CINEMATOGRAPHY
Cinematography is the position and movement of the camera, combined with the composition of the shot.
In this section I will be analysing the cinematography in three music videos and they will influence the planning and making of our own.
In this section I will be analysing the cinematography in three music videos and they will influence the planning and making of our own.
MUSIC VIDEO 1
STRESS BY JUSTICE
This music video uses hand held cameras, making the most of long, medium and close up shots. Long shots help establish the mood of the scene which include its context ie. time, weather and place. Medium shots help show the relationships and how people communicate. Close up shots are used to highlight profiles, looking at both the camera and away, they are used to either engage the audience or arouses them more.
The use of hand held cameras following the characters suggests that is in a documentary style in both a reflexive and a observational mode. 'Reflexive' mode makes the audience aware that they are watching a documentary, and 'Observational' mode is associated with fly on the wall type documentaries. They appear to have been filmed in 'real time' as if the camera has come upon the events while characters are unaware of the filming taking place.
The shots of the group of youths are often from a low angle; this is to create the illusion that they are bigger that what they actually are, this then gives them a sense of higher status.
During the music video there are shots that are made to look as if they are from a CCTV and documentary camera. This creates an atmosphere and adds a more realistic sense to the filming.
The use of hand held cameras following the characters suggests that is in a documentary style in both a reflexive and a observational mode. 'Reflexive' mode makes the audience aware that they are watching a documentary, and 'Observational' mode is associated with fly on the wall type documentaries. They appear to have been filmed in 'real time' as if the camera has come upon the events while characters are unaware of the filming taking place.
The shots of the group of youths are often from a low angle; this is to create the illusion that they are bigger that what they actually are, this then gives them a sense of higher status.
During the music video there are shots that are made to look as if they are from a CCTV and documentary camera. This creates an atmosphere and adds a more realistic sense to the filming.
MUSIC VIDEO 2
A TEAM BY ED SHEERAN
Within the video there are many close ups of the protagonist face. This creates a feeling of sympathy from the audience towards the protagonist because the lyrics link to what we are seeing, a neglected life. The fact that the video is filmed with handheld cameras and static cameras which follow the young girl, gives the sense of a documentary/social realist style of filming. This also gives the impression that the film was made with a reasonable low budget. In fact 'The A Team' music video was made for £20, in which the money was spent on fishnets and a crack pipe.
Another low angle shot shows her to be looking up at the sky, it makes her look lost and almost as if she is on drugs.
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There are low angle shots where you are only able to see her duvet she is carrying and the holes in her stockings, from this angle it emphasises what she has got, or in fact what she hasn't got.
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MUSIC VIDEO 3
FEATHERSTONE BY THE PAPER KITES
Within the video there are many close ups of the characters faces. This helps the audience identify the children's emotions towards each other. The use of a tripod and dolly track, help produce clean shots, which capture the movement of the children and the variety of longs shots, help justify their location. The distance between the camera and the children helps make them look alone and isolated. This also allows the audience to feel as though they are watching, without the characters knowing. This is an example of an observational styled video. As the camera has come upon these events, when the characters are unaware of the filming taking place.
THE INFLUENCE ON MY OWN MUSIC VIDEO
Our music video 'Not at Home' wants to be more of a observational than a reflexive documentary. Justice is an example of a reflexive observational documentary, but we dont want the audience to think that they are watching a film, we want them to consider it as real life. We want to create a verisimilitude. In all three music videos, the camera clearly follows the characters to create a reality. We used a number of close ups throughout our music video, to identify the contrast of facial expressions, from the start to the end. The wide shots used helped show the spaces in which the characters occupied in.
We wanted to present a clear juxtapostion between the busy locations and spaces people live and eat, to the image of the older character knowing she is having to sleep the night with her daughter in a rundown building. She is trying to hideaway her pain from Daisy and her emotions suddenly change once she knows Daisy is asleep. She doesnt want her child to feel and see her sadness.