Guildford Council Letter Requiring Video Shoot Permission

Millmead House

Millmead
Guildford
Surrey
GU2 4BB
United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 01483 505050
Email: customerservices@guildford.gov.uk


To whom It may concern,

We are a group of A level media students from Hurtwood House School.
We are writing to you for permission to film in Guildford town center and other surrounding areas for our coursework. The video would consist of people wandering the streets. There are two different groups within our video, this is made up youths and a group of the older generation. The youths will be leading the older generation by a guitar lead as bait to capture them. All of the capturing will be filmed in our studios at school.

The video will not be defamating the image of your town what so ever, there will also be no reference to  the name of the town or any street names. Any mess will be automatically cleared up. We will be supervised by our teachers under strict instructions. We also are writing to possibly get permission to shoot a wide shot of Guildfords Skatepark? again any mess will be cleared. The video has currently been set in date for Wednesday the 9th of November. We are planning to film at around about 4:00pm In Guildford after spending the morning filming at school.

We would appreciate a response and hope to hear from you soon.

Many thanks
Patch Wadsworth, Holly Finlay, Oscar Jackson, Charlie Lindsay


Hurtwood House School
Holmbury St Mary
Dorking
Surrey
RH5 6NU

Account of Preliminary Music Video Shoot

After watching several music videos such as the ones below, from artists such as Fall Out Boy and Green Day, I have noticed several shot types which recurr within videos of the same genre. Particular shots such as extreme close ups on the lead singer's mouth, and manic panning and tracking shots of the band. This later influenced me to make these choices when writing up a shot list and building a timeline of the music video.

Before the shoot I had made many preparations with my group members to ensure that on the day of the shoot we would look professional and well prepared. For example, we created a timeline of our part of the song, writing which shot we were going to use for each second. A very grungy and dirty set had been built the day before, with some sterile lighting to juxtapose to the dark surroundings. Then we set up the camera and had playback ready to go.

I encountered a few problems whilst trying to piece my video together. For example, my group had a whole minute to film for, when the remaining groups only had 30 seconds, with only 25 minutes to shoot with. Therefore we were very pressured for time which created a very stressful and rushed experience, which felt like we had captured barely any shots. However we could have improved this by perhaps having a longer time or perhaps using easier shots. As we had many specialised shots.

I enjoyed using the studio as it made the experience flow much easier as we had all the equipment we needed to do the video. The set helped to portray and highlight the moody and dirty atmosphere and the genre of the music. It was quite dark in the studio, but we were able to use lighting, which made the shots look more interesting. Due to the darkness of the band and the set in the studio, we were able to manipulate the lighting to make it fit to the mise en scene of the video. So we used dimmed low levelled lighting to create a moody and low key atmosphere, keeping with the bands image.

Using a timeline helped to give us a foundation for our editing. We were able to decide which shots we wanted for particular parts of the song. However we faced some problems with finding a good looking shot but being certain that the track fitted the shots. I also found it very hard using the technology however got the hang of it by the end of the session.

Throughout the production, I took the role of Director and Sound Technician. I enjoyed being the director as I was able to get my ideas and thughts through to the band and to my group directly. However I didnt enjoy being sound technician as much as it was rather boring and frustrating, to have to keep starting and stopping the music! I think we worked very well as a team, and used constructive criticism rather than arguing. I think it helped that we were all already friends so we were able to share ideas comfortably.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this exercise and I think it has successfully prepared me for next years work. I understad there is alot of work to do but now that I know what to expect I think that I will be successful. Our video looks great and we worked very hard to make it, so our hard work has paid off.

Music Video - 'Acres of Life' Research & Ideas

Name of Artist:- "Acres of Life"
Name of track:- "I Like To Make The Pretty Girls Smile"



Research from looking at music videos by "Fall Out Boy" and "Metrostation"

"Fall Out Boy" - Dance, Dance



Metrostation performing "17 Forever" on GMTV




Camerawork:-

• Tracking shot around the band
• Close ups on lead singer
• Wide shots to show band members jumping around
• Low angle shots making them look god-like
• Over-the-shoulder shots of drummer.
• Zoom in and out

Editing:-

• Fast pace
• Sharp cuts
• Rhythmic editing
• Shot lengths speed up to rhythm of song

Mise-en-scene

• Videos tend to be humorous
• Sensitive themes, e.g. bullying
• Quite controversial & destructive
• "Breaking down barriers"
• Focuses on themes specific to target audience (16-24 yr olds) e.g. Prom and Cheerleaders
• Dialogue during song or before

Analysis of Narrative Theory For 3 Music Videos

"Stan" Eminem ft Dido


"Happy" Leona Lewis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooaJTv7janw

"When You Were Young" - The Killers

Star Image - Beyonce Knowles

A2 Media Studies "Research into Star Image"

Analysis and Evaluation of ‘Power’ by Kanye West

In this essay I will be analysing how the star image is portrayed through their video and which themes are explored. I will explain this through looking at the elements of mis-en-scene, editing and camerawork.

Firstly the mis-en-scene in this video helps to highlight the stars image by Kanye West to showing his ethnic background. For example, West is the only coloured male in the entire video. This is highlighted with his black clothing when the rest of the actors/dancers are white females dressed in white angelic dresses. Therefore this highlights ‘Black Power’ which makes it very controversial. Kanye is being portrayed as a god-like figure, having a black god is also very controversial. Kanye is also wearing a big golden chain, which reflects his wealth. This subverts to the stereotype of black people being poor, reflecting upon historical situations e.g. slave trade.

The location of the scene is portrayed as Heaven. Creating a very stereotypical image for the audience. This shows us that Kanye wanted to make sure that the audience would know that it was heaven to support his star image of being a religious man. The temple pillars surrounding West highlights how he is a godly figure and should be worshipped, highlighting his star image that he dominates the industry and should therefore be worshipped by his fans.

The females in the video are all holding weapons and wearing animalistic horns, which seem threatening and make them seem powerful. Despite this, the women are all stood beneath Kanye and are all facing towards him, as if in worship. This highlights his dominance and how he should be praised for his work. It also highlights how the women may be worshiping him in other ways, in a sexual manner. Therefore showing that only women are worshiping him then he may be seen as a sexual object. Portraying a ‘sex-god’ image to his followers.

One of the women in this scene directly below Kanye has large phoenix wings. This conveys Kanye’s fantasy and over the top world which he may be living in. Showing the audience that he has a very artistic , eccentric and exaggerated approach to life, making him seem interesting.

The central beam of heavenly bright light, above Kanyes head, again symbolises his god like presence as well as helping to keep his figure clear amongst all the surroundings of the video. Along with many other symbolic objects, such as the women pouring water over themselves, highlights baptism. The dagger highlights the symbol of sacrifice and the halo above West’s head symbolises how he is angelic, which juxtaposes to his bad boy image.

Towards the end of the video, two white males with swords go to smite Kanye but before they can hit him, the video finishes. This symbolises how Kanye is indestructible and how no ne will ever be able to beat him. Portraying a ‘hard-man’ image.  Overall the mis-en-scene represents themes of power, race, authority, religion and sex.  Showing Kanye Wests image of being a ruler in the music industry.

The editing in this video helps to portray the same themes. The perspective is of Kanye’s the entire time. He has the most screen time. Therefore this shows his star image as being dominant and in the lead, again highlighting his god like status. It also shows the audience how he wants all the attention to be on him, showing that he may be slightly arrogant, which in time will affect his star image.

The pace of the video seems very slow. The movements are all in slow motion effect. This highlights how Kanye has the power to control the scene. This symbolises the lyrics of the song and again his star image of being a ruler. It also highlights how he may have the power to ‘stop time’ almost. Again conveying his strength or wealth. However the editing speeds up during shots of the women, highlighting sexuality. The motto of ‘fast women’ could be symbolised,which is part of Kanyes image. Then towards the end, the video cuts to an image of the word ‘POWER’ and Kanye is still central to this image. Showing that Kanye is at the centre of all power. Indicating his star image.

Kanye is trying to portray a narrative that he is a man of power which relates to the lyrics of the song. He is a God like figure of religion and sex, which juxtappose’s each other. Possibly highlighting how he is torn between religion and his bad boy image.

The camerawork also shows his star image, as he owns the most close ups. Showing his importance. The camera tracks away from Kanye who is central permanently in the shots and throughout the video.  As this is happening the camera reveals more and more females. This shows how Kanyes star image is based on sexuality and how women are an important factor to his work/life.

The rule of thirds is another important factor as Kanye is always central. This leads to a dominant and worshipful symbolism, which highlights his power and godliness. It also shows his male authority where he is the only male dominating all of these women. Conveying perhaps a sexist approach as he is able to control so many women. However the female sitting beneath Kanye is facing away from him and looking directly at the camera. This shows how she too is powerful yet she is under Kanye so she is inferior to him. This shows that Kanye is superior to even other powerful women. Again, leading to a rather sexist view. However it could also show that women are of great importance to Kanye and that’s why he wants them around him so much. Overall the editing shows his authoritive nature and sexuality. Which are both elements of his star image.