GAINING AUTHORISATION

PLANNING THE STORYBOARD

Lauren Mullem and I have chosen to work together on our final project. After gathering our research data and establishing a consensus we decided to choose the song 'Paradise (cover)' by Modestep

  (which can be seen below). 

MUSIC VIDEO INTERVIEW

This video shows some of my friends responses to a set of questions about music videos that i asked them...



What i found the most interesting about the results was the answers i received when asking about their favourite and least favourite music videos. This is because there was a huge contrast in answers. For example, one person said a Miley Cyrus video was their favourite, whilst two people commented on Miley Cyrus's videos being their least favourite. Also, two people pointed out that Gangnam Style by PSY was their least favourite video. However, I personally consider this one of the most epic videos of all time. Furthermore, when visiting these videos on youtube, i discovered that they had an outstanding number of views.

Both these videos as well as the song themselves are extremely controversial as they either; break the typical conventions of music videos (e.g. the female sex symbol, lip syncing the lyrics, having a story line) or follow the conventions in such an exaggerated way that the audience are left shocked.

I personally think that one of the main reasons for this music videos 'success' (as some would call it) is the fact that Miley Cyrus has literally broken the convention of her former-self, thus leading to an extremely high amount of views and downloads as all audiences become shocked yet intrigued as to why she has chosen to do this.

Furthermore, the provocative outfits, promiscuous dancing, suggestive gestures, and various sexual innuendo's featured in the music video, has transformed Miley into a human 'Marmite' figure, as you either love her or hate her.

PSY is also another successful artist who, as a result of the music video's they have released, has become a worldwide 'Marmite' artist. I am a huge lover of PSY, as I think he is so much fun to watch and although his songs are (yes, i must admit) extremely annoying, they always make me laugh! His videos break the convention of a typical male music video as PSY himself isn't the attractive 'ladies man' we expect to watch. Instead, he represents a comic figure, who viewers can admire for his wacky personality and style, rather than solely his looks. Also, his peculiar dance moves shown in the video above have now become a global phenomenon, making PSY a worldwide star. 

As a result of my research, i have learnt that music videos are 90 percent of the time successful when they are controversial (like those shown above). This is because they are eye catching and different, thus intriguing for the audience and gives them something to talk about. Therefore, i would like to make my music video somewhat controversial and notably different amongst the large variety of others. 

GENRE IN POPULAR MUSIC

SYNAESTHESIA

This video tests the theory of synaesthesia, meaning that the listener of a song interprets the music and lyrics, thus resulting with the individual having visualised an image or perhaps a short story in their minds...

Through my research, this theory has been proven to be true as each participant seemed to have their own associations with the particular song they were exposed to, just as i do. However, all our interpretations differ from one another. This makes creating a music video even more interesting and exciting as we discover that there are no set rules or themes that we must stick to, as everyone interprets music differently. Instead, we can use our imagination to produce something which is meaningful to us and, hopefully through portraying our intentions and themes within the music video, meaningful to those who watch it also. 

SIGNIFICANT MUSIC VIDEOS

As a media student i take great interest in music videos. The two videos below, in my opinion, are both very effective and clever videos, however for different reasons...

Katy Perry - Firework

This music video is personally one of the most touching ones i've ever seen. It articulates the meaning of the song; what it means to be an underdog and have the courage, if you're on the outskirts of society, to be your own person.

At the very opening song the lyrics say 'do you ever feel like a plastic bag?' as this occurs, there is a cut to an establishing high angled shot of Katy standing on a balcony. 

The muse-en-scene includes a white dress blowing in the wind, perhaps being metaphorical of the 'plastic bag' she feels like. It's also somewhat ambiguous as, owing to the dark foreboding lighting coupled with the high angle which makes her look weak, it could be suggestive of desperation or even suicide. 

Another effective moment is the over shoulder shot of a boy at home. However this home is no sweet home, it appears to be a living hell for the child. 

This is shown through the mother and father fighting whilst the sister blocks her ears. The parents have been edited so that they are blurry rather than completely clear. This could be suggestive of the young boy trying to blur them out of his head, however they are omnipresent. As an audience we then sympathise for him as we decipher how much he is struggling. 

This shot involves a medium close up of Katy Perry standing on a balcony whilst an eye-catching shower of sparks (created with special effects) emit from her body. 

This is the first time the realism of the video is broken. Although this can be risky, i find that it works in her favour, making the video somewhat moving as the audience can decipher that people have a spark to be a firework. It's just up to them, and a lot of times it's only us that's standing in the way of reaching our goals, fulfilling our destinies and being the best version of who we possibly can be. 

A very effective shot involves a close up shot of a young girl with cancer watching in awe of a pregnant women with sparks coming out of her.

The close up shot allows us to see her amazed emotions more clearly and furthermore feel a slight rapport with the character as we have been allowed to get so close to someone who seems so distant. As a result of this, we feel touched by this young girl's hope and therefore we too begin to believe that perhaps her fate could be bright. 

The close up shot of two young men kissing at a party also contains the sparks, thus making this feature a consistent motif which we begin to associate specifically with this shot. 

Because of the society we live in today, youngsters feel intimidated if they are supposedly 'different'. As we watch the two kiss in front of a large sum of people we therefore respect and admire them for their self confidence as well as true passion. 

This is one of my favourite shots. It involves a tracking shot of a young girl who we previously discovered was insecure about her body, coming out of her shell at a pool party and literally exploding like a firework as she jumps in to the pool to join her friends. 

As she jumps in to the pool the shot becomes low angled, thus presenting her as a powerful figure which contrasted with the use of high camera angles when previously showing her. Therefore we can decipher that this character has had a transformation as the song progressed, and we are all the more touched and all the more hopeful as a result. 

This is the last moment of the music video, which includes a pan shot of a group of happy people looking up to the fireworks in the sky. 

This image is particularly impactive as it not only is a literal metaphor of the song but it also gives the viewer some aspiration. This is because we see the happy, free individuals dancing in the streets coupled with the colourful, beautiful fireworks. Consequently, we long for this feeling of hope and freedom and therefore are left with a motive, that being to become a 'firework'.

MIKA - Lollypop

Not only do i love this song,  but the video makes me adore it. It has been said that Mika wrote this song as a message to his younger sister, warning her not to rush into a relationship and obsess on love too much as she could get hurt ('love will get you down'). I think this video helps to portray the message and lyrics of this song in a very light-hearted and catchy way. 

The main feature of this video which really catchesmy eye is the surrealism of it. For example, the whole video being in cartoon. This reinforces the fun nature of the song whilst also eliciting the main theme of the song which is youth. Another inspirational aspect of this video is the variety of colour. When watching this video i felt very drawn to it's vibrancy as I was always being shown numerous bright colours. When creating my music video i will ensure that there is a variety of colour in order to avoid it being consistent and potentially dull. An unconventional yet attractive part of this video is the lyrics. They are shown on various items, from speech marks to clouds to sweets. This makes the video exciting and different as usually we would be presented with an artist lip syncing over the music. Perhaps i could use this idea of showing the lyrics to the audience on interesting items as it doesn't just make the video original and different but it also makes the audience remember the lyrics of the song, which then leads to further publicity. 

Overall i think the tuneful song itself coupled with the vibrant video helps to evoke a feeling of happiness from the viewers. 

SEMIOTICS

When watching music videos, the viewer is constantly bombarded with various images and signs, those being either; iconic (like the object it represents); indexical (having a direct connotation with the object); or symbolic (connected to a meaning through conventions, meanings, or our own social codes). 

For example, the Black Eyed Peas cleverly use a simple yet very significant and symbolic sign in their music video, 'Where is the Love?'.

This sign is somewhat ambiguous, as it can be representative of various ideas and can be interpreted in different ways. My initial perception of this sign, owing to the context and title of the song, was that we should question the harsh society we live in and ask ourselves if there really is any love in this world. However, as the song progresses and this motif is repeated, new connotations of the symbol formed. For example, when watching the youngsters running down the street, all holding paper with the reoccurring question mark on it, i though of the younger generation and perhaps the question mark was representing the questionable future that is to come for the youngsters who lack control over their society. 

Through learning about semiotics i have gained an understanding of how i can hint several social, political or even personal messages to an audience without having to throw it in their face.

THE PRELIMINARY MUSIC VIDEO

Hoe Down Throw Down