Images - Inspiration

There are a few images and videos that have inspired us when thinking of an initial idea for creating our music video. Theses are shown below:

This image from one of Lily Allen's video, shows a young girl sitting by herself and away from everything else that is going on around her. This is the effect that we want to create in our music video, and to show that the main character is in her own little world. I also like that way in which the image is in black and white, and this may also be an effect we use in our video, to show the contrast between a stressful day at the office, to the colours of a night on the town with your friends.

http://www.buzzinpopmusic.co.uk/files/2008/12/lily-allen.jpgsic.co.uk/files/2008/12/lily-allen.jpg

This is another image from one of Lily Allen's videos, but this time is shows a different atmosphere, and instead of showing the character by herself, it contrasts this and show her getting ready for a night on the town with her friends, and this is something we want to create in our video, and to link in with song lyrics that friends are all you need to get through a tough day.


http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00844/Lily_Allen_844754a.jpg

Another inspiration for our video, has been Brighton Pier, as we thought about the ending of the video being based here, and having an establishing shot to show the location. As I have said previously, we want to create a shot of the girls walking into the distance, having a good time, and laughing and talking to one another to show the friendship they have between them.

http://www.avalancherock.co.uk/images/gallery_images/night_pier.jpg

The two pictures below are taken from the Florence and the Machine official website. http://florenceandthemachine.net/ Both these pictures have helped reinforce the ideas behind our video, and gave us inspiration to what we want to achieve.

This image reinforces the theme of our initial ideas as the character in this image (Florence) is very withdrawn from everything that is happening around her, and whereas the two sitting either side of her seem to be busy and getting on with things, the character in the middle seems to be in her own world. This is something that we want to create for the office scene in our video, and to have other characters rushing around and getting on with their jobs, whereas our main character will appear distant, and will show in her body movements and actions that she is stressed and has a lot to do at once.

This image is also of Florence herself, and has influenced us when storyboarding our idea, to create a mirror shot of the reflections of the main character and her friends. We will place the camera slightly to the right to get a really good shot of the characters getting ready and looking at themselves in the mirror as they do so.

Video Analysis

Dog Days are Over is one of Florence and the Machines newer releases, and adopts some of the common conventions used by "indie" bands, and artists, and through the video brings out the quirky personality of Florence Welsh. From looking at the video, it is clear that Florence has used very abstract ideas when creating it, and the video does not necessarily link in with the theme of the song, (similarly to her other videos.)

Dog Days are Over is a very unusual video, and contains random prop, costume and set ideas, to link in with her original style, and you never quite know what to expect next.Colour is a major convention of this video, and certain aspects of colour stand out throughout the video. The video begins in a woods, where the colours are very dull and grey, but there are hints of colour through the bunting of flags that are wrapped around the tree. The main focus of the video is on Florence, and as she journey's through the woods, we as an audience can see some of the strange things she comes across on her journey. The use of colour is also apparent through the costumes, and when she suddenly meets tribal warriors that begin to chase her, the colours of their dramatic make-up and clown-like clothing stand out from the clip. To me, not only are the colours used for a visual affect, but they also may be used to separate the characters. For example, Florence in the video, may not be allowed where she is, and so the colours of the warriors reinforce the fact that she doesn't belong , and is different from them, as she is simply wearing black and white clothing.

A bit further on in the video, she falls, and suddenly we see her thoughts. She dreams of being one of the warriors, and the video shows them dancing, and having fun. For this her make up and clothing drastically changes and becomes much more outgoing and extravagant. She also adopts the clothing warn by the 'warriors' and this is a clown-like bright coloured suit,

From what I have previously said, it is obvious to see that the Florence and the Machine videos are very abstract, and from clowns, warriors and flags, it shows that her style and quirkiness is very individual, and whenever you hear her voice, or see her videos, it is immediately obvious to the viewer who you are listening to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGrx6etMl0w

Bat for Lashes‟, is another "indie-rock" style artist, that incorporates the quirky and unusual costumes, props and sets that some indie artists choose to adopt. Like Florence and the Machine, she does not use a narrative behind her lyrics, and in some cases the video seems to have no actual reference to the song. 'Pearls Dream' is the song I have chosen to analyse, as not only does it show the originality of the artist, but it contrast with 'Dog Days are Over'.

The video is staged on an actual stage, as if the performance was being shown to an audience. The artist is wearing a unitard style clothing, underneath a huge fur coat, to represent wings. There is a clear themes of the universe and space running through this video, but I am still unsure how this theme links in with the song. This shows one of the common conventions used for "indie" style music videos, where the song and the video are not related.

Unlike Florence and the Machine, the use of colour is minimal, but a few aspects of colour are highlighted later on in the video, when the artist fly's across the screen reaching for the planets. Before this, the colours are grey and dull coloured, which represents the mood of the fog surrounding her, which to me may represents the feeling of isolation and wanting to be somewhere your not.

The props used in this video, are Planets which have been hung on the ceiling, and a wolf. The theme of the wolf is recurring, as near the end of the video, special visual effects have been used to create the idea of the shape of a wolf being made out of stars in the sky.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ek3coSedm7o