Performance Video Analysis

Everybody in Love is the second single by British boyband JLS from their self-titled debut album. The song was released on 1 November 2009. The song became the band's second number one single in the UK on 8 November 2009, with a total of 403,258 copies being sold so far in the UK, earning the single a gold certification. I chose to analyse this music video because it was of a different genre to the indie music we had chosen therefore i could make a comparison in main features of a pop video compared to an indie video. However the target audience for JLS are the same as what we are going to aim at as they are a fairly young upcoming new boy band. The is purely a performance video with key aspects that represent this throughout.

The lyrics only have a slight connection to the music video for example "everybody in love, put your hands up" througout the video we see several background performers dancing with their hands in the air which represents the lyrics. However the words are more represented through the dance the main band members do due to being a performance video. Examples such as when the boys sing "you" they point towards the camera which implies that they are singing the song to the audience watching, this is effective as it becomes more personal and special to JLS fans. Adding to this, lyrics such as " i can't eat i can't sleep" is also represented through dance moves as the boys imitate what we would conform to being "sleep" in actions as shown in the image below.

In terms of camera angles there is a wide variety of shots however all of just the band to not take away from the performance based video. The video starts with an establishing shot of the band, this is to show the boys all together as a team and establish their look and appearance to present them as the main aspect of the video. It then shows a close up of their shoes to give a variety to keep the viewers interested then gets straight into the performance. Through camera angles mainly throughout the video there are low angle shots of the JLS performing, this gives the audience a view of looking up to the band like you would in a concert on a stage. Also without realising the viewers may interpret this as looking up to the singers perhaps as role models and idols which a lot of pop singers are to a young target audience. The focus then is made through several close ups and mid shots of each singer separately lip sinking the words, this camera angle is effective as it really shows the emotion the singers are putting into the song and trying to like these emotions to the lyrics.

As this is a performance based video not a lot of the focus is on different camera angles but more mise-en-scene for example the background and setting of the music video. As you can see there is a lot of bright colours in clothing portrays the happiness of the song, the outfits the band are wearing are very young and fashionable which is linked to the target audience and also the "reverse male gaze theory" using the look of the males to sell themselves for consumption purposes which mainly encourages a female audience. However, also the females in the video also represent the "male gaze theory" as they are dressed in stereotypical pink and red clothing which is what we expect of women and long, flowing blonde hair is stereotypical of a "trophy girl" and is what perhaps a young audience of today would see as "attractive". Adding to this, the bright background and setting containing several pretty, hanging lights gives a romantic feel which is stereotypical of a song with love and passion. The face expressions of all the actors in the music video also implies happiness and joy which relates to the lyrics of being "in love".

Narrative Video Analysis

This is a song called “Unloveable” by the band Baby Bird directed by the famous Hollywood Actor Johnny Depp. Baby Bird has represented British indie bands since 1995. I chose to analyse this video yet again because the indie genre was the most popular from our questionnaire but also because it is a narrative based music video, with characters acting out a story line. When doing my research I discovered that the target audience for this band was aimed at 24-40 year olds. This is because the issue the lyrics raise in the song is something adults can relate to and as the video shows it is a more extreme case of love and death which may occur from long term relationships of 24-40 year olds.

The lyrics have a clear connection to the music video, which is why it is a narrative. The video acts out the words of the song, the main character has done wrong and is about to be hung and separated from his wife and child who he loves very much “you’re so loveable”. On the other hand “you can’t love me, im unloveable” is effective lyrics because he is about to die he no longer wants his wife and son to love him anymore to try and avoid the pain they will experience for the rest of their lives. The lyrics throughout are both touching and emotional they portray a great sadness and emulates the true downfalls of love.

The music video begins establishing the scene with a wide angle, establishing shot. This sets the scene which is a forested area that could perhaps be portrayed as eerie with an old fashioned bridge. The impression that is given off straight away from the setting is one of sadness and gloom. There are then several close ups of the main characters feet taking each step at a at time which builds a tension to what about to happen, then also of each stage building up the hanging so the audience can establish what happens if they do not already know what one consists of.


Adding to this, there are several high angle shots of the main character when he is about to be hung this makes the actor appear to be more weak and powerless, clearly a victim in the situation as he about to be killed, the power is dominated by the men who captured the man being hung they are more superior and in control. However as he escapes from the hanging, the camera angles change there are low angle shots of the capturers and mid shots of the main character, this shows a change of power they no longer have control of him therefore they are the weaker ones and the fact there are now mid shots of the escapee shows the shift and growing of power he is now gaining by getting away.

The colours used throughout the video are extremely effective in setting the mood and tone, dark colours are constantly used the entire video is set in black and white which portrays a very sad and depressing mood to the audience which is related to the death in the video. When the main singer is performing the background simple and straight forward just black, you can barely make out he has a black t shirt on, perhaps this represents already that he has died it certainly creates a sense of gloom and tragedy for the audience. In contrast to this, the images of the wife and son have a slight colour to them this is because they are representing the love in the family the happy and hopeful times, looking more towards the positive in all the sadness around.

In terms of mise-en-scene the costumes play a key factor in setting the time of the music video which was meant to be the 1600-1700 which was a significant time period that punishments like being hung was quite popular. This time is established through the symbolic clothing for example the males wear ruffles, lace or linen collars, broad hats and slashed sleeves. Furthermore the wife wears large, laces and ruffled a dress with an underskirt with a corset and high neckline, these are stereotypical features of clothing in the 1600-1700’s which the audience can clearly see in the music video.

Editing also adds an effect throughout for example the slow motion, helps to build tension and add a dramatic effect to certain scenes which become more appealing to the audience. Adding to this, the blurred edges around the scenes with the wife and son in add a sense of perhaps memories or dreams that may be in the past and will be greatly missed. The shot reverse shot and quick cuts also add dramatic effect of building up tension when he is being chased, it builds an anxious nervous mood that keeps the audience interested in the music video.

Concept Video Analysis

This is a music video by the band “Snow Patrol” who represent the indie genre with the song called “Run”. I decided to analyse this song by Snow Patrol because they are an extremely popular and successful indie band and this genre proved to be the most popular in our questionnaire. This one in particular is a concept video with performance aspects and there is an obvious connection between the video and the lyrics. The target audience for this music video is mainly the age group of 16-24 years which is a relatively young audience and there are features in this music video that relate to this age.

The lyrics to the song are both inspirational and touching. The emotions the song is trying to portray are about love and loss, in situations you have to leave the person you love and there is nothing you can do about it. This is an exact issue young people and the target audience can relate to. At a young age relationships are split up due to university, different career choices and many more reasons people are forced to make decisions to separate and these emotions are expressed through this song “run”.

The concept is linked to the lyrics in this video for example “ light up light up” is shown by the main singer lighting up the scene with a fire torch which gives a sense of beacon and represents that there will be light at the end of a tunnel, some hope that things will get better after such heart break. And also, when he sings 'Louder, louder, we'll run for our lives' it's like they are wanting to escape from everything else and just stay how they are at that moment, like their lives will not be the same without each other.

The camera angles used throughout the video are effective in expressing the concept of heart break at sadness for example at the very start of the video there is an establishing shot of the main singer with a motor bike, it is a wide view shot which emulates that the main singer is so small in comparison the large setting and big world around him, and therefore makes him appear smaller which is related to sadness as when people are upset their personalities become smaller.

As the video moves on there are several close ups of the main singer moving to a high angle shot, this is the performance aspect of the music video where the singer is singing directly into the camera . In particular the singer is used as a performer in “run” due to him being attractive to the younger generation, a bit like the male gaze theory refers to the tendency of media to view its subjects through the eyes of heterosexual men, the women are seen as a somewhat sex object to sell a product. In this case it is the other way round, the lead singer in the band is seen as “attractive” and thus selling the band “snow patrol” and making the video appealing to watch.

In terms of mise-en-scene the setting is a very dark background clearly filmed at night which contrasts with the fire torches to make them stand out. The open space of being outdoors and in a field gives an impression of freedom and the concept that there will be light at the end of the tunnel surrounding all the darkness. The dark and dull colours shown in clothing too, also emulate somewhat of a dark and sad mood for the audience, these colours relate to a tragedy and unhappy emotions which the song is trying portray therefore a mood is set from the very start of the music video.

Types of Music Videos

Performance Based Video

These are music videos that feature the artist/band/group performing the song through most if not all of the video. It’s probably the easiest to do on a budget provided you can get a suitable location for filming. A good example of this is would be "Vampire Weekend". The video for this is mostly performance based with random video footage presumably licensed from elsewhere.

Narrative Based Video

A narrative based music video contains mostly footage that attempts to tell a story through the moving image. Usually involving actors, the story is sometimes linked to the lyrical content of the song, but this isn’t always the case. This type of music video tends to be popular for a song that’s featured in a movie and you will often see scenes cut into the music video. A good example of this is ‘C U When U Get There’ by Coolio. A good narrative based video to check out would be ‘Always’ by Bon Jovi.

Concept Based Video

This is a style of music video that is based around a single concept or idea. These types of videos tend to be fairly unusual or utilize a particular editing or filming technique. It’s not often you get a purely conceptual music video as the commercial world demands things to be a bit more accessible but a great example is ‘Monkey Drummer’ by Aphex Twin. Check it out below.

Initial Idea - Narrative Video

For our first idea we came up with a story line for a narrative video inspired by the style of the one we analysed previously "Unloveable" by "Baby Bird"

The story line we came up with was a tragedy about a young man deeply in love with his girlfriend who he is about to propose to, however after an argument he leaves and is in a serious car accident and dies. Because this is a simple story line we decided to give it a twist, therefore we came up with the idea that the car incident came first however it misses him, then shows what he was going to do that day propose to his girlfriend realise what he would lose. Then adding the twist to finish the music video the man really does get hit and dies.

However the complications we came up with when trying to plan this idea was that only having amateur equipment and facilities we would find it hard to make the car crash look effective enough to be real. Also finding an actor and actress with good enough experience to make the music video believable and not look amateur was extremely difficult Therefore we decided this idea would not be the right one for us, however we took this as a positive to go down a different route and maybe use a different style of music video

Whilst we were planning to do this initial idea we went out and took pictures of different camera shots that we could use to start creating a possible story board, these include close ups, establishing shots, high angle and extreme close ups.

Locations

Before we decided on a location we went out to lots of different places that could potential settings for our music video. We needed a location that would suit our concept, a place that could convey our emotional song choice and the theme of "breaking free".

Location 1 - Wildwood

This was a possible location due to the open space and the hills which was an imagery thought up from the results of our questionnaire. However due to being on a housing estate the business may disrupt the filming slightly.

Location 2 - Meadow croft Estate

We went to this location to get a normal, everyday, typical setting to emulate that theme of "breaking free" from a normal person in a normal location. It would show that anyone can have their dreams.

Location 3 - Church

We went to the location of a church as it specifically represents sadness and unhappiness which is the emotion the song portrays. It also gives the impression of dark, black and grey colours which is a theme we aim to follow in our music video as it was ideas from the results of our questionnaire.

Location 4 - Shugborough

Shugborough grounds contains lots of scenic open space which is very well kept and looked after, this was a possible location as yet again like Wildwood the open space is an imagery thought up by people who participated in the questionnaire, it also conveys a freedom and openness which is also linked with the theme, this would be a better location than Wildwood as it is less busier however as it is private grounds we would need permission to shoot here.

Location 5 - Cannock Chase

We took pictures of Cannock Chase as the setting is very scenic, and parts of the forest look very dark, gloomy and depressing which yet again is linked to some of the instant thoughts from the questionnaire. However we discovered when testing out the lighting that this area may not show up as well as the trees block almost all the day light and it may be hard for our artificial lighting be effective.

Location 6 - Acton Trussel Farm

This location would be possible as the back drop of the barn perceives a somewhat dark and gloomy feeling, it is also a large wide area for our dancers to perform. It would be convenient in rainy weather conditions as it indoors but day light still comes through in areas. If necessary there are mains where we could plug in our artificial lighting for effect. The farm also contains a wide area of open, scenic space which is what we were looking for in our other locations.

Indie Music Genre

ABOUT INDIE MUSIC

In music, independent music, often shortened to indie music or "indie", is a term used to describe independence from major commercial record labels, subsidiaries and an autonomous. n the United Kingdom during the 1950s and 1960s, the major record companies had so much power that independent labels struggled to become established. Several British producers and artists launched independent labels as outlets for their work and artists they liked. The UK Indie Chart was first compiled in 1980, and independent distribution became better organized from the late 1970s

INDIE STYLE

Now about the indie fashion, because music and fashion go hand-in-hand, whether or not one likes to admit it. Indie clothing, indie clothes, indie shirts, indie pants, there isn't too much independent about it. Rivet belts, studded belts, vintage shirts, low-rise pants, unkempt or pulled-forward hair, it's a specific and easily-defined look, like the hip-hop scene in that respect. Torn or ripped jeans, denim jackets, bandanas, scarves, leggings, boots and even enormous sunglasses were just a few of the fashion trends that slowly slipped into everybody's wardrobes. It's all about uniqueness. As a fashion style, it is extremely popular because it allows individuality and free self expression.

HOW DOES INDIE BECOME SUCCESSFUL?

Many bands have chosen to forego a record label and instead market and distribute their music only on the Internet. Digital marketing firms such as CDBaby, Magnatune and iTunes offer opportunities such as podcast creation and promotion and video hosting. In the case of digital distribution, musicians lend a company the right to distribute their music. The contract is often non-exclusive, and the rights to the music generally remain with the artist. The non-exclusivity of the contract allows many artists to have an online presence while continuing to sell directly through their local independent music stores.