Planning Lighting and Colours

In music videos, lighting and colours are usually heavily present and are deployed for a number of reasons. Cool and unusual graphic effect can be used to either stand out to the audience and make it something they remember, one example being Rihanna ft Kanye West- All of the lights. It is effective and can also set the emotional tone for a frame, being a happy feeling with bright colours or dark and sad with low lighting and colour.

Our first instances of lighting and colour are shown at buckhurst hill station. This will be very early on in the video and is the artists hometown, where the video and the story begins and also where it ends. The shots of the station are at the very beginning, which shows the artist walking into the station to begin his long and eventful journey. Natural lighting is used here from the day to show it being just another day of the artist on the hustle of busking and that this is ordinary for him. Other colours present will be the artists costume, which is all black, black jeans, black shoes and a black jumper, to convey to the audience that he is emotionally down and troubled and the colour black signifies his current life position, which is shown throughout as the artist does not change from this costume. This is conventional to the indie genre as we see the artist not only in non expensive clothing, but also making an ordinary train journey, just like so many others, meaning many can relate to him and artists of the indie genre are widely known to be relatable characters.

The next example of lighting will be shown on the platform while the artist is waiting for a train, it will be backlighting via the sun which will be used. The sun rising shows the start of something and the beginning of a journey and this is the start of his eventful day. It could also connote that due to the sun shining on him, there could be some hope and it may just be his day, however there then follows a plot twist later on that it all goes wrong for him. The all black costume here is foreshadowing how his day will pan out, full of gloom and misery. A relationship with the audience is built here as the artist is the protagonist, and they want him to do well and see the sun shining on him which makes them believe it could be his day and he has hope. This is conventional to the indie genre as our narrative is beginning to develop here and nearly all indie music videos feature a narrative and a story for the audience.

On the train we will show the artist travelling and his face expressions. The saturation will begin to go darker as well as the colours, to show that a bad experience is about to commence and that there is no way back for him. The bright colours previously used are beginning to disappear as the harsh reality for the artist is hitting him about making it in the big city and being successful. This lighting technique plays a role in building a relationship between the artist and audience, as when the audience see the lighting get darker and things beginning to change, they may begin to feel scared for him and that he is in a bad situation. This lighting effect links with the lyrics of "somethings changing changing changing" which can be heard around this point, which connote that things are indeed changing and are taking a bad turn and that this day can only get worse for him as it goes on. This is conventional as lighting is very commonly used to set the emotional tone in an indie music video, most commonly black and white in this genre and although we have opted for different colours in ours, it still links in with the conventions of the genre as we are using it support our narrative and tell a story, something every indie music video has.

The next example is when the artist gets to liverpool street and finally begins to start performing, what the artist set out to do. There are many instances of lighting and colour change and also contrast throughout in this location. The lighting at the beginning of the artist playing compared to the end is lighter, as the lighting will get dimmer and dimmer to show his hopes dimming and fading and that this isn't working out well for him. He is still in his all black costume, to show his emotions towards failing and his overall emotion in life. A new character enters in this location, a very successful artist who is on the street passing by and getting attention from fans. The lighting changes when filming him and it turns very bright, to show his emotions that he is very happy with his life and has no worries. He is wearing a bright suit, which contrasts to our artist who is in dark clothing which reflects his mood. This is conventional to the indie genre as there is usually a hard hitting message within the narrative, ours here is contrasting the high life to the struggles and how big the difference really is and just how harsh it can be.

The next example of lighting and colour is when the artist is back in buckhurst hill after finishing his awful day and getting his money stolen. Natural lighting is used here as it will already be dark by this time and it shows the end of the day for him and the end of his music journey. This is a replay of the first shot of our video, which then follows on to him travelling in the taxi, and eventually running away, simply because he cannot afford the fare since his money was stolen, truly emphasizing the artists struggles. This is conventional as some narratives in the indie genre are known to be quite shocking and upsetting, hence our one here which shows how poor the artist actually is.







The final examples of lighting and colour used in our video is when the artist escapes from the taxi driver and goes back to his house to use the key to enter, only to find the locks have changed. A two shot will be used here to show the simultaneous events of the artist in despair trying to get in his own house again and the other artist (which the whole songs lyrics are about) having a good time and drinking and celebrating with his manager, both in colourful suits. The natural lighting of darkness on or artist shows his despair and that his life is in doom and gloom and all hope is gone for him, whilst on the other hand, the other artist and his manager are in a shot with high key lighting and they are in a well lit, cosy room and celebrating, to show that they are secure and happy in themselves and have no worries, their suits are bright and colourful to show their emotions that they are happy and cheerful, as they are living the good life, which massively contrasts our artists life. The lighting here links with the lyrics "Hey, hey, it's fine" as they are about Tyler's life, that everything is fine and he has no worries and can have the laid back lifestyle and through using lighting it shows he is feeling bright and happy about this. This is conventional to the indie genre as again a harsh reality is shown and some viewers may have been in a struggle like our artist, therefore making him relatable and indie artists are often seen as people you can relate to that are down to earth and have gone through the same struggles you may have.

Overall, our audience can build a relationship with our artist through our lighting and colour by seeing his life and the colours and lighting conveying his emotions, which allows them to symphasize with the artist and therefore then connect with him, which gives are video a personal feel and can make it effective through emotions and a harsh narrative that possibly some of our audience can relate to. Overall, our lighting and colour is intended to get our narrative across and emotions across to the audience and is also used to portray our artist.