The War on Drugs - Under the Pressure

I found the lighting and editing techniques in this music video to be very interesting. The video is extremely simple, it is entirely performance based and includes minimal locations, typical of the indie genre. What it lacks in an interesting narrative, it makes up for with various interesting editing effects.

I like the layering effect of the shots pictured below as this helps to create a more fluid transition between shots, this is an idea that could work well within our video as we have many locations that need to be linked together. I also like the bright, unrealistic colour palette. As this deviates from the usual conventions of the indie genre, specifically, having a black and white colour palette, the music video is made to be more exciting and unique, making it more appealing to the audience.

The transluscent layered shots combined with a complimentary colour palette help to create the calm atmosphere that the song evokes. This shows how editing techniques can enhance a particular atmosphere. As we are now beginning to edit our music video, we will need to think about what effects could be used to enhance our themes of disorientation and hypnotism.

 

I particularly liked this shot as I like the lighting effects that have been used. The layered shots of different effects, such as small moving 'dots' of light and long horizontal rays of light that swipe across the frame, compliment each other as well as the calm, slow-paced song. The repetitive nature of the light's movements also reflects the repetitive aspect of the song, this creates a strong link between the music and the visual, linking back to Goodwin's theory.

Mini Mansions - Death is a Girl

I like the lighting used in Mini Mansions' 'Death is a Girl'. The video takes place in a police stations, with the narrative of the artist's being taken in for questioning. Due to the setting, interesting lighting effects have been used, for example, high-key lighting and fast, bright flashes occur as the artists are being photographed for their mugshots. Flashing and strobing red and blue coloured lights can also be seen, linking in with the idea of police (red and blue being the colour of a police siren). The lighting helps to make the video more unique and dynamic as there is a range of different effects, from high-key to low-key, from still light to flashing light. The flashing is also in time with the music, flashes occurring on-beat, this links to Goodwin's theory of having a relationship between music and visual.

We have already included lighting effects in our music video. We used a hand-held light with coloured filters whilst filming in the studio in order to create flashes. I would like to add more lighting effects in our other locations as this could help to create a disorientating atmosphere, enhancing our narrative of feeling lost and confused.


I particularly liked this effect as having multiples of the same shot being shown simultaneously adds to the feeling of confusion. The shot evokes feelings of being in a daze or being 'hypnotised', this effect could work well within our video as we also want to convey the idea of hypnotism.

Disclosure - Jaded

We were inspired by the editing of Disclosure's 'Jaded'. There is a particular section (shown below)where there is extremely fast paced editing of the same shot of a person sat in a chair, but the identity of the person changes with each 'flash'. I like the flickering of the lights within this shot as it helps to create a disorientating atmosphere, I think that this effect would link in with our narrative of a confused protagonist in a hypnotised state.



This music video also portrays ideas of hypnotism, with the explicit, instantly identifiable sign of a swinging chain. In our music video, however, we want to imply the hypnosis of our character more subtly, through fast paced editing and flashing lights, we hope that this will create an overwhelming atmosphere that will reflect the protagonist's emotions.

Lighting Inspiration

Whilst researching other music videos, the group discovered two techniques that we are thinking of using in our music video. The first is from the Calvin Harris & Disciples video for 'How Deep is Your Love':

I like the use of different coloured lights as it helps to create an energised atmosphere. The vibrancy would make our video more unique and exciting, I like that we could use colour as a way to express the character's emotions as colours are usually associated with a specific feeling, I think that this would be very effective as we want to present a reckless, disorientated character. I think that we could achieve this effect either by using a filter on the camera, coloured lighting or in post-production where we can change the colours of clips in iMovie.

The second technique that we liked is from The Weeknd's video for 'The Zone':

I like the idea of projecting images or videos behind the character in the music video, it makes for a more interesting background instead of a black or white screen. As we wanted to film in an urban area, this would be relevant as we could project onto a brick wall similar to the one in the 'The Zone' video.