Week 7 [18.01-24.01.16]: How to make a video clip

It's hard to imagine today's audiovisual culture without … video clips!

Clips which were created to promote a songs became a kind of art in itself.

Are you curious how they are made and who creates it?

Is it hard work? The question is how to show a fascinating history in a few minutes..,

and how to join music and pictures in a coherent way?

Let me present you a backstage of video clips.

Let's start from the very beginning – the first video clip in the world.

This one was made by a British group, the Queen, in 1975 to promote the Bohemian Rhapsody song. Shoots took about 4 hours, and cost 4.500 pounds, nowadays rather a low-budget production. 

It is important to notice that adding pictures to a song created completely new possibilities for an artists: they could augment their recorded tracks visually with photos, videos, graphics 

and movement.

We can also find a very first try of using a special effects in the video clip. That's a multiplication of a head of Freddy Mercury, which you can see below. Enriched songs built new quality in the audiovisual industry. 

After the success of "Bohemian Rhapsody" recording videos for songs has become a regular practice.

You can watch this extremely famous and classy clip here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ9rUzIMcZQ

   

So, it is time to go backstage!

.Here is Beyoncé’s video to the “Sweet dreams” song.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1H1XV-BB6Y

.I highly recommend watching this material.

Let's focus on technical details and crew which work on it. 
There are many people involved in creating a move clip and each person has an important role.

There is a director, who creates a script and makes an artistic concept of a clip. He also inspires and manages the people. 
Make-up and fashion stylist take care of a vocalist's looks.
We cannot forget about a choreographer and dancers. 
They often support a vocalist and make good background for him just like in Beyoncé’s clip. 

Finally, a video set needs cameramen, and editors.  A producer keeps an eye on the whole production. All of those people have to cooperate to make a strong team.

https://asiancorrespondent.com/2011/12/10-great-film-schools-for-international-students/

http://balletnews.co.uk/richmond-ballet-new-works-festival-returns/ https://www.merakoh.com/2009/06/12/fall-in-love-shachar-and-jasons-wedding-slideshow/

 The next issue are special effects and sort of technical details.

Have you ever wondered how some breathtaking movie scenes were made?

http://digitalsynopsis.com/design/movies-before-after-green-screen-cgi/                    

Please take a look at the picture above. A real “green screen” background was replaced by a created one.
It is a popular technique in movie clips. The Green screen allows to put a vocalist in a completely new, fantastic or wild world and gives a lot of opportunities for a director too.
The green colour lets easily separate a background from the rest.

Let's check another examples.

Please watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=320xcOCls1M

“All is full of love” was created in 1998 by an Islandic artist, Bjork.
In Bjork's clip were used a real robot model and also 3d models, which were animated.

The editors team placed Bjork's face on a robot's head.

Looks like a lot of work, doesn’t it? Creating a 3d model, synchronizing it with the recorded material and also with music should be very arduous work...
The video clip has won plenty of awards, especially MTV Video Music Awards in the best film category, and the best special effects.

If you are interested in other extraordinary solutions in music videos, you should check:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0J2QdDbelmY a hypnotic tunnel in three colours
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nTFjVm9sTQ recorded in real 3D by a special scanner

1) Which is your favourite movie clip ?

2) Have you ever been at a movie clip set or worked as a movie extra ?
3) Which member of the crew would you like to be?