Planning Cinematography

Planning Cinematography

Cinematography is essential within any music video as the varied and different techniques used help to make the video interesting and unique which will help to engage the audience. If the music video contained a series of shots which were the same, such as a mid shot this would not be interesting for the audience to watch as there are not different scenes going on in the video which captures their attention. The shot used helps the audience to establish the location of where the video is shot which could engage the audience as they will be able to relate if the location is a setting which they recognise. Furthermore, by using different cinematography techniques this helps to display the artists emotions as each shot has connotations with different emotions which could be inferred. 

Long Shot

The first camera technique in which will be used within my music video is a long shot. A long shot is also referred to as a full shot or a wide shot which typically shows an entire object or setting. This camera shot will be used in my music video when the artist is in the location in London. The reason for this is so that the audience can see where the artist is and establish the setting of the music video from the surroundings and iconography used such as public transport such as buses and trains. We will typically use this shot in London as this helps to display the narrative further of the artists journey to fame and helps the audience to understand this clearly. We will also use this type shot when the artist is performing on the stage.This shot is conventional to the Soul music genre because again, it allows the audience to establish the location. Typically in this genre of music video the scenery and setting used is kept quite simple. London may be seen as being chaotic and busy which goes against these conventions but we are planning to use a quieter street in London when the artist is singing, which is conventional as this then does not divert the audiences attention away from the artist and helps them to focus on the lyrics, this is also similar to the setting of the stage as there is not anything diverting the audiences attention as the background is predominately dark colours which allows the audience to focus on the passion and the artist reminiscing.The shot is again conventional where we will use it to show the setting as this is what many of Soul music videos do, as this helps the audience establish the setting and helps the audience to build a relationship with the artist as this is relatable and feel as though they are getting to know the artist as she is showing her journey throughout her route to fame and the places she likes to visit. This particular camera shot could also help to represent the artist and her emotions further. This is because the long shot is typically far away from the artist as they are not close up in the shot. Setting is shown mostly in this shot which makes the artist appear smaller. This could portray to the audience that the artist is feeling lost as she is feeling smaller in surroundings she is not familiar with referring to her finding fame. This could make the audience sympathise for the artist because they can see how she is reminiscing on times before fame where she was attempting to become famous and can see that she misses these times as she felt less lonely. The audience may be able to relate to the artist in some way, from feeling lost to how they miss a particular time or period of their life.

Close Up Shot

Another cinematography technique which we will use in the music video is a close up shot. This shot typically helps to tightly frame a person or object which is regularly used within films. This particular shot will be used when the artist is singing as this will help to display the emotion and passion as she is singing to the audience as this is a clearer way to portray this. This will help to build a relationship between the artist and the audience as they see her true, raw emotion and believe that this is the audience wanting to share these feelings in order to show that this subject can be relatable to everyone. The audience feel as though they are beginning to know the artist as they have shared their emotions and feelings which is something you would usually do if you were close to somebody and felt as though you could trust them. This shot is conventional to the soul genre as this helps to represent the artist at the most vulnerable times as this helps to show raw emotion which is brought on by the emotional and personal topics which she is singing about. This again helps the audience to relate to the artist as they see her as an ordinary girl which has feelings just like the audience does and allows them to sympathise for her, engaging further into the music video. The close up used is one that I have noticed is most used throughout this genre and how successful it is every time it is used in one of the videos of this music genre. This is because this particular genre, Soul is predominately based around personal and heart felt topics which can't help but display some sort of emotion. Close up shots are the best way to illustrate this emotion as there is no cover for the artist as all of their genuine emotions are shown on screen. The particular camera shot allows the artist to be emotional and lonely as the emotion and facial expressions used help to represent this. Additionally, the artist is portrayed as a genuine person as she isn't tried to hide or mask the fact she is emotional about the subject she is singing. We want to capture this in order to engage the audience further and feel as though they are building a relationship with the artist as they are sympathising for her.

High Angle Shot

Another cinematography technique in which my group are wanting to include in our soul genre music video is a high angle shot. This is a camera technique where the camera looks down at the subject or person from a higher angle than them which can make the subject seem smaller suggesting the subject to be powerless and vulnerable. This particular camera technique will be used when the artist is playing the piano whilst singing her lyrics to show the vulnerability of the artist. This type of shot is conventional to the soul music genre because it helps to portray the artist as inferior and powerless, which also suggests that they are weak and vulnerable due to this. The camera shot will help to represent our artist as vulnerable as this is being used at the same time as she is singing her lyrics which she is becoming emotional and upset over which can be seen throughout the use of facial expressions and body language. In addition to this the artist will also be represented as down to earth and genuine as she is not trying to cover up her true and raw emotion for the audience as she is being showed in a vulnerable state and to be powerless at the same time. The audience may be able to build a relationship with the artist because they may be able to relate to the situation that the artist is in and feel as though they have an insight to the artists life as they are seen in a natural state and are not covering up the emotions of the artist. 

Panning Shot

Another cinematography camera technique in which we would like to include in our music video is a panning shot. This is the technique of moving the camera horizontally to the left or right, which allows you to follow or track a person or subject with the additional help of a tripod. This particular camera technique will be used when the artist is singing and perfuming the piano as well as using this technique when filming in London. This particular shot is not necessarily conventional to the soul music genre as I have not seen this technique used in many of the music videos of this genre I have analysed. However, the connotations of the shot could be used in a soul music video as the connotations could be conventional. The panning shot of the camera moving from left to right will help to show the location of London clearly for the audience. This could be conventional as it allows the audience to see the location clearly and reiterate the rem incising which the artist is doing and remind the audience how low and vulnerable the artist is feeling with fame as she is feeling lonely. In addition to this, the panning shot will also be used when the artist is singing whilst playing the piano, this means that there will be multiple shots of this action as the camera is moving from left to right. This again could reiterate the emotions of the artist as the audience are seeing this more than once. They can see the artist in her true state of vulnerability. In addition to this, the camera technique helps to create a calm, relaxed feel to the video which is conventional to the soul genre as the audience are focused mainly on the expressions of the artist. 

Point of View Shot

The last camera technique which I would like to include into my music video is a point of view shot. This shot can also be referred to as a POV shot which helps to show what the character is looking at through camera shots. This camera shot will be used within our music video when the artist is returning to her hometown of London and when she is performing on the stage. This will enable the audience to see where the artist is heading to. They will get to see a glimpse of the location  then the point of view shot of the emotions and facial expressions shown by the artist which helps the audience to recognise how happy she is that she is returning home. In addition to this, point of view shots will also be used when the artist is performing on a stage in her old school, this is to show a memory to the audience which will be shown by filters. The point of view shot will again help to show the emotion of the artist at this stage and her facial expressions which again shows her happiness to be back. This shot is conventional to the soul music video genre because it enables the audience to relate to the artist more easily as this strengthens the relationship because she is showing her emotions and vulnerable state.The camera shot presents the artist as although she is coming across as happy, this shows her as down and lonely also because she is happy about something that has happened in the past and is no longer how she feels. She is coming across this way as she is in her safe place, her comfort zone of being on stage before she found fame and became to feel lonely.This shot also helps to portray the artist as vulnerable as she is feeling lonely and afraid. This helps to build a relationship with between the artist and the audience because they may be able to relate as the audience may have felt like this at some point. This shot represents the artist again as vulnerable and powerless due to the fact the shot helps to show to the audience multiple times how the artist is feeling. This may engage the audience as they feel sorry for the artist as she is feeling lonely and down, in which they may be able to relate.

The camera techniques and shots used enable our target audience to build a relationship with the artist easily. This is because the audience will be able to see the artists emotions clearly, through shots such as close ups which help to show the artists facial expressions and emotions. High angle shots, along with long shots which help to show the setting and vulnerability of the artist allows the audience to imagine themselves in the artists situation and they sympathise for her as they can see how vulnerable she is feeling. Planning the cinematography elements which we would like to use in our music video will help us to target our specific audience as it has given us time to think about which techniques we would like to use most as we have thought about connotations and conventional aspects which may appeal and engage our target audience. We will also want to include conventional aspects so we know exactly what the audience enjoy.