In what ways does your media product use,
develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
From completing a wide range of extensive research into the mise en scene, camera shots and editing of authentic music videos which are in the indie music genre, we decided to take inspiration from certain ones that had the most admirable features.
In
the shots 2:01-2:06, 2:29, and 2:43 we utilised a classic 1983 Mini as a prop
to further develop the narrative in our music video.
2:01-2:06
2:29
2:43
We
decided to follow two conventions surrounding the use of cars, to ensure we
could achieve a successful visual. We gathered a large range of music videos
which include cars as props that we then chose to follow the conventions, but
develop them slightly to ensure that our video was new and original. For
example, we looked at Lana Del Rey’s Born to die video and Peace’s Lovesick
video. We followed the convention of having a unique car present, rather than
an average car because it allowed the video to become more visually appealing
to watch. This is shown in Lana Del Rey’s Born to die video because it shows
her in a unique, rare car (at 0:45-0:54).
Lana Del Rey's- Born To Die 0:45-0:54
However, I decided to challenge the convention of the shot
typically being filmed either inside the car or outside the car. I did this by
filming my artist from the outside but by winding down the window. This breaks
the barrier between my artist and the audience, which makes the connection with
them a lot stronger. This barrier convention is shown in both Lana Del Rey’s
video and Peace’s.
Peace- Lovesick
We
were inspired by the performance style present in Dua Lipa’s video, which is
why we used this similar style for our music video. However, we decided to
develop the conventional performance of lip syncing and dancing- by just
utilising lip syncing throughout. This allowed our video to focus on the sad
connotations of the song, due to dancing and movement connoting happiness-
which is conveyed in Dua Lipa’s video throughout, however, it works because her
video is very upbeat.
Dua Lipa- Be The One
Dancing upbeat performance
Lip syncing performance
Performance
based videos are very conventional for the indie music industry, especially for
unknown artists because it gets them recognised - due to the focus being
entirely on them. It also helps create a star image. We developed this convention
by adding a subtle emotive narrative in it, visually showing the lyrics rather
than our artist just singing them- inevitably making it more impactful on the
audience. This was the application of Andrew Goodwin’s narrative theory, which
we felt was vital in making our video fit more successfully with the song- due
to the downbeat harmonies.
The eye-roll and harsh pronunciation of the lyrics
The
movement and shot presence of our artists was inspired by Lana Del Rey’s
Summertime Sadness music video because she has a cold vacant stare with a harsh
confidence- which breaks the forms and conventions of typical music videos.
Lana Del Rey's- Born To Die showing her vacant stare and harsh confidence
Whereas, relating back to Dua Lipa’s video she is presented as carefree and
untroubled in each shot, which is a harsh contrast to Lana Del Rey’s presence.
I decided to develop Lana Del Rey’s style because I believe that her emotion
fits well with the low beat and intense vocals in the song. We completed this
by making our artist have a complex vacant attitude, which works well with our
chosen song. However, the acting follows the forms of the emotional state of
the song (due to it being a desolate emotive song), which is a highly used
convention in music videos of any genre, but especially regarding the indie
genre.
Showing our artist's vacant attitude
Most music videos which are emulating the breakdown of
relationships usually follow the convention of a male and female narrative.
However, we decided to challenge this form and convention in our music video by
having it solely focusing on the female’s emotional state, adding narrative of
her conveying her aggression, anger and sadness- overall amplifying the video
for the audience, through ripping up and smashing items (at 1:47-1:54)
1:47- 1:54
By
researching different music videos within my research and planning, I was
inspired by the 360 degrees pan at the start of Florrie’s little white lies
music video, which made me use this same camera shot - but positioning it at
the end of our video (at 2:53-3:06). However, as progression from our draft
music video, we decided we wanted to develop this camera shot by placing a side
angle shot of our artist lying down(at 2:57) in the middle of the 360 degrees panning,
which made it into two shorter shots - giving more of an effective finish to
the video.
Florrie- Little White Lies
360 degrees pan
2:53-3:06
We followed the forms and conventions of music videos in
relevance to camera shots e.g. the multiple use of close ups and medium shots,
this ensured that our video looked just as professional in concept as an
official music video. We also followed the convention of having an extreme
close up shot of our artist to reiterate the star image which we are trying to
portray. This is present at 0:53 where the camera is positioned close to our
artist’s face, to clearly show the lyrics ‘watercolour envy burns your skin’.
This extreme close up shot is used widely in the indie music video industry
because it helps build the artists star image.
0:53
Theorists:
Andrew Godwin
In
most parts of our music video, we applied some existing theorists. For example,
Andrew Godwin theories can be applied to our music video, the first one being
the lyrics are shown illustratively through the visuals of the music video.
This is a strong convention of real music videos because it makes the video
appear like it is relevant to the song. This lyric and visual relationship
theory was highlighted in my music video analysis of Blossom’s Charlemagne
video, for example, one of the lyrics was ‘And the river always flows, so if you go, I will know’ (at 1:11)
and the visual shows a woman (the lead singers love interest) turning away from
the camera and walking away. There is a clear relationship between this lyric
‘the river always flows’ and the visual because the river flowing is a metaphor
for her leaving.
Blossom's- Charlemagne 1:11
We used this convention theory in our video, for
example when the lyric states ‘Cause
every time she looks at your lips you turn’ (at 1:13) we matched that with the
visual of the camera slowly zooming into our artists lips and then when the
‘You turn’ lyric occurs (at 1:17), our artist turns in slow motion.
1:13-1:17
Also, another
Godwin theory relating to conventions that relates to our music video is the
use of amplification - when there is a link between the audio and visuals. For
example, our music video follows this form and convention when the beat of the
song becomes very intense and strong- this is then amplified by the use of a
running shot, escalating the video, making it more intense for the audience. Similarly,
we decided to apply another one of Goodwin’s theories, which is ‘the demands of
the record label will include the need of close up shots’. We used this when
filming our video by having lots of close up shots, to ensure that our artist
is made more recognisable to the audience and to allow the audience to be able
to identify our artist’s emotional state clearly. For example, we used a close up
shot in the first seventeen seconds and then they are spread evenly throughout
the entirety of the video.
0:17-0:19
Laura Mulvey
Laura
Mulvey’s male gaze theory is present in our video in relevance to the styling
of the artist and the way she looks at the camera. This uses the forms and
conventions of real music videos which only involve a female singer e.g. Dua
Lipa’s be the one video. Our artist wears a low cut top (at 2:13-2:16) and a
top rolled up to reveal her stomach (at 0:14)-which supports the male gaze
theory.
2:15-2:16
0:14-0:16
This is
very similar to the styling of Lana Del Rey in her video, Born to die because
she is presented in a skin revealing outfit. Similarly, throughout our music
video our artist looks into the camera in a subtle seductive manner (at 2:49).
This is very similar to the way Lana Del Rey looks into the camera in her video
Born to die, which is a strong example of this form and convention in the music
industry.
Lana Del Rey- Born To Die
2:49
Also the use of high angles of our artist lying
down has seductive connotations which convey the male gaze theory, however, not
as explicitly as other videos - such as the ones in the pop genre, where the
artist is presented in revealing clothing.
0:31-0:34
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