Some time ago I made a post stating that i had some problems with the calculations of the time of the video on the storyboard. I ended up having some blank spaces in the video, so I came up with the idea of putting some pictures of religious symbols, so i would just have a black screen.
This are some of the images i added to replace the black screens.
Split Screen
During the editing there were many entertaining parts, but there was a certain part that i really enjoyed doing, which was the split screen.
The first step consist in putting the two clips you want to use, one on top of the other, as show the picture below.
The following step is to crop the video which is below, till you get it the way you desire.
Then you have to regulate both clips, to make everything right with no errors and when you're done, you will get a very good effect, as it shows on the picture below.
Pastiche/Parody happens when in a music
video there’s imitation of the conventions of another work, but does in order
to take the mick out of the work. Most of the times this will generate
something funny. A good example of music video with Pastiche/Parody is Eminem’s
music video for the song “We Made You”.
In this music video Eminem imitates many artist and celebrities such as
Bret Michaels, Elvis Presley, Kim Kardashian, Jessica Simpson and many others.
There are reasons why Eminem would opt to make a parody in his music video. One
of the reasons why Eminem might have done parody is to “separate” him from some
of the celebrities shown of his video, I’ll explain why. Some of the
celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Jessica Simpson are celebrities which are
constantly involved in scandals and rumors, so this could be a way that Eminem
found to show that he doesn’t want to have nothing to do with those celebrities.
Other reason to explain why Eminem would opt for a parody music video is to
make the music more famous. For example if fans of these celebrities know that
they Eminem is making fun of them in a music video, they will want to watch it
and the “word” will spread and more people will watch because of the
celebrities involved in it. It also is a good way to promote the celebrities
who Eminem made fun of.
Animation
This is a style of
music video in which real life footage is not involved but animations are used
instead. An example of a music video that uses animation is the music video for
the song “Heartless” sang by Kanye West.
There are many reasons why to opt for the use of animation. One of them
is to had an artistic effect to the music video, as it will look different; it
can also save a lot of money compared to producing a real life music video,
saves money on special effects and also money on actors, locations and all
aspects of a real life production will be cut. Another reason to opt for animation
is that the singer might be on tour and not be available to participate in a
music video, and if the music video is really needed for special occasion such
as promotion, animation will be one option to make the music video.
Narrative
This is a style in
which the music video will be telling a story, it is like a short film. In this
style usually the music video will be structured in five different stages:
equilibrium, disequilibrium, recognition, reparation and new equilibrium. These
types of music video are very good, as they will engage the audience in wanted
to see the story, so even if the song does not attract the audience that
much, the story shown on the music video
can attract the audience. Narrative is also a way of the interaction of the
singer and the audience, as the story of the music can be a story that the audience
can relate to. An example of a narrative music video is Alicia Keys
“Unthinkable”. This music video tells the story of a black woman with a white
lover, and during the music video it shows the racial problems they deal with,
during different decades.
Interpretative
Interpretative
music videos are the type of music videos that usually show something however
it has a different meaning. These are the type of music videos that allow the
audience to interpret the music video in the way they want. A good example of
an interpretative music video is Amy Whinehouse’s “Back to Black” video. The
song is about a relationship the ended, however the video music shows a
funeral, but what’s being buried is her heart.
SO this can be interpreted in different ways; she might want to bury her
heart because she doesn’t want to love anymore or she can be burying her heart
because a relationship ended and the love of her life is gone. When can see that it can be interpreted in
many ways, and this is interesting, so this is one of the reasons to go for
interpretative music videos; to engage the audience. Let’s imagine that someone
after watching the music figures that he/she hasn’t understood the real meaning
of the music video, so they will investigate more, look for lyrics, listen to
the song and watch the music video more often to figure out. This is also a
good way for artist to express more than one idea to the audience.
In-concert and “as live” footage
In-concert and “as
live” footage are different types of music videos that are made of live
performances. In-concert are the types of music of videos which are made of
footage of the singer during a concert, the difference of “as live” footage is
that not only the footage of the performance is used but also the audio. A good
example for an In-concert and “as live” footage music video is the music video
for “Numb/Encore” by Linkin Park & Jay Z. The music video has footage of a
live performance in a concert and it also includes other live footage. These
types of music are an option for certain situations. For example, when the
singer is on tour and does not have time to be filmed for a music video this is
an option. However it can also be an artistic choice, as it will look more
natural, to show the interaction of the singer and the audience, this can
influence people who are watching from home to want to go to a concert of that
singer.
Genre Specific
A genre specific
music video is a video which stays in the same genre of the song. This will be
defined by many aspects, such as clothing, people and even other aspects like dancing or other
performance. When the audience listens to a Hip-Hop song they will be expecting
a video which represents Hip-Hop. So in a Hip-Hop music video the audience
wouldn’t expect to see ballet dancers or an opera band; they would expect to
see Hip-Hop dancers and people dressing in a urban way. So it is important to
stay in genre so the audience doesn’t get confused and also to give the
audience what they expect to see. A good example of a genre specific music
video is Rihanna’s “Pon de replay” music video. The lyrics have to do clubbing
and dancing; and that’s what the music video shows, people in a club, dancing
according to the song, this music video is completely supportive to the genre
of the music.
Referencing/Homage
Referencing is when
an artist references someone or something in their music video or song. Homage
is when an artist shows his respect and appreciation to another artist by
imitating their work or an aspect dedicated to their artistic work, however in
an artistic and serious work instead of a parody. An example of a music video
with homage is Chris Brown’s “She ain’t you” music video, where Chris Brown
pays respect to Michael Jackson. This music video starts with a reference that says
“Dedicated to my biggest inspiration of all time… Love you Michael Jackson…”.
Then along the video we can see that there is a clear homage as the song is
like a modern version of Michael Jackson’s “human Nature” and also Chris Brown
is dressing and dancing like Michael Jackson used to.
Conventions
Lyrical Interpretation
Lyrics
interpretation happens when the artist decides to interpret their lyrics in the
music video or make the music video similar to the lyrics. As I explained
earlier, the music video can be done in a way that the audience will be able to
interpret it in many ways, however with lyric interpretation it will be easier
for the audience to understand the main concept of the lyric as it will be
shown on the video and the message will be clear. An example of a music video
with lyric interpretation is Kelis’ “Milkshake”. She is a waitress and does a
lot a milkshake, the lyrics of the song are also about this.
Extending or consolidating meaning
This is a
convention used to add meaning to a song, for example when the artist wants the
audience to know that there might be more than one meaning to the song. This
convention is also used when the artist wants to help the audience
understanding the song better ad also to confirm the meaning of the song. These
aspects are just like I explained in Amy Whinehouse’s music video for “Back to
Black”. Things represented in the music video will show the audience what the
artist wants them to understand about the song, this is important so
understanding of the song is not limited or is not wrong.
Allusion
Allusion is when
someone or something is referenced in a work, in this case in a music video.
Allusion includes “hidden” references, also links and connections to other
artist, like sometimes when artist are at each other’s music videos. A music
video which has clear examples of allusion is Lady Gaga’s “Telephone” music
video. One of the examples of allusion
is that Beyoncé is present at the music video. There are other hidden
references for examples, when Lady Gaga’s is bailed out of jail, she does one
of Michael Jackson dance moves. Other reference is to the movie Kill Bill, the
car that Uma Thurman’s drive in the movie is the same car that Beyoncé is
driving. Captain America is also referenced in this music video as Lady Gaga
and Beyonce are wearing an outfit which looks similar to his. There are many
other examples of allusion present in this music video apart from the ones I
mentioned. Artist can do this for an artistic purpose or simply to pay respect
and show admiration to other artist or works.
Techniques
Cutting to beat
This is a technique
which consist in cutting the video at the same time that the beat cuts or
changes. An example of cutting to beat can
be seen in the music video for the song “YOLO” by The Lonely Island. In some
parts of the song when the beats changes, the shots change exactly at the same
time as the beat. This is done to make the video more attractive and also more professional;
this is also done to emphasize the beat.
Effects
Effects are added
to music videos to make them more attractive and more interesting. Effects can
make a music video look more professional, however if they are used in the
wrong way, they can make a music video look really amateur. There are a whole
range of different effects, some effects can change the way a video looks,
other effects are used to change the speed of the video, for example to speed
up or slow down. Other effects are simply used to change the color for example
black and white. Ed Sheeran’s music video for the “A Team” is a clear example
of a music video with effects. Simple effects where used to make the video black
and white and also in some parts of the video to speed up.
Miming and Lip-synch
Most of the music video which are not In-concert or as live footage
are examples of miming and lip-synch. This is done in order to make the music
video look more professional, as the singer will be miming and lip-synching
with the song on the background and then the song will be added to the video in
post-production. If the song was recorded at the same time as the video it
would look very amateur. I chose a parody as an example for lip-synch. In this
parody the song used was Kanye West’s “Can’t Tell me Nothing”. Zach Galifianakis
which is the author of this parody is lip-synching Kanye West’s lyrics. Even knowing that is not the singer and is
not singing it look like he is the one singing it.
Camera movement/angles
Sometimes what make a music
video interesting is not really the effects that were used in the post
production, but the camera movements and different angles that were used during
the filming. Smooth and professional camera movements will make a music video
look very good, so it is important not to have a camera shaking when you don’t
intend to or other type of errors that can make camera movements look
amateur. Camera movements shot match the
purpose of the music video, if the purpose of a music video is to be slow paced
and calm the camera movements should reflect that. Camera angles are also very
important as a good variation of angles can make a music video look very
professional. It is important to have
the subject in focus, as wrong focus is the type of error that cannot be
corrected in editing. You can have high angle shot, low angle shots and also
close-ups and extremely close-ups, if these are well used, they can make a
music videos look outstanding even without many effects.
A good example of a music
video with variation of shots angles and movements is the music videos for
Dappy’s “No Regrets” song. This music
video has a good variation of shot and camera movements, it contains low shots,
close up, also mid shots and even high angle shots.
Chroma-key
This is a very good
technique used in some music videos. Sometimes it is done is the following way.
A green screen is used as a background while the singer or other actors act as
normal. The green screen is then removed in the editing process and can be
replaced with a location or other images. An advantage of this type of Chroma-key
is that the singer can appear in a location without having to go there, so the
cost that would be wasted on travelling and accommodation in that location will
be cut. Another time of Chroma-key is the type which is shown in R.Kelly’s
music video for the song “World’s Greatest”. This type of Chroma key consist in
making only particular objects in color and the rest in black and white. We can
see this is this music video, basically only the red color in “in color” the
rest in black and white. This is done to make the music video more attractive,
to make a specific objective standout or is simply chosen as an option when
there are lighting or color problems.
