Song Choice

We chose the song 'Snap Out Of It' by the Arctic Monkeys as we felt that the lyrics worked really well with our narrative. We also feel that the beat is something we would be able to work with, especially when transitioning each shot. I haven't watched the video for this song but I feel that gives us more of a chance to go with our own ideas in our music video, rather than trying to replicate parts of the official one. 

Mood Board

Nothing But Thieves: Honey Whiskey

[Verse 1: Conor Mason]

This party's pretty boring

I don't think it's for me

Lucy's already crashed out

She's on the spare settee

[Bridge]

This air is getting so thin

Go down, go down, go down

The honey whiskey's kickin'

Go down, go down, go down

[Chorus]

I think I better go, before I try something


I might regret, I might regret

I think I better go, before I try something

I might regret, I might regret

[Verse 2]

Black hearted angels sunk me


With kisses on my mouth

There's poison in this water
 

The words are falling out

[Bridge]

This air is getting so thin

Go down, go down, go down

The honey whiskey's kickin'

Go down, go down

[Chorus]

I think I better go, before I try something

I might regret, I might regret

I think I better go, before I try something

I might regret, I might regret

I think I better go, before I try something

I might regret, I might regret

I think I better go, before I try something

I might regret, I might regret

[Outro]

But if you wanna free your body tonight


It's our secret, it's our secret

I think I better go, before I try something

I might regret, I might regret

Arctic Monkeys: Snap Out Of It 

[Verse 1]

What's been happening in your world?


What have you been up to?


I heard that you fell in love, or near enough


I gotta tell you the truth (yeah)

[Chorus]

I wanna grab both your shoulders and shake baby


Snap out of it (snap out of it)

I get the feeling I left it too late but baby


Snap out of it (snap out of it)

If that watch don't continue to swing


Or the fat lady fancies having a sing
I'll be here


Waiting ever so patiently for you to


Snap
 Out 
Of 
It

Forever isn't for everyone


Is forever for you?


It sounds like settling down


Or giving up


But it dont sound much like you girl

[Chorus]

I wanna grab both your shoulders and shake baby

Snap out of it (Snap out of it)

I get the feeling I left it too late, but baby

Snap out of it (Snap out of it)

If that watch don't continue to swing or the fat lady fancies having a sing

I'll be here waiting ever so patiently for you to

Snap out of it

[Bridge]

Under a spell you're hypnotized (ooh)


Darling how could you be so blind (snap out of it)

Under a spell you're hypnotized (ooh)

Darling how could you be so blind

[Chorus]

I wanna grab both your shoulders and shake baby

Snap out of it (Snap out of it)

I get the feeling I left it too late, but baby

Snap out of it (Snap out of it)

If that watch don't continue to swing or the fat lady fancies having a sing

I'll be here waiting ever so patiently for you to

Snap out of it

**

Both songs could have been good options for us, especially as they both have good beats to them, but we decided that it would be more suitable to go with 'Snap Out Of It' as it is as if they are telling themselves to snap out of the thoughts they are having. This goes well with our chosen storyline which involves a boy having hidden possessive thoughts about a girl who he is obsessed with but her does not want to have these thoughts. 

Goodwin firstly noticed that music videos have either a complete similarity or a direct contrast to the lyrics of the song. He also identifies that the visuals within a music video may have been edited in time to the lyrics or the pace that the song has. 

This theory goes well with our song as we have planned to change a lot of our shots to the beat of the music, especially at the beginning of our music video. 

If I Were A Boy - Beyonce

One of our main ideas for our music video is the switch of gender stereotypes. In our pitch we had explained how we were going to have the girl stalking and being obsessed with the boy. However, to deter from stereotypes, we were advised to switch the roles, having the boy be obsessed with the girl instead. This is shown in Beyonce's 'If I Were A Boy' as she has a profession and does things which may normally be associated with a man. 

Mac 1 Pitch

Indie Music Video Conventions

Music videos in the indie genre often have very natural and simple settings in their music videos e.g. in a forest or an empty room. Although indie bands often perform their song within the music video, narratives also get included which allows the music video to have meaning, while also showing the band who created the song.

Also, as indie artists often aren't signed up to any major record labels, the budget for the music videos may be less than that of a popular artist, such as Taylor Swift, who is signed up to five major record labels.

Camera shots, which are often either close up or mid-shots, are very static and move to the beat of the music, whether it be slow or fast paced. It means that the audience can feel the emotions of the artist as it highlights their talent. Long and wide shots are used when showing the narrative to create establishing shots to set the scene.

Editing is an important part of a music video within the indie genre as it's what makes the video stand out and interest their audience. Most indie music videos have special effects and are added over the top (such as a black and white effect) to create a worn, classic look.

I particularly noticed these kind of conventions in the music video for Nothing But Thieves' - 'Graveyard Whistling':

The beginning of the music video sets the scene of where the band are performing, before switching over to the narrative where they show shots of the father and his son out having breakfast, before showing a low angled shot of the boy and his father in front of the block of flats. This creates the establishing shot for the narrative section of the music video. 

The camera shots of the performance move around a lot, especially when the beat of the song is fast paced. This can be applied to the editing of the video which reflects the beat of the music.  Also, the lighting in the video is rather dark creating a very doom-laden atmosphere, which makes you know that something isn't going to end well. 

Song List

In class we came up with a list of examples for performance and narrative music videos. As a group, we found that a lot of current music videos often have a mixture of both performance and narrative, which made it difficult to differentiate between the two, but here are our examples: 

Keeping Your Head Up - Birdy

 

I particularly liked the shots that were used in the music video for 'Keeping Your Head Up', especially with the kaleidoscope effect, but also with their choice of colour. The red and blue tones are a nice comparison to the rest of the music video which is quite dark. I also liked the fact that they begin with Birdy laying down, but also finish the music video in the same spot.

Kodaline - All I Want (Part 1 & 2)

As part of our research, we watched the music videos for Kodaline's - 'All I Want', which were broken into two separate parts. Although the second part uses the same song, it follows on with the storyline which was shown in the first part. What I found interesting about these music videos is that it is rather different to other videos I have looked at, the majority of them only having one video.

The narrative in the first part shows a man who stands out from others he works with due to the way he looks. This makes him a target but also unable to talk to the person he loves. It's only when he stands up for her that she truly takes an interest in him. The narrative in the second part is much more emotional as he loses his dog (who means a lot to him as it is the only thing that doesn't judge him for the way he looks). He has to therefore go around putting up posters in order to find it. The reunion seen was very moving as you could almost feel the relief from the main character.

It is very different to other narrative music videos I have watched and it's one of the only ones that I really had a lot of emotions for so it has quickly become one of my favourites.

 

Bruno Mars - Grenade

Here is a great example of Bruno Mars' music video for 'Grenade' which shows a clear narrative but also shows performance:

Three Advert

An advertisement for the phone company Three came out in 2014, starring a girl singing the song 'We Built This City' by Starship. What I particularly liked about this video is the energy the girl has while she is singing which means you can really tell she is putting her all into it. If we were to have created a performance video, I think it would've been funny to have put a similar amount of energy into it, but I feel much more comfortable producing a narrative music video.