NEA
Myles Dove
Myles Dove
Candidate Number: 9070
Centre number: 16339
Statement of Intent
Music Video Final Product
Research Audience
The audience for my music video is from 16-25 (Gen Z).
Research Audience - Interests
Beggars Group
Beggars’ Artists
The Typical Style Of Beggars
Beggars (and its labels) publish independent, non-mainstream artists. There has been a common theme between all of the artists that rebel against social norms and society, as well has innovating the music industry. Beggars’ artists covers a wide variety of genres amongst their artists (for example, rock, pop, rap, folk, indie rock, grunge, alternative ext).
Beggars aim to support their artists with the utmost professionalism, and with a particular focus on supporting the writers.
How will your brief fit in with the brand?
The brief of creating a narrative music video would fit in with the brand, due to Beggars broadness as a producer. This is because they cater to a wide array of audiences from very niche indie music, to big mainstream artists such as Adele. Consequently, independent music is very popular within the 16-25 year old audience, particularly as it is easier for independent artists to promote themselves due to social media. Popular independent artists amongst Gen Z are: Mitski, boygenius, Clario, Alex G and Mac DeMarco.
Music Video Shot and Movement Analysis - ‘Avicii - Addicted To You’
0:00 - 0:07
Ultra wide ariel tracking shot
0:07 - 0:11
A title card is added
0:11 - 0:14
Medium tracking shot
Sets the scene of a bar
0:14 - 0:19
Tilt up into a mid shot and the camera pulls into a close up
Direct address
level
0:19 - 0:21
Three shot, medium
The beer is lighted up
level
0:21 - 0:22
Close up shows how she was watching the people at the bar
Level
Music Video Shot and Movement Analysis - ‘Avicii - Addicted To You’
0:22 - 0:24
Wide shot
Pan to the right
Level
0:24 - 0:25
Two shot
Tilt up
0:25 - 0:26
Wide shot
Two shot
Level
Small depth of field
0:26 - 0:27
Two shot
Level
Direct address
0:27 - 0:29
Wide shot
Depth of field focused onto the back
Level
0:29 - 0:30
Close Up
Pans to the left and depth of field focuses onto her face
Level
Music Video Shot and Movement Analysis - ‘Avicii - Addicted To You’
0:30 - 0:32
Mid shot
Tilt down
0:32 - 0:34
Close up tracking shot
Level
0:34 - 0:35
Medium shot
Pan to the left
Level direct address
0:35 - 0:36
Close up tracking shot
Level
0:36 - 0:38
Close up
Pan to left
Level direct address
0:38 - 0:39
Close up
Tracking shot
Level
Music Video Shot and Movement Analysis - ‘Avicii - Addicted To You’
0:39 - 0:40
Medium level shot
0:40 - 0:41
Extreme close up
Level
0:41 - 0:43
Close up
Level
0:43 - 0:43
Wide shot
0:43 - 0:44
Transitions from panning from the left - depth of field becomes smaller
Level
0:44 - 0:45
Close up
High angle
Music Video Shot and Movement Analysis - ‘Avicii - Addicted To You’
0:45 - 0:45
Close up
Level
0:45 - 0:45
Extreme close up
Level
The quick cut increases the tension and the ferocity of her throw
0:45 - 0:46
Two shot
Static level
0:46 - 0:46
Medium
Low angle
0:46 - 0:47
Three shot
Level
0:47 - 0:47
Wide shot
Captures both main characters
Music Video Shot and Movement Analysis - ‘Avicii - Addicted To You’
0:47 - 0:48
Close up
Slight pan to the left
0:48 - 0:48
Medium
Pan to the left and slight tilt up
0:48 - 0:49
Close up
Tracks her head
0:49 - 0:49
Wide shot
Camera tracks the gun, tilting down and panning to the right
0:49 - 0:50
Close up
Low angle
The camera is unsteady
0:50 - 0:50
Medium
Tilts to a low angle
Music Video Shot and Movement Analysis - ‘Avicii - Addicted To You’
0:50 - 0:50
Medium
Tilt down
0:50 - 0:51
Wide
Level
0:51 - 0:52
Medium two shots
Pulls in
0:52 - 0:53
Medium shot
Tracks the waiter
0:53 - 0:53
Medium shot
Slight pan to the right and tilt down
0:53 - 0:53
Close up
Tilt up
Music Video Shot and Movement Analysis - ‘Avicii - Addicted To You’
0:53 - 0:54
Medium shot
Tilts down to a close up
0:54 - 0:54
Medium
Level
0:54 - 0:55
Close-up
Tracks the money passing through
0:55 - 0:56
Medium two shot
Level
0:56 - 0:56
Close up
High angle
0:56 - 0:57
Two shot
Level
Music Video Shot and Movement Analysis - ‘Avicii - Addicted To You’
0:57 - 0:57
Medium two shot
Pan to the left
0:57 - 0:58
Ultra wide
Level
0:58 - 0:58
Medium
Pan to the left
0:58 - 0:59
Close-up
High angle
0:59 - 1:00
Two-shot
Level
Music Video Shot and Movement Analysis - ‘Avicii - Addicted To You’
I have learnt from this task how filmmakers use quick cuts, mise en scene and clever cinematography in order to create a narrative and too establish relationships between characters. An example of this is when there are cross cuts between the close-ups of the two main characters at 0:32, in order to show how the waiter and thief know each other. Moreover, I have seen how the filmmakers use quick and slow cutting in order to create an energetic/slow atmosphere throughout the music.
‘No Rest’ - Dry The River
Here is my ideas from hearing the lyrics and song:
I imagine an old man grieving the death of his partner, and struggling to cope with the thought of going asleep without her by their side. He is scared to mess up his late wife’s bedside table, the outline in their bed and the cup of water she left before they died. The old man goes on a journey to lay flowers on the park bench in which they had their first kiss, but learns that it has been taken down. He goes home in the car crying, gets in a car crash. He lies on the motorway, breath and blood bleeding out of his mouth, and takes one more joyous breath, where he can be with his love.
My classmate’s ideas are: a medieval battle, a journey from a mountain to a castle, someone scared to lose who they love, a young couple fall in love and the wife dies, timeless love, someone is depressed and then celebrate.
After watching the official music video, I have found it quite hard to decipher the narrative. However, I believe the ‘sacrifice-esuqe’ ritual in which the musicians have partaken in is a metaphor for their suffering.
‘I wanna feel love’ - Robbie Williams
I imagine a man who slowly realises that the people he has been vulnerable with throughout his life are not very nice people. So he goes on a mid life crisis and engages in drinking and drugs, and hanging out with young people until it goes too far.
After watching the video, I believe it tells the story of Robbie Williams as a cowboy addressing his past love. Unfortunately, I believe this music video conforms to traditional sexist stereotypes of Robbie Williams presenting himself as a hyper-masculine cowboy hero, whereas the woman is just seen as a sexy love interest.
I thought the music video wasn’t very good, as it didn’t retain my attention, and I didn’t think the narrative fitted the lyrics.
Music Video Analysis
A-ha - ‘Take On Me’
The music video opens with illustrated frames of a bike race, focussing on a man. We then cut back into a diner, in which it’s revealed that a young woman was reading a comic book, where the race is taking place. The comic man wins the race, and then he mysteriously winks at the girl! Suddenly, a cartoonish hand rises up from the comic book and pulls the girl in. The comic man shows her around the illustrated world - they dance a bit and flirt - and he shows her a window which can transform the comic world into real life. Suddenly, some evil bikers smash the window and chase the man and the women down a cartoonish alley. The man lets the woman out, and she wakes up back in diner and runs home. She sees what happened between her and the man in the comic book, and finds sees him lying on the floor. Tears rolling down her cheek, the comic man appears glitching in her hallway and turns real and they fall in love. This music video is really inventive as it mixes life action footage, with animation. The music video, is fun, high energy and has a heartwarming love story.
Music Video Analysis
Radiohead - ‘Burn The Witch’
The music video opens with a close-up of a stop motion bird singing in a tree which presents an idea of tranquility and innocence - with connotations to old stop motion children’s TV shows, such as the Trumptonshire series. We then fade to be shown a smartly dressed man being driven in a car to a quaint little town. Then, we see the mayor of the town talk to the whole community, and they all nod their heads in agreement. The citizens mow the lawn, paint the postboxers and wash the windows. Tension begins to rise as we wonder what the people are doing to prepare, as a man is building something mysterious out of wood and people are setting up flowers around a pole. When them an meets the mayor, I can infer that he is an inspector of some sort as he uses a checklist. There is then another fade transition, to the painter painting a red cross on someone's door - connotations with the plague. The man is then guided to a model of the village, and has miniature figures of him and the mayor waving back to him. Then another fade to a woman waving, and her playing seesaw with a man, but she’s actually on the end of a ducking stool. Another fade, this time we are shown what appears to be a satanic ritual of men dancing with swords and dressed in robes and masks, surrounding an innocent blonde woman around a tree. Fade to, the two men visit a woman who runs a bakery, and she reveals a mysterious pastry oozing with blood, with horns, ears, legs and a tail poking out of it. The shocked inspector is reassured by the mayor. Another fade to, a flower decorated gallow. Fade to, the inspector and mayor visit a garden where people are picking tomatoes. A farmer shows the mayor a can labeled ‘XXX’ (which can be inferred as poisonous or dangerous). Mysteriously, the mayor drinks it. Another fade, as the inspector is taken to see the village’s big surprise: a festival. The may0r encourages the inspector to unveil a huge statue: which is a wicker man. The inspector is guided up to the cage of the statue, and a lady sets it on fire. All of the citizens, turn around and wave us goodbye. Fade to, another identical close-up of the bird like before, with fire cackling in the background. The inspector is shown to be alive, but covered in black stains. This music video explores the ideas of appearance vs reality, and the dangers of the governments we put ourselves under.
Music Video Analysis
Childish Gambino - ‘This Is America’
The video opens on a black screen, with white hand drawn text saying ‘This Is America’ - this can be an allusion to BLM. We cut to a wide shot of a violin on a chair, accompanied by what appears to be soul music. As the camera pulled in, a man sat down with the violin, and the camera pans round to reveal Childish Gambino (Donald Glover) standing still with his back to the camera. He then proceeds to dance in a close-up continuous shot. He dances over to the chair, which has the man without his violin and a white mask over his head. Donald Glover bends down and shoots him in the head. The music then shifts to a rap. A young man collects the gun and two other men collect the body. People run across the set and so does a car full of people - this alludes to riots. Then, a group of young people in a private school uniform join in with the dance. There is then a whip pan to a choir singing. Donald Glover sneaks up from a hidden door, catches a gun and shoots the choir. The music changes back from the choir to the rap, and he then walks past a police car and riots. He joins back in with the private school kids. The camera tilts up and we pan over to see four black kids in uniform, with masks over their faces and on their phones. We are then taking back to Donald Glover dancing with the school kids, but he is surrounded by police cars, riot police on horses and a car on fire.As the camera pulls into Glover and the school kids disperse, the music stops at his close-up as he makes a gun with is hands. He drops his hands and lights a cigarette. The soul music begins and we cut to a crane shot of the floor which tilts up to another man in white, with a bag over his head, playing on a guitar and varies cars from different decades. Glover hops onto one of the cars and dances on top of it. As the camera pulls away, we are shown more cars. A woman is on top of one of the cars. The camera tilts up to darkness, and we match cut to Glover being chased in a shadowy alley by a bunch of white men. This music video has many layers, as to which it deals with racism, gun violence, protests, suppression, capitalism and cultural appropriation. Moreover, this music video is very good for representation as it mainly features black actors, both men and women, of many ages
Beggars Group Websites - The National
Beggars Group Websites - The National
Record label logo
Album Advert
Band
Album name
Album photo
Song name
Song release date
Song description
Band information
Link to song
Search
This drop down menu provides users with the option to explore other aspects of the 4AD website and their artists
Settings
Users can view their shopping basket
Allows users to buy music and merchandise
Teases the song in order to create interest
Makes user feel more connected to artists
Beggars Group Websites - The National
Link to watch the music video
Information and fun facts on the music video
Screenshots from music video
Beggars Group Websites - The National
Origin on the inspiration behind the song
Shows their ethical side
Vinyl cover
Beggars Group Websites - The National
Description of bonus feature about the record
Information on how to get the album
Inside of Vinyl
This provides backstory to the origin of the album
Beggars Group Websites - The National
Saying who made the quote, and roles with of the band members
Description and information about the album
Album photo
Beggars Group Websites - The National
Track listing for the album
Tour information
Tour dates
Beggars Group Websites - The National
More tour dates
Previous news about The National
4AD logo
List of current artists
Contact details, job opportunities and credits
Privacy policies
Social media details
WIthin this website, the grey, white and dark grey coloring presents and indie, calm and retro aesthetic
Beggars Group Websites - Matador Records
Beggars Group Websites - Matador
Matador Logo
News feed which scrolls between different bands
Promotional photo of the Queens Of The Stone Age
Information teasing new album release
Link to news about artists
Link to matador’s blog
Link to discography database
Link to podcast
Red mysterious tint to the photo
Beggars Group Websites - Matador
Users can look up different albums
Users can create and log into an account
Users can view their basket to buy music and merchandise
List of artists
Music within the store
Stories and Articles from the blog
Beggars Group Websites - Matador
Tab connecting of music videos
Individual thumbnails which present the users with different tones and aesthetics.
Button to play video
Song name and artist
Beggars Group Websites - Matador
Collection of spotify playlists for users to listen to
New work location
London location
Social media and contact information
Beggars Group Websites - Lifeguard
Beggars Group Websites - Lifeguard
Headline - announcing blog
Album photo
Article release
Information on the album’s copyright and publishers
Beggars Group Websites - Lifeguard
Band photo
Photo credits
Link to music video for newest song
Beggars Group Websites - Lifeguard
Links to stream and download music
Information about the band members and
Information promoting the brand
Information on labels and the release of the music
Information about the recording
Beggars Group Websites - Lifeguard
Information and fun facts on each record
Provides audience with the artists intentions with their music
Gives insight into the artists inspirations
Makes the audience feel more connected to the artists as they are getting to know them better
Songs on the tracklist
Beggars Group Websites - Lifeguard
Vinyl and cover
T-Shirt and merch
Different slipcover
Beggars Group Websites - Lifeguard
Tour dates
Who will be featuring at the tours
Social media details
Music Video Styles
Concept Music Video
A concept music video is typically a music video with a more avant-garde take, in which it usually ignores a narrative, has little to no relevance to the lyrics and is heavily focused purely on the artist’s vision.
For my example of a concept music video, I have chosen Fatboy Slim’s ‘Weapon Of Choice’. The music video stars the Oscar Award Winning actor Christopher Walken, and is directed by Spike Jonze.
The music video opens on a man in a suit (Walken) slumped in his chair, and who begins to dance on the beat drop. Walken’s movements are very energized, loose and powerful. This contrasts the monotone and depressing aesthetic of his grey suit. Grey typically has connotations to depressing and dull atmospheres, and the addition of Walken’s dancing shows how the music can make the listener feel invigorated and energised. The location isn’t very dynamic as it is contained within the lobby of the Marriott Hotel in Los Angeles, but we are shown various attractive locations within the building. The cinematography is filled with many ultrawide and wide shots, with most of the angles being level. During the scene where Walken is flying, there is many low angles, with the occasional high angle. There are some tracking shots to follow Walken’s movements, with the low angle wide tracking shot of Walken dancing in the mirrors being a particular favourite of mine.
This music video isn’t very good for diversity and representation as it just features a rich white middle-aged man.
Narrative Music Video
A narrative music video is a music video in which the sequences are ordered in a way in which it tells a story.
For my example of a narrative music video, I have chosen Childish Gambino’s ‘Sober’. This music video tells the story about a guy (Gambino) who tries to impress a girl in a diner through his dancing, and she eventually falls for him.
The mise en scene of the music video is set in a bleak and empty, yet colorful (yellow walls, red seats, green glass bottle) diner. The lighting begins quite dim, yet the colors remain vibrant. The woman at the beginning is sat down sipping on her drink, and is being watched by a disheveled Childish Gambino. He proceeds to get up and by using robotic kind of abstract dance movements, he waves at her and approaches. His movements are very much like someone who is drunk, which links to the lyrics ‘Now I’m so high’. He then falls into her chair and begins gesturing in correlation to the movements; she does not reciprocate to his advances. She begins to leave after his more strange and abstract movements, The audio then becomes more diegetic as the music fades and we can hear the busy ambiance of the outside (e.g., cars, rain, cars running over puddles ext). There is short depth of field, in which the woman is in focus and Gambino begins to dance. The non-diegetic music then begins to fade back in, and Gambino sits behind the women and sings in her ear. This is when the narrative becomes a more surreal and unrealistic, as Gambino jumps up and a dove flies out from under his cardigan, and he pulls an egg out from his t-shirt which contains a note reading ‘I’m so high’. The camera moves to an extreme wide shot from the outside and we watch Gambino up on the table and the woman still sat down. Then, Gambino’s dancing becomes very robotic and abstract and the lights within the diner. The lights change back to normal when the music changes and the woman begins to smile and laugh at Gambino, which may connote that she is falling for him. They dance together and she leaves. The music stops and Gambino sits back where he first started, in a ultra-wide static level shot which is similar to his first appearance. I infer this narrative as a man who tries to love people as he falls easily, but once that love is reciprocated, his partner quickly leaves and he is left to feeling upset again.
This music video is very good for representation and diversity, as it features two black actors (a man and a woman) as the main characters, and a white man and woman who work at the diner.
Performance Music Video
A performance music video is a music video which features heavy use of shots of the band performing.
My example of a performance music video will be Arctic Monkeys’ ‘I bet you look good on the dance floor’.
Within this video, the members of arctic monkeys perform their song, with many quick cuts to many dynamic shots. The music video heavy features many close-ups, mid shots, wide shots, with a variety of static shots mixed with many angles (level, low, high), pulls, pushes, zooms, pans, tilts. The music video is relatively well lit with many colorful lights, and the artists are dressed in very casual outfits. The location is very plane, with it just being in an empty room. This is a very simple but effective music video, as the filmmakers provide a lot of energy to make the performance exciting.
What Music Means To Me
What Music Means To Me
Song from my childhood
One of my favourite songs from when I was younger was ‘Baggy Trousers’ by Madness. I vividly remember dancing around my house with my friends to this song, and shaking the house with our singing. I would always be excited whenever I would hear this song at school discos and parties. One of my favourite memories is listening to this song in my best friends car on repeat for the whole car journey!
What Music Means To Me
Songs which meant a lot to me in my preteens
One of the most memorable songs from when I was younger was ‘Mr Blue Sky’ by the Electric Light Orchestra. I remember i first heard this song in Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol.2, and I became obsessed with it since. At the time, GOTG Vol.2 was my favourite film and I would listen to the soundtrack 24/7, so I vividly remember constantly listening to it. Whenever I used to be upset, I used to listen to this song and it used to cheer me up.
What Music Means To Me
Song which means a lot to me now
My favourite song is ‘This Is The Day’ - The The. I love this song as it makes me feel invigorated and pumped, and it constantly sticks into my head. This song is basically my anthem because I listen to it on repeat whether I’m walking to school, walking around the house, at work or doing my homework. If I am ever watching a film which I find incredibly boring, I decide to put this on in the background to help me feel motivated to concentrate. I was beyond excited when I heard this song in films such as Empire Records and Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol.3.
Banana Phone
Banana Phone
In order to prepare for our own music videos, we performed the ‘Banana Phone’ task, in which we used many different effects and filmmaking techniques, in order to benefit so that we can use them in our own filming. One of my biggest takeaways from this task is learning how to do cloning, this will be useful if I wish to use it in my own video. Moreover, by using a wheelchair as a dolly, the lights and a mirror I have learnt how to execute many techniques on a budget. Furthermore, this task
Pina Colada
Escape (The Pina Colada Song) by Rupert Holmes
What Have I Learnt From This
In this exercise, my group and I were presented with a brief to create a section of a music video for Rupert Holmes’ Escape. Through this exercise, I gained various skills through learning how to include various effects from Adobe Premier Pro into my footage. This will be useful for my music video as it has provided me with skills I can use to interest my audience.
A hurdle I had to go through was trying to learn how to perfect lip-syncing. However, this has proven useful for my own music video as I have gained that new skill.
Best Music Videos
Three Narrative Music Videos
Foo Fighters ‘Learn to fly’ - Within this narrative video, the members of foo fighters dress up as various different goofy characters within the plane. This is a very humorous video, with many skits and minor storylines. This music video clearly has a big budget as it features a huge airplane set, and features a cameo by Jack Black. Notably, Dave Grohl’s acting skills are shown on display in his performance as a flight attendant, shy teenage girl, pilote and overweight lady.
St. Vincent ‘Cruel’ - This is a very good as it features a very abstract and original narrative, in which it can be implied that the mother (St. Vincent) was killed and tortured by the family. The music video begins very strangely, with the mother being lowered into a muddy hole and then cutting to a gas station in which the family act very pecularily towards her. Throughout the video, the family often judge the mother and then they increasingly become violent (holding her in a bath, teasing her with a toy gun and eventually burying her).
Muse ‘Knights’ - This music video is a very entertaining to spaghetti westerns, martial arts films and sci-fi films of the 70s, in which our hero is a cowboy who travels across this semi sci-fi desert to rescue a woman. This music video uses lots of practical effects which are very reminiscent of the 70s.
Representation
Representation
Representation refers to how people, places, objects, events, cultural identities and other abstract concepts are constructed within the mass media. Representation allows people to know and understand the world.
DRCAGES: Disability, religion, class, age, gender, ethnicity, sexuality.
Representation - Women
ILL Manors - Plan B
This music video explores the ‘urban jungle’ within london, that being the lower class council estates. Poverty within council estates of London are common within UK drill and rap, however it is unlikely to find it within genres such as pop or rock, due to those artists usually being from a more privileged background.
This music video conforms towards the stereotypes of the young, lower class, and typically black, council estate thug. However, through genre conventions typical to a drill music video (rap, chaos, jump cuts, dynamic less cinematic shots ext), Plan B explains how this stereotypical lifestyle has been brought about through corrupt UK politics.
While displaying the political injustices, this music video subverts the previously mentioned stereotype as it displays that they aren’t too different to the powerful middle-to-upper class. This is evident through the cameo of famous actor and rapper Riz Ahmed, as well as to have a famous and successful musician in Plan B to be interacting with real people.
The reputation of gender isn’t too diverse as the majority of the class is women. There is a variety of different ages, particularly with the around the under 30 age range. The idea of the younger generation being involved within crime conforms with very right wing stereotypes, however this music video subverts them by addressing how they are
This Is America - Childish Gambino
This music video heavily explores the lives of African Americans. Childish Gambino (a black man) takes the viewer around what seems to be a structured, clean and tidy warehouse, which is a pure white (representing the racist hierarchy of America, in which white people are in power). The concept of African American’s being whitewashed is particularly emphasised when the first black man to appear is dressed in white trousers and a beige t-shirt, while he is playing the acoustic guitar and spiritual-esque music is being sung, which is reminiscent of songs made by African Americans during the slave trade. Furthermore, when the guitarist is then shot by Childish Gambino, this emphasises how African Americans have been conditioned into believing that they must destroy that part of their identity and history. This is further emphasised when Gambino shoots the African American church choir. Consequently, this conforms towards Gilroy’s post colonialism theory.
Racism is further explored during the final scene when Gambino (distressed, sweating) sprints away from a group of angry white people. Furthermore, the close up of Gambino and his running is poorly lit, apart from his pearl white eyes and teeth, almost connoting quite an uncanny valley effect. This mimics the white ran media, as the white people have been shown to depict black people as animalistic and evil during history.
Avicii - Wake Me Up
Avicii’s Wake Me Up Music video breaks conventions of traditional women stereotypes. The protagonist (a woman) is show to be progressive compared to her traditional victorian American western town, in which she would have been expected to be subservient to a man, and to fit traditional house wife values. Her empowerment and stand against patriarchal values is evident through her navy blue military jacket, which is stereotypically worn by powerful men within the media, displaying masculinity and power. In fact, her whole outfit subverts common stereotypes within music videos for women, such as the The Burlesque Girl, The Stripper and The Gangsta Hoe. Furthermore, the ultra wide shot at 1:41 of the girl storming through a lake on a horse subverts stereotypes of women as it presents a typically masculine stereotype of the heroic western cowboy.
There isn’t much racial diversity within this music video, possibly due to the heavy criticisms of old traditional western society. However, when the protagonist join the other modern woman to attend the Avicii concert, she meets a black man. This may be representative of the music video’s themes of moving ahead, showing that in the modern era people of all different ethnicities are accepted and welcomed.
During the beginning of the music video when the protagonist and the little girl walk through the town, the close-ups of judgemental looks of old, unattractive farmers subverts the stereotypes of sexualised and weak woman as the protagonist is still walking with strong facial expressions and an authoritative posture, demonstrating that she will not submit to the stereotype.
There is synergy within Avicii’s brand and the music video due to three of the girls having avicii’s logo tattooed on their arm.
Music Video Pitches
‘This Is The Day’ - The The
I would like to create a music video about a teenager who is struggling to find their sense of self, suffering with insomnia and depression. They don’t really know who they are supposed to be, who they want their friends to be and what they want to do when they grow up. In an attempt to ‘better themselves’, they become friends with the burnouts who negatively influence them (drugs, mischief, violence ext). This change in behaviour not only helps with them dealing with their mental health issues, but also leads to them losing respect from their friends and family, and they only realise once they are in too deep. The music video will end with the main character becoming overwhelmed with their anger and beating up one of their bullies.
I would like to take inspiration from independent coming of age films, and teen films from the 80s and 90s.
This music video will be a mixture of narrative and concept, as I would like to include experimental/avant garde shots for when the main character is experiencing insomnia and their mental deterioration. Moreover, I have an idea for a scene where the characters get stoned, in which filming will transition to a vintage camcorder. To represent the main character’s insomnia, I would like to represent this by filming the main character in a black room, and project TV static onto their face.
‘This Is The Day’ - The The
Insomnia
Idea of youth running out and being ruined
Idea of emancipation
Depression
Inspiration Moodboard
‘This Is The Day’ Costume
Regarding wardrobe, I would like to take inspiration of vintage/indie clothes from the 80s and 90s. I enjoy the idea of different members within the friend group to have their own each distinct item of clothing (whether it be a jacket, shoes, t-shirt ext). However, due to the main character's internal conflict of identifying their own identity, I would like them to explore different ‘aesthetics’ (casual, modern, indie, grunge, skater ext). The idea is that the friend group is a melting pot of different identities, but with one thing in common - a lack of self identity. I would like the era of clothing to be ambiguous, to keep the audience guessing - like how the characters feel about their identity.
‘This Is The Day’ - Locations, Representations
Regarding locations, I would like to use many locations local to me. For example, school, houses, bedrooms, parks/fields, town, underpasses, diners, arcades, beaches, cars, trains ext. Basically, I would like to use locations which are commonly used as hangout spots by teenagers.
I believe that this project has huge potential for representation. We can include teenagers of many different ethnicities, gender, sexualities and abilities, as well as characters with different ages.
‘This Is The Day’ - Stylistic Inspirations
‘Smells like teen spirit’ Nirvana
Links to adolescence and teenage angst
‘Team’ Lord - an A-level music video by David Costa and Carlota del Azar
The cinematic style is very similar to what I would like to portray with the mix of camera quality
This project will be heavily inspired by the coming of age genre within cinema, such as Lady Bird, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Freaks and Geeks, Dazed and Confused ext.
Scene Ideas
‘Eyes Without A Face’ - Billy Idol
I had the idea to create a music video about a teenage serial killer. Hiding a hollow inside of borderline personality disorder and narcissism, they hide behind a shell of introverted, quiet steel. Each murder (human and animal) they commit, they record on a VHS camera and build up a library. One day their best friend (and favourite person) finds the collection and they have to decide whether to kill them or not.
This will be heavily influenced by grindhouse horror films, psychological thrillers and arthouse horror.
This music video will be heavily narrative focused, yet will be very stylistic (dramatic lighting, dynamic cinematography ext). I would want the music video to reflect the main characters personality.
‘Eyes Without A Face’ - Billy Idol
Sense of insanity
Links to 1960 film
Murderous behaviour
Wants to feel human
Inspiration Moodboard
‘Eyes Without A Face’ Costume
Similarly to ‘This Is The Day’, I would want the music video to feature a heavy vintage/indie style. I would want the characters to wear clothes which looks like it could be ripped straight out of a 70s grindhouse flick, varying from bright and colorful, to dull and bland - yet one colour will be vibrant: BLOOD!
‘Eyes Without A Face’ - Locations, Representations
For this project, I would like to use various bright, colourful and generic locations such as school, town, someone's house, restaurants and parks, in order to contrast with darker locations such as bedrooms, graveyards, bathrooms and alleyways when the narrative takes on a darker tone.
This project has the potential to include characters of various ages, ethnicities, sexualities and genders.
‘Married With Children’ - Oasis
For this music video, I would like to tell the story of a man who kills himself, and goes out in - what he perceives as - the best way possible. We open in him in a dirty suit, messy and disheveled, with a bottle of vodka in his hands. The narrative then perceives to unravel what has gotten him in this position. After his work firing him, he manages to miss his train, attempts to get his son to answer to his hundreds of unseen messages after a big argument (unsuccessfully) and texts his friends on the train and finds out they have cancelled their plans to meet up at the pub. He goes home and gets in an argument with his wife after losing his job. Due to the heat of the moment, he storms outside and goes for a drive - - he finds his mates drinking without him. He has a moment of realisation. He parks his car in the pub, leaves it there and walks into town (past the shops, restaurants and river). He sits down at a bench, and drinks a bottle of vodka. He texts his son beginning for him to respond. We cut to his son in his flat, who checks his phone and replies with a stern ‘FUCK OFF.’ The man texts ‘Sorry, please can we just talk’ and receives a ‘FUCK YOU PRICK’ in response. This breaks the man. He texts he texts his wife to say that he loves her unconditionally, but cannot do it anymore and that it isn’t personal to her. Back at the house, she checks her phone and sprints out the door. We cut back to him walking up to the gates of the river - he contemplates jumping and takes a step back at the bench. His wife is on her way. He walks closer and looks over the river, takes a doubtful step back. His wife is getting closer. He texts his son, ‘I’m sorry. I love you.’ It doesn’t send, he looks at the top of the screen ‘User Not Found’ - he’s been blocked. His legs rest between the bars of the gates. His wife is running down the high street - closer. She turns around, he’s gone. She peers over to look at the river, tears rolling down her face - we don’t see the body. He calls her son, a state of shock hits him and he burst out the door. She calls her husbands friends, they stop drinking and sprint out the pub. They all meet her as she cries in her arms. The final shot being his lifeless body in the water.
This music video follows a narrative structure, yet half of it is nonlinear as it has flashbacks as to why the man is in the state he is in.
‘Married With Children’ - Oasis
Suicidal thoughts astabloished at the start of the video
Built up resentment
Insomnia
Wanting to be left alone
Final goodbye
Inspiration Moodboard
‘Married With Children’ - Costumes
In order to match the tone, I would want the costumes to be of fairly dull and dark colors, as well as the setting. All of the character’s would have lively clothes, yet the colors will represent how miserable they are internally. Overall, it is a metaphor for dressing up depression in stylish clothing, yet the dark feelings of depression and hate will always be there. The heavy use of suits for the men would represent society's ideals of everyone following an ideological regime, in which we all must appear happy and hide our feelings.
‘Married With Children’ - Locations, representation
I would like the locations to be filled with dull and black colours, as well as being naturally lit, and very dark during sad scenes. I would include an office, a pub, a train station, a house, dorm room/flat and the river in Chelmsford.
Regarding representation, I have a variety of adults and children, as well as different genders and ethnicities.
Pitch Feedback
Pitch Feedback - ‘This Is The Day’
Pitch Feedback - Eyes Without A Face
Pitch Feedback - Married With Children
Next Steps
This Is The Day - Story Outline
Music Video Influences
Foster The People’s music video for ‘Coming of age’ has heavily influenced my concept, due to it’s themes of growing up, overcoming challenges and obvious connotations to ‘coming of age’ stories. Moreover, I really like the filmmakers use of practical effects, due to their green screen with a horizontal diamond to include the performers and characters within the narrative. Furthermore, I really like the music videos vintage feel, with heavy use of film grain and noise effects. More specifically, I really like the shots used from 2:03 - 2:05 of the character riding a motorbike through a city at night, as the luminous glowing lights contradicting with the darkness, accompanied by the vintage look are very reminiscent of 70s cinema. I also really like this music videos use of ver dynamic and energetic shots, in order to keep the viewers engaged to and too maintain a high energy - and somewhat tense - atmosphere. I also really enjoy the use of a projector onto the performers faces in order to display effects, creating a trippy effect. One thing I really enjoyed is that this music video has a twist; by the end it can be inferred that all of the micro narratives are interconnected within one man’s life.
Band Name
For my Band, I have decided upon the name ‘Almost Almost Famous’, in homage to Cameron Crowe’s 2000 classic, Almost Famous. This goes with the vintage/indie aesthetic of my music video, as the film takes place in the 70s and music is a huge part of its narrative. Furthermore, my music video will feature vintage inspired outfits, which is partially inspired by the films vibrant 70s fashion. I have been inspired by solo artists such as The Weeknd and Tame Impala, who use a band name for one artist.
Backstory: Growing up in a poor and broken home, Almost Almost Famous (Daniel Frye) turned to music for an escape. He dropped out of school at 15 in order to pursue music, in which he briefly was the lead singer for the band: Dead and
Props
Representation Ideas
Regarding representation, I have included three male actors, one female actor, three white actors and an actor of mauritian descent. All of my actors are between 17-18, therefore this would attract the target audience of between 16 - 25 year olds. Furthermore, the music video will address themes of racism, as in the end the mauritian actor is being tortured by the three white characters. This coincides with fighting societal racism in the adult world, as the main theme of the music video is the characters growing up to find themselves, and a once strong and confident character is a victim to societies racism.
Lyrics - Narrative Timeline
Lyrics - Narrative Timeline
Filming Schedule
Digital - Camcorder - mix
23rd September - stock b-roll outside during the night of Myles and Freddie
26th september - Freddie and Myles meet, Noah bullies Myles, performance shots, maybe presentations if we have a chance.
23-24th of September - Shots involving Myles meeting louisa, set books on fire, Myles converts Louisa.
4th October - Louisa kidnaps Noah, I give Louisa the same note, film the torture scene
15th October - Freddie teaches Myles boxing, Freddie teaches myles how to be cool, film scenes of Myles on his own
Pina Colada Effects Task
This task allowed me to grow as an editor and to improve my acting skills for my own music video. This would be useful for my own music video as I can use many effects in order to make my video more interesting - in order to retain viewers attention - and to tell my narrative.
Halfway Evaluations
How does ‘almost almost famous’ fit into the Beggars Group
My artist fits into the indie aesthetic of Beggars group as all of the locations, costume and props I am using throughout my video were either purchased with an extremely tight budget, or are borrowed or second hand. Moreover, my use of my old camcorder further emphasises the indie and vintage aesthetic. This aesthetic is similar to many Beggars group artists such as Lifeguard, especially with their ‘17 - 18 Lovesong’ music video.
For my fashion regarding performances, press and photo shoots, I would like to use vintage and retro kind of clothes, which are reminiscent of the 90s/80s - a common fashion trend amongst Gen Z. In my music video, as my character goes from nerd to burnout/punk, I will begin wearing nerdy clothes - inspired by the 2000s - and then will transition to cooler vintage clothes as my behaviour changes.
Narrative Brief
In my music video, my main character (Myles) is a nerd who is overwhelmed with school work, the transition of teenager to adult and being bullied by Noah. He is also struggling with his mental health and insomnia, which he deals with by connecting to fiction (movies, books, music ext). Once a cool, stylish and rebellious Freddie takes him under his wing, Myles learns to throw out the flannel shirts and textbooks, and to enter the school of cool. As Myles becomes more like Freddie, he approaches the nerdy Louisa, whom he takes under his wing to share his newfound wisdom. Freddie teaches Myles how to fight, which leads to Myles and his new friends kidnapping Noah in order to teach him a lesson. As Freddie and Louisa have fun messing with Noah, and torturing him for their amusement, Myles takes out all of his internal anger on him and ends up killing noah. As he becomes more violent towards Noah, Freddie’s smirk becomes a disgusted and frightened frown. Louisa has a realization grieving her past self and regretful of what she has become. Noah lies lifeless on the ground.
The music video tackles stereotypes of adolescence and explores the cycle of troubled teens influencing each other. The ending of the music video purposefully becomes bathos and absurd with the change of tone with a torture scene and eventual manslaughter, in order to demonstrate the internalised struggle of teenage anger and the dangers of not addressing the issue before it grows into something more.
Album
Lynchian: An adjective deriving from the works of David Lynch. Describes surreal and absurd ideas, as well as homaging David Lynch’s style.
This links to the many references and homages to cinema within my music video
Ultra saturated retro filter links to ‘indie’ aesthetic, as well as retro and vintage photos.
Cigarette in cup of tea emphasises and highlights ideas of morality throughout my video. It could be argued that the cigarette (a motif for bad) is sinking within the cup of tea (representing goodness), showing that good overcomes bad. However it could also be interpreted as the cigarette corrupting the pure and traditional societal norms associated with tea. This kind of metaphor links towards my brands, as throughout my future career I would like to leave ambiguous metaphorical ideas within my work, in which my fans can collaborate to decode. Therefore producing a loyal and dedicated fanbase.
Track list (as featured on website)
Retro font
Audio Visual Idea
Regarding my audio visual piece for my website and social media, I would like to parody GQ’s ‘Ten things _______ cannot live without’ series. This is really popular with the 16 - 25 audience, as it features the generations favourite stars, is an internet series and GQ is really popular amongst the demographic. This online series is often used to promote current artists when they release a new song/album, which helps to further promote their music.
Audio Visual Idea
Furthermore, I have made a teaser trailer for my music video, which will be published on all of my social media accounts. Therefore, I can continue to promote my video, in the hopes of it being shared/found on social media in order to attract viewers. The best part about sharing it to platforms such as Twitter/X and Instagram is that users can share/repost my content which would increase the amount of people I can share the video to. Furthermore, by promoting my album on social media, it is also free/low cost, which would be common for an independent artist to do and particularly on their first album.
Social Media
I currently have three different social media accounts:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/almostalmostfam
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0nkpYXZuCwYDDjiqCTp72A
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/almostalmostfamousmusic/
I also have a website: https://almostalmostfamous.wixsite.com/mysite
All of these platforms are very popular amongst the 16-25 audience, as they grew up with social media. Moreover, social media has also allowed me to connect to my audience through competitions and interactions (for example, I launched a raffle for a signed LYNCHIAN vinyl on my instagram, in which my viewers have to comment their favourite album in order to enter. I would also rate these albums, providing a sense of personal connection towards my audience).
Instagram is by far my most active platform. Through competitions and follower interactions, I have created a dedicated and loyal fanbase. I have employed the use of humour throughout most of my posts (through stories, post captions and direct messages).
About a week ago, me and @reignmusicartist collaborated by doing a parody of cancel culture and celebrity drama, with us having an argument between our fanbases. This lead to my followers messaging me on instagram with stories about Reign, which were very funny, inoffensive and allowed both of our accounts to gain recognition. Moreover, myself and @stanthemanmccormick collaborated by announcing that we will ‘giveaway our merchandise’ to victims of Reigns fictional bullying. This proved to be very successful amongst my fans.
My online comedic persona aligned with my branding as a cheeky and rebellious artist.
Instagram - Fan interactions: competitions
Instagram - Posts
Album Announcement
Behind the Scenes and teasers
Plans Going Forward
My main goal is to finish my filming as soon as possible.
Furthermore, I also need to start making promotional photo shoots and completing my audio visual tasks.
I would also like to interact more with my audience on social media in order to create a strong connection between my fans and my artist.
1 Minute Showcase
I have edited together some of my footage so far into a 1 minute recap: https://youtu.be/23-Pj0H0k2M?si=MIVptbySywUW89VB
The narrative scenes are not linear as some of my footage in between scenes is missing, however I feel like what I have so far is really promising. Due to this, I have started the song halfway through. I am proud of how I have managed to achieve the 90s/retro aesthetic through my combination of costume and the use of my vintage camcorder.
Writing on the wall ideas
Preparations For Torture Scene