Covering the Album

"Whatever, I don't need money-I am money.”
-Ke$ha

As research for our album cover, Lana and I researched into conventions of electro-pop that are expressed in an intriguing fashion. Prominent aspects of an electro-pop artist's image include glitter, plastic, high fashion, pvc/leather, angular/abstract poses and edgy themes, such as shapes, animals and the future. These aspects differentiate artists from the mainstream, with the concept of flashy fashion and expressive sexuality becoming a theme related to the musical nature of the artist and their image.

Our research lead us to a number of covers:

Santigold - Santigold

I found the concept of releasing glitter from the mouth/throwing it up a very interesting concept. The expression of the artist throwing up a beautiful shining object is shocking but effective, representing the artist's alternative image. This may influence the photoshoot I'll take for the cover.

Kylie Minogue - X

The use of high fashion is very much apparent in the use of the alternative headpiece, as well as the dramatic makeup-the pale white skin, and the deep scarlet lips/nails. Another theme is the futuristic editing of the picture-the image seems to double itself into yellow and red versions of the original picture. This is a reference to the use of 3D glasses, which I have perceived as a futuristic concept.

Perfume - GAME

This cover is clearly futuristic, with the large beams of light placed at interesting angles. The outfits are also largely alternative and interesting, and I found the use of simple props putting forward an eye-catching image very influential.

Editing

"I'm not doing this for myself; I'm doing this because it's my destiny."

-Robyn

Editing the video proved to be challenging yet rewarding, and experience from preliminary activities and our AS Level work provided abilities that gave us a step ahead in our work, as well as enabling us to express our desired effects and thematic ideas to advance the quality of our work. The program we used is Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0.

The editing techniques we used were consistent and avoided being over the top, so that the quality of the video mostly relied on the imagery, and not the 'artificial' edits that are applied-although shots such as the 'Mirror' shots relied on the effects applied to it to give life to the contents. Regardless, we used our understanding of the program as well as developing it, looking into and experimenting with other effects that were provided, to piece together the video in a manner that suited our desired result.

The program features several different windows with different functions:

The Top Menu

This small menu gives me quick access to all major aspects of the program, such as changing the windows that are shown, opening/creating files, importing data and so on.

The Project Window

The project window acts as the storage for all of the imported files, including audio, pictures and videos. Here I can organise the files I wish to incorporate, and select which to edit.

The Effects Window

The effects window contains all of the programs numerous effects, organising them into selective folders that separate different areas of editing, such as audio, video, transitions, etc.

Source Viewing/Effects Editor/Audio Mixer

In this window, I am able to view source files before placing them on the timeline on the 'Source' tab, on the 'Effects' tab I am able to change the settings of the clip or effects I have applied, as well as changing the degree at which the video is shown, the Opacity, how zoomed in the footage is and so on. The Audio Mixer tab allows me to change a variety of aspects of the audio.

Timeline

The timeline is vital to the entire process, and it is here where you place the videos and audio you wish to edit.

Title Maker

The title maker can be accessed by pressing Title-->New Title-->Default Still. This opens an empty title window, and allows me to create a title from scratch.

Lastly is the Program window, in which you simply view the videos you are viewing in the timeline.

Next, here are the effects that were most notably used throughout the video, as well as descriptions as to why we used them and how they presented our desired idea:

Echo

The Echo effect forces the image to overlap itself and repeat what it had done at a desired previous time. Whilst it created an atmospheric effect that envelops the viewer's attention, I found its use in Perfect Circle was more suitable in how it effects the lighting of the shot, duplicating the brightness whilst giving the image a sleek futuristic feel for movement.

Ghosting

Ghosting, instead of repeating the movement like the Echo effect, follows the movement instead. This creates a haunting atmosphere, giving the movement an unsettling abstract quality, presenting a daze-like perspective on the image. This effect was highly useful and relevant as it created an uneven flow, which settles in the avant-garde genre.

Mirror

The Mirror effect essentially mirrors the image, and its effect window allows me to change where it appears on the screen, and to what degree it reflects the image, as well as its direction. This effect proved useful in creating imagery that would engage the interest of the viewer, as it gave life to otherwise subtle shots. Also, the dramatic angles convert the traditional shot into an artistic piece, much like avant-garde cinema.

Opacity

Using the Opacity function, I found two major uses that I could incorporate into the video. Firstly, decreasing the opacity on a lone clip lowers the lighting in a moody, grainy manner-unlike lowering the Brightness settings. I found this to be useful when trying to bring out the dramatic tension of the imagery, and strongly relates to the darker aspects of my research. But, the most vital use for opacity is increasing the transparency of a video. So, by placing the 'glitter' clip above the 'sitting down' clip on the timeline, and then I lower the 'glitter' clip's opacity, as you can see above, both become visible. This proved to be very effective, as it allowed me to give the viewer more things to concentrate on, which heavily relates to the Surrealist movement of the 1920s.

Additive Dissolve

Additive dissolve is a type of transition. Unlike the cross dissolve transition, the following image simply overlaps the previous one. I found this effective because it allowed me to create a feeling of speed being elevated, as the shots slam directly into the next. I also used the effect to create a match-on-action styled transition, as you can see above-Daniella sitting down, and her face aligning with the next shot of her walking towards the camera. This creates a sense of pace, which proves to be very effective.

Cross Dissolve

Cross dissolve is another transition. Unlike additive dissolve, cross dissolve makes the previous shot fade into nothing, as the next shot fades from nothing. I found this to be very effective when I intended to make a clear scene-change, as well as the seemingly dark fading adding a sense of hostility towards the following clip. This anxiousness notably attributes German Expressionist ideals.

Motion Effects (Position/Scale/Rotation)

Changing the position, scale and rotation of the video can prove to be very effective in terms of accentuating partitions of a shot, opposed to directly filming the area separately. An example is the picture above, which is taken from a long-shot, and using the scale and position tools, zooming in on the video and showing a certain area. This allowed me to express directly onto major aspects of the shot, such as the shoes, her body, her crown, her lip-syncing and so on.

Horizontal Flip

The use of the Horizontal Flip allowed us to create a consistency following the mirroring effect. The quick cuts between the original image and the horizontally flipped image (above) acted as a continuation from the previous shots that involved the Mirror effect, and is a clear reference.

Speed/Duration

The Speed/Duration effect was used several times throughout the video. This effect allows me to speed up or slow down the video to any extent I desire, as well as reversing the playback of the clip I have selected. This enabled me to experiment with the different theories and idea I had researched into.

The Problems We Faced Filming

"It's not important to me that people understand me."
-Kate Bush

Filming the music video completely scrapped any predictions Lana and I had made, and we found difficulties and benefits in areas we did not expect to face.

Firstly, the weather proved to be a notable issue. Our model, Daniella Gordenfelt, was required to wear a revealing outfit to maintain our electro-pop image. The night we filmed was particularly cold, and there was also light rain-which proved to be a hassle in terms of her hair, make-up and health. This lead to time constraints, and for the sake of her welfare, we took Daniella in and out of my house between filming each scene.
A picture of Daniella in her outfit:


We also had the issue of taking care of the equipment in the outdoor conditions. We held an umbrella over the camera equipment at all times, and luckily the rain nor the wind was strong enough to touch or damage the camera.
A picture of how we filmed:


Another factor that proved to be an issue was the lighting on the camera. Due to the damp weather and cloudy skies, the area was very dark-thus we had to experiment with the camera's settings to be able to capture visible footage. We discovered that on the side of the camera, hidden under a panel, is a dial that allowed us to change the brightness of the camera. The brightness ended up effecting the color of the image, converting to a pink/red color. This proved to beneficial, as red is a color that we intend to keep consistent in the artist, Ultra Violet's, image-along with the color purple.

Another issue we faced in filming was the height of the equipment, and the height of the shots we intended to film. Lana had an issue with reaching the camera throughout all of the outdoor shots, which resulted in me filming all of them. Lana, however, filmed most of the shots in my house, of Daniella in her chair, and on the sofa.

There were also issues with illness. For the concert sequences that took place in my school's theatre, Lana was ill on our scheduled date, and due to time constraints, it resulted in me filming all of the shots, as well as compiling the other shots I filmed for the concert projection myself. I also hired a lighting technician, whom failed to show.

I had great difficulty filming as well as arranging the actors and equipment, all of which consisted of having to get the actors themselves to control lighting, and having to arrange with the school's staff for my male actor, Jonathan Cobbing, to enter the school-as he is not a student, whilst Daniella is. Whilst this was a difficult task, it proved to be successful, and I feel rewarded by the sense of independence I needed to develop at the very last minute.

Lana and I also faced many artistic differences, as well as Lana facing a block on ideas for the video. This lead to me having to create and film shots such as the red cone shot and the large white needle glasses shot, whilst Lana dealt with taking pictures for our blogs, as well as holding lights and so on.
A picture of us working:

Risk Assessment

"Poor is the man who's pleasures depend on the permission of another."
-Madonna

Filming In Studio:

Filming in Outside Park Areas:

Filming in Theatre:


Filming in Changing Rooms:

Researching Film Locations

"I understand it's my role to realise people's dreams."
-Ayumi Hamasaki

Here are pictures I took as research for our video:

All of the images share a consistent similarity: the essence of domesticity, the 'local' feeling. This aligns with our desired theme of alternative fashion being casually present in modern society, that we discovered through Róisín Murphy-'attacking' the mainstream. Using these locations, if we film our model in our desired alternative clothing, a clear contrast will be present-the alternative/futuristic person amongst typical surroundings.

Storyboarding

"I don't like defining myself. I just am."
-Britney Spears

As part of our course and out of general convenience, we were required to make a storyboard to plan our film. Whilst the filming highly differed from what we originally intended within the storyboard, it still acted as the foundation of our story, our ideas, and the images presented within the film: