Contextual Information
Introduction
When looking at films, I specifically looked at ‘coming of age’ films, to try and apply to the message of my song’s lyrics. I also wanted to find elements from films that would influence my editing style for the music video, as well as inspiration for locations and costumes.
COMING OF AGE FILMS:
Coming of age is a strong theme in my chosen song: 'Adulting' by Beach Bunny, as the song talks about the fears of growing up and leaving youth behind (I go into more detail about this on my 'Song and Lyrics' page). Therefore, I have looked at some of my favourite coming of age films, wondering why they had such an effect of me. These are the films:
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Lady Bird
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Heathers
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Stand by Me
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Mid90's
In the end I decided to chose one film, which was 'Lady Bird'. I chose this film, because I think it offered me the most potential for influencing my music video.
Lady Bird
Lady Bird is a 2018 coming of age film, directed by Greta Gerwig who loosely recalls aspects of her own life through the film, set in California between 2002 and 2003. It is an A24 film, classed under the genres of Indie, Comedy and Coming of Age. The film follows Lady Bird (Christine) (played by Saoirse Ronan) in her high school senior year. The character has a strained relationship with her mother, which is prominent and important from the beginning. The rest of the film follows the character's search for identity; observing her desire to stand out and be original, but also her aspiration to be accepted. I chose this film as a key inspiration for the development of my music video, as I believe it relates to my song's lyrics and meanings. I also love the style of cinematography and aesthetic for the film and would love to embrace elements for my final video. As well as this, I want to apply some of the juxtaposing editing elements.
This clip is a promo trailer for the film when it was first being advertised. I chose to look at this scene as it gives a good insight to the presentation of the film and an insight that doesn't expose too much of the plot. There is a scene shown in this promo where Lady Bird buys age restricted products, which I have looked further into as a presentation of aging and childish desires.
I looked at the scene where Lady Bird turns eighteen, she purchases as many age restricted products as possible, showing her childish reminiscence coming through into her adulthood, and how she still has to grow and progress. I liked this scene especially, because it related to my lyrics: how the character in the song is forced to embrace adulthood, but still wants to hold onto their childhood before it is too late.
This is one of my favorite scenes from the film, Lady Bird and her bestfriend Julie reunite (after having a squabble) and go to prom as friends. It is a perfect look at how Lady Bird's childhood is coming to an end. I chose this scene, because it related to the lyrics of the song I have chosen, clinging onto innocence and the ability to live free without the worries of adulthood.
I also like the editing at the beginning of the scene, how two moments juxtapose each other are brought together. Julie is crying and Lady Bird tries to comfort her, we hear the sound of Julie gasping through tears, which then abruptly transforms into the sound of their laughter. This harsh cut works effectively in this scene, and is an element I'd like to bring into my video when in the editing process.
This final scene in the movie is similar to the end of the song, and how I plan to conclude my music video. It was a useful scene to look at for inspiration, the character's monologue reminisces on the themes of 'growing up' and 'identity'. It is a beautiful moment of the transition from childhood to adulthood, which is a key aspect I want to present in my music video. I want to take most inspiration from this scene to use in my final part of my video, as it is a slow moment of the character finally finding themselves and moving onto her new adult life. It also reminds me of the scene where Lady Bird turns 18, how growing up isn't about aging, but more of a mental development. The protagonist is taking control of her life, which is a theme I want to come through prominently in my music video, because of how important it is to the song.
Montages in FILMS:
Montages are something I want to experiment with in my music video, with fast paced music I believe it could be a technique to work to my advantage. I looked at some of my favourite monatge sequences from films, which I have listed below:
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Snatch Opening Scene
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Trainspotting Opening
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Mid90s ending
I chose to write about Mid90s, as I believed the coming of age topics and handheld camcorder style related more to my music video ideas.
Mid90s
Mid90s is a coming of age film, made in 2018 and set in Los Angeles during the 1990s. It is an A24 film that was written and directed by Jonah Hill. The story follows Stevie (nicknamed 'sunburn' by the gang'), a thirteen-year-old boy, during his summer. It follows a similar storyline to 'This is England' (the director even stated it was a film he showed to his cast), a coming of age story about identity and friendship, as well as other world issues. Stevie has a troubled home life and escapes from this through the group of skaters that he has befriended. The film follows the gang, watching Stevie's attempt to 'fit in' and his growth as a character. I chose this film, because it related to the coming of age topics involved in my chosen song. Also there is a montage at the end of the film, which I have been inspired by, especially for presentation and editing styles.
I chose to look at the ending scene of Mid90s: at the climax of the film, Fuckshit (a character from the film)is driving drunk with the gang in the car, he ends up crashing the car and Stevie is taken to hospital. The resolution to this is when the gang come to see Stevie in hospital and Fourth Grade (another character) outs on the film that he has been making for the group of friends to watch together. The film sequence (the video on the left) is a montage of film clips that Fourth Grade has collected and edited over the course of events during the film itself. It is a brilliant ending to the film, allowing the characters and audience to focus on the best pars of youth. This is a clear representation of what youth is supposed to be, moving past the negatives and the worries and focusing on the positives: focus on being young.
The editing style is in the form handheld (found footage) style, a style popular in the skating edits/ film community. As the film is set in the 90s, the camera quality depicts what a typical handheld camcorder (possibly a 'Sony Handycam' from previous shot of him filming and the time the film is set). Fourth Grade uses a fisheye lens to bring the viewer closer into the film's content, allowing this film to be a way for the character's to look back at their youth and recall upon the best moments incase they forget. I want to make this a important part of my video, although I don't want to use a fisheye lens, I want to create the effect of being immersed and remembering youth (which I will do through location and shots instead). I also love the harsh cuts between transitions, it works with the upbeat, hiphop/rap music (song: Passin' Me By - The Pharcyde). The harsh cuts aren't overly abrupt and are soften to be better transitions, because of the beige and washed colour palette, as well as the character continuity through shots. I would like to embrace these filming and editing techniques when creating my music video, as well as the messages that the is shown throughout the interity of the film.
costumes and locations in FILMS:
Costume and location are elements that I want to heavily impact my music video, which is why I complied some of my biggest film/ video influences for this part of my video plan.
These are the films/videos:
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A Ghost Story
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Wuthering Heights (version 1) music video by Kate Bush
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The Blair Witch Project
A Ghost Story
A Ghost Story is a 2017 A24 film directed by David Lowery, exploring loss, legacy and finding out what 'meaning' and 'connection' is. It follows the story of a recently deceased, white-sheet ghost who has returned to his suburban home to console his grieving wife. However, he discovers that he his forced to watch the life he knew and the woman he loves slip away from him. The character then embarks on a journey through memories and confronts life's questions about existence. The film looks at love and grief in a surreal presentation that leaves a lingering experience on the audience. The theme of looking back and recalling upon memories and the past is a theme I'd like to bring into my music video: embracing the past instead of spiting the future.
I was mostly interested in the costume design for this film, the use of a sheeted ghost is surreal and unusual, but works well in the film. I would like to embrace this idea, using the bed-sheet ghost costume but not making it look abruptly out of place. Although it is a strange thing to behold at first, the viewer becomes accustomed to the costume, seeing it as less of a surreal piece of clothing, but a character. This is the effect I want to create; I don't want to give the character in my music video an identity, the audience should be to see the costume as a symbol for youth. I want the audience to see my bedsheet ghost as 'anybody'; identity, gender, sexual preferences shouldn't be important, as the ghost is simply a motif. I also love the way the film embraces the natural locations and doesn't make the ghost appear out of place.
Wuthering Heights (version 1) - Kate Bush
I have already written about this music video in 'My Three Favourite Music Videos' page:
I have been very influenced by the Wuthering Heights video in my planning, from the editing to the costume. The music video focuses on Kate Bush in a white dress in a dark room. The editing merges shots together, creating a ghost-like effect on Bush, which is an editing technique I'd like to experiment with. The costume itself was a big influence on my choice to create a bed-sheet ghost costume, I observed the movement of the material of the effect other colours had upon the white fabric. I also sketched some drawings of how her dress moved and reacted as she danced.
The Blair Witch project
The Blair Witch Project is a 1999 found footage horror film directed by Eduardo Sánchez and Daniel Myrick, it is widely known for being the pioneer/ popularising the found footage device used in films. It is referred to as on of the first found footage films, shaping the way for many films to come (although horror cult classic 'Cannibal Holocaust' is actually one of the first ever examples of found footage in cinema). The footage tells the story of three film students (Heather, Josh and Michael) who venture into a small town and then into a nearby forest to collect documentary footage about the Blair Witch. The film's footage is over the course of several days where the students get lost in the woods and are tormented by noises and events they believe to be related to the Blair Witch.
The film is probably most famous for it's marketing and promotion strategy. The campaign and promotion for the film changed cinema forever. Because it was a budget, independent film, when it was released it became famous for breaking box office records. People believed the film's content was real, due to the detailed promotions and handheld style.
The authentic handheld filming device used in the film works well to immerse the audience in a believable faux reality, which is something I'd like to look into and expand upon.
The location is essential to the story, as the film progresses and plot thickens: the characters get lost in the woods and everything starts to deteriorate. I want to take inspiration from the usage of natural locations and elements for my music video, which is why this film is so impactful. The handheld camcorder style is something I want to embrace, as well as the natural colours of the forest. As well as this, the theme of being 'lost in the wood' is an element I want to symbolize in my video: in Blair Witch it is a symbol for the characters losing themselves, I want it to represent the loss of youth and childhood and the feeling of being lost in the adult world. Although this isn't a coming of age film, nor a film about finding identity, it's style, editing and location will be very impactful on my development for my video.