Reflection: By making doing the screen test as a whole class, it really saved us some time as we could find people with good chemistry like Haresha & Me who I thought worked well on screen. However I don't think it was that satisfactory of a screen test because I didn't really get much of it as everyone might've been too shy or awkward to perform to the best of their abilities. But at least in the end I got to find potential actors for the music video along with some ideas on how to present the actor on screen. n
Our group has decided on creating a music video in the genre of some R&B & indie mixed music videos. Here is the research I've made into the conventions of our genre
What conventions does it conform to?
- Long cuts
- Scenes are simple & there is no narrative
- Simple camera movements, no crane needed
- Reappearing Locations (limited amount)
- There is a focus on the atmosphere which has a similar feel to feel and emotion with the song.
What conventions does it subvert?
- Often times Indie music videos include diverse casting as they would cast family or friends but in this case they were a not wide variety of Indonesians
- It uses a quite bright Sam Kolder color grading type look to emphasize the sunny happy feel but this contrasts with usually bluer & darker indie music videos
What representations are there? (people/places/events)
- The band, they are represented as people who can break the 4th wall & performing while others seem indifferent to their activities almost.
- Young Indonesians: They are seen as cheery, happy going people who are enjoying the 'sunny day'
- Indonesia: The band has many scenes in a villa, representing only a clean & somewhat luxurious place. There were also scenes with the road but not much of it was shown, only a few trees and lots of leaves on the small empty road.
What technical elements are used to give meaning to the representations?
1. Camera:
- Wide angles in most of the scenes with people in order to show the scenery & how sunny it is, reinforcing the "sunny" narrative of the music video.
- Medium angle shots in some scenes where there is somebody as the subject, this helps put the focus on them & their happy go lucky expressions and movements, all the while keeping the background still in frame.
2. Mise en Scene:
- It is shot on sunny days where it seems bright, paired up with happy looking actors having fun, this would leave an impression to the viewer that sunny days are filled with joy.
- The music video often changes between aspect ratios, closeups are shown with the full 16:9 screen, while more cinematic shots or shots where the band isn't performing have a more 4:3 aspect ratio to make the video seem somewhat dated.
- The color palette of the costumes and props are very bright and flashy, reflecting the themes of the song and helps the viewer further immerse themselves into a bright and playful, sunny world.
3. Edit
- The band cuts between their parts where they're performing and their more narrative scenes to provide a more dynamic experience that blends together to make the music flow while still having that "happy" narrative emphasized.
- Pacing is quite slow and most shots linger for a while, 8-10 seconds on average per shot, this longer cutting helps create a chill environment as it doesn't leave the viewer constantly readjusting to different shots.
4. Sound
- The lipsyncing in the performance scenes make it feel as if a person experiencing the sunny day is talking and somewhat promoting the feel and positivity of it.
Genre / Sub genre:
- Indie rock / Alternative rock
What conventions does it conform to?
- Having a Performance element in the song
- Using live show type scenes where the band is performing
- A vintage look to keep camera costs low by not needing super high quality shots
What conventions does it subvert?
- An abstract story telling, it doesn't use a linear story telling method to emphasize its message of nostalgia
- Cuts are not synced with the music, this further emphasizes the abstract feeling & atmosphere of the video.
What representations are there? (people/places/events)
- The band, they're represented here as performers in classic rock attire, reinforcing the 'nostalgic' meaning.
- The stage, the stage and its lights shows the audience that the video is supposed to be set in the past before concert venues had big bright screens behind the stage, instead having a few light fixtures instead
What technical elements are used to give meaning to the representations?
1. Camera:
- Close ups are used not only to focus on the singer's acting, but it also is a kind of a callback to how camera operators in old rock live music videos used to zoom in on to the singer, the angle of the shot is also especially reminiscent of this as it would make sense for a live camera to be operating from where the shot is taken from.
- Tracking, some scenes have the camera follow the band member to engage and put the audience's focus on that particular member, this is also somewhat reminiscent of how live show cameras were operated then.
2. Mise en Scene:
- The shots were mostly dark, this has the effect of emphasizing that live performance feel, furthermore the lighting was set up to be not like modern ones, its larger and it puts the focus on performing members.
- Color pallette was a nostalgic and vintage look where the white balance was more orange and green for most of it however it changes depending on the scene, like blue when theyre on the tv and black and white on one of the drumming shots - They used the set design which evocative to 60s and 70s rock performance venues.
3. Edit
- There were many different length cuts used during the video, making the rhythm of how it cuts more in flow with the speed and tempo of the song, although they often do not cut in sync always
- Usage of grain and low clarity on the video makes it feel nostalgic as it feels like dated footage.
4. Sound
-
Small Research
1. Leave the Door Open - Silk Sonic (2021)
Target audience & how they're appealed to. Teen to adults of both genders (15-35) who enjoy R&B or soul music and who like music with a romantic narrative that comes with the lyrics. It also attracts viewers who are interested in retro styles. The video shows a band performing and this helps attract that retro viewer base, along with the warm tones, the instruments & outfits which wouldn't look out of place from the past, it helps catch the attention of those interested in that retro vibe that silk sonic has.
What would I like to use from this for my music video? I really liked how the band performed, because there was no narrative, to convey the emotions and message of the song, the band acted with facial expressions & their body language as they perform. I was greatly inspired of how important that kind of small acting is as it really helped with the romantic atmosphere even though there were no narrative scenes.
What would I like to avoid from this for my music video? Although it is unique to have all the scenes taken in one area and without a narrative, I think that it really makes the music video seem like a secondary thing to the actual song and not a complementary thing which I would like to emphasize.
2. Snooze - SZA (2023)
Target audience & how they're appealed to. Young adults of both genders (18-30), listeners to modern R&B or more relaxed hip hop, or listeners looking for the romantic and caring themes present in the song and video. The video shows different interactions between different kinds of couples, this can help relate the viewer to the content being displayed as they might feel like they were in a similar situation.
What would I like to use from this for my music video? The cinematography was very simple but effective at highlighting how provocative the video was. The shots themselves were also very good looking, with soft edges, glowing highlights, subtle chromatic aberration outlining the subjects the lens distortion vignetting the shots.
What would I like to avoid from this for my music video? Nearing the end, there is a sudden change in tone as the song also changes up, the transition of this is not done in a way which makes the second part seem like a conclusion to the video and more like the video being created specifically to emphasize the atmosphere of that part of the song, might leave viewers confused or thinking the song has already ended and changed to a different one.
3. Romantic Homicide - d4vd (2022)
Target audience & how they're appealed to. Young adults of both genders (18-30), Indie listeners or people who are seeking a more somber song which they can align their emotions with. The music video appeals to these people by having the themes of longing for a past relationship, this is shown through black and white flashbacks, and it further adds the lonely and sad feeling through mise en scene like having the actor seeming tired, back bent or lying on the floor, other aspects such as the inclusion of rain and how the actor is almost always seen acting alone can further stress the loneliness.
What would I like to use from this for my music video? How the actor/singer covers their eyes really helps him focus more on acting through his actions and by relying on more cinematography rather than stressing all his emotions through facial expressions only, this helps sell the feeling to me and I think the inclusion of something to limit the actor might help them act better.
What would I like to avoid from this for my music video? The first scene where the singer begins to sing and perform is a little too sudden as the shot before was more of a cinematic and background focused shot, I would like my music video to flow more easily and I think a way to avoid this is to have the scene begin a little before the actor starts singing or performing.
4. Die For You - Joji (2023)
Target audience & how they're appealed to. Teens to young adults (16-25), This video appeals to a younger audience who likes indie and slower music with more of a somber tone. The video somewhat reflects this although it is not clear as for the message because the usage of seemingly random footage, however it would work for a younger audience as the videos are interesting and short, it would work on appealing and retaining their attention as the average attention span nowadays is very low due to short form content, so constantly having random interesting short footage playing is a smart move
What would I like to use from this for my music video? The usage of bodycam shots really immersed the feeling that the singer is trying to convey as it feels like you are them and the song might be what they're feeling during the scene, using something similar with a POV or a over the shoulder shot for my music video might be good
What would I like to avoid from this for my music video? There were no direct narrative themes and the video would definitely not work without the song because of it, I think using random footage like this is very indie but it needs to be done with more of a narrative, like showing shots of something in relation to the lyrics.
5. EARFQUAKE - Tyler, The Creator (2019)
Target audience & how they're appealed to. Teens to young adults (16-25), by using very eye catching visuals reminiscent of the 80s & 90s with all the flashy mise en scene and it also includes almost absurd and random narrative where the venue starts burning and some foreshadowing in the intro, even having the cameraman fall down in the fire, this randomness might humor the younger generation as we often find random things amusing.
What would I like to use from this for my music video? The diegetic audio/dialogue from the intro really helped set up the amusing and interesting atmosphere which is carried through throughout the video, the inclusion of an intro to set up the music video really helps ease how we can convey our atmosphere as using the diegetic audio gives us many more methods.
What would I like to avoid from this for my music video? The lady who foreshadows the cigarette speaks again in the middle of the video and it might work for others I think its a little disruptive and having her act would be much better as it wouldn't take my focus off the song.
6. My Love Mine All Mine (2023)
Target audience & how they're appealed to. Young adults (18-25) who are looking for a romantic song with a somber tone. The music video captures this audience by using cool blue tones to emphasize the somberness all the while using a more square 4:3 ratio to make the video seem more filmic, furthermore the addition of film damage can help this, using a film look would help with the romance aspect as film has been romanticized recently due to being more richer and having that aesthetic which seems more fleeting and fragile.
What would I like to use from this for my music video? I would like to try & use various different aspect ratios for my music video to highlight different things, it would also help with shot composition as some shots may be easier to line up with either a wider or a narrower aspect ratio.
What would I like to avoid from this for my music video? The setting is too same and although it works very well for a short song 2minutes aprox. it might not work for longer songs as the scenery might get dull overtime.
Additional research I got to help me with ideas on how to create a music video
Production Company: Sony Music Entertainment Introduction : A branch of the Sony Company focused on the music and music video content.
Other content they produce: • Pop (ABBA, Adele, Backstreet boys) • Rock (AC/DC, Aerosmith, Alice in Chains) • Metal (Annihilator) • Jazz (Frank Sinatra) • Blues • R&B (Celine Dion) • Folk • Country Typical audience: • From teens to adults and older audiences 12-70 • Both male and female audiences • English speaking country citizen Psychographics: • Depends on the genre Company size and age: • 11,100 • Made in 1929 Most successful product: • We Are One (Ole Ola) [The Official 2014 FIFA World Cup Song] (Olodum Mix)
I have decided on researching on a variety of genres before I start this project, here are a few of the ones I am looking at.
Song, Artist
Genre/ Genre Conventions of music videos
What issue/social group was being represented? How was it being represented?
What did you like/dislike about the music video?
Yura Yunita - Dunia Tipu (2022)
Indonesian Pop - Indonesians Shots of the singer
Formal wear
Clean colors & clothing
Best Friends: laughing and having fun
Siblings: caring for eachother
Married couple : Understanding each other and forgiving
Couple: Young and loving
Singer: smiling, flowing and wearing white
How the video is intrusive to the song, it makes the song less full when listened to without the video as they are somewhat dependent on each other, leaving the gap where there is silence to have the audio from the video play.
Harry Styles - As it was (2022)
Pop Scenery shots
Shots of the environment
Can be expressive
A complex representation of a romantic relationship
Masculinity: he was wearing a dancer’s clothes while doing ballet like dancing which is not considered masculine
I liked concept of having the person be the only one who can see the 4th wall in the video and the extras being indifferent to their existence
I didn’t like the choreography or the way that they portrayed the relationship, it's too complex to get but it does add extra value to the video as it is separate from the music
Jamie T - Zombie (2014)
Indie Slow
Melancholy
Darker colour
Band
Zombies
Bar goers: people doing mundane activities like playing card games and drinking casually.
I didn't like how the video is too visual and how it distracted me from the actual song itself.
The Weekend - Blinding Lights (2020)
RnB More active
Close ups on the singer
Man: Living on the edge, implied to be not fully sober, living fast
Even if I don’t like how the video is intrusive to the song, the part where his POV was shown was pretty creative
The Beatles - Now & Then (2023)
Rock Traditional instruments
Guitar
Shots of the band
Deceased members revived with deepfakes and AI
Present members of the Beatles represented with their old colleagues and second hand footage.
I liked how the video added to the song with all the callbacks like the outfits and the old footage while also making it so that the song doesn’t lose any value when listened only
This post is where I track my progress throughout the project duration
Week
Start Date
Task
Blogpost Title
Content
Deadline
W1
30 September
Pre Production
Research
1
Brief
2
Team
3
Weekly Progress
4
Preliminary Research
Broad genre research
W3
W2
7 October
Research
5
Research: Industry
Who makes music videos?
W3
W3
14 October
Research
6
Research: Genre
Codes and Conventions of your genre
W4
W4
21 October
Plan
7
Statement of Intent
Your initial proposal
W5
8
Theory of Stardom: Richard Dyer
A summary of the class, plus your example
W7
W5
28 October
Plan
9
Moodboard
Your visual style
W7
10
Lyric Sheet
Breakdown your song into scenes
W7
11
Storyboard
Shot by shot plan
W7
W6
4 November
Plan
12
Song Research
Background of your song
W7
13
Screen Test
star auditions
W7
14
Classwork
How to: Camera, MeS, Sound, Edit
W7
W7
11 November
Plan
15
Location scout & Risk Assessment
W7
16
Filming Schedule
Film over the break?
W7
W7
Week 1
Summary: - We got the brief for this term's project and I have decided to go with the same team I went with last time as we have good chemistry going. - Besides that, we also started with our research with a new system which divides our research blogs into Industry, Preliminary, Audience and Genre, I think this might help me organize the research aslast time it was too big and clunky in one post To do: - Finish Research: Industry
Week 2
Summary:
- Started our Genre research post & I started on looking deeper into genre conventions of the R&B genre. I also started one larger research piece into The Weekend's Die for you music video. - We decided that R&B is the best genre for us to pick as it is a broad genre with differing sounds of music, and it also has the best songs in this era.
Week 3
Summary:
- This week we learnt about selective construction during a theory lesson and this somewhat helped me as I think it would help with how I pick and target my audience. - I completed my first complete genre research piece. - This week we still had some trouble deciding on songs to use as our final song and we have decided to start preparing a list instead
To do: - Finish Research: Genre
- Find more songs & decide on what kind of theme to follow for the video (happy, sad, nostalgic)
Week 4
Summary:
- We started our statement our intent which will help us set up the general feel of the music video and also how to target our audiences - In class, there was also a lesson on the theory of Stardom by Richard Dyer, where we learnt about personas and how celebrities selectively construct their public image
To do: - Finish statement of intent, we are doing it as a group and I need to finish my last bit.
Week 5
Summary:
- The storyboard process and making ideas on the lyrics sheets. - We finished the moodboard which will greatly help me when I am color grading the final work as I will use the photos there for reference.
Week 6
Summary: - This week was our first week filled with project lessons where we continue our project works during class time. This week I continued with the storyboard and practiced some color grading photos to try and mimic the photos from the moodboard, I also did some first hand research on some locations such as the Big M convenience store.
This post is my own personal reflection on our project
For this project, our brief outlines that we have to create a short 3-5 minute long introduction sequence within the crime documentary sub genre. For my group, we went and created a celebrity crime video with the primary audience being younger people who are still in high school who follow celebrities or influencers and also keep up whenever there is drama.
For our documentary we tried to focus on making the rivalry between Resha & Ata more dynamic, not in just a good vs evil way but in a way where each person is given their own merits and demerits. We also tried to focus on making the argument for and against Resha & Ata more ambiguous by having back to back interview clips with people from either side contradicting each other. Two of our portrayals were of freshly popular young artist, we chose to go with some stereotypes for this for example, Resha & Ata are portrayed as having a strong personality, like able although they might be petty or a little arrogant, we also tried to make them relatable and understandable in order to make them seem like a fresh new star who hasn’t risen to be an “untouchable” celebrity who is known world wide like a Hollywood actor. We chose this way of interpreting a newly popular artist as nowadays when people see those kinds of celebrities who are new to fame, it can be easier to like the celebrities as they are often more down to earth and we can understand them as they still control their actions instead of having a manager do all the work regarding their outside appearance. We also chose to portray the friends or old friends of Resha & Ata, for Resha’s friend, Kevin Stuart Bob, we chose to portray a quieter and more stable person who was slightly irritated with Resha in the past, we did this by choosing a guy with a soft voice that doesn’t give him a menacing presence, and making him seem more like a befriendable regular kind guy. On the other hand, for Ata’s friend Abu Rafiking Kong we chose to portray him as a vibrant and emotive man who has strong beliefs, he speaks in a loud and clear voice as he exclaims his opinions and views, we did this to match Ata’s challenge prone personality as somebody who always clearly states their opinions aloud are often people who get into arguments, however in this case, the relationship between the 2 is more like sparring partner than rival. As for Ata, we chose to portray him as being a chill but confrontational guy to conform with the hip hop artist stereotype of being confrontational, dissing people and aggravating them. Then there is the portrayal of the reporter who is based off of stereotypical paparazzi, intrusive, loud, pushing mics to the celebrities face & trying to get their opinion with questions that might tick them off as confrontational or controversial questions often get the biggest reactions. We have used some technical elements to show this, such as the mise-en-scene of the reporter being in places where they probably shouldn’t be, such as Ata’s house or the choice to hold up the microphone to the artist’s face.
We tried to create a production piece which mostly shouldn’t stand out from other crime documentaries and aims to try and blend our product in with those media text types. We tried to do this as we think that branding our text to be a conformity would help audiences know what might be in our video even without watching it, for example if our thumbnail is placed in the netflix crime documentary genre category, we would not stand out as much. That might initially lead to less exposure however it would mean that potential audiences who like regular crime documentaries would know what the contents of our documentary would be like therefore at some point they might come to watch it. However for our thumbnail, it would look relatively more rugged than the actual documentary as we tried to conform with the thumbnail convention of having that dirty look.
As we target younger people, ones who are still in high school, we chose to portray celebrities as in this day and age, many young students are often informed in their social media drama between celebrities having a spat over the internet, we tried to incorporate this into our documentary by having a celebrity spat, specially with young & relatable celebrities who might both resonate with the audience and also cater to their want to see the drama between the 2. Another way we targeted a young audience was the choice to shoot our interviews in a high school classroom which was implied to be where Kevin Stuart Bob & Abu Rafiking Kong associated with their respective friends. We also tried to make the characters more relatable with the help of Blumer & Katz U&G theory personal identity, where it states that audiences watch in order to get some part of their personality expanded, for example, we tried to portray Resha as somewhat sensitive as we believed that most of our audience could be ticked off like that, we also made Ata more grounded and made it seem like he can become chill when he was confronted & ambushed by the reporter in his own house.
Before beginning production of this project, we as a whole group did our own research into the crime documentaries we have seen or sought out on our own to research in order to shape our documentary and give us a general starting point. Firstly, we can understand by the usage of Neale’s Genre Theory that conventions can be seen as what the audience wants to see from the genre, so we tried to mostly conform with the genre instead of trying to create a further sub genre, the conventions we used were second hand footage or photos which were not directly supposed to be used for the documentary such as the old photos of Resha or the paparazzi interviews as second hand footage is very common with documentaries, another way we tried to conform is by the usage of interviews, especially interviews with people who have had direct relationships with the assailants or the victims recorder with the primary goal of being used in this documentary. As for the thumbnail, we tried to conform by having the image of the assailant on one of the side thirds of the thumbnail which is rugged and is mostly dark as this is also a common thumbnail convention for crime documentaries.
.png)