Editing.

ITS THE 15TH DECEMBER 2010 AND OUR MUSIC VIDEO IS STARTING TO TAKE SHAPE.


We have uploaded footage from last weekend and lesson onto final cut express and have added the music. The scenes where the protagonist is walking down the corridor is in place but unedited, this will be supplemented by more footage yet to be filmed. We have done lots with the office scenes, at least one verse is synchronised with the music and varied in terms of camera shots. A few more scenes are currently under obstruction. The rest of the first edit (with the footage that we have) will be done and exported by tommorow.


We have booked a camera and tripod (unfortunatly all the dollys were taken) which will be collected by the end of friday.


The following scenes are what still needs to be filmed:

• Some corridoor scenes
• The jump-cut door scenes
• Party scene

Filming:

We have now got footage so we can now edit more ... yay.

Official Filming:

AS LAST WEEKEND'S FILMING DID NOT GO TO PLAN, WE HOPE TO BE READY TO EDIT BY NEXT MONDAY. WE HAVE CAREFULLY PLANED OUR TIME AND CAME UP WITH THE FOLLOWING PLAN. 

This weekend:

As David has the connections with our actors, he will film: the chorus, mirror and happy scenes. He will also take photos of the actors, locations and props.

Wednesday/Thursday lunch (week beginning Monday 13th December:)

During lunchtimes most rooms are empty, this makes this time ideal when it comes to filming the corridor and office scenes. Setting these scenes at school felt appropriate as all the props are already there.

Tuesday Afternoon:

It is unfair to book two cameras, dollys and stands for the weekend as the other groups also need the equipment. As a result I plan to film the beggining scenes after school on Tuesday. It might be dark so we might have to change the lighting.

Editing: 

By Thursday and Friday we plan to be editing the footage that we have.

Illness and Distrubtion:

This weekend we planned to film, but David was ill so he could not collect the equipment. Unfortunately, the bits that needed filming I cannot do as I don't have the contacts. This means these bits will have to be filmed as soon as possible another time.

Types of Music Video:

THERE ARE THREE TYPES OF MUSIC VIDEO, THESE INCLUDE: PERFORMANCE, EXPERIMENTAL AND NARRATIVE. 

Performance music videos do exactly what they say on the tin, they are based on performances. An example of this is Linkin Park's 'Faint.' However, Linkin Park are of the Nu-Metal genre which means that Pistola Kicks's audience wont be attracted to our promotional pack if we use ideas specific to this genre. Despite this, performance music videos are used amongst all music genres which means we could incorporate this into our music video.

Experimental music videos have no narrative, they are all experimental non-narritive based shots. These can be performance or just random. An example is 'Can't Stop' by Red Hot Chili Peppers. Red Hot Chili Peppers are of the Rock genre which means we cannot use this band's promotional material as inspiration but we can use the experimental style in this music video as this is a common convention of Indie anyway.

Narrative music videos are, as it says on the tin, are based on narrative. An example of this is 'Asylum' by Disturbed which is part performance and part narrotive. This narrotive involves somone trying to escape an asylum, this might be a visual metaphor for his emotional struggle. Disturbed are of the Heavy Metal genre so we cannot use them as inspiration as such but we could use narrotive shots in our music video.

Institution:

PISTOLA KICKS ARE UNSIGNED BUT THIS DOES NOT MEAN THEY CANNOT PRODUCE RECORDS. THEY CAN PRODUCE RECORDS USING A STUDIO OF THEIR OWN, BUT THE QUALITY MIGHT NOT BE THAT GREAT. THE BEST OPTION FOR A BAND IS TO GET A RECORD DEAL. WHEN PIATOLA KICKS DO GET SIGNED THERE ARE SEVERAL RECORD LABELS THAT COULD BE INTERESTED. THERE ARE SMALL RECORD LABELS SUCH AS ARTIC MONKEY'S DOMINO AND THE BIG THREE: EMI, SONY BMG AND UNIVERSAL RECORDS. 

Domino Records Co promote themselves as an UK independent record label of over ten years vintage. They usually promote and produce music from a variety of genres including Folk music [e.g. Robert Wyatt.] However, the bulk of their artists are of the Indie genre including: Franz Ferdinand, Queens of the Stone Age and Villagers. This could redeem Domino a good option for Pistola Kicks. However, this record label is not very well known and maybe a more well known record label would be better for the band as their fans and future audience will know what to expect when they see the record label logo. With Domino there is a reduced chance of this happening which could result in a reduced fan base.

EMI are mass market record label giants along with the rest of the big three. This means their logo is easily reconised by Indie fans which would be good for Pistola Kicks. This means they produce and promote music from a multiple of genres. This includes: Rock [The 69 Eyes], Techno [Deadmou5] and Heavy Metal [Airbourne.] Indie is even in the mix with bands such as Babyshambles, Artic Monkeys and Cage the Elephant. This could make EMI an option for Pistola Kicks.

Sony BMG are also a record label giant with a variety of genres to their name. This includes: Rock [Foo Fighters], Pop [Pink] and Indie [Kings of Leon, The Script.] Their website has been regenerated so only a few of their artists are menioned but the majority of these are of the Indie genre.  Their logo would be easily reconised by Pistola Kicks's audience and is associated with Indie music. This means that Pistola Kick's audience coud expand when people seee the Sony  BMG logo.

Universal Records are the third biggest record company with a wordwide name and reputation. This means having their logo on Pistola Kicks's Digi-pack [well, ours really] would attract music fans throughout the  globe. This means that Univeral Records produce and promote artists from a variety of genres including: Rock [Escape the Fate], Pop [Lady Gaga] and Rap [Black Eyed Peas]. However, this insitution does not promote and produce much Indie music so would not be suitable for Pistola Kicks.  


 As a result of Sony BMG's wide Indie portfolio and worldwide recognition, this institution would be best for Pistola Kicks. Their logo will be used in our Digi-pack.

Storyboard:

SetBack:

Our plan to film this weekend has been jeopardised. Unfortunately there were no cameras left to book so our plan was not possible. As a result we plan to get the filming done sometime this week instead ready to edit.

Location Shots:

Here are some location shots for the footage at the very beginning of the music video. These shots are set in the small village of Great Chesterford. As we [or rather I] have to get filming at a ungodly hour to get footage of the sunrise over a hill we thought filming an empty street in the morning would be easier, more effective and just as good in terms of expressing the narrative of the song.

Me Filming:

Street 1 - Shop:

Street 2 - Pub:

Field 1 - Trees and Cars:

Field 2 - Cars:

Trees:

Not Used:

This weekend's task:

This weekend we plan to get some filming done. David (who is better equipped with appropriate actors) will film the Xbox scene, the mirror scene, the football scene and possibly the party scene. The camera will be booked today. In the meantime the song needs to be lip synced.

My task is to film the rest another time (we can only book one set of equipment at a time.)

Props, Actors and Locations:

STORYBOARD COMPLETE (BUT UNHELPFULLY LEFT AT HOME) ITS TIME TO PLAN PROPS, ACTORS AND LOCATIONS READY FOR FILMING NEXT WEEK. 

Actors:

• Tom Swinburn (The Protagonist)
• Curtis Reid, Harry Curry and Tom Swinburn (Football people)
• Jennifer Quillen, Curtis Reid (House people)
• ? (Lady who gives him paperwork)
• ? (Dancing people)

Locations:

• Saffron Walden town (Street Scene)
• Debden/Literberry (Sunrise Scene)
• SWCHS
• Cambridge

Props:

• Paperwork
• Computer
• Clock
• Desk
• Shaver
• Mirror
• XBOX/PS3
• TV

Departures and No Arrivals:

Not long ago saw the departure of Tom Bowers. Three minds then transfomed into two as it was clear the group arrangement wasn't working. The storyboard is now looking a lot less artictic, but we continue to move forward.

Storyboard:

Its the 29th November 2010 and the storyboard is now complete ready to be uploaded soon.

Story Board Notes and Inspiration:

ITS THE 25TH NOVEMBER AND THE STORYBOARD IS ALMOST COMPLETE. SEPARATE SHEETS THAT ONCE SEEMED UNCOORDINATED NOW COMBINE CHRONOLOGICALLY INTO MANY SHEETS IN A MUSICAL TIMELINE.

Storyboard:

There are three parts to the song: the 20 second introduction, the first verse, the chours, the second verse and the chours followed by an ending. The ending shots are yet uncertain. In the introduction The first shot will be of a rising sun to represent a new day, which cuts between a shot of a busy street adding to the 'new dawn, new day' prefered reading. The sun rooted firmly in the sky connotes that the new day that has begun and yesterday has gone.

In the first verse there is a jump cut of the protagonist walking down many corridoors to connote the repetitiveness of his working life. There are then several medium shots of him working at his computer, separated by close up shots of a fast forwarding clock to connote time going by. This is then followed by a high angle shot of the protagionist slouched in his chair and a rotation to connote the craziness he feels.

In the chorus  he is slouchiong watching TV in slow motion while his friends dance sped up around him. This connotes his lack of interst in everything.  The fast cuts of him 'relaxing' and him at his desk connote the lack of intersting activity in his life.

The second verse shows a shot reverse shot of him working and sending emails to link to the lyrics 'every letter i deliver.' The lack of variation in the clip shows the lack of variation in the proytagonist's life. There is a shot of the protagonist shaving, the half shaven face connoting his unkept mental state versus his 'smiley days.'

The Pistola Kicks song has a rather depressing theme: the lack of satisfaction and variety in a working man's life. We thought an office job suited this perfectly, hence an office man he bacame. Monotone, washed out colours have been chosen for our music video because they reflect this tone very well. A music video of a similar genre that uses this colouring for the same effect is 'When the Sun Goes Down' by Artic Monkeys.

Inspiration: 'For Unknown Reasons' by The Killers



Once again this music video by The Killers has a western theme which explains the chosen mise-en-scene. This includes costumes and locations. Our song won't suit this theme but this does not mean this music video cannot inspire us. With a monotone colouring this music video is quite similar to how ours would be, shots have been layered in an experimental style by making the band move with the ever changing western background image. I like this along with the experimental style slow motion/sped up walking shots at 01:26 - 01:35. There are lots of performance and narrative shots, only these are linked as the band are also the narrative. The whole band and the vocalist are also singing, this is atypical for an Indie music video. However, there are few individual shots through which means the media text lacks variety. I like these effects and features and they could suit our music video too.

Practice Editing Techniques:

AFTER WATCHING THE HIGH GRADED 'VIXENS - VOODOO CHILD' MUSIC VIDEO WE WERE GIVEN THE  OPPORTUNITY TO TRY OUT SOME OF THEIR EDITING EFFECTS OURSELVES. THE FOUR SPLIT SCREEN (1:04) WAS CHOSEN. THIS IS A VERY EFFECTIVE TECHNIQUE WHICH  WE MAY CONSIDER USING IN OUR MUSIC VIDEO.

We filmed four people (Me, Tom, Dave and Ewan) looking in different directions in the hope that each clip would fit perfectly in a four clipped screen. This was not successful because Ewan was the only one who kept looking in the same direction for a long time, the rest of us moved making the clips much shorter and harder to edit. Added to this, the original shots included our shoulders but when they entered the timeline only our heads were shown. this was fine until we realized we needed a freeze-frame at the end of each clip to make the four clips stay on the same screen while the other person moved. When we made the freeze-frame it was exactly the same as the clip should be. This looked weired. When we tried to crop the clip it didn't work to the effect that we had planned.

We could still use this technique in our music video though. To make sure this doesn't happen again we will make the clip last longer and hope the footage doesn't go weired again. However, through this experience we learnt that one clip can be expanded to slowly fill the screen and disappear. We could use this technique in our music video too.

Narrotive Codes and Inspiration:

ROLAND BARTHES, 1990, FOUND THAT IN ORDER TO HOOK AN AUDIENCE INTO THE NARRATIVE OF A MEDIA TEXT FIVE NARRATIVE CODES ARE COMBINED. THESE CODES ALSO HELP AN AUDIENCE BRING THEIR OWN UNDERSTANDING TO A MEDIA TEXT. THESE ARE: HERMENEUTIC (ENIGMA) CODE, PROAIRETIC (ACTION) CODE, SEMIC CODE, SYMBOLIC CODE AND REFERENTIAL (CULTURAL) CODE. THE TERM 'NARROTIVE CODE' CAN BE MISLEADING AS THESE CAN BE APPLIED TO NON-NARROTIVE BASED MICRO-ELEMENTS. WE COULD USE THESE IN OUR MUSIC VIDEO TO HOOK IN OUR AUDIENCE.

• The hermeneutic code simply means engaging the audience by offering a puzzle and then delaying the answer to the enigma. This delay can take place any time in the media text, some enigmas are never even answered.
• The proairetic code refers to an event that has a series of logical conciquences. This code is intended to make the audience ponder where the narrotive is going and watch the film to find out. Steriotypes are often used here to help the audience make their judgements.
• The semic code refers to connotations of characters and mise-en-scene.
• The symbolic code is about binary oppositions, good vs evil and conflict between two opposing forces. These are the protagonist and antagonist.
• The referential code refers to ideology and the knowledge the audience brings to a media text. Good examples of this are spoof films or even music videos using intertextuality.

A media text which uses all these codes is 'A Dustland Fairytale' by The Killers.  It uses the hermeneutic code by making the audience ponder upon why a man is leaning on his car in a grass less field. They then see flashbacks of a fight scene and ponder upon whether that has anything to do with it. This is the proairetic code. The cigarette he is holding and the outfit he is wearing suggests that he might be American or a farmer yet was rebelliouss as a boy. This is shown through the flashbacks. These are part of the semic code whilst the symbolic code is shown through the fight scenes although the audience does not know who is bad and who is good. It could be to do with the romance scenes as maybe both boys like the girl. However, based on morality of society the bad man is the one who killed the other accidentally or not. The villain is the protagonist. The close up shots of cloth being wrapped around hands and distance shots of the punch up connote that they are having a fight. This is the referential code and works through the use of of western films conventions which this media text is imitating.

The Killers are another Indie/Rock band that could inspire our promotional pack through Indie conventions.In this music video there are a mixture of narrotive and performance shots, this is a convention of the Indie genre which our audience will reconise and like. There are a variety of shots and the performance ones have been crosscutted with the narrotive shots. This is effective in conveying the narrotive and adding variety to the media text. I also like the dark colors and lighting used in the fight shots as it connotes negativity. This music video expresses the narrotive well by using a variety of shots to express similar emotions such as the car shot in the field and shots of him in his home. However our song does not enable us to use variety to this extent as the protagonist's life is far from varied.

Inspiration: Artic Mokeys "When the Sun Goes Down"

AFTER LISTENING CAREFULLY TO THE SONG AND RESEARCHING THE LYRICS, WE STARTED TO LOOK AT MUSIC VIDEOS [AND OTHER MEDIA TEXTS] THAT HAD SIMILAR THEMES. ONE BAND WAS ARTIC MONKEYS. 


 

Artic monkeys are a Indie/Rock band from Shefield. They are of a similar genre to Pistola Kicks so their media texts could have a huge influence over ours through common Indie conventions. This music video is narrative based due to the meaning behind the lyrics. This suits the song well so we might do the same with our music video. Dark colours and lighting effects have been used to express the downbeat narrative. This looks good and reflects the tone of the song well. I like the use of mise-en-scene with the locations and costumes as they show that the girl in the video is poor and could be into prostitution. I also like the varierty of camera shots too especially the crosscutting between the two people together and the girl alone as it expresses the lyrics well. The repetition of certain shots such as the mid shot of the girl is looking sadly at the camera and long shots of her walking in scruffy areas are especially effective. The fast pace of the music video at 57 seconds and onwards, which matches the fast pase of the music, is typical of a music video but works very well with the song.We probably will do this in our music video, but using quick cuts instead of sped up moving camera shots. Dark or washed out colouring will most likely be used in our music video too along with repetition of shots that express the narrotive and relevant mise-en-scene.

Lyrics:

POSTED HERE ARE THE LYRICS TO OUR CHOSEN SONG, WE WILL USE THESE AS POINTERS IN OUR STORYBOARD. THE STRUCTURE, LYRICS AND SONG TIMINGS MIGHT COME HAHDY THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS. THEY MIGHT EVEN INFLUENCE OUR PROMOTIONAL PACKAGE TOO.

[Introduction Music]

Verse 1:
I've been living with my eyes wide shut,

I'd give it all if you'd let me give it up,

I've tried too hard and now I've had enough (x2)

[Pre-chorus Music]

Chorus

Its Friday night tonight, the weekend passes by

Monday coming soon, well its another working week for you

[Pre-verse Music]

Verse 2

For every letter that i push,

For every dinner that i rush,

The days that just don't seem worth while,

Whatever happened to that smile?

Whatever happened to that smile of mine?

[Bridge]

Whatever happened to... (x16)

[Instrumental]

Chorus x4

First Post Welcome ...

My name is Jess Paterson and I am a 6th form student at Saffron Walden County High School. For my A2 Media Studies coursework I am working in a team of three to create a promotional package for an 'actual music' song that is already in the public domain. This will include: a music video, Magazine advert and Digi-pack. My team includes Tom Bowers, David Revell and me.

The song we have chosen is 'Friday Nights' by Pistola Kicks, an unsigned Alternative/Indie/Rock Myspace band from Newquay. Other similar artists include NME bands (bands that regularly feature in the music magazine NME) such as Vampire Weekend, The Futureheads, The Pigeon Detectives and Artic Monkeys.

 This is an extract of the song:




... and here is their Myspace profile


This shows that Pistola Kicks like promote themselves as friendly, professional and typically Indie. This is shown by the good quality page and music links. However, their page is quite dark in colour and there are lots of band photos which highlights the tone of the song we have chosen. This suggests that Pistola Kicks write their songs about real life situations, like the song we have chosen which suggests that their audience would be Indie fans that like their music meaningful. The top bit of the webpage is dark and shows their logo and an experimental, fun edited photo. This shows that they are a band that connect well with their audience as they are proud of their music and the fans identify with this.