A rough cut is important to consider as it allows you to understand what direction the music video is going in, therefore allowing you to make a clear judgement and understand what the strengths and weaknesses are of the music video. It is a good idea to share a rough cut with audiences so that you can gain audience feedback. This is helpful to understand what parts of the music video audiences enjoy and can relate to. Likewise, you can gain an understanding of what parts of the music video need improving.
We recieved feedback by uploading our music video to youtube. I then promoted this by sharing the youtube link on facebook:
I chose to post the video on facebook as facebook is one of the most popular social networking sites, therefore by doing this our video would be presented to a wider audience and gain more feedback. I recieved very positive comments on this link and also many likes.
I did recieve some constructive critisim also, such as: "Perhaps you could alter the contrast/colour within the death scene to make it look more tense and proffesional". This is definitely something I will take into consideration as I would like the death scene to be as powerful as possible. Somebody also suggested altering the titles to make it look more proffesional. Again this is something I will take into consideration as I wanted to music video to look as proffesional as possible, however I would like to keep the large 'Georgia Ray' title as this style of title is very modern as tends to appear alot in recent music videos.
From watching the rough cut, I would personally like to make some alterations to the final sequence after the bonfire section. Rather than showing clips of drugs and alcohol, I think it would be nicer to show memories of the artist and her boyfriend when they were together. I think that showing drugs and alcohol after the boyfriend has died is irrelevant and unessessary and would be more effective to show previous clips of the relationship (good times or bad) to represent and reflect on the artist's state of mind.
Other than these alterations I am very pleased with our music video and it seems as though public audiences do too. Creating a rough cut is definitely a productive way to allow yourself and audiences to view your product and work out what could be improved, consequently making the best of your product.
The purpose of a digipak is to engage the audience and persuade them to buy the product. A digipak is different to a CD as it contains more slides therefore provides the audience with more information about the artist and the album.
The following image is a digipak of Mumford and Sons' album "Sigh No More". Much like Nina Nesbitt's tour advertisement, Mumford and Sons use very light and naturalistic colours. This represent their music as it conveys their light and acoustic sound. It is noticable that the shop that they are standing in is painted white whereas the ones next door are darker, this is so that they stand out as a band and are immediately spotted.
The design/layout is very well thought out. The use of an old and distressed street/shop adds an edginess to the digipak, presenting the band as unique, much like the use of a distressed brick wall in the Nina Nesbitt avertisement. The fact that the band are holding their musical instruments represents their performing and songwriting ability. This is conventional to the indie genre as it presents them as music artists rather than a star or image, and therefore realtes to an indie audience. I think that the layout is also very poignant. The band themselves are placed slightly off center and are displayed in a small window, so therefore aren't necessarily the main focus point. I think that the first thing you notice when you look at the digipak is the name "Mumford and Sons" with the album name underneath, as the title is actually bigger than the image of the band. This is conventional the indie genre as it is promoting the album name and the band's music, rather than promoting the band as an image, which goes against Dyer's Theory. This represents the band as songwriter's with a musical talent and informs the audience that their intention is to make music, rather than sell themselves as a product. This would interest an indie audience. The font used for the title is quite formal and authentic. This represents the band's music and shows that their songs and sound holds a lot of authenticity and realism.
The purpose of magazine advertising is to inform audiences, to sell a product and to build the name recognition. Within the following tour advertisement, Nina Nesbitt is represented as a pop artist, however is specifically edging towards the indie genre. This representation is evident because of the choice of colours, images, design and typography.
Lighter colours are used throughout this advert, such as green, light blue and cream. These light colours are conventional to Nina Nesbitt as an artist as her music is very light-hearted and acoustic. The choice of image is very poignant and is a great representation of the artist. The image shows Nesbitt standing neutrally with her hands by her sides looking at the camera. However, she isn't posing. This presents Nesbitt as a very naturalistic artist. It also presents her as an indie artist as it shows the audience that she isn't trying to sell herself as a star or an image, she is selling herself as an ordinary person and more importantly selling her music. The layout of the advertisement is appropriate as the typography doesn't overlap the artist, therefore makes the artist the focus point as the typography almost outlines her. This layout could be used to explain to the audience that her albums and performances are all about her, in the sense that she writes her own songs, accompanies herself by playing her own instruments etc. Therefore the fact that the layout makes her the focus point proves that not only is she the performer, but she is also very much behind the scenes writing her own music also. I believe that the typography also helps represent her as a songwriter as well as a singer. To me, the font used to present her name almost looks like handwriting. This is conventional to Nina as an artist as it could be used to portray her song writing skills. As opposed to a bold, computer-generated font, I think that the font used in this advertisement definitely relates to Nina Nesbitt as an artist.
The naturalistic style to this advertisement definitely promotes and represents the music and the artist. The use of natural colours, typography, images and layout, Nina Nesbitt is presented as a talented person rather than a star or an image. This consequently gives the audience an idea of what sort of music and performances that she would produce. Her natural and ordinary style gives audiences the correct impression that she would produce more acoustic-based music and would most probably write her own songs. I think that her naturalistic representation would attract a younger audience, possibly more female-based as young women would look up to her and see her as a role model.
Lighting is very important within the music video production. Every lighting set-up provides a specific mood, emotion, atmosphere, and aesthetics to the overall film viewing experience. Without light, it is not possible to see anything, and it is not possible to shoot a film. For example, a horror movie uses light to make the scene look sinister or eerie, whereas the lighting and colour in a children's movie would be very vibrant and colourful.
To follow the conventions of the indie genre we would like to use naturalistic lighting throughout specfic sections of the music video. During the performance section we want to film at around 2 o'clock in the afternoon so that the sun will still be up. On screen this will make the lighting look very high key which is what we want for this segment of the music video. Naturalistic lighting is something that you would tend to find within an indie music video as the indie genre likes to present a natural artist with natural surroundings. This naturalism is also relatable to the majority of audiences.
Throughout the first chorus our music video we will be displaying footage of the artist and her boyfriend, however we want to make this footage look like its a good memory from early on in the relationship that the artist is thinking about. To do this we will film at around midday so that the sun is at its highest, giving the footage a warm feel to it. We will then alter the colour in the editing process to make the footage look aged and bright, portraying happiness and positivity.
Within the second chorus, we will again be showing footage of the artist and her boyfriend, hoever this time we want the footage to look darker to connote how the relationship is turning bad. To create this feel we will be filming in the evening, to give a darker and more dangerous feel to the footage. This will contrast well with the previous sections as they will consist of lighter and more sepia toned colours, whereas this section will have low-key lighting and consist of darker colours, including the colours of our clothing and our surroundings. This decision in lighting and colour will challenge the conventions of the indie genre, as it will give off a more grungy vibe rather than indie. Thiswill hopefully give our music video a unique and original feel with an indie song contrasting with grungy visuals. However I think that this will work with the song and it's message and will still follow indie in the sense that the message of the song is being promoted rather than the artist.
The lighting and colour of a music video must be planned out very well because it contributes to the atmosphere of the music video. The lighting and colour must match the genre and your intentions on he music videos' mood, otherwise it would break the music video and won't be relatable to your target audience.
Editing plays a big part with the music video production. The editing process consists of taking all of the filmed footage and placing it in a specific order by cutting the footage and using transitions. The editing style of a music video is very important as it brings your footage to life and gives it a certain atmosphere, for example: an action sequence would consist of fast pace editing and straight cuts, whereas a romantic scene would consist of slow pace editing and possibly cross-dissolve transitions. By using specific editing styles and following certain codes and conventions, you can make your product relatable to your chosen genre/target audience.
Our footage with an 'Aged' and 'Mask' effect.
To edit our music video we will be using Final Cut Pro X. I want our music video to look edgy in order to challenge the conventions of indie, therefore I will be using a lot of effects and tints when editing. During the music video there will be sections that show previous events of the artist and her boyfriend, which I will edit to look as though these are memories that the artist is thinking about. To make this evident I will use an aged effect to differentiate between the present and the memories. I will also like to use an effect called 'mask' which creates a black, feathered border. This gives the footage a 'polaroid' feel to it, implying that the footage is a memory.
Our footage with a fast-motion effect.
Another editing effect I would like to use is a fast motion effect. I think that presenting footage in fast motion (such as traffic) could portray the fast-moving relationship between the artist and her boyfriend. This effect represents the message within the song and therefore promotes the music, which is conventional to the indie genre.
Our footage with colour tints and a cross-dissolve transition to show a gradation in colour.
I would also like to use colour tints and cross-dissolve transitions. The bridge in the song 'The Apple Tree' is a lot slower. For this section of the song I was thinking that we could take our footage and cut it into two. The first section would have a very vivid and colourful tint, whereas the section section would have a black and white tint. I would then like to link these sections with a cross-dissolve so that it looks like the colour is being drained and taken away. This would represent the end of the relationship. This brings the lyrics of the song to life, essentially promoting the music which is conventional to indie.
I believe that it is important to plan your editing styles or at least have an idea of your editing styles since the editing process is such an important part of a music video production. It is also a very time consuming task therefore it is best to be organised.
The purpose of the artists image is to promote the artist in a certain fashion and allow the artist to be relatable and to build a relationship with the audience. Artists are constantly changing their image in order to put themselves in the media and to please their ageing target audience. By doing this they are also able to attract different audiences, consequently widening their fan base. Stars such as Miley Cyrus, Rihanna and Britney Spears are popular for constantly changing their style and sound.
For our music video we want to give the artist an edge. Inspired by 90's grunge, we would like the artist to look rough and rebellious instead for steering towards the predictable Nina Nesbitt indie-pop fashion. The reason for this decision is to move away from the artist that we've chosen and break the stereotypical conventions of indie-pop, therefore giving an original feel to our video.
Within our music video I (playing the artist) will be wearing different outfits consisting of garments such as flannel shirts and leather jackets (inspired from the image on the left). Clothing such as ripped jeans, bandanas and doctor marten boots will be worn to give off a rebellious vibe - conventional to our 'grunge' take on the song.
To the right is the outfit that I wore during the performance section. As you can see this outfit is inspired by the picture above, having red tartan, denim and leather jackets in common. I decided to wear an oversized jacket because Drew is seen wearing a lot of oversized clothes. This shows that my portrayal of the artist is still in love with Drew and is trying to find ways to remember him.
The hairstyle was inspired by Rihanna's "We Found Love" hairstyle as we felt that this was an edgy and unique hairstyle and isn't expected within the indie genre. Therefore by using a grungy hairstyle similar to this then we would be able to challenge and break the conventions of the indie genre.
I want Drew and I to wear similar outfits in order to show our 'bond'. I feel that by wearing similar clothes, we will display to audiences our characters affection for each other and their inseparability. For example we could both wear a lot of denim, tartan and leather. This also adds to the grungy style that we are trying to portray. It would be affective if we both wore doctor martens throughout the video, as this would again emphasise our inseparability. We feel that this would contribute to the meaning of the song and the narrative, therefore relating to indie.
In the bedroom scene I think that it would be a good idea to wear the shirt that Drew wore in camden (previously in the music video), the dark blue flannel shirt. This will show how the artist is infatuated by Drew and wants to wear his clothes to feel closer to him. Finally, for my final outfit, I want to wear something very plain to portray the artist's drain of emotion. Perhaps an oversized coat (again similar to Drew's style), a white top and distressed jeans ripped at the knees. The distress of the jeans will represent the artist's frustration and heartbreak. I feel it would be appropriate to let my hair down and messy in order to show how the artist doesn't care about anything except for the loss of her boyfriend. This adds to the emotion of the song which therefore relates to indie in the sense that it's promoting the music.
The purpose of cinematography is to show the audience different point of views and angles throughout the music video. Camera angles, positioning and movement can display locations, iconography and the posture, expression and image of the artist. A wide variety of cinematography is used in order to capture different images and to create a narrative and relationship with the audience in order to make a music video successful.
Here are a selection of camera shots that we will be using:
Example: Mid Shot
We will be using a mid shot to show the use of a guitar within our music video. This will display our use of iconography and the use of instruments will relate to the indie genre. The mid shot will allow the audience to have a clear view of the artist singing and playing guitar and will promote the performance section of our music video. This is conventional to an indie music video as it promotes the music. This would also help the audience build a relationship with the artist as they will understand their musical talent.
Example: High-angled Establishing Shot
We have a particular high angle establishing shots in mind which will show the artist and the boyfriend in the middle of a crowded area with them standing still and everybody else walking around them. This would portray how they are oblivious to everything surrounding them. This therefore emphasises the narrative and the lyrics which is therefore conventional to the indie genre.
Example: Close Up
Finally, we will be using a variety of close ups. For example, here is a close up of Drew underwater. This close up allows the audience to observe Drew's facial expression, which is very blank and emotionless. This shows that he is in such a bad state of mind that he is no longer in control of his body and senses. Rather than having a dramatic death scene we felt that this was more affective as it shows that he is so mislead and unwell that he has lost control. This is conventional to the indie genre as it expresses the emotion of the song and makes the lyrics come to life. The music is therefore being emphasised which is the purpose of the indie genre.
The purpose of setting within a music video is to give the music video an appropriate atmosphere that will relate with the target audience. The location will set the mood and the choice of iconography will bring life to the music video, allowing audiences too see what the artist is experiencing - ultimately allowing audiences to build a bond with the artist. Using specific iconography, such as instruments, will help display the indie genre we are trying to put across as this will be promoting the music rather than the artist. Specific setting and iconography will also relate to specific target audiences. Setting and iconography can also be used to break the stereotypical conventions of the music genre that one is following.
A screenshot of our footage taken in Brick Lane.
We will be including locations such as Brick Lane, Liverpool Street, Camden, a forest. Locations like isolated forests are quite quirky, therefore will relate to indie audiences. We will also be filming sections at Drew's house to display the relationship between the artist and her boyfriend and to show how close they are. We wanted to use more urban locations such as Brick Lane and Camden in order to break the conventions of the indie genre, therefore hopefully making our music video more original. The quirkiness of the city streets will represent the artist, hopefully causing the audience to relate to her and the music video.
In contrast to the urban locations, we will be using a deserted forest throughout the performance sections. Forests are quite quirky, but are also very naturalistic which definitely relates to the indie genre. The emptiness of the forest will imply how empty, lonely and heartbroken the artist is feeling after the loss of her boyfriend. This will add to the emotion and meaning of the song which will consequently promote the music - which is one of the main purposes of the indie genre.
We will be using iconography such as drugs and alcohol in order to show how the addiction is taking over the boyfriend's mentality and body. This will add to the impact of the storyline. However the main piece of iconography that we will be using is a guitar. The use of a guitar will display the musical ability of the artist and will promote her as a singer/songwriter rather than an image. Indie artists tend to use instruments within their music videos for the same reason - because they would rather be sold for their talent rather than their image. Therefore our use of a guitar is conventional to the indie genre and will relate to indie audiences.
Setting and iconography is therefore very important to consider when planning a music video. The micro elements drastically contribute to the visuals of the music video, giving it a certain atmosphere and allowing it to either follow or challenge your chosen music genre. This will ultimately relate to your chosen target audience.
The point of a target audience is to give an advertised product a purpose and to make it presentable and understandable. This is achieved by the artist of the product following particular codes and conventions throughout their work which relate to a specific target audience. We carried out types of research such as questionnaires and vox pops so that we could gain opinions from people that vary in their taste in music in order to gain non-biased results. We surveyed 40 people with our questionnaires and 5 people with our vox pops. We surveyed such a large number, again, to gain a large variety of fair results.
I think that our vox pops were very successful as we surveyed 5 people who varied vastly in age. It allowed us to understand what genre of music the older and younger generations prefer which will consequently help us understand what our target audience should be for our music video. One of the key questions that we included in our vox pops was 'Do you prefer a fast paced or low paced music video?' The majority of people said that they preferred a fast pace music video therefore we have decided that we will include fast pace editing styles throughout our music video. This has backed up our idea of displaying memories between the artist and her boyfriend, perhaps we will shorten and edit these memory clips to play quickly and in fast motion in order to suit the audience's preferred pace. Another key question that we asked was 'Do you prefer a performance based or a narrative based music video?' Most people said that they prefer a narrative based music video as they like a music video to have a meaning behind it. From this we have learnt that it would be appropriate to include more narrative based footage than performance based footage.
We also researched into subcultures. Subcultures within the music industry are demonstrated by people who position themselves outside of the mainstream and unite through a common value system, taste and neophyte. These subcultural gangs hold value in conformity and rebellion and have an attitude towards capitalism. Grant McCracken is a media theorist who believes that the post modern world within the music industry is filled with diverse creativity and that there are so many new ideologies that it is impossible that all subcultures come from one culture. The CCCS however, disregard McCracken's theory and says that all subcultures come from one culture and are a rebellious creation against the mainstream. Finally, Hedbige's belief reflects on both McCracken's and the CCCS's, as he states that deep down all subcultures are the same (a rebellious creation against the mainstream), therefore he refers to them as 'little cultures'.
In conclusion, our research task has been extremely useful and valuable. By researching into subcultures, we believe that our music video follows the theory of Grant McCracken. We have chosen this since our music video is not influenced by the rebellion against the mainstream, however it does consist of new ideologies and individual elements that don't follow the mainstream pop genre.
Here are our results presented as pie charts.We felt that by doing this we would be able to compare, evaluate and understand our results more accurately:
When researching into target audiences and their opinions on a certain product, it is wise to produce a questionnaire as you will gather a variety of answers in which you can compare and evaluate. When presenting questionnaires, it is useful to share you questionnaire with a vast amount of people who vary in age, gender and characteristics. This is so that you are guaranteed non-biased results. Below is a copy of a questionnaire that we created in order to research into our potential target audience. We handed this questionnaire out to 40 people to answer:
'Stars' are constantly changing their sound and image over time to please their target audience. According to Dyer, the term 'star' refers to a mthological set of meanings that are used to construct and sell a performer to an audience. The common values of a star include:
Youthfulness
Rebellion
Sexual
magnetism
Originality
Creative/talent
Aggression
Success
against the odds
Disregard
for social values such as drugs and sex
Conspicuous consumption of sex, drugs and material
goods
Dyer's theory is based upon two paradoxes, which supports his belief that stars are 'incomplete'. Firstly, that stars must be simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary - an ordinary person with and extraordinary talent, causing the person to become extraordinary. Secondly, that the star must be simultaneously absent and present. Absent in the press as the artist takes a break in order to produce more music, and present through the release and promotion of the artist's album/single and through performing.
Miley Cyrus 2007
Miley Cyrus 2012
Artists are constantly updating their image and music in order to set trends and please their ageing audience/attract different audiences to widen their fan base. The artist who I have chosen to focus on, who is constantly and drastically changing her image is Miley Cyrus.Miley Cyrus found her fame playing the lead in the Disney Channel serious 'Hannah Montana'. After playing a singing sensation in 'Hannah Montana', she soon started up her singing career and became a role model for young female teenagers and a teen pop princess. Being such a young age herself, her music videos were aimed at a much younger audience. However, over the years, Cyrus has been proven to constantly change her image in order to please older audiences, attract a wider fan base, and to break away from the 'Disney Channel' image. Here is one of the first music videos that she released to launch her music career:
MILEY CYRUS - 'START ALL OVER'
In 2007, Miley Cyrus originally promoted a rock sound in her music and followed rock/pop conventions within her music videos. 'Start all Over' follows an alternative rock genre with its strong drum beat and electric guitar riffs. She displays a stereotypical rock image, wearing black clothing and red skinny jeans. The music video connotes how crazy Miley's life has become by displaying many 'random' events within the narrative. The music video starts with Miley going to bed, representing the end of a day and the 'starting all over' of a new one. One of Goodwin's paradox's (relationship between the visuals and the lyrics) is used within this music video. During the second chorus as Miley sings "out of the fire and into the fire again" a video clip is presented of Miley dancing with an enormous fire in the background. The use of fire also helps portray her rock image as it is stereotypically conventional to a heavy metal or rock genre. Simultaneously, Miley is presented as a light-hearted pop performer through the use of dancing. Along with other dancers, Miley is shown performing a dance routine, displaying to her audiences that she is fun and is talented within dance as well as singing. This would relate to younger audiences, particularly female, as they would look up to Cyrus and her talent/likability and aspire to be like her.
Towards the end of the music video a performance section is displayed of Miley performing with a rock band. This follows another Goodwin paradox - the relationship between the visuals and the music. The instruments that are shown being played are also heard in the song. The instruments also present Miley as a rock artist. Within this music video, Miley follows Dyer's Theory and presents some of the common values of a star, such as youthfulness, originality and creativity/talent. She also displays Dyer's paradox that an artist must be simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary as she is presented as a very natural and ordinary teenage girl within the music video, however has extraordinary talents and is experiencing extraordinary situations.
MILEY CYRUS - "CAN'T BE TAMED"
'Can't be Tamed' was the music video that demonstrated a drastic change in Miley Cyrus's image and sound. Unlike the previous music video, 'Can't be Tamed' presents darker colours and low-key lighting. Many of Goodwin's beliefs are displayed within this music video also, such as showing a relationship between the visuals and the lyrics and music, voyeurism, and following a performance-based structure. The visuals/narrative throughout the music video clearly display the message of the song 'Can't be Tamed'. Iconography such as a giant birdcage is used to contain Miley, however when she breaks out and dances through the corridors, it is evident that she 'can't be tamed' and is presented as rebellious, dominant and independent. Voyeuristic treatments are used to present Miley in a revealing black leather leotard which proves Dyer's theory that she has certainly altered her image. Cyrus's fashion within this music video becomes a lot more provocative in order to attract older audiences, particularly male. The artist is represented as an admirable model for young women as well as a sex symbol for men.
Dyer's theory is evident within this music video as Miley Cyrus shows more common values of a star. She presents a strong mixture of youthfulness, rebellion, sexual magnetism, originality, creativity/talent and aggression. However, she is displayed wearing giant, black, feathered wings, portraying a bird-like creature and is therefore presented as much more of an extraordinary artist than she was previously through her clothing, originality and body language.
MILEY CYRUS - 'WE CAN'T STOP'
'We Can't Stop' is one of Miley Cyrus's latest music videos promoting her latest change in music and image. Unlike Miley's previous songs, 'We Can't Stop' has many references to drugs and sex, for example "got somebody here, I might get some now" and "trying to get a line in the bathroom". Much like 'Can't Be Tamed', Miley is continuously aiming to please older audiences in order to break free from her childhood image and widen her fan base. Cyrus promotes her new look within this music video, display her cropped blonde and her more edgy fashion sense. In 'We Can't Stop' Miley wears a lot of white clothing, maybe to connote her new artistry and to show that she has broken free from her childhood image. She uses voyeurism to attract attention - by wearing revealing clothing she informs the audience that she has grown up and is rebelling from her past. The visuals obviously match the lyrics as the music video shows Miley partying and having a good time (displaying her youthfulness), however to appear to create a sexual magnetism and appeal to male audiences as much as female, Cyrus appears to flaunt herself provocatively, a feature that clearly contrasts with her first music video. In relation to Dyer's theory, Miley's body language and clothing displays a lot of sexual magnetism, more so than 'Can't Be Tamed' or 'Start All Over', therefore creates a lot of hype and widens her fan base.
'We Can't Stop' definitely follows Dyer's 'Star Theory'. Most of the common values of star (youthfulness, rebellion, sexual magnetism, originality, creativity/talent, aggression, and references to drugs and sex) are evident within her latest music video, which has increased since her first music video. Miley also displays how she is simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary, as she displays an ordinary persona however has extraordinary creativity within her music and music video. With the release of her music video, she has also been simultaneously present through the media and public performances.
For the 2013 VMA's, Miley Cyrus performed 'We Can't Stop' whilst wearing a nude coloured bra and bottoms and dancing provocatively around Robin Thicke. Relating to Dyer's theory, the youthfulness, sexual magnetism and rebellion within this performance was used to create hype and put Miley's name in the media, therefore promoting herself as a product because of her outrageous performance. After attracting so much attention, this performance was guaranteed to promote Miley and widen her fan base.
The reason for Miley's drastic change in image, music, videography and behaviour is to break free and rebel against the 'Disney Channel' label that she developed after finding fame on Hannah Montana, and instead be a successful singer and performer. Using Dyer's theory she has been able to do so. For better or for worse is an indecisive question for audiences, however, over the past few years Miley Cyrus has definitely attracted a lot of attention and has managed to attract different audiences and widen her fan base.
Our chosen music artist, Nina Nesbitt, interests me because of her indie genre. We wanted an upbeat song that doesn't follow the very popular danc genre, a song that stills maintains an acoustic feel. Nina Nesbitt is a Scottish singer/songwriter best known for her single "Stay Out" which reached No.21 in the UK charts. She gained popularity when supporting Ed Sheeran on his European Tour. Nina Nesbitt is signed to Universal Music Group and has released a selection of EP's including Stay Out and The Apple Tree.
'STAY OUT' - NINA NEST
Within the music video to 'Stay out' by Nina Nesbitt, Dyer's Star Theory is mildly used. The common values of a star that are displayed are youthfulness and creativity/talent whilst Nesbitt is displayed as simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary - ordinary because a very natural narrative is presented with ordinary mise-en-scene, however she is presented as extraordinary through her talent of singing, guitar-playing and songwriting.
Some of Goodwin's beliefs are presented within this music video such as the relationship between the visuals and the music/lyrics, displaying performance/narrative/concept and genre characteristics. The visuals match the lyrics as the song talks about going out with friends and having fun, which is what the video displays. Locations like London streets and clubs show that Nina and her friends are going to 'stay out' all night. Genre characteristics are also demonstrated. Besides the simultaneously quirky yet ordinary feel to the music video, Nina is also displayed playing a guitar whilst singing. This piece of iconography is expected in an indie music video as it promotes the music and the talent of the artist, rather than selling the artist as a product. Along with the performance segments, there is also a clear narrative to the music video, which is displaying a group of friends staying out and having fun together.
Nina Nesbitt is represented as a very ordinary girl in this music video. She is presented in very casual clothing, such as a leather jacket and jeans, surrounded by ordinary friends. Her normality is relatable to the target audience (15-25 year olds) and allows people to admire her and aspire to be like her. This relationship that is built with the artist is what sells the song and the creativity of the music video, which is therefore conventional to the indie genre.
In terms of cinematography, a commonly used camera shot would be establishing shots. These establishing shots are used in order to display what Nina is surrounded by, for example; locations, friends and mise-en-scene. This shows the audience all the events that Nina has experienced in one night therefore proving that she has had a fun night with her friends. Again, this relates to the lyrics therefore promotes the song, which relates to the indie genre.
'BOY' - NINA NESBITT
Like in the 'Stay Out' music video, only a few of the common star values (created by Richard Dyer) were followed, such as youthfulness and creativity/talent. She is also represented as ordinary and extraordinary again through her ordinary clothing and behaviour yet extraordinary talent. As apposed to the 'Stay Out' however, 'Boy' has much more of a quirky narrative.
Goodwin's theory is also evident within this music video, such as; the relationship between the visuals and the lyrics, genre characteristics and a mix of performance and narrative. The biggest link between the lyrics and the visuals that I noticed was during the chorus's. As Nina sings "this was a waste" a pile of screwed up wasted paper begins to build in Nesbitt's bedroom. This slight quirkiness is conventional to the indie genre. A piece of iconography nearer the end of the music video is a definite characteristic of the indie genre. A mid shot is used to show a microphone within one of the performance sections to present Nina Nesbitt recording the vocals to 'Boy'. This is conventional to the indie genre as is proves that Nesbitt is musically talented and writes her own songs. This promotes her as a songwriter instead of a product, and promotes her music, which is a strong characteristic of the indie genre. Unlike her previous music video, 'Boy' is completely and simultaneously performance and narrative based, as Nesbitt is continuously singing throughout the music video however there is still a narrative behind it. Again, the performance segments are conventional to the indie genre as they are presenting the talent of the artist, however these sections still remain ordinary, therefore they don't sell the artist as a product. Much like in 'Stay Out', Nina Nesbitt remains to be represented as an ordinary girl, which makes her relatable to her target audience.
Researching into our chosen artist has helped us understand the intentions behind Nina Nesbitt and her style. By analysing her music videos we have gathered that she is a very naturalistic artist who likes to incorporate quirkiness within her videos, but still maintain an ordinary feel. We have realised that she is very passionate about songwriting, therefore tries to promote her music rather than herself. By researching into our artist we have learnt that we wanted to try and break away from Nina Nesbitt's characteristics in order to put a unique twist on our music video.
Once, once upon a time Thought that you'd be mine But then you let your colors shine Girl realises the boy wasn't what she thought he was. I wanted to believe True colours shine for the worst. That you were right for me Well how could I be so naive Now we're broken Forget me not Relationship is broken. I'm falling down and I can't stop Let's go down to the apple tree Naive as Adam and Eve Girl metaphorically describes herself as the couple Oh oh oh, oh oh oh Adam & Eve, too naive to see her boyfriend cheat. Let's go down to the apple tree Fighting against gravity Oh oh oh, oh oh oh Falling too deep Wants him to fight for her and the relationship. So can you catch me Twice, twice I caught you out She let it go once, and her boyfriend took a chanceMy head was in the clouds and cheated again. But I woke up and came around To see, you play your stupid games Mind games are played. Temptation in your way Cause I went so fast from love to hate Now I'm broken Girl is typically heartbroken. Is this your plan I'm falling down and I don't understand Let's go down to the apple tree As naive as Adam and Eve Oh oh oh, oh oh oh Let's go down to the apple tree Chorus repeated Fighting against gravity Oh oh oh, oh oh oh Falling too deep So can you catch me You keep playing, you keep playing Mind games are continued through for e.g Jealousy. I keep praying, I keep praying That we could have been us You keep playing, you keep playing I keep saying, I keep saying That it should have been us So let's go down to the apple tree As naive as Adam and Eve Oh oh oh, oh oh oh Chorus repeated Let's go down to the apple tree Fighting against gravity Oh oh oh, oh oh oh Falling too deep, can you catch me She fell too deep in love with her Falling too deep, mmmm, can you catch me boyfriend and lost independence. Falling too deep, can you catch me, can you catch me Falling too deep
This song connotes a stereotypical break up between the artist and her boyfriend. The narrative of the song evolves around a relationship that falls apart when the boyfriend consistently plays games. This is obvious through the chosen lyrics. We would like our music video the follow indie conventions by incorporating a performance section to express the artist's musical ability, but we would also like to incorporate narrative based segments that expresses the message within the song. There is no real hidden meanings within the lyrics, the subject and storyline is very broad and can be interpreted in many ways. Therefore I think it would be a good idea to display a narrative with a twist ending in order to make the music video unpredictable, however we must make sure the narrative still works with the lyrics. Rather than displaying a relationship that falls apart when the boyfriend is unfaithful (which is predictable), I think that our video could display a deeper meaning, such as how the influence of drugs, alcohol and relationships can effect an individual. I think the male in the relationship (Drew) should be the one to be influenced by drugs and alcohol, which begins to tear the relationship apart. When the artist (myself) leaves Drew because of his choice of priorities, Drew gains a severe addiction which eventually ends his life - leaving the artist alone and broken hearted. This ideology is instantly supported by the first line "Once, once upon a time, I thought that you'd be mine" and the pre-chorus "Now we're broken...I'm falling down and I can't stop". The chorus "Let's go down to the apple tree, naive as Adam and Eve" could imply that the artist wishes that she and her late boyfriend could go back the beginning of their relationship where things were good. Drew's drug and alcohol would become evident during the second verse, supported by the lyrics "Twice, twice I caught you out...Temptation in your way". I think that the second pre-chorus "Now I'm broken, was this your plan" shows that not only does the artist miss her boyfriend, but she is also angry at him in a way for abusing his health so much that he essentially left her - alone and broken. "I keep praying, I keep praying, that we could have been us" could imply how the artist prays that her boyfriend was still alive and that they could be as happy as they were before the drugs and alcohol was introduced. This is followed by "I keep saying, I keep saying, that it should have been us". This could either mean that the artist wishes that she had died with him or that he was still with her - just as long as they were together. By carefully analysing the lyrics, I have been capable of finding a deep and meaningful message. I think that this interpretation of the lyrics could result in an effective narrative and a moving music video. The reason I like this interpretation is because it is unpredictable and doesn't follow the stereotypical narrative of a love song, yet is still a very naturalistic narrative which is conventional to the indie genre. I will have to present this interpretation to the rest of my group members and see what they think before making this interpretation final.
I did recieve some constructive critisim also, such as: "Perhaps you could alter the contrast/colour within the death scene to make it look more tense and proffesional". This is definitely something I will take into consideration as I would like the death scene to be as powerful as possible. Somebody also suggested altering the titles to make it look more proffesional. Again this is something I will take into consideration as I wanted to music video to look as proffesional as possible, however I would like to keep the large 'Georgia Ray' title as this style of title is very modern as tends to appear alot in recent music videos.
