Song Choice

The song I have chosen to use for my music video is 'Clouds' by Newton Faulnkner Sam Newton Battenberg Faulkner (born 11 January 1985); an English singer-songwriter and musician from Reigate, Surrey. He is known for his unique, percussive style of guitar playing.

I initially chose this song because I like it, I am fan of Newton Faulkner and I decided to listen to his album for some inspiration on what song to use for my A2 music video. After listening to both 'Hand Built by Robots' and 'Write it on your Skin' I liked 'Clouds' the most.

When looking more deeply into the song and its meaning to try and fit a message for my music video around it I conducted some further research. Some of the lyrics slightly contradict each other and the message isn't completely clear when looking at the lyrics. To help me identify the meaning I found a video made by Newton Faulkner to help me research his interpretations; he said the main message of the video was that things get better if you just staty possitive and persue things. The video has since been taken down from his website but below is an article that I found that gives a further in-sight to the meaning of the song from an audience persepective. http://glipho.com/rnbryant/stop-looking-down-at-the-ground-just-pick-it-out-of-the-clouds

Here is a link to the lyrics: http://www.tunewiki.com/lyrics/newton-faulkner/clouds

Music Video Genres

There are different styles of music video that artists can use.

Performance:
 

This is where the video is based around the band/artist and shows them performing and their gigging lifestyle. It's a common genre with new, up and coming artists that are trying to establish their place in the music industry and make themselves known to the audience. An example of a music video that has used the performance genre is 'Let Her Go' by Passenger; please see bellow.

Storyline:

This is where the song and lyrics are used to tell a story. This is a very common theme among many music videos and allows for the artists interpretation of the song to be conveyed to the audience. An example of a music video that has used the storyline genre is 'The A Team' by Ed Sheeran; please see bellow.

Dance:

This is where the music video is based around people dancing to the music, it is often used with 'upbeat songs' for a feel good effect. Often, the artist or band are the dancers in the music video.  An example of a music video that has used the dance genre is Love On Top' by Beyonce; please see below:

 

 

 

Conceptual:

Conceptual music videos are based around a single idea or concept and are usually unusual and obscure, even surreal for the audience. Conceptual videos are often quirky.  An example of a music video that has used the conceptual genre is 'Needing/Getting' by OK Go; please see below:

Special Effects:

Special Effect videos are often disjointed, they allow for a slightly surreal feel to the video. An example of a music video that has used the special effects genre is 'Safe and Sound' by Capital Cities; please see below:

 

Animation:

 

Animated music videos can range from the images being hand drawn, created by computer graphic ot moulded out of material such as plasticine. This style of music video is very creative and visually entertaining to watch. An example of a music video that has used the animation genre is 'One More Time' by Daft Punk ; please see below:

 

 

Practising Shots

Another shot that I wanted to do was a sunrise Time lapse.

I have the idea of starting my video with a person sat on a hill side watching the sun rise, this will be the male protaganist in my music video who is trying to better his life. I will then end the shot with the male in the same place but he will be sat next to a female. I think it will link the story together well and give it a romantic feel.

Here is an example of a dunrise times lapse that I've found (skip to 10 seconds when the time lapse starts). I also found a still picture of the end shot that I envisage.



Practising Shots

On thing that I'm really keen on doing when filming my music video is playing with the depth of field on some shots. I want some shots that go from being blurred to focused and vise versa and I want some shots that have a blurred background whilst the focus is on the main feature of the shot. Above is a video that I found with lots of examples of the kinds of shots that I want to try when filming my video.

I have also found another video where it is specifically the fairy lights that are blurred, this is a shot that I have in mind. It's 'let her go' by Passenger. I plan on using an SLR camera to create these shots as I feel they will be very effective when adjusting the depth of field


Finally I have taken this idea and tried to create my own shot. I have used a Nikon SLR camera to film some  fairy lights using different depths of focus.

'The Bridge'

In Fridays lesson we watched another documentary called 'The Bridge'; filmed in 2004 by Eric Steel. It shows the results of one years filming along the Golden Gate Bridge and the 23 jumps and several suicide attempts that happened over the course of the filming. It also has additional footage of interviews with the families of those who jumped and a survivor; Ken Baldwin. The inspiration for this documentary came from an article in The New Yorker; 'Jumper' - Tad Friend.

There are many controversial issues that are surround this documentary, the main being the sensitive and strong content. We thought of some questions in the lesson based more around the treatment of the documentary rather than the content of it.

Do we have the right to see this?

This, like 'The boy who's skin fell off', is a very sensitive issue. However, 'the boy who's skin fell off' promoted a related charity and helped to spread awareness of the condition; I feel 'The Bridge' didn't look at the issue in the same way. I think it was based more around suicides linked to the Golden Gate Bridge being a regular place that people commit suicide rather than spreading the awareness of the issue and promoting a way of helping such as a charity). Having said this I think the treatments made viewers aware that 'everyday people' are suicidal and helped to spread awareness that it can happen to anyone, I also think it helped to express the importance of not ignoring symptoms and therefore I believe it did promote some parts in a good way. Finally, I think it gave a strong message to people who are feeling suicidal. We hear  Ken Baldwins story in the documentary and his attempt of suicide that he immediately regretted. I think this gives a positive message and a feeling of hope.

Why has the documentary got an 18 rating?

Film classification is based on violence, bad language, sex and nudity and taste and decency. This documentary has a high rating, this is due to its taste and decency. I personally found the documentary very hard to watch due to its harsh reality. In the documentary you watch a real life suicide and many reenactments along with verbal accounts and photo graphs from people who have seen people jumping off the bridge or climbing over the railing. This can clearly be disturbing for many viewers and therefore a high rating was needed so that an audience that was too young didn't view it as it's likely that they'd have found it harder to deal with.

The Boy Whose Skin Fell Off

In class we watched a very inspiring documentary called 'The Boy Whose Skin Fell Off'. It is a moving story about the last four months of Johnny Kennedy's life and showed his suffering and long battle with the rare condition - dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (EB) it also shows his release, his death. To watch the full documentary please follow this link: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-boy-whose-skin-fell-off/4od


The documentary has many sensitive issues within it and in class we were asked to think about the following questions and write a response to them. Here are my thoughts on the programme:

Do we have the right to see this?
Whilst this documentary has been made to inform people and raise awareness I believe that some of what was shown shouldn't have been. Johnny clearly worked alongside E4 to create this documentary about his last 4 months and therefore I believe it was his wishes for us to see this footage. In some respects his day to day life and obstacles helped to portray the struggle he went through strongly however, some of these 'day to day' things were perhaps a bit too personal to show. For example seeing Johnny in excruciating pain, I personally found really hard to watch as my heart sank at the thought of him having to go through that on a weekly basis. Also, when Johnny's Mum mentioned being asked if she would have had an abortion I thought was a very personal thing to show to millions of people and was perhaps overstepping the line in terms of what they are sharing about such sensitive issues. Finally, although seeing Johnny dead in his wheelchair and viewing his funeral was deeply upsetting and emotional for us as the audience I feel we shouldn't have seen this not for our sake but the families. Us seeing this footage meant that they were not left to grieve at such a sad time but instead surrounded by camera men and crew member, this I felt was particularly insensitive. Having said this and stated some negative points my overall feel is that the documentary was an amazing opportunity for Johnny and other EB sufferers and that it was clearly made with the wishes of a dying man and I therefore agree that E4 should of and did respect what he wanted.

Should they be filming this?
The first time we are introduced to Johnny is in his voice over. The voice over has been scripted so that Johnny sounds as though he is speaking from the grave; to me this is slightly insensitive; however, I think maybe it is the tactfulness of the filming rather than the content. Having said this he may have decided he'd rather approach the touching story in a more informal way. Although my immediate thought was that some of the filming wasn't very tactful Johnny has clearly 'asked us along for the ride' and after seeing a little more I get the impression that perhaps Johnny worked with producers to create this feel as it helps to reflect the way he approached this awful condition. Obviously there are some aspects of the filming that are more upsetting than others (such as: when Johnny gets upset, when he's telling us of the worst parts of his journey and when we see his dead body) however, I think without some of these parts we would not understand fully the terrible ordeal Johnny had gone through.

Was it a valid documentary?
I believe the documentary was very valid. Not only does it help with the awareness of rare condition EB it also helps to promote his charity. Unfortunately, it is very rare that people donate to worthy causes unless they feel some sympathy for the cause; this was shown when £500,000 was raised through the help of the 5 million viewers. This documentary allows the audience to connect with Johnny and I feel that many people will both take something from it and give something back. I personally have learnt a lot about a rare condition that I previously knew nothing about and have acknowledged a worthy charity (DEBRA) through this documentary.

Did they take advantage of the situation?
I definitely think they took advantage of the situation because it is such a rare condition that it would be hard to find someone willing to help to make a documentary and that has put so much time and effort into helping others who have the condition. However, I don't think that taking advantage of it was all bad; through the documentary Johnny not only got to educate and inspire millions with his story but he managed to raise thousands of pounds and promote his charity. Obviously E4 made money out of the documentary but I think the morals and ethics behind using this story for their personal profits are completely thrown out the window when you think of the difference the documentary has made to: the charity through donations, sufferers through educating people about their condition and maybe the most touching outcome, Johnny Kennedy by telling sharing his story at such a hard and emotional time.

Brief Research - Documentary

The third and final brief I am interested in is:

• An extract from a new documentary TV programme, lasting approximately 5 minutes, together with two of the following three options:

          - A radio trailer for the documentary

          - A double-page spread from a listings magazine focused on the documentary

          - A newspaper advertisement for the documentary

I watch many documentaries based around human life; many of the documentaries I watch are on e4. Because I have watched many different documentaries I understand the basic content that they need (such as a gripping, real life story or subject with a feeling of empathy and or inspiration) in order to attract the audience. However, I haven't seen any short documentaries and I therefore started my research by looking on YouTube for short documentaries. A few I found include:

Future Learning
Analysis:
- They had many short snappy shots, there was a lot of footage that was often shown whilst people were voicing there opinions. This made the documentary a lot more interesting than if it was just a single shot of the person talking
- They had opinions from many different people including young people who were the basis of the documentary. I think this gave the documentary even more feeling
-Finally, the whole documentary was filled with passion, making it inspirational.

Lost in Transgender
Analysis:
- The technical aspects of this documentary were quite good; there was a good variation in the shots and footage however, I didn't like the narrative feel of the documentary, as though it was more based on the reporter finding her true opinion rather than viewing what life is like for a transgender.
- I also feel that the reporter wasn't as sensitive to the issue as she should have been, this may cause some controversy and therefore if I choose to film a documentary about a sensitive issue like this one I will ensure I am careful about the peoples feelings
- Overall, I didn't particularly like this documentary as I don't feel it realistic and had the same criteria as successful documentaries.

The Janitor
Analysis:
- Although the subject in this documentary wasn't exactly inspiring or very gripping I think it had strong conventions of a documentary and showed varied sides to the story
- I think if I did a a documentary this may be similar to the style I would choose, it will be hard for me to find a very inspirational and 'deep' story to base it on without making it up and although I may and find something more gripping to film about I think it will be along a similar line.

After watching the short documentaries I analysed them as this will help me later on if I chose to go with this brief.

I also searched for previous A2 work that had used this brief, some documentaries I found include: Classics: Restored, Wasted Youth and Ten Years of Music

Although I commented in my first research post that I was thinking of making the music video I am now very unsure. From researching the three briefs I now want to do all of them because I think they all sound very fun. If I choose this brief it is likely that I will base my documentary around the previous A2 work and 'The Janitor' rather than more extreme documentaries because I think it will be hard to make an extreme topic effective.