Evaultion Question 4, Final.

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Evaluation Question 3 Final

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Evaluation Question 2 Final

Evaluation - Question 2 on Prezi

1 to still come, need to add a few more photos and then upload to slideshare. Same applies for 3 & 4.

Evaluation Question 1 Final

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Digipak - singular images of each part.

These are the singular images of each side of my digipak, this is to allow each side to be easier to view (and sides that are upside down on the net are far easier to read).

Digipak & poster analysis

Final Digipak and Poster.

Above are my final digipak and magazine poster. I've changed the placing of some images and text and also changed some fonts since I produced my drafts. I also printed off the final version of my digipak and to the left you can see how it looks once folded into the final product (minus the jewel case). I'm pleased with how it has come out and feel the simplistic designs work well with the genre.

First, very rough draft of my digipak and poster.

Digipak Planning

These images show my initial ideas in the format of a storyboard and my further development of my main ideas.

Final Music Video

I have now made the alterations stated in the previous post. 
0:36 - 0:51 have been edited. The girls close up eyes have been changed to a clip where they look sadder and a transition has been added to make the focus on the eyes smoother. I have also changed the two split screens so they no longer look stretched.
Also, 1:38 - 1:39 now has a transition as before you could notice an ever so slight jolt in the camera position (can't understand this as it was on a tripod...) so I added the effect as it fits with the effects that are around the same time and it's a nice soft one that flows well.

Analysis of my rough draft survey

Analysis

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Audience Research

Because Brooke is on iTunes I thought it would be beneficial to look at what other music people who had bought hers had also bought.

The artists that listeners of Brooke's music had also bought are:

• Trent Dabbs (x 3 of his albums)
• Peter Bradley Adams
• Elenowen
• Audrey Assad
• Derek Webb & Sandra McCracken

Some further research into Brooke and these artists...

Defined on iTunes as a singer songwriter and elsewhere as a folk/pop artist.

Her most popular album is 'Silence Worth Breaking' and the most popular single that has been downloaded from her iTunes is 'Under Streetlights' (the song used in my music video).

The song is soft yet has a beat to it that makes you want to continue to listen and the musical side of it harmonizes well with her vocals.

The album artwork for this album is quite simplistic in the sense that it uses very neutral colours yet the brown stands out and the paint splatters descending from the skyline create a sense of movement and slight chaos.

There is a simplistic yet tasteful house style to it.

Trent Dabbs

Three of Dabbs' albums have also been purchased by fans of Brooke Annibale.

This album 'Transition' is made up of 7 songs with the most popular (according to iTunes) being: 'Looking Up'. This song is quite soft but also rather upbeat and the music and vocals work in harmony, even when the tempo of the music increases.

Dabbs' is also listed as a Singer/Songwriter which links to Brooke and his album cover for Transition is also quite simple with neutral colours, but it is of course a photograph in which he is in. His name is not on the cover, only the name of the album which is quite faint yet fits with the title.

This is another album of Dabbs' with the most popular song being 'Can I Cross Your Mind'. This song reminds me more so of 'Under Streetlights' than 'Looking Up' as it has a focus upon the guitar in parts of the song. It's also quite a lot softer and has more to do with the meaning behind 'Under Streetlgihts'. Also, one of the lyrics in 'Under Streetlights' is "You can't help but cross my mind...".

The album artwork is also, in a way, similar to Brooke's. It has a neutral cream background but the image in the centre is a little more complex and a bit softer. Once again he doesn't have his own name on the album cover but only the name of the album.

Finally, Dabbs' album 'Your Side Now'. The most popular song on this album is 'Wishful Thinking'. In all honesty it's quite different to the other songs on the other two albums and this is also prevailed in the album artwork. The song is still quite soft but it lacks similarities with 'Under Streetlights' in my opinion. However, I do feel the album artwork is quite interesting as it has a very chilled out, home-like feeling to it. It's a photograph of Dabbs' playing his guitar surrounded by what appears to be books and/or records. It looks as if it's just him and his music and his name is actually on the album this time.

Peter Bradley Adams

Adams' album 'Between Us' is also a related album to Brooke's 'Silence Worth Breaking'. The most popular song on this album is 'Emily's Rain'. This song is quite mellow and soft yet it doesn't remind me of 'Under Streetlights' all that much. It does however, have soft guitar parts which is a similarity. Adams' is also listed a s Singer/Songwriter. His album artwork is similar in a way to Brooke's as it shows a skyline and uses very neutral, simplistic colours that compliment one another. 

Elenowen

The album 'Pulling Back The Veil' is also by Singer/Songwriter(s) Elenowen. It's only fitting that the duo would have two equally as popular songs on this album titled 'What We Hope' and 'Words'. 'Words' almost has a rocky kind of feel yet some of the underlying instruments give it a more country feel. Like 'Under Streetlights' this song allows the instruments and vocal to harmonize into something very special and very catchy that means you cannot stop listening. 'What We Hope' is similar in a way but the song is far more softer and slower at times. The album artwork shows the artist's in a very peaceful, natural surrounding; the type also reflects this.

Upon further research I found a music video for Elenowen's song 'Run' and found that it was on the popular US TV show 'One Tree Hill'. A lot of Brooke's music has also been featured on this TV show so it could be said that watchers of the TV show 'One Tree Hill' are also fans of this music as a lot of fans have commented on music videos for both Brooke and Elenowen.

Foster The People - Helena Beat analysis

LYRICS:
Sometimes life it takes you by the hair.
It pulls you down before you know it
It’s gone and you’re dead again.
I’ve been in places and I won’t pretend
Yeah, I'd make it out just to fall on my head

Wake up strange and take the walk downstairs
Hit the pawn up on the corner and pay for my rent
You know that I could not believe my own truth
Just show them what I choose, got nothing to lose

Yeah yeah and it’s O.K.
I tie my hands up to a chair so I don’t fall that way.
Yeah yeah and I’m alright.
I took a sip of something poison but I’ll hold on tight.

You know those days when you want to just choose
To not get out of bed, you're lost in your head again.
You play the game but you kind of cut
’Cause you’re coming down hard and your joints are all stuck.
I've tried to say that’s not the only way
I never knew if I could face myself to change.
You were pacing I was insecure.
Slip and fall, I'm dodging calls, hug the prison I've been living in.

Yeah yeah and it’s O.K.
I tie my hands up to a chair so I don’t fall that way.
Yeah yeah and I’m alright.
I took a sip of something poison but I’ll hold on tight.

ANALYSIS:

Foster the People are an American Indie-Pop group. Formed in 2009 they have risen to success with their 3 recent hits 'Pumped Up Kicks', 'Call It What You Want' and 'Helena Beat'. The 3 piece consist of: Mark Foster, Cubbie Fink and Mark Pontius.
The music video for 'Helena Beat' was produced and released in 2011. It was directed by Ace Norton and was released on YouTube on July 18th, 2011. Here is what Wikipedia had to say about it:
"The video begins with singer Mark Foster fleeing from a destroyed Los Angeles in a dystopian future along with his dog - inspired by the film Mad Max. On the road out of the city, he finds a baby carriage and goes to investigate. When he gets out of the van, a gang of violent, rebellious children attacks him and takes him hostage while his dog flees. The other members of the band are taken hostage as well. They are then taken to the children's headquarters, where they are tortured, beaten, and abused. Foster is then turned into a child by a strange machine attached to an old man, who is also a captive of the children. After being turned into a child, he is now accepted as one of them."

Final draft...

Here is my completed draft of my music video:





Parts of the video that I think are particularly strong and weak are:


Strengths

• The use of split screens. I think they're generally quite effective, especially the one in which they're separated but then come together.
• Some of the night clips, they're not too dark which was an initial concern but I think they've turned out fairly well.
• Effects. I think I've used the effects fairly well and appropriately. Especially when the streetlight gets brighter and then fades out again.
• The cliffhanger. I like how the ending has been left on a cliffhanger, I know the first few people I showed this video to all asked 'was that him?' at the end which was my intention.

Weaknesses

• Too much walking around. I can't really do much about this now because I had a limited time frame in which to re-film but I can't shake the feeling it just looks like a girl walking around some fields.
• Acting. I'm now going to play the part of the terrible friend but I do feel as if the acting in this video isn't great... I used a real couple to try and capture real emotions but I think that they felt slightly awkward about filming when it came to it and those emotions didn't really prevail in front of the camera. I especially don't like the close up of the female characters face as it looks as if she's about to start laughing... which she was but I tried to pick clips in which she wasn't but it didn't work, obviously!
• No change of costume. I know this is getting really picky now but I don't like how they're wearing the same thing in the present and flashbacks... it gives it a lesser sense of realism. I don't want to keep blaming the shortened time period in which to film but in all honesty it did kind of effect what I was able and unable to do as a lot of it had to be filmed in bulk and costume changes weren't really able to happen.
• Inside shots, they look a bit simplistic and boring and like they've just been filmed one after the other... which they were but I was hoping it wouldn't be obvious.
• The second chorus. 'Under Streetlights, on long car rides...'. The visuals show EXACTLY this and I think it's a bit obvious and doesn't look quite right.
• Stretched split screens at around 00:43 seconds. I'm going to try and fix this though.

So, here is the survey for my video:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/32VCHKB

I'm hoping to get as many responses as possible to gain a wide range of feedback. I am going to email Brooke and ask if she'd mind distributing it on her Facebook page or somewhere where I can target her fans and try and get their responses also.

Before Viewing: Submarine

• What sort of feeling and impact can music videos have and what effect could a music video-style sequence achieve in a film?

Music videos tell a story. The most common music video style is narrative and the aim of this music video is to tell a story which quite often corresponds with the lyrics/mood of the music. Some music videos do not tell a story but express some kind of message and there is always an intention behind what it trying to be portrayed but the visuals and music. The effect of having a music video-style sequence in a film would be almost like an aside from the plot of the film. It could tell the story of the background of the characters in the film, it could show flashbacks or it could just emphasise a moment in the film (e.g. a honeymoon or a character mourning the death of a loved one. The music corresponds to the mood of the character and highlights the emotion you're meant to feel also.)

• Can you think of other films which feature extended montage sequences that are quite like music videos?

In '500 Days of Summer' after you see the 500th day of Summer it starts back at day number 1. There is then an opening montage sequence involving split screens of the two main characters (Tom and Summer). This opening montage is set to 'Regina Spektor - Us' and helps tell the story of the characters past. It shows them in contrast and their different upbringings. This helps set the mood for the plot of the story and is a nice way to open the film and introduce us to the characters. There is another scene in this film in which Tom is very happy after spending the night with Summer so there is a sequence of him dancing around a park which looks like it could be a music video:

There are also opening scenes to films in which motion graphics are used to music such as in 'Superbad':








The Superbad intro tells us a little bit about the characters and how they're a bit goofy and also the dominance one character had over the other by pushing him about a bit. It's a fun and simple intro which I feel sums up the entire film as it's a simple concept and plot yet it's very funny. The Juno introduction shows her taking a journey which could also be a metaphor for the journey she takes in the film as she matures. It's quite artsy, simple and shows her enjoying the simple things in life which I think sums up the film quite well.
I feel the openings to these films really introduce us to the characters and the plot and feel of the film. They're often only a few minutes but it sums up something that you'd gather from narrative in a more engaging, exciting way. The video from the middle of 500 Days of Summer highlights a key high in one of the characters moods and also contrasts with the extreme lows and the journey he has in these 500 days.

• Take a look at Ayoade's music videos for Kasabian's 'Vlad the Impaler', The Last Shadow Puppets' 'My Mistakes', Vampie Weekend's 'Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa' and Arctic Monkeys' 'Fluorescent Adolescent'. As you watch consider the look and feel of these texts. To what extent are they cinematic?

Kasabian - Vlad the Impaler: I like how the method of filming isn't traditional and doesn't have the feel of it being professionally made (it's not HD, widescreen and perfect shots). It has a sense of realism and makes you feel like you can relate to the video more. It has a comic effect and the main character adds to this humorous element. The effect of the hand-cam gives it a sense of realism but it also looks as if an amateur film maker could have made it (even though I think it's a very good video). This had a slightly cinematic feel but it feels like it should be a short film if anything and if it had no music it should be a silent film. I don't feel there is need to have narrative, it works well visually.

The Last Shadow Puppets - My Mistakes: The links I can see with the previous wide is that there is a sense of very random things occurring but they all interlink very smoothly. Both videos look as if they could have been filmed on a film camera as they look very vintage yet are still of great quality. This video has a much smoother feel to it as it's not jumpy and is made to look as if it's all filmed in one go through very clever techniques used to merge the scenes. I feel this is kind of cinematic, to me it feels more like a music video that stands alone but I feel it has the potential to branch off to tell a story but it's a bit vague.

Vampire Weekend - Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa: As said before, very vintage feel. For modern videos they seem a lot older yet they still seem modern due to the music and the smoothness of them and the sometimes random aspects. This video has a clearer narrative though. It also has humorous aspects as 'Vlad the Imapler' did. As before, I feel this is slightly cinematic and that it has the potential to branch off into a longer narrative but to an extent it does tell a mini story in the video.

Arctic Monkeys - Fluorescent Adolescent: Slightly vintage feel. Once again the humorous element, it reminds me of the conflicts between Mods and Rockers but with clowns and another group instead... this video is random but it's easier to draw a message from it than some of the other videos. I feel this is sort of cinematic, I feel it stands alone well as a music video and find it hard to envisage a serious plot that could surround it.

• Now watch the trailer for Submarine. Do you see any similarities in terms of visual style? Can you identify any stylistic or thematic motifs across these texts?

The notion of it being very vintage and being produced with film is present in parts of the trailer. It has the essence of a real classic movie with a modern twist, the traditional french music and the lighting, composition and everything combine to make something very interesting. The quotes lead us to make assumption of the kind of character Oliver is and although the locations and dress have an older feel to them they also feel very current with present trends being similar in some respects. There is quite a craze with vintage right now and being able to do it well means that your work will stand out and generate more interest, this is true to a lot of creative practices. There does seem to be some notion of having a past and a relationship that has faults and flaws across the different texts. The four music videos all featured a main character who seems to have had a relationship break down... with Vlad the Impaler he has his entire social relationship break down and in the other videos it's a romantic relationship or a friendship. This trailer shows a relationship that is romantic and also a family relationship and the struggles Oliver faces.

List of shots/scenes I need to film:

• surrounding shots for opening: e.g. showing the location. female character walking. different angles and POV. 23 seconds worth of awesome needed.
• alone shots for the first verse. female walking around, showing her isolation.when lyric 'thinking of you' have some close ups of face and eyes looking around.
• "i'll be there or you'll be here"... her walking towards, him walking away shot. to go next to one another.
• "talking with you..." doing similar things, different locations (like in 'Bad Day')
• chorus 1 shots: in car (if possible). can see streetlights from car. hopefully some shots of car from outside (looking in). male characters eyes in the mirror at 'i can't forget your eyes'. if possible "2 hours 'til sunrise" try and get some shots of them in still car as sun is coming up? (maybe at river...)
• musical bit inbetween chrous and verse 2: female in house, alone. looks dark and melancholy. 
• verse 2: around house, her walking and memories coming back. e.g. shot down a hallway... you see her walk down hall and out of camera shot and then it fades into them in the room down the hallway together (maybe warmer hue to image). also maybe POV shot of him in bed smiling (totally innocent shot may i just add) at 'i just want to see you smile'. lots of them as a couple... maybe her running downstairs, them both running back up. just showing a contrast and an emptiness. probably will not do images as originally planned as it's pretty time consuming.
• seconds chorus: probably same as above until the final instrumentally bit comes on... and then i'd like to do a close up of female person laying and smiling and then falling asleep and then waking alone and going downstairs... look out of front window and a car pulls up. this instigates hope and possible happiness.

Location, location, location.

So, slight change of plan... after talking to the two characters we have arranged to film tonight as it's more suitable for them. So, here are the locations I hope to be filming at...

There is a local road which is always reasonably quiet and has quite a few fields alongside it so I plan to film the alone shots of the female character here whilst it is still light. Here is a photo I recently took at this location with a different friend of mine who won't be in the video. I feel this gives it a little more context though...

The second location is a main road which in the evening won't be very busy but has a lot of streetlights. This will achieve the desired effect and hopefully I will be able to convince my boyfriend to lend his car for us to borrow for the car scenes... the male character is able to drive so safety shouldn't be an issue and I will make sure it is done on very quiet roads to ensure everything goes as planned.


I have spoken to both of the people in the video about costume and they have agreed to try and fit my description as closely as they can. There won't be any props being used really... apart from a car I guess? I think it's going to be very much down to what can be achieved in the time remaining. I will be using a Song HDR HC9 camera:

I decided this would be the best camera to use as before hand the other ones had been quite difficult to control and keep steady. Also, on the previous camera we had to use nightmode for the picture to be visible and it didn't turn out too well so hopefully without this image I won't be tempted to use this to compensate. 

So, the plan for this evening is:

3:15 - Meet actors at their house and walk to first destination. Film female actor alone shots and also some of them together. (Walking away and towards). Do this until dark.

4:45 - Expected sunset time according to 'timeanddate.com'. Hopefully will be able to film for a little longer and then once close to dark will move onto streetlight shots. 

6.00 - If car is available it will be at this time. I may re-meet with actors after they have had time to have food. Hopefully will get some shots of car from inside and outside (like in Lana Del Rey video). If one car is not available another might be so will have to see tonight. 

Plans for this weekend...

So, the plan for this weekend is to re-film everything. It has no longer become convenient to use the same two people in the music video so I shall be re-filming as much as I can before February half term. I have chosen the new couple.

I have chosen these two because one of them lives in my local area and the other is a good friend of mine who has transport to get to my local area. The fact they are an actual couple will ensure the chemistry between the pair is genuine. I will post photographs of the location shortly, here is an artistic reputation of what I would ideally like the pair to wear:

This is actually meant to represent the female wearing winter clothes (as she's walking around) and the male wearing jeans and a checked shirt. I understand this is a bit of a dodgy representation but yeah...

Inside Cover

This is a typographic portrait of Brooke Annibale. I layered up the words 'Brooke' 'Annibale' 'Under' & 'Streetlights'. I will be using an origincal image for the front image of my digipak but I thought this might be a nice inside cover with the track listing or a possible choice for the back. I feel this is an interesting and different approach and is an interesting effect. Below is the same image but with type to demonstrate where the track type would be.  

Are you a Mod or a Rocker?

I just stumbled across this beauty. An actual article from back in the day which is very relatable to the same kind of rubbish you find in (especially teen magazines) magazines today. (e.g. are you a girly girl or a tomboy?). 

It would appear that I am a Rocker? I don't know how that happened as I gave way more answers as 'A'. I think this, like many modern ones, has quite a few flaws. Anyway, just thought I'd share this as it amused me.

Digipak Ideas

Here is a few trials for ideas for promotonial work (in particular the digipaks) for our song. I done both very quickly and neither are finished fully. I really like the general idea and feel of them both so far though.

Album Covers

    Having previously looked at Newton Faulkner as another pop-folk artist I figured it would make sense to also look at his album artwork. He certainly seems to use a recurring house style of blue and white and also the same font. They vary in their themes though. I like how they're quite simple, bold and interesting. 

Also, whilst searching Google for Faulkner album artwork I came across this image:

The Magic Numbers are a slightly more rocky group in comparison to Brooke Annibale. Their appearance is quite similar and I really like their album artwork. It looks like vintage, like they've used traditional photography and that is something I'd certainly like to consider using. I like how the print is split into 4 different tones as well. I think the typography compliments the image as well. I'd quite like to see what it would look like if I edited the same image in 4 different ways and then ripped it into 4 different quarters and then re-assembled it. This would make it look a bit different and interesting but if done effectively would look really cool I think. certainly something to consider...

Footage so far...

This is the footage Katherine & I have captured so far and feel is going to work:





We feel we will need to shoot more footage, especially of Molly, and also some of inside shots so we can create the memory scenes we were hoping to.
We found that when we filmed last time it got dark a lot sooner than we had expected so we found ourselves using night-vision just so we could see what was happening. We found the footage was very green so then had to correct the colour of a lot of footage.
We've made quite a promising start though.

Digipak Planning

Over the Christmas period I did some rough planning of potential ideas for my digipak front cover.

I'll scan these sketches in properly at some point but for now I've just taken a photo... I do realise it's backwards but you can kind of get the idea. My first idea was a collage of photos that consist of either:
Layered photos that all form one big image like of a streetlight or of the characters in the video.
OR
Layered photos of different things that have relevance to the characters (e.g. a small part of one characters face or of someone picking a flower e.t.c)
My second idea was just of a photograph of the main female under a streetlight with different textures and shadowing.


Previously when planning CD cases in other subjects I have found it useful to draw images from the lyrics. So, that's the plan for this blog post...

i can’t help but wonder why

you can’t help but cross my mind

and i’m thinking of you (thinking of you)

hope one day it all be clear

i’ll be there or you’ll be here <-- like in out footage, have split screen of walking towards and back

i’ll be talking with you (long talks with you)

under streetlights

on long car rides <-- like in Del Rey video, long distance shot of car under streetlights perhaps?

i can’t forget your eyes

through the dark nights

two hours till sunrise

i can’t forget your eyes

through the years and through the miles <-- like in Del Rey video, POV shot of road

i just want to see you smile

and be happy with you (happy with you)

i think somehow we could always see

it’d end up being you and me <-- holding hands, you can see couple but not fully.

me and you (just me and you)

So possible ideas to consider now are:

Images of cars/ car lights/ car under streetlights.

More solid images instead of just layering many.

Split images of same place but different people (like in out video, hopefully).

Born To Die.

I just watched this video (Lana Del Rey - Born To Die) for the first time and I felt it was incredibly deserving of a blog post.
I'd like to draw attention to this section:
1:56 - 2:58

Del Rey is alone, she looks pained and lonely.

Del Rey is now with the male character  but she still has the sae pained look. It's unclear if he is causing this pain or if he is a figment of her imagination and her missing his is causing this pain.

Here Del Rey looks like a bride who has been stood up. The flashes of light seem nostalgic and like flashbacks/memories. She continually looks incredibly upset. At this stage the male character moves his finger across his neck to imply slitting his throat.

Del Rey and the male character are now in a car, the bright lights and travelling aspect are highlighted. The car looks very isolated from anywhere else.

As Del Rey clears the window here it is also unclear as to whether she is just clearing the window or trying to make herself more apparent, by placing her palm on the window is looks as if she is trying to escape.

The male character is mainly in darkness but the light flickers continue in the car scene. He looks very intimidating and powerful. The red lights behind him could instigate danger.

Once again, making the car look remote. Shows the distance.

Del Ray is lighted by a red light here. Once again, looking pained and distressed. 

Del Rey looks at the male character and as he turns to return her gaze she turns away looking quite panicked.






Lyrics:
Feet don't fail me now
Take me to the finish line
All my heart, it breaks every step that I take
But I'm hoping that the gates,
They'll tell me that you're mine
Walking through the city streets
Is it by mistake or design?
I feel so alone on a Friday night
Can you make it feel like home, if I tell you you're mine
It's like I told you honey
Don't make me sad, don't make me cry
Sometimes love is not enough and the road gets tough
I don't know why
Keep making me laugh,
Let's go get high
The road is long, we carry on
Try to have fun in the meantime
Come and take a walk on the wild side
Let me kiss you hard in the pouring rain
You like your girls insane
Choose your last words
This is the last time
Cause you and I, we were born to die
Lost but now I am found
I can see but once I was blind
I was so confused as a little child
Tried to take what I could get
Scared that I couldn't find
All the answers, honey
Don't make me sad, don't make me cry
Sometimes love is not enough and the road gets tough
I don't know why
Keep making me laugh,
Let's go get high
The road is long, we carry on
Try to have fun in the meantime
Come and take a walk on the wild side
Let me kiss you hard in the pouring rain
You like your girls insane
Choose your last words,
This is the last time
Cause you and I
We were born to die
We were born to die
We were born to die
Come and take a walk on the wild side
Let me kiss you hard in the pouring rain
You like your girls insane
Don't make me sad, don't make me cry
Sometimes love is not enough and the road gets tough
I don't know why
Keep making me laugh,
Let's go get high
The road is long, we carry on
Try to have fun in the meantime
Come and take a walk on the wild side
Let me kiss you hard in the pouring rain
You like your girls insane
Choose your last words
This is the last time
Cause You and I
We were born to die We were born to die


I feel that the lyrics tell a story of a couple that are trying to stay together but are not succeeding, maybe it's unrequited love? The lyrics "sometimes love is not enough and the road gets tough I don't know why" says to me that their relationship just isn't going anywhere. I feel the lyrics tell a very painful story and sometimes there are lyrics that could be associated with death like "choose your last words, this is the last time", "I'm hoping that the gates they'll tell me that you're mine" and of course "we were born to die". Last words, this reference is pretty obvious.. there's also the phrase "famous last words". "The gates" could refer to the gates of heaven and just before that she sings "take me to the finish line" which could refer to the end of life. I think the video tells a similar story, the relationship looks good at the start of the video but they seem to be very distant and cold towards one another as the video progresses. The male character takes his hands of the steering-wheel at one point to kiss Del Rey and the next time you see them the car is on fire and he is standing beside it carrying a lifeless Del Rey. Prior to this you see Del Rey in a white dress in a building that looks a lot like a Cathedral wearing a crown of roses, this has a lot of religious connotations (crown of thorns, white for purity and angelic and of course the Cathedral is a religious building). She also walks down a corridor and opens two large doors which has a bright white light pouring out of them and then you see her in the male characters arms, lifeless. The visuals fit very well with the lyrics and the video is emotive and powerful.
I think that me and Katherine could use notions in this video in our video possibly. I think the fact that she is alone and then with the male character is something we definitely want to show in our video. I also like the singular car part where the shots of them together and alone in the car and the lights change. We tried filming in a car and found it quite difficult but I think if we tried different techniques, angles and effects we could achieve some interesting and unique effects like in this video.