Independent Project - References

Here are references to all the sources I used to build my video: 

ALONI, Y (2019) Super 8mm Film Effect Tutorial | Premiere Pro (FREE OVERLAYS) [Online Video]. October 8th. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sn3EJW_wvTA&t=202s [Accessed 12th May 2020]

DEL REY, L (2019) Lana Del Rey - Norman F****** Rockwell [Online Video] December 20th. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soRjcajliHE [Accessed 12th May 2020]

DRAKE (2018) Drake - In My Feelings [Online Video] August 3rd. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRS_PpOrUZ4 [Accessed 12th May 2020]

XXEQUINETUTORIALS (2013) Free "Flicker" Overlay [Online Video] April 30th. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PK5VmozOiCo [Accessed 12th May 2020]

8mm Frame [Online Video] Available from: https://www.dropbox.com/s/jfwjjy6y72o2byp/8mm%20Frame.mp4?dl=0 [Accessed 12th May 2020]

Old Film Grain [Online Video] Available from: http://www.mediafire.com/file/abh4bs7gqc94slk/Old_Flim_Grain.wmv/file [Accessed 12th May 2020]

Independent Project - Final product

I have now finished my video and I'm ready to submit it. Overall, I think I have been successful with what I wanted intended to do for THIS video, but I'm still disappointed I didn't get to make my original idea. I will probably save that project for third year or at least I'll be doing it at a later date once the lockdown has been lifted, but I really wish I was able to fully realise that idea.

My piece is a music video called "lockdown sucks" showcasing the dull and empty life that living in complete lock-down has made people. The crude title reflects the crude reality we currently find ourselves in, uncertain of when things will start looking up for us. It is a music video edited to the track 'Over Yet' by Hayley Williams, and features a vintage, amateurish quality to give it character. The idea for this video is that it is an 'every-man video', meaning that it is just one traditional and boring experience of the lockdown from a regular man. It is not supposed to be particularly ground breaking in terms of meaning, it is just the lockdown through my lens.

Here is a walkthrough of my video:
The video begins showing the effect that the lockdown has had on society, with empty shopping centres, streets, car parks cropping up one after another. Shops display closed signs, CCTV cameras watch the audience, as they explore the closed world we now live in. We see the creator doing mundane things to amuse themselves such as dying their hair and getting their hair cut, going for a walk along a pond in a suburban park before reminiscing to better times. The audience watches a flashback sequence set in Los Angeles, with shots of multiple people gathering together, laughing, eating, and enjoying their lives. This juxtaposes against the next sequence, of the creator's family bored at home, doing whatever they can to stay sane. This mellow note is uplifted by the next part, where the audience sees the support the general public has given to the NHS by displaying images of rainbows all over the town. This positive message shows that there is happiness and hope on the other side of the lockdown, and we just have to get through it as a nation. The final few shots show a sad reality as we see multiple gravestones, reminding the audience why we are in a lockdown in the first place.

https://vimeo.com/417751567

Independent Project - First draft

Just wanted to make a blog post showing my first initial draft of the music video, with the previous track I was using. This short development was just to explore what direction I wanted to take the video in. Whilst the final outcome looks and sounds a lot different, it was useful to make this and get my ideas flowing into practice.

https://vimeo.com/417753530

Independent Project - Overlays

My video in it's current state looks pretty boring, so I have decided to add some overlays to make it look like it was filmed on super 8mm film. This is a technique I have seen multiple music artists use for their videos, so I thought I would do it to my own to make it look a lot more interesting.

Drake - In My Feelings

Lana Del Rey - Norman F****** Rockwell

I found an overlay that looks just like this on the internet as well as some other vintage film effects like grain and camera flashes to give the video a bit more personality.

Raw footage

Filter + overlays

I was a little worried that these would make the video a bit distracting, but considering how dull I think the video is normally, I think these effects give it more character. It also differentiates itself from other music videos I have created in the past, which will make my portfolio of work look more varied.

I watched this tutorial to learn how to do it:

ALONI, Y (2019) Super 8mm Film Effect Tutorial | Premiere Pro (FREE OVERLAYS) [Online Video]. October 8th. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sn3EJW_wvTA&t=202s [Accessed 12th May 2020]

DEL REY, L (2019) Lana Del Rey - Norman F****** Rockwell [Online Video] December 20th. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soRjcajliHE [Accessed 12th May 2020]

DRAKE (2018) Drake - In My Feelings [Online Video] August 3rd. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRS_PpOrUZ4 [Accessed 12th May 2020]

XXEQUINETUTORIALS (2013) Free "Flicker" Overlay [Online Video] April 30th. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PK5VmozOiCo [Accessed 12th May 2020]

8mm Frame [Online Video] Available from: https://www.dropbox.com/s/jfwjjy6y72o2byp/8mm%20Frame.mp4?dl=0 [Accessed 12th May 2020]

Old Film Grain [Online Video] Available from: http://www.mediafire.com/file/abh4bs7gqc94slk/Old_Flim_Grain.wmv/file [Accessed 12th May 2020]

Independent Project - LA footage

I found a lot of footage on my SD card from when I went to Los Angeles a few years ago with my friends on a college trip, and I thought I could re-purpose it to fit in my video. I can have a juxtaposition between all the fun and happy times I had in LA, surrounded by friends, eating in restaurants, busy traffic etc. against the emptiness of my hometown, the loneliness and how boring life at home is.

I have imported the footage into my video and given it a different filter and colour-direction than the rest of my video, as an attempt to make it look like a flashback. I have made this portion of the video a lot lighter and washed out than the other footage to give it a sepia tone style without actually giving it a sepia tone. This is just a way of trying to differentiate this section from the rest of the video, and make it clear to the audience that this is a flashback.

Independent Project - NHS Rainbows

When out and about filming, I noticed a lot of people showing their support for the NHS by putting drawings of rainbows out on their windows. They are all over the place which is incredible and amazing that the UK has responded so positively to the lock-down restrictions. I have filmed a lot of shots of these rainbows and I intend to have them together in sequence during the chorus of the song as a way of building hope and gratitude towards the NHS.

Here are a few examples of shots that I got of the support:

Independent Project - New song choice

During this pandemic, one of my favourite musicians, Hayley Williams, has been slowly releasing new song for her upcoming album Petals for Armor. I have been editing some of my loose footage to one of her new songs called "Roses/Lotus/Violets/Isis" just because I liked the sound of the song, it's very ethereal and melancholy and I thought it was a good match for the theme of the video. This pandemic is not fun and I felt like that the song should reflect that. However I have since changed my mind.

I am now using a different song of hers called "Over yet". This song is a lot more upbeat, a lot faster and a lot more 'happy' sounding. Whilst this is what I was trying to stay away from, I ultimately think changing the song to this is a good idea for a number of reasons. For one, a slow and melancholy video with pretty boring footage won't be very enjoyable for the audience to watch, in my opinion. Second, the lyrics of this song are accidentally quite relevant to this current situation we are facing:

It's the right time to come alive
Baby, if you wanna try
To get out of your head, yes, break a sweat
Baby, tell yourself it ain't over yet

For this reason, I think I can twist these lyrics to fit the narrative of my video. It will be a "is it all over yet" kind of feeling which I think is a lot more consistent with the message of the video. 

Independent Project - Filming

Because of the pandemic it has left a lot of streets and town centres deserted which has made for some interesting shots when trying to film. It really is incredible just as it is devastating what we're experiencing.

To this end, I have a lot of shots with completely empty roads, shopping centres, car parks and other locations which normally would be filled with people. This will make up a portion of the video as a way of shocking the viewer about how empty the world has become. Of course, it would be great if I could get to London to film some landmarks like Piccadilly Circus, Oxford Street etc. that would normally be filled with people that are now empty, but we just have to work with what we've got.

Independent project - COVID-19 update

So due to the nature of this pandemic we are now facing, and due to the lock-down restrictions on the country, it is pretty much impossible for me to make the video that I really wanted to make.

I wanted my video to be filmed in an urban location like London which I am now unable to travel to. I wanted my video to feature one of my friends who would act as the main protagonist in the video, but now due to social distancing restrictions it is likely that my video will have no protagonist at all anymore. I no longer have access to any University equipment like professional cameras or a studio space. I have also had to move back to my hometown which has really strained on the possibilities of making an interesting video since there is nothing good to film here. Overall I'm incredibly disappointed that I can't make the video that I was so excited to create and now I will end up submitting something that is a far cry from what I intended.

With that said, I now have to completely rework my entire concept. I have decided now that the video (still a music video) will be a handheld amateurish video that looks like a person's salvaged tape of what their lock-down experience during this pandemic has been like. Whilst perhaps more original that my previous concept, I really wish I weren't making it.

I intend for the video to look very unprofessional, with it being entirely filmed hand-held as opposed to using any equipment like tripods or shoulder-mounts (because I have no access to them lol), and I will add some overlays onto the video to make it look quite vintage and old-fashioned to give it another layer.

Really annoyed that this has happened but obviously there are more important things to worry about than my video.

COVID-19 update

So I feel it is important to have an update on my blog about how COVID-19 is going to affect my work environment. It is quite hard to ignore at this point and as a result I have decided to move back home to be with my family until this all blows over. Not sure how long it will be for, obviously none of us know, but this means I will be working without access to the on-site University resources. Pretty devastating, but I feel like it's important to do so.

This won't really affect my work for the Storytelling and Gaming module since everything I am doing for that can be worked from at home, however this will effect my Independent Project module. I originally wanted to direct and produce my own music video and I was really excited about making one with my friend, but since we are trying to limit the spread of the virus this has really affected how I will create this video. There isn't really a whole lot of interesting things that I can film at home on my own without the use of University equipment so I'm pretty distraught by that. As a result, my music video is going to severely lack the creativity that I had originally intended for it to have.

Independent Project - Final idea / prospectus

Alongside our project we have been tasked with creating a thorough prospectus/proposal document explaining our design choices and ideas.

My main idea for my independent project is to create a music video. It will be curated with an installation in mind where the user will watch the video in an isolated space. The video will be played in a small dark room with no lights. The video will be projected on a wall and a surround sound system will be installed so the video can be heard from all angles of the room. The user will sit on a backless-stool in the middle of the room, vulnerable to the dark themes present in the video. The video will be just over 4 minutes long and the song I have chosen is Oblivion by Grimes. The song features references to being attacked in the dark and walking home alone at night, and my installation will work to heighten this theme.

Originally I was planning on using the song "Simmer" by Hayley Williams because I really liked the themes of anger and rage present in the song, and I thought it would be interesting to explore them in a music video. Instead I have chosen "Oblivion" by Grimes because I like it's creepy instrumentation and I think it'll be fun to explore some dark cinematography with this song.

When I first considered making a music video, I initially had a large multi-screen installation in mind with multiple themes and narratives, but I decided this idea was very ambitious and could be reserved for my final year project instead. I created multiple storyboards and ideas for visuals as well as a diagram of how my project would be installed, and whilst I won't end up using some of these ideas, this process was helpful in developing my final concept.

My final idea will be a single-screen music video installation and experience. The song I have chosen is Oblivion by Grimes. The song explores the vulnerability the singer faces when she walks home alone at night, and the paranoia that she will be attacked, with the lyric "See you on a dark night" repeated multiple times throughout the song. My video is inspired by these ideas, and will be an exploration into the dark themes of loneliness, heartbreak and violence, focusing on one subject and her experience of these themes. The narrative will feature this character living with their head in the clouds, blinded by the relationship she is in, with contrasting shots of her alone looking vulnerable in the dark. Towards the build up and drop of the song, the mood will shift where her partner will end the relationship, and the remainder of the video will explore how she deals with the breakup. By the end of the video, she will have become the "the thing in the dark" that she feared at the beginning of the video.

Independent Project - Music Video

So this semester we are doing an 'independent project' which essentially means we can create anything we want that's media related. This is a really exciting module because it means we aren't limited on exactly what we can make and we have quite liberal creative control.

Because I enjoy using Premiere Pro and making videos a lot, I have decided that I will be making a music video. I'm still not sure what kind of video I want to make, or who I want to have involved, or what the song will be, but I have a lot of fun editing videos in time with the music so I'm looking forward to developing my ideas.