Genre

Although I have already started this task in a previous blog post (suing a video), comparing the genre of K-Pop to the boy-band hype during the 1980s-90s, I have decided to introduce this new blog post, solely for the purposes of researching K-Pop as a genre in general.

Throughout the beginning of this project, I have contemplated the genre or style of track which I could possibly produce a music video for. My options were fairly open as I enjoy listening to anything from 60s rock-and-roll to hip-hop and grime (and anything in between). My chosen genre is K-Pop as I think that it plays with many musical conventions and the music videos are always extremely interesting.

The below link is the timeline I created:

Stable Footage

From my AS coursework task, and shooting the Jessie J music video, I have realised that it is extremely difficult to make shooting more stable if it involves movement. My group and I both commented that this panning shot of the bullies and I could have been slightly more stable, however, we did not have the equipment to produce professional looking footage such as the one in Jessie J's 'Who's Laughing Now' music video. A gif of the footage is below:

via GIPHY

I then did some research into different ways to stabilise a camera and I found this particular YouTube video very useful:

I will hopefully be able to borrow a camera stabiliser from the media department in school, therefore, I won't have to spend money on buying one for myself. Alternatively, I am able to stabilise the footage using Premier.

Costumes

I spent some time today thinking about costumes for my actors and came up with a few ideas.

I took inspiration from existing K-Pop idols. Including Jimin from BTS below. I am also aware that hair in music videos tend to be coloured and crazy, so one my actor has volunteered to dye her hair lilac.

Consideration of Props

When considering props and the set, it must be noted that the budget is next to nothing, therefore, I am to make-do with different items and lighting. I have already established that I intend to use lighting effectively on set when filming and that if I wanted to make a certain shot one colour or hue, I will cover the camera lens with coloured sweet wrappers such as these (left).

However, many of the music videos that I have looked at, incorporate jungle imagery using plants and shrubs. examples are on the left and below.

I'd like to try to incorporate scenes like this into my own music video, however, that would require more plants than the number of houseplants that I do have (of which I have a few).

I looked on a website called freecycle.org where users post items which they are giving away for free because they do not require the use of them anymore. I found the following advertisement:

I intend to have a look at these plants with my father and to possibly take them off the person's hands as it is a good alternative to spending a lot of money on new plants which I will have no use for later. I will also contact this person before going in order to understand fully what I am to expect from the plants.

Furthermore, the use of retro television sets and computers is quite common, used especially in girl group music videos (which I intend to make) so this website is a treasure trove. An example is Black Pink's 'Whistle' (08/08/2016) on the left. 

Again, I have found this listing of a TV set on freecycle: 

I could perhaps spray paint it pink or a different colour to make it more like the props used in such music videos. Alternatively, I could use my own old desktop computer which would save the drive to Sherwood.

Inspiration

The '90s Boy Band' Concept

Final Prelim Evaluation

Contribution to Prelim

All of us contributed to the planning, filming and editing of the prelim music video to some extent. I think we all put a significant amount of effort in and when one took control, the others did not stop contributing, we all continued to advise each other when they were filming/ editing etc.

• I contributed to 80% of the planning, filming and editing stages.
• I was present for roughly 3 hours and 45 minutes out of 4 hours of the filming process. The reason for which I could not stay until the very end was because of my own personal time table and lessons schedule.
• I filmed the following sections:

via GIPHY


via GIPHY

• The rest of the filming was done by Megan and Chloe, however, when Chloe filmed the classroom shots, I contributed to the placement and positioning of the camera as well as the shot size and composition, as did Vicky.
• I did not lip sync and parts as my character did not do any lip syncing in the original music video.
• I edited the majority of the classroom shots of the video (with aid from the rest of the group).

Final Prelim Video

Editing

23/06/2017

The editing of the Jessie J music video remake (Who's Laughing Now), took about three hours to complete. We all did it as a group in one sitting and maintained a steady and effective workflow. 

Megan and Chloe took initial control over the first stage of the editing (getting clips into place and general arrangement for the task ahead). The second stage was to crop videos, make sure each shot was in the correct position, roughly the right length and roughly in time with the music. Vicky and I contributed to this the most out of all stages; I was given the task of slowing down some of the clips (with advice from the rest of the group) where needed such as the one where I enter through the doorway:

via GIPHY

The third and final stage was the most stressful as we begun to realise that some of our clips were too short or too long and most definitely visible, not in time with the music or the words. We began to crop/ lengthen the clips to make them fit and sync with the words and I think we've managed to this very well, however, some of the clips between lines from the music are out of sync with the actual music video. This does not matter because these do not contain lines for which lip syncing is necessary. 

We uploaded the video to YouTube with the actual music video in the bottom right-hand corner so that both we and audiences can compare it to the original. Megan also ensured that since the video was uploaded to her channel, that we added a disclaimer in the description box, pictured here:

Animation

I have previously seen music videos which include stop frame animation on top of the music video to produce an interesting effect. I have actually started making a stop frame animation prior to the start of this project and I think I can transfer the skills from this short clip to constructing my actual music video.

The above was done using a software called Gimp (essentially a free version of Adobe Photoshop) and Windows Movie Maker. This is due to me drawing frame by frame - each frame had to be repeated with slight changes which soon became very tiring to do, Windows Movie Maker made it easy to splice the frames together in time to the music.

As well as this, the animation was produced using Gimp because I have not included a background video for it, therefore, the white background is acceptable. As for music videos, the doodles will have to drawn on top of the video, therefore I will have to find another program to do this with. A program which I have researched to be useful for this, is Adobe After Effects, accessible through the Adobe Premiere Pro software. This program will also allow me to continue frames onto the following frames so I do not have to draw the entire doodle again.

Heize and Dean - And July Music Video Analysis

Zico - Artist Music Video Analysis

• The establishing shot is interesting because it is a pull out of a TV screen - the audience is immediately disorientated and thus sets the mood for the music video. It will be fun and artistic, perhaps psychedelic.
  
• When the audience realises that Zico was actually watching himself, a parallel or inception is created where the audience is able to misjudge what is real and what isn't. This also helps the artist to interact with the audience as he looks directly to the screen when turning the TV off. 
  
• The following location of a forest is randomly placed to further strengthen the idea of individuality and creativity. This artist clearly has the creative freedom to perform and sing how he likes throughout his music video suggesting that he has been nurtured by his company using Negus's theory of organic ideology of creativity.
  
• The previous point is confirmed by the support he gives to other artists/ songs/ dancers - School children who are practising the performing arts are used instead of professional dancers; Fanxy Child is mentioned; street performers also dance with Zico. The entire music video embodies the sense that artists live as one community and help each other become fruitful.
  
• Rooftop is full of clones to suggest some sort of irony within the music video; that so many artists try to clone themselves or copy others that there are too many who are producing the same style/ genre of art.
  
• The monkeys which are dressed up could suggest wealth; the keeping of exotic animals is reserved strictly to the rich.
  
• The audience is soon thrown into the bustling streets of South Korea which supports the notion of community.
  
• The colours used are extremely bright and stand out.
• Zico's costume is to suit this colour scheme to make him unconventional. The song is about the expression of creativity and he does this through his clothing.
• Zico continues to interact with the audience in a playful manner. He maintains eye contact with the camera to help achieve this.
• Costume continues to change throughout the music video.
  
• A mixture of close ups and long shots disorientate the audience.
  
• Zico's head is made bigger and out of proportion to his body which produces a comical effect.
  
• Transitions are used to continue the relationship he has with the audience.
  
• High angle shots are used to help create feelings of a party atmosphere.
  
• Singing scenes are coupled with dance scenes to ensure that there is a variety of shots.
• Extreme long shots are used to display grand locations.
  
• Lights are used effectively to create funky and fun effects.
  
• Diversity of the dancers reflects the fact that anyone and everyone can be involved with the creation of art.
  
• The video ends where it started; the TV being turned off, therefore, the audience is satisfied with the relationship that they had with this artist.
  

T.O.P - Doom Dada Music Video Analysis

T.O.P Doom Dada

Wonder Girls - I feel you Music Video Analysis

- The entire music video is created using a retro theme, therefore, the initial quality seems low. This is evident in the opening (bottom right):

- You can also see here, that credits are given and the age rating appears in a yellow bubble (top right):

- To match the retro theme of the music video and song, the company opted to change the release date to 1987. The video however, still has the real release date written clearly in white sans serif font.

- The transition is effective at the very beginning and doesn't follow the conventional 'straight cut' of a music video. This also suggest a sexual, voyeuristic view which Laura Mauvly suggested in 1975 was a huge aspect in promotional products. Evidently, 'soft pornography' will make an appearance in this video to please the 'male gaze' (left).

- Mise en scene is effectively used here, as the neon lights help further to reinforce the era they want to borrow iconography from - the 80s.

- A close up of the singer opens the first lyric. This has been seen many times in a music video, where the first line of the song will be sung from a close up:

- The costumes also reflect the fact that a large aspect of the video is to do with pleasing the 'male gaze', however, from my experience, I see that the majority of k-pop fans who listen to groups such as Wonder Girls, are female, which contradicts the idea that men would be the target audience for this music video - unless of course, the audience is sexually attracted to women. They also wear matching costumes, mostly made up of leotards which help to reflect the retro themes.

- Push and pull focus is used to differentiate the singers when they switch lines; this technique would be useful if I opt to produce a music video by a group like this one.

- Lighting and projection is used to create a 'sexy' and mysterious atmosphere:

- Retro props are used to help further create retro representations and verisimilitude. 

BTS - Blood, Sweat and Tears Music Video Analysis

Filming

22/06/2017

Our filming session today lasted just over two hours and went as follows:

09:15 Arrive at media department ready for filming, collect camera, equipment, ensure all actors are available and ready. while Ellie, and Sophie changed, our group set up the classroom to look more accurate to the set in the music video. We arranged props (papers, notebooks etc) and ensured that I will be within shot at all times necessary as the chair I sat on increased my height.

09:30 Begin filming the shots in which child Jessie is bullied by the four girls within the classroom.

11:00 Film remaining shot that contain Sophie, Ellie, Vicky, and I. This was the locker shot at the beginning of the segment:

via GIPHY

It was particularly difficult to do as the camera movement is a slow tracking pan around the girls and back round to me. Megan and I filmed a test shot to ensure that all angles were as accurate as possible, then we filmed the actual shot which was less shaky.

11:15 Allowed time for Chloe to get ready for her single shots as adult Jessie and the teacher. I remained available to help in filming for about ten minutes after this before I had to got to my next lesson.

Tasks remaining:

1. Edit the footage and add track.

Planning and Filming

21/06/2017

As a group, Megan, Chloe, Victoria (Vicky), and I, decided to reproduce a segment of the music video for Jessie J's 'Who's Laughing Now' track shown below:

via ytCropper

To start, we printed off the lyrics which we studied in preparation for filming the singing parts ready for Thursday's filming session:

Mummy they called me names
They wouldn't let me play
I'd run home sit and cry almost everyday
Hey Jessica you looking like an Alien
With green skin you don't fit in this playpen
Oh they pulled my hair, they took away my chair
I keep it in and pretend that I didn't care
Hey Jessica, you're so funny,
You've got teeth just like Bugs Bunny

Oh, so you think you know me now?
Have you forgotten how,
You would make me feel when you drag my spirit down?
But thank you for the pain,
It made my raise my game,
And I'm still rising, I'm still rising, yeah.

So make your jokes, go for broke,
Blow your smoke, you're not alone.
But who's laughing now?
But who's laughing now?
So raise the bar, hit me hard,
Play your cards, be a star.
But who's laughing now?
But who's laughing now?

We also decided on who should act the role of each character in the music video, as listed below:

Adult Jessie: Chloe
No. shots: 10
Costume: Pink lipstick, dress if possible, black wig.

Four bullies: Vicky, Sophie and Ellie
Sophie and Ellie were two other friends we acquired acting help from.
No. shots: 18
Costume: All pink, 'girly' hairstyle

Boy in the back: Megan

Girl: Ellie

Child Jessie: Me
No. shots: 20
Costume: Black basketball jacket, black hair, back pack

Teacher Jessie: Chloe
No. shots: 3
Costume: Check top, glasses, red lipstick, hair in a bun.

Boy with hat: Megan

To continue, Megan and Chloe analysed the segment briefly and noted down what occurs in each shot. 

Finally, Vicky, Megan and I (using Plasticine and straws) proceeded to make a scaled down version of the model Jessie knocks over while walking through the hall. A screenshot from the video, and a picture of the model is seen below.

Chloe and Megan also selected a few work sheet handouts to print which we could use as props for this scene in the segment:

Before we filmed, we also briefly spoke about the possible locations where we would be able to film within the school grounds. We had only prepared to film my parts of the segment due to the preparations for the other characters such as costumes and actors. I had my costume available on this day, therefore, we took about an hour to film the following shots (these were the shots which contained only me):

The remaining tasks are bullet pointed below:

1. Shoot all the parts of the segment containing the bullies, teacher, and big Jessie etc.
2. Edit the clips and insert audio.