(Post 53) Evaluation question 1
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media
products?
Music Video Conventions:
There are many conventions of typical music videos. Here are a few examples that are commonly used:
Commercial Exhibitionism:
In this style, the artist will try and sell themselves, rather than the music. the main focus of the video is on the artist and is usually used to portray their unique lifestyle of success and fame. This is a common convention in pop music particularly. An example of this is 'I'm the one' by DJ Khaled and Justin Bieber:
This is a clear example of Commercial Exhibitionism. Throughout the video, we are shown luxurious beaches, pools, and people. The video is based on DJ Khaled's extravagant lifestyle, and we understand the fame and fortune of the video. This idea of Commercial Exhibitionism is used in many pop videos to sell the artist. It is common for this to focus on a solo artist, rather than a band, but it can be used to portray a band as well.
Performance:
This is perhaps the most common convention of music videos. Usually, a music video will portray the artist performing the song to the video. Ultimately, the point of a video is to bring attention to the artist, and a performance aspect is sure to do so. This can be in different forms but is usually in the form of lip-syncing. An example of this is 'Bellyache' by Billie Eilish:
In this video, there is some sense of an underlying story, but the main aspect of it is performance. Throughout, Billie Eilish is seen lip-syncing to her music and dancing. This is performance and is seen to bring attention to the artist, and the music. Bright colours and stunning landscapes are used to make this video stand out, but overall it is the performance that is the main aspect of the video.
Narrative:
The 'Cambridge English Dictionary' describes the term narrative as- 'a story or a description of a series of events'. This is the premise for all film and television and this rings true in this music video convention. Specifically, this is a short section of film that is played over the musical background but is purely based on storytelling. It contains a visual story and plot, but usually no lip-syncing or performance. A common plot for narrative clips includes- relationships, breakups, family. An example of this is 'I Found' by Amber run:
In this video, there is a clear plot (a woman is kidnapped and falls in love with her captor). There is no performance aspect, and the whole video focuses on the story. This is a clear example of narrative, as there is such focus on story-telling, rather than performance or art.
Art:
This is a less commonly used convention in media but is still prominent in some music videos. This is where the video contains no clear narrative or lip-syncing. It is purely art for the viewer and portrays an interpretation of the music (ie- how it makes you feel). Visuals are usually unique and interesting. The art onscreen goes well with the music and accentuates the music and it's beauty, making the audience want to listen more. An example of this is 'Crime Cutz' by Holy Ghost!
This is a clear example of art in a music video. This is
Televised Bard:
This is almost a mixture of performance and narrative as the singer is telling the story through lip-syncing. It is common for the artist themselves to be in the story, but not strictly necessary. The convention itself simply means the singer/band is portraying a story. In the video, the artist is lip-syncing the song, and showing narrative. An example of this is 'Say Amen (Saturday Night)' by Panic! At the Disco:
This video has televised bard, as Brendon Urie is telling the story. He is lip-syncing and the story is all told from his perspective.
Technical forms and conventions:
It is difficult to pin down specific forms and conventions for music videos, as this is such a varied, rich form of media (each genre of music tends to be in a different style of video). However, there are some clear themes that are used in music videos:
Editing:
Editing in music video is commonly plain and simple. Jump-cuts tend to be favoured as it allows fast, pacy changes in shots, to go with the music. Depending on the type of music, slower transitions like dissolves or fades could be implicated, but this is not strictly common.
Sound:
Usually, the only sound audible is non-diegetic. It is the song itself, and usually nothing else. this is common as the idea of a music video is to promote the song and the artist, so anything that could interrupt the music would be negative. It is not impossible to have diegetic sound, however, and many music videos tend to use it for effect. For example, Panic! At the Disco's 'Say Amen (Saturday Night)' (as seen above), uses diegetic sound heavily, which gives it a short film feel.
Lighting:
Lighting can be used to great effect in music videos and can symbolize the emotions behind the video. There isn't much convention in music videos as a whole as to how lighting is used.
Camera Shots:
Camera shots in music videos are largely varied. Wide shots can be used to promote the location, whereas close-ups are used to promote the artist.
Music Video conventions in my genre (Indie/rock):
There are many clear conventions in the genre of Indie music. These include:
Performance:
In the Indie genre, there tends to be more focus on the music itself. Performance aspects of the video are important, and it is common to see videos with mostly performance or even all performance aspects. An example of this is 'Youth' by Daughter:
This video only focuses on performance and is aiming to boost attention to the band.
Narrative:
Although performance is key in a music video, there is sometimes aspects of narrative as well. Usually, the story will be emotional, and will commonly be about relationships. Narrative clips are interlaced with performance and portray an important story. An example of narrative in an Indie genre is 'We Exist' by Arcade Fire:
This indie video only has narrative clips and creates a hard-hitting story. This is common in Indie videos, and if there is narrative is tends to be emotional.
Technical Forms and Conventions of Indie Music Videos:
Costume:
Costume in Indie music videos tends to be symbolic. The story portrayed in such videos tend to be important, so the costume is used to further the story. It is usually used in parllel and colours tend to be symbolic.
Sound:
Diegetic sound tends not to be used in Indie music videos, depending on the focus of the video. Usually, the focus is the music itself, not the narrative. If this is the case, there tends to be no diegetic sound and just the music. It is rarer to have diegetic sound, but if it is there it is used to further the story over the music.
Lighting:
A huge convention in this genre is Black and White videos. It is really common for videos in this genre to use black and white colouring, rather than full colour. An example is 'Chocolate' by The 1975:
Camera Movement:
Camera movement tends to replicate the speed of the music. Indie music tends to be slower, so camera movement is usually slow and smooth, although fast-paced movements can be used effectively. Moreover, it is really common for the video to be filmed in slow motion.
Camera Shots:
Indie music videos tend to cleverly incorporate a range of wide and close shots. Stunning locations are encompassed by wide shots and raw emotions are documented using close-ups.
Have I conformed to conventions and forms of Indie music videos:
Conforming:
Narrative:
I have decided to conform to the convention of having narrative in my video. I have strayed slightly, as there is no incorporated performance, but overall this is conforming to the convention. This wasn't really a conscious decision as I simply never really thought about including performance as well as narrative, and I only thought about the story. I feel this is successful as the addition of performance aspect could overcomplicate the story.
Slow motion:
I have decided to continue this form and used slow motion throughout my media project. This was because I felt it looked visually effective and was fitting to the darker feel of the music itself. This was a conscious decision, as I really liked how such videos looked and I felt it was particularly effective.
Emotional storyline:
It is common for the storyline in an Indie video to be emotional or hard-hitting. I have conformed with this convention. My video focuses on a relationship that ultimately doesn't work, it is particularly hard-hitting as you see how wonderful the relationship was before, and how hard the main character fights for it. This was kind of a conscious decision. I first decided to create an emotional storyline, but I had originally created a more optimistic outlook on this, and I only really created more emotion as I developed it. This was effective as it made the audience relate to the story and feel a connection to it.
Symbolic costume:
I decided to follow the convention of symbolic costume in indie videos. Usually, costumes are created to portray meaning that furthers the plot and story of the video. This is seen in colours chosen and style of the outfit (dresses being freeing and tight clothes being restricting). This is usually used to portray the characters state of mind and is good in parallel. I decided to try and create a parallel between the costume in the past and the present. To do this, I wanted to use bright, colourful clothes in the past and juxtapose this with darker toned clothes in the present. The colourful clothes represent happiness and were colours like bright scarlet and yellow. The darker colours were blacks and represented unease and unhappiness. This use of costume will clearly show a shift in the narrative and shows how the relationship broke down. This was conscious, but I felt that it could have been used to more success. Overall, it was a little downplayed and it was hard to tell that was my intentions. If I was to do this again, I would try and show this more clearly and perhaps use more costume changes to show this.
Challenging:
Performance aspect:
As previously mentioned, it is common for there to be performance in Indie music videos. However, in my video, there is no performance at all or any lip-syncing. This wasn't really much of a conscious plan. Initially, my idea was just based on the story, and I never really thought about including any performance aspects. This has proven quite successful as the story is allowed to develop. However, there are sometimes where I could have included lip-syncing, so I'm not sure how successful it is overall.
Black and White:
It is commonplace to use black and white in indie videos. However, I chose not to do so. This was not really a specific, conscious decision as I never really thought about using it in the first place. I am glad I didn't however, as I feel this would reduce from the video I have made, as the colours are symbolic and strong. For example, the fire is a brilliant orange and it wouldn't look as good if it was in black and white. I feel this was a successful choice due to this:
Heterosexual Relationship:
I have mentioned previously that indie videos tend to focus on romantic relationships. This rings true in my video, as I focus on a romantic relationship. However, I have chosen to directly confront key conventions of this, as it is commonplace for these relationships to be heterosexual in nature. My video focuses on a gay relationship in a normalized way. This was a particularly conscious decision and I immediately knew that if I was going to portray a relationship, it would definitely not be heterosexual. I feel that there is a huge depth of heterosexual relationships in media and particularly music videos. There is far less focus on LGBT+ relationships in the media. This lack of representation really affects people, especially young people. I wanted to show that LGBT+ relationships are normal. I made nothing particularly special or exaggerated, just showed the decline of a normal relationship in our society. It is perhaps a bit of a cliche to have a 'broken' LGBT+ relationship and it is common in media for there to be turmoil in such relationships, but I made it clear that they broke up due to themselves and no outlying factors. This just furthers the normality I wanted to portray in the video.
I believe that this has proven successful as I have been able to portray the normalization of LGBT+ relationships.
Has this proven successful?:
Overall, I think the decisions I made were particularly successful. The combination of conformity and challenging created a unique flair in my video.
What were you inspired by?:
There were many things that I was inspired by in the production of my music video. The idea and plot of my music video were inspired heavily by a game called 'Life Is strange'.
This game inspired me, as the plot uses ideas such as time travel and focuses on how a relationship develops across time, and how all little decisions can change things massively. It gave me the idea for a split-screen layout as well, as it is based in the viewpoint of two girls.
Also, in the game, photographs are really important- the main character is a photographer, and some of the games main plot points and controls use photographs. They give her the power to travel to the past and enable her to save everyone. In the end, the main dilemma is what the main character is willing to do in order to save her girlfriend, even if this means destroying so many other lives.
I was inspired by this in many ways, and this gave me the idea of the photographs being 'snapshots' through time. It also inspired me to focus on a relationship, especially an LGBT+ one.
Moreover, I was also inspired by lots of music videos from the same genre. These include:
This video really inspired me throughout the process. It showed me that simple movements and mise-en-scene can create a really in-depth video. specifically, there are moments where the main character turns to look to the other, and all of her emotions and desperation is projected through one simple glance. The music ties in with this and allows all the emotions to be projected through simple glances like this. This showed me that the story can really be propelled through simple movements and ideas and that it doesn't necessarily have to be complex. I also liked the introduction shot, as it is the ending, so is foreshadowing the rest. I was inspired by this to create a more simplistic video, focusing on the relationship and emotions. Moreover, it inspired me particularly for the opening shot, and I also used a foreshadowing technique.
The actual video content spurred me on to create a video about an LGBT+ relationship as well.
I demonstrated this inspiration through the storyline ans the simplicity of my idea.
This video also inspired me in similar ways, and I really love how it is produced and directed. The plot of the video helped fuel my ideas. The plot was based on an LGBT+ couple through the ages. It first shows them as young boys having fun and then shows them grow older, and their relationship more real. The fractured feel of past and present mismatched together inspired me as my video has a similar feel, just on a smaller scale.
This was hos I showed the inspiration- through a mismatched video focusing on the progression of a relationship through time.
Finally, this video was one of the first videos that inspired me. It focuses on two girls in a seemingly wonderful relationship. The eerie tone of the music combined with the calm visuals creates a sense of content and happiness until it is revealed that their relationship was more fractured and unstable than previously expected. This inspired me to create an interpretation of such a relationship. It seems happy and great at first, but then dissolves and becomes unhealthy and possessive. I was inspired by the story and the plot and wanted to replicate the feeling of the video. The video leaves a bitter taste as it suggests they don't get back together.
I also created a director analysis which inspired my dramatic intentions:
I really liked the style of David Wilson and was really in awe of his bold mismatch of animation, practical effects and live action. I really wanted to include more inspired by this, and if I was to create another video I would really like to incorporate more in his style. I felt that the idea of photograph green screen was quite similar to his work, but overall I wish I had used more ideas taken from his work, as I really liked his work.
products?
Music Video Conventions:
There are many conventions of typical music videos. Here are a few examples that are commonly used:
Commercial Exhibitionism:
In this style, the artist will try and sell themselves, rather than the music. the main focus of the video is on the artist and is usually used to portray their unique lifestyle of success and fame. This is a common convention in pop music particularly. An example of this is 'I'm the one' by DJ Khaled and Justin Bieber:
This is a clear example of Commercial Exhibitionism. Throughout the video, we are shown luxurious beaches, pools, and people. The video is based on DJ Khaled's extravagant lifestyle, and we understand the fame and fortune of the video. This idea of Commercial Exhibitionism is used in many pop videos to sell the artist. It is common for this to focus on a solo artist, rather than a band, but it can be used to portray a band as well.
Performance:
This is perhaps the most common convention of music videos. Usually, a music video will portray the artist performing the song to the video. Ultimately, the point of a video is to bring attention to the artist, and a performance aspect is sure to do so. This can be in different forms but is usually in the form of lip-syncing. An example of this is 'Bellyache' by Billie Eilish:
In this video, there is some sense of an underlying story, but the main aspect of it is performance. Throughout, Billie Eilish is seen lip-syncing to her music and dancing. This is performance and is seen to bring attention to the artist, and the music. Bright colours and stunning landscapes are used to make this video stand out, but overall it is the performance that is the main aspect of the video.
Narrative:
The 'Cambridge English Dictionary' describes the term narrative as- 'a story or a description of a series of events'. This is the premise for all film and television and this rings true in this music video convention. Specifically, this is a short section of film that is played over the musical background but is purely based on storytelling. It contains a visual story and plot, but usually no lip-syncing or performance. A common plot for narrative clips includes- relationships, breakups, family. An example of this is 'I Found' by Amber run:
In this video, there is a clear plot (a woman is kidnapped and falls in love with her captor). There is no performance aspect, and the whole video focuses on the story. This is a clear example of narrative, as there is such focus on story-telling, rather than performance or art.
Art:
This is a less commonly used convention in media but is still prominent in some music videos. This is where the video contains no clear narrative or lip-syncing. It is purely art for the viewer and portrays an interpretation of the music (ie- how it makes you feel). Visuals are usually unique and interesting. The art onscreen goes well with the music and accentuates the music and it's beauty, making the audience want to listen more. An example of this is 'Crime Cutz' by Holy Ghost!
This is a clear example of art in a music video. This is
Televised Bard:
This is almost a mixture of performance and narrative as the singer is telling the story through lip-syncing. It is common for the artist themselves to be in the story, but not strictly necessary. The convention itself simply means the singer/band is portraying a story. In the video, the artist is lip-syncing the song, and showing narrative. An example of this is 'Say Amen (Saturday Night)' by Panic! At the Disco:
This video has televised bard, as Brendon Urie is telling the story. He is lip-syncing and the story is all told from his perspective.
Technical forms and conventions:
It is difficult to pin down specific forms and conventions for music videos, as this is such a varied, rich form of media (each genre of music tends to be in a different style of video). However, there are some clear themes that are used in music videos:
Editing:
Editing in music video is commonly plain and simple. Jump-cuts tend to be favoured as it allows fast, pacy changes in shots, to go with the music. Depending on the type of music, slower transitions like dissolves or fades could be implicated, but this is not strictly common.
Sound:
Usually, the only sound audible is non-diegetic. It is the song itself, and usually nothing else. this is common as the idea of a music video is to promote the song and the artist, so anything that could interrupt the music would be negative. It is not impossible to have diegetic sound, however, and many music videos tend to use it for effect. For example, Panic! At the Disco's 'Say Amen (Saturday Night)' (as seen above), uses diegetic sound heavily, which gives it a short film feel.
Lighting:
Lighting can be used to great effect in music videos and can symbolize the emotions behind the video. There isn't much convention in music videos as a whole as to how lighting is used.
Camera Shots:
Camera shots in music videos are largely varied. Wide shots can be used to promote the location, whereas close-ups are used to promote the artist.
Music Video conventions in my genre (Indie/rock):
There are many clear conventions in the genre of Indie music. These include:
Performance:
In the Indie genre, there tends to be more focus on the music itself. Performance aspects of the video are important, and it is common to see videos with mostly performance or even all performance aspects. An example of this is 'Youth' by Daughter:
This video only focuses on performance and is aiming to boost attention to the band.
Narrative:
Although performance is key in a music video, there is sometimes aspects of narrative as well. Usually, the story will be emotional, and will commonly be about relationships. Narrative clips are interlaced with performance and portray an important story. An example of narrative in an Indie genre is 'We Exist' by Arcade Fire:
This indie video only has narrative clips and creates a hard-hitting story. This is common in Indie videos, and if there is narrative is tends to be emotional.
Technical Forms and Conventions of Indie Music Videos:
Costume:
Costume in Indie music videos tends to be symbolic. The story portrayed in such videos tend to be important, so the costume is used to further the story. It is usually used in parllel and colours tend to be symbolic.
Sound:
Diegetic sound tends not to be used in Indie music videos, depending on the focus of the video. Usually, the focus is the music itself, not the narrative. If this is the case, there tends to be no diegetic sound and just the music. It is rarer to have diegetic sound, but if it is there it is used to further the story over the music.
Lighting:
A huge convention in this genre is Black and White videos. It is really common for videos in this genre to use black and white colouring, rather than full colour. An example is 'Chocolate' by The 1975:
Camera Movement:
Camera movement tends to replicate the speed of the music. Indie music tends to be slower, so camera movement is usually slow and smooth, although fast-paced movements can be used effectively. Moreover, it is really common for the video to be filmed in slow motion.
Camera Shots:
Indie music videos tend to cleverly incorporate a range of wide and close shots. Stunning locations are encompassed by wide shots and raw emotions are documented using close-ups.
Have I conformed to conventions and forms of Indie music videos:
Conforming:
Narrative:
I have decided to conform to the convention of having narrative in my video. I have strayed slightly, as there is no incorporated performance, but overall this is conforming to the convention. This wasn't really a conscious decision as I simply never really thought about including performance as well as narrative, and I only thought about the story. I feel this is successful as the addition of performance aspect could overcomplicate the story.
Slow motion:
I have decided to continue this form and used slow motion throughout my media project. This was because I felt it looked visually effective and was fitting to the darker feel of the music itself. This was a conscious decision, as I really liked how such videos looked and I felt it was particularly effective.
Emotional storyline:
It is common for the storyline in an Indie video to be emotional or hard-hitting. I have conformed with this convention. My video focuses on a relationship that ultimately doesn't work, it is particularly hard-hitting as you see how wonderful the relationship was before, and how hard the main character fights for it. This was kind of a conscious decision. I first decided to create an emotional storyline, but I had originally created a more optimistic outlook on this, and I only really created more emotion as I developed it. This was effective as it made the audience relate to the story and feel a connection to it.
Symbolic costume:
I decided to follow the convention of symbolic costume in indie videos. Usually, costumes are created to portray meaning that furthers the plot and story of the video. This is seen in colours chosen and style of the outfit (dresses being freeing and tight clothes being restricting). This is usually used to portray the characters state of mind and is good in parallel. I decided to try and create a parallel between the costume in the past and the present. To do this, I wanted to use bright, colourful clothes in the past and juxtapose this with darker toned clothes in the present. The colourful clothes represent happiness and were colours like bright scarlet and yellow. The darker colours were blacks and represented unease and unhappiness. This use of costume will clearly show a shift in the narrative and shows how the relationship broke down. This was conscious, but I felt that it could have been used to more success. Overall, it was a little downplayed and it was hard to tell that was my intentions. If I was to do this again, I would try and show this more clearly and perhaps use more costume changes to show this.
Challenging:
Performance aspect:
As previously mentioned, it is common for there to be performance in Indie music videos. However, in my video, there is no performance at all or any lip-syncing. This wasn't really much of a conscious plan. Initially, my idea was just based on the story, and I never really thought about including any performance aspects. This has proven quite successful as the story is allowed to develop. However, there are sometimes where I could have included lip-syncing, so I'm not sure how successful it is overall.
Black and White:
It is commonplace to use black and white in indie videos. However, I chose not to do so. This was not really a specific, conscious decision as I never really thought about using it in the first place. I am glad I didn't however, as I feel this would reduce from the video I have made, as the colours are symbolic and strong. For example, the fire is a brilliant orange and it wouldn't look as good if it was in black and white. I feel this was a successful choice due to this:
I have mentioned previously that indie videos tend to focus on romantic relationships. This rings true in my video, as I focus on a romantic relationship. However, I have chosen to directly confront key conventions of this, as it is commonplace for these relationships to be heterosexual in nature. My video focuses on a gay relationship in a normalized way. This was a particularly conscious decision and I immediately knew that if I was going to portray a relationship, it would definitely not be heterosexual. I feel that there is a huge depth of heterosexual relationships in media and particularly music videos. There is far less focus on LGBT+ relationships in the media. This lack of representation really affects people, especially young people. I wanted to show that LGBT+ relationships are normal. I made nothing particularly special or exaggerated, just showed the decline of a normal relationship in our society. It is perhaps a bit of a cliche to have a 'broken' LGBT+ relationship and it is common in media for there to be turmoil in such relationships, but I made it clear that they broke up due to themselves and no outlying factors. This just furthers the normality I wanted to portray in the video.
I believe that this has proven successful as I have been able to portray the normalization of LGBT+ relationships.
Has this proven successful?:
Overall, I think the decisions I made were particularly successful. The combination of conformity and challenging created a unique flair in my video.
What were you inspired by?:
There were many things that I was inspired by in the production of my music video. The idea and plot of my music video were inspired heavily by a game called 'Life Is strange'.
Also, in the game, photographs are really important- the main character is a photographer, and some of the games main plot points and controls use photographs. They give her the power to travel to the past and enable her to save everyone. In the end, the main dilemma is what the main character is willing to do in order to save her girlfriend, even if this means destroying so many other lives.
I was inspired by this in many ways, and this gave me the idea of the photographs being 'snapshots' through time. It also inspired me to focus on a relationship, especially an LGBT+ one.
Moreover, I was also inspired by lots of music videos from the same genre. These include:
This video really inspired me throughout the process. It showed me that simple movements and mise-en-scene can create a really in-depth video. specifically, there are moments where the main character turns to look to the other, and all of her emotions and desperation is projected through one simple glance. The music ties in with this and allows all the emotions to be projected through simple glances like this. This showed me that the story can really be propelled through simple movements and ideas and that it doesn't necessarily have to be complex. I also liked the introduction shot, as it is the ending, so is foreshadowing the rest. I was inspired by this to create a more simplistic video, focusing on the relationship and emotions. Moreover, it inspired me particularly for the opening shot, and I also used a foreshadowing technique.
The actual video content spurred me on to create a video about an LGBT+ relationship as well.
I demonstrated this inspiration through the storyline ans the simplicity of my idea.
This video also inspired me in similar ways, and I really love how it is produced and directed. The plot of the video helped fuel my ideas. The plot was based on an LGBT+ couple through the ages. It first shows them as young boys having fun and then shows them grow older, and their relationship more real. The fractured feel of past and present mismatched together inspired me as my video has a similar feel, just on a smaller scale.
This was hos I showed the inspiration- through a mismatched video focusing on the progression of a relationship through time.
Finally, this video was one of the first videos that inspired me. It focuses on two girls in a seemingly wonderful relationship. The eerie tone of the music combined with the calm visuals creates a sense of content and happiness until it is revealed that their relationship was more fractured and unstable than previously expected. This inspired me to create an interpretation of such a relationship. It seems happy and great at first, but then dissolves and becomes unhealthy and possessive. I was inspired by the story and the plot and wanted to replicate the feeling of the video. The video leaves a bitter taste as it suggests they don't get back together.
I also created a director analysis which inspired my dramatic intentions:
I really liked the style of David Wilson and was really in awe of his bold mismatch of animation, practical effects and live action. I really wanted to include more inspired by this, and if I was to create another video I would really like to incorporate more in his style. I felt that the idea of photograph green screen was quite similar to his work, but overall I wish I had used more ideas taken from his work, as I really liked his work.
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