Shooting - Weird Sky

I planned to shoot with Jack today. I'd already given him a brief summary of the shots required and asked for him to bring extra shirts and his instruments - these shirts would be used to distinguish between the clones. I brought my two animal masks and two cameras and a tripod, however I made sure to get Niamh's mum to bring Niamh's light - which she uses for her YouTube videos. I used the same Canon Powershot SX510s that belong to the school, which proved to be difficult to film with in the low light areas; the footage therefore is extremely noisy and doesn't look high quality. I suppose this isn't really much of a problem if I fix it in post, but I will not know for sure yet. Although I would note that I certainly intended to make it dark, which led me to positioning cardboard in front of the window to block out enough light; I feel that I could have kept more like in the room as to maintain the quality of the shots had the room had darker paint - the white walls picked up a lot of light and would give away the lighting.

For filming the performance clips I chose to record each clone individually from a tripod on one camera and take the other for some zoomed in handheld shots (to get different angles and shots). This minimized the number of takes we had to do but I did retakes for each of the three clones in order to ensure the footage was right. This multic-cam setup allowed for easier syncing and the performances were done with music in the background as to again help with syncing but also to ensure Jack's performance matched up with the original recording - as he could have performed too quick or too slowly. I believe the steady camera is quite professional but it is juxtaposed against the handheld shots; these create a sense of unease which seems to grow in the later shots and I feel this will reflect the 'bad trip' extremely well.

It was difficult to film in the dark and to make matters worse Niamh's light failed to work, this light being something I intended to place in front of the TV as to cast a light on Jack's face - as if the TV were on. This was due to the fact that the house had no electricity and would therefore not be able to have a television on. I had to instead settle on attaching my phone to the TV with the torch on, which helped to cast enough light but not as much as I might have wanted; additionally televisions tend to give off a more blueish tint which Niamh's light would but my camera could not.

All in all I believe it was a successful shoot and I managed to overcome all of the issues I was faced with. If I could reshoot some bits I'd likely focus on the lip syncing for Jack and perhaps get a few more close up shots of Jack singing or some abstract shots to overlay within the final video.

Below is a clip of me trying to block out the video as to see if Jack would be in frame and a video of me testing lighting positions. Additionally, there is a vlog sort of clip in which I describe the location and what I did in order to make it appear darker.

Sequence 01 from Eughan Wooding on Vimeo.


Rough Time Plan:

11:00am to 12:30pm - Meet Niamh's mum at the house and begin to set up the areas I will be shooting.
12:30pm to 12:50pm - Debrief Jack on the concept and area we will be shooting, ensure he is refreshed and ready.
12:50pm to 2:00pm - Film the clones and performance pieces upstairs whilst there is still light outside.
2:00pm to 4:30pm - Film the downstairs segments (the parts with Jack watching the television).
4:30pm - Tidy up the house and help Jack transport his instruments to his house, then return the house keys and Niamh's light.

Green Day Inspiration

Within some of my video, I wish to include some animated psychedelic visuals and the concept feels difficult to express through text. From a visual basis, the most similar idea to some of these segments, is perhaps best shown within Green Day's Bang Bang; the music video includes the Photoshop/Dada animation I wish to emulate, albeit with less complexity. Animating is a very time-consuming process and so I doubt I have the time to animate my music video as in-depth as Green Day have in their video. Additionally, I think it should be noted that I would like to better focus on the visuals than the lyrics - which feature in Bang Bang - however the inclusion of Weird Sky's lyrics will not be included within the video.



I would also like to note that the animation is rather fluid and smooth, likely as more time has been spent on it. While this means I will not be able to animate as smoothly, that's fine. I believe animating with a lower framerate will produce a more choppy animation, one that is perhaps more distinct and clearly indicates the stop-motion aesthetic.

Found Fonts!

Just as a quick note, I was considering how I would do fonts for my digipak work and discovered a rather useful site called Fonts. It requires payment for font usage, which is an issue. Additionally, whilst I initially considered doing text digitally, I believe doing it by hand will make it seem more indie and genuine - so the site is not of use but it was worth noting in case I require it at a later point.

Fonts Site

Scouting - Weird Sky

School Hall:

The first area that I considered shooting was the school hall, namely due to the stage and lights and curtains. I could perhaps better control the lighting and even use some of the theater props within the music video - perhaps a chair and a TV as seen in my animatic. The free space would also give me an area to easily photograph Jack for the stop motion segments. I might even be able to get some good performance shots due to the stage, which I could easily implement into the performance sections; the stage allows for me to get some low angle shots and ensure the performance clips conform to convention with the mise-en-scene.

The issue with the hall is that controlling the lights is rather complex and I would have to get permission from the school to shoot in the hall at certain times, additionally there might be some issue with the logistics of organising for Jack to come to school and shoot the video (given that he is not from my school and would therefore have to gain permission prior). Additionally, the hall is prone to people walking in and out, possibly disturbing the shoot. There are also classes going on nearby, which might be disrupted by a music video shoot - especially one in which I will likely be playing Jack's music aloud.

School Music Rooms:

The second location is the school's music rooms in the music department. These areas are filled with music equipment and therefore recording Jack's performance clips would be quite easy, plus we wouldn't have to struggle to transport his instruments. An issue would again be getting permission for Jack to come into school, but also organising a time within school-hours as he is also at sixth form elsewhere. This issue perhaps suggests that school is not an ideal location for recording the music video - despite all of the positives.

There are some clear positives to the music rooms in that they are quite sound proof and have a reduced echo, albeit this wouldn't necessarily affect the video as the music will be added in post. However, these music rooms typically have music lessons going on in either other smaller rooms or in the major class rooms, in which case my shoot might disrupt those lessons (and I wouldn't be permitted to do that). Another issue seems to be the size of the room, it is unlikely I'd be able to film the entire thing in this one location but it's also rather small making it difficult to record Jack and really get those wide shots with a plain background.

Niamh's Old House:

Niamh's old house was the last place that I decided to look into, namely because she suggested it after I complained about having no location to shoot at. It is relatively messy as they're currently using it as a place to store antiques and old stuff. This messiness might be obstructive but I could use it to my advantage by perhaps moving toys out of shot and making a squalid setting. This setting would reflect the draw backs of psychedelia's drug associations. Such conditions perhaps associating the drinking of milk with drug use, especially given the connotations of a messy house. This can also create a negative reality.

A negative reality would provide an excuse for Jack to go adventure into a fantasy world as a means of escape within the video's narrative. Plus the location could be darkened as to link back to Cellophane by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. Additionally, there is enough materials in the house to work with and create a setting that is maybe interesting and weird enough to suggest Jack is quirky, or add some humour to the video. For example, there is an unplugged microwave we could have Jack get the milk from in the beginning of the video - this being weird since milk isn't usually found in such a place.

There is no electricity on in the location and so the lighting would have to be done by some other means, plus we'd have to ensure the cameras were charged as there'd be no way of charging at this location. Interestingly I did manage to find a sofa and a MAC screen, which we could use as a TV screen since it would be difficult to transfer a television to the location. An issue again might be lighting as the screen would not emit light since there is no electricity in the house. With this in mind, Niamh does have a powerful light that she uses for her YouTube vlogs, which I'm sure I could borrow.

Apart from these essentials, there are some other things around the house that we could use in order to add to the unkempt aesthetic of the setting. There are some old vinyls and a record player which I'm sure we could put in frame, I did consider having Jack play the song on the record player and having the music come in at that point however that seems rather redundant given the music video idea we have decided upon. Nonetheless, it might suggest Jack's musical knowledge and capacity with these items in shot. There are some newspapers too which we could lay down around the area.

Perhaps the best part of this location is how it seems I can also film the performance clips and not just the Jack watching TV section. Upstairs are empty rooms, one of which is bright white and has a large window with natural lighting. This area is perfect for shooting the performance and stop motion bits as the background would be plain, allowing for easy Photoshop work and would even make the 'cloning' in Premiere easier - since there would be no background to really match up, to ensure continuity. In fact, the plain background also allows for me to add in some nice overlays and colours to the clips. With this in mind, I believe I would have to shoot the performance section first and get in a quick photography session while there is still enough daylight.

The biggest issue I can see will be either the weather or the lack of electricity, each dictating the lighting situation. Additionally, it might be difficult to transfer Jack's musical equipment but the house is relatively close to his so this shouldn't be an issue. Niamh's mum did say that she would have to deliver the keys to the house likely on the day, as they're at the caravan which she will be going to before the shoot, which I organised for next weekend. This might be an issue if she turns up late but even then it wont have set us back by much anyway, at least if we film early enough to give us enough time for the overall shoot.

Weird Sky Animatic

Below is an animatic for Weird Sky:
Weird Sky Animatic from Eughan Wooding on Vimeo.

• The scene opens up with a wide static shot of a chair and a television, Jack walking into frame with a glass of milk. He then drinks the milk with an action match shot being included for continuity, before a big close up shot of his eye dilating - to achieve this I can presumably just get Jack to shut his eyes for a little bit and record his pupil adjusting to the light when he opens his eye. The shot of the TV will perhaps include a zoom as to indicate a transition to the bulk of the music video within the TV.

• The clips within the TV or the supposed 'music video' in the narrative will consist of mainly performance clips but also some animations. The shots following are used to simply establish to the audience that the visuals are occurring within the television, which Jack is watching just like them. The fast jump cuts between Jack and his version within the TV will conform to the 180 degree rule and even Goodwin's music theory, the visuals reflecting the lyrics which refer to a "reflection", as such the television version of Jack acts as a mirror image and maybe an antagonist to Jack within the narrative. Soon after is just a close up of Jack singing the lyrics, as to indicate my ability to lip sync more than anything. Although, the shot does add to the psychedelic imagery as it's quite uncomfortably close, a rather abstract shot in of itself.

• The next shot is directly link to the chorus which refers to the "weird sky". The sky imagery is shown here and I aim to perhaps overlay some shots of the sky in order to reflect the shots from the Kinks video that I analysed, and Jack claimed to be inspired by. Videos like Pink Floyd's High Hopes use this super imposition and transitioning clearly adheres to psychedelic convention, helping to layer up images as to make them seem more 'trippy'.

• The clones in the following shot will be edited in, as I did in my preliminary video. These will be played by Jack wearing animal masks as to pay a degree of homage to I Am The Walrus by the Beatles (again, making links back to bands that Jack has claimed to take inspiration from). Additionally, in my analysis of the Beatles I found that Eleanor Rigby and projects such as the Yellow Submarine create some abstract and surreal psychedelic visuals - clearly linking to Dada - which I would like to emulate through stop motion. Furthermore, the Beatles usually produced videos consisting of mainly (if not entirely) performance clips, typically during 'live sessions'; this is why there are a number of performance shots, each with differing angles.

• The next shot is a kaleidoscopic one with Jack being super imposed onto a moving background of the sky, again to associate the video with the overall project's theme of the sky. This shot is inspired by an artist of personal interest: Rat Boy. In his video he includes kaleidoscopic shots which would link into the imagery associated with psychedelia - in accordance with my research.

• As to draw inspiration from Ty Segall's Manipulator and the Django Django video I analysed, the next few segments of the video are stop motion animations with some abstract and surreal imagery. There's a zoom transition between the fish finger and the orange as to associate with the Django Django video but in general I'm unsure about the imagery. I could perhaps change this segment by replacing most of the imagery with just Jack, again as a means of reinforcing his image as an artist and help him become more well known. The animated orange parts are done by hand here but in the real version I might sample some visuals from some synaesthesia-simulation apps, or perhaps pursue some royalty free animations to occupy the background.

• Around 0:53, I've included a shot which will showcase Jack's head growing with an open mouth and eventually consuming the shot with a smaller head coming out of the mouth and into the viewer's focus. By playing around with the perspective, I might create some cool visuals; the amount of animation here is perhaps too much especially given the animation segments in other parts of the video, so perhaps settling on just the first head coming into shot will be better. Again just something to consider when actually producing the video. The head then turns and fills the screen with a vibrant liquid from its mouth, much like in the Experimental Psychedelic Head I made. Additionally, Jack sent me a snapchat which helped inspire the idea of the hand being melted or goop coming off of it.

• The shots that cut back to Jack after the performance clips will have the music playing very faintly in the background, this is done as to remove Jack and the viewer from the world in the television and back into the 'real world' just like in King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard's Cellophane video. However, I aim to include some animations over Jack's hands to make them seem like they're melting or being covered in some sort of vibrant ooze. The shot of him looking back to the TV will obviously act as a motivated shot in linking the viewer back to the visuals within the television, at which point the audio will spike back up to normal levels - the performance clips again coming into play as to conform to music video convention and reiterate Jack's musical ability.

• The next shots will again be a blend of animation with live action shots of the television, the animation pouring out of the TV is done to show the merging of Jack's reality and fantasy; from a narrative point it would be like Jack perceiving an invasion of the ordinary or that he is unable to differentiate between what is real due to the 'drug trip'. His reaction should be one of surprise in the next few shots to indicate how he is rejecting the idea of using drugs, or at least regrets the use or idea of drugs - this would otherwise achieve a better social outlook and avoid moral panic as he is shown to not be condoning drug use despite the origins of the psychedelic genre.

• At 1:35, the rotating dutch angles would best be overlayed over one another as to create a psychedelic sense of nausea (relating to him puking, which is to be animated) or perhaps even to emulate the feeling of drug use, blurry overlayed visuals often being the go-to in cinema for representing intoxication. The shot would likely be a mid shot but I should note the inspiration behind it linking to Raleigh Ritchie (or Greyworm from Game of Thrones). In his video StraitJacket the young rapper's video consists entirely of overlaying shots of him singing or looking in different directions as to indicate his decaying mental state, the dutch angles clearly adhering to this notion in my take on such a premise.

• The next few shots will also contain a blend of animation and live action with Jack trying to remove some goo from his face or perhaps the goo coming as a result of Jack pulling off his own skin, this is done to clearly heighten the tension and otherwise indicate to any drug-aficionados in the fanbase that Jack's character is experiencing a 'bad trip'.
• The last shots show Jack waking up and coming back to reality, whereupon he discovers a mask and soon realises that it wasn't all just a dream. Plus his breaking of the fourth wall, apart from indicating some awareness that he is also within a music video, helps to establish a connection with the audience as if Jack is looking right at them - implicating their viewership within the narrative. Furthermore, it's rather 'tongue-in-cheek' by being aware of it being a music video, Jack and I will be able to create quite an entertaining and meta video that perhaps riffs on the conventions of music video; artists are usually represented as perfect or of a calibre the fans may wish to attain but in actuality Jack wants to be more honest with his fans because he doesn't like the elitist commercially manufactured aspect of music - as seen by his album Shit Music which otherwise criticises such music and artists. 

Creative Block

Suffered an immense creative block while making the animatic and realised it may not flow as nicely as I intended. While I originally didn't want to do a narrative piece - as to better focus on Jack's performance as well as the psychedelic visuals - I have since realised that the video will need some narrative to frame it; the crazy animated visuals juxtapose with the real life performance so it might be too jarring if not narratively framed. In order to better establish a narrative I've consulted the following:

Daniel's thing

Dandy Warhols

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard

Daniel agreed that I need to frame the visuals from my video concept with some sort of narrative. Because of Daniel's video suggestion along with the Dandy Warhols' video and Cellophane by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, I've decided to innuendo Jack's drug trip of the video with him drinking milk and watching TV - where he watches the visuals unfurl and the animation invades real life.
The Dandy Warhols video shows a music video comprised of performance clips displayed on a television within their real video, this would tie in well with the idea proposed by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard with a meshing between reality and television. It is likely that my animation could then invade Jack's reality within the video, allowing for me to contain the performance clips and psychedelic visuals within the TV world before they spill into his 'reality'.


Choice of Milk:
Milk is a good innuendo for drugs and links well to Jack, he certainly likes milk and has made a video sketch about it and milk also is used in a Clockwork Orange (one of Jack's favourite films). Below is an interesting link to a video assessing the presentation and connotations of milk in cinema. It's quite relevant in suggesting that Jack's character sees the milk/drugs as nurturing initially however the viewer will likely note something is wrong, given that it is socially unorthodox for a non-child to enjoy such an amount of milk.

The Milk Video

Music Video - Animation?

Psychedelic artists such as Ty Segall, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, and Tame Impala have included some animation within their music videos. While animation can be a cheap means of adhering to psychedelic convention, I don't believe I have the time to dedicate enough focus on the animation through only hand-drawn means - even if the work is produced digitally in Flash.
With this in mind, it is important to understand why my animations would have to be digitally produced, there are limitations to using real paint or paper and other supplies: Tame Impala for example produced a music video for Feels Like We Only Go Backwards, centered around using paint and perhaps Plasticine to achieve a complex psychedelic stop motion piece. This way of animating practically might cost more both monetarily and in terms of time, therefore making Flash animation more viable; this is especially the case given how I have tried in the past to use paint within my project, such as last year with the title credits, the paint of which proved ineffective and difficult to manipulate. I've previously tested how I might go about introducing this idea into my video and believe I can draw inspiration from my experimental video on the animated head.

Lastly, I would like to assert the idea that animations tend to work rather well within the psychedelic genre as it enables the creator to express vibrant or complexly drawn ideas without practical means; many bands have included animation, such as Pink Floyd with their work on the Wall - hiring Gerald Scarfe, the artist. In fact, many album covers even include illustrations, linking back to animations within themselves but this is a topic I will look into more with the digipaks.


   

As to achieve the abstract and rather Dada style of The Wall and Eleanor Rigby, I believe the use of Photoshop will be the most effective means of creating such imagery. I can simply use pictures of Jack and perhaps other images, cut them out as isolated assets within Photoshop and export them as pdf images with transparent backgrounds - in order to overlay them within my video. Additionally, within this overlay, the images could perhaps be animated in a very stop-motion-esque way (much like the psychedelic head clip I animated earlier in the project). I have a decent amount of knowledge of Photoshop however it appears I will certainly be using it more than during my AS project.

Multiple People in Shot

Jack is a solo artist within this project however I would like to get different shots of him playing various instruments or just him singing, one way of doing this might be the inclusion of clones. By using Premiere Pro, I can edit multiple 'clones' of Jack in; if I have a shot in the final video that shows multiple Jacks playing all of the instruments then it would drive home his musical talent, which I wish to present to the viewer.

Notably, this Jack-centric idea would adhere to the abstract and surreal aspects of psychedelia and even to my preliminary video in which I made multiple versions of myself in a similar manner. One point to raise is how I would be able to introduce some ideas from Ty Segall's music video for the Singer, something I claimed I could not do for Jack in a previous post  but would now be able to do. I think that the static nature of the shot would not be the problem if I cut it with some footage showing different angles of the performance. This links into the conventional live performances of the music videos I analysed but also helps to ensure a range of shots are included.



Notably, I could introduce some further psychedelic visuals by providing each 'clone' with an animal mask to wear. I just so happen to have a pig mask - which featured in my preliminary video - and a dalmatian mask. This runs the question as to what the significance is to using these masks, truthfully there is no real necessity to have them in the video however I feel that it links back to my preliminary video well and also adheres to the surreal conventions of psychedelia (as previously stated). Furthermore, I suppose it could act as a homage to the Beatles and their music video for I Am The Walrus, which unfortunately does not have a video available on YouTube. In this video, the band dress up as animals and so Jack might appreciate this subtle reference due to how he has cited them as an influence on his work; the similarities might also act as an 'easter egg' for the viewer and perhaps such a reference will make the video all the more entertaining for those able to note the connection.

Below is a screenshot form I Am The Walrus:

Smoking Scene is a NO

Why the 'Smoking Scene' Cannot Go Ahead:


Upon consulting my teacher as to whether or not referencing drugs as explicitly as in the 'smoking scene', I've since been dissuaded as it might appear to be promoting the use of drugs - something I do not aim to do. Additionally there might be some issues with shooting in a public area if I need to as Jack would then appear to be smoking real cannabis.


For these reasons, it would appear that I need some other means of framing the abstract visuals and animations I will likely include in the video. Potentially, the visuals might stand up on their own and I wont need to frame the narrative as much as I thought - which will soon become apparent when creating my final animatic. Something in which I will certainly give more thought with over the oncoming days however there are still other aspects of the project I can focus on in the meantime.

Concept Idea for Music Video

I feel that a more conceptual video with essentially trippy or otherwise entertaining visuals would best adhere to the psychedelic conventions that Jack wants me to. These visuals are likely to be animated and perhaps include kaleidoscopic or otherwise abstract visuals; I have a degree of background knowledge in animation as I did it at Higher Project in GCSE and often animate outside of school. In fact some examples are obviously the Psychedelic Head previously shown on this blog but also my animation of Generic Studios in my AS Final Piece, even extending to animation for Niamh's own YouTube channel.

Concept idea for music video from Chris Earl

I was considering perhaps a scene prior to the song which would possibly be of Jack smoking then zooming into his eye and transporting the viewer into an animated video, as to represent the 'drug trip' that the video is illustrating.

Music Video - Which Song?

It is most likely that the song I will be using for my final video is that of Weird Sky. Firstly, the song choice is at the request of Jack and as he is my client in this situation, therefore I am obliged to at least strongly consider his opinion. Secondly, it would link to the project overall which has been dubbed Weird Sky - the song title therefore linking heavily to the imagery of the sky I aim to keep within the promotional work, such as the video and artwork.
The song is relatively short with around 2 minutes, which might make incorporating so many ideas and camera angles/shots difficult but also helps as the animation part wont need to be too long (phew!). Additionally, the shortness of the song allows for me to better focus on a concept.



With this in mind, I have my thoughts on the other songs too and have considered them. Giving my thoughts below:

Autumn Daze
The guitar solo would be interesting to shoot as it would mean that I could get various angles of Jack playing the guitar and perhaps take influence from Scott Pilgrim vs The World with the animation, specifically I could include some electric lightning bolts. This is something I believe Jack would appreciate as he is a fan of the film, plus it'd indicate the merging of the psychedelic and ordinary worlds with the animation being implemented over the live action footage. However, given that I have chosen Weird Sky (which features acoustic as opposed to electric guitar) it'd be a strange visual choice.
On a separate note, the drug references within this song are perhaps more explicit which might lead to some issues with broadcasters as it could be seen as endorsing drug use. A means of bypassing this could be to present a rejection of the psychedelic however the song's content in of itself is perhaps too risky, it would be better to produce a video for Weird Sky and avoid the impact the drug references could have on brand identity - at least for the promotional material.

Only Like You When I'm Stoned
Again the drug reference is more explicit within this song however I enjoy it way more on a musical level to Weird Sky, albeit this is irrelevant to deciding the best song for a promotional video. It is perhaps a lot more personal and has a slower tone than the other songs, which follows a more clearly established narrative of a 'break up' in the lyrics. In keeping, somewhat, with Andrew Goodwin's theory on music video and how visuals are used to illustrate the lyrical content of a song, I would like to avoid a song that forces a narrative.
While I have accepted a narrative is required to some degree (as to provide some semblance or cohesion in the framing of the music video) I would still like to have the freedom to create a narrative that is not reliant upon that in the song; I accept Goodwin's proposal that videos can disregard the content of a song entirely however I would still like to keep in with the association of key lyrics to iconic imagery - namely that of the sky imagery which is best enabled through the song Weird Sky, keeping with the theme that runs throughout the project and the album's title.
On a separate note, the song is rather long, being at 4 minutes, I believe I would struggle to include a consistent enough animation within the video. With the time-consuming nature of animation in mind, it would appear that the shortness of Weird Sky wins out over the other songs.

Mystic Optician
The sounds present in this song coincide with what I typically expect form a psychedelic track, the sound effects and Jack's use of the effects pedal really add to the psychedelic nature of his music and the influence is most evident in this song. The issue of its length come up again but there are some key visuals I could easily draw upon based on the title and lyrics: I have declared a want to focus on Jack's image and identity as a means of strengthening his brand identity, particularly in his glasses and they could be used as a continuous image prevalent in the video; the word "mystic" clearly alludes to psychedelic visuals in of itself and would therefore make it easier for the audience to dissect the imagery within the video, however the "weird" in Weird Sky also does this and therefore makes it more viable.