Issues of Video Production - Essay Example

Production Project Section A: Q1 Composer: Tool 46 & 2 Publisher: Tool Issue: October 1996 Song Structure Timeline Lyrics Description 0:00 - 01:05 No Lyrics Song starts off with slow lead guitar rhythms, may be characterized as eastern or mystical in influence Verse 1:06 - 01:52 My shadow's shedding skin and I've been picking scabs again. I'm down digging through my old muscles Looking for a clue. I've been crawling on my belly Clearing out what could've been. I've been wallowing in my own confused And insecure delusions For a piece to cross me over Or a word to guide me in. I wanna feel the changes coming down. I wanna know what I've been hiding in Lyrics enter here, which is somewhat later in the song. They are slow and clearly sung in an almost dark, spooky, pleading narrative, questioning curiosity and heightening emotions, building up volume, pace, and drum roll Chorus 1:53 - 2:18 My shadow. Change is coming through my shadow. My shadow's shedding skin I've been picking My scabs again. Fast paced, heavy drumming, strong guitar rhythms and riffs, shouting vocals, building up a psychedelic rock feeling 2:19 - 2:42 No Lyrics Vocals pause, heavy drumming and lead and bass guitar rhythms continue, initially at a fast pace, then a gradual decline to a steady state tempo for a few secftrtonds Verse 2:43 - 3:06 I've been crawling on my belly Clearing out what could've been. I've been wallowing in my own chaotic And insecure delusions. I wanna feel the change consume me, Feel the outside turning in. I wanna feel the metamorphosis and Cleansing I've endured within vocals reenter, drumming and lead lower to a light pace, fall down on the amplitude sine, emphasis on the lyrics, and the meaning of the song, narrating Chorus 3:07 - 3:30 My shadow Change is coming. Now is my time. Listen to my muscle memory. Contemplate what I've been clinging to. Forty-six and two ahead of me. Chorus reenters and repeats the lyrics, the song builds up yet again, drums start rolling at increasing tempo, short bursts of alternating guitar riffs Bridge 3:30 - 4:05 I choose to live and to Grow, take and give and to Move, learn and love and to Cry, kill and die and to Be paranoid and to Lie, hate and fear and to Do what it takes to move through. I choose to live and to Lie, kill and give and to Die, learn and love and to Do what it takes to step through. The bridge of the song, where it takes an uplifting, wanted change of rhythms to change the feel of the song for a fleeting moment, before starting of the solo guitar riff 4:06 - 5:04 No Lyrics Progressive increase in drumming frequency, and guitar rhythm tempo, to the point of climax where there are a couple of guitar rhythms with a combination of effects mixed in stereo Chorus 5:04 - 6:00 See my shadow changing, Stretching up and over me. Soften this old armor. Hoping I can clear the way By stepping through my shadow, Coming out the other side. Step into the shadow. Forty six and two are just ahead of me The last chorus of the song with heightened beats, rhythms, strong emotional ending, with voice fading away, and a couple of guitar / drum death impulses Project 1: Section A: Q 2. Genre: Serious, abstract, psychedelic Plot Idea: The lyrics of the song constantly refer to 46 & 2, which is an indirect reference to the Jungian theory that there are three different types of human beings that perceive reality differently, having different chromosome compositions. One with the '42 & 2' composition are connected to a single consciousness and are present in the backward aboriginal people. Our level is of 44 & 2 chromosomes and we are the stepping stone intermediary of a new evolutionary stage in the future of 46 & 2, when we will reach a new level of consciousness. My plot tells the story of how a cave man finds a fire (enlightenment) and walks through it to an evolutionary second step into his future (the present), and then goes through another stage of painful catharsis and change, and finally enters the future as the new evolved human being with new a creative and intellectual strength, and will power. It makes use of an abstract theme to portray the psychedelic nature of the rock song, 'the shadow' from the lyrics playing an integral part in the video taking the man through his various stages and selves, teaching and testing him and rewarding him with supernatural powers at the end. Time Frame: 0:00 - 01:05 Comments: Mystical guitar rhythms, no lyrics in this part, introduction to the song Plot: A cave man, finds a fire in the woods at a distance, goes towards it. The fire keeps on behaving erratically, like making different shapes, like a human brain, his DNA structure, sparks traveling through it like they travel in the human brain. The man is bedazzled and afraid. The man's shadow, on coming near the flame, behaves strangely and instead of going away from the light travels towards it reaching out & touching the flame. The flame then turns into a portal, a form of a mirror into the future, which in this case is our present. This makes him curious, and for the first time curiosity wins over fear and he travels towards the mirror in which he sees himself in a different background. As he scans his reflection from top to toe he notices that his own shadow leaves him and becomes a part of his reflection's shadow. Then his reflection starts behaving differently, and changing in physical features, now looking less physically strong, but more intelligent, clean shave, short hair, and cunning, but still like him, signifying that it is him, just evolved into another person in the future. He comes closer to his reflection, a hand comes out from his reflection in the mirror and grabs his neck, and pulls him into the reflection, and he passes through it. Time Frame: 1:06 - 01:52 Comments: Lyrics enter here, speaking of the shadow, and the need to find what I've been hiding in, and the need to feel the changes coming in. Plot: On the other side of the glass, he is in a large room, a modern setting with a nice well furnished beautiful interior. He looks exactly like his reflection now, more suave, intelligent, and gentleman like. He scans the room, and tries to understand who he is, where he is from, as he holds his head and closes his eyes. Then he starts walking towards the hallway with rooms on both sides. The hallway looks dark and bleak, except for one room, through which a ray of bright light seeps out. Interested and curious to find out, but still afraid to venture he stands still thinking whether to open the door or not. Again, his shadow disobeys him, and starts spinning around on the floor like a fast paced hour hand, and then points towards the door from which the light is coming out, the hands of the shadow reaching out for the door with outstretching arms. He follows his shadow to the room, and enters it to discover a bright big ball of electrifying plasma hanging in the middle of an empty room, with electrical waves and lightning randomly coming out it in all directions. He walks to the plasma and looks at it in a questioning manner. Time: 1:53 - 2:18 Comments: Heavy drumming, strong vocals, and guitar riffs give a strong emotional impact; the following plot part relates this heavy feeling and changing music to the changing shapes of the plasma, and the visions that it shows. Plot: The plasma starts to morph into different shapes, it starts acting like a DNA structure (which is slightly different from the first one - an additional 2 chromosomes are highlighted- so he is now a 44 & 2 chromosome evolved modern day human being) which then turns into a brain, then the neurons can be seen through the electrical impulses coming out of the plasma ball, then the brain turns into a globe (the earth), particle accelerator, a nuclear reactor, then a nuclear missile, which is then launched in the air, and returns back to the plasma globe (which now looks like the earth) - then an explosion (looking like a huge nuclear explosion in the small plasma earth) occurs and a bight flash of light fills the room and blinds the man for a second. Time: 2:19 - 3:30 Comments: Vocals stop here momentarily, drums get heavier, focus on instrumental music, relates to the plot, as the 4 shadows and how they move, and what they do. Plot: Then he notices that he now has 4 shadows that stretch out towards all four corners of the room attached from his feet, and are crawling up the walls. Then they all detach themselves from his feet, and start behaving like different parts of his personality. A sad shadow cries against the wall with his head down. An aggressive shadow starts attacking the depressed one. A 'creative & intelligent' shadow doesn't care of whatever that happens on around him and keeps on working on various different things, like a statue, or a building, or a painting (all seen through shadows on the wall). A brave shadow stands up & fights the aggressor and tries to save the other shadow. He manages to kill the evil shadow he couldn't save the depressed one because he was too uninterested and unwilling to help himself. Now the two shadows that remain, and their good qualities of bravery, willpower, creativity, intelligence, altruism, are all combined into one shadow on the wall. Time: 3:30 - 4:05 Comments: This is the bridge of the song; changing rhythms beat, and lyrics bridge the gap between the choruses and precede the climax of the song. The bridge is where the man tries in vain to free himself from his shadow. This is one of the nicest grunge bridges in rock, and like its music theme represents anger, frustration, and the need to liberate. Plot: The man who is watching all of this is scared of what he has seen and wants to run away from his shadow. But his shadow is stronger than himself now, for it has eliminated all its major weaknesses and combined its strengths. As the man tries to run towards the door to leave the room, his shadow moves the shadow of a chair, which in turn moves the actual chair itself and pushes it in front of the man who trips over it. He gets up again and runs out of the door, only to discover that he has come back into the room which he just left. Confused, he runs out of the door again, and like a mirror reflection he again steps into the same room. He looks at the plasma orb and knows that he can't escape it, and that he would rather face it. So he walks towards it and touches it with his fingers, and moves his hand around it, as if trying to feel some thoughts that the orb is trying to convey through his touch. Time: 4:05 - 5:04 Comments: progressive increase in drumming, guitar riffs and rhythms, climax of the song, which is also the climax of the story Plot: His hairs rise gradually as if the pull of gravity is reversed, his eyes roll up, veins swell and their blue and red colors can be seen on his skin. He opens his mouth as if to shout, but he can't speak, it is as if energy is being sucked out of his body and he starts levitating. His shadow on the ground starts turning into vapors or black liquid droplets that first hang in the air, and then turn into a dark cloud that swirls across the room around him like a whirlpool. Electricity sparks from the plasma globe travel through the cloud like lightening; there are flashes of light on the man, and his flying hair, giving a spooky surrealistic psychedelic look. Then his eyes light up like torches, and then the man falls on the floor, as if he has just gone through exorcism and is tired and without energy. He falls on his hands and knees, and bows down to face the ground. Time: 5:04 - 6:00 Comments: Climax continues, and then the song ends, not faded away, but with death impulses of heavy guitar and drumming, and hence the plot synchronizes with the heavy psychedelic theme, with video special effects, and a strange ending that might leave a lasting impression, in which the shadow swaps places, and travels through the orb into the future. Lyrics mention "By stepping through my shadow, coming out the other side." Plot: The clouds then cool down, lightning stops, and it starts raining black drops on him, parts of his shadow. With each drop that falls on him he suffers immense pain and cringes, but he decides to face the change, rather than run away from it. It will be painful, but that it's still worth it. When it stops raining he is completely covered in a black shadow blanket. The cloud has disappeared. The dark veil then starts to crack, and a new man emerges from underneath like a new life form breaking from a shell. He stands up tall and slender but athletic with his back towards the camera. He turns towards the camera now with uncanny sharp eyes; his smile seems that he knows a lot. His strong straight hairs fall on his shoulders, and his long thin fingers almost look artistic. He raises his hand, and all the things in the room start to levitate, and he lowers it and everything falls back. Then he looks at the door, and the door travels on the walls, turning through the corners and comes on the wall right in front of him. He looks straight at the camera, smiles, and then sinks quickly into the floor and swaps places with his shadow. So now his shadow is standing tall, and he is on the ground in 2D in place of his shadow, and his shadow walks through the door, on whose other side you can now see the future. Production Project 1 Section B Q 2. Production Requirements: Actors: Only one main actor required in the whole shoot, for the 4 shadows part we will need 4 people of identical physical stature behaving like the shadows Costumes: a caveman costume that looks like its made of animal skin a 3 piece suite for the first transformation of the main actor a silver-grey designer overcoat / futuristic clothes for the second transformation a black costume for the shadow swap character near the end of the video Props: A spear, for the caveman Interior decoration of the room, including chair, study table, decoration pieces, carpet Dagger for the shadow figure trying to kill the other shadow Locations: Forest or woods: to shoot the first scene The rest of the movie can be shot in a studio, if it has a hallway and a couple of large rooms available, or otherwise we could rent out a large house for the duration of the shoot Shooting requirements: For shadows on the wall: We would have 4 men wearing a similar costume that has similar outline to have coherency of shape and form For the shooting of the shadows we will need to have the actors and the lights placed behind the camera. Lighting: We will need multiple light sources in the same scene to create multiple, yet sharp outlines of the shadow on the wall. The varying distances of the figures from the light source, and in turn also from their projections on the wall, will determine the sharpness of the shadow and the luminosity of the background. For the flying hair we will need strong fans, placed directly below the actor at an angle that increases the effect on the hair, and does not disturb his clothes a lot For the levitating objects and man we will need pull the objects by rope attached to hooks and pulleys in the ceiling, which will be colored green along with the walls, so that they dissolve in the background, which can then be later replaced through editing We will also need gear to produce the monochromatic flashes of lighting from different angles, which in dark would look like still picture animation. It will be used when the main actor is levitating in the air to produce a spooky effect At different points in time, the actor will be lighted using multiple sources of low intensity spot lights revolving from different angles to create a unique perspective. The cameras can be revolved on a circular rail around the actor one below the other, one moving in a clockwise direction, the other in an anticlockwise direction at varying speeds For the spinning shadow on the ground only one point light will be placed at a distance of 2 meters from the actors head inclined at an angle, revolving on a railing in one direction, with one dim diffuse light at the top, so that it gives the impression that the shadow is spinning like a dial The part when he comes out of the shadow blanket: the actor will be covered in a green tone sheet which will be loosely cut in some parts making it easy for the actor to tear it off when he rises from below, and later on with the help of computer editing we can replace the color with black to make it look like he's just come out of the shadow veil Editing & Special Effects: Editing would require almost 2 weeks as this video would make use of extensive special effects We would need the green screen editing: for the levitating orb, the shadows going towards the light, for replacing the strings on the levitating objects with the background, for showing the portals into the future, for showing the hand come out of the reflecting mirror, for producing the electrical waves and pulses in the orb, and for showing the light coming out of his eyes, This coupled with fine tuning special effects like hue, contrast, brightness levels regulation, and grey scale Speed variations, slowing down, speeding up, etc would be used for displaying the levitation and the second metamorphosis The coupled emboss and outline effect would look nice on the black shadow rain part Transition effects like fade to black would be used more regularly here, as it goes with the shadowy theme. The speed and repetition of the scenes will be synchronized with the music, for example in the case of the heavy drumming and guitar rhythms at the end we could have the flashes of lighting synchronize with it, start with it, and stop with it Production Project 2: Lost and Found: Plot for the Story Board: A little girl, 6 year old loves her dolly a lot, all day she treats her like her daughter, and pampers her and takes care of her like her mother takes care of her. One morning when she finds out that her dolly is lost, she can't help but cry, and look for it everywhere hysterically, without the doll she wouldn't know what to do, that was the purpose of her young life. Her mother tells her its ok, we will get you another dolly, but she insists that she wants the same dolly and that her mom wouldn't understand it. After a lot of whining her mom gets angry and orders her to back in her room and stop looking after the doll. The little girl is disheartened and in the night when her mommy is asleep she sneaks out of the main door to look for her dolly, and gets lost herself. Its morning now, and her mom realizes that she is gone, she gets frantic and frenzied with worry, and looks hysterically for her daughter everywhere, and cries and shouts, just like her daughter did when her dolly was lost. She calls the police and her neighbors and looks for her everywhere, and remembers the moment she was angry at her daughter, and it gets on her conscience. Finally after a good search, the police find her daughter in a forest nearby sleeping peacefully by a tree with her dolly in her hand, and her mother on finding her is ecstatic and in tears. She takes her inside and kisses her. At the end of the movie, the little girl is sleeping peacefully in her mother's arms, and her dolly in her own. Bibliography: You Stand There: Making Music Video by David Kleiler , Robert Moses Reinventing Music Video: Next-generation directors, their inspiration and work by Matt Hanson Make Your Own Music Video by Ed Gaskell Thirty Frames Per Second: The Visionary Art of the Music Video by Steve Reiss , NEIL Feineman Experiencing Music Video: Aesthetics and Cultural Context by Carol Vernallis The Way Hollywood Tells It: Story and Style in Modern Movies by David Bordwell Read More