When thinking about inspiration, I’ve found myself coming back to this clip from Girls quite a lot:
There are so many things I like about this clip. As a whole, there’s no particular epic or amazingly special element to it, but it just works. The shots are done in slightly unconventional ways, the way the scene uses location and scenery adds so much to the emotion, and the music matching the scene is spot on. It’s extraordinary whilst being so ordinary at the same time. The thing that inspires me the most about this segment is the amazing way it manages to capture the atmosphere of the environment – that magic and dazedness of the early hours of morning.
Since the music is so integral to the mood of the scene, I thought I’d do a bit of research to apply music to my own ideas. I’ve found a couple of tracks from Soundcloud and ccMixter that might match the atmospheres I’m trying to recreate.
1. Planes – Shebbe (Creative Commons Attribution-noncommercial 3.0)
This track is full of percussion and heavy drum beats with a relatively fast rhythm, which I think will suit the rhythmic, hurried nature of a busy place in the city at morning peak hour. I think it could work well if I synced the drum beats to shots of blurred feet and uniform footsteps of crowds walking past. Although I would only use the instrumental parts near the beginning, as I don’t think the male vocals that come in later in the track would fit in.
2. Venus and Eros – NiGiD (Creative Commons Attribution-noncommercial 3.0)
This is a piano track that has a similar feel to the one in the Girls clip. It’s slightly emotional and I like how it builds up as the song progresses. I think it could be really nice to go with a scene at night, when paired with the contrast between bokeh effects of warm coloured street lights but the emptiness of the night landscape. I can also see it adding emotion to a possible drama/romance narrative.
3. Nocturnal – Doxent (Creative Commons Attribution-noncommercial 3.0)
This is another purely piano track, but much more ambient and quiet. Unlike the previous track, this one is something that just accompanies the visual instead of adding to or making the visual (if that makes sense). It has a really chilled, sleepy vibe and this would be great for emphasising the calmness and stillness of the night.
4. Love Lost – Aerocity (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported)
(Couldn’t get this to upload for some reason)
This track contains a mix of both percussion and a melody, and is relatively slow, so will match a leisurely sunny afternoon.
