Ancillary Texts: Poster Advertisements

This is a magazine poster advertisement for The Horrors album Skying. The band has used the main album cover for the image featured in the advertisement which immediatley enables the audience to acknowledge what the poster is about. The purpose of the poster is to advertise the band's new band and persuade the audience to purchase the CD. To reinforce this, the poster has a list of reliable and well known newspapers and magazines providing the star rating each company gave. All of the ratings are four star ratings which emphasises the success of the album and helps persuade the audience to feel that they would enjoy the album and benefit from buying it. The font is the same throughout the poster which is cohesive as this creates a theme that is matched to the band's theme also. Although the text is very plain as it is a simple font, the colour choice of white helps the text to make an impact within the advertisement as it stands out.




This is a magazine poster for the rock band Kings Of Leon which advertises one of their albums. The main image is the same image which is used for the featured album which instanlty makes the poster recognisable. The use of main image is highly recognisable due to its unique use of editing, the photograph is split into four equal parts which has different parts of all four band member's faces merged together to create one. However, to increase the unique ideology, an eagle's face has been embedded in the photograph also to create a montage of the eagle and the band members. The poster uses the same font for each parts of the text which

Theory: Laura Mulvey

Theory: Levi Strauss

Test Shots - Hand Held Technique

In preparation for the creation of my music video I felt that practising the hand held camera technique was necessary as if it is not carried out correctly then it will look very bad. For this reason, I arranged for my friend who will be playing the protagonist in my video to come round to my house so that I could practise at filming certain shots used in my video. Some shots worked much better than others such as the tracing shots whereas the high angle shot looked very clumsy when it zoomed in. I added songs to the video clips that are by Arctic Monkeys who I am using for my actual music video; this is to get a better idea of what effect the shots have.

 

• Upwards Pan Shot -
  This looks slightly wobbly and I don't think that using the hand held camera for this shot would complement my video in any way. I think to do this shot it would be steadier if I used a video camera attached to a tripod to ensure there is more balance during the filming of the shot.
• 
  High Angle and Zoom Shot -
  In my storyboard I planned to use this high angle shot in this particular location, I think that this works well as the high angle implies she is vulnerable which follows the narrative however it would look better if it was filmed further away. However, when I was filming I thought it might look interesting to encorporate a zoom into the shot, unfortunately this did not work as it was difficult to maintain a steady hand as I was filming whilst walking down some stairs. From this I have decided that I won't change the original shot desicion. 
• 
  Tracking Forwards -
  There are many tracking shots that I have planned to film in my video and I felt that the hand held technique could add a portrayal of confusion of my protagonist. I found that I had some slight height problems as my friend it taller than I am which caused some difficulty, in future I will use the tripod so that the shot is more steady and I am not cutting out any of the actor. I found the speed also quite hard to maintain and need to ensure that I don't get too close to the actor.
• 
  Tracking Backwards -
  I think that this was the most successful shot. Apart from the camera tilting downwards when I stepped backwards the shot maintained a medium shot and I followed the same pace as the actor.  

Shotlist

1. Group of teenagers talking, long shot, zoom towards the group
2. Shot of the teenagers shoes, close up, still shot
3. Teenagers talking and laughing with eachother, close up, still shot
4. Girl and boy stood against wall laughing -appearing to be a couple, long shot, pan across
5. Girl pulling on some fish net tights, medium close up, tracking upwards following her hand
6. Girl sat on a messy bed with her back to the camera, medium shot, still shot
7. Girl lookign distressed running her hands through her haid, medium shot, still shot
8. Girl walking through a park, long shot, tracking of the girl walking away from the camera
9. Girl sat up against a tree in the park,  high angle shot whilst the girl looks upwards
10. Girl drinking a cocktail, extreme close up of the girls mouth whilst she takes a sip
11. Girl sat at a bar or table looking disatissfyed with her drink, medium still shot
12. Girl and boy holding hands whilst walking through park, tracking long shot
13. Girl is stood in park remenicing as her back is towards the camera, upwards pan of the girl from her shoes to her head, close up shot
14. Girl stood in middle of a path looking sad, beggining with a medium shot and zoom outwards
15. Girl walks up to a bench in the park and sits down, pan of the girl walking towards the bench, still long shot as she sits down
16. Two girls in a busy street laughing together, medium shot, still shot
17. Two boys stood against a wall, one of which is smoking, medium shot, still shot
18. Both girls walk up to the boys who all start a conversation, long shot, pan of the girls walking towards the boys
19. Boy and girl talking to each other smiling, close up, still shot of their faces
20. Girl walking down an empty street, girl looks over her shoulder towards camera, tracking medium shot
21. Boy and girl messing around, boy playfully pushes girl, tracking backwards from the couple, medium shot
22. Girl sat up on bed, falls back onto it, medium still shot
23. Girl closes her eyes as she is lyring on a bed, slow pan is used moving toward girl's face, medium shot
24. Girl walking through a park, shot begins with her opening her eyes to relate to the previous shot, tracking backwards, medium close up
25. Girl walking through a park, long shot, upwards tilt going up to the sky
26. Girl is now running through the park, slow tracking from behind
27. Girl is breathing heavily from the running and stress, medium close up shot
28. Girl runs her hands through her haid, a medium shot from the side, still shot
29. Girl and boy sat against a wall, long shot, still shot
30. Boy handing over a cigarette to the girl, close up, hand held camera effect
31. The couple are smiling at each other, medium close  up, hand held camera effect
32. Shot of an empty park, girl suddenly walks onto screen, long still shot
33. Girl looks over her shoulder, medium close up
34. Girl and boy are cuddled up together, her head on his shoulders, tracking backwards
35. Girl walks onwards in the park, still medium shot
36. Girl is walking down a street and past houses, long still shot
37. Girl is walking up a steep path, high angle, still shot
38. Shot of an empty road, when girl appears the camera pans across
39. Two couples holding hand walk past camera, still shot, medium close up
40. Girl is looking outside a window in her house, still shot, high angle
41. The couple are holding hands and gazing at each other, long shot
42. Girl is sat on her bed with her head hung down, medium close up
43. Girl is seen mouthing "I love you", close up on mouth
44. Girl is walking down a street at a fast pace, tracking, over the shoulder shot
45. Couple are walking together and the girl kisses the boy on the cheek, medium shot
46. Shot of a house, after some time girl appears on screen as she walks on screen quickly and walks into the house and shuts the door, long still shot

Ancillary Texts: Album Covers

This is the album 'Whatever People Say I Am That's What I'm Not' by Arctic Monkeys. The album cover is very famous and is instantly recognised, although the album cover does not feature the album name on the cover the band name is written in a bold text in the top corner. The photograph used for the album is very simple yet iconic; a man is smoking a cigarette and looking fairly satisfied. He is sat in front of what appears to be a curtain and wearing a basic plain shirt. The mise-en-scene of the cover photo is not extravagant and does not appear to be very exciting as it is extremely plain. However, the use of a medium close up shot adds impact to the image as it foregrounds the man in the photograph, this allows the audience to see closely the man and receive an idea of the band's identity. The image creates realism as there is no abstract elements to this image which allows the audience to relate to the main featured on the front cover. In terms of class, the man is portrayed as working class seen through the use of props as he is smoking which is considered a stereotype of the working class. Immediately this creates an identity for the band who are displaying themselves through the front cover of their debut album; they too are working class and aren't portraying themselves as something they are not which links in with the album title. There is also a theme of black and white as both the photograph and the band logo follow this colour scheme; this adds a vintage look but also connotes that the band are represent themselves in black and white, showing that they are who there are and that only. The band breaks formal conventions by not placing the album title on the cover, although this is viewed as an essential part of an album as it catches the attention of audiences this album focuses fully on the image. The image is very unique in comparison to others as they usually feature the band members on the front, this way the album is individual and will catch people's eye, intriguing them and encourage them to find out more about the band.

This is the album 'Rumours' by Fleetwood Mac. This album cover is also simple yet effective; this album cover features two members of the band which will draw the attention of present fans of the band as they will recognise them. To also appeal to fans, the album cover has the name of the band printed at the top in a fancy text. Beneath the band name is the title of the album using the same text which reinforces the genre convention of the album which creates cohesion of the appearance of the album. The font used for the text is linked to the genre conventions of the music; Fleetwood Mac are a rock band who also come under the genre of blues and rock blues. Due to this, the font is expected to be a very subtle, fancy text and not something really bold and harsh. Furthermore, in terms of mise-en-scene  the costume of the band members also appears to be fancy and expensive. The woman is wearing a long silky dress with a chiffon type shawl which are known to be luxurious types of clothing yet she is also wearing ballet shoes which fits in well with the conventions of music as music and dance is strongly connected. The man is wearing a white shirt with a waistcoat which appears to be formal to match the woman's outfit. Next, the image is in black and white which gives the photograph a vintage look whilst foregrounding the image against the plain, pale backround.


This is the self-titled album 'Jake Bugg' by artist Jake Bugg. The album cover features the artist himself on the cover which follows formal conventions and ensures that the soul focus of the album cover is Jake Bugg. Depth of field is used in the photograph which creates a large impact on the audience as this foregrounds teh artist which is the man purpose of the album cover. The audience expect to see the artist and for them to be on the front cover as this along with the actual music is the audiece's main interest. The background of the image contains different bulidings which makes is apparant that the photograph was taken down a street. This is very similar to the music video 'Lightning Bolt' as the majority of it is filmed down busy high streets. The expression on Jake Bugg's face is quite solemn which refelcts Jake Bugg's personality and album.

Cast

Sophie Chapman - Protagonist
Sophie will play the protagonist of my video. She is a close, reliable friend which reassures me that I can depend on her to not let me down in terms of shooting the video. Sophie also studies Media which is helpful as she will be able to give me advice on how to achieve the best shots for the video as she has the knowledge to do so. Sophie also lives nearby which is essential for the production of my video as it will be much easier to arrange days for filming.

Freddy Josh - Extra Talent Freddy will play the ex boyfriend of the protagonist in my video. He is a close friend and also the boyfriend of Sophie Chapman which is useful as the narrative revolves around relationships which will ensure the acting is believable. Freddy studies Film and Media which is benefitial as a degree of acting is essential and he has featured in coursework for other people which shows he is a reliable actor.

Ellie Hutchinson - Extra Talent
Ellie is also a close, dependable friend who is always happy to help. She will play a friend in my music video and will be used in many flashbacks. I am sure that Ellie's contribution to my music vdieo will be to a good standard as Ellie previously studied Drama and is currently part of a drama group. Because of this, her acting in my video will be believable and ensure that the music video will maintain a strong narrative.

Adam Wilson - Extra Talent
Adam is a close friend who will play a friend of the group in the video. This will not be the first time Adam will star in a music video for media coursework which confirms my expectations that Adam is a suitable person for my own.

Possible Problems with TransportThere shouldn't be a problem with filming with the protagonist of my video, Sophie, as she lives nearby the chosen locations. As she lives in Hull, I should be able to organise a filming rota which should not raise any problems with transport for Sophie. However, the rest of my cast live outside of Hull which I am aware could cause some problems. However, the main scenes that I will be using the Extra Talent in are located in the city centre of Hull, the bus station is also in the city centre which means that there should be any major problems as they can travel by bus and I can meet them in the station.

Changes Made During Animatic

I made many time changes when I was creating my animatic, this was because I found that when I followed the timings I had written down for my storyboard  the lyrics were out of time with the shots.

The first and final verse of the song contained lots of 1 second shots as the pace of the song is very fast however, I had to increase the time of all of these shots up to 2 seconds or even 3, just to ensure that the appropriate shot was shown to match up with the lyrics.

After I had adjusted the timings, the rest of my video fitted into place. The reason I think that I had this problem is because the 1 second edits were too short and needed extra time to chnage from one shot to another.  I found the animatic very helpful as I am able to visualise what my music video should look like and move onto planning when I am going to start filming my music video.

Animatic

Music Video Storyboard

 

My storyboard includes 46 different edits all together, a large amount of them are very short edits to keep up with the speed of the song whereas others are longer where the song becomes very intense and slow paced. I have four reacurring characters in my music video, anybody else will be people caught in the background of shots which is not a problem for my particular narrative as a lot of it will be shot in public places; therefore it will reinforce the realism of the narrative that the audience can relate with.

Blog Poll Summary

I created a blog poll which asked questions in relation to my music video. I emailed other media students the link to my blog poll so that I could get realistic and useful critical opinions that I could trust. From this I gathered information which has helped me gain ideas on how to fulfill my target audience's expectations; all of the people who answered my poll were aged 14-18 which shows that my target audience are teenagers. This will be useful as the narrative for my music video revolves around teenagers which my target audience can relate to. I can also apply theorist Tessa Perkins to my music video creation and use mise-en-scene to present the characters in a stereotypical teenager portrayal. Next, the majority of people who voted on my poll believed that the storyline of a music video was the most important aspect of a music video which is why I have created a storyline that matches the narrative of the lyrics for my song choice. The next highest choice was the visual appeal which proves that it is very important that the editing is carried out well. When planning the storyboard and filming, I need to ensure that the visuals are good and compliment the video. Another result which has confirmed the importance of the style of narrative is that almost 75% of people thought that the narrative was the most effective style. Finally, 75% of people also agreed that it is important for a music video to relate to the lyrics whilst 25% believed that the lyrics should be incorporated into the song in some way.

Potential Hazards Whilst Fillming

As the director, I am responsible for the potential hazards during filming. By producing this table, I am fully aware of prominent hazards that will cause injury to both me and the actors featured in my video.

Loation Ideas

My location ideas are all placed around Hull and are easy to get too. This means that there shouldn't be any problems with transport and availability. My location ideas revolve around three different settings:

• Pearson Park (Hull)
• Old Town/Whitefriargate (Hull)
• A House - kitchen, bedroom (Hull)

I think that these settings will fit the narrative of my music video as the park and town are very busy and social places; as my video revolves around a teenager the setting will reinforce the stereotypes that teenagers are always hanging about with friends.The dark bedroom and kitchen will be used to contrast the happy, friendly places and portray a feeling of confinement and isolation.

 
 

 



Props

These are the props that will be featuring in my music video. As seen, there are not many props used for the entire video. The only props I will use are:

• cigarettes - will be used in a couple of shots of one of the characters will be smoking to reinforce the indie rock genre stereotype
• alchoholic drink (Bloody Mary) - will be seen in two shots when the protagonist is drinking it by herself
• bed - the bed will be used throughout the music video as there will be a range of shots where the protagonsit will be sat on the bed in a unhappy daze or laying on the bed remeniscing.
• park bench - will be used in one shot located in a park, the protagonsit will walk towards the bench and sit down on it

Costume Ideas and Inspirations

Clothing
The clothing choices I have chosen are based on the research I carried out when analysing the mise-en-scene in three different indie rock music videos. My own knowledge helped me get inspirations as I am a fan of indie rock music therefore I hypothetically belong within my target audience. Indie rock clothing is usually seen as a bit edgy, quite unique yet it has recently conformed to high fashion clothing. A lot of the clothing for example, denim jackets, leather jackets, beanie hats and Vans are unisex clothing, however more specifically the tartan and lace skirts, dark skinny jeans,denim pinafore dress and the Doc Martens have been chosen for any female models used in my video. The costume choices I have made fit in well within my genre as I have seen either exact types of clothing or similar in previous music videos.

 
   Make-Up 

The make-up I have chosen for my female models is quite dark but trendy. I decided that for eye make-up, winged eyeliner and a highlighted inner corner would be suited well as it has connotations as being unique which fits the genre stereotypes of indie rock. Next, I decided a dark lip would help continue the mysterious persona as it reinforces the edgy, rock style of the models. Finally, I decided that it would be effective for the protagonist in the music video to have red nail varnish on as there is a tracking close up shot of her putting on some fishnet tights; the colour red connotes lust and romance and will reinforce the story line.

Hair

The hair style choices are based on three different styles. A general 'messy' look emphasises the stereotypes of people belonging to a rock genre. The hair would match my mise-en-scene whether it is down and wavy, up in a high top knot bun with a slight messy effect, a fishtail plat or messy double plaits would be acceptable in my music video.

I am currently working on my music video storyboard and planning my music video. 

Beck - Loser Editing

Alternative/Indie Rock Band Timeline

I have created a timeline listing the years that popular indie rock bands formed. This reveals the time indie rock began (1970) and lets me view the most popular years for indie rock bands to start out. From the 1970's to the 1990's some really famous bands formed which brought a lot of attention to the  alternative indie rock scene such as Joy Division, Sonic Youth, The Smiths and Nirvana. I found that as the years went by, less and less majour label indie bands were formed however the indie rock genre is still extremely popular today. This is because more indie rock bands are being signed to indie lables; maintaining the importance of the music and the fans, not the money.

Audience Research

 

 

The focus group helped me to gather information related to the creation of my music video. The videos I asked were:

1. Where do you watch music videos the most? Why is this?
2. Has a music video ever influenced you to buy an album or to listen to more of the band's music?
3. What is your favourite style of video (i.e. narrative, performance and abstract)?
4. Do you feel it is necessary for a music video to feature teh artist/band in the video? Do you think it makes a difference?
5. Do you think that a music video needs to be shot well for the song to be a success?
6. What do you think is more important, the song lyrics or teh msuci video? Therefore should a music video focus on the meaning of the song or can it have a completely different meaning and still be good
7. Do you expect indie rock videos to follow conventions or to break them?

Band Promotional Videos

The Beatles featured in their own film A Hard Day's Night which both promoted their singles featuring on the album but also attracted a large audience as it was the first film to feature band members. It acted as a mock documentary which created realism as the film used real fans to  appear in scene where the band are running away from them or performing songs such as 'A Hard Day's Night', 'I Should Have Known Better', 'Can't Buy Me Love' and 'I'm Happy Just To Dance With You'.

The trailer fulfills its purpose of entertaining and informing the audience through the use of the non-diegetic sound. A voice over is used to describe the plot of the film whilst non-diegetic snippets from a range of their songs from the album A Hard Day's Night are also played but much quieter; this is so the audience can hear the voice over whilst recognising some of their hit songs. To entertain the audience and persuade them to watch the film, some clips from the film use the original diegetic sound, this way the audience are able to get a taste of the comedic genre of the film. In terms of editing,text is displayed more frequently towards the end to emphasise what the narrator is saying and bring attention to them for example a good review.

'The Young Ones' is a British musical released in 1961 featuring the singer Cliff Richard. Richard plays a character named Nicholas 'Nicky' Back which is very different to The Beatles films (A Hard Day's Night, Help!, Let It Be') as Cliff Richard isn't playing himself but a different character. This appeals to a wide audience as both fans of Cliff Richard and fans of musicals can enjoy it.

The Monkees starred in the TV show 'The Monkees' which helped increase the band's popularity.

Music Video Timeline

Song lyrics: Analysed

My music video's inspiration is very focused on the lyrics. Many of my shots will relate to the lyrics as I found from my blog poll that this is a desired concept from a music video. The lyrics have strong meaning which will help reinforce my music video narrative and allow me to add creative touches through editing. 

Song Lyric Timings

Genre History and Conventions Analysis

Initial Ideas

Lyric Storyboard

Music Video Analysis 1

The music video ‘Wonderwall’ by the band Oasis uses editing effectively as the whole video is black and white to create a solemn mood through the dark contrast between black and white. This refers to the abstract narrative of the video which uses an artistic style to appeal to the target audience. Another technique used in terms of editing is adding a bright colour to certain objects in the video such as props including a guitar which changes from bright blue to bright green to bright yellow and a hat which stays blue. These colours draw attention to the objects which is done to show their importance; the hat belongs to a sad clown, blue connotes sadness which could be connected to the mood of the clown. Also, instruments used in the video is a formal convention to reflect it is a music video; this way the video is making sure the audience’s attention is drawn to the guitar. Other uses of editing include fades from the clown character to the band which adds a dreamy effect along with the non-diegetic sound of the violins playing. Flash effects are also used to give the impression of an old camera taking a photograph which reinforces the vintage artistic style created from the old black and white effect. Other elements of editing seen in the video vary from a kaleidoscope effect of each different key part of the narrative including the clown, each different band member, dancers and instruments and a cross cutting effect where the lead singer’s face is visible on top of other clips to ensure the main attraction in the video being the lead singer. The large amount of editing effects are almost used ironically; this is because the black and white effect implies that the video is going to be very basic relating back to former music videos from the 60's. However, this is not the case as many psychedelic and abstract effects are which surprise the audience, breaking formal conventions. Some parts of the video have a slow motion effect which reinforce the dreamy mood of the video; instruments such as cellos and violins are used which also add a wistful tone to the soundtrack and the video.

The cinematography includes many close ups on the band members faces, especially when vocals are being used to emphasises the performance aspect of the video. A close up is also used on a musician’s hand playing the cello and guitar to reflect the genre of music and the type of media. As an audience, we expect to see the band playing instruments to create realism and relate to the stereotypes of musicians. Throughout the video a slow pan is used to present the whole band members and allow the audience to see them during the video to follow formal conventions.

 

Mise en scene is also powerful in the video as seen through props; a record player is seen many times during the video and is used to make it seem the song track is playing from it; adding to the vintage tone of the video. The video is shot in a large, bare room against a white wall to reinforce the intense emotions portrayed through the editing and lighting. Next, an important character in the video is a clown; the costume makes this obvious to the audience as for the big shoes, large check suit, big bow tie and the traditional clown face paint. Clowns connote joy and happiness as they are always joking around, however this contrasts with the serious tone of the song to imply that maybe even the people who are always expected to be happy can still feel sadness.

Finally, for most of the track, the sound of the song is diegetic due to the performance element of the video except for the montage edits where the song is played over a sequence of images. At the start and end of the video the diegetic sound of the clown’s footsteps becomes louder and the audience can hear the sound of the record player being set up; this builds tension because of the suspense before the music begins to play.

Music Video Analysis 2

 

The music video ‘Lightning Bolt’ by Jake Bugg uses editing to mirror the vintage genre of the rock music as certain edits have an added black and white effect which provides an old, vintage feel to the music video. The use of this reinforces Jake Bugg's personal preference for old bands and doesn't favour modern music which is why the black and white effect is used. Another effect used on some shots is a film effect which reinforces the nostalgic tone included. This along with the hand held technique in terms of filming portrays the music video as a home video which adds a personal touch whilst appealing to the audience. The video consists of montage editing as each edit is a shot of something different that doesn’t have a meaningful link to it which makes the music video both an abstract structured video with a performance narrative. The use of montage editing ensures that the video looks aesthetically pleasing as a range of different locations are displayed throughout the music video. Due to this, there are lots of jump cut edits used to ensure a variety of different situations and places are shown for example a jump cut is used from Jake Bugg walking down a street to him looking through records in a music shop; the two shots have no relation but appeal to the audience as it is music related [1].

The mise en scene such as setting creates the urban tone to the video and reflects the old ‘rock and roll’ genre through the use of graffiti which implies that Jake Bugg is quite rebellious and strays away from the law however, graffiti is usually stereotyped with hip-hop music which possibly breaks conventions of rock music videos. This reinforces Tessa Perkins theory that stereotypes are not always rigid or unchanging as graffiti is now stereotyped across a number of music genres. The graffiti is shown in a long shot of Jake Bugg, leaning against a wall playing a guitar. The ideology of this is that Jake Bugg is unruly as he is casually stood against the wall; showing he does not care about the consequences of graffiti [2]. The props used in the video follow formal conventions of music videos as for the guitar Jake Bugg is playing throughout the video as the audience expect instruments for the artists to play to add to the performance effect and match the genre of video. The guitar is the most prominent prop used which helps reinforce the performance narrative of the video whilst adding the effect of a match on action shot because the audience will relate the sound of the guitar playing to the guitar Jake Bugg is seen playing. Jake Bugg's costume in the video also reinforces the genre conventions; he is wearing a popular Fred Perry jacket which is associated with the mod and indie genre, jeans and also trainers. His clothing is very casual which creates realism as he wouldn't wear extravagant clothing in the music video if he wouldn't wear it in real life. Other times he is seen wearing a hoodie which again emphasises the stereotype of rebellion; hoodies are associated with chavs who are stereotyped as going against societies rules which also applies to the indie genre as it doesn't conform to the popular products and expectations.

The majority of camera shots in terms of cinematography are tracking shots to follow either Jake Bugg around the city or to film different streets and buildings. Due to the focus on the area, there are a lot of establishing shots to give the audience an idea of the genre of music and the emotion of the song. In this case, the emotions portrayed through cinematography are quite positive as there are many close up shots of old, historical buildings which imply Jake Bugg is intrigued by the city. There is also a number of pans use to emphasise the amount of interesting places there are in the setting and allows the audience to admire the town whilst looking at it in an artistic way. To focus on the performance aspect of the narrative, there are lots of shots of Jake Bugg walking down a street, lip synching to the lyrics whilst the camera tracks backwards to unsteadily, the effect of the hand held camera is good because it encourages the audience to feel as if they are walking along with Jake Bugg.[3] To capture the height of some of the buildings, a tilt upwards is used to emphasise the tallness of the architecture around which looks aesthetically pleasing. There is also an interesting use of still shots as they are used frequently of building and streets however it has been filmed in a car or some other kind of moving object as it is very speedy. Another still shot is used, capturing a tram speeding past. This is done to maintain a constant feeling of movement throughout the video.

Finally, the sound becomes mixed types as throughout the song the song changes from diegetic to non-diegetic. This is due to the fact the video uses a performance narrative as well as an abstract narrative which means that some edits the audience see Jake Bugg sing along with the song which is then diegetic and other times he doesn’t which then changes to non-diegetic.

 

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Image 2: 



Image 3:

Music Video Analysis 3

The Strokes - Someday

The music video Someday by The Strokes uses mise en scene to represent the members of the band and the genre of music; the band are displayed as being stereotypical rock stars through the use of props for example throughout the music video the band members are seen smoking [image 1] and drinking which is a stereotype of indie bands. This portrays them as quite rebellious and laid back. The costumes also reinforce the genre of the music; the band members are wearing ripped jeans, leather jackets and denim shirts which reflect the rock and roll stereotype and make the genre of the music instantly recognisable. To add to the representation of the band members a lot of people featured in the video have tattoos which has negative connotations as tattoos are related with punks and aggressive, lower class people. However, Tessa Perkins argues that stereotypes can be challenged; therefore the people with tattoos in the video don’t have to be seen as negative characters in the video but can be viewed as cool to the target audience. The setting is also used to portray the band as typical rockers; for the majority of the video the members are in a bar with dark lighting. This incorporates the idea of night life which connotes them as wild and exciting people. One prop used in the video helps portray the idea the band know a lot about music through the use of a music player which allows one of the band members to choose the music being played. This is good for the band's image as it shows they are passionate about music and therefore have a good knowledge. Other props include a pinball machine which reinforces the verisimilitude of the setting and connotes that the band are fun people and enjoy spending time with their friends. Many of the people in the video are wearing very casual clothing which contrasts with pop music videos as they are known to take the costume very seriously. This way, The Strokes belonging to an indie label, promote the opinion that the music is more important than the image which appeals to the target audience. Another scene in the music video is shot in a studio which adds the performance element to the video.

 

In terms of cinematography, lots of close ups are used on the band members face to emphasise their importance in the video, this is a convention used in many performance and narrative music videos to present the protagonists. As it is a music video, we expect to see the artists in the video and see them in a positive way. Medium shots and medium close ups are also frequent towards the end of the video to display the performance aspect of the video. The band members are presented using their musical instruments which includes the guitars, drums and microphone; this fulfils the audience’s expectations and conventions of a music video. It creates verisimilitude as the audience are aware that the people performing in the music video are members of the band so the music video relates to the artist’s lives and is realistic. Michaels Shore’s argument that music videos are surface without substance can be applied to this video as the video bears no meaning whatsoever but uses cinematography and editing to make it entertaining. Other effects of cinematography include a hand held camera technique as this gives a very personal connection between the band and the audience; it also portrays the video as a documentary/family video to create realism. Medium shots are used frequently throughout the video on specific band members. This allows props to be visual in the shot and the setting to add to the mood of the video; for example there is medium shot of the band's singer sat down on a couch smoking. The use of a medium shot allows the audience to see the protagonist's clothes, which are scruffy, reinforcing the rock star look, a pile of clothes on the back of the couch which adds to the care-free but messy lifestyle [image 2] . Also, the edge of somebody sat next to him on the sofa is seen which adds the sense that the band are very social and go out a lot. Next, there are many two shots used in the video which connotes that the band are all very close, one two shot is of two band members drinking alcohol together which portrays them as reckless but also very close as friends. [image 3]

Moving on, editing is used to add subtitles to the intertextual references to the American game show ‘Family Feuds’. This is interesting for the viewers as the whole set of Family Feud’s uses the exact same mise-en-scene as seen on the actual TV programme; creating realism. The subtitles appear on screen to subtitle the speech made during the sequence however the audience cannot hear the sound which would disturb the diegetic sound of the song. It also uses montage editing as it doesn't follow a particular narrative story; this also is a formal convention of music videos. The montage editing gives the video a personal tone as it is an in look into the band's life because of the realism created by the shots taken in the bar with friends. Furthermore, there are a number of jump cuts during the music video found most frequently at the beginning; this sets the scene by presenting two different locations which makes the video more entertaining. This implies that the band members like to be busy and don't enjoy staying at home which emphasises the genre stereotypes of rock as rock stars are known to always be on the road, partying.

Finally, there is a mix of diegetic and non-diegetic music as for the majority of the video the music is non-diegetic as they band members are seen having conversations whilst the song is played over the top as this follows the formal conventions of music videos. However, the last few edits of the video shows the front man and band members singing and playing along to the song in time which implies it is diegetic as both the audience and the people featured in the video can hear the music.

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Brief

A 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 cover for its release as part of a digipak (CD/DVD package);

 

a magazine advertisement for the digipak (CD/DVD package).

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Mise en Scene and Cast List

Lyrics and Timings

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