Location:
Be realistic. think about what you need in the location (things around you) and make sure all locations are close together. Take into account things like the weather and lighting.
The first 30 seconds have to be visually engaging so your audience will continue to watch. However do not give everything away.
Not every lyric needs to be represented. (Lyrics to visual)
Stick to a timed schedule on your day of filming but if you have extra time, shoot extra shots.
Shoot your performance 4-5 times using different angles.
Make sure before you go to your location that everything is planned so all you have left to do is shoot.
Make sure it is achievable, don't over complicate things.
Avoid making a mini film.
Blocking Out:
Map out the scenes, work out where you are going to place the camera in each shot to find the best angles which then leaves more time for creativeness and organisation.
Using Goodwin's Analysis
1. The music video demonstrates good hip hop genre characteristics and I think the group has chosen appropriate locations to exaggerate this, for example the streets and the background of graffiti. The choice of casual costumes and the wearing of a hoodie/headphones can also help to imply the genre well.
2. There is no clear link between the lyrics and the visuals but this doesn't seem to matter as the lyrics are very faced paced and hard to distinguish so focusing the visuals on the artists has worked well anyway. Therefore I think that the lyrics and visuals amplify each other.
3. One of the best features of the video is the link between the music and the visuals. I think that the groups strongest point has been the editing and I like the reversing of the artists steps with the sounds of the scratching in the music. The music has also been edited so the visuals are cut on the beats of the song.
4. There is a good variety of shots that concentrate attention on following the steps of the artists around a typical hip-hop setting. There is also the use of performance at the chorus as the artists mime to the camera while showing typical rapping movements which occur in professional music videos.
5. There is some notion of looking as we see what the artists are looking at while following their steps around the street settings, for example the tatoo sign and the everyday people, which adds a nice element to engage the audience.
6. There is no inter-textual reference to any films, TV programmes or other music videos.
Using Goodwin's Analysis
1. There is a performance of the band singing and playing the song, which demonstrates the characteristics of the Indie genre. The use of the instruments as props can also reflect the genre well. The typical Indie characteristics look as though they are done on a lower budget which has worked well in this video due to the casual setting and costumes of the band.
2. Although there is not a clear relationship between the lyrics and the visuals they are not contradicting each other and seem to fit well together, therefore we think that the lyrics and visuals amplify each other. There is some references to a girl in shots where the lyrics say 'Emily' but the group has chosen to not have a clear narrative represented by the lyrics.
3. The way that the music video has been edited fits really well with the jumpy beat of the song. This is mainly shown through the split screen effect that the group have used. Each split shot appears as visuals on the beat of the music which works well. Therefore the music and the visuals are illustrative of each other.
4. The group have done well to include a wide range of shots. There is many close ups of the boy artist in the video which helps to engage the audience with the main singer. The performance of the band all performing together with instruments is one of their best elements as this adds a nice contrast to the shots of the band casually chilling around together in other shots.
5. There is some notion of looking in the video, for instance when the band are featured in more casual shots like playing games on the TV, we are shown shots of what they would be seeing. There is also close ups of the girl characters which may be from the point of view of the boy characters.
6. There is no inter-textual reference to any films, TV programmes or other music videos.
Music videos that have inspired us for this song are:
Twista Ft. Chris Brown - Make a Movie
The lyrics from this song are very similar to the lyrics of our second choice. This has inspired us on what to feature in the video. We can see from this video that they are in a rich location which implies the R&B genre well. This video can show a way we can interpret the lyrics from Jay Sean's 'Movie' without making the video inappropriate for our own project. We like the variety of shots used, with lots of miming to the camera for the performance element as well as close ups to focus on the main artists. We could also feature movie equipment as props to link the lyrics with the visuals as done so at the start of this music video.
Mise-En-Scene Ideas
Location - The R&B genre shows characteristics of money as a key theme in music videos, so we have decided that the best location would be:
A Grand House
However, as we know we are students making a music video on a less professional level we realise this will not be possible, so will need to choose a more assessable location. This may need to be filmed outside a cinema which will be more realistic as well as reflecting the lyrics of the song.
Costume -
Expensive looking clothing and jewelery
We chose this as we think it will help to reflect the genre of the song in the best possible way.
Props -
Video Camera
The video camera will help to emphasise the lyrics of the song while hopefully adding more visually engaging characteristics.
Lighting -
Bright
This will help to create a lively atmosphere while showing that the spot light is focused on the main artist.
The song that we would like to use is "Second Time Around" by Lady Gaga.
Our Initial Ideas
We have chosen previous music videos that have inspired us for our own work. We plan to include characteristics of professional videos to ensure we produce a realistic music video.
Beyoncé - Irreplaceable
This video shows the song from the girls point of the view but also features shots of the boy in the relationship which helps to highlight the lyrics of the song and relate these to the visuals on screen. It is clear the relationship portrayed shows that the characters are having problems which is something we want to use in our own video. We liked the use of quick shots changes on the beat of the song which helped to maintain our attention throughout. There is also a good variety of shot types used, with many close ups to engage the audience with the artist. We also felt inspired by the performance given by the artist, such as miming to the camera and the movement of the artist while singing to give more for the audience to watch and therefore making it more visually entertaining which is something we want to create.
Ne-Yo - Mad
This video inspired us for different reasons to the last video, here we felt inspired by the start of the video which portrayed an argument between the couple. This set the mood from the very beginning and allowed the audience to notice the tense atmosphere. This was also amplified by the video being in black and white as this helps to emphasise the tense and uncomfortable mood, this is something we could use our self as we want to concentrate on a broken relationship. Looking at the lighting used we can notice that is is very dark and gloomy which is also used to reflect the mood of the characters. We also liked the casual settings of the music video such as the living room/bedroom setting as these could easily be used in our own video.
Mise-En-Scene Ideas
Location - We want to match the lyrics to the visuals so we have decided that the best locations for this will be:
House - Bedroom/Living Room
Park - Bench
These are very casual settings as we want to keep the attention focused on the relationship which should be emphasised by the help of our chosen locations.
Costume - Here we want to create a realistic image of the characters so that the audience can relate to them:
Casual clothes
We know that we want to display the typical relationship problems between the characters so have decided that keeping clothes casual will help make our video more realistic for the audience.
Props - We will use these to help convey the narrative, feelings and mood:
Notebook to show a message from the boy character
Photos of the characters
Mirror for singing into
Lighting - This is important to convey the right atmosphere which will help to emphasise the relationship emotions:
Gloomy lighting to portray the mood created which is sad and tense
Bright lighting for the performance element and shots of the artist alone
Ideas for Narrative
The narrative that we want to get across to our audience is a broken relationship between the two characters. It will focus on the girl 's point of view including conversations and thinking back to their past. For shot types we will use close ups of the girl miming to camera to show her feelings and then we will use wide shots of the couple having arguments and being together beforehand. There will also be shots of photographs to look back on previous good times and the notebook will help to emphasise the girl's feelings further.
MTV, VMA is an award presented by the channel MTV to reward the best music video's. It is targeted towards youths, attracting millions of viewers from teenagers up to 25 year olds. The awards normally include performances by top artists and award the best artists with a category title. The first award event was on the 14th of September, 1984 and has now become a yearly event. There are many different award categories such as:
Video of the Year
Best Male Video
Best Female Video
Best New Artist
Best Pop Video
Best Rock Video
Best Hip-Hop Video
Best Collaboration
Best Direction in a Video
Best Choreography in a Video
Best Special Effects in a Video
Best Art Direction in a Video
Best Editing in a Video
Best Cinematography in a Video
Best Video with a Message
As the event is known to be highly publicised in the media, the music artists know there will be a lot of attention focused on them. Most artists make sure they are presented in the best possible way as there image can reflect how the public view them and can also effect their career if they don't give the right impression.
Most artists choose to opt for glamourous looks, as we see the women in designer branded dresses and men in sharp suits. However, some like to be out of the ordinary as Lady Gaga appeared this year dressed as a man, allowing for yet again more publicity to surround her.
The awards allow for some artists to perform their songs live. At the 2011 MTV awards Beyoncé performance revealed she was pregnant and there was also tributes to Amy Winehouse from Bruno Mars. The awards not only appreciate the music the artists make, but also build up the profiles of the artists.
1. The music video is within the Pop genre, it appeals to audiences of all ages and genders as its a mainstream style featuring a consistent and noticeable rhythmic element. However, it does not feature typical genre characteristics such as a dance routine, but performance is definitely present.
2. The main relationship between the lyrics and visuals is that they are illustrating the girls that they are singing about to amplify their beauty which matches the chorus lyrics 'thats what makes you beautiful'. The artists are dancing around with the "beautiful" girls on a beach which amplifies the link between the lyrics and the visuals. The beach setting is also used as a symbol to portray the beauty in which the artists are singing about.
3. The relationship between the music and the visuals is that the visuals are shown through cutting quick shots on the beat to reflect the fast pace of the song. There is also longer shots which hold the on screen visuals while the music has a slower pace.
4. Within the video there is many closeup shots of the band as individuals as well as shots which include the whole band together as a group, something which may be a demand of the record label and may occur in future when the bands produce more songs.
5. There was no notion of looking such as screens within screens or telescopes, but there was shots which showed them actually looking at the "beautiful" girls and engaging what they are seeing with the lyrics.
6. There is no intertextual reference to any films, TV programmes or other music videos within the video.
JLS - The Club Is Alive
1. R&B/POP Genre characteristics are displayed by the typical boy band having a dance routine for the chorus and the video typically displays money (nice cars) and women.
2. The main relationship between the lyrics and visual is that they are in the club setting in which they are singing about, in the club and they sing about the dance floor, the DJ and women which are all featured within the video.
3. The main relationship between the music and visual is that there is an upbeat dance routine featured which fits with the fast beat of the music. The shots are faced paced and are cut on the beat of the music throughout the song.
4. There is close ups of the individuals and group shots, as well as clear motifs of dance routines and the showing of the stomach muscles which are present in most of their music videos.
5. Voyeuristic treatment of the female body is also present throughout, it is shown by females in revealing clothes dancing around seductively.
6. The chorus lyrics show a reference to the song 'The Hills Are Alive' from the film 'The Sound of Music', however there is no other reference to any of the other elements within the film.
We have been researching into what Goodwin's Analysis is and will now apply this to professional music videos. We have decided to present the analysis on our blog for future reference:
1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics (e.g. stage performance in metal video, dance routine for boy/girl band)
There are many different types of genres that can feature in music videos. I have been looking into the R&B genre to understand this further. It appears the characteristics of R&B are representation material possessions, women in minimal clothing, fashion, party/club locations and performance, such as miming to the camera and dancing.
2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting)
In almost all music videos it is important that the song relates back to the video. In the video Homecoming by Kanye West there is a strong relationship between these. The song is about his hometown Chicago and features Kanye in the city with images of Chicago appearing frequently during the video.
3. There is a relationship between music and visuals (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting)
The sound of the song and the effect it has on the listener should definitely be reflected in music videos. For instance, a fast paced song should have a fast cutting rate and a slower song should have the opposite. The video for Ignorance by Paramore is very fast paced but is slower in some sections. Therefore slow shot cuts are used during the verses of the song but as the song reaches the chorus there is frequent use of cuts that increase greatly to reflect the speed of that section of the song.
4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style)
From viewing many professional music videos it seems the use of close ups are an important element. The music video Rabbit Heart by Florence & The Machine has a great amount of close-ups to show off the artist. In fact the first shot of the video is a close up of Florence.
5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body
This engages the audience as we can feel a part of what the artist is seeing. Kanye West’s video Homecoming focuses mainly on Kanye looking around his town and remembering his childhood which reflects in point of view shots.
6. There is often intertextual reference (to films, TV programmes, other music videos etc)
This is a common feature of music videos but not all videos include obvious ones. The video Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5, shows obvious connection to the artist Mick Jagger in the song title.
