Characterisation

Although there will not be any dialogue between the two characters appearing in my media video, it is still important to build up their character in order to make them relatable to the audience.

Michael is the 'artist' whose song the music video is played alongside. It is therefore important for him to be present in most of the shots, so that the audience clearly know that he is the 'star'. I have chosen to make him seem like quite an average sort of man, his clothing and overall appearance is common amongst young adults, the people who are most likely to watch the video. You can also see through some of his facial expressions that he is a good person, he does not like to see his girlfriend upset.

Costume ideas for the characters:
I have looked into what I think would be suitable clothes for Michael and Ellen to wear, these are only a vague idea of what they will look like and they will each have several different outfits on as it is supposed to be filmed over a longer period of time.

Michael:

Ellen:

Copywright issues

Due to copywrighting laws; the music I will be using is a newly released, widely recognised song by a popular band, I would need to gain the permission to use it from the copywright holder. I could do this by writing a letter to them but instead of this I have found a cover of the song on 'Youtube' which is not copywrighted which I will use.

This version is an acoustic cover by Phil Olczak and Aaron Smith.

Further Research

Before filming my music video, I conducted further research into music videos, this time focusing on other videos by 'The Script'.

The first one I watched was their official video to the single 'Breakeven':

After watching this video I realise that there is a strong focus on the artist throughout the video, he is shown both performing and as part of the narrative. There is another typical convention of a music video, a relationship in crisis is the main focus of the narrative, fitting in with the lyrics being heard. There is a short piece of footage at the beginning which further builds on the characterisation and narrative structure. Although this is not essential it fits in particularly well with the tone and story of the song. I really like the switches between the black and white mixed in with full colour footage to highlight his happy memories which juxtapose strongly with his bleak reality.

The second video I looked at by 'The Script' was 'We Cry':

This video shows the lead singer in most of the shots, again reinforcing his importance to the audience, this is once again mixed in with the narrative, which is mainly quite literal in relation to the lyrics heard. The camera movement is shakey giving the video an almost homemade feel. This could appeal to the target audience, young adults, who prefer more realistic videos especially with this type/tone of song.

After watching both of these existing videos for the band which I will be focusing my music video around, I have decided to make a few changes to my product. Firstly I would quite like to incorporate the black and white theme which occurs in the video 'breakeven' as I feel that whilst primarily fitting in with the conventions I wish to recreate, it will also be relevant to the tone of my video and will help to distinguish between the memory scenes and the present day scenes as well. I have also decided that I will have a few close up shots of the artist and the instrument (the guitar) as these seem to be vital in a music video.

Final Idea

I have decided that for my final product, I will use the Irish pop/rock band The Script (s) single 'for the first time'. After researching different genres, I believe that this type of music would mainly appeal to people aged between 17-25, so I will be sure to consider this target market when constructing my video. The lyrics to this song are as follows:

"She's all laid up in bed with a broken heart
While I'm drinking Jack all alone in my local bar
And we don't know how we got into this mad situation
Only doing things out of frustration

Trying to make it work but man these times are hard
She needs me now but I can't seem to find a time
I've got a new job now in the unemployment line
And we don't know we got into this mess it's a Gods test
Someone help us cause we're doing our best

Trying to make it work but man these times are hard
But we're gonna start by drinking old cheap bottles of wine
Sit talking up all night
Saying things we haven't for a while, a while yeah
We're smiling but we're close to tears
Even after all these years
We just now got the feeling that we're meeting
For the first time

She's in line at the door with her head held high
While I just lost my job but didn't lose my flight
But we both know how we're gonna make it work when it hurts
When you pick yourself up you get kicked in the dirt

Trying to make it work but man these times are hard
But we're gonna start by drinking old cheap bottles of wine
Saying things we haven't for a while, a while yeah
We're smiling but we're close to tears
Even after all these years
We just now got the feeling that we're meeting
For the first time

Drinking old cheap bottles of wine
Saying things we haven't for a while, a while yeah
We're smiling but we're close to tears
Even after all these years
We just now got the feeling that we're meeting
For the first time
For the first time
Oh, for the first time
Yeah, for the first time

Oh these times are hard
Yeah they're making us crazy
Don't give up on me baby
Oh these times are hard
Yeah they're making us crazy
Don't give up on me baby

Oh these times are hard
Yeah they're making us crazy
Don't give up on me baby

Oh these times are hard
Yeah they're making us crazy
Don't give up on me baby"

I will film a man and a woman, (my friends Ellen and Michael) acting most of these lyrics out literally, with Michael lip syncing to the words as he will play the artist. For the first line of the song 'shes all laid up in bed with a broken heart' I will focus on a close up shot of a picture of Ellen on Michaels phone, this introduces her as the female 'character' of the song. Then an over the shoulder shot will reveal Michael looking at his phone, whilst sitting in a bar, again fitting with the lyrics 'while I'm drinking Jack all alone in my local bar'. Then I will have a different shot of him playing the guitar and singing along to the lyrics 'and we don't know how, how we got into this mad situation' this introduces him as the artist and shows that he is the one singing. It will then cut back to the scene of him in the bar where he slams him drink down onto the counter, 'only doing things out of frustration' this again fits in with the lyrics. The next line 'trying to make it work but man these times are hard' will be shown alongside footage of Michael finishing his drink. I will then cut to a different scene of Michael looking at a clock with an annoyed expression on his face 'she needs me now but I can't seem to find the time' this once again literally explains the lyrics and adds to Michael's character, he is annoyed with himself for not finding the time to help out his girlfriend. The next shot cuts back to Michael singing by himself with his guitar 'I got a new job now on the unemployment line, and we don't know how, how we got into this mess its a God's test, someone help us coz we're doing our best'. I will then cut to a different shot of Michael holding his hands as if he is praying, to go with the end of the line. I will then cut back to Michael playing the guitar, 'trying to make it work but man these times are hard' he will then smile as he sings 'but we're gonna start by' there will be a different shot of him and Ellen sitting down and laughing whilst drinking some wine, as if in a memory. This imagery will be accompanied by the lyrics 'drinking old, cheap bottles of wine, sit talking up all night, saying things we haven't for a while, a while yeh, we're smiling but we're close to tears, even after all these years' I will then show Michael standing up and pulling Ellen up as well 'we just now got the feeling that we're meeting, for the first time'. Whilst the instrumental is playing I will use extremely fastforwarded  footage of traffic on a motorway traveling past, this will represent the time changing and how their relationship is also rapidly changing.

For the second part of the song, I will cut to different footage of Michael by himself, he will be sitting down singing to himself 'shes in line at the door with her head held high, while I just lost my job but didn't lose my flight, but we both know how we're gonna make it work when it hurts,when you pick yourself up you get kicked in the dirt' when he says the last part he will angrily throw some dirt onto the floor, as if he is angered by the reality of what he is saying, followed by a close up of the guitar from a different shot 'trying to make it work but man these times are hard, but we're gonna start by'. In another memory scene I will use clips of Michael and Ellen laughing and kissing to show how their relationship used to be, throughout this passage of the song I will vary the shots of them together to form almost a montage of Michaels happy memories of Ellen. When the lyrics say 'a while yeh, we're smiling but we're close to tears, even after all these years, we've just now got the feeling that we're meeting, for the first time' a close up/over the shoulder shot will be used to show both of their faces and their expressions. Whilst the instrumentals are playing I will use fastforwarded footage of the sky (a low angled shot will be used as the sky will be the only thing present in the shot), once again symbolising the change of time. The final chorus will focus on Michael playing the guitar and singing along to 'drinking old, cheap bottles of wine, sit talking up all night, doing things we havent for a while, a while yeah, we're smiling but we're close to tears, even after all these years, we've just now got the feeling that we're meeting, for the first time'. I have decided to do this as I feel it is important for the artist to feature strongly throughout the video, as shown in similar music videos I have researched. For the final instrumental I will once again show sped up footage of motorway traffic, but this time at night. This also links into what will be the final scene of my video which will show Michael walking down a road at night. The camera will follow him to a door which he knocks, Ellen will then answer looking angry with him, a close up of her face will show her expression. Michael will then stroke her hair and walk into the house, Ellen briefly smiles at him but once he has entered, her face which is facing towards the camera looks upset, she will then shut the door on the camera, signifying the end of the music video. Throughout this scene the lyrics 'Oh these times are hard, yeah they're making us crazy, don't give up on me baby. Oh these times are hard, yeah they're making us crazy, don't give up on me baby' will be heard.

First Ideas

As I  previously mentioned, audiences are a hugely important factor in the sucess of a music video, if they like it then it is likely that the artist will become more popular. Audiences vary depending on the genre of the chosen artist, so music videos do differ greatly. It is important to know who the audience will be for the video, their age etc.

My first idea for my music video is to film my drum teachers band, 'Angry Vs The Bear' peforming one of their songs. I would have to vary the shots, making sure to include each member of the band with close up shots of the instruments. I would also include other shots of the band, not performing so that the lyrics compliment the images shown. The song I would probably choose would be one of their newer singles 'Show Emotion' which Ross, my teacher, has told me is one of the more popular amongst their local fanbase in Colchester. As the band are based here it may be slightly difficult to arrange a time to get all of the band together when they are not performing a gig or on tour.

Here is the existing homemade music video for their song 'Show Emotion' :

I like the existing video for this song as it flows well with the music and the use of jump cuts fit in well with the overall tone of the lyrics. The band themselves are shown throughout the video, with the lead singer Mitzi also being the focus of the narrative story. As we studied Goodwins anaylsis of music videos, I noticed that there is some reference to the notion of looking, Mitzi is seen looking into a mirror briefly in the video. The bands genre is 'pop/punk' and their fanbase mainly consists of people aged between 14 and 30.


My second idea for my music video is to focus on the song 'Magic' by B.O.B featuring Rivers Cuomo. This is a fairly recent pop/rap song which is quite upbeat and fast paced.

This music video fits in really well to the fast paced beat of the song, it seems really energetic and both of the artists are shown to be having fun. The video largely focuses on B.O.B who is the main performer of this song, once again he is not only shown as a singer, but is also incorporated into the narrative. As said in Goodwins analysis of music videos, voyeuristic treatment of the female body is shown in this video as many scantily clothed girls are seen throughout the video.

My idea was to have many different jump cuts, creating deliberate continuity errors, linking to the songs title 'Magic'. I wanted these cuts to fit in with the beat so the images on screen changed to the pace of the song. I wanted to have many different objects which are often associated with 'Magic' to be shown throughout the clip, these would include playing cards, top hats and even rabbits. My initial idea was to have a stack of playing cards growing and shrinking in height to match the beat of the drums at several points during the video. I would also film the 'artists' singing at regular intervals.

Music videos are really important for both audiences and institutions. The audience seek enjoyment from them; it is a chance to see as well as hear their favourite artists, putting a face to the name which markets the artist. Music videos can also provide an extra meaning to the song, making any underlying points or issues clear to the audience. They can also provide motivation: the audience could want to emulate the artist who forges an identity through their music videos. They also offer a form of escapism and often focus on enhancing different emotions.

Music videos often improve the popularity of an artist as well as increasing the sales, making the institution a lot of money. In certain videos, often those of a hugely popular artist, product placement is used, promoting both the product and the artist. It is important to know who my target audience is as I will need to follow certain guidelines if my music video is going to appeal to them, genre is a deciding factor so once I have chosen a song I will need to research similar products so I can conform to the conventions used.

Target Audience Research:
To help me discover more about my target audience I decided to conduct a small questionnaire asking 20 people a series of questions.

 Are you male or female?



How old are you?

What type of music out of the following genres do you like best?

From this brief questionnaire I can see that every person I asked was relatively young and a huge majority of them liked Pop and Rock style music the best. This has made me think that this would be a good route to go down and I will try and base my ideas around this new information so as to appeal to my target audience 17-25 yr olds.

Distribution:

My music video would be available for people to watch on certain television channels, mainly music based channels such as VIVA and MTV. These channels play a vairety of different types of music and I have watched them to help me when identifying common conventions of music videos. My music video could also be accessed online on websites such as youtube. I should also consider this when making my video as if it was to be passed and viewed on T.V certain guidelines would need to be adhered to, for instance it should not contain any explicit material which could be harmful or offensive to viewers. This also applies to online media, although it is not as strict as online media is a lot harder to regulate and. I have also realised that most artists have their own website, where their videos are shown.

For example Professor Greens website:

This promotes his new video 'Jungle' which due to its content, may not be shown on television. I have decided that I want my music video to be non-offensive so that it would be suitable for viewing by anyone and could be shown in all of the mentioned areas.

High School Never Ends - Our music video

As part of our research into music videos we were asked to film and edit our own music video for one of our lessons. We decided to make a video to the music of 'High School Never Ends' by the American pop/punk band 'Bowling for Soup'. After being told we should follow common conventions of music videos we tried to match some of the visuals to the lyrics as well as showing the 'artist' performing. 

We focused on the songs chorus as well as one of the songs verses. This verse was :

'Reese Witherspoon, she's the Prom Queen
Bill Gates, Captain of the chess team
Jack Black the clown
Brad Pitt, the quarterback'

This verse gave us the chance to show each one of these common stereotypes and after attempting to show these through the mise en scene of the characters, we edited it so that the matching lyrics could be heard alongside. This shows that we have followed one of the conventions of a typical music video, as there is a relationship between the visuals and lyrics. The pace of the song is quite fast but there was still ample time to make sure that the images on screen could be seen for long enough, we also tried to edit the video so that it fits with the beat of the music which as well as being another convention,  also makes the whole video flow a lot better.

We also switched between shots of the 'celebrities' being mentioned and the 'artist'. This is because it is vital that the artist is shown regularly so that the audience are in no doubt who is the star of the video, Goodwins analysis of music videos, which we briefly looked at also states that an artist may develop a motif which will be recognised throughout their work, but we did not feel the need to encorporate this. We also 'made reference to the notion of looking' as at one point 'the quarterback' in our video is seen lifting weights whilst looking at himself in the mirror before winking at the audience. This not only helped us to give people a quick glimpse at his sterotypical personality traits but is also one a key element which also features in many music videos, we did not however, show telescopes or the voyeuristic treatment of the female body which is present in many music videos to date.

[will put stills and the video in later]