shot list

A shot is an uninterrupted sequence of frames taken by a video camera. In other words, this is the continuous film taken from when the camera has been turned on to when it has been turned off.

A list of shots helps in the planning and filming of a movie, or in my case, a music video.

For my music video, the majority of my film time would be spent at the harbour and the beach, and a few hours would be spent at the areoclub, getting shots of the plane taking off/descent and cruising.

planning photos

here are some of the photos i took whilst flying over jersey, for which i am considering using similar shots in my music video.

narrative

The synopsis of my plot consists of a young man who is trying to escape and get away from the unsatisfying life he currently leads. He strives to achieve something new and exciting in his life, and uses the girl he loves as an escapism from his ordinary life. The music video expresses his journey to find happiness, through the use of scenery shots to portray a calm and tranquil tone to the song.  He starts his journey by throwing his suitcase in the back of a jet plane, taking off and a series of bird eye view shots of jersey help reinforce how far his is willing to travel. This is entwined with various band footage taken on the beach/the harbour to suggest that the ocean is trapping me and preventing him from being where he wants to be. He takes a car through the streets of jersey, or what would be presented as a larger city, which is speed up to again reinforce his determination to reach his destination. the majority of the music video would be his journey, till the end of the song when at night, he reaches the girl and the music fades out as they embrace after being apart for so long. 

planning

now that i have researched and analysed various music videos, i have a fair idea of what of i would like to achieve for my music video, the different types of camera angles i am planning to use, the location, props, and the actors.

Firstly, i have a few ideas of what I'd like my music video to involve, including a technique used frequently in music videos, (including snow patrol's 'open your eyes'), of mounting a camera onto the bonnet of a car, driving through the streets, in my case, st.Helier and then during editing, speed up the frames using imovie. I am hoping this will create a sense of restlessness and to create an impact on the audience. Another idea i am considering doing is getting some shots of a plane taxing and taking off on the airports runway, again toying with the theme of escapism. Using the beauty of Jersey to my advantage, possibly filming from the plane whist flying over jersey, perhaps at night, would be effective as the scenery and the lights would portray the sense of calmness and tranquility i am hoping to create throughout my music video. My only worry is that because of the lack of light and the fact i would be filming through a glass window, the shots may not come out as clear as i'd have hoped and i may have to film my flight shots entirely during the day which may diminish the romantic sense I am hoping to create.

I also thought that i could capture a majority of my desired shots at the harbour and the beach, because both locations seem appropriate for my chosen song, Boston by Augustana. I would like to film at the beach because like my desired shots of jersey from birds eye view, filming my band on the beach would again help create a sense of romaticisim and tranquality, through the use of natural imagery.

I believe that the music video being created must link in with and compliment the song and its lyrics, and therefore help portray the message and emotions that the artist(s) were trying to express when writing the song. Lighting is one of the more important factors concerning my music video, i am looking to film a significant amount of footage at dusk/dawn, when the sun is lowest in the sky, as i am hoping this will create colourful lighting effects naturally. The visuals will be in muted tones, blues and greys of the sea and the sky, with contrasting tones of orange of the sunset and the sunrise.
My music video will be directed at a younger audience, from around 15-25 age range and to the somewhat 'indie' niche audience. My video will be able to be recognised by this target audience through the use of props, costumes, and camera angles. For example, there will be little use of props throughout my music videos except the instruments being used obviously, to avoid attracting attention away from the band and the sceneary shots. The costumes will include dark clothes, sneakers, skinny jeans, band tee shirts etc to appeal to my target audience as this is what is most commonly worn in music videos, of this genre of music. Boys with hair covering their eyes is also a common niche in indie music videos, perhaps to the reflect the idea that they are unable to become completely connected with the audience and have something to hide. I am planning to use a significant amount of band footage similary to many of mtv music videos, usually on mtv 2, as mtv bass and mtv dance tend to be of more upbeat music videos leaning towards the genres of hip hop, RnB, and dance. I researched 'indie music videos' on wikipedia, and indie was described 'a genre of alternative rock that primarily exists in the independent underground musicscene. It primarily refers to rock musicians that are or were unsigned, or have signed toindependent record labels, rather than major record labels.' Posted on wikipedia was also a list of indie rock artists, some of which i researched on youtube to understand more clearly what the conventions of an indie music video are. For example, after researching the band 'bright eyes' i found that often in their music videos they would portray the lyrics through writing the words down which i found to be an interesting effect and a fairly common technique used in indie music videos.

Some of the camera angels i am planning to use include extreme close up's to express the actors emotions, medium shots and long shots of the band playing which i have noticed in typical music videos this helps to promote the band especially if they are new or unsigned, perhaps some etablishing shots to set the scene, and extreme long shots of the beach and the harbour to create tranquilitly. I am also planning to film the actors with the sun behind them, to create silhouettes of the band.

jealous minds think alike- you me at six

unlike the previous videos i have analysed, you me and six's 'jealous minds think alike' video is majoratly made up of a sigificant amount of band footage, combined with various shots of the band at running through a harbour/rubbish dump. What i favoured most about this particular video was the lighting effects; the video was filmed from dusk, to nightfall, and then to dawn when the sun is just coming up over the horizon, and a effective shot is taken of the bands members silloutes standing on top of a roof watching the sunrise. Contrasing to the previous songs, this song . The frequent use of slow motion as the band members 'rock out', espeically when the guitar cuts out leaving the vocalist to sing in the silence, and this creates a sense of tension as to when the guitar will come in again.

sweet and low- augustana

I enjoyed watching this video, because i found that the video expressed the theme of nature throughout, and the various shots used, such as butterflies, sun shining through the trees, fields etc. worked well with the song and made the viewer feel relaxed while watching. i also liked the striking idea of his bleeding hand and the artist singing in a dark room, two dark images contrasting with the beautiful imagery of summer, a simple techinque used to create a greater impact on the audience. the constant use of extreme close up on the artists face and eyes also helped the viewer feel more connected to the artists and their feelings.

open your eyes- snow patrol

i liked this video, because like rice's 'the blower's daughter', the band kept the video simple to avoid drawing attention away from the lyrics and their meaning. I enjoyed this video because of its simplicity, the fast paced idea of a car speeding through the streets of paris, contrasting to the slow and peaceful rythmn of the guitar which lasts the majority of the video. watching the video, i liked the simple camera angle used throughout which makes the viewer feel like they themselves are driving the car, and the beautiful architechture of paris creates an incredible atmopshere. the lyrics do relate to the video in some ways as lyrics state 'get up, get out, get away from this town' and give a sense of freedom and infinity to the viewer. The idea that the speeding car never stops driving provokes the viewer to feel curious of where and when it will stop, which in turn makes the reader want to keep watching and has a huge effect on how the reader feels while watching the video, a clever techique i may consider using in my own video.

damien rice- blowers daughter

the first thing i noticed about this video was the neutral colours used throughout, grays, blacks, beiges were used rather than bright colours, possibly to express the artists emotions when singing/writing the song. i liked this video because i felt it complemented the song well, and the effective but repeated shots helped create an impact on the viewer subtly without drawing attention away from the lyrics and the meaning. the close ups of the artist's face again helps express his emotions, and the fact he is not looking directly into the camera when singing also supports the idea that he is singing to the woman throughout the video, and the shots of the ocean help create a tranquil feel to the video, the same effect i am hoping to acheive when i come to create my own music video. The repeated shots of the woman standing by the ocean create a sense of ditress in the video, the idea that she is heartbroken etc. and provokes curiousity to the viewer, which is an effect i am also planning to create when i start filming, various shots which cause the viewer to wonder why this shot has been taken and also the storyline behind the song chosen.