Music Video Research & Development
This blog is for the research and development of the music video, the first part of the blog is copied from Angelo's blog.
Glimpse of Us, Joji
George Kusunoki Miller. (2022) Glimpse of Us. [Performed by JOJI] On Smithereens. [audio file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgsWGfUlwJI
*Music Video is Unavailable*
Media Language
This Music video clearly isn't meant to look professional, In fact the clips looks more like a collection of videos that they had compiled into one in a Found footage style , which allowed the audience the ability to see through the eyes of the characters and experience the story with them. What's interesting here, is that the video doesn't seem at all to be staged like what most music videos do. All the clips do seem genuine, the video quality is far from what you would expect from a typical music video and most importantly the clips are so random, chaotic and all over place that this video totally breaks the conventions of your normal 'sad song' with all the aggressive, inappropriate and disorganized actions being shown. However, Despite of that it somehow makes sense, There is plenty of meaning that is put into the video that communicates a message very well. The constant back and forth between the chaotic lives of the characters and the sad and depressing actions or situations they find themselves in is exactly how most people would feel during a breakup which is what this song is about. The act of getting in trouble and doing stupid things like in the video might be how they are shown to cope or distract themselves from their depressing lives. In scenes their are even hurting themselves or sitting all depressed which implies remorse or regret for what they've done or could've done. I like how such a simple, unprofessional and chaotic video could also imply a very deep and emotional meaning that might not be that obvious in the first time watching. This proves that You don't a high budget to make a impactful music video.
Representations
Plenty of representations are present in this video. The most obvious one is the characters. It might be implied that this is the life that lower class citizens of the city might live. A house in a complete mess, with clothes all over the place and rubbish thrown wherever. Tattoos, cigarettes, alcohol and drugs are all representations of thugs or criminals. This fact is supported with the actions that they do, Like fighting, breaking things, driving fast, causing problems and arguments which most would consider as inappropriate, unlawful and high concerning. Point is, Society would not look up to these people. Editing wise, blurring they're faces could also imply that their criminals because they don't want to be recognized. But, Despite of they're self destructive behaviors, They still have a heart to take care of animals like a deer or rabbits in the video. In addition, The character still showed emotions of remorse like when he said He missed his Ex on the text and his gestures of putting his hands on his head is clear sign of regret. It could said that even with their chaotic, unlawful and destructive behaviors, their still human capable of being sad and wanting to be loved.
Audience
The plot, actors and the set of this music video is clearly set for teens or young adults especially with all the violence and inappropriate behavior being shown which is more in line to teens who are used to it in the modern era, While more older audience might look at this video with disgust or discontent. In addition, people who lives in the same environment as the characters might relate to this video a lot more than most, which as a results might attract secondary audiences who have the same interest. Through Uses and Gratifications, Audiences might watch this video for surveillance as in to know what goes on around the world. Or for personal relationships and identity.
Industry
This music video has been released in YouTube an online video streaming platform. This website/application allows the music video to be quickly accessed and shared from users to users within the internet. This has resulted in 40 Million views in that platform as in 2023. For the making of the video, The producer didn't get too involved expect for the editing process. Most of the recording was done by a third party, Who the producers hired to record their lives doing whatever. Of course some concepts were given to them but all creative decisions were made by them, which results on the authentic feeling that the music video has. By using video editing software's like adobe premiere, All the producer needs to do, is just filtering which scenes they want to use and linking them in order to make a narrative.
Yellow, Coldplay
Chris Martin, Johnny Buckland, Guy Berryman, Will Champion. (2011) Yellow. [Performed by Coldplay] On Parachutes. [audio file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKNxeF4KMsY
Media Language
I really love the simplicity and straightforwardness of this Music video which is just one long continuous shot of the singer walking along the beach while singing Their song, Which means this all taken in One single take. The music video itself starts off towards the sea in a dark atmosphere where the stars can be seen, following this Chris Martin the singer, begins the song with "Look at the Stars" this was a perfect sync. As the song progresses, the time of day can clearly be seen changing, from the dark atmosphere at the beginning to a brighter sun rise by the end. This could be what Yellow the song title denotates, A literal sunrise. Yellow is classified as an Indie rock / alternative song, So following typical conventions of that genre, This music video seems to go along with the conventions as it's very minimalist, simple and doesn't seem to made with a large budget. And I really Like that fact especially, I feel like with the right timing and concept it is possible for me and my team to make something similar to this, Although it is important to note that making a one take music video is very difficult.
Representations
It's fairly obvious this a love song with the melodic tunes and meaningful lyrics. The producer shows this by showing the music video in slowed down speed which does make it feel a lot more emotional for the audience. The Music Video might portray the singer as a man in love with the other rejecting him and with Him being by himself in a beach at the early morning, It might be saying that people in similar situations prefers to be in isolation, away for the busy lives of the city or towns instead preferring the company of a relaxing beach. The cloudy and rainy weather helped to also built this atmosphere of sadness and emotions as opposed if this was shot on a bright and sunny day, which would have a more positive and happy denotation.
Audience
Chris Martin the singer of the band is the only character ever shown in the music video and there's no doubt that he's the center of attraction. Fans of Coldplay or Chris Martin is by default attracted by this song and music video. Meanwhile, considering what the song means, addition to the fact that the music video itself is very simple and straightforward, Anyone could watch this and understand. But it's also very likely that teens or young adults ( around 18 - 35 ) who is more likely to experience such feelings is probably the main target of this song or music video as they can relate the most out of all demographics.
Industry
Modern Climatographic and Filming definitely played a significant part on the production of this music video. Yellow was recorded on high shutter speed , Specifically 50 frames per second. Because of the high speed, Chris Martin had to lip sync the song in double the speed of the original song just to make all the audios and videos in sync. To achieve the transition of night and day, the telecine process was used that allowed the grainy and dark scene from the first scene turn into a colorful and bright sky by the end. As for the song itself, It was extremely successful and achieved high record numbers of sales when it was released, Due to it being released on social media platforms such as YouTube.
G.O.A.T, Polyphia
Ari David Starace, Scott LePage , Tim Henson. (2018) G.O.A.T. [Performed by Polyphia] On New Levels New Devils. [audio file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_gkpYORQLU
This band is exclusively only instruments with no singing whatsoever and as such it makes sense if this Music Video focuses Completely on the band playing their song without no narrative structure or storyline besides following the various parts they have in song like the verse, chorus and etc. I like how straightforward and direct the music video is, no underlining plot lines or Stereotypes just a band playing their music. I also liked the transitions and movement of this video which was made very smooth and seamless, If I could I'd like to incorporate these types of camera work into my music video, Although to achieve them would requires a stable tripod ( likely with tracks ) , Stabilizers, A good quality camera and editing software. Which unfortunately, I don't have. So knowing the concept would be enough for now. Though For our music video, I Don't want to make it so obvious and straightforward like this one, There has to be some narrative story behind it.
Sextape, Deftones
Chino Moreno, Sergio Vega, Abe Cunningham, Frank Delgado. (2010) Sextape. [Performed by Deftones] On Diamond Eyes. [audio file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0pdwd0miqs
This is a Alternative or a Nu Metal band and unlike most of those type of bands, the band isn't in one bit of the music video. I like the abstractness and artistic form of this music video. There's just something about the colorful and constantly changing lights put against various slow moving clips that creates this beautiful scenery and atmosphere that really complements music. Despite not having a solid narrative storyline and any form of lip syncing or band playing, This video really helps visualize what you may feel when hearing this song and the various emotions you might experience. A lot of the scenes are also shown underwater, which has corelated meaning with a calm and soothing atmosphere which is perfect for a song like this. Clearly, the stars of this video are the two women constantly shown in the shots, Which might be a reference to Intersexual relationships, though in this video other how close they seem there's really no other development in that regard.
I Don't Love You, My Chemical Romance
Ray Toto, Bob Bryar, Gerard Way, Makey Way, Frank Leto. (2009) I Don't Love You. [Performed by My Chemical Romance ] On The Black Parade. [audio file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyi0ZfuIIvo
MCR is a rock band who in this video For a sad and heartbreaking song like this, the Primary colours Black and White really fits in for the music video, Making the audience feel emotions like sadness and loneliness. Black can signify the feeling of unhappiness, anger, fear and White can signify peacefulness or even emptiness, While very simple the choice of colour can really make a difference on what an audience might feel. This is only supported by how much emotions the singer is putting in His voice and the melodic feeling of the song. If it's necessary, I would use Black and White for my own music video.
California, 88 Rising, Rich Brian, NIKI, Warren Hue
Zack Rapp, Angelo Arce, Nicole Zefanya, Rich Brian, Warren Hue. (2021) California . [Performed by 88 Rising] On California. [audio file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KzHGbpxMOY
Genre wise this could be Pop/Rap and following that theme, This video does confirm the usual conventions of that genre by having the artist dressed fashionably and them seemingly enjoying life. I really like the camera shot and movements of this music video, Appropriate use of various shots such as, Long shots, Establishing shots, Close Ups or Medium shots on top of The Slow zooms, pans and tilts really sells this music video. Editing wise, the relaxed paced transitions supports the slow shots. If I could I'd like to use these types of Slow zooms into my own Music video. Of course It wouldn't be as easy as I don't have expensive or modern equipment to make my shots stabilized, But since I do have a camera at my disposal, The slow zooms should be possible. Of course this all depends on the music that we choose.
The Vaccines , Tiger Blood
Young, J. (2011) Tiger Blood. [Performed by The Vaccine] On What did you expect from the Vaccines. [Audio File] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMQi0aTm8Ho
The genre of this music was Indie rock and much like typical indie rock music videos, This one confirms with the typical conventions by having the band playing in some scenes but at the same time showing a lot of other random things in between which results in unclear narrative structure. Which personally I liked, The fast paced editing showing the lives of the artist really made this a fun and interesting music video. In addition the grainy filter that is being used allowed the video to seem nostalgic and old which these days are becoming more and more popular. I'd like to copy this style because it's simple, fun, and require a little to no skill in making , On top of that this way I don't need to stress out on creating a complicated or deep narrative structure, we'd just figure it out along the way.
No Buses, Untouchable You
Takeshi Iwamoto, Taisei Kondō. (2019) Untouchable You. [Performed by No Buses] On Boys Loved Her. [audio file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIuDhvT7Uy0
Another Indie Rock band and like the one previously, This one conforms with the typical conventions of that genre. It's very clear that this Music Video is low budget and they did no effort in denying that, Instead using that fact to make an otherwise low quality video turn into an interesting and fun video. This is done by doing all sorts of random stuff like shots of shoes, the band members holding fruits and other silly yet fun stuff. Even the band members look as if they didn't even put that much effort in recording the video, they all just stood there awkwardly with no enthusiasm or energy but is still trying to have fun. Which in a sense is interesting because all they're movements seems natural and not scripted something that I'd like to copy in my own video.
Mumford & Sons, Hopeless Wanderer
Mumford, M. (2012) Hopeless Wanderer. [Performed by Mumford & Sons] On Babel. [audio file] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIuDhvT7Uy0
The Genre of this music video is Folk which typically is made more seriously, But this music video breaks the conventions by making a parody of the bands other typical attitude and by acting way over the top. By having comedians play the role of the band and telling to do silly things like carrying too many instruments and playing they're instruments when it's not even played in the music or just plain making fun of the band allows the audience to know that this is just a satire even despite of the professional or cinematic scenes that clearly shows that this has a high budget. I really like How they tried to make this follow they're typical music videos at first but then flipped that and made it a fun and comical music video. I'd like to follow the unserious aspect about making a music video because I don't want to make us seem like were trying to copy the band itself, but instead just a bunch of teens trying to have fun.
Fazerdaze, Lucky Girl
Amelia Rahayu Murray. (2017) Lucky Girl. [Performed by Fazerdaze] On Morningside. [audio file] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My4j3vgFxbE&list=PL1HpZKUbvD5eXgHgobyqjU3DFKUiGknKF
Fazerdaze is a shoegaze or Indie artist. Her song, Lucky Girl is filmed in a typical indie style low budget music video who even despite of that still manages to be creative and effective thanks to the various edits, cuts and effects / filters that was used. If You notice, the camera rarely ever moves from position except for a few scenes. Most of the time, just simple zoom in and outs are used on the characters herself or various other objects or backgrounds. While that might be simple on its own, Combined with the fast paced editing and filters, results on an artistically pleasing music video. What I like about this video is the editing, The constant cuts, respective scenes, usage of reverse ( where a film is shown backwards ) really fits well with the music and keeps an audience in suspense.
Ok Go
In Class we watched several videos from the Alternative / Indie Band Ok Go who is known in Making unique and creative videos with very impressive one takes. Some of the Music video which we watched was Here It goes again, The Writing's on the wall and This too shall pass. While the band members are shown, from what I watched, they have never been shown playing their own respected instruments. On top of that, they're music videos are very impressive and cool, using a variety of techniques to attract audiences attentions. This includes, Visual Spectacles, Illusions, Impressive one takes and many others. Most of the videos are done very smoothly and with excellent execution which makes them almost unreal in some cases. While their first video we watch was done with a low budget, Their preparation and practice showed in the way they danced. Clearly for all of their videos, they had made extensive amounts of preparation , planning and practice, Which results in these unique music videos that totally breaks the conventions as a whole. While I like these videos very much, I think its most of these videos are extremely hard to do for us as a group, especially the one takes. The amount of practice and retakes would be too insane for us to do.
Development
Important Links
Music Video Progress
Beach Test Run
We tried doing some Shots / Trial footage during the Weekends in Week 4, But the results were underwhelming. The weather was quite bad and as such, I didn't get too many shoots in and around the beach area. While I did get some shots, It likely isn't going to get into the actual music video.
At Sunday, We as group meetup at my house to discuss our project. While originally we were planning in shooting some of our shots outside, But the weather was again pretty bad so cancelled. Instead, to not make it go to a waste, We ended up doing a few concept shots. Which was good practice for when we actually do the Music video.
Drive Link: ‘Concept Shot - Practice’
Some Concept Shots :
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Jason, Our main actor who would play the lead role, Does a very good expression on the part someone who is depressed. When we actually do the shooting, I would like Jason to keep this expression especially during the depressing , isolated shots of Himself. If anything could improve, I would like to maybe take the shots a little bit further. For Closeups, These types of angles and shots are good. But for typical shots of him, This is far too close.
Football Concept Shoot
This scene, following 'SCENE 3' of our storyboard would be the introduction of our Main characters Which is Jason. Our introduction would be done in a football scene of Jason kicking the ball. We did this concept shot on Friday in Week 5. From this shoot, We would likely continue all of our football scenes in School as we have the means and a good location for it. On top of that, it saves us the hassle in finding another location for it.
Drive Link + Behind the Scenes : Football Concept Shoot
The shots came out great, it fits exactly with what like our storyboard and should work when we actually do the final filming. The only bad thing was the weather, who at the time was cloudy which is not what we want as in this scene Jason is still doing fine. It would be better if the weather was sunny as it connotates a meaning of hope.
Final Football Shoot
A week after were done with our concept shoot of the football scene, we did the actual final shoot in media class at school. This time I brought my camera and Jason with his football gear. The weather was sunnier than the concept shoot which is good, but in addition to the concept shots from last week that we redid. We also did some other shoots that has links with football, We hope that by doing that we would have more than enough shots when we edit our music video.
Drive Link + Behind the Scenes: Final Football Shoot
The shots here did came out good in my opinion. While things can certainly be improved, like the positioning, acting and movement, I think we did enough shots to fill in all of our needs for the football scenes.
Beach Horizon Scenes
During the weekend, I planned to take some shots of the beach for our project. By chance the weather was pretty nice in the morning, But unfortunately If only I've gotten there sooner, I would've gotten a full sunrise but the results were great nonetheless. On that same day, I went out with some friends where we went to the beach again to shot the Sunset. I couldn't stay very long so I only took the sun an hour before sunset and not the actual sunset.
Drive Link + Behind the Scenes : Beach Horizon Scenes
These shots I think came out good, It would be better if the weather was more sunny, But that's fine. I feel like these scenes would be good enough for the shots were going to use in the music video. All that I'm missing is the Night scene during SCENE 1. We would mostly use these shots for SCENE 9, SCENE 10 or Possibly SCENE 2
Final Shots ( during Sleepover )
During a sleepover that we had in our friends place, We decided to take most our shots for the music video there. In there we did shots on a bunch of scenes which included SCENE 3, SCENE 4, SCENE 5, SCENE 6, SCENE 7 & SCENE 8. We had to change divert from what we had from our storyboard in a few scenes as the location, prop, setting and outfits did allow for some scene ( Drug scenes ) to take place. We also made new scenes during the sleepover which can and should help with fill any gaps that we have in the footage.
Drive Link + Behind the Scenes : Final Shots Sleepover
This is by far the most shots we had done in one single day and because of it, Its likely that we've covered the majority of the scenes that we have in our music video. But unfortunately, I only realized when I got back that out of all the scenes were still missing a lot of content that we could specifically on SCENE 9 & SCENE 10. In retrospect, I should've taken more shots of the 'damaged' surroundings. In addition , we still need a lot more 'Hanging out with friends' Scenes as there's clearly not enough for the duration of our music video.
This part of the blog is written entirely by Jonathan
Iwa K, Malam Indah
Iwa K (1998) Malam Indah On "Mesin Imajinasi" retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehdquRBHSvs
The song "Malam Indah" appeared on Iwa K's album "Mesin Imajinasi" that was released in the 1st February 1998 , the video features a lively party in a beach setting with the singer Iwa K (red shirt) participating in certain parts.
MEDIA LANGUAGE
The music video as mentioned above is set at a beach party at first in daylight and later on at night which is a good way to contrast the dark background with the extreme brightness of the party area while representing the partying and fun as something that is endless, this choice provides a. connotation to youthful energy as partying from day to night is an activity associated with this age group, this is because the night time being a period associated with quiet and rest is juxtaposed to the lively partying and dancing occurring in the setting showing they do not stop whatever the weather (or time). This fits to the theme of the song as "Malam Indah" translates into "Beautiful Night" or "Lively Night", the music video utilizes lots of "Handheld" camera movement which is a good way to make the viewer immersed into the party scene where they feel like as if they are attending, while successfully showcasing a lively fiesta while having shaky movements exaggerate the movements of the partygoers making them appear more active , the music video fulfills all the conventions of a hip hop music video where many feature partying & juvenile acts in their narrative also showing it in a positive light, the appearance of the singer in the video is another factor that conforms to the genre but the fact that Iwa K (the singer) does not dominate the video & blends in with the other actors sets it apart from others.
The remastered version of the music video still applied the grainy footage originally shot from the 90s in order to evoke a sense of nostalgia for a bygone era which many people associate with their youth.
AUDIENCE
The music video has made an attempt to broadly represent their target audience, fans of hip hop unlike that of other genres like rock are mostly associated with being youthful, because of this we see young people in the video with casual 90's urban outfits (This video was released in 1998 thus conformed with the cultural expressions of the time) while having the video's theme based on partying an activity popular with the youthful audience, the video would have a much different meaning if they casted people in their 50's and 60's instead where they would be out of place wearing urban outfits and doing activities and antics fit only for rebellious teens.Youth in the music video is portrayed in a positive way where it reinforces the idea of youth being fun, vibrant, and cool due to the non serious nature of the music video which shows lots of laughing and dancing thus indicating that whatever the actors do on the video is the ideal way to spend one's "youth".
TARGET AUDIENCE
We could see that the music video's target audience are people of a young age of all genders where the music video has targeted them via demographic factors during the casting of the video.Most importantly the music video represented party goers (or those who did so in their youth) thus using the hobby or passion psychographic to target them by not only showcasing the activity but presenting it as something positive even exaggerating its goodness, those people might view the music video in order to fulfill the diversion factor from the Users and Gratification Theory as the party mood of the video could serve as a form of escapism from everyday life, others might do so to fulfill Social Relationship factor where they can discuss with other people who have been to such parties especially in those experiencing nostalgia.
INDUSTRY
The presence of platforms such as Youtube where the music video is taken from has allowed people to once again to view the aforementioned video outside of TV screenings which after the 90s rarely played the video and if they did so often during a special occasion, the ability to clip parts of the music video on Youtube and turn the video into an MP3 has allowed for textual productivity where hip hop fans produce tracks sampling the Iwa K's song or add commentary such as in "Reaction" videos. Additionally, fans with the help of social media have been more implicit in the distribution of the product where they feature it in Spotify playlist they can share with others or use it in their instagram stories where a tag with a link to the song allows people to discover the original music video.
Stromae , Santé
Stromae (2022) Santé On "Sollassitude" retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3QS83ubhHE
MEDIA LANGUAGE
The narrative of the video shows multiple people from various professions working where the video chooses to represent them in a way that conforms with convention/expectation that work is boring/exhausting, however later these workers are shown to be happily dancing in their work environments which subverts expectations. the video often features close-ups or midshots of the workers to show their tired and wrinkled faces which serves as a build u up where midshots are closeups are utilized to showcase happy expressions when they are dancing which fits with the theme of the song which when translated to English expresses the exhausting nature of "rough jobs" and how those people in such jobs are kept in the background and under appreciated, the close-ups , full shots, & midshots of the workers juxtapose the lines of the song expressing how such people are ignored as if giving them their own spotlight for this moment.
The music video subverts the genre convention of Latin Pop music video while conforming to certain aspects such as the presence of dancing throughout the video , though where the typical Latin Pop video would feature younger and professional dancers doing something such as partying the casts here is older and dance in their respective work environments in order to create meaning where those laboring in hard jobs barely given props should be thanked.
AUDIENCE
The choice to have people in traditional jobs associated with boredom joyfully dance around is an attempt to appeal to an audience namely Stromae's demographic who is older than that of other pop artists namely 20 till 40 year olds who live realities that resemble those in the video and wish for escapism, the fact that the actors are anything but youthful are further attempts to represent them via the demographic factor of age. The video consistently represents the stereotype of certain professions such as waiters, fishermen, and customer support as monotone where no one is seen enjoying the job itself though not explicitly showing anyone hating it though certain choices in representation have allowed for counter-types where unlike Stuart Hall's representation theory that suggest representation in media reflects the views of the elite we see here how the music video breaks it by showcasing dark skinned peoples in office jobs and whites in manual labour where in other cases it might be the opposite thus not allowing for a double conscience as suggested by the Post-colonialism theory expanded upon by Paul Gilroy though they both are still represented as the archetype of the exhausted laborer.
TARGET AUDIENCE
The music video unlike Stromae's earlier works before his 2014 hiatus features a much older casts in his attempt to target an older audience namely his aging fanbase. The audience seeing people in their age casted to play situations familiar to them namely a work environment is the usage of the demographic factor of age to allow for a preferred reading as per Stuart Hall's reception theory where they will agree that their work life could be draining and that working people especially those in rough jobs are under appreciated. The music video will allow those fans to fulfill the Social Relationship factor of the Users and Gratification theory where they could talk about the music videos with others who also feel represented. Otherwise it also fulfills the Diversion factor of the Users and Gratification Theory as the video features a power fantasy for these people.
INDUSTRY
The presence of social media platforms has allowed Stromae to succesfully promote his music video
The release of the music video coincided with rumours of the artist ending his hiatus, the sudden appearance of the video on his Youtube channel and a post on an Instagram account which had been inactive for some time allowed the news to spread like wildfire with little to no promotion allowing the artist and his record label to spread word of the new released single without spending much money.
The fact that the music video was available on Youtube allowed fans to clip the music video to make comments on it or make reaction videos which spreads the news outside of the fanbase where many appeared in twitter or youtube itself, meanwhile within the fanbase the announcement on instagram built hype and anticipation in the fanbase where they will talk about his hiatus to each other fulfilling the Social Relationships factor from The Users and Gratification theory. Many forms of textual productivity was shared by fans via platforms like the aforementioned Twitter and Youtube too where they cover the song or simply make up choreography for it.
Stromae suddenly announces the end of his hiatus on instagram with the release of "Santé"
24/7, Disarstar
The music video is comprised of multiple shots of a poor urban area and the stereotypes that come with it namely gang activity, homelessness, alcoholism, and trashed streets, the video conforms to one's expectations of such a setting in order to represent the "street life" in Hamburg as rough but subverts it by showcasing people in urban outfits often branded as "gangsters" or "mischievious youth" having fun and laughing together which contrast the image of the gun toting dangerous city gangster associated with rough neighborhoods, the choice to make the video entirely in black and white is a cinematic choice that is meant to fit with the pessimistic lyrics about the lack of perspective and rapidly deteriorating neighborhoods, the choice to have many shots be shaky (handheld) as if being recorded on a smartphone in an amateur manner allows us to be immersed into the action as if being there in person but also adds to emphasize that the people represented in the video are from the lower class thus ordinary people, the choice to use professional camera shots associated with high budget in an urban rap video featuring the working class might not be able to emphasize in the same way the situation of those represented as smartphones are devices owned almost by everyone and accessible to the lower classes unlike high tech cameras.
I am a big fan of the music video as they were able to use editing and camera in order to create meaning while effectively representing the urban youth despite being a low budget production where the usage of cheaply made phone shots fit with the urban lower class theme.We could take ideas such as making some parts of the music video handheld and such a music video with our time, budget, and resources is achievable where one's editing skills just has to be rudimentary.
Diskoria, Laleilmanino, Eva Celia (2022) C.H.R.I.S.Y.E On "CHRISYE" Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThYGrYiyvA8
The video utilizes lots of continuous steadicam shots that pans according to the movement of the main character while some scenes had a more shaky handicam amature style , the song was a tribute to the late Indonesian singer "Chrisye" and is portrayed in the video especially during the continuous long shot whcih we could take as an idea, the usage of stereotypical 80's clubbing outfit harkens back to the golden age of Indonesian City Pop in the 80's meanwhile an actor ressembling the late Indonesian pop singer "Chrisye" is featured in the video in order to render hommage to him, we see him dancing around joyfully in the video which is an attempt to represent in this case in a positive light as the video aims to honor him, which got me thinking to insert symbolism or rendering hommage to an artist into our video with mise en scene and representation which could be achieved with deepfake technology for example. The location/setting of the video seems to be consistent where it happens around one house, it has gotten me to think about asking a group member to film inside his house as the setting though i will still continue the process of location scouting. The video does not subvert any expectations of a typical city pop music video but executes it creatively. The video has a fairly low production where the artist are independent thus due not access funds granted by a record label despite this i adore their video as it is visually pleasing while succeeding in respectfully representing a deceased artist. The video does not resemble other Indonesian indie music videos where it is unique in its cinematography such as the long shot following the Chrisye lookalike but features singing and dancing like others of its genre.
"mamichula"-Trueno, Nicki Nicole
Trueno, Nicki Nicole (2021) Mamichula On "Mamichula" Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUteQQCMa_k
I love the usage of lighting throughout the video which features a bleeding red on the background emphasized based on the importance of the scenes where romantic ones will have the red tint accentuated, other settings will have a different color tint such as yellow, the video also got me thinking about creating sets such as that on a studio filled with props that could contain meaning along with intertextuality like how references to pop culture are made throughout the video above. The genre conventions of a rap video are subverted where the video is much more cinematic and high production than the typical urban footage which would feature ore shaky camera though i do not think we could replicate such a result with the resources we have which does not stop me from admiring this music video, they have successfully used their high budget in order to create a music video that is unique to the rest in the genre in its quality where others would not feature complex camera movements such as pans and dollies but simply a handheld recording.
Young J (2011) Tiger Blood (Performed by The Vaccines) On What did you expect from the Vaccines (Audio File) Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMQi0aTm8Ho
In class we watched a music video by the Vaccines for their song "Tiger Blood" which was made up of footage from their tour in France and included lots of amateur style shot on a phone handycam footage though some editing has made some footage grainy through a filter as if to give a nostalgic feeling meanwhile others are black and white, the music video fulfills the audience's expectations of an indie music video where it features lots of singing and the band despite not showing choreography thus being able to attract fans of the indie genre as per Steve Neale's genre theory, i like the idea of having lots of quick cuts in order to match the fast pace of the song but i disagree with the lack of narrative or themes throughout the video where it looked like a mish-mash of handicam footage with no real meaning though its attempt to represent the band and their tour life is effective but if we want to have the video convey a meaning or explore a big idea i would prefer a narrative to be present thus i would not say i was a fan of this work , no expectations were subverted in my opinion where i would describe it as "the typical indie rock music video". The usage of the grainy nostalgic style filter i believe would be effective if it were to match a theme or the song's lyrics which could be about nostalgia but in this case they used it without using it to convey meaning which is a missed opportunity thus i would say they did an "OK" job with a low budget music video though its still far from being unique or creative.
"Qui Dit Mieux"-Gringe, Orelsan, Vald, Suikon Blaz AD
Gringe, Orelsan, Vald, Suikon Blaz AD (2021) Qui Dit Mieux On "Enfant Lune" Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watchv=507d9xto6Og&list=PLSHUGP3yZLIUUqmlJgCcVUbVRfE8u8d-9&index=60
The music video above was made for the rap song "Qui Dit Mieux" (Who Said It Better?) , the video features the 4 artist rapping which follows a genre convention of the typical rap video though it subverts the genre with the high quality cinematography followed with creative editing where this music video is the first to implement such a concept, the way the artist represent themselves and in an indirect way the young urban hip-hop fans by wearing casual urban outfits is another staple of rap videos but it subverts it in terms of location and editing choice which i find to be ingenious thus making the fact that i think we do not have the know how or resource to make such a thing unfortunate as such a feat will require hours of editing and is outside of my basic knowledge of IMovie editing. One style i would like to adopt from this music video is the choice of location where one's location color would be consistent and the transition is smooth enough where it doesnt cut but bleeds into the next setting. The music video features the people singing the whole time which might not be a good idea if we decide for other genres. The high budget has translated directly into better quality while making the music video stand out from the industry standard.
"Alors On Danse"-Paul Van Haver (Stromae)
Stromae (2010) Qui Dit Mieux On "Enfant Lune" Retrieved https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHoT4N43jK8
The video features the singer (Stromae) play the role of a burn out salaryman who is followed around by a cameras where the burnout salaryman is shown in 2 perspectives from a splitscreen which is an idea i would like to adopt though not for the entirety of the video, the camera is not shaky but stable (steadicam) which is a missed opportunity to create meaning or emphasize something as we see the main character stumbling through town thus such a choice could represent the chaos of his life or the instability of his sanity , the music video does not follow the expectations of a house or electronic music video where it typically shows people partying and dancing having a good time in general, but the choice to put the exhausted salaryman as the center of attention during the party scene fits with the lyrics which is pessimistic and makes fun of everyday troubles and how life wears one out. In order to create meaning the music video exploring the theme of the boring everyday life represents an exaggerated figure of the burnout worker just drifting by life mindlessly rather than participating in it which even when exagerated allows people to project themselves into the character and have a preferred reading of the video as per Stuart Hall's representation theory. The high budget of the music video has effectively been invested into creating meaning , an example being the mise en scène such as background actors which could be an idea we will take who are lively and contrast the exhausted worker, the presence of a narrative and theme being explored in the video done by following around the salaryman played by Stromae has been executed perfectly to make it unique in comparison to other videos in the house and elctro music genre
Mumford and Sons (2012) Hopeless Wander On (Performed by Mumfords and Sons) On Babel Retrieved https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rId6PKlDXeU
The music video for the song Hopeless Wanderer subverts the expectations for Folk Music video essentially parodying the usual laughable seriousness of such videos, this is done by casting comedians to play the role of the band while not revealing that they were playing the band at first as a hermeneutic code where the audience just assumes it is the usual Mumford and Sons bandmates playing before revealing the comedians, the choice to keep the aesthetic and mise en scene similar to other folk music videos and Mumford and Son's other works such as giving the comedians farmer clothing and having the video set in nature or a rustic barn conforms to the audience's expectations of a folk rock video, the mise en scene contrast greatly with the non seriousness of the actors which does not conform to the genre thus in a way having some aspects conform emphasizes aspects that do not and makes the video more comedic, the group represented in the video is the Mumford and Son's band themselves where casting comedians to play them is an attempt to comment on their seriousness that the fanbase is familiar with and making fun of it successfully. I am a fan of the music video's attempt at parodying an artist or band's representation which could be a risky venture though very funny if executed properly, we could not simulate the same settigns, props, and clothes (essentially mise en scene) brought by their big budget but only their attempt at subverting a genre convention by making a parody of it, we could even break the 4th wall making our work a postmodernist one like the music video for Hopeless Wanderer which is a parody or satire.
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At the moment the final result of our music video is mostly influenced by the fact that our budget is limited and our team has access only to rudimentary cameras and editing skills, because of this ideas such as Disarstar's 24/7 could be implemented where we feature lots of handheld footage shot on phones while mixing them with professional camera shots, i believe the idea of creating a simple set whose mise en scene we can tweak to create meaning via references in props for example is still doable thus i could look at the video Mamichula by Trueno to see how to implement such a thing, if we are going to render hommage to a past artist in the music video we might just put a framed picture of them in the background as unlike the creator's of the CHRISYE video we do not have the know how to implement deepfake technology to make turn one of us into another person and use them as representation.
OK GO Music Videos Research (additional) 20th January 2023
In class we got to view 3 music videos from the band OK GO namely those for "Writing on the wall","This too shall pass",& "Here it goes again".Despite having unique concept each music video follows the same principle where a one take shot is utilized with minimal or no editing at all to allow a full view of the music video's quirkiness, despite being an impressive feat the work involved with procuring all the set pieces and organizing them for the shot seems like lots of work for a group of 4 with limited time, we could take other ideas such as planning choreography for our music video though we doubt our quality will resemble that of a Beyonce video i believe adding choreography can add an air of quirkiness though i doubt my group members would be enthusiastic, OK GO's one take style will fit a concept for a garage band but indications show our music video will lean to rock or rap which means a whole other style will be needed though the ability of OK GO to completely subvert genre expectations is something we want to emulate despite whatever musical genre we will want to tackle.
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In order to create meaning i have taken inspiration from multiple works of media most of them music videos and movies that with their analogies, styles, camera shots have succeeded in representing themes i want to also represent in the video. Namely depression (along with the decent into depression) & dependence on medication.
One of my first inspiration is the Stair Analogy used in the movie Joker (2019)
In the movie every-time the character is seen in a crisis or suffering a negative emotion we see him descending down a flight of stairs in a dark setting , in contrast positive emotions and uplifting scenes are represented with him going up a flight of stairs. This way stairs are effectively a metaphor for his feelings and thus can be used for the music video as the song describes low parts before its lyrics start expressing a recovery process. The image of stairs can be implemented not only in our music video but also in our digipak. I have scouted some locations with sizeable stairs that look great during the evening when it is darker such as those in the Sudirman shopping district.
I have also taken ideas from the German rapper " Felix Kummer" who in his music video for his single "Wie viel ist dein Outfit wert?" there is a scene of him in a dark setting with a projector that projects words into him that correlates with the song, this gave me the idea to use a dark classroom to film such a scene where the words projected onto our character can be used to create meaning. In our case the words projected can be things like "defeat" or "addiction" during the lowest points and then "recovery" & "killin it!" in the high points.
Unlike Kummer who uses a steadicam in the video i wanted to express
depression and the instability it causes by using a handicam instead.
Other than that the same music video mixes grainy handheld footage with professionally shot high resolution clips which could be applied to our music video where our main character reminisces to the good old times before he fell into a depression.
Link to the music video for "Wie viel ist dein Outfit wert?": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmA551qiMT8
In terms of representation we will have to meticulously organize mise en scene and representation of our main actor in order to appropriately represent people addicted to medication in the song,i dedicated an entire slide to this thought on my google slide.
One thing i want is to avoid a double consciousness where certain groups see their stereotype on our music video which does not align with themselves while breaking hegemonic stereotypes created by the elite to keep certain groups under as theorized by Stuart Hall's Representation Theory.
Camera shots and angles along with Mise en Scene will be further used to create meaning where i have taken lots of references from the video game The Evil Within 2 released in 2017 by Tango Gameworks. I like certain shots in the game which could effectively show the low point of our character, where long shots allow the audience to see the dark and messy environment surrounding our character and the head to toe view of our character will give us the goal to use mise en scene choices such as that on clothing or other features (ex.messy hair, rugged face) to represent drug addicts, this means allowing lots of denotations & connotations which show the audience the effect of drugs on the physical and mental state of the main character.
I looked for some locations near my residence to shoot, i picked locations
that look abandoned or dilapidated as it could be associated with depression
but this idea never came to fruition due to time constraints.
Logic's "1-800" music video has given me an idea for our music video where it also represents depression, the serious nature of our subject matter should be presented in a dignified way which emulates Logic's style in this video where despite beinga. rap video in subverts genre conventions where rap videos are usually more colorful and has the artist lip syncing, this one does not to keep a serious mood.
Development
-------- Jonathan's Contribution
We did some concept shoots during the weekend where after multiple tries we decided to not include the bloopers we recorded as it would not fit our brand image which tries to carry depression in a serious tone where adding silly bloopers could corrode the respect and seriousness of our message, on another note we thought that Jason's portrayal of a depressed state mixed with the mise en scene of the black clothing has great potential in portraying depression accurately and more importantly paint it as a negative thing though not stigmatising it.
I also got to record the Kummer inspired scene with Jason by borrowing a school classroom and
dimming the lights, the slides on the projector which contained pictures and the song lyrics
was pre prepared from the day before.
I was worried about the footage being shaky so i wanted Angelo to use footage that resembled steadicam movement at first but i realized how the shaky handycam like nature of the footage can be used to express the instability in the character's emotions.
As we were making the music video i had to export pictures to Angelo
of the writing "Ghost Town" used as the title card due to the fact that Angelo's
editing software does not have the Libre Franklin font, i used Google Drawings to download them before uploading them to Angelo.
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