I have recently filmed and edited my focus group. It was interesting to hear their views on my ideas and music videos in general. It gives me a clearer understanding as to which direction i should be heading for.
When asking about when the song ended, Jack described 'rainbows' as being a possibility. In spite of this probably being a joke, it gave me a good idea as to how approach the LUNATIC. He could be happy in parts, but it could all be delusion. Perhaps I can make a division between a dark reality and a colourful fiction through altering the colours of the piece. Perhaps the more upsetting scenes would be in dull and darker colours whilst the happy delusions' colours would be saturated.
Owen also described the song as not being happy. Which I suppose is true in the reality of the scenario, but it can be altered in the delusions that the LUNATIC is seeing.
In terms of the locations, Ryan had a detailed description. He described a person walking a forest path (which was one of my options on my Survey) and the weather gradually turns from heavy rain to bright sunlight. This was interesting because it suggests to me either a hopefulness for the character - in that he is able to break free of the depressing aspects of the illness - or a hopelessness because the bright sunlight could be a delusion (following the 'rainbow' idea).
Owen said the LUNATIC could be walking through town on his own and looking about himself. He recommended the town of Sevenoaks as a possibility. This fits in with a previous idea which I had where the LUNATIC walks through town and every person appears to be looking at him - which brings forward the topic of paranoia, often a by-product of schizophrenia. I also thought he could be in a dressing-gown, pushing a pram around with biscuits and LSD in the seat. This gives off the impression that he is very unaware of his surroundings.
On approaching them with my idea, they seemed positive and supportive of it - which is a good sign. Ryan in particular thought the idea was brilliant... if it was 'handled carefully'.
On discussing music videos, Jack and Owen were eager for me to watch the one for 'Californiacation'. That may be the next video I analyse. Jack believed that it was the video itself that made the song - I thought that was interesting seeing as it is usually the other way round. Owen preferred music videos which had a recognisable narrative, which I'll probably provide. Later on, Ryan rants about the use of the band in certain music videos. He did not approve of them appearing a large amount in the video. He and Owen said how he was more interested in the story rather than the band. I will stick to this, as I was confused as to how much I should include the band in my video. Music videos like "The Kill" by 30 Seconds To Mars feature the band a lot of the time - however, they are characters in the story. I perhaps also should have asked whether they prefer people to lip-sync to the lyrics, like "The Kill", or just have the music dubbed over a short film like "Hysteria" by Muse.
The whole group were against videos which do not fit the tone of the song. Jack disapproved of 'pointless stuff' in music videos, which are not relevant to the meaning of the song. I have been attempting to avoid this since I began with "BRAIN DAMAGE". Since the song is about Syd Barrett's schizophrenia, I want to try and hold true to that.
In asking about their preference in narrative, Ryan and Owen believed that both clear and unclear can work as long as its 'done right'. My narrative structure is set out to be non-linear and confusing but I'll make it clear that the video is from a schizophrenic's mindset. This brings clarity and makes it easier to watch.
Their ideas of how the song should begin were interesting, since some of them were similar to my own. Ryan described a basement full of mad people without even knowing that the song was about schizophrenia. This suggests to me that SPEAK TO ME has that 'mad' effect on most people. Ryan's idea does give me an image of many versions of the LUNATIC (my protagonist) all doing different actions in one large, dark room. Owen put forward the idea of loneliness, which I believe is almost key to the LUNATIC's character. Schizophrenia does have that essence of feeling alone. No one can understand what he does because they defy logical understanding. So, in this way, he is alone.
When asking about when the song ended, Jack described 'rainbows' as being a possibility. In spite of this probably being a joke, it gave me a good idea as to how approach the LUNATIC. He could be happy in parts, but it could all be delusion. Perhaps I can make a division between a dark reality and a colourful fiction through altering the colours of the piece. Perhaps the more upsetting scenes would be in dull and darker colours whilst the happy delusions' colours would be saturated.
Owen also described the song as not being happy. Which I suppose is true in the reality of the scenario, but it can be altered in the delusions that the LUNATIC is seeing.
In terms of the locations, Ryan had a detailed description. He described a person walking a forest path (which was one of my options on my Survey) and the weather gradually turns from heavy rain to bright sunlight. This was interesting because it suggests to me either a hopefulness for the character - in that he is able to break free of the depressing aspects of the illness - or a hopelessness because the bright sunlight could be a delusion (following the 'rainbow' idea).
Owen said the LUNATIC could be walking through town on his own and looking about himself. He recommended the town of Sevenoaks as a possibility. This fits in with a previous idea which I had where the LUNATIC walks through town and every person appears to be looking at him - which brings forward the topic of paranoia, often a by-product of schizophrenia. I also thought he could be in a dressing-gown, pushing a pram around with biscuits and LSD in the seat. This gives off the impression that he is very unaware of his surroundings.
On approaching them with my idea, they seemed positive and supportive of it - which is a good sign. Ryan in particular thought the idea was brilliant... if it was 'handled carefully'.
On discussing music videos, Jack and Owen were eager for me to watch the one for 'Californiacation'. That may be the next video I analyse. Jack believed that it was the video itself that made the song - I thought that was interesting seeing as it is usually the other way round. Owen preferred music videos which had a recognisable narrative, which I'll probably provide. Later on, Ryan rants about the use of the band in certain music videos. He did not approve of them appearing a large amount in the video. He and Owen said how he was more interested in the story rather than the band. I will stick to this, as I was confused as to how much I should include the band in my video. Music videos like "The Kill" by 30 Seconds To Mars feature the band a lot of the time - however, they are characters in the story. I perhaps also should have asked whether they prefer people to lip-sync to the lyrics, like "The Kill", or just have the music dubbed over a short film like "Hysteria" by Muse.
The whole group were against videos which do not fit the tone of the song. Jack disapproved of 'pointless stuff' in music videos, which are not relevant to the meaning of the song. I have been attempting to avoid this since I began with "BRAIN DAMAGE". Since the song is about Syd Barrett's schizophrenia, I want to try and hold true to that.
In asking about their preference in narrative, Ryan and Owen believed that both clear and unclear can work as long as its 'done right'. My narrative structure is set out to be non-linear and confusing but I'll make it clear that the video is from a schizophrenic's mindset. This brings clarity and makes it easier to watch.
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