Results of our Split Screen Test

Above is the final product of our split screen practice. The scenes we filmed were one of the couple together, two shot's of the couple without each other and a spare split screen space, which we have decided in our Music Video we may decided to show a performance scene such as the Artist with a guitar. This idea seems to have been successful as the audience have different views and perspectives on the relationship and what the Artist is singing about, the filler also bring back the performance and music to the audience, which is big in Indie Music Videos.

The park was where we decided to film this practice as we could use the park as a playful place for the couple, also a very lonely place; the natural setting is also helpful for us to gain an idea of the lighting and rural scenes.

Results of our Overlay Experiment

Below is the final product of our overlay experiment, for which we wanted to use the technique for our Music Video.

On Final Cut Pro when editing this we attempted to overlap the two shots on top of each other to create a scene of the past and the present being shown in the same shot; although this did not workout as expected, and the end product was unclear, fuzzy and unrealistic, meaning that the smooth transition and style for the past and present would not look professional.

To fix this we cut the separate clips both down the middle, discarding of the area we did not need, we then merged this together to create a sense that the both scenes are happening in the same place, but one in the past and one in the present. Due to the lyrics we know which of the scene this will be. Although it is not the smoothest of editing, we were not planning to do it in this way, so when we film are final music video we will keep the camera at the same height but move it slightly to the side so we have enough room to cut and merge; hopefully this will work well, if not we will keep this scene short so it is not obvious to the audience.

Practise Filming...

We have decided to complete a 'pilot' for our final idea, in which we will practise the techniques, such as split screen, and overlay we have decided to use in our Music Video. We have picked Wednesday 26th October to complete this task, this is the perfect day to experiment as we have no other commitments on that day, meaning we have the time to gain the knowledge of how we will edit the Final Product. This in the end will hopefully save us time in our real filming.

Music Video Techniques...Split Screen

An idea that was brainstormed in our group was a split screen edit, in which throughout the video the audience will see a variety of perspectives on the scene. Through our research we found that this can be shots of the location that the narrative is based on, where the music video was filmed and a personal perspective of the characters in the scene; also if it is a band performance, the camera can identify the different instruments used by using the split screen to focus on the individual band members. The idea of a split screen can effect to the music video that provides the listener, or audience with a better insight of the narrative, band and music video.

This idea, I feel will be a good edition and aspect to our Music Video as the love narrative could be shown through the personal perspective of the male and female of relationship, which the narrative is based upon. The different emotions and feeling of the relationship, and the breakup will be expressed through this editing technique.

Here are some examples of other Artists, although not Indie, where the split screen has been used-

The Narrative of Daniel Powters' Bad Day, is similar to the music video in which we would like to create as it is based upon a break-up. The cross cutting shows the couple, now split, getting on with their lives after the break-up day in and day out; what effect it has had on them and how they feel emotionally. The questions asked by the audience, such as 'how' and 'why' are answered due to this technique also; initially you can see that the couple are not happy without each other. The singer is acting as the God Figure, as he is not the character involved in the relationship but is in some of the same locations of the character, although they cannot hear him, this is a convention of Omniscience.

Michael Jackson's song Billie Jean, again is not in the Indie Genre, and is not initially about a break-up but it is about lust and a girl. The screen split in this video is used by using props, in this case, a lamp post to separate the two different scenes in the narrative. This is a different way in which we can use the split screen idea, as we can shown the couple in the same location at different times, but have them on the same scene, and split them with an object, such as a tree, lamp post or a wall.

Music Video Techniques... Omniscience/ God Figure Idea

An idea that our group has had for our Music Video is the effect of Omniscience or a God Like Figure; which is a Micro-Element of Music Videos and Media Studies. Omniscience means 'having total knowledge' of the situation, therefore in the scenes of a music video the omniscient narrator will know what is going on in the narrative and tell the story through the lyrics of the song.

We will use this in our Music Video by having the singer as the narrator of the narrative but the characters involved will act like he is not there. An example of a Music Video that uses this is 'Bad Day' where the singer Daniel Powter is the narrator of the love story.

One of the main features we liked about this Music Video is editing technique of the cut between the narrative and the performance in the same location. This consisted of the singer and the characters on the same train but the editing of the video made it seem as if the narrator is singing non diagetically, but from the audience's point of view they are aware that the lyrics are relating to the couple and the situation.

To address this in our music video, we will include this at the start of the song where the lyrics say 'Go to sleep my love, I'll watch over us'. This will help us introduce the idea of the narrator being separated
from the narrative of the video by showing he has the knowledge of the story through the lyrics and use of lip syncing.