Monday 27 June 2011

Meet The Director: Jake Wynne

Picking up from where my last post left off, I was lucky enough to meet the director of the Mark Ronson 'Just' video (amongst others) Jake Wynne. Jake talked about how he got into the industry from guerilla filmmaking beginnings to directing Geri Halliwell's 'It's Raining Men' and another number of iconic music videos. He explained to us the roles on set including first AD, camera man, cable bashers, props and art department, a gaffer (lighting) and a grip (technicians often operating the dollies). He explained the directors role as a motivator, trying to keep energy up on set (which are traditionally 18 hour days) and advised us to approach situations with positivity and enthusiasm to coax the performer to unleash their full potential and give a confident convincing performance. We also talked about budget: the Geri Halliwell video he did was about £250000 (from which he receive £12000) whereas nowadays £50000 would be considered a huge budget for a video. One of his more 'experimental' pieces for Nojahoda was made for just under 10k.


He also explained how he achieved this very cool technique in the Super Furry Animals Golden Retriever video by speeding up the track and getting the band to play it quickly and shooting it at 18 or less fps to create a jumpy jolty appearance. He also said how he used the dropping frame technique whilst editing videos for a similar effect; both very simple but effective techniques and something possibly to bare in mind when we make our music videos.





In addition to this, he also explained other technical aspects of music video production including using a performance bed (shot the whole way through) and laying clips on top of each other to create the most interesting arrangement of narrative and performance. Jake also talked about the importance of a 'beauty shot' and how to achieve it; with impeccable lighting- often a ring light to reduce shadows and a back light to bring out hair and face from background.


Above all, Jake emphasised how the director needs to look at the bigger picture to ensure the video will all make sense. If the video includes a narrative, it should be able to make sense on its own and does not need to include everything, rather snippets to convey a story. The performance aspect of a video however is still extremely important- it could be a very simple set up with the band just going crazy (e.g Nojahoda in the carpark, previous Latymer Students viral success 'I Kissed a Boy') and performances with concepts (e.g the Super Furry Animals or Stereophonics videos) can be incredibly effective. A good location can make a video look very professional and is worth spending time considering. Finally, Jake stressed the importance of developing a pure reason behind your video and the look you're trying to achieve. His parting words? Keep it simple: 'the best music videos can be described in one line'.


Thanks Jake for a very entertaining and valuable talk and we look forward to working with you on the workshop!

Wednesday 22 June 2011

Task 1: Analyse a Music Video

What makes an effective music video?
I have chosen to analyse Radiohead's 'Just' (1995)
 


1 - Instant impact!

Because of the video’s twist ending, it is instantly memorable and recognisable. The deliberate ambiguity over what the man says and why he is lying there (and causes everyone else to lie down too) challenges audiences to try and work out just what is going on and prompts lots of questions as well as a desire to re-watch the video.


2 - Non-linear editing

The video features cross-cutting between a live performance by Radiohead in a block of flats and a man taking a walk near Liverpool Street and lying down on the pavement. This editing style is traditionally used to establish simultaneous action occurring in different locations, however the two separate narratives are cleverly interwoven as throughout the video the lead signer Thom Yorke is seen standing by an open window and with birds eye camera angles of the man on the floor we assume is overseeing the events below. At the end of the video the rest of the band join him. The use of parallel editing can be used to juxtapose characters creating a dichotomy between them as well as building suspense throughout the video through the expectations that it creates and in the hopes that it will be explained but in this case the ending is left open to interpretation making it frustrating for the audience and/ or all the more effective.

3 – Repetitions

Certain camera shots are repeated; for example the zoom in at the beginning of the video when the protagonist is standing infront of the bath is recreated at 0:52 but in reverse; the man is facing forwards and zooms out instead. There is also a heavy focus on feet throughout the video. 

There are several cuts throughout to the band performance scenes. Perhaps deliberately, there is a lot of religious lexis throughout the subtitled dialogue 'Jesus', 'Christ', and 'God' though whether this is intentional or not is never really explained.
4 - Strong sense of artist identity 
This is established by the performance in the house. (5 - A Performance) They appear very rockstar-cool- 'rocking out' very much absorbed in their instruments with typical signifiers such as moody faces, clothing such as leather jackets and Thom Yorke is pictured as typically eccentric with random choreography and facial expressions, often shot in close up or MCU to emphasise this. The mis en scene is minimal but features amps and cables aswell as all their instruments to establish that they are an indie or alternative band that play their own instruments as opposed to being heavily manufactured.

6 - Visual Pleasures

The director Jamie Thraves was chosen after the band had watched some of his experimental short films, therefore the video has quite a cinematic quality to it with a high quality look and interesting cinematography. Subtitles aren't often featured in music videos but serve in this case to propel the narrative forward, confuse the audience at the end and give the video a story telling quality, allowing viewers to focus on the action visually as well as listening to the song. The edges of each clip are blurred which adds interest aesthetically. The video was shot near Liverpool Street in London so the location is iconic and setting it in a highly business orientated area with lots of tall grandiose buildings only emphasises the isolation of the character and makes him appear smaller and vulnerable.

7 - Wow Factor!

The video definitely has a memorability factor but delivers more of a WTF? factor than perhaps a wow factor... However it certainly does 8 - Provoke a reaction which is vital to this music video's success. It is widely regarded as one of the best videos ever made and the ending plays on audience's curiousity giving it a viral quality making it incredibly playable and shareable.

9 - Works on different levels

This video is a great example of something working on different levels. The band said the song was written after true events where they “went to a party on the 15th floor of a block of flats, passed out at 3am, and woke up an hour later - there was a guy hanging - off his head - out the window saying "i'm gonna do it" took us half an hour to get him back..". The video has obvious connotations to this, e.g the open window and block of flats. But the question as to why he is lying in the pavement promotes deeper thought and understanding and could perhaps serve as a metaphor for something else and more complex than a song originally written about a 'narcissistic friend he [Thom] was compelled to elude. This song is about trying to get rid of someone who just won't go away.' The video has been described as the most frustrating ever written since it is impossible to work out what he says at the end and the band will never reveal the answer as it would 'deaden the impact and would probably make you want to lie down in the road too'. For this reason the video will be forever enigmatic and hold enduring appeal for years to come.

10 - Pop Culture

The video itself does not show too much evidence of pop culture as it seems to be highly conceptualised, in this respect almost timeless, dealing with an issue or thought as opposed to the current. However a good example of its effect on pop culture is the cover by Mark Ronson which sees them mimic the video in an almost tongue in cheek way by introducing a bin man discovering all the people lying in the road with subtitled dialogue and parallel cutting to a live performance. It is only due to the video's iconic status that it is able to be parodied and therefore shows its popularity among music fans.