1. Evaluation Q1)
In what ways does your media product use, develop
or challenge forms and conventions of real
media products?
According to Andrew Goodwin’s theory there are some key aspects that are
usually included in music videos. These are: the star image, a relationship
between the lyrics and the visuals, the technical aspect, iconography and
voyeurism. However, Goodwin also states that “particular music genres have
their own music video style” and this seems to be more appropriate in
analysing the content of my music video. “Cape Cod…” is a song by an Indie
band called Vampire Weekend. Selecting an Indie track, we decided as a
group, would allow us greater (potential) creativity than the average R&B track
allows. This proved correct as we could contradict some of Goodwin’s
theories for the sake of originality. For example, there is no “star image” in the
music video because the band is not shown.
This is unlike the music videos of fellow
indie band, Kings of Leon, who feature
significantly in their music videos to promote
their image to get more recognition from
their growing fan base. Notably, Kings of
Leon are more successful than Vampire
Weekend and this may impact on them
promoting a “Star Image” to the audience.
However, not including the band or “Star Image” was a conscious decision
that we made because we wanted the music video to express a message
rather than promote the band’s image. Through the use of a narrative
structure, instead of a performance based one, we were able to engage the
audience through a montage story about a girl who gets manipulated by a
scientist who represents society.
There is a strong relationship between the lyrics and the visuals in the music
video. We based the majority of our video on Synaesthesia. Before we started
filming we listened to the lyrics and decided to interpret them ambitiously
because the lyrics are ambiguous. The first line of the chorus, “Is your bed
made?” was significant in our decision making because it stood out as a
demand- a direct choice posed to the audience, for them to ultimately, decide
something. We then interpreted the music to have a sunny, positive
disposition which we then wanted to manipulate with a serious concept. So
we came up with the idea of trying to expose the negative representation of
women in the media and how this can affect young women in particular.
Obviously, we heightened this concept to make it more dramatic and visually
exciting to watch. This is a form of “Disjuncture” as the contradictory visuals
seem to totally ignore the lyrics and this is to assert uniqueness to the music
video and to convey a serious message about the unhealthy obsession by the
media, to portray women a certain way in society, which can have negative
impacts on many women trying to live up to these aesthetic expectations.
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2. Voyeurism is included in many music videos. However, Indie music videos, in
my opinion, seemingly have less references to voyeurism than most pop and
R&B videos.
Supposedly, this is because Indie artists are more about the music than the
money that female aesthetic value provides. Moreover, it is about the values
of the band, and notably, Indie bands are known for their anti-establishment
approach to the music industry. Most Indie bands share the view of dodging
big labels for fear of being manipulated into something they’re not. So, with
this attitude comes a different perspective on music, lyrics and ultimately,
music videos. “Cape Cod…” definitely develops these conventions. Morally,
our video attempts to avoid exploiting women for aesthetical value and
instead explores, and consequently criticises, an aspect of society we are
supposed to accept blindly.
From my audience research, for evaluation question 3, I have established that
the TA would like to see this message being exposed, but, they also lack
hope that the message would be listened to or as respected as it should be. I
find this interesting as it seems some of the public have not conformed (as
such) to the way media exploits women but have become desensitised to this
exploitation because they’ve seen it everywhere, and for so long, to the point
that some of the TA are indifferent in their response. Therefore, I believe
“Cape Cod…” would be successful because it is emotive and thought-
provoking. It is a music video which interacts with the audience, and from my
Ethnography research, we seem culturally, as a collective, very passive as an
audience. The TA need to be engaged with the media, and question it
because they are tired by the repetitive way media conveys these
stereotypical (non-) representations. And I think the music video has potential
to engage with an audience intelligently, not just aesthetically or for profit. I
think the music video will be understood and interpreted well by the TA.
Goodwin’s theory suggests there is often a commodity in music videos; I
argue that our commodity is our concept because that is what we want to sell
to the audience.
Moving on, we used an array of technical aspects to make the music video
appear as professional as possible. Unfortunately we had some technical
difficulty in this area due to a fundamental error we made when filming with
the green screen. However, visually, “Cape Cod…” still reflects the quirky and
playful outcome we were hoping to achieve.
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3. Like in the music video “Acceptable in the 80s” by Calvin Harris, we wanted
the background to be bold bright colours.
However, because of the troubles we had with the green screen, it remained
green. Instead, we used a contrast effect to bring out the vivacity of the
visuals.
I’ve picked out a few shots from the music video to discuss…
We used a slowed down close up shot
when the music changed ¾ of the way
through the video. This is to show a
poignant moment within the music video.
Goodwin states there should be close
ups of the artist, so the audience can
identify with them, however, in our video,
it was necessary for the audience to
relate to the turmoil the character is in,
for the sake of the narrative.
This is a high angle panning shot
demonstrated to reflect the wide variety
of shots we used. We tried to be as
creative as possible. And this shot is
again, juxtaposed with the music, as it is
a slower piece of music, and so we
wanted to show a duration of time
passing, as the girl is held prisoner in the
cage.
This shot is used with the one above
when the striking three beats are heard
in the music. This creates a nice contrast
and proves we have fully understood the
rhythm of our music and have tailored
the visuals around that understanding. In
this shot the actress begins to panic. The
shot is short and is played on one of the
beats, so it makes it stand out and
presents a visual moment of distress for
the character; which I think is translated
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4. There are a range of different focus
shots. This one is a medium-long shot.
These are used when both the girl and
the scientist are sharing the scene.
Here we can see the higher status of
the scientist contrasted with the lower
status of the girl in the cage.
Then there is another close up of the same
shot, as you can see the girl’s hand is on
the cage door, and this happens at another
beat within the music. We have used fast
cutting and montage editing so that the
narrative is fragmented and in a non-linear
order. Possibly, this could tempt the viewer
to want to see it again.
As for the chorus, the scientist sings
these lines directly to the camera.
The eye contact of the scientist to the
audience, repeating the chorus, is a
convention within music videos we
wanted to include because it is
important in engaging the audience.
One of the last scenes is the catwalk
practice/photoshot of the character. Editing is fast
here and there is a mixture of long shots and
close-ups to provide the audience with a sense of
urgency, as the climax of the music video is
evident. The lighting effects imitate that of a real
studio, making these shots look very professional.
For the last scene, we used an effect as she
shouts “Stop!” which coincides nicely with
the music actually stopping. The effect is
like a channelling effect, making it seem like
we are going back to reality when the
character decides to rebel against
everything being done to her. I believe this
scene, with her running out, and the
exposure of the music video as a studio, is a
very original and emotive idea.
Overall, within “Cape Cod…” there is a suggestion of a story, but it’s not a
proper narrative because of the visual relationship to the music, meaning the
visuals cannot fully tell a completed story. The fast editing presents a finished
product which is like a montage. I think this is really interesting to watch and
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5. moreover, has a repeatability factor to it because the audience could miss
elements in the fast editing, and so would want to watch it again. Also, the
chorus is quite catchy and the scientist sings it each time and directly to the
audience, so this is a valid repeatability factor too. Most Indie music videos
are either performance based or follow the theme of disjuncture and make
their own random visuals to that piece of music.
A more conventional performance
based video is “The Pretender” by
Foo Fighters.
“Fireflies” by Owl City is another
example of a performance based
video but with the added theme of
disjuncture and originality. Not all
the emphasis in this video is on
the actual artist, he is just in the
background on the keyboard.
Lastly, some indie music videos are
just completely random and
individual. They have no connection
at all to the music but this is often the
most common type of indie music
video. To some degree, indie music
videos can incorporate all or none of
the standard elements of a music
video, and get away with it.
In conclusion,” Cape cod…” uses enough of the standard conventions of
music videos to avoid criticism when challenging some of the more significant
theories. “Cape cod…” develops the conventional performance based
structure, making it into a narrative lead montage, though still including
performances from the scientist and girl. It also uses technical aspects seen
in other music videos such as pacing; cutting on the beats, using a variety of
shots, using two distinct mise-en-scene’s (the “lab” and the “catwalk”), and
creating a connection between the visuals and the music. Contrastingly,
however, “Cape cod…” challenges the concepts of other music videos. In the
Indie genre, it has become increasingly evident that music videos are for fun
and they hardly contain any messages for the audience. Although I believe
music videos are fun, and ours definitely attempts to incorporate that mood,
we have a serious message to get across to the audience.
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