Comparison of music video

*insert vid*

Do you think you have created a successful music video why?



In my opinion, I believe that we have created a successful music video,  due to the feedback we have received as a result of constructing and distributing them to our target audience of females aged 16-25. All 3 of our products (music video, magazine advert and digipak) are successful because they are not only coherent with each other and flow continuously due to the repeated conventional elements embedded within. All products follow the correct characteristics of the Indie genre and develop it by doing so.The music video we as a group have created is successful for a number of reasons and successfully fulfils our central aim of developing our chosen genre of Indie. Our video offers our target audience highly conventional micro-elements: the use of naturalistic lighting, location/iconography associated with the genre (that is familiar with our chosen audience), simplistic editing common of the genre, a large narrative element, an evocative artist performance and lastly a relatable artist image (something our target audience prefer in comparison to an elaborate and unachievable artist image)




Which micro element, best shows your creativity and understanding
of your music genre the most?

Although we have chosen to develop the Indie genre and followed it's conventions almost strictly, we wanted a creative looking outcome. We wanted our music video to engage audiences rather for them just to experience a regular viewing. Therefore, we offered thoroughly thought out Mise en Scene that is not only highly conventional but works on a symbolic level. Firstly, we used sparklers to signify a temporary 'spark' and love between the artist and her boyfriend as they are facing issues within their relationship due to his bad habits. Sparklers are used to emphasise the struggle of the artists relationship with her boyfriend. Once the spark has disappeared it holds a symbolic purpose of their relationship also losing its spark. We also manipulated the forest location also to capture natural light. We believe the use of sunset shooting is romantic and feminine, therefore drawing attention to the artist in her thinking space as her boyfriends place to escape is the urban skatepark. The stark juxtaposition of locations also present contrasts in their relationship as they two have very different representations throughout. The artist is portrayed to be vulnerable and relatable for her target audience whilst her love interest will be shown to be destructive and rebellious; therefore two contrasting images conveyed through not only the use of editing and cinematography but setting and iconography too. 

Playing cards labelled King and Queen of Hearts are also examples of creatively considered iconography used within our product. Not only does the visuals of the playing cards match up in parallel to the lyrics "and his pack of cards" but they also work on a symbolic level with an explicitly referenced meaning. The choice of cards we have used have heart symbols on them which connote to a loving relationship in which the audience view in the flashback scenes (sparklers and forest scene) However, the audience are previously presented with the visuals of the artists boyfriend igniting a lighter flame in which he burns the cards which directly symbolises a relationship that is coming close to ending due to the problems they are facing.  We also decided to include a guitar smash within our video, despite the fact it is more typical of an Indie Rock genre rather than pure Indie. However, it is an acoustic guitar not an electric one which is the main difference between the genre and sub-genre. We felt it was important to include because the guitar means a lot to the artist and therefore, by destroying it in front of her it will symbolise the breaking of their relationship. Weather conditions are also something we considered in creating the correct atmosphere in different parts of the song which harmonise with the final music video. An example of this is the use of pathetic fallacy which warns the audience something bad is about to happen as it is raining heavily within the skatepark scenes where the artists boyfriend is shown on his own wasting time and consuming his bad habits of drinking excessively and smoking. This is therefore symbolic of their worsening relationship also.

All of the above elements make our music video product individual without challenging the genre but instead developing it and conforming to what our consumers wanted from the product as noted in our intimate feedback sessions.

Now our music video is complete and able to access by the public consisting of our target audience of females aged 16-25, we have decided to compare it to another existing Indie music video in aim to analyse whether or not it was successful in being similar and conventional to the Indie genre. I have chosen to compare our music video to Passenger's 'The Wrong Direction' as he is a similar Indie artist to our intended artist representation. Although he is a male artist, I am able to draw stark similarities between my artist and Passenger because they both derive from the Indie genre, and therefore, their products contain highly conventional components. 

Goodwin's theory is heavily influential to both Passengers music video to The Wrong Direction (TWD) and also my music video of Nina Nesbitt's Noserings & Shoestrings. A number of his 7 main points are relevant to both videos, including the noticeable genre characteristics, meaning the two are highly conventional. To begin, both videos use a combination of mid to close-up shots which switch between each other to show the artists face and also the guitar in which he/she is playing. 

 Close-up shots are vital when promoting an artist and are used within many videos which have a strong performance element. Close-up camera shots crucially present the artist to the audience which thus enables the audience to build a relationship with the artist. The only difference is my video uses close and mid performance shots throughout whilst Passenger is only really performing with his guitar in the first minute. We believe it is more conventional for the artist to be seen performing more within a video of the Indie genre therefore have decided to display that in addition to our narrative element. Our video is defined by a 70% narrative, 30% performance split which is the correct ratio for a typical music video deriving from the Indie genre. Within these close-up  shots, it allows for an evocative performance to commence (the performance evokes emotion conveyed within the lyrics which therefore allows the audience to gain sympathy and therefore gain a larger fan base due to the interest within her) Additionally, these close-up shots are successful in gaining eye-contact, which is crucial when engaging audiences whilst promoting the artist.

Mid-shots are also used in both music videos belonging to the genre of Indie. We felt a mid-shot was important to include because it emphasises the artists musical talents. By using mid-shots, it allows the audience to witness the artist playing the guitar which illustrates that the artists adopt a genuine talent. Audiences would favour this and would be a quality they look within an artist of the Indie genre. As a result of this portrayl, audiences would find the videos increasingly appealing as they are forced into the position to relate to the artist and consequently would hold an ongoing interest into their audio and visual products.

By employing a mid-shot, it presents both artists as down-to-earth and ordinary individuals which is favoured by fans of the Indie genre. This therefore allows the appeal of the video to increase to the target audience who will be consuming the product as they feel at ease watching the artist perform and also relate to them through the relationship that has been built.

Goodwin's theoretical point of 'parallel visuals to lyrics' is largely evident within both videos. Within TWD, the artist sings “leave us on our a****”  which is supported by the visuals of a woman falling over in the street, projected upon the green screen behind him. Also, we as an audience witness the artist fall back into a paddling pool joined by animated fish either side of him whilst he lip syncs the lyrics "fish in the sea for me to make a selection" This allows the audience time to connect the two pieces of information together to form the narrative and therefore, TWD video succeeds in telling audiences a story through the effective combination of lyrics and visuals which are parallel to each other which enhances the simplistic and conventional approach of Indie.

Within our music video, we also felt it was important to produce parallel visuals to support particular lyrics to highlight important scenes within the narrative which drives it forward. There are many examples of when we have chosen to illustrate the lyrics as they are being sung by the artist such as when the artists sings about how her boyfriend hangs about at skateparks "with his lighter" where he is shown on his own under a skate ramp flicking the lighter towards "his pack of cards" which we then also see, burned around the edges (refer to my symbolism paragraphs near my introduction) By illustrating the artists boyfriend to adopt rebellious attributes such as consuming alcohol and smoking, we have created an abrupt persona for him. This was inspired by the lyrics "he's just misguided, I think" where the artist attempts to make excuses for his unruly behaviour, to realise that in reality, he has serious issues to overcome which are in turn effecting their relationship as conveyed throughout. The word "misguided" became the artists album title as it addresses many key themes which are embedded within her lyrics about adolescence and how it is wasted on the youth. 


Despite the fact we followed this point within Goodwin's theory, we also decided to break/challenge it. This is because we felt that by following all of the generic conventions, our product may become predictable for our consumers which therefore means the audience will not find it interesting. We challenged the 'parallel visuals to lyrics' theoretical point in the shot where the couple are seen laughing and joking at the skatepark together when the lyrics being sung at that particular moment is "Another 5am call sitting worried in my hall" If we had chosen to use the theory of 'parallel visuals to lyrics' through the entirety of the music video, the audience would know what they were about to watch if they had heard the song prior to viewing it which would spoil their experience. Despite this juxtaposition and breaking of one of Goodwin's points, the audience witness the couple argue and end their relationship as he drives away, leaving the artist to pick up the pieces (quite literally with the broken guitar remains) 

Artist image remains simplistic for both artists which is highly conventional for the genre of which their music derives from. Passenger wears the same outfit throughout which suggests his image isn’t overly important for him, therefore there is more focus upon his music for audiences rather than an extravagant/elaborate/overly complex 'costume' which is generic of Pop genres in which the clothes are vibrant and eye-catching. Passenger as a male Indie artist in the industry favours neutral coloured high-street/affordable clothing which contrasts male hip-hop/rap/pop artists who promote exclusive brands/designers by wearing their clothes within music videos. This is known as 'Intertextual references', another theoretical point proposed by Goodwin which conventional Indie music videos avoid because they are typically simplistic and therefore organic, not wanting to advertise items but instead have the sole focus upon the music itself. The artist is shown wearing a simple shirt and jeans. By adopting a very neutral image, audiences may become interested in the artist as the image is achievable by male fans which has a direct correlation to the qualities in which the audiences favour by being able to feel similar to the artist and therefore influences them in maintaining an interest as he is portrayed to be down-to-earth (and 'ordinary' as presented in Dyer's Star Theory)




As our Indie artist is female, artist image was more important for us to consider in juxtaposition to Passenger. This is mainly due to our target audience consisting of females aged 15-25 who may or may not be fashion concious, and therefore influenced by clothing worn by Daisy. Throughout this video, Daisy wears clothes which would be associated by teens as adopting a 'vintage' yet modern style which can be purchased for affordable prices on the high-street. An example of this is the outfit the audience see the artist in the most, the combination of the floral dress, denim jacket and beanie hat, all of which items can be relatable for audience members and therefore securing a strong fan base in relation to that.

High-angle shots are used within both but for different purposes to communicate different messages. Within TWD music video, a high-angle shot is embedded to show the artist surrounded by people miming the chorus of the song along with him. In this example, the high-angle is used to signify unification as the artist unifyies people by his music. Typically, high-angles are used to show a power struggle or employ vulnerability which we exploit within our music video in which there is a high-angle used when the artist is standing looking down on her boyfriend. This presents the idea that she is ashamed of his bad habits and wants him to change.

Within our video, a high-angle shot is also used when the artists boyfriend is destroying her guitar. By using a high-angle shot for this particular moment within the narrative, it allows the audience to see the extent of his anger towards the artist discovering his bad habit and also conveys the idea that by taking this drastic action to upset his girlfriend, he is belittling himself as he is the subject lower to where the camera is held. A high-angle is also employed to show the couple laying on the ground of the forest. This contrastingly presents the idea that nothing else matters when they're together.





It is very rare for a music video of the Indie genre to involve green screen within it's production and it is even rarer to see the literal green screen within any music video. This is because it shatters the illusion the green screen was invented to create. The video to The Wrong Direction however challenges the music genre by doing so. After we see the artist perform intimately to the audience (typical of the genre), the background of a vintage looking living room disappears and we are presented with the visuals of two members of the production team waking towards the camera behind the artist and placing the green screen which begins to flash with images. When we first began planning our video, we wanted to involve the green screen in some way, shape or form because we felt it would be beneficial to us to learn a new technical skill through the editing process. We wanted to use the green screen for the artists performance scenes, but decided against it after conducting research on conventional Indie music products. As evident in our final music video, we decided to use a plain white wall as the background for the artists performance to draw the main focus onto her and her music rather than making the visuals complex so that the audience does not connect or build a relationship with the artist. Therefore, Passenger's video to TWD adopts an unconventional element, despite the fact it is of the Indie genre where audiences expect a simplistic visual outcome. However, the green screen is effective within this particular video as it is combined with animations, also highly unconventional, yet effective. These animations include the use of fish and a heart, the fish linking with the lyrics "fish in the sea for me to make a selection" and the heart linking in with the general theme of love, heartbreak and running away from it "seems I've been running in the wrong direction"


Our final music video is the central outcome of the target audience feedback we recieved throughout the many different processes we endured to create it. Our final music video  conforms to stereotypical Indie genre conventions. This is because we considered our feedback of what audiences wanted from our product and what they preferred to see in a music video. When collecting feedback from our audience through a primary resource, questionnaires which we created into easily visible pie charts, we found that the majority favoured simplistic videos rather than ones which include special effects, much like the video to TWD does. Therefore, we decided not to include special effects in response to our feedback and also because it would break/challenge the typical Indie genre conventions. In conclusion, by conforming to what our target audience stated they wanted, the appeal increased in addition to the success of our product from our consumers perspective.

Overall explain how you have followed the aims of the brief by creating a music video?

For our A2 Media coursework, we were allocated with the task of combining individual and group work in aim to create a music video of a chosen artist, song and therefore genre.

As individuals, we each maintained a blog that holds evidence of our research prior to planning our music video and ancillary products in preparation to fulfil the brief in creating a music video and 2 ancillary products (digipak and magazine advert) that promote the main product. This research consists of artist image, theories, and styles of music videos in addition to primary and secondary research about our target audience which assisted us when creating our music video. By conducting holistic research from various sources, it allowed us to create a highly conventional music video in which audiences would find appealing. This enabled us to thoroughly plan the elements of our music video for example the microelements: cinematography, lighting, setting and editing in addition to which theories we chose to follow and artist image too. Throughout the processes of production and editing, we considered information we gathered throughout the planning process, especially from our target audience to ensure we were not only developing the Indie genre but doing it in a way that audiences can relate to the artist and build a relationship with her.