WEEK 2 - research in to similar videos
Video 1 – BASTILLE ‘Fake It’
The area of this video which I would like to replicate
relates to the narrative structure behind the political message and how this
was shot; The story is not entirely explicit as the narrative follows
unrealistic and impossible scenarios – mainly focusing on the difference
between the politician’s actions in real life and those portrayed to the
public. Another aspect of the video I would like to replicate is the direction
in which it addresses the current affairs. Like stated previously, the meaning
of the video isn’t entirely explicit narratively, however it is also able to
draw strong correlations to real and current political figures and affairs
without ever including or mentioning them.
Cinematography
Throughout the majority of the video, the politician is
centrally framed in a medium shot to represents what the studio camera feeds to
the media and public. However as the video progresses we start to realise that
this feed is fake and out of sync with real life events; this is particularly
seen when the camera pans towards the monitor with a shallow depth of field to
blur out the politician’s actual actions. This medium-long shot is repeated a
couple of times throughout the video to represent the character’s descent into
chaos.
We also see other shots to represent the character’s genuine
outlook on the situation. The close up shots particularly highlight this as we
get a change to look at his face in detain and not through the eye of the
camera. The artist further exaggerated the politician’s displeasure and genuine
state of mind when Dutch tilts are added to some shots.
the editing of the shot length in this video relate to the
non-diegetic song accompanying it by: editing to the beat; tonal changes of the
song; and changes between the chorus and verses. However, despite the actual
music being non-diegetic, almost the entire song is lip-synced by the
politician in his speech. Not only does this allow the viewer to focus on the
words as well as the video content, but it also relates the lyrics to the
politician’s actions.
Mise-en-scene
The mise-en-scene of this video follows the aesthetics of a broadcasting
studio where the politician recites his speech. Despite the mundane setting, the
artist uses the empty space around the main character to create a sense of
isolation. The symbol decorating the backdrop also adds an omnibus and almost
threatening nature to the studio as its dark blacked out colours remain ever
present through almost every shot.
The video also utilises the artificial lighting of the
studio to represent the politician’s emotions and state of mind, however this
is contrasted the washed-out footage presented to the public. These contrasts
made throughout the entire video between the broadcasted footage and the
characters actions create a connection to ‘fake news’ and government-controlled
media.
Video 2 – FOALS ‘A Knife In The Ocean’
Despite this song not featuring any tropes related to the protest
genre, I wanted to replicate and investigate the artistic direction and
contrast the artist is displaying in the video; I would like to replicate this
as I feel that it would open more creative opportunities to portray a message
to the audience.
Cinematography
Due to the director’s background in graphic design, most of
the video consists of artistic and environmental shots to build the video’s
unique and intriguing aesthetic – for example each shot could be taken as a
still and work compositionally in an aesthetically pleasing manner. This is
particularly done through the aerial and extreme-long shots which they use to
frame the more natural environments (cliffs, mountains, forests etc.). This is
then contrasted with the interesting and unusual low-angle shots of the sea which
are then used to overlay these landscape shots, ultimately creating a unique
and new ambiance. The environmental shots are also contrasted with flashes of
artificial neon lights and violent explosions to create contrast and continue
to build the aesthetic; however, the imagery of the violence and fire are used
in a more significant manor in relation to the lyrics – particularly around the
chorus.
As well as the unusual
composition and shot variations, the video seems to have been shot on a film
reel (evident from the grainy texture, scratches and burns to the tape) to
present an effect of nostalgia and/or time – this relates the the key theme of the
song with the inevitability of the future.
Editing and sound
The editing throughout this video utilises the relation
between the movement of the image and the varying sounds in the song; as the
song progresses, the sounds become more layered and convoluted. This is
mimicked through the video as it also progressively becomes more layered and
indiscernible.
The layering effect present throughout the entire video adds
to the general aesthetic. Despite the video visuals becoming core convoluted
and elaborate, many compositional rules are still applied to make the video
watchable. The differentiating shot speeds also aid the image in being more
understandable as it helps the visuals flow along with the song resulting in a
satisfactory development.
Mise-en-scene
The key aspects of the mise-en-scene are seen through the
unusual use of colours and lighting as they are highly edited and modified to
give the desired effect. This somewhat contrasts the natural motif of the shots
used to ultimately create a unique and incongruous environment.
Like the second video I want to replicate, this video doesn’t
uphold many protest themes. Despite this, I wanted to focus on and replicate the
how the artist has used the environment to reflect the story.
Cinematography
Most of the shots in this video feature the main character
and her crisis which is stated through the song’s lyrics. When portraying her emotions,
we see a close-up shot with a shallow depth of field to allow us to focus more
clearly on her face rather than the background. This allows us to create the
story from the character’s emotion and feelings, however through shots with
deep focus, the artist also gives small details and items to piece together the
story.
The artist also include various
establishing shots of the environment around the character to allow the
audience to piece the story together. These aesthetic shots are also used for
foreshadowing events which occur later in the video – such as the aerial top shot
of the pyre. These environments are then used to mirror the character’s
emotions which also aid the audience in connecting.
Editing and sound
Throughput the entire video, the speed has been slowed down
to match the pace of the song which allows the song and video to flow
cohesively together. As well as the shot speeds, certain moments have been
edited to tonal shifts within the song, such as the character walking to the
beat or the reveal of the pyre. These moments
help add significance to these actions and, like the shot speeds, help the
video and song work in harmony.
Mise-en-scene
The mise-en-scene has been used to strongly coincide with
the main religious theme of the song. This can especially be seen from the church
environment and the vicar’s traditional costume.
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