Neofolk is the genre of our chosen song, 'Run Boy Run' by Woodkid. Neofolk is a form of folk music inspired experimental music and can either be mostly acoustic folk music or a blend of acoustic folk instruments aided by other instruments such as piano, strings and elements or industrial and experimental music. The term 'Neofolk' originates from music circles who started using the term in the late 20th Century to describe music influenced by musicians such as Douglas Pearce (Death in June), Tony Wakeford (Sol Invictus) and David Tibet (Current 93).
After considering several different songs of all different genres, we decided upon 'Run Boy Run' by Woodkid. We found it whilst looking at past students work and discovered that we both rather liked the song due to it's catchy beat and open-to-interpretation lyrics. This enables us to make the video on whatever we wish as the lyrics can be interpreted in many different ways. We liked the idea of making our music video about war and peace and this song allows us to achieve this.
This song has a good pace that allows us to use both long and short shots and has a very dramatic feel to it, which would fit to the build up of our theme. The mood within the song changes as the pace within changes, which allows us to tell different parts of the story and convey different ideas. The lack of lyrics allows the audience to focus on the narrative of the music video as they are not as easily distracted by lyrics. Also, due to this we don't feel the need to include aspects of performance within the video, which suits us as we feel that lip-synching is overused and takes away from the drama of the story.
Amateur Music Video We decided to do some comparisons between amateur and professional films, as this will give us a form of guidance in what makes an effective music video.
For the amateur film I looked at a past students work for the song 'Just Give Me A Reason'. The overall narrative behind the music video did match that of the song itself, as the theme used was love. However, this theme seems to be over used and the students could have explored with their ideas and perhaps used a more creative idea. The song is by Pink and therefore the music video should comply with the pop genre. As the genre is pop the music video needs to be appealing and standout to attract the young target audience. As this music video is a amateur music video and was made by students the overall quality is quite bad as professionals have access to better filming equipment. This is the obvious biggest difference between amateur and professional music videos, and due to this the students music video does not have the same bright and attractive look to it which is expected for pop music videos as the lighting is quite dull as they have relied upon natural lighting. To improve this they could have chosen to film on a more brighter or sunnier day to give them a much more 'pleasing' look in their music video which would give them the more typical upbeat atmosphere usually portrayed in pop music videos. Another aspect that makes it clear that this video is an amateur music video would be due to the actual camera shots. This is because the shots are very basic as they mainly use mid to long shots of the two characters who are standing there miming to the song for the majority of the music video. The scenes of the performers lip syncing are very basic as the two characters are just standing their and also lower the overall effect and quality of the music video as it has been done in such a way that makes the music video look quite 'cheap' and 'cheese' and has taken the audience attentions from the good aspects of the music video.
Some good points about this music video would be, in terms of mine-en-scene, the choice of locations is very effective. This is because they have used a variety of different locations that are interesting and help to tell the story and also keep the audience attention engaged in the narrative of the music video. For example, they have used shots inside a library type place and also have scenes inside a cafe. These locations are simple, but are ones thats people can relate to and help to tell the typical love tale that these students were trying to portray in their music videos. Another good aspect of this music video would be that they have used an effective balance of both narrative and performance which keeps the audience engaged in the music video so that they can understand the story that is being told with the use of acting, which is also quite effective.
Another area in which these students could have improved in would be editing. This is because editing is very basic as they only use simple cuts from scene to scene, that do not follow a particular beat, with no use of any effects such as transitions like fades. Professional Music Video When looking at the official music video for 'Just Give Me A Reason' by Pink is very clear to see what video is the amateur and what is the professional. Straight away the music video gains the viewers attention as the use of a set and lighting creates a dramatic scene that proves the music video with quite interesting and dramatic shots that draw in the audience attention. The music video starts of with a tilt up which is quite suspense full and makes the audience wait for the performer (Pink) to be shown which really captures the audiences full attention and makes them involved in the narrative form the very start, which the amateur video failed to do.
The song 'Please Don't Say You Love Me' is by an English singer-songwriter called Gabriella Aplin, who is known for creating folk/indie folk music video. We decided to look at another past student work to help with inspiration. This time we looked at a music video from a different genre as we want to get a variety of different research so that we can narrow down our research and come up with our own ideas for our music video, and by looking at different genres we can look at different styles and chose what genre appeals to us most. This past student music video for the song 'Please Don't Say You Love Me' was very well produced as they used many different relevant shots which linked to the song and the conventions of that genre. The music video was so effective as they were successful in portraying the overall mood of the song. For example, as the title suggests the songs theme was love and the students used this as their bases for their music video. They did this by using many different shots of a happy couple and made a narrative through out the music video evolved around these two characters. When looking at the Andrew Goodwin Theory it states that music videos should include aspects of both narrative and performance got avoid the audience from becoming bored. This music video stuck to this theory as they have used an effective balance of both which helps engage the audience with the performance and the overall story of the song. Indie folk music videos usually have a very laid back feel to them, and we think this particular music video is very effective in portraying this calm atmosphere due to a number of factors. For example, in terms of mine-en-scene they have effectively used locations to reflect the theme of the song. They have used natural settings that automatically create this calm atmosphere such a shots of open fields, parkland and even a shot of the actors sitting around a large lake. This is typical of the indie folk genre so it is clear that they have studied the codes and conventions of their chosen genre which has contributed to the success of the video. Another way in which these past students have created the desired calm atmosphere expected from the indie folk is through their actual camera shots and editing technique. For example, they used lots of long, wide angle shots through out the music video, which includes the performer and the rural setting int he background, which again creates that some calm country feel to the music video. There are also uses of gentle faded zooms form each of the actors faces, which helps to focus the attention on each characters reaction without being distracted by other aspects int he shots. These fades are subtle and quite long in terms of pace which makes the music video flow nicely with the general flow of the song itself. Editing has also been effectively used in the video as it is very smooth and again helps to portray the calm relaxed atmosphere. Another aspect of mine-en-scene these students have clearly focused on is costume. Although basic it has been very efficiently used in the music video to compel with the codes and conventions of the indie folk genre. For example, the performer in the music video is wearing a simple denim jacket and scarf thats creates a 'natural' look which is clearly a must for a indie folk music video. Positioning of the characters and performer is also effective. For instance, the main performer is sitting on a gate with the natural setting in clear view and also she is playing a guitar. This shot composition is highly effective as the long shot with the crane movement enable the audience to see the performer in full view and also to take in the location. The concept of the performer sitting not he gat makes her involved with background and enhances the relaxed atmosphere. The close-up shots of the guitar are impressive as the fades used look very professional and also helps to portray the genre as the instrument and shot type is typical of this genre. Overall we really liked this music video as we felt that it created the right sort of atmosphere needed in a music video for this genre and particular song. We also really liked the actual high standard of both production and post production involved in the creation of this music video which has really helped us to think about our own music video and weather we would like to do a music video of the indie folk genre.
Amateur Video A group of A level Media students created a music video for Boys II Men 'War'. I found that this music video was of a rather low quality as the filming technique was not particularly inventive or interesting, nor was the location of the video. The entire video is based around the group of boys fighting in school and lip syncing in front of an edited fire. Clearly the video is showing a group of boys who thought that fight scenes alone would make their video worthwhile, without including any kind of storyline. The shots were mostly mid shots, especially in lip syncing shots and the fighting scenes were generally wide shots and had no pace to it, so the scenes seemed rather slow and uninteresting as the audience cannot feel the action as we didn't feel close to it and it does not seem fast paced and exciting as the shots were slow. The transitions consisted of cuts and fades that didn't really add much to the video as more often than not, it didn't even go in time with the song. In addition to that, the lip sync is completely wrong and not in time at all. In fact, it almost looks like they're not even singing the same song at times, except for the occasional 'War, what is it good for'. Other than that, they are often singing despite the lack of lyrics. The use of fire in the background is also rather boring as it's not used effectively and is frequently used, meaning it looses it effect after the first couple times. The production in the video is also extremely low, as they filmed this video in school, which immediately makes it dull and doesn't give the audience a feel for the meaning of the lyrics, which are also not represented very well in the video. In conclusion, they should have had better production in using a better location and perhaps dressed up in something that represented what they wished to describe in their video rather than just wearing their usual attire. They could have included effective, well timed cuts and transitions to go with more interesting camera shots and tried to use some camera movements to help create an atmosphere. The use of the fire was also unnecessary and their editing was wasted on a clip that they used too often. Repetition does not work very well if it is overused. The use of some kind of storyline is also very important. Mindless fighting does not help to create an interesting music video. Even a simple or somewhat meaningless storyline that could captivate the audiences attention.
Professional Video
Taylor Swift - Shake it Off starts off with clear shots of ballerinas in a blank grey setting. Taylor Swift appears amongst them, dressed as a ballerina. As the shots change, we see several shots of Taylor dancing and lip syncing in different 'genres', such as street, syfi, rap and jazz. The shots are well thought out and are edited in time with the music. I like how she uses plain backgrounds to make her and her characters stand out as they perform interesting dance moves that fit in with their genre. She has a good use of production through costume and chorography that make it quite entertaining to watch as she seems to fit in with all the different genres. Her shots are fast paced which keep the audience interested and she has many different shots focusing on close ups of several dancers and then wide shots to show the entire group dancing. I also like the meaning that could be interpreted through the video, as the lyrics state to 'shake it off', which could mean shaking off bad comments, rumours or press and just enjoying yourself. By using different genres, it seems like she's applying it to anyone, whether you like or sing rap or jazz or like dancing in ballet or street. This is enhanced by the one of the later shots, where Taylor Swift is dancing with normal people. This also allows the song to apply to everyone, people who don't sing or can't dance, as they can 'shake it off' as well.
A Digipak is a form of packaging for CD's and is also a marketing tool. A CD Digipak consists of around four fold out sections made out of paperboard or card stock, with plastic slots or trays to hold the CD/ CD's, which all fold together into the same shape as an average CD case. Each section features a different photo of the artist or some form of art work, or each section will have a photo which comes together to make a large photograph. The imagery used in the Digipak will resemble that of the music video, for example particular shot of the artist from their music video so that the single will link to the song, artist and music video. An advantage of Digipaks for the consumer would be that they usually include extras such as posters, bonus tracks or even a DVD of their latest tour.
Digipaks are traditionally in hard copy format as it is the packaging for the actual CD. However, as CD's have become less and less popular and people are using platforms such as iTunes to buy their music, digital copies of Digipaks and album artwork are being made for online download. However, Digipaks are an incentive for some people to actually go out and by a hard copy of the CD as bonus features like the bonus tracks and DVD's are only available if you go out and by the CD, so this is an advantage for marketing. Another point would be that your normal album can easily be illegally downloaded, which means money loss for the company and artist, so by creating Digipaks people are lured into buying extra content. Digipaks also have other benefits in terms of marketing. This is because Digipaks should be designed in a way that will attract fans and potential target audiences. They should be aesthetically pleasing with a clear front cover that will attract the right gender, age group or generally the right person who would be interested in the artist and their music. The overall design should follow the theme of the music and the codes and conventions of that genre. For example, the colour used, the type of font and the actual imagery used are all aspects that should be considered when creating a Digipak.
'Can't Hold Us' by Macklemore is a Hip Hop song. Students from Carshalton Boys Sports College used this song for their Music Video. They made the video quite comedic and comic-like that gave it an interesting twist and made it quite entertaining to watch. It was based on the idea of the robbers having their bag taken from them and them trying to get their goods back from the man. The man is tricks them and tries to get away as he thinks they are trying to steal from him. The editing technique in this is rather good as the story is also told through comic-like edited shots, that transition as if you were looking at different pictures of a comic book. Though these shots are usually used when something important occurs, with a change of scenery or when someone in the video 'speaks', which is shown using a speech bubble. They use a lot of face paced shots to tell the story and how what the robbers are doing whilst chasing after the man, which is usually quite funny. Other shots show the characters lip synching in different locations like an alleyway or on a playground. The use of camera movement is also very interesting as it keeps to their comedic theme. For example, when one of the robbers stops to drink from the fountain, the shot slows down to the other robbers face as he realises and looks around, and the shot speeds up slightly as we follow his gaze down to show the other robber 'caught in the act' about to drink the water. The production in the video is well thought out, with the typical 'robber' outfit for the two characters, and the business suit for the man. This video works well with its setting as well, as the setting is also very interesting as there are several locations shown in what I assume to be Central London, like the several shots of Trafalgar Square. In general I think this video was very successful as it was interesting throughout as the story flowed quite nicely and was quite entertaining with its comedic twist and interesting editing. The video also ended perfectly as we finally find out what was taken from the robbers, as we get a low angle shot, looking up at the man, looking into the bag, confused. The last couple shots then show a chicken in the bag.
We created a list of songs on YouTube that we thought could be used and were based on war and peace. Once we eliminated ones we didn't were suitable we were left with 7 songs to choose from.
My Chemical RomanceWe liked the speed of the song as we discovered that a fast-paced song is useful as we could use fast shots to show meaning and describe the lyrics and meaning. We also liked the fact that there was quieter, calmer moments between the choruses and solos where the video would be able to change its pace to perhaps introduce to further the storyline. However, we weren't particularly keen on the song and weren't quite sure how to interpret the lyrics or if they would fit the base-line idea that we had thought of.
Rise Against We both liked the song as it held quite a lot of emotion and described very well the idea of soldiers fighting in the war and all the atrocities that they had to commit. We found this quite an interesting idea. Though we liked the simplicity of the song, with it being just a singer and an acoustic guitar, we found that it would probably difficult to made a music video for, as it is quite long and slow.
New Model ArmyI liked this song as it was quite well paced and I could imagine making a music video for this song. However, it is quite a long song, lasting over 5 minutes and although I was rather keen on this song as I thought it could work if we were able to cut it down, Lisa did not agree with it as it wasn't the kind of song she liked. So we decided to keep on looking, as we would both have to agree on a song that we both liked.
The song 'Run Boy Run' is by a French music video director and singer-songwriter called Younn Lemonine who goes by the name WoodKid. The song comes under the genre of neofolk.
We decided to look at past students work in aid to give us inspiration for our own music video and also to give us a guidance into what we maybe able to achieve, in terms of quality, shots, production etc. To complete this research we decided to use YouTube to find past students work, we came across an A Level music video for the song 'Run Boy Run'. We both really liked the whole concept of the video and the actual song used as well. Another reason we liked this particular music video was that we felt that in terms of technical aspect we could be able to create our own music video to this standard, as many past students work is of a very high standard as they have the accessibility to high tech equipment such as cranes, tracks and cameras of much higher quality and also more advanced editing software. Therefore, we felt that we should look at videos which were effective but simple as we felt that looking at advanced music videos would not help as we do not have the facilities to be as ambitious in our own work. The first shots used in this music video are very effective as they have used a series of close-up on various different people, which have been edited nicely to cut to the beat of the song. Also the use of the fade to black and black and white also adds a sense of mystery and atmosphere which sets up the audience for the storyline behind the song and video. Another aspect of the video which I think is effective is that for the drumming sequence part of the song they have used shots of a person, in an unusual costume that resembles a Native American, who is playing the drum and the frantic drumming and quick shots match that of the actual music. These shots make this video become not only a narrative music video but also has aspects of performance as we can actually see someone in the video playing the drum. The actual storyline behind the music video has many different aspects to it which intern makes it become slightly confusing however I feel that overall the narrative is effective as it almost leaves the story open to audience interpretation. The narrative also reflects the genre of the song as it is from a genre called neofolk, which is unusual in itself. Another reason we felt that this music video was so effective was due to the standard of the mise-en-scene used. This is because the students have thought about all aspects of mise-en-scene in particular the use of location and costume/make-up is on a very high standard. For example, the use of many different shots in various locations such as in the Castle and woodland keep the audience in tuned with the song and understand the general meaning of the song and music video. The use of the castle creates an unusual mysterious effect that creates an effective meaningful atmosphere with powerful shots of the castles and the characters within the music video. Costume has also been effectively used through out the music video as the various costumes help to create a variety of characters which help to build up the storyline. For example, the use of the hooded figure with the armour helps to create a mysterious character which symbolises your usual hero as he heads towards the tower where he meats the innocent looking 'princess' type character with the white dress and flower crown, to help to create this apearance. Props have also be used such as a drum, sword, mask, and even included animals such as dogs and even a horse, which is very effective as they have used clips of a dog running for the main chorus part of the song which has the lyrics 'Run Boy Run' which makes the music video directly link to the songs lyrics. On a whole we both really liked this music video as we felt that it was very effective and something that we could possibly achieve in our own work, and also the actual song as well. Another, final aspect that we loved about this music video is that it is almost all narrative as there is no lip syncing used in the video, the only performance aspect is the boy playing the drum. This is something that we really liked as we like the idea of having a narrative based music video as we personally don't like the whole concept of someone standing around and miming to the camera as it feels quite fake and takes away the emotion from the storyline. So this music video has given us inspiration into who we can make an effective music video without the use of lip syncing.
After looking through several music videos, we decided we liked the idea of war and peace, which we think we can show through 'Zombie' by the Cranberries.
However, we are not particularly keen on the song itself, so we will keep an eye out for other songs we could use for our idea of war and peace as we thought we could base the video on the transition from soldier to peace. We will continue to research songs and research past students work to try and finalise our song, if we can find one suitable for our idea. The reason we liked this music video was due to the theme of 'war and peace' as already stated. This was because we felt that the theme was highly effective with the quite dramatic quick cutting shots of the children and then the cuts to the solider, as children are usually associate with innocence so to put them in a music video about war makes them contrast and shows the powerful message on how war effects everyone, even the innocent. The music video was also effective due to the use of black and white as this creates a more dreary mood and reflects the quite dark message of the song, and is an idea we could consider if we use the whole concept of 'war and peace' as this helps to portray the atmosphere required.
Neofolk is the genre of our chosen song, 'Run Boy Run' by Woodkid. 
