Locations and Artwork

The majority of the music video is set in an 'imaginary' landscape, a dream which needs to feature very surrealistic images. To convey the sense of a dream in the video, the location is a vital aspect and is also important in portraying the conventions of the typical Gothic genre. Even though I am presenting 'a dream' to my audience, I will actually be giving it a nightmarish look as this links more appropriately to the Gothic genre.
I chose to research Gothic artwork, to gather inspiration from the locations and moods within the images.

Images of Gothic artwork from research:


This picture clearly depicts the Gothic genre through its dark, nightmarish setting. The stone ruins and the style of building are very conventional, not only visually beautiful but also expressing themes important to the genre such as nature over industry. Often within Gothic images there are religious references, in this picture it is suggesting the fall of religion through the centred, 'ruined' monastery. I also see the trees as very important references to nature, without leaves the trees look very dead, skeletal and lethal, giving it the Gothic look.



The look of this picture is exactly how I want my video. The almost black and white look with very little but bold colour, stands out as a perfect gothic setting. It is almost as if the story of this picture is of a girl trapped in a dream or nightmare, exploring but not afraid. Again the trees are very dead and dark, almost from the Sleepy Hollow, the trees take on character in themselves through visual personification, reaching and beaconing. I intend to capture this in my music video, which means filming must occur in the winter period for the best effect. The white dress worn by the female character stands out very well in the darkness of the picture, however I still want to apply the conventions of Gothic fashion to my character.



Appropriately named 'Throne of Death', this picture most effectively conveys the link between Fantasy and the Gothic genre. Still, colour-wise the image is very traditional to other Gothic art and the sharp images of the rock and the icicles are also very familiar to the genre. The skulls located all over the giant knight, show the link to horror and death, two very strong themes in the Gothic genre. I want to have a horrific character in my video, possibly with a skull mask to emphasise the horror side of the genre.

Location Scouting at Shugborough Hall






















I wanted a set of locations to represent a dream and to create that dreamlike feeling. To create this I needed to widen the gap between reality and the surrealism of the dream. This gap is created by putting Gothic surroundings, buildings in the dream, while reality is full of houses roads and cities. I walked around taking pictures of places I intend to film. With this knowledge and understanding of the locations it allows me to better understand the shots and where I will shoot them.