Sia - Chandelier

This music doesn’t run on a narrative and is more of a conceptual video. What happens in the video could be edited together in anyway and it still look finished and well put together, the way it is pieced together had no effect on the final outcome because it didn’t need to follow a storyline like it would if it was a narrative based music video. This opens to video to a wider range of viewers as not everyone likes to watch music videos with a narrative so to do a conceptual piece appeals to a larger audience.

This music video starts with establishing shots of the three main locations of this music video edited together in a metric montage style, in that each shot of each location lasts for approximately 4 seconds before cutting to the next location. The use of the establishing shots sets the tone and atmosphere of the video as well as showing off the setting of the video without any context; getting the audience to think about what the video is going to be about. With this artist, Sia, their videos are often quite ambiguous leaving the video to be interpreted by individuals who watches it.

The choreography in this music video is cleverly done to synchronise with the beats of the music rather than matching and illustrating the lyrics. This draws the attention to the music instead the lyrics being the focal point of the video, although they play a big part in the song they aren’t the main focus of this particular music video. Using the dancer (Maddie Ziegler)/dancing as the draws the emphasis away from the setting and mise-en-scene and gets the audience to focus on Maddie which in turn means they’re focusing on the music since the choreography is synced with the music.

Long shots are commonly used throughout this music video because it shows off the whole 

body of the dancer and the choreography, which as noted before is the focal point of this video. The use of long shots allows the audience to get a full experience of the setting and the concept. The part of the video when Maddie is sat at the table a mixture of mid-shots and close ups are used because close ups are often used to show the emotion of the shot in an intense manner. In this video the close ups really show the facial expressions of the dancer, and with her being the focus of the music video it shows her off and keeps the focus on her more so than in the long shots where the attention could possibly be adverted to the setting.

 

Maddie Ziegler has become somewhat of a motif in Sia’s music videos since this one, to date she has been five music videos for Sia. When performing Sia never shows her face, she is always wearing a wig that covers the majority of her face, which leads to Maddie being in the videos rather than Sia herself; as well as Maddie wearing a wig similar in all the music videos she stars in. Although Sia is always unseen in her music videos Maddie Ziegler is widely associated with Sia and often when Maddie is seen people think Sia, meaning, though it isn’t direct, the branding/star iconography of Sia’s music videos is very stand out especially as it is different to most other as it is a young, up and coming dancer.

5 Seconds of Summer - Wherever You Are

This video starts with a clip from the very first video posted onto the YouTube channel that later became the band's YouTube channel, the clip then fades into a wide shot of the band in a studio. Doing this shows the growth of the band; how they went from one singing alone with a guitar to the four of them with their instruments recording as a band, and that they want to share the journey with the fans through the use of their music videos.

The use of close ups amplify the lyrics as the show a close up on the person singing the lyrics rather than just any shot, this is used on some lines rather than others simply to amplify the emotion behind the lyrics at that point in the song. The close ups also add an intimacy to the shot engaging to the audience more by making them feel emotionally invested in the music video. For example just before this close up its a wide shot of the band and it cuts into a close up as he sings ",so I walk alone" this use of a close up not only amplifies the lyrics by showing them being sung but it also illustrates the lyric by showing the one member alone as he sings the word alone.

There are also close ups of the instruments used throughout this video because it amplifies that the band are playing their own music and have a real connection to the song. A close up of the guitar is used at the beginning and is matched up the music as it amplifies the music; there is is also a close up of the drums just as they're coming into the song to literally show the drums coming in during the song.

Often during the choruses a wide shot is used to show that the whole band are singing the chorus, it gives a sense of togetherness with the band and the fans as it gives an insight to the making and recording of the song. The wide shot amplifies the lyrics and the music because you can see each band member playing their instrument and singing along at the same time. But as well as creating the feeling of togetherness it also pushes the listener back just a little bit to show that the recording is a intimate time for the band members as a band by the camera showing the fans on the outside looking in on the band.


I chose this video because I feel is displays all three possible lyric/visual relationships suggested by Goodwin. As I've already mentioned the amplifying and illustrating in the video but this video also has contradicting aspects and that is through all the pre-recorded clips that are added in. None of the clips have any connection to the lyrics throughout the song. However I feel they're used to show the growth of the band and that no matter what they're doing or where they are, they're still the same band that the fans have grown to love and that without the times and memories shown through this video they wouldn't have been able to progress to the being able to be in the studio recording their songs.

Promotional Video: Feedback

Above shows my client posting my promotional video onto the dance school's Facebook page for parents, students, friends and potential students to see. Also some comments on the post giving positive feedback.

Here shows three dancers and a parent sharing the promotional video in a positive light. I'm glad that those involved in the dance school are happy with the video I made with the footage I got of them and for it to be used in hopes to bring newcomers to the school. 

Promotional Video: Final Product

Promotional Video: Final Product Evaluation

As a whole I feel as though this unit went well, with only a few minor issues that were either amended quickly or worked around, for example, I thought I was going to have an issue with two of the dancer as I know they were either foster children or adopted and wasn’t too sure whether they would be allowed to be filmed to be published on social media but because I handed out the release forms their mum signed and okayed that they were allowed to filmed for the purpose of the promotional video and for it to be posted on the internet. Also dealing with so many children could have been a big issue dealing with consent from parents/guardians but, again, because of the release form they allowed me to know which children were and weren’t allowed to be filmed, also the owner of the studio/dance teacher posted on the school’s Facebook page stating I would be filming and if any parent/guardian had a problem with their child being film to contact her privately so that she could let me know; luckily there we few children who weren’t allowed to be on camera or they just didn’t attend the lessons during my filming time meaning there was no chance of them being caught by the camera, which meant there was little rearranging and reframing that needed to be done.

I used majority mid to long shots as I felt it gave a good view of the studio, and the different styles of dancing. I feel that the use of long shots and showing the full body of the students shows how their whole body connects to the song and the choreography and it displays the quality of the dances to their full potential. As well as the mid/long shots I did close ups showing only the legs or feet to show a close up of the movement. I chose the feet because Karen Hardy (professional ballroom dancer) once said that ‘footwork is the foundation to movement’ and I took that and applied it to my filming by showing the footwork of the dancers and their movement during the dances.

If I had the opportunity to reshoot there are several changes I would make; I would hope to use a GoPro attached to once of the dancers to fully capture the movement and give an inclusive feel to the video, as it would be a point-of-view shot it would give the audience the view of a Kelly’s School of Dance dancer; I think the use of a GoPro would work particularly well when doing turns or tumbles to give a feel of the motion felt through dancing. However I was new to the technology of the GoPro and was unsure on how it actually worked and I didn’t want to use any footage that I wasn’t sure of and didn’t look a high enough quality for the final edit as it was for the promotional use of a business and I wanted to be able to make to the highest quality possible. I would also want to have a wider range of shots, for example a high angle almost giving a birds-eye-view on the studio and the dances as it would add dimension and depth to the video, also I would like to do extreme close ups on possibly the faces of the dancers to fully grasp the emotion when dancing as dance is a sport where the execution during performance heavily relies on the emotion and facial expressions of the performers to sell the dance. Another idea would be to use a dolly or glider to get steady and fluid camera movements when shooting the dance without it looking static and monotonous, this would work really well if I was to schedule times when I had certain, smaller groups of dancers performing one of their dances more in a way as if they were competing or not in a dance class setting, much like the videos I found to look at the framing and angles used when filming dances prior to my filming. However because I was filming during active lessons it wasn’t possible to get the perspective I was after as it would have been too disruptive to the classes and as I was shooting during the business hours of the dance school it just wasn’t doable. Ideally I would have been able to have a time when I could have almost staged classes where I would have been able to get into the dances more and show a different view of how the dances look.

If I was to continue with this project I would keep on top on how successful the video was by checking the likes and comments section of the video on YouTube to see how it is received by the audience. Another way I would measure the success is when new students start at the dance school on the registration form I would ask my client if there could be a section added as how they found out about the dance school and from that see how many people joined after watching my promotional video.

Overall I believe that the final product has been completed to a standard that my client was happy with, as it covered a whole range of classed that she offers at the studio. I think that the editing and the length of shots works well in time with the music, as I chose a song that was similar to the kind of music that Kelly (my client) uses when choreographing her dances and I thought a remix would give the promotional video a fun, energetic and engaging feeling for the audience as they’re watching; in hopes that the engaging qualities make the audience connect to the video and feel that this is the kind of dance school they would like to send their children to.

I sent the youtube link of the final product to my client for her to see the outcome. And her feedback was positive and she was impressed with the video as a whole. Although we had discussed ideas I could tell that she wasn't too sure as to what I was getting at fully hence why she said she didn't know what to expect but I'm glad she was pleased with how it turned out. 

Promotional Video: Health and Safety

Health and Safety:

As I was working in a setting with quite a lot of people around at one time I had to make sure I followed the health and safety procedures to ensure nobody was injured and that none of the equipment was damaged. I did this by making sure everyone in the dance studio was aware that I was filming and why I was filming. Since a lot of the students at the dance school are under the age of 18 their parents had to give me permission to film their child for the use of the video and because I did this I knew who was and who wasn't allowed to be frame when filming; luckily no parent said they didn't want their child to be filmed. As I used camera and tripods every shoot and two camera set up for one shoot having the students know I was filming made them aware that there would be camera equipment in certain area of the studio and to be careful when near the equipment to prevent injury to them and damage to the equipment.

Permission/release forms:

Due to legal reasons I had to ensure that anybody that was being filmed for the promotional video had signed a release form which gave a proof of permission for being filmed and the footage to be published. As the majority of the students at the dance school were under the age of 18 their parents had to give me signed permission. Below are the signed and returned forms.

Although this isn't all of the forms, because I have a close relationship with many of the parents and dancers, that are 18+, I did have permission off all dancers to be a part of the final product of the promotional video.

Promotional Video: Location

The location of all of my shoots is at the KSD studio on Heath End Road, Nuneaton. The dance school recently moved into the building after renovating it from a derelict shell of a church. Before moving into their own building they were based at the Nuneaton Academy Sports centre. 

The new KSD studio on Heath End Road.

The studio is local to me so is only a 3-4 minute drive away and only a 15 minute walk away. However it was always easier to drive to the studio as it was more efficient because I had to transport all the equipment I needed during shoots that would have been too much if I was to walk.