Treatment

The song that I am producing a music video for is Lily Allen, Sheezus.  The theme of my music video is young women and wanting success out of the group.  I have chosen to follow both a narrative and abstract.  I am going to do lip sync scenes that have an abstract basis and then I am also going to do point of view shots that follow the lyrics, using young women in my video.        

Plan

My plan for the techniques, narrative and the abstract footage I am going to film:

Lilly Allen - Sheezus analysis

I analysed the lyrics to the song Sheezus by Lily Allen.  By doing this I was able to find out any hidden meanings behind the lyrics and what vibe she was trying to portray.  By knowing this I can plan my music video around it as I can now see what the video is all about and what cast, costume, hair, makeup and locations I should chose.   

I looked up some of the definitions of some of the lyrics in the song so I got more of an understanding of the message coming across from the song itself: 

Lily Allen - Sheezus lyrics

Been here before, so I'm prepared
Not gonna lie though, I'm kinda scared
Lace up my gloves, I'm going in
Don't let my kids watch me when I get in the ring
I'll take the hits, roll with the punches
I'll get back up, it's not as if I've never done this
But then again, the game is changing
Can't just come back, jump on the mic and do the same thing
There goes the bell, I know that sound
I guess it's time for me to go another round
Now wish me luck, I'm gonna need it
I'll see you on the other side, if I'm still breathing

RiRi isn't scared of Katy Perry's roaring
Queen B's going back to the drawing
Lorde smells blood, yeah, she's about to slay you
Kid ain't one to fuck with when she's only on her debut
We're all watching Gaga, L-O-L-O, ah-ha
Dying for the art so, really, she's a martyr
The second best will never cut it for the divas
Give me that crown, bitch
I wanna be Sheezus

I'm ready for all the comparisons
I think it's dumb and it's embarrassing
I'm switching off, no longer listening
I've had enough of persecution and conditioning
Maybe it's an instinct, we're only animal
Maybe it's healthy, maybe it's rational
It makes me angry, I'm serious
But then again, I'm just about to get my period
Periods, we all get periods
Every month, yo, that's what the theory is
It's human nature, another cycle
Be nice to me, I'll make you one of my disciples

RiRi isn't scared of Katy Perry's roaring
Queen B's going back to the drawing
Lorde smells blood, yeah, she's about to slay you
Kid ain't one to fuck with when she's only on her debut
We're all watching Gaga, L-O-L-O, ah-ha
Dying for the art so, really, she's a martyr
The second best will never cut it for the divas
Give me that crown, bitch
I wanna be Sheezus

I am born again, now run along and tell
All your friends to come and join us
Give yourselves to me, I am your leader
Let me be Sheezus
Let me be Sheezus

I am born again, now run along and tell
All your friends to come and join us
Give yourselves to me, I am your leader
Let me be Sheezus

History of pop

Genre conventions

 

What makes an unsuccessful music video

As part of my research I have viewed some current music videos, I decided to analyse points in the conventions of a music video, that i think if done poorly or not at all would make the video less appealing to the audince.  Here are some of them:

• The pace of the editing doesn't match the pace of the song.  If this accures within the video and the video is, for example an upbeat song, and the editing is really slow and has long shots, the audience wont be intersted in the video and wont watch it as it has no appeal to the song.   
• Poor lighting within a video makes the video unsuccessful as the audience may not be able to see what's going on within the video, this makes the video pointless to watch. 
• No links within the narrative to the lyrics can confuse the audience and it will be hard for the audience to follow. 
• If the location is not relative to the lyrics or the costume, the whole apperance of the video will be poor. 
• No lip sync.  If lip sync is not used, one of the main conventions of a music video is not achieved.  Also this is a key aspect to a music video as the artist is singing along to their on lyrics. 
• If you add a performance aspect into your music video, the part of the song that you are performing needs to be put over this scene or the performance is worthless. 
• The footage for the music video needs to be in focus, this is so the audience can see what's going on.  Also correct framing is important as, for example, half of the artist's head doesnts want to be cut out of shot. 
• Lack of continuety.  If the narrative of the music video doesn't develop, the video can become boring, and confusing.   
• Poor use of a greescreen can also drag the overall apperance of the music video down.  For example, if the genre is rock and on the greescreen is somebodies living room, it doesn't match the genre. 
• Lack of mise-en-scene, if the location doesnt change at all, the video can become repetitive.  Or lack of props can make the video very minimalistic. 
• Lack of movement within the music video can be unenergetic and boring for the audience, lack of participation and performance. 
• Continuous flashing in the video can be unnecessary and become annoying for the audience to watch and focus on.    
• If the artist/band throughout the video make no eye contact with the camera, this shows no direct address to the audience and shows lack of confidence.   

Conventions & techniques of a music video

By looking at the conventions and techniques of current music videos I can see what type of visuals is expected and I should consider to feature in my music video.  

The basics

Style of a music video:

• Dance performance
• Point of view
• Follow me around (narrative)

Things to consider and may change with the genre of the song chosen:

1. Setting/location
2. Costume/props
3. Relation to the song
4. Creativity and imagination/ narrative

I have chosen to produce a style of music video that consists of point of view shots and performance (lip sync).  The song I have chosen to go along side my video is Lily Allen, Sheezuz.  Here is the song and the origional video:

     

I chose one of Lily's current songs as her lyrics are relatable to teenage girls.  I am going to be using a teenage girl to take part in my music video therefore the connection between the girl and the lyrics will be there.  I also like the slow beat of the song, this gives the music a chilled, cool vibe.  The song is also quite versatile, as, in what type of music video you make to go along side it.  For example, abstract or a narrative would fit well.       

The narrative, techniques and conventions found in current music videos

By analysing current music videos I can see what conventions and techniques are typically used for what genre the music video is.  This gives me inspiration for the creation of my own music video.  

 

Researching different genres of video (Style)

The music video for Rube, by MAGIC!, is a very relaxed chilled out video, just like the beat of the song.  The video has a narrative of him chasing this girl and asking the dad permision for marrige but there are also scenes of the band performing in a garage.  This setting is very low key and brings a chilled vibe, just like the song itself. 



In comparison this music video by Meghan Trainor, All About The Bass, is a very loud looking, colourful, girly video.  The video is mostly dance performance with a lot of lip syncing.  The main colours within the video are pinks, purples, blues, yellows and greens.  The attitude to the song links in with the video as it has dance moves that are full of expression and attitude. 



Sam Smith, Stay With Me, has a street location.  By doing this the setting is out in the public which makes the video more realistic.  The camerawork backs up as the camera follows him walking.  As the song is emotional the video is slow pace and has dimmed lighting shots of him lip syncing to the camera and around the room. 



The music video by Iggy Azalea, Fancy, has a prodominant theme throughout which is highschool.  The theme is also typical American teenagers.  By having a theme the audience know what to expect throughout.  I like that the video is set in one location as it has a narrative behind it as its a typical day in highscool.  Teens can also relate to this video aswell as the artist being young and current. 



This music video by Nico & Vinz, Am I Wrong, is a follow me around type of video as they shoot african children playing and interacting with them.  The main focus of the video seems to be a small portable TV.  I like this type of video as it is like a day in the life as the end of the video is the artists walking off into the sunset.  The video also has a main focus so the video does have something for the audience to concentrate on.     



Chandelier by Sia has a video that is a dance performance.  The whole video is a performance so the video in itself is something for the audience aswell as the song.  The dramatic lyrics and beat of the song link in with the video as the video is also fast pace.  The strong dance performance links into the song, which gives the audience visuals to link with the song.
 

BRIEF

1. A promotion package for the release of an album, to conclude a music promo video, together with two of the folowing three options:

• a cover for its release as part of a digipak (CD/DVD package);
• a magazine advertisement for a digipak (CD/DVD package).