Toby Lockerbie's influential video style.

Most of our inspiration comes from Toby Lockerbie's video for Rizzle Kicks 'Prophet'. We felt that the use of using single long exposure shots was really unique and something that had never been done before. We also felt it gave a really professional look. Toby Lockerbie himself has never worked with any other artists and only works with Rizzle Kicks because he attended university with them, he is actually a full time wedding photographer. But from the videos he has made with this group we can see that he has a specific style with all of his videos which is that all of the colours seem slightly lowered and dulled. He also uses steady cams in his videos which gives it a more relaxed looked.

There is a small section of video that we can relate to as the lyrics come up as they are sung over the top of the video in a 'projection' style.

We can really draw inspiration from the way that this shot is constructed as we could see what the best amount of shots to use for each word can be which really will help speed up the speed of our editing. I think a large part of the challenge of this video is to make sure that it doesn't just completely copy his video, so this led us to come up with the idea of using an actual projector, and also for the style of video to vary between the verse and chorus.

Toby Lockerbie

When we found the video for Rizzle Kick's song 'Prophet we realised that we could recreate the effect of the pictures blurring into one another to create a form of video. We would do this by making the exposure of the camera last longer and take multiple shots in quick succession.

But at first we were stuck on how to create the effect so we found out that the video was directed by Toby Lockerbie so we went on his website (tobylockerbie.com) and left him a message and e-mailed him but sadly with no reply.

Luckily after experimentation we have figured out how to create the effect ourselves.

Some other examples of Toby Lockerbie's work:

Video with lyrics concept.

Our concept was to have the lyrics playing along behind the artist at the same speed as them. This is a technique that has been used before in other videos such as:

Kanye West's 'All Of The Lights' (N.B. The effect we are using only starts at 1:05 into the song).

Cee Lo Green's 'It's Okay'

Advanced Projection Music Videos

Just an interesting video I found that shows how far music videos have come and how we could use this in music videos for singed acts and for their live shows.

Textual Analysis of Music Videos. Calvin Harris ft. Kelis - Bounce.

Calvin Harris's recent music video "Bounce" ft. Kelis was directed by Vincent Haycock. The video follows a man's (Played by AJ English, who's name is either Matt or Max, which is hard to tell from the music) day as he hangs out with friends and goes out partying with what appears to be no cares or worries. In the extended edition of the video It starts of with what we presume to be his girlfriend yelling at him and being angry and him presumably breaking up with her. 


The video then continues to follow him and his gang of friends as they generally wreak havoc through the backstreets of Las Vegas, by either hitting on women with their husbands/boyfriends to dancing with an Elvis impersonator. 


Genre Characteristics - Calvin Harris has stepped away from being the frontman and singing in his song to just a short cameo role as a Vegas club DJ, also linked to his announcement that he will no longer be doing live shows. But when it comes to the music Harris has kept his usual genres of electropop, electro house, nu-disco and synthpop.


He has also changed the style of his videos from the bright and bold colours of "Acceptable in the '80s" and "Ready For The Weekend" He has moved onto more serious subject matter and in Bounce's case break-ups. In this situation the lyrics are shown as being happy after having broken up with someone. 
I can't believe that every day and every night
It's getting better with you out of my life

The idea is that after you have broken up with someone you are then free to bounce. Also the idea othat if something bad has happened to you, you can just spring back up. 

I think the idea of anonymity which is shown not only by Calvin only briefly being in the video plays a heavy part. for instance when you break up with someone there is a feeling that you can do anything since you aren't tied down with the worries of what others might think or how they might react to your actions:

Well it's hot, It's love, It's what,
We'll bounce to this track,
And I don't care what anybody thinks about that,
I don't care what anybody thinks about that. 


Relationship between music and visuals - When the first argument scene is over the shots change roughly in time to every other "snap" that you can hear which gives the music video a fast-paced yet ordered feel to it. Also throughout the video Matt/Max is listening to an old style "Walkman" which if you look at his movements throughout the video whether it's walking or dancing match up to the beat of the song. 


Intertextual references - There is only one very noticeable inter-textual reference which I noticed which may or may not have been on purpose which was that when Matt/Max gatecrashes what looks like the artist's new video shoot it looked fairly reminiscent of when Calvin Harris stormed on stage on the X-Factor when Jedward were playing with a pineapple on his head.Although you could consider this Calvin Harris's visual resignation from being a frontman and singing for himself. 


Editing - At the beginning of the video the woman starts screaming at Matt/Max and the music is quiet or non-existent, but as soon as she stops the tune starts and the slow-motion starts. Maybe this signifies that as soon as everyone stops arguing everything becomes much smoother and more relaxed just like it does in the video.


This video is similar to the Gorillaz song I analysed in that it is a narrative based music video with hints or performance based ideas as both of the artists who composed and sung this song appear in the video but playing other characters and not obviously as themselves.


Calvin Harris ft. Kelis - Bounce 


Bounce, Bounce, Bounce, Bounce 

I can't believe that every day and every night
It�s getting better with you out of my life,
It�s like I flicked a switch, now I'm feeling good,
No way to stop it, now you wish that you could,
When the weekend comes I know I feel alive,
You will be the last thing on my mind,
No regrets, do you know what that means?

Well it�s hot, It�s love, it�s what,
We'll bounce to this track,
And I don't care what anybody thinks about that,
Hands to the sky, and throw your head back,

I can love again tonight,
We�ll bounce to this track,
And I don't care what anybody thinks about that,
Hands to the sky, and throw your head back,

Bounce, bounce, bounce

Well it�s hot, It�s love, It�s what,
We�ll bounce to this track,
And I don't care what anybody thinks about that,
I don't care what anybody thinks about that. 

Textual Analysis: Gorillaz - Clint Eastwood

Directed by James Hewlett and Pete Condeland.

The video takes the Gorillaz band in their cartoon format and explores the world created by the Gorillaz brand which is looked at throughout the majority of other music videos by this group. This video sees the group enter  a orld with a plain white background and watch it slowly change into a dark graveyard with the ghost of former member "Del". Also while zombie dancing actual gorillas chase "Murdoc". We also see "Noodle" defeat all of the gorillas by himself. and Del's spirit return to "Russel's" hat.

Genre characteristics - Gorillaz shows (especially) in this song a diverse range of genre types and styles of music. Including rock, electro, hip-hop and D&B. Gorillaz are known for their strange videos which are not as heavily linked as other artists. But in this situatuation the lyrics refer heaily to the use of marijuana.
I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad
I got sunshine, in a bag.
In this sense "in a bag" refers to a baggie in which marijana is normally stored in. So the beginning of the video represents "normal life" in the world. and as soon as the marijuana was taken the world suddenly changes to an abnormal world with strane visions and what could be linked to or considered a metaphor for hallucinations.

Relationship between music and visuals - The gorillas in this video that come up from the group dance in time to the music played by the band at times, also when there is a silhouette of Murdoc being chased their footsteps go in time to the music.

Close ups and motifs - There are plenty of close-up which resemble the  style of manga and anime japanese TV shows and Comics. This is mainly helped because the Gorillaz are represented by cartoons of themselves or can also be known as "avatars". You can also argue that the Gorillaz being depicted in cartoon themselves is a motif of them. Their logo also appears in the form of it being sprayed on the "wall".

Intertextual references - There are many references to other films. for instance, at the beginning of the music video there is a quote from the 1978 version of "Dawn of the Dead" which is linked to the idea of the video being set in a graveyeard and gorillas rising from the grave. 2-D (Lead vocals) is wearing a "T Virus" shirt. This is most likely a reference to the Resident Evil film series. There is also a reference to Peter Jackson's "Braindead" in the way that Murdoc is pulled to the ground by his own crotch by a zombie gorilla. The video is called cLint Eastwood, so at the beginning there is a yell from Clint Eastwood's film "The Good The Bad and The Ugly". Finlly there is a reference to the "Thriller" video in that the zombie gorillas do a variation of the famous dance.

This video is mostly narrative based as it is linked to the video but it also contains parts of a performance based video, except that it techinally isn't the Gorillaz playing thier music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoQYw49saqc

I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad
I got sunshine, in a bag
I'm useless,but not for long
The future is coming on
I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad
I got sunshine, in a bag
I'm useless, but not for long
The future is coming on
It's coming on
It's coming on
It's coming on

Yeah... Ha Ha!
Finally someone let me out of my cage
Now, time for me is nothing cos I'm counting no age
Now I couldn't be there
Now you shouldn't be scared
I'm good at repairs
And I'm under each snare
Intangible
Bet you didn't think so I command you to
Panoramic view
Look I'll make it all manageable
Pick and choose
Sit and lose
All you different crews
Chicks and dudes
Who you think is really kickin' tunes?
Picture you gettin' down in a picture tube
Like you lit the fuse
You think it's fictional
Mystical? Maybe
Spiritual
Hearable
What appears in you is a clearer view cos you're too crazy
Lifeless
To know the definition for what life is
Priceless
For you because I put you on the hype shit
You like it?
Gunsmokin' righteous with one token
Psychic among those
Possess you with one go

I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad
I got sunshine, in a bag
I'm useless,but not for long
The future is coming on
I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad
I got sunshine, in a bag
I'm useless, but not for long
The future is coming on
It's coming on
It's coming on
It's coming on

The essence the basics
Without it you make it
Allow me to make this
Child, like in nature
Rhythm
You have it or you don't that's a fallacy
I'm in them
Every sprouting tree
Every child apiece
Every cloud you see
You see with your eyes
I see destruction and demise
Corruption in disguise
>From this fuckin' enterprise
Now I'm sucking to your lies
Through Russ, though not his muscles but the percussion he provides
with me as a guide
But y'all can see me now cos you don't see with your eye
You perceive with your mind
That's the inner
So I'm gonna stick around with Russ and be a mentor
With a few rhymes so mother fuckers
Remember where the thought is
I brought all this
So you can survive when law is lawless
Feelings, sensations that you thought were dead
No squealing, remember
(that it's all in your head)

I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad
I got sunshine, in a bag
I'm useless, but not for long
The future is coming on
I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad
I got sunshine, in a bag
I'm useless, but not for long
My future is coming on
It's coming on
It's coming on
It's coming on
It's coming on
My future is coming on
It's coming on
It's coming on
It's coming on
It's coming on
My future is coming on
It's coming on
It's coming on
It's coming on
It's coming on
My future is coming on
It's coming on
It's coming on
My future is coming on
It's coming on
It's coming on
My future is coming on
It's coming on
It's coming on
My future

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