My Pitch & Feedback

Week Three Reflection

What have you learnt from the Thrift Shop Music Video Remake?

Impact on Planning:

I have learnt that a cast list and location reccies are important planning processes as they help you become more prepared when filming. Since this task was quite rushed and the time given was much shorter than the BSR opening sequence last year, we only planned out a shooting script.

The other documents really helped last year to ensure we had the right actors that were available for all filming times and the right locations that were accessible.

We originally planned to have a male actor to perform the music video, but before filming we were notified that he would not be available so we had to plan the whole video again with different actors in mind.

On such short notice we could only find our friend Jordan who acted in our BSR, since she is female the video quickly turned quite comical with the use of funny props in reference to the lyrics. 



  Technical Skills:

Our editing skills have improved as we have learnt how to use Final Cut Pro and have become more confident with the software.

Our camera work has also improved since we filmed it completely hand-held which conforms to the convention of movement in music videos.

 

Narrative In Music Videos

Narrative Devices

Restricted Narrative: 

The audience are limited because they are only following things from a single, particular perspective

Kodaline - High Hopes

(0:24)

This video has a cold opening, as the camera focuses the audience's attention on a man and his car. A woman in a wedding dress then comes running towards him, leaving enigma for the audience, they can make up their own mind about the connection between each character/background story. 

It becomes clearer at 0:43 that she is running away from marrying a man, leaving the audience to make the assumption of why.

(2:13)

The audience than see a montage of the two characters getting closer, from their perspective only and eventually discover that they are in love, which may suggest to the audience they were ex-lovers or close before.

(2:55)

The audience is so limited to the two character's perspectives and they seem so happy and in love, that we do not expect the man that she left at the alter to appear and shoot them both. (plot twist)


Flashback/Flash-forward:
The audience see the video skip to the past/future.

Madonna - Papa Don't Preach

 
 At 0:33 we see the singer singing directly to the camera in the performance element, at the current age and then at 0:45 we see the singer at a younger age.
This leaves her more exposed to the audience, sharing a private memory and singing about a personal topic. The shot has a grainy, warm effect which shows a happy memory and connotes that it is from a long time ago and that she has changed.

Pathetic Fallacy: 
The weather in the music video matches the mood of the scene.

One Direction - You and I



The song is quite slow, and creates quite a serious tone/sad mood which is replicated in the mise-en-scene of the video. For example, at 1:07 we see Harry singing to the camera with a dark, moody sky and a pier that is dim and not very exciting. 

(3:23)

Even though the song does build up, the mise-en-scene remains the same. The slow pace and mood of the song is further reinforced by the gloomy surroundings.  




Todorov in Music Videos

The Calling - Wherever You Will Go

(0:31)

Equilibrium: The protagonist is seen getting a tattoo of her partner's name, suggesting a stable and happy relationship that she believes is permanent. 

(1:14)

Disruption: The partner is seen in bed with another woman and the protagonist is seen arriving at the house.

(1:31)

 

Recognition of Disruption: The protagonist sees her partner cheating on her. 

(2:08)

Attempt to Repair Disruption: The protagonist takes out her anger on items in the house, such as photos of them and his clothes.

(3:03)

Restoration of Equilibrium: The protagonist is seen happy in another relationship, and the ex is seen alone and angry, suggesting her equilibrium has been restored and his hasn't so her good character has been rewarded.

(3:02)

Propp in Music Videos

 Maroon 5 - Payphone

(1:09)

 Character Role 1: Villains 

The villains in this music video are the armed robbers that aggressively burst into the bank where the protagonist/singer works.  

(1:41)

Character Role 2: Hero

The vocalist of this band adopts the character role of the hero when he sees the girl he fancies in danger. We see this before the villains enter where he struggles to talk to her at 0:52. He then escapes taking her with him. 

(2:16)

Character Role 3: Princess/Hero's Love Interest

The girl the protagonist fancies adopts the role of the princess in this narrative music video. She exists as a goal for the hero and recognises the protagonist as a hero and person only after he saves her.


 Levi-Strauss in Music Videos

Taylor Swift - You Belong With Me



The binary opposite present in this video would be the battle between the "good looking, popular" girl, and "nerdy" girl that fancies the other girl's boyfriend. The song is about how the "nerdy" girl and popular football player overcome the stereotypical relationship. 

"Nerdy" Girl seen at 1:10 reading a book

"Popular" Girl shows up at 1:50 in a flashy car, rubbing her popularity and her boyfriend in the nerdy girl's face - popular girl is jealous of their chemistry

 

Flirts with someone else at 2:24 showing her true character which leads to them breaking up

"Nerdy" girl shows up at dance (3:00) and he realises he loves her and that he was with the wrong girl

"Popular" girl is jealous and tries to win him back (3:15)

"Nerdy" girl and popular boy share their 'fairytale' ending (3:43)

 This music video tries to challenge the theory of conventional beauty and the popular theme of the boy realises that the girl next door/old friend is better for him than the pretty cheerleader/popular girl at school. The narrative is based on the conflict of forces between the two characters.
 This binary opposition helps us establish sympathy for the "nerdy girl" and realise she is the good character and that the "popular cheerleader" character is the typical mean girl.


 

Music Video Pitch

Week Two Reflection

We have learnt about a variety of different music styles and the conventions within that style. For example, popular music videos, performance videos and narrative videos which are quite common amongst music videos produced today. And also styles such as impressionist, abstract and animation which are much more rare, and less popular than the others.

An example of a convention would be that within the popular music genre and performance styles there are a lot of close ups used, this is to show the audience who the main focus should be and also so that if the artist/band are singing directly into the camera it can encourage the viewer to want to see them live since it should feel like a live, intimate performance. This is because the main focus of the music video is to promote the artist and their music. 

Also, the conventions of a female artist's music video or music about females tend to include shots that create a sensual view of the female. This can be applied to the "Male Gaze" theory as it is a good example of how women are put in media texts for their bodies to be looked at rather than their personalities coming across. This can be seen in Katy Perry - Thinking of You. I may use this in my own work by challenging this theory by avoiding close ups of the female's body but by using close ups of points of interest, like her clothes or props that enhance her character to the audience.

The style I am planning on using in my own work is Narrative since the song I want to use is in the Indie genre, so I think it would be conventional to use that style. I like the idea of showing the course of a relationship, while stating facts about the characters since they have been together (e.g 45 concerts, 5,482 text messages).

Music Video Genres

What is Genre?

Genre is a critical tool that helps us study texts and audience responses to texts by dividing them into categories based on common elements.

Three Types of Genre

Clear Genre - Blank Space (Taylor Swift) 

This music video is a clear example of a song and video within the Pop genre. The video is in a performance and narrative style which is typical for this genre.

At 0:24 we see a close up of the artist which is conventional for Pop music videos. This shot makes it clear that she is the main focus for the audience. She also sings directly to the camera which is generic for performance and pop videos to make the audience feel more involved in the video. 

In a majority of shots she is the more dominant character in narrative scenes which shows she has more importance and the music video is all about her and her music. This is also conventional for a Pop music video as it is common the artists appear in their own videos. 

(1:25)

(1:11)

The colour design of the music video is usually quite bright, especially in narrative scenes where the couple are supposed to be happy. There is also high-key lighting used. This is generic in Pop videos since the songs are usually upbeat and happy. The video does not touch on any inappropriate themes that other genres may explore since Pop music is generically aimed at young people, and for this artist in particular it would be aimed at girls.

Sub-Genre - Hurricane (Halsey)



This is an example of an Indie Pop music video which is a sub-genre of Alternative Rock. This video is in a narrative style which is common in this type of genre.

(2:42)

(1:48)

The colour design of this music video is very dark, with very low key lighting used. This is common in the indie pop genre as the artist and target audience may be interested in a grunge style. Costumes are usually quite fashionable and would represent what young people would be wearing. 

(0:30)

For example, the main female character has a quite 90's throwback costume which has recently become popular again, with the choker and big sunglasses. 

(1:25)
It is also very conventional that the people cast are young/teens. This is a popular genre amongst that age group which makes the narrative more relatable. Coming of age is a typical theme to showcase in music videos with this genre, such as experimenting with alcohol and cigarettes and first love.

Hybrid Genre - The Vendetta (Myth City)



This example shows the genres of rap over metal which sticks to the conventional performance elements of metal and hip-hop music. For example, there are shots of them as a whole band and shots of the lead vocalist alone, rapping directly to the camera.

At 0:53 we see a shot which is common within the metal genre, which pays a lot of focus to the instruments rather than the people playing them. For example, the guitar is a much more dominant subject in the clip rather than the guitarist, this shot used during guitar solos or impressive riffs. 

However at 2:08, we see a shot much more conventional of the hip-hop genre where the vocalist is the main subject in the shot, where he has the body language and style of a rapper and is rapping directly to the camera.

Generic Conventions and Genre Themes

The 1975 - Robbers

Typical Mise-en-Scene style:

(1:00)

(1:02)

This music video has a dim colour design, with an effective use of low-key lighting to create silhouette shots of the singer. Props such as alcohol and drugs are common in this type of genre which are heavily referenced in this music video (0:59 - we see Matty smoking). The set design is very simple, with locations in run-down areas. The camera is hardly ever static with quite a few pans, and a variety of shots but the male (Matty Healy) is the dominant character in this music video with more shots of him on his own. These techniques re-occur, since the editing is not in chronological so we leave and come back to the same scene many times.

Typical Narrative:

(2:51)
This music video has the narrative of a relationship that is solely around the use of drugs and drinking where they are literally "Robbers." This narrative is typical in this type of genre with reference to love and drugs (seen at 1:22). It also has elements of performance, where Matty sings the lyrics to the female in the music video but narrative is the main style since it takes inspiration from the lyrics and song itself.

Typical Representations:

(2:23)

Archetypes could be applied to the characters in this music video. Such as the failing man, which could be applied to Matty Healy since he has had to resort to robbing and drugs having a huge hold over him.

Typical Sound Design:

(2:06)

This is a typical example of sound design, with there being no other sound other than the song. But emphasis on what the characters would be saying to each other which makes the audience understand what is going on. 

Typical Editing Style:

The edits are simple cuts, with parallel editing, e.g clips are not in chronological order, but all lead to same end. For example we see the process of the robbery, snippets of their relationship and drug use which helps us build an understanding of the character's relationship and the song.

Themes of Crime/Non-Conformity:

(2:13)

This theme is a strong part of this music video with the use of drugs and also the robberies that the couple undertake. This is a clear theme, since it seems like it is something the couple have done many times, which suggests they do not conform to the norms of society and are represented as outsiders on the rest of society since they are the only ones in the shot and appear to hang out in run down areas. 

Themes of Drugs:

(1:56)
This is a popular theme within this genre, which again creates the representation of the couple being on the outskirts of society. It seems to have a hold over them and be a big part of their relationship which causes issues and brings them closer together at the same time. This is common in other videos across a few genres, but with this one in particular showcases the after effects or has a more graphic and realistic view, for example we see them in bed, the female watching Matty smoking and they both look exhausted.

Themes of Romance:

(2:37)
This is a popular theme within this genre, but is shown in a different way to Pop music videos. It shows the daily life and more realistic view of a couple e.g. fighting, dates whereas Pop music videos tend to offer "fairytale" endings to the song and video, where the boy gets the girl or the boy dumps his "popular" girlfriend for the "nerdy" girl next door.

Week One Reflection

What are my initial ideas for advanced portfolio?

My idea for a music video stems from the "Wilkinson-Afterglow" music video where it shows the relationship between two people. For example there is not much action, instead there is numerical facts of the time they have spent together, how much they message each other etc. 

My ideas for a short film stems from the TV show "Gossip Girl" where a group of friends all receive messages from an anonymous source exposing each other's secrets and scandals. I would apply this to a school setting, making the situations less extreme and focus it around bullying.

Who would you like to work with?

I would like to work with Nicole, who I worked with last year since we worked really well together, we were both serious when it came to deadlines and shared very similar opinions when planning for our opening sequence.

What are your hopes and fears for the project?

My hopes are that my skill has developed since the opening sequence last year and I create something I am just as proud of.

My fears are that there is more presenting in this part of the course (pitch and focus group) which I hope will go smoothly. I also fear that my ideas may be too generic or similar to things produced in the past, as I hope that my music video/short film is original and different to others created.