Camera Angle

Directors use different camera angles in order to engage the audience, make sure they know whats going on or to make you focus on something in particular. In order to do this, there are a range of angles they could use.

I have looked at Blank Space by Taylor Swift to show the different camera angles.

Extreme long shot

Used so the viewers can see everything in a room or at a place. Can demonstrate wealth (like this shot)

Two Shot

Two shots generally show intimacy between two characters or subjects.

Close Up

A close up makes the subject look bigger, more important and makes the audience focus on something in particular like facial expression.

Medium Close Up

Medium close ups normally make the viewer focus on something/someone or it can withhold information.

Ariel Shot

This shot gives an overview of whats going on. It can make the subjects in it look small, worthless and unwanted.

Low angle

A low angle shot makes the characters look important or superior. It can also put the audience in an inferior position.

Over-The-Shoulder Shot

This can help the viewers to see what another character is seeing or become part of the action/conversation/narrative

Looking at the camera angles in this music video has helped me to understand conventions of music videos and also it has helped me to get an understanding of which camera angles are best in which situations to correspond with the emotion of the narrative.

Pinterest Pin Board

Follow Robyn's board Indie Folk on Pinterest.

I made this Pin Board as a mood board for ideas about costume, setting, camera angles, lighting and filters that I could use to create my final music video. It has really helped me to understand what I should be including in my video as I could ask my target audience what sort of things they liked about the pin board so I could change it around. I will use this as inspiration for most of the shots, editing and costume for my video

Andrew Goodwin

"Dancing in the Distraction Factory" 1992

Andrew Goodwin focused on: Editing through the beats so the editing and the song matched
                                                 The voice of the artist reflecting in the song
                                                 The music video containing a narrative and a performance which                                                                                                                                           advertises the artist
                                                 The video containing a star image/ performer
                                                 Technical codes
                                                 Relation of visuals to the song

Matching the editing with the song helps to bond the song to the video as a fast song will probably have lots of editing and cutting but a slower song will have less. This type of editing can also add structure to the video as well as help to tell the story or narrative of the video to the audience. This could also represent the style or particular identity of the artist.

The star image of the video helps the audiences associate the song with that particular artist by having the artist in the video. Some genres, like folk, have the artist as a performer running alone side the narrative but some genres,  like pop for example, have the artist in the narrative as well as performing in the video.

Goodwin said the relation of visuals to the song is always there to promote the music video. This is done in 3 ways;

Illustrate- The meaning of the song is made very clear from the visuals in the video.

Amplify- The meaning of the song is exaggerated through the use of visuals.

Disjuncture- This is where the meaning of the song is completely ignored.

Codes and Conventions

Codes

Codes can be audio,visual and technical. They are signs that tell the audience what genre the video is. This means that they are always predictable and formulaic which draws in the audience and is easy for a producer to sell to make them more profit. Codes always remain the same but can change in different settings or scenarios.They are generally a cultural frame of reference.

Technical codes are all to do with the way a text is technically constructed for example camera angles, framing, typography, lighting, costume and props.

Verbal codes are everything to do with language either written or symbolic.

Character codes

Plot codes

Structure codes

Cultural codes

Production codes

Conventions

These are recognisable devices which are subject to change over time to sustain interest, reinvent the genre, for sub genres or hybrid genres. Conventions are signs and codes put together. They are habits or long accepted ways of doing something. Conventions can change a lot as a genre developed but if they are changes too quickly or too many at a time then the audience may not understand what is going on.

A music video can either adhere, subvert or challenge conventions.

Possible music video genres

Music Video- Of monsters and Men, Empire

This music video is an Indie Folk video which is one of the genres I am considering for my main task. In this video, the whole thing is in black and white which from the very beginning connotes the genre. Also, the music video has a clear narrative which is common amongst this genre. In terms of camera angles, the video contains a variety of various angles such as medium close ups, long shots, two shots, over the shoulder shots and follow shots. There is lots of cutting though out the video which helps with the narrative and also adds to the feel of the story. The use of editing and camera angles makes a viewer sympathise with the characters in the music video.

Task Brief

A promotion package for the release of an album to include a music promo video, together with two of the following:

A website homepage for the band

A cover for its release on DVD

A magazine advertisement for the DVD

OR

A short film in its entirety, lasting approximately five minutes, which may be live action or animated or a combination of both, together with two of the following three options:

A poster for the film

A radio trailer for the film

A film magazine review page featuring the film



I chose to do a music video with a magazine advertisement and a digipak because I already have a reasonable amount of skills needed to create these products. I understand conventions of different music genres because of my coursework last year having done a front cover, contents page and double page spread for a pop music magazine and this meant that I also had skills in Photoshop meaning that I could use these skill to create the poster and digipak. I decided not to do the short film because of my existing knowledge on music videos and I lacked knowledge in short films. Similarly, I do not currently have the skills to create a website homepage for the band.

Fight Club Genre Research