Conventions of a Music Video

Analysis of previous media students' A2 work

In order to gain more knowledge about what my music video could look like, and what is possible to achieve, I have looked at previous student Amy Bartlett's music video. I really enjoyed watching this video and thought it was very unique and special because it was unlike any other video I saw from previous years. She chose to use a theme of roses throughout the whole project and music video and this was very consistent throughout the video. She also seemed to be inspired by 'Alice in Wonderland' which was reflected throughout the video. Some examples of this was the actors' hair, which was long and wavy with a headband, just like Alice in the story. Costume and mise-en-scene was vital in this video to make audiences realise the Alice in Wonderland theme and the actors' outfit with the knee-high socks was excellent in doing this. The tea party is an essential part of the story and therefore is included in the music video. Even the playing cards are shown in the music video. Although the story is traditionally quite light and fun, this music video is portraying it as quite dark and mysterious, which is apparent due to the lighting. The lighting is low key and dark and creates a fairly sad tone to the video. The sepia green/brown lighting used adds to this mysterious and dark tone and the lyrics reinforce this. The location of the forest used adds to the intrigue of the video, because it is dark and forests are known to be quite scary and mysterious. The director most likely chose to use the forest as it the key location in 'Alice in Wonderland' and the fact that it was shot at night time in the dark makes it even more unique and creative. The painting of the rose in white suggests innocence, and the director seems to be using this as a theme for her music video, which would explain the inspiration of Alice in Wonderland for the music video.

In terms of strengths and weaknesses of this video, I think the strengths outweigh the weaknesses. The props used were very detailed and interesting and show that the director has put a lot of effort during the production process, as well as planning process. Also, the sepia tone effect makes the video really stand out and makes it much more memorable than other videos with no such lighting. It makes the video much more interesting and adds to the narrative of the video. The actor chosen for this video is believable in her role and this is very important and I intend to find an actor who can perform just as well. It is very important to find a good actor to be in your music video because if they are not grabbing the attention of the audience, then the music video will be much less successful. In terms of weaknesses, the only main thing I picked up on was that in the woods the camera is slightly too shaky, which makes it harder for audiences to focus on what is happening in the video. Also sometimes the miming is out of sync with the song, which is a vital problem.

Analysis of previous students' A2 work

I have chosen to investigate past student Amy Bartletts' A2 work. In this slideshare document, I have analysed her digipak and magazine advert. I found her work really interesting and different from any others I saw. I really like how she used the unique theme of roses throughout all her print work, I would like to do something similar for my print work.

Analysis of previous students a2 work from medialauren

Research Into Band/Artist I Have Chosen

Originally, I was thinking of using OneRepublic's song 'Marchin on' as the song for my music video. However, I decided against this when I realised it would not go well with my concept for my narrative, therefore I decided to use Of Monsters and Men's song 'The Yellow Light'. In order to learn more about the band, I decided to do some research on it.

Diary Entry 12

Recently I have been completing research for my music video, in particular research for a location. I travelled to Tottenham Court Road in Central London to scout locations however decided it would be too busy to shoot there, and also there was no real pieces of nature surrounding the area, which I really want to include in my music video.
So, I then started investigating other locations and came across South Bank in Central London. I think a Central London location would be great for my music video, because in London there is such variety, visually, there are beautiful parks as well as tall buildings and architecture.
Also, I still want to include people wearing t-shirts with the lyrics on, and the main lyric to include will be 'Marchin' On' because I'm thinking about using One Republic's song 'Marchin' On'. i have decided that if I used this key lyric I won't need many people to wear them, and thus it will be cheaper. I think I'm going to use about 3 or 4 people for this task.

Initial Planning Ideas - Possible Location

I have been thinking about using South Bank in Central London as the location for my music video. I chose this location because my video will involve my actors walking down a street or pavement, and in terms of practicality, there is lots of space at South Bank, which will make it much easier to get good shots and a variety of shots from different angles.

Also, I really like the mixture of nature and the architecture, as well as the tall lamp posts and trees.
This place also has lots of benches, which is perfect for my idea about having a shot with someone sitting down reading a newspaper with one of the lyrics embedded in it.
This location has amazing views of Central London, so will provide a great visual for the audiences, as well as the narrative that will be involved.

Actor Release

I have got a actor release form and asked my actor to complete it. This allows me to have her full permission to use her in all of my work for my music video.