Final Major Project
(MUSIC VIDEO TEST)
Client: CREATE24 | 2024
My final project created at Gloucestershire College, shown at the CREATE24 festival.
BEHIND THE SCENES
THE COLOUR VIOLET
*the FMP brief requires me to create either a music video, documentary or a short film (fiction or no non-fiction) for Hidden in Plain Sight Media (HIPS). HIPS is a new, local arts company offering a variety of digital media content to their target audience of young aspiring creators with the aim to inspire them to acknowledge the world around them whilst showcasing the work they can create, the products I create should encourage them to engage with their own creative processes. Their mission is to educate and entertain viewers and reveal things in life that are hidden in plain sight. They will host a competition for young, local content creators to develop, pitch and produce a range of digital content types that reflect their online brand identity and company values. The winning entries will be screened at an arts festival scheduled for June 2024 alongside other creative exhibitions. I have 9 months to make a test documentary, music video and short film and finally develop a final, professional and unique video which will inspire other young creative minds to create their own work and notice the things in life that are hidden in plain sight.
CLIENT: CREATE 24
EDIT:
music video types
PERFORMANCE
1)
A performance-based music video can include dancing, lip-syncing, and band members playing their various instruments. It can even be a recording of them playing live in some cases.
However, that doesn't mean that you can't be creative with a performance music video. Typically the bands are located in various exciting locations that connect with the song and the feeling they're trying to create.
purpose:
to see the star/stars perform.
example:
Foo Fighters - My Hero
NARRATIVE
2)
A narrative-based music video is a music video where the artist(s) are trying to tell some sort of story.
It is essentially a short film based on the song. Narrative music videos typically include a structure of a beginning, middle, and end.
There are also usually no lip-syncing or musical performances in the video. The band creates a narrative around the lyrics relating to the song's themes.
purpose:
to illustrate the lyrics or the theme.
example:
Logic - 1800-273-8255
CONCEPT
3)
Concept music videos are videos without a storyline and typically have no relevance to the lyrics themselves.
The concept music video is usually based on the artist's vision. It can be seen as a way to expand their creative vision with the song.
The concept music video typically includes a performance or a narrative, so the audience doesn't get all lost. But while there might be a smaller narrative in the video, there is typically no structure to the video.
What makes these types of videos so attractive is their uniqueness which can sear into the audience's brain.
Audiences will get fascinated by trying to understand the video, or just because it's so eccentric, they can't forget it.
purpose:
to create a theme or to make it stand out.
example:
Childish Gambino - Sweatpants
INTERPRETIVE
4)
An illustration or interpretation of the song's lyrics - using them as 'narration' for the visuals. They will often feature the artist or band performing and will make use of multiple locations. They add a visual experience to the lyrics that can be interpreted differently. The style of a music video will tend to depend greatly on the genre of music that it is created for. So, a music video intended for a pop song would tend to differ to one intended for a rock song, which will differ to one intended for a rap song.
purpose:
to allow you to intrepret the lyrics.
example:
Eminem - Stan
PARODY/HOMAGE
5)
Imitates the style of another artist/band or time period for one of two reasons:
Homage - to show respect or pay tribute to the work of someone else.
Parody - to imitate someone elses style for comedic effect or to show disrespect
purpose:
to imitate the style of something else.
example:
blink-182 - All The Small Things/Kanye West - Fade
semiotics
+examples
Semiotics is the systematic study of sign processes and meaning-making. Semiosis is any activity, conduct, or process that involves signs, where a sign is defined as anything that communicates something, usually called a meaning, to the sign's interpreter.
(the study of signs)
eg. semiotics of red
This Is America - Childish Gambino
main notable themes:
racism, riots, hedonism, and social injustice to black people.
the colour red, white clothing, representation of black people, Jim Crow, Michael Jackson, gun violence, American law, school children (school shootings), tracking shots, no harsh cuts,the choir (Dylann Roof), vulnerability, black stereotypes, black and white, suicide
semiotics displayed
my favourite artist
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FRANK OCEAN
TARGET AUDIENCE
teens-adults
all genders, mostly guys
english speaking
ONLINE PERSONA
mysterious
exclusive
inactive
RATINGS
At first, Frank Ocean was simply a great storyteller. Then he became the story—an avatar for all of our fluid modern ideals. He could be the dynamic human of the future, exploding age-old binaries with an eloquent note, melting racial divisions with a devastating turn of phrase or quick flit to falsetto. He breathed hope. Then he went away.
On its surface, Blonde seems tremendously insular. Whereas Channel Orange showed off an expansive eclecticism, this album contracts at nearly every turn. Its spareness suggests a person in a small apartment with only a keyboard and a guitar and thoughts for company. But it isn’t just anyone emoting from the abyss, it’s Frank Ocean. In his hands, such intimacy attracts the ear, bubbles the brain, raises the flesh. These songs are not for marching, but they still serve a purpose. They’re about everyday lives, about the feat of just existing, which is a statement in its own right. Trayvon Martin would be 21 today, and Blonde is filled with feelings and ideas—deep love, heady philosophy, despondent loss—that he may have never had a chance to experience for himself. The stories Frank tells here find solace in sorrow. They’re fucked up and lonely, but not indulgent. They offer views into unseen places and overlooked souls. They console. They bleed. And yes, they cry.
evaluation
Looking back on this project, my technical skills improved and I was glad to be working in a group again. I enjoyed building the idea as a group and coming up with new ideas. However, not everything went to plan on our first shoot day we had faulty equipment which mean't we couldn't record, this really set me back as I was already struggling for motivation and I felt like I couldn't do college any longer, especially due to also finishing personal development at the same time. To overcome these challenges we made sure to get all equipment and test it before we went out to shoot and I put in extra hours at home to make sure both projects could be completed. Overall, I'm really proud of certain parts of the video, for example, the set but many things when I looked back could've been improved such as the flow and pacing.