Ideas From Existing Music Video

To create an idea of how i want my video to be structured, i have researched and taken ideas from existing music video that i would like to use in my video. These ideas include cinematography, mise en scene, editing and narrative. Below my finding can be seen that show what i have find and why i would like to include this in my video.

The main idea that i have come up with in my video is to include a sunrise and sunset at the start of my clip and at the end. When this came to mind their is a particular way in which i want this to look. I would like my main character to be in these shots as the sunrises and sets. The sunrise and set however will be speed up so it syncs in with the time frame of the video. The character will be stationary at this point and will not move that much. Below a screenshot from the Oasis music video for "Stop Crying Your Heart Out" shows the shot size that i want, it also shows how i want my character to appear on the screen.

In my video the background will be much different from this, The character will be looking over a field with the sun rising in the distance. Below an image of a sunrise can be seen, it shows what i hope mine will look.

                        

I will now disscuss the type of mise en scene i have find from exsisting video which has given me ideas for my video. Firstly their is a unique setting that i plan to use in my video. This setting is seen in many music videos that are around today, this is mainly british artists rather than american artists due to the access to the location. Below this setting can be seen in detail.

I would like many of my shots to be in a built up area, due to the location that i live in a rural town area would be perfect. The character will walk through various streets and alley ways. Their will also be a sense of direction as i will always shoot from the left side of the character so the audience can tell when he starts to walk back in the opposite direction.

Another location that i want to use will in a household (see above). I will most likely use my own as i want to shoot the character waking up at the start of the clip and then falling asleep at the end. This will be the only time that i will use the household as my setting.

Rationale

I have decided to choose this track for a number of reasons; firstly I am a fan myself to this band and really like their music. But the main reason is the lyrics that are associated with their music and how a very interesting visual style can be created from them. Many of their video has a story associated with them, these narratives are commonly played by actors in their video and this is the style i want in my video, lyrics that are associated with the visual narrative. The reason i have chosen the track (When the sun goes down) is for many reason. One of the first reasons is that when i was looking for a suitable song for my video, i came across this and had an idea of including a sunrise and sunset in my video that will eventually be speed up and filmed by myself.

The track also has a distinctive mood to it, it first starts off chilled and calm and then around 40 seconds in changes to more of a upbeat sound once the instruments are combined. I also chose the arctic monkeys because of their various music videos. Not all of their music videos are related to the lyrics, what i mean by this is the visuals do not link in with the lyrics. I also want to use this style because it keeps the audience interested in the clip, because they are not sure what is going on but will try to see what is going on so this will keep their attention focused on the music video.

Costume and artist image

Costume

For my costume, i will use my own style that i already wear daily. This clothing however is modern so fits in well with the time and genre. In this post i will show specific clothing that is used in my video, as well s style that will be worn by my over characters.

 

The above images show the clothes that i will wear in my music video. They are very relevant to fashion today. I purchased these clothes new from Burtons Menswear and River Island. The look is similar to the bands to a degree, However the band have not been together for the past number of years so there is a similarity, but i added more of a current feel to my characters clothing.

The Above shows the typical clothing that was worn by the band. As you can see it was everyday clothing that is popular with a lot of men, this is the theme i will try and achieve.

Audience Research 1

Amazon

Amazon is a good way of finding out what the audience like. First i went to the amazon website and find the track that i have chosen (oasis- little by little) once i find my chosen track, which can be purchased vier a music download or an audio CD. It also shows customers what else other customers who bought the track purchased. An image of this can be seen below.

The results suggest that many people who bought this are also interested in many other bands that are in the same genre of the arctic monkeys. They included The Libertines, The Kooks and Franz Ferdinand which type of music all has an element of  indie rock. Amazon also shows customer reviews which have been received from the customers who have purchased the single. This is a good way of finding out what other people thought of the track.

Youtube

Another way of finding the target audience is youtube, Any single that is released that has a music video can most likely be find on youtube. It is similar to amazon in that it gives suggestion to viewers when they are watching a video. It is located on the right had side of the page. It mainly gives suggestion to over tracks buy the band but also over bands which included the killers and the kooks.

This shows that my music video needs to be aimed and fans who like the genre indie rock, as this is the main style of the Arctic monkeys and the over bands that are suggested.

Recently the popularity of the band has grown massively. This is partly to do with their new album (AM) which was released on 6/09/2013. The band however headlined at the popular British festival Glastonbury 2013. After they performed here, their spotify streams increased by 329%. see source for more details. 
http://www.gigwise.com/news/82691/Arctic-Monkeys-increase-Spotify-streams-by-329-after-Glastonbury
This suggest that the fans of the band are very active in terms of streaming the bands music from the internet, This could be a good way to share my music video once completed. Below an image can be seen of the crowd from the glastonbury gig.

As you can see, the majority of the crowd seen in the image are young, this could be because festivals are most popular with the younger generations but the band are quite popular with younger people.

Music Video Treatment

Setting

My setting is going to mainly be set in a well built up area. This will most likely involve a town, where the chosen cast will walk through various streets. The start of the clip will be a house where the character will then be seen leaving the house. The video will then be centred on the journey of the character. Other locations will include various alley ways and fields. The journey however will be speed up as i want my video to start off during the morning and then finish during sunset.

 Cast

My video is mainly going to be centred around one main character as it follows his journey. Other characters will include secondary characters which will feature in the video a couple of times throughout. Finally the other characters will be the background characters that will not be important in the video; they will just add a sense of realism to it.

 Costume

I have not chosen a specific costume at this put for my characters. This is because they will be wearing everyday clothes such as jeans, t-shirts, jumpers, trainers etc.

 Props

I do not intend on using many props throughout my video. There will however be a mobile phone that is used many times throughout by the main character, who will be texting, many things that relate to the chosen song throughout the video.

 Visual style

I will include many effects in my video that will be included when i come to edit and put together may video. I will use lighting to darken the image many times throughout the clip; this will be included to add a certain mood to my clip at certain points.

 Camera work

I will include many forms of shots and angles during my video. One of the main ideas I have come up with for my video so far is to include a shot at the start of my clip that shows a sunrise and a shot at the end of my clip that shows a sun set. I will do this keeping my camera still and using a wide shot to capture the video. The main shot size that i will use in my video will be a medium shot, which will mainly focus on my main character. Other shots will include POV to put the audience into the characters shoes and close ups to show characters emotions. I will be using a Nikon D5200 to shoot my video, which has 1080p HD capability.

 Editing

I will be using various editing techniques on my video. These will include many eye line match techniques to focus on what the character is looking at. Another technique that i will use is a time laps, this will be used for the sunset and sunrise to speed them up so they fit in with the time frame of the video. I will also slow the pace of my video down many times throughout the video, this is a good aspect because this is a popular aspect used in many music video today.

 Narrative/performance

The narrative and performance will mainly be highlighted when the lyrics can be illustrated on screen. There will be many points when the character will have to perform certain things in the video. The narrative will be centred around the journey of the main character and what he comes across on the way. The characters performance will mainly be determined from the text messages that he receives throughout the clip which will change his mood at different times.

Arctic Monkeys - Similarities in music videos

The Arctic Monkeys have released many music video to date. Where they may be different in song choice and story, many of the video have the same style of cinematography, editing, mise en scene, one of the main similarities is the pace of the video. The ways characters are portrayed are also very similar. Below i will list these similarities along with examples.

There are mainly two distinctive types of arctic monkeys videos. The first evolves the band themselves, in this they are playing in a studio or on a certain stage, in this they can be seen with various instruments and the main vocalists can be seen singing. The second type evolves no instruments or necessary singing. It is centered around a story which can be related to the lyrics.

Below 2 video can be seen, they are a examples of a storyline in their videos.


The music video is for the arctic monkeys latest track "Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?" Judging from the lyrics, This track has many meanings that have been linked into the video. This sentence from the lyrics "The mirror's image, It tells me it's home time" this can be linked into the video when we see him in the bathroom looking into the mirror. Another main indication that the lyrics relate to the image is he is regularly checking his phone, the main lyric and the name of the song link to this "Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High".

This video is for the track 'When The Sun Goes Down' which is one of the bands most popular tracks. This track is also very similar to the one above, the lyrics regularly link with the video. Example of when this can be seen at the start of the clip, The lyric 'I wonder what went wrong So that she had to roam the streets' links in with the visuals. A female chracter can be seen roaming around the streets. Another is when the performer sings 'They said it changes when the sun goes down', this can be linked in with the chracters as they change and certain times throughout the clip.
Overall these videos are similar in that the lyrics of the song contain many parts that are used in the videos to illustrate a story, or meaning. This is how i want my music video to be set up like, the video will illustrate meanings or somekind of a short storys, i will combine this method useing a song with lyrics that can easiery be illustrated in this way.

The video below show's the band performing in their video:


This video is for Arctic Monkeys track 'Teddy Picker'. This video mainly centers round the band performing. The band can be seen playing various instruments such as guitar and drums. The instruments link in with the video the majority of the time, for instance at the start the drummer plays first, this can be seen in the video at the start. The video however does not just centre around the band performing, they can be seen in a entirely different location just walking together.



This video is for the track 'Brainstorm'. This is also very similar to the track above because the instruments that are seen sink in with the video. For example at the start when the track starts the band start at the same time, it is sinked perfectly. The video does however have over elements like the video above, women can be seen dancing various times throughout the clip.

The main focus in this band is the video, this differs to the other two in that the video focuses on the band to show their personalites and how they perform, as well as the instruments that they use. This is not the way i want to go about with my video. It would be easier this way but finiding the nesscary performer as well as instruments would be difficult.

Textual Analysis: Avicii - Wake Me Up

Mise en scene
Costume - Through this clip costume is used to give off many ideas and meanings to the audience. The first half of the clip, shows the two main female character walking down a town street, Here the female characters are wearing what can be considered s modern day clothing, fashion that is relevant to the release date of the video. However the characters that they walk past in the street are wearing plane old fashioned clothing, possibly clothing that was worn during the late 1800s in the Midwest of the United States. As the female are walking down the street these characters are gazing almost constantly at them, i think this part of the video is not suggesting that the females have gone back in time, but is suggesting meanings and ideas of how some people are different and don't fit into society. Later on in the clip though that older female character finds similar people to her which ends the video on a positive note.


Props - Props do not become reverent in the clip until the end. Many props are used at this point which are representing many things. firstly a prop that clearly stands out in the clip i a mobile device. The mobile is being used by the female chracter during the cosert scene, she seems to be taking photos with the device. I think the was added as a promotion stunt. As the mobile was the newest sony ericson xperia that was out at the time. The is a current trend that is being used in many music video today, as it provides money towards creating the video because it is advertisement. An image of this can be seen below.

Locations - In this track there are two main locations that are important to the video and suggest different emotions to the characters. The first locations is the first half of the clip. The two female characters are walking down a remote town in the dessert that seems old fashioned. In this location the character to not look comfortable and seem to not be welcome, this is because when they are walking down the street the inhabitants are stopping and staying at them. This clearly shows the actors are uncomfortable which makes the audience as well. images of the second locations can be seen below.

The second location however is much different. It starts off with the female lead arriving in what seems to be a city then heading to a concert. At this concert the artist Avicii is performing, at this location the mood is very different to the start as it is much more fast past and energetic. This can be seen to increase the mood of the female character. 

Lighting - For most of the clip the lighting many consists of ambient lighting. I think this is because in the particular setting, there is allot of natural sunlight due to these parts of the video being set in the dessert. This will be similar to my video, as most of the video will be filmed outside in the daylight.

The lighting does change however towards the end of the clip, this is because the video ends up at a dance concert. Here there are many DJ lights used which includes strobes of pink and similar colors. This is used because it is the typical lighting audience members will listen to the song in when at nightclubs and concerts. Similar lighting to this is used throughout many videos of this genre.

Camera techniques

Establishing shot  - This type of shot is use many times throughout this music video. It is used to establish a new location or to show the vast size of a location. The first use of this shot can be seen at the start of the clip. The use of an establishing shot is use throughout many forms of visual media, it is vital to address a specific location to the audience, so they understand what is going on. This can be seen below.

The image to the left shows the establishing shot at the beginning. The image to the right shows a screenshot later on in the clip, here the lead female character can be seen riding a horse through the same location. I think they used this because it is recognizable to the audience and adds theme to the type of location.

Representation of Artists

In this clip the artist does appear. However he appears as the artist performing and not involved in the acting. This is a common trait to see artists who are part of this genre to be performing. He appears at the concert scene in the video which seems to be an actual concert.

Target audience

I think the main target audience for this type of video will consist of females. i think this is because the main character in this video is female. it will also attract fans who follow the charts for instance, as it performed very well at its peak. In terms of age i think the video would be aimed at the ages between 16-20.

Textual Analysis: Oasis - Don't Look Back In Anger

Oasis were a English rock band that were active from 1991-2009. their types of music include rock, Brit pop and alternative rock. This music video is for the track "Don't look back in anger" which is from the bands second album '(What's the Story) Morning Glory?' which was released in 1997.The track was produced by Owen Morris under creation records.

Mise en scene

 Props - Firstly the main props that the audience will notice is the various instruments that can be seen throughout the video. around 80% of this video involves the band members playing instruments. The instrument that is most important at the time is usually highlighted. This helps the audience to identify the changes in the music and understand the music better when the different types of instruments are used.

 Locations - the locations in this video are mostly domestic and consist of outdoors around the domestic area. The domestic area in this video is the home/house that they travel to.

 Lighting - Many forms of lighting can be seen in this video. they include  mostly natural lighting that has been edited with effects.

 Camera techniques

 Shots

establishing shot - This can be seen when the band members are in the car, it establishes they are in the car by shooting the camera out the windscreen, this indicates that they are in a veichle and they are travailing somewhere. An example of this can be seen below.

Close ups - There are many close ups that are used in the video. Close ups are used in video   to capture the object in focus in much greater detail. In this video it is used to capture a persons facial expressions, which shows the audience what emotions they are giving off which sets what feeling the video gives off. The main feeling given off with the close ups are

POV - this can be seen when the band arrives at the house, the POV is seen through a female actress standing on the balcony. Her Point of view is focused on the band as they exit the car.

Cutaway - A cut in can also be seen at the start of this clip, The main focus of this cut in is noel Gallagher, this is because he is the most active in this video in terms of appearance and vocals. This shot is a cutaway however because it shows in less detail the other band members, they were added to this shot to show their presence at the start. An example of this shot can be seen below.

Movements

 Panning - This is one of the most used movement techniques in this video. Panning are popular in music videos because often the character is stationary. A pan adds movement to the video by moving left or right while focusing on the stationary character.

 Angles

low angles - A low angle can be seen when the band arrive at the house. As the car pulls up the shot changes to a women looking down above them. This is clear that she is above them because the low angle is looking up at her, a clear indication which is proved even more with the use of the POV afterwards. An example of this can be seen below.

    Performance

The main performer in this video is Noel Gallagher, who is a vocalist in the band. He is the most seen performer in this video due to the fact that most if not all the vocals are performed by him. The other band members can also be seen. They are mainly just sitting down with little action involved, but can be seen throughout playing various instruments such as the guitar and drums. I think the band are the main focus in the video because the fans who watch can relate more to their music if they are involved.


Target audience

I think the main meanings of the video and song are look to the future and not the past, it is also representing change. I think the main target audience of oasis were the younger generations which was the same with similar band such as the stone roses. i think this is a good meaning to aim at this generation because being aged between 17-25 can be a difficult period during ones life.