Hi and welcome to my blog which tracks the research, planning and pre-production work for a new music video for Daft Punk's Around the World. You can also find on here sample footage, rough cuts, behind the scenes and other vodcasts, weekly podcasts, and ongoing reflection on the process. Please use the links list provided to quickly find what you are looking for!

Our Track: Daft Punk - 'Around The World'

Sunday 28 October 2012

Shooting Schedule #1

This is a schedule for the initial filming Tom is going to do this week, at this shoot we hope to gain some rough footage in order to get some feedback and ideas for future shoots. 
For this shoot we are going to try and get footage of:

  • Skateboarders
  • BMX Riders
  • Location footage
  • Skate park footage

Location - Leeds, Hyde Park 
Equipment - HD Camera, Fig-rig
Group member - Tom

Thursday 25 October 2012

Eg. Video 19: Skrillex - Ruffneck

Artist: Skrillex
Song: Ruffneck
Year: 2011
Genre: Dubstep



The video features a department store santa who is addicted to drugs and is on some unknown pills whilst talking to children. The theme of the video starts out very dark with a green tinted colour correction. As the song builds up a gang of people push into santa as he goes to deliver presents to the children. As the song builds up the the shot length gets shorter and shorter and the pace of the edit speeds up. The camera pans in and out on the santas face as the bassline wobbles. Blur and camera flares are also used in this sequence and also multiple layering. 

In the scene we see santa and the children screaming and the elf is lip syncing the lyrics. Lots of slow motion is used due to the slow time of the song. There is a chase scene where santa is being followed by the gang he ran into earlier. Some birds eye view and point of view shots are used as well as what appears to be a snorricam. Santa starts to get beaten up by the gang as the bass drops again and slow motion effects are used. 

Santa starts to fight back and there is shaky camera work as the action takes place. There is also a blur around santas face to possibly connote intoxication. He runs out of the building into the outside where it is snowing, he smiles up at the sky and his nose starts to bleed leaving a red patch which contrasts with the white snow. 
What we took from the video:
  • Blur effects
  • Lip syncing
  • Snorricam shots
  • Multiple layers
  • Slow motion



Wednesday 24 October 2012

Eg. Video 18: Knife Party - Centipede

Artist: Knife Party 
Song: Centipede
Year: 2012
Genre: Electro House


The song starts out with a voice over from an unknown person, a man in a suit walks around as if he's preparing for something. The video uses a narrative enigma to conceal the identity of the man. The man smokes a cigarette and carrying a canister of poison gas. A transition is used where the man walks past and the next scene slides into play. As the beat kicks in the man bursts through the door with a flame-thrower and flames burn in his glasses. 

Lighting and fire special effects are used as the man burns the centipedes with his flame-thrower. Colour overlays are used and sparks fly out of his lighter. The screen cuts in time with the wobbles of the bassline as a woman screams as she sees more centipedes. The camera pans and flashes occur as the man tries to kill the centipedes with an axe. The woman is bitten by a centipede and dies. 

 The man then inhales the poison gas and starts to writhe around in his chair. He appears to turn into a centipede and then collapses onto the floor and the video fades out. This song is an example of a dis-continuity style of editing due to various transitions and flashing effects. The pace of editing is very fast and at times hard to follow. During drops in the song the speed of the edit becomes a lot faster.
What we took from the video:
  • Colour manipulation
  • Narrative enigma
  • Cutting to beat
  • Dis-continuity editing

Eg. Video 17: Deadmau5 - Ghosts 'n' Stuff

Artist: Deadmau5
Song: Ghosts 'n' Stuff
Year: 2008
Genre: Electro House


The video starts out with the main character being rushed into hospital where he dies soon on arrival. He is the revived as a ghost in white sheets where he attempts to run through walls but finds he can't, in this scene blurred point of view shots are used to emphasis he is confused and groggy from being dead. This scene cuts to a club where there are people wearing different masks with one of them as the recognisable Deadmau5 head. 

He then cuts back to the ghost riding down the street on a skateboard. Interesting framing is used as he skates past panning behind a lamppost on the street. The ghost gets a Space invader tattoo, after he starts dancing in the street to the beat of the track. This is used as intertexuality to the retro arcade game 'Space Invaders'. We then cut to the ghost walking around the street scaring people where he runs into another ghost, shaky camera work is used he, again another convention in music videos. 


He runs away from the other ghosts and radial blurred camera effect is used as well as RGB split. The ghost gets into a fight at a restaurant and then goes to the laundrette to clean himself where he meets masked people from the party scene earlier. He meets the man dressed in the Deadmau5 helmet from before and light flickers on and off. He is then revived by the doctors however he still has the space invader tattoo from when he was a ghost earlier in the video. 

A continuity editing style is used throughout and cutting to the beat also is involved. A few visual effects can be seen throughout the video to help reinforce the supernatural ghost theme. This music video was shown in Beavis and Butt-Head. The song without Rob Swire's lyrics is the background music of the PlayStation Move commercial in 2011.
What we took from the video:
  • Point of view shots
  • Shot angles
  • Intertexulaity
  • Various effects
  • Continuity editing

Tuesday 23 October 2012

Eg. Video 16: Sebastian - Embody

Song: Embody
Artist: Sebastian 
Year: 2011
Genre: Electronic House





The video features a boy who is taught how to dance and goes around different places dancing around in front of people in seemingly awkward areas eg. In a bath and on tables where people are eating. People don't seem notice him and carry on like he's not there. He gets dressed up in a suit and continues with a similar, easily replicable style of dancing. At the end of the video he is dancing with a girl but the music is switched off and the dancing man disappears. 
The song starts out with a fairly slow pace of editing in a continuity style. There are transitions used such as cross fades and jump cuts. The editing jumps to the beat when the drum machine kicks in. In most of the shots there is a device playing music. The video makes good use of multiple locations and characters which I think will be an important factor in making our coursework video engaging to the audience. The video is funny and and very catchy. 

What we took from the video:
  • Replicable dance moves
  • Fades and jump cuts
  • Multiple locations
  • Character interaction

Monday 22 October 2012

Eg. Video 15: Avicii - Levels

Artist: Avicii
Song: Levels
Year: 2011
Genre: Progressive House



The song levels by Avicii features  a vocal sample from the 1962 gospel-inspired "Something's Got a Hold on Me" by Etta James. 

The Video starts with a man in an office environment, talking to a fellow co-worker, when he suddenly has the urge to dance. The worker keeps on dancing with disapproving looks from co-workers and scribbles Avicii on to different surfaces in the office. 


The song then switches to him in a dream world wear he lip syncs the chorus of the song. He is then taken to a hospital where he is tied down trying to dance. His infectious dance moves cause the hospital staff to start dancing as well and the clip fades out with the name Avicii.

The editing is often slow paced and in a continuity style at first. The video uses special effects and CGI in parts where the chorus is sung and he is pushing a rock up a hill. The song doesn't contain cutting to the beat however the editing pace speeds up and slows down in keeping with the tempo of the song. The video is another example of using dance moves as part of the video and makes it very catchy. Also the video features slightly shaky camera work.

What we took from the video:
  • Dancing
  • Special effects
  • Editing pace
  • Camera movement

User Generated Content/Fan Made Videos

The song Tetra has lots of remixes which is a common form of fan made content for the genre of electronic house. Most of these are uploaded to youtube which is a common site to upload these videos to. The Edrec label has a site and a twitter account where people can stay up do date with news about the label. Sebastian himself has a Twitter, Facebook, Myspace and Soundcloud and has also featured in a film and been in Dj Magazine. His music is availible on the iTunes store for download. He also has fan made blogs to talk about the music and discuss recent things he has done. He has done various interviews with online music sites and magazines. He's also on RPM which is a large magazine and Dj website which organise festivals dedicated to electronic music. He makes use of viral marketing and has many ways fans can access content and music.

www.myspace.com/0sebastian0
www.facebook.com/0sebastian0
www.tumblr.com/tagged/sebastian-akchote
www.last.fm/music/Sebastian






Sunday 21 October 2012

Eg. Video 14: DSL - Supalove

Artist: DSL
Song: Supalove
Year: 2008
Genre: Electronic/Hip-Hop



DSL are a a pair of siblings from France. They make original songs and remixes of existing tracks with an electronic rap style. The video is introduced with the name of the song on a cereal box which gets kicked over. Something like this to introduce our own video might be a good idea. The video involves a man walking around a house and down the street with the frame only on his feet and lower legs. 

The song features dance moves of sorts with the mans feet and also features lip syncing. However this is no normal lip syncing, the shoes look like they are singing the lyrics. The song has a catchy chorus which can easily be replicated with rapping in the verses. The dance moves are also something which can be replicated to help advertise the song and spread it around. 

The song features constant a close up shot angle which occasionally pans outward. Another feature is cutting to the beat again at the beginning of the song which is a common convention. There also appears to be a slightly grey colour correction on the whole video which makes the red shoes stand out more than the background.

What we took from the video:
  • Reference to the artist
  • Lip syncing
  • Dance moves
  • Prolonged angles
  • Cutting to the beat
  • Colour manipulation

Eg. Video 13: Cassius - I Love U So

Artist: Cassius
Song: I Love U So
Year: 2010
Genre: Electronic House



Cassius is a French musical duo that records and releases music under Edrec, The group consists of producers, Philippe Cerboneschi and Hubert Blanc-Francart, better known as Philippe Zdar and Boom Bass.

The video for 'I love u so' is a concept video based around an iPhone app they made especially for the video. The app features different people (some from the Ed banger record label) putting the phone in front of their face with different lips mouthing the lyrics to the track. 

The lyrics to the song are very minimal and repetitive as is common with the genre, the lips repeat the words 'I love you so, but why I love you i'll never know'. This video is a good example of having something fans can use to advertise the video. The app used in the video is available to download so people can use it to make their own version of the video.

The video features mainly medium close up shots of the people in the video including panning and high angle shots. It features people in clubs and also the app over inanimate objects and a dog for example. The song also includes cutting to the beat which appears to be a prominent feature of the videos I've looked at so far.
What we took from the video:
  • Concept video
  • Continutiy editing
  • Lip syncing
  • Mobile app
  • Cutting to the beat



Saturday 20 October 2012

Eg. Video 12: DJ Mehdi - Signatune

Artist: DJ Mehdi
Song: Signatune
Genre: Electronic House
Year: 2007





The video for DJ Mehdi's 'Signatune' features narrative footage without any performance. The video features a man training for what at first seems like an athletic competition of some sort, the video uses a narrative enigma up until near the end of the video where we discover the competition is who's car has the loudest stereo system. 

This narrative appears to be linked with films such as Rocky where he is trained up in preparation to the big fight. There is no apparent link between the song and the video however this is most likely due to the song having no lyrics which is common for this genre. 

The video appears to be set in France due to the look of the people in the video and the language they use. The video features a variety of shot type and angles including lots of close ups and medium shots and also shots of the surrounding area. 

The video is edited in a continuity style, however features some shots slowed down to create more of an impact. There is also a diegetic interlude as the host of the competition announces the competitors, the song is also featured in the narrative when it is played out of the cars speakers. 

The music video is most likely targeted at a male audience from age 15-24 due to the characters in the video being mainly male and the theme of the video is very masculine featuring competition between the two people. In the end of the video the main character we have been following wins the event and goes on to celebrate in a rather comedic fashion. 

This song is also produced under Ed Banger records the same label which produces our chosen artists albums. 
What we took from the video:
  • Slow motion
  • Comedy
  • Intertexuality
  • Diegetic interlude
  • Narrative

Thursday 18 October 2012

Genre - Electronic House

Electro house is a subgenre of house music that rose to become one of the most prominent genres of electronic dance music today. Electro house, sometimes resembling tech house, typically retains elements of house music and can incorporate electro-influenced synths and samples. It often has a bass sound created from saw waves with compression and distortion. Electro house can be split into many other sub-genres including: Complextro, Dutch house and Fidget house. 

The exact origins of the electro house are uncertain the genre has sometimes been seen as a fusion genre of electro and house which both have a long history in their genre. French house, by artists such as Justice and especially Daft Punk, has also been considered a strong influenceMr. Oizo's 1999 hit "Flat Beat" has also been considered an early example of the genre, along with "Satisfaction" in 2002 by Benny Benassi, who is seen as a forerunner of the genre who brought it to the mainstream. Popular record labels include: Armada music, Tiger records and Ministry of sound. There are a lot of sites dedicated to electro house giving charts of songs and upcoming bands as well as forums where people can discuss the music.

http://www.trackitdown.net/genre/house/top10.html
http://justdohits.com/
http://www.last.fm/tag/electro%20house

House music itself was generally dance-based music characterized by repetitive 4/4 beats and rhythms centered around drum machines, off-beat hi-hat cymbals and synthesized basslines. While house displayed several characteristics similar to disco music, it was more electronic and minimalistic. Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology.

Wednesday 17 October 2012

Electronic House Artists

Videos to analyse:

DJ Mehdi - Signatune
Cassius - I Love U So
DSL - Supalove
Avicii - Levels
Sebastian - Embody
Deadmau5 - Ghosts and Stuff
Knife Party - Centipede
Skrillex - Ruffneck
Nause - Hungry Hearts
Justice - D.A.N.C.E

Schedule: Present - Half-Term


  • Analyse 10 relevant music videos each (All, 2nd November)
  • Collect convention of these video + General music video conventions (All, 2nd November)
  • Initial storyboard (Concept All, Production Will, 26th October)
  • Contact potential performers (Tom, 22nd October)
  • Location scouting (Tom, 24th October)
  • Be ready to collect preliminary footage (All, 26th October)

Monday 15 October 2012

Improved Coursework Pitch Video

CKY - Escape From Hellview

Artist: CKY (Camp Kill Yourself)
Track: Escape From Hellview
Genre: Alternative Metal
Year: 2002

The song currently doesn't have an official music video and was not released as a single. The band first formed in 1998 and still touring and is planning on releasing new material in the future. The band is most know for the single '96 Quite Bitter Beings' which featured on the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater games and has over 6 million youtube veiws, however didn't achieve any major chart success. CKY have a moderate fan base with a few websites for example 'CKY Alliance'. Became well known due to appearances on MTV and through the film Jackass which features Bam Magera, the drummers brother. In music videos the band tend to wear a casual style of clothing and lots of skating brands. 

Pitch Video

Thursday 11 October 2012

Pitch Idea: CKY - Escape From Hellview





My idea for the pitch is going to include performance footage and narrative relating to the songs lyrics. The narrative will start out with a man trapped in an empty room looking for a route of escape, the sequence will include lots of close up shots as well as multi layering effects and some colour distortion to emphasise the paranoia and panic. This short film for the game Portal is good example of a similar effect. 

The guy will escape out onto the street we could film in an area which doesn't have to be where the room is for this scene. We would need to find a large menacing looking building to film by. He will be walking along the streets which will be seemingly empty as well as cutting between CCTV style footage of him being watched similar to last years coursework from a high angle to emphasise vunrebility. He will be constantly looking behind as if he's being followed by someone. 

The end of the video will feature a chase scene, however it will turn out there isn't actually anybody following him and it's all in his head. The style of the band members will be similar to that of the actual band with casual clothing: jeans and t-shirts. The character in the film will have a similar appearance but with a dark hoodie and a more dirty ragged look due to being trapped. Some of the limitations of making these video would be acting and finding a convincing lacation. It would be hard to make the idea look realistic without a decent actor. Also the main way to keep the audience engaged would be to have interesting locations.

Monday 8 October 2012

Initial Pitch Idea

My first pitch idea was for 'Killing In The Name Of' however I've decided to change that due to the song length to 'Bulls On Parade'. My idea for the video is Performance footage combined with narrative, featuring scenes of destruction and violence relating to the song lyrics. It would feature a group of people around Ilkley and a possible chase scene. We would be able to film performance footage at my house and the narrative in the local area and possible Leeds. We would need to find a censored version of the song as well due to some swearing. The key to making this effective would be to find interesting locations as well as having convincing acting. We would need to research the metal genre as well as other Rage Against The Machine videos and maybe the punk genre also. 

Wednesday 3 October 2012

Eg Video 11: Linkin Park - Papercut

Artist: Linkin Park
Song: Papercut 
Year: 2001
Genre: Nu Metal




Artwork Referencing Xero 
I chose the video for Papercut in relation to our genre task as I believe it contains many of the traits associated with the Nu metal sub-genre. The song features performance footage of the band as well as a narrative tying into the song. The band members have a distinct style of clothing which features with many bands of this genre, also an odd thing about the video is the guitarists are playing acoustic guitar even though the song obviously features heavy electric guitar. The video features the band playing in one room whilst there is a man likley the paranoid man refrenced in the song huddled in the other dark room. The video also features intertextuality from the EP cover they made when they where know as Xero. 


The video features aspects of discontinuity style of editing common among other Linkin Park videos, this is shown through warping of the screen and fast motion of the figure and special effects. Uncommon among most metal videos the main focus is on all the band members, not just the lead singer. This is probably due to the fact there are two main singers in the song Mike Shinoda and Chester Bennington. There is also a lot of focus on the DJ which links into the Nu Metal style as well as the fact that the DJ Joseph Hahn Co directed the video. The scratching and sound distortion featured here is a common convention of Nu metal and is also seen in 'Wait and Bleed' as well as 'Rollin'.
Use Of Turntables

The video features a variety of shots including close ups directly addressing the audience as well as long shots featuring the whole band. Also the lead of the band will have rap style movements and be close into the camera which features here. The song also contains cutting to the beat a common convention. The lyrics of the song are also written on the walls in one of the rooms which is a feature I also saw in the video for 'Duality'. One of the directors states that some of the videos inspiration was taken from the film 'Jacobs Ladder' with the twitching man in the room.





Twitching Man 
Writing On The Wall












Tuesday 2 October 2012

Researching Genre - Nu Metal


Nu Metal is a sub-genre of heavy metal. It's a fusion genre which combines elements of metal with other genres, including hip-hop and industrial. It is classed as part of alternative metal.
Here are some examples from the genre:

Korn - Undone

Lostprophets - Shinobi vs Dragon Ninja

Linkin Park - Crawling

Linkin Park - In The End

System Of A Down - Toxicity

Papa Roach - Between Angels And Insects


Limp Bizkit - Rollin'

Limp Bizkit - Break Stuff


Thousand Foot Crutch - Move

Disturbed - Down With The Sickness

Ill Nino - How Can I Live


I've already picked up some reoccurring conventions from these videos that stand out. Many of the videos have use surrealism and 3d imaging behind band members for example in Crawling an Undone as well as in the video for wait and bleed. A lot of songs also use synthesized sounds and scratching as in Rollin' and Wait and Bleed this is a feature which makes Nu metal a unique sub-genre, this also appeals to a possible slightly younger target audience in comparison to other metal genres. Many band members have similar appearance having spiked up or long hair and a style of clothing including oversized shirts, cargo or sweat pants and sports jackets as well as occasionally tattoo's or piercings, all band members normally feature in performance footage. 

Often these videos feature performance footage or concept, however narrative is not often included. Nu metal music is mostly syncopated and based on riffs, Mid-song breakdowns and lack of solos contrasts it with other metal sub-genres. The technique that nu metal guitarists use is detuned strings whose lower pitch creates a thicker, more resonant sound. Strings detuned in this way are often drop-D or lower, sometimes adding a seventh string. The songs often include profanity in their lyrics and sometimes the videos have scenes which would give the video a higher age rating. Nu metal may or may not also include rapping or turntables. 

Although the genre has often been mislabelled as rap metal which was simply just metal with primarily rapping vocals. Nu metal is controversial among the fans of more established metal genres, who often consider the hip hop influence negative, as well as the mainstream popularity of several bands. A very commonly held opinion by traditional metal musicians, like Zakk Wylde, was that nu metal bands did not do solos primarily because of their inabilities to execute complex and intricate scales. This is typical of nu metal bands in that guitar solos are rare in nu metal songs in generalNu Metal gained popularity in 1998 with the release of Korns album Follow The Leader becoming a platinum hit, this lead to lots of bands adopting a Nu Metal sound of which many where successful. Early Slipknot and Linkin Park found success as well as Limp Bizkit and Papa Roach having popular hits.  

Gaurdian Article
Last Fm 
Wiki






List Of Final Cut X Tools We Used

 List Of Tools






Reflections On The Directors Challenge


  • We learnt how to use final cut and get to grips with the different tools and options whilst editing our video.
  • We learnt about researching conventions of a specific director to figure out their specific style.
  • To analyse at least 10 videos of a genre/director/artist in order to get a good idea of the specific conventions they use.
  • To do further reading into the genre/director such as reading books or articles online about the videos Rather than only watching the music video.
  • The ability to adapt and be flexible when it comes to filming as the conditions may not be as planned or you may not be able to get the initial cast you had planned. 
  • Organising people for the shoot and the different roles they will take part in such as acting/filming/directing.

Monday 1 October 2012

Directors Challenge Video

Here is our video for the directors challenge, it took us about 40 minutes to film and a couple of lessons to edit. This is also the footage we are going to use to show the year 12's how to use Final cut pro X. The idea of the video was to try and replicate the style of Chris Cunnigham.

Year 12 Final Cut Pro X Introduction



  • Finding Final Cut Pro X
  • Uploading Footage
  • Extracting Audio
  • Basic tools
  • Using the Blade Tool
  • Managing Layers
  • Selecting Clips
  • Transitions
  • Effects - Audio and Visual
  • Naming
  • Saving
  • Zoom Slider
  • Rendering
  • Exporting
  • Cropping
  • Panning
  • Key Frames
  • Layers
  • Compounding Clips
  • Preview Window
  • Speed
  • Reversing Clips