Music Videos that inspired us

For the evaluation task 1, we are planning on showing what aspects of which music videos inspired us in the making of our own video and used the conventions of the Indie Pop/Rock genre.

As we were using a song by Kate Nash, we looked at a number of her videos, and took inspiration from the song Mouthwash, which is the song we used for our music video, and the song Foundations, as it uses stop motion in a similar way to how we wanted to use it.

The song The Fear by Lilly Allen inspired us because the artist portrayed a similar care-free persona to the character we were hoping to create in our music video.

Finally, the clever and quirky use of stop motion in the song The Show by Lenka, gave use many ideas to use for own music video.

Here is a short video montage of the specific clips that inspired us:

DigiPak Update

 CD Cover





















CD Back Cover

Album Magazine Advert





















We have completed 2/6 panels for our album digipak, we stuck to the conventions of our genre of Indie Pop/Rock by making our cover simplistic yet appealing to the eye. In the next four panels we are making we intend on including information about the album and the songs and photographs of the artist. For the magazine advert, we kept it as similar as we cold to the album cover to keep the clear link between the two.

Typical Synopsis of 4 Indie Pop/Rock Videos

Lily Allen- The Fear 

Similarly to our initial ideas, Lily Allen's video begins in a rural environment, making in simplistic and similar to other Indie Pop/Rock videos. There are shots of the artists reflection singing in the mirror, this is another idea that we already had to include in our own music video. Although the video contains dancing which I would not consider a key convention for Indie Pop/Rock videos, the dancing comes across comedic and comedy is an aspect that is often featured in Indie Pop/Rock music videos.There are a lot of close ups of Lily Allen to showcase them as an artist, which is key to include in our music video as the song we are using is similar to a song that Lily Allen would release.

Frank Turner- Recovery 

At the start of the video we immediately see the artist with his guitar which is a key convention of Indie Pop/Rock Videos as viewers would usually expect artists to play the instruments heard in the song. Animation is used throughout the video which is an idea that we were hoping to include in our own video. As well as this, stop motion is also used throughout the duration of the video which is another technique we were hoping to include in making our video to 'Mouthwash'. The use of other band members is also interesting as Frank Turner is a solo artist however by having band members included in the video, the conventions are met of 'live' music being displayed in the video. A lot of postmodern elements are included in this video, including dividing the screen into three and switching the shots which could be to represent the 'mixmates' toys where you can mix and match the legs, bodies and heads of the characters.

Coldplay- Charlie Brown

The numerous establishing shots at the beginning of the video show to the viewer that video is set in a city, and at a closer look, the viewer can tell by the big red buses that the video is specifically set in London. The video sticks to the conventions of Indie Pop/Rock videos by featuring the band playing their instruments throughout the video. The lyrics in the video were often represented by the actions taking place in the video, for example when the lines 'I took a car downtown' are sang, the actor in the video is shown stealing a car and driving away.  Strobe lights are featured in the 'performance' part of the video which according to our audience research is a convention that they expect in Indie Pop/Rock videos. 

The All-American Rejects- Gives You Hell

This video contains the comedic element that is often featured in Indie Pop/Rock videos, similarly to The Black Keys 'Tighten Up' video.  The video conveys a story that relate to the lyrics throughout the duration of the video. The video like the majority of other videos in this genre, shows the band playing their instruments, so create the impression that the viewer can see what they are hearing being produced. 

6. Collage

This collage shows the use of instruments and simple settings such as road sides and fields as this is a common convention of indie rock/pop videos. There are also images showing instruments as this is another convention of this genre. I've also used animated pictures as animation is a feature that U would like to include in my music video.

2. Award winning videos

1. LORDE "ROYALS"

    "Best Rock Video" VMAs 2014 

This video varies between only a few different settings, these being shots of Lorde herself singing to the camera or shots of male actors in a house. The shots do not seem to appear during any specific part of the song . At the beginning of the video the shots don't change in any particular rhythm as some change on the beat and others change in-between. The shots on the two males in the video, relate to the lyrics "and we'll never be royal" as the lifestyle that they appear to have seems very basic and normal. 

2. THE BLACK KEYS "TIGHTEN UP"

"Breakthrough Video" VMAs 2010

This video is award worthy as it is comical (typical for the indie rock genre), the comedic aspect of the video is made clear immediately through as young child lip sings the lyrics "I wanted love, I need love" whilst looking up at a little girl on a climbing frame. The lyrics relate to the video as the singer says "When I was young and moving fast, nothing slowed me down" and this is shown through the use of children throughout the entire video. 

1. History of music videos for my chosen genre

Bastille- Pompeii

Released; 2013

A major difference between this video and the earlier ones is that unlike the others which are filmed in more rural environments, we imediately learn from an establishing shot that this video is set in a city. However at the end of the video, the lead singer of the band has traveled from the city to a more rural area suggesting that this may be a recurring setting for indie pop videos. 

GROUPLOVE- Tongue Tied 

Released; 2011

In this video, props are used such as clothing, masks and make up to create the alternative vibe for the video that is exemplified in indie pop music. Editing effects are used throughout the entire video as the all the footage has been reversed, as well as this numerous other effects are used to create a cool vibe.

Noah and The Whale- 2 Bodies 1 Heart

Released; 2009

Interestingly, although being filmed later than the previous two videos this video seems of much  less quality due to the fact that it seems to have been filmed to give a hand-held effect, as if the band are filming the video themselves. Similarly to the Lenka video there is a comical element to the video which seems to be an idea present in other indie pop videos.

Lenka- The Show

Released; 2008

I chose this video to compare and it uses many techniques which I could imagine being used for my own music video. This video differs from the older video by The Fratellis and it has several settings, all of them being in very normal places (e.g. parks, buses, bedrooms) which seems to be common in videos for this genre of music. 

The Fratellis- Chelsea Dagger

Released; 2004

filmed ten years ago; this video differs from more recent videos in many ways. Firstly, through out the entire video there are only 3 different scenes; the stage, the burlesque changing room and the spotlit wall where the close ups are filmed.  

Kate Nash- Mouthwash Lyrics

                                                  "Mouthwash"

This is my face
Covered in freckles
With the occasional spot
And some veins

This is my body
Covered in skin
And not all of it
You can see

And, this, is my mind
It goes over and over
The same old lines

And, this, is my brain
It's torturous analytical thoughts
Make me go insane

And I use mouthwash
Sometimes I floss
I got a family
And I drink cups of tea

I've got nostalgic pavements
I've got familiar faces
I've got a mixed-up memory
And I've got favourite places

And I'm singing "oh oh" on a Friday night
And I'm singing "oh oh" on a Friday night
And I'm singing "oh oh" on a Friday night
And I hope everything's gonna be alright
And I'm singing "oh oh" on a Friday night
And I hope everything's gonna be alright

This is my face
I've got a thousand opinions
And not the time to explain

And this is my body
And no matter how you try and disable it
Yes I'll still be here

And, this, is my mind
And although you try to infringe
You cannot confine

And, this, is my brain
And even if you try and hold me back
There's nothing that you can gain

'Cause I use mouthwash
Sometimes I floss
I've got a family
And I drink cups of tea

I've got nostalgic pavements
I've got familiar faces
I've got a mixed-up memory
And I've got favourite places

I'm singing "oh oh" on a Friday night
And I'm singing "oh oh" on a Friday night
And I'm singing "oh oh" on a Friday night
And I hope everything's gonna be alright
And I'm singing "oh oh" on a Friday night
And I hope everything's gonna be alright
Oh oh oh oh oh oh:

Music Video Song Choice

Kate Nash- Mouthwash

Grenre: Indie rock

Label: Fiction 

released 1st oct 2007, is 3rd single off album 'Made of Bricks'

We chose this song as we liked the idea that we wouldn't be limited in the things we could do, there is no particular story line to the song and this allows us to film the video in any way that we feel is suitable and will work well with the wacky vibe of the song. As well as this, there is potential animation possibilities which is exciting as it allows us to try new things. 

As we already had a lip singer in mind, this song was easy to choose because the song matched well with the image of our actress. 

Another factor that influenced us to choose this song is the fact that it is a British song which means it'll be easier to match the song to locations and the English weather won't look unnatural in the video. 

What My Preliminary Task Taught Me (Task 4)

Digital Technology /Post - production

Many problems were encountered through the use of the green screen. Firstly, natural lighting the room tends to change the shade of green on the screen and this effected our video later in the editing process; making the person standing in front of the green screen look either a lot paler and brighter or much darker. 

Another problem we encountered when using the green screen was filming to full length shots; this was made more difficult as the screen we used was relatively small as well as the room that we were filming in. We struggled to fit everyone from head to toe into the shot however we overcame this by filming it in two separate takes (one with just 'Snoop Dogg'  and another with the backing dancers) we then edited them over each other later to give the impression that the two dancers were standing behind Snoop Dogg.  

 Creativity

In our video we tried to match the outfits in the original video close enough so that our version of the video at least gave off a similar vibe; we used snapbacks, hoodies and t-shirs and fake beard drawn on with eyeliner to do this.

Research and Planning

Whilst filming and editing we often referred back to the original video to ensure we were watching shots as well as we possible could, as well as this we also used a story board that showed each shot and the time that it should appear; this made the editing process a lot easier. 

Preliminary Task! (Task 3)

Genre

a style or category of art, music, or literature.