Personal Music Interests
In order to create a music video myself, I decided to look deeply at my own music tastes and what I would consider to be my favourite music videos. Hopefully, this will create a personal niche that I can keep in mind when deciding on an idea for a music video.
1. Performance or Narrative?
I would usually find a Narrative music video more appealing, as I am usually captivated by not only the stories being told, but also the way they are filmed and edited. Narrative videos in most cases create a better visual experience and leave me feeling more as though I learned something. However, some performance videos, such as ones including choreography, can be deemed as just as entertaining and creative.
Narrative: Favourites
Ed Sheeran: Lego House
The way Sheeran uses an actor to represent himself helps to create a more story-like video where the audience are not distracted by the artist themselves. However, this concept is developed throughout the video until Sheeran as himself becomes a part of the plot. This helps to create a moment of realisation for the audience and create more interest and turns in the story. The video is shot in a movie or TV style, which helps to blur the line between the different media platforms and helps to create a more Narrative feel to it. There are a number of shots where the character is positioned centrally in the shot: this allows for the audience to be primarily focused on the figure and, initially, not as endorsed in anything else. The use of natural lighting within "Lego House" keeps the realism of the story and allows the audience to more deeply relate. On occasion when artificial lighting is used, the audience may find that they are more aware that what they're watching isn't real and may distract them from being more engrossed in the narrative.
David Guetta: Titanium
This Narrative video is captivating as it begins in medias res: though the audience know a "supernatural occurrence" has happened, they are not shown this and are only given the shots of the aftermath. Furthermore, what is more interesting is the use of muted dialogue. The audience know there is a conversation held between two people, however it is left up to the imagination of the viewer to decide what is being said. This adds an interactive element to the video and helps to keep the audience thinking. Furthermore, there is a significant lack of close up shots: as a way to show the youth and innocence of the central character, long and mid shots are used to help outline the costume choice. The hat and backpack help remind the audience that the character is still only a child and keeps them notified of this. As well as this, the shots where he is riding a bike also support this.
Jarryd James: Do You Remember
The use of editing within this video is what makes it so enticing and captivating. This music video incorporates the beat of the music into the visuals to create a synchronised style that is appealing to the audience. The Mise en Scene and camera are responsible also for this: although in some cases the camera is kept in the same shot, the focal point is changed with each beat to give the audience a different area to focus on. As well as this, high-key and low-key lighting is used to help further this synchronised technique; the two different styles are being switched with each beat. This helps to create what some may see as a good and bad side to the character the lighting is shining on. The Low-key lighting could represent what they have done wrong, and the consequences of their actions, and the High-key lighting could be used to present their innocence and beauty and kindness. The switch between the two is interesting as it gives the audience a true view of the character, in which they are able to make a judgement. This editing style is carried on throughout, along with the entire video being filmed in black and white. It could be said that this is done to keep the audience from getting distracted by colours; however it could also be used to create a solemn and "miserable" atmosphere, which would link to the editing style and the lyrics of the song.
Performance: Favourites
All Time Low: Weightless
This music video is ultimately performance, however it can be argued that the editing brings about a narrative style to it. The editing within this is what causes me to like it so much; the graphology and how it is used to tell a story brings about a unique and individual style. Despite this, I find personally that there is less opportunity to create interest and absorption through a Performance style video, and, when watching videos without choreography, I find myself growing bored. The video seems to centre around the band performing and a number of their fans dancing along. Although this could be in some cases appealing to their audience, as it may make them feel as though they are there as well, it could also take away the idea of how they perform live at a concert and leave their audience feeling underwhelmed and that they've seen it before.
Mark Ronson: Uptown Funk
This music video's simplicity and atmosphere is what appeals the most to me. With it's late 20th Century Mise en Scene and styled location, a specific niche can be targeted: those who lived at that time. The visuals may be reflective of the clothes they wore and the cars they owned. It could be a "blast from the past" for many. Furthermore, the choreography of the video is uplifting and entertaining for the audience: it could be seen as less of an empowering choreography and more of something to create a comedy aspect. It is more likely to receive an exchange with the audience: with its popularity increasing by others copying the dance and uploading it onto specific platforms such as Youtube.
Furthermore, editing is used to add to the uplifting atmosphere of the video. Transitions such as rotations are used to create visual excitement and makes the video seem more creative and unique, since transitions are rarely used in music videos.
Clean Bandit: Rockabye
The integration of Narrative into this performance style video is what I find the most interesting. It's created through the artists themselves and the character they sing about, with the artist Anne-Marie playing a role as a waitress and interacting with the character in the story, who also works at the pub. Anne-Marie's character sings along throughout despite having a role in the Narrative, which helps to create the integration between Narrative and Performance. This is further adapted with the Artist Sean Paul, who, instead of rapping along to his parts himself, has characters in the Narrative do it instead. This creates a sense of continuous Narrative despite the music video actually being a performance. It also helps to keep the attention on the lyrics and what it matches in the visuals. Furthermore, the video seems to switch between the idea of modern day (when the artists are outside singing) and past (inside the pub). This could be used to create the sense of time and change not only in Mise en Scene and culture, but also in the Narrative and how the child character has grown up with the culture, but the main character has not changed: she still has the same job and still speaks in the same way to her son.
