Wednesday, 8 July 2015
Thursday, 2 July 2015
Initial Planning
Chosen song: Haunted by Evanescence
Genre: Rock/Goth Rock
Permission received: Yes
The email requesting permission:
Narrative Idea:
Song is based on a short story by Ben Moody - "A little girl around 8 or 9 in a little white Easter dress is walking down a neighbourhood street bouncing a little red ball. As she approaches an obviously deserted large house with a sinister demeanour, her attention moves from the ball to the house. Not paying attention to her bouncing, the ball hits the curb and ricochets toward the house. As she chases the little red ball toward the house, the ball picks up unnatural momentum and bounces right into the huge gaping front door. The little girl pauses for a moment, looks up at the house, which now appears to be staring down at her, and cautiously enters the house in search of her little red ball. as she slowly walks into the atrium, she surveys the decaying mess that once was obviously a beautiful mansion. She becomes mesmerised by the exquisite detail of every inch of the banister winding up the seemingly endless staircase in front of her. Suddenly her thoughts are broken by a horrifying commotion. She whips around to run out the front door, but finds only a blank wall where the door once stood. Frightened, she runs down the first hallway she sees, trying desperately to find a way out, but with every turn the world behind her changes, bending to the will of the house, so that even finding a path back to the atrium where she began becomes impossible. Terrified, the little girl sinks into a corner, puts her head in her hands, and weeps.
10 years later....
The little girl wakes up in a panic, now a young woman. Dirty, scarred. She's now clothed in black pants, work boots, and a black wife beater. Her skin is pale and dirty. Sun has not graced her flesh in over a decade. She wakes to find a meal placed on a dirty silver tray before her, just enough to sustain life, just like every morning before. Placed there by a figure she can only see in passing, around a corner, walking through a door.... a figure that has become her only friend, and her only hate. Her entire existence has become nothing but to hunt and destroy this shadow that keeps her here. As she hunts him relentlessly day after day, she becomes lost in the dichotomy of her being. This thing that keeps her here, this person that repeatedly rapes her mind and watches her when she sleeps, has become her only friend. For is this person left, she would cease to exist. For she live only to kill him. But lives only FOR him. Every day the house changes around her, so that every day she wakes in a foreign land. The only constant... is him. She hears his heart beating, she smells him, she can only think of finding him, but he is also the only thing she knows of love."
Possible Actors:
Genre: Rock/Goth Rock
Permission received: Yes
The email requesting permission:
The email of confirmation:
Song is based on a short story by Ben Moody - "A little girl around 8 or 9 in a little white Easter dress is walking down a neighbourhood street bouncing a little red ball. As she approaches an obviously deserted large house with a sinister demeanour, her attention moves from the ball to the house. Not paying attention to her bouncing, the ball hits the curb and ricochets toward the house. As she chases the little red ball toward the house, the ball picks up unnatural momentum and bounces right into the huge gaping front door. The little girl pauses for a moment, looks up at the house, which now appears to be staring down at her, and cautiously enters the house in search of her little red ball. as she slowly walks into the atrium, she surveys the decaying mess that once was obviously a beautiful mansion. She becomes mesmerised by the exquisite detail of every inch of the banister winding up the seemingly endless staircase in front of her. Suddenly her thoughts are broken by a horrifying commotion. She whips around to run out the front door, but finds only a blank wall where the door once stood. Frightened, she runs down the first hallway she sees, trying desperately to find a way out, but with every turn the world behind her changes, bending to the will of the house, so that even finding a path back to the atrium where she began becomes impossible. Terrified, the little girl sinks into a corner, puts her head in her hands, and weeps.
10 years later....
The little girl wakes up in a panic, now a young woman. Dirty, scarred. She's now clothed in black pants, work boots, and a black wife beater. Her skin is pale and dirty. Sun has not graced her flesh in over a decade. She wakes to find a meal placed on a dirty silver tray before her, just enough to sustain life, just like every morning before. Placed there by a figure she can only see in passing, around a corner, walking through a door.... a figure that has become her only friend, and her only hate. Her entire existence has become nothing but to hunt and destroy this shadow that keeps her here. As she hunts him relentlessly day after day, she becomes lost in the dichotomy of her being. This thing that keeps her here, this person that repeatedly rapes her mind and watches her when she sleeps, has become her only friend. For is this person left, she would cease to exist. For she live only to kill him. But lives only FOR him. Every day the house changes around her, so that every day she wakes in a foreign land. The only constant... is him. She hears his heart beating, she smells him, she can only think of finding him, but he is also the only thing she knows of love."
Possible Actors:
- Olivia (my little sister) as the younger girl
- Myself as the girl 10 years later
Locations:
- Haunted house (tall, dark, frightening..)
- Underground tunnel/shelter with flickering light in Zeals/Bourton
The Birthday Massacre - Beyond
What is its purpose?
The purpose of this music video contrasts that of the Bad Pollyanna video because this video, rather than being fully focused on the band, is fully focused on the narrative. This video still advertises the band because they are the ones acting in it, however, it is much more focused on the story being told.
How do they reflect the genre?
The genre of Gothic Rock is portrayed through a number of things in this video. For example, the use of a coffin represents a theme of death that gives the whole video a more Gothic theme. In addition, stereotypical Gothic locations and clothing are used to make the genre seem obvious, An example of this is the location of woods which are a stereotypical scene for a horror movie, therefore making the scene appear more obviously Gothic/Horror movie based.
Much like the other videos, the band members in this one wear a lot of black clothing and make up which shows that this is an important element of creating a rock music video.
What are the elements of a successful music video?
After looking through a multitude of videos, I have found that using the band in the video is an important part of making a successful music video as this seems to be a convention of most music videos.
I have also found that the majority of rock music videos involve a narrative (excluding Monstrous Child), therefore making this an important part of a successful music video.
Even in this fully narrative video, editing is still used to link the video and song together, for example, at 0:35, Chibi (the singer) is cut in at the moment the singing begins.
How do they differ?
The music videos I have analysed differ in a number of ways, for example, the Bad Pollyanna music video contrasts this music video because while this one is all narrative, Monstrous Child is all band performance.
However, I noticed more similarities than differences. For example, each video relies on black/dark coloured clothes/make up to portray a Gothic character, therefore making this an important element to consider when making my own music video.
Wednesday, 1 July 2015
Bad Pollyanna - Monstrous Child
What is its purpose?
The purpose of this video, unlike the others, is fully focused on the band and so its purpose is to promote the band and their musical talent as opposed to promoting a narrative.
How do they objectify women/men?
There is no clear objectification of either gender in this video due to its being fully focused on the band. However, there are small snippets of objectification against men in parts of the video which are flipping the convention of objectifying women on its head. For example, at 2:02 in the video the woman appears to be scratching the vulnerable in appearance man, this almost seems to be sexualizing the man as opposed to the woman which again contrasts the other videos I analysed.
How do they reflect the genre of music?
The genre of music is reflected through the clothing, much in the same way that the other videos reflect their genre. Each member wears black/dark clothing which adds a Gothic appearance, therefore implying an alternative genre. In addition, props such as a severed pigs head (0:06) are used, these effectively give the video an appearance of being a horror movie, therefore closer linking it to the dark genre of Goth and Rock. An almost horror movie reflection of the genre is important to a rock video because this separates it from the usual, light hearted conventions of pop music videos.
What are the elements of a successful music video?
Much like the other music videos, this video is edited to the beat of the music. An example of this is at 0:20 when the video is edited to come into focus on the whole band at the same time as the full force of the song kicks in.
Due to this video only really being one scene, it needs a variety of shots to make it a successful music video. This is evident in their use of a number of shots such as close up shots to show the intense yet passionate facial expressions of each band member and master shots to show the whole body movements of everyone in the band which portrays them as passionate about their music as opposed to portraying them as only there to be pretty.
Their video is also relevant as the purpose is to advertise the band and that is what this music video is doing. The video uses a number of close up shots to market each band member's individual talent yet also uses mastershots to market the talent they hold as a group.
Black Veil Brides - In The End
What is its purpose?
The main purpose of this music video is to advertise the band as the video is mainly based on them. However, similar to the last video I analysed, this video also has a narrative which advertises the film, Legion of The Black by Black Veil Brides. This video differs from the last video though due to its main focus being the band.
How do they objectify women/men?
This video does not have a clear objectification of either gender, however, it could be said to be objectifying women in a way that portrays them as a stereotypical damsel in distress. An example of this is at 0:20 when Andy (the lead singer) is shown to be carrying Eve (the masked girl) away, this portrays her as in need of his help, therefore making women appear the weaker sex while making the band members seem strong and heroic.
How are the stars objectified?
In this video, the band are shown as a group throughout, never really separating from one another, this means that each member is not given their own narrative and are only seen together as a band rather than as individuals. The camera seems mainly focused on the lead singer, this paints a picture of him being higher up on the hierarchy of the band, therefore engaging the audience in him and giving the rest of the band lesser roles.
How do they reflect the genre of music?
Similar to the other music video, this video relies on Gothic make up and clothing to portray a genre of rock. This video mirrors 'Could We Burn, Darling?' through its use of stereotypical black hair over one eye and black eye make which creates a Gothic appearance in the band members. In addition, leather jackets are used to reflect a genre of rock because leather jackets are a stereotypical sign of rock style and music.
Along with this, unlike the last music video, the bands faces are kept straight, this is because this genre is just rock as opposed to theatrical rock, therefore needing more emphasis on the music and seriousness of it rather than the theatrics.
What are the elements of a successful music video?
Similar to the last video, this music video further proves that a narrative is essential to a music video's success or is at least an important part of most rock videos.
In addition, this video keeps to the successful element of speeding up or slowing down the editing to the beat of the music. An example of this is at 1:20 when the lead singers face is edited to flicker in and out of view in time to the flickering of the music, this helps in creating a clear connection between the video and the music.
A successful music video will also include a variety of different camera shots to make the video seem exciting and not create too much repetition. For example, at 0:24, a low angle arc shot is used to make the singer appear powerful and in charge of the situation, this also gives the camera the ability to move to the beat of the music as opposed to staying still.
This music video is also successful in the way that it is relevant to the video. For example, the style of the band members reflects the genre of music and a lot of the locations also succeed doing this. An example of this is the church location they shoot parts of the video in, this relates to their narrative of their video and also their band name Black Veil Brides which Andy explains; "When a Nun has her coronation, she is marrying God and they literally have a ceremony in which she wears a black veil", this shows that their band have mock relations to religion, therefore making the church more relevant.
Fearless Vampire Killers - Could We Burn, Darling?
What is its purpose?
The purpose of this music video is to advertise the band as they are the main feature of the video. A secondary purpose of this music video is to advertise the book, Militia of The Lost, also the name of album from which this song comes from, written by the singer (Laurence Beveridge) because the video plays out a scene from the book.
How do they objectify women/men?
The women of this video are objectified through making them appear an object of man's entertainment. For example, at 0:15 in the video, the women are shown to be stroking the men with feathers in an attention seeking (provocative?) fashion which marks them as there for the men's personal entertainment. This again happens at 1:56 in the video when the girls surround Drew (the bass player), stroking him in a provocative fashion which implies that the women are objects of sex. In addition, the women of this video are also marked as objects which belong to the men of this video. An example of this is at 2:36 in the video when the man known as the Cardinal in the books, possessively takes the girl (Evelyn) away as though she were an object which belonged to him, therefore giving him control over what she does and where she goes.
How are the stars objectified?
The band in this music video are shown as a group in the mastershot at 0:40, portraying them all as talented musicians due to all playing an instrument, this contrasts bands such as One Direction who are all there to look pretty and don't really play any instruments. Not only are Fearless Vampire Killers portrayed as a group but they are also portrayed as individuals through out the video because each band member has a moment of focus which shows their own individual story lines. However, Laurence (the singer) of the band is subtly portrayed as higher up that the other band members as he is the only one to really look into the camera (0:31) which causes the audience to connect with him on a different level and therefore differentiate him from the rest of the band.
How do they reflect the genre of music?
In this music video, the reflection of the genre, Theatrical Rock, is fairly obvious. For example, the theatrical aspect is portrayed through the exaggerated facial expressions of the band used to portray certain emotions which give the appearance of a dramatic theatre production. In addition, everyone in the video wears very theatrical clothing to portray an atmosphere of theatrics.
The rock aspect of the genre is shown through the dark hair and makeup each band member wears. For example, each band member has the almost stereotypical hair style of a fringe which falls in front of one eye and the dark eye make up. This shows that each band member is obviously a Goth and implies a genre of rock.
What are the elements of a successful music video?
A successful music video has various elements that lead to its success. For example, a successful music video often has a changing speed of editing which is linked to the beat of the music. An example of this is at 2:14 in the music video, when the video is edited to pulse to the sped up beat of the music video, therefore increasing the intensity of that section of the song.
In my opinion, an element of success in this music video is the clear narrative which is aided my theatrics as the audience are more engaged in the video and interested as to what is unfolding, it also gives a clear idea of what the song could be about.
Another element of success in music videos is a relevant video. For example, in this music video, the band members are dressed in a way which reflects their genre and the video tells the story of their song.
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