Theory of a Music Video
Click Here to View the video
I will analyse the video for the Foo Fighter’s song “Everlong” (link above) using Andrew Goodwin’s principals for features of a music video. Each principal will have its own subheading.
1. Music Videos demonstrate genre characteristics
As with almost everything in life, there are stereotypes and traits that people expect certain social groups or genres of music to have certain aspects present.
For rock music, the most prominent characteristic is a heavily performance based music video, this video follows suit. Although the performance section does not appear until later on in the video, it is the most prominent feature on the screen when it does finally appear. The footage focuses mainly on individual band members, instead of the band as a whole, mainly to capture the chaotic instrument solos and the raw emotions that is expected in rock music.
The second major characteristic is the dark appearance that rock music brings due to the appearance of stereotypical “rockers”. Often wearing dark or black clothing, the lighting within the video reflects this, with its dull, low key lighting throughout.
2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals
Although the link between lyrics and the presented visuals is subtle, it is there. For example, the very opening line of the sound is “Hello”, and at that precise moment in the video, one of the band members (in full character) walks through the door, into a party, As if he has just arrived.
3. There is a relationship between music and visuals
This mainly protracted through the editing of the footage (changing pace, style and amount as the song increases and decreases in tempo), as apposed in the footage itself, however the characters often move in time with drum beats.
For example, the small “fight” scene between 1m20secs and 1m33secs during the Foo Fighters video, every hit / punch makes contact on the drum beat, adding to, and enforcing the importance of the actual audio in the video.
4. The demands of the record label
This is most often than not, close up shots of each of the individual band member, as after all, music videos are just another promotional channel for the record company, and use the band to maximise profits. Hence the need for close up shots, so that the audience is constantly reminded that they are watching the band.
Close up shots also allow for product placement within the video this something the band member drinks, eats, wears or interacts with. The fact that it is a close up shot shows the full branding detail of the item being used.
5. Frequently reference to the notion of looking
The opening scene of this video really encapsulates this point perfectly. The camera is flying through the scene, firstly through a window, one of the main things humans “look through”. After this, the camera keeps looking onto a series of photo frames, this sets the scene, and slight background, of the two characters within the video.
Once the character first reaches the “party scene”, he appears to be looking around, and does this for some time, before he finally interacts with someone else. This fits in with the lyrics..
“Hello
I've waited here for you
Everlong”
This implies that the character is looking for someone in particular, possibly a girlfriend?
6. Intertextuality
Again, this point does not happen until much later on in the video, however, it uses stereotypes and key, iconic scenes from films to form Intertextuality. Below is just a few examples of Intertextuality within this video:-
*The “Here’s Johnny” scene from “The Shinning” – When one of the characters uses an axe to break through the door
*Various generic “horror” film shots – such as the hand breaking through the glass panel of the door to open the handle
*The Blonde, female victim – the most common horror film victim.
Thursday, 24 September 2009
Saturday, 19 September 2009
Audience Research
Questionnaire
1)What is your age and gender?
2)Do you watch music videos?
3)What is your favourite genre of music?
4)What do you think makes a successful music video?
5)In a music video, do you prefer a performance storyline, a narrative storyline or a mix of both?
6)What one feature would you like to see in a NEW music video?
7)Do unique settings / locations influence your opinion of a music video?
8)How many hours a day do you spend watching music based television?
9)Do you buy music DVDs?
10)Would ‘Behind the scenes’ footage encourage you to buy a music DVD?
11)Does a good music video make you change your opinion of a song?
---------------------------------------------
A brief cross section of 9 people were asked for their responses to these questions...
These are below...
Part 1
Part 2
------------------
Analysis of Results
Analysis of Results of Audience Research.
Do you watch music videos?
There was an approximately even spread between those that did watch music videos, and those that didn’t. However, more interesting, more often than not, our female respondents watched music videos more often than the male respondents.
What is your favourite genre of music?
There were two main genres of music, rock and rap. However, rock was far more popular (80% responded rock as their favourite genre), interestingly, this genre divide was not split by genre, with both male and female respondents replying with some form of “rock” as their preferred genre. This means our song/video will have a much wider audience.
What do you think makes a successful music video?
These answers were massively gender divided, with most of the male respondents replying with some form of “women” playing a large part in their opinion of a successful music video. However, the female respondents said that a more complex storyline played a more significant role.
In a music video, do you prefer a performance storyline, a narrative storyline or a mix of both?
All the respondents said that they preferred the video to contain a mixture of performance and narrative features. This is the most common form of a music video, and the style that everyone is used to, hence its popularity
What one feature would you like to see in a NEW music video?
Due to the massive range of possibilities, it is almost impossible to categorize the responses for this question, however, uniqueness was a prominent role. Be this in the way the performance shots are filming, the way in which the lyrics or interpreted, or just how the video was edited.
Do unique settings / locations influence your opinion of a music video?
The answer to this was 100% yes, this response ties in with the response to the answer above, a unique location provides something new, and makes the video stand out from others, this is a very important feature to include in the creation of our own music video.
How many hours a day do you spend watching music based television?
The responses for this question ranged from 1-3 hours per day, with the female respondents spending considerably more time watching the music based television (such as MTV), most male respondents said they simply used sites such as YouTube to listen to songs (and due to the nature of the site) end up watching the video as well
Do you buy music DVDs?
Few respondents actually buy music DVDs, but nearly all said it depended entirely on the artist, if it was an artist they had a great interest in, they would be much more likely to purchase the DVD.
Would ‘Behind the scenes’ footage encourage you to buy a music DVD?
Again, an almost 50:50 split in responses to this questions, for some, the inclusion of the behind the scenes footage is a massive plus point, but for some, it is deeply uninteresting, and a feature that would be wasted.
Does a good music video make you change your opinion of a song?
Again, the answer was a definitive yes. Although most said that they watched the video second to listening to the actual song, the video did influence their opinion of the actual song. An original, eye catching and appealing video made the song more appealing, and the same in reverse, a boring video worsened the overall opinion of the song.
1)What is your age and gender?
2)Do you watch music videos?
3)What is your favourite genre of music?
4)What do you think makes a successful music video?
5)In a music video, do you prefer a performance storyline, a narrative storyline or a mix of both?
6)What one feature would you like to see in a NEW music video?
7)Do unique settings / locations influence your opinion of a music video?
8)How many hours a day do you spend watching music based television?
9)Do you buy music DVDs?
10)Would ‘Behind the scenes’ footage encourage you to buy a music DVD?
11)Does a good music video make you change your opinion of a song?
---------------------------------------------
A brief cross section of 9 people were asked for their responses to these questions...
These are below...
Part 1
Part 2
------------------
Analysis of Results
Analysis of Results of Audience Research.
Do you watch music videos?
There was an approximately even spread between those that did watch music videos, and those that didn’t. However, more interesting, more often than not, our female respondents watched music videos more often than the male respondents.
What is your favourite genre of music?
There were two main genres of music, rock and rap. However, rock was far more popular (80% responded rock as their favourite genre), interestingly, this genre divide was not split by genre, with both male and female respondents replying with some form of “rock” as their preferred genre. This means our song/video will have a much wider audience.
What do you think makes a successful music video?
These answers were massively gender divided, with most of the male respondents replying with some form of “women” playing a large part in their opinion of a successful music video. However, the female respondents said that a more complex storyline played a more significant role.
In a music video, do you prefer a performance storyline, a narrative storyline or a mix of both?
All the respondents said that they preferred the video to contain a mixture of performance and narrative features. This is the most common form of a music video, and the style that everyone is used to, hence its popularity
What one feature would you like to see in a NEW music video?
Due to the massive range of possibilities, it is almost impossible to categorize the responses for this question, however, uniqueness was a prominent role. Be this in the way the performance shots are filming, the way in which the lyrics or interpreted, or just how the video was edited.
Do unique settings / locations influence your opinion of a music video?
The answer to this was 100% yes, this response ties in with the response to the answer above, a unique location provides something new, and makes the video stand out from others, this is a very important feature to include in the creation of our own music video.
How many hours a day do you spend watching music based television?
The responses for this question ranged from 1-3 hours per day, with the female respondents spending considerably more time watching the music based television (such as MTV), most male respondents said they simply used sites such as YouTube to listen to songs (and due to the nature of the site) end up watching the video as well
Do you buy music DVDs?
Few respondents actually buy music DVDs, but nearly all said it depended entirely on the artist, if it was an artist they had a great interest in, they would be much more likely to purchase the DVD.
Would ‘Behind the scenes’ footage encourage you to buy a music DVD?
Again, an almost 50:50 split in responses to this questions, for some, the inclusion of the behind the scenes footage is a massive plus point, but for some, it is deeply uninteresting, and a feature that would be wasted.
Does a good music video make you change your opinion of a song?
Again, the answer was a definitive yes. Although most said that they watched the video second to listening to the actual song, the video did influence their opinion of the actual song. An original, eye catching and appealing video made the song more appealing, and the same in reverse, a boring video worsened the overall opinion of the song.
Inital Ideas
----------
Running
----------
Members of the band running throughout the video, similar styles to...
The first 15 seconds of this video show various different style of running shots, this could be an extremely useful resource when looking for inspiration for our running shots.
Another useful video for reference for running shots is "Coldplay"'s Fix You...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34KF_UzrwAY
Although the video starts with the Artist walking, he soon develops into a run as the music speeds up, showing various different styles which could be very useful for use in our music video
------------------
Ghostly Locations
------------------
As ghosts feature heavily in the lyrics and the meaning of the song, a necessary location is required, after scouting out the local area, this location seems perfect...
Running
----------
Members of the band running throughout the video, similar styles to...
The first 15 seconds of this video show various different style of running shots, this could be an extremely useful resource when looking for inspiration for our running shots.
Another useful video for reference for running shots is "Coldplay"'s Fix You...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34KF_UzrwAY
Although the video starts with the Artist walking, he soon develops into a run as the music speeds up, showing various different styles which could be very useful for use in our music video
------------------
Ghostly Locations
------------------
As ghosts feature heavily in the lyrics and the meaning of the song, a necessary location is required, after scouting out the local area, this location seems perfect...
Animatic
The animatic is basically a moving storyboard, it gives a basic/inital idea of what the final video may look like.
We recieved feedback from our peers to ensure that we could make the rough cut as good as possible, some feedback we recieved included:
*Try not to switch from one similar shot to another
*Make shots shorter
*Use more varied shots, different angles
Chosen Song
Taking Back Sunday - What's it Feel like to be a Ghost?
Lyrics
And then you said a little more about your dreams,
Like it was my call (my call)
If you would only listen
Bypassed everything and went straight for the neck
(I study)
We study
(up nightly)
Dragged you out into the streets
Before you buckled at your knees (buckled at your knees)
What's it feel like to be a ghost?
(Well, louder now, louder now)
So what's it feel like to be a ghost? Ahh
Are you up for, are you up for this?
(Well, are you up for, are you up for..)
Are you up for, are you up for this?
(Well, are you up for, are you up for..)
This is quick but not quite painless,
It sits perched on your arm.
Tacky and irrelevant (So what?)
A permanent reminder that, oh Christ
(I study)
We study
(up nightly)
Drag you out into those streets
Before you buckled at your knees (buckled)
What's it feel like to be a ghost?
(Well, louder now, louder now)
So what's it feel like to be a ghost? Ahh
Are you up for, are you up for this?
(Well, are you up for, are you up for..)
Are you up for, are you up for this?
(Well, are you up for, are you up for..)
I said so, look closely
There might be something you'd like
What was it like?
(oh and I...)
Looked so close, it's been months who knows if I,
Will get this right.
(Oh and I..)
Look so closely, there might be something you'd like
What was it like?
Oh and I...
So, what's it feel like to be a ghost?
(Well, louder now, louder now.)
So what's it feel like to be a ghost? Ahh
Are you up for, are you up for this?
(Well, are you up for, are you up for...)
Are you up for, are you up for this?
(Are you up for, are you up for...)
Lyrics
And then you said a little more about your dreams,
Like it was my call (my call)
If you would only listen
Bypassed everything and went straight for the neck
(I study)
We study
(up nightly)
Dragged you out into the streets
Before you buckled at your knees (buckled at your knees)
What's it feel like to be a ghost?
(Well, louder now, louder now)
So what's it feel like to be a ghost? Ahh
Are you up for, are you up for this?
(Well, are you up for, are you up for..)
Are you up for, are you up for this?
(Well, are you up for, are you up for..)
This is quick but not quite painless,
It sits perched on your arm.
Tacky and irrelevant (So what?)
A permanent reminder that, oh Christ
(I study)
We study
(up nightly)
Drag you out into those streets
Before you buckled at your knees (buckled)
What's it feel like to be a ghost?
(Well, louder now, louder now)
So what's it feel like to be a ghost? Ahh
Are you up for, are you up for this?
(Well, are you up for, are you up for..)
Are you up for, are you up for this?
(Well, are you up for, are you up for..)
I said so, look closely
There might be something you'd like
What was it like?
(oh and I...)
Looked so close, it's been months who knows if I,
Will get this right.
(Oh and I..)
Look so closely, there might be something you'd like
What was it like?
Oh and I...
So, what's it feel like to be a ghost?
(Well, louder now, louder now.)
So what's it feel like to be a ghost? Ahh
Are you up for, are you up for this?
(Well, are you up for, are you up for...)
Are you up for, are you up for this?
(Are you up for, are you up for...)
Analysis of Similar Videos
Brand New - Sic Transit Gloria... Glory Fades
Although the style of the song is of a slightly different genre, the actual structure of the song isn't that different. Using an brief instrumental start, and then a quick vocal presence into the song, both songs (Our song - Taking Back Sunday - "What's it feel like to be a Ghost") are very similar. The editing applied to the video is also similar to a possible effect that could be used on our video, the use of low contrast / low colour saturation provides the overshadowing / ghostly effect that is required for our video. This video also features some original running shots, and is therefore a very useful resource for use in creating our music video.
Coldplay - Fix You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skUJ-B6oVDQ
Again, although not similar on basis of genre of music, this video can (and will be) a valuable resource for when creating our video, and looking for inspiration for our "running shots".
What can be learnt from this video is how the character within interacts with the music's tempo. At the start of the video/song, the music is slow, and the character is aimlessly walking around on the sets, however, as the music speeds up, so does the character, the aimless walk develops into a run, which then furthers into a sprint as the music gets even faster.
Taking Back Sunday - Liar (It Takes One to Know One)
Now that we have videos for inspiration, it is time to look at existing videos by the chosen artist (Taking Back Sunday)
The key feature of this video which could be used within our music video is the lack of colour, induced by a low contrast / low colour saturation effect which has been created in the editing process. This adds a certain motif to the artists videos, and personifies their genre style.
Taking Back Sunday- Sink Into Me
Another key feature of "Taking Back Sunday's" videos is that they are heavily performance based. Also, they use interesting and unique locations within their videos. Hence we should continue the style. However, the two different styles of narrative and performance could be mixed to get the action of the performance, and the deeper meaning of the lyrics (protraited through the narrative storyline)
Although the style of the song is of a slightly different genre, the actual structure of the song isn't that different. Using an brief instrumental start, and then a quick vocal presence into the song, both songs (Our song - Taking Back Sunday - "What's it feel like to be a Ghost") are very similar. The editing applied to the video is also similar to a possible effect that could be used on our video, the use of low contrast / low colour saturation provides the overshadowing / ghostly effect that is required for our video. This video also features some original running shots, and is therefore a very useful resource for use in creating our music video.
Coldplay - Fix You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skUJ-B6oVDQ
Again, although not similar on basis of genre of music, this video can (and will be) a valuable resource for when creating our video, and looking for inspiration for our "running shots".
What can be learnt from this video is how the character within interacts with the music's tempo. At the start of the video/song, the music is slow, and the character is aimlessly walking around on the sets, however, as the music speeds up, so does the character, the aimless walk develops into a run, which then furthers into a sprint as the music gets even faster.
Taking Back Sunday - Liar (It Takes One to Know One)
Now that we have videos for inspiration, it is time to look at existing videos by the chosen artist (Taking Back Sunday)
The key feature of this video which could be used within our music video is the lack of colour, induced by a low contrast / low colour saturation effect which has been created in the editing process. This adds a certain motif to the artists videos, and personifies their genre style.
Taking Back Sunday- Sink Into Me
Another key feature of "Taking Back Sunday's" videos is that they are heavily performance based. Also, they use interesting and unique locations within their videos. Hence we should continue the style. However, the two different styles of narrative and performance could be mixed to get the action of the performance, and the deeper meaning of the lyrics (protraited through the narrative storyline)
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