Final Music Video and Evaluation

Final music video

Here is my final finished music video, I've decided to shorten the song as 5 minutes was personally too long for me to film, and I decided to leave the narrative on a cliffhanger / an open enigma so the audience can put together their own ending. From researching other music video's by hybrid minds eg. 'Kismet', I found out that the music video's don't necessarily have any type of storyline they take the more experimental route which could be interpreted to be polysemic. The main basis to my narrative was to use fortune tellers in the use of phones, to also elaborate to the audience the lyrics but also as an element of fantasy and something i hadn't seen before. I wanted to incorporate this type of playful element to it however to also still look captivating as a whole different plot line. 

    

In my music video I really like the cuts and how I filmed a lot of different angles from the same scene so I was able to manage the 'fast paced' edit I was looking for. I really liked how this element of my music video turned out, I believe it surfaces the fast natural beat of the music I chose and really works well to bring out this tone. I think by using the narrative structure with a slight experimental natural feel it would appear more unique and create a lot of enigmas for the audience. I believe it fits into the genre of the music it relates to (liquid drum and bass) because it contains the soft element of the story along with the quick paced editing that I tried to incorporate the whole way through. I also feel as though the storyline I have does unfold in a chronological order or some sorts as the concept is very easily understood and when shown to people who haven't seen it before also agreed with this fact.

This song in particular is one of my favourite songs to listen to when I'm just doing anything really because of the softness of it, I prefer this version a lot more to the actual version as it amplifies the lyrics a lot more and makes them seem a lot more important as they've cut a lot of the initial ones out. I can picture the first time I heard it and what attracts me to this song and genre in particular is that every song i hear from it, every time I play it it always sounds like from the first time I heard it - incredible. I believe now more than ever there are certainly a lot more genres in the music industry than before, with lots of 'hybrids' and a lot of people are unknown to a lot of these. I believe that liquid drum and bass is a very big up and coming genre people are starting to realise and come to terms with, I chose it because it fits with the modern world and my narrative tries to draw you away from it in a sense which both contradict each other.

I think another element I would 100% definitely think about next time around is lighting. As you can see from different clips in my music video there are parts filmed outside and parts filmed inside, the inside clips tend to be that of a rubbish quality I personally do not like at all. This is due to using natural school lights that come off with more of a yellowy tone rather than a natural tone. For this I didn't use a very high ISO as I knew the lower you use it the more natural and better the quality normally comes out. Meaning if I did this whole video again i would definitely use maybe a ring light of some sort if I had the chance.
However not to toot my own trumpet but the quality of the footage took outside (this shot in particular) was definitely one of my favourites.

I actually filmed a LOT of footage for this, too much for one scene and not enough for others(or not enough good quality ones to use). If I was to redo this I know that I should try and get as much footage as possible, to try and fit the lyrics in time with the music wasn't too hard but to work my story around it I could've definitely planned a lot better. I also would've planned better, my initial plan was to only use one actor in it as put bluntly the less actors the less people you would have to let you down. So I was playing it rather safe to use just one actor a close friend who I knew wouldn't let me down. We actually also filmed on multiple days he had to wear the same outfit 3 days in a row (lol) which he certainly wasn't fond of, but it did help me.

In my music video you can see that I represented Andrew Goodwin's theory of illustrating lyrics through the use of the fortune teller which was used as my main motif of the experimental/narrative. I wouldn't class it as an illustrative video as per however I would say there are glimpses of illustrating moments and this would perhaps be one. Which does show the relationship between both elements in these parts is direct. Personally I believe I did really well in getting these lyrics exactly on par which helps me to get a better understanding of editing and premiere pro. The shots also look pretty similar to each other which was the exact look I was hoping for which I managed to achieve. 

Technical Issue:
There were multiple clips that I couldn't include in my final video which would've made the ending a lot more understandable and better in my opinion, however when editing my Mac book wouldn't encode the files as the IOS files (shot on my phone) were different to the camera files and every time I opened them they would freeze and wouldn't encode to MP4 which was increasingly frustrating which unfortunately wouldn't allow me to use them. 
However I have inserted a clip below so you can imagine the extra details yourself, a lot of them were very long so had trouble exporting to my macbook which is very slow anyway :

Carol Vernallis Analysis

Carol Vernallis

Carol Vernallis - 'The Kindest Cuts: Functions and Meaning of Music Video Editing'

The theorist Carol Vernallis is known for her theory based on music editing. Carol Vernallis theory is based around 4 key concepts that all relate to the way a music video is manufactured, there concepts are:

-Narrative
-Editing
-Camera Movement and Framing
-Diegesis

Narrative

Carol Vernallis when describing her theory particularly the narrative aspect, suggests that the video is visual response to the narrative. Therefore whatever is happening onscreen reflects the choice of lyrics that the artist is singing. However Vernallis then goes on to say how the narrative may not always be completed and can be partial with the video appearing disjointed, disconnected and appear in fragments. The video has something driving it forward but this may not necessarily be the narrative, it could be music itself or other elements in the video. However if the video is left uncompleted it can lead to many questions about the narrative that won't always be answered throughout the video. Finally although the video may have a theme or narrative, it is probably displayed in a montage style, rather than in one clear 
focus.

Editing

Carol Vernallis states that a clear conversation of music editing is that the video may disrupt or break . the conventions of continuity editing. The editing may also be bought to the foreground, become visual and not hidden apposed to the invisable style of continuity editing. Meaning the video will have a style of editing running throughout that is distinctive to the video. For example you may see:

- Jump Cuts
- Breaks of the 30' Degree Rule
- Cutting with the lyrics
- Extreme changes in pace
- Juxtaposed Frames
- Graphic Matched

Camera Movements and Framing

Carol Vernallis states that establishing shots are one of the key camera features of a music video and are used frequently throughout a music video as well as close up shots. The style framing of the video again is quite distinctive to the video and also the camera may move in time with the lyrics. Extreme shots also known as master shots are also very common.

Diegesis

In terms of media the diegesis is the world of the music video. Carol Vernallis explains how the diegesis will be revealed quite slowly. The actions in the video won't always be completed and may be disrupted in some way. There will be many repetitions throughout the video and some frames will appear more important than others due to the way they have been shot/frames.

Carol Vernallis is a theorist who in her work, 'The kindest cut' explores how editing in film and in music videos differ from each other.

She talks about things such as continuity, editing as whole, meaning, sound and visuals and their relationships, and the star image.

The four main categories that she talks about are camera (including it's positing, movements, and framing), editing, narrative and Diegesis(which refers to the 'world' created within the music video).

Camera:

-Vernallis suggests that in music videos, close-ups are very common shots used to show the band/artist or the people playing parts in the music video and the importance of them and the the way that they look. The ties in with Rickard Dyer's theory as it demonstrates how the record label want artists to be looked and to be a big selling point. Vernallis also suggests that establishing shots are also used very commonly in music videos, which show the location. For example, this may be used if a video is set in New York, as it is a well known city that people will know as soon as they see it.

- She also suggests that in music videos, different shots are mostly cut to the beat/pace of the song. This therefore brings more attention to the artist/band as it makes the audience more interested with what is happening in the video. An example of a music video which this can be seen in is Adele's music video for her song 'Rolling in the deep', where shots of glasses are on the floor, a performer and shots of Adele(the artist) are using in time with the music and to the bass of the song.

- She also argues that the framing in music videos is very distinctive, however the depends on the genre of the music.

Examples:

- An example of a music video which commonly uses close-ups of the artist is the music video for the song 'Stay' by Rihanna and Mikky Ekko. This music video shows lots of close-ups of Rihanna's face while she is in the bath while looking emotional.

Obviously, here this may have been used to show the audience the emotion on her face, although it is also something that is important to Rihanna's 'star image', meaning that her looks are something that is important to her success(people like to talk about how she looks and what she's wearing. This is also different to the man in the music video, who isn't shown as clearly and his face isn't focused on as much (portraying that the look of Rihanna is more important that the look of him).

Another Example:

An example of a music video which uses establishing shots is the music video for Bastille's song 'Pompeii'.

- This music video uses a variation of these sort of shots to show the location of the lead singer of the group (which seems to be an abandoned/bleak looking city landscape).

-This may have been done to fit in with the genre of the song (indie pop), as this is also a common convention of music videos from this particular genre. 

Editing:

- With regards to editing in music videos, this theorist states that music videos usually 'break the rules' of continuity (unlike what would be seen in a TV show or a film). For example, bands and artists will usually do things such as change their clothes multiple times in a music video and include different settings when they do so, therefore disrupting the rules of continuity. However, I believe that this is not necessarily done as much in narrative music videos, as they still have a story to go along with. An example of a music video which breaks the rules of continuity is Katy Perry's music video for her song 'This is how we do', as it keeps going to different shots where the artist is seen in a different outfit and in a different location, with different people.

-  Also states that another recognisable editing technique used in music videos is jump cuts, as music videos usually go straight from one thing to the next, while cutting the different frames to the beat/speed of the song/music.

Diegesis:

- This theorist argues that the diegesis is something which is revealed slowly throughout the music video and it's story, thus allowing it to develop and making it more interesting for the audience members. For example, in the music video for the song 'Oceans' by Seafret, it is revealed nearer to the end of the video that the main character in the music video actually has super powers, even though the audience members may not necessarily see it coming.

- She also argues that music videos are also sometimes in a way left 'uncompleted', which makes the audience member want to know what happens left creating enigmas that the audience may research to find out deeper meanings to.

Narrative:

- The narrative is usually a visual response to the song and what the artist/band wants the meaning to be presented as. For example, a lot of different meanings can be interpreted from a song, but the artist/band will choose what story they want to tell.
- She argues that the endings of music videos may not be clear and may make the audience think more or try and figure out what the meaning was. For example:
           - She argues that the narrative within a music video is sometimes disjointed, therefore causing the audience to pay more attention to the song itself (which usually happens more commonly in band's music videos).
          - She states that music videos will usually have a theme to the narrative that the band/artist chooses to portray. For example, the music video for Katy Perry's song 'California gurls' was obviously done in a way in which it fits with the lyrics in a fun way, showing some girls in bikinis, fitting with the lyrics 'Daisy dukes, bikinis on top'.


Youtube video's explaining the theory

References

- https://www.slideshare.net/paypal12345678/carol-vernallis-music-video-theory Paige Woods, 2012

- https://www.slideshare.net/LauraKN/carol-vernallis-functions-and-meanings-of-music-video-editing Laura KN, January 2017 

Andrew Goodwin Analysis

Andrew Goodwin's Theory

After spending years analysing music videos and the music industry, Andrew Goodwin put together a set of key features which apply to all music videos. 
Of course not all of the features are featured in each video, however at least one feature is complimentary, contradicting or amplified.

These key features were illustrated in his book 'Dancing in the Distraction Factory'(1992).

Analysing Music Video

After spending years analysing music videos and the music industry, Andrew Goodwin put together a set of key features which apply to all music videos.

Of course not all of the features are featured in each video, however at least one feature is complimentary, contradicting or amplified.

These key features were illustrated in his book 'Dancing in the Distraction Factory'(1992).

Lyrics & Visuals

The first feature of a music video, Goodwin, claimed was that there is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals on screen.
This can either be:
- Illustrating (the lyrics)
- Amplifying (boosting the lyrics, making them more apparent) 
- Contradicting (lyrics contradicting the visuals)

Music & Visuals

The first feature of a music video, Goodwin, claimed was that there is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals on screen.
This can either be:
- Illustrating (seeing the instruments)
- Amplifying (amplify the part of the song by using visuals)
- Contradicting
- Cutting visuals in time to music

Genre Exists

The next key feature of a music video which Goodwin discovered was that music videos demonstrates genre characteristics. Not just the genre of the music but the genre of video itself.
Genre includes:
- Stadium Performance 
- Studio Performance 
- Location
- Narrative
- Conceptual/ Experimental

Artist close up

Goodwin expressed that a key feature of music videos is several close ups of the artist. This is due to the record companies requirement that the artist is strongly featured within the music video. Some artists will often develop motifs that reoccur across multiple videos.
This includes:
- Artist branding
- Celebrity culture
- Artistic portrayal 
- Implications on looking good

Star iconography

Following on from Artist Close ups, a feature linked to this is star iconography which each artist will develop in their music videos.
This could be either of the following:
- Branding
- Style
- Brand values/unique selling points 

Looking and Voyeurism

Goodwin also identified that within music videos that there is the concept of voyeurism. This basically means the audience see something that they would or should not usually see.
This could be in the form of:
- Nudity/near nudity/revealing clothes
- Exhibitionism
- An intimate location eg. bedroom 
- Frame within a fame

The 'male gaze' is often used to attract a male audience. The male gaze is a focus on presenting things that appeal to men. This often means a voyeuristic view of, and an objectification, of women. The emphasis on looking also includes the artist looking directly into the camera helping the audience connect with the artist.

Intertextuality 

Goodwin noticed when studying music videos that there are often intertextual references to:
- Other music videos
- Films
- TV programmes 
This can be homage, pastiche, parody or even some kind of brand synergy between texts.

Genre Exists
- Stadium performance
- Studio performance
- Location
- Narrative
- Conceptual/experimental

How to Analyse Music Video's (Primary Research)

Goodwin identify 5 key aspects of music videos that we, the audience, should look out for:
- Thought beats- Where you 'see' in the sound
- Narrative and performance
- The star image
- Relation of visuals to song
- Technical aspects of a music video 

'Thought Beats - 'Seeing' the sound

- Step 1. To look at the music itself. We must take into account the structure of the song.

- Step 2. The voice of the song. The artists voice is extremely unique and can form identification of trademarks that work well with the star image. Roland Barthes theory of the 'Grain Voice' can be related to this. He see's the singing voice as an expressive instrument and therefore able to make associations of its own.

- Step 3. Goodwin points out the artists mode of address. Songs can be seen as stories and the artist the storyteller, making the music video a two communication device - them telling us a story and we listening.

Narrative & Performance 

Songs fail to give us the complete narrative.

We only tend to get a gist of the meaning of the song and then tend to make up our own idea of what is being told - A negotiated view of the text.

Goodwin explains that music videos should ignore common narrative. It is important in their role of advertising.

Music videos should coherent repeatability. Narrative and performance work hand in hand it makes it easier for the audience to watch over and over without losing interest.

The artist acting as both narrator & participant helps to increase the authenticity however te lip sync and other mimed actions remains the heart of music videos. The audience need to believe this is real.

'Star Image'

- The star image is another vital aspect of music videos. Meta narrative which is a big story that describes the development of the star over time, it has an important part to play in the music video production process.

Technical Aspects

- Technical aspects hold the music video together through use of camera work, movement, angle, mis-en-scene, editing, sound and special effects.

- Speed, camera movement, editing, cutting and post production are all forms of use of camera. Lighting and colour help set moods and emphasise key movements of the song for dramatic effect.

- Mis-en-scene, the setting of music videos is vital, it needs to look authentic to attain professionalism.

- Beats, music videos use cuts to go with the beat or rhythm making the video more entertaining
........

Andrew Goodwin's Theory, How to analyse music videos

Andrew Goodwin identifies 5 key aspects of music videos that we the audience should look out for which:

-Thought beats - seeing the sound
-Narrative and Performance
-The Star Image
-Relation of Visuals to Song
-Technical Aspects of Music Video

Thought Beats - Seeing the sound in your head

First step is to look at the music itself. We must take into account the structure of the song for e.g. Chorus/Versus

Secondly, the voice of the song. The artists voice is extremely unique and can form identification or trademarks that work well with the star image. Roland Barthes theory of the grain of voice can be related to this. He see's the singing voice as an expressive instrument and therefore able to make associations of its own. 

Thirdly, Goodwin also points out the artists mode of address. Songs can be seen as stories and the artist the storyteller, making the music video a two communication device, them telling us a story and us listening.


Narrative & Performance
Songs fail to give us the complete narrative!
We only tend to get a gist of the meaning of the song and then tend to make up our own idea of what is being told. Goodwin explains that music videos should ignore common narrative. It is important in their role of advertising.
Music videos should coherent repeatability.  Narrative and performance work hand in makes it easier for the audience to watch over and over without losing interest. 
The artist acting as both narrator & participant helps to increase the authenticity however the lip sync and other mimed actions remains the heart of music videos. The audience need to believe this is real.

Star Theory
The star image is another vital aspect of music videos. met narrative which is a big story that describes the development of the star over time, it has an important part to play in the music video production process.

Relation of Visuals to Song

Illustrate Amplify Disjuncture:
-Music videos can use a set of images to illustrate the meaning of lyrics & genre, this is the most common.
-This is where the meaning of the song is completely ignored
-This is similar to repeatability. Meanings and effects are manipulated and constantly shown through the video and drummed into our vision.

There are three ways in which music videos work to promote a song


Technical Aspects
Technical aspects hold the music video together through use of camera work, movement, angle, mis-en-scene editing, sound and special effects.
Speed, camera movement, editing, cutting, and post production are all forms of use of camera.
Lighting and colour help set moods and emphasise key moments of the song for dramatic effect
Mis-en-scene, the setting of music videos is vital, it needs to look authentic to attain professionalism.

Beats, music videos use cuts to go with the beats or rhythm making the videos more entraining.



Music Video theory explained on youtube




REFERENCES
- https://www.slideshare.net/guestc6d43a4a/andrew-goodwins-theory (guestc6d43a4a 2010)
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ju861wsE98M Becca Buzz (Becca Buzz 2014)
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New Wave Film and Evaluation

New Wave Film

Evaluation

In my new wave film I tried to incorporate emotion and passion in different elements. Love, lust and loss and life all shot in handheld camera, slightly shaky and real locations to provide the classic connotations of the British New Wave. I used found footage and real people(not actors) to create the illusion of new wave, and social constructs. My video was slightly randomised shots however with a range of close ups, mid shots, playing about with lots of different speeds.

I decided to not use the voiceover and my original thoughts for the film due to not having the equipment and the actors to use multiple people, the voiceover would've made it a lot better and created more of a new wave feel however I decided against only due to the type of equipment I had.

I duplicated a few shots the main one I kept reusing was the train going past, I used this in a transition type way of on to the next scene as everything is so quiet . There is a slight narrative to it but you can interpret new wave in any way you want as long as you can back it up with your own evidence. But my way of interpreting it was a boy that had lost his first love, and was dealing with it in many different ways. Inspired by the New wave films I had researched with have many different interpretations. 

The sequence is randomised so I could incorporate the variety of shots and different types of new wave styles. I think what went well was the lighting in the film is very natural and you can tell it's handheld however the quality was still not diminished by this factor. From videoing it by phone the quality of it was outstanding, as you cant change the different shutter speeds or the ISO. I had to choose my certain times to film and I chose at the correct times which gave me the lighting I wanted.

I had a different plan to what I actually filmed and I cut out and mixed and match different clips to create the sequence I wanted. I believe that my actual plan would've been better if I had had more time to be able to edit i would've included a voiceover and many more shots, but some of the shots I had we're bad quality and shot at night so due to not having a high quality camera to be able to shoot well in the dark (unable to change ISO) i filmed everything in light.

I also would've contained more of a clear narrative as to some people it could be unclear what happens, however new wave is about life and my film exactly shows that with the included time lapses on real locations e.g train stations, in a car driving round a common area with many cars. I tried to vary the shot types but I would definitely include more if I redid with different angles of the same scene to create this common theme that runs throughout New Wave. The structure of my film is good with different sounds and different speeds of the same shots to create illusional effects. I believe my film fits into the new wave category however could be drastically improved with more new wave themes intertwined throughout and i could've used speech to make it more realistic.

By using real locations and handheld camera you can achieve a raw film, open to interpretation by the audience which new wave films are. My film contains raw emotions and very different interpretation of new wave with lots of locations people see in daily lives, I think the film would've been better in black and white, I would change if i were to redo it.

4 Hour Film Challenges

4 Hour Film Challenges

Unusual Perspective 4 Hour Film - Disconnected


First film we were asked to do for the first four hour film challenge was to film an 'unusual perspective' film. We were asked to film and edit this within four hours which is challenging as we have to think of a narrative, get actors/actresses and also film and edit which can be tough. During out studies at the moment we have been looking into the 'New Wave' era, this really influenced us on our idea to film and produce what we did in this sense, it has lots of new wave elements such as no real narrative and also you make up the plot line in your head as it's hard to comprehend and label it a narrative itself. 

(cant insert film - link broken)




I believe my film worked well because we used an unusual perspective (as the brief was), we had a different use of colour and the themes and values of our film were really different and out of the ordinary, the shots were in fact in really good focus however we can see in some shots that the definition and focus is really blurred but we found out that this is only due to the colours when they were placed onto the camera caused a type of block of the definition giving it a slightly blurred look. 

Doing my film again I would definitely decide to sellotape the colours red/blue together as we had someone holding them up lat time which caused them to be constantly moving/not still. The filter impacts the definition too much in my opinion, they worked well but really changes the whole focus of the film, to change this for net time I would probably add the filters on photoshop instead of holding them up onto the actual camera. I would also film a bit more to make the context a bit more understandable (it was meant t be unusual perspective so the narrative doesn't necessarily need to make perfect sense however I would like it to have more of a clear element to it).





Illusions 4 Hour Film - Wii


In this 4 hour film challenge we were given the idea to create a film using illusional aspects, in this one we decided to create a stop motion type of film of the world-renowned wii theme tune song so that on each 'beat' we had each of us change position or shape of something within the scene was different as well as all of us having to be completely still when something has been moved so that it created the illusional aspect to it.

I believe that the film worked specially well, I think it was entertaining and grabs the eye of the audience as it's using a very classic song and has elements of humour to it. It's got that random and quirky aspect to it and in a way it's extremely satisfying to watch that on every beat something within the scene changes. The placing of the camera was very good as it doesn't move throughout the whole film which is a good technique to only use one person on the camera (as it could potentially move if more than one person was to be in charge of filming. It was very time consuming to edit as you have to get it on exact beat and some were long and some were very short so I believe that it is done very well. I also think watching it back quite frequently the beats are mostly on time which also adds to the illusion.

I think if I were to do it again i would have made it a lot longer as it doesn't actually finish to the whole wii song, or instead of making it longer bring it to an end in some way by either adding some of the and the camera is actually slightly out of focus in most shots so i would probably change the settings to make it more defined if I had personally filmed it. Other than them few minor details I think it has a really good and grabbing narrative. 

1920'S 4 Hour Film - RUN


For this four hour film challenge we were asked to compose a film that would fit into the 1920's era. the 19020's era was full of silent and black and white films that had a narrative as such and actors making really big exaggerating moves (as there was no sound). In the expressionism way in which we had to film was obvious and I added things such as the classic silent film music and the overlay in black and white to make it look like the very early 1900's films.



I think my film went well as within the group it was my original idea to film the footage we did (the narrative) as well as being a main actress in the film, it has the scenic style and signature look of a typical 1920's film. It has a playful element to it which is entertaining for the audience, the different choices and varied shot types worked and the narrative makes sense and is all in a specific order which helps the audience to understand it more. 

If I were to film it again however, I know I would now add a lot more varied angles, maybe close ups of faces with very big expressions, a lot more planning to it and planning of the shots, I would also add a few more title screens to carry the narrative through out with the chaser saying things like 'I have something for you' etc, to keep the narrative in play. I would also play about more with the effects to add a bit more of a stop motion type feel to it as the cameras in the 19020's had slight jolts. Overall my film works well in the 1920's theme but if I were to redo it I would now have a better idea of the more stylistic composition of the actual frames and how the film was going to work.




Music Video 4 Hour Film - About You


For this four hour film challenge we were asked to compose a music video from the song About you - XXYYXX (Sina Sadeghi Remix). We could interpret the song however we wanted and the challenge was to use a lot of stock footage to make the video. 

I was inspired heavily by the works of Koyaanisqatsi who uses beautiful scenes of the environment and then compares them to the city scenes now and how evolution of the world is ruining these beautiful climates. All of my footage was from the website pexels and I created the illusion using the different footages how man has changed the landscapes by creating these environmental damages. 
I think my film works well in the scenes it shows a drastic change and i created an illusion that changes on the exact beats. If i were to redo this challenge I would probably create more interesting slides to look at with more words as all of it is mainly just similar types of stock footage. I love the transition from each landscape where its got a kind of glitchy delusion feel. 

Lighting in Film

Lighting in Film

Lighting in Film Noir was extremely limited with technology due to the times Film Noir was in so they were in turn bound by lighting, however not limited in their talents to show all the different concepts they created with shadows and use of chiaroscuro.

Chiaroscuro emphasises shadows and the harsh lighting to create a sense of depth and volume which was first originally shown in paintings and then entered the film scene to create a number of dark connotations in these films particularly the one's with people containing the dark cynical attitudes.

In the Classic Film Noir Era between 1940-1959 as only black and white photography was used they were able to show the contrasts between dark and light in a lot more clearer perspectives and with intentions to create dark meanings, as for most of the actual Film Noir films we see this distinctive recurring themes of cynical characters and the interplay of light and dark.

Three Point Lighting

 

Three point lighting is the fundamental system used in filmmaking and is one of the oldest lighting techniques used in shooting video and essentially it consists three lights:

To Remember - 3 Point Lighting
Key Light - main light on a subject (not always the brightest).
Fill Light - softens the hard edges of the key and balances the light out.
Back Light - light behind a subject creating separation from the background.

The primary light is the Key Light is the most important and mainly the most dominant light in the scene(usually the brightest). It's there to bring light directly to your subject so that whatever you are filming, the subject is well illuminated in the shot. Key lights should not be placed directly in front of the talent or subject, but instead slightly off to a side. While just having this light may look enough light, of you want a well lit piece, you'll want to include both the other two lights to provide the subject in shot with more dimension, all depending on how you want the subject to be portrayed.

Complimenting the Key Light is the Fill light which is usually placed opposite of the Key light to fill in the shadows that have been left over by the Key light. The Fill light essentially fills the dark side of the subject. The Fill light allows you to control the overall feel of your shot depending on how much you dim or lighten the Fill light. A dim Fill light will give you more of a harsh, film-noir type of a shadow, while having the light brighter will help give your subject a more even look. You should always have a Fill light in place even if you want a shadowy look to your subject so that you are able to see a little detail on the darker side.

The final light is the Back light which adds a light at the back which separates the subject from the background. A Back light will put another element to the image of your subject and will push them off from the background, again adding another type of dimension. For this all you need to do is place a light behind your subject pointed at the back of their neck and high enough to be out of the frame. Watch that you don't have the light too bright or the effect you get may not be the one that you were looking for. 

This is a very basic overview of he standard three point lighting technique The most prominent lights in the setup of film noir were very String Key Lights and Strong Back Lights.
However Fill lights were not used as often as the other two because they don’t show the big exaggerating contrasts like the others. Film noir generally uses hard lights, the type of shadow it creates created by a single point source of light light is emerging from a single point. Hard shadows define the film noir look, the alternating patterns included throughout the whole genre to create an eerie and unsafe look. Soft lighting is used more conservatively sometimes to glamorise female's characters.

Rembrant Lighting

This lighting technique is used in studio portrait photography. It can be achieved using one light and a reflector(fill light) and is popular because it can create images with considered lighting by using a minimum of equipment. Rembrandt lighting is characterised by an illuminated triangle under the eye of the subject, on the less illuminated side of the face. It is named after the Dutch painter Rembrandt who often use this type of lighting

Butterfly Lighting

This technique takes the key light up much higher than the subject and is shooting down onto them to cast a butterfly type shadow on their face. It is thought to project more glamorous and complimentary connotations than other techniques. It is also known as 'Paramount lighting' named for classic Hollywood glamour photography, as you can see it was often used on 1950's film stars.

Edge Lighting

Edge(or split) lighting is slightly more dramatic than Rembrandt and hugely more so than Butterfly. It defines and separates one side of the face from the other more obviously. The highlights are lighter and the low lights darker, therefore the contrast is higher. The first two images below show the technique can fall int the low key lighting family if the key light used is from a small source and your studio is pitch black. Image 3 is Edge lighting used from a soft light in a studio with natural light present.

Lighting Setup's with examples

Here are some of our work during the HNC where we constructed the studio to take photos surrounding the theme of lighting. 

As you can see from these photos, using lighting in different places enhances different elements of the person you are photographing, in this case using lighting from above makes the subject look more innocent and in less of a position of power in this circumstance. She is shown to be fully brightened which means there is barely any darkness to the photo when it was taken.

Whereas in this photo by moving the lights to either side rather than on top of the subject you get this type of chiaroscuro view where only half of her face is lightened, as we know this is often used in the film noir techniques to show the darkness in a subject. 

Chiaroscuro emphasises shadows and the harsh lighting to create a sense of depth and volume and in this case we can see half of the face has been obscured to crate this certain look.

In this video you can clearly see that we have distinguished our use of lighting to create this shadow type chiaroscuro look. By using a dark studio and harsh light on one side we create this effect. Not using all three lights and only one - the key light and placing in from certain angles can obtain different effects.

In this video we can see that by using the exact same technique on a different person we can carry out this same harsh darkness on one side of the face by just moving the one key light in place. The shot is slightly out of focus but a bigger improvement fro the first video.

In this raw video we see that we are making a mistake by not focusing the camera but trying to achieve however still creates this really raw look about it.

In this video we see that we have corrected our mistake of the lens focus, so we eventually have achieved this amazing looking shot and showing the darkness which hides within someone could be useful in horror genres or genres involving darkness in someone(film noir etc).




REFERENCES

https://www.slrlounge.com/glossary/butterfly-lighting-definition/

https://tubularinsights.com/three-point-lighting-technique/