Music Video inspiration

Consider 3 music videos that you have watched, which have provided you with inspiration for your own production. Focus on; micro elements, music video style, artist representation, music video genre, theory, choice of song etc.

When deciding the style, storyline and production of our own music video, we looked at three others to give us some inspiration in what we were going to include. As the song was from the same genre and produced by Calvin Harris I felt this would be a useful song to analyse. Calvin Harris was also the artist of our own song 'blame' which we created the video for. In Summer, it is clear to see that at the beginning of the song a slower timing of shots is used, to create an atmosphere which almost feels like the calm before the storm. This is backed by the timing of shots becoming faster as the beat picks up through the song. This use of shot timing is effective in providing more of a link between the visuals and the audio of the song, which is something I felt I really wanted to include in my own production. The artist, Calvin Harris, is featured in the video and seen walking along a long road whilst he sings the song. By featuring the artist the video may seem more attractive for an audience by being able to see someone they view as an idol or a favourite artist. It also tied in with Dyers theory of an artist being ordinary yet extra ordinary. It achieved this through the outfit of Calvin Harris wearing a plain white t shirt and jeans, unlike many other artists who are seen to wear more expensive designer clothes in their video. However the extraordinary side is created through the portrayal of his lifestyle as the video includes a large number of woman and fast cars, a lifestyle which most do not live. The video is not a full narrative bus has an element of that about it. Although there is no real story the narrative does follow the artist in a drag race with another car, which can be seen as narrative. Being able to follow this through the video does it make it more engaging and entertaining, so this is another element of the video that has influenced my own production.

The second video I analysed was Californication by The Red hot Chilli Peppers. Although this song is from a different genre to Calvin Harris, as a video I found it very interesting. The video itself is done in the form of an animated video game. This is something unique which I have not seen another artist or group create. Because it is so different to usual music videos the song is incredibly entertaining for the viewer to watch. The colours used are incredibly bright and engaging and the whole video is one that portrays it as something different to conventional videos. With the editing software available, I am unsure if the animation would be able to be achieved but if possible I believe that any element of making the video look animated or like a cartoon would provide something different for the audience and make our video stand out. Like Summer the video is a narrative, which kept me as the viewer engaged wanting to see how the video ended. However unlike summer the lyrics did not match the visuals, which I believed did not effect the song due to its unique nature.

The third song I looked at was the song we would be producing a video for, Blame by John Newman and Calvin Harris. By looking at a second song by Calvin Harris I wanted to see if there were any reoccurring themes in his videos and the genre itself. Similarly to Summer, the timing of shots is one of the most important aspects of Calvin Harris's videos. This highlighted to me that to be successful in building suspense in a song and to capture the audience the link between the visuals and audio would have to be created through the timing of shots. The artists are again featured, in a less relatable way this time. This is done through the setting of a mansion with attractive women walking around and John Newman dressed in expensive clothes. However, this too can be entertaining for an audience getting to see inside the life of their favourite artists and seeing how they live.

In addition to these 3 songs I also looked at the video for the song by clean bandit, no place I'd rather be. This song was a current, modern and mainstream track, with a high level of popularity. By analysing a song like this, we could see the conventions of popular music videos and by analysing the techniques used, we hoped to replicate the success of such a video. The timing of shots, as found in the previous three videos, is vital in enticing the audience into the video, and grasping their attention from the outset. This is created through the use of a slow timing of shots at the beginning of the video which initially sets the scene. The setting at the beginning of the video immediately connects the audience with the main actress, as the house she is shown in is not a huge mansion or unrelatable expensive house. Instead it is quite a normal house, which is going to be relatable to a higher number of people listening. The clothing of the main actress also reinforces the relatable element to the video, as the clothes being worn are quite simplistic and again more relatable than many artists who are seen in expensive designer clothes. The video follows the main character throughout the video and this is something we wish to include in our video. We feel the effect of this is that it creates a stronger link with viewers and the actress. Our own video is going to follow the main characters on a night out, following what they get up too. There relatable antics and actions are something which most people are going to have done themselves, which makes it more engaging for the audience.

The final video I analysed was My love by Route 94. The uncoventional lighting at the beginning was something we felt gave the video its own individual feel and would be immediately recognisable to an audience when the video was played. Although the editing software has limitations we wanted to try and create something similar to this. In the video it is implied that the main character has taken drugs. After the point of consuming the drugs the editing is sped up and made more frantic and fast. We tried to emulate this in our video. A series of shots show the main characters to be taking shots of spirits. After these shots and the shots in the club, the pace of the video picks up. This implies to the audience that our characters are drunk or possibly under the influence of drugs, which can make the video more engaging to the audience and more conventional to the dance genre.

I felt that all of the videos that have been analysed, played a large part and had a big influence on the elements that were included in my own production. The more common and conventional elements like the slow timing of shots at the beginning of the videos were ones that we also felt we wanted to include. Videos like route 94, my love and also no place I'd rather be showed us various ways that were very effective in creating a connection between the artist and the audience. Shots like handheld ones and close ups were effective in tracking the main character and showing the audience an insight into their lives, making it either relatable or engaging for the people watching.