Research: Similar product research 9, John Legend 'All of me'

The video begins with the male character gazing out of the window. The location is also shown in the window reflection which I think looks very affective as I like the use of reflection to build up a complex image. I also really like the use of the black and white edit throughout the video. I think this could be symbolic of a timeless love.

This low angle shot perfectly shows John Legend gazing at his wife in awe. As she looks out at the beautiful views his eyes are still fixated on her. I think this is a very good concept to use in a music video as it becomes obvious to the viewer that even though the scenery is spectacular this focus is on the beauty that he seen in his wife as she also appears to dominate the frame.

Our song choice 'Wake Me Up' includes a lot of piano sounds therefore this shot will be useful for us to try to re create when we plan and film our music video. I really liked the arc shots used in the music video which circle around John Legend playing the piano. This is symbolic of the importance that music holds for him as it enables expression.

We could possibly use a shot like this for the line in our song 'You should never cut your hair, coz I love the way you flick it off your shoulder'. I like the way her hair blows back from her face and reveals her beauty.

 As Goodwin suggests the lyrics make reference to the visuals on screen. John Legend sings 'whats going on in that beautiful mind' as this shot of his wife who appears to be lost in deep thought is displayed in medium close up.

I really like this high angle shot of the couple sleeping closely in bed which is possibly something we could re create for the line 'maybe I'm just in love, when you wake me up'.

This image could symbolise that the love these two people share is completely equal as thier feelings are 'reflected'.

This is a very beautiful wide shot which captures the couple in an embrace with the spectacular mountains in the background.









How this research has influenced my planning:

• Encouraged me to use refections in my music video.
• Use black and white editing in post production. 
• Recreate a hair blowing in the wind shot with female lead. 
• Theorists used: Goodwin, linking visuals to lyrics. 

Research: Goodwin

Concept music video: 

A concept music video may be about anything, it could be with a purpose to strongly publicise a particular belief, an idea or intention or it could be very abstract. An example of a concept music video would be The Black Eyed Peas "Where Is The Love". This video has the concept of making social comment. The singers are concerned about the destruction of our world by discrimination and wars. Therefore in the video they constantly as the question 'Where is the love". Goodwin suggests that the lyrics should relate to the visuals and therefore each time this lyric is sang a motif in the form of a question mark appears on the screen to enforce the social comment concept.

The video voices concerns about terrorism, wars which are effective innocent children, discrimination of races (at one point graffiti is displayed which reads 'we are not a minority'), violence and the loss of faith. Meanwhile suggesting that the government has become vacant.

This concept is still relevant today as the artists felt it was appropriate to re release the video and lyrics in a different form which included many celebrities, in the light of recent tragedies. Therefore the concept of 'saving the world' becomes relevant once again.     

The singer says 'would you turn the other cheek again' this lyric is the same as before however the singer adds 'again' implying that the previous concept was not as successful as he'd have liked. 

Narrative music video: 

A narrative music video has a clear beginning, middle and an end. The video will attempt to incorporate a story into the visuals which relates to the lyrics on screen and will hopefully help the viewer understand the meaning of the lyrics as the artist intended them. 

For example Macklemore's 'Same Love' music video follows a man from birth through his life until he is an elderly man. He is gay and struggles with expectations from his family and peers that he should conform to 'normality' and have a relationship with a girl. This is obvious through the lyrics as Macklemore raps about 'conservatives think its a decision and you can be cured with some treatment and religion' because people believe that being gay is not acceptable. These lyrics relate to the visuals as the boy is seen struggling to fit in and not being able to openly admit his sexuality. The video shows discrimination slowly fading as he enters into a relationship with a man and gets married, however it has not completely disappeared.  The star is portrayed as being likeable and therefore the audience highly anticipate his happy ending and rejoice when they finally find acceptance.

Performance music video: 

This type of music video is often used perhaps when artists are on a lower budget however it is still extremely effective as it allows the artist to broadcast that they have a large fan base and also showcases the energy and amazing atmosphere that they bring to a crowd with their music. 

An example of a performance video that I also love would be 'Fearless' by Taylor Swift. This video documents her fearless tour in 2008. The beginning of the video perfectly captures behind the scenes emotional but exciting moments as the tour comes to an end and the cast hug while Taylor says 'This tour has been the best experience of my entire life'. It is important that the fans know that the artist enjoys what they do, as the audience only has fun if the artist does. The video also shows fan meet and greets which therefore portrays the artist as someone who cares and appreciates their fans. 

This is a sign in the arena which publicises Taylor Swift's popularity.

This shows the atmosphere in the crowd who are excitedly waving their arms in time to the music.

How this research has influenced my planning:

• We have chosen to do  narrative video as we believe that the creation of a story will allow us to be creative. 
• We will also include the concept of love. 
• Similar to 'The Black Eyed Peas' music video our video will include elements of social comment. 

Research: Similar product research 8. Taylor Swift 'Love Story'

The establishing shot shows a large school framed by two trees. This appears to set the scene of the narrative that we are about to see in the music video. Verisimilitude is created as school children slowly walk around the school grounds and we then see the protagonist (played by Taylor Swift) walking with a back pack on while hugging her books close to her chest which are the typical indexical signs of a student.

However, the audience is surprised as it is becomes obvious that we have traveled back in time to a Victorian Period which is clear from the hair and costumes worn by the protagonist. By showing Taylor Swift in her 21st Century clothes first, the audience becomes aware that the following scenes will take place ambiguous in time, within Swift's imagination. I like this close up shot which shows Taylor Swift holding an embroidered fan up to her face, as this as well as her hair frames her eyes and therefore her direct eye contact with camera becomes more noticeable. The detail on the fan also makes the audience aware that this is set in an earlier time period

This music video is heavily post modern. This is because the video is being filmed in the 21st Century however the narrative is set in the Victorian Period, more specifically the story and song is based upon Romeo and Juliet. Taylor Swifts character represents Juliet. The audience can see this because she is filmed here in long shot on a balcony. This location has purposefully been used because of the very famous scene in Romeo and Juliet were Romeo declares his love for Juliet from the ground while she is on her balcony. Taylor Swift's corset style dress is also symbolic of the Victorian era.

Taylor Swift sings 'my daddy said stay away from Juliet'. This mirrors the tragic love story of Romeo and Juliet as their love was forbidden by their parents. Making this story relevant to modern relationships in the 21st century were family members may not approve of partner choices means that many people can relate while still enjoying the retell of this classic love story with the costumes props and beautiful scenery, therefore this is a successful use of post modernism.

This low angle shot appears to be a POV shot from the prospective of her lover (Romeo), the angle suggests that she is unattainable although he pining desperately for her. I love the way that the sun is perfectly framed by the left window.

this high angle shot shows a classic dance hall. The flamboyant Victorian dress with flared sleeves, tight up do's with platted around the head  as well as the candlesticks makes the music video more believable in its time period. Lining up in front of their partners as the men bowed was also tradition.

A cut on action while bowing shows Taylor Swifts love interest (Romeo). As Propp suggests many of these characters fit into specific roles to create the narrative. For example the handsome man and the beautiful woman of whom heart he must win and the villain being the Father who wont let them be together. Without him the audience would not root for these characters and therefore the joy when they eventually overcome these issues will not be as strong. This man is represented as being very attractive especially in this particular shot, as he looks up from the floor and makes eye contact with the camera and therefore the audience they are supposed to swoon. His eyes are piercing and his hair is a luxurious well groomed brown. I believe this character's purpose is to be an object of Greene's 'female gaze', a theory which suggests that females also objectify men because of their looks and this video takes advantage of that.

Here, the protagonist is represented as being a stereotypical classical woman. She is seen in this reverse over the shoulder shot remaining in a situation and position which she is neither comfortable nor happy with and waiting for a man to rescue her.

I love this artistic shot of the hand holding in the background which is symbolic of love with the plants in the foreground. This makes the two characters love appear natural and pure. We can also see Taylor Swift's period piece dress in more detail in this shot. I would love to recreate a shot like this

This shot almost looks like someone is watching her without her knowledge and the audience may question if it is Romeo watching over her despite not being able to be with her. I also really like the way the archway frames Swift looking out into the distance.

This is a beautiful shot and I would like to do something similar in the way they have perfectly framed the sun in the archway of the castle. The castle looks very large and impressive from this low castle and it is therefore very dominant and eye catching within the shot.

The sun is a very prominant feature within this music video and the constant use of natural lighting places it perfectly in the time period where there would have been no electricity and everything would have been natural hence the field in the closing scenes of the video. The audeince will ultimately rejoice when they see the two lovers excitedly reuniting.

The lovers finally embrace in this shot.

This shot then takes us back to the student version of Taylor Swifts character. Their position and seeming eventual embrace mimics that of Swift's imagination.  This narrative supports Todorov's theory of equilibrium in the beginning followed by something that disrupts Taylor Swifts characters happiness e.g the disapproving Father which is eventually resolved and equilibrium is reached once more.

How this research has influenced my planning and creativity:

• This music video has showed me how I can use the positioning of the sun to create beautifully shots on location using natural lighting. 
• It has also given me ideas on how to use archways in order to frame a shot as well as allowing me to see post modernism in a Pop music video.
• Theorist used: Propps character roles. 

Research: Similar product research 7- One Direction 'Steal My Girl'

This video is very hyper-aware of itself. For example, as more of the establishing shot is displayed while the camera zooms out the studio lighting and filming equipment become purposefully visible to the audience. The setting appears extremely barren and therefore the contrast between this and the technical equipment is almost comical. This combined with the concept form of the video e.g making a music video about making a music video allows the text to make light of its self and increases the fun and excitement while also leaving the viewer intrigued as this is a very unusual concept.

The director of the music video is then introduced on camera. This creates intertextuality because the director is famous actor and real life director Danny Devito. This use of casting also adds further realism to the now more believable plot of One Direction creating a music video. The allusion that we are witnessing the creative process allows fans to view the band in a more stripped back light by seeing what they are like 'at work' as opposed to their created star image when the music video has been edited, directed and shown to fans as a finished product. Although I am aware that the band has been directed during the opening scenes, the illusion is somewhat believable and fans like to believe they are witnessing their real personalities.

The Director then gives each individual singer from the band identities. This particular one interested me as the editor has taken advantage of Green's 'female gaze' theory. The subtitle on this image is 'mystery' this is an extremely seductive and alluring quality as it suggests that the male in question is an emotionally deep person. This combined with the singer looking down and then slowly looking up with his eyes looking at the camera with a smoulder is purposefully done because One Directions target audience researchers know that their main audience is teenage girls.

I like this long shot because it is perfectly proportioned with a foreground and a background with the singer standing in the middle. The sand contrasts beautifully with the sky and the dark mountains stand out against the blue backdrop created by the sky. I also like the visual metaphor displayed on screen as the singer is literally 'destroying' his inhibitions. This further suggests that One Direction are trying to imply that they are showing the fans their true selves as the singer destroys the fear to act in a relaxed and natural way.

I love this beautiful shot as the cinematographer has captured the elegant movement of the dancer perfectly. Her detailed black glitter outfit and red ribbon are the main focus of the image as it is allowed to stand out against the clear blue sky.

In this shot the audience is reminded go the creative process of making a music video where the boys are being directed on where to stand and how to act. I think possibly they are making a comment that the media controls the consumption of media by viewers too frequently.

Dyer suggests that all people in the media are merely 'a star image' created for consumption. I think that this shot implies another visual metaphor which involves one of the viewers escaping the cage and therefore control of the media to be his own desired person. He appears to be leading the rest of the marching band which is symbolic of him regaining some creative control.

I really like this low angle shot of the instrument players as it makes them appear extremely powerful due to their talent.

I really like this shot and it is possibly one that I will use for my music video. The man on the unicycle is in focus whereas everything else is blurred into the background. Everything in the background is still included although the cinematographer can chose which part of the composition they viewer should focus on.

The rain in the dessert is symbolic of the band bringing new life to their image and reinventing themselves they way they choose.

The video finishes with the Director saying 'eh it was alright' this further contributes to the humour of the video, as having watched it we know the plot was extremely eccentric and very visually impressive.






How this research has influenced my creativity:

• Use visual metaphors to create meaning. 

Research- Shot types

Jason Mraz: 'I'm Yours'
This low angle shot looks very effective because the photographer has chosen to use natural lighting and frame the model in the foreground with the light bright white and blue sky in the background. In choosing to have block light in the background the model appears as a silhouette, this makes his shape more eye catching which also makes the love heart symbol that he is making with his hand stand out. I really like this technique as it looks extremely bold and artistic.

Passenger: 'Let Her Go'
This is a close up shot of a pair of hands playing the piano. The piano and hands are tightly framed making this the sole focus of the moving image. This would be extremely effective in our Pop Acoustic music video as one of the commonly used codes is an artist playing a musical instrument. However this shot has diverted attention to the instrument rather than the artist. This shot would help increase appreciation for the artists musical talents.




This is a commonly used shot in music videos. A medium close up, focusing on the microphone from the point of view of someone stood in front of it. As the singer moves towards the microphone he comes into focus. This makes the viewers of the music video feel more involved as they see the artist from the point of view as an audience member would.

Christina Peri: 'A Thousand Years'
This long shot creates an expanse of scenery which will immerse the viewer as it appears so large and impressive.

The long shot of the sea then gradually fades into this close up of a burning candle. The close up enables a viewer to see small details of the object and tightly framing the candle as well as tainting the rest of the image dark blue means that our attention is drawn to the flame in the center of the frame.

I really like this long shot of Christina Peri stood against a window as it is extremely artistic and aesthetically pleasing. By using a long shot the photographer is able to frame the artist in center frame. He has done this by including the dark walls either side of the shot and positioned the camera at an angle were the window of light is centered. This gives the image perfect balance and symmetry as the artist has become a silhouette in the center of the frame because of the light created by the window.

This high angle shot enables the viewers to feel as though they are looking down on the artist, this is useful when filming a model in an inferior position such as kneeling on the ground to express thoughtfulness or perhaps sadness.

Selena Gomez: 'Same Old Love'
This tracking shot from behind enables the viewer to feel as thought they are hurriedly following the artist, implying that they are off high social position e.g busy business woman etc.





In my research I have noticed that this is quite a cliched shot of the artist looking out of the window. The medium close up is shot through a window, however I think that the addition of rain droplets in the shot distorts the image which could symbolize that the singer is clouded by negative  emotions.

This POV shot is very effective because it allows the audience to see through the eyes of the artist. This particular shot expresses the emotion of the artist perfectly as she is singing about love and as seen from the image the camera purposefully focuses on the holding of hands which is a symbol of relationships and unity.

 Beyonce: 'Hold Up'
This is a very unusual worms eye view POV shot to show the audience in a very inferior position compared to Beyonce who appears strong, powerful and aggressive as she non remorsefully smashes a car with a baseball bat.

This is a use of a slanted angle which breaks the conventions of a music video. In Beyonce's 'Hold Up' it is used to show her final outburst of anger as she hits the camera, perhaps making a statement about the media creating false publicity about her. Therefore I may use this technique in my music video to symbolize rebellion.





How this research has influenced my planning and creativity:

• This post has encouraged me to use superimposition in my music video because I believe it was very effective in Christina Perri's music video for 'A Thousand Years'. A few of these shots have also encouraged me to use back-lighting to create silhouettes in my music video.
• Use candles 

Research: Similar product research 6. Establishing shots in Pop Acoustic genre music videos.

Establishing shots in 10 Pop Acoustic music videos: 

From this research of the establishing shots from 10 Acoustic Pop genre music videos I can see a common theme occurring. For example, screen capture 1,2,3,4 and 10 all have been edited to create a black and white effect. This creates a sombre and serious atmosphere for the viewer and informs them of the serious content of the video. This is an effect that we may consider for our music video considering that the pop acoustic genre frequently produces slow songs with obvious emotive intent. Videos 3 and 4 introduce the singer from the back, this aids in creating mystery surrounding the singer which is another feature we may consider in our music video. When there is introduction of colour in the many music videos of the Acoustic Pop Genre that I have seen and also researched I have noticed that many have quite a dull but also nostalgic tone. Songs with a more happy message however, introduce brighter colours.

1. James Blunt:  'Carry You Home'
This establishing shot creates a spectacular impression on the viewer. The contrast of the black sea with the grey clouds creates an interesting composition, the eye of the viewer is automatically drawn to the sea because of this. Like Bulmer and Katz suggest this makes the viewer actively try to determine what significance this has. The shot is beautiful and impressive and I think that a similar shot of an expansive view could be achieved and would look aesthetically pleasing in our music video.

2. Paolo Nutini: 'Scream'. Again this establishing shot is black and white. This gives the music video a nostalgic feel and makes it appear like an old hollywood film.

3. James Bunt: 'You're Beautiful'
The star image is already introduced in this opening shot, I think that in doing so, the video feels more raw, emotional and the viewer knows that the story will centre around this character. However the star does not address or acknowledge the audience and camera which could symbolise bad nature of the character and untrustworthiness. However it could also suggest that he is an emotionally damaged character who is hiding true feelings, which may be explored in the video. This technique is already convincing viewers to continue watching the video.

4. George Ezra: 'Cassy O'.
This is another example of introducing the character in the establishing shot. I prefer this technique to the previous as the long shot which photographs his broad stance combined with the studio lighting coming through the window contrasted with the darker foreground makes him appear powerful. I also like that the guitar is introduced in the opening shot.

 5. George Ezra: 'Barcelona'
I love this vibrant background which feels tropical and may act as a form of escapism for many viewers. The name of the song appearing on the screen stands out well against the background. However I think this editing technique could possibly destroy the illusion that the narrative is real.

 6. Hozier: 'Someone New'
I love this blurring of the light in this background and will transfer this technique into my music video.

 7. Sam Smith: 'Stay with me'
Once more the colours in this establishing shot are very dull in tone but I think that this creates a relaxed atmosphere. The shot of the street makes it feel very real as opposed to the outlandish videos that Pop artists may create. Therefore I think this establishing shot is typical of the genre.

8. Ed Sheeran: 'Photograph'
A home video may make the video feel very authentic and real however it may possibly look unprofessional if not done correctly.

 9. Ed Sheeran; 'Everything Has Changed'
This is also a very vibrant shot. The shot is also very satisfying as it has a a foreground image of the bus, the trees and then a beautiful background images in the form of a mountain. This creates a visual spectacle for the viewer and they are automatically impressed and excited for the shots to follow. I do not think that something this spectacular (e.g the mountains) would be possible for us to film without travelling for a long time.

10. Ed Sheeran: 'The A Team'.
I love this shot of the woman shot in close up, right of frame. The dark space in the left of the screen makes certain that the woman stands out and is the main focus. The dark area could be symbolic of emotions haunting or troubling her.





How this research has influenced my planning and creativity:

• This post has inspired me to try and recreate the first shot in this post. 
• I also like the last, and the use of black and white. 
• This post has also informed me to use duller colours in my music video.

A list of local locations I could use:

• The Humber bridge 
• Bedroom 
• Kitchen 
• Barton park 
• Hibaldstow lane 
• Scunthorpe high street 
• Cleethorpes beach