By deconstructing existingmusic videos, we were able to analyse what
conventions worked and what didn’t. It made me realise that in order to create
a successful media product, I needed to follow the essential conventions that
people recognise.
In our research, we found that music videos can be categorized in terms of
style:
• Performance – Band/ artist playing.
• Narrative – Includes story.
• Mixture – Both performance and narrative based.
• Cameo – Band/ artist features in the narrative but doesn’t perform.
After watching and deconstructing Taylor Swift’s video,‘Mine’ (mixture),
Rihanna’s video, ‘We found love’ (mixture), and
Benjamin Francis Leftwich’s video, ‘Atlas Hands’ (cameo), we decided that we
wanted to use a narrative style in our music video, as this proved a successful
element in all three videos.
3.
After deciding thatwe wanted to create a music video in the ‘romance’ genre, we looked at various real music
videos within the same genre to gain an understanding of the codes and conventions used. Taylor Swift’s
‘Mine’ and Rihanna’s ‘We found love’ present two very different relationships; one is more innocent and sweet,
whilst the other is very destructive and dangerous. This is because they both target different audiences.
4.
Taylor Swift –‘Mine’ Our video
We used a close up of our female protagonist looking up at
the male protagonist, showing an instant attraction. The prop
of the romantic novel, ‘Birdsong’ connotes that the female
character is an intelligent, hopeless romantic, foreshadowing
the love that unfolds in the video’s narrative.
This two shot is conventional of the romance genre because
it clearly establishes the relationship between the two
characters. We’ve included many two shots throughout the
video for this reason. The proxemics of this shot also connote
that the couple are in love because they are holding hands
and smiling.
Many scenes of our video are filmed at the beach, as we
understood that this was a romantic location. When focusing
on the mise-en-scene, we filmed many shots with the sea in
view, as it connotes peace and nature, reflecting the love in
the relationship. The natural lighting creates a sense of hope
and happiness.
The proxemics we used throughout the video clearly follow
the conventions of a romance genre, with the couple kissing,
hugging, holding hands, smiling, laughing etc.
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5.
Taylor Swift –‘Mine’ Our video
In Taylor Swift’s video, a wedding ring is used to symbolise
the unity of the couple. Similarly, we used the prop of a silver
heart necklace to represent the love within the relationship.
When the love deteriorates and comes to an end, the necklace
is taken off symbolising that the love is over. To highlight the
significance of this prop, we used extreme close ups.
In the post-production stages of our project, we edited the
video to have tones of blue and sepia towards the end of the
narrative, when the couple are fighting. This connotes the
sadness felt by the characters and ultimately the audience
empathises with them further because of the colder, darker
atmosphere.
We’ve used POV shots to make the video more personal, and
make the audience empathise more with the characters.
These shots are used particularly in the montage sequence to
create the impression that the couple are using a hand held
camera, making memories, eg. on the beach the female
protagonist is playfully running away from the camera and
looking directly into it as if the male protagonist is filming her.
In the same way Taylor Swift’s video uses photographs as a
visual motif symbolising a collection of memories, we’ve used
photographs in our video of the couple and have presented
them in a scrapbook, creating a sense of nostalgia. These
photos are included in the girl’s bedroom and at the end of the
video when she puts them into a scrapbook.
6.
Male Protagonist
We challenged the ‘alpha-male’ stereotype that’s often presented in romantic media texts and
decided to make our male protagonist a quirky, intellectual, indie character; perhaps
a more realistic portrayal of a modern teenager, as opposed to the typically good
looking, over confident ‘alpha-male’ stereotype. We chose to do this because we wanted to
make our male protagonist relatable to our target audience and provide a different take on the
romantic genre. However, we decided to make our
female protagonist fit into the ‘girl next door’ stereo-
type, following a convention of the romance genre.
Ending
One of the main criticisms of the romance genre is that it sets up unrealistic expectations
for what life is really like. Taking this into account, Rachel and I wanted to subvert the
traditional ‘happily ever after’ ending and create a narrative that gives a realistic portrayal
of young love. We wanted to make comparisons between the idealistic and modern-day
perceptions of love and relationships by portraying a couple who appear to be happily in love, however it's not the perfect
fairytale ending and the love fades. We showed this through the use of editing, camera work and props. The blue tones
connote sadness as and a sense of loss as the relationship deteriorates, the close up of the girl crying shows her heartbreak
and the necklace being taken off symbolises that the love is over. The scrapbook was a key prop, as it holds a collection of
memories, representing the couple’s relationship. Our video ends with the girl placing the necklace into the scrapbook, as
that’s the last piece left of their relationship. She then closes the book, signifying that the love is over and she’s accepted it’s
time to move on. The front cover of the scrapbook is our album cover ancillary, linking the products together, however we
decided to make the title word “forever” creating a sense of irony. This challenges the audience’s perceptions of love and the
idea of a fairytale ending, which is what we wanted to achieve.
