Preliminary Task 1 – All About Me Video
What is an “all about me” video?
“All about me” videos are often used as tools of introduction in online media spaces, usually directly addressing the viewer in a more casual tone. In my video, I aimed to provide general information about myself in relation to media studies whilst poking fun at a caricature of my consumption habits and “boring” personality. The use of self-referential humour was an attempt to connect to the theme of Post-Modernism, a topic we would learn about later in the year.
Preliminary Task 2 – Music Video
Before producing a music video as my second preliminary task, I set 3 goals I should work towards:
– Practice producing a short form narrative
– Implement a range of technical codes at a higher level than my AS coursework
– Embed symbolism and intertextual references to convey meaning
Planning
First, I annotated a printed copy of the lyrics, roughly noting story beats, establishing the general premise and adding further detail to certain scenes, characters and their actions.
My initial idea was to portray a non-committal character, not only running away from many relationships but himself. I wanted to include sticky notes as a motif, to represent the character’s many distant and impersonal “goodbyes” whilst symbolising a resentment of self. Throughout the film, the protagonist reminisces his first love.
I aimed to utilise colour to create separation between the two characters, contrasting the use of match cuts to reflect their mutual yearning. It was mainly to denote differences in time but carried connotations of emotional distance.
I was inspired by the official music video of A-ha’s “Take on Me” directed by Steve Barron, specifically the incorporation of hand-drawn animation with live action footage and the imagery of characters existing in opposing worlds. I was also influenced by a fan-made music video of Lemon Demon’s “Touch Tone Telephone” directed by Chris Spargo, mainly its theatrical and narrative aspects and its stylised use of colour.
Afterwards, I drafted a storyboard on paper, mapping out the narrative into different shots, keeping lighting, camera angles and character positioning in mind. Because I was unsure of the exact location I would be using at the beginning of storyboarding, the placement of some appliances and hallways were inconsistent. Although, I don’t think the plot’s cohesion was greatly affected. I wanted to utilise cross cutting and match cuts to create a greater parallel between the two characters.
For the purpose of illustrating general timing and creating a clearer idea of the music video, I also edited a rough cut “animatic” of sorts for personal reference.
Production
I chose to film at school, using the common room as the main location. Initially, I wanted to film at a friend’s house but due to differing time schedules, it was difficult to coordinate. At first, I struggled to articulate exactly what I wanted the actors to do. Because the storyboard was so embedded in my mind, I was overly presumptive that one viewing of the animatic could convey the entire concept, forgetting how unfamiliar it would be to an outside party. I was lucky that the actors and I were all friends, making filming relatively easy and comfortable. Some aspects of the film were cut during filming due to time constraints and other technological difficulties (e.g. the montage of many women reading their respective notes to represent the protagonist’s many past lovers, tracking running shots, and animating on physical notepads).
The editing process was daunting but fulfilling …
Preliminary Task 2 Final