Evaluation question 1

HOW DOES THE PRODUCTION USE/CHALLENGE/DEVELOP FORMS & CONVENTIONS - 9 frame selection/analysis of your main examples of conventions - use Goodwin as a model but make sure you cover form & genre - video directors commentary with excerpts from videos as cutways/ green screen?

It can be argued that our music video is both narrative and conceptual. It follows the story through a non-linear narrative, making it more interesting to watch. We chose to do this as it allows the audience to question and therefore make there own interpretation of the video. We decided against performance as we felt not only could the cinematography look tacky, we were unable to get the official band member and didn't want to use actors because the band are using the video. The most common type of performance video usually showed the band performing to a large audience, we felt this wasn't possible, nor would it look realistic. 

After watching, the narrative storyline should be clear to the audience, despite going against a linear narrative, the cause-effect sequencing is still present and understandable. We wanted to go against classic music video storyline but decided a 'love story' was still appropriate as it relates to the lyrics as well as the music itself. To make things different we decided that we would show the importance of the female and her power over the male. It is clear to the audience that the lead male is suffering without the presence of his love interest. The message shown in this is that although men are the dominant gender in media and society, to an extent,they cannot function with out women, therefore making women a power gender. The out of body experience shows the conceptual side of the music video clearest. 

Rivera is a rock/alternative band, the music video we created demonstrates this well. Our original plan was to use the lead singer of the band as the lead male in the video but the decided against it as we felt we needed to show the band as a whole instead of using individual members.

Screenshot 1

This shot challenges conventions for a music video. The opening shot of our video is one of the most significant shots within our piece. The shot lasts for 47 seconds and is shot in a single long take. The shot pans from the television around the room and up to the character immediately establishing through the mise-en-scene everything about the protagonist and his way of life as well as the entire mood and feel of the video. This shot also has several inter-textual references, the shot of gorillas at the start conveys the message that humans are animalistic. There is vinyls of bands of the same genre, who were also huge influences on both the music and the video. It can be argued that this shot shows hyper reality as it shows everything to a great extreme e.g. Whiskey and smoking. There is a relationship with the music and visuals as the feel from the music fits in well with the one shot as it allows the introduction to kick in.

Screenshot 2

This shot conforms to the conventions of a music video to an extent. It presents a clear sequence of events through the use of the equilibrium theory. It also challenges the conventions because the story told through the lead male shows him as troubled and depressed but his appearance contrasts with this. This allows the audience to see the situation more positively because it is easier to watch. His appearance fits in with the audience and also shows the male gaze, this is shown through hyper reality as the image is distorted greatly. This shot uses the conventions of a music video. 4 shots before this one shows the bath tub filling up, the lyric sung at this point is 'go loose yourself', this shows him loosing himself under the water. As the edit cuts to the beat of this shot, the music gets more dramatic. Half way through this shot, his closing his eyes under the water is shown in a much slower motion. This makes the shot more dramatic (also fitting in with the music more) and makes the audience feel sympathetic. The mise-en-scene is quite urban, making the character appear middle class. The shot then goes to him entering an out of body experience, this is done using two layers in Final cut and making the contrast weaker on the one above, allowing it to look like his spirit is flowing out of his body.

Screenshot 3

Overall, we feel this shot conforms to the conventions of a music video. It is extremely hyper real as we have played on the use of visual experiences by exaggerating the image. In a real out of body experience, the body doesn't actually flow out, we felt the need to use this shot because we didn't think the experience would be clear without a accurate representation. This makes the narrative easier to understand for the audience, even though it is a very surreal shot. This shot is strongly influenced by a scene in Breaking Bad. The feel of the music is extremely psychedelic, therefore it relates to the shot. The lyric used at the start of this shot is 'Oh wont you tell me, what I'm doing', this could relate to the video as it portrays the characters reliance on the female, it also shows he has no control. The fact that he is slightly more contrasted in this shot also makes it hyper real.

Screenshot 4

This shot is the first screen time for the love interest. This shot challenges music convention massively. In most music videos the female is shown stereotypically as sweet and nice, the appearance used is also very traditional e.g. blonde long hair. Whereas in our video, the first shot shows this character as haunting and angry, this almost makes it uncomfortable for the audience to watch. The beat editing allows the juxtaposition to create a message, the aim was to show that the male character was running out of time with her. This also goes against the idea that females are just there and things passively happen around them, it can be argued that the action in the story is actually through her character because she caused this. It doesn't show the male gaze either, nor does it focus or linger on specific body parts. I don't think this video uses the male gaze as the female isn't seen as an object, she actually has an important part in the story and there is no voyeuristic treatment of her body, instead just a close up on her face. There is a strong relationship with music and visuals in this shot and the dramatic beat shows the importance of this shot clearly. The jump cuts and effect over the female character make the scene visually dynamic and therefore more exciting.

Screenshot 5

Screenshot 5 shows the younger version of the male character lighting up a cigarette. This is very hyper real as it conveys the message that smoking is a filthy habit, it shows this to a greater extreme though, because it's a young child with the cigarette, making it more brutal for the audience to watch. It does show genre characteristics because rock music is associated with smoking and drugs. 'Its down to you, what you're gonna do' can be seen as a message to the audience to show awareness of smoking effecting children negatively. This shot uses the conventions of a music video to get its message across, it also challenges it. 

 

Screenshot 6

This shot conforms to the conventions of a music video, especially through hyper reality.  This is another shot that shows the character as an animal. The rabbit mask represents the child as vulnerable and shy, creating the idea that he is struggling. The idea that this is playing on his mind and he is imagining things gives the audience an emotional response, feeling sympathy. A drum beat kicks in when he sees the rabbit behind him. This shot has an intertextual reference as it is influenced heavily by Filth.

Screenshot 7

This 5 second shot is very hyper real and stylistic. We filmed extra footage and put a kaleidoscope effect over it, the colour scheme fits with the colour of the main actor's eye. We made sure when choosing actors, they both had green eyes to make it more realistic. There is a relationship between music and visuals as the beat fits in perfectly with the movement. I also think the natural colour scheme amplify's the mood. Overall, i think the shot challenges music video conventions as it doesn't demonstrate rock genre conventions, nor does it represent or show the band in anyway. This shot, shows conceptual as well as narrative as it is very psychedelic and shows a metaphorical relationship between the image and structure, it conveys this clearly through the sound and rhythm, allowing the audience to take there own interpretation to the story.

Screenshot 8

This shot was filmed with a GoPro camera. The aim was to let the audience see the story as literal as possible from the main characters point of view. Again, this shot has a green colour scheme too. The lyric 'I see you everywhere' is spoken when the love interest appears, creating a relationship between the lyrics and visuals. The music is dramatic and the shot is shaky, this shows the characters state of mind and emotion. This fits in with the narrative video conventions because it shows a strong love story using the 'boy meets girl, boy looses girl' pattern. The action in this shot is dominated by the male. This visual technique is exaggerated, making it hyper real. The interest and excitement is shown through the fast pace editing and movements. The fact it is shot in a forest makes it visually dynamic. 

Screenshot 9

This shot is narrative, it is played when the song is finished, making it an epilogue. It allows the audience to see how the story turned out through the cause-effect structure. It shows the boy gets the girl make, meaning it fits in well with the narrative music video conventions. The action is dominated by male but the female is the one with the power. It shows the female cares for him. This gives the audience an emotional response of relief and happiness,perhaps giving them a different outlook and opinion on the female character. There is no voyeuristic treatment towards the female.The reality and visual experiences of this shot are very realistic but it can also be argued it is hyper real because the scene is exaggerated and there is a jumble of representation between the characters. Overall, I'd say this shot used and challenges the use of music video conventions.

In conclusion, i'd say the video uses and challenges the ideas of music video conventions to an extent but it challenges them to a higher level. The video presents a sequence of events using cause and effect. One of the strongest themes used in this video in love, along with loss and hatred through the use of hellish landscapes and negative imagery. The action is dominated by a male role, he also has the most screen time. It can be argued the video is also Conceptual as it is told partly in a non-linear fashion, creating the mood and giving the audience a choice of multiple meaning. The video doesn't demonstrate traditional rock genre conventions as the band isn't shown at any point but the actors used do have the same appearance as the target audience. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals as well as the music and visuals. There isn't close ups of the bands but there is several close ups of the actors used. There is strong intertextual references to several films e.g. filth and the pink floyd film. It is extremely hyper real as it exaggerates the images and makes them surreal.