As I am new to DSLR film making, and having recently purchased a DSLR myself, I wanted to create a short film or project that would let me delve into the work flow and methods of production for DSLR film making, and find out why it differs from other styles and methods that I've used in the past. The particular camera I will be using will either be the Universities Canon 7D camera, or perhaps my own Canon 550D. As the two cameras are very similar in terms of their attributes however, I could possibly use both and combine the two lots of footage in the edit.
I then stumbled across a video on the 72 Hour Movie Vimeo page, in which they were testing the work flow of the RED camera. The particular shoot was of a girl dancing to a upbeat music track, which I immediately fell in love. I thought it was a perfect way to experiment with how the camera works, and what limits and boundaries could be assessed from it. I came up with my own shoot idea in which I would essentially do a similar piece, and film a girl dancing to a track, but however take cinematography inspiration from existing Hip Hop/RnB/Pop music videos that we all see nowadays.
Now I'm not a fan of this type of music, but whenever I see a music video that relates to these music genres I feel drawn to their artistic style and feel. So, I decided to select a few that stood out to me, and that shared similar attributes to each other, so that I could relay any techniques and styles found into the video test shoot I plan on doing.
The first video I came across was the video for Pixie Lott's track 'Turn it Up'.
Music video by Pixie Lott performing Turn it Up. (C) 2009 Mercury Records Limited
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvRDJe5a51g&ob=av2e
Now the first thing that jumped out at me whilst watching this, was the choice of warm and bright colours used throughout the video. Although there were some points where the colour scheme would change to a more darker spectrum, the majority of the shots had a very warm tone/feel to them. This was probably achieved during post in grading, but the cinematographer would of had to think firstly about how the grading would be able to achieve the warm colours in the first place, so careful consideration was taken on what was to be shown in the shot and where the shots were filmed. Many of these shots have large amounts of sky landscape in them, which gives the images a very visually pleasing style to look at.
The camera movement is also very abrupt. There are rarely any static shots, as each time the shot changes the camera is either shaking or moving to keep up with the flow of the music, and to keep the video interesting. Track/dolly shots are also apparent within the video which allows a sweeping motion from left to right or vice versa in the shots, again just adding diversity to each shot.
Now, unlike film, music videos don't necessarily have to follow a certain type of rule. For instance, the shots change VERY quickly, and switch back and forth between mid shots, wide shots and close ups all the time. In film however, a scene would usually start with a wide, then to a mid, then close, before going back to a mid then wide etc. This is however just a guide, but is usually what most films follow as their shot structure. These music videos do relate to film however, as each shot is correctly focused, and composed taking into consideration the rule of thirds, so it's true to say that film making rules do bleed into other styles of video production.
The second video I came across was the video to Jason Derulo's song, 'Whatcha Say'.The camera movement is also very abrupt. There are rarely any static shots, as each time the shot changes the camera is either shaking or moving to keep up with the flow of the music, and to keep the video interesting. Track/dolly shots are also apparent within the video which allows a sweeping motion from left to right or vice versa in the shots, again just adding diversity to each shot.
Now, unlike film, music videos don't necessarily have to follow a certain type of rule. For instance, the shots change VERY quickly, and switch back and forth between mid shots, wide shots and close ups all the time. In film however, a scene would usually start with a wide, then to a mid, then close, before going back to a mid then wide etc. This is however just a guide, but is usually what most films follow as their shot structure. These music videos do relate to film however, as each shot is correctly focused, and composed taking into consideration the rule of thirds, so it's true to say that film making rules do bleed into other styles of video production.
Music video by Jason Derulo performing Whatcha Say. (C) 2009 WMG
http://www.vimeo.com/13247361
Now very much like the Pixie Lott video, the colour scheme for this video is also very warm and bright. As with the previous video it also makes use of very fast paced and quick cuts, as well as the notorious camera shake and movement that keeps with the flow of the song. It still however takes advantage of film making cinematography skills such as the rule of thirds etc, and features a lot of close ups to catch the performers emotions, as well as show the audience whose song it is.
In conclusion, these things such as warm bright colours, lens flare on shots (which may or may not have been added in post), very quick cuts, extensive usage of close up and mid shots of the performer will be applied to the music video test shoot that I will be creating.
I will finish this post with a couple of links to other videos. The first is a music video that I worked on with Ballistic Productions, a Wolverhampton based company who specialize in RnB music videos. The video was shot on RED Camera, and I worked as Camera Assistant and general Runner, where I was able to pick up some tips from this independent company. As you can see in this video, it also takes some ideas from the previous videos, such as extensive camera movement and shaking so that there is always something happening in or on the shot.
Music video by 241 performing Sun Goes Down. (C) 2009 Global Melody Entertainment
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRHTzuJ5-PY
In conclusion, these things such as warm bright colours, lens flare on shots (which may or may not have been added in post), very quick cuts, extensive usage of close up and mid shots of the performer will be applied to the music video test shoot that I will be creating.
I will finish this post with a couple of links to other videos. The first is a music video that I worked on with Ballistic Productions, a Wolverhampton based company who specialize in RnB music videos. The video was shot on RED Camera, and I worked as Camera Assistant and general Runner, where I was able to pick up some tips from this independent company. As you can see in this video, it also takes some ideas from the previous videos, such as extensive camera movement and shaking so that there is always something happening in or on the shot.
Music video by 241 performing Sun Goes Down. (C) 2009 Global Melody Entertainment
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRHTzuJ5-PY
The final video is where it all started. Click HERE to see the 72hourmovie company doing a test work flow for the RED Camera.
