Lyric Analysis

By analyzing my chosen song, in which I will produce my music video for, I allows me to start gaining ideas when producing my story board.

For example, I found that the majority of the lyrics conveyed a lust for love. From this I feel a love story of a couple would be hugely appropriate in my video, enjoying their time together as a couple maybe have some small busts up in order to create some enigma (Barthes).
In order to incorporate my researched conventions into this idea being portrayed by my lyrical analysis, I feel it would be best to have the couple out partying, drinking and smoking in order to show to the audience that it is an alternative genre music video.

The end of the song almost is like she is leaving a lasting memory by saying "and I like you", it could also suggest her getting this off her chest. I would want to show this within the production of my video. To do this I could have the last scene of the couple being them kissing or just looking happy within each other arms to show a certain relief that they have one another.

Song Choice

After doing some research on female alternative artists my group and I discussed that 'Lorde' would be a great artist to use for our video.

We listened to a great amount of her songs in order to see if one of them would fit with some of the ideas we had come up with as we want to follow the conventions of an alternative genre music video with this would include alcohol, rebellious teens and a love story.

The song '400 lux' by Lorde really appealed to us and allowed us to visualise the video we wanted to create.

Female Alternative Artists Research

As a group we discussed small decisions in which will be making throughout the process of developing our digipak. One of the main ideas we discussed was that we wanted a more narrative based music video and an actor to lip sync a existing song within the alternative genre, however in order to slightly challenge the stereotypes of the alternative genre we thought by having a female lead as the artist and the actor would be different to current products. Therefore, our video will involve a female artist which I think some research is needed into female alternative artists and also songs in which as a group we could potentially used.

These are a few examples of female alternative artists, each portraying a different side to the genre.
By researching existing female it not only allows me to gain more knowledge in order to help me when recording my own female actor as I have be able to see how they act within these videos but it also helps me pick a song from a certain artist which inspires me with ideas and fits with my existing ones.

Audience Profile

Barthes Theory applied to Lyrics

Codes and conventions of an existing text

Here I have analysis an existing music video that has been distributed by a band who fit into the alternative genre. I believe that looking and exploring current media texts will aid me when planning my mood board and other aspects of creating my own video. This will give me the ability to see the codes and conventions of my genre being in bedded into a present product.

To understand the codes and conventions of my chosen genre in more depth I thought it would be fitting to analysis an existing piece of media text. I have chosen a well-known band from within the genre, ‘The 1975’, to do so. I also picked this certain song due to the video having qualities in which I would love to incorporate into my video. To begin with, the music video to the song ‘Robbers’ is narrative based with no performance, in terms of Goodwin’s theory this would be referred to as amplification. The video explores a variety of action codes (Barthes) to create mystery for example, we are focused upon the roller-coaster relationship within a couple and are given small flash forward shot until we are then revealed at the end of the video that they ‘rob’ a shop which we most definitively did not expect.

Throughout the music video we are introduced with a variety of settings, at the beginning of the video a long shot, of the couple who feature in the video, gives the audience a view of the setting. This setting is engulfed in low key lighting but features a single source of natural lighting and some artificial lighting from lamps around the room. This type of lighting creates silhouettes of the two characters in the video creating a very mysterious feel about their relationship, this low-key lighting also allows the red fairy lights in the background to be more visible. Both the silhouettes and the red lights could symbolise that their love for each other is very dark and dangerous, which could also be foreshadowing events that are to happen at the end of the video. Overall, this part of the music video represents the genre as being romantic and gloomy.

The lighting changes from low key to high key using a cut, this lighting however is natural due to the change of setting and presents back lighting from the sun. The setting is an empty swimming pool in which the individuals within the video are using as a place to take drugs and smoke which we can see using long shots and head and shoulder shots, this fulfils the codes of conventions of the genre as this is an extremely common action to be done within the genre and its music videos. This can be explained using the uses and gratifications theory as it explores how the target audience of the alternative genre find this very entertaining and seek this through music videos produced by artists to fulfil the needs of their entertainment. The tracking shot and shot types that are used also allow us to identify their costumes in which show a very casual approach, some even not buttoning up their shirt paired with distressed clothing representing the artists and people associated with the genre as not bothered about their looks and more interested in other things such as drugs. The rural, abandoned setting also portrays the idea of carelessness.

Much of the video involves no diegetic sound or dialogue however, lip syncing is used and incorporated within the video. There is one section of the video that includes diegetic sound as the non-diegetic sound of the music comes to a pause which creates a great deal of tension. As the sound fades out the ambient sounds of a gunshot begin to echo, the high key lighting breaks the stereotype that crimes occur during the night. This however could be suggested for the genre as it does not conform to the stereotypes of the ‘popular music’. After we realise the key character has been shot the non-diegetic music suddenly starts again at a high level of volume creating enigma as the couple begin to run to the getaway car. This symbolises that love can be dangerous and as for the genre it represents the music and artists as being reckless and daring.

This particular music video can be applied to Todorov’s narrative theory. As the equilibrium at the beginning of the video was the couple enjoying each other and having a good time however, then the disruption occurs, thus being the main character being shot which is then quickly resolved to then be reintroduced with the new equilibrium of the couple returning back to their loving selves and enjoy the riches they achieved through robbing a shop.

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This is helpful with the creation of my own video as this detailed analysis allows me to understand the codes and conventions in a much more detailed way and actual applied to an existing piece of media.
It will be then easier for me to create a conventional music video and suit it to the genre.

Costume and Makeup Research

In terms of the artists themselves there costume proves to be extremely basic and come across as if no thought or effort has been put into them. The overall colour combinations consist of a bland and colourless palette for example, blacks and greys. The casual clothing fits very well with their style of music as songs are relaxed and take more of a laid back approach to music.

These kind of costumes are influenced throughout their music videos to continue this relaxed style featuring jackets and plain shirts. So this is what I will try to achieve when styling my actors that will feature within my own music video as costume in an important aspect of the genre so I will be following this convention.

As for makeup, the male artists do not seem to feature any makeup within their looks, possible due to that fact that the artists are being perceived as natural and once again casual. However, even the female artist do not show much interest in a lot of makeup, from my research I can see that it is also very natural with parts showing a more grudge feel by having dark eyeshadow showing their target audience that there may be a darker side to their music.

-This research will help me tremendously when it comes to styling my actors in order for them to fit the conventions of our music video fitting with the alternative genre. We believe that we will feature both a male and female within our narrative in our video to carry out a love story, from this I believe that the female actor should wear casual clothing for example a dress or jeans and a top, however, we may challenge these conventions of costume and allow our actor to wear clothes with bursts of colour to show originality within our video. As for the male actor, I believe the same applies with a basic costume. This will consist of a plain jacket over dull coloured t-shirt and jeans.-

Lip Syncing Research

My group and I had a discussion about our artist, within this discussion we decided that it would be better and more accessible to have an actor lip sync of a song in which will choose. This will also make it simpler in terms of narrative due to the fact that it means our video will be narrative based meaning it will contain mostly footage that attempts to tell a story through the moving image; music videos that are narrative usually have a story line that is linked to the lyrical content. Moreover, using an existing songs allows us to focus hugely on narrative in order to create a story line that expresses these lyrics and appeals to the target audience. Therefore because of this choice I feel that it is necessary that I take time to undertake research into lip syncing in order to understand how it works, how to perfect it myself and how existing videos use this technique.

Years & years - Take Shelter

Within this music video it is an amplified structured video meaning both narrative and some performance aspects are used to amplify the song and also the narrative. Lip syncing is used throughout the video both in a small performance way and within the narrative. By doing this it ties the two scenes together, I really like this idea as it doesn’t separate the two recordings up but pulls them into one. 

THE 1975 - Chocolate

This video is very similar as the years & years music video; however, it is more illustrated due to the song lyrics being explored within the video. For example, the lyrics “and my car smells like chocolate” is empathised the fact that they are in a car throughout the majority of the video. Once again the different settings are pulled together through the lip syncing and there is no distinct setting for lip syncing and another for narrative.

One Republic - Counting Stars

This video clearly distinguishes narrative and performance well by ‘lip-syncing’ as a performance and only at this setting. It allows the narrative part of the video to be cut to a different setting and show no connection between the two. This disjuncture type music shows us that the narrative holds very little relationship to the song. 

This has shown me the difference in terms of lip syncing throughout the genre, from this being focused mainly on the performance or mixed together within the narrative as well. Personally, I prefer the way the lyrics are connected through the narrative in order to put importance on them as I feel this is a really important aspect.

Initial Ideas and Influences to our Narrative

Symbolic codes in the Alternative genre

In terms of the mise-en-scene, ‘The 1975’ album cover and recognisable font gives us clues to the sound of their music. The design consists of black and white light contrasting against one another, however the dominance of the black within the band’s name suggests that their music is more on the dark side and cover darker themes. Each album covers and photo shoot follows with the same aesthetic this could imply that their style and their music are very established. The fact that the band do not feature on the front of their albums, this connotes the idea that they are a meaningful group which also shows suggestions of the way their music is. Their style and consistent use of black and white colour scheme suggests the music should be Gothic and metal, however the font gives the audience a completely opposite impression with a vintage look suggesting links with the alternative genre. The clothing/costume in which they wear also keeps within the black and white colour scheme but is very casual and laid back, this is expecting with the indie/alternative genre. Other outfit choices are retro and unique in order to further establish the genre and the kind of music they create. Everything within the band is kept very minimalist and simple, making the main focus being put on the music.

The 'Imagine Dragons' are extremely recognisable for their dark, creative style. The colour scheme used within their group is very dark and grey, this may be done in order to show the style of music. As they are commonly referred to as fitting within the ‘rock’ category, they seem to challenge any stereotypes that latch on with being associated with rock and the alternative genre. The symbolic creative and imaginative name is very appealing towards the younger category within the target audience due to the fact that it allows them to express their originality. The text style is very modern and is in capitals which makes the title stand out, especially against the dark colour schemed background. The name of the band also symbolises the creativity and uniqueness of their music. As for the costume, it is portrayed to be very smart yet casual in a unique way, this further shows the style of their music as being different and slightly unusual.

Years and years are known for their very electronic sounding within the alternative genre, the band focus upon brighter colours to represent them such as pinks and purples. The infamous ‘Y’ rainbow graphic image is very prominent within the album cover which makes it easier of them to be identified. This monochrome design symbolises a lot in terms of their style and music as they oppose the stereotypes within the genre to create this colourful image. As for their costume style it is extremely plain and casual which not only allows the audience to relate and connect with them as a band but also empathises the importance and focus on their music. Their colourful, vivid colour scheme shows some challenged conventions within the genre for the reason that the alternative genre is associated with dark, gloomed and melancholy tone, this however works with the fact that their music is more upbeat and can be fitted in the ‘pop’ genre.

Audience Theory Research

Two-step Flow Theory

Opinion Leader is a leader for a certain group who gives details and information to lesser active persons in the group. They interpret the information to their own group

In Public, Political leader is an opinion leader.

Katz and Paul (the two developer of this theory) seems "the flow of media messages from radio and print to opinion leaders and then the leader leads the messages to lesser active users within the population"

An example of this theory:

Carol watching News in ANB Channel they flash the headlines with “Research reveals some toys are leads the children’s aggressive and Violent”. That day Carol calls her little son and went for shopping and carol warn her son some toys are not good and made skin allergy which leads her son to avoid those toys.

Opinion leader: Mom

Audience: Her Son

Added information: Skin Allergy

Uses and Gratifications theory- 

Uses and gratification theory searches to understand why the audience seek out the media that they do and what they use it for. This theory differs from other media effect theories in that it assumes that individuals have power over their media usage, rather than positioning individuals as passive consumers of media. 

It explores how some individuals deliberately seek out to the media in order to fulfill certain needs or goals such as entertainment and relaxation.

This example by Coldplay 'Adventure Of A Lifetime' is an example of a alternative genre artists music video being applied to the uses and gratifications theory. Due to the fact that the theory entitles the audience to fulfil certain ideas, such as entertainment and enjoyment. This music video being all narrative suggests it has been produced for entertaining purposes. 


Reception Theories is when producers or directors constructs a text encoded with hidden message or meaning that the producers or directors want to convey across to the audience.

There are three types of audiences reading messages:

Dominant→

Dominant is about what the audience wants to hear from people and agreeing, but with limited knowledge on the subject.

Negotiated→

Negotiated is when the audience agrees, disagrees or questions a political speech or news broadcast due to previously held news.

Oppositional→

Oppositional is when the audience recognises the Dominant message but rejects it due to culture or political opinion.

This music video produced by Lorde for the song 'Green Light' is an example using the reception theory. The theory allows the audience to read the messages conveyed in the video in three different ways.  This example allows the audience to decode the meanings for example, dominantly being sharing the text's code and accepting the message being easily shown, eg, the character on a night out and struggles that comes with that. Negotiated, where the audience understands and agrees with the text but also have their own views and oppositional, rejecting the encodings and creating their own views on the messsage. The confusing nature of this example makes it easier for the audience to decode in each way

Barthes' code theory

1.The Action code

-is the way the story avoids telling the truth or revealing all the facts in order to create mystery.

2.The Enigma code

 -the way the tension is built up and the audience is left guessing what will happen next.

3.The Semantic code

-this code points to any element in the text that suggests a particular or additional meaning by way of connotation which the story suggests

4.The Symbolic code

-this is similar to the Semantic code, but acts on a wider level, organising semantic meanings into broader and deeper sets of meaning. 

5.The Cultural code

-this particular code looks at the audiences wider cultural knowledge and ideology. This gains more context and meaning to the text (how we think of the world and how it works)

The 1975's music video for their song 'Robbers' is an example of a music video using Barthes codes. In this particular example it uses 'The Action Code', it does this through avoiding to tell the story as the audience don't realise whats happening and the multiple flashbacks until we reach the end of the video therefore creating mystery. This can also be applied to the Enigma Code as the audience are watching the tension build as they guess the narrative.

Todorov's Narrative Theory

1⏩ Equilibrium

a state of calm that represents 'normal life' in a narrative.

2⏩ Disruption 

something happens to disrupt the equilibrium that is shown in the beginning of the film

3⏩ Distruction

protagonists realise what has happened and begin to try and solve the situation

4⏩ Resolution

the protagonists devise and try to plan a solution as they believe they will resolve the problem they face

5⏩ New Equilibrium 

the problem is solved and the state of equilibrium has been restored

Levi Strauss' Binary Oppositions 

Examples: 

↝ Good vs Evil 

↝ Sane vs Insane

↝Human vs Supernatural

Within media binary opposition is used frequently to identify who is who. Not only his but it creates a interesting narrative consisting of two sides battling/competing against each other. 

An example of Strauss' Binary Opposition is Imagine Dragons music video to 'Thunder'. It shows two groups of people being Aliens and Humans, portraying differences between them both and shows them almost 'battling' against each other.

-Researching narratives has been useful as it gives me the starting point for my initial ideas. By this I mean selecting the best narrative structure to follow within my genre and with my ideas that already exist. In terms of the audience, I can select those narratives that will be more effective than others in order to engage my target audience and entertain them in the best way possible.

Iconography of the Alternative Genre

Iconography is the visual interpretation of symbols and images. Alternative Rock is typically represented through themselves as a band in their videos due to the fact that a large portion of their videos are performance based, however frequently feature narrative (this is becoming much more common), the props used that are linked to the genre help to show the iconography such as alcohol/drugs etc. this reveals the iconography for Alternative Rock.

This example shows how typically an alternative video looks, you can see smoke in the background which accomplishes the link to props and iconography. We can see the smoke featured in background through the use of back lighting, this makes it easier for the audience to see the iconography being presented and make the link to the genre. As the genre's iconography is established with the use of props like smoke and drugs we can uncover this as an Alternative music video. The back lighting creates a taunting shadow across most of the shot and his face which adds to the idea of identifying the genre. Within the shot we see a parting between light a dark, this could be suggesting Binary Opposition which suggests a lot about the music video, for example, some conflict or violence. By creating this type of video consisting of different conventions and iconography it is easier for the audience to discover the genre and also for the band to target the audience. 

When the video shows more of a narrative rather than performance by the artist, iconography is also used to help convey the conventions and stereotypes for that specific story so that it is easier for the targeted fan base and other audiences to understand what is happening along with what genre is being portrayed.

With this example it is another music video distributed by 'The 1975', in it we can see recognisable settings, thus being a pub, this allows us to create a link towards alcohol. As we can see he is drinking in this mid shot which establishes the iconography of the genre and appeals to the target audience. The lighting is very low key and is only lit with small amounts of artificial lighting, however, similarly to the example above we can see a split within the lighting, once again conveying the idea of binary opposition, the dark, low key lighting engulfs the individual on the right and lights the individual on the left suggesting very different emotions, hence why he is pouring the drink and the other is drinking it. Due to the fact that the lead singer is the one surrounded by low key lighting it suggests a lot about their music and the genre, that it is filled with emotion and darkness. This is also reinforced through the costume, the individual is wearing dark clothing portraying darker thoughts, emotion and feeling in which the lyrics of his music would suggest and also the genre.

The colours used in alternative/indie music videos tend to be more plain, with the genre not being known for any type of sophistication and are usually set in more familiar environments than those in rock and pop videos, this reflects the general attitude of the indie genre as one that relies more on deeper meanings.

This is helpful when it comes to filming the footage for my music video as it allows me to know what iconography to include. This will allow my target audience to identify the genre easier if I include such features. 

Analysis of an Alternative Rock Music Video

The alternative genre allow many artists to experiment and think 'out of the box' in terms of their videos. This is due to the fact that the genre itself is seen as a category in which the artists that struggle to fit in other genres fall into, this makes this area more popular because it is different and unique.

A few of the artists that fall under the umbrella of 'alternative music' are:

Green Day

Red Hot Chilli Peppers

Radiohead

The 1975

Imagine Dragons

Foo FIghters

...and more

I took it upon myself to watch a selection of music videos produced by artists who are part of this genre.

In terms of camera, I found that the use of long shots of the the band were extremely common. This shot allowed me to view each instruments and actually view them as a band. This is conventional for a alternative artist to do as the long shot gives us the opportunity to identity them and the genre they fall under. Not only this but this shot means we can also view the costume, this also allows us to identify the genre due to the out of the norm and casual clothing in which they wear.   

I found that close ups were another common shot within the alternative genre for the reason that it makes it easier to identify the mood and feelings not only surrounding the video but also the music and lyrics too.

In some videos, the ones in which were not completely based upon a narrative, the camera applies focus on the instruments once again establishing the genre and putting focus and attention on the use of different sounds.

Through researching these videos I have realised that in terms of editing, the videos cut between the narrative and a performance from the artist. The narrative shown in each video expresses the meaning of the lyrics, sometimes in a unusual and unexpected way. 

The large amounts of shots within each video conveys the idea of the genre on how it is very different from other genres, showing its distinctive way of pursuing music.

The setting used in each video of the same genre is hard to create similarities, however, other areas of the mise-en-scene show a vast amount of resemblances such as lighting. Despite the setting being different, which is expected through different music videos especially within the alternative/alternative rock genre, the lighting shows a positive relationship between these videos as the majority of them feature extremely low key lighting.   

Colour is an interesting aspect of the music videos with this genre, it seems the artists themselves play around with different colours shown. For example, 'The Stone Roses' video shown above in which shows a continuous colour of pink/pink. Another artist who plays around with colour, going against the typical conventions, is 'Coldplay' where they display a great deal of colour. 

I felt it was vital to look into the genre music videos since as an individual and a group we are creating our own in order to fulfil the brief. This will allow us to establish what the target audience of Alternative Rock expect to see within an Alternative Rock music video. By doing this, we will learn the conventions of this genre of music and can therefore decide, when making our music video, whether we want our music video to conform to the typical conventions of this genre or whether we will challenge these conventions.

Dyer -Star Theory

Richard Dyers Star Theory is the idea that icons and celebrities are manufactured by institutions for financial gain. He believes that stars are constructed to represent 'real people' experiencing real emotions. Celebs are constructed by the music industry to serve a purpose; to make money out of the audience, who respond to various elements of their personality, this is done by buying records, CD’s, merchandise and becoming a fan.

His theory is spilt into three sections:

1. Audiences and Institutions

2. Constitutions

3. Hegemony

Audience and Institutions

Dyer explains that stars are constructed and their human emotions are sometimes neglected when the media talk about them.

Their Unique Selling Point constructs them into recognisable artists/stars.
Their record company manufactures shapes them into something that will attract audiences. This explains why some artists share similarities.  

Stars are made for money purposes alone. Increasing the brand identity benefits the institution as they become a household name increasing sales in all of the media platforms they are in.  The institution then models the artist around the target audience they choose. For example Lady GaGa, according to Dyer, was modeled around fashion forward people so the audience can relate to her as a person and also her music.

Constitutions / character personality

Stars conform to a set of ideas in society such as women being thin and beautiful, some artists do fear away from this and are still "lovable".

Pop stars establish their character and personality through their songs and performances, especially if they have wrote the song themselves. This helps to connect and relate to the audience.

EXAMPLE OF STAR PERSONA'S

Michael Jackson: Widely know as the 'king of pop', his cinematic music videos, unique fashion statements and his live performances

Hegemony

This is also know as 'culture'. It is the idea that the audience relates to the star because they have a feature they the share or admire with the star. A star may start a fashion trend, with masses of fans copying their hairstyle and clothing.

An example of this is Beyoncé with her support towards feminism.

Here is an example of Dyer's Theory being applied to an existing Alternative band:

Genre MoodBoard

Narrative Research of Music Videos

The purpose of the Music Video

• Promotes a single and, normally, an album
• Promotes the artist or band
• Creates, adapts or feeds into a ‘star image’
• Entertains the audience
• Sets the ‘meanings’ of a song by the use of images

Structures:

-In 3-4 minutes a typical music video combines a mix of live performance, narrative, and other visual imagery including computer graphics and animation.

-It does this to advertise the band/artist and song

Music videos often contains a number of different elements:

•  Performance
•  Narrative
•  Thematic
•  Symbolic

• ·         Often contain shots of the artists performing
• ·         Can be a live stage performance, with shots of artists and audience
• ·         Can be the artists in “real life” situations in this case warming up, talking, fooling around
• ·         Often includes lots of close ups of the artist and there can be a particular visual style that goes with the artist (a motif) for instance particular clothing, actions, props, type of images.
• ·         Often the artist can appear to perform in an unusual place - all lip-synched, for example, a field, a rooftop
• ·         Often the video tells a story either that features in the lyrics or is suggested in the lyrics, for example, girl dumps boy

This narrative can be like a Mini film, with equilibrium, disruption, recognition of disruption, attempts to repair disruption and return to equilibrium.

-In terms of how this type of research will help me when I begin filming and editing, it gives the me the knowledge to follow to make a conventional music video. Not only this but it also gives me the opportunity to challenge conventions for my video. This research makes it easier for myself as I can follow these conventions in order for my music videos recognisable in the genre.

Narratives applied to Music Videos

Lorde - Team

This music video to Lorde's song 'Team' can be used as an example for Propp's theory. His theory suggests that there are 8 types characters that feature within a narrative, these are the villain, The hero (not always good but always carries the story along, the central character and not always male), The donor (who provides an object with some special property), The helper (who helps the hero), The princess (the reward for the hero and object of the villain’s schemes, Her father (who rewards the hero), The dispatcher (who sends the hero on his way) and the false hero. 

Within this music video we can see a 'hero', the teenage looking boy who has been sent to a land which looks like he is fulfilling a quest, we can infer this through high angled and panning shots being used to follow this character. Also we can identify a Donor, who is giving this boy tools, equipment and leading him around. The mid two shot allows us to see him as the Donor within this narrative, passing him a helmet. A helper who helps the hero up when he has fallen down which is shown through a head and shoulder shot that follows him as he arises. Finally, there is also a villain who is introduced using a panning shot that allows us to view his angry facial expression. We can assume that this is the same character who is faced against the 'Hero' in a battle using motorbikes in which he ends up putting the hero to the ground.

We can also apply this video to Strauss' theory of Binary Opposition, this suggests a conflict between two sides. A battle/conflict is shown in this music video of the two young boys on vehicles powering into each suggesting a good vs. evil or Hero vs. the Villain.

Barthes codes could also be applied to Lorde's music video due to the symbolism of the setting that she is in throughout the video. She is shown through multiple different shots within this setting of greenery and nature. This may symbolise her pure, unique and natural style. Green also has connotation of ambition and freshness which suggest a lot for this artist and further establishes her place within the alternative genre.