Music Video Influences - The 1975

In my research for my groups media music video, I have started looking at music videos put out by a particular band. This blog post will be looking at the music videos of the Manchester-based indie rock band "The 1975". The band consists of Matthew Healy (vocals/guitar), Adam Hann (guitar), George Daniel (drums) and Ross MacDonald (bass guitar).  The band have released several music videos of singles from their self-titled debut album - with the music videos I'll be focusing on here being "Chocolate", "The City", "Girls", and "Robbers".
Until recently, the music videos released by The 1975 were very performance-based (although featuring little traces of narrative, it is predominantly performance) and filmed in black-and-white, with examples including "Chocolate" and "The City".
However, with the release of their music video for "Girls", whilst the video is still very much performance-based, the video is filmed in colour for the majority of the video, with the group even commenting that the video should be shot in black-and-white at the start of the video, in a sly reference to their other music videos.
With the release of the music video for "Robbers", the video is filmed entirely in black-and-white and features no performance at all, showcasing a narrative-driven video. The video features band frontman Matt Healy playing one half of a destructive couple who are dangerously in love and rob a shop to get money to fund their addictions to drug and alcohol addictions, which goes terribly wrong.

Music Video Influences - Haim



In my research for my groups media music video, I have started looking at music videos put out by a particular band. This blog post will be looking at the music videos of the Californian pop rock band "Haim". The band comprises of three sisters - Este Haim (bass guitar/backing vocals), Danielle Haim (lead vocals/lead guitar), and Alana Haim (backing vocals/keyboard/drums). The band have released several music videos of singles from their debut album 'Days Are Gone' - the three I will be focusing on here will be 'Falling', 'If I Could Change Your Mind', and 'The Wire'.
The music videos for the band are very performance-based and are all filmed in colour. Both of the music videos for 'Falling' and 'If I Could Change Your Mind' feature the band performing and dancing to both songs in various different backdrops and settings, with no traces of narrative found in either video at all.
The music video for 'The Wire' is more performance-based, showing all three members of the band breaking up with their partners, causing their partners to try (and fail) to win them back. The video features many different types of camera angles and shots, the most notable being the "dolly zoom", a cinematic technique used in many different film and television productions. "The effect is achieved by zooming a zoom lens to adjust the angle of view (often referred to as field of view or FOV) while the camera dollies (or moves) towards or away from the subject in such a way as to keep the subject the same size in the frame throughout. In its classic form, the camera angle is pulled away from a subject while the lens zooms in, or vice-versa. Thus, during the zoom, there is a continuous perspective distortion, the most directly noticeable feature being that the background appears to change size relative to the subject." The effect is used throughout the video, being used each time the partner of each member realises that they're being dumped. Even though the video is mainly narrative-based, performance is still a key part. The members of the band are shown to be singing the words when breaking up with their partners, and the climax of the video takes place at a Haim concert, reinforcing the idea that all of Haim's music videos are primarily performance-based.

 

 

 

Music Video Influences - The Luka State

In my research for my groups media music video, I have started looking at music videos put out by a particular band. This blog post will be looking at the music videos of the Cheshire indie rock band 'The Luke State'. The Luka State comprises of three members - Conrad Ellis (lead vocals/lead guitar), Sam Bell (bass guitar/backing vocals), and Jess Whitmore (drums/backing vocals). The band describe their songs as "the thoughts, ideas, interests and tastes of a modern rock 'n' roll band". So far the band have released three music videos - "A Matter of Time", "30 Minute Break" and "Rain", all of which have been filmed in colour.
The music video for "A Matter of Time" is very performance based, showing the band performing the song whilst messing around with each other and, at the climax of the video, running through a field with some flares.
The music video for "30 Minute Break", however, is much more narrative-based, featuring a brief snippet of the band performing the song at the very start. The music video focuses on a couple experiencing domestic violence, with the male (played by Thomas Brodie-Sangster) being the victim. The band themselves make an appearance in the video as friends of the male character.
The music video for "Rain" follows the narrative-based structure, with no performance being found in the video at all. The video employs a split-screen throughout most of the video, showcasing two stories of social isolation (one from a man, one from a woman), and letting the audience choose which story to watch. The split-screen merges towards the end of the video, however, when both of the protagonists meet in the video. The video features the band in a short cameo, as well as the protagonists of the previous video, "30 Minute Break", to create a series of music videos by the band that are interlinked.

 

 

Carol Vernallis

Carol Vernallis' theory states that music videos editing are based around 4 different concepts: Narrative, Editing, Camera Movement/Framing, and Diegesis (the environment of the music video).

In regards to the narrative of a music video, Vernallis states:
-The video is a visual response to the music.
-There is not necessarily a balance between narrative and performance.
-The narrative is not always complete - it may be a partial, fragmented narrative.
-The structure of the video may appear disjointed.
-Something drives the video forward, but often it is not the narrative. It could be the music, the performance, a mixture or some other element.
-There may not always be a clear resolution (closure) at the end.
-The video may pose questions that it doesn't actually answer.
-There may be a narrative or theme running through the video, but in a montage style.

In regards to the editing in a music video, Vernallis states:
-Editing may match the musical phrases or the beat.
-The video may break or disrupt many of the 'rules' of continuity editing - this is a clear convention of music video editing.
-Editing may become 'foregrounded' - the edits may be really obvious, to draw attention to themselves as opposed to invisible, continuity editing.
For example, you may see:
Jump cuts.
Breaks of the 30 degree rule.
Breaks of the 180 degree rule.
Cutting against the movement.
Cutting within the lyrics.
Fancy edits or cuts.
Extreme jumps in time and space.
Extreme changes in pace.
Juxtaposed frames.
Graphic matches.
A style of editing that runs through the video and is distinctive to that video.
You may not see:
Smooth transitions.
Matches on action.
An even pace throughout.

In regards to camera movement/framing in a music video, Vernallis states:
-When it comes to shot types, extremes are very common.
-The style of framing and movement may run through the video and is distinctive to that video.
-The camera may move in time with the music.
-The camera may move on the lyrics.
-The master shot (or other establishing shots) is used frequently, as are close ups.

In regards to the diegesis (the environment of the music video), Vernallis states:
-The diegesis may be revealed quite slowly.
-Actions are not necessarily completed - they may be disrupted or interrupted in some way.
-Character or object movements may move to the music.
-There may be gaps in the audience's understanding of the diegesis - in time and space, music, performance and narrative.
-Some frames may be more important than others.
-There may be many repetitions - e.g. musical phrases, the beat, other musical elements, themes, lyrics, performance, images, colours, camera positions.