Direct Questioning

Here I have asked two of my peers to watch the Kodaline video Lose Your Mind, which is the song in which I shall be using in my music video. I have done this so that in turn I can get inspiration for my music video. I have asked them to watch the video and then write down all the words they can think of to describe the video. As I want my music video to have the same vibe as the actual video of being abstract I need to make sure that my music video is all of these things. 

Here is the brainstorm in which my peers created of words they think of to describe the music video when watching it.

Here are some images of my peers watching the music video and creating the mind map.

Target market research- Feedback

Firstly I wanted to get some feedback on the music videos I have recently been looking at, these are Foals 'My Number', Mac DeMarco 'My Kind Of Woman' and also Kodaline 'Lose your mind'. This is because I am essentially taking inspiration from all three therefore I wanted to know what a consumer enjoys about the video and what makes it memorable so that I can apply elements of them into my own. So I went ahead and created 5 questions and uploaded them to Facebook with the attached videos in order to get some consumer feedback. I also wanted to know if consumers felt something was missing or can be improved upon in the videos therefore if I am to take elements from them especially in the Mac DeMarco video I can ensure I do this therefore appealing to a market more. I also asked whether they were able to understand the deeper meaning or messages to the music videos therefore I could know that in my music video I can infer meaning without it being explicit and audiences will still be able to understand it thus allowing me in my own to infer multiple meanings knowing audiences will still 'get' the videos.

Seeing as this will be the song in which I am using for my own music video these results are very helpful. one thing in which seems to be the general message throughout the comments is that people understand the video yet they consider it strange and unconventional due to the visuals. Things people seem to like is the fact that the video has an other worldly aspect to it as it makes it strange and thus memorable this will be something that I should do in my own music video as this is what makes the music video memorable in order to do this I need to include strange content such as things in which I've already looked at by looking at Mac DeMarco's music videos such as masks as I still want to use Mac DeMarco's style. Another thing in which the viewer enjoyed was the fact that the music and visuals fitted well together this is due to the music being abstract thus my music video should be abstract in order for the both to fit together and therefore appeal to an audience. One thing in which a viewer said could be improved was the fact that the camera work in this video is very limited and in order for my video to look abstract and fit to the music I should have various different shot types and transitions such as zooming in and out etc. like DeMarco's style. The Multiple different meanings made by the viewers tell me that I can infer multiple meanings with this song as the original video already does so and the viewer is able to understand therefore I am definitely going to do so in my own music video as this song offers an opportunity to do so and also it helps add to the abstract disjointed theme by having sometimes an unclear narrative.

Mac DeMarco is my stylistic influence for my own music video therefore I thought it would be a good idea to get some audience feedback on his style of video. Many people thought that the strangeness of the content coming across as a bad nightmare is what made the music video memorable so again this is something I should do in my own music video as I am using his style, the aspect of him putting make-up on is memorable due to the fact that it is unconventional for a male to apply make-up and especially like that it adds to the dysfunctional nature which in turn is memorable therefore this could be something in which I could include in my video as it is what makes the video memorable. Something in which I should do in my own music video is include video transitions and effects from this video as this appeals to an audience. In addition the viewers interpretations tells me that having a distorted representation of a characters thoughts and feelings adds to the effect of the video being abstract due to one of the main elements of the video being DeMarco enclosed in a box therefore if I am going to include in my own video a deeper meaning of being 'other worldly' I could use the box to encode meaning as this seems to be the most prominent feature in the video which infers meaning besides him dressed as a woman.

I wanted to get feedback on this music video due to me having the understanding that this video infers meaning which is something I want to do in my own music video as after looking at DeMarco's videos I know that this is something which makes a video abstract when things aren't clear. Something people enjoyed was the fact they're multiple scenes therefore this is something I should do in my music video. Something else which made the video memorable was by inferring meaning and having edits which reflect the controversial message in which they're trying to get across therefore I should have a controversial message in my music video and show it through editing thus encoding meaning instead of literally showing it as this is what make music videos memorable. Another thing in which is liked from this music video is the fact that it is realistic and it shows literally what its like to be at a gig and its edited as though your they're and you can feel there emotions therefore this is something I should make sure I do even though I am not having any performance/gig element in it due to sticking with Mac DeMarco's style however I shall make my music video realistic as it something that audiences enjoy. Something else which I got from reading this feedback is that there is no need for lots and lots of multiple interpretations just one strong one as its more about the experience when watching it therefore if I encode meaning throughout the video on one particular subject it should enable me to create a viewing experience for the viewer where it makes them feel like they have thought about the music video and not passively watched it.

Overall I believe that this feedback has been beneficial for me to do as I know have a good idea of what I would like to do in my music video in order to stick to the style of being abstract and at the same time appeal to an audience. Therefore when it comes to planning my music video I can look back at this piece of research to ensure I include things in which I have mentioned I am going to do in order to appeal to an audience and make a successful product like these existing ones.

Song choice

The song that I have chosen to do is Lose Your Mind by Kodaline. This is because this song is from the indie rock genre which is my chosen genre and after looking at various music videos from this genre this is the one I think is best to fit the abstract style. Due to me deciding to base my product on the indie rock artist Mac DeMarco I believe that his style matches this song the best due to it being an abstract song with deeper meanings. And after analyzing this video previously in terms of Stuart halls theory think that this song gives me the opportunity to encode meaning into my video as the narrative of the actual song isn't actually clear and it can have multiple readings behind it. I believe that this song will give me the opportunity to break free of the conventions of indie rock. Mac DeMarcos songs are all dysfunctional and have a specific style to them however even though Kodaline are an indie rock band this song is a lot different to many of their other songs due to it being sung in a higher tone voice and sounding what is considered to be strange and different when compared to their other songs therefore DeMarcos style will in fact match the song and it wont look like the visuals and lyrics have been thrown together even though I am not wanting my visuals to match my lyrics. Something else which made me want to use this song is the meaning of the song title, 'Lose Your Mind' means either to become mentally ill or act really silly or in a strange way which is something I want the person in the video to be doing- acting strange, in order for my video to appear abstract. The Existing music video comes across as strange and weird due to the content, as the guy in it is meditating thus being in a psychedelic state of mind this gives me the opportunity to include elements of the retro/vintage style due the term psychedelic be linked to 60's era.

Target market research- Questionnaire

I am now going to create a questionnaire in order for me to find out what my target market needs requires from a music video from the indie rock genre. As I do not know who my target market is yet it means that I cant start to plan my video just yet as I everything I plan to do has to appeal to my specific target market. Therefore hopefully by creating this questionnaire I will be able to specifically know who my target market is and how to appeal to them through doing my questionnaire. I am going to create a paper format questionnaire due to in my AS coursework I found that this was the best way to get specific results quickly. I am going to hand the questionnaire out to people in the 6th form common room. This is due to me deciding that my music video is going to be targeted at people predominantly in my age range-17-20 due to this being the age range I know the most about and have the most experience in as I am in it and have prior knowledge in it and also Mac DeMarcos music videos don't really target a specific age range and instead it just targets mature music fans so this can be anyone from the ages of 17 and over which is due to his videos containing nudity, off-colour jokes and controversial behaviour. Therefore I will just hand my questionnaire out to people within this age range, thus it being irrelevant for me to put a question in asking what age the consumer is when I already know in that area whom I am targeting as my video is not age specific, for example I am not targeting just 17 year olds I am targeting all mature music fans. Even though I know I am creating a video in the style of Mac DeMarco I don't know yet what gender I am targeting so I am going to hand out my questionnaire to 5 boys 5 girls in order to know whether my music video should be gender specific and if they're any specific needs and requirements from either gender.

Stuart Halls Theory

Stuart halls theories (1) from flemjems

What is a digipak?

Learning how to do stop motion and Inspiration

Stylistic Influences- Mac Demarco

After looking at Andrew Goodwin's theory and also Concluding that it is in fact an indie rock disjuncture/abstract music video I want to create I am now looking at Mac DeMarco to get style inspiration for my own music video. Due to listening/ watching this style of music video myself I know first hand what artists produce these type of music videos. I enjoy his music videos and after analysing his video previously I now want to look at the common features in all of his videos which make up his style so that I can include these codes and conventions in my own music video. All of the things which I talk about below are all things in which I should consider to do when making my music video as I am wanting to make a music video in the style of Mac DeMarco. Mac DeMarco's music video is in fact from the indie rock genre and therefore he is unconventional when it comes to this genre however all of his music videos are conventional in terms of his style as they all have a unique style.
The Music videos that I am going to look at are...

• 'My Kind Of Woman' by Mac DeMarco
• 'Dreamin' by Mac DeMarco
• 'Chamber of Reflection' by Mac DeMarco
• 'Ode to Viceroy' by Mac DeMarco
• 'Passing out the Pieces' by Mac DeMarco

Overall look
These five music videos are Mac DeMarco's main music videos. Firstly I would put these five videos into two categories. One being 'professionally shot' videos that have a professional look to them and ones that are not. I would put 'My Kind of Woman' and also the 'Dreamin' video in this category as they both look like they have been done professionally. Although the other 3 have been done professionally they're conveyed to the audience in a way that they haven't because of the style of them. The producer of the music videos which don't look professional is a guy called Pierce Mcgarry, the videos have a VHS tape style to them which in turn makes them look old and less professionally filmed as they're not filmed on a set and the videos are extremely grainy however this is just the style of the videos and you can tell it is intended to look that way even though we have the modern technology of today. The style is like a broken VHS tape this only makes the films look more abstract and 'trippy'.Within the video there is also layers of film that is like a montage of images on top of each other which then gives the videos a disjointed effect but in turn makes sense after watching the video  and adds to the main narrative and all these videos clearly appeal to an audience even though they're abstract as they have a lot of YouTube views. Therefore when making my music video I need to take into consideration whether I want the broken VHS style tape or just the professional clean cut look as this is part of Mac DeMarcos style.

Unconventionality
The narrative of all these videos are all different but yet the same element is carried out throughout which is why you can tell that all of these videos are Mac DeMarco. There is always a sense of unconventionality. Throughout all videos there is a controversial aspect. For example, smoking is something that is featured throughout all the videos others include dressed in drag and alcohol. However one thing I do find interesting is that the controversial subject which is conveyed in the video is subtle and not obvious and rather than the audience knowing the meaning straight away it is in fact inferred and then there can be multiple meanings. One of the main videos in which this is a main example is the 'Chamber of Reflection' music video it denotes that someone is wearing a Simpsons mask and walking around to the beat of the music. However this has connotations of drug use and it's not necessarily obvious to the viewer straight away. Therefore in my music video this is something I should do, I should infer meaning so that the message of the controversial subject is not totally obvious to the viewer on the surface but when you look deeper it actually is, for example drug use.

Lyrics not matching the visuals
Another thing which is quite predominant in all of DeMarcos music videos is the fact that the lyrics of the song do not match the visuals at all. The videos are totally abstract and random and they're all 'disjuncture' music videos. This is something that I should take into consideration when creating my music video as it is part of Macs style. Although the lyrics do not match the visuals, throughout the song Mac DeMarco is shown to be singing to the song or using an instrument. I think this is a key feature however it is not done a totally conventional way for example, he is dressed in crazy outfits and doing crazy things which adds to the totally disjointed look and effect of the video.

In addition the visuals of Mac DeMarcos videos are quite disjointed themselves like I said before its more of a montage of images at first which appear disjointed and then in the end add to the narrative therefore in my music video I need a lot of things to happen which are considered to be crazy for example, running around in fancy dress or a montage of crazy things to happen just like in the 'Passing out the Pieces' video. The lyrics  will not match the visuals and footage will be in a montage kind of way and the video will have layers, which in the end overall convey meaning and a crazy narrative.

Editing and Effects/Camera work
The editing in all Mac DeMarco's videos is one huge aspect to his style. The editing makes the videos appear disjointed and abstract. In the videos that have the VHS broken tape style this is predominantly in the 'Chamber of Reflection' music video, there is parts of the video which has another video layered over the top which means the opacity of one video differs to the other which gives the effects of the video blurring together. Which gives the video connotations of drug use as there is not a clear image and vision is blurred.

Mac DeMarco's editing style has developed over time and the videos in which I have classed as 'professionally shot' are like that to fit with the current trends and to gain a wider audience. However in all of his videos he uses really abstract editing techniques as this seems to be his style. The first example would be in the 'Passing out the Pieces' music video and in some of his other videos, they're shot using a fish eye lens. This makes the video become distorted and adds to the narrative being quite dysfunctional and distorted. Having a fish eye lens means that you can see clearly peoples expressions on their faces without using a close up shot as most shot types in this music video are all medium shots this is because the fish eye lens already makes you see what should be the centre of attention more clearly and it makes the video become more intense to the viewer.

All three of his older music videos in which I have previously classed as 'not professionally shot' all experiment with the use of colour. In these it uses an infared effect over the image and also multicoloured. This unnatural colouring emphasises that the narrative is unnatural and not normal to real life or that its not actually happening. Furthermore as the visuals in all of these music videos do not match the lyrics the message can be hard to understand thus there being  more mature target market. One thing that Mac DeMarco does do is uses colour to convey meaning. The very harsh and predominant house style colours in all of these videos conveys a meaning to the viewer loud and clear as the colour scheme is bright and 'in your face' and yet the message is subtle.

In the 'My Kind of Woman' music video throughout the video the narrative and message is slowly revealed this is done through the use of zooming. A lot of zoom in and zoom outs have been used at different speeds to convey the meaning and reveal things slowly. Also it is done to give the video a disjointed look hence Mac DeMarco's style. Therefore in my music video I have to think about whether I am going to do this like DeMarco and slowly reveal the deep message of the video using zooming.

Another thing that I like is the use of a handheld camera in the 'My Kind of Woman' music video which makes the video come across to the audience as 'trippy' this is because you can see things from his view and as he is walking into things it gives a sense of loss of balance and direction.

Another thing which I think is quite good in the 'My Kind of Woman' music video which would make the video look more abstract is what he has done at 2.40 to 2.50 is where he has made it look like inanimate objects are moving around him. This effect can be quite hard to achieve but it gives it a more abstract and animated effect when it comes to editing and in turn conveys a deeper meaning to the audience, as the inanimate objects are things moving without human touch and the artist is what becomes the object. The only way I can think of recreating this effect would be through the use of stop motion and taking lots of images instead of filming and then putting them together this can be very time consuming but it will give a great affect this is something I need to look more closely at and do research into on how to do it as its something I have never done before. But its something I need to take into consideration when trying to create a music video in the style of Mac DeMarco.

Content
The last thing I want to talk about in terms of Mac DeMarcos style which I think is quite important is the actual content of his music videos. I believe that all of his music videos are all quite creepy and in a way scary. At first I was unsure as to why this is, as the content isn't actually conveyed as your stereotypical scary video. It is creepy and scary in an unconventional way. This is because all the content is quite vague and ambiguous.When put across to the viewer it can be quite creepy and in a way scary as it makes you ask questions as to why certain things are happening and as most of the time in his videos things don't necessarily have clear explanations as to why things are happening, it creates a sense of ambiguity and is thus creepy.

Examples of this is wearing masks this is predominantly in the 'Chamber of Reflection' music video as you can not see the identity underneath the mask which creates a sense of uneasiness and strangeness. This is also through the use of costume and dressing up in which Mac DeMarco is dressed up in two of his music videos, this makes the viewer become uneasy as you don't know the true meaning as to why and you cant see the artists true identity, as you don't know if they're trying to portray someone else's identity, this also creates an ambiguous atmosphere and creates an enigma to the viewer and leaves them asking questions.

Another thing I find which creates a sense of uneasiness and danger is the theme of isolation the video is usually about Mac DeMarco on his own or him being in something on his own for example when you see him on his own in the 'My Kind of Woman' music video and also the 'Dreamin' music video he is on his own even though there is other people there, it gives the sense that his disjointed from others and in both of these videos he gets things poured over him in a grotesque way which doesn't have an explanation as to why this is happening as you cant see who is doing this too him therefore he is isolated and this unknown danger as to who is doing it to him makes underlying danger, this feeling and underlying danger happens because the narrative becomes unclear and thus abstract and disjointed to the viewer, this unclear narrative is hard to understand and this is why his videos have a sense of being creepy and scary due to ambiguity. Therefore in my music video I think is should try to create a subtle sense of danger through the use of ambiguity which thus makes the video creepy as this is part of his style and is why it appeals to an audience as they want to watch to understand why this is happening.

Feedback from teacher and personal review

Here is my feedback from my teacher of what I have done well and if I carry on doing what I have been doing I will be able to complete my work to a level 4 standard. I also have things to do in order to get to this stage and also to improve my work in general. Before I was given feedback I did a personal review. I plan on doing my improvements before the end of December in order to use my time correctly and effectively.

Conclusion on Genre

After looking at 5 music videos all from different genres/sub-genres I have decided that the genre I want to focus on is of the indie rock genre, this is because after analysing all of them I feel this will be the one I will find I can be more creative with, as after analysing Mac DeMarcos 'My Kind of Woman' music video I found that that music video is really abstract and crazy and it can have multiple meaning behind it without them being obvious. Therefore doing a music video from this genre I will be able to put my creative skills to best use. Therefore the next step I need to take in the stage of research is looking at some more Mac DeMarco music videos as I like his style of being unconventional and although I am aware that I am essentially making a copy of his style I am actually still going to be creating something original as Baudrillard said 'Everything is a copy of a copy' therefore it can be said that my music video will have a post modernist approach and I believe by doing so it will give me a higher chance of making a successful product as that style already appeals to an audience. I then want to look at other music videos which infer meaning because I found out that abstract indie rock videos have multiple meanings. I also feel that this genre would be easier for me personally to do as I am a fan of this genre and do myself enjoy abstract music videos. I also need to get some audience feedback on the indie rock genre.

Textual Analysis- Mac DeMarco- My Kind Of Woman (Indie/Indie Rock)

Firstly this music video is both narrative and performance based. As DeMarco is singing throughout the video it also has a narrative running throughout of which makes the music videos stand out from the crowd. I really like this music video as the meaning of the video is quite abstract and non explicit. Therefore it could be left up to the target audience to make their own interpretation of the music video suggesting that Mac DeMarcos fans are more mature music fans. The lyrics of the song are about a woman which is miss leading because when it comes to the music video there is a totally different meaning as you can see Mac DeMarco is dressed in drag. My own interpretation is that he could be trying to portray a different side of him, not to be a woman but describing his inner-self/ other side of him as a drag queen and is singing about himself in third person. When referring to Andrew Goodwin's theory on Amplification, illustration and Disjuncture, this would be a Disjuncture music video as it's very abstract and the lyrics do not match the visuals. I quite like this as I feel that by having two different meanings it means that the music video in turn would be more creative. The fact that this video is abstract and has two different meanings could also reflect that the artist himself is very abstract as an artist and his songs could be considered abstract too. The abstractness of the video is conveyed through predominately the use of mise en scene and editing.



The music artist himself is an up and coming artist. He is known for doing controversial things such as public nudity and being in the public eye for drunken shamelessness. Therefore if fans were to see any of these thing in the music video its is in turn going to be more recognisable to them as a DeMarco video. However he does this in a very subtle way and not in a straightforward and noticeable way, thus fans not being able to notice immediately that this is a Mac DeMarco music video. Instead of being 'in your face' he decides to be controversial by dressing as a woman and also being shown as naked throughout the ending of the video. Moreover, seeing as this is one of the very few official music videos that DeMarco has released it is important that fans are still able to recognize the artist along with his style. I believe that the intangible and abstract setting relates to this because one of the scenes involves a room which is filled with large letters, spelling Mac DeMarco, because of this it can then be apparent to the viewers and therefore further adding to the abstract feel the video has. Overall making it more creative rather than just simply having his name at the beginning of the video. Having this as a setting adds to the stars image of being 'quirky' and crazy and instead of getting across to viewers what type of artist he is and his name in an obvious way it is done in a more toned down way.



Other locations used also appear to be quite abstract such as the theatre, the theatrical basement and also the newspaper at the beginning of the music video. The transition from each setting and scene is not done smoothly adding to the overall abstractness of the video. The video tends to go very slow paced and then really fast paced, at 1.30 the camera slowly zooms out from Mac DeMarco which reveals more and more about the scene and leaves it up to audience interpretation of why he is where he is. It then goes very fast paced and zooms in to the artist in which a handheld camera is used, this gives the music video a disjointed effect and it also makes time quicken up which could appear to be strange to a viewer. Giving the music video a lackadaisical effect and it makes the viewer appear on the same level as the viewer. It is also a code to the viewer that we are about to see things from his point of view so we as viewers clearly get to see the expression on his face conveying emotion to the audience or in this case a non motionless expression in contrast to the stuff happening to him. The fact he is not being fazed by all the things been thrown at him adds to the craziness of the video as craziness becomes the normality. Having the disjointed transitions and close up shots due to hand held cameras makes things and messages about the music video slowly become revealed throughout.

Throughout the music video the lighting changes from being dull to being really bright which enhances the mood of the song. The house style colours throughout this music video are red, orange and blue, these are all really bright colours. These colours are all colours in which are considered 'in your face' colours as they're not subtle at all, this could be the artist trying to portray the message of the video loud and clear through the house style colours as the colours are 'in your face' but yet the message which I interpreted previously is shown in a subtle way.



After analysing this music video if I decide to make an abstract music video of the indie rock genre the things in which I have to take into consideration in order to appeal to a target market are:

• To have a narrative which doesn't match the visuals. 
• Have different locations which are random and doesn't match the lyrics.
• The artist does things which are considered as crazy, for example in this video he is dressed as a woman and parading around naked.
• The editing is very disjointed both slow and fast paced. 
• A handheld camera has been used so we can see things from the artist point of view.
• Things are revealed throughout the video due to the use of editing.
• The video has multiple meanings.

Textual Analysis- Meghan Trainor- All About That Base (Pop/Doo-Wop/R&B)

Textual Analysis- Nina Nesbitt- Stay Out (Acoustic)

(Here is Nina Nesbitt's Music Video which I will be analysing)


(Go full-screen to view clearly)

Textual Analysis- Iggy Azelea- Fancy (Hip Hop)

First of all this music video is basically a replica of the 90's film 'Clueless' however he artist has adapted it in her own way with subtle changes so that it fits the hip hop genre. The video has used many shots as the same as in the film, mise en scene is virtually the same as well. However unlike the 90's film clueless where the main characters persona has the 'good rich girl' persona, in this music video Iggy portrays the exact opposite as she is flicking her hair and has a confident persona. She is also dancing whilst wearing a short skirt which suggests that she is doing that for 'sex appeal' and not to portray the rich girl image. This intertextual reference brings in a wider audience compared to if Iggy Azelea was to not have done it as it brings in fans from the film 'Clueless' and also fans of Iggy Azelea therefore creating a wider audience. It also means that viewers and the target market are left to make up their own interpretations as to why she has done this and made the entire music video an exact replica of the film clueless.
Although almost all the music video is a parody of the film 'Clueless' here are just a few similarities but there are many more throughout the video:

The music video when referring to Andrew Goodwin's theory could be seen as an amplified music video this is because the lyrics to the music video don't exactly match the lyrics but the idea that she is 'fancy' is amplified throughout the video. Therefore it could be seen that the target market to the music video are people who like to create their own meaning of music videos for example, why has she chose to reference to 'Clueless'. I think that she has done this because the album in which the song is taken off is called 'The New Classic' therefore as 'Clueless' is a 'classic' 90's film and the artist herself is quite new to the music industry she could be trying to get across that she is 'The New Classic'. I believe that this music video could be seen as some what unconventional in the hip hop genre but I think that this is because the artist her self is quite unconventional to the hip hop genre as she is a white female rapper therefore the music video needs to be different and make her stand out in order for her to be marketable.

Throughout the music video there is a narrative which is shown through the intertextuality however in connections to the song lyrics the video doesn't exactly match therefore leaving it up to audience interpretations. The video however has the artists in the music video singing throughout the video which helps adds to the idea in which is amplified throughout it is that she is 'fancy' this is because when the artists are singing you can tell that they're trying to portray a persona of being 'fancy' and confident and better than everyone else. This is shown through the use of mise en scene for example, in a long shot of one of the main singers in the music video at 0.41 she is sat at a table with 4 other people in which they're looking at her which means all the attention is on her even though there isn't a close up shot suggesting that she is the dominant one in the scene even though she is dressed as a posh female and she is sat with males who are stereotypically considered as the dominant ones. This could then suggest in the wider sense that she is not just the best and considered the most dominant in the music video but in the music industry, emphasising the narrative of the song. In addition by having her singing in this scene and also not having a close up it shows that the singers are like leaders of groups to show she has people around her which could be considered as a 'posse' and even though she is in a long shot the fact she is singing draws attention to her and the artist becomes even more domineering and the powerful one in the shot.

When the singer Iggy Azelea is singing next to the court she is also dancing in a way which objectifies women (all the people dancing at this point are women) however it could be considered that the women just become more domineering. The fact that the women are all wearing sporting attire suggests that they have power and strength physically thus emphasising power which seems to be a theme throughout the music video. There are also other references towards wealth, power and status, at 1.18 there are 3 people in a car which could be considered as a luxury car and also the car is deep red which has connotations of wealth and power, there are also three people in the car one of the people in the car is the singer and there are two other which could be considered as her 'posse' all of this signifies power and wealth which thus adds to the narrative of the song.

The editing is quite fast paced due to the song being fast paced which helps create effective cuts which go with the rhythm of the song which can make it seem more entertaining. This is predominately all throughout the song. An example of this would be where the artist are at a party at 1.36 not only do the cuts go with the rhythm of the song but some shots are in slow motion this gives the effect that time is slowed down. I think that this is done to demonstrate skill and style as it is slowed down as people are dancing, it makes it clearer to the audience the expression on peoples faces which over exaggerate that they're having a good time. The fact that this happens after the artists arrived at the party suggests to the audience that the people at the party are having a good time due to the artist being there. Thus suggesting that they're better than everyone else and have power as they're able to make everyone else have a good time.

After analysing this music video I am able to understand the conventions of the hip hop genre and therefore if I was going to then make a video from this genre, these are the genre conventions which I should include:

• Having an intertextual reference to make the music video stand out and make the video have a deeper meaning.
• Have the artists singing throughout the music video. 
• Have the artists seen with people around them which could be considered their 'posse' and also with expensive items which all signify power which is a common them throughout the music video.
• The artists should be seen in sports wear to signify power and strength.
• The artists should be seen to be dancing and wear short/skimpy clothes which objectify women as this is also a convention of this genre.
• Have many cuts which go with the rhythm of the song and also slow motion to show skill and expression.
• Have long shots used to signify power to show that the artists have many people around them and they're then the dominant ones in the scene.

Textual Analysis- The Beautiful south- You Keep It All in (Pop Rock/Rock)

The music video which I decided to look at from the genre rock/pop rock was 'You Keep It All In' by The Beautiful South because it is quite an old music video it was released in 1989 and even though it is an old music video it reached great popularity at the time that it was released and it was a successful music video reaching 19 on the BillBoard Modern Rock Tracks Chart during 1990.

The first thing that I noticed about this music video is that the artists become the story teller in the music video. At 0.13 there is a close up shot as the artist begins to sing this is so that the viewer becomes established with the music artist. The singer isn't looking at the audience as she is illustrating the lyrics by singing to the man who is sat down the lyrics at this time are 'You know your problem' meaning that the viewer has the understanding that the song is about the male sat down. When referring to Goodwin's Theory of Thought Through Beats where you understand what the lyrics are in your head. The artists mode of address is a story teller because we are listening and the singer is telling us a story. The fact that we know who is singing due to the close up and the use of lip syncing adds to the stars image as her voice is a trademark of the band and it makes it easy for the viewer to identify who is singing and they're more likely to carry on watching and listening is they like what they see and hear. The close up shot is also used to show the emotion of the singer and how she feels towards the person in the music.

The narrative of the music video is not 100 % clear as we only get to see the lyrics matching the visuals for half of the video. At 0.27 there is a change in location and there is a long shot of a performance from the band this feature makes the audience become familiar with the band and who is singing and therefore all the band members get some attention from the audience and get recognised there is also different closeups of each singer so that the audience get an understanding of who is in the band this also gives the feel that the audience is on the same level as the band members and the audience are able to connect to the song and the video. The fact that the main narrative is still at the heart of the music video and the performance and narrative overlap makes the idea behind the video obvious and seem more believable and understandable to an audience.

The narrative is also not 100% explicit to the target market therefore when referring to Goodwin's Theory the music video is an amplification music video as there is references to the meaning of the song throughout but sometimes it doesn't make sense. For example in the first scene there is a couple of guys playing 'leap frog' and there is also someone dressed as a penguin in the music video. This is before any of the lyrics have even started therefore holding a hidden meaning suggesting that the target audience are older more mature music fans as they're left to make their own interpretations as to why this is included in the music video. The fact that the people in the first scene are wearing a school uniform and playing leap frog give connotations of youth and innocence and also someone dressed as a penguin has connotations of understanding and acceptance because penguins as animals live in groups so they have to have acceptance from the rest of the group this could suggest that the penguin is either isolated from the youth playing leap frog or accepted by them which is why is wearing a suit. This could be before the lyrics match the visuals to suggest to the audience a sense of innocence as the lyrics are about problems in a relationship after a few year of being together, the band could be suggesting this innocence to emphasise how dramatic it all changed to not being happy in a relationship. So when referring to Levi Strauss Binary Opposites Theory there is a change in mood from happy to sad as the boys are playing leap frog and enjoying themselves and the man and woman in the relationship aren't having a happy time. However other viewers could also interpret this completely differently hence why the music video isn't 100% explicit.

In the performance parts of the music video there is certain iconography to show that the music video is of the pop rock genre as all the band members appear to be playing an instrument this is something that you're unlikely to see in a pop music video for example, you wouldn't expect to see a lot of band members playing instruments in a pop music video as this is not a conventional feature of the pop genre. In addition during the performance  the bands clothing could be seen as style inspiration to fans of the pop rock genre or fans of the band, the band all seem to be dressed in the same code of dress as they're all wearing dark colours and denim this could be the style of the time within this genre or just the bands style therefore audiences could have the ideology that dressing like the band is considered 'cool'. The bands main singer is wearing glasses through the whole performance the fact he is wearing glasses suggests he could be considered mysterious as you cant see his eyes and as he is the only one wearing them it makes it clear to the audience who the main singer is and therefore more attention is focused on him and it adds to the stars image.

The lighting in the music video is quite dull and the colour scheme is dull this both reflects the mood of the song and that its singing about serious issues. For example in the performance parts of the music video the back drop is a dark green blue tone these dark colours have connotations of hate and envy these dark colours are dominating colours suggesting a sense of confidence this could suggest that when the video switches back to narrative the woman feels hate towards whoever she is singing about and she is confident, this all adds to the audience being able to create their own meaning of the music video. Although the lighting and colour scheme throughout the music video shows that the video is quite serious, the song its self is moderately upbeat and through the use of editing when the beat changes the editing quickens up. The music video has a non linear format due to scenes being repeated and also the changes between narrative and performance scenes, this could be done because the band would probably want to be more unique and the non linear editing adds to some confusion of the immediate meaning of the video therefore making it harder for viewers to create their own interpretation hence why the target market for the music video is more mature music fans. Although the video can be lead as slightly confusing to some audiences there is in fact a narrative which is presented tot the viewer, in order for it to be clear to the viewer that there is a narrative there has been many straight cuts used to  maintain a narrative.

Overall after analysing this music video the conventions of the rock/pop rock genre are:

• Having clips of the band performing with cuts to the narrative. Within the narrative they portray a certain story line and act as the story teller or are portrayed as if they're showing their own experiences. The performance helps the viewer feel more connected to the band.
• Sometimes the lyrics do match the song and yet sometimes more random things happen this adds to the overall meaning of the song and makes it more meaningful and interesting. What I have found with this music video is that the video is based around everyday issues that other people relate to like love relationship etc. so that even though the video is random it still has universal significance and makes it easier for audiences own interpretations.
• The clothing worn by the band is viewed as fashionable by fans of their music. Their clothes are not revealing like in pop music videos for example, a lot of denim is worn and can be viewed as casual which gives the impression that the artists are laid back.
• The lighting and colour scheme is quite dull and verisimilitude to real life.
• There are close ups of different singers in the band to make it apparent who is in the band and also in performance scenes there is shots of instruments to suggest that they're a rock/pop rock band.

All these things I would need to take into consideration if I was to make a music video of the rock/pop rock genre as these things are the genre conventions and are what an audience expects to see and thus making the music video successful.

Introduction to Textual Analysis's

In order to kick start my research I am  going to be looking at specific music videos in terms of different genres that are my favourite music videos from the genres and I am going to do textual analysis's of them so that I can further understand how they're made and what the conventions are of certain genres. I am doing this as I don't know what genre I want to do just yet and therefore by doing this step in research I can gain a stylistic influence on what I want to do later on in the research and planning process of creating a music video.
Firstly in order for me  to identify what genre of music video the music videos I am analysing are I have made a quick mind map of the different genres and subgenres of music videos. I have done this to get the understanding that certain genres can be grouped together therefore music videos have more than one genre which means there will be certain codes and conventions for certain genres and subgenres therefore I will analyse a video from each genre so that I can get an understanding for the codes and conventions of certain sub genres/ genres so that when it comes to deciding on a song for my music video I know that the video will feature certain codes to make it familiar and conventional to a certain audience.


 The music videos I am going to be closely analysing are:
Rock/Pop rock- You keep it all in- The beautiful south
Indie/indie rock- My Kind of woman- Mac Demarco
Pop/Doo-wop/R&B- All About That Base- Megahn Trainor
Hip Hop- Fancy- Iggy Azalea
Acoustic- Stay Out- Nina Nesbitt

Looking at Goodwin's Theory on Amplification, Illustration and Disjuncture.

How do music artists make their music videos popular/successful ?

(Enter full screen to view clearly and double click to zoom in)

The issues surrounding music videos.

(Zoom in to see writing and videos clearly)

Music video conventions dependant on genre.

Action Plan- Tuesday 23rd September to Thursday 2nd October

Here is my action plan for the next 10 days. I have done this so I can stay on track and make sure I get a sufficient amount of posts done this week. Doing so means I have the ability to be organised. Like I mentioned in my preliminary evaluation I feel that it is a good idea to make action plans when i feel the need so that I can stay organised, I did mention that I would action plan week by week however I am going to action plan when I feel I need to for example if I think I am off track, as I feel that by doing so it will be easy for me to stay on track and stick to strict deadlines. This is something that I didn't do at AS therefore I feel it is a really good idea to do it in A2 especially when the work load is larger.

Choosing a brief

The brief I have chosen is the promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following three options:

• A website homepage for the band;
• A digipak for the albums release;
• A magazine advertisement for the digipak

The one out of the three ancillary tasks I have decided to do is to create a digipak and the magazine advert for the digipak.

I feel that this is the best brief for me to have chosen because I feel I can be more creative with my ideas as music videos are something that I am really interested in because I watch and listen to them on a daily basis. Also the other briefs I feel are not really for me as I find that creating a story line to a music video would be easier and more enjoyable for me personally than creating a short film or trailer. I also feel that you need good actors for the trailers/short films that are good with dialogue whereas I feel that for a music video it would be easier for me personally to find actors for a music video as in music videos there tends not to be dialogue as the song is the noise in the video. Due to not have in made a video before this brief will challenge me. My skills predominately lie with Photoshop which is why I have chosen the ancillary tasks that I have therefore I don't have to learn too many new skills for the ancillary tasks meaning i can focus predominantly on the main task of making my music video.

Preliminary task- Evaluation

FinalA2Prelim from emily smith on Vimeo.

This Video which is uploaded on Vimeo is my preliminary video in which me and two other people in group produced.

Brief

A short film, to last a maximum of 3 minutes, which represents an aspect of collective identity (British youth culture).

1. To what extent have you adhered to the brief? Explain.
2. How effective is your main product?
3. How did you use media technologies in the production and post production stages?  What have you learnt about these technologies and how you use them?
4. What have you learnt from this preliminary video task?

The brief was to make a short film which was a maximum of three minutes, which represents British youth culture. Therefore I think that me and my group met this brief to an extent because although we did represent British youth culture by showing the different stereotypes in society, for example we did certain costume changes to fit with a different stereotype, we predominantly focused on the different stereotypes which are associated with different types of students such as 'Princess', 'The sporty one', "The Nerd", "The tree hugger", 'The Goth" therefore I think we did successfully represent an aspect of British youth culture. In addition when presenting our short film to a class of students the overall reaction was that they understood what we were trying to do and they understood the stereotypes which we were trying to represent and the overall moral of the short film. Although we did represent British youth culture we failed to create a film which lasted for a maximum of 3 minutes as our video lasted for 33 seconds. I believe this is because of the lack of planning and research and also the lack of footage we had. If we had more time I would make sure we planned enough to have more footage to result in our film meeting the brief.

In my opinion I believe that our main product is effective because when presenting our short film to the class the whole class understood the stereotypes and the message in which were trying to portray: everyone's the same and everyone gets up in the morning no matter who you are, even though people do fall into these stereotypes. I still feel that the main message is quite strong however the production and overall look of the video is poor. Therefore if I was to do the preliminary task again I would make sure that my group were more organised in terms of doing more test runs and test shots and more filming to ensure that the video is effective and successful in terms of overall look, presentation and i would also test out different locations. Therefore when it comes to the main task I need to make sure when filming that I do different test runs and shots to ensure my video is effective and from start to finish successful.

Considering that I have never made a video before (AS I did a print based project), it took me a while to get used to using the equipment in order to film. We used A sony Handycam to film the video, this gave us clear shots and it was easy and simple to use. Alongside that we used a tripod in order for us to have a steady shot. I learnt how to use both the video camera and tripod. Therefore doing a preliminary task was helpful in terms of starting the main project as I now know how to use these technologies if I was to re-do my preliminary task I would probably not use a sony Handycam and instead use a DSLR camera which has the option to record on it because I already know how to use one of these and I can apply my knowledge and use it to film instead of taking photos and also I know how to change the depth of field and so on, on the DSLR as I have done a blog post on it and I already have previous knowledge on it. When it came to the editing of our footage we used a software called final cut which I had never used before therefore using this software for the first time was tricky but we soon got the hang of it, it gave our video a more professional feel to it. We learnt how to add different transitions, music and effects, which was useful to learn in order to do the main piece of coursework, thus now having basic knowledge to aide me on making a successful video in the upcoming project. To upload our video online we first tried Youtube but we had some difficulties on uploading it to that as it wasn't working because of the type of file that it was, we also found out that youtube can make the video a lower image quality once uploaded to youtube. Therefore for my A2 video I shall not upload my video to youtube, instead we used a website called Vimeo which we uploaded it to and it was of a higher image quality therefore in A2 I shall be uploading my video to that.

I personally feel that doing a preliminary task for my A2 Project was a good idea because I have never done a video before but know I have basic knowledge on how to film edit and produce a video. I learnt how to work with a group of people to create a product which was something that I had never done before plus none of my group had ever done a video before therefore being helpful to all of us. I had learnt also how to use the hardware and software which would be the ones I would be using in A2 . During the filming process at 00.10 I am walking across the room, we filmed this at 1 angle, I think it would look more professional and effective if this was then filmed at a couple of different angles to make the film look more professional. So during the main project I think in order to make my product look effective I need to film a range of different angles instead of a limited amount. Considering we had a limited amount of time to complete our preliminary task we didn't do any research or planning therefore I have learnt that a product would be more successful with more research and planning involved and also we only used one location whereas I think if we planned to go to different locations our video would be more effective. In addition I have learnt that organising a video is quite challenging as you have to organise dates where everyone including the actors are free to film therefore in the coursework ahead I think it would be beneficial to make and plan of action each week to ensure I will be organised in advanced especially in the stage of organising actors for the video I will produce.

Learning how to add depth to shots

http://vimeo.com/videoschool/lesson/159/adding-depth-to-your-shots


Here is a video which I have watched on the website Vimeo in order to gain knowledge on how to add depth to my shots. The video is on Vimeo which is a new concept to me as most people upload to youtube where the video quality tends to not be very good however on vimeo the videos are high picture quality therefore I need to consider in the main task making a vimeo account to showcase my final video as the videos are high quality. I also noticed that this video has writing beneath it and is layed out in a blog style which can be helpful when uploading my final project video. In addition they have more videos about how to film I know this because the man at the beginning talks about the last video they made was on storey boarding therefore I will have to look at that video as I feel it will benefit me.


This video will be a very big help to me predominantly when planning out what shots to use in my video and also how to film it. the video gives me an insight on how to create a film that is visually engaging that has depth to it making a two dimensional image give the illusion of a 3D world. The video goes through the six different ways to add depth to shots in very simple terms as this is a video for beginners like me who have never done video before prior to the A2 Preliminary task. these six are  Depth of field, back lightning, foreground elements, perspective, parallax and smoke and haze. I learnt about how to do all six  and how it really matters what depth of field your cam,era is at in order to create depth furthermore I learnt how its not just the camera you can use to create depth it is artificial and natural lighting to that can all add to the depth.


Watching this video will benefit me so that when it does come to filming and planning of filming I can refer back to this post and video as it has very useful tips especially as ive never filmed before nor used any of these techniques bar depth of field.

Filming for Beginners- Learning how to use the DSLR to shoot a film.

From this video I have found out that the video recording option on my camera which I wouldn't normally use, can actually be quite helpful to use in order for my coursework in A2 to be successful.

I think that this video is helpful because I did print based media last year in my AS coursework and therefore  I learnt a lot of camera skills, whereas now in A2 our main task is purely video based and thus this video being helpful as it shows how the jump between AS and A2 doesn't have to be that big because I can use the skills I learnt from doing print last year in A2, this is because we can still use the DSLR camera and get the same if not better quality of a video. Considering i have my own DSLR camera i think that during this course of work I will for the most part do my filming with the camera this is because as victor(the narrator) explains the DSLR has "incredible image quality", "superb depth of field", "Interchangeable lenses", "small, lightweight and compact" therefore all the more reason to use the DSLR instead of a simple cam corder as you can change the depth of field giving the film a more dynamic look and something you cant do on an ordinary camcorder.

Victor then goes on to explain that and look deeply into different photography equipment and how it can be used to make a film. He goes on to explain why the use of a monopod is so important. For the Preliminary task that me and two other individuals are in the process of editing we all have very limited if not no knowledge on how to shoot and edit a film therefore our preliminary task was purely to get used to using different software and hardware and to learn the basics, meaning that after this video i have better knowlege on how use different equipment and how it casn give a film a more dynamic look due the equipment therefore in the main task i shall consider using this different equipment such as a monopod this is because in the preliminary task we only used a tripod this means that there is limited amount of shots that can be used making the film more amateur whereas using a monopod could be beneficial as youre able to use a variety of different shots at different angles something which you cant really do with a tripod as its less versatile.

After seeing a short film with a simple concept and how that can create interest due to filming and shot types alone means that during this course of work I need to think a lot more into different shot types and filming clips at different angles multiple times to create more meaning and engage the reader therefore this is what ill do in my A2 main task.