History of music videos

Purpose
The purpose of doing this research about music videos is so that we can see how everything has changed over time, also so that we know about music videos over time as it may be very useful later on.  To also help me get some ideas for when I film my own music video.

1920s-1950s
In 1926 a lot of musical short films were made by a few different people. For example Max Fletcher made a few short sing-along cartoons called Screen Songs which made people want to sing along to very popular songs. In the early 1930s popular musicians performed their hit songs in cartoons.

1950
In the 1950s Tony Bennett was filmed in London walking along the Serpentine for the recording of stranger in paradise. This was then played on the UK and the US TVs which then leant to say he made the first music video. This was the first examples of music videos on TV and lead to channels like MTV and top of the pops. The first video with colour was on 22nd May 1958, which shows President Dwight Eisenhower dedicates NBC’s WRC-TV new colour TV studios in Washington D.C. To film it they used a 2inch videotape which played a 2inch quadruplex videotape machine.

1960
In 1964 The Beatles were the ones who started the development of music videos influencing the filming of music videos that a lot of artist use today. However in 1967 they started to use the codes and conventions that people use today, for example they used dramatic lighting, unusual camera angles and rhythmic editing. Also in 1964 “top of the pop” was created by BBC. This is a music chart that shows what songs are most popular at that time or the most popular ones during the past week. The first band to appear on the show was The Rolling Stones who had their song played on New Years Day in 1964. After them appeared Spice Girls, Madonna, Beyonce Knowles and Robbie Williams.

1970
In 1975 music videos were still an occasional promotional short film. Some people, for example David Bowie, made promotional films but generally that idea was ignored. An example of people who music videos here was Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody, this song made the number one in 1975. They were however on tour at this time and not able to get to the recording of the Top of the Pops. They did however record a special video for that occasion which had them preforming the song on stage at the beginning and at the end with images in the middle of the music video. Devo-the truth about de-evolution is an example of a self-made made music video and was seen as the first long-form video production. In this era it was when the music videos had more emphasis on the person singing the song. It lead to music videos to the “cross-cutting” stage where the video would show a story the goes along with they lyrics and “cross-cuts” to the artist singing the song. However the hard bit about this stage was the editing because it became more professional and a lot more techniques they had to use and get to know how to use them.

1980
In 1981 “MTV” was introduced and the first video played was “video killed the radio star” this was a real break through in the world of music videos. Artists wanted to use MTV because it is responsible for the success they are wanting and played a big role in promoting the videos and music that is created. An example of a music video in this era is Michael Jackson-thriller, this music video had a storyline and a plot to it was like a short film. After this was made music videos are being seen as promotion and made into high-budget productions.

1990
In the 1990s there was a lot of popular genres of music for example there was rock, heavy rock, distorted guitar, grunch, industrial music, metal and pop. There were also a lot popular bands like radiohead, wheezer, oasis and the smashing pumpkins. These bands were seen as some of the most iconic artists in this era. Pop was very popular in the 90s but it was very different than now as then it was less electronic sounding than now. Hip-hop was also very big during the old school days.

Present day
YouTube was created on 14th February 2005 in San Mateo, California, United States by Jawed Karim, Steve Chen and Chad Hurley. The first YouTube video was called “me at the zoo” and was uploaded on April 13th 2005 by Jawed Karim. Steve and Chad decided to sell YouTube on 16th October 2006 and they got $1.65 billion for it. The social media platform has also influenced music videos, for example the fish man song. This got big because someone saw him singing that in the street, they started to film him and uploaded it to social media and it eventually got so big that everyone know about the song and knew about him because of social media. In the future people see music videos becoming more advanced and more technical. Music videos have also become a lot more easier to get to, get to access them and to actually watch them. Also there are becoming more and more videos where the actual artist isn’t in the video its just a video that shows a storyline that goes with the song.

Mark Romanek

I am doing this research to learn more about music directors, what they do and how they do their work.

00:00 – 00:27 – he supports the artist, unique and the best in the world, finding the sole in the     person, amplifies them.

00:57 – 01:06 – knows how to shoot and understands light and composition. he finds images that really stand out.

01:15 – 01:26 – he is a perfectionist  and is very precise

01:29 – 01:41 – he doesn’t know much about cameras and doesn’t really touch them when filming.

02:13 – 02:17 – he doesn’t just do a one of good piece of work he is constant.

03:13 – 03:30 – he is very different to other directors, he prepares a lot more than others, when you go there you know why.

04:00 – 04:07 – he was using the music video and the sketch pad, see what suited him. he gets a photo, researches it and makes a mood board to see how he can use that picture.

04:29 – 04:40 – he takes other peoples work and changes it to make it his own.

05:05 – 05:11 – Mark makes the song more enjoyable by the music video he makes.

06:00 – 06:06 – he makes the video seem timeless, looked classy which is important.

06:09 – 06:19 – the rock video highlights his ability he lifts them.

07:00 – 07:07 – everyone wants to use him because of how good he is.

07:16 – 07:27 – he takes his time. it took 7 weeks to make, 2 weeks to plan, 2 weeks to shoot it.

07:35 – 08:00 – he makes sure everything is big and fantastic. Michael Jacksons music video, they spent so much money on it, he wanted to make sure Michael had a space ship so Mark makes sure it is big.

09:47 – 10:13 – he makes sure he isn’t sexist and respects everyone for who they are.

10:50 – 11:13 – he tries to do something bigger and harder than before and something that is daring.

11:29 – 11:35 – things that people don’t normally like or want to include he includes it to be different and to stand out from other people.

16:49 – 17:12 – hallways makes sure he gets his own way and makes sure they do what he wants to do.

18:44 – 18:52 – he make sure he gets what he wants he shouts and yells at people to start again or to change things.

20:10 – 20:14 – he is very demanding, he knows what he wants and what he wants to do.

20:54 – 21:13 – he can be very scary at times if something or someone does something wrong.

22:58 – 23:17 – he makes sure there is a lot of energy involved and makes everyone is having fun and enjoying themselves.

23:29 – 23:38 – he is very simple and is able to explain things in a simple way for people to understand easily.

26:12 – 26:18 – he wanted to go back to a simple way of film making

27:56 – 28:11 – he does things that may hurt people but doesn’t hurt them to create things that can be memorable and that are creative.

 

Media comparison

Stranger Things and Pretty Little Liars

Stranger things:                                                                                 PHOTO: NETFLIX
Stranger Things is about a mums son going missing and does a big terrifying investigation as to why he has gone missing. Then as they search for answers, they unravel a series of extraordinary mysteries involving secret government experiments, unnerving supernatural forces, and a very unusual little girl. In the series it says its set in Hawkins but that isn’t a really an actual place so its actually filmed in Georgia but mostly in the Atlanta area. There were about six different people who made and directed this Netflix series, Ross and Matt Duffer who both did twelve episodes, Shawn Levy who done six episodes, Andrew Stanton who directed 2 episodes, Uta Briesewitz who also only directed 2 episodes and finally Rebecca Thomas who done 1 episode.

Entin, S. (2018). Where is Stranger Things Filmed?. Available: https://thetvtraveler.com/where-is-stranger-things-filmed-road-trip-to-filming-locations/. Last accessed 3rd October 2018
IMDb. (2018). stranger things full cast and crew. Available: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4574334/fullcredits.
Last accessed 5th October 2018.
Pretty little liars:                                                                                       Pretty Little Liars - Season 1-7
This is about a group of teenage girls and one of them goes missing. However the rest of the group carries on with their lives but have grown apart from each other. Then the girls get a text from a random person and says its from ‘A’ which is saying that they will expose the groups secrets. Eventually the girls become friends again and goes on a mission to try and find out who ‘A’ might be and trying to find where their friend has gone. Pretty Little Liars is filmed in Rosewood, California. Pretty Little Liars was created by I. Marlene King who also directed 5 episodes. Pretty Little Liars was directed by 36 different people the person who directed the most episodes at 21 was Norman Buckley. The person who played Aria’s dad, Chad, also done 13 episodes.

Thomas, L. (2016). ‘Pretty Little Liars’ & ‘Gilmore Girls’ Share A Set, So Prepare To Freak Out Over These Shared Landmarks — PHOTOS.
Available: https://www.bustle.com/articles/135165-pretty-little-liars-gilmore-girls-share-a-set-so-prepare-to-freak-out-over-these.
Last accessed 3rd October 2018.
Quora. (2016). Who was the director of Pretty Little Liars?.
Available: https://www.quora.com/Who-was-the-director-of-Pretty-Little-Liars.
Last accessed 5th October 2018.

  • The Target Audience
    I think the main target audience for Stranger Things is between 15-40 year olds, whereas I think Pretty Little Liars target audience is more teenage girls.  I think Stranger Things is aimed at this age group because some people younger than 15 may not like some of the scenes that are shown and may get a little scared by it because its about a group of boys who get weird dreams about another world called ‘the upside down’ and trying to figure out why they get those dreams. I think Pretty Little Liars is aimed at teenage girls because the series is about a group of teenage girls who are at college and trying to find their friend.
  • Genre
    These two Netflix series are both different genres, stranger things is a range of Science Fiction, Horror fiction, Occult Fiction and Costume drama. Whereas Pretty Little Liars is a range of Crime Fiction, Mystery and Teen drama. Although these are different genres they are also similar in ways, for example all the main characters are teenagers or younger but they don’t have any actors who are both Stranger Things and Pretty Little Liars. They are also both a bit of mystery as thy are both trying to find out something or trying to find someone.

  • Visuals
    I think that the location of where Stranger Things is filmed is important to the story line because it is filmed in quite a spooky or scary place and the whole storyline is pretty spooky and scary at times. I also think that its good that where they filmed it, you can actually go and visit those places if you were really interested in it and wanted to know more about it. I also think that its important because the series is based on a true story so the locations they used to film it maybe where the true story was based or because it was very similar to what the person experienced in true life. Whereas with Pretty Little Liars I don’t think its that important as to where it is filmed. I don’t think the location is important because it isn’t based on a true story or anything so it doesn’t need to look like where it actually happened. also because it is only filmed in a college so it doesn’t really matter what college it is filmed in as they all look similar.

  • Technology
    Stranger Things and Pretty Little Liars were filmed in different ways and used quite a few different technology techniques to film the series. In Stranger Things for example they wanted to make it look like they had the soft and round tones that were used in 80s films. To be able to get that effect they had to test a lot of different cameras and lenses but they used a combination of  Leica lenses and state-of-the-art cinema camera. in the first season they used a 6K Red Dragon to film but in the ret they used a Red Weapon 8K S35. Whereas Pretty Little Liars is all set in the same place even if it doesn’t look like it is, for example it looks like the college is a long way from all of their houses but actually its just down the street in the film set.Alvarez, E. (2017). Engadget.
    Available: https://www.engadget.com/2017/10/23/stranger-things-2-netflix-interview/?guccounter=1.
    Last accessed 3rd October 2018.
  • Camera angles
    Although Stranger Things and Pretty Little Liars are very different in ways they are also very similar in the camera angles they use. For example they both use mirror shots, an example of this in Stranger Things is when Will looks in the mirror and pictures what he has been through, and in Pretty Little Liars when they all look in the mirror to do their make-up or something.
    Image result for scenes from stranger thingsImage result for images of hannah looking in the mirror in pretty little liars
    They both also use tracking shot. In Stranger Things they use it when they are on their bikes trying to get away from the police and in Pretty Little Liars they use it when they are trying to run away from ‘A’.
    Image result for scenes from stranger thingsImage result for images of the cast running in pretty little liars
    Stranger Things also uses done footage whilst filming the series. Where as Pretty Little Liars dent they just just high angle shot from an ordinary camera.
    pll
    Cano, M. (2015). Pretty Little Liars.
    Available: https://prezi.com/i3ynehodgmev/pretty-little-liars/.
    Last accessed 5th October 2018.

Project 2 – Different camera angles

Planning: (Complete before starting work)

To be able to do this task we had to research different camera angles for our homework and then film them at college a week later so today my aim is to film them all and start to edit them. I also need to finish some of the writing tasks we have been set. For me to be able to do this task I need to make sure I do the homework before I start the filming to make sure I know what I need to film to get the right angle. I will need a few different skills for example I need camera skills so I know how to work the cameras, I need to know what all the cameras are and how to film them and I also need file management skills as I will have a lot of video clips and I need to make sure I know where they all are and make sure they don’t get lost. To be able to finish this task I will need to research the different camera angles and find information about them and learn how to use the editing site.

Research & Experimentation:

Before doing this task we experimented quite a lot, for example we saw example shots, that other people had done before use, before we starting filming our own, we got shown how to use the cameras and we got shown how to use to use the editing site we will be using to edit the shots. Whilst doing this project I used quite a few different sources, for example we used adobe premiere pro for the editing site, I used Google to find information about the different camera angles we needed to know about. All these helped me to be able to finish the task we need to.

Production:

Whilst I was doing this project I came across a few problems that I had to over come. For example we didn’t manage to film all the camera angles we needed to, to be able to do the project and to finish it all and another problem that I had to overcome was that the computer I was working on wasn’t working properly. To solve these problems we had to go back out to finish filming the rest of the angles we didn’t manage to film earlier in the day. to solve the other problem about the computer I had to re-start the whole thing and hope that it then worked.

Reflection:

I didn’t manage to achieve my main goal today. I didn’t manage to finish the other work either, this is because it took longer to film all of the camera angles than we thought it would. I need to change my plans for the next time because I need to start editing the video clips together when I should’ve done that before hand. To stop this from happening next time I need to work quicker and make sure I get the first bit done in time so that I don’t get behind in the future. Next time I need to start and finish the editing the video clips together and I need to finish the writing part of the project.

Screen Shot 2018-09-28 at 15.42.04.png
To export your video you need to go to file, export and change the format to H.264, change what it is called to something you’ll know and remember, you also need to change source range to entire sequence and finally press export. It will take a few moments to export it all.

Project 3 – Animation sounds

Planning: 
For this task we need to put some sounds we make ourself together with a short animation video we find on youtube. My aim for today is to record some different sounds I might be able to use in my video, to find a short animation clip and download it so I’m able to use it, export all of the sounds from the recorder onto my memory stick and to start editing and making the video. To be able to complete this task I will need to use an audio recorder, and a computer to edit it all. I will need quit a few different skills to complete this task, for example I will need to know how to record audio on the recorder, I will need to know how to use adobe audition and I will need file management skills as I will have  lot of different files and I will need to know where they all are. To be able to complete this I will need to research how to use the editing site, I will need to know how to export the audio files and how to use the audio recorder.

Research & extermination:
We exterminated with the audio recorder before we start recording to make sure we know how to use it. To complete this we used an editing site called adobe audition, before we started editing we got shown how to do the basics we will need and if we need to know anything else we looked it up ourself. By doing this it made us more independent and were able to learn for ourself.

Production:
Whilst I was in the process of doing this task I faced a few different problems, for example one was that the editing site (adobe audition) wasn’t downloaded onto the computer I was using so I wasn’t able to do the whole task. To over come this problem I had to go onto another computer and hope that it was downloaded on that one so I was able to do the task. Another problem I faced was that when I came to editing the audio clips not all of the clips had been downloaded onto my memory stick. To get all of the files I need I need to delete the ones I have already and re-download them. I had to get rid of the ones before to make sure I don’t have two of the same.
Screen Shot 2018-09-26 at 12.22.59
This is showing how to get a certain bit of the audio if you don’t want to use all of it. To do this you highlight the bit of the audio you want to use and ‘right click’ and press save as new and rename it so you know what it is, then its ready to use in your video.
Screen Shot 2018-09-26 at 12.22.46
This is a screenshot of the whole process. The very top line is the animation video, the line underneath is the audio that goes through the whole thing and finally the bottom line is the individual sound clips which go along with the animation thats happening at that moment.

Reflection:
I didn’t quite manage to finish everything i needed to for today. This is because it took a while to load the computer up and then I found out the editing software I need to use isn’t downloaded on there so i had to go onto another computer which took quite a while and wasted some time. Also because i had to re-downoad all the audio clips which also wasted quite a bit time I needed. I also didn’t mange to finish it all because I needed to go through all of the sounds and see what sound was what and which ones I could use in my editing. Next time I need to finish putting the audio clips in and edit them to make them sound good.

Media review 2

Review at least one media product that you have listened to, watched or played every week.

  • What kind of media is it?
    This is a crime fiction, teen drama and mystery series on Netflix called pretty little liars.
    Image result for pretty little liars
  • Describe the audience you think it’s aimed at?
    I think this series would be aimed at mainly teenagers and probably teenage girls. This is because its about a group of girls who are in college and who like to gossip about a lot of different things and I know that teenage girls like to watch that kind of film/series.
  • Tell us about the people who made it:
    for pretty little liars there wasn’t just 1 director there was actually about 36, but the person who directed the most was Norman Buckley who directed 21 episodes between 2010-2015. The main cast included Lucy Hale, Troian Bellisario, Shay Mitchell, Ashley Benson, Sasha Pieterse, Janel Parrish, Ian Harding, Keegan Allen and Tyler Blackburn. 
                                                                                                Image result for pretty little liars cast
  • Describe the product (or part of it) – USE TECHNICAL LANGUAGE
    When filming they used a vary of different camera angles. for example they used low-angle shots this is when they wanted to make the actors looker strong and powerful to make them look like they aren’t afraid of anything or anyone.  Another technique they used was flash-back this is when they kept going back to when their whole friendship was there and then back to current day again.
    Image result for pretty little liars whole friendship group   
  • What did you like about it?
    I liked how there was quit a lot going on and the mystery throughout every episode and every season as it kept making you want to watch more and more. I also enjoyed how there was a cliff-hanger at the end of nearly every episode to also make you want to watch more.
  • What didn’t you like about it?
    I think the one thing I don’t like that much about it is that they could make it more realistic, for example they wear really nice clothes when they are in a bad situation whereas realistically people wouldn’t wear that nice clothes when they are in that situation.
  • What would you do differently if YOU were making it?
    If  I were making this series I would make the whole thing more realistic to actual life.

 

 

Camera angles and moves

Establishing shot
This shot is when you take it from a long distance away at he beginning of a film or video and shows you where it takes place it is mainly used in the first sequence. To film this you might film it with a drone, you fly it towards the scene you are filming you then can make the camera go upwards or tilt it, go up or go downwards you could also zoom in or out. this is used to show the scene they are filming in.

maxresdefault

Extreme close-up
This is when you get really close to something and show specific detail of someone or something.  However it is too close to do it normally, you’ll need a reason behind doing it, some people use it in horror films to get a close up of someone screaming.  This is also known as XCU. To film an extreme close-up you can either put the camera very close to what you are filming or taking a picture of or you can zoom in to get the extreme close-up you are looking for.

extreme-close-up

Close-up
A close-up in filmmaking and photography is a type of shot that tightly frames a person or object. They are one of the main shots used most regularly with medium and long shots. to film a close up you should split you screen into thirds and then make sure the area above the eyes and below the chin are well balance and you should make sure that the eyes are on the top third line.

jonathan_demme_cu

Medium close-up
Medium shots are used in sequences where dialogues or a small group of people are acting, as they give the viewer a view of the background and also show the peoples facial expressions and their body language. It is the most common shot in movies and it usually follows the first establishing shots of a new scene or location. To film this we normally use a lens that sees what the human eye can see.

Titanic

Long shot
In a film this is a view of a scene that is shot from a long distance, so that people appear as indistinct shapes. In photography and filmmaking this kind of shot normally shows the entire object or human figure and is usually intended to place it in some relation to its surroundings. to film a long shot people use a wide-angle lenses (an approximately 25 mm lens in 35 mm photography and 10 mm lens in 16 mm photography).

extreme_long_shot

High angle shot
A high-angle shot is when the camera is placed above a subject with the lens pointing down which makes the subject seem smaller and vulnerable. people use this shot to make the subject seem vulnerable or powerless when applied with the correct mood, setting, and effects.

Image16

Low angle shot
A low-angle shot is when the camera is placed below the subject and the lens is pointing up. This causes the subject to look nigger than it is. people use a low angle shot because it makes the subject look strong and powerful.

low-angle-shot-example1_jpg

Canted/Dutch angle
The Dutch angle is also known as Dutch tilt, canted angle, or oblique angle. this is a type of camera shot where the camera is set at an angle on its roll axis so that the shot is composed with vertical lines at an angle to the side of the frame, or so that the horizon line of the shot is not parallel with the bottom of the camera frame. Dutch angle is used for dramatic effect and helps portray unease, disorientation, frantic or desperate action, intoxication, madness, etc.

Mission-Impossible-SRS-1

Tilt shot
Tilting is when the camera stays in a fixed position but rotates up/down in a vertical plane. Tilting the camera results in a motion similar to someone raising or lowering their head to look up or down. The camera’s tilt will change the position of the horizon, changing the amount of sky or ground that is seen. Tilt downward is usually for a high-angle shot and bird’s-eye view but a tilt upward is for a low-angle shot and worm’s-eye view.  It is used to create a dramatic effect on the viewer.

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Panning shot
A  panning shot is when the camera moves horizontally so that it sweeps around the scene. It can also be tilted up or down in a vertical panning shot or in a diagonal pan, as when it follows an actor up a stairway. To get a panning shot you need to set the Mode dial on your camera to Shutter priority mode (Tv). Then select a slow shutter speed – start with 1/60s. After set the camera to the Shooting mode to Continuous. Next Track your subject, whilst doing this you need to keep your camera and yourself as stable as possible. Once you have taken the photo your background should be a blur.

2

Pedestal Shot
A pedestal shot means moving the camera vertically with respect to the subject. This is often referred to as “pedding” the camera up or down. Pedestals are used in studio settings and provide a great deal of flexibility as well as very smooth movement, pedestals have the ability to move the camera in any direction (left, right, up, down).  A pedestal shot can be used to frame a tall or high subject (such as a building) while keeping the framing at eye level view for the viewer.

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Zoom Shot
A zoom shot is the effect of rapid movement either towards or away from the subject being photographed or filmed, either by using a specialized zoom lens or by moving the camera on a boom, crane or dolly. Zoom effects can also be achieved and enhanced by the use of an optical printer.

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Dolly shot
A dolly is a cart which travels along tracks. The camera is mounted on the dolly and records the shot as it moves. Dolly shots have a number of applications and can provide very dramatic footage. The camera dolly can be used as a shooting platform on any surface but is often raised onto a track, to create a smooth movement on a horizontal axis known as a tracking shot. 

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Dolly zoom (Trombone shot)
The dolly zoom is an in-camera effect that appears to undermine normal visual perception. To get this effect you zoom a zooming lens to change the angle of it whilst the camera moves towards or away from the subject you are filming.

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Tracking Shot
A tracking shot is when the camera is mounted onto a cart which travels along tracks. Tracking is often more narrowly defined as movement parallel to the action, or at least at a constant distance. It can also be defined as a shot in which the camera is pushed horizontally along the ground on a dolly.

1200px-AlamoFilming

Crane shot
A crane shot is a shot taken by a camera on a moving crane or jib. Most cranes can take the camera and an operator, but some can be moved by remote control. People use this shot to end the film they are making as they can move the camera away from the actors and the scene. 

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Skills & techniques template

Use this to note any skills and techniques you learn how to use. This will help you remember new skills and use them in later projects.

  • What is the skill or technique?
  • What is it used for?
  • How do you do it (step by step)?
  • Include diagrams, screenshots, photographs.
  • Show the results of you using this skill or technique.What mistakes did you make, what was difficult?
  • What else would this be useful for?
  • What new technical language have you learned. (include the term and a definition in your own words.)