Even though at first I had a clear idea of what I wanted to do for my music video after delivering my pitch to the class, I was asked many things about my idea which also lead on to me reconsidering many things and rethinking my original ideas:
1. 'Do you think that you will have enough varied coverage?'-Jake
I think that I will have enough varied footage because during the performance shots there are so many different angles that I could do. I am also planning to record the whole performance atleast 3 or 4 times but from different long shot angles which will allow me to have lots of different shots when it comes to editing the video.
2. 'What's going to happen in the cut-aways?'-Yasz
I am still thinking about what will happen in the cut away buts my rough idea is to show what teenage life is like so that this would compliment the lyrics 'this is the life'. I would also like to include a romance between characters possibly including the main singer of the band. However, I think that with my genre, random storylines would also look good.
3. 'What effects are you going to have in post-production?'-Martha
I would like my effects to be quite jumpy but I would like to make the whole music video look abit off colour like the pictures off of instagram. I found a video which explains how to do this so this will be useful. I would also like to include some fades in and out with added in lighting to make the location look more exciting.
4. 'What do you think the song is about?'-Elena
Generally, Two Door Cinema Clubs song don't have deep meanings but I like to believe that this song is about some sort of romantic fantasy of how life is for everyone. And the chorus when it says 'who'd argue?' it may be about TDCC telling someone not to complain about their lives. I think that TDCC try to go for the feel of the song rather than focus on having deepfully meaningful lyrics.
5. 'How could you visually emphasise the guitar hook from the chorus?'-Jez
I think that the guitar hook from the chorus is very dominant therefore I am going to use this to my advantage and have a close up of the guitar being played on the beat. I would also like to have this close up being shown throughout the song when it is being played so maybe I could add it in over a performance clip.
Overall, I think that my pitch went well and my class seemed to think that my overall ideas could potentially be good. They also generally thought that the ideas I presented fitted well with the genre of music I was doing and specifically they went with the song well itself. Although, there were a few things that they did have concern over. Firstly, they did think that I might have difficulty getting the right amount of coverage of the performance sections and still be able to record a storyline. They also thought that I might find it difficult to find a good amount of actors that can cooperate with eachother and turn up at the same location at the right times on the right day etc.
Saturday 29 September 2012
Pitch Presentation
The pictures below are screen shots of the powerpoint presentation I made
for my class pitch:
Thursday 27 September 2012
Codes and Conventions
CODES AND CONVENTIONS:
Codes and convention are used as a way of constructing meaning into forms of media, in this case music video, but can be split into two different catergories (codes, conventions). These vary throughout each genre of music and many people use the codes and conventions because they are a way of doing things successfully. However, there are some people that do the excact opposite of their genres codes and conventions as a way of being different:
Editing:
The editing process in music videos take alot of time and are the most crucial part.
Commonly used editing in music videos is:
-screen splitting (seeing 2 scenes/characters at once)
-Lypsyncing (matching the mouth movement of the character/s to the lyrics of the song)
-Jump cutting
Mise en scene:
PROPS: the props that are used in a music video have to be relevant to the storyline or the lyrics of the song.
COSTUME: this could be actual costumes
LOCATION:
Mise en scene in different genres:
There are loads of different genres of music and they all have their own codes and conventions which has sunconsciously developed over the years. Some examples are:
Pop: These videos tend to involve lots of bright colours, flashing lights, fashionable costumes, 'nice' locations and happy characters. They also tend to have a dance routing which involves characters which look like the are 'loving life'. (a good example of this type of music video is 'With Ur Love' performed by Cher Lloyd which involves lots of teenagers and balloons floating around a city in broad daylight). Pop videos also tend to mainly focus on th one person and like to create a star persona in the music video.
Hip-hop: These music videos tend to all include portrayals of women showing their sexuality. This is either expressed through the artist having an 'attractive' woman by their side of a number of women dancing provocatively in little clothing. They also include darker colours and lighting and lots of jewelry and expensive possessions (emphasising their personal wealth even though its probably rented). They also like to wear little clothing themselves to show their well 'crafted bodies' (e.g. 50 cent)
Rock: This genre of music tends to involve alot of dark colours, instruments, stages in their music videos. Doesn't tend to involve a story line but it more based on performance of the band (sometimes including their audiences-live show). One of the main camera angles they tend to use in rock videos is extreme close ups of the singer face/lips but also extreme close ups on the instruments being played aswell. They also use the tempo of the song to compliment the editing. A good example of this is all my life by the Foo Fighters who usea very simple location but make it just as interesting as a hip hop video in a club by using quick editing to the beats and good mise en scene.
EXTRA CODES AND CONVENTIONS:
Music videos (based on genre) always contain different meanings and sometimes storylines; which are shown in many various ways:
Performance:
When the artist/band is performing the song throughout the music video. (e.g. 'always like this' performed by Bombay Bicycle Club is purely performance based and only includes the band themselves but is made interesting with the use of different effects)
Narrative:
When the song involves a narrative which is then acted out in some way throughout the music video (e.g. Taylor Swift's new song 'we are never ever getting back together' demonstrates a type of narrative throughout the music video)
Mixture:
When the musician is performing the song meanwhile, a narrative storyline is occurring which is shown through the cross cutting of the camera shots. (e.g. 'right by my side' performed by Nicki Minaj involves performance and a storyline)
Animation:Some music videos have a mixture involving animation that is edited in, this creates creativity and entertainment to the video. (e.g. 'Californiacation' performed by The Red Hot Chilli Peppers consists of the band being made into video game characters running around different places)
Cameo:
When the main artist/musician is featuring in the narrative but is not part of the storyline and does not perform in it. (E.g. 'Chasing Pavements' performed by Adele has a storyline throughout the whole music video but Adele is only shown a few times in the background)
CODES AND CONVENTION OF INDIE MUSIC VIDEOS:
Mise en scene:It have come to my attention that the majority of indie music videos consists of pretty much the same mise en scene. These mainly consist of the following things:
-Costumes: scruffy hair, average 'indie' clothing (checked shirts, skinny jeans, vans etc.)
-Props: instruments (guitars, bass guitars, drums, keyboard etc),
-Locations: simple locations with not much surrounding (they tend to use the simple space they have a make it interesting through there performance)
Performance:
Indie music videos are massively performance based. Even if there is the odd video which consists of an elaborate stotyline, there always appear to be some sort of performance involved this could be:
-A performance from the band themselves (either performing alone or infront of a large audience on stage)
- A performance from one of the characters involved
Editing:
-'old', bad quality camera effect
-The tempo of the song often determines the amount of cuts made between clips
- the paces of the cuts in the videos could also be determined by the song.
-Jump cut edits from one shot to another
-Most fast paced videos have a lot of cuts and quicker cuts
-A slow tempo song would have less cuts because the shots last longer.
-Fast forwarding/rewinding effects
Cameo:
-If there is a story line, the main character/characters make appearances
-There are not however, mainly involved in the story
-Sometimes pop in at the end of the story
-Very rare that a member of an indie band would 'star' in a storyline music video
Narrative:
-If there is a story line, the lyrics are involved in the acting
-Band performs the lyrics (lip syncing)
Camera:
-Close up of the singer
-Close ups of the instruments being played
-Establishing shots of the whole performance
I have learnt that even though the indie genre do use many specific conventions, they are much less noticable than in a genre like pop. Therefore, it gives me the freedom to choose what I want to do. It is obvous that they do like to focus on their music more then having an expensive, 'flashy' video. This is beneficially for me because I can get away with having a more 'home video' look.
Codes and convention are used as a way of constructing meaning into forms of media, in this case music video, but can be split into two different catergories (codes, conventions). These vary throughout each genre of music and many people use the codes and conventions because they are a way of doing things successfully. However, there are some people that do the excact opposite of their genres codes and conventions as a way of being different:
Editing:
The editing process in music videos take alot of time and are the most crucial part.
Commonly used editing in music videos is:
-screen splitting (seeing 2 scenes/characters at once)
-Lypsyncing (matching the mouth movement of the character/s to the lyrics of the song)
-Jump cutting
Camera:
Close up: focus on the musician or the most famous person in the music video
pan shots: showing the surrounding of the music video and the whole of the main character/band.
Mise en scene:
PROPS: the props that are used in a music video have to be relevant to the storyline or the lyrics of the song.
COSTUME: this could be actual costumes
LOCATION:
Mise en scene in different genres:
There are loads of different genres of music and they all have their own codes and conventions which has sunconsciously developed over the years. Some examples are:
Pop: These videos tend to involve lots of bright colours, flashing lights, fashionable costumes, 'nice' locations and happy characters. They also tend to have a dance routing which involves characters which look like the are 'loving life'. (a good example of this type of music video is 'With Ur Love' performed by Cher Lloyd which involves lots of teenagers and balloons floating around a city in broad daylight). Pop videos also tend to mainly focus on th one person and like to create a star persona in the music video.
 |
| This is a screen shot of artist Rick Ross sitting on a gold throne wearing lots of jewellery. (not a good example of a well crafted body) |
Rock: This genre of music tends to involve alot of dark colours, instruments, stages in their music videos. Doesn't tend to involve a story line but it more based on performance of the band (sometimes including their audiences-live show). One of the main camera angles they tend to use in rock videos is extreme close ups of the singer face/lips but also extreme close ups on the instruments being played aswell. They also use the tempo of the song to compliment the editing. A good example of this is all my life by the Foo Fighters who usea very simple location but make it just as interesting as a hip hop video in a club by using quick editing to the beats and good mise en scene.
EXTRA CODES AND CONVENTIONS:
Music videos (based on genre) always contain different meanings and sometimes storylines; which are shown in many various ways:
Performance:
When the artist/band is performing the song throughout the music video. (e.g. 'always like this' performed by Bombay Bicycle Club is purely performance based and only includes the band themselves but is made interesting with the use of different effects)
Narrative:
When the song involves a narrative which is then acted out in some way throughout the music video (e.g. Taylor Swift's new song 'we are never ever getting back together' demonstrates a type of narrative throughout the music video)
Mixture:
 |
Animation:'Californication' showing the
animation involved but also the
performance aswell (top left corner).
|
Animation:Some music videos have a mixture involving animation that is edited in, this creates creativity and entertainment to the video. (e.g. 'Californiacation' performed by The Red Hot Chilli Peppers consists of the band being made into video game characters running around different places)
Cameo:
When the main artist/musician is featuring in the narrative but is not part of the storyline and does not perform in it. (E.g. 'Chasing Pavements' performed by Adele has a storyline throughout the whole music video but Adele is only shown a few times in the background)
CODES AND CONVENTION OF INDIE MUSIC VIDEOS:
Mise en scene:It have come to my attention that the majority of indie music videos consists of pretty much the same mise en scene. These mainly consist of the following things:
-Costumes: scruffy hair, average 'indie' clothing (checked shirts, skinny jeans, vans etc.)
-Props: instruments (guitars, bass guitars, drums, keyboard etc),
-Locations: simple locations with not much surrounding (they tend to use the simple space they have a make it interesting through there performance)
Performance:
Indie music videos are massively performance based. Even if there is the odd video which consists of an elaborate stotyline, there always appear to be some sort of performance involved this could be:
-A performance from the band themselves (either performing alone or infront of a large audience on stage)
- A performance from one of the characters involved
Editing:
-'old', bad quality camera effect
-The tempo of the song often determines the amount of cuts made between clips
- the paces of the cuts in the videos could also be determined by the song.
-Jump cut edits from one shot to another
-Most fast paced videos have a lot of cuts and quicker cuts
-A slow tempo song would have less cuts because the shots last longer.
-Fast forwarding/rewinding effects
Cameo:
-If there is a story line, the main character/characters make appearances
-There are not however, mainly involved in the story
-Sometimes pop in at the end of the story
-Very rare that a member of an indie band would 'star' in a storyline music video
Narrative:
-If there is a story line, the lyrics are involved in the acting
-Band performs the lyrics (lip syncing)
Camera:
-Close up of the singer
-Close ups of the instruments being played
-Establishing shots of the whole performance
I have learnt that even though the indie genre do use many specific conventions, they are much less noticable than in a genre like pop. Therefore, it gives me the freedom to choose what I want to do. It is obvous that they do like to focus on their music more then having an expensive, 'flashy' video. This is beneficially for me because I can get away with having a more 'home video' look.
Richard Dyer
''A star is an image not a real person that is constructed out of a range of materials''-Richard Dyer
Stars are constructed, artificial images, even if they are represented as being "real people", experiencing real emotions etc. It helps if their image contains a USP — they can be copied and/or parodied because of it. Their representation may be metonymic — Madonna's conical bra in the early 1990s, Bono's 'Fly' sunglasses, Britney's belly, Justin Bieber's bangs. Pop stars have the advantage over film stars in that their constructed image may be much more consistent over a period of time, and is not dependent on the creative input of others (e.g. screenwriters writing their lines).
Star Analysis:
There are many 'stars' nowadays use their persona (also can be called an alter ego) during their performances. The most recent and famous one is Nicki Minaj and her many alter egos: Cookie, Nicki Lewinski, Nicki the Ninja, Nicki the boss, Nicki Teresa, Norman, Point Dexter e.t.c. Nicki Minaj has established her characters and split personalities through songs and her crazy performances. She uses these alter egos as an excuse for the abuse she gives in some of her songs. She likes to use these alter egos as an excuse so she can almost get away with th language that she use in her songs. Nicki Minaj has always taken pride in how she has little girl fans and when she is questioned about the example she is setting in some of her songs, she just simply replies 'it's not me it's...Roman'. Nicki Minaj's star transformation process has mainly been constucted. We tend to think of her as a fictional character who is a product of our particular generation. She also expresses these alter egos that she has through the clothes that she wears. More specifically, the wigs that she wears. She had developed this alter ego 'madness' even before her first album was released. She has complete control over her personas and also what other people see of her personas. This is because she writes all of her own music, dresses herself and even plans her performances herself. It has also become apparent that some of these characters she creates are very personal to her as she blames some of her alter-egos on the rough childhood she had growing up in Queens, New York. However, unlike other pop stars, Nicki Minaj has managed to keep these personas going for a very long period of time. Richard Dyer describes the 'second album syndrome' where the personas get forgotten about by fans but Nicki Minaj has avoided this completely. She always nurtures her alter egos as if she thinks that one is being forgotten about, she will release a song to remind everyone (e.g. Roman's holiday was released after Roman's Revenge). There is no doubt that Nicki Minaj's alter egos is one of the main reasons why she is so successful today and without them, she wouldn't be able to create such well delivered albums/mixtapes and videos/performances. Wednesday 26 September 2012
Planning and Research QUESTIONNAIRE
For part of my genre research, I decided to hand out a questionnaire to 10 students at Long Road. It only consisted of 5 questions which were just asking general questions about what people thought about the indie genre, what types of things they wear and what they thought would be in an indie music video. I didn't ask for long answers because I already had a rough idea about what peoples thoughts were just by talking to some of my friends but I thought it would be good to get opinions from a few people I did not know aswell. I think this was very beneficial for me because I was able to clarify that my interpetation of the indie genre was the same as other people the same ages as me. It was also good when deciding on what to have in my music video. (mise-en-scene etc.) Below is the typed up questionnaire which answers were collected from ten different people:
From this questionnaire it is clear to me that most people have roughly the same idea. However, after collecting these result it came to my attention that they only answered about male indie characters. This must mean that people pressume indie band only consist of males. It is also clear that a solely performance based video may end up being abit boring for some viewers which is not what I want to create.
1. What is your favourite genre of music?
Amy: hip hop (kayne west) and dubstep
Yotam: indie/rock
Shaunagh: r and b
Ana: rock/heavy metal
Daniel: grime and hip hop
Sam: indie and pop
Adam: indie and old rock (the clash etc)
Alice: pop and dance
Natalie: mainly dance sometimes indie
Charlie: dubstep!!
2. What do you think 'indie' people dress like?
Amy: jeans and shirts
Yotam: skinny jeans, hoodies, caps, shirts and vans
Shaunagh: flat caps, jeans, dirty trainers and tshirts
Ana: jeans, vans and shirts
Daniel: skinny jeans, denim shirts and trainers
Sam: retro shoes, black jeans, jean jackets etc.
Adam: beanie hats, skinny jeans, shirts and dirty shoes
Alice: black jeans, checked shirts and vans
Natalie: Jackets, hats, jeans and scruffy vans :)
Charlie: like hipsters.
3. What would you expect to see in an 'indie' music video?
Amy: The band and instruments.
Yotam: Lots of musical instruments and young characters.
Shaunagh: Hipsters and guitars.
Ana: A cute storyline and the band performing.
Daniel: Quite plain surroundings and instruments.
Sam: Lots of instruments and light.
Adam: Performances, instruments and flashbacks.
Alice: I'm not too sure :(
Natalie: Guitars, keyboards and lots of
performance footage (maybe from festivals).
Charlie: I really do not know.
4. Would you watch a music video which was just a band playing the song?
Amy: Only if the band was good and had fit people in it.
Yotam: Maybe if it was good.
Shaunagh: I don't really like bands so probably not.
Ana: No, that sounds pretty boring.
Daniel: Yeah loads of bands have done it before but it would have to be different to the rest.
Sam: Yeah but it would need to be exciting as well.
Adam: No it's better when music videos have a story to them.
Alice: Yeah that would be good if it had some dance routines in it.
Natalie: Yes! Especially if it's Foals.
Charlie: No thank you.
From this questionnaire it is clear to me that most people have roughly the same idea. However, after collecting these result it came to my attention that they only answered about male indie characters. This must mean that people pressume indie band only consist of males. It is also clear that a solely performance based video may end up being abit boring for some viewers which is not what I want to create.
Research and Planning TV & MAGAZINES
Magazines:Indie bands aren't always the most famously known bands and therefore, it would be thought that they wouldn't have many magazine covers and articles. However, there have been many different magazine specifically made for less widely 'famous' bands which are directly aimed at the audiences for these genres. There has even been a magazine made called 'indie'. But the most popular of these magazine has been NME for many years which has had bands such as Muse, Oasis, The Libertines and Two Door Cinema Club. Over the years NME has expanded from a magazine to a music award ceremony, NME tours which massively worldwide known bands perform at and a website which has over 7 million users a month.
Internet:
TDCC use the internet for alot of their promotional work. They have included themselev in many social networking sites but most interestingly, they often do interviews with online channels from YouTube that are from all over the world. They have had over 2million views on all of their interviews and by doing this sort of promotion they have gained fans all over the world.
TV appearances:
Most recently, TDCC have taken a very positive turn in their careers. Specifcally, Alex Trimble (singer) sung Caliban's dream at the London 2012 olympic opening ceremony.
Research and Planning COMMUNITIES
Communities: Over the years, Two Door Cinema Club have gained a massive fan base purely from just performing at festivals. They have been performing at festivals for over five years now and have worked their way up to one of the main stages at Reading/Leeds festival and Glastonbury. They have also done many tours in smaller locations aswell which has helped then to gain fans. Their music is so fun-loving and happy that many people tell their friends if they've heard the band so they also recieve alot of interest just through word of mouth. BBC Radio have recently become Two Door Cinema Club fan and play them frequently as well as asking them to tour with acts such as Azealia Banks. Lastly, it has become apparent that their song is featured in the Debenhams advert aswell as the lead singer performing at the Olympic ceremony. If I was to put a specific scene for their music I would definitely say the festival scene which is what they are most famously known for. As far as communication goes with the band, they have also relied alot on the internet to promote themselves. They have a soundcloud account, myspace account, tumblr, facebook and twitter and frequently talk to their fans and update them with news and videos. There aren't many 'fan pages' that have been actually created by fans because TTCC up date their fans as much as possible and aren't the type of band that people 'internet stalk'. Focusing specifically on their Facebook page, they have 1,135,370 likes on their page which has increased by over half in the past year or so. They have a special way of connecting with their fans as they post picture every couple of hours of what they are up to (even if it's just a picture of tickets). But also looking at their soundcloud account they have 116,138 people following them. Interestingly, all of the people are not 'indie hipsters' but their fans seem to range from teenagers to middle aged people. These people also seem to be from all over the world which then lead me to research whether Two Door Cinema Club are famous in other countries and I found that indeed they were. The band is very well known in countries such as Poland and their new album 'Beacon' is close to going platinum in Sweden. They also often do many shown all over the world and have just started to do performance on American talk shows such as Jay Leno. Activities and Lifestyles: Two Door Cinema Club's music always seem to be happy. And even though some of their lyrics may seem to be talking about a love story, they tune to the song always makes audience feel like dancing. The music is all about good-living and active. It doesn't have any references to 'making money' or anything that is seen to be essential within society but they do include lyrics that could be seen as wanting to take someone's social worries away (e.g. 'you would look a little better don't you know if you just wore less make-up'-Something Good Can Work).Research and Planning FASHION
In order to find what is the best 'costumes' for my characters to wear in my music video, I have used primary and secondary research. Firstly, I took pictures of friends and other people around college to see how they dress. I also asked them what genres of music they listened to so that I was able to come up with rough ideas for my costumes:
The next part of my research was looking at promotion pictures of Two Door Cinema club and see what their general style is. Even though they would be considered to be an indie pop band, they seem to have a smarter more put together style than other bands such as The Maccabees. This is a quite different style but fans of Two Door Cinema Club know their style and they are very easy recognisable in the indie genre. I think that by doing something similar to this this would be good because then when it comes to doing the digipak, my band would also have a recognisable style. TDCC's styles is also much appreciate in magazines and they often described as well put together and fashionable. Obviously my 'band' isn't going to be famous but this is a good reputation to follow when thinking about styling my band.
I have noticed that within indie bands even though the main singer is generally the main focus, all of the band member dress pretty much the same. This may be because they prefer the focus to be on their music rather than on making a star persona for themselves which is a huge contrast to pop groups. After doing this reason I have chosen the following outfits to base my costumes around. All the images have come from high street brand such as Topman and River Island and appear to be very similar to other indie bands styles:
Band members and male characters:
To dress a male indie band I would deifintely choose these types of clothing. I found these on the topman website and the river island website which are both very popular high street fashion shops which have kept up to date with indie fashion as it has progressed over the years. I think that these clothes really represent what indie people dress like because they are quite individual in how they dress but they don't like to stand out as much as other (such as hipsters). These clothes are also quite smart aswell as generally appealing which is good because that is the type of style that Two Door Cinema Club have aswell as other indie bands such as Bombay Bicycle Club.
Female characters:
For any females in my music video I have stuck to the topshop website to choose what sort of clothing they would wear. This is because the majority of teengae girls shop at topshop or at shops similar to topshop and the always have the most up to date indie fashions. I chose the clothing to the left because I believe that they reflect the festival style which Two Door Cinema Club are often assosiated with and if the female characters in my video are dressed like this then it would fit well with the genre of the song I am doing. Also, because I don't want the main focus to be on any female characters I may have, by giving them quite simple outfits then they wont stand out too much but will also look good at the same time.
 |
| grime, hip hop, garage, drum and bass |
 |
| latino, alternative rock |
 |
| indie pop, dance |
 |
| american indie rock (you me at six) |
 |
| electronic, house and dubstep |
 |
| chart music, dance, rnb and pop |
 |
| indie pop, alternative rock |
 |
| rock, alternative rock, indie |
The next part of my research was looking at promotion pictures of Two Door Cinema club and see what their general style is. Even though they would be considered to be an indie pop band, they seem to have a smarter more put together style than other bands such as The Maccabees. This is a quite different style but fans of Two Door Cinema Club know their style and they are very easy recognisable in the indie genre. I think that by doing something similar to this this would be good because then when it comes to doing the digipak, my band would also have a recognisable style. TDCC's styles is also much appreciate in magazines and they often described as well put together and fashionable. Obviously my 'band' isn't going to be famous but this is a good reputation to follow when thinking about styling my band.
I have noticed that within indie bands even though the main singer is generally the main focus, all of the band member dress pretty much the same. This may be because they prefer the focus to be on their music rather than on making a star persona for themselves which is a huge contrast to pop groups. After doing this reason I have chosen the following outfits to base my costumes around. All the images have come from high street brand such as Topman and River Island and appear to be very similar to other indie bands styles:
Band members and male characters:
To dress a male indie band I would deifintely choose these types of clothing. I found these on the topman website and the river island website which are both very popular high street fashion shops which have kept up to date with indie fashion as it has progressed over the years. I think that these clothes really represent what indie people dress like because they are quite individual in how they dress but they don't like to stand out as much as other (such as hipsters). These clothes are also quite smart aswell as generally appealing which is good because that is the type of style that Two Door Cinema Club have aswell as other indie bands such as Bombay Bicycle Club. Female characters:
For any females in my music video I have stuck to the topshop website to choose what sort of clothing they would wear. This is because the majority of teengae girls shop at topshop or at shops similar to topshop and the always have the most up to date indie fashions. I chose the clothing to the left because I believe that they reflect the festival style which Two Door Cinema Club are often assosiated with and if the female characters in my video are dressed like this then it would fit well with the genre of the song I am doing. Also, because I don't want the main focus to be on any female characters I may have, by giving them quite simple outfits then they wont stand out too much but will also look good at the same time.
Research and Planning INFLUENCES
Over the years, the indie genre expanded gaining many more fans and bands/artists within the genre. For my music video I have watched and analyzed many music video within this genre and I have narrowed it down to a few main influences. These have not only influenced the 'costumes' I am using but also the editing and style of the music video.
Music Video Influences: Florence and the Machine (Dog days are over):
I consider this music video to be an influence for my music video because it includes many of the same things I am hoping to put in my music video. The mise en scene in this video is one of the features of this video which I appreciate the most. I think thatthe home made look to this video is one of it's most positive aspects. It's quite a plain music video with a simple location but the costumes and props make it very eyecatching to watch. The editing in this video is also done very well. Alot of editing is used within video but the most noticable editing technique used in this video is the use of short clips jump from one to another. This is very effective for this video because it goes with the beat of the music. Overall, I believe that this video is an influence to me because I would like to use the style of editing used in this video in mine. I also like the filters used which makes the video look homemade.
Bombay Bicycle Club (Always Like This):
I mainly consider 'Always Like This' and influence because of the style and editing of the music video. The style of the band are wearing simple clothing which consists of T-shirts and jeans etc. I think this would be a good thing to do in my music video because even though the band is the 'star' of the video, they don't overdress the band in the video because that isn't the style of the genre of music. Another aspect of this music video which I appreciate and would consider to be an influence is the use of editing. The use alot of jump cuts to make the video appear to be skipping and also, the quality of the camera seems to be more of a home video camera. They also speed up alot of the clips they have so it appears that what is going on on the screen is going to the beat of the song. It seems that they would have had to get a lot of footage to make this video which I would like to do for mine as well so I have alot of footage to edit with to go from on cut to another to create a jumpy effect.
Style influences:
As well as the bands/artists above I have many others influences for the styling of my music video. One of the main bands that I consider to be an influence is The Maccabees. This is because they dress like a typical indie band but they also dress similar to one another so they look like a band. They mainly wear different types of shirts (denim, plain and checked) with skinny jeans and worn out vans/trainers. I appreaciate this look because they are not trying too hard to stand out because they like the focus to be on their music and not how they look. Another style influence for me is the band Two Door Cinema Club themselves. This is because alot like the Maccabees they have a very simple style but at the same time they always look well put together. Their style consist of T-shirts, shirts, blazers, jeans and trainers. Even though they are similar to the Maccabees in many ways, they go for a much smarter look. This may be because they are much more 'commercial' than them and even though they are in the same genre group, their music is alot more meaningful and 'happy'. For the female styles that I am wanting to use in my music video, I have used festival styles as my main influence. This is because the song that I am doing is quite a bright happy song which reminds me of a festival atmosphere and also TDCC perform at alot of festivals so this would be the actual style of girls that listen to the band. Some examples of this type of style:
Music Video Influences: Florence and the Machine (Dog days are over):
I consider this music video to be an influence for my music video because it includes many of the same things I am hoping to put in my music video. The mise en scene in this video is one of the features of this video which I appreciate the most. I think thatthe home made look to this video is one of it's most positive aspects. It's quite a plain music video with a simple location but the costumes and props make it very eyecatching to watch. The editing in this video is also done very well. Alot of editing is used within video but the most noticable editing technique used in this video is the use of short clips jump from one to another. This is very effective for this video because it goes with the beat of the music. Overall, I believe that this video is an influence to me because I would like to use the style of editing used in this video in mine. I also like the filters used which makes the video look homemade.
Bombay Bicycle Club (Always Like This):
I mainly consider 'Always Like This' and influence because of the style and editing of the music video. The style of the band are wearing simple clothing which consists of T-shirts and jeans etc. I think this would be a good thing to do in my music video because even though the band is the 'star' of the video, they don't overdress the band in the video because that isn't the style of the genre of music. Another aspect of this music video which I appreciate and would consider to be an influence is the use of editing. The use alot of jump cuts to make the video appear to be skipping and also, the quality of the camera seems to be more of a home video camera. They also speed up alot of the clips they have so it appears that what is going on on the screen is going to the beat of the song. It seems that they would have had to get a lot of footage to make this video which I would like to do for mine as well so I have alot of footage to edit with to go from on cut to another to create a jumpy effect.
Style influences:
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| A promo shot of the Maccabees. |
As well as the bands/artists above I have many others influences for the styling of my music video. One of the main bands that I consider to be an influence is The Maccabees. This is because they dress like a typical indie band but they also dress similar to one another so they look like a band. They mainly wear different types of shirts (denim, plain and checked) with skinny jeans and worn out vans/trainers. I appreaciate this look because they are not trying too hard to stand out because they like the focus to be on their music and not how they look. Another style influence for me is the band Two Door Cinema Club themselves. This is because alot like the Maccabees they have a very simple style but at the same time they always look well put together. Their style consist of T-shirts, shirts, blazers, jeans and trainers. Even though they are similar to the Maccabees in many ways, they go for a much smarter look. This may be because they are much more 'commercial' than them and even though they are in the same genre group, their music is alot more meaningful and 'happy'. For the female styles that I am wanting to use in my music video, I have used festival styles as my main influence. This is because the song that I am doing is quite a bright happy song which reminds me of a festival atmosphere and also TDCC perform at alot of festivals so this would be the actual style of girls that listen to the band. Some examples of this type of style:
Indie History
The History Of Indie:
Indie is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the UK and partly the US in the 1980s. Indie rock is considered to be very diverse, with sub-genres such as indie pop. The typical instruments used in an indie band is guitars, bass, drums and keyboards. One of the very first bands to be considered to be 'indie' was The Smiths but the indie genre didn't become mainstream until the late 1990s and in the 2000s it made a huge impact on the music industry. The main thing that helped indie music get into the mainstream was the internet. Alot of indie bands use Youtube, websites and blogs to help them gain commercial success.
Indie music has come from not very well known labels which normally have extremely low budgets but over the years the indie genre has grown into different sub-genres with the most popular being indie pop. The first indie band to originate in the UK would be said to be The Smiths who were a band from Manchester who started off making music in the 1980s. They were the first well known band to have a controversially different style of fashion and music and The Smiths were said to have 'shaped' the indie genre and would be huge influences on the indie bands who are still in the music business today. Nowadays the Indie genre has expanded massively and now range from bands like The Maccabees to Two Door Cinema Club.
Indie is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the UK and partly the US in the 1980s. Indie rock is considered to be very diverse, with sub-genres such as indie pop. The typical instruments used in an indie band is guitars, bass, drums and keyboards. One of the very first bands to be considered to be 'indie' was The Smiths but the indie genre didn't become mainstream until the late 1990s and in the 2000s it made a huge impact on the music industry. The main thing that helped indie music get into the mainstream was the internet. Alot of indie bands use Youtube, websites and blogs to help them gain commercial success.
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| A promo shot of The Smiths in the 1980s |
Two Door Cinema Club
Background:
Two Door Cinema Club is a three-piece indie rock band from Northern Ireland. The band was formed in 2007 by Sam Halliday (lead guitar, backing vocals), Alex Trimble (vocals, rhythm guitar, beats, synths) and Kevin Baird (bass, backing vocals). They have had many hit singles and their album 'Tourist History' became number one in it's first week of release. They have spent the majority of their careers playing shows at festivals. They have also released a handful of videos which always get positive reviews on YouTube because of their quirky, humourus music videos. The majority of their music videos are based on performance shots.
Music Videos:
Two Door Cinema club have released many music video on their blog and on YouTube but so far they haven't really had any 'mainstream' success. It has become apparent that they like to use the same conventions in their music videos which has enabled them to become recognizable as a band. They have released music videos for the songs: Undercover Martyn, Something Good Can Work, What You Know, I Can Talk and their latest release Sleep Alone. I have analysed one of their music videos and have compared it to the other to see the similarities and differences between each of their music videos:
Undercover Martyn was one of TDCC's first music videos that they released. It was released in 2010 and was directed by James Lee. It consists of mainly performance. Throughout the video, some of the lyrics are physically shown on the screen by the people in the background holding them up. This gives the video a nice effect because overall it is quite plain. As this was one of their first videos to be made and released it is obviously quite low budget which is similar to other indie videos aswell.
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| This is a screen shot from the song 'What You Know' It consists of the band playing their instruments on pedistalls. |
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| This is a screen shot from the music video for the song 'I Can Talk'. |
'This Is The Life' lyrics:
Feel something right
Feel something good
Because if one thing works
i'd know its true
Because if this is the life
This is the life
This is the life
This is the life
This is the life
Then who'd argue?
One year, 5 days
And we're starting new
Try to make a change
It's one more thing to do
Because if this is the life
This is the life
This is the life
This is the life
This is the life
Then who'd argue?
Feel something good
Because if one thing works
i'd know its true
Because if this is the life
This is the life
This is the life
This is the life
This is the life
Then who'd argue?
One year, 5 days
And we're starting new
Try to make a change
It's one more thing to do
Because if this is the life
This is the life
This is the life
This is the life
This is the life
Then who'd argue?
Andrew Goodwin
Andrew Goodwin is a popular culture acdemic who wrote ‘Dancing in the Distraction Factory’ in 1992. His work on music videos is useful for the understanding of how to construct a product that follows the codes and 'conventions'. He said that music video should have all or some of these features:
Telephone is a song performed by recording artists Lady Gaga and Beyonce. It was released in March 2010 and went straight to the number 1 spot in many different countries. This music (could also be said to be a short film) raised alot of contreversy when it was released but I chose this music video to analyse because I think that it a very good example of what Andrew Goodwin's theory is meaning when it comes to music videos.
1. There isn't much relationship between the music video and the lyrics apart from when the chorus is being sung, Lady Gaga and Beyonce make phone shapes with their hands alot of the time. At the very beginning of the music video when the song begins, Lady Gaga is singing into the prison telephone which goes with the lyrics which sound like a telephone call. During this phone call Lady Gaga says 'w-w-w-hat did you say oh your breaking up on me' and at this point the screen jutters aswell as Lady Gaga's actions juttering aswell (like the camera is breaking up). Also, towards the end when Beyonce is dancing in the room alone, she is also holding a telephone while singing the words 'my telephone' meanwhile, Lady Gaga is in the middle of dancing kitchen scene but when the music slows down she is on the phone at the part when it sounds like something she would be saying on the phone to someone again. Another part of this video which show a relationship between the lyrics and visual is when Beyonce is in the room and she says 'Tonight I'm not taking no calls cus I'll be dancing' it shows her hanging up the phone she was talking on and bursting into a dance routine.
2. Throughout this video it is obvious that Lady Gaga is the star. Even though at times it focuses on other character like the dancers and extras, the main focus is always on Lady Gaga. It involves alot of close ups, Lady Gaga often using this technique of blending into the extras in her music videos; however, there are always alot of focus on her. She does this well by wearing similar costumes and make up to her extras. Also, even though the song is Lady Gaga and Beyonce, when they are in the same room as one another, there always seem to be a focus on Lady Gaga the majority of the time. There are alot of the same close ups alot of the time which are exteme close ups of Lady Gaga's face.
3. Voyuerism is when there is someone, often the women of video, performing sexual behaviour (e.g. undressing themselves or dancing). Goodwin said that women are used as sexual objects to emphasis the sexuality in a music video. This is very relevant to this music video. In many parts of this performance Lady Gaga uses sexual behaviour which is mainly shown through dancing and posing. This dancing does not particularly go with the lyrics of the song so she is just, like in her other music videos, exagerating her sexuality and she knows that hr fans and other people see her as a sexualised star so she used this to her advantage. She is always pushing boundaries when it comes to the costumes that she wear and in this video she wears alot of provocative clothing to compliment her dancing/acting.
4. There is alot of intertexuality in this music but it is mainly towards the end. The car which Lady Gaga and Beyonce are riding in is from the movie Kill Bill and the scenes they perform in this car are much alike a modern 'Thelma and Louise'. They have tried to create this sort of scenario with a more glamourous approach which is what Lady Gaga does in alot of her music videos. This is specifically evident in the part when the characters are running away from the police.There are also some pulp fiction references in this music video when Lady Gaga and Beyonce are feeding eachother a product called 'Honey Bun'. The inspiration for alot of the scenes in the video have seemed to emerge from pop art artists (specifically Andy Warhol). This is shown in specifically the kitchen scene when there are alot of bright eyecatching colours but also the costumes that Lady Gaga and Beyonce are wearing show this aswell.
5. As far as demonstrating genre characteristics, this video doesn't really seem to show 'pop' aspects apart from the dance routines. Lady GaGa is a very controversial artist and doesn't tend to stick to conventions of pop music videos even though her genre is most definitely pop. However, the main thing that is demonstrating the characteristics of a pop music video it the bright colours and the massive amounts of dance routines which the video consist of. There are alot of girl dancers wearing exagerated costumes which also applies to Lady Gaga and Beyonce which often occurs in pop music videos.
Product placement within music videos:
There are also alot of suttle product placements within this music video. The first is Lady Gaga's range of headphones 'heart beats' which are shown in some of the prisoners ears in the yard scene. Also, at a point where the screen of her phone is being show it clearly shows the 'Virgin mobile' logo and name for about a 3 second period of time. Next there is the 'Plenty of Fish' data website shown on one of the guards 'dre' laptop when Gaga is leaving the prison. Lastly, there is WonderBread which is the bread that Gaga is using to prepare the sandwiches in the resteraunt.
- There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).
- The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style).
- There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
- There is often intertextual reference (to films, tv programmes, other music videos etc).
- Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics (e.g. stage performance in metal video, dance routine for boy/girl band)
Telephone is a song performed by recording artists Lady Gaga and Beyonce. It was released in March 2010 and went straight to the number 1 spot in many different countries. This music (could also be said to be a short film) raised alot of contreversy when it was released but I chose this music video to analyse because I think that it a very good example of what Andrew Goodwin's theory is meaning when it comes to music videos.
1. There isn't much relationship between the music video and the lyrics apart from when the chorus is being sung, Lady Gaga and Beyonce make phone shapes with their hands alot of the time. At the very beginning of the music video when the song begins, Lady Gaga is singing into the prison telephone which goes with the lyrics which sound like a telephone call. During this phone call Lady Gaga says 'w-w-w-hat did you say oh your breaking up on me' and at this point the screen jutters aswell as Lady Gaga's actions juttering aswell (like the camera is breaking up). Also, towards the end when Beyonce is dancing in the room alone, she is also holding a telephone while singing the words 'my telephone' meanwhile, Lady Gaga is in the middle of dancing kitchen scene but when the music slows down she is on the phone at the part when it sounds like something she would be saying on the phone to someone again. Another part of this video which show a relationship between the lyrics and visual is when Beyonce is in the room and she says 'Tonight I'm not taking no calls cus I'll be dancing' it shows her hanging up the phone she was talking on and bursting into a dance routine.
2. Throughout this video it is obvious that Lady Gaga is the star. Even though at times it focuses on other character like the dancers and extras, the main focus is always on Lady Gaga. It involves alot of close ups, Lady Gaga often using this technique of blending into the extras in her music videos; however, there are always alot of focus on her. She does this well by wearing similar costumes and make up to her extras. Also, even though the song is Lady Gaga and Beyonce, when they are in the same room as one another, there always seem to be a focus on Lady Gaga the majority of the time. There are alot of the same close ups alot of the time which are exteme close ups of Lady Gaga's face.
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| But then it soon becomes obvious that she is the main focus in this scene by using a close up of her face while she's singing. |
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| In this shot you would not be able to see who the main focus is in this video |
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| This is just one of many examples of Lady Gaga using sexual behaviour in her music video. |
4. There is alot of intertexuality in this music but it is mainly towards the end. The car which Lady Gaga and Beyonce are riding in is from the movie Kill Bill and the scenes they perform in this car are much alike a modern 'Thelma and Louise'. They have tried to create this sort of scenario with a more glamourous approach which is what Lady Gaga does in alot of her music videos. This is specifically evident in the part when the characters are running away from the police.There are also some pulp fiction references in this music video when Lady Gaga and Beyonce are feeding eachother a product called 'Honey Bun'. The inspiration for alot of the scenes in the video have seemed to emerge from pop art artists (specifically Andy Warhol). This is shown in specifically the kitchen scene when there are alot of bright eyecatching colours but also the costumes that Lady Gaga and Beyonce are wearing show this aswell.  |
| These costumes could also be refered to as 'Wonder Woman' costumes, just the modern day version. |
5. As far as demonstrating genre characteristics, this video doesn't really seem to show 'pop' aspects apart from the dance routines. Lady GaGa is a very controversial artist and doesn't tend to stick to conventions of pop music videos even though her genre is most definitely pop. However, the main thing that is demonstrating the characteristics of a pop music video it the bright colours and the massive amounts of dance routines which the video consist of. There are alot of girl dancers wearing exagerated costumes which also applies to Lady Gaga and Beyonce which often occurs in pop music videos.
Product placement within music videos:
There are also alot of suttle product placements within this music video. The first is Lady Gaga's range of headphones 'heart beats' which are shown in some of the prisoners ears in the yard scene. Also, at a point where the screen of her phone is being show it clearly shows the 'Virgin mobile' logo and name for about a 3 second period of time. Next there is the 'Plenty of Fish' data website shown on one of the guards 'dre' laptop when Gaga is leaving the prison. Lastly, there is WonderBread which is the bread that Gaga is using to prepare the sandwiches in the resteraunt.
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