The edit: FCProX tools used

To edit my music mini-vid I used Final Cut Pro, because in this software I could apply a variety of effects to my footage to contribute to the end product, and there's also lots of tools that are helpful towards producing a top quality editing such as blade, trim, re-time, select.

Select Tool.

Select Tool:

This tool allows us to grab the individual clip that we want to move from the gallery to the storyline, then when it's on the storyline we can still move it to a desired place using this tool.

Trim Tool

Trim Tool

With this tool we can shorten clips to the length that we want them without removing them completely, because it still allows us to bring back the footage that was shortened, it was also useful with getting the timing correct with the next clip which is important in a music video as the footage need to be in sync with the music.

Blade Tool:

Blade Tool

The blade tool lets us cut up a clip if we thought it needed to be cut up, and with our music videos we used it quite often as there was a lot of unwanted footage that we needed removing. It also helped to shorten long takes and help add to the continuity to the editing instead of having long takes.

Re-Time Tool

Re-Time Tool:

This tool was interesting as we didn't use as much with our AS projects because they didn't acquire it as much, whereas with the music videos it helps to add to entertainment and emphasise the change in beat.

Opacity Tool:

Opacity Tool

With this tool it helps to layer shots with another shot to give the layering effect which i used in my music video, when i had the vocalist layered over with a lower opacity of 20% than the on going scene which was at 100%.

Effects Tool

Effects Tool:

Trizone Effect

With the effect we could experiment with a range of different effects by adding them to the footage that we had on our storyline, and if we didn't think the effect was right for that scene we could easily remove it and replace it with another, the effect that i decided on in the end was the Trizone effect which i applied to all of my scenes as i thought it worked well with the track and the footage, however other people in my group used effects such as Sci-fi, Seasons and Graphic, which are all different effects that are available to use.

Mini-Vid Group Concept

When we all finished pitching our mini-vid ideas to the rest of the class we then formed in to two groups, and I was grouped with George, Jake, James, Millie and Poppy, then in this group we had to pick someone's idea to go on to create, so we decided to go with George's idea which was a track by Ozzy Osbourne called Stayin Alive.

Original George's idea was to have 1 male followed throughout the whole of the track being filmed walking and lip syncing as he walked past people, so from this we thought to look at a track by The Verve called Bitter Sweet Symphony for inspiration as the main male in this music video is walking past people whiles lip syncing.

The Verve - Bitter Sweet Symphony:



 So from this we've decided to use a variety of scenes for our male singer to walk through with stuff going on around him, however instead of having him lip syncing whiles he's walking we're going to have him lip syncing in a seperate scene and layer it over the top in some scenes.

Ozzy Osbourne - Stayin Alive:

Mini-Vid Pitch Feedback

I did my pitch to the class on my mini-vid idea then after I received feedback and my class asked me questions on my mini-vid idea.

Mini-Vid Pitch Idea

This is my mini-vid pitch on the track, Waiting For The Sun by The Doors:



Waiting for the Sun is the third studio album by the American rock band The Doors. It was released in July 1968 and became the band's first and only number one album.

EG2: Grouplove - Tongue Tied

ACT: Grouplove

TRACK: Tongue Tied

YEAR: 2012

DIRECTOR: Jordan Bahat

GENRE: Indie dance, alternative rock

MAIN AUDIENCE: M/F 15-24

Music Video: 




RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VISUALS + LYRICS:

Femal vocalist

Only until we hear the female vocalist to be get a clear relationship between the lyrics and the vocal as we can see the singer lip syncing the song, however the lyrics do indicate that there's a party and the audience get the visuals of a party happening so there's a strong relationship here. But also the lyrics signify a love story in a way of a male and female in love and at the end there's a male and female kissing to anchor this.

 

GENRE CHARACTERISTICS:

Couple signifying love

The genre 'alternative rock' is a sub genre to 'rock' and this music video shows some of these genre characteristics throughout, because it give many different meanings and the audience can get a variety of different interpretations which is was 'alternative rock' provides, instead of a precise meaning. For example the music video could be telling a love story between a couple, or just some males mad night out. It could be seen as confusing to the audience which is also linked to 'alternative rock' as there are so many different meaning within this genre, and this is commonly used in music videos to get the audience to watch it over and over again.

 PERFORMANCE STYLE:

Stereotypical rock look

In this music video they have the combination of lip syncing and no lip syncing at parts and it's balanced out well so there's not too much just visuals with no lip syncing. Also the band is shown in the video but instead of having the band separate to the narrative scene it's incorporated into it so it follows the story and looks like they're just doing a gig at a party, and all the instruments are shown including the mic, guitars and drums. It also looks realistic with the band playing at the party and helps to make it look genuine. The band are also anchoring the genre as it's stereotypical to have these instruments in a rock band, and with the long hair head banging so all these conventions are contributing to make the video realistic.

 LINEAR, CLOSED NARRATIVE?:
The narrative in this video is quite ambiguous and in a way leaves it for the audience to decide what the video is about as it's a confusing story line, however this is common in music videos so that it gets watched multiple times.

 AUDIENCE IN VID?:
In the video it shows both females and males aged in their late teens which is suitable for the target audience, and as it's party that they're at it's more appealing for the audience as this is stereotypical for the teen audience.


EVALUATION:
The random visuals could be seen as confusing to the audience which is also linked to 'alternative rock' as there are so many different meaning within this genre, and this is commonly used in music videos to get the audience to watch it over and over again, and this is what I could use in my music video.

My Track Choice

The track that I've chosen to pitch is 'Waiting For The Sun' by The Doors.
I've chosen this track is it's the one i thought would work best out of the other two, and as i was thinking of doing a spoof of the original song this track works well as it's easy to reference to the lyrics. So for my mini-vid i was thinking of having 4 males to represent the 4 band members and these guys will be in the scenes referencing the lyrics, for example the lyrics " waiting for the sun" I'd have the 4 band members look as if they were waiting for the sun.

Original video:

Tracks I Got To Pick From

We were all given at random an artist of which we had to choose a track ( I had 3 tracks to choose from ) and then we would create an idea of a mini-vid for this track, and the artist/band I had was called The Doors who were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore and guitarist Robby Krieger. Our teacher gave us the artists at random so that there was more chance of us not knowing the artist, this way we could be more creative in thinking of ideas because our own opinions wouldn't affect it. Also for our actual coursework music video it might be genre of music that we personally might not like so this way we're getting experience with dealing with unknown artist or unknown genres. These are the tracks I got to choose from:
 . Waiting For The Sun-



. The End-



. Is Everybody In-

Mini-Vid Task Explained

This exercise is similar to the AS prelim in that its designed to start us thinking about music video production, though involves considerably more research and planning. And the final outcome will be a partial music video of at least 30 seconds in length, maximum 60 seconds. There are several steps involved:

The aims are-

• To advance our understanding of the factors behind track selection
• To provide practice of pitching
• To provide a sense of scale: music videos being more demanding than a film opening
• To provide opportunities of experimenting with editing and creativity
• To deepen familiarity with FCProX tools and FX
• Generating significant evidence on several A2 coursework assessment criteria.

EG1: Foster the People - Don't Stop

ACT: Foster the People

TRACK: Don't Stop (Color on the Walls)

YEAR: 2012

DIRECTOR: Rich Costey

GENRE: Indie pop, alternative rock

MAIN AUDIENCE: M 15-24



Music Video:




RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VISUALS + LYRICS:

Car speeding up

 There isn't any clear indication of a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, however when the tempo speeds up in the son so does the tempo of the video as the actions start to speed up, for example when the main guy character takes control of the car so the car speeds up with the tempo of the music, so this could be seen as a relationship. Also when the lyrics quote " Don't stop, don't stop, don't stop" the car starts to speed up so there's a relationship here, however there's no lip syncing with the music video to the lyrics as there are in some music videos which show more of a relationship.

Car crash

GENRE CHARACTERISTICS:
 With the rock genre aspect of the video it's quite timid, however it is alternative rock so this understandable as alternative rock is more tame than rock, and with it being a sub genre of the genre rock it still shows some aspects for example the crash with the cars signifying the recklessness.

Two-shot

 PERFORMANCE STYLE:
In this video it tells a story of a wanted criminal trying to get away which results in a car pursuit, so to make this realistic they used verisimilitude well by incorporating various shot types, for example the two-shot which signified the relationship between the two characters. Then also fast-paced editing was used for the chase scene so that it would keep up with the tempo of the song and make the action scenes for realistic.

LINEAR, CLOSED NARRATIVE?:
There's a linear narrative structure in this video as it follows in a way Todorov's 5 part narrative theory, as it starts with a state of equilibrium when the music starts and it gives a sense of calm, but as the tempo starts to speed up there's a disruption when the car speeds up and is on the chase, then there's an obvious recognition of this disruption to the equilibrium as the police start to chase the speeding car, then when the police catch the criminal this acts as the 4th part with the attempt to repair this disruption, and finally when the girl drives away there's a reinstatement of equilibrium. 

Two-shot

 STAR TREATMENT:
There is star treatment involved in this video as the lead singer is playing the lead role and is focused on more as he is screened longer than the other two band members, which are the two police men who are screened for equal lengths showing there equality, however obviously the lead singer is prioritised more than the other two instrumental players in the band.

 REPRESENTATIONS:
There's a gender representation shown at parts where the male try to take over driving from the female in the car signifying his recklessness, which is a stereotype for male drivers that they're more reckless at driving than females. 

 PACE + ANY VARIATION OF PACE:
The pace varies with the sountrack because as the soundtrack starts it's at quite a slow pace, so there's longer takes being used, in comparison to when the soundtrack picks up tempo then the pace in the video builds up, and this is shown with the shorter takes and fast-paced editing that is used. 

A2 Brief:

A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following options:

1)  A cover for its release as part of a digipak (CD/DVD package)
2) A Magazine advertisement for the digipak (CD/DVD package)