Friday, 23 March 2018

OUGD505 - SB1 further idea generation

Continuing the experimental design stages of the project, the adapted style from the initial stages was then used for identifying different areas of London which have been connected to drill music. More specifically, the areas predominantly found within popular drill music videos, often referred to as 'hoods' or 'blocks'.

By experimenting in this style, the aim was to show drill as a dark genre that is mostly devoid of any happy themes. Therefore by showing the audience the imagery as black and white, they can understand a feeling of emptiness or rawness. However, it was also suggested by peers that looking into how drill conveys colours in its formats would further develop the project direction.

Therefore, by analysing different popular drill videos it would be possible to gather an understanding of the type of colours used in the visually representing the genre. These could then potentially be used at a later stage in the development.

 Looking at several examples of the cinematography involved in the music videos, it became clear that neon colours were often a recurring element of UK drill videos.

In particular, red or blue would be used to light up dark lit scenery within the videos. This gave them a more celebratory representation of the genre, in comparison to the more popular way of filming, on the streets.

This element of the music videos also gave viewers a similar presentation to how a club or bar may look. This would be fitting for the context, as many of the artists in drill perform in clubs.

Other videos would often be quite experimental with the visual presentation. This includes many of the videos found on LinkUpTv's channel on YouTube. These videos were often reminiscent of the dark nature of the genre, but also the ways in which it is glamourised with expensive clothes, cars etc.

Some videos, such as Loski's Teddy Bruckshot, were set in gritty locations, helping to further place the viewer in a scene that relates to the rawness of the genre. For example, in Teddy Bruckshot, several members of the gang can be seen in a dim lit basement, with the only source of colour being from a red light in the room.

Although this does give the genre some form of substance, it cannot be entirely recognised as possessing this style of cinematography. This is because other genres of rap and hip hop have previously used the same techniques in music videos before drill music came about. Therefore, to use the aesthetic of many high production drill videos, may become ill-informing when it comes to communicating the ideas of the genre to audiences.

An alternative to this, would be to apply these colours to existing design from the initial stages, to see whether they work well in celebrating the genre.


 Until this point in the project, the designs had been limited in terms of colour application. This was however seen as less celebratory in nature when reviewed by peers. Therefore, the designs would need to find a different approach.

Before applying the colour, many of the ideas that had been previously experimented with were  combined to one design. This way it would be easier to envision the genre in one image, making it more understandable to the audience.





The idea of the design was to use words associated with the genre and colour them using the most popular colours found in the drill music videos. Having the words displayed within a balaclava would give the audience some idea as to what the themes of the music would be. They may also recognise some of the slang used in the genre, as it is used in other forms of rap, such as grime.

Using these bright colours from blue to red, would mimic the neon lights that are frequently used within drill videos. It could also be seen as a representation of the 'glamorisation' of UK Drill in recent years.

After sharing the ideas with peers during critique, it was suggested that the design could be made using a different format. They suggested displaying an object that would be related to the genre and have it coloured using the same colours as the designs made digitally. This way, the object on display could show the audience how the genre is glamorised, even though it is a gritty and raw type of music.




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