Third Initial Proposal - Butterfly Stone - Weight On My Shoulders
If I were to choose this song as my final proposal, I would consider image, type of video and the concept behind the video. I would want portray would be a 'troubled soul' image with the band projected in dark lighting as the song is a mix of indie/rock. The tone of music is laid back and the lyrics talks about having a burden or a 'weight on your shoulder'. I would want to make the music video a mix between a narrative and performance as i would the main character lip-syncing. The narrative would be about one character not being able to handle pressures in life and having a large burden and turns to alcohol and drugs the point of suicide. The set would be in a hotel room and the set would be filled with empty bottles and few empty pill containers. As the music reaches the climax the character would be ready to jump off the balcony of the hotel room. I would use a lot of close-up shots to make the video more personal and use as little light as possible to give a feeling of loss or depression.
If this were to be me final idea I have to consider the image, type of video and the theme I would want to create. The song is about relationship problems and looking to a new future "Sunrise". The title gives us the impression that someone is moving on. To depict this in the video I would show clips of a couple in a relation having growing conflicts. The conflict will grow as the video progresses. I would also convey the idea of a 'Sunrise' by initially filming the band preforming at night with two large floodlight behind them creating a silhouette but towards the end of the song the band would be filmed as the sun is starting to rise. The video will be largely made up off performance shots but will have a narrative to keep the audience interested. I would want to give the band a post-modern 'emo' look with dark clothes to give them an indie/rock look. I would also portray them as an emotionally troubled group.
First Initial Proposal - The Arrival - Turn the page
If this were to be my final choice, I would firstly have to think about different aspect I would want to convey. The image I want to create of the artist and the type of video (Performance, Narrative or Conceptual). The song is about a character not being able to move on from a past relationship is now questioning himself why. I would have a mix of performance, narrative and subtle conceptual ideas. The introduction could possibly start with a book as it relates directly to the song title, the book would open and the band could start preforming inside the book as if it has come to life. I would also have a side narrative of a male character 'trying' to have relationships with other different girls but not being able to move forward in a relationship. This would be shown for in all the verses and it would symbolize not being able to move on from his past relationship. The could either be the camera zooming out of the book as a page turns. I would want to create a rebellious yet formal image this would show them as ironic or contradictory as they would be wearing formal wear but in a rough and untidy manor.
I am analysing this music video from a known band who already have an image so that I can grow more familiar with techniques used to create a good music video. The genre that AvA come under is Neo-Space rock/ Alternative Rock. They have created a band image that casts them as something out of this world and all video and the style of music they make is on an 'epic' scale. They have a running theme of space, stars and planets in their videos but they also project themselves into a hyper-real and abstract world. Why do they promote this image? Well it's because they want to take their audience somewhere out of this world. They portray their music on a grand and universal scope showing that they are almost unreal or a band that is hyper-real; because of this image the audience expect to see something that takes them to an alternate reality.
Shot Analysis:
- The first shot introduces the topic of the song and sets the theme for the rest of the clip and also gives us an insight of what the song could be about.
- The head-on shot with the members walking towards the camera creates a link with well known shows like Star-trek, Stargate, Men in Black demonstrating intertextuality.
- The band is also often shot from a distance giving the viewer a sense of a grand space.
- The shot of the earth with a bright light behind keeps in time with the music and fades to white at the point of climax.
- The singer is in frnt of a bright light to create a silhouette which makes him look almost angelic.
- A clip of the universe is regularly shown to give perspective and shows the band small compared to a vast space.
- Shots of the singer walking through large and bright landscapes allows the audience to make connection with space and earth.
- As the music slows down and the reverb of the song increases the band also start to move slowly as if floating in space.
- When the singer says 'life's waiting to begin' a pan shot of him in a bright and sunny location is related directly to the lyrics in a conceptual way as the a bright and vast landscape could symbolize life or hope.
- At 3:50 a clip of the universe zooming in could show a change of in the time-line and then that is backed up by the following clips of old wars that bring feelings of violence, despair, and pain.
- As the song starts to end the landscape he is standing in is starting to show the sun starting to set.
- The beginning of the music video shows the singer walking towards us but as the sun starts to set he is now walking away.
- The music video has a linear narrative. The final scene shows an abstract and hyper-real setting different plants in the background.
