Narrative Theories for Music Video

Narrative Theories for Music Video

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Preparation For Filming - Props

Filming and Editing Planning

To share out the workload, we have devised a way to make it clear who has edited and filmed what in the music video. I will film and edit all of the flashbacks with the couple and Joe will film and edit the scenes with the artist alone singing in the flat and of the artist in the field, which are recurring scenes. We feel that this is a far way to spread out the work load.

Time Management

Popular Culture

Pop Culture on Prezi

Costume Planning

Overall for the sake of popular culture, the actors will be wearing fashionable clothes suited to the occasion/ situation they are in. For example hats, scarfs and coats for the walking scene and shorts and top for the picnic scene. One dress and one top that the girl will be wearing have little hearts on them which links to the name of the song "How Many Hearts?" as well as the t-shirt which has love written on it.

Prop List

Storyboard

Annotated Lyrics

I have annotated the lyrics to help us create the storyboard by spreading out our ideas to fit the song and fit lyrics to the visuals.

Seasons in Music Video

I have organised the couple situations in order of seasons so that when we create the storyboard there is a sense of time and the events do not appear so random. This will give continuity and make it seem as if the couple have been together for a long time and make the breakup seem more emotional.

Music Video Ideas

Magazine Advert Evaluation

Magazine Advert for Album

Photos and Making of Album Advert

I opted for the image surrounded by leaves as it is what I intended to go with according to my flatplan. I feel it has a very natural appeal and is a good shot; even better once edited properly.

Magazine Advert Flatplan

Magazine Advert Research

Evaluation of CD Cover

Inside of Digipack

Back of CD Cover

Back of Digipack Research

The conventions to include on the back of an acoustic digipack are to have the names of songs listed in the same typography as on the front of the cover, to have a barcode, To carry on the brand identity of the artist through colours etc, to not include visual clutter and to perhaps include relevant images of settings or image motifs. I will consider these conventions when creating the back of my digipack.

CD Cover

Album Cover Photography

CD Case Deconstruction

I have deconstructed a CD case so that I know of the exact measurements for each part of the literature within a digipack, so at the editing stage I know what format size to make each part in. This deconstruction has also helped in knowing where folds are in the literature, and where they are shown on the outside or inside of the digipack.

Flatplans For Album Cover

Both of these designs follow the conventions I discovered in my research. They include the album name and have a mixture of sans serif and serif typefaces. They both have the artists instrument in shot aswell as being outside. The first does not include the artist which is not conventional which would be different for the genre. Indirect address is used in the second which is a convention of the acoustic genre for album cover artwork.

Album Cover Research- Typography

Selecting Typography on Prezi

Album Cover Research - Artwork

I will consider these conventions when planning locations and taking photographs, selecting typography and in the editing process.

Audience Profile

Audience profile

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Unsigned Artist - Raj Swamy

Raj Swamy is a local acoustic unsigned artist in Hertfordshire. He uses Myspace to promote his music to the fans, by posting comments, sharing photos and sharing gig dates. He performs in local pubs and clubs which he advertises using Pubgigs.com as well as Myspace Music. He also has a Youtube channel featuring all of his music and his cover songs aswell. Raj will be our artist for our music video coursework assignment, using his original song 'How Many Hearts?'.

Magazine Advertising

CD Cover Research

Branding

Having A 'Niche'

Spice girls Niche

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The Online Revolution

Target Audience

Video Remake Task Evalution

Video Remake Task Evaluation

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Music Video Remake Task

The Three Types of Music Video

Music videos can be loosely organised into three categories; conceptual, narrative and performance based.
 Conceptual videos are abstract videos; they do not contain a straightforward narrative or a narrative at all but suggest a mood from images. For example in this video by Gnarls Barkley, there is clearly no narrative, but the style of the video creates a mood. The black and white colours connote simplicity as well as the overall concept of the video and the slick symmetry suggests order within the video in a modern way, much like the modern sound within the music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd2B6SjMh_w

Narrative videos tell a story or part of a story, usually linking to the lyrics of song. This video shows a clear story in the form of a flashback. As well as being narrative it fits in with Todorov’s  theory of storytelling in a music video, in five parts.

·         Equilibrium – the singer is happy with her partner in their home.

·         Disequilibrium – they fall out

·         Recognition – she goes back over time with herself as a child, seeing her parents arguing and the bad outcomes.

·         Reparation – she realises she needs to make up with her partner to be happy.

·         New equilibrium – a lesson is learnt, that the couple shouldn’t argue and they live happily again.

Performance videos focus on the artist or group performing the track. For example in this music video by James Morrison, he is shown performing his song. There are many close ups of his guitar and him singing into the microphone to back this up. The effect of a performance based video is that the audience gets to appreciate the raw talent of the artists and that they play their own instruments, and this is their career rather than just a glamorous title.

Andrew Goodwin - Music Video Theory

Music Video Theory - Andrew Goodwin on Prezi

This narrative music video by The Script fits in with Goodwin’s theory vastly in that the lyrics link with the visuals on the screen.

·         The lyrics “I’m not moving” are heard with the singer sitting on the “corner of a street” as sung in the song.

·         A news report and people taking photos of the man is shown with the lyrics “maybe I’ll get famous, as the man who can’t be moved, and maybe you won’t mean to, but you’ll see me on the news” showing a link.

·         He also sings of a policeman, when one is shown on screen

·         There are close ups of his “words on cardboard” and the “pictures” in his hand which is also one of the 6 criteria that Goodwin created for music videos.

·         A notion of looking is shown when the singer is shown looking at the people walking on the street passing by, as he waits.

·         Genre characteristics are shown when the band is seen playing together as this is typical of this type of boy band who play their own instruments.

·         The steady pace of the song fits the simple cut transitions and the tone fits the story  within the song and video.

This music video heavily involves an intertextual style as it is based on the story Alice and Wonderland, executed in a more glamorous way.

·         In this video the intertextual references include a the Queen of Hearts, the artist as Alice, the scenes from the movie such as when Alice is crying and flooding a room because she has eaten food to make her grow and when Alice is stuck in the White Rabbits house, the caterpillar, a tea party, the White Rabbit and pocket watch.

·         In the scene where the artist is stuck in a house, there is a notion of looking as the camera largely focuses on her direct address and facial expressions, this is backed up by the use of close ups.

·         At one point the lyrics in the song say “life is short”, these lyrics are shown linking with the visuals as they are being written down.

·         The pocket watch links with the repeated lyrics “tick tock”.

·         The abstract and quirky nature of this video fits the upbeat tempo of the music, due to the amounts of colour used and the fast transitions.

In this video, there is heavy focus on the notion of looking and music with visuals.

·         At the beginning of the video there is coloured light and darkness shown on the artists face but there is always at least one of her eyes showing, as this is vital to connect with your audience and grab attention. Attention drawn to her eyes is also shown when they are framed by luminous gloved hands supported by close ups.

·         The genre of the music fits the atmosphere of the music video. This music we would associate with dance because of the tempo and style and the constant motif of lights are shown in this music video relating to the club/ dance theme. This backs up the theory of genre characteristics and music and visuals.

·         Lyrics are shown working with the visuals when the lyrics “boom boom” are sung whilst the action of a heartbeat is shown with the hands.

Coursework Brief

I have created this blog to record the workings of my promotion package for the realise of an album, including a music promo video together with the following:
1. A cover for its release as part of a digipak
2.A magazine advertisement for the digipak