Mood Board

 

In order to present an initial concept of what things my music video is likely to contain, I created a mood board featuring an array of props, bands, clothing and album covers. This allows me to have many kinds of thoughts when it actually comes down to making my music video.


In order to create this mood board I used pictures from Google images and screenshots from various music videos on YouTube. Guitars feature heavily on my mood board, meaning they'll almost certainly feature heavily in my video also. Aside from instruments, there are pictures of various bands that have a fashion sense that I believe would fit the style of my music video very well. For instance the pictures of the two bands on the top row (Sum 41: Left & Green Day: Middle) have the type of 'punk rock' look I would like to have, however I may also wish to take style tips from Jim Root (middle left) and Metallica (middle right) as I believe my choice of genre could well work with the black outfits too.

Transition Project 1

 

This video has no relevance to the genre I have chosen...at all. I merely set about this task in order to familiarise myself with Adobe After Effects. I had previously used AAE about 3 years ago briefly around a friend's house, and over those years there has been a few developments. Not many major changes, primarily the layout. I worked with fellow classmates Brandon Wisdom and Dan Bunn in order to film all of the footage.

 

What I've learnt/relearnt from this project:

• How to cut down footage in order for it to fit perfectly with the song
• How to effectively use an array of effects on AAE
• That seeking what you require to film can take more time than expected

Angels

Although 3 music videos would be enough to analyse. I thought I should analyse another just in case, because I'm not entirely sold on producing a music video in the style of 'Shipwrecked'.

Continuing with Andrew Goodwin's 5 aspects of music videos and applying them to some of my favourites, I decided that the second music video I will be one from a sub-genre I have not explored yet. 'Angels' is a song by the symphonic metal band Within Temptation. Although the video has drums and electric guitars featuring in it, the singer's voice is one that you would usually associate with a more classical piece of music, however the mix of the voice with the metal styled music to create ' symphonic metal' is surprisingly pleasant to listen to.

In terms of the relation of the song to the visuals, it's pretty accurate compared to the past couple of music videos I have looked at. It tells a story of two people. The star of the video was hurt and a man came a long and took her into his home to take care of her. She gradually fell in love with him, only to be killed by him later on. "Dark intentions, your feelings for me" indicates a long time before she is murdered that something unfortunate was going to happen to her in the near future.

The star portrays a character of a delicate nature, who is also rather vulnerable. This can be shown not only through the way she moves when singing and the fact that she is trying to make herself small when she is sitting at the side of the road (as well as looking down). Yet the implication that she is vulnerable is expressed in her style of singing.  If we compare her image portrayed in this video compared to previous music videos (such as 'Mother Earth'), unlike the star in the Green Day and Blink 182 videos, the singer for Within Temptation barely develops at all. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing. Due to Within Temptation being a much smaller band than either Green Day or Blink 182, it is understandable how the band would want to stick to the style of music video that first found them major success.

The song is rather slow paced in most places, and in order to make the video reflect the slowness of pace, the camera movement is particularly slow, and that goes for the speed at which it zooms in and out as well. Special effects are featured in this music video because it is the simplest technique that can be used to create the spectacle of something that could be viewed as supernatural (E.g. The angels flying and the red eyes of the priest that light up to symbolise evil/the devil). The priest is also wearing black that could back up the idea of him being evil, while the woman wears white/light clothing to display innocence. The video has been edited in such a way that it has been given a browner/dustier effect. The colour brown traditionally connotes security and stability, everything she felt towards the man who betrayed her. However, as the video progresses, the atmosphere changes from having a brown 'tinge' to having a red one, conveying her rage towards her killer's actions.

The voice is a very expressive instrument in this video, not only are the lyrics deep and meaningful that create a serious story to the audience, but the style of which she delivers the story in expresses her pain and sadness of the fact that she was deceived and betrayed by the person she loved. The star of the video was hurt and a man took care of her. She fell in love with him, only to find out he was a serial killer. It acts as a metaphor to everyday relationships and how people can hurt someone without knowing it ("You took my heart, deceived me right from the start").

For the music video to be effective, the audience must feel as if what they are seeing is real. To make the video more authentic, the artist acts as both the narrator and a participant. This allows her to express her emotions as the character who has been victimised as well as the narrator viewing the story from another perspective.


Album:

First Date

Continuing with Andrew Goodwin's 5 aspects of music videos and applying them to some of my favourites, I decided that the second music video I will be analysing is Blink 182's 'First Date'.

In previous songs such as 'What's My Age Again?' the singer portrays a character that acts very immaturely, in 'First Date' it is no different. From swearing at a woman who just had an accident, to urinating in a bush at a go-kart track. Therefore this shows that the artists want the audience to view their music in the same way as they had viewed it previously.   Even other characters in the video do not appear very mature, for example when the girl laughs about the star's penis size, or when the guy with the baseball bat knocks over the woman on the bike. The  perception of the band's identity before this video was one which portrays them as serious off camera, yet about as immature as it gets when recording a music video and at a live gig. So taking Goodwin's theory that a star develops over time and/or with every music video that they create. In Blink 182's case, the star can be seen to develop slower than Goodwin may have anticipated.

In terms of the relation of the song to the visuals, only about half of the video consists of the first date the singer is having with the girl. The other half either consist of the 3 members of the band playing in what looks like a pimped out garage or just hanging around with his friends at a go-kart track. More specifically, the lyrics state how the singer is nervous around the girl and is constantly jealous of everyone else around her. Yet he always seems to be happy around her. This could be so that although he is trying to appear cheerful around his friends, the audience can tell that in actual fact he is feeling rather paranoid that this girl will crush him (E.g. "Please don't hint that you're capable of lies, I dread the thought of our very first kiss, it's just a target that I'm probably gonna miss").

The camera rarely moves in the video, when it does it is just the slightest of adjustments in order for the star to remain in the centre of the screen (bar the shot at the go kart track). This is likely to be because the video director wants the viewer solely focused on the band (and when necessary, their instruments), instead of getting distracted by camera movements or any form of complex special effects. The video therefore goes from shot to shot very quickly with nothing but the use of instant transitions. The mise-en-scene used in this music video is very peculiar, because it isn't as if the band are usually dressed in this manner. The clothing of the main woman is the traditional sexy look, however the 3 main band members are not dressed traditionally at all, instead they are all dressed as if they have no fashion sense whatsoever. Which would make sense, due to the song being about how the star does not have a clue how to act around this girl and is constantly paranoid that she will leave him (E.g. "Could you guess that I didn't know what to wear?"). The lighting and the colouring of the video is very bright (which adds to the events that they can be seen doing) to create a cheerful atmosphere.

If the singing voice is to be seen as an expressive instrument, then 'First Date' would not be seen as a serious song. A serious music video is pretty rare for Blink 182 to produce, even in a song such as 'I Miss You' where the lyrics are meaningful, what can be seen in the video can be rather random and irrelevant. The voice is not singing in a style which is trying to convey any form of strong/deep emotions to the audience, nor is it attempting to get an emotional response. Instead the music video is more about the band just having a laugh and creating a piece of music that is fun and enjoyable to watch. This remains true with the artists form of address, because although the artist is telling a coherent story that is simple to follow, the style of which he communicates the story to the audience remains unserious.

This music video is likely to appeal to its target audience as the people who generally like this don't usually like mainstream music videos, and this is anything but. Instead this appeals to people's inner immaturity, and the typical Blink 182 fan has this in great quantities.

Much like 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams', I see this music video as being what Joe Gow would call an enhanced performance as it blends the performance of the band with various other visual elements.


Album:

Music Video Director - Tony Petrossian

 
Tony Petrossian is an acclaimed director of commercials, and most importantly music videos. He has directed music videos for such artists as Rise Against, Three Days Grace, Avenged Sevenfold, Bullet for My Valentine and many others.

With previously mentioned bands, it is at least reasonably clear that this music video director specialises in heavy metal videos. Petrossian likes to incorporate live performances into his work. For example if we look at Stone Sour's 'Through Glass', half of it is of the band playing their instruments as they would at a live gig, and if we take Bullet For My Valentine's 'Scream Aim Fire' there is no story being told at all. Instead the entire video is the band members just playing their instruments. This shows he believes that the most important element to a rock/heavy metal music video is the audience being able to see the instruments being played. In 'Before I Forget' by Slipknot the video was compiled of various shots of various guitars, microphones and drums.
                                                      
His Three Days Grace video 'Never Too Late' was nominated for Video of the Year at the 2007 Much Music Video Awards. His Slipknot video for 'Vermillion' won the Audience Award at the SXSW Film Festival in 2006. And his video for 'Before I Forget' won Slipknot their first Grammy for Best Metal Performance in 2005. In 2010, Roadrunner Records counted down their top 10 videos of all time and 'Duality' (Slipknot) topped the chart at #1. Petrossian's 'Through Glass' music video for Stone Sour followed closely behind at #4.

'Before I Forget' features many close ups of the primary instruments that appear in the music video, not one shot is a clear image of any of the nine band members face. Instead long shots of the band are purposely taken out of focus because the band wanted for the main feature of the music video to be the music that is produced, instead of the people behind the sound.

Shipwrecked

Continuing with Andrew Goodwin's 5 aspects of music videos and applying them to some of my favourites, I decided that the second music video I will be one from a sub-genre I have not explored yet. 'Shipwrecked' is a single by the 'folk metal' band Alestorm.

This music video certainly isn't the conventional type, however it should still include the main characteristics of a music video that Goodwin believed there to be in every one. 'Shipwrecked' is Alestorm's second music video which is a live performance. Therefore there isn't much for the star to do to change his image greatly since he has only been in one music video before which was also a live performance. This means there hasn't been much of a chance for the band to create their own identity, however the star does portray the same character from the previous music video (Keelhauled).

Although the song is called Shipwrecked, the lyrics do not fit what is being shown on camera. It goes on about being shipwrecked, however after that it talks about the "black death" and how he "suck his head in grief" all whilst drinking rum and celebrating with other people.

Shipwrecked starts off with a CGI ship flying the jolly roger on rough seas. This use of technology instantly informs the audience that the video (much like Alestorm's previous work) revolves around pirates. The lighting and the bright colours set a cheerful mood for the viewers of the video, and of course the mise en scene and costumes would help create a mood, and the fact that the entire band are dressed in pirate clothing whilst playing electric guitars and drums actually makes the music video more pleasant.

Goodwin believes that the audience only typically get an idea of the meaning behind the song. Yet in Shipwrecked it seems pretty apparent; that there was a storm and suddenly a man is stranded on a desert island. However at the end of the video it becomes clear that this man has been hallucinating the entire time. The performance includes a range of events, from a guy in rags being surrounded by alcohol and women, to a band in modern clothing head banging.

Goodwin's concept of 'seeing the sound in your head' remains tricky to apply to this music video.  The artist's voice is an expressive instrument, and the way he sings and screams, makes him appear as if he is impersonating a stereotypical pirate. This is helpful for the audience when it comes to the idea that the song is a story. If the singer lacked the appearance and sound of a pirate, the video would not be anywhere near as enjoyable for the viewers whilst he is singing a song called 'Shipwrecked'.


Album:

Boulevard of Broken Dreams & Andrew Goodwin, Joe Gow

Andrew Goodwin identified 5 aspects of music videos that the audience should be able to detect in a music video of any kind. The aspects were: The star image, the narrative and performance, the relation of visuals to the song, thought beats (seeing the sound) and finally the technical aspects of the video.

Joe Gow identified six central genres of music video, all of which are defined in terms of their relationship to the display of performance: The anti-performance piece (videos which do not contain a performance of the song), pseudo-reflexive performance (videos which display the process of the video production), performance documentary (videos which contain documentary footage of onstage performance and/or off stage activity), the special effects extravaganza (videos in which the human performance is overshadowed by imagery), the song and dance number (videos which focus on the physical abilities of the dancers and the singer, usually through lip-synching techniques) and the enhanced performance (videos which blend performance elements with other visual elements, a blend justified through either associational, narrative or abstract forms of motivation).

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The first music video I will be analysing with Goodwin's concepts will be 'Boulevard of broken dreams' by Green Day.

The video starts off with a car breaking down on a road (and if we're not getting caught up in specifics here it can be seen as a boulevard), and it is not long before we see the members of Green Day walk past various broken items. One thing that catches the eye however is the figure of a lady. This implies that although all of the objects around them are physically broken, the story behind the song is that it is talking about how the singer is emotionally broken/heartbroken. This therefore could be giving us the general gist of what the song is about. The lead singer of the band is nearly always the focus of the video whenever lyrics are being sung, and whenever he is in shot his lip synching is constantly in time. Him doing this gives the audience a more realistic vibe to the video.

As the video goes on, nothing appears to get fixed yet the singer appears to get angrier due to his loneliness. This plays a big role when it comes to Goodwin's 'star's image' concept. The lyrics and the effects in the video give the song quite a deep feeling to it. Therefore this means that it displays the singer/songwriter as a person who wants to create a song which can have an effect on the viewers and perhaps even make them reflect for a moment. This type of song shows how the band has developed, and does not just make the kind of 'American Idiot' styled piece.

The atmosphere of the video is made very dull and gloomy through use of limited lighting and the old, crackling appearance of the footage. This mood fits with both the lyrics and the emotion that is being displayed through the band members. The slow moving speed of the camera and the lengthy shots also play their parts when creating the appearance of a sad scenario. The costumes that are used add to the effect of sadness, due to the fact that all 3 band members wear either black or dark clothing throughout the entire video. This implies that as the video progresses the mood does not improve.

Goodwin's concept of 'seeing the sound in your head'/ matching the lyrics to the visuals is a bit trickier to apply to the music video than any of the other concepts. He sees the singing voice as an instrument on its own, as well as the fact that the lyrics are telling a story. This would mean for the video to be effective and for the lyrics to make sense you would have to follow the entirety of the 'story'. When this is applied to 'boulevard of broken dreams' it seems that it is a song about loneliness, as everything he sees around him is lifeless and only his vital signs tell him that he is not dead as well. Going through life on your own you get so used to the solitude,  that is the 'lonely road' he refers to in the song. The majority of songs about loneliness are an expression of despair and fear of being alone. 'BoBD' is different. The narrator accepts his life the way it is no matter how horrific it might appear to be.

I believe this video fits with Joe Gow's idea of an enhanced performance because it blends the performance of the band with various other visual elements such as the story that is shown of a man and his belief that he is destined to live through his life alone.





Album:

Thunderstruck

Sticking with the genre of rock, I've decided to continue with 'hard rock'. This music video can definitely be considered old as the band (which is a personal favourite of mine) has been a household name for the best part of 40years.
AC/DC's 'Thunderstruck' music video may only be performed on a stage, however the close ups of the instruments as they're being played reveals the skills of the great guitarist Angus Young.
As the video goes on, the camera angle gets increasingly lower in places. Some of the best guitar playing ever is therefore displayed in the sense that it gives the guitarist power over the audience.
Looking at the audience in the video it becomes apparent that AC/DC are real crowd pleasers when it comes to their performances, and because you see other people 'rocking out' to Thunderstruck you feel more inclined to really get into the music yourself.
The video (being 25 years old) does not have any special effects or thrilling graphics. I find this can be the great thing about rock music videos, their simplicity allows the viewers to enjoy the music more, instead of them being distracted by all kinds of effects you see in the majority of modern pop songs.
The thing most likely to influence how I create my own music video from Thunderstruck is the close up of the instruments as they are being played.


Album:

Fat Lip

Instead of choosing another 'hard rock' music video to look at, I thought it would be good to explore a range of sub-genres, but sub-genres that still come under 'rock'.
I have therefore chosen to view Sum 41's  'Fat Lip'. This punk rock single conforms to Goodwin's theory in the respect that they do not wish to behave in the manner that society dictates, and this is clearly evident through both the lyrics, as well as their actions that can be seen throughout the video.
The camera never stays still nor does it focus on a single person or object for any length of time due to the fast pace of the music, which makes it enjoyable for the audience visually. The song even appeared in 'American Pie 2', and if you know anything about the characters, you will understand why it fits so perfectly.

One of the main things I like about the video though, is that in many ways I believe it's relatable, mainly in the sense that no one should feel that they have to act in a certain way that others around them believe they need to (even if in this particular instance the band are being pretty extreme about the whole thing).
The main aspect that I like about this song which is most likely to influence how I create my own music video, is the style of the song and the content more so than any technical aspects of the video.


Album:

The Devil In I

The first music video I have chosen to look at is 'The Devil In I', and the song is the first single to be released from Slipknot's new studio album. One of the things that makes this Slipknot video great is that it is very different to almost every music video you will be able to find. Another reason why I believe it to be a great video is that it displays how there is a certain level of anger that is built up inside of everyone (and to some extent psychosis), yet it does not exhibit so much that it makes the viewer uncomfortable when both watching and listening to the lyrics and the melodic guitar riffs. Many of the shots in the video are taken from a low angle, giving the music a feeling of power, and when these shots are taken of the band members with their masks on, there is a sense of intimidation as well.
The thing about this video that is most likely to influence how I create my own music video is the rapid change over of shots.


Album: