Planning : Animatic

Below is my animatic for Christina Grimmie's 'The One I Crave'.



This is what I plan to do for my music video. I drew my ideas on Photoshop and then transferred them to Premiere Pro where I added my track. I placed the pictures where I wanted them, and this is a rough idea on how I want my final video to look like .

By doing an animatic instead of a storyboard when I am filming I can refer back to it to see what I want to film and how I planned to do it. Also if when filming I can change some parts if I don't like them and the animatic will show me what part of the music I will be filming it for.

Research : Animatics

An animatic is where the storyboarding stage may be followed by simplified mock-ups to give a better idea of how the scene will look and feel with motion and timing. At its simplest, an animatic is a series of still images edited together and displayed in sequence with a rough dialogue and/or rough sound track added to the sequence of still images (usually taken from a storyboard) to test whether the sound and images are working effectively together.

By doing this it allows directors to set up/choose camera positioning and shot lists. This is used in many films and music videos. For example this is an animatic for the Mansion attack in 'Iron Man 3'.

 

In music videos it is used quite often and for the full track and not just for clips from it, to research for my animatic I have looked at lots of different animatics, whether they're by professionals or amateurs to get a feeling for what I will have to do for mine and whether there are any codes or conventions used in them that I will have to follow for my animatic.

 

Some good examples for music video animatics come from the band 'The Gorillaz' :

'Feeling Good Inc' Animatic above and 'Dirty Harry' animatic below.



Compared to the final video the two are quite similar and the final video ends up almost identicle to the animatic.

'Feeling Good Inc' official video above and 'Dirty Harry' official video below.

What I've learnt by watching these and other animatics is that mine doesn't need to be perfect, as long as it gets my point across, and shows what I want for my music video. Also when filming I can use my animatic for guidance, but I can change bits and don't have to do it all the same as my animatic.

Planning : Music Video Treatment For 'The One I Crave' by Christina Grimmie

Artist : Christina Grimmie 

Song Title : 'The One I Crave'

Director's Name : Rebecca Brown

Summary of My Idea : My idea is to have a mix of narrative and performance; having the 'artist' be the performer and the narrative, breaking the fourth wall in several places to 'talk' to the audience. 

I also plan to have to video swap between the 1940's-50's to 2014, going from black and white to colour. I would like the video 'swaps' to happen like a transition, for example someone spins into the camera and when it spins out it changes time periods, others I would like to be like old TV static. I would put these 'swaps' in between the verse and the chorus, keeping the set the same, but changing the time period. The performance and narrative will be a mix of both in both time periods, maybe a bit more narrative in the 1940-50's time period.

TREATMENT :

In the song 'The One I Crave' I get the vibe of the 1940-50's as Christina Grimmie and her band decided to make this song swing. This gave me the idea to swap between the 1940-50's  and 2014. I'd do this by 'swapping' between the time periods at the start and end of the chorus -  the 1940-50's in the verse and the present day in the chorus and bridge. I decided the best ways I could do this is by having 'smart' transitions in-between the two - for example someone's skirt spinning into and out of the camera, when they spin in it will be one time period and when the spin out another, old TV static to break the two apart. Also I the Pentatonix music video for 'Save the World/Don't you Worry Child' music video gave me the idea of the transition of an extreme zoom into someone's face and when the camera zooms out there in a different place, time period.

The season should been seen as autumn as it's the season stuck between the contrasting summer and winter - I feel that this would symbolise that the singer is the same, stuck. At the start of the video I will be relaying this feeling to the audience with footage from a woodland or a autumnal landscape and then go straight into the 1940-50's with a simple 'split' transition from Premiere Pro .

The singer will be sat in an American diner 
singing at the camera - being more of a performance at this point, it'll then cut to her with a guy talking and laughing with each other, the body language clearly showing affection. It'll then cut to her with her fiends, once again singing.
On the next verse it will cut to her with another guy on a date, this guy not looking her in the eyes.
Then as the verse ends and starts to go into the chorus we get the first transition of the skirt spin into the camera, 'swapping' time periods. Going to the singer, who is singing into the camera. 

Cutting to her around a bonfire with her friends, her looking distracted. This the cuts to her on bonfire night with a guy. 









We then fade to black and then were back to the 1940-50's. Where they are outside, she's with a new guy looking bored and all he is doing is talking - lots of hand gestures.
She then turns towards the camera and sings the last lines of the verse. This verse being more performance than narrative. It then does the face zoom transition at the end of the verse to go  back into the chorus in the present day. This will have sparklers in the video, once again linking to the bonfire night theme.

It will then go into the bridge where I will split screen it so there is both present day and 1940-50's. Then during the bridge I will keep swapping theses sides round and maybe split the screen so there are four split screens. Then on the final line of the song I will have the singer grab their arm above the elbow and look down - suggesting vulnerability - and have the screen fade to black.

Blog Self Assessment

 

 



This shows my self assessment in a table the columns read; Title of Post, Research/Planning, Date Posted and then EGBM - Excellent, Good, Basic and Minimal. I did not include my posts about the course information as that is for my own purpose so I understand the course in greater depth. The rating of each post is based on how 'media rich' the post is and how detailed the information given is. 
Looking at this, the majority of my EGBM's are G's - goods. So therefore I should be working at a level 2, because I think my work is good, but basic as not many of my posts are media rich. So by doing this self assessment I have realised I need to make more of my posts media rich and present more of the differently, like using Emaze, Prezzi, Pontoon and others, rather than presenting all my posts in text.

APP Challenge 2 : Green Screen

We have been learning how to use the green screen and edit with it in APP. Included how the screen should be set up as well as learning how to edit and use Garbage Mattes and Ultra Key from the APP video effects menu. we were given the task to use the 6 clips we were given and use the skills we have learnt regarding editing,in order to create a video that fitted the following brief:

A television presenter introduces Adele and the track 'Rolling in the Deep' from a television studio. The start of the video is then shown with any evidence of Adele herself being removed and replaced with Ellie Rowden. The video should be at least 75 seconds long.

This is the video I created, I removed Adele   from all shots and replaced her with someone  else who was lip synching in front of a green screen.
 

 

 

I then used either an 8 point Garbage Matte or a 16 point Garbage Matte to crop out extra bits of the green screen, without cropping out any of the person or their movements. Then I dragged the Ultra Key onto the footage of the green screen, then using the dropper I clicked the green screen so that it would disappear. Also I used the razor tool to cut the green screen footage where I wanted it, so I could delete the footage I didn't want.

From this I have learnt how to edit with a green screen, as well as finding out that if I use a green screen in my own video that there has to be no shadows and no creases on the green screen, unlike on the footage we used that did have creases, making it hard to make the green screen disappear. I can use these skills in my own music video because I don't just have to use a green screen, because as long as there is a block colour then Ultra Key can be used to reveal the footage below. I also now know how to crop footage so I can fit it over other footage using the Garbage Matte.

 

Research : Music Video Editing With APP

My task was to create my own version of the music video 'Wings' by Macklemore. I had to create my own original version and not a copy of the original. I've only put footage to 2:25 of the track this is the video above.For this task we were given the original video in random cuts and the track, we then had to match some of the singers lip synching to the track and then add the other footage around it to match and become a conventional music video. Then I rendered my footage and exported it via Quicktime to the computer where I could then add it to YouTube and then put it onto my blog.

By doing this task I am better at lip reading, this will enhance my abilities to match up the lip synching to the track so when I do my final project I will be better at i will be able match up the lip synching from my footage to my chosen track. Also I can cut to the beat increasing the standard of my future work. However, I will have to improve this skill as I'm not that good at it yet, but i am now aware of my flaws and how to improve them for my final project.





This is the original 'wings' by Macklemore video. 

Research : Music Videos

I have had a few ideas for my music video for Christina Grimmie's song 'The One I Crave', these seem to be mainly a 40's-50's inspired video that flashes to a future tense.
Due to these ideas I decided to look into music videos for inspiration.

I looked at My Chemical Romance's 'I don't love you' because I like the idea of the black and white for the vintage 40's-50's shots. Also how they convey the love story and then the heartbreak - the heartbreak being something i wish to include in my video. 
The symbolism in this video is also very smart, like the man falling as the couple fell in love and the exploding amp symbolising a smashed/broken heart.

I also looked atKaty Perry's 'Thinking of You' as its a 40's inspired video that gave me ideas of what sort of costumes and props I should use in my video, as mise-en-scene is important. It also showed me what shoes not to match with the vintage outfits. This song also clearly shows mourning and a broken heart, but more obviously than My Chemical Romance did.

I decided to look at another of My Chemical Romance's videos - 'Ghost of You' - for male costume ideas, this video also showed me that lyrics don't have to match the video directly, just so long as the two don't contrast too much.

After researching videos for the 40's-50's era of my music video, I decided to look at some of the other videos Christina Grimmie has done for this album, to give me an idea for the future tense of my video.
By watching this video I have decided that I don't want to use a school in my video, nor super powers, but this video did give me ideas for creative transitions and titles.

This is Christina Grimmie's latest video 'Feelin' Good' it's upbeat tempo is matched with its happy video. By doing this research I  have learnt that I need to keep my video quite upbeat - even though the subject it's about is quite sad - to match the song I'm doing and its tempo.

Research : Initial Audience Research

Christi Grimm is a 17 year old girl and is a typical fan of Christina Grimmie. She's outgoing, loves fashion and video games. She lives in Manchester and spends weekends with her friend playing games and watching their favourite YouTubers, spending her money on the latest games and her Spotify subscription.

Christi likes music she can relate to, it's her emotional escape and how she deals in bad situations. She likes rock, pop and indie and enjoys finding new artists on YouTube - which is where she found Christina Grimmie. She also enjoys other similar YouTubers who do covers and albums - like Christina Grimmie - for example Sam Tsui, Alex G, Peter Hollens and Lindsey Sterling. She likes music she can lose herself in.

Christi is a typical fan of Christina Grimmie, as she - like many others - can relate to the music she writes and her album 'With Love' helped get her though a break-up due to all of the songs that are on the tracklist that she can relate too and all the others which are just catchy, fun and good to sing to.

I chose to do a pen portrait with an audience like this is because Christina Grimmie's music was seen internationally and that's how she got famous and got a record deal, for her career it went up from there; though she still manages to do gaming videos as she is a gamer girl and celebrates the fact.
This pen portrait is what many of her fans can relate to, but there are as many male fans too, because everyone can relate to some of her song because most people have gone through what she sings about it. However, the way she sings about it is what makes her different, she doesn't sing about a break-up like its sad, she celebrates her new freedom and tells her fans that they could do better and deserve better. And that is why a lot of her fan will be  late teens -early 20's (16-25 years old) as they can relate to this and need the self-confidence boost.

Research : Chosen Song Lyric Analysis

I saw him at the corner store
He gave me candy, - The fact he gave her 'candy' insinuates that he has a kind nature and the fact that she saw him at corner store could mean he works there.
I came back for more.
I asked for his name, - Coming back for more could refer to the candy, but it refers mainly to his name. The fact she came back for it shows her interest in him.
He said call me J for James
He was 6'2 lots of style, - The fact of having a nickname of 'J' and not "Jay" might show that he thinks he's cool, the fact that 'he was 6'2 lots of style' adds to this as it gives you an image of a tall hansom guy - which is stereotypical of a "cool" person.
He had the recipe to make you smile
But he got too popular with the girls This could refer to cheating or even her jealousy by the fact he was paying attention to other girls. However, it does show that she won't risk her feelings being hurt.
So I erased him from my world - Showing that she wasn't willing to have a boyfriend who was 'too popular with the girls'  as she is careful who she gives her heart to as she doesn't want it broken.

The next boy was cute and shy  This shows that she's going from one extreme to another, as the first guy was 'too popular with the girls' and this one can't even look her in the eyes. 

But he never really looked me in the eye
Secretive I was intrigued - Evolving on the idea that he's shy, but the fact he couldn't look her in the eye and the fact he was secretive give you the idea that he couldn't be trusted - which is a bad quality in a relationship.
He was sweet, his name was Pete (Sweet Pete)
First time that he took me out,
I didn't know what to talk about - The fact they 'didn't know what to talk about' shows that they had nothing in common and weren't a good match. However, it could also be adding on to the fact Pete was 'shy'.
So I took the initiative
And told Pete he had to leave - 'Initiative' showing that she took charge of the situation and ended it before any of them got hurt; using her common sense to notice that they would not be a good couple.


[Chorus:]
So I'm back to square one
With Mr Good For Nothing John - This tells us that she was with John before all the others and that she's still hung up on him, despite her more recent relationships.
Ever since he brought me down,
I can't get off the ground - Showing that this 'John' broke up with her, contrasting the fact that she keeps breaking up with her boy friends. This might be because when 'John ' broke up with her it broke her heart and she doesn't want to experience that again so she breaks up with her boyfriends before they have a chance to hurt her like 'John' did.
It's not like I don't try,
And I'm pretty easy on the eye - Thus showing she still has her self-confidence and that she keeps trying to 'get back up' after what John did, by dating new and different guys.
But the one I really crave,
Is the one that got away - By the word 'crave' you can tell tell that no matter what she does she can't get this guy out of her head and she wants him like she wants nothing else. 'The one that got away' is a classic term about that one person you truly loved and cared for, that 'got away' referring to the fact that this person left them. 
With each boy he gets worse,
But I'm still stuck on the first - 'With each boy he gets worse' referring to the fact no matter who she dates and how many guys she dates the fact that they're not him becomes more clear as time goes on. This is because she saw John as "perfect" which is why she's so stuck on him.
Really hate to say,
I want the one that got away - Showing that she knows what she really wants no matter how she denies it and that she hates that she does because he broke her heart. The fact she 'hates to say' might be because she feels embarrassed and betrayed by herself because she wants 'the one that got away'. This could be why she is dating all these guys to try find one better than John so that she can get over him.


[Verse 2:]
He's the star of the football team,
Can be found in every girl's dream - The fact she hasn't given the name of the guy shows that he's of less importance and that she's starting to get bored trying to 'get over' John.
We've been talking for a while,
You could say that he's on trial -'Talking for a while' insinuates that she's been taking it slow, contrasting against her other relationships that she's mentioned. Showing that she's fed p of the relationships not working out and that she really wants to try make this one work.
But whenever we're alone,
His jaw's like a gramophone - 'Whenever we're alone' showing that they're not really alone a lot. The fact of ' his jaw's like a gramophone' showing that he really drones on and is less interesting without a crowd to impress.
When he goes off the field,
With him goes his appeal - This almost insinuated she only dated him for the fact he was a football star and not for his person or that he's a completely different person of field, one that she doesn't like or know.


[Chorus:]


[Bridge:]
Here she goes again,
With another boy on her hands - This is wrote in a different persons perspective - of a persons opinion of her. It's in a judgemental tone showing that they don't approve of her way of getting over John.
Word goes around
Real fast in this small town - Showing that everyone knows everyone's business and that nothing can be kept a secret, rumours are being spread and you can suspect that they are not pleasant nor polite. By this she's telling you that the whole town is now judging her.
All these rumours like I'm a stark, - 'Stark' being a pop-culture reference to the Stark family in Game of Thrones, showing that she's now infamous within the town and that everyone knows these silly rumours.
Just wanna find
Someone to give my heart - The fact she is just looking for someone to give her heart to means that after her relationship with John all she want is to love someone and for someone to love her back; she wants to be able to trust the person she gives her heart to.
No luck with James, Pete or the football stud - Referring to the fact she is fickle with her affections and that she wants to find the right guy to give her heart to, not just anyone.
None of them can compare
None of them can compare
To my John - Repartition of the fact that 'none of them can compare ' enforces the point and makes it known that none of John's replacements were worthy compared to John. Also the fact that she says 'To my John' shows that she still believes he's hers and the 'my' being quite possessive shows how she 'craves' him.


[Chorus:]
It's not like I don't try,
And I'm pretty easy on the eye
But the one I really crave,
Is the one that got away
With each boy he gets worse,
But I'm still stuck on the first
Really hate to say,
I want the one that got away - This chorus is shorter as she has now learned that she can't replace John so there is no 'square one' . Also, the fact that it doesn't mention John bringing her down or how she can't get up; implying that she is now back up and resigned to the fact that John is the the one she wants and craves and she can't do anything about it.


I want the one that got away - This is the final line of the song, showing the repetitiveness from her actions, by how this line is repeated throughout the song, and how they always lead her back to John - 'the one that got away'. 

Research : Audience Feedback

I decided to chose my song via audience feedback using tumblr. I chose this website because my blog is followed by lots of the target audience, as well as a lot of Christina Grimmie fans, so it would be the most hones audience feedback I could get. 

The graph below was made based on the amount of replies I got for each song.

The song 'the One I Crave' was the most popular choice among the target audience, so I have decided to use this song for my music video.

Research : Chosen Album Mood Board

I had to create my mood board via Sample board as MoodShare is closing down, due to this change I could not embed tracks, videos or gifs into my work - not through lack of trying.
To embed images into my mood board I I had to create a Pinterest account, create an album within this and then pin my chosen images into this album. From here I could access my images and add them to my mood board. I chose my images and text based on what the album makes me feel and how I can relate it it.

Created in Sampleboard

Research : Detailed Artist Research

The artist I have chosen is Christina Grimmie. Christina Grimmie is an American singer/songwriter, she's best known for her YouTube covers of famous singers/bands.

Christina's genre of music is pop and the 19 year old is often described as the 'female Bruno Mars'.
She first started singing at 5 years old and started learning piano at the age of 10; as well as being able to play both the guitar and the flute as well. Christina quickly realised she wanted to professional recording artist, so she started to cover popular song adding her own twist to them; posting her first video on YouTube when she was 15. Since then she built a devout following with over 2 million subscribers on YouTube and over 350 million video views and over 600,000 followers on Twitter.

Christina Grimmie has released two albums:
Find Me


With Love


Both albums reached top 40's status within their first weeks. Christina has already racked up a number of musical accomplishments, opening for Selena Gomez’s We Own the Night Tour (2011) and joining Gomez on her Stars Dance World tour. Grimmie auditioned for Season 6 of NBC's singing competition, The Voice, as revealed on her Facebook page. During the Blind Auditions, she performed Miley Cyrus' hit song "Wrecking Ball". All four coaches, namely Adam Levine, Usher, Shakira, and Blake Shelton turned their chairs for her, but she opted for Adam Levine; finishing in 3rd place.

This is Christina Grimmie's official website.

This is Christina's Twitter page.

This is Christina's official YouTube channel.

Research : 3 Potential Albums

Research : Applying Goodwin To A Contemporary UK Music Video

•  Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics.(e.g. stage performance in metal videos, dance routine for boy/girl band, aspiration in Hip Hop). 

What is the genre of the music video you have been allocated?

- This genre is pop.

What are the associations with this genre of music generally?

- The associations are well made/'beautiful' artists, with the centre of attention on the artists as it is more likely for a pop singer to be a celebrity compared to an indie singer. Also in pop often features dancing within the music videos due to the style of the music composed. This is done to create an uplifting atmosphere and getting people to dance. This need is further encouraged through the dancers in the background and foreground, as well as the artist himself, who stands as the focal point in the video almost mimicking Elvis Presley's iconic dance moves, representing pop once again.

Does this music video reinforce the expectations of this genre? 

- Yes, because Willy Moon is show to be well dressed, flawless and the centre of the audiences attention with the majority of the lights on him, centre screen and in front of all the mirrors, so when he isn't physically in the shot, his reflection will be. The artist is also on a podium replicating iconic Elvis Presley dance moves.

• There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. The lyrics are represented with images. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting). 

Describe the content of the music video - what happens?

 - The music video starts looking into a darkened mirror and then zooms out so you get the artist. The dancers then come out before the singing starts and there choreographed dance moves contrasting against the artists dancing, putting more attention onto Willy Moon. Also the black outfits of the dancers -who also have bland hairstyles - contrasting against the well lit, blue suited Willy Moon.

What is the relationship between the lyrics and the visuals? Is this a music video

which illustrates, amplifies or contradicts the lyrics?

- The visuals and the lyrics don't really have a relationship as the video is more about the artist and the dance. Therefore this music video contradicts as it has no relation to the lyrics.

• There is a relationship between music and visuals. The tone and atmosphere of the visual reflects that of the music. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting). 

What is the relationship between the music and the visuals? 

- The music and the visuals link up, so as a certain beat starts Willy Moon's movements and that of his dancers - match up so the movement matches the beat. So all dancing in the music video matches the rhythm of the song. Also the lighting dims and the brightens back up on certain beats, so that the lighting visuals also match the music. 

Does the pace of the editing reflect the pace of the music? What kind of atmosphere is

created through the visuals and is this in keeping with the tone of the music? 

-  The editing sometime matches the beat in some parts and in others it blends with the singing, reflecting the overall pace of the music . The atmosphere created by the visuals is a very flashy, organised chaos. This keeps in tone with the music because

Is there any lip-syncing used? How much? For which sections of the lyrics? Why?

- Yes, Willy Moon is shown to emphasise every lyric, especially on the close ups where his mouth is more clearly shown. This is also a constant throughout the video and is something that can be seen in every shot the artist is in. There is also more emphasis on the chorus and the bridge, so that the audience pays more attention to those lyrics and gets them stuck in their heads.

• The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style).

How is the artist promoted through the use of the camera in this music video? 

- The artist is shown to be well dressed, well made up and somewhat flawless in the video, so the camera angles add to this image. 

How much screen time does the artist have? 

- The artist has screen time for the majority of the video, only changing for him to the dancers sometimes. However, when the camera is on the dancers the reflection of the artist can be seen in the mirrors. Showing that this music video is selling the artist as the product.

What types of shots are used when the artist is on screen and what purpose does this

serve?

-  There are a lot of close-ups and extreme close-ups on the artists face, this is to get the audience to recognise the artist and force his image to be everywhere. There is also use of mid-shots, to show what the dancers or the artists is doing with their arms and hands within the dancing.

• There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, mirrors, stages, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body. 

Is there any evidence of 'looking' as described above? What purpose do you think this

serves?

- Yes there are mirrors placed around the podium that the artist stands on. This could represent image, which is an important selling point for pop artists, also as it say in the lyrics 'Tryin' to doubt my style?'. However, it could also be to make sure that the artist is shown in all shots, even if he's not physically in them, as his refection is shown in all of the mirror as he is in the centre and the focal point.

 

• There are often intertextual reference (to films, tv programmes, other music videos etc).

 

Are there any sections or elements of the music video which remind you of other media texts or of other artists?

- Yes, Willy Moon's dancing reminds me of the iconic dancing of Elvis Presley