Summer Project: coursework planning

Research: music videos

Music Video 1: Taylor Swift - You Belong With Me (Narrative)

In the narrative of this music video, we can see the protagonist, Taylor Swift in a classic unrequited love story however this time it's a college. The video begins with a man arguing on the phone with someone which we can see through a window. This is when Taylor glances up at the window with concern whilst seeing this and holds a sheet of paper saying "You ok" He responds with his sheet of paper, smirking with it saying " Tired of Drama", he then shuts his blinds and goes to bed which makes the audience smile because although he is in a rough patch Taylor cares enough to ask him if he's ok. unfortunately, when he got up to shut the blinds Taylor was writing the middle of writing something but she was unable to finish before he closed the blinds.

In a surprising shock of events to the audience, her sheet of paper said "I love you" and she narrowly missed him to show him. This makes the audience feel heartbroken and sympathetic towards Taylor as she is just about to declare her love for the man. In the next scene, we can see her dancing and singing properly trying to distract herself from feeling upset that he didn't get to see her sheet of paper suddenly we can see the man sneak a peek through his blinds and smirking & laughing when he sees Taylor dancing and singing around. Eventually, Taylor crashes after being tired and goes to sleep. This scene leaves the audience with dramatic irony as they know what is going to be shown on that paper however the male character doesn't.

The next day, Taylor finds herself on a bench with the guy from last night but suddenly his girlfriend drives up to them and he reluctantly gets in her car. This makes the audience feel upset for the guy as it's clear that he would rather spend time with her than his girlfriend. The audience starts to feel resentment for the man's girlfriend. Taylor would be seen as the hero in the story whereas the man's girlfriend would be seen as the villain if we were to use props character theory.

In the next scene the man is playing in an American football game both Taylor and his girlfriend are there. Taylor is on the bleachers and the man's girlfriend is one of the cheerleaders. This makes Taylor feel unpopular and irreverent as she thinks she can never compete with the man's girlfriend. This is emphasised as in the lyrics Taylor is constantly comparing herself to the other girl which makes the audience feel sympathetic towards her and want her to get what she wants which is that man whose girlfriend is 'evil'. In a horrible turn of events after the game the guy's so called girlfriend is seen with another guy and dismisses her boyfriend and everyone in the stadium sees this. This makes the reader feel annoyed and angry at the fact that the girl just pushed away her boyfriend for another man and they feel like the guy deserves better.

After the game, the focus then shifts back to where the music video started which is back at the apartment windows with the man getting ready in a suit ready to go to a party. The guy proceeds to ask Taylor if she is coming to the party or not through the piece of paper, and she responds with 'No, studying'. which is when he puts up a piece of paper back and says that he wishes that she was which after that he leaves. This makes Taylor have second thoughts about staying home and studying- she takes one look at her original piece of paper that said' I love You' and takes a leap of fate feeling like it is a now or never situation she even takes off her glasses and goes to the party. At this point in the narrative the audience is cheering her on and at the edge of their seats waiting to see what happens next.

As the next scene fades in from back we can see Taylor all glammed up and in a white dress with everyone in awe and shock, moving out her way. This is when the man that she is looking for spots her and is smiling as his dream came true. They then start walking towards each other however the man is grabbed by his now ex girlfriend and she leans onto him in a flirty way but the man is done with her and quickly pushes her away so that he can carry on walking towards Taylor, once they are finally face to face Taylor finally shows him her ' I love you' paper and in a plot twist the man has his own ' I love you' paper, which after they show each other they share a kiss giving the music video a bittersweet ending. This whole scene would make the audience feel relieved and happy because they finally got what they were rooting for. 

The two prominent Narrative theories that I can see in the music video are Todorov's equilibrium and Propp's character types. For Todorov's theory the story starts with a balance where everything is fine then when the guy is arguing on the phone and his girlfriend controlling him then at the end finally having a new balance where he gets rid of his ex girlfriend and moves on and kisses Taylor. For props theory I would say that Taylor is the hero the guys girlfriend is the villain and you could argue that the guy is sort of the damsel in distress considering his girlfriend was controlling a lot of aspects of his life.

Music Video 2: Rihanna - Diamonds (Camerawork)

The camerawork in the music video is a form of show not tell which also matches the mood of the song. Close-up shots on Rihanna’s face as she sings floating in the water make her look  vulnerable and scared. Wide angle shots are used while she's running through the desert or standing on a beach witch could symbolise escape. The slow-motion shot of her letting go of a diamond could reflect her own life and the idea of moving on from problems. The Low-angle shots make her look powerful whilst she stares at the stormy sky. The use of a handheld shot crates a feeling of urgency and confusion as everything is shaking which makes everything feel more real to the audience. 

Music Video 3: Pozer - Malicious Intentions (Mise-en-scene)

The mise-en-scene clearly communicates what the genre of the music video is. One way this is communicated is this through the clothing which is mainly black jumpers or Jackets. A key piece of clothing that makes it stand out is the balaclavas that everyone behind Pozer is wearing which communicates Rap or UK drill music. The low-key lighting along with bright glimpses of flashlights and police lights makes it feel like underground rap music or a crime film. the placement of actors make it feel scary and as if something illegal may go down since they are can be seen standing in a big group or in dark corners in streets and also doing gun fingers and aggressively holding bats. The setting is very gritty and dirty which reinforces Pozer's identity as rebellious and under the radar of the police/possible illegal activities. The music video as whole helps the identity of life as a gang member which Pozer is going for in the video.

Music Video 4: Paramore - Misery Business (Editing)

In Misery Business  the fast cuts and lots of shot changes to match the song's rhythm and keep things active and hyper. The video constantly changes between close-ups of the band and wider shots of them jamming out which keeps the audience engaged. The music video has quick cuts and the scenes switch very often which keeps the viewer interested. The  mix between a stereotypical American school setting and  performance elements creates the sense of rebellion and hardcore. 

Music Video 5: Katy Perry - Firework (Conventions)

In the music video for Firework there are lots of key conventions of a music video. For instance it is very stereotypical of the pop genre as it has bright colours and performance scenes which match the vibe of the song. The lyrics and the video match perfectly the video has people overcoming challenges which is what the song lyrics is empowering people to do. Another key convention we can see is star power through Katy Perry who helps people fears feel good about themselves.

Music Video 6: Olivia Rodrigo - Obsessed (intertextuality)

For Olivia Rodrigo's Obsessed music video I'll be focussing on intertextuality. The biggest piece of intertextuality that was apparent to me was the reference to the Miss Universe pageant, the whole music video is based around this. The video has expensive set designs and expensive/classy outfits. The theme and and style of the video is like a parody of the Miss Universe pageant. It could also be considered a throwback to classic teen/high school movies and the fashion from the early 2000s. The colours and setting remind people of high school rom-coms from that time which makes the video relatable and interesting. This is because they are combining early 2000 old-school vibes with a modern touch, the video makes the song’s message more appealing to the audience.

Planning: music video treatment

 - Panic Attack

Scene 1 - 2 people are waling in a field when they shouting in the distance and of the person in the group of 2 gets shot. This makes the person left alive run for his life.

Scene 2- the man runs into a bush to hide and the scene fades to black

Scene 3- the man is in his room feel upset that his friend is dead he eventually snaps out as a company has reached out to sponsor him and wanted hit to wear their shoes. This gives him the idea  and starts performing

 

scene 4 -performance element then the video ends after 

Statement of Intent

Introduction

For my music video product i am going to use media language and media representations in order to meet the brief and also hit the target needs of the audience that i am targeting who are people between the age of 16-18, the majority of them being men. The existing artist that i am using for my music video is Dave. The name of my artist that i have made is 1nonly BK. My artist will create a UK rap song which is sponsored by Nike. UK Rap is an up and coming genre which has recently been gaining a lot of attention and has established itself as a mainstream new generation genre. It even has garnered attention in the united states as well. The name of the music magazine is 'empty soul'. I picked this name because it relates to the narrative of the music video. 

Media language

I plan to meet the brief by making the music video meet the 3 minute minimum requirement and also have two separate and different filming locations. One of the locations will be in a big large open field. The other location will be In a studio in a sense it could be a bedroom setup or an actual studio. The camerawork will feature some close-ups, wide shots, establishing shots and also some handheld camera work. The lighting in my music video will be majority natural light and high key lighting. The mise-en-scene will match the genre as the people in the video will be wearing jumpers and tracksuits which is reminiscent of the UK Rap genre. The editing will have a mix of quick cuts and drawn out scenes in order to tell the narrative of the video.

The magazine that I am choosing to use is clash magazine. This is because the magazine is the perfect magazine to use for the UK rap genre as many rappers have been featured in it. For my front cover I will use one main picture of the artist with an additional page with more information.

Media Representations 

My music video will reinforce stereotypes in the media about UK rap. My coursework will reflect social and cultural contexts as The Uk Rap genre has progressively became mainstream and even international in some cases.

Audience

My target audience is the mainstream UK audience which are 14-18 year olds. The types of people watching the music video would properly be aspirers as they may be able to relate to the story alongside the lyrics.

Industry contexts

The record label that my artist will be signed to is Universal media group. I chose this because first of all the artist that I chose is signed to this label and other rappers in his field such as Stormzy.

Ignite presentation

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1BwZArwzMc3wW8BV3cAYp2kmgm-bUkXNkclWglqEvylc/edit?usp=sharing