Experimenting with techniques on first footage

Having gained some of our first rough footage we decided to experiment with some of the techniques we plan to use in our video.



An extremely rough and rushed composition of clips rather than a video we used this to try out some techniques we wanted to include in our actual video.

Techniques we have tried...


Flash screens






Firstly the idea of flashing to black screens on a beat somewhere throughout the song as we found it creates an effect of flashing back to memories or maybe that it even adds to the pace and beat of the song. We got this idea from this music video by the artist of the song we had chosen......



Jumping and rewinding


At about 36 seconds in to the montage we have rewound the clip of the girl dancing which gives it a kind of jump effect and then continued it. This almost creates the illusion of stopping time. We find this really effective as when put in sync with the right part of a song it can really highlight the beat and create tension before the main part of a song drops.


An example of where this has been used would be Nicola Roberts video at 45 seconds

Voyeurism in our own video

We have started to look at some ways in which we can include voyeurism in our own media production. We looked at some music videos of our genre to see how they have used them and found this video by Nero called 'Crush On You'. The element of voyeurism in this video is where the characters are singing karaoke from the lyrics of the song of the music video which appear on a television scree. We liked this idea because

• It creates the fun upbeat atmosphere we want to achieve
• The style of karaoke has a certain retro and authentic feel which again we have included in our plans for our production

voyuerism

Voyeurism is the element of a video where the artist appears to themselves as a product or sound within their own music video.  The idea is that some element of themselves is included in the video. Here are some examples of where it has been used in modern and much older media. 



At the start of this video rizzle kicks have their song playing from a stereo as it then blends in to the overall song.




This is an example of Voyeurism at a much earlier stage. Nat King Cole appears on the television screen.






In this Madonna video there is a slightly different kind of voyeurism being that she watches herself dance in the mirrors of a studio.

Laura mulvey The Male Gaze

Laura Mulvey an academic and theorists claimed the representation of women in media is mostly dominated by the male point of view. She believes women have a more passive role compared to a man's more active role and therefore this is reflected in the way the media represents women as men are to be the ones that look and women the ones to be looked at.

Traditionally men play the active roles that drive the story forward and the women are objects or obstacles on the way. Mulvey believes main roles for women are scares and they often just accompany the large main roles created for men. She believed there are certain stereotypes attached to females in film and television being that they are sexually and physically attractive, they are motherly and caring and though possibly intelligent want to settle down more than anything. 

She believed their are two main types of the Male Gaze being Voyeuristic and fetishistic. Mulvey claims women are either sexually attractive or powerless females. In the 1970's studies found that men tend to be behind the decision making and production of film and TV. 

Laura Mulverys theory is apparent in music videos such as these. 

In this video by Metronomy the women's figures are used for decoration and their stances are suggestive of a sexual nature.



In 50 cents candy shop the womenare dressed in sexually provocative clothing and are made to appeal to men.




This is a recent film called Number one cheerleader camp which revolves around a story line of to young men trying to sleep with various cheerleaders. This film has clearly been produced by all men and made to appeal only to men. The cover of the DVD pack advertises this perfectly.



How has the Male Gaze been demolished in modern media?


Sket is a newly released film about a group of girls that decide to fight back against the violence of the men on their block. The violent nature of the film which has a dominantly female cast subvert stereotypes and challenges the Male Gaze being that none of them are made to be particularly attractive. Although they are the victims in the film the fact they fight back and the ending has some kind of resolution for the girls goes against the suggested rule that a male character must come in and save the day.

Contacting new producers

Since we changed our song we had to contact the new producers

Genre

Our group have a strong idea of the type of genre we want to base our music video on. The most distinct aspect of our genre is the dance theme however we are focusing on the dance genre that is less commercial and more urban/indie dance.

Dance/Alternative-

Dance/Alternative is commonly known as a mix between electronic and indie/rock music. Its also referred to in amercia as Underground Dance.

As our genre is more of an up and coming genre there aren't many bands that fit in to it entirely as its often made up of artist from other genres. Our genre mainly began in the 1980s with the creation of the bands Prodigy and New Order which later developed in to what is now seen as Dance/Alternative.

The genre is also highly attached to the night club culture is therfore often attached to the audience of youth. With the development of computers and technology around the 21rst century the way music was produced and developed changed dramatically. The popular culture become more digital and as did the trend in music. Elements of the genre were pushed along by the sense of more online opinions and vocal preferences on sites such as myspace were music could become so criticised that music catered for smaller audiences became more accessable and creative.

Chase and status




Chase and status are an alternative electric duo from London. Recently breaking in to the dance scene in urban london their modern sound includes a variety of urban artists such as tinie tempa and katy b. Also playing a major part in the recent success of dubstep. This is the music video for a popular chase and status song 'End credits'. It has everything typical of our genre being a focus on the youth and an urban setting as well as being part of film advertising and so therefore made current.



Chase and status are a perfect example of a duo that has pushed the dance/alternative genre a long in terms of pushing it in to popular culture.



Sub focus



Another example of a of an artist that is successful in the generation of the dance/alternative genre is Sub Focus. He is a dj that has worked with artists such as chase&status, Dizee rascal, Empire of the sun and actually produced the number hit 'Kickstarts' by Example. His sound is again very electronic and aimed at a younger audience.



This is a popular music video by Sub Focus which uses footage from festivals which are a big part of the dance/indie/alternative culture. It is also very personal showing footage from his own view point as the artist which draws the veiwer in as well as having lot of performance.

Reseach project

Justice

For my research project I have decided to look at the french Electronic/ Dance duo Justice

Music career

• Justice released their first album in 2007 signed to EdBanger records

• Their debut album recieved a nomination for the Grammy award of best Dance/electronic album.

• They have performed at festivals such as coachella, Sonar, Tomorrowland and Oxygen. These a festival attached to the dance genre.

• Their sound has been known to incorporate Indie and Rock music in to a dance electronic theme which would make them primarily of the Alternative genre.

Representation in the media

Justice represent themselves in various ways that create their desired image as alternative and current.

• One way in which they create their identity is the performances and festivals that they attend for example Oxygen festival . This festival is a platform for Dance and modern artists compared to more commerical and perhaps younger festival such as V festival.

Image

This is an image from a performace and the cross has been incorporated in to set design which is part of the Justice logo and has become a symbol of the duo.
This cross is also featured in this justice poster on the left which keeps a synergy between the performance and branding of the band.

The phsycial image of the duo members is also a part of the way in which they represent themselves. Often wearing black leather jackets this appeals to their younger target audience which would be highly judged by their listeners being teenagers and young adults.

This is a music video by justice from their newest album civilisation. The themes and concept of this video such as stars and space accompany the electronic more modern sound. It is fairly weird and unexpected in the way that the rocks turn in to animals which again highlights the creative streak indie videos tend to have. The large statue figures which seem to be religous idols crashing to the ground are suggestive of a deeper meaning that the band may be trying to express based on religion. The whole film seems to be in a kind of parallel world which could represent escapism.

Production journal 9th sep

This week we have confirmed our definite song choice. We also managed to gather some potential footage mostly as just an idea. We have planned to put that footage together and see how well it works which wil be coming soon.

One of the ideas we had was to make clothes out of green screen material and see how they worked with different images or films. We bought a few meters of the material and have started planning what kindo f clothes to make out of them.