I did a technical analysis of the music video for Rebecca Black's "My Moment" because I wanted to see what the generic conventions are for a mainstream pop song. In doing this I was able to learn what main features there are in modern videos, but also allowed me to see what features we could change in order to make our video more indie and suitable to our songs genre.
One of the first things that I learnt from the technical analysis is the huge number of shots that are involved in the video. If a video does not have enough cuts, then it can become quite boring and the audience could lose interest.
A second thing I learnt was that despite a large number of shots, there wasn' actually much variety in them. Only a couple of locations were used, but to prevent it from looking repetitive, there was simply different types of movement or a different type of shot showing the same object or person to keep it looking fresh.
Movement also proved to be vital for a music video, with different camera movements being used often and very few shots being static. This makes the video aesthetically pleasing rather than watching the same still images frequently throughout.
On the 27/8/11 we had a trip to Brighton in order to practice some filming for our music videos and to do a reccie for that location.
We learnt a few things from the trip such as getting used to filming in an urban environment where there are many more people around. This was very different to our Wilderness Woods reccie at AS which was much more rural and had very few people. Since we are thinking about using a sub-urban location, this reccie was very beneficial as it gave us the experience of having to deal with the problems that a more urban environment possess. In addition, the very fact that we were out filming meant that we were thinking creatively on our feet and as a result we were able to gain an idea of the types of shots we would like to recreate for our music video. The shot list we were given that we had to complete gave us the initial ideas for shots and we were able use these as starting points to see which types of specific shots we were able to think up. Finally, the reccie also gave us experience in having to deal with a deadline. Having to complete the list of shots by a certain time, we were having to think on our feet to come up with creative shots and find the different locations around Brighton before the deadline.
The problems we faced from the trip were mainly having to keep to the dealine, as we kept coming up with new ideas for shots as we were making our way back. In order to overcome that particualr problem, however, we simply had to be ruthless with what shots we definitely wanted to try and those which we did not. In addition, at one stage we were struggling to find a suitable interior location as many of the locations we found were small cafes with not much room to film. This was only a problem until we managed to find a shop which did not have many customers and luckily, the owner alowed us to film.
I completed two technical deconstructions, one for 'Sewn' by The Feeling and one for 'Set My World On Fire' by The Feeling.
I chose to do two songs by The Feeling, because the band is similar in style (in terms of indie rock and pop) to the band who performed the song we have chosen, Two Door Cinema Club. Furthemore, I did two songs by the same artist because it has allowed me to compare how music videos are built differently for different songs, even if made by the same artist.
The main aspect of music videos that I learnt from the technical deconstruction was how fast the cutting rate was. Although I always knew that music videos had a fast cutting rate, I had never appreciated the amount of cuts a music video had. For instance, in 'Set My World On Fire', there were 30 different shots in 00:58 seconds, working out at more than a shot for every two seconds. 'Sewn', a slower paced song, did not have a much slower cutting rate, with 30 different shots in just 1:10, so a little bit over a shot every two seconds.
Above, although the shot on the right is a new shot, it is showing the same action. Each cut doesn't need to show a new location or scene.
The amount of different shots led me to realise that even when there are new shots, they often show the same thing. For instance, a performance shot may just cut to the same performance shot, but closer up, or vice-versa. This is useful, as before we storyboard for our own music video, we need to use similar shots between cuts, and not just assume that every time we cut we cut to a new scene or location.
The other main aspect of filming that I noticed was the amount of movement in a music video. As part of my technical analysis, I wrote the shot size,movement in the shot as well as relevant mise-en-scene. In the 00:58 seconds of 'Set My World On Fire' which I analysed, of the 30 shots, only one of them had no movement in it, and this was a landscape shot. All other shots had some form of movement, whether slow pans, tracking shots or movement from the use of steady-cams or handi-cams.
The above landscape shot, (shot 25 on my deconstruction sheet) was the only shot which I analysed which did not have movement in it.
We've created a survey to help attain some figures for our audience research. Feel free to answer it and post back. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NJB5BHQ
As we are now fully underway with the creative and developmental processes this year, we can take some time to reflect on how much we have learnt in the year since we were starting the AS course. Certain aspects of the way we think about and understand the concept of Media Studies will have changed substantially, but also the way in which we complete tasks, both creative and analytical.
Looking at the blog from last year, we can easily make comparisons between the processes we went through last year to the ones we are going through now. For a start, there is a lot less in the way of prose on this year's blog - we now present information in a very concise manner, giving the necessary details about any research and/or developments in our thoughts in bulletpoint form.
Extract from AS blog: [...my findings in relation to thriller movies were:
Similar to teen movies, and because of the wide range of subgenres, there is no set pretext for thriller movie openings. However, the majority will start with an action scene in order to get people into the mood of the movie. This will invariably have a tensional soundtrack, punctuated by sharp diegetic sound inputs. (N.B. Psychological thrillers will have a far less defined opening sequence, and dependent on how mainstream the film is [i.e. what sort of audience is being catered to], may make use of a simplistic shot of an item of high importance within the movie [case in point; Memento, where a polaroid picture is the main focus of the first minute of the film]).]
Extract from A2 blog [...Some of the ideas that we have come up with include:
The use of bright colours - primary, very high contrast.
The interchanging and intercutting of two narratives that are related to each other/parrallell universe style idea
The use of Maidstone/North Tonbridge as a location
An object falling in slow motion throughout the video with a climactic smash or break at the end - which would emulate a climax in the narrative.
Use of narrative fuzz to varying degrees
Vintage/retro feel, brown filter, high white balance etc
Mix of slow and fast shots.
80's feel ]
Our use of available software and internet-based utilities has also improved considerably, with all of us now being proficient in the use of resources like Prezi, Photoshop, Blogger and Surveymonkey, with the obvious improvement in our use of Adobe Premiere Elements.
Another comparison we can make between this and last year is the successes/failings of our preliminary tasks. We made two preliminary videos at AS level, one as a test of the cameras in school and the other to act as a prequel to our main task, filmed in Wilderness Woods.
This year, we have only produced one video so far in terms of a preliminary task, which was our collaborative class music video for Outkast's 'Hey Ya'. This shows the extent to which our filming and editing skills have improved, even if the video was completed on the fly. The camera angles are far more considered, there is more movement, and the video as a whole seems more believable.
[Insert finished music video here]
Overall, we are pleased with the course our research and creativity is taking at the moment, and we look forward to beginning the storyboarding and filming aspects of our work.
Today we talked about ideas for our track. We began by brainstorming specific shots and ideas which helped us collaboratively begin to understand the direction our music video is taking.
Some of the ideas that we have come up with include:
The use of bright colours - primary, very high contrast.
The interchanging and intercutting of two narratives that are related to each other/parrallell universe style idea
The use of Maidstone/North Tonbridge as a location
An object falling in slow motion throughout the video with a climactic smash or break at the end - which would emulate a climax in the narrative.
Use of narrative fuzz to varying degrees
Vintage/retro feel, brown filter, high white balance etc
Mix of slow and fast shots.
80's feel
Our current ideas for the track's narrative are: There are two lines of actionplayed out by one person, set in a vintage location (80's). One line of action represents the 'happy' or 'optimist' in the character, whilst the other represents his more negative side. We will use colours and mise-en-scene to juxtapose the two narratives, which the audience can follow as two parallel universes. At the end of the video, one of the characters dies, but it is left unknown which one.
This video for "Ready for the Weekend" by Calvin Harris is very typical for its genre electropop, with bright colours, camera movement and is quite a mainstream video being used to promote a star image.
Institution and Audience
The main consumption of this video would definitely be ambient viewing because it is a mainstream electropop song which means many of the main television music channels would show it in order to fulfill the needs of their mainstream audiences. However, now that the song is a few years old, the consumption will now be moving onto more focused viewing with people having to search for it specifically online via YouTube since music channels will want to be up to date and have current songs. This is shown by the 12 million views that the video has now reached, showing a change in the type of consumption.
Calvin Harris's record label is Columbia, an American record label who would probably have a significant amount of participation in the making of his music videos and star image. Since there is no narrative in this particular promotional tool of a music video, it is clear that the label would have had a major say in what appears in the video. For example, the audience for this genre would have a large proportion of young males, the label would have recognised this and suggested the sexualisation of women throughout in order to facilitate for this particular audience.
Genre and Narrative
There are certainly elements of this video which can be applied to Goodwin's theory of the construction of music videos. First of all, Goodwin says that music videos need to have repeatability built into them in order for them to be successful promotional tools and for their role in advertising. This is true for this video because once again, the sexualisation and objectifying of women in the video will make the young male audience return to the video to watch again. In addition, there are also technical aspects which are conventional to music videos. This includes the use of camera movement in the video which is often motivated by movement. Furthermore, there are a significant amount of meat shots which reinforces this as a promotional tool.
Media Language
This video is definitely one for constructing a star image rather than conveying a social message. This is anchored by the number of meat shots throughout as well as the mise-en-scene. Costume in particular creates an image of Calvin Harris because he is shown wearing smart-casual clothing which is then juxtaposed to the women in the video who are wearing swimsuits. This has connotations of Calvin Harris being more dominant than the women in the video which is reinforced also by the bright colours throughout, suggesting that Calvin Harris has a bright and fun personality. As shown already, the techniques used to convey the video as a promotional tool are the cuts to close ups of Calvin Harris, used as meat shots in order for the audience to see who he is and create a star image of him.
Representation
Calvin Harris's star persona is definitely constructed in this video which also develops his meta-narrative as an artist which eventually leads to helping to sell his product. The star image which is constructed is one of power and success. AS mentioned already, the clothing is clearly different between men and women in the video showing the dominance of men. However, there is also a specific shot which reinforces this where Calvin Harris is sitting with two sexualised and objectified women standing next to him. This gives connotations of power and importance and certainly develops his meta-narrative because the audience will see that now that Calvin Harris is a successful music artist, he is now very powerful and is surrounded by women. This would then help sell his product because the young male audience watching the video will basically aspire to be like him and so to try and complete his star image, they will buy his record and consume it further.
It is obvious that the ideological discourse in this video is one where women are simply sexualised objects for male consumption. This is a very regressive representation which is only being reinforced by the music video and the artist is doing this in order to "please" his audience, add a repeatability factor to the video and to essentially show off his power and importance now that he is a successful pop artist.
The song 'Set The World On Fire' by The King Blues has been made to specifically represent the artist in a certain way, but uses humour in the video to get it's message across, a convention of the post-modern music video.
Media Language
This video conveys a social message in it, the message being to rebel and not accept the cynical world that we live in. The lyrics act as an aural signifier, including the title, 'Set The World On Fire', clearing discussing the dislike for the accepted norms of the world and the want to change that, or even destroy it.
Various visual techniques are used to do this. In terms of mise-en-scene, the two lines of action are juxtaposed. The bright coloured narrative with the man getting up and reading the paper connotes the ideas of the 'perfect' family life, the very thing the song criticises. In the other line of action, the band narrate the song. In this, the mise-en-scene suggests a working class environment, the grey colours connotes reality in contrast to the falseness of the other line of action.
Above, the split screen shows clearly the juxatposition between the colours used in the two lines of action.
The media theorist Barthes looked at a number of narrative codes to deconstruct music videos, to 'interrogate the obvious'. In this video, semiotics are used to construct a narrative code. The cultural code is used, with reference to 'The Daily Mail' newspaper, a paper often associated with it's right wing and critical stance towards stories, written for the middle market between tabloid and broadsheet papers. The readers of this type of newspaper are the readers that the band are singing about in their song. By understanding the reference to the newspaper, the audience is then able to understand the point about it's readership that The King Blues are making.
Above, we use our cultural code to understand the reference to the newspapers political stance. Here, the 'Daily Wail' is a parody of the Daily Mail.
Furthermore, the semic code is used, using connotation to suggest insight to the audience, such as the contrast between bright and dull colours as fore-mentioned, which show the contrast between the perfect world the family think they live in, and the cold harshness of reality that The King Blues inhabit.
Representation: The star persona of 'The King Blues' is constructed through this music video, that the band think about the world and are frustrated with it, and want to rebel against it. Here, the band play on their meta-narrative, building on the perception that they are a rebellious band who don't follow the normal mainstream conventions of a band. This may help them in terms of marketing, as they are then marketed towards an audience who feel different and object to mainstream thoughts and production of music.
Above, the visual signifiers such as the working class flat they are performing in, and the casual clothes they are wearing, show the audience that the punk band are rebellious and do not follow the traditional mainstream of many bands.
Two main social groups are constructed, working class and middle class. There are a number of visual signifiers which show this, such as the clothing of The King Blues compared to the cliched expensive clothing of the middle class family. Moreover, mise-en-scene shows the difference between the two social groups, with the middle class and working class houses used.
In terms of ideological discourse, the band are challenging the dominant values that many people hold. Although it is not critical of specific values (aside from the reference to the view on asylum seekers), the band are instead challenging an entire viewpoint, possibly even an entire class. They challenge the idealist, ill-informed perception of the world. The band may do this because they genuinely are frustrated with it. Alternately, it may be as part of a marketing tool to 'sell' the band to an audience which holds this viewpoint.
Today we were set the task of creating a music video between the class for the song "Hey Ya" by Andre 3000. The song was split into sections for each of the groups to go and film their own parts in order to edit them together to make a whole music video.
This was our first chance at filming part of a music video where we will have to edit the footage in time with the song so that we can see the difficulties of lip-syncing. As well as this we were also given the chance to use the new equipment including a fish-eye lens, curved mini motion cam, cam-frame, track & dolly and also a green screen.
We enjoyed using the equipment such as the track & dolly because it gave us the opportunity for smooth movement in our video which we would like to replicate in our actual music video. The cam-frame also gave us consistent steady shots in the form of handi-cam. We would like to use movement in our music video and this equipment will allow us to do so with much ease.
Our group found that the task was very useful for us to find out the difficulties of lip-syncing and the fact that we were able to use the new equipment, will hopefully give us further ideas of the types of shots we may want to use in our actual music video. We also realised that if we are to film band performance shots, we will need the band to play the actual track as otherwise it will not sync when editing. Finally, we have noticed the importance of planning shots as it is beneficial to know what we are filming in advance of the shoot.
This task as a whole has meant we have gained experience in shooting music videos that we did not have previously. We have learnt that we must plan our shoot more effectively and allow us plenty of time to film. We are looking forward to now filming our actual music video.
This music video by Coldplay for "The Scientist" has some typical conventions for its genre alternative rock. However, the video is also quite unique in the fact that it is played in reverse throughout.
Institution and Audience
Coldplay are one of the most successful bands in the world and are very mainstream and part of a record label. This would mean that their music videos will gain a large amount of air-time on the main music channels due to their popularity. As a result people would consume this music video more ambiently whilst watching music channels such as MTV. However, since this particular song is now a few years old, it is going to receive less ambient viewing since the music channels will want to stay up to date with the latest music. This means that there may be more focused viewing of the video with more people purposefully searching for it online, via YouTube.
As for the institutional context of the video, Coldplay's record label is EMI who are a major record label. They would probably have some say in the style of video Coldplay make to ensure they stick to their style and don't stray to far from the star image that has been created for the band.
Genre and Narrative
Using Goodwin's theory, when listening to this song the synaesthetic effect it gives is one of an emotional mood which is amplified by the video because it is about a car crash where someone has died which is clearly emotional and hence, reflected in the song. In addition the lyrics clearly play a part in the visuals of the music video. The line "I'm going back to the start" is clear evidence of why the video is playing backwards. The music video also shows Barthes theory of 'grain of voice' which sees the singing voice as personal to the singer and therefore the audience is able to see that the song is telling a story about the singer and it is happening in the video. This is further expressed by the breaking of the fourth wall which clearly shows the singer as the storyteller. Goodwin would describe this video as illustrating the meaning of the lyrics with some amplification as the video is quite artistic in the way it is in reverse.
Representation
During the video, Dyer's theory of paradoxical contradiction is shown as the lead singer is seen to be both present, as he breaks the fourth wall at the beginning of the video, but also absent, as shown towards the end when there is no breaking of the fourth wall or lip-syncing. The star persona of the band is further constructed by mise-en-scene with costume being important. During the video, the lead singer pulls on a leather jacket which, from our cultural code, we would associate with being "cool". The video also develops the band's meta-narrative because it tells a story of losing someone close to you in an accident which could potentially be your fault. This creates a sense of sympathy towards the band and adds specifically to their meta-narrative.
Only a few different social groups are represented in the video, including men, women, young black men and white youths. Firstly, the most prevalent social group is men who are represented in the video by the lead singer, Chris Martin. The representation of him during the video is that he is from an urban background as shown by the location for the majority of the video. In addition, there are numerous camera shots from a lower angle than eye-level which gives indication that he is of importance and dominant within the video. Lastly, until he pulls on a leather jacket, his costume has connotations of being normal with plain white and black clothes, however the leather jacket has more connotations of being more masculine and trendy. Secondly, white youths are given quite a typical representation as a boy if seen hanging around in an urban setting casually riding on a BMX. This is a very typical view of white youths from urban areas and suggests they have nothing better to do than hang around.
There is some ideological discourse in the video with some dominant values and beliefs being both reinforced and challenged. First of all, the end where the lead singer is shown driving the car and the woman as the passenger is an example of dominant values in our society being reinforced because in our society men are often driving instead of women. The artist may have done this for a couple of reasons, such as to show that he is the more dominant person in the video and holds more importance than the women. Another reason may be that it simply fits the storyline of the video as it could be seen that it is his fault for her dying when he crashes the car. Furthermore, the stereotypical representations of youths are being reinforced with one shown riding around in an urban area on BMX and some young black men playing basketball. These are very stereotypical and are being reinforced by the artist maybe because with the video being played backwards, it gives a different outlook on the stereotypical things that these groups are doing, such as playing basketball. Lastly, one dominant belief that is challenged is the type of person who comes from an urban area. The lead singer is walking around an inner-city area, but from his costume, non-verbal language and the audiences cultural understanding of urban areas, the typical people from urban areas is being challenged. The artist may have done this to show that he is different to the stereotypical people and you don't have to be a specific type of person to be from an urban area.
Beirut's video for the track 'Elephant Gun is typical of an indie music video, with artistic and quirky elements including dance performances from men and women with plastic elephant noses strapped to their faces and the image of a man (the lead singer) playing trumpet whilst standing in the sea.
The most likely method of consumption for this video would probably be via the internet, using websites like youtube. Truly independent (this song falls into the category of indie folk) music has little representation on music channels like MTV, and this sort of song is not popular with as large an amount of people as those who prefer, say, Tinchy Stryder or U2. The fan base for this style of music and band would generally be of the more arty type, so you would expect more focused viewing of the video (especially owing to the fact that the main body of people watching it will have searched for it on youtube with intention to watch the video and not simply leave it on and view it ambiently whilst doing something else).
In terms of the institutional context of the video, Beirut are signed to Ba Da Bing Records who would appear to be quite a low-key record company, of whose current signings Beirut would seem to be the most successful. Therefore, it is to be expected that free-to-utilise services like iTunes and Youtube would be the biggest source of marketing and advertising for the band. Beirut also has a website, on which it lists news and releases. These would probably be paid for and upheld by the band themselves.
Looking at the video, the synaesthetic effect of listening to the music would produce something similar in nature to what has been created. However, the video does still serve to amplify the meaning considerably, using images which come as a surprise (the wall falling away to reveal the sea behind) and are not what we would expect, thereby adding meaning. There is little in the way of any disjunctive effect created by the video - the singer looks like the sort of person to have that sort of voice, the location looks suitable for the setting of the party, and the performance is suitably crazy and 'arty'. The only references to the title/lyrics I can find in the video are the uses of a rifle wielded by a man who seems to be shooting at the people dressed as elephants (hence the title; 'Elephant Gun') and the reference to alcohol ('As did I, we drink to die, we drink tonight'). The whole video is less of an illustration and more of an amplification of the original meaning of the song.
Therefore, I would be inclined to suggest that this video be considered more artistic. Obviously, the main aim is to publicise and advertise the band and its music, but the use of performance and created environments lends it a more arty side than most other videos.
The band image within the video is represented not only by the two musicians (the singer and the ukulele player) in the video but also the people who they are with - the dancers and party guests are not merely window dressing for the band, they are a statement of their social stature and a denotation of the social life that band have. Even though we cannot see the other three band members, we can assume that they look similar and act in a similar manner to the two who are in the video purely because this is the image that they have set up in the video. The main visual techniques in use are obviously the mise-en-scene of the costumes worn, the 'Grain of Voice' embodied by the lead singer and the camerawork, which frames the main character in a way that makes us feel as if we are looking at him on an eye level.
To conclude, this is a music video which deviates from the accepted norms of music videos, but not so far that it becomes obsolete as a publicity tool. It is intended as art, but not without vestiges of a sense of band promotion.
The song 'Love How It Hurts' by the British artist Scouting For Girls has many of the conventions of the type of indie pop music video that our group will try to emulate. Below are some of the features of this video.
Institution & Audience This video has been made by a large commercial label, Epic, and has been created to accompany a mainstream song by a mainstream artist, Scouting For Girls. This means that the video is likely to get a large amount of airtime on video channels, where it will recieve more ambient viewing, as music video channels often get. However, the Youtube video is owned by the large music video website company Vevo, where it will recieve many more focused viewings - currently standing at over 880,000 views.
In terms of institutional context, the record label are a large music record company owned by Sony Music, a media conglomerate. The artist will have large promotion through their record label, who probably have a large amount of influence in the group's style and choice of music video.
Genre & Narrative This video is an example of amplification of the song, because there are direct links between the sound and the visuals. For instance, the lyrics "I'll let you break it again and again" are linked to the image of a boy pulling apart a tape. Under Barthes theory of narrative codes, this video uses the cultural code to signify the juxtaposition between the two male characters. The boy with large glasses and bright clothes is suggested to be less cool than the boy with slicked hair wearing denim, although we only know this because of the culture we live in.
The boy in the first image (above, left) we know to be less 'cool' than in the second image (above, right) due to our cultural code.
This video is also inherently commercial, and is not likely to be considered art. The video shows the story of a basic setup - a boy infatuated by a young girl, who likes somebody else. There is humour used throughout the video, with the characters all being extreme stereotypes of the character that they are representing, although it allows the audience to sympathise with the boy who is less cool, and seen as the underdog in the video. The music video feels almost like a short film, with no performance shots - just the characters who are played by actors, not band members.
Media Language
It does not seem that this video has been used simply as a marketing tool like many other videos. As the band do not feature, there are no 'meat shots' of the artist, so the video works more as an illustration of the song. However, the song does have a sense of authenticity, as the video feels semi-biographical, showing the type of people the band see themselves to be. So a meta-narrative is constructed, that Scouting For Girls feel that they are underdogs, and not the confident children that they grew up with.
Various techniques have been used to tell this story and construct the characters in this way. For instance, when the boy eats his lunch, a wide long-shot is used to convey his loneliness and the fact that he has no friends. In contrast, nearly all of the shots of the girl have at least one other person in them, which connotes that she is popular and being 'chased' by the young boys.
This lesson (12/9/11) we discussed our findings from the moodboard task and the results of our song searching over the weekend. Each of us listed a couple of tracks we thought could work well with our target video style, and we aim to have made a decision by tomorrow.
We have also ruled out the Hoosiers as a choice of band owing to the fact that all the songs we believed to have potential (for us) already had a music video. Thereafter, we decided to look at bands that were similar in genre and see if any suited our requirements. Our final shortlist is in the post below.
Following our group decision to search for songs which are of the 'indie-rock' genre, I have searched for songs which are similar to the style of The Hoosiers. After our efforts in class to find a Hoosiers song, with little success, I have moved on to look at other artists.
Although the video is fairly repetitious in the shots it uses, I like the use of strong visual aspects to this video. For instance, the hundreds of glasses of water vibrating on the floor looks nice in HD, as does the slow motion of the plates being smashed against the wall.
2. 'Set The World On Fire' - The King Blues
I really like this video, for three reasons. Firstly, there is a 'tongue in cheek' humour throughout where the video never takes itself too seriously. The second is the use of bright primary colours, which contrasts our preliminary task, which, in terms of mise-en-scene was very dark and gloomy, and I would like something more bright and open. The third is the exaggerated style, almost comic like, which is the style we were considering for the rejected song, '1+1'
3. 'Stay The Night' - James Blunt
I like the way this music video has 'captured' the mood and feel of a hot summers day. The actual visuals are simple in this video, but the subtle yellow filter makes the video feel warm and comfortable and relatable. Although I don't want to make a video of this style, it would be nice to capture a mood this effectively.
4. 'Let's Hang The Landlord' - The King Blues
Another King Blues song, but I like the British style of their videos. This is very different, building up a picture and scenes on a blank canvas, like the idea of painting a picture. It's interesting how they use one shot throughout but keep the video moving and interesting.
5. 'Love How It Hurts' - Scouting For Girls
I found this video more recently, and I really like it. It is a far more rare example of a video where the actors are not singing the song, and is a simple narrative based music video. As with most of my suggestions, I like the use of primary colours, it looks even nicer if you watch it in high definition. I also really enjoyed the simplicity of it, showing how a professional, effective music video can be made on a small budget and with some clever ideas and nice camera framing (rule of thirds is prevalent throughout, I noticed).
After deciding we wanted a song by The Hoosiers or a band similar to them, I used LastFM to find similar bands to them and after a search on YouTube I found these songs. See if you like them and if not, all the bands have done a few more songs so you can have a look through them.
Today we discussed potential tracks that we could use for our music video. The main track that we seriously considered was '1+1' by Scouting For Girls, and we presented our ideas to the class. However, the general feedback was that although our ideas for the track were good, the track itself wasn't. The conclusion was the track was too 'suggestive' to use for a music video, and we are better off with a similar style track but which has less innuendo in it.
We haven't decided that this is definitely the genre we want to go for, but as a group are heading towards a more indie-rock style, where we can have an upbeat, bright and fast moving music video.
Above, the split screen shows clearly the juxatposition between the colours used in the two lines of action.
Above, the visual signifiers such as the working class flat they are performing in, and the casual clothes they are wearing, show the audience that the punk band are rebellious and do not follow the traditional mainstream of many bands.
