This video was uploaded by the courtesy of Vevo with permission given from Mercury Records (Pixies label).
Vevo is a music website, a joint venture among a 3 out of the 4 major music companies: Sony Music, Universal and EMI. Vevo is just another way an emerging artist can advertise, depending on what label they are signed to. As Pixie is signed to Mercury Records partnered to Universal, can license her videos to the music website - which is available on YouTube a fast growing video sharing website!
A scene starts 2 seconds before the music is played, like i mentioned in our pitch we plan on adding camera cut ins on objects (like the phone and a wall clock) with diegetic sounds (traffic, clock ticking) although in the music video itself this only lasts 2 seconds before the piano starts playing, however its possible and simple for us to extend this to 4-5 seconds. Not too long as we dont want to drag the intro, just quick snaps of this and that then music starts.
I've noticed from the first verse that in Andrew Goodwin's teminology, Cry Me Out is in fact Disjuncture. Most of the shots in the video are just on Pixie Lott posing about - not much acting, or even frames of the guy she is telling to 'cry her out,' he is only seen at the beginning and end!
*0:00 - 0:06 seconds*
Our music video will remain as Amplification, thankfully we picked a song with well spoken (or sung shall i say) lyrics that make sense. We will follow along a concept where she is singing the lyrics which she hopes telepathically gets into his head that its time for him to get over her - however she is not being truthful to herself as she slightly misses him to. Its only near the end where she sings and means it!)
Original music video's types of camera shots:
Performance and Presentation of Artist:
As this music video was created when Pixie Lott was only just starting out as an artist it is crucial for her face to get the recognition it needs in order to sell! This video contains masses of frames of her making eye contact to the camera, this may be because of the fact of getting the audience to remember her face, but could also mean she is trying to connect to the song and involve the audience into it, maybe even because the audience or who she expects is watching it the guy the song is to, her body language could also back this up as at one point she points to the camera when the lyrics are "pics on your phones proves you weren't alone" she points and sings "you' at the same time which could be considered as her singing directly. I've screengrabbed the main frames of her giving eye contact.
Due to our video being Amplified to the lyrics, there has to be a cut down on eye contact to the camera, as this ruins the whole atmosphere of the 'story-telling' concept. However, as Charlie Jayne is also an emerging artist her face needs the recognition she could get, so maybe in the base track will we add a few shots of her making the direct contact to the camera - as well as the camera having extreme close ups.
Effects:
One very obvious effect used throughout the whole video would be (yes you've guessed it) the use of BLACK AND WHITE. Now according to my two lovely media teachers, the use of black and white effects should be avoided, as this is a music video colour in a way promote more, also its a slight cheat to the quality of an image. Although it is recommended to avoid this effect we still wanted to use it in some parts of our video, as having a black and white effect really adds to the sadden atmosphere of the song as well as to the mise en scene. Having told our teachers this, they agreed to let us, they said "if you were to use black and white, then the content in the frame must be spot on as that is what you'll be judged on" We understand that there are only a few things, like camera work that work well with B&W. This will be kept in mind at all times.
In the interlude slow motion is used to capture the elegance of the ballet dancers as well as Pixie when she floats up. This effect really interests me as it is a wonderful way for the camera to co ordinate with the slow pace of the song. Also the slow motion was put in a perfect place (the interlude) which usually builds up to a certain climax. In this orginal video the slow motion happens right before the climatic chorus which is a good way of building up tension! Slow motion is also used on the synchronised swimmers, emphasising their moves and the water splashes (to be frankly honest with you i dont understand why that is - maybe because its common for any water related scenes to be in slow motion, i mean look at Baywatch for example...)
We was also thinking of using transitions like fading from one scene to another. Here are screen grabs of the effects used in the original video. These transitons could be used to go from one flashback memory to another (the reminiscing old memories part).
Slow Motion (cannot be shown clearly):
Transition - Fade In & Out:
The song does not have an official lyrical ending, the song just quietens which gives us more interesting ways to end our video. In Pixie's video the last framing was of the mirror she used in the first scene, then the camera fades to black followed by Pixie's Record label.
We have many ideas we would like to end our video with:
- Like the beginning the video will continue for a few more seconds after the song is finished, this means adding diegetic sound again. We could end in the same concept as the beginning (in bed) however she is not alone :P
- Another could be a fade out (like the original) Charlie Jayne looks straight at the camera and sings the last line (this could be a close up or a mid shot of her at the park) then when the song quietens, she walks away from the camera as the camera fades to black...or white.
- Same as above but the camera blurs our instead.
Original Video Ending:
So how will ours differ from the orignal music video?
Well the most significant difference would be from Goodwin's theory of music videos. The original video is more of Disjuncture whereas my group and I aim for a more Amplified Music video, one where it flows, creates a story and moves well with the lyrics - doing so will add more of an emotional effect on the song, it will have a deeper meaning and the song and its lyrics will be taken a lot more seriously. The audience will listen and feel where the artist is coming from and her position in terms of love and relationship. They will connect to her more therefore develop an interest in her image...soon and hopefully become a fan.
