Music Video Influences

I researched music videos from various genres on YouTube and created a playlist of the ones I found interesting or that gave me possible influences for my own music video.  







One particular music video I enjoyed was Out My Mind by The Skints.  This music video shows examples of Goodwin's theory, matching the lyrics with visual images within the video.  For example, the line 'I call up my friends' accompanied by a girl holding a giant mobile that says 'Calling John...' towards the singer, and the lyrics 'it's 4am' with another girl holding up a clock showing that time.  This is definitely something I would consider including within my video.

I also think the use of these girls within the music video conforms to Goodwin's theory of voyeurism.  The girls are there to only hold up objects that relate to the lyrics and reiterate the narrative, therefore have no other purpose than to be looked at, and they often look directly into the camera.  This is reinforced by the fact they all have similar make-up on.

Another video that relates to Goodwin's theory is Cough Cough by Everything Everything.  This video is cut in time with the beat and music of the song, generally making it more enjoyable to watch as this means there are quite a lot of cuts to keep it interesting.  I will also consider using similar techniques when I edit my music video.







Furthermore, I found several music videos with engaging narratives and ways these narratives are shown and explained.  The videos that stood out most to me were Sacrilege by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Breezeblocks by Alt-J.

The Sacrilege video shows the narrative in an unconventional way.  It starts with the end and gradually shows how the events happened by repeating the clips yet revealing more each time, with the story working its way backwards.  For example, the couple surrounded by flames, with the next shot showing men pouring gasoline, and then the shot after showing people dragging the girl towards the unconscious man as others place wood around them.

The narrative in the Breezeblocks video is similar as it is also revealed backwards.  However, it consists of longer shots in slow motion, and the shots are literally backwards rather than jump cutting backwards like the Sacrilege video.  A noticeable example is when the women throws the bottle at the man, which misses and smashes against the wall.

These narratives compel you to watch the videos and find out what has happened and the reasons for the end result which is shown at the beginning of the video.  They also often change your views of the people within the videos as more is revealed.

Production Schedule

I was hoping to start filming as a rough cut of our music video is due 10th December.  However, as I am the artist performing within the video, I need people who are able to help me film, and have had difficulty finding times when we are both able to do this.

However, the drama studios which I want to use for my performance pieces are free Thursday during my free lessons, so I will film certain sections during this time.  I plan to film the beginning and slow middle parts of the song, using long steady takes as this conveys the genre of indie/pop music I chose.  I also plan to wear the same costume and make-up from my digipak photos, as this will show a clear link and I like the style of it which I consider quite bold, similar to Florence Welch's style.

I then plan to film my narrative over Christmas half term as this will allow me time to travel to and from the location, with the appropriate daylight to film.  I am going to feature one of my friends within the narrative, allowing me to film them as I have a clear idea on what I want.  Filming over the half term will also make it easier to meet up and film, particularly as we both have jobs.

Final Digipak and Poster

This is my final digipak, CD designs and poster I have created using Photoshop.

Digipak Process

This shows the process my digipak has gone through from start to finish.  I am very pleased with my final piece as it includes the conventions of a digipak and of my artist's genre.

First draft:

Second draft:

Third draft:

Fourth draft:

Final piece:

Digipak Feedback #3

We presented our updated versions to the class and received further feedback from our teacher and classmates.  They all liked the developments I have made and think it conveys my artist's style and genre well.  However, they had minor changes to suggest for me to improve it further.  This included lightening the back cover photograph as it was slightly darker than the others.  They also found the artist's name difficult to read on the front cover, yet liked the font I chose.  I intend to fix this by adding an outline and drop shadow to the text to make it more legible.  Finally, I also need to add my record company logo onto my digipak and poster, as well as making my album image slightly smaller on my poster, and then I will have completed my two pieces.

Digipak & Poster - Second Draft

These are my most updated versions of my digipak and poster, with my recently added CD designs.

Digpak & CD Designs

Poster

Digipak Feedback #2

We showed our updated digipaks to the class with the changes we had made since our last feedback session.  Due to including more edited studio photos of my artist and more information on the digipak, I received much more positive feedback.  I think my digipak fits my genre better than before, and feel I only need to make final minor changes to it.  Here are some of the sheets I was given: