Props
props by Jemma Ward x
After looking into the codes and conventions of a music video I built the understanding that props are a key aspect to help build the narrative, the phone that we included was to help the audience understand the two characters relationship status, this is also to help tell the story.
After looking into the codes and conventions of a music video I built the understanding that props are a key aspect to help build the narrative, the phone that we included was to help the audience understand the two characters relationship status, this is also to help tell the story.
Questionnaire results
The first question we asked was what is the preferment genre, most people said Pop, the next favourite was Indie, we then got together as a group and decided to go with an Indie music video because we felt that we would prefer to create a more narrative based music video, and this is a key conventions of an Indie music video, where as Pop is more performance based.
The second question we asked people if they preferred performance music videos or narrative music videos, 52% of the audience said they preferred performance music videos but as we had already decided upon an Indie music video we decided that we were going to go with the minority and create a narrative based music video.
We then asked why people watch music videos, there was a lot of different answers, people said they like the narrative whilst some said they like the performance to see the routines and follow them. This didn't impact our decision much as we was set on making a narrative indie music video.
The second question we asked people if they preferred performance music videos or narrative music videos, 52% of the audience said they preferred performance music videos but as we had already decided upon an Indie music video we decided that we were going to go with the minority and create a narrative based music video.
We then asked why people watch music videos, there was a lot of different answers, people said they like the narrative whilst some said they like the performance to see the routines and follow them. This didn't impact our decision much as we was set on making a narrative indie music video.
The last question we asked was how likely people are to watch music videos and the results were average, most people were 50/50.
Codes and conventions of music videos
Codes and conventions by Jemma Ward x
From researching the codes and conventions I have found what music videos need to include to make them fit into their certain genre, this helps categories the different music video. There are two different types of techniques that are used to create the meaning in a music video technical and symbolic. I have learnt that technical is the use of equipment such as cameras to create different effects, for example this is the camera angles to create a specific effect. The symbolic effect is the way the music video is created to show meaning.
From researching the codes and conventions I have found what music videos need to include to make them fit into their certain genre, this helps categories the different music video. There are two different types of techniques that are used to create the meaning in a music video technical and symbolic. I have learnt that technical is the use of equipment such as cameras to create different effects, for example this is the camera angles to create a specific effect. The symbolic effect is the way the music video is created to show meaning.
First focus group
We filmed Michael, Billie, and David for our focus group, we selected these people as they suggested to us that they listen to music on a regular basis and like to watch the music videos on occasions, Bille also studies media with us so we though that she was a good candidate when choosing people to have in our focus group. As it's our first focus group we wanted to keep it quite small so that we didn't have too much of a vas selection of ideas and opinions as this would make it very difficult when it came to filming as we would struggle to selected an approach for our music video
We decided to ask them what music videos stood out to them and why as we wanted to see what may be a good thing to incorporate in our music video, Michael said that he prefers music videos that look more natural and that are filmed on a hand held camera, this is an idea that as a group we had already discussed, we have decided to have a hand held element in our music video to make it more personal and it also shows a first person point of view.
Billie suggested that different locations was a good idea, like in her favourite music video for the song 'Places', this is a very good idea the would could try to incorporate in our music video but it would be very difficult to achieve this idea as it is difficult to go to lots of different places and film, we still want to include this element to some extent but we may have to do this by filming lots of different places in London, which is where we have selected to film.
David selected his favourite music video because he likes the short video at the beginning as it shows a backstory, I personally like this idea as it help the audience connect with the music video, and allow them to get a small understanding of whats happened to enable them to attach themselves to the characters.
We then asked what music videos they didn't like and why, Billie said that she wasn't a fan of a 'Calvin Harris' music video, her reasoning for this was because it was just a scenery throughout the whole music video, she said that constantly looking at palm trees can become a bit boring and this could disconnect the audience from the music video.
After re-briefing them we finally asked what they expect to see in the music video, they all said similar this which went along the lines of; the music video including a change in the main characters appearance and mood, this will show the transition from being sad, poor, and weak and then when he reconnect with his ex girlfriend they want to see a clear change, this could be with his clothing, mood, e.t.c.
Song lyrics analysis
We wanted the video to be very strongly narratively based as we read from the lyrics that the artists chasing someone and wants to fix them, therefore they fix their relationship at the end.
Laura Mulvey
The Male Gaze, developed by feminist, Laura Mulvey, describes how the audience, or viewer, is put into the perspective of a heterosexual male. Mulvey believes that women should enjoy the attention of attracting the gaze, and put themselves in positions to be looked a. The concept of 'the gaze' is one that deals with how an audience views the people/person presented. Mulvey states that in film women are typically the objects, rather than the possessors, of the gaze because the control of the camera (the gaze) comes from factors such as the assumption of heterosexual men as the default target audience for most film genres.
The Male Gaze typically focuses on;
- Emphasising curves of the female body
- Referring to women as objects rather than people
- The display of women is how men think they should be perceived
- Female viewer, view the content though the eyes of a male
Crew
Our crew consists of 4 people, these include myself, and the other there members in my group which are;
- Jemma Ward - (myself)
- Micheal Brennan
- Ayoola Fagbohun
- Todd Fletcher
We felt the need to use our group members as the crew because we think that the communication between us would be even stronger as we will be working with eachother on a regular throughout out the course. It also means that we can get work done efficiently and ensure that we are all agreeing to what's happening. We are all going to share the filming, editing, acting, and offer ideas and improvements, but primarily to ensure that we all get a fair amount of work to make sure we all improve our skills and get the best results possible.
Our actors are our 'practical crew', I will be a main character, as we all decided and nominated me, Todd will be the main character and the artist, we all decided this as we know that he will be dedicated and reliable. We want to achieve a non-linear storyline, showing a broken love relationship. It gives the audience the freedom to this bout their reasons behind a damaged relationship, making it a polysemic video.
History of Indie music industry
From looking at the history of an Indie music video it helped me see what other peoples ideas have been, I could clearly see that a music instrument and 'waky' features were a key component.
Using lots of different colour was used in one video whilst in another it was very dull, therefore the options for us were very open, there isn't such strict themes to follow therefore we were able to be creative.
Initial ideas
My initial ideas are quite vague this is because as a group we wasn't too sure about what we wanted to create, we felt more research was necessary, we decided what song we wanted after watching lots of music videos and thinking about what we could create with the song lyrics. We also knew what gender artist we wanted, we decided this after deciding the song, this is because the artist is a male.
Permission letter
The permission letter was an essential when beginning this coursework because without the artists permission to use their song we want going to be able to move forward with our initial ideas. We needed to get their permission to make sure that we conformed to the copyright rules, and also for the artist to know that their information is all secure.
Male moodboard
We wanted to keep the male character in mainstream, stereotypical clothing to ensure that he fitted in with the people in London, we didn't want him to look as though it was a pop music video therefore there isn't any gold chains or anything too flashy.
Female moodboard
This is the outfit ideas that we have had for the female character, it's pretty mainstream which is what we were aiming for. We wanted to keep it very basic, this is to ensure that I didn't over power the artist and take attention away from him and also to ensure that I fitted in with the people on London, I didn't want to stand up to much because it wouldn't fit in with the natural realistic look we were going for with the music video.
Questionnaire
Shooting schedule
Goodwin's analysis of music videos
Andrew Goodwin's theory states that there are 5 key aspects to a music video;
The first step of this key aspect is to analyse the music and grasp the understanding of the chorus and the verses.
- Thought through the beat, this is seeing what the music means in your head.
- Relationship between the song and visuals.
- Narrative and performance of the song.
- The technical aspects which form a music video.
- Star image (protagonist), there will be lots of different camera shots/angles which make him/her the center of attention in every single one.
Thought through beat;
The first step of this key aspect is to analyse the music and grasp the understanding of the chorus and the verses.
The second step is identify the artist, the main voice, its often very unique compared to the other voices and will give the artist a form of identification that can be related to the star or singer.
The third step is the story of the artist, which he is trying to tell within his song, this can establish him as a story teller. The music video can aid this by showing the video through the vocals of the song.
Relation ship through the visuals of the song;
Illustrate -
Music videos can contain images and shots to illustrate/explain the meaning of the lyrics for the song and genre.
Example ;
Example ;
Disjuncture -
In this case the meaning of the song is completely ignored in the music video and not represented art all.
Amplify -
This is when the images and camera shots are manipulated and shown repetitively through out the music video and is drummed into our vision.
Andrew believed that a music video can promote a song by though the way it analysis the lyrics. This is shown in many music videos when a character does exactly what the songs say.
Example - If the lyrics say "Jump, Jump, Jump" there will be people jumping in the music video.
Narrative and performance of the song;
Goodwin believed that the artist involvement is important in the video by acting out a role as the main character or singer. It helps make the song look more realistic and also allowing the audience to connect with the artist and get a good understanding of the song.
The song 'Roar' by 'Katy Perry' is a good example of this as she is the main character/actor in the music video and is also the main artist singing. This makes the video look more realistic and helps the audience engage a lot more, especially if the audience member is a huge fan of the artist.
Star image;
Goodwin referred to the star image as a vital aspect of the music video, he/she makes the music video look more appealing to the audiences while bringing a unique style to the video in the way he/she portrayed to the audience. The star image is always very unique in the way he/she is presented. e.g. the costume, moves and appearance. This helps to promote the artists/star's image in public and also helps to promote the video while creating a public reputation for the artist.
Technical aspects;
Andrew says that the technical aspects helps to hold the music video together through the use of mise-en-scene, special effects, sound, and editing, lighting and colour helps to set the mood for the music video and create emphasis on significant parts of the song to create a dramatic effect and thrill the audience. Mise-en-scene is also very vital to the production of the music video, it can help the artist gain authentication and also make his work appear more professional. The beats of the song are also very useful as they can help to create effective cuts that go with the rhythm of the song to make the music video look more exciting and entertaining.
Andrew says that the technical aspects helps to hold the music video together through the use of mise-en-scene, special effects, sound, and editing, lighting and colour helps to set the mood for the music video and create emphasis on significant parts of the song to create a dramatic effect and thrill the audience. Mise-en-scene is also very vital to the production of the music video, it can help the artist gain authentication and also make his work appear more professional. The beats of the song are also very useful as they can help to create effective cuts that go with the rhythm of the song to make the music video look more exciting and entertaining.
Target audience
General Overview
Our general target audience for our music video is going to be people aged between 16-21 predominately male of white ethnicity. We are going to aim our video at people who often listen to indie music as we can then single out the conventions of this genre, and focus on grabbing their attention and views.The theme and narrative can be enjoyed by both genders, although we primarily want males to be our main target audience, a number of females are expected to listen and watch the music video, as we have decided upon a male artist the female audience members may want to watch the artist or the narrative.
We have said that we are going to aim our music video to people aged 16-21 as it means that the audience can relate to the narrative and artist, we hope to aim our video to people with interest such as playing a musical instrument, therefore the people watching this video will appreciate music, and the instruments involved.
Marlow's hierarchy of needs
The target audience that we have selected fit into the 'love/belonging' section of the hierarchy of needs therefore we feel that they want to be accepted for who they are and they want to fit into society.
We are going to exemplify this in our music video by the narrative, because it is all about a relation ship and how the 'artist' feels about 'this girl' which from the video the audience will gather they are no longer together.
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From looking at the history of an Indie music video it helped me see what other peoples ideas have been, I could clearly see that a music...
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Created using Visme . Free Online Presentation Software. From this I learnt what different genres where most common in different year ...
