My brief is to create a music video for a protest song and a working website targeted at an audience of socially-conscious, 16-25, middle to upmarket demographic.
Being 'socially-conscious' means that the audience are aware of and interested in world issues and the issues of people around them. This audience is therefore more likely to engage with artists and brands that are also socially conscious, or who address issues that they find important.
For example, a report in 2015 found that 66% of consumers said they would pay more for products from companies committed to having a positive social impact (https://www.forbes.com/sites/steveolenski/2018/01/03/the-promises-and-pitfalls-of-socially-conscious-marketing/#66699fc138ef) which demonstrates how important social impact is to this audience. Another report between 2012-2013 showed how the willingness to spend more for socially conscious companies is growing (https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/article/2013/how-to-engage-with-socially-conscious-consumers/) and this has steadily continued to grow to 2020.
The 16-25 year old audience also have a growing interest in social consciousness, with a 2019 report finding that 4 of the most popular trends for young people being; representation, increased consciousness, females run the world and positive change (https://www.marketingsociety.com/the-gym/livity-2019-young-people-trends).
However after doing research i was still wondering how this audience engage with music videos and artists. I want to know:
What platform do they listen to music on?
What platform do they watch music videos on?
How often they watch music videos?
Do they prefer narrative or performance music videos?
I will use my focus group to answer these questions.
-The band are seen at the beginning of the video playing the song presumably in their basement/ house which is later revealed to be the back of their car and you see them often throughout the video playing.
-There are also stills at the beginning of the video where the member’s names are written next to them to introduce them to the audience.
-Audiences enjoy seeing members play their instruments as it shows off their talents which are what their fans like them for.
Narrative Structures
-The narrative is established very quickly through Cole asking the others what they are going to do before going to a party at 10. Dylan decides to go to a fast food restaurant and then the music stops while they order.
-The audience then get to see the members order food and talk and interact with each other which is unusual within music videos but provides the audiences with a sense of gratification.
-Seeing the band members directly address the camera as well as interact with each other helps the audience get to know them and establish their star personas.
-There are many points throughout the video where they are messing around and looking silly which shows they do not take themselves’s seriously which their fanbase would enjoy.
-There is also an abstract scene at the end where a model of their van is seen to be falling off a cliff and the members parachute out, landing them perfectly at the party they’re attending.
Camerawork
-There is a wide range of shots and angles throughout the video such as wide shots, tracking shots, close ups, mid shots and perspective shots.
-An unusual camera technique they use is a fisheye lens at different points throughout the video, mainly when they are in the van. This allows the artist to be close to the camera, but for the audience to also be able to see what is going on around them.
-There is also low quality video which makes it appear that the footage is from a CCTV camera, which has connotations that they are misbehaving and being watched.
Editing
-The video begins with a CD player in a car and the song title, band name and director moves across it like it does in an old car monitor.
-There is a fast pace which is supported with quick transitions however there are multiple occasions when the music stops for them to speak which slows the pace of the video.
-There is a clear retro, 90s aesthetic to the video and the colour scheme fits that.
-The transitions between locations are often done in creative ways such as the shape of a milkshake moving the next scene in.
Mise-en-scène
-There are 9 different locations in the video: in their car, in their house (which ends up being the back of the car), at the drive through, in the window of the drive through, in the street, when half the band are outside the car, at the back of the drive through, a mountainside and Schaefer’s party.
-The locations, costumes, props and lighting all create the retro aesthetic of the video.
-Although they move location frequently they are in the same costumes the entire time.
-Two of the members have quirky hats on and the lead singer has blue hair which premiered in this video which excited fans.
Context
-‘OK’ was released on the 20th of March 2020 and is expected to be the lead single of Wallow’s second studio album. It was first played in a VIP performance on the 27th of February 2020 in Syracuse.
-The video was streamed on YouTube and fans where able to live comment as they all watched it together for the first time. This streaming was advertised and promoted on the band's Instagram and they were on the chat 30 minutes early to chat with their fans during the lead up to it going live.
-Upon release of the song it hit one million streams in under a week.
The music video for David Bowie's 'Fashion' has a similar aesthetic to the one that i would like to create in my music video. None of the characters particularly conform to traditional stereotypes of costume or performance and there are many features within this music video that i intend to emulate. In addition to this, there are many features that fit into Andrew Goodwin's music video theory that i will highlight.
There is a performance aspect within the video where you see Bowie and his band performing in a crowded venue. I intend to have performance within my video in order to engage my audience and fit the brief as it is very gratifying for fans to see the artist performing as that is why they like them.
There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals (Andrew Goodwin) within the video which encourages the audience to join in. As it is a dance song an artist will want the audience to engage with and dance to it and seeing the relationship between lyrics and visuals in the video would aid audiences with their engagement. For example, when Bowie sings 'they're doing it over there but we don't do it here' he points away from him on 'over there' and then points to himself on 'here'. Also, when the sings 'turn to the left' and 'turn to the right' the actor on screen at the time follows his command, encouraging the audience to do it also.
Bowie also uses a range of people and mise-en-scenes within the video and it has quite an eclectic aesthetic. This gives it a welcoming and accepting vibe and includes many minorities, almost telling the audience that they would be included too. A use of many different mise-en-scenes again encourages audiences to engage as it implies that the message can spread everywhere and be interpreted by everyone.
There are lots of shots from many different angles of just Bowie, which builds his star persona and allows his audience to feel like he is directly adressing them. This again fits with Goodwin's theory of there being lots of closeup shots of the artist. The wide range of camera shots is another thing i intend to emulate as it changes the video more when you have different angles to explore. I will also use direct address as i feel it really helps with building the star persona of an artist and makes audiences enjoy the video more.
The final aesthetic that i intend to copy is the use of non-traditional clothing and colour scheme. Bowie was a big front-runner in blurring the lines between female and male aesthetics and this is reflected through his metrosexual style seen in the video. Also the clothes of the other actors are very bright and androgynous.
The general aesthetic and conformity with Goodwin's music video theory are what i intend to emulate within my video, and i am also planning to have an intertextual reference to David Bowie through costume and makeup referencing the iconic cover of 'Aladdin Sane'.
The music video for Lizzo's 'Boys' subverts gender stereotypes by presenting males in the way that females are often represented in music videos. She presents them in a very voyeuristic way, which is in keeping with the lyrics as she is constantly talking about the physical features that she finds attractive in boys. Lizzo herself is also presented in quite a masculine way, such as the use of low shots of her singing and posing at the camera. Lizzo and two of her dancers are also depicted standing in front of urinals which is a very unusual shot as often female singers are presented as being seductive or sexy but it is an unflattering wide shot of them supposedly urinating.
There is also an intertextual reference to singer Amy Winehouse which is shown through Lizzo wearing a high updo and flower in it which was Winehouse's iconic look. She is also wearing a leopard print jacket which fits Winehouse's style.
Men are represented in a very voyeuristic way, seen through them just standing and being passively filmed rather than actively engaging. Also, you often just see their bodies or small sections of their face which removes their identity and objectifies them.
Gender roles are reversed in this video additionally through Lizzo standing being surrounded by men and the men just standing to be looked at. There is also a man seen topless holding a rose with a low shot and him looking directly into the camera, and acting in quite a traditionally feminine way.
The codes and conventions of subverting gender stereotypes is what i aim to emulate in my music video, but not using traditional representations of boys and girls. I also like the use of an ensemble cast and the grid with lots of different people which i also aim to emulate.
My first two 'questions' were just ensuring that my audience knew my ideas and the song i was going to use.
I asked this question to ensure my audience felt that my song choice would fit the brief and i was very happy with the responses as 100% agreed that it is appropriate.
I then asked if they felt that sexuality and gender were relevant in the song as those are the main themes that i am going to be addressing so i wanted to ensure that the audience could identify those themes within the song. 100% agreed so i am now confident in moving forward with my song and idea.
I want my video to have various different mise-en-scenes and so i used this question to identify which locations my audience thought would be best. This will help with my story boarding and planning as i know that i should definitely include a party scene as it was the most popular location with 100% of the participants selecting it, and that on a train and in a house would be less engaging so i probably won't use those locations now.
My final question was asking if the audience had any other ideas that would be good for my video, and i received lots of good ideas that i will include, such as using a pink, blue and purple colour scheme throughout my video as that is the colour scheme of the bisexual flag and the song is about bisexuality. I am also planning on using lots of different people within the video, and people gave ideas that supported this, such as 'lots of different people'.
