Music Video Selection
Music Video Selection
For this task, I had to select five music videos of my choice and describe the effects used/created e.g animation, stop-motion, graphics, typography etc. I also had to describe the tone and emotional effect I drew from the videos.
Music Video One - Billie Eilish 'my future'
Effect - 2D Animation
Throughout the video, the cinematography mirrors itself through similar mid-shots and close-ups, capturing the parallels of the setting, but with a new perspective upon the scenery. The introduction of the video forms a melancholic tone, as we witness the weighted frown that is draw upon the characters face (the first still shown above), along with rain pouring through the enclosed forest surrounding her, reflecting the isolation she feels, also using cold toned blues to give the effect of emptiness and dullness in Billie's perspective upon life. Also, the pathetic fallacy of the weather emphasises the depressive mood. As she gradually walks out of the forest, we see a golden horizon (the second still shown above), we witness more bright warm yellows, oranges and pink creep through the horizon, in contrast to the cold blue tones previously shown, this reflects the gradual hope and positiveness Billie feels, as if happiness is almost in her reach. The boldness of these colours enhances the environment of the forest and Billie, showing the animated trees and vegetation become brighter, healthier, mirroring the characters internal strength and new perspective upon what the future may bring, guiding her towards a more positive self.
The visuals in this music video mirror the message that the lyrics hold perfectly. The transformation in the warm toned colours and change in expression upon the characters face, shown in her frown becoming a smile, as she is hopeful for the future, visually reflect the uplifting song lyrics as they become progressively more positive.
I personally love this video as I feel it has a universal message that people can be relate too, showing the struggle and relationship between your mental state and future, as I feel it can make people feel less alone, capturing the reality of how emotions are temporary and that there is always need of hope, growth, but most importantly self-care. The visual aspect of the video I adore, as the animation is stunningly crafted with drawn details of raindrops, nature, alongside the ethereal lighting and varied contrast of tones, strokes and colours create a masterpiece. I love the layered visuals and how each design of the trees, to the clouds and rain are intricately crafted with shadows and light forming an aesthetically pleasing visual to the eye. It is one of my favourite music videos as both the visual and meaning are simple yet beautifully expressed and executed.
In order to create this 2D animation, I believe the animators would have storyboarded each scene, wrote the script, for it to be timed with the music and then lastly they would begin to draw each scene, frame by frame, adding colours, lighting, details of the raindrops etc. while receiving feedback and improvements from the artists in order for them to have creative input.
Music Video Two - Paper Plane by Giangrande
Effect - Cutout Animation
The music video I have chosen is 'Paper Plane' by Giangrande, I chose this particular video because I loved the cut out animation which is in a stop-motion form and the storyline. I found this video to be incredibly heartfelt, creative and very stylistic. The plot of the video focuses on a protagonist male who is longing for his partner (as shown with the first still shown above), we witness him travel the ocean, seeking for his partner, as he travel's, his boat capsizes and he ends up crashing a spaceship, being stranded on the moon (shown in the second still image), with his partner only arriving at the location he first left from (shown in the third still image), both are left alone, neither reunite.
Throughout the music video bold colours are used, the paper stylised animation is very smooth featuring close-ups, mid-shots and wide shots of the characters and setting; each being finely detailed. The introduction of the video and end both mirror one another, as the two characters who seek each other never reunite. The bland and dull brown background enhances the dreary tone of the two scenes, giving the effect of emptiness and longing. As the protagonist ventures to seek his partner on a boat, a crow rests upon his shoulder, foreshadowing his fate of capsizing in the water. I found this detail to be very subtle but effective. Once the protagonist ends up in the ocean, a light blue toned backgrounds appears, giving the illusion he is underwater. I found the second part of the film confusing as I felt the spaceship being underwater did not fit the narrative, however I liked how it linked with the ending of the video. As the protagonist becomes stranded on the moon, the visuals darken with bold stars shining in the background, I found the rotation transition used in this scene to work well as it was smoothly executed and mimicked the motion of the moon. The last visual was very effective as up until this scene, the storyline tries you into thinking the protagonist's partner is dead, when in actual fact they are searching for one another, as we are returned to the original setting but the place of where the protagonist was is replaced by his partner.
Overall, I thought the cutout animation used in the video was superb, the details of the characters facial expressions, clothes and bold colours intertwined to create a very warming and realistic music video that also deals with heavy themes of longing, strife and love. I found the style of paper animation to be unique and inspiring, as I had never seen a cutout animated music video with such detail, varied shots and smooth transitions.
The visuals of the music video are thoughtful as they link and reflect the song lyrics, almost like a narration to a story. The message of the song describes a 'paper plane' which is reflected in the visuals paper style, one of the lines in the song states, 'such a long way to comfort you my dear' which summarises the core of the visuals in the video, as we witness a man seeking to comfort his partner, finally coming the last lyrics spoken stating 'such a long way...', shown in the visuals through the two characters being separated from each other; physically being planets away.
To create this visual effect, I believe they would storyboard the scenes, scripted the visuals in time with the music to make sure each shot was in time, then shot physically frame by frame using cutouts of the characters and objects, to give the effect they were moving fluidly in motion.
Music Video Three - 'everything i wanted' by Billie Eilish
Effect - Visual Effect
The music video I have chosen in 'everything I wanted' by Billie Eilish, I selected this particular video because I found the visual effects to be unique, thoughtful and well executed, I also liked the meaning the video portrayed too. The plot of the video captures Billie and her brother Finneas driving, it is visible that the car is 3D built, however, it looks very fitting and flawless, as the shadows and lighting give a it a realistic look. Featuring in the windows either side of the two characters, we see settings of sandy roads, tunnels, a city and beach, which eventually leads to the characters sinking together at the bottom of the ocean as they drive directly into the ocean.
The visual effects in the video focus on the beats of the song, for example, the two images I have shown above are located at certain references and points in the song. The first image, showing a light under a tunnel signifies a beat in the song, as the visual continues lights in the tunnel are subtlety flashed in time with the beat. This effect gave the video pace as it continuously used objects in the background to act as representations of the timings cued in the song. The second image features a blurred visual of the Golden Gate Bridge, this is significant as the lyrics in the song state 'So I stepped off the Golden', this gives more importance to the reference while also blurring the visual as if it were unnoticeable. I believe this is on purpose, as the song's storyline discusses the topic of mental health, showing how warning signs can seem 'blurred and concealed' if not questioned. The dull dark tones in the lighting and shadows created using visual effects, help enhance the heavy tone of the song, as the two characters have emotionless expressions. Once the characters end up in the ocean, sinking, the visuals become immersed by dark blue colours, giving the illusion of the characters and vehicle being underwater. A small special effect of water filling up by the characters feet is created, giving a realistic visual as it looked as if the characters are about to be flooded from the inside of their vehicle. However, in contrast to the morbid visuals, both characters smile at each other, accept their fate and know they will always be there for each other, both in life and death.
Overall, I found this music video's visual effects to be defined, detailed and effectively subtle. I thought the use of having objects being shown in time with the beats to be very unique and an authentic way of experimenting with pace and lighting. I also loved the message of the music video, as the storyline focused on the journey between the to characters and how their bond and sibling relationship is unconditional in love and care. Both shown through the characters acting, but also through the visuals of them being immersed into water, yet they are calm, assuring their love for one another, even in the death.
To create this visual effect, I believe the visual effect artists would storyboard each frame of the visual alongside creating a script to go in time with the song. Then the directors would shoot the live footage with the artists (Billie and Finneas) using a green screen, and the footage would be then sent to the editing suite where the 3D animators would build layer upon layer of animation, e.g foundation of objects, colours, drop shadow, lighting etc. which would all create the artificial environments and car shown in the video, while also receiving feedback and improvements from the artists themselves, in order for them to have creative input.
Music Video Four - 'Remember When' by Wallows
Effect - Visual Effect
The fourth music video I have chosen is called 'Remember When' by Wallows, I chose this particular video because I loved the disorientating visual effects used in the video, alongside the smooth transitions. The video captures the three band members performing in time with the recorded studio version of the song, the setting is in an artificial maze of bushes and as the video progresses their faces beach visually distorted.
The video uses visual effects which stretch and change the band members faces, (shown in the second and third image above) while keeping their surroundings in tact with no effects.
However, the camera transitions used swiftly (only in certain shots) weave in and out of the bushes, returning to different locations in the maze. I liked how this camera transitions done by the cinematographer, formed the illusion that certain scenes were shot all in one long take, as I felt it gave the music video a more disorientating feeling which fitted perfectly with the visual effects. I also felt the simple saturated colouring of the music video worked effectively as it enhanced the richness of the green bushes and gave off a retro vibe, which worked well alongside the band members clothes as they fitted the dated style. The music video does not match with the song lyrics, as the lyrics do not represent or fit the visuals presented, however, I do believe it works well as the chorus of the song has energetic vibe which compliments the visual effects well, adding to the dazed and disorientating state.
I personally really like this music video, I believe the visual effects are unique and creative. I loved how the video was unpredictable, I particularly thought the camera transitions and their illusion of fluidity worked very effectively. The face stretched filters used on the band members faces I felt were humorous and strange, creating a refreshing and playful visual that worked with the uplifting and fast paced beats in the song.
To create the visual effects for the music video, I believe they masked frame by frame a distortion effect onto the live action footage, which was filmed in production. I also believe they created the camera transitions by having a dolly and tripod that was extensive and flexible in order to position and give motion to the camera's view point, when filming the live action scenes.
Music Video Five - The Rip by Portishead
Effect - 2D Animation
The fifth music video I have selected is called 'The Rip' by Portishead, I chose this music video because the 2D Animation is very creative, stylised and authentic. The video follows through varied scenes from trees being chopped down (shown in image one above) to people being in a hot air balloon, city crowds, paper planes flying through the sky etc. I believe this video holds lots of clever and crafted imagery, the animation itself is very immersive, the frame by frame hand drawn images form an intriguing landscape of human life, each scene weaves into one another as if they were 'filmed' in one take, allowing your eyes to become entranced by the diverse scenery of people, places and experiences shown (as shown in image two where the photograph the character is holding, is gradually zoomed into showing us a fluid transition to the new scene). The dull use of colour also works effectively with the music, as the heavy toned melancholic sound alongside the bland colours captures life to be displeasurable and senseless, particularly with the drawings that frame swarms of people, perceiving human life to be a collective as one crowd of people, not individualism (as shown in image three).
I personally like this video as it creates an inescapable landscape, showing the vast and varied moments happening in time and the stories that unfold. The animation's imperfect style gives the video a gritty sense of reality, as not everything we perceive is perfectly framed or shot. The lack of colour I believe helps enhance the songs depressive tone, easing us through the lightly brown shaded skies, almost reflecting a polluted world, for which we live in now.
To create this effect, I believe the animator would have storyboarded frame by frame each shot, created a script to time the visuals to the music and then they would sketched each 24 frames per second, coloured them and edited the drawings to create the effect they were filmed in motion.
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