'In what ways does my music video use, challenge or develop forms or conventions of real media products.'
1) Narrative or Artist Performance? - At the beginning of the project we had a choice to include narrative or artist performance in our video. Though my idea has changed a lot I have always been definite that the video would have a narrative with some sort of storyline. My first idea to have a ballerina and boxer had a lot more of an in depth storyline than the final video, however it still has a narrative behind it. I would say over recent years music videos have moved away from artist performance and more towards a combination of the two but this tends to vary depending on genre or whether it's an artist or band. Solo artists tend to star in their videos while bands rarely do or just have the lead member. Though this is the case for the genre of music, a lot of Rudimental's music video do just have a narrative because they're producers not singers; however for other artists for example Sigma they will have the singer they collaborated with in the video. As mine is only a narrative and doesn't have any artist performance I would say it develops conventions of real music products. It also challenges this convention because I've chosen to focus on two completely separate and unrelated stories , as videos tend to focus on one story line focused around that artist as the lead character.
2) Setting and Location - Setting for music videos associated with my genre tend to be in a modern setting and I have chosen to use this for my video. This is because it fitted with the story and made it a lot easier to film. I would say in most videos flashbacks are often shown or footage from the past is often mixed with the future to show the difference; I have used this in my video as well. The shots of Ruth playing in the park with Freddie is cross cut with the shots of her in the park alone. Location in music videos tend to have a theme for example a city theme is very typical of music videos, but the setting doesn't seem to be very important in the videos, it's more focused on the characters. At the start I wanted to challenge this by having the dance in the boxing ring, this is a very abstract and unusual location, I feel like this element didn't fit with the song. The two locations I ended up filming at, the park and garden, are conventional locations and not out of the norm for real media products.
3) Costume and Props - Costumes for most music videos tend not to be very influential or important, it just tends to be very typical. I have often seen in real media products that the characters will wear clothing with the artists logo on, this can sometimes be the only link to the artist. I like this idea however I decided it wasn't relevant to my video or artist. I have used the convention of having typical clothing because there was no need to have anything abstract as it wouldn't enhance the story. However I did try to focus on items like their shoes or jackets. Props are a bit more relevant to my video show I have developed real products for example I have emphasised the importance of the teddy bear.
4) Camera Work - In real media products of a similar genre to mine the camera angles tend to be close up and tight, it has been filmed with the camera right in the action. This is done to connect the audience with the characters and show their emotions clearly. I want this in my music video so I while filming I made sure I got many close ups and tight angle shots, so with camera work I have used the convention. However when I filmed in the park I also used a lot of wide angle shots which challenge the convention, create a contrast and go with the more emotional parts of the song. I also took influence from Wes Anderson, as shown in the photo, to include some symmetrical shots adding another level to the camera work.
5) Editing - In typically all music videos with a narrative the shot length has to be matched with the tempo and peaks and dips of the song, I really worked on matching my footage to the song; for example creating a montage like sequence out of the footage at the park with short shots to accompany the chorus of the song. This cut technique is used in real media products rather than transitions to link the shots because often the passing of time between scenes wants to be made evident. I have chosen to use a longer length of shot for the parts where Ruth is on her own in the park and other scenes, the idea is that this will evoke more emotion. I have used transitions which challenges conventional videos.
6) Casting and Characters - In the genre the actors cast all tend to be young adults, normally a male and female character as lead. I have developed this because though I have casted several young actors I have also casted some older ones Ruth and Chris and on the other end of the scale Freddie who is extremely young. I think this is good because it shows some variety that we don't see in professional music videos. Characters in real music videos tend to focus around a teenage/young adult who are stereotypically a bit wreckless, carefree and often do drugs. I feel I have strayed away from this stereotype with my characters. The characters are all very innocent and have a unique identity but are all linked by what they have lost.
7) Genre - The genre of the videos for the music I have chosen is drama, I have chosen to use this because it fits well with my decision to do a narrative. It's similar to real products because the video based around emotions and relationships. Genre isn't as important or distinct in music videos as it is in TV and film so I haven't focused on this as much. The main determine of the genre of the video is the target audience of the artist; as most music videos are watched on YouTube these videos tend to be aimed at a younger audience because they use this site most often. To aim there products at this audience they tend to cast younger actors and drama to peak their interest.
8) Special Effects - These aren't typical for music videos of this genre because they tend to try a stay in reality; so they don't stray far from basic editing like colour correction and maybe a few effects. My video develops this because though I've used these techniques I've also added more; for example I've added a grain effect to the footage where they are playing in the park to separate it from the footage where Ruth is on her own.
2) Setting and Location - Setting for music videos associated with my genre tend to be in a modern setting and I have chosen to use this for my video. This is because it fitted with the story and made it a lot easier to film. I would say in most videos flashbacks are often shown or footage from the past is often mixed with the future to show the difference; I have used this in my video as well. The shots of Ruth playing in the park with Freddie is cross cut with the shots of her in the park alone. Location in music videos tend to have a theme for example a city theme is very typical of music videos, but the setting doesn't seem to be very important in the videos, it's more focused on the characters. At the start I wanted to challenge this by having the dance in the boxing ring, this is a very abstract and unusual location, I feel like this element didn't fit with the song. The two locations I ended up filming at, the park and garden, are conventional locations and not out of the norm for real media products.
3) Costume and Props - Costumes for most music videos tend not to be very influential or important, it just tends to be very typical. I have often seen in real media products that the characters will wear clothing with the artists logo on, this can sometimes be the only link to the artist. I like this idea however I decided it wasn't relevant to my video or artist. I have used the convention of having typical clothing because there was no need to have anything abstract as it wouldn't enhance the story. However I did try to focus on items like their shoes or jackets. Props are a bit more relevant to my video show I have developed real products for example I have emphasised the importance of the teddy bear.
4) Camera Work - In real media products of a similar genre to mine the camera angles tend to be close up and tight, it has been filmed with the camera right in the action. This is done to connect the audience with the characters and show their emotions clearly. I want this in my music video so I while filming I made sure I got many close ups and tight angle shots, so with camera work I have used the convention. However when I filmed in the park I also used a lot of wide angle shots which challenge the convention, create a contrast and go with the more emotional parts of the song. I also took influence from Wes Anderson, as shown in the photo, to include some symmetrical shots adding another level to the camera work.
5) Editing - In typically all music videos with a narrative the shot length has to be matched with the tempo and peaks and dips of the song, I really worked on matching my footage to the song; for example creating a montage like sequence out of the footage at the park with short shots to accompany the chorus of the song. This cut technique is used in real media products rather than transitions to link the shots because often the passing of time between scenes wants to be made evident. I have chosen to use a longer length of shot for the parts where Ruth is on her own in the park and other scenes, the idea is that this will evoke more emotion. I have used transitions which challenges conventional videos.
6) Casting and Characters - In the genre the actors cast all tend to be young adults, normally a male and female character as lead. I have developed this because though I have casted several young actors I have also casted some older ones Ruth and Chris and on the other end of the scale Freddie who is extremely young. I think this is good because it shows some variety that we don't see in professional music videos. Characters in real music videos tend to focus around a teenage/young adult who are stereotypically a bit wreckless, carefree and often do drugs. I feel I have strayed away from this stereotype with my characters. The characters are all very innocent and have a unique identity but are all linked by what they have lost.
7) Genre - The genre of the videos for the music I have chosen is drama, I have chosen to use this because it fits well with my decision to do a narrative. It's similar to real products because the video based around emotions and relationships. Genre isn't as important or distinct in music videos as it is in TV and film so I haven't focused on this as much. The main determine of the genre of the video is the target audience of the artist; as most music videos are watched on YouTube these videos tend to be aimed at a younger audience because they use this site most often. To aim there products at this audience they tend to cast younger actors and drama to peak their interest.
8) Special Effects - These aren't typical for music videos of this genre because they tend to try a stay in reality; so they don't stray far from basic editing like colour correction and maybe a few effects. My video develops this because though I've used these techniques I've also added more; for example I've added a grain effect to the footage where they are playing in the park to separate it from the footage where Ruth is on her own.