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.
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