We have carefully planned out the costume, makeup and any extra props/equipment we will need during the first shoot in the white studio. We plan to use inventive lighting effects that align with our colour palette and narrative throughout to keep our video engaging; we will also match the facial expressions our model uses to the lyrics and feelings the artist would have experienced at that time to make the video authentic.
Filling out this document helped us to learn about the dangers and risks when filming a music video, we have been careful when planning our shoots and will take all the precautions necessary to have a safe music video shoot.
I have gathered headlines about our star, screenshots from her social media profiles and used photos of her in photoshoots that I believe communicate a message about Cat Burns and the pop genre. I discovered that Cat Burns is an activist for the LGBTQ+ society and a large amount of her work surrounds supporting the younger generation in being comfortable with themselves, regardless of who they are or aren’t attracted to. Several screenshots can be seen above that Cat Burns has posted within the last few months to convey this narrative. Firstly she is picture with Sam Smith, they connected when they collaborated on a remix of her hit single “Go”, both of them are outspoken on matters involving gay rights and they reference pride month in the caption. Additionally, Cat Burns used cross media convergence marketing when teaming with Tiktok during pride month, she reached a larger audience and benefitted many young followers.
Cat Burns also collaborated with a famous youtuber – Nella Rose. She joined her on a live podcast so both celebrities benefitted from guerilla marketing during this. Cat Burns likes to use her powerful voice to touch different audiences and hopefully take steps to move forward in acceptance and inclusivity in the music industry and in general life; she is very candid and informal with her fans and treats them like her family which is also communicated in tone of speech in her tweets. In an article in the Guardian, Cat Burns can be seen as an advocate for the LGBTQ+ society once again, she regularly speaks out on her beliefs, gaining respect from her following.
Moreover, Cat Burns is listed in headlines in large magazines like: The Guardian, Billboard and Notion which is a great opportunity for her to expand her audience. All information is positive and this dramatically boosts her star image; also she is put alongside huge celebrities like: Lizzo, Harry Styles and Joji, proving how quickly she has become a loved role model and star to her fans.
I included images of Cat in photoshoots that I think add to her star image and the idea of her that the public has. She is always pictured in bold, vibrant colours that can feature daring, unique patterns and backdrops. She is depicted as fun and adventurous which fits her perfectly into her conventional pop genre; furthermore, she always looks professional and intelligent. Her star image presents her as a role model who should be listened to, she clearly holds important opinions and I believe the clothing she wears cleverly boosts this positive image in a childish way – also appealing to her younger target audience.
In our video, our star will maintain the same clear values and personality traits, these are: powerful, professional, inclusive and unique. We will play off of the common theme of girl power and independence that Cat Burns also uses. Our star will be pictured in bold, vibrant colours to align with the pop genre and will present clear emotions of sadness, anger and acceptance throughout our linear narrative. All of these aims will be communicated with a repertoire of elements: the use of LED lighting, euphoric makeup and vibrant costuming or harsh eyeliner and dark colours/leather (depending on setting) and pace of edit and cinematography.
When carrying out this research task, we explored the typical design conventions of music video production and post production stages in the pop genre; as well as analysing all the factors that make up the repertoire of elements in a music video. In the several music videos we watched, starring artists like: Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, Olivia Rodrigo, Harry Styles etc. we discovered that heartbreak and female empowerment feature heavily in the themes and narratives used. These common themes boost a female singer’s star image and can cause the public/their audience to view them as a role model. Most of the pop music videos were thematic and somewhat episodic; the videos also appear to focus more on performance over narrative – explaining why the music videos can often have an abstract feel. Performance in the women’s videos included dancing and lip syncing from many different angles, jump cuts and utilised camera movements and like pans and dollys, this keeps the video upbeat and engaging to young audiences. Pop videos use skilled cinematography to always guarantee there’s never a dull moment. The mise en scene created is often surrounding vibrant colours and strobe lighting which I believe to be added in during editing stages, this visually conveys the sound of pop music, also the videos all maintain a strong, specific colour palette throughout, ensuring the video isn’t disjointed and confusing.
In this padlet, we took screenshots from 9 different music videos to display different camera movements, angles and shots that we can go on to use and benefit from in the production of our own music video. We can use close ups for intimacy with our star whilst using low angles to establish the role model perception. Whip pans and dollys make the video interesting and fun instead of using boring, slow movement that wouldn’t match the pace of the pop music.
This slideshow is also displayed in an earlier blog post called “Final Song Choice”, it outlines the general narrative and performance we are trying to create. We are following the typical design conventions of a pop music video to please the mass audience during all production and post production stages; the star image we portray our artist to be will be powerful, strong and independent because the core pop audience – that we are trying to reach – responds well to this. Mise en scene is extremely important to make sure our music video is executed well and matches the story and plan we are using, lots of LED lights and costuming from a clear colour palette will be used to make sure the video looks cohesive whilst in different setting. Moreover, all the outdoor filming will be done at night, this matches our design aesthetic well and means out story won’t look disjointed or boring. The narrative structure of our video will be somewhat episodic and linear.
CAN’T UPLOAD THIS FOR THE TIME BEING, HAVE SPLIT IT INTO THREE SMALLER VIDEOS UNDER THREE MINUTES EACH AND IT STILL WON’T WORK.
Using the social media platform, Instagram, I messaged Cat Burns (the artist of the song we are planning to use for our music video) to ask for permission so use her song. Doing this highlights that I understand the dangers and repercussions of copyright and I am doing what I can to avoid this issue.
In this task I proposed a pitch for a song I believe would work well for my music vide, I compiled images and ideas to narrow down a clear narrative and performance idea an audience could easily follow without confusion. I decided my narrative would be amplified and illustrative of lyrics in the song; it’s also thematic as it follows a specific meaning throughout. In the slideshow below I have referenced the type of MES I aim to create, as well as locations, star image and costuming. I have proposed specific ideas that relate to lyrics or timing during the song e.g. editing to the beat for the first few seconds of the song with 5 flashbacks.
This task has clarified and brought structure to previous ideas I have had, now allowing my narrative and performance to be polished and successful when I begin. Having a good, understandable plan is necessary to use time well and ensure everyone is on the same page going into this large project.
Castle On The Hill – Pop Genre
“Castle On The Hill” is a more recent pop music video released by Ed Sheeran in 2017, this video was one of the most popular in its album, representing teenage life and reminiscing on the carefree moments of childhood- appealing directly to his young target audience.
Narrative content/type: The lyrics of this song are definitely amplified by the music video narrative that directly correlates, leading us to pay more attention to the detail in the lyrics. The narrative of this music video is illustrative. Instead of us having to imagine Ed Sheeran as a young teenager having fun with his friends, it is directly demonstrated for us.
Structure: This music video is made up of many different flashbacks and memories Ed Sheeran has regarding teen years which makes the structure episodic; we see many different settings, scenarios and costuming changes throughout. Also the music video cuts randomly between different versions of the past and to the present in performance sections with Ed Sheeran singing, meaning this video is also anachronic.
Overview of story: The story of this song surrounds teenagers growing up, finding their friends and going through natural, big life changes whether they’re good or bad. The narrative of this music video features a friend group (with a main boy playing young Ed Sheeran) and it follows them as they go to parties, hang out and experience things for the first time e.g. “had my first kiss on friday night”. The narrative correlates to the lyrics of this song perfectly.
Ending: The end of this video displays Ed Sheeran sitting around a fire with his friend group he grew up with however they are all grown up, in the present day. We can see each of them and which actors played their young selves in the music video. When we see Ed Sheeran reconnecting, appreciating and spending time with old friends, despite them all changing and progressing through life on different paths, we as the audience can see Sheeran is portrayed as humble and grateful for the childhood that got him to where he is today. The lyrics “these people raised me, and I can’t wait to go home” reiterate this point and make the narrative through the music video more real.
Lose Yourself – Rap Genre
In 2015 Eminem released a music video for his biggest ever rap song- “Lose Yourself”. This powerful music video also has over 1 billion streams on youtube and drastically boosted the rapper’s career by becoming Eminem’s first number 1 single in the Billboard charts; staying in the number 1 spot for twelve consecutive weeks.
Narrative content/type: The narrative of this music video is somewhat illustrative because the music video illustrates Eminem’s life and what he is rapping about in small snippets put into a montage when editing. The lyrics are amplified in this video because at points in the rap battles seen as narrative, he is actually rapping the song “Lose Yourself” meaning it’s performance too.
Structure: This music video is episodic; it directly reflects the lyrics at points and follows the story being told. The events occur in chronological order making the video linear because we see growth throughout the video.
Overview of story: This story follows a young, self-made rapper trying to make something of himself, it’s implied he comes from a low income family that resulted in unhealthy surroundings to grow up around. We see snippets of his mum who seems to struggle with addiction issues as well as gang references and a dingy, dark setting of the town he lives in and wants to escape from. He rap battles to grow his musical career through performing every night and putting his name out there. A family of his own is referenced and the lyrics “He goes home and barely knows his own daughter” tell us that he feels he is failing in most parts of life and rapping is the only thing that gets him through, it’s the only thing he believes can be a success for him. The stages he is seen on through the music video begin to get bigger to reflect his slowly growing fame and the music video finishes with him leaving for a more positive life.
Ending: The music video ends with a wide shot of Eminem walking off into the night with a black bin-sack which I presume holds all of his belongings. Some may view this as a negative but I believe this is meant to be perceived as him finally moving onto a better life and leaving the traumatic past he grew up with behind. The lyrics, “Mom, I love you, but this trailer’s got to go, I cannot grow old in Salem’s lot” proves he finally became fed up with the unfulfilled, poor life he was forced to live growing up. So, the ending correlates to this and highlights his realisation that his musical talent can take him somewhere better and get him noticed with bigger labels, his final walk off communicates his gamble for a better life.
Falling Asleep At The Wheel – Alternative/Indie Genre
Holly Humberstone is an alternative/indie artist who surfaced in 2020 with this song (“Falling Asleep At The Wheel”) being her second released song. She grew extremely quickly, having already performed at the The Brits as well as currently supporting a huge, globally known artist – Olivia Rodrigo – on her world tour.
Narrative content/type: This music video seems to be disjunctive at the beginning however it ends up actually being illustrative when you watch the entire video. The whole video was done in one take and it starts with Holly Humberstone lying on the floor and she ends up moving with the camera doing a tracking shot and following her. This is actually relating to her going back in time and she ends up in a car (relating to the song meaning) so the music video is cleverly done to be illustrative in a subtle way.
Structure: The structure of this music video is cyclical, Holly starts and ends in the same car, same place. Also the video is thematic; it follows a set mood, setting and mise en scene throughout that match the theme/feeling of the song without directly illustrating the narrative.
Overview of story: The name of the song “Falling Asleep At The Wheel” is a metaphor for the deeper meaning of the song. The song is about losing momentum in life and feeling like your emotions are becoming too much, resulting in you destroying the relationship you’re in as well as yourself; the song references feeling as if you are responsible for others and their safety or wellbeing. This directly relates to the analogy of being in a car: when driving a car you are personally responsible for the safety of all the passengers in it. “Falling Asleep At The Wheel” is a way of explaining you’re finally giving up and you’ve become too overwhelmed, this could result in a car crash and that’s the metaphor for the real life crash of arguments, emotion and wellbeing. The story in the music video starts with Holly getting into the car but cuts to her on the ground, she lays still lip syncing but begins slowly moving backwards (in time) and finishing up in the car. The music video is cyclical and I believe the beginning is her on a stretcher after falling asleep at the wheel, getting in a crash and not surviving. The lyrics “Wake me up” are repeated throughout which relate to two things: for the narrative she is now unconscious or dead and wants to be alive again, and in real life she wants to be woken up from the continuous sadness and lack of energy in life.
Ending: The ending of Holly in the car and the video fading off into darkness reflects her feeling unable to escape the continuous cycle of uncertainty in life (hence the cyclical structure) and not being able to become happier in her relationship. The two people in the relationship are dragging each other down, becoming toxic and the fade into darkness put in during editing stages reflects the hole that is hard to escape from.
