Storyboard

Plan for storyline

Basis idea that there are two characters throughout the whole video. One of the characters is dead and the other is a woman who murdered her but feels very regretful about it. The story will portray how the dead woman haunts the woman on a daily basis, but also reflects how the murderer feels awful about what she did.  The video will neither show or indicate how the women was murdered.

Birdy brainstorm

Birdy target audience

Birdy Help The People analysis

The beginning of this video is so effective, the video has been slowed down when they are videoing on the bridge, this already sets the mood as it is very calm yet shows the vulnerability of the people on the road. The video then jump cuts to Birdy on the bus, this is a close up and captures her lip syncing, this is shows that her video will also contain performance based aspects. The use of lip syncing throughout the video emphasise Birdy's opinion that the people need help. The video captures characters that fit into the narrative this helps the audience to follow along, the video slowly cuts to these stories. This is especially effective in the chorus as it shows a a variety of different people, all from different backgrounds and situations, but the use of the characters adds to the meaning of the song, that all these people need help.
Throughout the video there are scenes where reflection is mirrors have been used, this is very effective as it captures the vulnerability of the characters from a different aspect, perhaps this shows how other people in the world see them. The busy town that has been used in the video helps to emphasise the vulnerability of the characters, they are small characters living in a towering and powerful world. The simplicity of this video adds to the meaning of the song, everyday people have been captured so it portrays the majority of citizens which allows the audience to follow along at ease. Like Shelter Birdy's costume is very simple and can be related back to her age, the costume ties in to the relaxed and calm theme, helping to emphasise the idea of normal every day life. The video has been converted into black and white, this almost implies danger and and sadness, this then links back to the lyrics of the song that there may be danger coming and to help the people.

Birdy Shelter analysis

At the beginning of the video it captures a close up of Birdie's hand, this enables you to see the reflection of the branches, already this creates a very haunting and dark mood. The video then moves onto a mid shot of Birdy walking through the woods, here you are able to see the clothing that she is wearing, her dark clothing also adds to the haunting effect as she contrast with her natural surroundings make her stand out. As the video is conceptual based and includes lip syncing the simple clothing reflects the age of Birdy, which draws the audience into the song. Throughout the video mid shots have been used to capture the lip syncing, this is very effective as it allows the audience to still see Birdy's expressions but also her surroundings, this enables the haunting effect to be carried out. Early on in the song a mid shot is used to capture Birdy looking round anxiously, this was also very effective as it represented that she is very vulnerable, this is then further emphasised through her clothing as she contrasts with her surroundings. As the video is also performance based it has scenes where she is playing the piano this caught through a close up, the piano music is synced to the track, by using this performance it enables the audience to be included in the haunting theme as the piano is kept in the same house where Birdy is filming. Throughout the video the natural lighting is used to create a theme in scenes, for example, when Birdy is playing the piano the sunlight streams into the window making the image over exposed, again this shows how vulnerable she is. 

Throughout the video Birdy is portrayed to be very vulnerable, her surroundings help to emphasise this, for example, when she is in the woods and the tall trees tower over her. Another example of this would be the long shots of Birdy by walking in the beach, it shows nature to be over powering whilst she innocently walks around in her dark clothing. The general pace of the editing is quite slow and runs very smoothly, this is so it can keep in time with the song, however whenever the song gets to the chorus the editing will become much faster and flick to previous shots, i.e. the piano, or running through the woods. Throughout the video there have been some out of focus shots, i.e. when Birdy is staring at her hands, this again shows her vulnerability, the natural lighting that streamed in this shot was also very effective as it emphasised the chilling and haunting theme.

Birdy Skinny Love

This is the song that I have chosen to do, this song was originally written by Bon Iver, I chose Birdy instead though because the song has a slower pace which helps flow to my storyboard. Birdy has not chosen to follow a constructed narrative, instead she has chosen to use a conceptual based theme also showing scenes of performance. Using a conceptual theme has enabled Birdy to be more creative with her locations, this is something that I would like to recreate in my own video.

The location appears to be an abandoned house, the wallpaper is peeling of the walls and looks very dreary, the windows are battered, dirty and smashed and there are also cobwebs that are captured throughout. The characteristics of this house add to theme of the song, the song is slow paced and represents loss of someone, again the house emphasizes this meaning as Birdy is perceived to be very lonely and sad in this big and abandoned house.  In the beginning of the video there are slow paced close ups of ornaments in the house, this is very effective as in the beginning there are no lyrics, these images help to build up the mood. The video seems to inc-operate performance, narrative and conceptual based themes. The performance based theme is shown at the beginning of the video as Birdy is introduced, the singer is hidden away by her innocent locks of hair and uses further close up shots to show the lip syncing. There is no clear narrative throughout the song, it could be interpreted in many ways. My own interpretation is that a loss of life has occurred and now Birdy is reminiscing on memories. The narrative tries to construct this through the matching of images to the words, for example the smashed glass on the floor. Finally the conceptual based theme is shown throughout the video, Birdy is captured wandering around the house in a very haunting manor, again this emphasizes the idea of loss.
The editing of the video has also been used very effectively to convey the haunting mood. Each show is slowed down to suit the tempo, this is especially used in the beginning of the video where there are no lyrics just images of ornaments. This is also used when Birdy is walking in the garden in the black boots. By using this technique it not only adds to the mood of the video but it also enables the audience to easily follow and relate.
Another technique which has also used been effectively in parts of the video is out of focus shots. They are important to use especially in this video as it creates a haunting mood, it conveys the idea that the loss of a loved one has left them weaker. In the beginning of the video when Birdy is playing the piano a hand held camera appears to have been used, this is very effective as it shows how simplistic the video is yet it has a very haunting theme. I also really like the scene when the camera is held on the ground and captures Birdy walking by, this is something that I have liked in Ben Howard's videos and is something I would like to create in my own.