Tips regarding music video production

When researching into the editing process of music videos I discovered a website called http://www.aboutvideoediting.com/. This website had a comprehensive overall view as to the various types of editing within the world of media, e.g. TV, Film etc. and contained a number of important pieces of advice and tutorials for amateurs making their own music videos, found in the following link:

http://www.aboutvideoediting.com/tutorials/music-video.shtml

Examples of editing within contemporary pop videos

The following links provide examples of how the different types of editing are used within music videos, and what these various editing methods typically connote to within the world of media.

1) Straight cut
This is the most commonly used form of editing, and simply cuts from one subject to another, often during conversation. The example below is from...

2) Fade to black
The fade can either come from up or down and is usually a way of getting from one scene to another. The example below is from Beyonce's If I Were A Boy. It cuts from a scene within the car to a different scene in a bedroom.

3)Dissolve
This is a way of transporting a subject, either in place or time, and is a temperal edit method. The example below is from...


4) Continuity editing
This gives the viewer a continuous narrative of a moving subject, often reflected when a character leaves a room and the camera switches between these two places. The example below is from Britney Spears' 'Till The World Ends'. The camera, at first, follows through the ground upwards, and later follows the people as they drop through the manhole into the underground.

5) Cross cutting
This is a way of expressing narrative through something different, for example showing the reaction of somebody not present within the main setting. The example below is from Rihanna's 'Man Down'. It cross cuts between the rape itself and the aftermath, at the waterfall.

Analysis of sound in a music video

In our school lesson, today, we revised the various types of sound and the effect in which these many methods of sound are used. In order to utilise these various types of sound, it is important that I apply these to a real-life example of a contemporary professional music video

As the main form of sound in music videos is usually the non-diegetic sound of the track featured, it is important,in my analysis, to study the ways in which music videos incorporate complex narratives which are complete with both diegetic and non-diegetic sound. The most prolific contemporary example of this is yet another Lady GaGa video, in Telephone. The 'Pulp Fiction' themed video differs greatly from the former video that I analysed, in that there are large sections intersecting the short song, with a higher proportion of dialogue/action themed narrative to the actual music. The analysis, below, in the form of a video that I have made (using Windows Movie Maker), identifies the numerous types of diegetic and non-diegetic sounds used in the first 3 minutes of the Telephone introduction.

Analysis of camera angles in a music video

As classwork we developed our understanding of film terminology, by revising the different camera angles used in film and media, to broaden the range of shots we would be using in our own moving image work. I have chosen to apply this understanding to a modern music video, in order to exemplify the ways in which a contemporary music video director both applies and challenges these conventions. The music video I have chosen in Lady GaGa's 'Bad Romance' which is directed by Francis Lawrence (who is, generally, a movie director [I Am Legend etc.]. His involvement within the video is a perfect example of how movie filming techniques are applied to a music video setting. Below are examples of various camera angles used within the video, and what they signify within the video:

1. Very Wide Shot

The video opens with this very wide shot. This is often used as a substitute for an establishing shot, as it has here, where it opens the video. It is used to show a character in relation to their surroundings.

2. Close Up

A close up of a characters face is usually used to be indicative of the emotion they are feeling, yet this has been challenged by the large glasses which detract from any expression.

3. Long Shot/Two Shot

A long shot is typically used to show the entire figure yet here, as there is no singular figure for the camera to aim it's focus on, the long shot gives complete view to all seven chambers, on screen, coupling in elements of a 'two-shot'.

4. Over-The-Shoulder Shot

An over the shoulder shot is usually used to accompany conversation between two people, yet the use of the shot as GaGa sings into the mirror, is a clever challenging of the conventions to indicate her isolation in the sterile environment.

5. Mid-Shot

A mid-shot is typically used when the subject is delivering information, whilst it is still possible for the viewer to see any hand gestures made by the subject, which is apparent in this shot, as GaGa waves her hands as she sings at the camera.

6. Low Angle Shot

A high angle shot is usually used to show a position of power and status, which is reflected here, in the creatures freedom from the pod. 

7. Low Angle Close-Up

The shot here is a close up with the figure singing directly into the camera, which conventionally is an attempt to convey the main figure's emotion to the audience, and the coupling of this technique with the low angle  implies that we should sympathise with the character, reinforced by GaGa's facial expression.

8. Straight on Mid-shot

In this angle, GaGa looks directly at the camera. Those in the background are out of focus and her eyes stare directly into the camera, which coupled with the slightly high angle shot, make her look particularly menacing and powerful, in line with the typical conventions.

9. Focus Shift

The focus shift here moves from computer to computer as the camera pans down a line of identical computers. This has been hard to articulate with a picture, obviously.

10. Low angle shot

Here the use of a low angle shot is totally in line with convention in that a low angle shot usually implies a lack of power and status upon the figure in question. This is reflected in the status of GaGa here, who is being sold into prostitution and forced to dance for somebody, reflecting the typically conventions of this angle.

11. Low angle circular pan

The use of the low angle here is at odds with the earlier use and convention in that is conciously implies power and status, with the circular pan reinforcing the fact that she is at the centre of a degrading circle of men.

12. Extreme Close Up

An extreme close up can be used to both conceal and reveal a person's intentions, with the emphasis here being on concealing the emotion of the character by viewing them from a sidewards angle.

13. Zoom Out / Mid Shot / Two Shot

The zoom out reveals the subject of the camera to the audience in a gradual reveal with the mid shot/two shot allowing the audience to gauge what has happened with both characters, relative to their surroundings.

This year...

I am making a music video, for my moving image task. I have chosen this as I feel it best reflects my favourite aspects of the subject of media, and will compliment the work I did for last year's coursework, especially in making an accompanying magazine, which is a skill I developed last year. I would like to make a music video within the genre of pop, as a i feel this will be the most accessible genre to create, within my means.