Q1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?By Michael Burton

Our Project From looking at a number of different Indie music videos, we came to the conclusion that the technique used to make our video was going to be the main catch in making our video quirky/appealing to an audience. From looking at bands such as Radiohead and Coldplay their music videos are some of the most appealing in my mind, due to the fact their images are reflected in the music videos through the techniques used . Through carrying out some research I came to find that the typical conventions associated with Indie Rock band is the use of a technique or techniques, used to make the video continually appealing to an audience. For example a series of photos strung together so closely that your unable to tell if its animation or video, which keeps the video interesting to watch whilst you follow a narrative.

However, not all Indie Rock music videos make the technique the main focus of their video, as the majority of them focus more on a narrative that runs side by side with shots of the band playing (for example, Radioheads first video was simply them performing the song 'Creep'). Within our own music video we wanted to push the idea of producing a backwards music video to develop (but also challenge) the conventional forms of real media products.

Main Effect

This is the second shot of our music video and it is at this point you are made aware of the fact this is a reversed shot, as the leaves acted as a catalyst to spark that realization in the viewers mind. From looking at Coldplay's video for ‘The Scientist’ (a main focus point for our own video) the opening is the main singer falling up to his feet whilst lip syncing through the backwards technique. Because of the fact you're not aware at the beginning of the video, it suddenly captivates you when you do become aware of the technique being used. We wanted our video to have the same effect

Screen shot from the opening of Coldplay's The Scientist.We found this type of opening would be an excellent way to grab the attention of the viewers early on in our own video, as it would keep them interested and hopefully lead them to think about the process of creating the shot.

Lip Sync

This is the third shot into our video and is the first of the lip syncing. As this shot follows the first reversed shot of myself falling upwards, your are not aware of the fact this shot is in fact reversed also. This subtle use of the backwards effect is key in our video as it keeps the viewers attention, leaving you constantly thinking if the effect is in use or not. The subtle approach for the use of this effect follows the conventions of other Indie Rock music videos that I have researched into that also use techniques as the main catch. As the main idea of this approach is to keep the focus of the viewers, which is what I feel we have created.

Time LapseThis screen shot has been taken from the first time lapse seen in our music video. Throughout our video we wanted to develop the idea of interesting techniques being out to use (as it would increase the attention of the audience), so we decided to use this technique on a number of occasions throughout the timeline of the music video. From looking at Radioheads music video for 'There There‘ Thom Yorke is seen walking through the woods in a stop motion like manner whilst the clouds are flowing over his head at high speed. This was the first time I saw this technique being used in a music video and I wanted to create the same effect it had on me upon first watching.

Screen shot of time lapse from ‘There There’

The use of time lapse within a music video was an instant grab for me, as if we was to include this technique in our own video it would enhance the professionalism of the whole video by a drastic amount. Mostly because of the fact time lapses look visually stunning to watch, but as we found out they are not difficult to produce. Also being that they are such a simple technique to carry out it seemed only right that we included the technique in our video.

Camera AnglesThroughout our music video we have used a number of different types of camera shots that include; Close ups, Mid-Close Ups, Mid-Shots, Floor Shots & Long Range Shots. The most frequently used shots throughout our video are the Mid-Shots & Long Range Shots, as we wanted the techniques being used to be presented around the main focus (being the singer), without it getting in the way or not being present at all. During the planning stage of our video the type of shots that were going to be used were thought about clearly, allowing us to create the biggest impact on the viewers possible.

Close ups

The use of close ups in our video also helps with key information finding its way clearly to the viewer.

Camera Angles Continued

Screen shot from Radiohead's There There music video Although camera angles are included in every genre of music videos, it became clear when watching both Coldplay's & Radiohead's videos that these types of shots are in main use. Which allows them to make sure that the effects being used are parallel with the focus on the main character. Because of how we have planed our video I can say that the camera angles being used in our production have the same conventional value as real media products.

The use of close ups is also used in Radioheads 'There There' with the focus being on his old shoes being thrown away when coming across cursed boots in the forest.

Colour CorrectionFrom looking into the conventional use of filters in other media products, it became apparent that we needed to include our own colour correction in order to make our product look and feel more professional. As our 'rough cut' version of our video started to take shape, it looked like a typical student video with no treatment being carried out on any of the footage.

From research on the Pinback we found they are from San Diego, California and because of this fact the idea of treating the footage to feel like a warm summers evening seemed to fit with the appeal and feel of the music itself.

Kings of Leon's music video for 'Radioactive' has great use of this warm sepia tone colour correction, which creates a summer time feel that we wanted to replicate in our own video.

Colour correction in our final production

Colour correction found in Radioactive music video

NarrativeThe narrative within any music video is the key

focus (alongside technique) to draw and hold the interest of the viewers and from researching into the narratives normally found in the Indie Rock

genre, we came to find that 9 times out of 10 the narrative is about the relationship between a man

or woman. Within our own project the first thing we looked into before planning was the story being told

within the lyrics of the song.

"And when the seasons get you down, I'll come running to tuck you in"

"And soon, all you'll have is the memory"

"And then you won't even have that memory"

Through listening to the song, picking apart the lyrics and seeing what images were being painted in our mind it became apparent to all of us that the song was about memories, forgetting, and remembering about a past life with a lover or friend. As all of this became apparent early on in the production of our project, we moved quickly onto piecing together the story board around the narrative of the lyrics.

Because our narrative is about the relationship between a man and woman it's very conventional when you look into narratives being portrayed in real media products, resulting in our music video feeling more professional.

The relationship that builds up between the main character and the girl.

As the narrative is the most important part of any music video, a narrative of this nature featured in our music video is something almost everyone can relate to, due to the fact its been abstracted with the technique and the lyrics. Which makes you think and feel to what is being presented to you, which also keeps your attention throughout the video.

Narrative ContinuedBecause of the technique being used to create our video (being reversed footage) we needed to use a number of abstracted shots to portray important items to the audience, resulting in the narrative of our music video being pushed further. From looking into abstract/loose fitting lyrics of a number of Indie Rock songs (including our chosen song), I came to find that the style in which these songs have been written means that people can relate to them at any given time.

A good example of this is found in the lyrics of Radioheads 15 Steps, where the song opens with

"How come I end up where I started?

How come I end up where I went wrong?

Won't take my eyes off the ball again,

You reel me out then you cut the string".

These lyrics can relate to a number of different feelings and the reason they stick in my mind is because I relate them to people that have led me on in the past. Because of the fact I find that lyrics of most Indie Rock songs act as a ignition or spark, triggering memories and emotion, I wanted to push this convention found in professional products by incorporating it into the narrative of our music video, by using a number of abstracted clips.

Shot of flowers bouncing up off my body.

Shots of Roses flying upwards

Time lapse of girl fading away from singer (right)The use of these clips keep the viewers mind

continually processing to try and match what they are seeing with what is being said in the lyrics of the song. Because a direct message is being given across it means the audience find/form their own relationship with the song, all being drawn from their own personal experiences.

Relationship Between Music & Visuals

The entirety of the video has been based around the story being told in the lyrics, from the aspect of what we as a group pictured in our minds when listening to the song.

Although the idea of our music video was to make it seem like a distorted dream/memory with the use of reversed footage, we still wanted the relationship between the lyrics and visuals to have a strong link between them.

Some key lines in the lyrics such as "I'll come running to tuck you in" and "Down the window see all of the colour's running down", were both used as overlay clips that fade in over the top of the previous lines of lip sync.

The use of these overlays creates a stronger impact for these lines, resulting in the visual images becoming more apparent and meaningful in the viewers eyes. The use of these overlays also creates more depth within our music video, making it seem more professional as before the overlays were introduced the video lacked depth making it seem ‘empty’ without them. The use of depth is also a convention used by almost every professional media product, as more attention it received from its audience as a result of the video not lacking constant change.

Overlay of running one

Overlay of coloured water running down

Overlay of running water, two

Music & Visuals Continued The other line that we wanted to make a key moment for the visual was "Word, fire, wind, hey", as at this point it cuts to a message un-burning itself (in reverse) which slowly reveals a quote about memories. This shot fades in between close up lip syncs of the alternating lyrics in the first outro of the song and the use of this clip results in the viewers mind being engaged even more.

Through close concentration you become aware of the fact the message on the paper has great relevance to the meaning of both the narrative of the video and the message being told within the song.

Burning letter revealing quote.

From looking at Radioheads 'Karma Police' music video an important item is shown in the hands of a man being chased by a car, to which he then uses this item to set the vehicle on fire (which contains the singer). The item shown is some matches, but the image found on the match box is relevant to the producer of the video (look at my analysis of this video on our blog for more detail) and it wasn't until I found the same image in another media product (Blurs video for 'Universal') that I became aware of this fact. It turned out that these images had great significance and I wanted to include a image or item that had a big connection with the idea behind the music video. By doing this it results in these messages becoming more meaningful once found by the viewers, being in this case, the burning letter which includes the meaningful quote about memories.

Editing & LocationEditing is the most important aspect we needed to bare in mind through the production of our video, as from looking at the final version compared to our ‘rough cut’ it includes the uses of a lot more effects and cuts. From looking a range of professional media products, its clear that editing is the 2nd most important tool used to keep the attention of the viewers, as most videos do not linger around the same location, but instead jump around to different locations to keep the visuals looking fresh.

Location One: Cambridge (Quiet moments in the song)

Location Two: London (Up beat moments in the song)

Editing & Location (continued)

This screen shot shows the overlay of the backwards running (which is in reverse), but the clip being overlaid onto is in fact forwards in motion. Meaning that the lip sync is forwards but this clip has also been reversed.

We wanted to create the idea that the main character (e.g. the singer) has been separated from reality, stuck in a memory, being the reason why we wanted to backwards effect to play such a big part. A complicated but effective narrative assisted by complicated editing makes our video seem more professional when you start to realize the processes carried out in the production stage.

Location Three: London Two

Location Four: Cambridge Two

The main edited effect being used in our music video is the reversed effect, as this plays on our narrative being about memories.

Overlay of Running Two

ClothingWhen looking at any professional music video, clothing is another key item that needs to be taken into consideration as this is important detail that portrays to the audience what type of group the band or person belongs too. From research into the Indie side of style I came to find that chequered shirts/ vintage clothing were a go. After producing a survey asking people what they expect to see when picturing a Indie Band member, the results came back showing these clothes were in the right direction of style to head towards.

This is a screen shot from our video showing the style of clothing we kept constant throughout, which I feel adds a more rustic look/feel to the video. From other Indie music videos it became apparent that this is the style of Indie Rock, as from looking at Kings of Leon's Radioactive video more closely I came to see that chequered shirts are also present.

Screen shot from Kings of Leon’s Radioactive Music video showing clothing

Magazine AdvertThis is our final magazine advert document that was put together using Photoshop. Our main idea with this advert was to keep it clean and simple, but to still portray a certain strangeness about the band and what the song is about (advertised as a single, 'Proceed to Memory').

From looking at adverts from various other bands, such as King's of Leon, it seemed that many go with the saying 'less is more‘ and I feel this advert plays along with the conventions of a typical Indie band advert, as even the singer (which in this case is me) is one of the main focuses within the advert. Also from looking at adverts for Radiohead they seemed to focus mainly on the singer of the band (Thom Yorke), where as some adverts were simple a full page viewing of Thom Yorke himself.

Album DiGi-Pack

This is the complete digi-pack design to accompany our music video and advert, which uses the same conventions of any bands DiGi-Pack through the layout and what information is being displayed.

During the production of this digi-pack design the idea was to make it reflect (along with the magazine advert) the narrative and meaning behind the song. Because of this, it has resulted in our digi-pack not include much information about the band, but instead has been left up to the audience to build up their own representation.

Also again from going along with the saying 'less is more', we feel the digi-pack is complete and fits with the image we wanted to create for the band.

Because of the fact all of the images in the digi-pack have been edited towards a certain style whilst not giving much information, the audience soon find a meaning to the images to the song. For example the top left and bottom middle picture are both from London, which are two main locations that play a big part of the music video, making the meaning behind these images becomes apparent.

Thank You For Your Time