Can be divided into two seperate categories: Technical and Symbolic.
Technical:
- How equipment and technology are used to construct meaning.
- Camera: Different angles, shots...
- Editing - Pace, Style...
- Sound - Diagetic / Non-Diagetic, genre...
Symbolic:
- Meaning created beyond what is obvious to see.
- For example, specific facial expressions, clothing colours and mise-en-scene.
The reason for codes and conventions.
Codes and conventions are a firm set of rules / way of doing things.
Can Slowly adapt.
Can be challenged to create new innovative pieces.
They allow the audience to become familiar with a certain genre as they become accustomed to seeing certain things.
Styles of a music video.
Music videos can be categorized in terms of style.
- Performance; Band / Artist playing. - Narrative; Includes a main story throughout.
- A mixture of both.
- Cameo; Band / artist features in the narrative but doesnt perform.
"The basic answer is indie (or independent) music is music that is released on smaller labels that operate independently from the mainstream music business.
But more often "indie" refers to a specific genre of contemporary music that is based on combining aesthetics of classic rock, punk, garage and art rock. I first heard the term indie rock starting to get used in the late 80s to early 90s to describe the music that was popular on college radio stations at the time. I don't think the definition has changed much since then, but the types of music that fit in this umbrella have become more diverse, both in style and popularity."
- Indie Pop - Indie pop is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the
United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, with its roots in the Scottish post-punk bands
on the Postcard Records label in the early '80s such as Orange Juice and Josef K
and the dominant UK independent band of the mid eighties, The Smiths.
Last night I told ya I loved ya
Woke up blamed it on the Vodka
I genuinely thought I was dyin'
And I could see that smile you were hiding
Last night I told ya I need ya
That's the last time I drink tequila
Super lemon and his psychic sulking
I start cryin' and verbally assaulting
Last night I asked you to marry me
That's when I remembered the brandy
I wake up and claim I didn't say it
Screwed if I ever wake up in Vegas
Wish I could stop and I'm not joking
Drinking too much and socially smoking
Wish I could stop, start to behave and
Wake up in the morning and never miss a day again
Last night police had to frisk me
In the cells thanks to bells fine whiskey
Whoops, I think I said too much like
Do u like my bracelets
Oh wait, there handcuffs
So last night I said I want your babies
Forget that ice is much nicer than baileys
I drink that much that I forget
Of every embarrassing thing that I say next
He said I got on one knee and there's no way
Unless I've been drinking
Oh yeah, roseys
Sailor jerrys why d'ya think I drunk a ship full
Please, please someone provide me a dis bro
Last night I called you a loser
I think that was after flamin' Zambooka
I shouted at you "do me a favour"
And that's when I fell off the pavement
Wish I could stop and I'm not joking
Drinking too much and socially smoking
Wish I could stop, start to behave and
Then wake up in the morning and never miss a day again
'cos I'd love to learn when to shut my mouth
Wake up in the morning and be in my own house
Do a last shot and know when to stop
No more photos on Facebook of me doing the robot
Know when to leave and when to lock my front door
Start waking up and cheesing in a bed full of people
Sitting in a cupboard with my weird best friend
But I'm only young so I'm not gonna pretend
I wish I could stop cos I'm not joking
I love drinking too much and socially smoking
I don't really want to learn to behave amen
And I, hey, just missed another day again
This video, similar to that of "Nina Nesbitt" is focused on a night out. However instead of showing the artist on a night out its the events of the night before are played in a sequence of flash backs, intensified using editing.
The mise en scene of a party setting is something widely used in the indie genre, for example in indie acoustic (Ed Sheeran - Drunk) to Indie rock (Jimmy Eat World - The Middle). The shots used throughout the flashbacks have been filmed normally but have been edited using design software to be shown in reverse. the colours have also been intensified to oppose the darker, more cynical colours of the real time scenes.
To symbolize the alcohol concept of the song each of the flash back scenes are shown in rewind to give the confused sense of being drunk, relating the audience to the song and also the artist. Laura Mulvey's theory can be applied here as throughout the whole video couples can be seen kissing and women are being shown in a sexual fashion.
The lighthearted and humorous song has been matched with a lighthearted, comedic video. This is something we as a group could do towards our music video, by matching our dark and sad song with an equally dark video we will be able to match social conventions towards music videos. However by contradicting this and showing both, happy and sad images we will be able to push conventions, making our music video stand out.
He's got a Rolling Stones tee
But he only knows one song
They think they're from the sixty's
But they were born in 1991
There's a man standing in the corner
No one knows quite where he's from
There's a fight between Jill and Lorna
She's got a tattoo of a peace sign on her thumb
All that and the night has just begun
Stay out tonight and see through my eyes
Stay out this time, and we'll be home by five
Stay out, stay out, stay out
Stay out, stay out, stay out
Checkered shirts and chino trousers
Is this some kind of uniform?
It seems that they think they're gangsters
They barely started 6th form
She thinks she's in Barbados
But outside it's minus three
There's a guy outside I'm avoiding
I think that he shares a mystery
That time when he whispered to me
Stay out tonight and see through my eyes
Stay out this time, and we'll be home by five
Stay out, stay out, stay out
Stay out, stay out, stay out
Cause there's people falling in love around you
And there's people falling over their own shoes
All these boys and girls are people
Looking for someone to be
All these boys and girls are people
Waiting for their hearts to beat
All these boys and girls are people
Looking for someone to be
All these boys and girls are people
Waiting for their hearts to beat
Stay out tonight and see through my eyes
Stay out this time, and we'll be home by five
Stay out, stay out, stay out
Stay out, stay out, stay out
He's got a Rolling Stones tee
But he only knows one song
They think they're from the sixty's
But they were born in 1991
The combination of lyrics and mise en scene in this video easily establish to the audiance that this song is about an average night out. The mixture of Performance and Conceptual elements to the video add to the understanding of the video and establishing who the artist is.
Laura Mulveys theory of the male gaze can be easily established in this video, this is by the fact that all the women in the video are heavily made up, in modern and fashionable clothing. Again the combination of a song with a fast tempo and fast short shots is used when filming and editing this video, for example the "Pool" scene.
To push conventions at 1:54 the song stops and plays a 5 second shot of the artist being asked for ID, this is something that many young people can relate too. this is also a clever way of stopping online piracy towards her music video throughout means of converting youtube videos to mp3 files. Propps theory can also be included by stating that bouncers in general are villians; whilst they are on the screen theres no light hearted music and no bright lights.
Goodwin's theory can also be applied to this song, for example at 0:23 whilst the artist sings "There's a man standing in the corner, no one knows quite where he's from."a man can be stood briefly for a second in the left hand side of the shot, and another women can be found in the right hand corner. These two figures look older than the centered group of people possibly suggesting that clubbing is more of a young thing to do and no one knows why old people are there, reflecting an existing modern stereotype of age.
This song is by British artist, Ellie Goulding, the video is
a bit different to the others I have looked at so far; I thought it was worth
looking at this video as I think it shows a video can be about someone who is
not shown in the video as this lets the audience decide who the song is about
which is another way to attract the audience as it leaves the song open for interpretation.
This song has a much more joyful tone to it and this feeling is portrayed in
the video.
The video is performative, throughout the video the artist
is filmed singing, mainly using close ups and the rule of thirds, she is often
framed well with the sun in the background, this causes us to focus on the
lyrics. It is a ‘feel good’ song, there are no parts in the song which suggest
sadness or discontent- the mise en scene including the costume signify it is
cold possibly winter, this contrasts with the mood slightly as cold dull
weather is often associated with sadness. There are other things used like glimpses
of the sun and shots of a kitten again adding to the ‘feel good’ mood, these
shots are backed up by Bartes signs and signifiers theory as they are both
things which are associated with happiness and laughter.
In the song it repeats ‘it may be quite simple’ this fits
the video well, if a video like one of Lady Gaga’s had been used the song would
be contradicted and it would not work, however the song lyrics also say ‘I don’t
have much money’ which is followed by a shot of a large ring and in the video a
close up of designer ‘hunter’ wellington boots, this questions the lyrics to a
degree.
At the bridge of the song the shots change from duller shots
of her laughing with friends and shots of her singing in the sunshine, this
again is very mood lifting. I think with the video being quite simple, it makes
the lyrics easier to focus on and much more meaningful, I would like to
consider something which is not too complicated when making my music video as I don’t
want to cause the lyrics to lose their meaning .
Again this song can be related to by many people, the lyrics
are really well written and I would like to use some inspiration from this
video in mine. The lyrics, “they’re in
my rear view mirror disappearing now” is
a really interesting play on words, a great way of showing she’s letting go of
her relationship; although those lyrics are not used in the song choice for my
video, I would like to try and include some clip of film portraying this by filming
through the rear view mirror of a car to show letting go, this may be a good
way to begin and to end the video- again repeating a clip is done in this music
video and is really capturing. It’s a story put into a song and is shown
through the video which I think makes it so intriguing.
The opening begins with the sound of rain; it’s not a
convention for a music video to have a non-diegetic sound but, like Barthes
theories the rain can often be a signifier of an unhappy mood like upset of
heartbreak. The song is both performative and narrative, although she is
singing it all fits as though she is explaining what she is feeling, it is
heavily narrative based.
Throughout the video the shots change from shots of the
happy relationships to the destruction of it as it ends, the video plays on the
idea of good and bad having the happy shots light with white colours used in
the mise en scene and the opposite for the sad shots, they are dark with small
amounts of dark orange lights coming through small gaps in the blind. The costume
also changes from light and colourful to black and grey. I am able to apply Propp's theory to this song, it is clear that the artist, Taylor Swift is the victim and the male is the villain- this theory is supported by the suggestion of good and bad through the lighting and mise en scene, by the end of the song however, Taylor Swift apologises and she has the choice of what to do after the relationship has been destroyed, so although she not the villain she is no longer the victim either.
When the other female appears on the scene there is a very
clever shot reverse shot used in time with the music to create a disequilibrium,
it builds up to the climax, the lyrics “begging for forgiveness, begging for
me, just like I always wanted, but I’m so sorry” it is showing that although it was her choice
she’s still hurt, the video has a lot of emotion, I think without this the song
and video would not work, emotion is vital to create the right feeling and this
will be something I will make sure this is present when filming my video.
For the similar product research I have studied the British
singer-songwriter, Passenger’s ‘Let her go’. The song is a typical acoustic
indie song, commonly written about falling or being in love this follows the
conventions of the genre. The song becomes faster in places as it reaches the
chorus, the song is performative throughout. The lighting and shots change in
time with the beats of the song and the focus is sometimes a soft focus which
compliments the style of the song.
The song is in some ways similar to the song I am using in
my music video; the lyrics tell similar stories, both being about letting go of
someone or something. Some of the close-ups and the soft focus shots are very effective;
this has given me some ideas/inspiration for my music video.
The beginning of the
song is quite slow and the sounds are very soft, the image works with this as
the lights in the background are soft focused and it is very slow and clam, as
the tempo speeds up the lighting in the images becomes darker in colour and the
images become much sharper. Todorov’s theory can be applied, however the
disequilibrium and the equilibrium are the opposite way around compared to the
common way it is formed, the equilibrium is the explanation of what is
missed and why and the disequilibrium is when the song announces ‘and you let
her go’ creating a disturbance in the music- this shows how well the lyrics and
music have been written to work extremely well together.
As the video is performative the costumes and mise en
scene are simple, a lot of the filming is of the artist performing and others are
of the audiences (reaction shots) to the performance, I would be able to
recreate a similar set to this with a lot of time and planning. This video
appeals to a wide audience, the lyrics can be applied to many people; when this
is the case audiences tend to like songs and videos which they can relate to-
this may be something to include in our target audience research.
No more tears, my heart is dry
I don't laugh and I don't cry
I don't think about you all the time
But when I do – I wonder why
You have to go out of my door
And leave just like you did before
I know I said that I was sure
But rich men can't imagine poor.
One day baby, we'll be old
Oh baby, we'll be old
And think of all the stories that we could have told
Little me and little you
Kept doing all the things they do
They never really think it through
Like I can never think you're true
Here I go again – the blame
The guilt, the pain, the hurt, the shame
The founding fathers of our plane
That's stuck in heavy clouds of rain.
One day baby, we'll be old
Oh baby, we'll be old
And think of all the stories that we could have told.
Immediately you can deduce that the video is a performative mode. The sophisticated simplicity of the video gives the viewer the opportunity to listen to and appreciate the powerful lyrics and unique voice of the artist, Asaf Avidan.
Unlike many music videos the actual sound and video are one file, rather than recording the sound track, then matching the video to it. This gives the audiance almost a feel of how powerful the artists voice is and almost gives them the sense of seeing the artist live.
Throughout the whole video soft focus is applied to the background of the artist, this emphasizes the singer, guitar and microphone. The video has been edited entirely into black and white, this creates nostalgia and links it to the indie genre of music, like my other music video examples.
Laura Mulvey's theory of the male gaze can be adapted here into an almost Female Gaze. This can be established by only showing the artist in the video, and no one else.
Creating a music video showing only the artist singing would work for our music video, but to push conventions I feel it would be better to do something more controversial, thus making our music video different
I did a survey on Twitter asking for volunteers who would describe themselves as indie music fans. I then chose 30 of the responses at random and sent them a questionaaire which we could use whilst planning our music video and choosing our song / actors. I chose twitter as it allows me to get more of a global response, compared to a select audiance of local people I already know.
Below are a selection of some of the questions asked. the one with the highest amount of answers is in GREEN the lowest is in RED
How many Indie bands do you listen to?
0 1 2 3 4 5 5+
How often do you watch music videos?
Everyday Three Times a WeekOnce a Week Hardly Ever
Where do you watch music videos primarily?
YouTube Tv Channels Other Online Services I Dont Watch any Music Videos
Which of these songs do you prefer?
Letting go - Jay TyrerSlideshow - You Me Tree
By doing this research I was able to work out which song we should pick for our music video. I also asked what styles of music video people liked, the majority said those with a story so it would be a good idea for us to create a heavily narrative video. Another thing ive learnt is that one of the best places to show our music video will be Youtube. Uploading the video to YouTube will also allow us to recieve comments from the public.
This video is a mix of both performance and conceptual, throughout the video the main focus splits between the artist, Tom Odell and the story between the young couple. Even though Tom Odell isn't linked with the lyrics of the song his image has been included to differentiate this song with other artists of the same genre, assumably because of Odell's distinctive looks.
The opening to the video shows an older women reminiscing listening to a specific record, the story then changes to that of a young girl and a young boy. The whole story replicates that of Romeo and Juliet, with the couple falling in love and the girls father telling the boy to stay away. This is a technique that has been used in many music videos such as "Love Story by Taylor Swift" and "Not good enough for truth in cliche by escape the fate" the reason they use this is because it's arguably the most famous and well known love
story/tragedy of all time.
Like Taylor swifts version in which the couple end up together. The ending to this video has a darker sense in which the boy runs away for the girl leaving her in tears, the screen then cuts back to the old woman looking sad whilst being consoled by another man. Either this is the same man and the part where they get back together has been cut from the video or what I believe this means is she has found another love, but will always love this boy.
Again the use of older recognisable objects link the artist to the genre, for example the use of records, a gramophone and the use of the old fashioned clothing link the video to Tom Odells, Indie piano pop genre.
The connections between the video and the lyrics are strong throughout, the main theme of the lyrics makes the audience believe the couple will be together at the end, compared with the actual ending where he leaves her for her own good. This could possibly reflect the growing rate of divorce present in the united states.
Todorov's Theory can applied throughout this music video. The equilibrium can be found when the young children fall in love and the disequilibrium, when the father tells the boy to leave her alone. To push conventions the disequilibrium in this music video is never resolved. Propp's theory can be used for this video. The heroes, being the young couple. The Villian is the girls father and the assitant is the friend of the young girl.
I went out in the rain suddenly everything changed
They're spreading blankets on the beach
Yours is the first face that I saw
I think I was blind before I met you
Now I don't know where I am
I don't know where I've been
But I know where I want to go
And so I thought I'd let you know
That these things take forever
I especially am slow
But I realize that I need you
And I wondered if I could come home
Remember the time you drove all night
Just to meet me in the morning
And I thought it was strange you said everything changed
You felt as if you'd just woke up
And you said "this is the first day of my life
I'm glad I didn't die before I met you
But now I don't care I could go anywhere with you
And I'd probably be happy"
So if you want to be with me
With these things there's no telling
We just have to wait and see
But I'd rather be working for a paycheck
Than waiting to win the lottery
Besides maybe this time is different
I mean I really think you like me
-Music Video-
The band Bright Eyes are an American Indie band. This is established immediately at the beginning of the video because it starts on an old tape deck, a large stereotype/convention is that Indie bands are associated with old fashioned things, for example the whole 60's inspired music video for L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N by another Indie band, Noah and the Whale. The type of filter that was used when filming or added on after during the editing also adds to knowing what the genre is. The entire video has an almost sepia tone which creates an older, more rural American feeling to the video, compared to other love songs by more mainstream big city artist which have a more brighter colouring, for example The Boys by Nicki Minaj.
The lyrics to this song are about love and memories, Meeting your soul mate and realising that this is the beginning of your life with them. Although the visuals don’t directly link to the visuals in a narrative way they do convey the emotions expressed through the meaningful lyrics. For example, the people that are listening to the headphones all seem to be reminiscing on happy times with their family or with their partners or in one women's case, reminiscing about times with a late partner, expressed through the use of a black and white photo of a man presumed to be her husband. The lyrics played when this scene is shown backup this statement further by saying "I'm glad I didn't die before I met you." The video uses headphones to almost capture the reactions to song, further expressing the power of the lyrics.
There is a section in this music video that creates a convention for the band it is a shot of a dog with headphones on. This has nothing to do with the things going on in the video or the lyrics in the song. The band are known to have one image in their videos that doesn't have anything to do with the lyrics to their other songs.
Most of the props that are used show that they are really in to the old music scene more then the new. This is mainly because they use over the head head phones and an old tape deck (pictured above) and the furniture is covered in material and cushions which is something that’s largely associated with the 60′s and 70′s.
The intertextuallity in this music video is very subtle. But in the beginning of the video all the characters are drinking from red cups. This is a feature of a lot of young adult american films to represent partying, shown in large American coming of age films such as, American Pie. This shows that the audience that they are trying to reach are people in their late teens early 20′s but also because of the nostalgic feel to the video and the use of older actors the video can be enjoyed by a large age range.
This video pushed conventions by being one of the first videos to feature same sex couples and also feature Mixed raced couples, causing controversy in some parts of America. Even with this the single went on to have great success and the video also won a special recognition award.
This video contradicts Propp's perception of narrative theory, in this video no specific person is viewed in anyway. In fact throughout the entirety of the music video the people are viewed more as couples than singular people. The signs that tell the audiance that these people are couples can be expressed using Barthes, for example the audiance are shown two people close to each other, this mixed with the song lyrics gives us as an audiance the impression that these people are a couple.
"After creating an online survey asking self proclaimed Indie Fans which song they prefered, 80% requested this song"
Jay Tyrer - Letting Go
Its always been the little things that get to me, I don't know why? what? who? or where? I'm meant to be, But life's about the story that we unfold, And after all these years my story's still untold.
I don't know why? what? when? or who? I don't know what I'm meant to do, I just sit here everyday, Thinking it will be okay, Its over. I'll take my time
Letting go, yeah it's out of my control, And i think i already know, I'm letting go. Letting go, yeah its playing on my mind, Everything goes over time, I'm letting go.
Her eyes are like the bluest skies, Beneath them i can see no lies, Theres a little part of me you'll never know, The part that i will never show, I'll take my time.
Letting go, yeah it's out of my control, And i think i already know, I'm letting go. Letting go, yeah its playing on my mind, Everything goes over time, I'm letting go.
Im letting go
Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah
I'm letting go, Im letting go.
Letting go, yeah it's out of my control, And i think i already know, I'm letting go. Letting go, yeah its playing on my mind, Everything goes over time, I'm letting go.
Analysis of the Lyrics- "This is one of my newer songs and is basically about letting go of something or someone who means the world to you, and i found the best way for this to happen was to write it in lyrics and make something that can last a lifetime in a song :)" - Jay Tyrer The lyrics for this song allow us to be very open with our selections regarding the music video, This is because of the fact that the saying "Letting Go" can be linked to many varied things, for example, Letting go of a loved one, Letting go of something you hated, Physically Letting go and Letting yourself go, either emotionally or physically.
"Her eyes are like the bluest skies, Beneath them i can see no lies"
Some lyrics, like these for example inspire many creative shot oppurtunitys, such as using shot reverse shots between different images, or even just showing things like blue skies rather than showing the girl that this song is about.
"I don't know why? what? who? or where? I'm meant to be,"
The tempo of this song also allows us to create an interesting and original music video. The use of fast shots can benefit us whilst trying to entertain the audiance but will also allow us to express the lyrics through video.
"Create a promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two ancillary tasks: a digipack for the albums release and a magazine advertisement for the digipack"
After a short discussion among the group, we decided on the following ideas for the music video, and for it to fit this kind of brief: Target Audience: 17- 30 Genre: Indie/Acoustic Purpose: To promote the artist, To entertain the target audiance, to challenge conventions to make the audiance think about/enchance the lyrics of the song. Timescale: Ancillary Tasks: Album Cover, Magazine Advertisement Music Video Ideas Pre-Research
These will be developed upon, and changed by the research, but this shows what we have come up with in an initial brainstorm:
Challenging Conventions - Same sex couples, Death, Suicide, Teenage angst, Depression (Drug and Alchohol abuse)
