Change to Story Board

In my story board I stated that I wanted to include a medium shot of three tanks, each having ink dripped in one after the other. However, when putting together my video, I have come to realise that it doesn't fit very well - the before and after clips flow smoothly and fit perfectly to the music however this shot doesn't. Therefore, I have decided to remove it all together and place it with something else. 
What I am replacing it with is still a medium shot, however it is of one cylinder and the ink is already placed within it. 
In order to match it with the three beat sound, I cut out small chunks of the footage in order to create a jumping effect in the track. As this beat happens on more then one occasion I have added the same footage in twice. Nevertheless, in order to not bore my audience, the second time it is played, it is seen in reverse -  almost like time is being messed around with. This in itself represents the drug infused Bristolian Saga as tim was always blurred and unknown.

Improvements on Research and Planning

From my feedback about my research and planning, I have now added and improved on the following;

- Ancillary planning for digipak, advert for digipak and limited edition advert. With additional inspiration that I have found and followed from existing work.
- Extra analysis of digipaks and adverts (Green Day - American Idiot and Imelda May - Mayhem)
- Added more analysis to my RMA tasks.
- Extra detail into my storyboard with timings and shot types.

Ancillary Inspiration

Created with Padlet

Secondary Digipak Advert Ancillary

Digipak Advert Ancillary Planning

Created with Padlet

Digipack Ancillary Planing

Inks

Here are the inks I will be using in my video, with the additional - White, Gold and Silver, however, if successful I aim to mix my own version of these colours, making them to be the exact colourings wanted.

Editing my First Attemps

In order to get a better idea of how I want my poster and Digipak to look like, I decided to play around with brightness, colour and exposure. I wanted to create continuity through the editing, expressing the ideals of Massive Attack. It is for this reason I chose to do specific colourings on each, to represent the differing sides to the Trip Hop genre. However I believe my best attempts were images 1 and 3, the colouring and overall effect represent what it is to be Massive Attack.
Here are some of my edits;

Mood Board

Shortened version of Angel

In researching for a shortened version of the soundtrack I came across a a youtube channel which created their own version of the song along with a narrative based video. The soundtrack in this has been shortened down to 2 minutes 51.

Editing the Soundtrack

 As 'Angel' by Massive Attack is over 5 minutes long, I will need to cut down the track. By doing this I will decrease any chance of the audience becoming bored by repeatability, additionally it means I will be able to create a more intricate video that the audience will want to watch over and over again. Not only will this meet the audiences uses and gratifications, it will allow me to make the video more my own, I am not just reusing the song, I am creating something new with it.

Schedule Change

As I have recently decided to add the extra element of the lips into my video, that means I need to change a part of my schedule. However, the lip part can be easily inputted into my existing dates. Therefore on the 22nd October, I will have my first close up shoot of the lip syncing, I will then on the 29th October have my second shoot. The second shoot will allow me to get extra footage and fill in any gaps I have missed out. 

The 5th November will then be the same for both elements. This day will be to get any missing filming and to redo any shoots that I am not confident with.

Pitch Recording and Feedback

After my discussion with my teacher I found that she was conscious of the fact that me basing my video as concept will create a challenge for me, if done wrong. Nevertheless she stated that me being prepped with timings, camera shots/angles and lighting etc.. I will be able to execute my idea to its fullest potential. 

She also questioned my song choice as it is very well know, and that in itself will create a challenge, however she understood that I did this for a reason, and wanted to in essence create another music video for Massive Attack, continuing their motifs and style. 
 Overall my teacher was very pleased with my work and has high hopes for the end project.

Pitch Notes

These are the notes I used when presenting my pitch to my teacher;

Why Massive Attack?

I chose Massive Attack as it will create a challenge for me; the band are well known for their outlandish videos and pushing the boundaries of Trip Hop.
A second reason as to why I chose this particular song is because the video for it isn't as well know as say, Teardrop, or the highly recognisable Paradise Circus in its recent debut in the opening title sequence to Luther.
Additionally, I didn't want the video to over power the song, I wanted it to compliment it and amplify certain beats, Massive Attack who appeal to a wide audience, fitted perfectly into this as the audiences crave base-heavy sound.  

Genre:
Trip Hop originated form The Bristolian saga in the ealrey 1990's. Trip hop features several styles and includes various genres, its qualities are similar to ambient music and its drum-based shares characteristics with hip hop. It also contains elements of R&B, dub and house, as well as other electronic music. Trip hop can be highly experimental in nature, therefore in my video I wanted to represent this through the organic movement of the ink.

Audience:
AGE: Young adults,18 -30

DEMOGRAPHIC: C2 - D
PSYCHOGRAPHIC:  Explorer

What will my video entail?:

I got inspiration from artists like Gnarls Barkley and Massive Attack themselves, I wanted to combine the hypnotic atmosphere of the Bristolian saga while keeping to the motifs that Massive Attack demonstrate. In my video I intend to have ink dropped into a tank/cylinder of water, however my camera will be positioned in order to not see the the edges of the tank or any reflection from the water. The ink will free form into various shaped and I will edit them to match the beat of the music. I will also include an pair of lips singing in sync with the lyrics, however this will only happen when lyrics are sung.

Digipak and Advert:

Both the digipak and the advert will follow on from the organic motions of the ink, therefore I will have created a motif within my own rework of Massive Attacks. I will also include the lips on my digipak, additionally, I could make a secondary 'Limited Addition' poster with the lips on, allowing the audience to feel connected to the artist.

My first attempt (home)

In order to fully understand what I will be doing during the filming of my video, I had a few attempts at home. This allowed me to get and idea of timings and movements, therefore the filming process will be shorter and easier. 

I first set it up on my dinning room table but found the sunlight caused a reflection on the glass, I then changed to a darker area with the light coming from behind the white backdrop (paper). I also decided to use the colours red and yellow in my experiment as they were the brightest and i would be able to see more clearly how and what I am doing.

When first recording I found that the focus was more difficult than first thought, even though I was recording on my phone and not a professional digital camera, the focus would emphasise the wrong parts. Additionally in my first few attempts I wanted to get used to putting in the in the cylinders, I therefore began by simply squeezing the pipette and watching the effect.

I then decided to experiment with where to drop the ink in, my first video shows both colours being dropped from a centimetre apart, the second demonstrates the pipettes being held at either end of the top of the cylinder. 

 

From this I then decided to play around with glass placements; next to each other than placing one glass in front of the other., dropping yellow in one and red in the other. The created a sort of sunset effect, however by directly placing on in front of the other you couldn't see the red fully. Due to this I the placed the glasses slightly differently, one was still in front of the other however, they were pulled to either side slightly - the result was a lot better than the first. 

 Following this I then went on to play experiment with focus and spinning the ink; I wanted to create a different effect and see how I could focus on different areas. Although the first didn't focus on a specific part, I was able to capture the spinning effect I desired. The second however,did focus in a way that in the final video I could use it to emphasise a certain beat during the numbing atmosphere. 

I also took some pictures while dropping ink in the cylinders, just to capture what was happening as I did so;

Pre Production planning

Pre Production Planning

Mise-en-scene

When filming my video, I plan on attracting my audience through a concept based style, this in itself will represent my band Massive Attack, as they belonged to an organic and dream like world scene. The flowing and free forms of the ink will create that organic feel and almost hypnotic atmosphere, again linking back to the 'stoner' culture of the Bristolian saga.
As my video doesn't involve costumes or a narrative location, I have to find a separate way to appeal to my audience through mise-en-scene. The first way in which I aim to do this is is through my colour choice of ink, from my audience survey I found that the colours; White, Black and Grey, were most fitting to my piece and that the audience liked them most. One participant even noted that the word 'angel' itself reminds them of haven, and those colours best represented it.

As I directly questioned my audience I have found what they like the most and how they want it portrayed. Although I am not completely following their needs and gratifications, I am putting my own personal twist in order to create a fresh perspective on what they like. 

Concept based videos for genres like dance and other similar, all follow a particular style, and as Trip Hop is a combination of all of these, I aim to incorporate the same codes and conventions as those seen in videos like Gnarls Barkley 'Crazy' or The XX's 'Angel'. The lighting will need to be as bright as possible in order to fully appreciate the colours I will be using, therefore amplifying the dance iconography. The colours and lighting therefore need to compliment each other in that sense.

Representation

Trip Hop originates from Bristol, therefore Massive Attack are apart of the ‘Bristolian Saga’, home to West Indian culture. Bristol’s music scene was fuelled by drugs, although it is a negative representation, the use of drugs created the lure of a dream world and the organic art work that is seen in chill and lounge music that evolved from Trip Hop.  In order to keep to the ideology of a dream world, I wanted to use ink drops and create the nature of the Bristolian saga.

The conventional stereotype for Trip Hop is quite blankly ‘Stoners’, however this in itself challenges their stereotype. Most often people talk down to ‘Stoners’ as they believe to be a better human being, though they would consume alcohol and other ‘poisons’. Stoners are generally a friendly minority, peaceful and harmless. In order to convey this in my video, I want to have different cameras angled in opposing places, to capture that there is more than one side to them. This will then be amplified by pulses of slow motion, representing the peaceful and almost dream like land that Bristolian’s lived in.

There is a timeless need for base-heavy sound; it is for that reason that punk eventually became involved in the Trip Hop scene. As Trip Hop alone is a combination of varying genres, it allows it to have a wider audience, although the ages will be similar, the types and classes of people with be larger. As Trip Hop united varying classes all over Britain, I will be using contrasting colours like, white, black and grey to represent the differing sides, like; Punk, Dance etc…

By removing actors and any artist performing, I want to reflect upon the music being the key feature; this is similar to The XX’s “Angels” video, it is the music that takes the lead, and the video supports it. Although you as the audience don't get o fully see the female body, therefore you wouldnt see sexualising of women and the need for Laura Mulveys ‘Male gaze’ theory, howver, by using lips in the video sycning to "you are my angel" and directing it at the male audience, with the additional signifier of red lipstic, creates a sexual theme. You could also suggest that the free forming ink flows represent the curves of a female. Even though the sexualising isn't direct and obviouse, it allows for an active audience to see these themes. Additionally, Andrew Goodwin’s therory of a relationship between visuals and lyrics is used.

Inspiration

Music 101