Music Video - Meaning through colours

A few days ago we came to a decision for a new idea. We wanted the dancers to have more significance and importance than just being animated 'props' to the music video. One of the conventions in Trap music, established by the label OWSLA and more asian based Trap/hiphop music videos, is to wear face masks. The set for the dancing scene is going to be in a studio, so the background will be sterile. We want to keep the dancer's clothing t be black and white to stick with the urban street fashion theme, but the masks will be coloured. The intention behind this is to have the dancers represent the emotions of the protagonist. We will need to create the transition between the protagonist passing out to the dancers suggest that we are going into the protagonist's head.

Colours have always been used in films to enforce or create meaning and emotion for the audience to interpret.

We found a website to base this concept off from.

http://filmdirectingtips.com/archives/157

1. RED – anger, passion, rage, desire, excitement, energy, speed, strength, power, heat, love, aggression, danger, fire, blood, war, violence

2. PINK – love, innocence, healthy, happy, content, romantic, charming, playfulness, soft, delicate, feminine

3. YELLOW – wisdom, knowledge, relaxation, joy, happiness, optimism, idealism, imagination, hope, sunshine, summer, dishonesty, cowardice, betrayal, jealousy, covetousness, deceit, illness, hazard

4. ORANGE – humor, energy, balance, warmth, enthusiasm, vibrant, expansive, flamboyant

5. GREEN – healing, soothing, perseverance, tenacity, self-awareness, proud, unchanging nature, environment, healthy, good luck, renewal, youth, vigour, spring, generosity, fertility, jealousy, inexperience, envy

6. BLUE – faith, spirituality, contentment, loyalty, fulfillment peace, tranquility, calm, stability, harmony, unity, trust, truth, confidence, conservatism, security, cleanliness, order, sky, water, cold, technology, depression

7. PURPLE/VIOLET – erotic, royalty, nobility, spirituality, ceremony, mysterious, transformation, wisdom, enlightenment, cruelty, arrogance, mourning, power, sensitive, intimacy

8. BROWN – materialistic, sensation, earth, home, outdoors, reliability, comfort, endurance, stability, simplicity

9. BLACK – No, power, sexuality, sophistication, formality, elegance, wealth, mystery, fear, anonymity, unhappiness, depth, style, evil, sadness, remorse, anger

10. WHITE – Yes, protection, love, reverence, purity, simplicity, cleanliness, peace, humility, precision, innocence, youth, birth, winter, snow, good, sterility, marriage (Western cultures), death (Eastern cultures), cold, clinical, sterile

11. SILVER – riches, glamorous, distinguished, earthy, natural, sleek, elegant, high-tech

12. GOLD – precious, riches, extravagance. warm, wealth, prosperity, grandeur

-Taken from the mentioned website

6 Stills

Getter - Forget It (feat. Oliver Tree)

This music video struck home for me, it conveyed a powerful message. There were so many frames i wanted to use from the video, but I felt that this particular one held the most meaning.
In a musical perspective, this frame, as one of the first shots of the video, is very key to establishing what the listener is expecting. Getter is well known as a producer who makes aggressive/ club music. In contrast however, this particular song is almost the opposite of what fans are expecting to hear. This frame really reflects the music, and somewhat prepares the listener for what to expect.
The set of the frame is very key to the music video - there is only a single light source that is very 'cold', creating a very dark atmosphere. immediately the lack of colour in the room is identifiable, and the viewer is drawn to the single colour that seems almost out of place in the room - the tree that the girl is touching. This emphasis on the plant tells the viewer that it holds meaning.
The plant is a symbol of life, supported by the colour scheme used in the frame. In contrast, it can be compared to the girl touching the plant, as her eyes seem to suggest almost a lack of life. This important to the story told through the music video.

Twenty One Pilots - Heathens

In many music videos that involve a plot, usually the band/artist of the song don't play a major role in the music video. However, Heathens is an exception to this.
The setting of the frame is in  a prison cell, with the singer of the duo singing as the camera pans.

The music video is set in a prison. the mood is established through lighting and colour - primarily the lighting is cold. against the grey walls of the prison, it gives a sense of lack of emotions. This is used to highlight the use of warm lighting, that is introduced in key parts of the song

Skrillex - Dirty Vibe with Diplo, CL, & G-Dragon

 The reason I chose this music video was for a number of reasons - its the first time that these 2 American djs tried to introduce American's mainstream listeners to Korean stars and vice versa, and the style of the song (influences)

The nature of the song is very wacky and playful, and the music video is reflective of this. I felt that this frame was the best from this video to represent this playfulnes. However, true to the genre of the music, the video holds somewhat similar influences from hip hop music videos.The music video shows subjects of intimidation (weapons, objects of wealth) however, the music video also seems to make fun of it (guns being water guns).

The editing in this music video is very flashy and erratic, very similar to the music itself.



tout†

Choreography research

Trap music has a big connection to choreography and dancing. The style of dancing is called hiphop, similarly to the music as Trap also stems from hiphop music.

Dj Sliink - Run Ricky Run is a good reference and example of dancing to Trap music.

In the first track of this music video, it features multiple dancers in different locations with different styles and choreography. The editing in the video alternates between them all in a fast paced manner.

We have decided on 3 dancers - Carol, Ching, and April. We will present them with a few ideas and influences we would like them to include, but we will focus more heavily on camera work and editing, the actual choreography we want to leave it to the dancers.

A common thing in hip hop dance videos, especially from dedicated dance channels on Youtube, is the use of camera. The movements of the camera follow the movements of the dancers in order to emphasise the sense of movement.

This is a video from Urban Dance Camp. Other channels such as 1 Million do use this camera effect in a subtle way, however this video uses it in a more obvious way.

Website Analysis - Run the Jewels

Discussions - Friday 21 October

Today we discussed what we wanted to create further. After presenting our treatment yesterday, we realised that our ideas and concepts we still unclear and disorganised, so we tried to make a clearer vision today.

We mostly talked about editing as we found a video that falls under the 'EDM' bracket, Modestep's trailer to their 2015 album London Road.

We focused mostly on the transitions at 2:38 of the video. The shots are all slow motion, but just before the shot cuts to another, the shot suddenly speeds up. While the shots are probably separate and do not come from the same footage, this kind of editing creates a sense of continuity.

We decided that for the most part, especially in the beginning of our music video, we wanted most of the shots to be slow motion in order to create a sense of slowness. 

Music Video planning #1

Ideas for influence:

 

Desiigner - Panda (settings)

 

Missy Elliot - Where They From (style, lighting, theme)

 

Vic Mensa, Skrillex - No Chill (CONVENTIONS)

 

Skrillex & Rick Ross - Purple Lamborghini

Song ideas:

 

Zhu, Dj Snake, Dj Mustard - Faded 2.0

What So Not - High Are You (Branchez remix) 

 

Vindata - Own Life

Yellowclaw & Flux Pavilion feat. MAAZ - Cacth Me (WY Flip)

Ideas from:
-Tove Lo - Habits (Sabotage remix)
-A$AP Rocky - LSD (LovexSexDreams)
-Josh Pan & X&G - Platinum
-Skrillex - Dirty Vibe with Diplo, CL, and G-Dragon
-Ice Cube - Drop Girl (UZ remix)

Major Lazor - Night Riders

Conventions:
Neon Lighting & Dim/dramatic lighting (Night time)
-This is a reoccurring convention in terms of lighting throughout EDM and genres like trap. Colour schemes usually include neon light blue and red. Examples can be seen in music videos such as Justin Bieber's 'What Do You Mean', all the way to Vic Mensa and Skrillex's 'No chill

What Do You Mean by Justin Bieber

No Chill by Vic Mensa and Skrillex

The lighting in Snakehips' track 'Forever (Pt. II)' contains lighting very similar to what we are after. Snakehip focuses on more downtempo/triphop/future genres that can be danced to, so technically he falls under the EDM bracket, but he does not follow the mainstream trends and conventions that EDM usually follows.

Choreography

-This is quite common in Trap music videos. The style of dancing falls under the hip hop/urban bracket. Sometimes the artist will be involved in the choreography, such as Where They From by Missy Elliot and Pharrell Williams:

Other times there will be dedicated dancers who will do the choreography without the artist. Sometimes the artist might be in the shot somewhere. Examples include:

Genre Codes and Conventions