Postmodern Music Videos

Postmodernism is the abandonment of structure and order. Postmodernists are largely pessimistic because they believe that artistic creativity and new ideas can no longer exist in today's society because everything has already been done and thought of.

'Eminem - Without me' is a great example of a Postmodern music video. The whole music video is built around parodies of comins - Batman, Robin and Blade trying to save a child who bought a copy of 'The Eminem Show' that has a Parental Advisory sticker. Intertexuality is used when references are made to original Batman movies when Robin climbs up the wall (also hyperreality) and Robin and Batman are in a fast car. Intertextuality to real life is used when we are reminded of when Elvis died on the toilet when we see Eminem dressed as Elvis sat on the toilet. We see hyperreality when 3 mini people are floating on water inside the toilet that Elvis has just been sat on - this isn't possible and is weird for the sake of being weird. The 4th wall is broken and we are reminded that it is only a text when the red recording button appears on the screen and when Eminem sings to the camera and the lyrics are printed at the bottom of the screen, making it like a karaoke for the audience. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVkUvmDQ3HY

I used Photovisi to create a collage of screenshots of Eminem's video. 

'Adele - Skyfall' is a more recent example of a Postmodern video. This video is different to the average music video because because it hardly features the artist. Adele, the singer, is only shown for 5 seconds out of the 4.48 minute video. 'Skyfall', the song,was written for the James Bond movie 'Skyfall. Skyfall the movie has its own trailer which lasts 2.34 minutes but this music video is almost like another longer trailer for the film. It is different to other music videos because at the beginning we see adverts for Columbia, the golden lion trade mark, 007 and credits to the major people involved with the film. This is the same as a typical film trailer would have. Intertextuality is used throughout the whole of the music video to shows clips of the James Bond film, and nothing of Adele apart from the 5 seconds at the start. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StJLvbPIvTw

Again, I used Photovisi to create a collage of screenshots of Adele's video.

Photos On Set

These are photos that my friend Anna took whilst Hannah and I were shooting.

Filming: Day 2

Today Hannah and I did the filming in Aust. The weather was very similar to our first day of filming - which is good because the scenes will match each other when i put them together using iMovie. 

I made sure i captured Hannah singing the whole of 'Bigger Than Me' whilst making eye contact with the camera so that i would have a choice on which parts to use when cutting and editing. 

Filming: Day 1

Today I shot the first lot of film of Hannah for my music promotional video. I managed to get a lot done in the day - it took about 3 hours. Considering it's Winter the weather was kind - it was cold but the sun was out at times. We decided that we'd film the scenes in Olveston today, and would film the scenes in Aust at a later date.

I had to make quite a few adjustments to locations to what I had originally planned because of the weather and the time of the year. The last time I was in Olveston (where the fields/country side scenery that I planned to use) it was Summer and the fields were very grassy and full. However because it is now Winter and is very cold and wet, when i arrived at the fields they were all very muddy and it would have been very impractical to film there. 

Hannah couldn't lie on any grass because there wasn't any. I had to adapt to this and therefore decided that I would film most of the video in Aust, however I managed to get shots of Hannah sitting on dry grass playing her guitar whilst singing. 

Locations I Will Be Using + Pictures

I have decided i am going to go to Aust (by the Severn Bridge) to film parts of my music promotional video. This location is very scenic. I am also going to capture footage in the country side (woods and fields) in Olveston, a small rural village. I think these locations will be suitable to Hannah's song, "Bigger Than Me" because they are very calm, like the song.

Music Video Animatic

Instead of doing a normal storyboard I have made an animatic of my music promotional video. It shows the different shots i will be using and when they will appear during the song and how long they will be held for. 

Blocking (With Lyrics)

Hannah MacLeod - Bigger Than Me (3:10 minutes)

The video will consist of Hannah taking a walk through fields/woods/gardens and she will have flashbacks to her disturbed childhood, when she was abused. She will sing directly to the camera at times to connect with the audience and break the fourth wall, but not too often so that I can tell a story through the video. The song is about child abuse so I am going to try and show this through film. I will use black and white film to show Hannah's flashbacks from her past (childhood), and colour film to show the present. This will make it clear for the audience what is past and what is present.

*Intro music* (12 seconds) *Hannah briefly explaining what 'Bigger Than Me' is about/introduces audience* *shots of landscape e.g. bridge, pathway, grass, flowers, Hannah's old house that she grew up in (bad memories from that house) - setting the scene* 

You always say what you like * fades into Hannah in a field/woods* *medium close up shot of Hannah singing into the camera to capture emotion and the audience's attention and some scenery*

and you always think you are right *close up/extreme close up of Hannah singing into the camera to capture more detailed emotion*

I don't get a word in edgeways *long shot/extreme long shot of Hannah walking through field* *use rule of thirds with camera to create an interesting composition*

You push me aside then walk away *she climbs over a fence, onto the next field* *close up of her feet/hands whilst climbing/walking*

I feel like the clouds are closing in *long shot of Hannah lying in grass on floor, then a shot of clouds in sky to illustrate the lyrics - from a low angle so it is from hannah's point of view and i will turn the camera 360 degrees when camera is pointing at sky so that it looks like she is daydreaming or is confused*

I'm speechless of the thought were it began *screen flashes (Hannah is having a flashback) and turns to black and white - extreme long shot/long shot/ of her old house whilst zooming in on it - Hannah is not in the frame - bringing back bad memories* 

I lick my wounds to hide the truth *black and white extreme close up shots of scars/bruises/damage on Hannah's body - remembering her disturbed childhood - very fast shots, only held for 0.5 seconds each*

cos you will always be.. *screen flashes and cuts back to the field/woods in colour* *close up of Hannah singing into camera - reconnecting with audience*

Bigger than me (x2) *use a high angle to shoot to make Hannah from behind (i could climb a tree or Hannah could sit down) using an extreme long shot to make Hannah only take up a small part of the frame - this will make her look physically small and this reflects the lyrics because it is also how she feels emotionally* *capture side profile of Hannah's face whilst she is looking out into distance*

You think that you own me *singing into camera, making eye contact so she looks powerful - contrasts with lyrics - reconnects with audience*

you will never let me be free *black and white flashback to when Hannah was young - slow motion long shot of her the door of house and camera goes inside*

every time you hit me I cry *tracking shot of walking through the house - black and white, slow motion*

and you've hit a nerve *cuts back to present - Hannah playing her guitar whilst singing lyrics*

you're a lie *shakes head*

I feel like the clouds are closing in *shots of clouds to make it look like Hannah is daydreaming*

I'm speechless of the thought were it began *singing whilst walking along pathway*

I lick my wounds to hide the truth *long shots of scenery around Hannah using rules of thirds as Hannah being the focal point*

cos you will always be.. *Medium shot of Hannah singing with her guitar*

Bigger than me (x2) *Medium shot of Hannah singing with her guitar*

Ohhhh ohhh *close up of Hannah singing with her guitar*

I found a place to hide *fades into back to black and white - camera films up the stairs*

I'll lick my wounds with the knife *cuts back to colour - Hannah singing with her guitar (close up/medium close up)*

every time I cry he knows I am weak *fades to black and white - finds Hannah in the corner of a room)

so please don't let him find me *Hannah curled up making her body physically small to show that she is still frightened and traumatised by her childhood*

He's bigger than me (x2) *fades back to Hannah singing/sat down reflecting*

Feedback on Pitch & Further Thoughts

I showed my pitch to Annie Redman and Sally Carmody (both 17 and members of my target audience).  They suggested I should think more about areas which I haven't addressed in detail:

• Make-up
• Hannah's Clothes
• Exact locations for shooting 
• Who will i use for the young girl?
• Do i need any more actors/actresses?

After doing my pitch for my music video i discovered different aspects of my ideas that I needed to work on. I recognised that i need to be more specific with my location, costumes, make-up and all aspects of mise en scene. Hannah is willing to do her own make-up as she is good at it - her make-up will be of a natural every-day style, and her outfit(s) will be casual/ everyday clothing because the video is taking place on a normal day for Hannah, where she has flashbacks to her past. This will make it look like the flashbacks she has are a regular occurrence and she very often thinks about her disturbed childhood - this reinforces the strength of the lyrics.

I have decided i am going to go to Aust (by the Severn Bridge) to film parts of my music promotional video. This location is very scenic. I am also going to capture footage in the country side (woods and fields) in Olveston, a small rural village. I think these locations will be suitable to Hannah's song, "Bigger Than Me" because they are very calm, like the song. Hannah lives in Olveston and Aust is only down the road from there. Olveston is only a 15 minute drive from where I live so I will easily be able to get to my locations to meet Hannah.

The colour modes of the video will all be filmed outside - this is Hannah in her present life where she is free from abuse. The black and white modes of the video will be filmed inside the house where Hannah grew up and will show confined spaces - which reinforces the fact that she was trapped as a young girl.

I have realised that it is going to be very hard to find a young girl to be in my video as I don't have any younger siblings and don't know anyone who would be suitable for the role. I am going to abandon this idea and just use Hannah in the black and white flashback modes of the video and make her look very vulnerable and depressed. I am only going to have Hannah herself featuring in the video so it reinforces that she is alone - like how she felt during her childhood.

From looking at past A2 student's promotional music videos, I have concluded that the videos aren't as effective and are obvious that they are amateur when there are a lot of people involved in the shots because it made it hard for the photographer to focus on the singer and the storyline to the video. Also, some people didn't use a variety of different scenes and locations in their video, which I think made it boring because there was only one thing happening in once place. From research using Youtube, I have found that all professional artist's music videos (e.g. Katy Perry's 'Last Friday Night') have a number of scenes in different locations - this is what makes them intriguing and draws their audience in.

Although a sense of voyeurism is used in almost all of the modern female artist's music videos (e.g. Rihanna and Jessie J), I don't think it would be appropriate to use it for this video because it is a very serious and I wouldn't want to distract the audience.

I need to identify exactly what will happen in the video at all points of the song. To help me plan this I am going to make an animatic story board using iMovie and also print the song lyrics out and make notes about the types of shots I can use at certain points of the song.

Pitch

More Inspiration

With help from Hannah, I researched some music videos to help with further inspiration and to get ideas for shooting my video.

Delilah - Go
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxNe9jWNuEU
I like how she is walking through an empty street and singing directly into the camera - it makes her look powerful. The shots at the beginning are held for a long time - if I was to do this I need to make sure they don't become boring. The camera films Delilah's side profile and other angles whilst she is still walking and singing at the beginning - I could do this with Hannah to show her surroundings when she is singing. There is a shot of the sky to show what time of day it is - night time. I am also going to film a shot of the sky but for a different reason - the clouds to show that Hannah is daydreaming.

Lauren Aquilina - Fools
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uodUCtmCRME
We chose to watch this video because it is the same kind of genre as 'Bigger Than Me' and Lauren Aquilina has a similar sounding voice as Hannah. The video consists of Lauren on a 'journey' and cuts back to her singing to the camera at different points - this is what I'd like to do in my video. 

Becky CJ - Easy For You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6WP8ro8u4s
At the beginning of this video there are shots of scenery like grass and woods - this is exactly how I want to begin my video. There are lots of shots of Becky singing in the middle of a field, as though she is lost - I like this idea and it would be suitable for my "Bigger Than Me" video. She sings a lot to the camera, breaking the fourth wall - I do not want to do as much of this as Becky does because i want to tell more of a story in my video. 

Gabrielle Alpin - Home
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pLsb1YMsKE

This video cuts between close ups and long shots of Gabrielle singing and her walking through fields 'on a journey' - this is very similar to what I want to do in my video. I think it looks effective how there are different shots and angles of her climbing the gate - I would like to do this in my video of Hannah climbing a gate whilst on her walk though the country side. An over the shoulder shot is used to show Gabrielle looking out into the distance and show her surroundings/the landscape - I would like to also do this in my video. 

Singer Photographs

My Interview With Hannah MacLeod

I have decided i am going to use my friend Hannah to create my music promotion video and ancillary tasks. Hannah used to go to my school before she went off to study music at college and she writes her own music and songs. I interviewed Hannah about her music career and her song 'Bigger Than Me', which is the song I will be making a music video for.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS1GUTd8cMI&feature=youtu.be

'Watch The Sun Come Up' & 'Latch"

Example - 'Watch The Sun Come Up' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAgegxdVdFU

Disclosure Feat. Sam Smith - 'Latch' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93ASUImTedo 


Example's video is the narrative of the song, about him meeting a girl on holiday and not wanting to leave her, and Disclosure's video shows a number of couples who are 'latching onto each other'. These two music videos both share a similar style. At points in the videos, cartoon drawings appear. 

Disclosure use the same cartoon face drawing to overlay different characters faces in the video. The drawn face has no emotion and flashes to the beat of the song for just a couple of seconds. When watching this for the first time i was confused as to why Disclosure would choose to do this but after watching it a couple of times i thought that perhaps they are trying to bring the characters together/to tell us that they have something in common. 

Example uses cartoon drawings to replace a video/photo shot. The video tells the story of his holiday where he met a girl and he reminisces the memories he has with her. A shot of the girl led in bed gets replaced by a drawing of her led in bed - I think the idea of choosing drawings to replace pictures is to reinforce that they are a distant memory, and that she no longer exists in his life, because a drawing is a lot less real than a photo. The fact that it turns from a colour picture to a black and white drawing/sketch emphasises this.

I love the idea of having a small amount of drawing/sketches pop up in a music video because although at first you may wonder what the point of it is and that it just looks 'cool', there is usually meaning behind it. I could use sketches to show Hannah's emotion in my music video. If i decide to use some then i could feature the same small drawing in my digipak and/or poster, to give them a strong link.

Adele - 'Someone Like You'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLQl3WQQoQ0

Adele's 'Someone Like You' is of the pop/soul/blues genres - it is hard to classify it as one genre. Her lyrics are about how she is miserable and lonely because her relationship has ended. From reviews online i have read  that the video was shot early in the morning - this allowed the photographers to focus on Adele in a lonely and emotional space. The music video illistrates the song. The video's narrative features Adele wandering the early morning streets and pining for her long-lost love. When she sees her ex-lover in the building, he starts to walk away and several shots of Adele looking him follow. The mood is sad but also beautiful. The video is filmed in paris - this location evokes style and romance, which fits the lyrics of Adele's song. The whole video is filmed in black and white and looks like old cinema film - grainy. The black and white colours reflect Adele's emotion - sad and heartbroken. She rarely makes eye contact with the camera which suggests that she is vulnerable and shy - probably because she is heartbroken. No voyeurism or elaborate choreography is used which is unusual for a pop video. The video lasts 4:45 minutes.

Proposal

Music videos are important because they help the audience to understand the meaning of a song. I have watched and analysed music videos from Pop and R&B artists and have noticed similarities that they all share:

• Most of the videos tend to be the narrative of the song lyrics. 
• Most female artists use voyeurism to attract an audience.
• Choreography is used frequently.

I want my music video to tell the narrative of the song as i feel these type of videos are more intriguing for audiences rather than scenes which don't match the lyrics. I will be able to create an aspect of voyeurism by using female(s) in my video dressed and made up looking attractive. It would be extremely hard for me to choreograph a dance routine and find dancers who would be capable and willing to dance for my video. Unfortunately my only options for my singers, dancers and actors/actresses are my peers at school. I feel that by using a slower, perhaps acoustic/piano, song for my music video with only a couple of actors/actresses I will be able to create a more effective narrative. An artist that comes under this category include Adele. I will look at the music videos for a more accurate idea of how I can make a similar video for a similar genre. 

Katy Perry - 'Last Friday Night'

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlyXNRrsk4A

Katy Perry is an extremely well-known american pop artist. 'Last Friday Night' is a pop song - this genre is established by the upbeat tempo of the song. The video doesn't have the conventions of a normal pop video. There is no choreography, which most pop music videos have. Also, there is no aspect of voyeurism in this video which is untypical for a pop video, and also contradicts what we see in many other of Katy Perry’s videos, for example 'Teenage Dream'. The video illustrates the song by putting it into a story to show what happened 'last friday night'. It is 8:11 minutes long - aprox double the length of what most pop music videos are. Because it is so long, viewers may get bored when watching the video but because dressing up as an ugly geek is not Katy's usual style, viewers are intrigued to see more and carry on watching. The video is also comedic, which intrigues the audience to watch it over again. From the lyrics, we would expect this song to be about a party/night out and to include images of a young people having fun. Whilst this video does involve these kind of scenes, it slightly amplifies the lyrics by creating a typical geek look out of the Katy. The music in the video doesn’t change pace but the beats in the song aren’t at pace with the video shots, which creates a feeling of the video being more of a story with a background song.

Jessie J - 'Price Tag'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=qMxX-QOV9tI

Jessie J is a well-known pop artist. This is the video for her song called 'Price Tag'. Instantly the synaesthesia and lyrics of this song puts images in the audiences' mind about money not being a problem, and how the world should continue to party. We, as viewers of the video, therefore expect it to involve scenes of parties and having fun. However, in the first aspect of the video we see is a giant teddy bear with a baby pink background - this seems totally at dis-juncture with the song as there is no aspect of innocence throughout it. There are lots of pastel colours (mainly blue and pink) used in this video - this links to the feeling of innocence at the start of the video and carries this theme through. There is also a little girl sitting by the teddy (who looks like the Jessie but a younger version) who transforms into Jessie J at about 20 seconds into the video. This part of the video is quite baffling for the audience as it ignores the lyrics of the song and the expectations of the video, creating a new set of meanings. Voyeurism is used when we see jessie wear the tight, seductive outfit. This develops the meta-narrative of Jessie J’s star image. The song is illustrated throughout the video. An example of this is when she mentions 'high heels' in her lyrics, we see a pair of high heels. It is also illustrated through the way that the beats in the song match the rythm and speed of the shots in the video. The video is mainly narrative-based but also involves bits of performance to enhance Jessie J's star image.

Rihanna - 'Cheers'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR0v0i63PQ4

This music video is by Rihanna and the song is called 'Cheers'. Rihanna is a popular solo R&B artist. Throughout the video the images we see are illustrated to the lyrics that we hear. The video is upbeat and exciting, like the song. The shots in the video have a wide variety of colour and there are a lot of references to Rihanna's Barbadian background. At the beginning of the video we can hear fans chanting Rihanna's name - this immediately creates an exciting mood and makes you feel like you want to be involved and to become a fan as well. When Rihanna sings the lyrics "lifes's too short to be sitting around miserable" the video is at disjuncture with the song and contradicts the lyrics. We see her driving through a sunny town with a huge smile on her face - the opposite to miserable. The shots of Rihanna singing live on stage are a promotion for her live shows. After watching the music video people will want to be part of the chanting and singing so will buy tickets to see her. This is an effective way of marketing. Voyeurism is used throughout this video to show Rihannas sexy attitude. This is created through her choice of clothing, make up and her seductive style dance moves. I think Rihanna can be seen as a role model for teenage girls.

Initial Questions

HOW WILL PLANNING PROCESSES AND RESEARCH BE CONSTRUCTED AND RECORDED?

I will be recording all my research and development on an Internet blog (blogspot.com). I used this blog site to regularly post updates of my AS foundation project so I am familiar with how to post, create and present information and images. During research i will include images of current artists or bands, their cd cover designs, advertisement posters that they have and their music videos. I will research for music promotional videos on YouTube. This research will be important because it will help me to produce a successful promotional video, digipak and poster. I will look at blogs made by other students who have done similar tasks so that i can get inspiration to help with my ideas. The Marlwood Media website (meandmrjones) will also help me with ideas.

WHO WILL THE AUDIENCE BE? HOW WILL THEY BE IDENTIFIED? WHAT WILL THE APPEAL BE? 

I have decided that my target audience will range from ages 14-20 (younger people rather than older). Teenagers use computers and the internet a lot more than adults do to watch music videos and music video channels like VIVA or 4MUSIC's audience are adolescents. My video will be seen by more people if i set the target audience as younger people, because they have more of a chance/opportunity of viewing it.
I will keep in good contact with my target audience so that i can receive feedback on my work throughout my project so i can know how i should change things. I will also keep in good contact with the artist/singer of my promotional music video so that i can get their opinions on how i'm working and how i should improve. I will create feedback questionnaires which include questions like "If i were to change one thing about the video, what would you suggest it be?". This will help me create a better/more successful next draft of work. 

WHAT PITFALLS DO YOU KNOW NEED AVOIDING?

If i hear of any relevant or useful information in the media during my project time then i should always report it onto my blog as research. I need to stick to the task and avoid reporting irrelevant information.

ARE THERE ANY OUTSIDE AGENCIES THAT NEED TO BE CONTACTED?

If i use an artist/band's song that have a record deal then i will need to contact the record label to make sure i have their permission to use the song for my video. If i use an artist who i know/who aren't signed by a record label then i only need their own permission to use their song. As part of my AS foundation work, i got to speak to a media specialist from UWE. She taught me about the conventions of magazines. I will be able to apply this knowledge to producing my poster and digipak.