Evaluation Commentary

DVD cover

Our Digipak design

Editing & Filming Plan for next 4 lessons

Over the next 4 lessons we will aim to finish all filming (both real life & animation) and have it successfully uploaded onto final cut and edited in time with lyrics.
We have also planned to stay after college hours, 2 nights this week, which we have done in previous weeks, as we know animation takes longer.

Response to Feedback

Overall, many of the points that were mentioned we were aware of, as we have not had the time to do any editing yet, e.g. fitting the shots with the lyrics, so it all relates. This was maybe why our storyline may have not been obvious to the viewers. We were glad somebody noticed the link with childrens programs as this was one of our main influences for the video and the stylistic elements of directors Hammer & Tongs.

Props in the making

As i-stop motion is fairly time-consuming it is important that we begin getting footage as soon as possible, so we have already begun making our main props (e.g the 2 main characters). We also split the list of props into 4 and have all taken responsibility for gathering certain items. We aim to have all props together by Thursday 1st October to do some test footage. Our first proper filming date is Monday 5th October.

Magazine Advert - Initial Idea

Above is an initial draft idea for a magazine advert for our chosen song. The advert will show the artist sitting on a bench with his guitar sitting beside him everything below his the top of his head will be real , where as everything above his head will be made out of plasticine. The transistion between will be a gradual fade from real life to the model. We chose to show it like this because we wanted to get across the colourfulness and playfulness of the video.
The words ‘new album’ will be made out of plasticine also and will be in the same writing and the same lights as the Hollywood sign that frequently appears in the video. For now we just have ‘new album’ but in the same font the artists name (David Ford) and the name of the album will be written there to give the advert more content. The colour scheme for the advert will consist of very bright colours to draw the reader in and yet again emphasise the element of fun in the video. The date is included in the bottom right hand corner and along the bottom we will include various other information, for example, where you will be able to purchase this album.

Video Pitch

Stories/Narrative

The narrative will follow the lyrics of the song as they're are quite versatile to represent literally. For example, 'I sat on a wall till your parents drove by,' could be easily shown in i-stop motion using plasticine figures and props. The audience will relate to the artist's thoughts also as they are represented through both the lyrics and visuals.

Costume and Props
A box will be used as the setting for the i-stop motion parts in order to keep consistency with lighting throughout the shots. Most props used within the box will be made out of plasticine or card, some props will be plastic figures used for dolls houses or playmobile etc. This keeps in line with Hammer & Tongs playful theme, child like and abstract influences.

Tone
The tone of the video will represent the artist, David Ford, as an approachable, genuine, nice guy. The video will have a 'cute' factor, giving it wider appeal so the audience can range from a child to adult.

Colour
To keep in with the childlike/playful theme we will use bright primary colours in the video. the objects made out of plasticine will be similar colours to the real life objects that they portray , but the colours will be intensified.

Pace
The length of the shots will relate to the pace of the music. The music has a slow pace therefore the shots will be of a long length and rather than having sharp cuts between them, the cuts will be more gradual.

How our music video will relate to Goodwin's Theory

Genre Characteristics- The indie genre of music is seen to be stereotypically quirky and often doesn't comply with the conventional image of celebrity bands. This is demonstrated in the indie genre of music videos. Below is a shot from the video 'Pumping on Your Stereo' by Supergrass that reflects the unique and innovative attributes of many indie music videos.
We plan to use bright colours, abstract mise-en-scene and an engaging storyline to ensure that our video concept complies to the generic characteristics of most indie music videos.

Lyrics and visuals - Our music video will definatly have a strong link between the lyrics and visuals as all action taking place will replicate what the artist is singing. The lyrics in this song describe a situation more than a feeling which allows to us to use complementary visuals throughout.
We will also have the artist(the plasticine representation of the artist) singing the lyrics. The images below are just some sample shots we did using the concept of i-stop motion to make it look as if a figure is speaking/singing.

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Music and visuals - There will not be such a strong connection between music and visuals as the video will be shot from one angle and will not have a variation of shot types that change on the beat. Our main focus is on the literal representation of the lyrics and the representation of the artist and we didn't want rapid shot changes to draw the viewers attention away from this. We are however going to swap to the real-life shots during the instrumental sections at the beginning and end of the song.

Notion of Looking - By setting our music video within a box it gives the viewer the impression that they are looking into something hidden or private and encourages the viewer to engage with the artist and want to watch further into the video.
This sample from our storyboard shows how the use of the box will give the viewer the impression that they are looking into something personal.Intertextual References - Elements of our music video relate to childrens tv programmes, characters and themes. Childrens television programmes are often seen to be playful and friendly, this intertextuality encourages the viewer to see the artist as having similar attributes.

Setting

For the i-stop motion section of the music video, the setting will seem as if it changes as the lyrics progress. Also, it will be reflective of the normal 'world' however made of plasticine. When the scene changes, e.g. ' And I walked to your door,' A backdrop of a house with a door will be inserted at the back of the box. The other section of the video will be, again, set in a normal everyday situation where the protagonist will sit on a bench as if he's reminiscing playing the guitar. Overall we have a mixture of performance and narrative based setting.

Track Choices- initial ideas

Track 11: A long time ago - David Ford

We quite like the idea of using i stop motion to reflect the lyrics of this song. We could make the video complimentary to the lyrics as they tell a story whilst retaining its quirky cute elements. the i stop motion will contain a combination of real life and plasticine models. The models to represent his thoughts and the real life to represent what is happening now. we were influenced by the signature child like styles of Hammer & Tongs.

Track 2: Teenager - Camera Obscurer

We were also thinking about using i stop motion for this video. we would start of with a girl sitting on the end of her bed this would then cut to the exact same shot but inside a dolls house with a doll sitting on the end of her bed. using i stop motion the objects an furniture in the room would move around the room, for example a chair or clothes.

Track 5: We Can No Longer Cheat You - The Cribs

We will start this video off in a studio with the band setting up for the performance. The majority of this video will be performance based. the video will include shots of the band out and about intertwined with shots of them in the studio performing.