Planning: Analysing similar music videos

I believe that it is extremely important to analyse and research into existing music videos from the same genre as it enables me to have a clear understanding of how the dance genre is represented and in what ways it becomes conventional to the genre. These existing videos inspired me and my group when making vital decisions during the planning process of our music video. Moreover, as creating/ developing an idea from scratch can be difficult, the existing videos briefly gave us key ideas which we could then expand on and compare to ensure the quality of the recording within our production will be at a high level. Lastly, it also provided us with an insight of what the audience from our chosen genre would expect to see within a music video from the dance genre.

 Rihanna ft Eminem love the way you lie (visual style of the video)

The music video expresses a negative and stressful vibe and we would like to have this idea in our video quite similar but shown in a different representation due to the age we are and the activities that we do will be different from the video. With the representation of the characters within the video would also be similar as the main star of the video would be shown the most/ shown singing the most within the video however the male would be taking his anger and frustration out in the gym. The visual style of the video will be shown in the idea of the couple arguing in a bedroom. With the video it will also be shown in this way due to the editing style as the video will have back to back shots of the couple arguing, the male working out aggressively and her singing in a room. With the visual content of the video will mainly be shown through the cinematography of the video being filmed and also the editing of the video. This music video has a big influence on us when making our music video this is because of the form of the relationship the two characters within our music video will experience.

We decided to use Leona Lewis Trouble because of the narrative and themes that take place such as: relationship and break ups.

The star representation: 

The close up of the artist is used to portray the intense emotion which is evident as she is crying.

Close up shot of her singing staring into the camera.

Medium shot of Leona Lewis showing that she is in pain; long shot is used when showing new location within the music video to enhance the surrounding.

The location: 

The house: Shows both of the characters (the couple) in bed and shows all the happy moments that they experienced together. It also highlights how much they’re in love and care for each other

Outside: She has been left in the alone in the dark at the end of the music video. I believe that this is a clear representation of loneliness for the character as she is lost and doesn’t have no where or no one to go to.

Iconography:

The broken glass at the beginning of the music video can portray that there are problems within the relationship showing that both of the characters are unhappy and heartbroken.

The picture lying on the floor outlines the problems within the break up and relationship themes. 

The lighting:

The use of low-key lighting is used when both of the characters are together to imply that the relationship is going downhill. It also suggests that there relationship is not how it once used to be and is getting worse by the minute. This could also suggest that there love for each other is getting lost within the darkness.

Editing:

The slow paced editing is used to emphasis the lyrics of the song, which enables the audience to have a better understanding of what, is happening within the narrative.

Editing gets faster when the problems occur within the relationship. This enables the audience to feel like they are a part of the argument that takes place as they get caught up with the fast paced editing.

From this music video I am planning to corporate the happy moments of the couple within the bedroom as it highlights how close they really are when they are just themselves, alone. I am also going to portray this with high key lighting to emphasise the happy moments they experienced together.

Banks - This is what it feels like (artist)

The star’s representation is clearly seen and is able to be identified by the audience due her being the only one in the video. Her body language, facial expressions and overall attitude as a sense of seriousness was portrayed by the star.

The star within the music video is portrayed to the audience as a lonely character as she is evidently seen lying on her bed by herself and just staring around inside the room. I believe the lack of movement from the star also helps to emphasize her mood and emotions she may be experiencing.

Long shots of the artist highlights her body language.

Close up shots to capture stars emotions, results in the audience feeling a sense of sympathy/empathy towards the character.

I believe from this music video we will definitely be cooperating the body language and the facial expressions which is evident from the character. These will be illustrated by our female character whilst she is in the room singing the lyrics and reminiscing over her relationship.

Planning: Editing Techniques

·       Editing is extremely important as it contributes to putting all the pieces of the production together to create a conventional, professional product. Various editing techniques enable the audience to experience a variety of emotions throughout the music video. Editing and transitions allows our music video look more professional as it is more neat and organised to watch. We ensured we were able to contribute Goodwin’s theory into our final product by making sure the editing was in sync with the pace of the song.

1) Cloning: This will be used to show the character doing various things inside the gym. This also enables the audience to gather a clear understanding of how much time he’s spending inside the gym as he tries to release his anger after the argument that took place within the couple.

2) Reaction shot: We will be cooperating the reaction shot during the argument scenes that will occur within the couple. This allows the audience to realise what emotions each character is experiencing during the events occurring. For example it will clearly highlight that the male character is angry and extremely aggressive towards the female character as he tries to show his dominance.

3) Fast paced editing: This will be used during the chorus of the song as the up beat, fast beat is at its peak which allows us to involve Goodwin’s theory of ensuring the editing visuals are in sync with the paste of the song.

4) Slow paced editing: On the other hand the slow paced editing will be used to highlight the positive events, which occurred within the couples relationship. This will allow the audience to contrast between the past and the present.

5) Jump cuts: Will be used to highlight the male character taking out his anger inside the gym. It will also enable the visuals to be in sync with the beat whilst at its peak which allows the audience to experience the male characters ‘wild trip’ within the gym.