After getting put into groups we all had to pitch our initial ideas to each other. We collectively decided to come up with a new pitch with a new song based off one of our members pitch, working together forming new ideas for the narrative, performance and star image.

We ended up choosing the song ‘Last Friday Night’ by Katy Perry for our final song choice which will follow an illustrative narrative with an anachronic structure. This song is in the pop genre with a female voice and using a synesthesia approach we collectively brain stormed words that come to word when listening to the music and lyrics. We chose this song as we were all familiar with it, and it fits the party narrative we all were keen on producing. The song is easy to lip sync to which will be beneficial for our performer and very upbeat and fun which is conventional to the genre. We picked the mis-en-scene to keep within the party narrative baring in mind it also needs to fit the pop genre so one example is we chose bright coloured lighting like pinks and blues to connote a fun party.

Now that we completed our final pitch the next step was to sell our vision to our teacher, presenting our power point aiming to convince her on our idea for the narrative, performance and star image we want to achieve.

 

Here is my mini pitch for a potential music video. Using synesthesia, I generated some ideas just from listening the song and the lyrics and it was very clear that the music video would have to reflect a fun and energetic narrative like the song. The lyrics are already quite a story and almost like a diary entry or it feels like the star is having a girl talk with the audience creating this ordinary star image (Dyer), in reach to the audience. This gave me the idea of a tinder like, bad date narrative were the main star is constantly getting set up with bad guys in a humorous way, whilst the performance part will be a mix of the diary entry scene but she will also perform on the dates narrative scenes often breaking the 4th wall for audience interaction. It will follow an illustrative narrative with some amplification with an episodic structure with each dates being individual stories but they all come together at the end. The performance will be mixed into the narrative section whilst the main performance part being the scene were the star is holding the diary.

Now, that I have come up with my own narrative once I get put into a groups it’s my job to pitch it to my teammates and try sell them the vison I have. This will also be useful for when we do our final more detailed pitch to our teacher so I have a rough idea of what needs to be included in a good pitch.

Recently, I have learned about narratives in music videos and how they can create an engaging watch for an audience to promote the artist and their music. There are 3 types of narratives that a music video may follow disjunctive were the narrative is random and has no relation to the lyrics, amplified were there is some reflection to the lyrics but takes on a different perspective and finally illustrative were the narrative illustrates the song lyrics.  There are also 4 different structures:

• Episodic- self contained stories within a story
• Anachronic- this can include flashbacks and doesn’t stick to a chronological time frame
• Thematic-  will amplify the lyrics and illustrate the ideas in visual metaphors
• Linear- the classic, beginning, middle and end of a narrative.

Below I have picked out 3 narrative music videos and have analysed the narrative:

The Harry Styles Satellite music video follows an amplified narrative, with the narrative following a vacuum cleaner at a Harry Styles concert seeing a space machine roaming the planet on TV backstage. This sparks the vacuum cleaner aspiration of being like that space machine and to find it. The narrative cuts to a montage following the vacuum cleaners journey through different places and areas representing the distance it travelled and resilience the vacuum cleaner has. It ends to the vacuum cleaner making it to a satellite where Harry Styles and it watch together and then cuts to the vacuum cleaner running out of battery and shutting down.  It follows a linear structure with the classic beginning, middle and end which creates a fulfilling short wholesome story for the audience. The narrative fits with the lyrics ‘I can see your lonely down there’, as in the beginning when it goes to the news report of the space machine the reporter says it’s been alone for 10 years which sparks the vacuum cleaners desire to go find it. And also at the end when the vacuum cleaner and harry sit and watch a ‘satellite’ together which connects the narrative with the lyrics of the song.

This Lewis Capaldi music video follows the narrative of a dog and it’s owner showcasing there wholesome bond they have which then the owner passes away the dog is sad and misses his owner and the dog is later readopted by another young boy who takes care of the dog just like the previous owner. When the dog passes the new owner buries the dog with it’s original owner- overall constructing a heartwarming sad story. This is another example of an amplified narrative as it takes on a different perspective to what the lyrics say so instead of a break up song which the lyrics suggest, it showcases the narrative of losing loved ones to death. The lyrics of “wish you the best” fits with the narrative as you can interpret this either as a break up or losing a loved one. The structure is anachronic as we see flashbacks back when the dog was with it’s original owner near the end which further represents the narrative to be sad yet heartwarming.

Never Felt So Alone by Labrinth follows an amplified narrative alongside a thematic structure. It begins with a pov shot showing that he is been taken in a sort of hospital bed with people dressed in black cloaks representing a sense of mystery and eeriness and then opens with the visual metaphor of being isolated with Labrinth being chained up in an isolated room. Then this metaphor is further amplified with a shot of Labrinth being stuck in a tight enclosure trying to escape emphasing his isolation and a metaphor of feeling trapped. It then keeps with narrative of being in this mysterious sci-fi confinement as we see multiple people chained up and ends with the star now chained up with the other people, the ending seems to be open to interpretation which is a clever way to get the audience to re watch and gives them something to talk about. This music video narrative is a great metaphor for the feeling of loneliness which links with the lyrics.

I have decided to come up with 3 of my own narratives based on what I have learned today:

Un stoppable – Girl who loved to dance from very little gets into a car accident and loses a leg. This does not stop her from fulfilling her passion as she still overcomes this obstacles and ends up winning the competition. Disability v Ability  

Lose it All – A rich and famous man is shown living his life in fancy cars, gambling surrounded by woman in casinos but he loses it all in a scandal surrounding drugs and is now alone and isolated. Popularity v Invisibility

Delusional Love – A boy falls crazily in love with this girl and from what it seems she likes him back, however it is revealed throughout the narrative that the guy has made it all up in his head and in the final shot we see him stalk her with pictures of her covered in his room. Love v Hate

From this task I have learned a lot about narratives within music videos. This is so useful as I am now starting to create my own mini pitch of a narrative for a potential music video which I’m very excited to start brainstorming. I will keep in mind the conflict narrative of binary opposites (Levi Strauss) as I have learned it really helps drive a narrative forward and creates drama and intrigue for the audience.

Below I have picked out one of my favourite music video from the previous year and then deconstructed and decoded the music video. I looked into how the star image was represented through the use of mis-en-scene, editing, camera work and narrative.

What went well

• Really good editing with the flashing blue lights near the end of the video, it was very engaging as an audience and fits perfectly with the party music genre and edited well to the beat of the music.
• The video effect of the texts just adds something extra making the video more exciting to watch. It didn’t feel out of place it was executed efficiently.
• The narrative was clear to me and communicated successfully with the mis-en-scene and shots especially the use of the phone prop linked with a close up of the text message.

Any Improvements 

• Couldn’t see the costumes in the studio shoots would of been nice to have a wider range of shots other then just mid-shots and close ups during those scenes.
• The car setting was interesting and engaging but the rest of the shots were quite boring in studio so maybe they could of done a shoot in another cool location or added some props to one of the studio shoots.
• In the bedroom could have cleaned up and got rid of the dirty cups and the video quality was quite grainy in those scenes.

Overall, I really enjoyed this video it was filmed and edited really well the lip syncing and acting was excellent, the editing was very good with the cool effects of the text and flashing which just overall made this video stand out in a positive way. It followed the music video conventions of editing to the beat, having the star lip sync but also broke conventions by having lyrics appear on the screen. It was a mix of performance and narrative with a ratio of 7:3 the narrative was simple and illustrative to the song lyrics. The star has been represented as strong and independent after the breakup which has been communicated through the acting and lyrics of the song. The use of mis-en-scene like the  purple makeup with gems creates this extraordinary star image but also with the bedroom scene it also illustrates this ordinary image with the star being in ordinary comfy clothes (Dyer). The way the video has been edited with the modern text effects and flashing fits with the party music genre nicely representing a cool, trendy star image.

Thinking forward looking at a previous students work is very useful as it has given me an idea of what can realistically be achieved with our schools equipment as only looking at a professional music video would be unrealistic as they usually will have a large budget with top of the art equipment. It’s also interesting to see how they used editing to also represent the star and create a visually engaging video, which will be very useful when thinking about how I want my music video to look.