Reflections on the Production Process!

After changing the idea on several occasions, my group was behind and required vigorous/brutal hard work and catching up to do...

With our final idea sorted we allocated various roles to each group member, my roles (in the end) were as follows:

• I was the camera man in most shoots (at least 75% of the final footage was filmed by myself) and I was involved in every shoot (which totalled to over ten shoots)
• I was the director in many shoots, particularly when it was just Sam and myself, as Sam was allocated the role of main actor (Panda) which meant that I was both the camera man and the director for the first House Shoot + the Underground/Train shoot
• I was the actor (Panda) in two shoots, the Panda on Skateboard shoot and also for the Panda reads Newspaper shoot
• I undertook various test shoots, which included a House shoot (alone), an outro test shoot and shoots for the original idea 
• I was the creator of the original website and I was heavily involved in the production of the final website
• I had a minor role in the album cover creation, however I helped with the finishing touches (subtle, but necessary improvements)

The Production Process on the whole went really well, we shot all that was needed in a small space of time and rarely needed re-shoots. Social Networking (particularly Facebook) was vital in allowing us to be efficient in the communicatin and recruitment process, without which many ideas could not be communicated.

Our Final Script!

After detailed discussions on the new idea i've created a script outlining the exact story of our music video:

• Panda Wakes Up
• Short montage of him exercising, e.g. Sit-Ups, Weights, Pull Ups
• Panda dances accross bedroom
• Panda brushes teeth, uses deodrant, gels hair.....
• Panda dances down stairs and out the house
• Panda runs up to a bicycle and steals it, leaving a cheeky note saying 'I OWE YOU :)'
• Panda cycles through various terrains
• Panda runs off to the distance
• Panda purchases a newspaper
• Panda runs into the London Underground
• Panda gets on a train
• Panda reads newspaper looking puzzled
• Montage of Panda bored on train
• Panda's mood changes and he gets up and dances
• Cross-Cutting of various dance moves on train
• Panda leaves underground via elevator which we incorporate either before or after train
• Panda hails a bus and gets on a bus
• Panda is pulled by a car whilst on a skateboard
• Panda dances towards Greggs
• Panda realises he doesnt have enough money to buy food
• Panda busks with small ukelele
• Panda gets enough money and buys food
• Panda is happy and covered in crumbs
• Panda dances towards school
• Panda greets various people in the surrounding school area
• Panda gathers a crowd who run with him through the school
• Various shots of Panda/crowd running through the school
• They enter the dance gym
• Fades to a gym with 30+ people and the Panda who start a routine
• Lots of quick cuts throughout the routine
• Song ends, Panda leaves
• BYE PANDA!

As you can see it is a lot more engaging and much more effective compared with the original idea, we will have more than enough footage to use and i'm looking forward to the huge challenge ahead! :D

Final Idea!!!

Unfortunately the dancing Panda in park idea just didn't work for various reasons, for example we realised that sustaining the viewers attention for three minutes with just dancing was not enough. We also disliked the park setting and the idea just didnt work with the chosen song, the footage wasn't good/varied enough either.

So we went back to square one and after hours of delibeartion we've come up with a possible hit!

Our new idea involves a Panda's journey to school...almost humanifying (is that even a word?!) Pandas. This further develops the idea of absurdity and fun. So we decided that he'd wake up at his house, and then make his way through a variety of ingenious scenarios, putting him through hell and eventually getting him into school where we carry out a flash mob-esque dance routine for the final section of the song.

Possible Scenarios:

• Panda steals a bike and cycles away
• Panda goes to Greggs
• Panda gets on a bus
• Panda is pulled by a car whilst on a skateboard
• Panda buys breakfast
• Panda crosses zebra crossing with lollipop man
• LONDON UNDERGROUND section!

Inspiration: (Carol Vernallis Analysis)

Coldplay - Paradise

Our idea involves a Panda and Coldplay's use of an Elephant is a huge, but very useful/inspirational coincidence. We hope to involve some of their ideas in our final piece.

Narrative

The song is all about pursuing Paradise and the video is a visual response to the music, which involves an Elephant pursuing 'Paradise'. The majority of the video is narrative-based, with some performance towards the end. The video is very much a story and disobeys some charactersitics of a typical music video, such as for example some continuity rules are still obeyed. There are many un-answered questions which is a typical convention illustrated by Vernallis; why is the video about an Elephant? why does he need to take so many methods of transport? how is he getting from place to place? why is he separated from his family/friends?
Their is a constant theme of a pursuit and a mission, but this is portrayed in a montage style, for example on the train the shots are very montage-like.

Editing

On the whole, shots are cut to the beat/lyric. This makes for predictable cuts, which are pleasing to the audience's eye. The video features LOTS of jump cuts/jumps in time which are an example of a conventional music video's discontinuity. For example, the elephant jumps from being on a train to pursuing a plane, etc.. The pace also has extreme changes, the pace frequently changes from sprinting to stationary shots or very fast camera movements to slow motion.

Camera Movement/Framing

The video involves many establishing shots for new settings, which are a feature Vernallis has outlined as particularly important in music videos. Close Ups of the elephant are also often use so that the audience can see the important detail in the video. There are many extreme jumps in shot types in terms of distance, for example the camera will jump from a long shot to a close up, this is conventionally used in music video and rare in film. Framing is very tight and clostrophobic at the start when the Elephant is trapped and it becomes much more open when the elephant is free, this is very personified film-making.

Diegesis (the world of the music video)

The diegesis is the idea of an elephants journey to its homeland (Africa). The diegesis is outlined almost instantly, but it's quite vague, as we just see a tree in Africa so it may take time for the audience to fully grasp the diegesis. There are many holes in the diegesis through un-answered questions, but this is not a problem in music video production. Certain elements are emphasised, for example the shot when the elephant sees his pals in Africa through a slow focus-shift.

Artist Names

Why is it so important to have an effective artist name:

- Identity (this name represents the artist)
- Audience Appeal (often unique/clever names attract an audience)
- Has positive/negative connotations
- Should be linked to the music/genre, but is sometimes completely random
- Often the first thing audiences see, therefore it needs to be exciting in a way

Name categories:

- First/Last Name, e.g. Michael Buble (this is his full name, normally used for a solo 'ballad' singer)
- Alternate Identity (solo singer), e.g. Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, Example, Eminem (more appealing, often because their original name is boring)
- Very random name (enigmatic), e.g. Panic at the Disco, Bullet for my Valentine, Duck Sauce
- Acronym, e.g. N.E.R.D. (No-one Ever Really Dies), B.o.B.
- Nickname, e.g. Jay-Z, J-Lo,

Possible Names:

Our Band Identity is a creative, absurd, duo DJ team, with an idependent label who are slightly geeky.

AbSynth: I heard about a deathly strong alcohol/spirit called 'Absinthe' and thought that could be a decent band name. I then decided to make it a play on words, using 'Synth' as our music is very techno-like and includes lots of Synths. Absynth is taken at parties, by predominately young people (our target audience), and connotes 'fun', but also 'rebellion'. I thought making it AbSynth, instead of Absynth would bring out the geeky side of our duo and also put emphasis on Synth.

Electroylsis: Our music features the 'Electronic' genre, and the chemistry subject of 'Electrolysis' could appeal to the audience.

Osmosis: Our music is contagious, is almost passed on from one to another via a disease (virus).

Cosmic Pollution: Geeky, techno...

The Institute: We are independent, 'we are our own insitution'.

Evolution: Growing up, generating public interest.


In the end, we agreed that AbSynth was the best name:

Dancing Panda Music Video Idea

Initially, we decided on a track called 'Fast Fuse', by Kasabian (outlined in previous post). We ended up agreeing on a Male/Female relationship narrative, which would be amplified by a huge retro-like performance. In the end, we agreed that our concept wasn't clear enough or unique enough and it was just impossible to avoid the typical indie stereotype.

We then went through a brainstorm which began with the idea of having a character growing up; throughout the video he is on a search for adulthood, which isn't clear until the end. This idea could work and would be interesting, it could be accomapanied by various tracks. We agreed on the evolution from Aidan Szczurek to Sam Szczurek who are both similar looking ginger siblings.

After brainstorming this idea, we conjured up an concept involving one character dancing with a boombox accompanying him. This evolved into the idea of an animal (probably Panda)...dancing to a track in a dance-off vs. another animal. Emphasising the opinion of the absurdist movement, 'Their work expressed the belief that, in a godless universe, human existence has no meaning or purpose and therefore all communication breaks down.'

Our begins with an animal or group of teens sitting on a wall in a relaxed mood, when out of nowhere a Panda appears and walks past them with a boombox in his hand. He then lays down the boombox and plays our track. He starts busting out moves and this becomes a dance-off which evolves into a flash mob involving up to 30 people (plus 2 animals). The video would end with the Panda casually walking back to London Zoo (boombox still in hand)...this illustrates the idea that this is part of his daily routine, while amplifying the 'Theater of the Absurd'.

Independent Research/Planning: Time-Coding

Time-Coding is absolutely vital in the media industry, particularly when planning music videos.

It's used to ensure that the plot fits with the lyrics, in the time given and for synchronization, the camera assistant will typically log the start and end timecodes of shots which helps with organisation and efficiency.

It's a tedious process and took me over one hour to type out (and ensure that the lyrics are correct), but it's going to be very useful when we produce our music video and to help us plan our ideas.

This is my time-code for Kasabian's 'Fast Fuse':

Fast Fuse Time Code