MiniVid: Final Cut

Here is my final version of our minivid 'Jolly Roger' by Adam and the Ants:

MiniVid: Editing using Final Cut Pro

Selection of effects to chose from 

Despite there being 5 members in our group, we all individually edited our own cut of the final video, to allow ourselves to gain more experience and experiment with different and new effects. Although we have used this software before, we have not been introduced to the hundreds of effects available, so by individually editing the video we can all see for ourselves what we can use to make the video as effective as possible. Whilst editing my video, I used many different effects that I had never used before. Before I began to work towards the final cut, I had a play around with the different effects by layering them up on multiple shots, to see what they looked like when applied to a clip. Once I had an idea what these effects looked like and had learnt how to edit them once they were applied, I started from scratch, and added the effects that I thought were effective to the edited clips.


This screenshot from the software Final Cut Pro shows how I added 2 effects to this clip. I added the 'Isolate' effect, which has distorted the colour and has given it a dull, greyish effect. I then added the 'Earthquake' effect, which adds a slight shake to the shot. I thought these two effects worked well together, as the dullness and shakiness signify the pirate theme.

Selected clip and the preview

Here is a clip with the 'Sketch' effect in use. After this screenshot was taken, I reduced the intensity of the effect, so that the effect was faded yet still visible. I used this effect multiple times throughout the final cut, on the other clips of swinging on the ropes, as I thought it worked well on these shots. It took me a while to decide upon this effect, but once I reduced the intensity it looked much better so I stuck with it.

Editing the effects

This is the panel which I used to edit the effects. There were two effects added to this clip, 'Keyer' and 'Indie Red', however I have removed the 'Keyer' effect, which can be seen here as the box has been un-ticked. I decided to remove this effect and add the 'Indie Red' effect as I thought it looked better and fitted well with the rest of the video. Whenever I added an effect, this panel would be shown, and this is where I reduced/increased the intensity and edited the colours of the shots. When I first began the editing, it all seemed slightly complicated as it was new to me, however once I got into it, it became easy to navigate and the tools were easy to use.

Final track and video 

This is a screenshot of the final edited video, with the track added. Some of the effects are still rendering, but after this rendering had finished, I exported the video.

MiniVid: Shoot

Our shoot took place on Monday the 14th pf June in school. We filmed our required shots in 2 hours before lunch time, in 2 different locations. We began filming in the gymnasium, using the ropes to swing on and the blue mats, for the effect of moving water. We gathered a lot of shots from this location, including shots for the whistling at the start, and lip syncing for the lyric 'It's your money that we want, and your money we shall have'. We spent about 1 hour at this location, before moving down to the swimming pool.

At the swimming pool, we used 2 kayaks to act as 'pirate ships', and Ben and Curtis were the ones who were in these boats. It took longer to decide what to do here, as it proved more difficult than what we first anticipated. Many shots of Ben and Curtis in the kayaks were taken, and we also had 2 extras who came along to help out.

Whilst filming, we tried to link our shots with the lyrics, for example we filmed shots of Dom, Curtis, Ben and myself pulling on the ropes to accompany the lyrics 'Hoist the jolly roger'. We also had people skipping along, which we anticipated to link with the dancing lyrics.

EG3: Mumford & Sons - I Will Wait

ACT: Mumford & Sons
TRACK: I Will Wait
YEAR: 2012
DIRECTOR: Fred & Nick
GENRE: Indie Folk
MAIN AUDIENCE: 15+
LYRICS: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/mumfordsons/iwillwait.html

VIDEO:

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VISUALS + LYRICS:

The band playing on stage

Because the band are singing live, it automatically creates a connection and link between the song and the band. Their passion for the song can clearly be seen through the way they perform and how they interact with the live audience in front of them. There is no other narrative inter-cut into the footage, which, unexpectedly, helps to keep the audience engaged as it draws you in to the performance. 

PERFORMANCE, NARRATIVE + CONCEPT:

There is no narrative followed, but the concept is a concert, with a simple set up in an arena and a stage. 

PERFORMANCE STYLE:

Audience

The video is a live performance of the song at a concert. The band are shown playing their instruments on the stage, and a a crowd of fans is shown dancing along to the song. The video achieves verisimilitude as the set-up and location is realistic, and it has the effect of imagining yourself there and joining the crowd dancing. When the camera's aren't on the band, they are either on the instruments to demonstrate the live gig and music, or the audience, enjoying and dancing to the song. 

Country Winston

STAR TREATMENT:

Marcus Mumford

Marcus Mumford is the lead vocalist of the band, and he takes the lead role in this song. Because he sings all the verses, and the others sing in the background, there are many close ups of him. However, there are close ups of the other three as they sing too, to signify that the band are equal in what they do. 

AUDIENCE:

Because the set-up is a live concert, an audience is incorporated into the video. The audience are all dancing along to the beat of the track, which represents the audience and fans of the band and their music. 

PACE:

Close ups of the instruments

As the pace of the song speeds up during the chorus, so do the shots. Close ups of the hands strumming the guitars and playing the piano increase the effect of the fast editing and pace of the music, which engages the audience. As the verses are played, the shots tend to be longer and long shots to portray the whole atmosphere, rather than the quick intimate features of the instruments. 

LOCATIONS + MISE-EN-SCENE:

The video is all shot in one location whilst the song is being played, however before the song begins, shots of a road in a desert are shown whilst the words 'The Road to Red Rocks' appears followed by 'Mumford & Sons, I Will Wait'. There is then a 2 second clip of an aeroplane landing, although this is the only time this location appears in the video. The main location is some kind of arena or theatre, with high rise seats and a stage. 

EG2: Lana Del Rey - National Anthem

ACT: Lana Del Rey
TRACK: National Anthem
YEAR: 2012
DIRECTOR: Anthony Mandler
GENRE: Trip Hop
MAIN AUDIENCE: 15+, mature teens/adolescents
LYRICS: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/lanadelrey/nationalanthem.html

VIDEO:


RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VISUALS + LYRICS:

Lana Del Rey stars as Jacqueline Kennedy and herself throughout the video, and during the song she is shown lip syncing as both characters. This creates a link between the narrative of the film and the lyrics. 

Reenactment of the Zapruder film
- after the shooting

INTERTEXTUALITY:

Signing 'Happy Birthday, Mr President'

Before the song starts, there are intertextual references from the famous video of Marilyn Monroe singing 'Happy Birthday, Mr. President'. Lana Del Rey is singing the song in the same set up, and the film is in black and white, like the original video. In the music video itself, there are intertextual references to the president and his wife's love life, with Lana Del Rey and ASAP Rocky reenacting their relationship in various home video reenactments. There is then another reenactment of the Zapruder film at the end of the music video, when John F. Kennedy was shot. 

Reenactment of the Zapruder film -
driving before the shooting

Shot of the happy family
 together

PERFORMANCE, NARRATIVE/CONCEPT:
There is a clear narrative in this music video. Two characters (Lana Del Rey and ASAP Rocky) are portrayed as John. F Kennedy and his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy, and the footage displays a perfect, happy relationship. There are various set ups of this relationship, with shots of the family with the children and the couple on their own, until the president (Rocky/Kennedy) is shot in a car. 

Signifies the intimacy

PERFORMANCE STYLE:
There is no dancing in this video, and the only artist performance engaging with the song , aside from the narrative, is lip syncing. The footage is shot mainly in the style of home video, so the majority of the shots are slightly shaky and out of focus, but this effect works well as the video as a whole does achieve verisimilitude. The set-ups and narrative is convincing, and engages the audience as it is passionate and intimate. Close up shots are used to signify this desire to be together. 

STAR TREATMENT:
ASAP Rocky and Lana Del Rey both feature in the video as John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy. ASAP Rocky stars in the video at Lana's request, which incorporates a modern element into the relationship and life of John F. Kennedy. Lana lip syncs when she is shown on screen individually and at some points when she is with Rocky/Kennedy. 

PACE:

There is no structured pace to the shots in the music video, although towards the end as the tempo of the song slows down, and in the video when the shooting occurs, the footage becomes slow motion, so the audience can feel and see the emotion and destruction. 

In the rose garden

LOCATIONS + MISE-EN-SCENE:

Wearing the blue dress hugging
 the stuffed rug

At the start when Lana is singing 'Happy Birthday', she is on a stage wearing a long sparkly dress and there is a podium with a microphone on it, like the one which Marilyn Monroe used. A crowd of men is shown, who are all wearing suits to signify their importance. There are various locations used throughout the music video itself, but the majority of shots are filmed in the garden of a large house by a lake/the sea. When Lana is shot individually lip syncing, she is either in a dark room wearing a blue dress with pearls, hugging a stuffed rug of a big cat, or is in a rose garden, wearing the same outfit. 

MiniVid: Research and Planning

Pirate costume

For our selected track, there is no original video. This meant that we had to think of the narrative by simply listening to the lyrics, rather than gaining inspiration for an existing video. We knew the the song entailed a pirate theme, so we felt it necessary to fit this in to our video. We researched pirates and what they look and act like, to try gain a better understanding of what we need to perform in our video. From this research, we can then know what we need to buy for our video.

MiniVid: Group Planning/Concept

After everyone had pitched their ideas, we split up into 2 groups. In our group there is Tilly, Ben, Curtis, Dom and myself. As a group, we firstly narrowed our choices down to 'Jolly Roger - Adam and The Ants' and 'U Can't Touch This - MC Hammer', pitched by Tilly and Curtis. After consideration, we have eventually decided to go with Tilly's idea for Jolly Roger as our final video.

Tilly's idea consisted of a pirate theme, to link the narrative to the lyrics. To enforce this theme, we have decided we will need pirate costumes/attire to signify the theme clearly. It would be best for us to wear full costumes when on screen, but due to cost, we think it may be easier to buy small props such as eye patches, hooks, hoop earrings and a bandanna, which will signify the theme just as well.

The time scale we have been given is also quite small, which means we will not have much time to travel far to locations. We have asked a teacher from the P.E department for use of the swimming pool in school, and they said that we could use it with supervision, so this is one location sorted. As our second location, we think it would be ideal to use a vacant classroom or the gymnasium, if it is not in use, as it has ropes, which will connote the pirate theme as well. We plan to film the entire video on Monday the 24th of June during corresponding free periods, to make it easy and quicker for the whole group.