Practice for Stop Motion Clips

We spent this lesson experimenting with Stop-Motion, with an idea to intergrate this into our music video, in between the other clips that we have in mind to make it more interesting and keep the flow of the video fast paced.
Here are the practice photographs that we came up with:

Production Institution

I think that our chosen song would be produced and aired by companies such as MTV and Top of the Pops. We need to ensure that our video matches the criteria of all other videos shown by these companies because if it is too controversial or explicit in any way then it would not be for public viewing.


MTV is based in New York City in America and was launched in 1981 at the time with the sole purpose of being a music channel that played the popular songs and music videos at that time. It is now a worldwide known name and while it still shows the top 40 music videos and songs it also has; reality TV shows, celebrity news, top stories, competitions and much more. To date there are 43 different countries that it can be viewed in, and when not possible it can always be accessed by the internet

Over the years MTV has changed its image numerous times to seem up to date with its viewers


This was the logo used in 1981





This is the logo as of 2010

Top of the Pops - also known as TOTP -  was aired weekly on television from January 1964 to July 2006. It was the real reason for music videos becoming a necessity. It was cancelled in 2006 due to the fact that it wasn't being watched as much as it had been in the past due to newer up and coming music channels.



This was the logo from 1964–1971











Key Elements

Looking at our genre and the audience we are trying to attract, I have figured out and defined the key elements that we must include in our music video to make it a success when completed and also to comform to our expectations.

Our video must have:

[  ]  Fast editing.
[  ]  Different people/characters to add interest.
[  ]  Different things going on at the same time.
[  ]  Dancing.
[  ]  A bit of a storyline
[  ]  A video that matches the song.
[  ]  Our interpretation of how the song should be portrayed.

Video Inspiration

This video begins with a split-screen horizontally across the screen. Both images are in the first setting which is an office but both shots, even though obviously in the same place, are positioned as if from different perspectives.
Then moving on to the street, the camera shots look very free-hand, as if they weren't filmed from a tripod to keep the camera still. This is effective in the sense that it is from the point of view of the character (lead singer), as when he moves, the camera moves in the same sort of motion which is very clever.
After the street scene the character enters a bar, where there are several things that occur.
The guy walks up to the bar in one screen and in the other we see the people around him in the bar.
Then he proceeds to drink a beer, true to the video, in two different perspectives and then he begins to crown surf as his friends pick him up.
This is the climax of the video and it works very well with the song.
I like the way this video is created. The editing is very clever with the two screens showing two different perspectives, and also the shots are very fast which makes it interesting to watch.
The general setting in this video is in an office, in a street, following a man walking from place to place, day to day things are happening. I think that's what makes this video good, because it can relate to an average person.
The sound works extremely well with this song and the video matches it completely.



The beginning of this clip has very fast editing being flashed between two different pieces of footage, which almost looks like flashing lights because of the speed. There is a man standing against a white background with lighting behind him making his silhouette look black which is very effective. The immediate fast editing instantly grabs the attention of audiences. It almost looks as if there is split screening on the man standing against the white background as you can see him three times, although this might only be a reflection.
For this genre of song the appeal is probably the attractive girls that appear in the video.
They are singing the lyrics of the song but at the same time being very sexy and intriguing.
There is extremely fast editing throughout the video and this definitely keeps the interest to a maximum level as there are different people to look at and this is more interesting that just one or two people.
Although the video doesn't really have a story line, there are some good shots and for this song, the video is quite accurate.
This is a music video created with the desire to have some sex appeal. Our video, however, will not be at this level but we will use similar shots used in this clip.
The editing is fast and interesting, and the lyrics of the woman are being sung by three different girls which keeps the video more interesting and appeals to audiences more.
The sound from the music and the theme of the video have been chosen correctly and it works very well together.




The beginning of this video is set as different photographs being created into a collage, integrating the faces as they change slowly.
The start of the actual song shows a traditional boy meets girl love story and follows the relationship but the filming is more like stop motion but extremely sped-up.
The characters look as if they are on film but at the same time it just looks like lots and lots of photographs interpreted together to create a photo montage almost.
The entirety of the video is very photo shopped with lots of editing throughout which at some level creates interest as it is very different to other music videos. It is unique.
This idea is set out with very fast pace of editing. The shots are cut so that the screen will constantly be showing different reels of film but integrated together to make it that much more interesting.
Photographs are used to create a stop-motion effect to make the actions seem a little more animated which really works well with the song for the video.
Also Photographs are used in almost a montage at the beginning which are then layered on top of one another which is extremely effective. There are a lot of different aspects to this music video that we would definitely like to experiment with whilst making our video.

Mood Board

On our mood board I chose to include lots of colourful pictures because we want our video to be bright. I also decided to use pictures of people smiling and laughing because we want our video to be happy and for everyone to be smiling in it. I used the words 'Party' and 'Sound' due to the font of the writing in that we want ours to be something along the lines of them, and also because they are words that are associated with happiness. At the very bottom in the middle there is a picture that has lots of smaller pictures in it and I chose to use this because we want to use a number of shots like this in our video with different people in each, doing different things.

Key Shots

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I decided to use Missy Elliott's video - 'Get Ur freak On' as my video from the genre and I have found 9 key screen shots from it.

Here is my Board of Screenshots, from top row to bottom , Left to Right, I will explain why each shot was a 'Key Shot'.



1. This is at the beginning of the sequence, using still images and blending them into one another.

2. An shot of a dancer against a background. Ours will, however, be black.

3. One person saying the lyrics of the song.

4. Another person singing lyrics. We want this to be a variety of people. (Look at 8 & 9)

5. A dancing shot, again with a black background hopefully for our shots.

6. A variety of different peoples styles whilst sitting on a chair possibly getting ready?

7. A very good dance shot/

8. A up-close shot, head and shoulders. We want to get a huge variety of people doing this.

9. Maybe during the head shots, we can have different colours going on to make them more interesting and varied.

1) This is one of the first shots seen so it needs to be powerful and have a big impact

2) We want to use contrast in our video so we will be using a person in white on a black background and vice versa

3 & 4) They are singing into the camera - we are going to be using a lot of this

5) A shot that the person is dancing in - we're going to hopefully have a lot of these as well.

6) A mid shot in which we will have different people doing different things

7) The same as number 5

8 & 9) A close up with her singing into the camera and also a change in the mise en scene from previously in the video

Audience Research

I did some audience research on what peoples’ thoughts on music videos were.

I asked four questions to seven different people and got their individual opinions on each question. Hopefully this will help Kim and I to produce the best quality music video which will be appealing to a wide range of audiences.

Question 1

Why do you choose the music that you do?

-          Because I like the sound.

-          Because it appeals to me as a person.

-          It is what I like.

-          The music I listen to depends on the mood that I am in.

-          I like music that matches my personality.

-          I look for music that sounds interesting and that has interesting lyrics.

-          I like bands because they play their own instruments.

Question 2

Do you think music videos make a difference?

-          Sometimes.

-          Sometimes, seeing as in some videos they edit the original version of the song to fit the video.

-          Not necessarily in all music. In pop music it does make a difference because they have to be censored and edited for TV programs such as MTV.

-          No, they don’t make a difference.

-          Yes definitely.

-          Yes they make a difference because they can capture your imagination.

-          Yes, because they can express more.

Question 3

What attracts you to a music video?

-          An intriguing storyline and some dancing!

-           The music, obviously. The video must be clever, fast-paced and well filmed.

-          It must be interesting.

-          There must be a storyline to follow. For example, Basshunter’s songs all have a storyline and they use the same people in the videos. I like that.

-          It depends on the genre what attracts me. But usually seeing the artist showing how they portray their emotions to that particular song.

-          I like videos that have a comedic quality.

-          I like seeing the artist singing in the video, and the video must relate to the theme.

Question 4

What puts you off of a music video?

-          I hate it in hip-hop videos, when there are half naked women everywhere.

-          When videos are boring and repetitive.

-          When there is no point, no story. If there is going to be a story, it needs to be all the way through, there can’t be a halfway point. I don’t think it works.

-          I hate it when the artist is just standing there singing, with no action involved.

-          When the video doesn’t make sense. The video should definitely relate to the song.

-          When there is too much dancing and repetition.

-          When the video doesn’t make sense at all.

Production Company

Kim and I have created our production company name.

We have agreed on the name 'Starry Eyed Productions' to present our music video, and have now designed a logo for our company.

Detailed Analysis Of Videos

The first two songs below are both similar in that the videos both illustrate exactly what is being sung in them.

1) 'You Belong With Me' by Taylor Swift

This is a very cleverly made music video in that everything about it matches with the words. From 0.38-0.51 seconds is an example of when the costumes go with the words of the song. This happens throughout - the words of the song are acted out and while it re-inforces the words, it makes them seem almost comical. It is a typical pop song about love, rejection and is aimed primarily at teenage girls.The costumes throughout the video help to represent the different personalities of each character which is the whole point of them in the video. In the shot where the girl is looking into the mirror and the lyrics are 'I wear t-shirts' she tugs at her t-shirt and looks annoyed. The editing is very slick and fast and the video includes lots of different shots that are to keep the viewers engaged and interested in it. There are numerous shot-reaction-shots in which you see something happen between the boy and his girlfriend and then the reaction of the blonde haired girl to what they are doing. There are also quite a lot of mid-shots included as they mean that more movement can be seen by the audience. When the boy and the blonde haired girl are sitting on the bench there is a close up of the boys face - I assume that its from the girls perspective - and the background is out of focus which shows that she has her complete attention on him. The different shots help to show the different emotions felt by each person.

2) 'I've Gotta Feeling' by Black Eyed Peas

This is a video that is similar to the ideas of 'You Belong With Me'. It is another illustrated video because when the words say 'I've gotta feeling that tonight's gonna be a good night' you see a fast edited montage of different people doing whatever it is they do when getting ready for a night out. This is interesting because you see all sorts of different people in a short space of time. It is a feel good song in which you see lots of people having fun, dancing and generally enjoying themselves and when listened to, it makes you want to get up and dance and do what they're doing. It has a catchy tune which easily gets stuck in your head and this is the songwriters intended to happen. The girls in the video aren't wearing much clothing and don't leave much to the imagination and the words of the song simply reinforce what is happening on screen.

3) 'Kickstarts' by  Example

I have been inspired by the different shots used in this video and have taken our main idea from this. The fast editing and quick changing shots make it interesting and exciting for a viewer. I would like to use some of these ideas, and also some of my own and ours with include different actions and things that are happening in it.

Choosing The Track

Lisa and I have decided to make a music video to the song 'I Gotta Feeling' by Black Eyed Peas. Lisa has requested permission from the company and we are waiting to hear a response from them before we begin.
This song comes under the genres of dance, hip-hop, house and pop. The stereotypical trait for pop videos is a some sort of dance and singing to the camera. They also tend to include lots of different things happening which keeps the viewer captivated in what they are watching. In our video we hope to include lots of different fast edited shots that will have lots of different people in them doing different things in the same place. I will post a storyboard to illustrate what I mean in the next couple of days.

Song Permission

- 3700My first task on creating this music video has been to find out who owns the copyright of the song we have chosen for our music video. I found out that our chosen song, 'I gotta feeling' by the Black Eyed Peas is owned by
(C) 2009 Interscope

This is our chosen song:




I had to set out and find an email address or some way to contact them to ask permission to use the song.

Here is the permission letter that I have sent to the management team.

Dear Online Team,

I am writing in regards to getting permission to use one of the Black Eyed Peas’ songs for a school project.

I am currently attending Gordonstoun School in Scotland, and am an A-Level Media Studies student. I wish to use the song ‘I Gotta Feeling’ to use to put in my music video project. An A Level is the English system of education, and I am currently in my final year of high school.

The use of the track will be solely for education purposes with no profit being made at all from this. The only people who will initially be viewing this video will be the exam board when the coursework is submitted and also my subject teacher.

I hope to hear from you in the near future.

Kind regards,

Lisa Mitchell