Rough Cut Analysis Through Goodwins Points and Micro Elements

Goodwins Points Analysis

1. Genre Characteristics

We have tried to conform to the genre characteristics, one of which is that there is a fair chunk of performance in the video. We were able to get hold of a couple of guitars and a drum kit, and having access to these gave us the opportunity to film quite a lot of performance sequences to include in the video. Another genre characteristic is that there is also a narrative part to the video running alongside the performance. We have included this in our video as well, and switch between the two intermittently. By using both we try to go with the genre as well as we can and the instruments we use are typically used in indie rock music and videos as well.

2. Visuals/Lyrics

We have matched the visuals and the lyrics as much as we feel is appropriate in the video, it gives the video more meaning if the lyrics match it. An example is at 0:53 when the lyrics say 'you wanted me to stay at home, but I didn't want to' and we see the singer leaving his house.

3. Visuals/Music

Matching the video cuts to the beat of the music is something we have attempted all throughout the video so far, when the audience is watching the video it makes it easier to watch as the video flows to the beat. It also makes the video look more professional rather than tacky with bad editing.

4. Need To Sell Artist

Throughout the video so far it is evident that the artist is the prominent figure, as record labels will want the artist as the main person in the video for promotional reasons. Also, the audience mainly want to see the artist as usually it is the person they are interested in watching.

5. Intertextuality

We haven't really used much intertextuality throughout the video, there is one example where the artist during the performances sequences is wearing a Nirvana t-shirt. The reason why there isn't much intertextuality included is that we didn't have many things that we thought would be relevant to include in the video.

6. Voyeurism

Voyeurism is used throughout the video so far, the audience sees the artist at home and by the small amount of the house shown would be able to see what home life is like. They also see places that the artist would be likely to generally hang out as well.

Micro Elements Analysis

1. Editing

We have used many editing techniques throughout the video so far. We have used a desaturation filter over the performance parts of the video as the bright green background in the performance sections don't suit the genre of the video well. Editing on the beat is another technique, which makes the video flow and look more professional. We used a fade at the start of the video to bring it in not suddenly but smoothly. Another technique we used is speeding up a clip. When you see the artist going through the house quickly we sped up the clip 500% and it matches the lyrics and the beat of the music intensifies at this point, and matches it quite well.

2. Cinematography

We used many different shot types throughout the video to make it more appealing to the audience. If the same shot type was used all the time the video would be dull and plain. We have used the normal close up and mid shots which just add a variation of distance between the camera and the object (artist normally), we have also used a tracking shot/over the shoulder shot where the camera follows the artist through the house. We have used high angle shots over the drummer to give an overall view of him and the drum kit, and also over the artist singing when he is lying on the sofa. Extreme close ups on the instruments to see the band members playing them. A low angle shot looking up at the artist singing during one of the performance sequences. Canted angle shots when looking down the guitar strings which looks quite funky and adds a unique shot into the sequence.

3. Sound

The main sound in the video is the track playing, however we have also at the beginning of the video left in the diegetic sound of what sounds like the end of the band practicing before starting to perform the main song, one of the band members flicking the switch on the amp and then plugging in a guitar, then the non-diegetic sound of the track starts as soon as the wire is plugged in.

4. Mise-En-Scene

For mise-en-scene, everything within the frame, we made sure that the costumes worn were different between the performance and narrative sequences, and as we filmed the performance on two separate days we made sure of this as well. If the artist was seen wearing two different costumes in the same scene continuity would be impacted upon and the video wouldn't look as professional. We only used natural lighting in our video, even though we did have access to other lights when we actually got to film we saw that the natural light was perfectly adequate for what we were wanting to do. In one part of the video which isn't included in the rough cut, where we make the artist stand under a street light which gives a orange glow over him as he says the lines 'I started to smile as you put out the fire' to give a fire-like effect. The only props used were a coat for when the artist was outside, alcohol in some sequences not included yet to show him having a good time with his friends and the instruments used when performing. We used three main locations in the rough cut, the performance space, the house and the forest. A couple more locations will be included later in the video, the use of a few locations introduces variations into the video as the same place would get boring after three and a half minutes of music. Make-up and hair weren't considered in the video, especially as its an all male band and and indie band suggests a care-free approach which means that they wouldn't worry about what they look like.

Improvements

1. Experiment with some other filters, rather than just looking at the normal desaturation filter we could use some others to see what effect they can have to improve the video and make it more appealing to the audience.

2. Use more cuts, the beat of the song is fairly quick it is just deciding whether to edit on to the main beats or the majority of the beats, seeing what one works better as if we edited on the majority it might be a bit too quick, whereas on the main beats it might seem too slow.

3. Include more intertextuality, as we only have 1 reference of the Nirvana t-shirt and that isn't enough to fully say we have used intertextuality, we could fit it in during the narrative sequences more when he is out in the town and at his house.

4. Get a larger performance space, the space in which we filmed the performance aspects of the video is very small and cramped to fit 2 guitarists, a drummer and drum kit and to film it all. We would need to try and get hold of a bigger performance area to make it look more professional and also so that we can film much easier and get more variation in the shots we took.

5. Include more people in the video, typical indie groups normally have about 5 members and sometimes have extras as well, whereas we weren't able to get hold of anyone else apart from 1 person who is included in the narrative sequence in town. This would give more variation in character and gives more content as well.

Additional Time Usage

If we were to use an additional nights filming time we would most likely go back to the narrative sections and refilm some of them as we could get more variations in the shots we took and while we are at it include some more intertextuality as well. The sections would be in town which isn't included in the video yet, as there are some shots where some equipment has crept into the shot and so it looks unprofessional. Also, the weather wasn't kind to us on the day we filmed that sequence and so we would hope for a dry evening of filming which would make the general lighting better and the general location would look better in the dry than it does in the wet.