First Music Video Draft

This is the first draft of my music video that I have created for my mock exam, I am overall very happy with how it has turned out so far even though I do plan to make many further improvements over time. I am very pleased with my choice of location as I really think it has successfully set the scene for the video, I added an effect within the editing which has given the footage more of an olden time look to them which I thought worked well. All of the blank areas will feature footage from my second filming location which has not yet been filmed.

First Day Of Filming

After my filming date once again did not go to plan, I contacted the location to see if I could possibly schedule a second filming date the following week. Thankfully they understood the situation and said that I can choose a day that's convenient to me, so it was decided it would be Wednesday the 17th of December.

I then contacted my friend who would be starring in the video before confirming the filming date with the location, I sent her a copy of the email so she had all the information needed and thankfully was free on that day. My other friend who I had planned to help me out on the day by operating the music and guiding me through my storyboard was also free to come and help out.

 

Whilst on location we managed to film all of the scenes I had originally planned out in my storyboard, apart from the ones of the model sitting on board of the tram. The seating area was sadly closed off to visitors which i was unaware of, however we were allowed to get the shots of her stood in the entrance of the tram. I also got some inspiration for extra shots whilst at the location which I thought would work as great replacements and also allows me to have more options of footage to use when editing.

The museum itself was quiet due to it being around Christmas time which allowed us to not cause a disturbance and also meant we did not have to time the filming for when people were not in the area of the shot. I also took some photos that I plan to later use for my ancillary texts, however we had some difficulties with the camera. There seemed to be a strong yellow tint to all of the images being taken and they also appeared to be blurry no matter how steady I kept the camera when taking the pictures. There seemed to be no effects or setting changed on the camera as it was on default, we attempted to change the settings ourselves to see if this made a difference but the results were the same. The camera screen itself was already a little damaged so in the end we hoped they would appear normal when uploaded onto the computer.

Sadly even on the computer the yellow tint still remains, when on the location I also used my phone to take some images just in case however these will not be of the best quality. I plan to see if I can use Photoshop to edit either of the images closer to the time and hope I can fix the colour and quality, if not I will have to take images during my second day of filming which will sadly not be at the first location.

I now plan to complete my first music video draft before Christmas as my mock exam, this will not feature all of the clips due to me not getting all of the footage yet. I plan to film the other shots I need at some point in January which will be in the green screen room at my college.

 

 

Location Test Shots

I had organised with my location for the filming to take place on Wednesday the 10th of December, however the person who I had cast to be in my music video had to sadly drop out last minute due to an illness. This threw me off my filming schedule and as I was determined to still get some footage filmed that day I decided to still attend the location on my own to take some test shots. I also did not want to give the employees at the location the wrong idea that I was unreliable, especially as it took a lot of emails on my behalf to receive the confirmation that filming would be okay.

This did allow me to get a better idea of what type of shots I wish to take and will hopefully result in the day running more smoothly if I am given the chance to arrange another filming date. For example I realised that visitors are not allowed to sit on board of the red tram which I had originally planned to have the artist do in some shots, however the host I planned of her standing at the entrance of the tram can still be done.

I had left a note for the collections curator as she was not present ont he filming day, explaining the situation and requesting if its possible for us to plan a second filming day for me next week, I have also written a similar message in the form of an email to ensure she receives it.

Health & Safety Grid

Now that my location has been confirmed I have created a risk assessment in the from of a health and safety grid. I have listed all of the possible health and safety risks that could happen whilst filming in both the museum and the green screen room at college. I have then stated who this could possibility harm and also the likeliness of the risk happening. I have then gone to explain the actions and precautions I am taking as a way to reduce the possibility of these risks occurring as much as possible.

Location Date Confimed

After all of last weeks  complications, I have now received an email saying that the filming date I have chosen is confirmed and okay with those in charge at my location.

Problems With My Location

I at first received a reply from the Streetlife Museum saying that they do allow people to film at the location and as long as I answer the questions they provided and we both agreed upon a filming date. The first date I suggested did not work with the museum so I sent the following reply to them requesting an alternative filming date. However when it got to over a week since I sent the email, I had still not yet revived a reply. The day before I planned to film I decided to try and contact them by the phone, however the website only provided the phone number for Hull City Council, I used this number anyway in an attempt to contact them. The women who answered took my name and said she was only getting the answering machine when calling them, although if I wished she said she would transfer me through anyway to leave a message. As this happened though the phone call was cut off unexpectedly so I never had the chance to leave a message.

As I had already planned ahead and got the camera equipment booked out and told the girl featuring in my video that was my filming date, I had no choice but to assume they would let me film and go to the location anyway. Once me and my friend who will be featuring in the video arrived in town and was on out way into the location, I finally manged to get in contact with them over the phone. I was then told that the person with the authority to allow the filming to take place was out of town in a meeting, so I could therefore not film my video that day. This was really upsetting and threw me off my filming plan, however I knew that I should not let the day go to waste while I had the filming equipment and instead I attempted to get some test footage on the backstreets of Old Hull Town, I also used this opportunity to take some test photos.

These test shots did not work out how I hoped and I am overall not happy with how they turned out, however I am happy that I got some footage that can now be used as an early draft and examples when comparing it to my final video. I can now correct any of these filming mistakes and make improvements when filming the official footage as a way to avoid having to go back to the location once again to re-shoot. I used this test footage to create an example of the opening of my video which just features the intro music, I will then compare this to my final version in hope of seeing a good level of improvement. I also learnt from this experience that even though I felt I was being organised and planning ahead, I should try to plan even more in advance in the future as a way to avoid theses sort of situations again.

The day after this filming incident I received an email from the events co-coordinator from the museum apologizing for not reply sooner and gave me a list of the possible dates I could choose from for the following week, I have now replied asking to film on Wednesday the 10th of December and am hoping I will receive a reply soon.

Costume, Hair and Makeup Ideas

Animatic Storyboard

This is my animatic storyboard that I have created as a way to show all the shots I plan to use within my music video. The images were created with the use of my graphics tablet, I used this as I wanted pictures with a sketch effect but was afraid that scanned in drawings would either not show or it would simply be too time consuming to scan each one. There are a total of 101 shots used in this animatic which I believe is an acceptable amount for a standard music video, I will follow this plan as much as possible when editing together my actual video however I will definitely make some changes where I feel they are needed during the editing process.

Storyboard

Locations for my music video

First location

After deciding on the narrative for my music video with the aid of my audience research I immediately began brain storming ideas of possible locations and also the number of locations I planned to use. Once I has chosen to have a vintage theme to my music video I thought of possible areas that would present the time period of the 20th century. One of the places I thought would be perfect to consider is the Hull Street-life Museum, so I then began to plan what areas within the museum would work within my video.

The museum has a replica of a 1940's style high street which I thought would work really well for my theme and also give a very realistic feel to the video. There is a cobblestone path and old-fashioned styled lamp posts and I think the overall effect works really well. They also have an actual tram from this time era which I think would be a great prop to use, I plan to have shots of the artist sat aboard of it as well as standing by it as well.

This video I found on YouTube shows you around the museum and also the grounds around it, I also considering getting some outside shots in the grounds as I really like the maze and greenery they have and believe it would look like a 20th
century park.

I have used the contact email that the museum lists on their website, and have wrote to them asking if it would be possible to use the location for the filming of my music video. I was going to make no further plans that include this location until I received a reply, just in case they don't allow it and will have to look at other possible locations.

I did however receive a reply a few days later saying that they do allow filming at the location as a long as I meet all of their terms and agreements and also that I complete the filming agreement form. I will reply to their email answering their questions in the hope of finding a time that does not clash with any other events the museum may be having.

I have not yet had a reply regarding my second request for a filming request, I am hoping this day would work for the location.

Second location

I want to use just two locations in total and I am planning to use a green screen as my second location. I want to create a vintage feel and replace the background with the image of a tinted white/grey faded pattern. These will be performance shots and I hope to use the prop of a vintage microphone in these shots. There will be no problems with me using this location as we have a green screen at my college that is available for media students to use. I will have to organise my filming schedule and book the use of the room at the requested times as a way to ensure it's available.

Audience Research Results

Narrative Analysis of a Music Video

Sam Smith - I'm not the only one

This music video follows one of the eight narrative types stated by Kate Domaille (2001), the one it seems to follow is known as Tristan and Iseult. This narrative is when there is a love triangle, however this category tends to follow the journey of the person in love with another who is already spoken for, in this case it is the opposite as we follow the journey of the women who is the wife and already married to the man. The husband is being unfaithful and having an affair and although the wife knows she goes on as if she knows nothing as she still loves him and feels as if she needs him. 

The video includes two of the possible three forms of narrative, which are a story/plot which features people that have been cast to play roles instead of the artist himself acting it out, and also performance shots of the artist lip-syncing. The third possibility of narrative form is abstract, however this is not featured within this video in particular. 

Sven Carlson (1999) states that there are two types of clips which are performance clips where the song is being performed, and conceptual clips where the audience are seeing something artistic or ambitious so this would fall under the abstract form of narrative. The video features two different types of performance shots as we see the artist signing the lyrics as well as the cats acting them out as a story, so both are relevant to the lyrics themselves.

The narrative does not really follow the standard Hollywood narrative structure that Pam Cook (1985) identified. One of the areas stated is "Linearity of cause to effect within an overall trajectory of enigma resolution" however we do not actually see the cause of the situation but we do see the effect it is having of the marriage and especially the wife's emotional responses. We instead just assume that the husband is simply cheating and there has been no cause, as the women is presented as the victim and the perfect stereotypical housewife who is not in the wrong. It does also not offer "A high degree of narrative closure" as throughout the video we see the women burning some of her husbands clothes and we assuem she is going to confront or leave him, at the end though we see her greet him with a smile on her face as she embrases him which gives us the illusion that she will keep pretending. 

The audience will not feel a sense of narrative closure as we do not know for sure if the wife does anything about the situation, we are mainly lead to believe that she decides to stay with him because she is so deeply in love. These reasons indicate that the video does not fully follow the standard narrative structure of Hollywood, as we do not see the cause or the outcome of the situation and just the effect, leaving us as the audience with a lot of questions.

LIIAR and Textual Analysis of Music Videos

Hypodermic Needle Theory

The hypodermic needle theory was developed in the 1920's and 1930's, the theory basically states the fact that the media can influence large groups of people by "injecting" them with appropriate messages, designed to trigger a desired response, suggests a powerful and direct flow of information from the sender to the receiver. The theory implies that the mass media has a direct, immediate and powerful effect on its audiences, and assumes that we will believe what we see and hear. It also expresses the view that the media is a dangerous means of communicating an idea because the receiver or audience is powerless to resist the impact of the message. 

The mass media in the 1940's and 1950's in particular were perceived as a powerful influence on behavior change, this was because during these times they were less sources of information resulting in the audience thinking and believing almost everything they are told through the limited media forms of that time such as the radio and newspapers. A perfect example of this is when a broadcast of "War of the worlds" was performed in the 1930's, the performance was in the form of a real news broadcast and this lead to many people listening thinking it was real and that planet Earth was being invaded by Mars. This is a perfect example of a passive audience as they are believing anything heard on the news.

This theory however is now out of date and invalid as they are many more sources of media for us in the 21st century meaning it is no longer consumed in the same way. Audiences today are not as passive meaning that more up to date theories such as Stuart Halls used of gratification theory is much more accurate. However it can be argued that a form of the hypodermic needle theory still happens today, such as when people report fake celebrity deaths which have been found from unreliable sources, many people do still fall for stories and believe they are true if its all over social media.

Forms of Genre

Genre

Genres are the categories of media depending on their shared elements, known as conventions. All genres have sub-genres which are any other shared themes to divide them even more specifically.

Steve Neale (1995) stresses that "Genres are not systems they are processes of systematization", he basically argues that genres do not stay fixed and change to reflect the ideology of the era, meaning that they are dynamic and evolve over time.

Steve Neals statement proves to be true after analyzing some media examples from the same genre but from different eras. The first trailer we analysed was "Nosferatu" from 1922, this is a film by F.W Murnau and features the first representation of Dracula, this trailer shows that the victims are the protagonist and Dracula is seen as the villain.

The second trailer we watched was for a movie from 1994 called "Interview With The Vampire", this is from the same genre which is horror and is also about vampires, however we can see that the dynamic has changed as the vampire himself is the protagonist meaning the story is told from his point of view as oppose to the victims.

To summarise the change in elements of genre, generic characteristics across all texts share similar elements depending on the medium and typical mise-en-scene/visual style, including areas such as iconography, props, set design, lighting, temporal and geographic locations, costume, shot types, camera angles, special effects, etc.


Jason Mittell (2001) argues that genres are cultural categories that surpass the boundaries of media texts and operate within industry, audience and cultural practices too, they use genre to sell products. Media producers use familiar codes and conventions that very often make cultural references to their audience knowledge of society, other texts.

However, Rick Altman (1999) argues that genre offers audiences "a set of pleasures":

• Emotional pleasures, these pleasures offered to audiences of genre films are particularly significant when they generate a strong audience response. For example if you are emotionally invested into a media text you may take about the characters as if they are your friends and be genuinely upset if a character leaves the show.
• Visceral pleasures, refers to internal "gut" responses and are defined by how the films stylistic construction elicits a psychical response/effect from the audiences, for example felling the emotions of what is happening on the screen yourselves.

Christian Metz (1974) argued that genres tend to go through a typical cycle of changes during their lifetime. He listed these as the experimental stage, classic stage, parody stage and finally the deconstruction stage.

The strengths of genre theory:
The main strength of genre theory is that everybody uses it and also understands it. The media experts use it as a way to study media texts, the media industry uses it to develop and market the texts, and the audiences use it to decide what text to consume, The potential for the same concept to be understood by producers, audiences and scholars makes genre a useful and also critical tool when defining media texts.

Sub-genres/Post modern styles

David Buckingham states that "Genre is not simply given by the culture, rather it is in a constant process of negotiation and change." David Bordwell (1989) also makes a statement that "Any theme may appear in any genre." These two statements support the fact that a media text can not only have one genre and can be made up of a series of sub-genres as well.

Horror films are a good example of this as they are basically just modern day fairy tales which often features a form of morality where those people who break societies rules are therefore punished. Horror movies also feature the fear of the unknown where the monster is the "monstrous other", such as anything that is scary due to the fact it is foreign or different. This could include the plot of a personal journey or the duality of man, which is the conflict between mans civilised and his savage primal instincts, an example of this would be the incredible Hulk.

The fact that sub-genres exist proves that genres are not fixed and that they will constantly change and evolve over time, this can happen due to changes in society or simply the ways in which an audience change their opinions and react differently to media texts.

Stuart Halls Reception Theory

Green Screen Test Shots

In the earlier stages of planning my music video I was considering the use of a green screen to create some of my clips, however I had no experience using a green screen and wanted to have a practice before deciding to use it within my video. I did a few test shots where the subject was stood still and also some where she is moving so I could see the ways in which that may come into effect when adding a background.

After looking at some youtube tutorials I managed to learn how to use the "keying" effect in order to replace the green screen with a background of my choice, for this practice I simply used a series of different images I found online. I also experimented with effects such as using black and white and re-positioning the clips, this helped me become more familiar with the program Final Cut Pro.

Overall I am quite happy with these test shots as I have successfully learnt how do do the effect I wish to use. The test shots are far from perfect as there is some blurriness around the outline of my model, however I am aware that this can be fixed with a better arrangement of lighting as a way to reduce shadows. I am not 100% sure if I will use the green screen when creating my actual music video depending on what over locations I manage to get, although I am very happy with the experiments I have completed so that when I do decide on my final location I will be aware of what process I would need to complete if I choose to use it.

Narrative Form

Narrative
For music videos there are thought to be three different forms of narratives, the narrative itself is the way in which these three elements are brought together:

• Story, when there is a sequence of events happening within the video that normally relate to the lyrics of the song, this is also known as a plot.
• Performance, when you see the artist performing the song, whether this is through playing a musical instrument or lip-syncing.
• Abstract, this is the use of visual techniques to add to the mood and feel of the video, these may have no meaning but are often entertaining for the audience.

Sven Carlson (1999) suggests that music videos generally fall into two rough groups, which he named performance clips and conceptual clips. Performance clips are of the artist lip-syncing, dancing or performing to the song, whilst conceptual clips show something artistic or ambitious. In one type pf performance the performer is not a performer anymore, he or she is a materialization of a commercial exhibitionist, creating an image to promote themselves.

According to Pam Cook (1985) the standard Hollywood narrative structure should have:

• Linearity of cause to effect within an overall trajectory of enigma resolution
• A high degree of narrative closure
• A fictional world that contains verisimilitude especially governed by spatial and temporal coherence.

Todarov (1977) created a narrative structure to present the conventional five stages of a narrative, these stages are followed very often in film and television which further proves Todarov's theory that most plots follow the same or similar paths.

1. A state of equilibrium at the outset
2. A distribution of the equilibrium by some action
3. A recognition that there has been a disruption
4. An attempt to repair the disruption
5. A reinstatement of the equilibrium

Claude Lévi-Strauss was a structurallist which is someone who "searches for the underlying patterns of thought in all forms of human activities". In 1958 he stated that he believed all stories presnted certain clear binary opposites, for examples good vs evil and rich vs poor. He says that there is often a use of colours, props and locations to represent these opposites.

 

Audience Theory

Uses And Gratifications Theory

The Uses and gratification model looks at the motives of the people who use the media, asking why we watch certain programs.Researchers began to describe the effects of the media from the audiences point of view, as the audience themselves choose what they want to consume and are not forced into consumption. The theory argues that audiences have social and psychological needs which generate certain expectations about the mass media and what they are exposed to.

The idea behind the uses and gratification model is that people are motivated by a desire to fill or gratify certain needs, the model is broken down into four different needs:

Surveillance- This is based around the idea that people feel better having the feeling that they know whats happening in the world around them, giving us the sense of both knowledge of security, for example watching real life police programs may make them gain the feeling of security.

Personal Identity- This explains how we position ourselves within society. An example is that pop stars often become big role models that inspire young children, this is why there is such an outcry when one of them does something classed as unacceptable.

Personal Relationships- In media, many people use the T.V. as a a form of companionship, these can often be intimate experiences that make us feel close to characters, meaning we may grieve if they leave the show. People also use the media as conversation starters and therefore helps them to build relationships with real people.

Diversion- We as an audience often watch T.V. as a way to forget about our real life problems and think about something else, making it a form of distraction. This also allows the audience to relate to characters if they are experiencing a similar problem to them.

Tessa Perkins - Stereotypes

Stereotyping is the automatic assumption or opinion of a person, normally based of their social group.

Tessa Perking states that "Stereotyping is not a simple process and contains a number of assumptions that can be challenged" She also points out some of the following areas:

• Stereotypes are not always negative
• They are not always about minority groups or the less powerful, an examples of this is the stereotype of "upper class twits"
• Stereotypes can also be held by ones own group
• They are not rigid or unchanging
• They are not always false

"People assume that stereotypes are always negative, for example young troublesome youths however youth can also be seen as a positive."

"We assume that stereotypes are targeted towards the less powerful, but we can make assumptions and stereotypes about the upper class minorities in the same way they would make some towards them"

There are also stereotypes within groups, even famous people are stereotyped. Stereotypes are normally about groups with whom we have had little or no social contact with, meaning they can not always be reliable or believable. However, stereotypes need to have some truth in them or where else would we get this representation from? We may witness first or second hand the reasons these originate from, because of the correct assumptions it makes us continue to make the same assumptions and results in them being wrong or simply just negative behavior.

Summary:
Tessa Perkins stereotype theory is said to contain a number of assumptions that can be challenged. Stereotypes are almost always negative and are used constantly around us, going back to the stereotype of "troublesome youths" is an example of this.

The Eight Narrative Types

Treatment of My Music Video

The artist will lip-sync in performance shots, a mid 20th century theme with a street-life museum used as a location and also a green screen, feature a range of different vintage outfits, props include an old-fashioned tram and microphone, aged grainy effect or black and white may be used.

Richard Dyer's Star Theory

Laura Mulveys Male Gaze Theory

Laura Mulvey has a theory on how women are represented in media, she states that the camera portrays them as sexual objects through shot types and movement. She also states that the female gaze is the same as the male gaze because women look at themselves through the eyes of men.

As a way to test this theory we watched the music videos for the current top five songs in the U.K charts, and has to make notes of whether they:

• Emphasise the curves of the female body
• Show women as objects
• Display women as a way to please men
• Would make women see it through the eyes of a man
• Are sexualised based on sexual desire from the way they look

The music video we studied were Calvin harris - Blame, Lilt Wood - Prayer, Sam Smith - I'm not the only one, Taylor Swift - Shake it off, and Iggy Azalea/Rhianna - Black Widow. At least 4 of the 5 areas were included in every one of these videos which is significant proof that Laura Mulveys theory is correct.

In recent videos such as "Black Widow", both Rita Ora and Iggy Azalea have had their curves emphasised through the use of camera angles and wardrobe, their outfits are tight body suits that leave little to the imagination, this is a great example of Mulveys theory.

Another well known video that was criticised for the way women are represented within it is "Blurred lines" by Robin Thicke. The video above is actually the cleaner version as in the original the women are almost fully naked. This video is a perfect example to support Laura's theory as women are clearly represented as a way to please men, shown as objects, and are sexualised from the way they look. They are represented this way throughout the majority of the video.

To further prove the theory we also looked at some film trailers for recent or upcoming movies which also all show the majority of these areas, if anything it was shown more in the trailers than the music videos. The trailers we looked at were for Lucy, Sex Tape, Before I Go To Sleep, The Inbetweeners 2 and Let's Be Cops. In movies there are often scenes where a women is shown in little clothing for no actual reason, this gives the idea that men would not be interested in watching a movie without a good looking woman who gets half naked included within in.

Lyric timing

0:00-0:10
(Intro music)

0:10-0:15
Angels watching over me,
With smiles upon their face,

0:15-0:20
Cause' I have made it through this far,
In an unforgiving place.

0:21-0:26
It feels sometimes this hills to steep
For a girl like me to climb,

0:26-0:32
But I must knock those thoughts right down,
I'll do it in my own time.

0:32-0:42
I don't care,
I'm halfway there,
On a road that leads me straight to who knows where?

0:42-0:52
I'll tell you what,
What I have found,
That I'm no fool,
I'm just upside down.

0:53-1:03
Ain't got no cares,
I ain't got no rules,
I think I like living upside down.

1:05-1:10
Watching people scurry by,
Rushing to and fro,

1:10-1:15
Oh this world is such a crazy place,
It's all about the go go go.

1:16-1:21
Sometimes life can taste so sweet,
When you slow it down,

1:21-1:26
You start to see the world a little differently,
When you turn it upside down.

1:26-1:36
I don't care,
I'm halfway there,
And I'm just soaking up the magic in the air.

1:37-1:47
I'll tell you what,
What I have found,
That I'm no fool,
I'm just upside down.

1:48-1:58
Ain't got no cares,
I ain't got no rules,
I think I like living upside down.

2:01-2:05
Woa, Woa, Woa
You got to slow it down,
And then you pick it up,

2:07-2:10
Come on and try a little topsy turvy back to front the right way round.

2:11-2:20
Take it slow, slow, slow (you gotta pick it up),
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah (let me see you slow it down),
Hey, yo, yo (tell me something something).

2:21-2:31
I'll tell you what,
What I have found,
That I'm no fool,
I'm just upside down.

2:31-2:41
Ain't got no cares,
I ain't got no rules,
I think I like living upside down.

2:42-2:52
I'll tell you what,
What I have found,
That I'm no fool,
I'm just upside down.

2:53-3:03
Ain't got no cares,
I ain't got no rules,
I think I like living upside down.

Lyrics Analysis- Paloma Faith - Upside Down

Overall I believe that the meaning of these song lyrics are to be carefree and different. I feel it is about a person who is judged in society for some reason but decides to not care about other peoples opinions and is happy anyway embracing who they are. It also suggests that opening your eyes and accepting those who are different is the key to being happy in life.

Angels watching over me,
With smiles upon their face,
Cause' I have made it through this far,
In an unforgiving place. 
(This is could indicate that she believes someone is up there looking out for her, whether its god or another spiritual being. It also points out that they are happy with who she is ans see she is a genuinely good person. This suggests she has had to deal with things in the past but has survived and holding her head high)

It feels sometimes this hills to steep
For a girl like me to climb,
But I must knock those thoughts right down,
I'll do it in my own time. 
(That people will assume she will give up or fail as she is not thought to succeed in life. She is determined to not give up and prove other people wrong, so she will defeat the obstacles and keep going.)

I don't care,
I'm halfway there,
On a road that leads me straight to who knows where? 
(She has stopped caring about the little things that she realises do not really matter and has already come so far and is determined to keep moving forward. Not sure where this will all lead her but is confident and optimistic anyway and will keep going until she is happy.)

I'll tell you what,
What I have found, 
That I'm no fool, 
I'm just upside down. 
Ain't got no cares,
I ain't got no rules,
I think I like living upside down. (Explaining that she use to take other peoples opinions to heart but now realises how little they mean to her. She is not a fool or weird because she's different, she is unique in her own way and is stating this with her newly found carefree attitude. She will not follow the rules that are thought to be the norm in society as she does not care and is finally learning to like being different and herself.)

Watching people scurry by,
Rushing to and fro,
Oh this world is such a crazy place,
It's all about the go go go. 
(Other people are rushing around in their day to day lives and not really seeing, they are oblivious and taking life for granted. People are never stopping to think and make logical decisions and are instead just looking for something better as oppose to just enjoying the little things.)

Sometimes life can taste so sweet,
When you slow it down,
You start to see the world a little differently,
When you turn it upside down. 
(If you stop to appreciate the little things in life it will seem a lot more worthwhile and change the way in which you see it. This may be the key to happiness, and seeing that those people and things that are not stereotypically to your expectations are actually a good thing. Being unique, different, weird or in this case "Upside Down" helps you see more clearly.)

3 Initial Ideas For My Music Video Narrative

After completing my lyrics analysis and looking into the meaning of the song, I began think of possible narratives that my music video could be based around. These are my three initial ideas:

1. My first initial idea is that the full video will consist of performance shots of the artist lip-syncing in several different locations, props such as a microphone will be used and the artist will be dressed in a modern quirky look. There will be no narrative of sorts but the performance shots will be filmed with the use of a green screen and the background will change to a series of different bright colours to help reflect the meanings of the lyrics.
2. This idea will feature lip-syncing shots of the artist and also dance performance shots with backup dancers included alongside the singer. This will reflect the upbeat theme of the song and the artist and background dancers will all be dressed in clothing of very different and contrasting styles to represent being unique and different, locations will be open outdoor environments.
3. My final idea is somewhat different and inspired by the style of my chosen song, the video will have a vintage feel that will be represented though the use of locations, props and outfits. The artist will have performance shots in a location that would represent the 20th century in some way and also the possible use of a green screen, props will include a vintage style microphone.

Song choices

I decided I wanted to use a pop/soul/jazz song with a steadier beat for my music video, as I want my final product to have an editing pace of medium speed but also be from a popular genre to give me a large variety of songs to choose from. After researching different options I had narrowed the possibilities down to the following songs:

Beyonce - Pretty Hurts

Paloma Faith - Upside Down

Foxes - Glorious

Ella Henderson - Ghost

Adele - Set Fire To The Rain

In the end "Upside Down" by Paloma Fath was my final song choice for the music video I am creating as the main part of my A2 Media coursework. I really like Paloma's style of music and from listening to the song I have a range of possible ideas for locations, costumes and different shots, so I think this was the obvious choice in my case.

Timeline of Iconic Music Video's

History of Music Videos

The Beatles- A Hard Days Night - 1964
Before music videos there were no ways that people could watch their favourite artists perform unless they has the means to see them perform live. The Beatles made several films throughout the years that were only shown in cinemas at the time, in which hey star as themselves, the films normally have a narrative and include a selection of songs throughout. This was their first film that was released in 1964 and was made in black and white due to a lower budget as they were not yet too well known.

• The introduction song is "A Hard Days Night" itself and shows The Beatles themselves being chased by a load of fans, and shows them attempting to run away. During this song we see a fast editing pace to help reflect the fact that they are running and in a rush in order to get away.
• The lyrics to the song are relevant to the narrative as it shows that they have hard a busy day and just want to get home without all the attention they are receiving.
• Examples of the shots used in this scene are a tracking shot (as they are running), a mid shot and also long shots and establishing shots.

Bob Dylan- Subterranean Homesick Blues - 1965

Bob Dylans introduction to his own documentary in 1965 is one of the first examples of a music video. The video is for his song "Subterranean Homesick Blues" and is filmed in one continuous medium longshot with no editing at all, it does however begin with a gradual zoom. The clip simply show Bob Dylan himself holding loads of paper with lyrics written to the song on them, throughout the song he is removing the top piece to reveal the next lyrics.

• The location of the video is an old run down street/alley way 
• He is dressed in a shirt, waist coast which was a casual rebellious look at the time
• There is only one other person featured in the background, a man dressed in a black coat and only half in the frame\
• In black and white even though colour television was around then, they would of had a low budget and not felt the use of colour was needed for the documentary.

Cliff Richard- Summer Holiday - 1965

This song is featured in the musical "Summer Holiday" and is in colour as musicals producers would have a larger budget than music artists.

• There a few examples of editing here such as the fade out of the video at the end and also the continuity editing of the shots, an example is when we see passerbys waving at the bus and straight afterwards have a shot of the driver waving back to them
• The decision of making the movie in colour is also because the narrative is following a group of friends going on holiday and holidays are thought to be bright, sunny and happy. This also makes the iconic red London bus more recognisable to the audience.
• Use of stereotypes such as the french people riding by on their bikes and wearing berets.
• The use of a massive sign saying "Paris" thats pointing in the direction that the bus is going helps the audience to establish the new location.
• There are other uses of sound alongside the song such as the song of bells on the bikes and the children laughing.

The Beatles - Help - 1965

In comparison to their first movie, you can clearly see the difference and how this one is such an improvement. The movie this time has improved on several levels, one is that it has been filmed in colour and also including several filming locations such as Austria and The Bahamas which were very exotic at the time since travelling abroad was fairly new.

• In this movie we get to see their individual personalities which helps an iconic image to be created for them, this is also done through their use of outfits.
• Use of close ups for a single member, and medium long shots to show the band performing together.
• The use of instruments like guitars shows that they are a band and perform their own music as well as sing.

The Beatles - Hello Goodbye - 1967
This is actually considered to be a bad example of a music video, considering technology has developed and their level of fame has further increases, you would expect there to be a noticeable improvement. Here are some examples of bad cinematography, editing ans mise-en-scene from the music video:

• Use of bad framing, the long shot cuts of their feet and one also cuts of the drummer, Ringo's, head from the shot altogether. 
• We see the stages side curtain for several seconds and this should obviously not be in the shot.
• Lack of editing, one shot does not change for a total of 16 seconds, and there are only a total of four shots in a further 36 seconds.
• Instead of the use of a new camera shot or editing, one of the singers actually moves out of the camera shot instead
• However, an interesting aspects of the video is the use of the Elvis movement in the routine, this could be seen as a way to symbolise that they are now as big as Elvis himself.

Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody - 1975
This song has been one of the most biggest selling songs in all music history. It was actually the longest running number 1 for around 20 years, there are several reasons to this songs success including:

• This was the first music video to be released on video tape (VHS).
• A good use of cinematography such as the low angle used to make the musicians seem dominant, the use of zooms and pans are also good forms of this.
• There were a good use of effects such as dry ice, this helps give the illusion and feel of a real live performance.

Michael Jackson - Thriller - 1982

The music video for Thriller was made to be a short film as well as a music video, both performance and voyeurism were represented within this video. The T.V schedule was actually interrupted so the video could be premièred.

• The short movie had ground breaking effects for its time, such as when Michael transforms into a wear wolf, shows the use of a large budget.
• There are several different forms of cinematography used in this video and we see a wide range of camera angles used.
• They are 3 levels of diegesis used within the video as there are a total of 3 narratives, the 50's style horror that we initially see, then the idea that it is just a movie that they are watching, at the end we then see that the girl was dreaming both of these narratives.
• The dancing scenes within the video are very iconic to this day, as Michael was known for his dance moves.

The development of technology

The continuous development of technology has been revolutionary in the music industry.

• In 1967 the first T.V. satellite was sent up into space so certain channels could be accessed by several countries in Europe. As a way to test this a selection of countries were given a time slot of around 10 minutes to show footage of their choice, The UK used their shot to premier The Beatles new single. 
• The satellite itself did prove to be successful, the idea of making music videos as oppose to movies for artists was then developed as television reaches  a much wider audience than cinemas do.
• Globalisation was then introduced by the addition of the satellite, subtitles and lyrics were then added to the screen in different languages.
• On Boxing day there was a lot of anticipation and excitement for their latest film to be shown called "Magical Mystery Tour" However many people were left disappointed as colour televisions were fairly new so the majority still owned black and white ones, meaning the coloured filters effect used on the landscape shots for their first song were very boring to watch to those seeing it in black and white.
• In the early 80's the first channel to exclusively play music videos was made and this was known as MTV, this was due to the increase of music videos being made because they were then becoming cheaper to make.

Music Video Conventions

Conventions of a music video on MindMup

 

 

What are the typial conventions of a good music video?

• Variery of locations
• Narrative to be relevant to the lyrics
• An editing pace that fits with the song
• Different use of costumes and props
• Feature the artist themselves
• Element of performance, lip-sync or live
• Different uses of cinematography

What elements may contribute to the creation of a bad product?

• Not editing to the pace of the music
• Bad framing
• Little use of editing
• Use of only one location
• A narrative that does not link to the lyrics
• Make sure the lip-sync is correctly times
• Not leave it to the last minute

Analysing existing music videos

Coldplay- A Sky Full Of Stars

Notes and opinions: This video has not really got a narrative and instead follows the main singer of Coldplay dressed as a one man band walking down a busy shopping street. The other band members join in the scenes also wearing one man band type clothing when the chorus of the song begins and more of a beat starts. The camera angle does not change until about half way through the video, it begins with a handheld camera simply following the lead singer as he walks.

The fact that the general public/fans are included within the video works well as it helps people feel more engaged to the artists. The scene changes in places where the song has a change in tempo which is conventional, an example is when the other band members appear and it pans out to show a quote in graffiti on the building. The use of bright colours is effective as they help the message be delivered that the song is happy. It may of been more effective with a wider range of shots so more editing techniques could of been used.

Olly Murs- Dear Darlin'

Notes and opinions: The video is about the end of a relationship and has a slower editing pace because of the tone of the song. There is a good use of flashbacks throughout the video whilst showing the current version of the singer in the same room, which clearly shows the audience they are flashbacks and he is in the place in which these memories happened. 

The colouring of the scenes starts as a cool sepia to represent the mood of the lyrics but gradually get brighter throughout the video when things start working out again. An improvement that could of been made is a wider range of locations and costumes.

Wheatus-Teenage Dirtbag

Notes and opinions: The video has a very understandable narrative which shows the lead singer as a looser in his final year of high school, he falls asleep and dreams of being noticed by the girl he likes. The ordering of scenes clearly shows that this is a dream, as the first shot is of him falling asleep on the stairs and shows a blurred transition effect  to the dream, the last shot is of him waking up. The target audience for this artist is teenagers, so a story about having a crush in high school makes viewers relate to the artist.

There are several effects used such as a pull focus so either a character or the background is the main focus point, there is a use of different locations to tell the narrative. There are also many shots of performance scenes showing the singer in a school gym (still relevant to the narrative) performing on a guitar and lip syncing the lyrics.

Beyonce'- If I Were a Boy

Notes and opinions: The narrative of this music video is a very strong and deep one, the first shot is of Beyonce' and the actor playing her husband saying what are most important in a serious relationship. The story shows how the husband is the more committed and thoughtful in the relationship and the wife works as a cop and leaves quickly in the morning without eating breakfast with him. We see how a man flirts with her and she flirts back whilst the husband is ignoring advances from his female co-worker. At the end of the video we see how the roles had been reversed and the flirts scene is played again but with the husband as the cop and the wife making breakfast, this is a clever way to show and challenge stereotypes.

The video itself is all in a high quality black and white which gives it a very real life feel so the audience feel like they are living it which I think works really well. The editing pace is slow to fit the meaning of the lyrics and there are a wide selection of camera angles used such as mid shots, pans, and long shots. A way to improve the video is to possibly have some performance scenes with lip syncing, however this may take away the feel of the story and Beyonce' herself is acting it out so we still see her image.

My Favourite music video of all time-

A-ha - Take On Me