either make it appear classy and glamorous or portray it as sad and emotional. Many vidoes also use colour filters to tint the video a certain colour. This could make it appear warm, cold, summery, lively or calm etc. I have researched videos using these different methods to see how the video portrays the characters.

Black And White Music Videos

Classy and Glamorous

Along with the outfits chosen and settings of these two music videos, the artists are made to appear wealthy and glamourous.

Evoking sympathy

In both music videos above, the settings and outfits are very basic, portraying the characters as lonely and sad.

Colour Filters

Rihanna, Only Girl in the World

Katy Perry, Teenage Dream

Both of these videos has had the colour altered, using a colour filter. While the top one has a pink affect, making it very girly and warm, the bottom one looks quite old with a subtle blue filter. This gives quite a calm appearance.

Researching Music Videos

For our own music video, my group have decided that for some scenes we will be filming a band we know, while for other scenes we will film a girl and two boys to link with the lyrics.

Firstly, I have therefore researched music videos which film the band. I have found there are various different styles/ methods when filming bands. Some have singers miming lyrics, some film the entire band together and some film only individuals at once, or their instruments.

Ignorance, Paramore

The first music video I thought of which I know only features the band and not a storyline is 'Ignorance' by Paramore. Paramore, being a rock band, make a similar style of music to JET. This music video could therefore influence our choices of setting, costume and lighting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OH9A6tn_P6g&ob=av2e

 The music video for 'Ignorance' is set in a basement where the only feature is a single plain light bulb. This effectively keeps the audience’s attention on the band and not the setting. The lighting has clearly been considered during the making/ editing of this music video as the setting would be naturally dark. The band, however, can be clearly seen and appear to be illuminated by the single light bulb. Two different settings are used in this video; both are dark and look similar with the bulb present, however, one is very confined while the other is an open space. This makes the video more diverse with the open space allowing the bands instruments to be seen clearly.

This ain't a Love Song, Scouting for Girls

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=886AQqcM8Tk

'This ain't a Love Song' is a lot calmer than the previous song which I believe is refelcted in the filming. While parts of the song involves filming the band, other parts tell a story which based in an airport. Different instruments and band members are filmed individually, but never altogether like in ‘Ignorance’.

 The main focus of this music video is clearly the story at the airport, rather than the band which is shown in the way only parts of the band/ instruments are shown. I believe this is effective at preventing the attention being drawn away from the story and onto the band and will therefore use this in my own work if we decide the story should be the main aspect of our music video.

This is how you remind me, Nickleback
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cQh1ccqu8M&ob=av2e

Like Scouting for Girls, Nickleback have chosen to film both the band and tell a story in their music video but contrastingly have made the band the main focus. This is shown in the way the band is continuously being cut back to, with only small clips of a story. In addition, the whole band is shown while individuals are generally shown when it cuts to the story.

Like Paramore's music video, 'This is how you remind me' is shot in a fairly dark setting but with the band clearly shown. I believe this makes the video quite sleak and, along with the costumes of the band, provides a rocky atmosphere.

Adobe Premiere Trial

In today's lesson we were introduced to Adobe Premiere Elements which we will be using to put together and edit our films. With no models available I took various shots of my cat; I also tried out camera movement and have put these clips together on Premiere to make a film.

Using different effects and transitions I edited the film so the clips run smoothly and makes the cat look menacing.

The final product