Applying Goodwin's theory to music videos

Initial storyboard ideas

Select actors

Costumes and Characters

Costumes & Characters

Our music video shows diversity and different representations by having a mix of various characters. I have drawn all their costumes to show the basis of their outfits, there will also be extras wearing casual clothes to be in the background of the party, then the key characters i've drawn will be involved in the narrative and significant scenes.

The American jock/cool guy character: His smart-casual costume reflects his sense of style and desire to impress. His characteristics make him up to be a player and a play boy, yet charismatic. His jacket, with the collar up connotes him as mysterious with a guard up that hides his true, caring persona.

The 'Preppy' character': His smart, preppy style reflects his personality as a geeky, kind and outgoing person who enjoys the party yet brings a mix to the diverse group of characters. He is a binary opposite to the jock character as the preppy boy is innocent and has individual tastes whereas the jock tries to fit in at the party and look cool as he is more self conscious about his popularity.

The femme fatal, popular character: Her red dress and high heels portray her as a femme fatal as the colour red connotes danger and sexualises her character, also the heels make her seductive. Her costume makes her up as the party girl; reckless and provocative. She is also outgoing and very involved in the party.

The 'Mean Girls' inspired character: Her costume is very girly and makes her look quite sweet and innocent, from the symbolic colours. However she can be manipulative to get what she wants and she seems fake; putting on a front to gain popularity. She is an unexpected protagonist at the party who becomes a victim to some of the negative scenes at the party.

The skater/ drug dealer character: To set the scene of a corrupt party and to link to the song's drug references, there is a drug dealer character. He is dressed like a skater to portray his ruff, lazy character and he is a young, working class teenager who deals drugs at parties to rebel and maintain their addiction. He is shown in a negative way to deter the audience from his lifestyle and characteristics, so we are being careful not to glorify drug use in our video.

Gangster character: His costume is dark and grungy. He is show as a gangster and has a professional vibe as a drug dealer as he is powerful yet morally corrupt. He is also a stereotypical gangster, based on intertextual references, including my own thriller opening.

The main character; She is enigmatic because her face is hidden in over the shoulder/ point of view shots as you are seeing the narrative from her perspective. You can see the other characters and each of their personas but hers isn't explored as she is an average character, who is individual from everyone else at the party, and experiences all the scenes there but isn't really involved.

How are narrative techniques employed in Byeoncé's video 'Broken Hearted Girl'?

The Pitch

Our music video follows an enigmatic girl going to a house party. She walks through the house and discovers different scenes in each room, illustrating the lyrics.

Lyrics

Case Study: How are the conventions of the indie genre evident in Bastille’s video ‘Bad Blood’?

Prezi moodboard for chosen song

Evidence of contacting artist

Evidence of contacting artist to request permission to use their song for our music video:

Song possibilities (revised)

Song 1: Bloodstream- Firehorse 

Strengths-

• Perfect quality recording
• The lyrics are distinctive, therefore easy to work with and create a narrative.
• The genre is hybrid.. Electronic, pop
• The song has different chapters to give it variety and changes in intensity.
• It is very upbeat and has a distinct 4 4 beat 
• Each chapter in the song can create a different scene of narrative in the music video, such as a couple falling our or a drug addiction.

Weaknesses-

• The tone of the music doesn't vary much so the sense of emotion doesn't change often, between upbeat or downbeat. 

Song 2: Time machine

Strengths-

• There are various chapters in the music to make it more complex
• It has a broad genre to make create a more diverse sound
• It has clear, distinctive lyrics 
• The recording is good

Weaknesses-

• The beat isn't very distinct or catchy
• It doesn't include dynamic changes, for example to the pace and intensity.
• The tune and beat isn't as strong as the other songs, making it more challenging to come up with a plot to the music video.

Song 3: I don't claim benefits- Ego Honey

Strengths-

• Many changes in intensity, to complement the pace
• Good instrumental parts
• Satisfactory recording
• Easy genre to make a music video for (indie) because of it's many conventions.
• Distinct and repetitive beat 
• Clear lyrics that fit with the tone and suit the genre.

Weaknesses- 

• The genre isn't very hybrid as it only fits into indie
• It doesn't include many different sections

Spider diagram showing each songs' strengths in the factors shown

The song we have chosen for our music video is 'Bloodstream' by Firehorse. This song fitted clearly with the vision for our music video. It has A distinctive beat and electronic tune that makes it melodic and engaging.

How does the music video 'Judith'- A Perfect Circle use Media Language to establish a dynamic and energetic image for the band?

The music video 'Judith' uses many conventions to construct The Perfect Circle's energetic and dynamic music, suitable to the band's rock genre. This includes the use of close-ups, composition, props and editing to relate to the fast paced, gritty music.

The video creates a sense of energy from the shot variety, which is emphasised by the quick, jump cuts to synchronise with the energetic pace of the music. The shot types include low angle shots, for example when the singer is composed in the centre of the frame at a low angle, as this connotes his dominance and power level in the band and the camera is drawing focus to his odd bald head to portray the band's dynamic.

The extreme close up of the singer with the long hair creates an intense atmosphere, reflecting the harsh tone of the music, and his eyes are on the rule of thirds to highlight his emotive language and intensity.

This is a performance video therefore the director has used instruments as props and has shot them using close ups and focus pulls to draw attention to them playing their instruments to show their talent and energy. Their costumes are dark and casual and the colour palette is very dark, with low key lighting to create shadows. This establishes the rock genre and makes their music seem aggressive.

The Mise en scene is also used to provoke a dynamic image for the band. For example the costume, as the female singer is wearing high heels, in order to show her femininity or present her as a femme fatale. Whereas the male band members are dressed in very gothic costume which creates a juxtaposition between femininity and masculinity.

There is a dynamic shot of the singer with his hand on the mic; it is a close up with a shallow focus on the microphone, which creates an intense atmosphere, reflecting the band's energy.

Shallow focus is also used on the shot of the female singer, which gives a sense that she is commanding attention and gaining more power within the band. It also creates focus on the microphone which brings attention to the vocals.














The colour on one of the shots is red, which connotes passion and danger, to complement the harsh vocals and energetic tone.

This successfully constructs an image of the band being dynamic and energetic, with the use of media language.