POSSIBLE POINTS OF INFLUENCE FOR MY MUSIC VIDEO: 1. The trippy colours used. 2. The use of naturalistic locations. 3. The footage of the teen characters doing naturalistic teenage activities. 4. The footage of the teen couple kissing, touching each other and on top of each other. 5. The performance footage of the band.
Adam Powell (2013) Act:The 1975 Track: Sex Genre:indie rock Main Audience: Females and Males (16-24) The first 30 seconds consists of dialogue with 4 shots. From 0:30 to 1:00, there are 19 shots. This estimates that each shot lasts 1.6 seconds. ...
... There narrative to this music video is non-linear, the end is at the start where the male character gets caught by the police. There is a mix of narrative and performance footage in this video, so, Simon Perth's performance, concept and narrative theory can be applied here. There are shots of the band performing with instruments such as electric guitar, drum kit, this all creates verisimilitude for the video. The narrative footage blurs with the performance footage at points for example when the band perform around the couple having sex/on top of each other kissing on a worn out discoloured mattress. There is very naturalistic colour correction to almost no colour correction used at all in this music video with a slightly grainy effect on all the footage. This effect has been used to connote the naturalistic and gritty side of the video. The 1975 band has an already existing branding which consists of the colours black and white, smoking cigarettes, wearing black dark clothing, having tattoos, wearing doc martens etc. They have quite a grungy, dark, gritty style, similar to Arctic Monkeys. There is also a lot of nudity (female nudity) within this video and mature, explicit inappropriate behaviour such as smoking weed and having sex. I believe this video would get an 18 age rating from the BBFC. When you watch this video on YouTube, the vevo age verification screen comes up where you have to confirm that you are 18 years old or older.
POSSIBLE POINTS OF INFLUENCES FOR MY MUSIC VIDEO: 1. The coloured lighting, neon colours, pastel colours 2. The slow motion effect on the characters moving. 3. The costumes used in the video e.g. the blue bob wig, pink bob wig, red lipstick, choker, black eyeshadow, black eyeliner etc. Malia James (2015) Act:Halsey Track: Ghost Genre: electropop Main Audience: Females (13-24) There are 11 shots in the first 30 seconds. This estimates that each shot lasts 2.7 seconds. ...
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At the start of the video, there is a medium long shot/long shot of a city with high skyscrapers and lots of banners everywhere with Chinese writing on. This denotes the setting to be urban and a 'big city' perhaps in the country of China or Japan. However, the location hasn't been intentionally anchored, it has been left as polysemic with asian signifiers through chinese script. The issue here is globalisation - where is this city - this is a city anywhere - not western or eastern which is an aspect of representation and post modernism, a refusal to accept a certain reality - any place any reality.
There is use of a diegetic title at the start of the video. This title is the track title. There is also another title which is the track title 'Ghost' translated in Chinese.
Andrew Goodwin argued that there are 6 features of music videos, these can be seen in this video. These are: frequent close ups of artist, genre characteristics, relationship between lyrics and visuals, relationship between music and visuals, the notion of looking and intertextual references. First of all, there is frequent use of close ups of the artist, Halsey in this video.
There are electropop genre characteristics in this video such as the use of bright neon, primary colours throughout (created through colour gel lighting and colour correction) and the iconic, flamboyant costumes seen which are a light blue wig, a light pink wig, a choker, bright red lipstick and heavy black eye make-up.
Laura Mulvey's male gaze' is somewhat exploited in this music video through the close ups and medium close up shots at the start of the video of Halsey and another girl's body. They are heavily glamourised through the use of high key lighting, sometimes with the use of colour gels and also colour correction.This is one of the key conventions of the electropop genre (colour correction, SFX, use of colour gels). I am influenced by this video to use colour gels for lighting in my music video on the lip syncing footage of the singer and on some of the narrative shots.
In terms of the Uses and Gratifications theory (Dennis McQuail), 3 of the gratifications apply here. Personal identity, personal relationship and diversion. Females aged 15-24 are able to identify with the female main protagonist, Halsey, in this music video. The same gratifications will apply to my music video. There is a playful post modern deconstructionist pomo aspect to this video due to the fact that the two female main protagonists look very similar because of the wig 'bobs' they are wearing, one is wearing a short bob pink wig, the other is wearing a short bob light blue wig. The first scene is where this is most evident. The editing choice of this first scene tricks/challenges the viewer and gets them confused as to which female is Halsey (the singer/artist). At one point Halsey is on the right while kissing and touching the other girl and then at another point Halsey is on the left side instead. This confusion is also created through the shot choices - through, for example the side on close up two shots of the two female characters, it is very hard to distinguish which female protagonist/character is Halsey. Also, it is clearly denoted that the narrative and performance have been blurred. Halsey is blurring the narrative and performance. The same colour correction is used on the lip syncing footage of the singer and the narrative footage of Halsey with the other female character. However, in the narrative shots, Halsey has a short light blue bob but in the performance shots, has significantly longer light blue hair. Halsey's bob hair in the narrative shots matches the hair of the other female character in the video intentionally. In terms of editing style, a slow motion effect has been used on all of the footage. This creates a flowing effect. Information on electropop genre music video conventions gathered: 1. Use of colour correction, colour gels in lighting to look colourful 2. Flamboyant costumes - colourful, vibrant costumes
POSSIBLE POINTS OF INFLUENCE FOR MY MUSIC VIDEO: 1. The clothing and hairstyles of the trio. 2. The club location with lots of flashing and colourful lights. 3. The purple colour correction used on the outdoor footage on the cliff. 4. The drone shots of the rocks in the ocean and the settings. 5. The diegetic titles at the start for the artist name and the track name. 6. The diegetic titles of some of the lyrics of the song. 7. The editing style - cutting to the beat 8. The flashing effect on the footage. Act:Chase Atlantic Track:Swim Year:2017 Genre: Hip Hop, Electronic Main Primary Audience: Females and Males (15-24) ...
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Throughout this music video, you can see multiple costume changes from the artist.
You can also see in this video, many locations used, for example, at the start of the video the artist trio stands on a cliff, then later you see shots of the lead singer of the trio in a club setting. This music video has a title at the start with the artist's name - 'Chase Atlantic'. There is also a title before that which warns the audience/viewer that this video has a lot of flashing image and can be harmful to people with epilepsy. This is become quite an important thing to do lately, informing the viewer about the video in case they have epilepsy.
For this music video, Simon Ferth's 'Narrative, Performance, Concept' theory can be somewhat applied. However, in this video you can only mainly see solely performance from the artist. There is no narrative evident in this video.
Andrew Goodwin's 6 conventions or features of music videos theory can be reflected in this music video example. There are multiple genre signifiers of hip hop such as the dancing footage of the artist, the style of dancing has a lot of hip hop connotations. The second convention he states is that there is a relationship between the visuals and the lyrics. As you can see in the image below, there is an animation of pills raining down - this appears on screen on the lyric line of the track "Pop a couple pills in the daytime". The main thing to note about this music video is the frequent use of special effects or SFX. As you can see on the right, there is an animation within the video of pills falling down like rain. Also in the image above on the left, there is use of layering over a shot of a human prototype and a medium shot of the lead singer of the trio, heavy purple colour correction, glitch effect and a human prototype animation. This combination creates quite a striking visual as you can see. There is also a very fast editing pace and striking editing style for the video. The visuals on screen cut to the beat of the song and there is a flashing effect used on the footage and the transitions between shot takes.
POSSIBLE POINTS OF INFLUENCE FOR MY MUSIC VIDEO: 1. The different coloured lighting, e.g. lilac, purple, dark blue lighting 2. The narrative of a teenage couple living together in a small apartment doing what teenage couples do e.g. kissing, looking at social media on their phones, chilling out on a sofa in a living room, listening to music through speakers, dancing. 3. Fast pace editing 4. Close up shots of body, couple touching each other, 5. The water on skin idea.
Somewhere Else - Move Together (feat Majid Jordan)
Act:Somewhere Else (feat. Majid Jordan) Track:Move Together Genre: Electronic Music Video Length: 03:23 Target Audience: Male and Female Teens (15-24)
Somewhere Else is an electronic hip hop artist that is not very well known at all. This music video for Somewhere Else's only song, Move Together, is directed by Helmi. There are 18 shots in the first 30 seconds. This would estimate that each shot lasts 1.6 seconds. Music Video:
... There is an intertitle at the start of this music video which is the artist logo. This is common to see in the opening shot.
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The opening shot is a two shot of two teenagers, female and male. They are sitting far apart to connote there is a distance between them. The fact that they are on their phones connotes that they are bored together.
There is heavy use of special effects in this music video. Firstly, there is use of 360 degree, anticlockwise camera movements. These camera movements are used to create a 'trippy' drug vibe to the video and connote a drug influenced state. Secondly there is heavy use of colour correction and colourful lighting used in the video with colours such as purple, red, blue, green. There is also use of animation in this video - there are hundreds of naked human prototypes of the two main protagonists. They touch, kiss and feel up each other. It is clearly denoted that the human prototypes are the two characters we see at the start touching and getting sexual with each other.
WHAT I CAN APPLY I believe that the my music video that I will create will fulfil the 3 gratifications - personal identity, personal relationships and escapism. People in the audience (mainly females aged 15-24) will be able to relate and identify with the main female protagonist on the screen. People (males and females aged 15-24) will be able to relate to the actions of the couple characters in the video for example going to fast food restaurant together, kissing, touching each other, it will be a talking point. They would relate to the kinds of things shared and done in the relationship on screen. The Uses and Gratifications theory is the idea that the members of the audience are not passive but take an active role in interpreting and integrating media into their own lives. The theory approaches why people actively seek out specific media forms to fulfil their needs. The audience choose the media to meet/fulfil their needs. These needs can also be described as specific gratifications. There are 4 gratifications.
These gratifications are:
Escapism/Diversion - Escape from everyday tasks/problems.
Personal Identity - This means self understanding and trying to relate to people in the media (characters/actors).
Personal Relationships - A talking point. The audience relate with the kinds of relationships shown in the media e.g. by relating to the issues risen in the relationships shown or the kinds of things shared and talked in the relationships etc...
Surveillance - This means using media to find out whats around us and to be informed with information.
Katz and Blumler's variation (development) of U+G
These two people tweaked McQuail's theory. 'Uses and Gratifications' (Katz and Blumler) research has identified many potential pleasures of genre, including the following:
One pleasure may simply be the recognition of the features of a particular genre because of our familiarity with it. Recognition of what is likely to be important (and what is not), derived from our knowledge of the genre, is necessary in order to follow a plot.
Genres may offer various emotional pleasures such as empathy and escapism - a feature which some theoretical commentaries seem to lose sight of. Aristole, of course, acknowledged the special emotional responses which were linked to different genres.
Goals for media use can be grouped into five uses. The audience wants to:
1. Be informed
2. Identify with characters of the situation in the media environment
How I Would Reflect On This Theory in my Work/Influence On My Work: I would possibly think to exploit this theory in my own music video e.g. by having Close Ups of a female getting touched by a male character.
Laura Mulvey is a british, feminist, film theorist. She created the "male gaze theory" in her 1975 essay called "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema". The 'male gaze' consists of three perspectives:
the person behind the camera
the characters within the representation or film itself
the spectator
Mulvey believes that gender power asymmetry is a controlling force in cinema and constructed for the pleasure of the male viewer, which is deeply rooted in patriarchal ideologies and discourses.
The male gaze theory happens when the camera puts the audience into the perspective of a heterosexual man e.g. having shots of the curves of a woman's body.
The woman is usually displayed on two different levels: as an erotic object both for the characters within the film and for the spectator who is watching the film. The man comes across as the dominant power within the created film fantasy. The woman is passive to the active gaze of a man. This adds an element of patriarchal order, and is often seen in "illusionistic narrative film".
Mulvey argues that, in mainstream cinema, the male gaze typically takes precedence over the 'female gaze', reflecting an underlying power asymmetry.
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... Sub Focus - Out The Blue (feat. Alice Gold)
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... Halsey - Ghost
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... Bring Me The Horizon - Doomed (Fan Made Video)
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... Bring Me The Horizon - Run (Fan Made Video)... ... I really like the variety of shots used in this music video.
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I made this gif with makeagif.com to show the exact part of this video I absolutely love. I really want to include this in my music video! This is my favourite shot from this music video.
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I also really like this shot too mainly because it is in slow motion. I love the slow motion effect on the water coming up out of the puddle.
Signifier - Is a single detail we pick out which we think has symbolic meaning. Denotation - Is a single detail we pick out which Connotation - The symbolic meaning of these factual details. Intertextuality - The meaning of one text is tied to another, earlier text e.g. to fully understand 'Scary Movie' you'd have need to have seen 'Scream'. This can cause contested readings. Artificial Light - A source of light created by lighting equipment, rather than from natural sources. Convention - A frequently used element which becomes standard. Disequilibrium - The period of instability and insecurity in a film/video's narrative. Equilibrium - A state of peace and calm, which often exists at the beginning of a film/video's narrative. Genre - A system of film/music identification, in which films/music that have the same elements are grouped together. Iconography - the objects within a film/video that are used to evoke particular meanings. Mise-en-scene - A french term, which literally means 'put into the frame'. When analysing a sequence the term refers to everything you see in the frame (props, costume, lighting, colour, makeup etc.).
CAMERA SHOTS Establishing Shot - Establishes a scene, often giving the viewer information about where the scene is set. Can be a close up shot but is often a wide/long shot and usually appears at the beginning of a scene. Extreme Long Shot - Used to show the subject from a distance, or establish the setting of a scene. This type of shot is particularly useful for establishing a scene in terms of time and place, as well as a character's physical or emotional relationship to the environment and elements within it. The character doesn't necessarily have to be viewable in this shot.
Long Shot - This type of shot typically frames the whole figure of your subject from the head to the toes.
Medium Long Shot - Frames the whole subject from the head to the knees. Medium Shot - Frames the subject from the head to the waist. Used to show body language/movement of the upper body of a character. Close Up - A head and shoulders shot often used to show emotions of a character. Also can be a shot of an object, filmed from close to the object or zoomed in to it, that reveals detail. Extreme Close Up - Part of a face or body of a character fills the whole frame/dominates the frame. Also can be shot of an object where only a small part of it dominates the frame. Point-Of-View Shot - Shows a view from the subject's perspective. This shot is usually edited that the viewer is aware who's point of view it is. Over The Shoulder Shot - Looking from behind a character's shoulder at a subject. The character facing the subject usually occupies 1/3 of the frame but it depends on what meaning the director wants to create. Overhead Shot - The camera is positioned above the character, action or object being framed. Reaction Shot - Shows the reaction of a character either to another or to an event within the sequence. Aerial Shot - Taken from an overhead position/bird's eye view. Often used as an establishing shot. Two Shot - Of two characters, possibly engaging in a conversation. Usually to signify/establish some sort of relationship. CAMERA TECHNIQUES
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Shallow Field of Focus - A camera technique in which one part of the shot is in focus while the rest is out of focus.
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Deep Field of Focus - A camera technique which allows all distance planes to remain clearly in focus. ... Focus Pull - A camera technique where you change focus during a shot. This means adjusting the focus from one subject/object that is further behind to another subject/object that is further in front.
... Focus Push - A camera technique where you change focus during a shot. This means adjusting the focus from one subject/object that is further in front to another subject/object that is further behind. CAMERA ANGLES Low Angle - Looks up on an object or subject. Often used to make the subject or object appear powerful/dominant. High Angle - Looks down upon an object or subject. Often used to make the subject or object appear small or vulnerable. Dutch Angle - Canted Framing - Makes what is shot appear to be skewed or tilted. CAMERA MOVEMENTS
... Pan - The camera pivots horizontally, either from right to left or left to right to reveal a set or setting. This can be used to give the viewer a panoramic view. Sometimes used to establish a scene.
... Track - The camera follows an object/subject. The tracking shot can include smooth movements forward, backward, along side of the subject, or on a curve but cannot include complex movement around a subject. 'Track' refers to rails in which a wheeled platform (which has a camera on it) sits on in order to carry out smooth movement. Crane - Sometimes used to signify the end of a scene. The effect is achieved by the camera being put onto a crane that can be moved upward. Steadicam - A stabilising mount for a camera which mechanically isolates the operator's movement from the camera, allowing a very smooth shot even when the operator is moving quickly over an uneven surface. Informally, the word may also be used to the combination of the mount and the camera. Tilt - Where a camera scans a set or setting vertically. Zoom - Using a zoom lens that appears to be moving closer (to zoom in) or further away from (to zoom out). EDITING Continuity Editing - The most common type of editing, which aims to create a sense of reality and time moving forward. Also nick named invisible editing referring to how the technique does not draw attention to the editing process. Jump Cut - An abrupt, disorientating transitional device in the middle of a continuous shot in which the action id noticeably advanced in time and/or cut between two similar shots, usually done to create discontinuity for artistic effect. Cross Cutting (Parallel Editing) - The editing technique of alternating, interweaving, or interspersing one narrative action with another - usually in different locations or places, therefore combining the two: this editing technique usually suggests Parallel action (that takes place simultaneously). Often used to dramatically build tension and/or suspense in chase scenes or to compare two different scenes. Also known as inter-cutting or parallel editing. Cutaways - A brief shot that momentarily interrupts continuous action by briefly inserting another related action. Object, or person (sometimes not part of the principle scene or main action), followed by a cutback to the original shot. Freeze Frame - The effect of seemingly stopping a film in order to focus in on one event or element. Eye-line Match - A cut between two shots that creates the illusion of the character (in the first shot) looking at an object (in the second shot) which is technically a point of view shot. Flashback - A filming technique that alters the natural order of the narrative. A flashback may often be the entire film; it takes the story order back chronologically in time to a previous or past event, scene or sequence that took place prior to the present time frame of the film. The flash-backed story that provides background on action and events is often called the backstory. Is a contrast to flash-forward. Graphic Match - Link between two matching shapes between two different scenes. Usually use of ellipsis for this. 180-Degree Rule - is a basic guideline regarding the on-screen spatial relationship between a character and another character or object within a scene. An imaginary line called the axis connects the characters, and by keeping the camera on one side of this axis for every shot in the scene, the first character is always frame right of the second character, who is then always frame left of the first. The camera passing over the axis is called jumping the line or crossing the line. Breaking the 180 degree rule by shooting on all sides is known as shooting in the round. Shot Reverse Shot - Juxtaposition - The contiguous positioning of either two images, characters, objects, or two scenes in sequence, in order to compare and contrast them, or establish a relationship between them. A clashing object that strikes as odd. Element/aspect of discontinuity editing. Linear Narrative - Montage Editing - A filming technique, editing style or form of movie collage consisting of a series of short shots or images that are rapidly put together into a coherent sequence to create a composite picture, or to suggest and connote meaning. In simple terms, the structure of editing within a film. A montage is usually not accompanied with dialogue. Dissolves, cuts, fades, super-impositions and wipes are often used to link the images in a montage sequence. An accelerated montage is composed of shots of increasingly-shorter lengths. Contrast to mise-en-scene. Seems random. E.g. Shot of a poster of a jewish man, then a shot of some rats. Connoting a link between two very different things. Parallel Editing - Editing that cuts between two sequences taking place at different locations and possibly different times. Parallel action refers to a narrative device in which two scenes are observed in parallel by cross-cutting. Parallel sound refers to sound that matches the accompanying image aka cross-cutting, inter-cutting. Visual Effects - Considered a sub-category of special effects. Refers to anything added to the final picture that was not in the original shot. Visual effects can be accomplished in-camera (like stop motion, double exposures and rear/front projection) or via a number of different optical or digital post-production processes (e.g. CGI), usually made with a computer. Match on Action - A shot that emphasises continuity of space and time by matching the action of the preceding shot with the continuation of the action. (e.g. a shot of a door opening after a shot of a close up of a character's hand turning a door handle).
There is a mix of narrative and performance footage in this video, so, Simon Perth's performance, concept and narrative theory can be applied here. There are shots of the band performing with instruments such as electric guitar, drum kit, this all creates verisimilitude for the video. The narrative footage blurs with the performance footage at points for example when the band perform around the couple having sex/on top of each other kissing on a worn out discoloured mattress. 
