Costume

After multiple discussions, we have decided that costume wise we would like Mossy to seem effortlessly cool. Similar to that of groups like, Lawson, OneRepublic and Connor Maynard. Therefore, we concluded that he would wear a simple white t-shirt, leather jacket or waistcoat with skinny black jeans and either boots or brogues.

Practise shots 3

We filmed practise shots in the chapel today as we have decided that rather having Mossy sit outside a church looking as if he has lost faith the shot may be more effective if we use the inside of an empty chapel. We also felt it may be better for him to see the audition sheet on a notice board, where you would normally see one, rather than to just find one in the street.

So we now are thinking about having a shot where the audience can see him sitting in an empty chapel, the camera walks down the aisle to him turns round and see his face (so the audience can see his expressions). He then gets up to leave walks back down the aisle and walks out. As he is doing so, he sees the audition sheet on the door, the camera focus' on it so the audience can fully read it, he rips it off the door and walks out with a new determination and enthusiasm. We think this will get across that performing and being a musician is his dream and what he wants achieve.

We will have the practise shots up soon!

Practise shots 2

Today we went out into Gerrards Cross to practise our shots in the woods that are by Gerrards Cross Common. Unfortunately it was very rainy and cold but we did get some good shots and found that actually filming with the camera hand held was not as bumpy as we first though it would be (we couldn't use the dolly and the tripod as the ground was too wet and we were continually moving). We now know exactly where we want to film in the woods and what angles we want to film from

The weather was, rather stupidly, something we hadn't really considered before so today definitely brought it to our attention..overall we think the shots will be good as long as we have an umbrella to cover the camera but we know its going to be more difficult for our actor and may make it more difficult in that he may look different if we need to re-do shots so we will have to keep checking the weather updates and make sure we have enough umbrellas and rain macs to keep us all dry! we are even considering a pop up tent to bring along with us to protect everyone and everything.

Practise shots

We have done some practise shots of our music video to preempt any problems and to make things go smoothly for when we actually film.

The problem we first came across was keeping the camera steady whilst it being moved, how we overcame this was by using a dolly. This meant we had a lot more freedom with the movement of the camera, we could keep the shots at the pace we wanted them to be at and could turn the camera quite quickly. In using the dolly we thought it would be best to have someone directing the actual camera itself and seeing the shots and then have someone in front but not in the shot just pushing the tripod/ dolly so that someone could see where they were actually going and someone could see the actual shot, as we were walking backwards. The next problem we encountered, was filming going up the stairs as we thought it would be better to hold the camera by hand the difficulty with this is is that there is either too much room above the actors head or it gets cut off slightly. We thought that this would just be something we would have to be aware on on the day and purposely move the camera as necessary.

Here are all the things we need to make sure happen for the shots to be the best they can be:

Common room:

• Make sure all chairs are on the right
• camera close to the breakfast bar
• Wheels of the dolly must all be facing the same way for the shot to be smooth.

Going up stairs: 

• Follow actor from behind
• hand held camera
• start a little bit further back from the stairs

Hall Auditions: 

• One shot from the back of the hall to get all the stage in and the backs of the judges. 
• Side shot of judges and contestant
• Shot from behind Mossy on stage.

Behind the Scenes

We found a behind the scenes video for the original Counting Stars music video. I think this is really useful to actually see what a professional director would have done and his logic behind it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gp7nxC1R8ow

Inspiration/ typical synopsis 4

I think this video is quite unique and involves some relatable locations and scenarios which in itself can grab the audiences attention. I like how the video gives the audience a background and allows them to build up a picture of what his life is meant to be like and then creates a parallel with how it is changing. I think that this is one of the most interesting things that we could perhaps take to use for our video as there is initially a clear link in the slow motion of him going to the microphone and him walking down the stairs and leaving so the audience see the link between the two and maybe see how it was a gradual change which is then emphasised by the performance shots that are then matching the speed of the song which seems to show where he is now and where he wants to be.

Inspiration/ typical synopsis 3

I really like this music video as it succinctly goes through 3 or 4 different locations each containing very different content to the one before. It also contains some really interesting camera shots where the camera even goes up side down, I think these fluid shots allows for the content of the shots to be different whilst still making sense to the audience and adds another interest to the video. As well as this the lighting was very effective as it emphasised the changes that happened in the song and created different tones in the video. Both the shots and lights are definitely something I think we should take on board to use in our video.

I also noticed that he wears different costumes in each shot, each being suitable for the locations and the change in the songs tempo. I thought that this was a subtle element that again added more interest and emphasised the different changes in the song, connecting the visuals with the song.

Possibilities for 'Counting Stars' music video

General message of the song: follow dreams give up money and do what you love “I don’t think the world is sold, I’m just doing what we’re told” “I feel something so right doing the wrong thing” “I could lie” “everything that kills me makes me feel alive”

-After the intro, when he has stop singing, on every beat change to a different location (there are around 4 beats until another instrumental is added)

-On the 5th beat when another instrumental is added go to a shot where actor is in the location we plan to use the most.

-The singer lengthen/places emphasis on the lyrics life, vine, heart, line, signs, find.

-“I see this life like a swinging vine, Swing my heart across the line”- exciting, take a chance so the content in the video could be faster paced (but to flow with the music) showing more fun activities (I.e the bonfire party/ fireworks) rather than the walking

-Flashing signs- literally having flashing signs of different streets or places or of the things he is trying to achieve

-“I could lie, could lie, could lie” maybe go back to shots of the job he hated? on the slow “everything that kills me makes me feel alive” as it builds up film firework going up? Basically just the correspondence between the tune going down and then building back up again into something better.

-If we do repeat shots of previous work it needs to look grey/dull/monotonous- everyone in similar clothes looking miserable.

-Dreaming/Praying/we’ll be..Nothing has happened yet its still all aspirations reaching dreaming trying to achieve. Faith. 

-In the verse starting “I feel the love and I feel it burn” passion, song as a faster pace (?) happier, “down this river every turn” movement, moving forward, progression 

Possibilities for “I don’t think the world is sold” -is it that they aren’t sold on the band or that they aren’t sold on this idealistic view of everyone following the same path/ aiming to make the most money? 

Research-

 ‘Tedder's song ended up being much different than the original, taking on a soulful, gospel sound. "It kept the spirit of what I was looking for the whole time," he said. The track basically wrote itself, and includes some of the frontman's favorite lines from the album, like, "Everything that kills me makes me feel alive." He wrote the chorus — another one of his favorite lines — for anyone who loses sleep wondering how they're going to be able to afford their rent or provide for their family”

“He adds, "Our jobs as musicians is not only to reflect what we think and how we perceive the world, but also to reflect the world. A lot of our fans love EDM right now."
 http://www.arjanwrites.com/arjanwrites/2013/02/interview-ryan-tedder-onerepublic-native.html#m0vxGk23BoDHI6wE.99

“Tedder points out that "Native" spotlights a more raw and authentic vocal delivery”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gp7nxC1R8ow#t=188 - behind the scenes of the official Counting Stars music video

Counting stars lyrics and Official Music Video

Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep
Dreaming about the things that we could be
But baby, I've been, I've been praying hard,
Said, no more counting dollars
We'll be counting stars, yeah we'll be counting stars

I see this life like a swinging vine
Swing my heart across the line
And my face is flashing signs
Seek it out and you shall find
Old, but I'm not that old
Young, but I'm not that bold
I don't think the world is sold
I'm just doing what we're told
I feel something so right
Doing the wrong thing
I feel something so wrong
Doing the right thing
I could lie, coudn't I, could lie
Everything that kills me makes me feel alive

Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep
Dreaming about the things that we could be
But baby, I've been, I've been praying hard,
Said, no more counting dollars
We'll be counting stars

Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep
Dreaming about the things that we could be
But baby, I've been, I've been praying hard,
Said, no more counting dollars
We'll be, we'll be counting stars

I feel the love and I feel it burn
Down this river, every turn
Hope is a four-letter word
Make that money, watch it burn
Old, but I'm not that old
Young, but I'm not that bold
I don't think the world is sold
I'm just doing what we're told
I feel something so wrong
Doing the right thing
I could lie, could lie, could lie
Everything that drowns me makes me wanna fly

Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep
Dreaming about the things that we could be
But baby, I've been, I've been praying hard,
Said, no more counting dollars
We'll be counting stars

Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep
Dreaming about the things that we could be
But baby, I've been, I've been praying hard,
Said, no more counting dollars
We'll be, we'll be counting stars

Take that money
Watch it burn
Sink in the river
The lessons are learnt

Take that money
Watch it burn
Sink in the river
The lessons are learnt

Take that money
Watch it burn
Sink in the river
The lessons are learnt

Take that money
Watch it burn
Sink in the river
The lessons are learnt

Everything that kills me makes feel alive

Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep
Dreaming about the things that we could be
But baby, I've been, I've been praying hard,
Said, no more counting dollars
We'll be counting stars

Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep
Dreaming about the things that we could be
But baby, I've been, I've been praying hard,
Said, no more counting dollars
We'll be, we'll be, counting stars

Take that money
Watch it burn
Sink in the river
The lessons are learnt

Take that money
Watch it burn
Sink in the river
The lessons are learnt

Take that money
Watch it burn
Sink in the river
The lessons are learnt

Take that money
Watch it burn
Sink in the river
The lessons are learnt

inspiration/Typical Synopsis 2

This is Lawsons official music video for their song 'Standing in the dark' has shots that are quite similar to the shots in the official counting stars music video, I particularly like how the shots are continually moving because I think it adds interest to quite a simple shot. I also like how it really shows the emotions of the lead singer through the close up shots and pace and lighting of the video. The visuals match the lyrics well as the the number of shots increase as the pace and beat get faster in the song, this with addition of flashing lights is very effective and something I think we could use throughout our own music video.

Inspiration/ typical synopsis

As we are trying to figure out what content to have in the video and how we could shoot and edit it, we have looked around for some music videos to give us inspiration. Here is Scroobius Pip's official music video for Stunner, which we felt was very useful:

I think this music video is very clever and very well done. The shots move cleanly and keep a continuity throughout the video that may not have achieved before, I definitely think this something we could use in our video. I also think the lighting is very effective as it is quite dimly lit and so adds a sense of mystery and intrigue to the video. 

Research

In our media lesson today we continued to discuss which song we shall use for our coursework, we have narrowed it down to these three songs:

We really like how up beat this song is and think the meaning behind the lyrics is something we could do a lot with for ideas for a video. The main problem we have with this song is finding a male actor for the lip syncing section of the video, so we spent time discussing how we could find a male actor that would be suitable as well as considering if we cant find a male actor how we could get round it, so perhaps having a story line that would allow for a female singer.

This song is again up beat but a bit more electronic and dance, which we think makes it fun which will translate to the video. The only problem with this particular song is avoiding the cliched love story type video.

This is the third song we looked at, we all really liked this song and thought that again and we liked the lyrics and felt that we could visually emphasise their meaning whilst also making it a fun video because of the up beat tone of the song.

Research

Here are some other songs we found as possibilities for our music video:

We felt that this group have a lot of talent and we liked that they are unsigned artists and that the song is completely theirs, as it means we would just need their permission to use it and it may be more likely for us to be able to use the song.

This song is quite popular amongst the group as it is quite a fun song that has a fast beat to it. The downside to this song is that it is quite repetitive.

Research

As a group we are trying to find the song we would like to create a music video for. We are considering pop as our genre but are unsure as to wether to find slightly different songs that people may not have heard as much. Still pop but slightly less well known, or to use a very mainstream song.

So here are some of the songs we have looked at so far:

This was not particularly popular among the group but we did think that some of the shots were interesting in the video. Such as, the opening shot where it zooms out. We felt that this song may be too much of the typical boy/girl romance, and may not give us many opportunities to be more creative.

We felt this song was unique, and some liked the contrast between the quite harsh lyrics and the soft acoustic melody but it was decided that overall the song was too slow and not everyone liked the vocals of the song.

Again this song was quite popular, but was just slightly too slow. This has though helped us realise that we want a more up beat song perhaps that a faster beat.