Initial Ideas

Before I start planning my music video I need to think about the bigger picture, for example the genre of music that I'd like to explore, and the artists within the genre which I'd like to use and interpret.
I've made a shortlist of three genres, these are; Reggae, Pop and Dance:

Reggae

- Locations tend to be set in the Caribbean (e.g. beach, Jamaica)

- Cheerful bright colours

- Laid back lifestyle is portrayed (Stereotype of Jamaican culture)

I enjoy listening to Reggae music because it is very relaxing, and always reminds me of a holiday, mainly the beach. I think that Reggae is very underrated, as people tend to mainly associate Reggae music with Bob Marley where as there are many more sub-genres and artists branched out from Reggae. Living in England makes it difficult to stick to the conventions and create the aspirational locations that you would be able to create if you lived in a tropical location.

Pop

- Special effects and bright colours (for the "feel good" vibe)

- Widest range of music video styles (Narrative, performance and concept)

- Not any particular conventions as it is all so varied, due to massive budgets and artist popularity

As there is such a wide range of music styles within this genre, it is hard to decide my final thoughts on pop as a genre, as there are not many strict conventions.

Dance

- Set in a crowded club environment

- Flashing lights

- DJ's + Equipment

- Predominantly performance based

- Fast paced cuts and editing to fit to the speed of the music

I am leaning towards this genre because the music is upbeat and the video can easily be edited to the beat. However it would be difficult because of my age as I am unable to enter clubs, you would also have to be in charge of a lot of people, which for a first time would be quite difficult. The video would also need a large budget.
 

After looking at various genres, I have come to the conclusion that I will choose the genre of Reggae. I really enjoy listening to Reggae music, it is upbeat and fun, also very summery! I understand that shooting the aspirational locations will be difficult because of budget and being based in the UK, however on the right day, with the right weather hopefully it can look somewhat aspirational! To gain further idea of the direction I wish to take, I need to explore different music videos within this genre and look for inspiration.

In the music video for 'Say Hey (I Love You)' by Michael Franti & Spearhead there is a lot of dancing going on, very stereo typical to the genre. Family orientated; there are people of all ages included within this video, all dancing and having fun. Scenes showing dancing along streets, playing the drums and lots of energy! To set the scene you see your typical caribbean fruit markets, graffitied streets, people dancing in the streets slightly slow motion to show a sense of peace and community. A lot of gestures and expressive dance is used to connect with the audience. Very basic editing is used to the pace of the music, stripped back with no special effects; more realistic and relatable. Dancers wearing casual clothes and big hair. The video has a sense of aspiration, however it isn't in the typical British materialistic sense, but in a way that its so peaceful and happy, with a sense of community.

The music video for 'Bruk it Down' by Mr.Vegas is very different to the previous one in a sense that it is sexualising woman more explictly, using them as the main focus, twerking in very bold bright tight lycra. Your typical music industry materialist is shown wearing nice suits with fancy jewelry, standing outside of a very large expensive house and having women dancing suggestively around him. However, there is still your typical reggae stereotyping in there, you can see the simplistic locations of petrol stations, gyms, markets, playgrounds etc. the weather is sunny and warm, making it aspirational. It looks less natural and more editing has been used, clearly strong choreography has been used and everyone looks coordinated and in time. The overall effect is energetic and colourful! Still your typical reggae overall feel. 

 'Paper Loving' by Christopher Martin is very un-stereotypical of the Reggae genre because it has very focused attention and not very much happening within the scene, only the main artist and the actor. The video is narrative and repetitive with a hidden meaning, using close up shots to show the characters' emotions. The video flows smoothly and slowly, the idea is simplistic with the casual attire in simple pastel colours. Your typical asprirational locations are shown; beaches, nice houses, palm trees, nice green gardens. He is also dressed with subtle jewelry as the video is money orientated, actual money is shown being held by the actor, the topic of materialism is often used in the music industry. Even though an emotional topic, he is still dancing in simple locations.

Although these music videos are very different, they also have a lot in common which is typical to the reggae genre. The main similarity is that they just love to party! They are all simplistic, not many special effects are used, it makes it more relatable and also easier to aspire to. Aspirational locations are mostly used, because the videos are mostly set in the Caribbean on the beaches, gardens and nice houses. Repetitive, smooth and slow editing is used to make it flow with the music, make it much more realistic, making dancing the focus. Without a doubt in some form there are Caribbean girls dancing seductively.

How the 'Modern Age' is transforming music videos

Technical codes have developed massively in the 21st century, with chroma-key; which is a post production technique used to layer two images or video streams together based on colour. For example Blue Screen, and more commonly used today Green Screen. A green screen removes the background from the artist and can later be used to substitute a different background.

In this video you can clearly see the differences between using green screen and just a plain background, although this is only simple green screening you can get the basic idea and see what a big improvement using green screen can have. Green screen can also create the idea of an idyllic location for the audience to be envious of which helps to boost their profiles.

Digital technology has also improved, meaning that there has been a rapid increase in higher quality colour videos, this allows artists to produce videos quickly and cheaply - in comparison with the cost of film.This proliferation of technology allows amateur and unknown artists to write and produce music videos quickly and cheaply and distribute them on free online sites. A popular example is Justin Bieber who was discovered on YouTube and soon signed by Usher in 2008. He continued to take the world by storm becoming a global superstar!

Recently there has been a lot more intertextuality, where music videos are making more reference to cinema, fashion and art photography. A good example of this is the 1953 Marilyn Monroe film 'Gentlemen prefer blondes', recreated and made reference to in Madonna's 'Material Girl'.

In both of these you have the women being centre of attention, the envy. Men swarming around them, handing them both expensive diamond jewelry, the envy of any woman watching. Also by using a well established scene from a film helps to build an artists profile and increase audience.

A very recent development is the use of video games and cartoon animation within a music video, for example this video of Modestep's 'Show me a sign' shows a video game type animation, this opens up an audience of gamers.

Recreation of an original music video

To start working with video equipment and editing software we were set the task to recreate a pre-existing music video. This would give us the opportunity to learn new skills needed when creating our actual music video, including planning, directing, filming, editing etc. I am very excited about this task because it gives us the opportunity to try and add our own spin to preexisting material, which we can then gain ideas to carry through to our actual video.
We are going to be creating the music videos in small groups, and our group chose 'In Da Club'by 50 Cent, not only because we liked the song, but because we liked the music video too - it is memorable and also creative. We are going to use some ideas from the original music video to develop but also create our own individual remake of the video.

The music video starts with a large black 4x4 driving through the desert, and the words 'somewhere...'appear to be typed over the top of the screeen, then that fades out and 'Shady/Aftermath Artist Development Centre' appears, soon following they go to a panning shot of the inside of this 'Development Centre' where a receptionist is nodding her head in time with the music, then the panning continues throughout the beginning of the song, showing 50 Cent receiving medical tests. The overall music video shows these scientists observing 50 Cent in his natural habitat of 'The Club', also running more tests on him in the gym.
One thing that I noticed is used heavily throughout this video is the nodding of heads in time with the music, I like this and will use in our music video. I also want to incorporate the idea of the 'Rap Star' working out in the gym, and also in other common places such as a car or towns, obviously because of our ages we are unable to do any filming in an actual club so will have to work around this and think of more creative places to film. I want to incorporate certain main aspects of this video but I also want to create a kind of spoof of it, so as well as representing this video it has its own humorous aspects also.

How artist's image changes over time

When an artist is well established, and in the public eye for a long time, you will often find that the artist changes their image and/or direction. This is because over time the artist could lose fans as they too grow up and change, or to engage with a different audience to boost their fan base.
One band in particular comes to mind when thinking about this; 'Take That'. They started out in the 1990's and are still very popular today. They had a split in February 1996 when Robbie's drug abuse escalated and he and Gary fell out. In July 2010 the band announced they were getting back together, and are still together today, only less intense and more concentrating on their solo careers too.
In 1993 their 'Everything Changes' album/tour was released. This was the band's first European concert tour, the band was seen as fun and bubbly and attracted a younger female audience and gay following. The 'One Direction' of the 90's! As you can see in this collage they wore very little clothing to show off their physiques. Over the next few years their image changed showing different hair styles, different styles of clothing, different styles of dance routines and different members of the band took the lead singing roles.

One popular song from the 'Everything Changes' album is 'Relight My Fire'. In the music video for this song 'bromance' is used, portrayed as very camp, wearing 'crop tops' and minimal, tight clothing to clearly attract the screaming audience.

There is a big difference between Take That then and Take That present day, they have now completely changed their image and direction. They are aimed at a much older audience than before, more covered up and sophisticated wearing suits to symbolise their success. They are not as lively and bubbly, and overall they appear less like friends and more a professional working partnership.

One of their newer songs 'Kidz' features the serious topic of war, and clearly has a high budget for their music video, also showing their success as artists. They are acting like kids to show that they still have some youth, but they are doing it in a grown up manner, still classy and sophisticated. showing how they are reunited and youthful. They do not feature in their videos as much as they had done previously, which shows that they are well established and they don't need to feature throughout, choosing instead to portray more complex messages.