Music Video Final Cut and Alt Vids

 IN THIS POST:

• Final cut 
• What I have changed since the last 
• Dance video 
• Lyric video 
• Teaser
• Visualiser 
• Reaction video to video
• Product placement advert

FINAL CUT

This our final music video to all the good girls go to hell by Billie Eilish. It took a lot of hard work and determination to get this video to the standard that it is. We really took into consideration the audience's feedback, but also trusted our gut and what we thought was creative and effective.

WHAT I HAVE CHANGED SINCE LAST TIME

This is the last draft before the final video:

• added a 'nostalgic' filter to 0:13 - 0:15 (street narrative scene)
• added twin (to intertextualise 'The Shining') at 0:13 - 0:15
• swapped out shot between 0:31 - 0:33, changed it to birds eye view shot above bed, sleeping
• Changed selective cutting between 0:43 and 0:46, used the bass beat
• Key framed the thermostat out of the shot between 0:54 and 0:56
• 1:48 - 1:51, keyframes thermostat out
• 2:20 - 2:23, added twin in street scene
• 2:23 - 2:25, changed background to performance instead of narrative, made this shot last longer to get rid of other shot

LYRIC VIDEO

Scope vids created a lyric video. This is a common convention for artists to do as it creates "hype", due to it typically being released before the music video, improving the promotion. A few years ago, these were typically made by the audience (User Generated Content), but in recent years, artists have been creating them themselves.

 

DANCE VIDEO

We got one of our friends to put together a dance for our song. This is a form of monetisation, as the video will be copyrighted due to the music. This is also good for promotional purposes.

TEASER

Here is a teaser video that I created. These are conventionally used to create hype around the music video on social media.

VISUALISER

I created a visualiser, which will typically be used on Spotify. It is a slight teaser to the music video and it is promotional, if people are to be streaming the song on Spotify.

REACTION VIDEO TO VIDEO

We asked one of our friends to play as a "fan" and create a YouTube video and react to our music video. This is very common for fans to do, and also promotes the music video.

PRODUCT PLACEMENT ADVERT

In our music video, we include shots of Bluetooth headphones as product placement. Here is the advert we created to go along with it.

Video sample/rough cuts

IN THIS POST:

• Rough cuts
• Inspiration behind choices
• Audience feedback
• Sample scenes
• Dance video research
• Lyric video research
• Visualiser research
• Reaction video research
• Product placement research

ROUGH CUT 2

AUDIENCE FEEDBACK

After emailing different directors/producers in the industry, we received the feedback above. Below, we have videos taken of students between the ages of 14 and 16 discussing our video after seeing it for the first time.

ROUGH CUT 1

AUDIENCE FEEDBACK

SAMPLE SCENE 3

AUDIENCE FEEDBACK

 

Sample scene 1 audience feedback from LouisHodges3

SAMPLE SCENE 2

SAMPLE SCENE 1

DANCE VIDEO RESEARCH

Dance videos are very common, both being released by the artists (either a compilation of fans dancing or their own production, with either the artist or just professional dancers) with Justin Bieber's 'Sorry' being evidence of this. There are several different types that you often see. Some have different cuts and angles, with many people in the room, and many dancers. Others are a stable shot, with only one dancer. The genres of the dancing often vary. Here are a series of examples we have looked at for research:

 

What we like from this:

• the slow and fast contrast
• Plain, simple backdrop, focus is on the dancing
• There are many dance moves that match the lyrics
• We will ask our friend to incorporate some of the dance moves that match the lyrics
• Some sections lip-sync, some don't - links to our music video

Dance videos are a very common example of user generated content (UGC), which is why we have chosen to make one. We have contacted a friend, asking them to create a dance based on this song.

LYRIC VIDEO RESEARCH

There are often channels dedicated to making lyric videos, therefore have no specific link to the artist. There are also channels that are set up as fan accounts for artists. Because of the fan interactions, artists now release lyric videos as another edition of the promotional video. Sometimes, these videos do better, for example 'Closer' by the Chainsmokers. On YouTube, the lyric video is sitting on 2.6b views, while the official video has 376 million.

Artist released lyric videos often consist of some visuals in the background, however there is never any lip syncing. The lyrics will come up on screen as each line/verse changes. Some are slightly more creative, as there is a visual that comes up as well as the word, for each lyric. 

For our lyric video, we will use some footage we have recorded in the background, and match it to the beat of the song. Our plan is to have different coloured lyrics (possibly varying between white, black and green).

VISUALISER RESEARCH

A visualiser video is a video which gives a sense of how the music video for the specific track will be, it gives the audience a sneak peak/teaser of what vibe the music video will create, a sense of how it will look like, and some of the shots that you will see within the music video. Generally, you see a lot of layering, slow-motion footage and slower-paced cuts. 

 

This is a Billie Eilish visualiser. This is quite different to what we are planning on doing because this is a separate animation. Our visualiser will consist of footage that is also going to be in the music video, including visuals of our protagonist and our artist...

REACTION VIDEO RESEARCH

There are thousands of reaction videos to Billie Eilish's music and music videos. These reaction videos vary across all audiences. There are several creative reactions, including:

Vocal coach reacts

Music producer reacts

Metal guy reacts

Mom reacts

Priest reacts

Pastor reacts

Younger female teens react

Korean mother reacts

Rappers react

Muslims react

For our reaction, we will likely choose a couple friends (as they fit her target audience) to react to our final edit as if it were professional. Generally, the format includes the video in the middle of the screen and a person either side, pausing the video to make points. If there is only one person reacting, the video will be in the bottom corner, and the person reacting will be on the other side of the screen. 

PRODUCT PLACEMENT

It is very common for music videos (and film) to incorporate product placement into the music video. This is when a brand pays for a product to be either used or placed in the mise-en-scene of a video. A common item in music videos is headphones/earphones. In many videos that we have researched, there are tight frames of a headphone brand, specifically 'Beats by Dr. Dre'. A brand will usually pay for their product to be placed in the context that will appeal to their audience the best. Headphones work for pretty much any music video, as there is a clear music link. The viewers are already looking at music, and if they see their favourite artist wearing something, the brands revenue is likely to increase. It is common across the media industry, with a clear example being the James Bond franchise. The protagonist, James Bond, is known for his fashion, elegance and female gaze, therefore brands will pay for him to wear their clothing line, drive their cars and many more. 

For music videos, it is very common for the headphones to be shown for a short close-up lasting around 2-3 seconds, as well as being seen in the mise-en-scene. This is evident in Billie Eilish's song, lovely (with Khalid). As Billie Eilish has already been seen wearing a headphone brand, it made sense for us too use this concept. Although we had no access to Beats headphones, we have other wireless bluetooth headphones called 'TREBLAB XR500'. We have recorded 2 different shots with these headphones. One was a close-up, similar to the image of Billie, and the other with the headphones in the mise-en-scene. In reality, this brand wouldn't be allowed to work with Billie, as it is likely she still has an ongoing deal with Beats, however as we were simply creating a simulacra of her image, it fits well.

Along with putting the product into the video, we will create an advert for the product. As they are bluetooth headphones, we feel it would be best to use them while exercising. Using exercise in the advert links well with the likely audience of the headphones. We are taking inspiration from several headphone adverts we have researched, including:

What we want to take from these videos:

• Use of slow-mo
• Hard bass music
• Close-ups on headphones
• Contrast between having headphones vs not having them