Camera Skills

Movie Recording= 1080P     25 FPS

Dial= Manual

Shutter Speed = 50

Higher ISO= More Light

Daytime ISO= 400

Exposure Control

ISO

Shutter Speed

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Picture Style= Neutral
White Balance= AWB

Case Study 3

Name Of Song- Akon- Holiday 

  

Produced/Made By- DJ Antoine Ft. Akon 

  

Published on Sep 7, 2015 

  

Synopsis 

This music video called holiday by DJ Antoine Ft.Akon is set in a variety of different exotic places to represent the fact that the song is about going on holiday and living life. The scenes in the music video is a visual storyteller of the lyrics, which is what my intentions is for my own music video. I think that this method of making the lyrics and video match is very effective, especially for my target audience, because I think that they will be able to relate more with the song and therefore makes the lyrics more effective. The helicopter at the beginning of the music video shows the audience that the 'holiday' theme to the song is heavily linked as it represents the thought of flying to different countries and having fun. 

Representation Of Stars 

 

Akon was the main actor in this music video and the was represented as a cheerful, successful young male who is making a good living for himself and is enjoying life. The fact that he was wearing an expensive looking trousers and shirt shows that he is wealthy and when he was lip-syncing the lyrics to the song he always had a smile on his face which made the audience feel connected with the song and can understand the lyrics that was being said.  He is also represented as being mature for his age, most people who are wealthy and as young as him usually waste their money and time partying and getting drunk, however he was associating himself with people who looked mature, the other actors, and he looked smart. 

The car which was used in the music video represented that he was not splashing money out on the most expensive things and knew how to handle his money properly. 

Performance/Narrative Based Video 

 The music video is both performance and narrative because there is moments within the video where akon is lip syncing to the song and the fact that the song lyrics match the video shows a narrative side to the video. A story based theme creates a relation between the lyrics and the music video. Every location which was chosen in the music video had a colourful background which represented the theme of holiday and being in the sun. I think that the target audience for this music video is between 22-26 because the costume which akon was wearing was a suit which would most resemble an older audience to college students. Also, in the boat scene, all of the people were of a similar age to the target audience which further confirmed the intentions of the music video. 

Themes & Motifs 

The car that was used in the video was very old fashioned, and not the sort of cars you would associate with youth nowadays, therefore I think that the theme of holiday was not more or less to party but to just visit various sites etc; Hence having an older target audience. 

 Camera Angles 

Wide Angle- At the beginning of the video when akon begins to perform the lyrics there is a wide angle shot including him and the helicopter behind him to represent the theme of being on holiday. The helicopter is in the shot to represent the fact of flying abroad to different countries and exploring the worl

d. 

Close Up- When the three actors are on the boat travelling across the sea there is a close up on all of their faces to show the emotions that is coming through at the thought of going on holiday and to make the target audience feel and embrace the lyrics to make them feel happy and perhaps dance along with the song. 

Establishing Shot- At the end of the music video there is an establishing shot of the mountains where the video was set from a bird's eye view to show the audience what the place looks like and to inspire them to go on holiday and explore more places such as the one shown in the music video. The whole idea of the music video is to make the audience smile and enjoy life, therefore establishing shots such as this one adds to the overall effect of the lyrics. 

Mise-En-Scene 

In this music video I noticed that akon was not wearing the usual holiday attire that most people are used to, he was wearing a shirt and trousers and looked much more sophisticated and smart. This could be purely because they wanted him to look professional in the video and if he wore shorts and a holiday top then the video would be viewed in a much different way. However I think that the costume which akon had was to show evidently that the video was targeting an older audience to the youth (16-20). The shirt and trousers showed that the video wasn’t just to any person who wanted to feel the vibe of being on holiday, but to working class people who are of an age whereby they provide for themselves. Even the actors used with on on the boat weren't of a young age which means that this music video was, presumably, aimed at those who were between the ages of 22-28 and are living independently or with the absence of their parent/careers. 

Also, the car which was used in the music video was very old fashioned and not the typical cars you would see in the modern day. This further supports my point that this music video was aimed towards an older, mature audience, compared to the outgoing, party youth. 

Editing 

Cutscenes- When the music video began to increase in speed and the lyrics began to be said at a faster rate, the cutscenes increase in speed in order to compensate the lyrics which makes the audience become more engaged in the video and the lyrics especially.

Text- At the beginning of the music video there was text whilst the scene of the helicopter landing was being played in the background. The text said the director's name followed by the artists and song title, which made it clear to the audience from the start who deserves the credit for the production of this video. 

LipSyncing- Throughout the music video Akon was lip-syncing the song. I think that this had a positive effect on the audience as the lyrics had more meaning with the lip-syncing and it kept me, personally, engaged in the music video more than if there was no lip-syncing and just cutscenes. 

Ideas for main video 

For my music video, I want the actor to be as into the song as akon is in this video. I think that once the actor/actress for the music video is as into the music and lyrics as you want the audience to be then it makes a positive impression on the audience and makes them want to join them and feel the vibe of the song as well. I also like the way that the props used for the music video represented the type of impression that they wanted the actor to be seen as. For example, an older looking car was used instead of a, modern Ferrari for example, so it represented how he was a mature young male. I will try to incorporate this effect in my own music video so that the audience can understand the actors personality type through mise-en-scene and also the lyrics being said. This can then lead on to my target audience relating to the lyrics.

Case Study 2

Name of Song- Wake Me Up 

 Produced/Made By- Avicii 

 Published on Jul 29, 2013 

  

Synopsis 

At the beginning of the music video the girl begins the scene on the bed, hence the lyrics, 'Wake Me Up'. The two characters at the start of the music video are outcasts to the rural world due to the fact that their appearance is different to the rest of the people living in that area. People in the town dress very old school, whereas the two kids dress fashionable and more modern. The people walking in the streets constantly give the two kids disapproving looks as they walk by because they are not used to seeing people look, and dress the way the kids are. 

Representation of Stars 

Eventually the older girl, of the two kids, decides to take a journey on a horse away from the city to try find a new life in another city. She then ends up in Los Angeles where the streets are scarce and no-one is around; However as she walks into L.A fashion district she discovers a woman, who is dressed in similar fashion to herself, and the woman then begins to lead the girl towards a party full of similarly dressed people who are fashionably modern, similar to herself.  

 As the older girl finally found where her and her sister belong, she returns back to her original city which is full of people who are completely different to themselves, and wakes up the little girl to take her back to L.A as they have found where they belong. The song title, 'Wake Me Up' compliments this storyline well as it describes the main focal point of the whole situation and creates more lyrical harmony with both the audience and the actors. 

Message behind video 

Overall the music video, Wake Me Up- produced by Avicii is a message about how fashion can determine what people think of you and how you get along with others. It represents the stereotypes which are going around in this world and the fact that modern children are more outgoing compared to the elderly days. 

Target Audience 

I think that this music video was aimed at people aged between 17-23 due to the fact that it revolved a lot around how these 2 young girls felt uncomfortable in an area full of adults and people who did not dress like them. It represents how youth have a specific style of fashion which is different to adults and towards the end of the music video, there was all young people inside the concert having fun which is why I believe it was partially aimed towards this age range. 

Themes & Motifs 

The theme behind wake me up is love & fashion due to the fact that the older girl loves her sister and believes that they both deserve better and because they weren’t comfortable living in the area which they was living in, she took time to find a place where they both would fit in more with the others. Also, when she found the place, she did not leave her sister behind and went all the way back to collect her, hence the theme of love. Fashion was also a theme of this music video because the reason why the girls did not fit in and were looked at in a bad, intimidating way was mainly due to what they were wearing around the streets in public. It did not fit the usual way people dress around their area. 

  

Camera Angles 

Close Ups- There was several close ups camera shots on the people who were looking at the two girls in the street to express and show all the emotions and thoughts which they were feeling towards these two girls because of the way they are dressed. 

High Angle- At the beginning of the music video there is a high angle over the two girls on the bed. They are both wearing the same clothes which makes it evident to the audience that they are related in some way. The older girl has a sad expression on her face which suggests that they are unhappy and alone. Represents the mood and motif of the music video straight away. 

Establishing Shot- At the beginning of the music video there is an establishing shot where they show the area which the two girls is living in and the state of their house. Their house louse dirty and run- down which could suggest that they have low income and the elder sister is the main carrier for the younger one. It also creates the image of what kind of people live in their area, as there was fields with a lot of plants, it shows that there is perhaps a lot of elderly people who live there and rarely anybody of their age. 

Mise- En- Scene 

Both of the two girls were wearing jeans and tops, which is everyday casual clothes which is worn by people aged within their range, however, the area which they lived in was not used to their style of clothing which then represented the fact that there is no sense of belonging and they were looked at as if they weren't equal to all the others living there by the way they were dressed. Also the clothing in the music video could be an example of how adults and children dress and behave in such different ways. Towards the end of the music video, the elder girl ended up at a party which shows how young people are usually perceived and the stereotype that they love to party and have fun. Once the elder girl found these group of people living in a completely different environment to what they were in before, she began to get into her comfort zone and there was a camera shot, close up, of her smiling which is completely opposite to what her facial expression was at the start of the video. 

There was also a symbol on the girls body which I think represented the youth and towards the end of the video there was a few camera shots on other young peoples symbol too, which showed the audience that the symbol must have represented something. 

Editing 

CutScenes- Towards the end of the music video the cut scenes inside the concert, when everyone was dancing, started to increase in speed to represent how the emotions and tempo of everyone inside the concert. It also represented the youth of our society and how most of them try to take life in the fast lane and how they are always out having fun and partying. If you compare the speed of the cutscenes at the end of the music video to the start, it was much more slower when they were in the environment which they were uncomfortable. 

Long take- Throughout the scene where the two girls were walking through the street with the people looking at them in an intimidating way, there was a lot of long takes on the people's faces so that the audience had enough time to read their facial expressions and understand the thoughts which were going through their heads when they looked at the girls. 

Text- There was text used at the end of the video to remind the audience of the name of the song and then tell them who the directors was. 

Narrative/Performance 

Majority of the music video was narrative based as there was a constant story being told through the scenes being showed. There was very little lip syncing from the lyrics of the song, the only performance based action was when the two sisters had a quick little conversation whilst sitting on the wall. The rest was all narrative based which was very effective as it made it easy for me, as the audience, to understand fully what was going on throughout the video. 

Ideas For Main Video 

From this music video I think that the theme of a narrative based video is very effective, especially for the target audience that I am aiming my video at. When the music video matches the lyrics being said and is describing the scenario through various cutscenes I believe that it makes the audience feel that they are more closer to music and they can relate to some of the lyrics as they have a visual example which they can see and analyse. If I want my music video to have a strong message to my audience then I will base a narrative music video on what 'Wake Me Up' did and follow the way how they structured and organised each scene. I also like the way the costume of the characters in the music video represented a certain group of people, especially representing the target audience. The increase in cut speed towards the end of the video increased the tempo and lifted the audience from what was previously quite a sad and reflectful music video. When there is areas in my music video whereby I want the audience to feel the vibe of the song I will increase the pace of the cutscenes so that there is a positive effect on the audience.