Filming the Bridge

On Sunday the 24th of September I filmed the bridge of the song. This entailed creating my own backdrop out of card, in a small corner of my home - my setup is shown below:

The bridge was filmed in one continuous close up shot. I choose this angle to replicate Lana's conventions in her video- as it creates intimacy through my actress actively expressing to the viewer, how passionate she is about the relationship. This angle was also good for capturing detail: the facial expressions and lyric reinforcing hand gestures made by the artist. Loneliness is also a key theme to the video, which I think has been reinforced through the viewer only being able to see the artist with no understanding of where she is.

Shooting Schedule

Equipment List

Cannon 700D Digital Camera-  My digital camera is prominently what will be used for recording this video. I choose this because of my own familiarity with the camera, and its ability to film 1080p video, which will give me professional looking results. It is also equipped with a microphone, which will film the video sounds, but all sound will be removed in the editing process when I overlay the video with the song. This camera also records the footage onto a SD card, which will make transferring the files on to a computer easy.

Iphone 6- Additionally, I will be using the vintage camera app on my iPhone, to shot the vintage footage for my music video. This piece of equipment will also be used to play the song, so that my actor can lip sync to the song in time.

Tripod- The tripod will be used in conjunction with my cannon camera, to get steadily shot videos. However I will be experimenting with using a hand held camera technique, in some parts of the video. As it is evident from looking at the house style of 'Video Games' and 'National Anthem', Lana favors homemade-vintage looking videos. I also think it would help to build relation between the vintage film and shots filmed on my camera.

Apple Mac computer- A mac computer will be used to import all the footage off my camera. The computer is also equipped with 'Final Cut Pro', an editing software that will be used to edit my raw footage into a music video. I may also consider using 'iMovie', as I might consider using that software to make the vintage film.

Other:
Card- Certain sections of the video will feature a black backdrop which I will be making myself out of black card.

Codes and Conventions of Lana Del Rey

Following the guidance of my teacher, I looked into the codes and conventions Lana's music videos follow, and additionally I analysed the technical aspect to her videos.

Video Games 

Originally Lana's video were very concept based. Her budget was small- and she edited the footage together herself. The music video features her singing and lots of vintage film included- establishing shots, animation, and lots of shots of people- mostly being mid shots.The length of shot ranges from a quick 1 second glimpse to 3/4 seconds for longer shots. Unusually dialogue of a drunk movie star can be heard when she sings 'He holds me in his big arms, drunk and I am seeing stars', which although links to the lyrics is usual to see random footage layered over a song. The location I assume is New York, also features glimpses of the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles, and vintage suburbial shots.

Born to Die

Now as an established star, her larger budget can be seen in the production of Lana's song 'Born to Die'. This is shown in the editing in particular is a lot slicker, and even the use of CGI- the tigers who join her on her throne. Unlike video games, there is also a diverse range of shots used: establishing, wide shots, over the shoulder, close ups, mid shots. The movement of the camera is also a lot more fluid, for example a close up pans out to a long shot at the end. Born to Die also follows a narrative, so we follow Lana through a variety of settings. Overall, this video shows a massive development of Lana's house style- the dark imagery and narrative we see is fitting to the artists voice and styling.

Plumtree

Emily, it might help you if you used some screen shots of other Lana del Ray videos to help you show her 'house style' and how you are looking to conform to these codes and conventions in your own video. Add some analysis about shot types, length of shot, locations etc. as this will also help you to justify your own choices for your video.

Options for vintage- looking filming

In this blog post I will be looking at options available for creating vintage looking film. After watching a series of Lana's music videos, it became apparent Lana enjoys featuring old film in her videos, to support her vintage styling options. Her first music video, Video Games, was edited by herself and had a low budget. It featured historical old film intermissions, and clips of vintage Disney, giving the video a 'conceptual' feel. As her circumstances are very similiar to that of mine, doing this project, I looked into my available options for using old film.

Using an app
Lana is consistent in styling across media platforms, her Instagram posts often feature old looking videos - of her lip syncing. After some research, I discovered a 'Sweet' article, that informed me Lana uses the app '8mm Vintage Camera' to film her videos:

A screenshot from the
Snapchat story article

The app itself is very professional -it was used in the Oscar winning film "Searching for Sugar man". It allows 4K HD recording and has a range of effects that can be applied to the footage.

If I used this option, I would film a variety of subjects - which would be inspired by Lana's, and use them between the longer lip syncing shots.









Applying a vintage filter when editing
An alternate option is to look at filming solely on my camera, and applying features of a editing suite  onto my footage. I discovered a step by step tutorial for making vintage looking film on iMovie, by applying multiple effects and adding filters. I noted the key points below:

• The Aged Film effect can be applied to the footage via the clip inspector interface
• Vintage film cameras were hand cranked, which caused the film to play back faster. This effect can be replicated by typing 120% into the inspectors speed box
• The colour tones can also be retouched. For washed out shadows adjust the contrast to -44%, for faded colours drop the saturation down to 79%
• Lastly, the edges of the video can be softened by applying the Romantic effect in the inspector. There is now two effects layered onto the footage. 

Test of locations - sample photographs

Here is a list of locations that will be used in shooting the video

1) Woods: 'The Devils Highway', and the woods opposite Bracknell road





















I choose my local wood to film because its close to my home- easy to carry over my equipment- and apart from a few dog walkers is a fairly interrupted location. I liked this location because there was a variety of different levels of light, which can be manipulated in a range of different shots, like the sun shinning through the trees. There is also an autumnal feel to this location which will help to reinforce the theme of ageing: through capturing the once green coloured leaves, turn orange and fall to the ground.

2) Home: My homemade studio

This setting will be used for the majority of my artists lip syncing shots. The benefits of making a studio are cutting the costs of hiring a professional one, and the convenience of filming at home. I choose to cover a window because there is a lot of natural light coming from the window below, giving me a well lit shot, that I can later filter in the editing stages to fit the mood of my piece.

Clothing

In this blog post I will be looking at the styling options for my music video

Outfit Number One

This top is a handmade embroidered mesh top, which would be styled with a black skirt that would be unseen in my close ups / mid shots. My chosen song, Young and beautiful, has a theme of loneliness which I feel like is well represented in dark clothing. The sensitive and slow nature of the song, means that I will be using lots of intimate- close angles, which I think will nicely showcase the embroidered detail. 

Outfit Number Two

Outfit number two is a gold and black play suit- I intend for it to be worn solely for the bridge of the song. The color gold has connotations of high status and glamour. The song Young and beautiful was originally taken from Baz Luhrmann's 'The great Gatsby', a film about a rich man who throws parties solely to reconnect with his lover. I have taken this origin into consideration, by styling clothing that are in keeping with a glamorous narrative. 

Outfit Number Three

The artist herself inspired my third styling option. I followed her vintage styling conventions, by choosing a floral wide cuffed blouse, complete with a delicate frill. I thought this would be a suitable styling option because it is in keeping of my theme of dark clothing, whilst still channeling Lana through the old fashioned pattern on the blouse.   

Casting

Georgia as Lana Del Rey

I have chosen to cast my sister as the artist in my video. Choosing my sister means she will be a reliable for filming times, and the times of the filming can be flexible. I am confident that Georgia can successfully lip sync and act, as she has a sustained interest in drama, and will feel comfortable being instructed by someone she knows.

Letter to Copy Right Holder

My Email

Response

Andrew Goodwin- Music Video Theory

How this theory relates to my own work:
I will be applying various conventions in Andrew Goodwin's 'music video theory' to my own work.

Laura Mulvey - Music Video Theory

How this theory links to my work:
As a female director, I am committed to challenge the features of 'The Male Gaze'.  I will only be using one female subject throughout filming, which in turn places a woman in to the 'dominant role'. Lana's videos also don't follow a notion of looking - camera angles are not used for male enjoyment, so I will not be tragetting that specific audience in my own music video.

Music Video Conventions

Types of Music Video

Audience Questionnaire & Analysis of Results

I made an online survey which I shared on various personal social media accounts, to help decide on a plan for creating my music video. I will be analyzing the results in this blog post.

As the opening question to my survey, I asked the gender of the person who was answering. The results showed that 9 females and 6 males answered my questionnaire, which will benefit me in knowing what music video characteristics appeal to each gender. These preferences can then be replicated in my video, so my product can be fitting to my target audience.

 Continuing to add context to my results, I asked the age of the participant. The most people who answered where aged '17 and younger', with the second most popular category being '50 and older'. There is a large range in the data, which will be useful in showing how age as a variable, effects your taste in music to how you access the content.

For question 3, I asked what genre of music people enjoy listening to. Pop music was the most popular, followed by Rock, then  Rap and Hip-hop - which were equally enjoyed. My data shows that pop music and rock music is enjoyed by a diverse group of participants, in comparison to rap and hip-hop which were solely enjoyed by younger participants.

The next question I asked people how often they watch music videos. 6 people answered rarely, 3 people answered daily, and the rest fine-tuned there watching habits in to smaller sections. Although 'daily' and the smaller subsections amounts to more than rarely, this data shows there is a lot of people who do not watch music videos often. I think this is related to the popularity of streaming, which is led to the demise of watching music videos on MTV etc.

For question 5 I asked an open question about what was the last music video my respondent watched, and then asked if they enjoyed it. Due to the open nature of this question, my results were extremely varied- from a live performance by Andrew Rieu to Katy Perry's chained to the rhythm. When I closely analysed the comments, it was apparent that my younger participants watched music videos of current chart songs - regardless of if had an interest in more unusual genres. There wasn't really a data pattern to learn from my older respondents- they generally searched up obscure, old songs.

For question 6, I asked people how they access music videos. YouTube was by the far the most used way to access this content. I think the factors of it being free and convenient, makes it an appealing way to view music videos.

I continued by asking what type of music video people enjoy watching. Narrative was the most popular, but live performances were also well received. Concept and animated were less favoured, which suggests people enjoy connecting to the artist through watching them tell a story / perform.

I then asked my participants to rank the features of a music video to decipher what variables were most important in making a successful music video. These results show that there isn't one overbearing feature that makes a successful video- however having strong actors and relevance to lyrics were seen as important.

The last two questions were asked in aiding the direction I want to take my project in - this question concerned the setting of my music video. The woods were the most popular answer, which suggests people enjoy a calm, natural feel to a sensitive love song. The beach and a city setting also settings to consider- although they are vastly different from each other. I will be choosing the setting that I think is most fitting to the lyrics and feel of the video.

The last question I asked was about the colour scheme / theme of the video. These results were indecisive in what colours should be used, suggesting there isn't a well known colour / theme associated with Indie. This suggests I should look at the artists work, to help decide on what will be appropriate for my own work.