Concept Issues

When discussing our concept in more detail, we discovered some things which could potentially pose complications with filming and cloud our narrative.
The basic idea was that of a paint fight between cowboys and indians; a parody of western films with a postmodern slant. The song we chose, Taper Jean Girl by Kings of Leon, does not have particularly clear lyrics, which meant that a lyric driven narrative was not really an option, and a complete performance piece could have lacked interest, so we went for the more conceptual cowboys and indians in the modern world.

As our concept is not lyric driven, it potentially poses some complications; how do we portray the song in a fresh and quirky way?

Ultimately we decided to reverse the roles of male cowboy and Pocahantas-esque indians, going for Tapered Jean cowgirls, portrayed in a more masculine manner, and more metrosexual indians. We also decided to place the characters in a modern setting, for example perhaps the indians would sharpen their arrows in a cafe or the cowgirls tipping their hats to a bus driver.

Evaluation Questions

These questions will be a key part of our exam and throughout the time we are filming, we intend to refer back to them and reflect on how we could answer and what we have done that is relevant to each individual question!

-In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

-How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

-What have you learned from your audience feedback?

-How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Our Song Choice With initial and Rough concept Ideas.

Our main idea is that our music video would be a parody of a western film

We planned to have the girls as indians and the boys as cowboys (or maybe even the other way round), complete with outfits like bow and arrow, cowboys hats, guns.

We would then have various shots building up to the big fight. for example, there would be an introduction to all the characters in a dramatic western style way (lots of close ups on eyes).

The cowboys would turn up in a car, whilst the girls turn up on bikes - showing a parody of cowboys in wagons and indians on horses. There would also be a showdown like in the western films where they stand back to back and walk away from each other.

An idea for the majority of the video would be cuts between the two camps, Cowboys and Indians, and also them preparing for battle and doing classically stereotypical things,fetching water etc, but with a modern twist.

our ending was to have a fight using powder paint, and at the end one indian girl would kill a cowboy, with the lyric "taper jean girl killed me"

We liked this idea because it was different as it didnt match the lyrics perfectly yet we are putting a twist on the lyrics which seem to mention/revolve around a girl and their/ a relationship and how he is treated by her. And we found that - through research - most bands music videos that were more concept driven and less focused on the lyrics were much more enjoyable to watch!
Arctic Monkeys - Fluroescent Adolescent
Biffy Clyro - The captain

A2 Music Video Discussion

 

Quick discussion about which song/genre we plan to use for our Music Video, pointing out the positives in each song/genre as to why it would be a good choice for our final video.

Music Video Conventions

Music Video Conventions

The conventions of a music video:

• Either a straightforward performance video or a simple narrative video (or mixture of the two) that illustrates the meaning of the lyrics and visualizes the music in a straightforward way.
• They are around 4 minutes long
• The style of video will always match the Genre of Music

Conventions of a Performance based Video:

• A degree of authenticity of the performance is sought by the band and the director so we find lip­syncing, close­up, mimed playing of instruments, camera shots and angles e.g. the micro camera shots attached to the neck of a guitar and a wide variety of camera shots and angles to engage the viewer.
• Dance routines are often popular in performance videos.
• Another increasing factor is male gaze in music videos with more and more videos having woman as the main focus for example Eric Prydz- Call on Me video.

Conventions of a Narrative based Video

• They need to market or advertise the band/artist and song so must feature ‘repeatability’ In other words the narrative code must be ‘loose’ or simply ‘suggestive’ rather than ‘realistic’ or ‘detailed’. This is because music video audiences need to be able to watch videos repeatedly and a tight realist narrative would prove too boring after the first couple of viewings.Musical Synaesthesia only requires the musical or lyrical ‘mood’ to connect with a narrative concept.

General Conventions of Music Videos

• Camera Movement- Jumping directly between long shots, close ups and extreme close ups. Primarily the close up on the singer’s face is the main generic convention for music videos. Also the extreme close up on the lips for lip synching along with instrument close ups.
• Camera Movement- Whip pans, fast dolly track shots and fast overhead crane shots to follow the running, walking or dancing of performers. Also fast vertical tilts and horizontal pans to really capture the energy of the song
• Editing- Various terms: jump cutting. Creating the visually de­centred experience of ‘jumping’ from location to person to instrument without any normal narrative continuity. Instead it is often the beat or the rhythm of the track which provides the organisng principle for editing movement. The editing moves so fast it creates the need for viewing ‘repeatedly’.

Some Examples that we looked at as a class were videos such as:

• Kanye West - All Falls Down
• Beyonce - Single Ladies
• Daft Punk- Around The World
• Jay-Z - 99 Problems
• Eminem - The Way I am
• The Pharcyde - Drop
• Britney Spears - Toxic
• Kelis - Milkshake
• Kanye West feat. T-Pain - Good Life
• UNKLE - Rabbit In Your Headlights
• Arctic Monkeys - Fluorescent Adolescent

Making our own music video

After learning about all the typical concepts of a music video, we had to try and make our own. We were given the song "Hit Me Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears and had to copy the shots exactly. We found this very hard to do as there were many different angles to do and it's pretty clear that we didn't use our time well enough. This task helped us a lot in being more prepared for our own music video, in time management and using different camera techniques.

Here is our music video:

Films We Have Watched

Film 1: Copy Shop
By: Virgil Wildrich
Where: Austria
When: 2001
Length: 12 Minutes

About a man who wakes up everyday and does the same thing; washes his face, walks down the street, smiles at florist, goes to copy shot and see copies of himself on the paper. However, as the film goes on, copies of the actual man start to appear and they have the same daily routine as the original man. in the end, the man falls or jumps off a tower. The film shows how repetitive and monotonous life can be.

Shot in black and white. There is a lack of camera movement. The sounds are mainly of the copy machine. The music gets faster with the amount of men that are being copied.

Analysis: Music Video: Biffy Clyro - The Captain

The video for 'The Captain' by Biffy Clyro was released in 2009.  Coming from the director of Guns 'n' Roses' "November Rain", you'd expect Andy Morahan to include a steady flow of drugs references, a good few beauty shots and snippets of live performance; to make the band look as 'cool' as possible.  This, however, is very different.  The video is a combination of Performance and Narrative, it could be interpreted as conceptual at times, though this is kept implicit throughout the video.  The video depicts the band aboard a pirate ship, though they are not pirates.  The lead singer, Simon Neil, is shown being whipped by a pirate and then held captive in a cage, the other two members of the band, Ben and James, are also aboard the ship but take smaller roles. As the video digresses a fight emerges and Simon escapes whilst the pirates are busy battling more official-looking seafarers.

The Mise-en-Scene is reminiscent of the Pirates of the Caribbean films, and is symbolic of the anarchic lifestyles lead by rock bands.  In the opening scene the shots of the protagonist being whipped with his arms suspended above his head have religious connotations, this is intercut with shots of the pirates stamping their feet with impatience, perhaps this is a comment on the pressure bands are under to be brilliant all of the time and the demands they must fill.  These shots are also intercut with the protagonist trapped in a cage, perhaps indicating that he feels that voyeurism has been taken too far and he feels like an animal in a cage at the zoo.   

Camera shots are used quite gracefully throughout the video as all of the shots appear to be still or slow pans, there are very few jerky shots. Gay gaze is used on the protagonist throughout as he is only wearing trousers and there are some voyeuristic shots of his torso and tattoos. 

The camera moves constantly and gently, giving the viewer the impression that they are on the boat with the band.  Around the one minute mark the camera switches to a different shot yet it continues to zoom out, which is quite nifty editing.  Also flashes of light have been used to heighten the emotions already felt in the piece and make it more dramatic.

The performance part of the video has also been given a pirate makeover, with the drummer beating a single drum with a stick and the guitars are rustic looking to keep with the period the video is set in. The protagonist lip-synchs throughout the video, though it is most prominent when he is in the cage as there are more close ups (around 2.20) 

Towards the end of the video Simon is rescued by his band members, after stealing the keys from the captain of the pirate ship, showing the loyalty and friendship within the band.  The editing gets more fast paced and the lights flash more as the battle culminates.  In the very last part of the video (3.20 onwards) the video becomes more or less completely performance based showing that despite all the troubles and demands, they're still a band and still perform.  It ends on a shot of a skull, the iconic pirate symbol, tied next to the ship's steering wheel, also a famous pirate-esque feature.

Aisling Cotter

Analysis: Music Video: Fountains Of Wayne - Stacys Mom

The music video, “Stacey’s Mom” is a combination of Narrative, Concept and Performance. These factors all help in portraying the key theme of the video which is the male protagonist’s journey into adolescence and the emotional and sexual change that comes with it. The video mainly consists of a young boy lusting after another girl’s mother and the video displays these fantasies as a method of entertainment for the audience. The video is aimed mainly at the male gender as the mother is made to be the desirable object and some of the later shots of her are almost stereotypical of male fantasies about women.

Camera angles and framing are used rather symbolically in the video to help accentuate the song’s meaning. At 2 min 18 sec there is a mid shot of the boy and the girl sitting on the couch with the mother behind them, yet she is positioned in-between the two characters on the couch. This helps show that this is what the boy is really thinking about and consequently the mother is in the way of the young boy and girl’s possible relationship. It could also be furthered to argue that she is the ultimate goal for the young boy as she is in the distance; a desirable object, and that he will have to work his way up to get to her as he has only just started dating girls.
Low angles are predominately used on the mother during the climax of the song and video at 2 min 31 sec to help show that this is the boy’s fantasy and also to make the mom feel sexually imposing and a desirable figure. It is a flattering angle and furthers the intent of the director’s use of male gaze to help exaggerate the song’s meaning.
The end shot of the close up of the door at 3 min 17 sec shows how our male protagonist has, over the time of the video, entered his adolescent stage and consequently the door to his innocent childhood is now closed.

The majority of Camera movements in the video help show the progression of the protagonist’s journey into adolescence. The initial track at the very beginning of the video shows that these are young children due to their trainers and the fact that they are waiting at a, “school Xing” This links with the end of the video as by the end we will have seen them progress and develop into adolescents.
The track of the protagonist cutting the grass at 1 min 40 sec is symbolic of his passage into his higher sexual attitude of adolescence. This is done through him slowly moving closer to the mom and it represents his slow but gradual development into a man.

The use of editing in the video is cleverly used to help show the band members as something in fashion with teenagers and also as a way to show the male protagonist’s desires. Special effects (SFX) are used to put the band members on various objects that are relatable with teenage culture such as posters, magazines and T.V as a way to appeal to their target audience and it is also a way of showing the characters growing up as they are becoming more involved with these teenage trends.
Cross cutting is cleverly used at 1 min 4 sec as the boy is opening a bottle of soda, a stereotypical drink of the younger generation, and the shot of him there is mixed in with shots of the mother undressing until he unscrews the bottle and its fizzes up and overflows. This shows an overflowing of his sexual desire and a sudden surge of adolescence mentality as the bottle carries heavy sexual connotations.

Mise-En-Scene is essential in representing the key theme of the journey into adolescence. In the opening scene Stacey’s mom arrives in a red sports car; a shot of her holding the gear stick is suggestive with sexual connotations, and also has a small piece of red clothing on her. The male protagonist is also wearing a red tie. The colour hereby suggests a feeling of lust and desire and consequently with the protagonist also wearing red we can deduce that this character is somewhat linked with the mom and also that he is going to have desires about the mom.
The costumes of the young characters in the opening scene are significant as they appear to be quite maturely dressed for their age. This shows their upcoming journey into adolescence yet it also shows that they still have some time to wait due to the clothes still being relatively big on them and some of them are wearing trainers.

Josh Edgington

Analysis: Music Video: Eminem - Stan

 The music video for Eminem’s ‘Stan’ was directed by Phil Atwell and Dr Dre in California in 2000. The video is primarily a visualisation of the story Eminem attempts to portray in his song about an obsessed fan that continues to write letters to him but doesn’t receive replies and therefore eventually kills himself and his pregnant girlfriend.

Eminem’s video ‘Stan’ doesn’t conform to stereotypical music videos from the hip-hop/rap genre, as typically they feature lots of voyeuristic shots of ‘sexy’ women and are solely focused on emphasising the artist to be as ‘cool’ as possible. This is done with the use of big houses, expensive luxurious cars and lots of shiny jewellery. However Eminem’s video is solely a narrative piece with a sleight sprinkle of performance from Canadian actor Devon Sawa. Moreover the duration of normal rap/hip-hop videos tends to be approximately 3 or 4 minutes, but this video lasts for 6 minutes and 3 seconds which further emphasises how original it is in comparison with typical videos from this genre.

Throughout the music video there is a strong repetition of the colour red, typically the colour red foreshadows danger or can portray love/lust. In this instance I believe it is used to show both of these, firstly the repetition of red on the stage, lights and posters portrays Stan’s love for his hero but also portrays the forthcoming danger and violence that is approaching him.

Furthermore when Eminem leaves through a back door of a building to be greeted by a crowd and Stan, most of the crowd are wearing dark or black clothes, whilst Stan on the other hand is wearing a plain white shirt, this connotes that Stan believes he is innocent but he is unaware that his obsession is slowly dragging him towards darkness and doom

The low angled close ups of Stan as he writes his letter to Eminem shows his emotion and how he appears in control of the situation as the low angled shot gives him a strong representation but the camera movement suggests otherwise. The camera movement suggests that Stan is no longer in control of his actions and his obsession is literally making him insane.

With reference to the photograph of Stan and his girlfriend, played by British singer Dido, Stan places a cut out picture of Eminem over his girlfriend this portrays Stan’s priorities as he puts Eminem before his own girlfriend, however the crack along the centre of the photograph could suggest that there is a crack in their relationship due to their lack of communication and how it’s practically a one way relationship between the two of them.

In conclusion, Eminem’s video Stan is far from being stereotypical of the hip-hop/rap culture, due to its full focus on the narrative of the songs story, the video has been given many awards and has been voted as one of the best videos of all time by many different community sites.

Josh Bradley

Analysis: Music Video: Kanye West - All Falls Down

The video for the song "All Falls Down" by Kanye West is unique because the whole music video is shot as a point of view - the main character being Kanye west. The video is both performance based as well as narrative by linking in with the lyrics, making it easier for the viewers to follow the story.

The music video is quite clever in that, all though it is all in a point of view shot, we do see Kanye West when he looks into mirrors, car windows and sunglasses as well as when he goes through the xray machine - a very memorable part in the video.

It seems that the main focus in the video is towards the girl protagonist, creating a narrative male gaze. The girl's clothes are revealing in itself, she wears a tight blue dress and probably the main focus is that she is not wearing a bra. The camera has a close up onto this aspect in order to intensify the male gaze and draw the audiences eyes towards the bra-less girl. Moreover, the girl is mixed race which, stereotypically, is favoured by men. This shows that Kanye West gets the preferred women and this then shows that he is desired by these women, highlighting his good reputation.

The music video is very materialistic, both with the props that are used and the lyrics being sung. There are many references to wealth, shots of expensive watchs, and lots of cash being given to the girl protagonist by Kanye West. Whenever we see Kanye in the video, it is always a performance; the lyrics show the real person behind all the materialism. For example, although Kanye is seen in expensive designer clothes, the lyrics suggest this is all a facade: "buy alot of clothes but don't really need them".

Furthermore, although he is seen in these good clothes the lyric "i'm so self concious" shows that he isnt wearing these clothes for himself, merely to make a good impression with other people, suggesting he cares a lot about what other people think of him. This is also reflected in the video when mustard is spilled on him, he is very quick to wash it off to avoid embarrassment and disapproval of other people - despite his girlfriend being about to get on a plane. Referring to my earlier comment on the xray machine, when Kanye West goes through it this could be to show that although on the exterior he wants to seem better than everyone else with the expensive clothes, watches and women, underneath he really is just the same as everyone else.

Chloe Singleton

HELLO

We are Spielberg Penguins :D - Chloe, Aisling, Josh and Josh -  this is our A2 music video blog where we will post all our ideas and research as well as showing our inspirations and our final product. we hope you like what we're doing :D

BYEEE