In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Our music video both challenges and complies with music videos and media products in industry. Our main focus was to try and create an original, minimalistic and stylized piece of work inspired by the lyrics in the song, using them as a platform for our narrative. This artistic approach allowed us to experiment with camera angles, props and effects during the filming and editing process.
The main element of our product which challenges forms and conventions of typical music videos would be our narrative style. We took the risky decision to incorporate both lip syncing as well as narrative ( Which is not often done in the industry as we found out through research). We wanted to make something which would create an impression. From the start of the project, a fundamental part of the process was to experiment and explore a range of different filming techniques and styles in order to broaden our skills and apply them to our video. I found that by using both lip syncing and narrative, we were able to learn a lot more about the character through the lyrics as well as through the acting. This created a sense of empathy. This is a technique used in conventional music videos as it draws the audience in and allows for narrative and character development.
Our initial idea challenges forms and conventions in itself. The majority of music videos produced in industry have a simple narrative and genre behind them, ours leans towards the short film category in that there is so much going on within it. There are several themes as well as an underlying narrative, a relationship and a mystery. We have an element of romance within the genre which complies with conventions; these days the majority of music videos do consist of romance, documenting the relationship of a male and female and the development of their relationship reflected through the lyrics in the song. I feel like although ours does incorporate bits and pieces of this, we have gone about the idea in a completely different way. First of all, the narrative behind the lyrics in the song is ambiguous, we looked at them and manipulated their meaning in order to create a romance/mystery music video. What I like about this is that the lyrics don't tell you everything, allowing the audience/viewer to perceive it as they want. The ambiguity of it is what we hope will draw the audience in, we do not really delve deep into the personality and feelings of the characters, only a vague relationship between the two and the effects they have on each other which can be suggested through the lyrics of the song. This all helps to maintain the mystery element of the genre that we wanted to create.
Location wise we opted for a range of different areas. The ongoing idea was to shoot in forests and wood like areas in order to link in with the underlying theme of red riding hood and the fact that his emotions reflect the characteristics of a wolf. However in contrast with these dense, outdoor locations we decided to opt for a cleaner much more artistic space in order to really highlight the importance of his abstract feelings and emotions. We filmed him in a large white studio space called Butterfly Studios which provided us with great lighting and effects creating professional shots and footage. The contrast in colour as well as costume and location is quite stylistic and snappy. Conventional videos would stick to a theme throughout so as not to confuse the viewer however I feel that the way in which we have executed the filming (colour theme of red, same actors and continuity) has allowed for this. The contrast between the clean white walls of butterfly studios and the messy, foliage and trees where the narrative takes place creates a separation between the two scene changes. It allows for continuity as well as audience understanding.
However we have also taken inspiration and ideas from other music videos such as those of 'Panic! At the Disco' and more contemporary bands like that. The montage was one of the things that we showed particular interest in during the initial stages however as we progressed we decided that we wanted to go for the more contemporary approach. What we enjoyed particularly about their videos were the fast shots used for effect and the way in which they used props and other actors body parts to create impression. Movement is a key element to the way in which it comes across. It all syncs with the music which is fast paced and we wanted to make sure that we really made sure that the movement and shots within our own video matched to the beat and timing of the music. (Especially after understanding how key it was to the overall consumption). We had also watched various music videos where props had been incorporated to add effect, water, leaves, flowers, coffins etc. Our original idea was going to involve many more props however we found that that would just be too expensive and time consuming. We did however incorporate leaves into it in order to make it abstract as well as face paint and the rose. We did experiment with hands and body movement pulling and pushing Charlie however we did not have the numbers to make it as effective.
Our choice of casting also complies with conventional forms of media. The decision to cast a male and female actor for our music video with the genre of love and conflict is a typical choice that most artists make. This is because it is an ideal way to portray emotion and causes the audience to empathize with the characters as they can relate to them. However it is not obvious in the lyrics that it is about a relationship, this is only how we decided to present it. The lyrics could imply the gradual deterioration of their relationship or the way I which 'Red' has left the wolf. One idea we took from the lyrics could be that she is having an affair or has just stopped taking interest in him. This would challenge forms of media as it is usually the male who ends up hurting the female. I think that it is important to challenge as it shows that people should be more open about the way media is perceived.
The fact that we have linked our narrative to the lyrics in the song also develops conventions of real media products, we have, so to speak, based our idea on the song that we had decided to use at the start of the project. This means that we have had to really try and reflect the lyrics and the emotions of the song through our camera work and the actors. This makes it seem almost like a short film as everything ties together.
Overall I feel like we have both challenged and complied with conventional media products, probably challenged more so in that we have really tried to make it original and artistic rather than a normal narrative linking subtly to the lyrics in the song. From the start of the process, we have placed an emphasis on originality and have used subtle props such as the rose, the mic, costume such as the coat, the suit so that we could enhance the overall effect on the audience and maintain the professional quality of the video.
0 comments:
Post a Comment