In the beginning, my idea was clear what I wanted but I needed the research to back up my planning and the reality of if my music video will be successful or not in bringing in the correct target audience.
We looked at a range of theorists with the experience and knowledge of music video and what it is that makes them the way they are and what draws in the audiences. Vernallis, Goodwin, Barthes and Neale - each of these theorists have had influence over the media and have made it what is it to this day.
I wanted my music video to not be your standard performance based music video with the artist(s) on a stage performing or dancing. I knew from the start I wanted something more aesthetically mature and sophisticated and turned to the abstract/art based videos, taking inspiration from artists such as Kate Boy, Charli XCX and Alt-J and even make-up influence from the film Tron. These all grasped my ideal type of music video oh sleek, monochrome, contemporary vibes and didn't need narration or performance to pull them through a 3 minute song and got just as much, if not more, great attention from their target audiences.
Barthes's
Barthes's had a formula known as his '5 Codes' in narrative theory. These activate the reader and allow them to understand the processes of the story. As I mentioned I didn't want a narrative based music video. When watching my video you know there is no narrative and I think some people find this difficult to understand as it's not a 1,2,3 process and could make the audience uninterested. But this didn't phase me and I still went on with my abstract based video. I think Barthes's theory is important and does clarify simply what it is t have a narrative based music/media video. If I was to be doing a narration it would be important to follow his 5 steps in order to be successful.
Goodwin's & Mulvey's
Andrew Goodwin was one of the first theorists we looked into and he had a similar thinking process as Barthes where he had 6 key steps into reading music videos. Out of all the theorists I used Goodwin's theory to help me understand a way of creating a convincing music video. I used 5 out of 6 steps as follows:
- A relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. The visuals thus illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the music.
I tried to pin point a key word out of the lyrics to help me create my video. For this I eventually used the word 'gold' and based most of the colours around this. I wanted a sharp juxtaposition between the black and white, sleek studio shots with the coloured exterior shots. For this I used gold metallic body paint on my hands to reference the lyric "everything we touch turns to gold" and I wanted something really different and out there to also enhance this so I ordered in yellow smoke grenades and with Final Cut really brought to brightness up and played with the hues to get this pure, golden smoke effect.
When looking at these images in contrast to the black and white I think it's very effective and gives it a more contemporary, professional feel which I'm proud of. Also in the above photo (top right) I used a 'Sin City' effect where colour is pin pointed out and the surroundings are black and white - this really adds that conflicting colour balance.
I also used his theory that the artist is clearly shown through multiple camera angles. These being close ups, medium shots and long shots.
I also used Goodwin's and Mulvey's theory of voyeurism and 'male gaze' which is typically used on female artists. I didn't want this to captivate my entire video and it isn't about 'sexualising' myself or the song but I think a sense of voyeurism is always more interesting to watch and holds the audiences attention.
I used various shots of extreme close ups of my face, particularly the eyes and lips which are usually the places the male gaze drift towards. I also wore in my costume a high-low skirt which exposes my legs and I got some shots of my legs too to express the sense of a male gaze. I also used some hand held camera work to show a sense of voyeurism and a 'home movie' feel. The bottom left image is an example of this and it's also slightly out of focus which I really like as it makes it seem more voyeuristic and some what cinematic.
Versallis's
Versallis's theory concentrated on the editing that goes into a music video. Here is a quote from my previous post on Carl Versallis's theory which you can read HERE:
"A brief overview of her concept:
Continuity Editing - Broken edits are used to draw attention to the screen and pulls the eye to what is happening.
Edits - Drawing attention to them deliberately in order to catch the audiences interest. Such things are special effects and wipes.
Jump Cuts - This technique is used frequently in music videos to speed things up as songs are usually only around the 2-4 minute mark.
Master Shot - These are also known as the base track. It gives the video structure.
Camera - You'll find the camera consistently moves in time with the beat of the music to give it more rhythm. "
I think I stuck quite closely to her theory of editing - I cut the video in time with the beat of the music in order to make it flow. I also used editing effects such as 'Bad TV' and 'Negative' which we're inspiration from Charli XCX's music video 'Nuclear Seasons'. My style of cutting is very frequent - the jump cut technique I wanted to make sure I nailed as it's important to keep the audiences attention and as it's only a 2-3 minute clip it;s got to be captivating.
This shows some of the effects I've been using and how I've edited some clips together. Such as mirror, green screen, Bad TV and Negative.
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