Intertexuality

Intertexuality is when media texts reference another media text- this can either be reflected in style of the video or done in a humorous way(parody). It can help audiences take further influences and interpretations from the text.

Music videos have been around since the 1960's. Many Jazz artists such as Bessie Smith made short films to accompany their music. It is not surprisingly that many music videos draw upon cinema as a starting point for ideas. This is probably because their directors are often film school graduates.
Most mainstream music videos have a cinematic feel to them- this is largely thanks to new technologies and post-productions techniques.

E.G. Madonna's 'material girl' (Mary Lambert 1985, drawing on diamonds are a girls best friend)  to recent indie artists like Oasis mimicking the Beatles, etc.

The interextualtity of the image in this video is not necessarily of Monroe, but rather the Hollywood archetype of the sexy blonde who uses her looks to get what she wants. 

Visual refereence in music video coming from a range of sources, cinema, fashion and art photography being the most common. 

Fashion sometimes takes the form of specific catwalk refreneces and sometimes even the use of supermodels. George Michael uses this in both 'Father Figure' (Morahan 1988) and 'Freedom' (Fincher 1990). 

Linked to Genre
The conventions for our genre-indie rock vary greatly.
The main ones are the black and white camera effects which we have used in our music video, reality settings and vintage clothing with performance depending on the lyrics.
There is usually a split between narrative and performance and it is typical for the artist to appear in the video.

Editing

Today, Tara and I stayed after school to edit. We managed to do one minute of the song and we have tried to conform to the fast paced shots of our genre.  We took Pete's advice from the BFI talk. He said to 'cut and cut again' which we kept in mind while editing our video. 

We're quite happy with what we've done so far but we are unsure if our footage is going to be enough as it may be quite repetitive throughout the whole song so we may have to film some more.

Tonight Alive - The Ocean

This is another music video of our chosen genre: indie rock.

This music video conforms to many of the genre conventions such as the performance. The band and the music is very much highlighted within the video with the mixture of performance and band life rather than a fictional narrative. 

The audience/fans are also presented showing voyeurism creating a sense of popularity. This is also presented when a band member is looking at a magazine with them on the front cover. 

The mirror also shows this as she notices the camera in the mirror and winks creating a connection with the audience. We have also used this form of voyeurism  in our own video to create this relationship with the audience. 

We also plan for our artist to sing directly into the camera as we want to give the same affect and follow the conventions of  our genre. 

The editing is also quite fast paced which fits with the beat of the song and the genre conventions.
There is also many wide shots showing the setting of the stage and audience.

As well as editing effects of overlapping and kalidescope which we also plan to use in our own video. 

Steve Archer - Music Video Analysis

Camera work
Camera work is massively significant upon meaning therefore it is integral to the production of the video.
Movement, distance and shot all need to be analysed.
Movement can accompany the movement of the performer, or it can be used to create dynamic feel to the location for example a band performing in a field and the camera circling them.

The Close up 
Creates intimacy
Sells the artist as well as the song.

Editing 
Pace of the transitions this will effect the mood and often pace comes along with genre.

Voyeurism
Sometimes suggesting that ther is a voyeuristic  view of women and the female body to please the male viewers. (Corresponds with Mulvy's Male Gaze theory)

Technical aspects 
Speed- created by camera and editing.
Close ups and voice
Beats- rhythm will correspond with editing.
Light and colour emphasises key moments creating a dramatic feel and often comes along with the genre. Colour is an easy way of telling what the genre is.
Mise-En-Scene- setting adds to the feel and realness of the video.

Paramore - Misery Buisness

Misery Buisness by Paramore is an indie band. This music video has a split performance with narrative containing many close ups of not only the band members but also the instruments as like many indie bands and their audiences the music is most important therefore showing the instruments and lip syncing is a key element to the video. 

Furthermore the narrative ties in with the performance and interchanges with quick shots rather than large chunks of one and then the other which creates something more enjoyable to watch.

I particularly like the flashes of the close ups of the lead singer as not only does it create a cool affect it also goes with the beat creating synergy between the song and the visuals.
Voyeurism is also created when the lead singer reaches out for the camera and the band members gather as if she is recording herself.

Furthermore the edgy, interesting shots also help to reflect the genre and make it more watchable for the audience.
For example this shot is flipped upside down for a brief moment which makes the video more dynamic and interesting. This section, which is the chorus and climax of the song, has an effect put on it which also makes this part stand out in the visual as well as in the music.

The singer also looks directly at the camera which creates a relationship with the audience and is more engaging. This also demonstrates star quality as she shows that she knows she is being recorded.

The setting of this section in particular reflects their album cover  creating synergy between the two media areas.  

The narrative is cohesive as not only are the performance shots and narrative story interspersed the band also enter the location of the narrative which connects the two together nicely. 

Link to Goodwin's Theory:

This video demonstrates most of Goodwins theories about music videos as this video conforms to it's genre characteristics of having stage performance. It also uses many close up shots of the band as shown above which also demonstrates Richard Dyer's star quality theory and which Goodwin says that the record label artists are signed to usually have particular demands and the use of close ups and presentation of the artists style comes across within the video which it does in this particular video. 

Filming Day Three

Today, we filmed some more lip syncing shots and some shots of just me standing in the different locations to incorporate into the video as we thought it may be quite boring to have constant lip syncing. Tara and I during our free periods decided to get as much done as possible considering the deadline being so soon. We wanted the protagonist to be in the majority of the shots and also filmed some close ups in order to promote star quality.

As we really like the green element of the graffiti shot we got we decided it would create synergy to keep to this colour palette and all together make the video more cohesive therefore we shot in rural settings. This also made it easier to film as there wasn't people staring at us and we weren't restricted in any way.

Adding Depth

Whilst beginning to edit our video, although we like our shots and everything, we thought that the video lacked depth and was a bit boring with solely having a string of performance and abstract shots. We also thought that many videos we have watched from our genre generally have a slight narrative element without being a narrative video and this made us  think that we also needed to do this in our video.

For inspiration on what to add to our video we looked at Tumblr for inspiration. We searched words that we thought related to the song to see what would come up. We thought 'suffocating' related best however quite scarring images and videos came up which we thought were a bit far fetched however after searching other words that came up frequently in the song we saw a recurring theme of water which we all really liked.

We thought of a few shots that we could intersperse with the footage we already have very subtly to create ambiguity which will  be interesting to watch and will let the audience think and interpret the video in different ways which will encourage them to watch it more than once which is the purpose of a good music video. 

The shot types we thought of were the tap of running water as if to run a bath. 

Feet outside the bath as if waiting to get in. 

Under water shots of a rippling bath. 

The water from the shower head coming down onto the underwater camera. 

The end shot will be a close up of the protagonist's (me) head going under the water. 

However, we didnt want this to be too obvious therefore the shots will be very short and overlapped with the performance and abstract shots to create a more dynamic video. 

Digipak Research/Analysis

I found some album covers from the indie rock genre which our chosen song falls under. It was interesting to look at what the usual techniques are used throughout this genre which i will take into consideration when designing my own digipak cover. I have found that when the band is used on the cover there is something done to them to make them look cool and more edgy. For example in 'The Kooks' album cover they aren't looking at the camera which makes it more interesting. Furthermore, apart from this the other three i looked at had cartoon or sketch like affects creating the feel of fun and imaginative. 

I think the most powerful album covers aren't so clear cut and have elements of ambiguity such as the 'Kings of Leon' album cover. 

This album cover from 'The Kooks' gives an interesting image. The band are featured on the cover presenting the 'star quality theory'. They are also playing their instruments which is important in an indie rock genre band as the instruments are a key element in this music style therefore it is inviting for the audience to see this on the cover. 

Furthermore, the mirror shows voyeurism reflecting what is already there. 

The bold font is also an essential part of the cover as the audience can explicitly see the band and album name. The colour palette of the cover offers a very masculine feel to it which reflects the all male band members. 

Paramore,another indie rock band also show themselves on their album cover. This conveys the star quality theory as the band are centered and stand out by the cut out of them surronded by 'doodling' of their album name. This gives an edgy and fun affect. As the scribbled writing gives a sense of freedom and rebellion which reflects the genre.

Rock Band - Alkaline Trio's album 'Agony and Irony'

The image of the heart and skill is recognisable to the band's fans as these images are featured on the front of other releases-posters, merchandise. 

The use of this unofficial logo on their 6th album attracts immediate attention of fans and achieves intertexuality. 

Outside Covers 

The outside covers follow a black colour scheme with red accents which is recognisable to fans and fits the conventions of the genre as these colours are typical of the rock genre - bands such as My Chemical Romance and Green Day also use this colour scheme. These are more heavy rock genres whereas our band is more indie rock which is a softer , less harsh version therefore the harsh red colour connoting danger, blood etc. maybe wouldn't be as suitable to our band. 

The aged effect used on the front panels is reminiscent of the fragile vinyl sleeve maybe, creating a distressed look to the cover. 

Inside Covers 

The inside panels use a singular image across the panels. This is conventional of the genre that the brand do not feature on the front cover and if they're featured it will be on the inside, as like they have done. 

The muted colour create a 'retro/vintage' style also created by the band image wearing 'aviator' sunglasses originally from the 70's. This fits with the aged effect of the digipak all together. 

The plant in front is in soft focus obstructing the view of whats behind which creates some mystery. 

Filming Day Two

Today we went to film some location shots in Brick Lane as we have all seen the amazing street art produced there and wanted to film the artist in this setting as conventions of our genre is interesting locations therefore as well as making it aesthetically pleasing  we also wanted to conform to our genre giving the audience what they expect in order to not disappoint them.

However as we can't do anything without there being a problem, we didn't have our camera plate to fit the camera onto the tripod therefore we couldn't do the panning shots that we planned and the shots we did film are quite un stable to i'm not sure if we will be able to use them.
We attempted to buy a camera plate in camera shops nearby however all of them said they would need to be ordered which was useless in our situation. However the trip wasn't completely wasted as it gave us an indication of exactly where to go and an idea of which shots would look the best in this location.

Here is a vlog we took on the day-

Asking Permission

Once we decided this was the song we were going to choose we asked for permission to ensure there were no copyright issues. We are still waiting for a response to the last email sent. 

Framing and Composition

What's the object of interest in a frame? When composing your shot so that your reasoning for it shines through. The focal point is complimented.

Centered Focus:
This shot demands attention however as it is frequently used it is becoming a bit boring. This also creates something quite formal as new reports usually uses this shot type.

Drawing attention in by directing the audiences eye in some way, by having a diagonal angle.

Rule of Thirds
It makes it more interesting to have the focal point placed at either side than in the centre as it creates a more dynamic and interesting shot. However the amount of empty space should be balanced to the image to make it attractive.

Eye-Line Rule
Eyes should be three quarter of the way down the screen in order to look affective and create a relationship with the audience

Leading Space
This makes more of a dramatic shot.
It needs to be the way the character is looking to do this.


Lines
Diagonal lines are dynamic and creates a sense of movement.

I found this video which I found quite interesting and will be referring to in order to make each of our shots as near to perfect as we can. 

Band Image

We have looked at other female, indie artists such as Lorde, Lynsey and Hayley Williams to look at their image.

Indie artists are known for their individual style therefore there isn't a conventional image that these artists have. However, both Lorde and Lynsey both wear black/dull clothing therefore we decided to stick with this theme especially as our song and music video is quite melancholic. 

Therefore we decided to put our 'star' in a long black coat and Dr Marten boots. 

We thought an all black outfit would create an edgy look while still creating a conventional indie style that our audience could relate to. 

Band Brand

Our song choice of  PVRIS - White Noise fits into the indie rock genre which carries conventions of alternative image which we wanted to continue into our own music video. 

We have tried to come up with band names by using a wordle system passing a piece of paper round the group which each of us write a word attempting to create a weird sentence that we could gain inspiration from. 

Furthermore, we also tried coming up with song names by looking at our past ideas and making them personal to our journey. After we ran out of these we turned to MAC make-up lipstick names for inspiration as they are usually quite unusual. 

We came up with a few that may or may not make it on to the album. 

1)Indecisive 

2) The Chill 

3) Liverpool St. 

4) 1997

5) Broken Glass 

6) Stripped Down

7) Fiction 

8) Opium 

9) Mr. 

10) Bait

11) Euphoria 

12) Wanderlust

13) Salted Wounds

We are still undecided on our actual song name and band name however we thought of maybe the being called 'The Sound' and the song being called 'Static' but these are just a few rough ideas we came up with. 

Filming Day One

We decided to make the most of our study periods and film a few parts of the performance scenes. We wanted to use our school drama studio and have the artist singing into a mic as if singing to an audience however when setting up this shot in many different ways we didn't think it looked effective and unlike something that would appear in a music video. Instead, we decided to use a spotlight and have the room darkened with the light beaming on the artist while singing. We thought this would look much more aesthetically pleasing and also adds to the melancholic feel of our video as well as relating to the lyrics.

Here are some still shots of us setting up and trying different angles.