Sia - You've Changed

Evidence for the argument of a home-grown production is truly prominent in this video by Sia.

The props throughout the video are made of cardboard, roughly cut and not a polished material and are seemingly cheap but the 'cuteness' and non pretentious outlook created by these props is what reflects the flirtatious and fun prowess of the song. Again the suggestion of an overly empowered performance from the actors in this video is not 'cheesey' but just pure fun and for comedy.

The balance of a 'rushed job' and successful music video perhaps come form the source material of videogames such as 'Singstar' which are therefore parodied in the video, if the parody had been of a less 'all inclusive' product I believe the audience reaction would have been poor.

New Direction

As a group we have decided to introduce a sense of narrative with the introduction of an establishing scene that creates the image of an induced dream like state for the rest of the video.

With the use of a few simple shots that canon between a nurse and patient we should be able to suggest a neurotically  manufactured dream to the rest of the video. With the costume for the nurse ans the set (both M-E-S) allowing to produce the verisimilitude of a hospital setting. Although, with a viral video an argument could be drawn that it has to remain a position of amateur like production values. Perhaps an over the top performance from the actors and an unpolished wardrobe ('laxed costume) reflect the image and representation of the song that an audience would expect.

Photoshop

During the ancillary tasks I will have to use Photoshop to edit images. This is my first experiment with creating multiple layers, manipulating hue/saturation and trying to create depth.

I have created a layer called a Saturation Layer that allows me to edit the amount of color that seeps from the layer below and i have used this to intensify the image of the barbie. I have also used stock imagery in the form of a fractal image as a layer that creates a swirling mess of color as an overlay.


As this is a first attempt I am proud of the results and has aided me in conforming that I too should use fratcal layers on my ancillary products as they create a depth in the image that was previously not there.

EPIC FAIL

Our experiments with editing together an annoying orange face transposed onto a pair of boobs have failed.

By creating an iris to reveal the footage underneath of my face and saturating the blue inn the footage to match that of the clothing our breasts are wearing.

By blurring focus around the iris image we hoped to create a more 'realistic' image of a face transposed onto some breasts, but overall the footage became blurred, undefined, unprofessional and overly amatuer to an extent greater than the 'viral' like a representation of an amatuer pallate.

Carry on Scene

Stages of Carryon Scene

1.       Barbra Winsor Thrusting Chest Medium Shot Torso, Strapless Bra.

2.       Kenneth Williams Instructing, Matron In Background.

3.       Barbra’s Bra Pops Off (Shot Reverse)

4.       Kenneth Catches It. (Matron Gains Hair Piece)

5.       Barbra Covered, Embarassed (Medium Shot)

6.       Mouth Covered Matron

7.       Matron Takes Her Away.

The Annoying Orange

This video is an example of a viral internet phenomenom.


The example itself is of The Annoying Orange and has over 34 Million Views. This is probably due to the resonance of the character with a youthful audience that resonate the relationship of the orange and his 'friends' with that of their own relationships. The representation of the orange as the lovable yet annoying companion that everyone can somehow draw upon in their experience is the factor which gives dimension to the personified fruit.

Directly form this Youtube clip our group want to emulate the visual effect of a human face on an inanimate object in the capacity of breast to face. As a partial performance segment singing faces will be transposed onto the image of a woman's clothed breasts, as an almost parodied tribute to the annoying orange.

Shot Ideas

Tomorrow we have arranged to shoot a scene which involves a woman rubbing lotion onto her cleavage, the use of sexual imagery is a driving force for most  popular musicians image and is a brilliant convention when attracting a young audience who have be subsequently informed by media stereotyping that there is a objectification and an irrational sexuality in the form of the female body which transcends the verisimilitude of the media itself.

Carry on Camping

Adam Sadowsky engineers a viral music video | Video on TED.com

Adam Sadowsky engineers a viral music video | Video on TED.com

The video that follows this link explains how creating a viral music video has to be specifically engineered, not only for the viewer but for production aswell.

The video in question is OK GO's This Too Shall Pass

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qybUFnY7Y8w


Famous for their 'Treadmill Dance', OK GO have a history of viral videos. The key cinematographic element taken from both videos would be their use of continous shots. The 'Treadmill Dance' is filmed with a static camera on a medium shot, and there is no consequential editing of the footage as there is not multi-camera setup or infact antoher element of the scene that is ealbourated on. Again, they have used a continous shot in their more complex This Too Shall Pass video but have created a dimension to the movement by tracking the camera along a systematic path. The reflection of this camera movement is that of the machine and also the widening and narrowing of shots mimics the machines size.

In terms of misé-en-scene the important factor in the video is the items and props used to construct the contraption. An audience would identify with the use of a toy car, a pool ball and and an umbrella ina  conventional manner but their use in this video is unconventional, the reason would be to gauge a reaction of familirity in unfamiliar circumstances in the audience. The playful identity and symbology of the use of props is crucial to attracting their audience.

Obviously the video has a certian younger audience because of the stereotypical nature of the video in its presence on the internet. the new media platform of Youtube helpped establish the video with a combination of social networking capabilites and freedom of access. The convergence of social networking on youtube, with devices like mobile phones and mp3 players that can now manage video data, music files and the internet allowed users to connect the video with their peer gorup and alsmost out of an organic surgence the viedeo grew.

An important note would be the popularity of this video, in comparison to the lack of popularity for their primary creation. This Too Shall Pass currently has 17,828,613 views whereas Here It Goes Again (Treadmill) has roughly 4 million. Perhaps it suggests their audience prefers the more polished creation and invested video they created after becoming more popular and signed, or infact that cinematogrpahical advancement in movement and depth of field has produced a more enjoyable video.

As a side note fore our video we are likely to use some of the ideas of continous shots in certain scenes and establishings of environments to reflect the viral nature of the video we are trying to create.

Divine

In keeping with the novelty feel of the song, and its viral like sound, the single cover must reflect a playful feeling.

An album cover which I think plays on this idea of flirty fun is the cover of Divine's Greatest Hits. it is a play on the work of Andy Warhol who's prints were created to mimic the simple way in which celebrity can be created through simple representation. Elaborating on this with Divine's iconic image as a drag queen this album cover almost parodies the images of The Queen, Marylin Monroe and Jackie Kennedy as strong women  and attributes their iconic status, power and femininity onto that of the masculine Divine.

This representation of Divine as a symbol of womanhood and 'girl power' is part of the 'Queer' factor of his appeal. Dragging this into practical use it would be brilliant for me to take an iconic image of femininity or an image with connotations of breasts and adapt the color pallet to produce an Andy Warhol like effect.