Plot and narrative work

Within my music video, I have decided to create my narrative to reflect the lyrics, for example the plot behind the narrative is all about a love gone wrong, and how incomplete both parties feel, therefore I took this plot, and with my own ideas I created a narrative to fit this plot.

My narrative looks at a relationship from the female's perspective, and how her life was full of hope and happiness, until her partner is killed in an accident. The narrative then follows the female around switching between flashbacks, where she is happy and full of life with her partner, compared to the harsh reality of the partner being dead, with the female's depression growing and growing in time. The reality shows the female trying to get on with everyday life, but struggling he played such a big part in her life, she finds it hard to live without him, and in the end of the narrative is reunited with her partner.

The flashbacks are shown in a hand held camera and goes back to a memorable day for her with her partner, the flashbacks are also shown with cross-fades to show how she still thinks he is there, for example he walks in and helps around the kitchen, when she suddenly turns around and he isn't there anymore.

To show time passing, I will be crossfading the female with her actions, for example, she beings to place all of his things in a black bin-bag, then we will show her making drinks for two, turning around, and walking in and putting on his jacket because she misses him.

With this narrative I decided to use the theory of 'Tzvetan Todorov' which suggests narrative start with a state of 'equilibrium in which life Is 'normal' to then be disrupted
*In regards to my narrative the equilibrium is shown in the flashbacks of when the couple was alive and happy, and the disruption to be his death.*

My Favourite music videos

- 'All of the stars' by Ed Sheeran: This is my forth favourite music video because although there is no narrative, I find that it is very powerful, for instance the song itself is a love song, and the video shows very emotional and powerful quotation which, for me personal, one, sum up the film the song was created for, and two, it also just brings me up when I feel disheartened. - 'This is gospel' by Panic at the disco I like this music video because although it just shows mostly the artist, the way it has been constructed is brilliant, for example the timing of all the hands as the doctors checking for pulses and putting needles in his arm. Also when the song builds up to the chorus, the singer burst forward from the hands and the shot used really reflects the lyrics, which is something that I look for within a music video
- 'Rat a tat tat' by Fall out boy This music video is 9/11 of a whole series called 'the young blood chronicles' which showcases the album 'save rock and roll' spreads out a long narrative in 11 different music videos. I like this one from the entire narrative because there is always something going on, and there is always movement from or behind the camera, meaning that it keeps me interested because there is always something going on.
- 'Mirrors' by Justin Timberlake This music video always makes me cry, it doesn't matter who I am with at the time when I watch the video, I will always cry. The narrative is constructed brilliantly, and seeing how I'm not a fan of the artist, this music video works with its purpose to entertain the audience, because I will remember the music video, and therefore I will remember the song as well as the artist.



By doing this task it allows me to take what I like from my favourites and re-create them with my own music video. With this inspiration I will hopefully be able to have a good narrative and good set of camera shots/angles to use in my own music video which I would like to think would give me a good chance of getting a high grade.

Target audience brief

When looking at my target audience I had to take into account the content of the music and also the videos created by the artist (passenger.) The psychographics of those seen in those music videos, and also how could I attract an audience by my music video.


The most common Psychographic profiling on the target audience of Passenger,

Most will listen to radio channels such as XFM
Comedy is seen as a key interest
They prefer to go to gigs and festivals
Most likely to have a view on politics and have a belief in freedom and speech
a majority of the audience will be in fulltime education and/or have a Saturday part-time job

This target audience would also have a problem with
Gimmicks that take away from the lyrics and the music and their message
'Arrogant bands who just sell out and do not care about making decent but by just getting a pay cheque'





My ideal target audience would be the age range of 16-24 because I believe that the content the artist looks at in his songs, for instance in his song 'community centre' from the album 'Divers and Submarines' he looks at underage drinking and how he ended up at an AA meeting.  "When everyone was drinking singles I was pouring myself a double I just needed a little bit more. Now I'm here with a name badge listening to the same sad stories about their old dads...." I would also say this would his target audience because they are close to his actual age, so logically those within the same age range would be able to understand the themes that he looks at in his songs. Audience theories were also looked at to show my target audience, such as the 'two-step-flow' theory, which relies on consumers spreading the word (mostly like below-the-line advertising) to friends/family which then concludes to the consumption of the product by a wider audience (e.g. your friends tell their friends, who then tell their friends etc..) I have decided that I will use the 'two-step-flow' theory for my work because it encourages me to create a piece of media which will be worth sharing and worth the below-the-line advertising which this theory creates.


When looking at 'Passenger's music videos on YouTube, I have seen that his music video, dating to when his first mainstream album came around 'All the little lights'

Let it go: 423,069,695 views
All the little lights: 429,701 views
The wrong direction: 12,110,013 views
Things that stop you dreaming: 523,806 views


When you look at the content of these music video's the most viewed 'Let her go' is all about love and how he realises that he didn't know a good thing when he had it, and now that she is gone, he understands. This would then show that his audience would be involved with songs which are based around love, which would imply that his target audience is based on the female gender. However I do not say that men cannot listen this is sort of music, with the statistics shown on sites such as 'Google' and 'XFM' the sites imply that from the sales of merchandise, gig tickets, and album sales that mostly women are the dominate gender for indie pop artist, which Passenger and the likes of Ed Sheeran.

Casting infomation

My music video, although showing some themes that some viewers may find disturbing (for example the blood droplet at the end of the music video) there is no apparent threat, so therefore when it comes to casting, it should be easier to find people willing to take part.


When it comes to the female auditions, I will have to ask the actors to learn the chorus of the song 'bloodstains' in order to see how their mouths move so then I know how lip syncing will be when it comes to editing. With the actor's appearance, I am not fussed as I'm not looking for a super model, I'm looking for someone who can work well with other people, and has a good grasp on lip syncing. This is the style of person I am looking for (the blonde girl not the crocodile)

Looking towards the male auditions, again I am not fussed on what the male looks like, just as long as they are able to be directed, and can work well with others, for example, myself and the female actor.  The male is also expected to lip sync, and will be given the chorus of the song to perform, the male however should be aware of having to film themselves for certain points in the narrative (for example the home movies) and should have common sense as to not drop the camera. This would be the style of male that I would like to use, as I believe that would resemble the artist as best as possible.


Both parties will, ideally not be shy with each other, as they are supposed to be in love, and when they are shot together, this will entail both actors touching, and kissing each other. The actors should be made aware of this, and also the fact the kiss will not be a full on snog, most like a gentle loving peck on the lips, as I will be fading the music video out before any other action can happen (we can leave that to the imagination of the viewer)




Casting will occur on Saturday 4th of October between the hours of 12-4

The song will be given to those who audition before-hand with time to work on the song, they will then be called in one by one to lip sync, and also for some basic screen test (close ups and long shots) 


Those who are lucky will be emailed after decisions have been made, if you are not contacted within two weeks, unfortunately you were not casted.

Shotlist (draft)

By doing this, it has allowed me to be organised, and to also know what I am doing, so when I come to filming, I will know exactly what I am doing so I do not waste time by going off track.

Music Video Brief (25 words)

Two young lovers are lost to tragedy and in death they do part. Through pain and strife she takes her life to see him again  

By doing this, it has allowed me put bluntly what my narrative is about so then when it comes to filming I am not side tracked and I stay on target.

Initial ideas for a music video (cont.)

When looking at what song I would be choosing to create a music video to, I had chosen Ed Sheeran with 'Give Me Love' however forgetting that the song already had a music video, and to avoid the possibility of losing marks on creativity, I decided to change my interest of song, and I have now chosen 'Bloodstains' by Passenger from the EP 'Flight of the crow' as this song does not have a music video, and is not a very well-known song, therefore meaning that I can have full creativity range when it comes to narrative and my variation of shots, locations, actors and costume that I will be using.

- This is my mood board of my beginning idea for the music video, from what I can picture inside of my head is that one member of the couple dies and leaves the other lost and afraid, which reflects the lyrics of the song I have chosen. The music video would also show flashbacks to when the deceased was alive, and show the other half (perhaps the woman) spiralling out of control with the loss, which leaves her to join her partner on the other side.

Music video target audience results

I have decided to place my target audience to be within the age range of 15-24 as the themes spoken about in the song, and the themes the artist looks at, are themes that people at that age have experienced, will experience or are experiencing, for example with the song 'Bloodstains' looks at a broken love and how they are realising how there is a broken love.


Here is a clearer graph of my results.

As you can see, from my varied audience, the majority prefer a music video with a narrative, therefore I will create my music video with a clearly structured narrative to which my target audience can enjoy and understand.

By doing this exercise I have been able to understand what audience members like to see within music video, and this has aided me because now I have a better insight into what I should, and shouldn't include in my music video when I come to creating it.

 

Music video target audience - Questionnaire

Having created an audience music video questionnaire I gave out 10 copies to different people in order to help establish who music videos are actually aimed at.

My questions were:

How old are you? 



Gender



Where are you from?





How often do you watch music videos?





When was the last time you watched a music video?





What is your favourite music video and why? 





Do you prefer music videos with a narrative (story-line), explain your answer. 





What music videos do you not like and why?





Do you like music videos that reflect the lyrics?





How long do you like the music video's to be e.g., the length of the song or longer?

I have decided to place my target audience to be within the age range of 15-24 as the themes spoken about in the song, and the themes the artist looks at, are themes that people at that age have experienced, will experience or are experiencing, for example with the song 'Bloodstains' looks at a broken love and how they are realising how there is a broken love.

Comparisons of music video's

The key conventions that can be spotted in more than one music video can be used to identify to audience members that the music video is from a certain artist, for instance 'The White Stripes' always have their instruments in their music videos.

- Examples used from 'Seven nation army' and 'Icky Thump'











A music video can also be used to lead on and/or convey a theme the artist believes is within more than just one song, for instance Beyonce used a black and white filter in 'if I were a boy' and 'single ladies'

Group's or band's music videos always show the band lip syncing with dancing with various shots of the group, such as close ups and long shots.
One direction are always shown within their music videos like this. Boy bands are also shot to be having fun to connote that they are youthful, which is also shown in all of their videos.

-Examples used are from 'What makes you beautiful', 'Best song ever' and 'Midnight memories.'

Music Video Conventions

When looking at these conventions, I will be taking into consideration 'drama' a lot within my music video as I believe that it fits the indie pop conventions, I will most likely be looking at the level of verisimilitude within my music video because as the music video looks at a very normal situations, I would like my music video to also be in locations that people can understand and recognise.

The narrative within an 'indie pop' or 'drama' music video will usually reflect the lyrics which can be been in Goodwin's theory, and serves as entertainment for the audience member to escape into the fantasy from every-day life.

When I come to create my music video I will be using Goodwin's theory and also aim to make my narrative an escape for audience members to enjoy. This task has aided me with my research as I can now highlight what conventions go with which genre.

Music advertisement ideas

An idea for my music advertisement would be to have a common link with that of my digipack and also my music video, so for instance using an elemental scenery which again works within the key conventions of my chosen genre.

I would use this sort of layout for my actual music advertisement because I think that it attracts audience members to the artist, as I have placed him centre, and also then it allows them to notice what the single name is, and then the information that they would need for the artist, for instance, where to download.

 

 

 

Analysis of a music advertisment from my chosen Artist

All the little lights:

 

Although the quality is quite bad, this is the music advertisement for the artist 'Passenger' first main streamed album 'All the little lights'.
 

By looking at the colour, as an audience member that is the first thing that catches my eyes, as it shows connotations of a very diverse album due to the use diverse colours. This could also show connotations of the album to be that of a journey to a better place as the colours used can be associated with that of a rainbow, which, legend has it, owns a pot of gold at the end of it, which when looking at this album, shows connotations of the album being the artist's own "pot of gold" that he wishes to share with his audience.

The advertisement holds little-to-none information to the album apart from artist, album title and top single hits. By doing this, it has put a hint of mystery on the album and also the artist, which encourages the target  audience members to go and find out more, which would then lead to an under-the-line advertisement strategy to which the target audience mostly do their own work on social media websites, which leads to a wider audience (as we all are so connected to this web we called worldwide) showing connotations of the artist and their record label making a lot of money as they have placed the two-step-flow theory into the minds of the target audience by little-to-none information 

"Curiosity killed the cat" 

When looking a imagery, the advertisement uses the shadow of a woodland area which shows connotations of the album as well as the artist having a deeper meaning to all of his song, because if he has used a shadow, the original over line of the songs message, for instance "let her go" (which was one of the hits advertised) the meaning is about how he misses her, but the under line, or the "shadow" of the song talks about how he  has realised her impact in his life and that he regrets what happened. 

The use of a woodland also pays attention to the key conventions found in his type of genre "indie pop" which allows audience members to recognise the genre before even hearing the music, which then allows them to make the choice of wanting the album or not as they are fully aware of the genre placed before them.

By doing this exercise it has aided me with my knowledge of music advertisement and how sometimes, not allowing the audience all of the information can work in your ( the marketing team) favour, which I will take on board when making my own.