General conventions of music videos Vodcast

General conventions of music videos  - Vodcast
This vodcast outlines the general conventions seen in a majority of widely seen music videos which I have previously blogged on 

French new wave cinema

French new wave cinema
An example of a French new wave director is-

Francois Truffaut, The 400 Blows (Les Quatre Cents Coups), released in 1959 

French new wave was established by a group of pioneer directors around the 1950's who revolutionised cinema by combining "the rapid cuts of Hollywood with philosophical trends"(read more)

A pragmatic movement, created due to limited funds after the 2nd world war, smaller cameras are now more affordable and available at that time. Their key styles were: Non-linear and discontinuity editing. Their styles were influenced by their experience of cinema being used to indoctrinate the masses by the Natzis. Their concern was that continuity editing made the film to realistic and powerful, much like the Theatre practitioner Brecht who used techniques like the actors changing character and costumes on stage to help the audience to remember that they were witnessing a play not real life. This is the approach that the French new wave director took by making the audience passive against the all powerful text but through these new styles. However the theorist Stuart Hall (creator of the theory preferred readings) argues that each viewer attaches their own meaning/reading to a text. 

A Possible Coursework Idea: Hungry Eyes

A Possible Coursework Idea: Hungry Eyes

Hungry Eyes - Eric Carmen (1987)



My idea is like a love story and would follow the Firths narrative concept of music video, I envisage a cafe scene where a man is sat drinking coffee and he sees a woman sitting a few tables away from him that we could keep cutting back to. This would bring about scope for POV shots, Over the Shoulder shots and some interesting angles. 

Thinking about our target audience, I would suggest aiming it at 14-20 for our primary target audience and then maybe 25+ for our secondary audience. I do think that this has potential as the song is from the film Dirty Dancing (Ardolino, 1987) which is a very famous film. It also broadens the target audience as fans of the film would be intrigued to see the song revival. 
Simon Reynolds also argues that our generation does listen to older music and that our past is a very important part of our contemporary music, this is called Retromania. With this in mind, this would help draw in our target audience if our generation does indeed listen to older music.

CD COVER
This was the original cover for the song, thinking about the latest styles of covers in this generation that can be more abstract and brighter than that we would have to figure out something different that would attract a younger audience as well as the secondary audience who may remember the original.

Ideas continued

Pitch
I want to use the scenery available to me and since my suggested actor Amber Bradley lives in secluded countryside her location is perfect to shoot the video.
Instead of using a second person i'd like supposedly the person behind the camera to be the romantic partner, by using unusual camera angles an example

Amber Bradley

of this is Rose Mclaughlin's short film Her which uses the same ideas.










Amber would be the lip syncing the words to the 2nd person whom you would only see their hand or a partial bit of their body, so it would have an air of romance between the two as both me and paige are female I think it would be a good idea to have a same sex gay relationship.

I would like it almost to be in the style of a home movie and to be crackled and slightly unfocused at times to create a retro feel much like in lana del ray's music video summer time sadness
         

This is a more modern day version, showing again the kind of style of filming I'm looking for but using a Go pro.

location

Song idea

Lisa Mitchell - Clean White Love Lyrics

Artist: Lisa Mitchell

Album: Wonder

Genre: Rock

I left the keys in the car, I left the door ajar
I didn't want to be alone
These are the days and the nights of these sweet humbling heights
And I know it used to be home
Whisk me away, I'll be yours for a day
In heavenly fields which we roam

Woah, ah, oh, you're my clean white love
Woah, ah, oh, you're my clean white love
What are you doing? What you doing?
What ya doing to me? What are you doing to my head?

Woah, ah, oh, you're my clean white love
Woah, ah, oh, you're too clean white love
I give my heart on the morning of November 6th
Oh, everybody's looking for a fix, hey

Sell me a sign, I'll cut the telephone line
Just to keep the quotations alive
Oh, you're bleeding me dry but the feeling is blind
And I know you're looking divine
Sell me it straight, oh, it might be too late
Keep on breaking the rules, oh

Woah, ah, oh, you're my clean white love
Woah, ah, oh, you're too clean white love
What are you doing? What you doing?
What ya doing to me? What are you doing to my head?

Woah, ah, oh, you're my clean white love
Woah, ah, oh, you're too clean white love
I give my heart on the morning of November 6th
Oh, everybody's looking for a fix

And this love is diseased there's a cure
I need that medicine to get to the core
Remember this place, it's left to the fates
But it's kind to be cruel, oh

Woah, ah, oh, you're my clean white love
Woah, ah, oh, you're too clean white love
What are you doing? What you doing?
What ya doing to me? What are you doing to my head?

Woah, ah, oh, you're my clean white love
Woah, ah, oh, you're too clean white love
What are you doing? What you doing?
What ya doing to me? What are you doing to my head, my head?

Woah, ah, oh, you're my clean white love
Woah, ah, oh, you're too clean white love
What are you doing? What you doing?
What ya doing to me? What are you doing to my head?

In my heart on the morning of November 6th
Oh, everybody's looking for a fix

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aidTSdgPYqE

Possible lighting

One aspect that I would like to play around with is lighting. This can help to create a retro/indie feel and make a video more atmospheric rather than your average intense white out lighting. An example of this would be Years and years video desire 

Possible course work idea

Course Work idea 2
Personally I love music videos with a retro edge for instance Madonnas Vogue due to its classic black and white look.
The modern day retro style can be seen in many of Lana Del Rey's music videos for example Young and beautiful she uses a slight un-focusing effect and light spattering to create this as well as the actual framing of the film. Her 60's make up and costume reflects this vintage feel.





Another popular artist who follows this trend is Maria and the diamonds



her retro look of eventuated 60's eye make up bleached hair and red lips creates a modern day retro Marilyn Monroe look.
Again the un-focused effect works to create the vintage feel and in her videos the footage repeatedly swaps between this vintage footage and your average focused footage.

General Conventions MV: STYLE OF VID

DIFFERENT STYLES

Lady Gaga - You and I (Laurieann Gibson, 2011)
All American Rejects - Gives You Hell (Marc Webb, 2008)


NARRATIVE VIDEOS
Videos that follow this concept have a clear narrative that follows the story of the lyrics. For example, the video to the All American Rejects' video of "Gives You Hell" has clear links from its video to its lyrics and they even created another video named "Full Narrative Version".

PERFORMANCE VIDEOS
This convention is usually used by rock/alternative bands as they prefer to focus on their audience. The definition of a performance style of video is when the video uses a live or studio set up. For example Megadeth's "Wake up Dead" is a performance video although still having a narrative intertwined.
CONCEPT VIDEOS
This style of video is when the main music video doesn't follow the same story as what they lyrics are saying but does have another narrative intertwined. 

CONCLUSION
A lot of music videos combine two of the conventions as it widens the appeal for instance, Lady Gaga's"You and I" video is a combination of both Performance and Concept. This is because although there isn't a narrative that follows the story of the lyrics, she also incorporates dance throughout.

Initial Pitch 1: Sly Antics

Initial Pitch 1: Sly Antics

Sly Antics 
After talking with the band they want their video to follow on with the same theme as their first video:



MY IDEA
I would like to do their song Lights Go Down:

https://soundcloud.com/slyantics/04-sly-antics-lights-go-down/s-V5LVz?in=slyantics/sets/captive-city-ep-promotional-copy/s-pksYi

Although its still a little bit rough my idea is to incorporate the bands idea of kidnapping someone as well as my ideas, I want to include coloured lighting effects for the chorus as it fits with the lyrics and also with me wanting to do a performance/narrative video. For the "kidnapping" part i thought it could be made more light hearted than actually a serious kidnap as it would fit better with the lyrics if there was a girl involved and she knew what was happening.

I want it to be a "studio set up" style for the parts where the band are in. For my idea to work it would be crucial to get A LOT of shots from different angles. 

INSPIRATION

WIDER RESEARCH: Previous A2 music videos 2

Wider research 2
To gain a better understanding of the kind of music video we as A2 media students could achieve I looked into previous media music videos from a variety of schools and 6th forms. 
What I have learned:
That I want to create a music video with includes a small cast as I think it looks more effective and that I wish to create either a Jazz or Indie genre music video. 

WIDER RESEARCH: Previous A2 music videos 1

Wider research 1
To gain a better understanding of the kind of music video we as A2 media students could achieve I looked into previous media music videos from a variety of schools and 6th forms. 
What I have learned:
that we have the capability to create a high quality video no matter what our age, but also if we don't plan thoroughly and not put our all into it we could end up with something that doesn't show our full capability. Also I have learned that I don't want to create a pop music video due to the male gaze theory that is usually associated with it and extravagant dance routines. 

General conventions of a music video 2

General Conventions of a music video

Camera shots-
Range/cut from long shots to close ups and extreme close up shots. Rather than in film where, usually in the opening, extreme long shots are used to set the scene and don't use close up/extreme close up shots as frequently. The close up shots usually focus upon the lead singer signifying their importance much like a central protagonist within a film, how ever the frequent extreme close up shots are directed more towards the lead singers mouth as they lip synch, which is unusual to see in a film.

Example of this are seen in many recent videos such as Taylor swifts 'Wildest Dreams' and Justin Bieber's 'What do you mean'.

This however this is not shown in The arctic monkeys music video Fluorescent Adolescent as the band members don't actually appear in the music video, even though some of the camera angles are included the absence of the band in the video is unusual but a common trait in the bands early music videos, which has now significantly changed as they have now gained global success.


Another example of an artist who does not appear in their own music videos is Sia known for her controversial and widely know music video Elastic Heart. Sia has publicly announced that this music video is her "Anti-fame manifesto" as she "doesn't want to be famous, or recognisable”.



Camera movement-
whip pans, tracking shots and fast overhead crane shots (high aerial shot) which follow the performers as is it common for a lot of choreographed moves and dance to occur a good example of this is Peace's music video 'Lost on me'.



Editing-
Jump cutting and montage editing are regularly used to quickly move from person to location to instrument this creates a non linear sequence which is timed usually to the beat which in its self creates a logical sequence. Also the fact that the editing is so quick means that people are more likely to repetadley watch the video which is helped by the videos usually unresolved ending creating intrigue. But there are exemptions for example continuity editing is used in Sinead O'connor's music video 'Nothing comapres to you' which uses dissolve shots.

Lighting-
 Extreme artificial lighting is used on the leads face to create a bleamishless effect making them seam perfect, this is also shown in Sinead's close up above. Also strobing can be used as well as a common use of black and white.

CGI-
I used mainly in high budget videos to create either a futuristic set or brightly coloured back grounds as seen in Nicki Minaj's Starships video

Narrative music video-
Where the music video follows a story which has some relevance to the lyrics of the song. This makes for interesting viewing as it can add more meaning to the song as in Greendays Wake me up when September ends, this emotional story of a young couple who are split apart when the boy enrols in the military shows the horror and pain of war and puts across the bands negative feeling towards the military action at that time.





Another reason for narrative music videos is to help attract the target market for the artist for example Taylor Swifts series of narrative music videos appeals to her youthful female audience due to the main theme of love and helps define her approach as an artist.







This can spread across a wide variety of genres for example in The all american rejects video Gives you hell



Ellipsis-
Where jump cut editing is used to create the effect of moving through time for example in Olly Murs's video of Dance with me tonight he moves from day tonight in one short cut through the use o ellipsis.

General MV Conventions 1

GENERAL CONVENTIONS

Neon Trees - Everybody Talks (Justin Meldal Johnson, 2011)
Sam Smith - Stay With Me (Jamie Thraves, 2014)
Maroon 5 - Sugar
Azealia Banks - 212
Rihanna - Stay
EDITING TECHNIQUES
Generally the pace of editing within music videos is much faster than that of a film, this is because usually the editing matches the tempo of the music playing. For example, in the music video for Neon Trees - Everybody Talks the editing between shots speeds up at 0:57 because this is when the chorus kicks in. In contrast to this, Sam Smiths video to "Stay with Me"  has long slow takes, but this still fits with its tempo of music. This helps to signify the mood and feel of the video and song. It also has an impact on how the audience feels, having long drawn out editing and music has an impact on how a viewer breathes making them feel sombre, whereas fast past editing helps the viewer to feel excited.

CAMERA/SHOT VARIETY
There's usually a wide variety in the different camera shots being used in music videos and are primarily used to focus on a particular meaning. For example, in the music video for Maroon 5's "Sugar" mid shots are used to show the emotions of the brides and grooms to enhance the element of surprise. Another way directors use the variety of shots is to focus on the artist/protagonist in the video, in Azealia Banks video to "212" close ups are used of her mouth frequently throughout the video so the audience focus on the lyrics but also her image. Extreme Long Shots and Long Shots are sometimes used to show the crowd, for example 30 Seconds to Mars uses this technique frequently in their videos.

LIGHTING
Lighting can dramatically effect the feel of a music video and how an audience takes the meaning from it. It can completely change the mood of a video, for example in Rihanna's "Stay" the lighting is all very monochrome which connotes the sultry and saddened mood. Although a counter type would be "212", this whole video is done in black white and grey, yet this colour scheme doesn't dampen the upbeat hip hop style in the slightest.

COSTUME AND MAKEUP
The costume and makeup used by artists in a video is very influential on the target audience of their fan base, pop artists normally wear trendy, modern clothes so that they fit in with the style of their audience. Rock bands and artists usually wear plain clothes, focussing their attention on their audience and their music rather than their image. 

POP MV Conventions: Katy Perry - California Gurls

California Gurls - Katy Perry ft. Snoop Dogg
(Mathew Cullen, 2010)

 

As my first convention analysis to look at this video because, to me, it has some obvious stereotypicalpop conventions within it. This video came out in 2010 as has strong influences from its artistic director, Will Cotton and other works its taken intertextuality from include, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and the boardgame Candyland. 

This video follows a clear narrative structure with a story. At the beginning of the video we see what looks to be a box of the board game "CANDYFORNIA" where Katy Perry is stood dressed in a brightly coloured outfit and lilac wig. In the background there are candyfloss clouds thatconnote a happiness and sweets. This makes the audience think that its a "tween-like" video as its presented as a sickly sweet and cutesy video.

 LYRICS/MUSIC AND VISUALS
There is an obvious link in with the lyrics in the song and the visuals that are on screen, one of the lyrics says "so hot we'll melt your Popsicle" and on screen in the image of a animated popsicle melting. This helps the audience watching remember the lyrics and the song itself, and maybe possibly encourage them to buy it if they see the record in a shop.
 In another part of the song, the editing matches both the timing and the lyrics of the song, while Snoop Dogg is rapping he mentions Katy's name and the shot cuts to a close up of her, it does this several times which is also a recognisable convention in pop music videos.

CLOSE UP SHOTS
Close up shots are always a huge success in pop videos as usually the artist involved, is extremely popular. The audience love to see close ups of the singer and this leads to imitated facial expressions and motifs. The record companies normally demand a range of different styles e.g. pretty, icon, silly and sexy therefore largening the target audience to both genders.

MALE GAZE
Another convention used to attract a wide audience is male gaze, often used more in pop videos but particularly female videos because obviously a female artist cannot be successful if she isn't naked lying on a candyfloss cloud. The shots of Katy Perry baring all is to help bring in the male audience, therefore sexualising her helps to do this. Throughout the video she wears sexualised outfits as part of the story showing her legs and chest.

 MULTIPLE OUTFITS
Throughout the video Katy changes outfits to keep the video interesting, another example of this would be Lady Gaga, she changes outfits numerous times in her videos. The two outfits here are very different but also quite similar as the signifers are polysemic. In the shot to the right she is very sexualised with short shorts and a low cut top with strategically placed cupcakes. Here she is showing a lot of skin and is aimed to attract both the older teen target audience and the male audience. Whereas the picture to the left she is dressed as a brownie/girl scout, this is to attract the younger audience. However, although it is a young girls outfit it is very short so again its sexualised like the top picture.

DANCE SECTIONS
Another common feature of Pop videos is a dance section(s). Dance sections are put in videos to help break up the video and keep it interesting, it also acts as a reminder for the audience as younger members of it will learn dance routines and this will promote the song and hopefully get people to buy it.

DRAMATIC ACTIONS 
In the video Katy is very dramatic and at times could be considered quite fake. An example of this would be when the animated gummy bear swears at her and her reaction is a dramatic hand over her mouth looking disgusted. This also helps her image as a role model to a younger audience as she is frowning upon profanity. Although this is then countered as when Snoop Dogg starts to rap he uses mild language. Again this is a commonconvention as pop artists have a reputation and fans to think about when making videos.

INTERTEXTUALITY
There is tonnes of intertextuality throughout the video, some already mentioned. Others include the squirty cream bra which is much like Madonna's cone bra she famously wore, also on the same note the costume Katy wears with the bra is very Wonder woman-like. There are numerous odes to the state of California within the video, including the Hollywood walk of fame, the Hollywood sign and also some of its beaches are recreated in candy. Snoop Dogg also pays tribute to the Beach Boys' song California Girls by saying at the end that he wishes all girls could be like the ones in California.

Green Screen Candyman Video

THE FINAL PRODUCT

This is our original video of the green screen footage:



Unfortunately, after having screened this video within tutor groups, our headteacher decided that some of the lyrics and movements, "makes the panties drop" was too explicit for school use so i had to re-edit the footage and cut out this line.

Convergence on the Shoot

CONVERGENCE

On the shoot I used my Bose Soundlink mini, this is a portable speaker which enabled me to play the music to our actors even when we weren't in a room with speakers, it also helped when we were using two groups at once, this way we could split up and both have music and this sped up the shoot immensely.

FCPX 3: Retiming

RETIMING CLIPS

Once I had made my new compound clip for my background I then wanted to put it on a loop so that it would be the same the whole way through my video, with this in mind I worked out that I would also need to retime the compound clip. 

 Once I had everything I needed I clicked "Window", "Retime" and then "Custom Speed..." This allowed me to set up the time i wanted the clip to last.

In the box it brought up I then went and clicked on "duration" so I could set how long I wanted it for, baring in mind that the longer I had the clip running, the slower the clip would be. For the first attempt I set it for the full length of the song, 3:15:23.

FCPX 2: Compound Clips

COMPOUND CLIPS
For my background of the staff/student video I wanted different people as it using a compound clip as well as the green screen.

Once I had chosen the clips I wanted in the background, I layered them on top of each other and then put them on top of the original coloured layer. I then clicked onto the effects tab and searched for "keyer". 







This allowed me to see all three clips on the background at the same time, I then resized the clips so that they fit nicely into the screen using thetransform tool just underneath the window.

 I then highlighted all three clips so that they were all selected, then ctrl + clicked onto one of them to bring up this menu, I found "New Compound Clip..." and clicked that. Which then gave me a new clip that had the tree previous ones all in one. What this does is basically flatten all three layers into one which then makes it easier for me to use.

FCPX1: Green Screen

USING THE GREEN SCREEN IN FINAL CUT

Once we had filmed the sections we wanted to green screen for our footage and we had imported it into final cut, we then came to this. I dragged the clip I wanted into the timeline and then went onto the effects tab and found the effect, "Keyer".                                   I dragged this effect over to my section of clip and it then turned the background black. What the "Keyer" effect does is look for the same shade of green and blacks it out, this is why it was extremely important that we kept the green screen tight to the wall, made sure there were no bumps and that the lighting was the same.

Once I had done this, I searched for my desired background to place on the timeline, as we are doing Candyman, we decided to use the blocks of colour that she does within her video. I chose this and then dragged it BELOW the section of film i wanted it to be behind. I have discovered that its important to make sure the background or anything you want behind the film you're green screening isBELOW that layer as if it isn't, it won't work properly. After this, i played my section of film and it worked perfectly with the person lip synching and dancing on a pink background.