Music video - lyrics & ideas

Wolf Alice - Moaning Lisa Smile - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mbAClggFMs


For this song, I came up with the idea of possibly involving some kind of crash; the character is 'over achieving' and spins out of control. I thought that the world spinning could be shown through a point of view shot, as this would be effective. Another idea is that she could collapse from the thoughts in her mind as she is overthinking everything.
For the opening scene, an idea I have is that someone can be holding hands with another person and then they pull apart from each other.


Lyrics:
Clinging to love, escape a father and mother
She opts for some other way out of the hole
She's overachieving, chasing her dreams
And coming down slowly, yeah, it's out of control

(Ahhh)
Scrap the blues, if the blues don't work
Flash your teeth, if the inside hurts
(Ahhh)
Scrap the blues, if the blues don't work
It's to make you feel better cause the other feels worse

All of the books and all in her blood and
Nowhere to run 'cause it's out of control
You wait for something to undo these feelings
Waiting and waiting but it's out of control

(Ahhh)
Scrap the blues, if the blues don't work
Flash your teeth, if the inside hurts
(Ahhh)
Scrap the blues, if the blues don't work
It's to make you feel better cause the other feels worse

You're never losing life
No, you're never losing life
You're never losing life
No, we're never losing life

The three types of music video

There are three types of music video: narrative, performance and concept. 

Narrative: These videos consist of a story line which relate to the lyrics and the genre of the song. They are like short films rather than a music video. Often they do not include lip syncing, but will relate to the lyrics in some way. An example of a narrative video is Sia's 'The Greatest'; this doesn't involve any performance of the singer but has a story line. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKSRyLdjsPA 

Performance: A performance video includes the band/singer either performing to an audience or to the camera. This type of video is typically used by indie/rock bands, as they want to promote themselves through the use of their band. These are typically the cheapest video to make, as all is needed is a suitable place to film the performance. An example of this is Catfish and the Bottlemen's 'Twice' video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E79WQnDAXVc

Concept: A concept video is based around a single idea, which is usually unique and unusual. They usually have no relation to the lyrics, but will keep the audience entertained.

An example of this is OK Go's song 'This Too Shall Pass'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qybUFnY7Y8w

History of the Indie Genre

As I have chosen to choose a song within the indie genre, I felt that I needed to do some research into its history and what it means specifically.

Roar - Katy Perry

Katy Perry - Roar

1.What is the concept of the video?

 The concept of the video is to show two plane crash survivors who have to live in the jungle. The female becomes confident and is crowned queen of the jungle. 

2.What is the plot or narrative of the video?

The narrative of the video is that two people are the survivors of a plane crash. Katy's boyfriend is the confident one to start with; he takes selfies and leads the way. he is later eaten by a tiger, and this means that Katy has to survive on her own. She makes friends with the animals and becomes a confident person. She has fought her fears and has her own coronation where she becomes queen of the jungle. 

3.What elements of intertextuality can be seen?

In the video, there are references to the Jungle Woman, Tarzan/Jane of the Jungle and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.  

4.What are the main events in the plot?

The plane crashes, she is left alone because her boyfriend is eaten by a tiger, she becomes friends with the animals, she roars at the tiger which shows she is the powerful one and then the coronation. 

5.How was the mise en scene managed?

The mise en scene is managed by using a real location, with real animals. 

6.What is the message of the video? How does this relate to Star Theory?
The message of the video is that you can overcome your fears. It shows that if you're a little unconfident at the beginning, you will always come out stronger. This relates to star theory as Katy has developed a character and a persona as a strong female. 

7.How does the video relate to Todorov’s theory?
I feel that this video relates in some ways to Todorov's theory, and sometimes it doesn't. The video starts out with an event (the plane crash) and continues on with more events such as Katy's boyfriend being eaten by the tiger. The equilibrium is disturbed when this happens. This is then changed back into the equilibrium state, where Katy is crowned queen of the jungle and everything is solved.

8.How does the video relate to Propp’s theory?

The video relates to Propp's theory, as at the beginning we are introduced to the two characters. Katy, in my opinion, is seen as the 'princess', as she seems quite unsure on what to do and is unconfident. The male character makes out that he is the 'hero', however, this is turned around as Katy is more like the hero in the end.

9.Why was the video made?
The video was made to entertain the audience, match with the lyrics and show the bravery of Katy Perry. I think that this shows that Katy has become much more confident in herself and is showing that she has grown up. 

10.Do the lyrics link to the video? (explore)
I think that they do link with the video, as the concept of 'Roar' is to show her power. The video shows that she has to fend for herself and this is also portrayed through her lyrics; "a fighter", "'cause I am a champion". At the end of the video, she is seen to be taming the tiger by her roar; this links with the lyrics towards the end of the song.

Lyrics:

I used to bite my tongue and hold my breath

Scared to rock the boat and make a mess So I sit quietly Agree politely I guess that I forgot I had a choice I let you push me past the breaking point I stood for nothing So I fell for everything (Pre-Chorus) You held me down but I got up Already brushing off the dust You hear my voice, you hear that sound Like thunder, gonna shake the ground You held me down but I got up Get ready ’cause I’ve had enough I see it all, I see it now (Chorus) I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter Dancing through the fire ‘Cause I am a champion And you’re gonna hear me roar Louder, louder than a lion ‘Cause I am a champion And you’re gonna hear me roar You’re gonna hear me roar Now I’m floating like a butterfly Stinging like a bee, I earned my stripes I went from zero To my own hero (Pre-Chorus) You held me down but I got up Already brushing off the dust You hear my voice, you hear that sound Like thunder, gonna shake the ground You held me down but I got up Get ready ’cause I’ve had enough I see it all, I see it now (Chorus) I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter Dancing through the fire ‘Cause I am a champion And you’re gonna hear me roar

Star Theory

Richard Dyer - Star Theory

His main ideas:

• USP: unique selling point
• Easy to parody 
• Stars serve a purpose, which is to take money from customers
• Selling merchandise, not just albums
• Ideology
• Character and personality that they have developed

His star theory can be split into three parts: the star as a construction, the star as a commodity and the star as a ideology.

The star as a construction:
He states that the star is not a real person, but a construction, and is constructed through magazines, music videos, advertising etc. Lady Gaga is an example of a contructed star, as her image is different and unique, which surprises the audience but allows them to recognise her.

The star as a commodity:
This is where the artist is produced to make money from merchandise, concerts etc. The record labels know how to make money; they produce merch which the audiences will buy, and also set trends.

The star as an ideology:
Stars will represent certain social groups and have their own views which produces an ideology. Fans often copy stars' styles and ways of thinking etc as they are role models. For example, an artist with strong views about a topic will have fans who support the same thing - almost like following them in their footsteps.

YouGov

When looking on YouGov for the indie band The 1975, I found that the stereotypical audience for this band were female, aged between 18-25 and within the social grade of C2DE. I found that they were left wing for politics and their professions are within entertainment, finance and accounting.

I thought that by looking at different artists on YouGov, it would give me a good idea on who my target audience would be for my music video.

I also looked at the demographics for the indie band Catfish & the Bottlemen. Being a fan of this band, I would be able to recognise myself within these results. The typical age range for this band are between 18-24, the gender of female being the main audience and liking similar music to Catfish. Researching bands specifically from the indie genre would allow me to see who my main audience would be for my music video, and also the things which could be included.

I finally decided to research the band whos song I am using in my music video. I found that fans of Wolf Alice were generally males between the ages of 18-24. Even though this gender outcome was different to the others I researched, the age ranges were all very similar to each other.

Intertextuality

Intertextuality - 'the relationship between texts, especially literary ones'

Julia Kristeva came up with the term intertextuality in 1966 and explained that there are two relationships occuring whenever we read a text. She explained that there is a relationsip between us and the author, and between the text and other texts. 

There are three different types of intertextuality within texts:

1. Parody - this is seen as a way to embarrass and ridicule the original.
2. Patische - this is similar to parody, but it works in a way which is gentler and has slightly more respect for the original.
3. Homage - this is more about respecting the original work.

Parody

An example of a parody music video would be All Time Low's 'I Feel Like Dancin''. This includes many references to different music videos, such as Katy Perry's 'California Gurls' music video, Lady Gaga's 'Bad Romance' and Justin Bieber's 'Baby' music video. In the video, they mock the artists by dressing in similar costumes and pretending to be them. 

Here, the band copies the costume and dance within 'Bad Romance'.

Patische

An example of a Patische music video would be 'Love Story' by Taylor Swift. The video includes a Romeo & Juliet styled theme throughout. The music video features a similar narrative to the film, hence the intertextuality is clear throughout.

Here, Taylor is seen to be doing a similar 

thing to the characters in the film.

Homage

30 Seconds to Mars' 'The Kill' music video is an example of a homage video, as the overall idea of the video is taken from the film 'The Shining'. The band members play in a similar hotel to the one featured in the film and the overall storyline is very similar.

The hallway featured in the music video is 

very similar to the one used in the film.

Todorov Narrative

Steps:

What happens -
1) the narrative starts with an equilibrium
2) an action or character disrupts the equilibrium
3) a quest to restore the equilibrium begins
4) the narrative continues to a climax
5) resolution occurs and equilibrium is restored

Propp's seven character types:

1. The hero
2. The villain
3. The donor/helper
4. The helper
5. The princess
6. The false hero
7. The dispatcher

Foo Fighters - Learn To Fly https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VQ_3sBZEm0

When we looked at the Foo Fighter's 'Learn to Fly' music video, there was a clear narrative. Todorov's theory of a narrative is shown as the video progresses. The narrative starts with two men hiding sleeping powder in the coffee machine. The equilibrium begins when the passengers board the plane and the crew are prepared to fly. 
This video has a comedic narrative, as the band members play the parts of the crew and the passengers on the plane. The band members don't drink the coffee which has the sleeping drug in, instead they drink alcohol. This has a reflection on the ending of the video. The equilibrium is disturbed when the drug has kicked in, and the crew members lose control of the aeroplane.
Propp's theory of the seven character types is also present in the music video. It is clear that there is a hero, a villain, helpers, which are all either the band members or the men at the beginning of the video. 
When looking at the lyrics, I felt that they contrasted a lot with the video itself. The lyrics have a deep meaning, and this contrasts with the comedic feel of the video. For example, the lyrics: 
'I'm looking to the sky to save me
Looking for a sign of life
Looking for something to help me burn out bright
I'm looking for a complication
Looking 'cause I'm tired of trying
Make my way back home when I learn to fly high'.

These lyrics contrast significantly with the video; this could be because the band wanted to make something which was quite deep, funny. It may have been done to make the audience look at the lyrics, to see if there is any correlation between the two. 

Mood-board of the Indie genre

Email to copyright holder

To be able to use the song I wanted in our music video, I needed to request permission from the copyright holder. The record label I had to email was Dirty Hit, as the band whose song I are going to use is on this label.

This is the email I sent to the label:

Dear Copyright Holder,

I am an A-Level student and I am writing to request your permission to use one of the  tracks by Wolf Alice.  The track I wish to use is Moaning Lisa Smile.

With your permission, this task would be used in our current A-Level Media Studies project, which involves creating a music video to a popular music track, as well as producing an album and a magazine advert for the artist.

If I received your permission, this track would ONLY be used in an educational context and be viewed by my media class, my teacher and the OCR exam board moderator.  It would not be released to a large audience.

The artist and your company would of course be fully recognised throughout pre-production and the final video itself.  A copyright notice with wording supplied by you can be included in the records of the project.  If this is required, please send full details.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards

Jessica Castledine

Practice shots

To prepare for my music video, I decided to do some practice shots. This would enable me to see which shots worked, and which shots wouldn't. Firstly, I did a practise reverse shot: we decided to practice this shot as we felt that this would be useful for our actual music video.

I then decided to create a music video with all of the shots that I had practised with. However, I hadn't filmed certain parts of the song, so unfortunately they had to be left without footage. This helped me to see which shots I could use in my actual music video, and which ones would work well.