Choosing to be an auter

       Being an auter can bring many benefits to your production, such as the film itself being made completely from the creative influences of one person, and so the persons "dream" or "idea" is encapsulated perfectly, as he or she has complete control.

www.wikipedia.org defined an auteur as :

 film directors (or, more rarely, producers, or writers) who are considered to have a distinctive, recognizable style, because they (a) repeatedly return to the same subject matter, (b) habitually address a particular psychological or moral theme, (c) employ a recurring visual and aesthetic style, or (d) demonstrate any combination of the above. In theory, an auteur's films are identifiable regardless of their genre.

                                   Terry Gilliam.                                                                                                 
       Terry Gilliam is a screen writer, film director, animator, actor, and a member of the much loved Monty Python group, well known for their "flying circus".

Well, I really want to encourage a kind of fantasy, a kind of magic. I love the term magic realism, whoever invented it – I do actually like it because it says certain things. It's about expanding how you see the world. I think we live in an age where we're just hammered, hammered to think this is what the world is. Television's saying, everything's saying 'That's the world.' And it's not the world. The world is a million possible things.

—Terry Gilliam: Salman Rushdie talks with Terry Gilliam

 

Terry Gilliam was born on 22nd November 1940 and gained his reputation as an auteur by starting his career as an animator and strip cartoonist, and was an animator for monty python, later appearing in occasional scenes as an actor for the group. Gilliam became a screen-writer and director after the gradual split up of his previous group in monty python. His first film was called "Time Bandits" appearing in 1981, and wrote two other movies, "Brazil" and "The adventures of Baron Munchausen", in a trilogy of movies depicting the "craziness of our awkwardly ordered society and the desire to escape it through whatever means possible."

 

Origins of Music Videos

Music videos first shot to prominence in the 1980's, when MTV based their television channel around the music video medium.

Music videos were seen as a powerful marketing tool, as they brang a new dynamic to songs, where the audience now had a visual image to associate with the song they were listening to. This meant that artists could now depict what theyre song was about in a video and effectively dictate the way in which their songs are taken and listened to. Also, including strong video content ensured songs were instantly more memorable.

Music videos had been around, in a sence up to the 1980's, however, these videos were often simply the musicians themselves playing instruments and the videos included no real story line. One memorable video from before the 1980's was the Beatles : Strawberry fields. This video, however, was not of the same quality as modern music videos, but included new elements, not seen before, with the beatles playing their instruments, and with plenty of jump cuts, with switches between night and day.

The first music video to be shown on the newly born MTV channel was "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the buggles.

Ironically, the title of this song seems to refer to the issue of music videos destroying real music.

One such beleiver of this philosophy was Morissey of The Smiths. He claimed that music videos destroyed music and there should be no relation between music and video when it comes to artists and their releases. He believed that music videos would never catch on, how wrong he was.

Muisc videos have now become a huge part of the music industry, with over 20 music channels, showing music videos, one after the other. They are a staple part of a music single, and a good music video can often save an artist who has produced a mediocre song, as it shows more clearly the songs meaning, and helps the audience achieve a greater understanding of what the artist has tryed to achieve in terms of a story line. There are now awards for the best music videos, and there are many directors who work solely on music videos with artists. The music video has now become as much a part of  the production as the song itself.

Questionnaire

This Questionnaire will help me decide what elements to include in my music video, and what elements to leave out.

Name:
Age:
Gender:


1. In a music video, is it important to you that there is a strong narrative directly linking to the song?
    YES......                NO.....


2. Should sounds that are relevant to the video be left in or should the song be the only audio?
    Sounds left in........               Leave only song audio..........


3. What is your favourite music video and what are two key elements you enjoy about it?
    .......................................................................................................................................................
    .......................................................................................................................................................


4. Should there be an actor singing the words in sync with the song or is this not important?
    Yes......                NO......


5. Does a variety of locations matter in a music video?
    Yes......                NO......


6. Which Artists have impressed you with their music video's?
    ........................................................................................................................................................
    ........................................................................................................................................................


7. Where do you expect to see the Artist, Song and Album name in a music video?
    ........................................................................................................................


8. Where do you spend the most time watching music video's?
    TV.....  Internet.....  Mobile Phone.....  Other (please specify).....


9. Do you prefer a music video to stay at the same pace as the music or should it have its own pace?
    Same pace......                     Own pace......


10. Do you enjoy music videos with lots of effects put on to them or do you prefer a standard, plane style of filming?
      Effects......                Standard style......

Results:

Question 1: 5 people said yes, and 5 people said no. This does not provide a conclusive answer as to whether i should include a narrative or not, however, it would certainly seem to be a good option as it would please both those who believe it is important and those who do not.

Question 2:  9 people believe that extra sounds should not be in the video and the music should be the only audio, with one person believing that other sounds can be added in without ruining the music. when asked, the people who disagree with extra sounds gave reasons such as that it ruins the song as a whole and serves no real purpose as a music video is not the main attraction to a song.

Question 3: Among other answers, one was Oasis - Supersonic. The reason given for liking this video was that it is a simple yet effective video with lots of colours. Another answer given was Take That - Shine. The reason given for this was that it is a music video that is based on looking like a performance of the song and so is not pretencious in trying to convey a message.

Question 4: All of the people asked said that it was not important that there is someone singing the words in sync with the song, however when asked further, many of the people asked said it often improves the look of a music video and gives it a better quality feel.

Question 5: 7 people said that it is not important for a variety of locations to be used, with 3 people saying it is important. There is no doubt, however, that a variety of locations ensures a music video is kept fresh and doesnt get boring the longer it is watched.

Question 6: Answers included Kate Nash, Kasabian and Bob Dylan. Particularly with Kate Nash and Kasabian, people enjoyed these music videos because they were colourful, with plenty of changes of scene and they all include scenes relevant to what the songs underlying principle is.

Question 7: 10 out of 10 people asked said they expect to see the titles in the bottom left hand side of the screen, showing that i should follow already established techniques in this department.

Question 8: 8 people asked said they watch the most music videos on the internet on sites such a youtube. i should therefore tailor my music video for internet use.

Question 9: 10 out of 10 people said they see no problem for a music video to have its own pace, seperate to the song itself. i initially thought the opposite would be true, however this does mean that a video can be created much easier as you have less to worry about, trying to keep the song and video at the same pace.

Question 10: 7 people agreed that they preferred effects in music videos, with 3 saying they prefer the standard style of filming. However, interestingly, the 7 people who said they prefer effects were all under 20 years old, and the 3 who prefer no effects were all over 30, so perhaps this indicates that i should include effects depending on which generation i am aiming my music video at.

kasabian : Fire music video analysis

This video starts off with non diagetic dialougue, setting the scene for the music video, with lead singer, Tom Meighan, staring at his reflection, showing that he is reflecting on something he is done, or perhaps a plan  of what he is about to do.



This opening also gives the audience their first glimpse of the lead singer of  the band, and as he is the front man, he is first to be seen. This identifies him as a leader.



The next scene cuts to a close up of guitarist and main songwriter of kasabian, Sergio Pizzorno, also looking like he is reflecting on something, giving us the impression that he is linked somehow to Tom.
The music video is shot with a golden tint, making it look like it is happening in the past. Also, this music video has quite an abstract style and, although it does tell a story, the story is not that of the songs original intentionality.

The music starts, and the titles come in, displayed in the bottom, left hand corner, which seems the convention that most music videos obey.
The camera cuts back to Tom Meighan looking at his reflection when the words of the song start, and Tom sings them in sync and in time with the music.

There is then a close up of a young boy in a car, with a music note tattooed on to his upper cheekbone. The deserted streets show that something big has happened or is about to happen.

When the chorus kicks in, and with it the music speeds up, we see a CCTV-like image inside a bank where the band appear to be commiting a robery. With the quickened pace of the music, the videos pace changes to a much faster one.

An interesting idea in this video is that instead of guns, the band are holding guitars in the same way you would hold a gun to rob a bank. This injects a music element into the video, and lets the audience see that they are all in the same gang in the video, and band in real life.

When the chorus is over, the camera changes from the CCTV images, back to the gold tinted shots of the street and of Tom singing to his reflection for the entirety of the next verse.

When the chorus comes back in, police arrive at the bank and a shoot out starts.

There are lots of slow motion action shots, this slow motion allows a more detailed look than regulare speed would allow, and delivers more impact than a standard shot.
Also, there are noises such as gunfire which is added on to the video which is diagetic. This is unconventional as usually in a music video, bands are fearful of ruining the actual song with added on sounds in the video.

 

The band escape from the police using a fire escape, and this ties in nicely with the song, as the songs title is "Fire". When the band burst through this fire escape, there are some hand held, shakey, camera shots which show urgency and the frantic nature of the escape.

When we see the bags of money that have been stolen from the bank, another clever idea within the music video is revealed, as we see  that this is not money at all, but paper with music notes on it. This represents one of Kasabians main philosophys, which is that music is treated like a money making tool, when it should be used as a source of inspiration and free listening for anyone.

The music video ends by going back to the start of the bank robbery, and follows the band into the bank before cutting to the end of the video.

Short film deconstruction: This is the life

This short film introduces the titles at the beginning, staying with classic film conventions, and is filmed with "kitchen sink" type realism, with a fly on the wall style.


The first shot is an establishing shot of the kitchen, from a P.O.V style shot as if you are sitting at the table with the rest of the family, as you learn that "Dad is coming back today".
This shot gives you an early chance to connect with the family.


Close ups of the family members faces show their expressions and feelings, such as the mothers expression at the start when she has to tell he children what to do.


Slow, meloncholy, acoustic guitar music kicks in, creating a sound bridge from one shot to the other. This music gives the feeling of family life and re occurs through the entirety of the short film.


The house on the inside looks very basic and working class, as does the front of the house, with things on the front lawn, which we first see when the children first see their father.


When the convosations happen between dean and his father, close up shot-reverse shots are used to show the anxiety on their faces when talking to each other.


The fathers old car and rolling baccy give further working class connotations, and when he comes back to the car with crisps and a pasty for his sons lunch, it is clear that he does not have a lot of money.


The meloncholy music heard at the start kicks in every time something happy happens in the film, with low angle shots to give the optimum picture of the situation.

Analysis of documentary style film: TYSON (first 12 minutes)

The film : Tyson, is a documentary style film about the life of the great fighter, Mike Tyson, in which he talks us through his life.

At the start, there is a black screen with dramatic, non-diagetic music, building up to the opening shot, an establishing master shot, set above the boxing ring looking down on the fighters.In the following shots, the titles and the video footage of Tyson's fights share the screen in quite an abstract way, almost jumbled and cluttered as was Tyson's career and life. Also, the titles are very colourful, fading in and out, perhaps hinting at how colourful Tyson's life has been.

The video footage, sharing the screen with the titles, and shot in a non linear style, is slightly blurry archive footage of Tysons fights, which is edited in a way that the same punch is often repeated two times with the volume of the punch increased to increase the emphasis on them and portray a huge amount of power coming from Mike Tyson.

In the last moments of the archive footage, Mike Tysons hand is held up, celebrating his victory, with the commentater of the fight being heard to say : " he could reign for a long, long time" eluding to Mike Tyson's potentially amazing life and career. This has a slight sense of irony as we later discover how Mike Tyson's life and career fell to pieces, the  bell then rings, signaling the end of the archive footage.

The fiery title "TYSON" is then shown on the screen, in strong, masculine text, characteristically similar to boxers themselves. Also, the fiery style of text signals pain, suffering and anger, perhaps showing how out of control Mike Tyson got in his later days as a boxer.

The first dialouge from Mike Tyson overlaps from the titles to the opening, panning shots of him walking along a beach, showing a change in Tysons attitude, as he seems a much calmer person, with the sun setting, perhaps signifying the sun setting on his professional career as a boxer. Also, Tyson is on his own, making him look lonely, as he looks upon the ocean, leading us to believe that he is reflecting on his lost career.

The camera then cuts to a close up of the recent Mike Tyson's face, showing that it is battered and old, with a maury tattoo on his face, this portrays everything he has been through in boxing, and the tattoo shows Mike Tyson's inner anger and fiery temprement. We find Tyson sitting on his sofa in an apartment, which is fairly posh and modern looking, showing he must have made good money from boxing and clearly still has money. This idea is further inforced by what he is wearing, which is posh looking trousers, a shirt, with cufflinks and an expensive looking watch.

There is then a shot of some archive footage of brooklyn, an anchoring shot, giving the audience and idea and a picture in their head for when brooklyn is mentioned, followed by a still image of Mike Tyson in his glory days.