Generic Conventions
I worked with my group and discussed and identified the key generic conventions of music videos. I have put what we thought were the most relevant to us in capital letters.
I chose to analysis ''VCR'' by The XX. I created an analysis of this video and explored the generic conventions, star motifs and intertextual references among other things.
''VCR'' - The XX
click the documents below to view my analysis
Music Video Directors
Richard Ayoade
As well as being a music video producer, Richard is also a well known comedian and actor best known for starring in ‘The IT Crowd’. His music videos have been recognised for their individuality and sometimes comic nature. A lot have a narrative element and therefore tell a story, usually involving the band or artist. The group and I feel the elements in Ayoade's work appeal to us and we would consequently like to take inspirations from his videos use in our own.
''Vlad The Impaler'' - Kasabian
Ayoade has chosen to make the video narrative-based. He uses famous comedian, Noel Fielding which adds a comic element and is a contrast to the brutal scenes in the video as the audience take it less seriously. The video has been edited to look like it has been filmed on an old camera which adds to the horror element. The video’s narrative fits with the lyrics and with the rock genre. A colour scheme of dark, neutral tones makes the introduction of the blood more vivid and the camera work looks ‘handmade’ which accentuates the horror.
Below are a selection of videos directed by Richard Ayoade
My group and I have looked at these due to the focus on visual-style and narrative and we also thought the way Ayoade uses comedy works well for the bands.
''Kape Cod Kwassa Kwassa'' - Vampire Weekend
''Cornerstone'' - The Arctic Monkeys
Dougal Wilson
Dougal Wilson directs not only music videos but also commercials. Born in England, he worked as a copywriter before moving to London to pursue a career as a director. His work directing music videos include, ''Satisfaction'' for Benny Benassi, ''Tribulations'' for LCD Soundsystem and ''Take Me Back To Your House'' for Basement Jaxx. Wilson's commercial work has been for the likes of Orange, Stella Artois, Becks and Coca-Cola. He has won Best Director at the UK Creative and Design Awards twice and been awarded Gold, Silver and Bronze Lions at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival.
''Love Lost'' The Temper Trap
This video directed by Dougal Wilson shows a group of school children, obviously in a PE lesson/cross country event. The colours match the genre very well as the music conveys an atmospheric feel and the children's expressions are emotive but natural. The lyrics - 'our love was lost, but now we've found it, our love was lost, and hope was gone' - show a sense of previous desperation which is shown in the children's faces. I particularly like this video as it is a simple idea but keeps the viewer interested throughout as there is a slight comical side to it and you are interested to discover how it will end.
Digipak Research
I have purposely selected these two album covers due to their simplicity and the way they are centered around one good image. The Mumford & Sons 'Sigh No More' album cover features the artists but in a more subtle way in an urban environment; this contrasts to their folk style music.The Laura Marling album cover uses a simple image and serif font to mirror the minimal and natural sound of her music.
Digipak
Digipak is a patented style of compact disc or DVD packaging, and is a registered trademark of AGI World Ltd., an Atlas Holding company
The most popular template is the 4 panel digipak. This is most commonly used for singles, however, for albums, the band may choose the 6 panel digipak with or without the 2CDs.The 4 panel digipak with a pocket/pouch is useful for artists wishing to include a poster or a separate insert.
Typically the digipak is made out of plastic with a paper insert, however Indie/Alternative bands seem to more often than not use a completely cardboard digipak rather than using any plastic.Music Advert Research
When reading through magazines such as NME and Q, it is apparent that the album/single adverts featured by bands and artists that fall under the Indie genre are minimal and are often a similar image or the same image as that featured on the album cover. This is to show continuity and keeps the viewer aware of the release as the same image is used repeatedly throughout the media. The adverts contain minimal text and the focus is usually on the image. The conventional things are obviously included such as band/artist/album/single name, release date and band/label website. Often, there are also reviews or 'star ratings' featured on the advert in order to show the popularity and blessing of the release from people within the media industry.
Audience Feedback
Having conducted a questionnaire, the results showed that the most popular genre of music was 'Indie'. This was apparent in the 16-25 age range which also showed 'Pop' and 'Rock' to be popular genre's; this made our decision to choose to produce an Indie music video even stronger. The two most popular music channels were MTV and NME; MTV being a channel showing the more mainstream music and NME being a more Indie/Alternative music channel. Our audience also
chose a Narrative-Based video as their preferred style of video; this partly influenced our creative decision to choose this style.
Pre-Liminary Task
Before embarking on the research and planning of the A2 Coursework, two class members and I created a Pre-Liminary Horror Teaser Trailer set in school. This was to become comfortable using the camera and tripod in a successful way i.e. using a variety of shots and focus pulls etc. As well as this, it enabled me to become familiar with the software Adobe Premiere-Pro to edit my footage. Having participating in this task, I compared the two briefs and decided that Jack, Elliot and I would be more suited to produce a music video and promotional package to demonstrate our creative skills.
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