I'm having a lot of fun with this research! It doesn't even feel like work for a project or anything because I tend to watch music videos in my free time a lot!
"Night Changes"
Choosing the last music videos to dive deep into was hard because there are so many options, but I feel like I really needed to do a One Direction one being that I have always been a fan. However, they have really random music videos that really wouldn't serve me as well for my research. So I decided to research "Night Changes" because it is more alike to something I would produce.
This video breaks the fourth wall, as it basically about them going on a date with the viewer, because they are looking straight at the camera and interacting with it (which was probably really funny to film). It follows the stereotypical perfect dates, such as going out to dinner, going to a fair, going for a drive and walk in the park, or staying home and playing games. However, as the video progresses, everything in the dates goes wrong and it ends up being disasters.
This video served for showing me that not all videos have to be serious and there can be silliness in this (such as this picture that was too funny not to put), and I feel like it's really going to help me let go and enjoy the process of this more.
"I know it won't work"
Gracie Abrams. I absolutely adore her music, but I had never watched her music videos until now! I really liked the post production aspect of this music video and it felt very different from the other ones I'vre researched because of the filter and editing, which makes it seem like it was filmed in an older camera. I really like the zooms in and the focus pulls that were used in this video. Focus pulls are really hard for me to do, but it's nothing that practice can't fix!
The video felt raw also because of the lack of stabilizer in most shots which made it more of a use of handheld camera. However, I feel like this was overused because at one point I got annoyed at how the camera wasn't even showing her face anymore because of how much it was moving. This shot here however, was probably my favorite from the whole video because I loved the contrast that the sunset created with the cool tones of the water and the sand. I really want to shoot part of my video at a beach and I feel like this reinforced that want by a lottt. I loved the sequence right after this shot because it was really fast shots of different things and it served as a really good transition into another beautiful shot of her at the beach with the light reflecting on the lens of the camera.
All of this research left me with a clearer idea for my video and it really did help me think about how to make my video more cohesive. I'm so excited to share the development of my video soon!
Continuing with the research! Some of Annie's songs really reminded me of Olivia Rodrigo's songs from her album Sour so I thought it would be a good idea to watch some of those to see if I can get any inspo from them!
"drivers license"
I just realized I actually had never watched this music video before today despite how popular this song was a few years ago.
While watching this music video, I think that what stuck with me the most is the lighting in the car. The purples and the blues hitting her face creates a sadder tone. For my portfolio project last year, I played a little with the lights but I believe that I can do it a lot better right now because I have gained a lot of experience since then.
Up until before the bridge of the song, I do feel like the shots get really repetitive. However, once the bridge started, I really liked the sudden pick up on the pace for a little bit, and thennn it goes back to the repetitiveness.
"ceilings"
Another video I came across was "ceilings" by Lizzy McAlpine. The overall vibe of the song itself doesn't match with what Annie's song that I'm going to use is, but I did see some things in the video that I really liked!
This two shot of them talking in like a cafe really caught my attention because part of what I am planning on doing is a sort of montage of parts of a relationship in which the people were happy and this really captured what I had in my mind. I really liked how effortlessly this video was a mix of promotional, with the artist singing, to storytelling. It didn't feel out of place and I think one of the reasons was because for most of the time, the artist that was singing wasn't moving around or changing settings often.
I'm starting to get a clearer picture of what my music video could look like, but I'm going to watch a bit more to really grasp it better.
So today, I'm starting the research for my music video! I know Annie is a fan of Taylor Swift and Gracie Abrams and it is obvious in the type of music that she makes. So I decided to do research on some of Taylor Swift's music videos to get an idea of the type of videos created with the music.
Everything Has Changed ft. Ed Sheeran.
As I watched some of Taylor's videos, I noticed that most of them are with her singing so I tried to find one that was pure storytelling and I found this! I honestly found it to be such a cute video that showed the innocence that love can have.
This video starts with an establishing shot with the bus driving down the street, which helps introduce the subjects of the video as two kids. The lighting as the camera tilts up on the girl is truly beautiful and helps emphasize the innocence at that age. It's a really pretty shot and I want to incorporate some of this.
The shallow focus on this shot highlights the focus on the two subjects, while still showing that the world is still going on around them. I also really like the amount of close ups that this music video utilizes because it makes it feel much more intimate.
All Too Well: The Short Film
ADDITIONALLY, one of my favorite songs is also a pure storytelling video that is truly amazing. Although, it is technicallyyy a short film, it captures the great storytelling power with the song.
I love the way that it starts with the title of the song while the intro music is playing, and it's something that I'm truly considering doing for my own video. The simple font with the trees in the background is a really delicate way to start the video which I think fits it very well. One of my favorite things about this video is how the things happening exactly match what the lyrics are saying in that moments, which emphasizes the story that the song itself is saying. This is something that I really want to incorporate into my own video because I really like the stories that my possible songs are telling.
The colors of the costumes change from warmer to cooler ones as the song gets into themes of hurt and betrayal which I found it to be a nice detail to contribute to the overall tone of the song. The occasional flashbacks to when they were happy together served as a good contrast, not only story wise but also with the colors. In the part wher ethe guy is walking at night and he is getting constant flashbacks of her, I like how the fast pacing of the switching back and forth from him to them makes it look like he is being challenged emotionally by remembering what they had.
The red scarf coming back at the end gave it a full circle moment!
I feel like watching these videos with a different lens than usual really served me as inspiration and ideas for my music video!
I finally got the yes from the artist that I really wanted to work with for this project and I am so beyond excited because her music is truly amazing and she is so talented. This artist is someone I had a class with in my freshman year, and she is also one of my friend's family friends. She has moved to Nashville to pursue her dream, which I'm so happy for, but it also sucks because we won't be able to record the video with her. Anyways, the artist we're going to work with is Annie LeMasters! Here she is!
She is a pop singer, which is one my favorite genre of music. The genre of pop music typically has really catchy, structured songs, usually containing 2 verses, 3 choruses and a bridge. The choruses are strong and repetitive. Think like perfect songs to sing in the car with the windows down!
I'm gonna start deep diving into multiple examples of music videos from this genre so I can get a better picture of it.
I really really want to work on my time management for this project because it will make my life soooooo much easier. Our goal is to finish a few days before to have space to get critiques and tweak anything we need. So we created a schedule to help keep us on track:
Week One (2/17-2/22)
Choose project
Contact artist we’re interested in
Create schedule
Assign roles
Week Two (2/23-3/1)
Research on genre
Research examples of said genre
Start developing ideas for video (talk with artist to choose song)
Casting
Week Three (3/2-3/8)
Research social media pages of similar artists
Create social media page (choose between titktok or insta)
Storyboard for video
Create filming schedule
Week Four (3/9-3/15)
Film film film
Research print component
Social mediaaaa posts
Week Five (3/16-3/22) – this is Spring break – plan accordingly
Spring break, individual work
Start developing digipak and work on social media
Maybe possibly start editing but idk
Week Six(3/23-3/29)
Editing editing and more editing
Finalize digipak
Social media postssss
Research for critical reflection three
Week Seven (3/30-4/5)
Finish editing
Work on critical reflection
Finalize social media page
Week Eight (4/6-4/10)
Finish critical reflection
Get feedback/ critique on all components
Fix/tweak anything if needed
Final reflections
I'm really excited for how this project is going to come out!
WE'RE SO BACK! I've been so excited to start this project since I hard about it in the beginning of the year. And from day one I always knew I wanted to do the music promotion package because music has always been one of my biggest passions.
I am so excited to finally start this project! I want to create something that I'm truly proud of, being my last project in high school. I'm going to try to put my alllllll into this project! (I'm honestly probably the most excited for designing the digipak)
The goal of my documentary Kids Helping KIDs was to explain what the organization is, what it does, and to show the real impact that a community can have. I think that I succeeded in accomplishing this goal by creating an informative and engaging piece. However, there is always room for improvement.
When it came to research, I didn't feel like my topic needed any facts or background because I wanted to focus on what we do as an organization and how we help, and I wanted it to focus on emotional impacts at the end. Therefore, watching different types of documentaries served as my research of the different techniques and conventions that are used in documentaries. Of all the documentaries I viewed I feel like Abstract and Exit Through the Gift Shop served as my major inspirations because of the way the b-roll was integrated and also to inspire me to include archived footage into my documentary. I like the way that Abstract showed its b-roll for context to what was being shown, and I took that as inspiration for my own documentary. I also really liked the branded introduction seen in Abstract, which served to engage people right from the start. This directly inspired my intro with the montage and title in it.
The target audience for this documentary people looking to help in their community or want to specifically help foster kids. To keep my audience engaged, I included a lot of b-roll in my documentary, since it kept it visually interesting and appealing instead of just staring at a person talking all the time. It allowed for people watching it to have a visual representation of what is being described. Additionally, throughout the whole documentary, the direct interviews progresses the story, and I believe that cutting between interviews and intertwining them with each other also aided with the engagement of the audience because it wasn't the same person talking the same time and it added more. However, I do think that they interviews could have been framed a lot better and it would have been more engaging if they looked better visually with maybe a zoom or even a change in setting. However, the cutting between the interviewees also helped with the pacing of the documentary to make it more engaging and more easy to understand the information that was given.
We chose the structure of this to go from introducing the organization, to deep diving into the Thanksgiving Food Drive, to a more heartfelt conclusion, showing the emotional impacts that the people involved have. This allowed for the audience to get informed in an engaging and easily to follow structure.
Kids Helping KIDs is a documentary that represent two main groups: teenager and adults that are willing to help the community, and the foster kids who receive the help. One way that I chose to represent the teenagers and the adults is by incorporating them as interviewees in the documentary, as well as in the b-roll footage, showing their interactions with the kids. The documentary is all about the indirect way that we help these kids, such as raising money through drives. In this documentary, we represent the kids in the foster homes, that have been abused and neglected. This documentary highlight one of the many ways that someone may help contribute to the cause and the ways that teenagers and adults can help.
Overall, I'm extremely proud of what we were able to achieve with this documentary! Here's the link to watch it: Kids Helping KIDs
