Music Video Mood Board and brief - Twenty-one Pilots, Trees

Music Video Mood Board and brief- Twenty-one Pilots, Trees

Brief
If I was to create this music video I would take inspiration from the new Netflix series 'You' by telling a story for a person watching another through the trees, longing to get ever closer to their victim. I would try and show continuous shots of the person and what they are doing / where they are watching from along with multiple point of view shots as they get closer to their victim. If I was to create this for my music video I would aim to shoot in all low key lighting to signify the darkness surrounding the narrative. I would also aim to use double framing when portraying the victim to show how they are trapped in this situation and that they play a passive role the are unable to escape from.

Mood Board

Music Video Mood Board and brief - Fun Stars

Music Video Mood Board - Fun Stars

Brief

If I was to create this for my music video I would follow the story of two characters who are friends, one who feels lost as though they hopeless and have 'faded in the dark' and needs help of the other character who wants to help and sees the good in situations, this character will view the other as being the real star. I would try to portray the story of the second character helping the first until they see that they are a star, they are good and isn't lost. If I was to create this I would use a mixture of high key and low key lighting, with more low key lighting being used at the start to signify the hopelessness of the first character, and ending with more high key lighting as the other character helps them to see that they aren't lost and are in fact a bit of light in the world. 

Research techniques Focus groups and plan.

Research techniques Focus groups.

A small group of people whose thoughts, ideas and opinions are studied in order to find out if a good will be a success, a small insight into the greater population / target group. 

Advantages

·     can be time saving

·     instant reactions

·     increase validity

·     primary research

·     Insight into target audience 

·     Understand more about consumers wants and needs

·     Provide high amounts of qualitative data

·     Recorded

Disadvantages

·     Expensive
·     interview bias
·     social desirability bias
·     ethnocentric bias
·     ageism
·     Conversation may go of topic

Focus group plan

1} Purpose? Discuss ideas for genre of music for  music video (pop or indie pop) along with genre of music video (narrative, experimental or performance) as well as generating ideas for music video content that are what the ideal target audience of 18-25-year olds would like to see in a music video. 

2} Recording method? I will either record the session with a standard camera or a voice recorder in which the recorded session can be later transcribed in order to easily manage the ideas given or to be able to recall ideas that may have been missed while conducting the focus group. 

3} Prepare songs to propose to focus group and find out which they like best and would prefer seen turned into a music video. (Present mood board when listening)

·     Bastille – Laughter Lines 

·     Fun – Stars 

·     Twenty-One Pilots – Trees

Ask why the songs would work or why the songs wouldn’t work.

Ask participants to expand on points, avoiding yes or no questions.

4} Ask the participants questions to guide the discussion without restricting their thoughts/opinions 

All each topic enough time to gain a valuable insight into what the group thinks without rushing ideas.

Allow for the discussion to be flexible giving everyone time to talk to get everyone’s insight and input 

Allow participants to go off topic if you feel it will be valuable to your research.

5} Ask participants questions e.g.

1.    Which genre of music do you prefer, pop or indie pop? Is there are particular reason

2.    Which genre of music video do you prefer, narrative, experimental or performance and how would you like these set out?

3.    Which song would you prefer to see as a music video and why? 

4.    Which song gives a deeper meaning to you and why? 

5.    Is there anything you would like to add to the mood boards? 

6} Try to stay neutral when asking questions, avoid showing your own opinion during discussions, don’t let the topic of discussion linger on your preferences as this can reduce internal reliability and face validity. 

7} Repeat with different groups if possible, e.g. different target audiences. This will improve external reliability and predictive validity. 

References 

·     WikiHow (4^thFebruary 2019) (online) available from https://www.wikihow.com(Accessed 5^thFebruary 2019)

Carol Vernallis 'The Kindest Cuts: Functions and Meaning of Music Video Editing

Carol Vernallis 'The Kindest Cuts: Functions and Meaning of Music Video Editing

Carol Vernallis states that there are 9 elements within YouTube music videos to create a popular structure for many music videos to follow, these are (1) pulse and reiteration; (2) irreality and weightlessness; … (3) graphic values; (4) a sense of scale that matches the medium; (5) unusual casual relations; (6) intermediality and intertextuality; (7) sardonic humour and parody; (8) condensation; (9) and formal replication of the web. These 9 elements can then be broken down into 4 key categories which are narrative, editing, camera and movement and finally diegesis, these 4 key categories are all combined to help create a music video. 

Narrative

Carol Vernallis describes the narrative of a music video as the visual response to the lyrics of the song and therefore should reflect what is being sung about, this is shown in many music videos where a clear story is being reflected on screen even if it doesn’t fully match the lyrics a similarly narrative is being played out. This can be evidence in the music video Pompeii by Bastille as the music video shows a clear narrative of the protagonist trying to escape the tumbling city and the people with the black eyes until he give in and his eyes also grow dark, the music videos shows a visual response to the lyrics that the audience can easily follow due to the fact that the lyrics are taken almost literally in order to explain the narrative. By having a music video that contains a clear narrative helps target a passive audience would just like to enjoy it without trying to work out the deeper meaning. 

However not all music videos have a clear narrative and therefore don’t have a clear visual response but rather a suggested or interpreted response, this would be done so that it can attract a wider audience so that they can apply their own narrative to the music video instead of being forced to follow a literally narrative. This targets an active audience who like to interpret their own response. This can be evidence in music videos by Sia as there is a narrative being played out on screen, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s a clear story that represents the visuals, this may be done in music videos as Carol Vernallis says that the narrative isn’t the only thing driving the music video therefore leaving the narrative open. 

Editing 

One of the biggest conventions of editing in most film making in continuity however, in music videos it’s a convention to break the continuity in editing meaning that the music videos can cut to something irrelevant to the narrative. This can mean that the music video can have a non-linear narrative or even multiple narrative cutting back and forth. Carol Vernallis also states that although most music videos have a narrative the editing can become better known as the basis of the music video rather than relying on a story line. The main types of editing styles found in music videos are jump cuts, to express how it’s not continuous, breaking the 30-degree rule to confuse the audience, juxtaposed frames to further confuse the audience and emphasise the non-continuous narrative and finally cutting to the beat or the lyrics best describes as pulse and reiteration to help the music video flow steadily. 

Camera and movement 

Carol Vernallis also states that establishing shots are one of the key elements in music videos, particularly at the very start which then follows throughout the music video to establish where the music video is set, she states that this is also used alongside close ups of the artist or the protagonist, this can again be evidence in the music video Pompeii by Bastille as the very beginning shot is an establishing shot which cuts to a close up of the lead singers face, this may be done to establish the artist or allow the audience to try and gain the gratification of personal identity to help anchor their attention and get the target audience to watch the music video. These two shots are often used alongside master shots which allows the music video to establish all of the characters and keep them in constant view and to continuously reinforce where the music video is set.

 







Along with this Carol Vernallis states that the movement of the camera is often in time to the beat of the music or in time with the lyrics, this will be done to allow the music video to run steadily and to not confuse the audience too much in order to keep their attention. This can be done by panning on way or the other or by zooming in and out in time to the beat of the music. The camera may also move along with the characters movements to give the music video a more realistic feel to it or to add a sense of verisimilitude if they are trying to get across a very strong message. 

Diegesis

This  may concern elements, such as characters, events, and things within the main or primary narrative but is also often described as the ‘world of music videos’. Carol Vernallis says that not all aspects of the music video or the action carried out will be completed therefore some parts of the music video may be left unfinished in order to focus on more important aspects of the music video which may be done by repetition of certain shots which often have higher emphasise placed on them to show their importance. The importance of these shots may also be emphasised due to the way they are shot or edited into the music video during post production. 

References 

Carol Vernallis (2013) YouTube Music Video, and the New Digital Cinema, 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, Page 10 - 

Music video Mood Board and brief - Bastille Laughter Lines

Music video Mood Board and brief  - Bastille Laughter Lines

Brief.

If I was to create this for my music video I would try to show the story of a dancer looking back on her life, of her dancing, her memories and people she has lost. I would also try to show the uncertainty of people gaining their 'Laughter Lines' with things such as the cinematography of graveyards or a contrast of people with or without 'laughter lines' through a series of close ups. I will also try to include a dance sequence of the dancer preforming a ballet sequence in Lincon's Brayford waterfront with the older version of the dancer looking at a picture of this in a point of view shot.