Music Video Plan PowerPoint

 

Music Video Unit Evaluation

 Evaluation of ‘Doers’ by Bodega Video Plan

Oliver Coulson

The first aspect of my plan for a ‘Doers’ by Bodega music video that was successful was my initial video synopsis because it outlines the video idea in enough detail to paint a clear picture, while still remaining concise and to the point. The synopsis includes a few shot ideas, communicates the story I want to tell in the video, and explains the meaning I want to create and it is therefore very effective in the role a synopsis should play.

Another part of my work for this unit is the moodboard. The purpose of this was to provide a representation of the sort of visuals I wanted to include in the video and it can also help establish the tone of the video based on the images chosen. My moodboard is made up of pictures of business-dressed men in the various situations I wanted to create in the video, such as the suited man on a treadmill and the man being arrested. These illustrate the action I wanted to include in the video as well as the type of clothes I wanted to be part of the singer’s costume. I think this part of the project was successful because all of the images used for the moodboard ended up representing or inspiring shots in the final shot list, thus the moodboard was an accurate depiction of the visual style of the video.

A large amount of the work for this unit consisted of lyric annotation, where I carefully read over the lyrics of the song and annotated them with the images they brought to mind and some initial ideas for shots corresponding to certain lyrics. In some cases the shot ideas in my annotations were very detailed as I began to build a picture in my head of what a video for this song could look like, and many of them were used later in my shot list. I think this section of the unit was very effective and helped me to build a detailed video plan, however one thing I could improve on is to add more annotations relating to the themes of the lyrics and the meanings behind them - as this was something I processed in my head but left out of my writing in favour of initial shot ideas.

The shot list was where I got the opportunity to flesh out my ideas for the visuals in the music video as well as make decisions on the specific composition of these shots, such as the camera angle, shot type, and if there was going to be any camera movement like a zoom or a pan. This helped me to paint a much more vivid picture of the music video in my head and in turn I was able to use my imagination to work out how my isolated shot ideas would stitch together and compliment each other to form the final product. This was a time consuming process that involved reading over the lyrics and listening to the song itself many times over, but I believe this investment of time was worth it because the result is a list of all the shots to be used in the video including detailed descriptions, how the shot will be set up, and the filming location. Furthermore, I also included some basic scheduling information for the filming of each shot which delegated on which day of production filming would take place. When doing this, I took care to group all shots on a location so that, for example, all the treadmill shots would be filmed on the same day consecutively. This makes more sense from a practical standpoint than filming in chronological order as it is a more efficient use of resources and shots can be placed in the desired order during editing. So overall I think the shot list was very successful, although to improve I could add more types of information for each shot like the required camera equipment and perhaps the lighting set-up. Another way to improve might have been to include a more detailed breakdown of the filming schedule in order to achieve more efficient use of time during the production of the video. This would also make the schedule more useful as a tool for the production team while working on the project than just a day by day breakdown.

With each aspect of my work for this unit considered, I think it would be fair to evaluate my efforts overall as very effective and successful. This is because, while there are still a few points I could improve upon, I see each aspect itself as a success. Looking at the purpose of this project as a whole, the assignment was to create a viable plan for a music video and I believe this plan could be used to produce a music video of reasonable quality for the chosen song. Plus, the video idea I constructed as part of this plan would fit very well thematically and tonally with ‘Doers’ by Bodega.

Analysis of 'The Lightning I, II' Music Video by Arcade Fire

This music video, from alternative rock band Arcade Fire, is unique in that it is a video for two songs: 'The Lightning I' and 'The Lightning II'. Consequently, the video also has two parts as well.

The video opens with an intro consisting of a short jingle and the branding for the album the song belongs to. This helps reinforce the current image and brand of the band and promotes the album to anyone who has discovered the song through other means - especially since this was the first single from the album to be released prior to the full album release.

The first half of the video consists of the band members performing the song 'The Lightning I' on  stage in a street. There are various shots of the band members performing, including wide shots of the whole band on stage as well as close-up shots of their instruments. These shots focus the most on Win Butler and Regine Chassagne, likely because they are the band's vocalists and founding members. 'The Lightning I' is much more relaxed and lower tempo than II and this is reflected in the corresponding part of the video as there are fewer cuts in favour of longer lasting shots where the camera pans between band members and moves around the stage.

The second half of the video, marked by a tempo change and a seamless transition to 'The Lightning II', is very different from the first part. While there is continuity between the two sections, the video shifts from a performance type music video to one with a narrative. The fourth wall is broken, almost literally, as a storm blows in and a powerful gust of destroys the stage set up and whips up debris causing members of the production crew to come on stage and direct the band away from danger. The camera operator also seems to become caught up in the action as the camera tilts up at the sky, revealing more debris and parts of the stage in the air. Eventually the camera tilts to the sky again and ends up on the ground, up side down - presumably so the operator can flee as well. This section of the video relates more to the lyrics of the song because the chaos begins just after the line 'when the lightning comes' signalling the beginning of the storm. There is also a clear link between the video and the lyric 'I hear the thunder on a blue sky perfect day' because up until the storm, the stage performance appears to take place on a bright, sunny day.

In the rest of the second half, Win continues to sing the lyrics while struggling to walk against the wind. The video cuts between different shots of this, many with computer generated backgrounds containing dark clouds and tornadoes, which again relates to the storm theme of the song. 

The visuals also relate to the song through the pace of the video. Just as the first half featured lower tempo music alongside slower action and cuts, the second half matches the tempo of the music by being action packed and including quick cutaways to flashes of light, lightning bolts, and tornadoes despite maintaining longer duration shots of Win singing and walking. Also, some moments in the second half that would otherwise be too sow are made to match the pace of the music by speeding up parts of the footage, for example when Win is walking towards a house and his steps are sped up using this technique.

One more subtle technique that is used to differentiate between the two halves of the video is a change in the film used. In the Youtube description of the video, it is stated that the video is shot on Kodak film (rather than a digital camera) and this is not immediately obvious in the first half as the picture is clear and modern looking. However after the storm comes in and the song changes, the use of a grainy film becomes obvious due to the film grain visible in the video. This may be a small difference on the surface, but in combination with the other changes implemented for the 'Lightning II' section of the video the use of different film helps to differentiate the two parts and contributes significantly to the change in tone. In fact, the different type of film turns the viewing experience on its head, making it gritty and intense rather than the easy-viewing provided by a digital camera. Furthermore, this effect on the viewing experience, compliments the action in the video; going from a passive role of watching a rehearsed stage performance, to the camera following the front man through the storm as debris flies towards him.

Research Questionnaire and Results

I conducted a questionnaire asking participants some demographics information, various questions about their consumption of music video content, and their opinions about music videos. Here I shall show the results of this questionnaire of 29 participants and analyse the data produced with regards to planning a music video of my own.

The questions I used:

Below are the results of each question and any conclusions I can draw from them in order to make a music video more appealing to the audience.

Here it is evident that the majority of the participants are young adults, and a not insignificant amount are older teens. While this question is itself related to music video, the results tell me that I should make a video more appealing to young adults more than any other demographic.

A large majority of the sample said that they watch music videos either often or sometimes. This means that it is worth using resources making a music video as there is a receptive audience.

This is an important question as it I can see what the collectively most popular genre is within my sample. The results show that the most people prefer indie/alternative music, with pop also being favoured by a large chunk of the sample. Therefore, it would make sense for me to make a video for a indie or alternative song rather than for a song in a niche genre like country/folk as more people are likely to enjoy the music video. However, if I was already set on making a video for a pop song, it could still do well due to the large number of pop fans.

He the chart shows that people in my sample prefer music videos focused on a narrative. Therefore I should try implement some kind of story into my music video for the audience to follow. I could also appeal to more people by choose multiple styles by cutting between a narrative and performance shots, or by creating an animated narrative.

Before creating the questionnaire, I was already interesting in making a narrative style music video so I decided to include a question specific to this style. I noticed that many narrative music videos have unclear endings left up to the audience's interpretation and wondered whether my sample would prefer this to a more clear cut ending to the story. The results show that more people would prefer a clear ending, however this option won by a slim majority as 40% of the participants said they prefer an unclear ending. Because of this, I would consider both options and choose depending on which fits better with my narrative as well as the song.

It is hard to represent the qualitative data from this question using a chart or graph. However, after reading the responses, it is clear that many of the participants liked it when their chosen video linked to the lyrics and and when the timing matched that of the music, so I would conclude that I should make a video which is closely linked to the song thematically and through its pace and timing.

The data from this question is also qualitative so I will again summarise the results by looking at trends in the answers given. There are two main aspects of this music video that people enjoyed. One is the colour or aesthetics of the video, usually referring to the use of black and white in the video or the vintage style. Out of the 29 responses, 11 mentioned that they liked the use of colour or the video's vintage aesthetic. The second aspect of the video that people praised was the story, which garnered 10 mentions in 10 of the 29 responses. Other than simply bringing it up as a general positive, people mentioned that the story itself was interesting and that it kept them hooked. As a result of these findings, I would attempt to create a convincing and intriguing narrative in my music video (not something generic or typical) and also make the video stand out with a distinct visual style (through colour or perhaps some other means) as these were the 2 key points of praise for the video I asked my sample group to watch.

Overall, I think combining the ideas and decisions made from the findings would result in a good video which is appealing to my sample and by extension to the video's eventual audience.

Analysis of 'Everything Everything - Arch Enemy' Music Video

Everything Everything is a rock band in the art rock sub-genre and the music video for their song 'Arch Enemy' is very much a reflection of the band's genre due to the unconventional subject matter and the way the band personify the waste society creates. In this genre, artists place a higher value on making artistic statements and experimentation than on easy listening and these values are exhibited in the song and consequently its video. The primary subject of the video is a large monster in a sewer system, which is identified as a fatberg during the shot accompanying the lyric 'Fatberg, you smile' where the computer generated monster does a menacing grin at the camera. In the lyrics, this creature is given other names like 'sphinx of grease' and 'blubber mount'.

This is an example of how the visuals of music videos will often build on imagery present in the lyrics. The singer describes a worshipped creature made of 'blubber' and thus the corresponding video presents a gigantic and disgusting creature surrounded by hoards of globular worshippers - presumably also made of thrown away fat.

The music video also demonstrates the aspect of artist performance by including clips of the band's lead vocalist, Jonathon Higgs, lip syncing to the vocals in the song. Through the use of a green screen, he is placed within the CGI sewer scene with fat blob creatures dancing in the background behind him. By showing the artist performing but in the setting of the sewer, the video strikes a balance between star image and the narrative present in the song.

As for technical aspects, it is evident that the producers of the video used lighting to make the combination of the CGI and green screen footage more authentic. They appear to have set up a bright light, positioned above and to the right of Higgs, to mimic the harsh lighting in the sewer scene and create the illusion that there is a single, bright light source (the grate in the ceiling) which casts shadows on Higgs and the creatures behind him. Furthermore, to make the lighting even more believable, they have used colour (either through a yellow light source or through colour grading) to further match the lighting of the live action shots to the CGI background. This adds an additional layer of immersion to help the audience suspend their disbelief.

The visuals of the video are related to the song in more than just the lyrics too. The pace of the video is well matched to the rhythm of the music. A prime example of this is during the instrumental break towards the end of the song, where the producers of the video match the build up of the instruments to a build of liquid fat/sewage, which gradually fills the sewer until both the music and the visuals climax with the sewage exploding out of the ground the flooding the city.

This ending of the video fits very well to the ending of the song as it ends on the lyric 'It's time to show your face!' and the flooding of the city represents this as the fatberg monster is metaphorically showing its face above ground, forcing its creators to face the consequences of their wasteful lifestyle. This is an example of how visual interpretations of song lyrics in music videos can be both direct, as with the smiling fatberg, and indirect as shown by this metaphor.

Music Video Theory - Andrew Goodwin

In the book 'Dancing in the Distraction Factory', Andrew Goodwin identifies five key aspects of music videos to consider when analysing them:

• Thought Beats
• Narrative & Performance
• Star Image
• Relation of Visuals to the Song
• Technical Aspects of the Music Video

Thought beats are how the listener visualises the sound in their head when listening to a song. This can be influenced by the features of the song like the structure of the verses and chorus (or any instrumental segments), the artists voice which helps give the song an identity as the singer's voice is unique. Mode of address is also important in how the listener 'sees' the music. Many songs contain stories and the way the artist's mode of address can affect how the story plays out in your head; are the lyrics narrating a story, or are they from the point of view of an imagined character? 

Narrative & Performance

Songs often don't give the listener the complete narrative, giving the audience just enough information to make up our own idea of the story being told. Music videos should be repeatable and one way this is achieved is by including a mix of narrative and artist performance as this ads variety and the clips of performance can be used to break up beats in the narrative. In many cases the artist will act as both narrator and participant, which helps to increase the authenticity of the narrative because this makes it seem like they are narrating from experience. The more authentic the story seems, the easier it is for the audience to suspend their disbelief.

Star image is another important aspect of music videos. Artists will usually look to promote their own image in the music video and they will often ensure their image is consistent across multiple videos in order to reinforce the style of their brand. The artist may even be contractually obliged to do this by their record label.

Relation of Visuals to the Song

Music videos can employ certain imagery to illustrate the meaning of the lyrics and the genre of the music - this is the most common way to link the visuals to the music as Goodwin himself claims '...video clips build on the sound track's visual associations.' Amplification is used by repeating certain themes. The video will often come back to the same meanings over and over again to reinforce them in the viewer, similar to how a chorus may be repeated in a song many times over causing it to be the most memorable part of the song. However, other music video productions may employ disjuncture, which is where the meanings of the visuals and the song are not linked or even actively ignored.

Technical Aspects

Andrew Goodwin also highlights the importance of the technical aspects of music video production, such as camera angle and movement, mise en scene, lighting, and editing. These are the tools used to pull meanings together. For example, lighting and colour can be used to set the mood according to the story in the song and bring attention to key moments. A convincing mise en scene is paramount in order to maintain authenticity. Editing is especially crucial in the construction of the music video as cuts and other effects will be used to match the pace of the video to the tempo of the music, with lots of cuts often used alongside a fast, energetic song, and slower songs being complimented with fewer cuts. This helps keep the video entertaining.

Sources:

• Goodwin, A., 1993. Dancing in the Distraction Factory. London: Routledge.