editedx2: TIDAL WAVE MOOD BOARD/IDEAS ka

edited: CHANGE OF SONG

Unfortunately, due to unforeseeable circumstance, the initial song we had chosen to use has been removed from the internet and subsequently we have chosen a different song.

We went for a song that felt as though it was of a similar genre but also gave us a blank canvas to work with. 
This song has a psychedelic- indie genre which gives us as a group more to work with as it allows us to use conventions of both genres to make our video as effective as possible. 

TEMPESST- TIDAL WAVE

edited: SONG POSSIBILITIES

SONG POSSIBILITIES

When it came to deciding what kind of song we wanted to create a video for, as a group we had a fairly strong idea of what genre of songs we wanted to use. It was mainly a choice of indie rock and more an indie pop genre.

My 4 song choices were:

·         19 again – Shiners

·         Tidal wave – Tempesst

·         Lusts – Illuminations

·         Sometimes – Family Friends

·         If birds wish to fly – Corey Bowen

I then put these 4 songs into a web chart that allowed me to rank each song in terms of:

• ·         The song having different chapters or sections
• ·         The song being dynamic or changing in intensity
• ·         The song having a broad or hybrid genre
• ·         The song having distinctive or significant lyrics
• ·         The song being recorded in a clear quality that is good
• ·         The song has a distinctive beat.

 IF BIRDS WISH TO FLY

 STRENGTHS 

(This is an off original recording of the song. The version on Spotify is of a much higher quality and seems much more finalised and 'put together.')

• Distinctive beat that continues and stays steady throughout the track.
• High quality recording.
• Multiple 'chapters'

•  Very quirky song- use of instruments etc - fits an 'indie' genre. 

 WEAKNESS

• Simple, small amount of lyrics.
• Lyrics very repetitive - Has one chorus that is repeated throughout and very few lyric otherwise- This made it more difficult to gain a wider variety of ideas and left our planning very narrow.

The song was our first choice but after planning we realised that the song and everything to do with the artist had been removed and as we had no copy of the song itself, we decided to make a second choice rather than spent vital planning time searching for another copy of the song or using one that was of low quality.

19 AGAIN

 STRENGTHS

• Very clear high quality recording
• Distinctive beat
• Distinctive lyrics 'You make me feel...'

WEAKNESS

• Only a couple of 'chapters'
• Very Repetitive

Lyrics are extremely repetitive which made them incredibly annoying. The song also already had an official video which caused us to struggle in finding ideas that were original and would've worked with the song.

TIDAL WAVE

STRENGTHS 

• Clear Chapters
• Distinctive Lyrics
• Very distinct beat
• Changes in intensity
• Good quality recording

 WEAKNESS

• Confusing 'distorted' lyrics

After we lost our initial song, we referred back to our list of songs we had shortlisted and decided to use this, mainly because it has multiple chapters and the song itself in incredibly distinctive. It is also much more catchy which was a huge bonus.

ILLUMINATIONS  

STRENGTHS 

• Distinct beat 

• Lyrics that can be drawn on (illuminations) 
• Chapters

WEAKNESS

•  Repetitive - bit boring (has no climax etc)

We decided against this song as we fount it increasingly boring the more we listened to it. I think the fact that we found it boring led to us struggling for ideas as, as a group, we were completely uninterested.

 SOMETIMES

STRENGTHS

• Chapters
• Variations in instruments 
•  

WEAKNESS

• Slow to get into
• Beat isn't distinctive
• Long sections without any lyrics

We decided against this song for similar reasons to 'Illuminations.' Partly because it was slow and lacked dimension but also because it is a particularly 'sad' and as a group we wanted to go for something much more upbeat and this just didn't really fit with our criteria. 

 In the end we decided to go for 'Tidal Wave' By Tempesst. After our first choice became unavailable, the only song that really stood out to us was Tidal Wave. We found it easier to think outside the box with this track and our ideas, i feel, reflect that. 

In general, it was much more upbeat, has strong, if not confusing lyrics that we took as a way to experiment with ideas.

Overall this song has given us a blank canvas and can be interpreted in multiple ways 

MOOD BOARD: IF BIRDS WISH TO FLY

GETTING THE ARTIST'S PERMISSION

When it came to gaining the artist’s permission for using their song, we decided an appropriate way of doing so would be through a form of social media as he seemed to be of a similar age group to ourselves. This proved to be an effective and efficient method as he replied within the next hour.

edited: HOW DO GUITAR-POP MUSIC VIDEOS USE GENRE CHARACTERISTICS AND CONVENTIONS?

HOW DO GUITAR-POP MUSIC VIDEOS USE GENRE CHARACTERISTICS AND CONVENTIONS?

Many guitar-pop videos are known for being low budget, but as it is becoming a more apparent genre, this doesn't seem to be the case. 

When looking at bands like The Last Shadow Puppets and Foster The People, it is evident that there is a much higher budget and a wider availability of locations and resources to make the videos seem to have a much higher budget, making the videos seem much more glossy and mainstream.

When you look at the video for ‘Someday’ by The Strokes, although it was made before the others, it is a much more conventional style of guitar-pop video. It is much more dimly lit and have a seemingly much lower budget.  The colouring of the video makes it much less glossy and can create connotations of a much more dark reality, especially as it was made much earlier than the others.  

A lot of generic guitar-pop videos are set in locations that are also of a low budget. This doesn't seem to be the case with many of the newer videos as they're much more glossy and high budget but, if you look at the video for 'Someday' it is clear there are some much more conventional settings. This looks like a much lower budget as it is set in a pub that looks like it has been filmed in a hand held  manner that creates a much more 'rustic' look.

Mise on scene is a huge part of the story telling aspect of many guitar-pop music videos. Using mise on scene helps to create a narrative in many videos of this genre. For example, looking at the video for 'Aviation,' the video create a story that doesn't directly link with the song itself. Using an isolated location, cold lighting and creating character profile, a completely different narrative is created. Similarly, in the video for ‘Someday’ the mise en scene creates a persona for the band and can create something for people who follow the band to relate to.

It is very common in guitar-pop music videos to see an element of performance. For example, in all 3 videos, each band shows elements of performance alongside a narrative or a performance of another type. Looking at the video for ‘Best friend,’ it’s almost a 50/50 split between the bands performance and the narrative. Similarly, in the video for ‘Aviation,’ the narrative is much more prominent but there are elements of performance that form part of the narrative in itself.

Typically, in an guitar-pop music video there are close ups and flattering shots of the band members. For example, in ‘Aviation,’ although the band members are in a situation that doesn’t exactly make them seem dominant, they’re shot in a way that allows them to still seem in control of the edit and the video itself.

 APPLYING ANDREW GOODWIN'S THEORY

All 3 of these videos covey characteristics and conventions of the genre, but don’t necessarily have links between the video and the lyrics. For example, all 3 songs don’t really link to the videos but if you look into it in a much more in depth sense, you can see some more subtle links.

The video for ‘Aviation’ is a video that has multiple intertextual references In the sense that all of the recent videos for the album ‘Everything You’ve Come To Expect’ link in the sense that they tell the story of a wedding that went wrong.

APPLYING ANDREW GOODWIN'S THEORY OF MUSIC VIDEOS

GRAPEVINE FIRES

The music video of 'Grapevine fires' by Death Cab For Cutie demonstrates many of the conventions that are part of Andrew Goodwin's music video frame work.

Straight away, there is clearly a strong link between the lyrics of the song and the story that is told by the visuals of the video. This helps to create a strong link and tell a story. This creates an emotional and almost 'dark' representation that comes from the lyrics of the song that creates a starting ground for the video itself. When watching the video, lyrics like 'before we all burn' are repeated whilst images of fire and objects catching fire appear. 

The music video itself correlates with the music in the sense that the video cuts almost perfectly to the beat of the song. This creates a relationship between the music and the imagery which in turn creates a much more effective video. Similarly, the type of image we see changes with the music. For example, at the beginning of the video we see 1 person who is looking for another, as the song goes on, we begin to meet more and more characters which intensifies the video. Also, as the music increases in tempo, the video takes a darker and more intense twist. This is where we see one of the female characters catching fire.

Looking at other music videos by Death Cab For Cutie, it is evident that there is a similar style that follows through their music videos. For example, the video for 'Good Help (Is Hard To Find)' shows similar characteristics in the sense that it is created in the same way. It uses similar 2D drawings and the same typeface that is seen in Grapevine Fires. This establishes a type of motif in their music videos. 

.The notion of looking is extremely dominant in this video in the sense that the story is mainly based on stories being told by picture frames would could be seen as using 'screens.' The use of these photo frames to tell a story creates a strong link between the visuals, the music and the lyrics which helps to reinforces parts of Andrew Goodwin's theory in the sense that it creates the relationships that are shown as part of it. 
In a way you could say there is a sense of the voyeuristic treatment of women as the only character we see 'die' is female. We see the male characters as much more heroic than the female ones as one male character is seen searching for 2 other characters and another that has to build up the courage of what is left after the fire.

In conclusion, Andrew Goodwin's theory can be applied to the video for 'Grapevine Fires' in the majority of the elements and conventions that comply with it.