Summary:
I chose to make a self directed lyric video for one of the songs I have produced in a collection called Where Angels Fall. The themes of the song and video are all about coming to terms with change and facing corruption.
Narrative:
The story implied is about an angel who has fallen from grace for being judged on his actions. However, he has been judged unjustly but no one can see or listen to what he has to say about it. He goes through many stages of frustration and anger at how unfairly he has been treated. But, through self preservation and accepting that he will never win against corruption, he comes to terms with the situation and moves on living as 'an angel with black wings' with the moral high ground of knowing he was right.
Technical Practice:
Certain shots of the lyric video were shot in 50fps for the effect of slow motion with smoother movement. the rest were shot in the DSLR standard of 25fps.
Location Choice:
There are some woodland hills in East Staffordshire outside Burton Upon Trent that offer open hill tops and dense woodland in the same place. These factors were useful when deciding where to film because I was looking to alternate the visual space around the character from open and tight; as a way of showing his vulnerability and also the darkness and confused anger he possesses inside him.
Analysis:
The character in the video is wearing a brown coat with a black top underneath. This was a design choice to allow him to blend into the location of the shoot. Especially when he is out in the open, his brown coat blends the major half of his body to create affinity of tone as a way to suggest he is nothing special anymore having now fallen from grace. He is just like everything else on earth around him. And the fact that he blends more out in the open marks his new vulnerability in the open space; as if he needs to blend to camouflage himself from danger.
When his black top is exposed, it instantly creates contrast with the brown. This is to show the internal conflict underneath the surface. He is still trying to come to terms with the injustice he's faced. The choice of black is symbolic to the term "black sheep" where he is now labelled an outcast from angels; which are often associated with brighter colours.
During the climax of the song, where the beat of the music creates the most intensity, there are more shots in the forest with the sunlight shining through the trees. Compare this to the outside where the tone is much brighter, there is a major contrast as the tone gets darker.
-Brighter tone in the open
- Darker tone under the trees. There is more contrast in the frame as the sunlight is shining through)
This contrast of tone is to make the internal conflict he's been facing more external for the audience to see. It has consumed him so much that he can't hide it away anymore and there must be a confrontation and a release of anger before he can move on.
For the editing, the film begins with a lot of slow motion of the character observing the world around him. The choice of slow motion for these moments when he looks around was to give a feeling of the absorption of information. As he is learning about learning to live without grace, the audience is learning more about his story; this information is included in the music and the lyrics as they appear on screen for the audience to read. The duration of shots is also longer to add to this effect and to contrast the editing in the climax.
At the climax of the video, there are more short and fast cuts with single frame inserts of the character lying under the tree and standing over the edge of a drop. This is the height of his confrontation with his aggressive emotions and the turning point for him
For the ending, the colour begins to come back into the frame of the shot. Throughout the video, the colour has been partly de-saturated and the exposure has been lowered (in post) to create the impression of a shadow overhanging on him. But by the end, he has accepted his situation and walks on with his life; by this point, the colour and brightness returns to him; even if he now has a reputation of being an outcast.
Evaluation:
Overall, I feel the video was successful in delivering the emotion intended for the audience watching a character that is confronting change. The visuals and the music depend on each other to help get that emotion across. Shooting in 50fps for the first time was a success for making slow motion, however, some shots were not focused correctly or did not have the right exposure on the camera when they were filmed. In attempt to resolve this, I tried blurring them more into the background so the audience can focus more on the lyrics that appear on screen whilst still seeing the general motion of the character in the background.
If I were to re-shoot this, I would give myself more time to shoot on location as we had only an hour there maximum, I would also perhaps include more symbolic props and locations; such as a church or cross in order for the anecdote of an angel to be more specified.
