The intention for my own DigiPak for Cigarettes After Sex is that of combining inspiration from my research into alternative DigiPaks within the same genre, and my own photography. I was particularly inspired by Daughter's scratch, etching and distressed look as well as My Bloody Valentine's overlay technique. Combining the elements of these two in particular, I have conjured up an idea of what I want my final product to look like.
When considering the mood and overall aesthetic that I am aiming for in my final product, I turned to the actual album art for my chosen band, and have made the decision to experiment with monochromatic images as well as the overlaying technique. The aim is to mirror exactly what I have produced in my music video, in terms of capturing and maintaining the grittiness of the footage and translate it into print form. All of the covers for the three albums that my band has released, have a solitary item or figure within the frame that has been edited to suit the genre of the band.
The overall aesthetic of my DigiPak will reflect my own interpretation of the song, with influences from prior album covers as well as inspiration from the external research I have conducted. Based off their prior album covers, I am going to ensure that I create a distressed and grungy look and incorporate elements of film grain or a burnt out film tape/photograph (used as an overlay) to mirror my interpretation of reminiscing and nostalgia of distant memories. This way, I know I am maintaining that link and I have evidenced a level of continuity between the music video, my interpretation, the band and the genre.
Overall, I want to maintain a sleekness to the DigiPak, but also maintain the relationship between each ancillary product. I am particularly interested in the idea of using scratched paint and/or scratched photographs as an overlay; as well as the wedding rings and hands (see previous post) to use as the focal point on the album cover.
Compared to the other influences, I will be ensuring that the name of the band is at the forefront of the DigiPak, as I believe that although they're an up and coming band, I would want to maintain that level of interaction with audiences, and I would do this by ensuring that the name is at the forefront of the DigiPak and in an appropriate font and size. To maintain the links with the music video, I will consider using a transparent overlay of flames on the album cover as well, as this holds symbolic value within my video and reiterates that relationship.
The general codes and conventions of a DigiPak and/or CD cover are as follows:
Appropriate font and text size
Correct and accurate register and language
Barcode, publishing and copyrighting information (noted on the back cover)
A continuous relationship between the band iconography and their product
A track list
Daughter, 'Not To Disappear' (Dream-Pop/Indie)
The album cover for Daughters, 'Not To Disappear' is not limited in its colour palette and features an amalgamation of pastel colours that have been etched and scratched to mimic a distressed look. There is no mention of the bands name on the front of the album cover, however, it is only on the back alongside the track list. The aesthetic of the album continues onto the back side of the CD case, but doesn't flourish with the same amount of colour as it did on the front - the look changes to a more subdued and grungy appeal due to the lack of colour.
Considering the album name, 'Not To Disappear' and comparing it to the chosen aesthetic of the CD cover, could be connoted with the idea of space and the outer world, as the scratch marks and distressing of the paint morph into surreal shapes and lines, and a continuation of a deep blue follows onto the back cover. A solitary yellow mark could be representative of a planet or a person lost in the external world of space; perhaps mirroring an expanse of a subconscious - ergo, lost in their own mind. Having heard the songs on the album, this isn't a far stretch as the songs speak of identity loss and becoming lost in your own mind.
The choice not to have the artists name on the front cover leaves a sense of ambiguity and could possibly draw the audience into seeking the artist. Having researched the other album covers for the artist, it is interesting to note that the artist doesn't present herself on any of the covers, but instead uses pictures of children and a swooping piece of fabric. I believe that the choice to do this would stem from the fact that the artist isn't looking for popularity and fame by projecting her image for mass audiences, but instead finds comfort in producing beautiful music.
Font size and choice is an integral part of any CD cover and DigiPak. The choice for a simple and sleek font on this CD cover conforms to what you would see on an album cover concerning an artist within the realm of the dream-pop or indie genre. The smoothness of the font and size is aesthetically pleasing and doesn't detract from the illustration on the cover. Although, the all-caps adds an edge of harshness to the overall look of the cover. Using a barcode in the bottom left-hand corner allows people to purchase the CD and also makes the CD eligible for sale. The CD also features the copyright and publishing information, positioned next to the barcode. This informs people of the producing and recording companies, and suggests that the CD could not be copied and sold for alternative purposes.
I am inspired to use an aesthetic like this as the distressed look of the album covers could translate to the intricate workings of a relationship. Obviously, the colours would change and perhaps lean more towards striking colours such as a deep red or purple, instead of using pastel colours. In relation to my music video, the aesthetic of my footage is gritty and edited with cool coloured hues and this was done to fit the genre of 'dream-pop' and the overall aesthetic of my chosen band.
My Bloody Valentine, 'Loveless'(Dream-Pop & Rock)
This album cover is considerably different to the aforementioned. Compared to Daughters album cover, this cover details more of a psychedelic element to it, reeling the audience in with a vibrant, digitalised magenta colour. It also features a very prominent image of a guitar, following the code and convention of a rock band. The tilt-shifted appeal of the CD cover offers a simplistic yet captivating image for the audience to engage with; with the bright colour being the central focus.
What is interesting to note is that there is no capitalisation of any word throughout the entirety of this CD package; perhaps offering a cleaner and softer appeal to the look instead of utilising harsh capitalisation. The font is also smoothed and curved, and doesn't resemble any harsh fonts that you would typically find on a rock genre CD cover. Compared to the front, the back of the CD cover is a binary opposite colour; a pastel off-blue, yet. Considering that My Bloody Valentine is a well known rock and dream-pop band, the tilt-shifted glow of the guitar conforms to the genre of dream-pop, whereas they still maintain the iconography of the rock genre by using the electric guitar. Here, we can see a convergence of codes and conventions of two widely different genres.
It is interesting to note that they haven't mentioned the album name, which is 'Loveless' and haven't included the barcode on the back cover. This could have been done because of a worldwide distribution; thus, the barcode may have been stuck on, instead of being included in the final print. Although, this is highly unusual as every single artist or band when releasing a CD must have the barcode, publishing and copyrighting information on the back cover.
If I were to take inspiration from this CD cover, it would be the use of the tilt-shift, but no so much the glow of the iconography, as I feel this wouldn't fit in with my overall aesthetic of my music video - it would be too dreamlike and soft. In one of my previous posts, I included potential photographs (my own) that could be included on the DigiPak. These photographs were the hands of my mother and father and showed their wedding rings at the forefront of the image. Perhaps, I could tilt-shift that image and use the inspiration from Daughters album cover (the distressed paint and scratching) to lay over the top of the image. However, I would include the artists name and the album name on the front and the spine of the DigiPak - something that Daughter didn't do.
Still Corners, 'Strange Pleasures' (Dream-Pop & Psychedelic Pop)
This album cover represents both the psychedelic and dream-pop genre of the band, 'Still Corners'. The most notable feature of this album cover is the vibrant, digitalised colouring of the desert which has then had an overlay of wispy clouds added to it. This certainly adds an element of surrealism to the artwork. In keeping with their genre, the scripture that is used for the name of the band and the name of the album, is almost illegible, but is entirely associated with messy, handwritten font, again, adding the appeal of the "carefreeness" that is associated with the two genres.
Inside the DigiPak, the track list is revealed. The track list is printed using a sans serif font and brings back the "put together" look of the album that was perhaps taken away with the almost illegible writing on the front of the album cover.
There is a continuation of the psychedelic colour scheme that follows through onto the inside of the DigiPak and onto the back cover. However, on the inside of the DigiPak, it can be noted that the blue hasn't been consistent and has been replaced with a dull, deep red. This was probably done as the constant of blue throughout the entire package would have been overbearing and detracted from the track list that remains on the inside cover.
The publishing and copyrighting license is noted on the inside cover of the DigiPak and can be seen on the lower left-hand corner of the inside page. To complete the entire packaging, the band have also decorated and illustrated the actual CD, using reference from the original front cover of the album. This is so that there is a continued theme and aesthetic and reinforces the psychedelic genre of the band.
Although this packaging reflects the vibrancy of the dream-pop and psychedelic genre, I wouldn't include this much colour into my work as this doesn't reflect my own personal interpretation, nor does it reflect the mood that I am trying to convey in the video. The only element that I would consider taking from this DigiPak, would be the overlays.
Upon first glance, this album cover uses dull digitalised colours, such as the magenta, green and cyan in a peculiar setting. Looking closer, you can tell that the colours have been through an overlay process in which the colours start to merge to create a sort of kaleidoscopic mirage, which in turn, reinforces and conforms to the ambient pop genre. The text is bold and obvious, immediately drawing someone to the name of the artist; the same can also be said about the album title. However, it is an interesting choice to take away spaces between the words and condense the title together. I believe this was effective and worked well because of the bold and regular font segregation, otherwise the text would have looked flat and unprofessional. When reading the album title, you are naturally drawn to the "Hurry Up" in bold and personally, I read it with a harsher intonation and emphasise this part of the album title. Subconsciously, this actually makes me want to listen to the album more and it's as if the artist is trying to usher audiences to "hurry up" and listen to the album. I tested this theory of mine on my parents and my sister. I asked them how they would read the title and they all said that they would definitely put more emphasis on the "hurry up" - so it wasn't a total stretch. The album cover in itself if entirely ambiguous and features three enigmatic characters that audiences would struggle to relate to, thus, creating an enigma as we wonder if these characters are prevalent throughout music videos or part of the band and it's image (used as iconography).
Looking at the back and spine of the album cover, the track list is clear and has a clean, professional look to it. The publishing information and copyright information is evident as well, as it is situated next to the barcode. If there was one criticism I could make about this album cover, it would be the confusion about the separation of the songs by the bold numbers in the middle. .
On the inside of the DigiPak, there are photographs that feature the band and their performances, as well as their logo. Since M83 are an ambient-pop group, they are commonly associated with everything to do with space and the outer galaxy and this is reinforced because of their popular surreal and ambient music. There is an image of a galaxy on the far right section of the DigiPak that continues onto the actual CD along with the name of the band. All in all, there is a clear colour aesthetic throughout the entire packaging and the artwork maintains its deep purple and magenta hues.
The only thing that really inspired me about this DigiPak and album cover was the dark colours that contrasted with the digitalised palette. Although, I have to consider my intention and the mood of my music video, and when considering this, I feel as if it would be mismatched if I were to use bright colours such as this. I believe that colours as vibrant and as obvious as these, would only really appeal to an electronic band, purely because of the high digitalisation of the palettes.
Purity Ring, 'Another Eternity' (Dream-Pop/Synth-Pop) This is yet another album cover that toys with simplicity and pastel colours; both elements work effectively in conveying the genre of the band. The singular woman that is obviously suspended in the air evokes a feeling of the ability to dream, shifting through time and getting lost in the world of music, and upon hearing their music, I definitely agree with the latter. The sounds that Purity Ring focus on is that of an upbeat, yet oddly calming tempo with moments of surreal melodies; allowing your mind to wander. Dressed in a white sheer dress, the suspended woman reinforces the bands image of being "pure" etc. as typically, in Colour Psychology, the colour white is often associated with virgin-like qualities and the art of being "pure". Another notable feature to the front of the album cover is that of the rather obvious pink circle that is detailed with a range of intricate lines and patterns. A rather obvious observation that can be made is the fact that the band haven't included their name anywhere on the album cover and DigiPak - perhaps, as stated before, this was done as they want to keep their image "low-key" but still continue to make their music.
Turning to the back of the album cover, you are instantly drawn to the four symbols at the top of the cover. The only obvious one that I can identify is that of the moth located second to the right, the others are left totally ambiguous and could be considered the emblems that are used as iconography for the band and their fan base.
As always, the track list features on the back in clean, uppercase font; adding to the overall sleek aesthetic of the DigiPak. It includes the licensing agreements but also the location of the producing studio that seems to be in London. Again, the barcode is featured making it eligible for purchase.
In terms of representation of the band, the colour palette seems to relate to their idea of "purity" and the DigiPak is devoid of digitalised colours and features a pastel pink throughout. Looking below, the unfolded card also has the pastel pink colour, but it is obvious that there is a gradient or ombre effect to the colouring.
Personally, I really like this album cover and DigiPak, it remains simple yet I believe it holds deeper connotations that perhaps the avid fan base may understand. However, that being said, I don't think I could take that much influence and inspiration from this cover as is it a total binary opposite to what I actually want to produce for my own packaging.
Throughout the research of different DigiPaks and album art throughout the genre of dream-pop, psychedelic-pop and ambient-pop, I have gained a lot of influence and inspiration that I could include in my final products.
Genre Music Video Analysis - Dream-Pop/Ambient-Pop
Considering that Cigarettes After Sex isn't a very well known band and are so differing in their music genre, it was tedious trying to find bands that were even remotely similar to what the band offers. However, through trawling the Internet and the minds of the youth (i.e. my friends) I was able to make comparisons of the band to well known artists such as Daughter, Damien Rice and Chet Faker. However, for the two latter artists, they didn't have any music videos, they were unofficial and were only live lounge sessions.
Numbers - Daughter
Numbers by Daughter is an extremely brooding and melancholic tune, slightly reminiscent of 'Nothing's Gonna Hurt You Baby' by Cigarettes After Sex. It is however, more upbeat to my original song, 'Keep On Loving You'. What struck me about the music video is the low-key and sombre lighting that was quickly contrasted with dull neon lighting such as the blue and purple hues. This immediately drew me to the music video as a lot was happening, but not to the extent that I was distracted - it kept me engaged. The music video follows the narrative of a young woman who ventures out into the dark streets to 'find herself' because she feels perpetually numb and struggles with her identity in a cruel world. The song details the artists pain as she fails to make emotional connections to other people, hence the tracking shots that show her being dismissive towards an injured woman and blowing cigarette smoke into the face of a street preacher. As a band, Daughter is known for their brooding tunes and are categorised into the Dream-Pop and Ambient Rock genre. Because of this, I can make the link between this music video inspiring me and my own production as the bands are of the same genre.
However, it is important to note that although this music video depicts low-key lighting and melancholic scenes, it is not necessarily how I would like my music video to be filmed. My interpretation of the song, 'Keep On Loving You' is neither negative nor explicitly positive, it is however a reflection of a relationship, weighing the good times and the times of sadness and missing your significant other. In this case, I can apply my music video to this one as the music video for 'Numbers' follows the inner relationship of a woman and her feelings towards the external world, and in my video, I explore the relationship of a married couple. In a nutshell, the two music videos are linked by their focus on relationships.
Daughter - Still
Another one of Daughter's songs, 'Still', focuses on a turbulent relationship. The style of the music video is narrative based as we see the progression of their relationship and the turbulence that they face by being with each other. What connects my music video to this one is indefinitely the narrative concept behind the video. Although, my video focuses on the beauty and undying nature of a relationship, is it still a narrative. Like the aforementioned video, the footage features sombre, low-key lighting that is again, contrasted with neon colouring. This seems to be a continued theme throughout their music videos, giving them their own personal aesthetic.
Daughter - Doing The Right Thing
This music video is the closest to what I aim to achieve in my product in terms of the colouring and camera shots. The overall aesthetic of the music video is filled to the brim with cool hues that would have been completed in post-production editing - this is exactly what I want my video to look like. There are camera shots that contrast with this cool toned colouring and are obviously "warmer" than the rest of the video. Aside from the colouring, the camera shots are exactly what I aimed to have in my video: the close up camera shots of the eyes and hands, capturing the minute details such as the skin wrinkles is exactly what I have done and what I am going to continue to do. It is also important to note that again, the video is a narrative video and follows the relationship between a married couple and how they have progressed through life. In a close-up camera shot, there was a clear image of a photograph of the pair at their wedding - this is exactly what I have done in my video where I open with a panning shot of photographs from my parents life and how they have got to this point now. This music video is the closest and more accurate representation of what I am going to achieve in my final product - both aesthetically and the range of camera shots.
As I have said before, the way in which I have interpreted the song by Cigarettes After Sex determined my music video style, and although the song is essentially categorised into the 'ambient pop' genre, the way I have interpreted it has convinced me to shed light on a more positive element of the song and reflect this in the video - hence the high-key lighting and close-up camera shots of my protagonists and them being happy and joyous. However, this was contrasted with the mellow, slow-motion panning shots at the beginning and the end of the video and the dull-coloured editing at the beginning. The editing is done purely to reflect the emotions that are evident within the video and to enhance the emotional reception that I get from the audience.
So, why hands?
In keeping with the overall mood of my final product, I decided to set up a photoshoot so that I may take photos of of my parents' hands and edit them using Photoshop.
I personally believe that the hands are the most intimate part of the human body, thus, it would only be natural to photograph them and use them as an exploratory idea for my DigiPak due to the nature of my music video and what it entails. Since these are the hands of my parents, I felt as if I should incorporate them into the DigiPak one way or another in an effort to complete a well-rounded moving image piece and it's additional marketing products - however, this isn't obviously the final decision I will make, I will explore alternative methods and/or images to include on the DigiPak.
Symbolically, hands are part of the human body that instigate the most interaction, they can be the forefront of expression, communication and intimacy. To further reinforce the intimate and romantic, yet brooding (only through the song does this element emerge) mood of my final product, to include the hands on the front and back cover of the DigiPak, seemed relevant and appropriate and ties the product together.
The rings are edited through the Selective Tool on Photoshop and edited through the process of using Levels. Considering the final product is being made with the intention to be a homage to a married couple, the rings are included and highlighted in the images to further reinforce the bond that the two protagonists share.
Editing Process and Image Specifications
F Number:f/5
Exposure:1/50
Focal Length:34
Dimensions: 6016 X 4000
TAKEN WITH A NIKON D3200
Editing the images was relatively simple and I already had an idea of what I wanted, as I was already influenced by the overarching mood of my moving image product.
Opening the images into Photoshop, the first step that I took was Auto Colour, Auto Tone and Auto Enhance - these processes were used to bring the image up to its maximum potential, giving me a clear idea of what I would be working with as I further edit the images. Moving on, I then applied a monochromatic filter over the images, however, the filter was too flat and didn't bring out any of the details of the hands and the shadows weren't intense enough - the image lacked depth. In order to combat this, I opened up the 'Levels' tool and played around with the levels of colour of the images until I found the right balance that I wanted - strong enough to add depth to the image, but weak enough so that the image wouldn't be distorted and lost in the dark areas of the photo.
Once I had completed this step, I then used the sharpening tool to further enhance the details of the hand - this was to be symbolic of the intricacy of the relationship, and the harsher lines shows how "feelings run deep" between the pair. Everything that I did with these images were done with intention, as I felt that this would translate to the audiences receiving and engaging with the product.
To add more depth to the image, I then chose the selective wand tool to isolate the background and diminish the rather "offensive" fluorescent lighting. After I completed the selection, I then went into Levels (again...!) to alter the highlights and shadows of the image - I completely eradicated all highlights and intensified the shadows so dramatically that in effect, it created a completely black background, ergo... mission accomplished! I achieved what I wanted to and it worked to great effect and fitted well with my original intention.
Original image
Finally, to complete the editing process, I used the selective wand tool again and highlighted the rings on the fingers of my parents. With these areas selected, I then opened the Levels tool again and elevated the highlighted areas of the rings so that it would become more intense and become symbolic and reflect the intense love and affection felt by both parents.
General Narrative and Plot
My final decided concept for my A2 music video follows the intimate relationship of a married couple over the 18 years that they have been together. The music video focuses on various elements of their relationship, such as nostalgia when recollecting their own youth, the family they have created and raised, and the connection between the two and the eternal love shared. Structurally, the video will be filmed through a complete cyclical narrative: showing the start of their lives and then finishing with the current stage in their life. The narrative follows the couple recollecting their past through their own handwritten love letters and photographs, symbolising the bond that they so deeply share with each other. However, in order to stay true to the lyrics, there will be a loose relationship between the visuals and lyrics by showing the distance that the couple sometimes face, but in the end, they always come back to each other. The video opens with a slow-panning shot of a fireplace and photographs of the couple when they were younger and in contrast, the video ends with a secondary shot of a fireplace but then pans to photographs of their engagement, wedding and their children. The video, in essence, is a tribute to everlasting and undying love.
Song Choice
The song that I have chosen to create a music video for is "Keep On Loving You" by Cigarettes After Sex. It is important to note that the band, Cigarettes After Sex, covered this song that was originally performed by REO Speedwagon. I believe that this will act as an advantage as this allows for a wider and older audience demographic to be interested in my music video, as REO Speedwagon is an American rock band that formed in 1967, thus meaning that there will already be an established fanbase. This will in turn, push an older demographic to listen to the cover of the song done by the American band, Cigarettes After Sex that was formed in 2008.
Location
Here, I have included photographs that I have taken of locations that are going to be used within my music video. The location of any music video is significant as it determines how well the overall narrative flows and establishes a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals (i.e. the setting). Staying local will allow me to take advantage of the beautiful heritage of Ilkley, and allows me to manage my time around other areas of my filming and production process; such as editing.
Considering that I will be filming through November and finished by the end of the month/early December, the trees on The Grove are laden with lights that illuminate the pavements, I will also take advantage of this as several frames of my footage will have these lights shown, in order to heighten the romantic mood of the video.
Aside from utilising the main town of Ilkley, I will also seek to film on the Moors for one of the more panoramic shots of the music video. The natural setting may pose some issues with lighting, because of this, I will seek to utilise an extra light source that will enhance the film exposure so the footage won't be dark. However, if this isn't as successful as I hope that it will be, I can always use post-production editing to enhance the brightness of the footage.
Mood
Even though I have changed my concept, my influences from other music videos and artists hasn't wavered. I am still very much influenced by The 1975's music videos as they show raw emotion of the band members and actors, whilst also sitting comfortably within the codes and conventions of an Indie music video. My music video will conform to these genre conventions, for example, through technical codes such as dark, brooding lighting. The post-production editing will mean that the footage is edited through slow-cuts, as apposed to quick-cut edits, although, I will not exclude quick-cuts entirely. In my first music video concept, I intended to have shaky camera work that would enhance the grittiness of the footage but also aid to the success of the overall narrative, however, since I have changed my concept, the transitions and filming will be stabilised as to provide a smooth effect, much to mirror the romantic mood.
The 1975 utilise Colour Psychology throughout their videos and considering that I will use their videos for a main influence from the realms of the Indie genre, I will also incorporate this ideology. However, it will not be my main focus, I will instead use more symbolic codes (such as a close-up camera shot of a fire - symbolising desire/love) to aid the narrative, the subtle use of Colour Psychology through post-production editing will only enhance my intentions.
My music video for the A2 Coursework is going to be situated within and inspired by the 'Indie' genre, slightly transforming it from the original genre of the song and the artist; which is contemporary R&B. I would like to stray away from the original genre of the artist as I don't feel as if it would be appropriate for the narrative that I wish to translate to my audience. CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF AN R&B MUSIC VIDEO
My music video for the A2 Coursework is going to be situated within the 'Indie' genre, slightly transforming it from the original genre of the song and the artist; which is contemporary R&B. Typically, in an R&B music video, the codes and conventions are strictly suited to that genre; barely drawing parallels between others. The R&B genre is usually associated with sensual lyrics, accompanied by provocative visuals in order to successfully pertain to it's genre. Because of the nature of the lyrics (which are usually targeted at teenage girls and women), male artists such as Chris Brown and Usher are usually shown in music videos as being topless; this is because the music industry would want to attract a larger female demographic considering that this is their primary target audience. The music videos are filmed in certain settings, such as the beach, a night-club, or the artists own home; this is a convention of an R&B video as more often than not, this is the "go-to" location.
Apparel for male R&B artists isn't too extravagant and is a subdued version of the hip-hop genre, for example, hip-hop artists usually don excessive amounts of gold chains and other jewellery, but in the R&B genre, this is kept to a minimum.
Tattoos are also shown to be prevalent in R&B music videos, thus making it an expected code of the genre.
As far as characters that are shown in the music video goes, the narrative usually follows two protagonists: the male artist and a female companion. Usually, the male artist is shown to be serenading a female actor, thus reinforcing the strong relationship between the visuals and the lyrics.
Camera shot types range from extreme close-up shots, mid-shots and tracking shots. Extreme close-up camera shots are utilised to display the element of performance, such as lip-synching, and emotion as observed by the artist in order to form a relationship between artist and audience. Tracking shots aren't necessarily included in all R&B music videos, however, they make it easier for the audience to follow the narrative and ensure that the narrative is kept succinct.
In comparison, female R&B artists are usually seen in music videos to be wearing minimal, provocative clothing in order to appeal to the male demographic. Because of this, female artists are more often than not seen as an object of desire are are blatantly objectified; this would be to suit the music industry demand, particularly concerning the genre of R&B.
The hair and makeup of the female artist is one of the most predominant features that is shown in an R&B video; used primarily to exemplify the sex appeal that the artists are notoriously supposed to have.
As a general rule of R&B videos, the notion of 'sexuality' is heavily acted upon and is used as an overarching influence in order to appease certain demographics. Sexuality is the most common influence for R&B videos and songs of which it is heavily reinforced through particular codes and conventions such as clothing, or a lack thereof, and makeup.
CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF AN INDIE ROCK MUSIC VIDEO
In an Indie Rock music video, mis-en-scene is imperative as it's main purpose is to sustain a clear, succinct narrative that the audience can easily identify. This may be achieved through a limited amount of props or anything that correlates or offers iconography pertaining to the band. Typically, the mis-en-scene of an Indie Rock video features gritty, low-key lighting that is used effectively to invoke certain moods and responses from the audience. High-key lighting will only truly be prevalent in a music video where there is a sub-genre being represented, such as Indie-Pop; stemming from Indie Rock. Below are examples of an Indie Pop video (note the high-key lighting, vibrant colours) and an Indie Rock/Grunge video (note the low-key lighting, sombre/dark tones).
Indie Rock videos are laden with performance elements, such as lip-synching or a wide-angle camera shot capturing all band members performing the song through mime. Camera shots are also a very important feature of an Indie Rock video, most of the time wide-angled and extreme close up camera shots are utilised to make the band members known to the audience and therefore solidifying the strong relationship between the artist and the respective audience demographic. This idea of utilising specific camera shots allows for the integration of Richard Dyer's Star Theory, whereby audience members are so connected with a member of a band (usually the lead singer) that they imitate the actions, clothing or beliefs of the artist. There are three elements to Dyer's Star Theory:
A construction - whereby the star is manipulated through the music industry and is dehumanised in order to relate to certain audiences; they are stripped of all human attributes and are "constructed" in a way in which the music industry can benefit from.
A commodity - similar to "construction", a star as a "commodity" simply means that the industry or label that the star is signed to, will use them as a way of making profit; this will be again, manipulated by the industry as they follow trends in other areas of the media that they know will work and attract the most audience attention.
An ideology - this pertains more so to the audience interaction, in which the star is used to promote an ideology, or represent certain social groups/causes that will in turn gain audience interest, and therefore results in a highly established and devoted fan-base whereby the audience of the certain artist will start to believe in the values and morals upheld by the star.
Location is an important aspect of an Indie Rock video as it typically features an urban environment such as dark streets or the city - I will specifically use The 1975's music video for 'Somebody Else' as inspiration for my setting as it features a dark, melancholia-inducing street.
Editing is also a key feature in Indie videos. Camera shots tend to be quick-cut rather than slow and smooth; this is with the intention that the editing and quick cuts mimic the up-beat tempo of the music.
Artist iconography that pertain to the band is somewhat important as it allows the audience to visually connect, and identify with the band. For example, The 1975 are associated with three rectangular shapes that feature on tours and even on album covers. Imagery associated with Indie Rock bands are that of guitars, drums, a vocalist, bassist and pianist (in some bands).
ARTIST PROFILE
Stephen Wrabel, most commonly known by his stage name 'Wrabel', is an American singer/songwriter based in Los Angeles that confidently prides himself on his virtuoso skills and ability to play numerous instruments ranging from the piano to acoustic guitar. After attending Berklee College of Music for a year, Wrabel left Boston and headed to LA to further pursue his music career in songwriting.
After spending time in LA, Wrabel was eventually signed to Pulse Recording under the occupation as a songwriter; this was the artists first major breakthrough into the music industry. Soon after this, in 2012, he was signed to Island Def Jam wherein he released his first single, "11 Blocks", which was supported and promoted by well-known artist, Kesha.
Currently, Wrabel is signed to various labels such as Island Records, Universal and numerous international labels such as Digital Distribution Turkey, Universal Music Spain and Digital Distribution Panama.
Having been assigned to so many international and national labels, Wrabel has released two albums, 'Sideways' and 'Ten Feet Tall'. Wrabel gained recognition from Dutch DJ Afrojack, who was so impressed by Wrabel's brooding piano ballad of 'Ten Feet Tall', the two artists ended up collaborating with each other under a co-sign. Afrojack released various remixes of 'Ten Feet Tall', this in turn increased publicity surrounding Wrabel's image and gradually increased his popularity, nationally and internationally.
AUDIENCE RESEARCH SURROUNDING ARTIST
Statistics concerning The Weeknd (YouGov.co.uk)
According to Twitter research, Wrabel has a 54% male following, with the majority race being within the Caucasian demog
raphic (77%). As for his female following, there is notably less with only 46% of his followers being female. Considering that the artist is so low-key, audience research is significantly limited, however, I was able to compare artists of a similar genre to Wrabel so I could gather an average of the demographics such as age, political stance, gender and interests. A similar artist to Wrabel in terms of genre would be that of The Weeknd, who is known for his brooding R&B tunes, much like Wrabel. A comparison that I can make from the two sets of research is that the female demographic is relatively larger than the demographic for male listeners of The Weeknd in comparison to Wrabel.
Abel Tesfaye, The Weeknd
Analytics from Twitter concerning Wrabel (zoomph.com)
Another interesting comparison of a similar artist in the contemporary R&B genre is Beyonce. Drawing similarities in audience demographic in terms of the gender that takes the most interest in listening to their music, the female demographic certainly reigns supreme in this category. By having these comparisons readily available from reliable websites, I can tailor the way in which I create my music video to fit to each demographic equally.
Considering that I've already established a solid narrative, comprising of a mixture of boys and girls, this will be easy for me to achieve as it relates more to an open audience, as to leave more scope for audiences to infer the narrative and story of my music video.
My music video will pertain to a male and female primary audience demographic, sitting comfortably within the age range of 17-20 year olds. The reason I have my audience target age so high is because of the nature of the video; the visuals will entail age-restrictive content such as consuming alcohol and smoking, therefore it would be inappropriate to advertise "illicit" activities to a younger demographic. The secondary audience will be audience members who are actively engaged with the Indie Rock genre, whereas when advertising the song, which is a synth/R&B track, the secondary audience would be viewers are interested with the respective genre of R&B.
There are many theories in Media Studies, all of which culminate to form certain ideologies about different media texts and forms, rarely are there ever theories that can be applied to the artistry of music videos, however.
But, through the theory coined by Andrew Goodwin, studying and analysing the forms of a range of music videos has never been so easy, thanks to a checklist of features that amalgamate to create a successful music video.
The theory includes a checklist of seven key points that should work in complete synergy in order to form a music video. This checklist encompasses the series of codes and conventions that music videos should have in common, whilst reiterating the fundamental basis of all music videos, which is to have a strong, constructed link between the visuals, the song and the artist or band.
Key features of Goodwin's Theory:
Typically, all music videos have unequivocal genre characteristics that would pertain to the specific genre of music being relayed to audiences.
There is almost always a relationship between the visualsof the video and the lyrics performed by the artists.
Demands of the Record Label (i.e. Warner Bros.) will be evident within the video and represented by the artist.
Intertextual references are common, too.
The 'Notion of Looking' (such as the objectification of women and men - links to other theories such as 'The Male Gaze' theorised by Laura Mulvey) with features of 'Voyeurism', such as direct gaze, screen and mirrors and potential insight into the life of the artist.
Artist Iconography/Star Image.
There is a strong relationship between the music and the lyrics.
Below, there are examples that further deepen the understanding of these key features of Goodwin's Theory that feature across a range of music videos and genres.
Notions of Looking/Voyeurism/Objectification
Taken from Childish Gambino's music video for 'Heartbeat'. (RIGHT)
Here we see Gambino (Donald Glover) directly addressing the camera through a cars rear view mirror. The song is a tribute to Gambino's 'True Love' or 'The One' and
not being able to be together. This direct address heightens the intense relationship between artist and audience as Gambino continues on to signify his heartbreak of not being together even though the pair are still in love, through the lyrics.
(LEFT) Taken from Shakira's music video of 'Can't Remember to Forget You'.
Here we can see the blatant objectification of Rihanna as she is captured in a provocative pose in an effort to satisfy the male demographic; this is closely linked to Laura Mulvey's theory of 'The Male Gaze'.
(LEFT) Taken from The 1975's music video for 'Love Me'.
This still shows Matt Healy looking directly at the camera without the use of mirrors or screens. The element of voyeurism is present as we are watching Healy perform the song through an extreme close-up camera shot.
(BELOW) Taken from Carly Rae Jepsen's music video for 'Call Me Maybe'.
This is an example of male objectification in order to satisfy the female demographic, more often than not, males who are objectified are usually portrayed without a shirt revealing the upper torso, in comparison to the objectification of women who are seen scantily clad, filmed with high-angled camera shots that further the objectification.
Genre Characteristics
Examples that pertain to the genre of rock and what would typically feature in a music video for that specific genre, would be that of the entire band performing, usually filmed through a wide angled, level shot so that it sustains the equality of the entire band instead of focusing on a sole member.
Taken from the Red Hot Chili Peppers music video for 'Californication'.
Every band member is present here which enables the audience to identify more with the music as they can see the full involvement of the band. The wide angled shot represents the band and it's unity, straying away from any misconstrued ideas about status as they are captured on a levelled shot.
Taken from The 1975's music video for 'UGH!'.
Although the faces of the band members cannot be seen by the audience, they are still aware that the band performs together, solidifying the sense of unity within the band itself.
Intertextual References
The concept of intertextuality makes the audience feel superior if they know elements of other media forms have been included in others. Intertextual references are always exciting to find and increases audience engagement with the media form, whether that is through a film or music video.
Thirty Seconds To Mars released a music video for 'The Kill (Bury Me)' in 2010 that was heavily influenced by Stanley Kubrick's, 'The Shining'. The intertextual references are outstanding and somewhat follows a similar narrative to that of the actual film.
Here are stills taken from the music video and the film that depict an intimate moment between two 'unorthodox' lovers.
Another scene of comparison is when Nicholson is alone in the main hall and starts to throw a tennis ball up against the wall, this is also shown in the music video where Jared Leto also throws a ball at a wall. Comparing the camera angles, the music video still shows a wide-angled shot that captures the momentary interlude where Leto continues to lash out at a wall with a tennis ball, there is an absence of diegetic sound.
The camera angle that captures Nicholson throwing the ball at the wall is also a wide-angled shot, but masks his face as it is filmed from behind. A similarity that can be drawn from these two stills is the limited lighting, which is inferred as low-key. The low-key lighting reflects the sombre mood of both the film and the music video as the narrative unfolds.
Although in terms of colour palette the two media texts differ, the music video follows the majority of the narrative as directed by Kubrick in the film. Compared to the film, the music video is bleak and features a desolate hotel, whereas the film depicts a wintery setting with warm hues and ornate walls.
