Introduction into research

This survey helped me to outline my target audience and what songs they would be interested in if we were to make them a music video. It also helps me to identify the age gender and how much they liked each of the song options given to them.

Cyndi Lauper Girls Just Want to Have Fun prelim task

For my Preliminary task, I had to recreate one minute of any music video. After looking through a variety of different music videos like Birdys 'Skinny Love' and Mylie Cyrus' 'Wrecking Ball' my partner and I chose to recreate Cyndi Laupers "Girls Just Want to Have Fun".

We chose this song because it was just basic shots with everyday settings so it wouldn't have been expensive to recreate as unlike many modern pop videos. 

This song was also a good choice because there were only 3 people in the actual video and because this is a recreation, we only needed to find two other people to play Cyndi's parents (excluding myself who was Cyndi).

In the filming of this, we used a combination of using a tripod for the camera and hand held shots. The tripod meant that the shots were more steady and the hand held ones were a bit more unsmooth and wobbly. 

In order to put all of our shots together, we used Premier to edit and put the song with the video. I found this software really easy to use and I could quickly learn how to do things I couldn't already do.

In our version of the video, there are a few problems with it. For example, some of the shots are different from the original. Also, many of the shots are very blurry because we had a lot of problems with the camera we were using. Additionally to this, in some of the scenes (like the kitchen scene) there are items lying around that shouldn't be there like things on the kitchen table and a TV on the wall that wouldn't have been around when the video was actually made.

From this task, I have learnt that casting is very important because our cast was quite last minute and rushed so we could have been able to get actors that are more suitable if we had taken more time.
I have also learnt that I need to make sure everything that is visible on camera is meant to be there and fits in, rather than having bits and pieces that are out of place. This would make our video a lot better.
As well as this, I have learnt that I need to actually be able to use the camera better and be familiar with how it works before trying to film because by the time we did know how to use it properly, we had run out of time to complete the task.

I think that this task was very useful and helpful in preparing me for the main task as I now have a better understanding of how to plan, film and put together a music video and if has also meant that I have made my mistakes before I complete my main task so the main tasks should have the same flaws.

Cyndi Lauper Girls Just want to have fun original video

Of Monsters and Men- Little Talks music video

Of Monsters and Men- Little Talks Lyrics

Of monsters and men Little Talks

Hey! Hey! Hey!

I don't like walking around this old and empty house

So hold my hand, I'll walk with you, my dear

The stairs creak as you sleep, it's keeping me awake

It's the house telling you to close your eyes

And some days I can't even dress myself

It's killing me to see you this way

'Cause though the truth may vary

This ship will carry our bodies safe to shore

Hey! Hey! Hey!

There's an old voice in my head that's holding me back

Well tell her that I miss our little talks

Soon it will be over and buried with our past

We used to play outside when we were young

And full of life and full of love.

Some days I don't know if I am wrong or right

Your mind is playing tricks on you, my dear

'Cause though the truth may vary

This ship will carry our bodies safe to shore

Hey! Don't listen to a word I say

Hey!

The screams all sound the same

Hey!

Though the truth may vary

This ship will carry our bodies safe to shore

Hey!

Hey!

You're gone, gone, gone away

I watched you disappear

All that's left is the ghost of you.

Now we're torn, torn, torn apart,

There's nothing we can do

Just let me go we'll meet again soon

Now wait, wait, wait for me

Please hang around

I'll see you when I fall asleep

Hey!

Don't listen to a word I say

Hey!

The screams all sound the same

Hey!

Though the truth may vary

This ship will carry our bodies safe to shore

Don't listen to a word I say

Hey!

The screams all sound the same

Hey!

Though the truth may vary

This ship will carry our bodies safe to shore

Though the truth may vary

This ship will carry our bodies safe to shore

Though the truth may vary

This ship will carry our bodies safe to shore

I have put the lyrics on my blog because my partner and I have decided to base our video on the lyrics of the song. We have chosen to amplify and illustrate the lyric through the visuals of the video and because of this they lyrics are really important. By reading through the lyrics it helps us to get ideas about what they could show and how we can portray them.

The highlighted sections of the lyrics gave me ideas about what I could include in my video.  For example "I don't like walking around this old and empty house" could be shot in a house with only one person in the shot. The next quote I have highlighted is from the chorus saying "the screams all sound the same" and here the characters in the video could be arguing about something meaning they're literally screaming at each other. I've also highlighted "you're gone, gone, gone away, I watched you disappear all that's left is the ghost of you" and I thought that this could be good to overlay one shot of a character over the other so they look faded and more ghostly. Or to use long fading transitions so the characters literally disappear. 

Nicki Minaj- Anaconda

This video by Nicki Minaj sexualises the female body throughout the whole thing. The use of costume in this video adds to idolisation of their bodies as all of the women in it are wearing very little clothing. The genre of this is hip-hop, dance and dirty rap which can be shown through the video by her choice of clothing and dance moves or actions. This video appears to be aimed at young men or teenage boys from the idea that she is the 'ideal woman' in terms of her body however it appears that it could also be aimed at women and this would make these women want to 'be her' as she and all of her backup 'dancers' are portrayed as very sexy and attractive.

This video can be linked to Andrew Goodwin's theory because it contains a star image, the artist acts as both a performer and a narrator, the video is edited through the beat and the visuals in the video are linked the the lyrics and words of the song.

I have decided to reject this type of video because it is a pop video with is usually expensive to produce and over the top in terms of props and camera angles so it would be difficult.

Narrative Theorists

This research of narrative theorists has helped me understand what may influence of affect my work as well as how I can incorporate these different ideas into my video.