Birdy and Rhodes - Let It All Go - Visual Effects Insight

 When looking at music videos for inspiration, I came across Birdy and Rhodes'; "Let It All Go". The music video is very simple with an emphasis on performance from both artists. The presentation of our artists however, is very still. When looking at the lyrics of the song, the topic falls on a couple on the verge of a breakup. The use of little movement of our artists may represent the stagnation and lack of flowing affection between the couple spoken of in the song. This lack of movement is emphasised by almost always moving camera shots - perhaps representing the change they feel as their relationship becomes rocky - a change in emotion, a change in how they perceive each other, or even a change in how they see the world.

The use of colour replacement gives an otherworldly effect (again suggesting they may view the world differently now that their feelings have changed towards each other). By having only two characters in this video, in combination with the colour replacement, it feels as though they're the only two characters on that planet. This isolation is heightened by the use of loose framing, perhaps representing how together, they've isolated each other from the rest of the world.

If we focus on their positioning, at the beginning of the video they are introduced together. Though standing close, they are standing back-to-back. This may follow Andrew Goodwin's analysis of music videos, as the visuals illustrate the meaning of the lyrics. Though they are together, they are ready to move on in opposite directions - the song speaks about letting one another go, and this positioning represents the verge of break up perfectly - standing straight, not leaning on one another, with a thin gap between them. Additionally to this, the faded red/pink hues that have been colour replaced onto the grass may represent faded passion, which sits well with the lines; "There's still a fire in my heart, my darling // But I'm not burning for you". 

To the left is a panning head shot of Birdy, one of our artists (again fitting with Goodwin's analysis of music videos theory), making the video more realistic, more personal, and sharing with the audience a special connection to the song. With little makeup and long, flowing hair, Birdy appears youthful, and thus vulnerable. In combination with her costume, a mature, romantic styled casual outfit, she may represent being young in the knowledge and experience of love.

"Let It All Go" was filmed in Edinburgh, Scotland. The rural spot again adds to the feeling of isolation - though our artists don't seem scared, nor afraid. Instead, as the video develops, tracking shots follow each artist to different areas. As Rhodes ends up at a castle like establishment, Birdy ends up in a garden, birdwatching (symbolism of herself as an artist, perhaps). This again fits with the lyrics and thus fits Goodwin's theory - they're growing apart, though the lack of obvious pain and heartache fits with the lines; 

"...who says love should break us when we fall?" and "We're strong enough to let it go".

Inspired by the gorgeous visual effects of the video, I wanted to attempt manipulating the colour gradient myself. I used Adobe Premier Pro to achieve the following results. I didn't use a tutorial, so I may find another (more efficient way) of completing this effect. I used an 8 second clip and it probably took me around 40 minutes to edit it, so although I'm fairly happy with the result, considering "Let It All Go" is a 4:41 minute long video, it's nothing in comparison (and I certainly wouldn't want to recreate it for the entirety of our music video). I used the "Colour to Recolour" tool multiple times on this clip, as it would miss multiple patches of the grass. I had to apply a mask over Robyn's face because it matched with a shade I wanted to change, and this caused a little confusion for me. Initially I had selected the oval mask to cover her face with, then I inverted the effect so that everything outside of the oval (and was the right shade) changed colour. However, when tracking the mask, I realised that Robyn's hand crossed her body and face within the shot. When I tried to add another mask to the same layer of recolour, it kept changing Robyn's skin to a violent violet shade, certainly not what I wanted to achieve at all. Instead I deleted my previous masks and manually shaped a new mask to fit around Robyn, before tracking it again. Though I solved the purple hand problem, I only know how to mask one person out of the effect - if two people stood either side of the frame, with my current knowledge, I wouldn't be able to have them both a recognisable, healthy human skin tone. 

Quickly attempting to use a green-screen like effect on the sky to fit the conventions of "Let It All Go", I again struggled with different shades. To solve this, I again manually created a mask above the trees so I could make the effect more severe without compromising the entire shot. 

Overall, I'm really happy with the final result. Though only 8 seconds long, I feel I did well for a first-time colour gradient experience with no tutorial!