HB: Brighton - Reflection

Brighton Reflection 

• On the 17th of September we took a trip to Brighton to experiment with our ideas and try to develop our concepts further.

• I would say that we managed to gain more inspiration for our video as this was the first time we had listened to the track while thinking of particular shots for certain clips of the song, rather than just brainstorming a general narrative. 
• We came up with an effective shot using the track and dolly which involved the actor remaining in one position with the camera tracking past them. This differs to how we have used it in previous projects as we normally utilised it to follow characters walking. 
• This day has also been helpful as we now have footage to experiment with in post production to try and achieve the vintage tine we want to emulate to fully convey the indie folk aesthetic.  
• Furthermore, we managed to film some successful shots which demonstrated an amplified relationship between the lyrics and video which we would like to do in our final production. 
• We also had a chance to experiment with lip syncing and found this is best done when the actor actually sings as this looks most natural and the sound is cut out of the footage anyway so this doesn't cause a problem.

• To improve I think we could have gotten some more footage and experimented with some different angles/techniques to get a better range of ideas. It may be a good idea to try and practice some more of these within school to try and develop a better skill set prior to shooting the actual production. 
• I think the water shots we took were effective, however, I don't think we will use the sea for our video as it didn't have the feel we wanted. Water is a theme for the opening of the video so we will perhaps use a lake or even a tap for this shot instead. 
• We also could have tried using an interior location, although, it may be better to try this when we can set up the ambient lighting we want to create to get a better idea of what the shot will look like.

• Overall I think the day was a good practice for us, especially for trying out some post production techniques, and beneficial for developing our concept further 

Group: Production Log - Brighton

Production Log - Brighton 

CK: Promo Pack Analysis

• The mise-en-scene of the subjects in the photo reflect the style of the music and the way of life that this band follow. The clothes worn, the horse, the flying flags and the old house show the folk rock genre and the meaning behind the music.
• The photographer has used a hard focus which keeps the band members in focus in the foreground, whilst what appears to be a party occurs in the background, out of focus. This connotes fast movement and joyous emotions, which are heavy themes in the album.
• The hairstyles and the clothes worn by the band show their expression of not wanting to follow modern trends and that they would rather try to find their own identity through their music, which relates to the star value of originality.
• The colours and the busy nature of this album cover work as an advantage for the marketing promotion of the new album and also help to act as a representation for folk music which is often overlooked by the mass market.
• The script style font used for the title of the album makes the viewer feel as though this band belong in another time, and that this handwritten style of font has come from a vintage lifestyle from possible medieval ages.

• In this screenshot, the artist is shown as being both ordinary and extraordinary.
• They are shown as being ordinary through their clothing, which is very plain and ordinary, perhaps a bit indie which reflects their unique and indie star image, which helps to form their meta narrative.
• They are shown as being extraordinary as the banjo player in the background has been edited in twice, giving them an image of being more than ordinary people. As well as this the location of a ruined building and the desaturation of the footage again makes the band seem like more than the norm, and helps to create reinforce their creative and original star image.

• In this screenshot, the artist is shown as being both present and absent.
• He is shown as being present through the use of breaking the fourth wall and addressing the viewer, which helps to establish an emotional link between the viewer and the artist, making them relatable and real.
• On the other hand the absence of the artist is shown when he breaks away from this first person mode of address and goes back to passionately playing his instrument, which reminds the listener of the talent of the artist, which contributes to his star image and metanarrative.

Group: Project Ideas Discussion

Group Discussion

• Today in class we had a discussion as a group based on a reflection of our moodboard task
• We found this very beneficial for coming up with more concepts for our video
• We also gained a better understanding of the key characteristics which appear within the indie folk genre
• We have a far broader knowledge of our chosen artists, Mumford and Sons, meta-narrative by looking at their print work and videos. This has helped us decide key aspects we feel must be incorporated and also what not to include.

Indie Folk - Genre

Music videos:

• A mix of narrative and performance base
• Usually a rural location or a barn style setting
• Ambient lighting
• Vintage colour

Print work:

• Vintage/warm colours
• simple designs 

Instruments:

• Many unconventional e.g. banjo and ukulele 
• Incorporates folk and alternative rock

Appearance:

• Facial hair 
• Understated vintage clothing 
• Natural 
• Matches setting

Mumford and Sons

Sound:

• Typical folk instruments
• Use of banjo - bluegrassy timbre - off the wall

Appearance:

• Old fashioned - vintage 
• Waistcoats and blazers

How has this moved our concept forward?

• We have decided that the use of ambient lighting is very effective and is something which is often used within folk videos so we may try to emulate this
• We also came up with a possible ending for the video using the aspects of a village atmosphere and narrative concept. Our current idea is a man (whom we intend to be the protagonist throughout) sat at a bench on the top of a hill with a girl standing next to him. The girl will then walk away leaving the man alone as the song ends. - This has a amplified relationship between the lyrics and the video which, from our research, we found is the most common within folk videos as they focus heavily on the narrative aspect.
• We also gained a better understanding of the instruments used within the genre a feel that including a performance aspect would also be suitable in our video

CK: Mumford and Sons Moodboard

JH : Indie Folk - Moodboard

Group: Initial Ideas - Mindmap

We had a group discussion in class about possible track ideas we had found over the summer and any inspiring music videos we may be able to emulate parts of and collated our best ideas on to a mindmap.