Research 6

Birdy - Shelter


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXwPUYU8rTI&feature=relmfu

This video is very simple, yet eye-catching and absorbing, I love the motif of the symbolic hands throughout.

This close up portrait is interesting due to the shallow depth of field and the light and shade across the actresses face. The way in which she is looking directly into the camera, draws the viewers to look into the artists eyes, her expression is also clear and adds to the atmosphere of the video.

This long shot is effective due to the contrast between the dark trees and the light pathway behind the artist. The lighting reflected onto her face highlights her expression against the rest of the background.

I love the composition of this shot, the depth of field, lighting and colouring creates an interesting close up shot of the hands playing the piano.

Again, this is a similar shot, having panned out into  a medium shot of the artists profile and hands playing piano. The light shining through the window, contrasts with the greenery in front of it, creating an interesting effect of the light streaming though.

I love this close up shot of the artists profile, against the background of the ocean. The shot is not very well lit but I feel this creates an interesting effect. The atmosphere is calm and relaxing.

I really like this shot of the almost silhouetted artist standing in front of the ocean, the contrast between the blue of the sky and the sea, against the black of the coat and driftwood, creates an almost eery effect.

I love this close up shot of the hands; the way in which is it slightly out of focus, creates a stunning effect with the lighting, separating dots of light, in contrast to the dark hands slowly twisting in front of them.





I like this medium shot of the artist pushing her way through a field of flowers, due to the depth of field, having only one flower and the artist in focus.

Research 5

The xx - VCR


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gI2eO_mNM88&ob=av2e

I really like this video, mainly due to the strong locations and intense narrative, an idea similar to this could work for my music video however I feel some lip syncing would need to be added, to maintain interest throughout.

This video has lots of location shots, changing with fast paced cuts, this black and white shot of pipes is made interesting by the shallow depth of field.

The medium shots of the actors in the cool location, what appears to be underground, in a waterworks system or somewhere similar, show clearly the artists, aswell as the location well.

The various portrait shots of the artists in the band, look effective in black and white, and allow good opportunities for lip syncing to be perfect.

I think the location in this video, is what makes it effective and interesting, shallow depth of field in this close up shot, allows the viewer to focus on the  artists face, however, the background is still visible and creates an interesting composition in the shot.

There is two actors in the second half of the music video, both dressed in dark, basic clothes, keeping the video simple but effective. I like the depth of field in this shot, as it allows the expression and hang gestures of the actress to be clearly focused on.

I love this long shot of the couple, in which the actress is ripping down wallpaper and throwing it at the actor, adding a narrative element to the video.

The lighting in this shot, streaming in from the window outside, highlights the artists face and hands, creating a simple but effective shot.

Again, this aspect adds narrative to the video, however it is a cool shot due to the lighting, black and white, and long shot.

This section of the video is a clever way of contrasting black and white between colour, as the actor holds the light and pulls it down over his face, the video transforms into colour. This effect is interesting and could be cool to re-create.

This silhouette effect is interesting as the actors hold the light behind them, lighting the surroundings but putting themselves in the dark. This would be easy to re-create, yet still looks effective and interesting.







This section of video is effective, as the fire adds a new element into the video, especially as it highlights the bands name.

Research 4

 Ben Howard - Old Pine


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzzCthKw_C0

I like this music video due to the chilled atmosphere of the whole things, created by the warm colours and locations, as well as the good use of camera angles and depth of field used.

I like this pull focus shot as the wheat and the lights go in and out of focus, the general lighting and setting creates a mellow but interesting atmosphere.

The depth of field in this shot, having just Ben Howard in focus and the forest background out of focus, looks professional and allows the viewer to focus on him singing the words of the song.

This panning shot, which moves backwards as he walks towards the camera, allows the viewer to take in the surroundings, as well as the artist singing. This long shot allows the viewer to take in the neutral colours of the background as well as the artists outfit.

This medium shot of the artist profile, looking into the sun, creates a very cool effect as the sun hits the camera lens. The orange colouring is effective and is made to look even better by the great depth of field, focusing on the portrait.

This low angle shot looking up into the sun through the trees creates an interesting composition, with a good contrast between the bright sky and dark trees.

This establishing shot of the the cliffs over the sea, adds another interesting location to the video. Although it is simplistic, I think the time of day and long shot make an interesting scene to add in.

The time of day that this shot is filmed in, late evening, creates a eye catching reflection on the ocean, and allows the surfer to be seen as a silhouette... very cool.

I love this shot, using shallow depth of field, the lights are out of focus in the background, and a section of the leaves are in perfect focus, it creates an interesting composition and relaxed atmosphere.

Research 3

Two Door Cinema Club- Something Good Can Work


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxu02vp_Vm0

I like this video because of the varied shots and locations throughout, maintaining interest throughout.

I like the shallow depth of field in this shot as it creates an interesting eye catching opening. The focus pull over the shot is effective and professional looking. I also love the general colour wash of this shot, it looks icy and creative.

I love this birds eye view shot, looking down on the artist and following him as he walks round the poolside, it is something that I haven't really seen in a music video before and is somethings which I would really like to re-create.

As the camera angle follows the artist, looking down on his hat, it leans forward and splashes into the water. I love this effect as it is an unusual camera angle, creating a unique section of film. It appears that this is filmed on a GoPro camera, as it is waterproof and has a slight fisheye effect, this is unusual to be used in the music video but still creates a cool effect.

Again, the underwater effect is cool, as the microphone shines through behind the bubbles visible, and the fish eye lens creates an interesting shot.

The transition from the previous shot to this one is extremely clever. The microphone maintains the same through the change, and the background around him changed from underwater to the street scene. I think this is a good idea, however could be difficult to re-create. I also like this medium shot of the artist singing into the camera, with the rest of his band in the background.

This interesting camera angle, created by fixing the camera to the neck of the guitar and having it over the artists shoulder, creates an interesting long shot, following the band through the streets as they are walking. This shot could be quite easy to re-create and I feel could be good in my music video.

I love the shallow depth of field used in this extreme close up, although the lip syncing would have to be perfect, I like the way that it singles out the main singer and focuses solely on the artists face.

I like the location of these shots, changing to the whole band in the woods, this long shot, showing the whole band, as well as the background in focus creates a mysterious effect, something that could easily be re-created.

Again, the shallow depth of field in this shot, looking down the neck of the guitar, having the playing hand and a section of strings in focus, is very effective and interesting.

This cut in the video is very interesting; as the band member moves his hand across the screen, the camera starts to twist with it, spinning the scene around into the next shot. I feel this is a cool effect and cold be re-created using various camera angles and After Effects.

Again, the change in locations throughout the video maintain interest throughout. I like this shot as the moving bumper car stays in focus whilst the background is out of of focus.

As the location switches to the dessert, this close up of the profile of a band member looking down, into the sun, creates a mellow and relaxed atmosphere, as well as an interesting shot.

This long shot is cool as it keeps the band within a third of the shot, and keeps the rest of the shot pretty much empty, I like this effect, and it would be interesting if the band moved through the different thirds.

Research 2

Asher Roth - G.R.I.N.D (Get Ready It's a New Day)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdlkJUU4HtU
I have chosen this music video because of the way in the which the camera cuts between the rapper singing  (lip syncing), to a narrative story reflected in the lyrics. The change of locations and cultures keep the audience interested for the length of the song. I also love the way that the music video gradually changes from black and white, to colour, slowly, throughout the length of the song, portraying the message of the song.

This long shot, with Asher in the foreground and the bold writing in the backgrounds creates a cool composition, getting across the narrative of the video right away.

I like the switch between the lip synced shots of the artist and the narrative surrounding him as it keeps an equal mix of interesting shots throughout the video.

I like this medium shot with the faces lit against the dark background as it highlights expressions on the faces of the actors, I feel this is very effective.

As you can see with the orange of the players top, the black and white is slowly fading to colour, highlighting the narrative background to the music video. I love this shot into the sun, creating an interesting effect on the lens, and creating an overall good composition on screen.

I like these shots of the community, relaxed and not posing for the camera, as I feel that it contributes to relaxed atmosphere of the video. I like this shot of the characters in black and white against the highlighted orange background.

I like medium shot of the artist in the foreground with some aspects of colour, as well as the background. This is very effective.

I like this panning shot, following Asher on the bike, as some aspects of the background come into colour as he travels past them.

I LOVE this silhouetted shot of the artists against the awesome sunset at is creates a cool atmosphere and looks very professional.

I like the shallow depth of field in this shot, having the guitar and playing hand in focus and the rest of the shot out of focus as it draws the viewers eye to this section.

Music Video Research 1

Spanish Saharas- Foals 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaVE4WVlsDQ
I have chosen this music video as I love that the focus is on the quality of the shots, using amazing depth of field and locations, held for a long time at a slow pace; the video is a perfect reflection of the song itself.

I like this close up camera angle, showing only half of Yannis' face, drawing the audience to his calm expression and the icy atmosphere. The depth of field which focuses mainly on the eyes and skin of the singer, allows the viewer to not be distracted by the flickering hair in the wind, but captures the face in an interesting shot.

The shallow depth of field in this shot of the ground, rippling water and ice, slowly changes focus over the depth of the shot, creating a calm but interesting shot.

The slow motion shots, also with shallow depth of field, of the ice slowly dropping into the water, creates a stunning effect. As shadows also slowly cross the shot, the light creates a flickering effect.

The slow paced cuts in this video, change and reflect the mood of the song, captivating the audience; there is no tension, just relaxing. The white background prevents the audience being distracted by the portrait of Yannis, however this requires the lip syncing to be perfect, something which I would like to achieve in my video.

The large open spaces in the photography of the shots in this video, create room for lots of movement, and create a calming effect.
I love the location of this video; the mountains and sea allow interesting filler shots, as well as amazing back grounds for medium shots and close ups.

The vague narrative of this video is another aspect that I like, it reflects the lyrics; a man slowly climbing from the sea up a mountain. It creates another aspect of the video to the audience to be captured by.

Once again, the shallow depth of field in this shot highlights the artist and the things that he is carrying.

The introduction of the fire in contrast to the ice and the mountains is a cool effect in this shot, I think the use of this would be tricky but effective as an interesting way of lighting the shot.

I really like the general lighting of this video and the way that it all, except certain things such as the fire, has a blue tinted wash over all of the shots.