A Level Media Studies
Here is the research for my music video, which compiles of both short and detailed analyses. My research on branding can be viewed here. This blog is written by me (Sharon).
Wetsuit, The Vaccine
The audience for this music video would be ages 18-35 as we were exposed to a live music concert consisting of mostly teenagers (one of the examples would be the showcase of alcohol), and a separate group of families with children. I like how unique, but simple this music video is because the band simply did a compilation of fan-recorded videos of their live concert in Leeds, UK, which they were able to create a storyline out of (a guy as the 'leading' character as shown in close-up, slow motion edited shots). This music video conforms to the song as a whole, reminiscing about the young, wild, and free life as teenagers, and getting to look back at it. This can be presented via the vibrance colours (widely used in the 2000s-2010s) and minimal editing. Nonetheless, I suppose that this music video wouldn't suit our music video since we are likely to go for a narrative, and/or a performance-based music video. Also, 'reminiscing' is not what we're looking for as our main theme/concept.
Backburner, NIKI
This "low-budget" music video is simply a compilation of a phone/handycam recorded montage of Niki (the star) herself, which still successfully appeals to the target audience. The target audience is young girls, teenagers, up to young adults. Likewise, it portrays a life of freedom, making memorable experiences and memories out of the smallest things in life, which gives us a meaningful message from this simple music video that I admire. In addition, the diegetic sounds from the self/home-recorded videos are not removed, which further creates the effect of happiness and freedom. Possibly, the only 'acted out' scene would be the beginning, whilst the rest are self/home-recorded videos from various time frames/periods. The zoom-ins, zoom-outs, and unstable camera movements from the self/home-recorded videos exemplify a 'homey' feeling and contentment at the moment. Despite the sing-along music (where the videos are cut based on the beats which makes it more enjoyable to watch), there seems to be no major storyline. Hence, as much as I enjoy this music video, I am not entirely sure if this music video will be a great inspiration for my group's final music video as we prefer a storyline/narrative-based product.
I Like Me Better, Lauv
This music video presents the two sides and times of a young couple and an old couple and how their love still sparks no matter the age and time. The target audience for this music video would be teenagers, young adults, adults, or even elders as it also features an old couple. Their happiness is portrayed through the bright lighting, even if it is at night, there will still be a light source. It enhances an emotional and joyful feeling towards the audience as exposed by the slow motions and close-ups of their acts and/or whenever they smile. Also, the slow motions suggest that they are, in a way, or in all possible ways, living in the moment. The camera would smoothly move according to their actions presenting their routine and a romantic sensation. The fades between some scenes could allow the audience to also be in the moment while it transitions to another romantic scene of theirs. Additionally, as for teenagers and young adults, 'love' is a common theme/concept/topic that is huge and widely talked about in this generation.
I personally find this music video to be a mix of emotional and positive feelings. This is due to that it presents flashbacks, and/or scenes where both the young and old couple are making memories in the same location. However, I believe that this music video is too slow-paced (e.g. the overall narrative and edits are slow), which we aren't aiming for in our music video.
get him back!, Olivia Rodrigo
It is uniquely unusual for professional singers to film music videos on an iPhone (an iPhone 15 in this music video). Yet, the product was still able to deliver an accurate message to the audience through CGI, edits, and camera shots. The target audience for this music video would be teenagers to young adults. This could mainly be due to that the main theme of the song and music video is heartbreak, love, and (sweet) revenge, which I strongly believe the target audience can relate to. Additionally, the song talks about the star's mixed feelings towards her ex, such that sometimes, she wants him back, but at some point, she wants to get revenge. The swift camera movements which resonate with the song (and its beats), and frequent harsh breaks of glasses, exemplify the feelings of anger, wanting to have revenge, and her constant changing of her mind between 'love' and 'hatred'. However, I believe that the style of this music video isn't the one we are going for as, to me, the camera movements are too sharp and harsh (makes it extremely thrilling), as well as the quick movements of her actions which can be difficult to fully enjoy.
Nonsense, Sabrina Carpenter
This music video mainly targets teenagers, to young adults, especially girls/women. This is due to that the song talks about being in a new relationship, where all the butterflies happen, which I most certainly believe that teenage girls experience this too. This is exposed from the medium to close-up shots of the artist to suggest the emotions, such as, moving on from the past, and falling for a new guy. As seen on the music video, it takes place at a party, possibly a school party, which further exemplifies the "normal" life of teenagers (nightlife and all). This can be presented through red cups, dark lighting (with only LED lights as the source), vapes, red cupt, and drinks. Speaking about the song, I suppose this type of song (e.g. the beats, melody, and meaning) would be the one we are going for. Moreover, the overall concept of this music video is girlhood, which would be fun to work on. This music video has a good balance between narrative/story-telling and performance, which I mostly prefer to do.
You Belong With Me, Taylor Swift
Media Language
'You Belong With Me' is considered pop music which has common conventions of a dance-along beat and rhythm, especially in the chorus, common themes of heartbreak, in this case, a love triangle and/or unrequited love. This music video has a clear narrative and storyline of how a cheerleader is dating a football player, but it's suggested that he belongs to the 'nerdy' girl or "the girl next door". The love triangle (both girls admire the football player, whereas he belongs to the nerd girl) is depicted through high school events of prom and a football game where the love triangle is unravelled. We can see the nerd girl's emotions of anger and irritation towards the cheerleader's relationship with him through close-ups and long shots that can capture her body movement indicating rage and annoyance. Moreover, point-of-view shots are greatly used to give the audience an insight into her emotions
Representations
Representations of different types of people/students in high school are implemented, such as cheerleaders, football players, and popular, and average students. The heaviest and most clearly represented stereotype here would be the nerdy girl and the cheerleader. The nerdy girl represents the embodiment of "the girl next door" archetype whereas the cheerleader represents the popular, glamorous archetype. The nerd is represented through the use of heavy-framed glasses, and everyday attire, whereas the cheerleader is represented via her popularity, charming attire, and seemingly dating the guy that the nerd girl is fond of (a football player) - cheerleaders would commonly date a football player, as implemented in this music video. Likewise, another representation would be when the nerd, who normally wears basic and essential fashion attire, transforms into someone who dresses up with a glamorous dress, making a red carpet entry to a school prom - all eyes on her, by which she had never been the centre of attention. She then ended up with the football player. Next, typical high school events, and/or romance (unrequited love, cheerleader dating a football player) are representations of high schools that are utilized to attract the target audience of teenagers. Common high school events include a football game, a prom,
Audience
The audience is identified through the overall narrative and representations. The target audience for this music video would be young girls, teenagers, and young adults ages 13-28 not just simply due to the leading characters being 2 girls and 1 guy. Likewise, it covers common themes of heartbreak, romance, and unrequited love set in a high school, which I'm heavily sure the target audience can relate to those topics. Simply, one major target audience would be Taylor Swift's fans themselves. This would greatly appeal to them as Taylor Swift has 2 roles in this music video, the nerd girl and the popular girl. So, I strongly believe fans would want to see those 2 personas of her as it had never been done by Taylor Swift herself in her other music videos.
Industry
This music video is distributed and/or posted through online streaming sites, YouTube. YouTube allows this media product to be monetized (globalised issues of commodification) from the number of views and advertisements (typically in the beginning, middle, or near the end of the video). The use of social media, such as Instagram (the artist's Instagram, or the music company's) to ease the reach to the targeted audience, possibly from algorithm and fans are highly likely to follow the artist's social media. To add, the utilisation of cinematic shots, and different lighting (could be from editing or camerawork, where both can be costly) to create a clear narrative. However, I believe that not much technology was used as all the locations seem legitimate, such as the high school's football field, hallways, and bedrooms (although they might be set designs made for that scene).
Self Reflection: Doing this research helped me gain a better understanding and have a gist of how music videos are done. It guided me in deciding what type of music videos would suit us best, such as a narrative-based music video, a performance-based, or a mix of both. This research could and will be beneficial for my group in the long term since it would prevent us from any regrets of making bad decisions, for instance, on the type, or song of the music video. Additionally, a better understanding of the genre/type of the song can be gained through this research as to which would be easiest to work on in ways of developing ideas on what goes on in each scene/line. However, what I found challenging while doing this task was analyzing the music videos as it had been a while since I had analysed media language, representations, audience, and the industry itself. So, I don't really feel confident in what I have written and analysed.
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