In relation to our genre we need to make sure we have the appropriate props to fit in to the scenes and make it seem as if it is the artist environment, these will consist of props with a vintage or retro feel. Additionally we need to incorporate the main props that can link into the lyrics and narrative of our Music Video, therefore putting an image to the words to make it clearer to the audience.
The props that we will need relating to our narrative...
+ A lounger or bed in which the Artist can lay on.. "So I'll Lie Here"
+ A pillow.. "With your eyes closed, and me as your Pillow"
+ Bed Sheets and accessories.. "I know i've found contentment in these sheets" Other props...
+ Acoustic Guitar... This is one of the main props that will appear more than once. This will feature as an important piece due to the guitar being a typical convention to indie acoustic genre, and will additionally help the narrator and artist be identified by the audience. This will act as the narrator's master shot which will include shots of him and the acoustic guitar in various different locations.
-Here is an image of Ben Howard with an acoustic guitar
+ Bench... We will need to use a bench near the end of the video to add a climax to the storyline; the artist will see his lover (the one he has been singing about) and see she has moved on. This bench and scene will symbolise the end of the relationship.
+ Bag... For the female scene's a handbag will be an obvious and reoccurring item in the music video, this is as it is an everyday item, and will show the age of the girl. This will represent her as an everyday female.
We also had an idea of the male carrying a male bag in some scenes as this will add to the male carrying his own 'weight' and troubles now he is no longer with her.
+ Sofa... In addition to the bed we needed a place in which the artist and his lover could be together, indoors to show the warmth and comfort of their old relationship. We will then contrast this to the male being alone.
In this post I will talk about the Conventions we have decided to use in our Music Video, and similar Music Videos and Artists that have also used them. Most of the examples I will use are a good representation of the Indie Genre, although they all may have their individual sub-genre's.
Narrative within the Indie Genre
In many Indie Music Videos there are a combination of performance and narrative; the narrative is mostly filmed in a contrasting and dissimilar location the where the performance footage is based; an example of this is in One Night Only's 'Say you don't want it', where the narrative is in the city and is busy, and the performance is on the roof of the building, just outside the city, where it is free and empty.
To complete and apply this Convention of narrative theory to the music videos, I have found a narrative in the Indie Genre in which I can analyse and make sure we can attract the audience in the same way.
In Kate Nash's Music Video for 'Foundations' I found that the lyrics link to the action is the scene, such as when the lyrics ' and I know that I should let go, but I can't...' are sung the couple are holding hands until the words 'let go' are sung. This links to an aspect we were interested in applying as in our lyrics when the singer says 'go to sleep my love...' the female character of the relationship in the video will be laying on the bed and a close up of her eyes closing will be filmed. The narrative is represented as a casual, average day, in which our scene will be as firstly the average day of when they were together, and now when they are apart; the Artist 'Kate Nash' is singing to the camera, whilst getting on with her everyday life.
Editing Technique- Overlay
As we have decided to create an overlay of scene's in the middle of our Music Video to show the Artist
singing alone, and the overlay of a previous time when the characters spent their time together there happy.
Olly Murs song 'Dear Darlin' is a perfect example of when this is used, as he uses an identical location but overlays him and his ex-girlfriends past times and fun they have shared in that location whilst he is singing alone of the bed about losing her. From this video you can tell that this Music Video is effective as the similar narrative and love story can be represented by this technique and help the audience understand the emotions involved in the song, which links to the Artist himself. To complete this in the most professional way possible we would have to film twice in the same location, with the camera running throughout; after we would have to edit it on final cut pro, by cutting, overlaying and tweaking the opacity of the image to make it subtle and appear a memory.
Editing Technique- Filter/ Camera use
The effect we want to portray in our music video is that of a warm and comforting video, despise the narrative behind it. The hue we want to create it that alike the colours and hues in Ben Howard's video, 'Keep Your Head Up'.
The filter of this video creates a more exciting feel to the Music Video and draws the audience in to watch for the rest of the song.
Another convention of the music video we are using are the different Camera shots we will use, in which will make, what could be, a boring love story into something more eye-catching and emotional. This is used in the Music Video on the left when the character is sliding down the water slide, the worm view perspective, the handheld showing shots of the reaction shots whilst sliding down the hill, and the birds-eye view assist the video in having a more exciting aspect and captures the listeners attention.
Lip- Syncing
The use of lip-syncing was important for us as the narrative will be happening around the Artist through an overlay and the 'average day' happening around him; the song in which is being used diagetically.
The Artist Daughter uses this is their song 'Still' this was influential and a linking convention to our Music video as the use of the artists image being presented on the T.V and the narrative working around it reminded me of our Artist sitting and having the narrative around him. This is effective due to the creativity but the unhappy narrative explains and shows the audience the details.
Binary Opposition Urban and Nature
The use of the Binary Opposition will be used due to the contrast we will use of the Urban and natural setting. This convention is used in Ben Howard's 'Only Love' video.
We firstly see Howard riding his bike, at a low angle capturing the power and the sunlight through the tree's. A jump cut is then used to show an urban setting in which the cuts are in time to the beat of the song, this adds interest and the audience want to know where the character will end up, why and for what? This is a convention that we are going to use.
An idea that was brainstormed in our group was a split screen edit, in which throughout the video the audience will see a variety of perspectives on the scene. Through our research we found that this can be shots of the location that the narrative is based on, where the music video was filmed and a personal perspective of the characters in the scene; also if it is a band performance, the camera can identify the different instruments used by using the split screen to focus on the individual band members. The idea of a split screen can effect to the music video that provides the listener, or audience with a better insight of the narrative, band and music video.
This idea, I feel will be a good edition and aspect to our Music Video as the love narrative could be shown through the personal perspective of the male and female of relationship, which the narrative is based upon. The different emotions and feeling of the relationship, and the breakup will be expressed through this editing technique.
Here are some examples of other Artists, although not Indie, where the split screen has been used-
The Narrative of Daniel Powters' Bad Day, is similar to the music video in which we would like to create as it is based upon a break-up. The cross cutting shows the couple, now split, getting on with their lives after the break-up day in and day out; what effect it has had on them and how they feel emotionally. The questions asked by the audience, such as 'how' and 'why' are answered due to this technique also; initially you can see that the couple are not happy without each other. The singer is acting as the God Figure, as he is not the character involved in the relationship but is in some of the same locations of the character, although they cannot hear him, this is a convention of Omniscience.
Michael Jackson's song Billie Jean, again is not in the Indie Genre, and is not initially about a break-up but it is about lust and a girl. The screen split in this video is used by using props, in this case, a lamp post to separate the two different scenes in the narrative. This is a different way in which we can use the split screen idea, as we can shown the couple in the same location at different times, but have them on the same scene, and split them with an object, such as a tree, lamp post or a wall.
John Mayer's Video, 'Queen of California' contains all three of these factors which we are interested in using within our video, we know we want to incorporate the outdoors and the guitar; an idea of binary opposition and a contrast of an urban-natural setting is an idea we liked. As you can see on this Music video the guitar features at the start, and as he is walking through the streets it changes to walking through a forest; his outfit and accessorizes change throughout this also, which I found very exciting and fun.
An idea that our group has had for our Music Video is the effect of Omniscience or a God Like Figure; which is a Micro-Element of Music Videos and Media Studies. Omniscience means 'having total knowledge' of the situation, therefore in the scenes of a music video the omniscient narrator will know what is going on in the narrative and tell the story through the lyrics of the song.
We will use this in our Music Video by having the singer as the narrator of the narrative but the characters involved will act like he is not there. An example of a Music Video that uses this is 'Bad Day' where the singer Daniel Powter is the narrator of the love story.
One of the main features we liked about this Music Video is editing technique of the cut between the narrative and the performance in the same location. This consisted of the singer and the characters on the same train but the editing of the video made it seem as if the narrator is singing non diagetically, but from the audience's point of view they are aware that the lyrics are relating to the couple and the situation.
To address this in our music video, we will include this at the start of the song where the lyrics say 'Go to sleep my love, I'll watch over us'. This will help us introduce the idea of the narrator being separated
from the narrative of the video by showing he has the knowledge of the story through the lyrics and use of lip syncing.
In our most recent video out Group Brainstormed and deliberated on our Music Video; we came up with the conclusion that we need to deliver 360 Degree Branding. Thanks to technical and media convergence 'stars' and Artists need to work harder than ever to advertise their image and represent themselves.
This means being consistent across a range or all media platforms.
We started thinking about- How are we going to 'market' our Product? and What 'overall' appeals are we going to have?
We started by Brainstorming and Initially getting an idea of our music video, how our Artist wants to be seen, and what conventions will be used.
As our song is inspired by Indie, I have decided to look into the Genre as a whole, and in particular the motifs, styles and conventions of Indie.
What is Indie Music?
Indie Music, originally known as Independent Music, is not a distinctive style of Music but is a recognisable Style as a lot of the time Indie Bands are influenced by each other, resulting in a alike sound. They are 'Independent' as their record label may not be mainstream. Overall the sound of Indie is harmonious and melodic, and the instruments that accompany the sound are well balanced, effortless and effective. The Instruments usually consist of a guitar riff, with an overlay of an additional guitar riff, which complements the sound well; a minimal drum beat, a bass guitar, and soft remarkable, unique voice. The Lyrics usually contain powerful emotions, usually deep in thought but not obvious, tasteless or weak.
How popular is Indie?
As a 'Scene' the Indie audience mostly have a love for the music alone, not the stage setting, lights and 'fans'; the scene is kept quite small as the 'big' fuss is not what the Audience really want. They feel as if the music is what matters and they do not want it to be commercialised, it is all about the music. Overall the Indie Audience is quite big, but the following is not as big as Pop, as they just appreciate the music.
The Most Common Conventions of Indie And Indie Music Video's-
+ Instruments- Typical to Rock Indie
+ Assorted Shot Types - Montage
+ Flash Transitions
+ Cross Cutting between Artist and Place
+ Close up/ Long Shot
+ Cutting rate to the beat of the music, this creates synchronisation between sound and visuals.
Examples of Indie Artists and Bands-
+ Arctic Monkeys
+ Arcade Fire
+ Bloc Party
+ Mumford & Sons
+ The Strokes
+ The Decemberists
+ Death Cab for Cuties
+ Bon Iver
+ Ben Howard
+ Josh Rodin
+ John Major
+ Nick Camillo
+ Bag... For the female scene's a handbag will be an obvious and reoccurring item in the music video, this is as it is an everyday item, and will show the age of the girl. This will represent her as an everyday female.
