Friday, 17 December 2010

Cowboys and native americans


Kasabian- fire original review



Kasabian poster


This our final design for our film poster. It is designed to match the style of our other Digipak products and is likely to be found on walls and as a magazine article.

Music video analysis


Digipack pictures






Western Iconography

props and costume








Props

Props are very important to making a music video. They can explain lyrics and have an even deeper meaning. Props have been important in many different music video's and with out them they could be seen as boring or hard to understand.
Weapons are very important when comparing Indians and Cowboys. This is because they have different meanings and explain how each character is designed and how they can interact through the film. The first weapon we see is the Gun. The gun is really important in the video because it is how the characters are killed. The gun also symbolizes action codes through out the film. The switch of power and control. The other weapon used is a Tomahawk this is used by the native american. Native americans are known for living off the land. The tomahawk is made simply from rock and a stick. This shows the cleverness of the Native and could be a reason for the ending of the film. However we understand the gun is the "power weapon".
The next thing we have to consider is the use of costume. Costume is vital to our narrative styled music video. If we were being ourselves we could wear our own clothes but instead we have to be someone different and play a character this meant the costume was important. Another important fact about the costume was that you had to be able to tell the different between the Cowboys and Indians. We decided the best way to do this was to use different styled headwear and footwear. The Native american wore a naturally made head dress this included feathers on a piece of fabric. This is a definable prop and would be easy to distinguish from the cowboy. With the speed of the proper it was important that we actually could define characters. The cowboys wore cowboy styled hats. This was found from the research that it was what they are iconically known for wearing. The rest of the outfits need to be Checkered shirts and styles boots/shoes for the cowboys. The native americans was a little bit more complicated because they didn't wear shoes. This meant finding a pair of moccasins. This is naturally designed shoe and will be easy to get hold of. Overall i think the costumes will look appropriate and will define the differences between cowboys and indians.
The next and final prop is the treasure and the chest we placed it in. The chest needs to be a simple box format and it will be easy to find. The treasure is where we have really performed. We decided to make the treasure Musical notes and lyrics on paper. The lyrics being Fire by Kasabian. The Twist that the treasure is very important because it is unexpected and not the normal treasure cowboys would look for. We got this from Kasabian's normal video where we find out they robbed a bank for Music on paper. I liked the feel this gave , that money is less important than music. This meant that we will be keeping a bit of the original video and giving the music video context.
Overall the props we have chosen should make the video look original, realistic and easy to define. We need to make sure this is correct to insure the music video is as good as we would like and give the finish we would like.

Location report






Music veideo analysis

Our music video is going to be a narrative to fit in with the style of a usual Kasabian video. We are going to create a storyline within our video, almost like a small film. The video begins with three cowboys sitting around a table in a poorly lit room; their faces are in the shadows so their identities are hidden. The camera pans down to their hands and we see they are playing poker, also on the table are shot glasses, money, traces of drugs and a map. One of the men places a winning fold on the table and a another man flips the table in anger, drawing his gun in the process and shooting the winner. The main beat of the music kicks in. He then looks for the other cowboy and realises that he is running away, map in hand. We soon find out that the map is for hidden 'treasure' and that the men were playing poker to win it. There will be a lot of intertextual references to Sergio Leone's 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' and other spaghetti western films.
One of the interpretations of the lyrics of the song is that it is about the effect of taking drugs and the withdrawal symptoms. We are going to take this interpretation and incorporate some of it into our music video by showing the characters to have a slight drug problem, and having a disorientating camera effect when using point of view shots. We will also use point of view shots during the chasing scene so as the viewer can feel as though they are there and it will create a fast pace to the video which reflects the chorus of the song, this will also be emphasised by fast moving camera shots. During the poker scene, we will use mostly close ups to convey some expressions and emotions. However, because the men's faces will be partly hidden, it will have a feel of mystery over who the men actually are and what type of people they are; whether 'goodies' or 'baddies'. There will be guns on the table which will be an action code for violence, so the audience will have an idea of what's going to happen. We will also use mid shots for this scene so that the audience can see all of the characters together and their environment, which will create the western feel. Slow moving camera shots will be used to that the viewer can take in the scene and the feel of the video, also because the start of the song is very slow and rhythmic. As soon as the main riff of the song kicks in, the speed of the shots will increase ad there will be more action, this will fit with the beat of the song. This will give the audience a feel of action and confusion, which will help them relate even more to the characters. During this scene there will be no transitions, just fast cutting, however when the men run away there will be a 'fade out fade in' transition to show the change of time and location.
The colour and lighting of the video play an important part in the western genre so we have chosen to have dark lighting for the first scene to give it a mysterious and dark feel, especially because drugs and alcohol are being used so the audience will feel that something bad is going to happen, this goes with the rhythm of the song. When the men leave the room, the lighting will be very bright sunlight because usual western films are in hot, dry locations and it helps with the fast pace of the song, this is a contrast to the darkness of the room. However, in both scenes there will be warm colours, like yellows, oranges, browns and sepia tones to show the heat and humidity of the Wild West.
Masculinity is an important aspect of the western genre as the main character is usually a 'rugged' cowboy who saves the day in a way that the civilized characters cannot. His skills are also displayed in a physical manner; through gun slinging, horse rising and lassoing. Gambling, cards and shot glasses are important iconography for the western genre as they represent the close relationship between the West and 'risk taking'. They also show the openness of western societies compared to other cultures during that time period, as activities such as those would have been frowned upon. The use of gambling is a plot device used in many western films, usually being the cause of a 'disagreement' between two outlaws.

Storyboard







Tuesday, 14 December 2010

Practise

Here i have attempted to make a music video and a DVD cover