Research: Stop Motion

In order to see what went into the process' of the making a stop motion video, I took a simple easy idea and with help in the filming process and made a practice piece.




By doing my practice piece I was able see how much works goes into making a stop motion video. I hardest part of making the video was the amount of photos that needed to be taken in order for the image to look like a fluent piece. This in its own raised problems as due to the size of files that the images would make it meant that we were limited to the amount of images that we could have on the camera at one time. Also in the editing process I found that I had to decrease the duration of the photographs in order to get them to cut fast through them but also that the image type had to be changed in order for them to work.

What works well about my video is the movement of the character as although it isn't always a smooth transition between its movements, it still appears as though it is moving by itself. This works best in the end section as the movements seem more real, this is as it was easier to move the character and we had more control over the movements.

Having done this I now know that to make any stop motion work within my music video it has to be a simple idea but executed to a high standard as by making it over complicated it will increase the chances of it looking detached from the video and unprofessional.

Research Analysis: Stop Motion

Stop motion is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on it own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence. Dolls with move-able joints or clay figures are often used in stop motion for their ease of re-positioning. 

Music videos:

• Coldplay- Strawberry Swing
• Oren Lavie- Her Morning Elegance

Stop motion can be used in more than one way, and as I don't have the ability to use many post production edits, stop motion can be used to give elements of the video an animated effect, for example, the video below is shot using only stop motion and the whole thing is created with post it notes. This simple idea is used to tremendous effect, and despite me not being able to produce something on this scale I am able to take inspiration from it and use the basis of the video within my own work.




The idea of using everyday household items or common objects is something which can be seen as an inspiration in The Prodigy video for 'Warrior's Dance'. This video is a clear of example of the use of intertextuality within the music video to cinema and also video games. This is as the video seems to mirror the key idea seen in the film Transformers (Michael Bay, 2007)  but also the nature of the video reflects something that may be associated with a video game. These conventions are outlined in Pete Fraser's theory, that the reason intertextuality is used is to give its audience who are able to make the link greater enjoyment and satisfaction when watching the video. In addition to this it makes the video memorable to those that identify the link as they are able to associate it with other forums.  Lastly the video also falls into 2 of the 6 of Fraser's main styles within a music video: animated and futuristic.

Directors Research

James Copeman

After several years as motion graphics designer and animator for clients such as E4, MTV, 4music and The Box he began directing music videos and his first video was for the critically acclaimed UK band Noah and The Whale. His style is noticeably distinct; his work consistently delivers charming and warm performances and strong colour palettes. He often uses his background to embellish and heighten the visuals.

Noah and The Whale- 5 Years Time

What I find impressive about James' work is the way in which he manipulates the perception of an image. I particularly like his use of making the 'Noah and The Whale - 5 years time' video look old fashioned and dated, within this I like the way in which he has used stop-motion to create a disjointed feel to the video. Throughout his work there is clear continous use of major post production techniques being used which is most evident in Diana Vicker's- 'Boy who murdered love'

Toby Lockerbie

" I don't particularly like crazy, nonsensical music videos, I do however love clever, creative videos and engaging cinematic and that's what I aspire to in my projects."

Toby is known for his work that he has done with Rizzle Kicks, with him making their first video 'Down with the Trumpets' which uses the technique of 'screens within screens' to great effect to make the shots and the movement within them more dynamic.  Furthermore, within this I like the use of graphic matches to change the mise en scene as although the camera shot isn't moving it allows the image to cut in a different and interesting way.

Since then he has continued to work with the band making several other music videos with them, one of which is 'When I was a Youngster'. With this video I like the which he plays upon the title of the song to continually cut between what is portrayed to be the singers in the past and the now present. By doing this he is clearly able to illustrate the theme of reflection/reminiscing. 

My favourite of his work, is the 'Prophet' video, which can be seen above, as his use of stop motion, and light manipulation to add animations to the video is a stunning combination of techniques.

Sources:
http://www.tobylockerbie.com/
http://www.loveandhate.co.uk/HOME.html

Preliminary task

 

Feedback

Good elements;

• variety of camera angles
• good use of movement
• good lighting
• very good use of the stop motion as it gives the video coherence
• edited together well

Improvements;

• lip syncing
• not enough close ups
• cut more

Analysis

By doing a preliminary task, I was able to see what went into the process of making a music video. One of the hardest element of which, I found was lip syncing, which is evident within the video as although generally we managed to sync the lips up in time with the music in some areas if was more difficult. This was as the rate at which the person sang/ spoke the words may not have been the correct tempo of the song. In addition to this when filming, all those on screen had to sing their lyrics out loud to ensure that they sang them properly, here we encountered another problem as some weren't as confident when doing so.


Elements that work well within the video is the use of stop-motion, particularly for the chorus as although there isn't camera movement the pace in which the shots cut make them interesting. Also, the way in which we were able to represent the 'youth' that is spoken about in the songs work wells through our costume choice and location. As the costume of 'childish' tops and light clothing imitates that which is stereotyped with young people, the setting helps to portray 'youth' as again a park is something that is associated with that age group. Another good point of the video is one of the final shot of myself and Charlotte spinning around as the shot creates the impression of a point of view shot, which makes the audience feel as though they are involved.

Shot Count Analysis

Shot Count Analysis

 



Track: Lost In the World
Artist: Kanye West & Bon Iver
Director: Ruth Hogben
Release Date: May 23rd 2012
Length: 4:19
Number of shots: 71
Average shot length: 3.6secs


Segment- '1.30-2.00'


Number of shots:11
Number of CU: 1
Number of ECU: 0
Number of LS: 8
Number of MS: 1
Number of panning shots: 0
Number of tilts: 1
Other shots: 

From doing this I have learnt that music videos don't have to include a wide variety of shots to be interesting, as they may depend on the movement within the shot and the transition between shots. As although only straight cuts are used in the edits to each shot it is very effective as they have made these fast and included an effect that looks like a flash. This works to great effect for the video as it disorientates and confuses the viewer which is in keeping with the context and themes of the song. However, the high usage of special effects without the video is something that I wont be able to do for my video as I do not have the facilities to do so, but I will able to ensure that the effects I use in the transitions between shot make my video fast paced and interesting.