Phantom 3 Standard Drone

I really like using the drone and I would love to fit some drone footage in. However I believe that if I do include some drone footage, it may look a little out of place and put in for the sake of it.

Cast

Cast

I don't need to go through the casting process, because my music video doesn't contain characters. I will need somebody to be the subject of the video, however, due to the special effects that dominate the music video, there are no costumes or characters used, therefore making casting less important.

The shots without the special effects, will not contain characters, again, leaving me without the task of casting.

Recce Checklist

Contacting The Artist

Contacting The Artist

I got in contact with the people who represent an artist named Raury. After not getting a reply to my first email, I got in contact again, as seen above, and got a reply within the same day. I was deciding between two songs, 'God's Whisper' and 'Devil's Whisper'. However I decided to got for 'God's Whisper' because 'Devils Whisper' contained explicit language.

The song: Raury - 'God's Whisper'

 

Reverse Green Screen

Reverse Green Screen

Location: TV Studio, City College Norwich

Equipment: Blue Paint, Dust Sheet, Camera, Tripod, Green Screen

Subject: Charlotte Johnston

This is the result of my reverse green screen test shoot.

To create this, I had to have a subject, with a lot of skin revealed, so that you could see the texture of the skin. Then, on bare skin, I rubbed blue paint into my subject's skin. This blue paint would be the keyed area, when it came to editing. I decided to test this idea on just a small part of the body, which is why the video above only shows the subject's arm.

I refer to this technique as 'reverse green screening' because, conventionally, you would edit out the green, or blue, in the shot, to make that transparent, however, in this case, the only area which is seen, is the area covered in the chroma-key paint.

When I do my final shoot for the reverse green screen, I would do things a little different. First of all, I would change the background from black, to white. This is because I would rather there be a huge contrast between the focal point and the background, instead of the two being very similar colours. Also, I would change the camera angle, I would include extreme close-ups and panning shots, instead of a static close-up/mid-shot. 

Eyes

This is an experiment I did, to see how it would look to blue screen blue contact lenses, and insert a video clip in, behind the contacts/eyes. I think it looks extremely aesthetically pleasing. However due to the lack of appropriate lighting, there are distorted rings around the edges of the contact lenses. This could be an issue, if implemented into the music video, because the standard of work would drop immensely, due to this lighting error.

Practical Production Treatment

Storyboard

I have drawn these images on the 53 iPhone application. I know that these seven shots do not occupy all of the duration of the song, however this storyboard is brief, because I believe that some drastic changes will be made to the initial idea of the music video.

Hover over the dots on the images to read the annotations.

Equipment Analysis - Dolly

Dolly

The dolly is a piece of equipment which is attatched to the feet of a tripod, to allow it to move on wheels.

The dolly is a good piece of equpment in the right circumsances. The wheels are small and plastic, which means that the ground has to be extremely smooth, for the footage to be smooth and stable. Also, the small wheels and slow bearings mean that it wouldn't be possible to attach it to the rear of a vehicle or shoot on rough ground, such as pebbles or grass. However, if you were to film on a smooth floor, such as plastic or wood, it becomes the perfect piece of equipment because it can run smoother. On the correct floor, the dolly is the best equipment and is more diverse than a track, in terms of movement, however the fact that a track can go on multiple surfaces and not be affected by how rough that surface is, would make me want to use a track, as apposed to a dolly in my production.

Music Video Proposal

Music Video Proposal

I understand that the content of this document are not completely final, and that plans could change between now and the final shoot. 

Music Video Analysis. Raury - 'God's Whisper'.

Raury - God's Whisper

Starting where 'Devil's Whisper' left off, 'God's Whisper' follows Raury through his day. This music video has a linear narrative to an extent, however this could be argued, as we see Raury twice in the same shot, this could be evidence of a parallel narrative, because we follow two characters, or two versions of a character, however the majority of the music video follows a linear narrative. The music video is a hybrid between performance and narrative, much like the video for 'Devil's Whisper', however, this music video contains even less performance, and is mainly dominated by the linear narrative. There is a clear link between the lyrics and the visuals, most obviously through the captions.

The multiple genres which Raury's music falls into are portrayed in multiple ways. The country and folk genres are represented, in the video, through the rural setting, or settings with rural characteristics, which is constant throughout. Then, the hip hop genre is shown through the costume, the mise en scene (such as drugs, cigarettes, alcohol and anti-social behaviour), and the Indie genre is represented, again, through costume, such a Raury's hat and costume choice in the exposition.

Mid-Shot

Extreme Close-Up

There is a wide variety of camera angles used throughout the music video, from extreme close-ups to long shots. Also, we see varying camera techniques, such as cinema vérité style camera movement, to add a sense of voyeurism. This could also be used to represent the less mainstream genres of music, because the style is more of a unique style. Tracking shots are used for a smoother feel to the majority of the music video, the cleaner cut style could be representing the more mainstream style of music, such as Hop Hop, because the camera style is more of a conventional one used in media platforms.
The direct mode of dress which is occasionally used in the music video, could be used to interpolate the audience. This also seems to be the case in the song 'Devil's Whisper'. The common use of this feature in Raury's music videos could be to portray Raury's personality/persona, because he seems to be extremely socially involved. The main evidence for this is the concept for his music video 'Friends' where he gets fans to drive him across America to his shows, as apposed to getting a flight.

Screenshot from 'Friends'

Screenshot from 'Friends'

In conclusion, Raury's music video for 'God's Whisper' seems to be focussed around rebellion, which is a main convention in modern day Hip Hop music. This is portrayed through the anti-social behaviour mainly. However, there are aspects which convey all of the music genres which Raury's music falls into. Also, the music video seems to spark some enigmas, such as the start, (where 'Devil's Whisper' ended) and the general narrative gets an audience to ask 'what' is happening and also 'why'.