My Music Video Pitch

I pitched my initial ideas to my classmates, here is my presentation:

Advanced Production Rationale

For this project, I will be working with Saahir Ghani. The song he chose was The waiting Game by Luke Chistopher and the song I chose was Rihanna by yxng bane, we have decided to go with Saahir's song for the music video. This is because his song is more upbeat and unique as well as different to most songs that are currently out there which is why I feel it would be more exciting to make a video for his song. Although I like the song I originally picked, me and my partner have both agreed that our ideas could both intertwine to create a excellent video for this song.

The only issue we forsee when creating the video is the timing, in the past on previous projects we have found that it was hard to follow the filming schedule due to unforeseen circumstances and cast cancellations. We will overcome this by selecting very reliable cast members with lots of availability and planning each day in detail also leaving extra time in case we need to refilm anything or if there are any cancellations. Also we will try and communicate more effectively so that if there are any problems we can sort them out in advance.

There was no specific reasoning for the rejection of the other idea, upon hearing my partner's song I was inspired by the song and the beat and started to form ideas and when researching more into his artist, I found there was more to discuss about Luke Christopher in comparison to Yxng Bane. Also Luke Christopher is a less well known artist than Yxng bane which I feel would make my work more interesting.

This moodboard connotes what the artist is like and we will try to implement the styles that are denoted in these images in our music video so that a motif, style and brand can be created for the artist we have chosen, Luke Christopher.

Narrative theory

 I will be analysing one music video in detail, covering how it follows the narrative theory of Goodwin’s music video rules.

I have chosen to do a macro analysis on the music video to the song 'HUMBLE.' by the artist Kendrick Lamar:

 Kendrick Lamar - HUMBLE.

The genre of this song is rap. There are elements of this music video which follow the typical portrayal of music videos in the rap genre; however it has been modified to dominantly illustrate the vision of the artist, Kendrick Lamar, and his lyrics. Aspects that can be shown to contribute to the genre characteristics include the denotation of attire. The mise-en-scene used in this music video in terms of costumes connote that this is a rap video. One of the costumes denotes Kendrick Lamar wearing a white hoodie. This is a piece of clothing that is usually associated with the streets and casual-wear, which is what rap tends to be paralleled with. Along with this the artist is seen to be giving fast hand gestures which correspond to the beat of the music and the lyrics. This is a very common characteristic in music videos of the rap genre. 

These are the most distinct features that demonstrate the genre characteristics due to the fact that this music video is one that really differs from the stereotypical visuals of rap music videos. The white hoodie that was denoted was one of two hoodies as the artist is presented to be wearing more elegant clothing such as a white suit. The hand gestures used whilst Kendrick Lamar is rapping is done very minimally. This music video mainly concentrates on the visual relations to the lyrics rather than how it defies and conforms to the typical genre characteristics. However the examples above show that there are some hints to the genre characteristics which connotes that this music video does follow Goodwin’s rule of demonstrating genre characteristics to a certain extent.

Another on of Goodwin’s music video criteria that ‘HUMBLE’ meets is the relation between the visuals and the lyrics. For instance, the very distinct moments in which this is accomplished are when intertextuality is present in the music video. Denoted at 2:09, Kendrick Lamar is rapping about Grey Poupon which is also denoted in the composition as he is spreading it on bread and giving it to the man in the car next to his car. Here, the lyrics denote a brand called Grey Poupon as well as the visuals of him using it. This is a very common way of relating the visuals to the lyrics of a song and this is one of a few examples in which Kendrick Lamar executes this. There are other, more subtle connections between the lyrics and the visulas, however the very distinct relations come from the intertextual references. The other, more subtle, relationship between the lyrics and the visuals come from lyrics such as the moment in which he raps “if I kill a nigga, it won’t be the alcohol”. This is denoted in a shot of red laser points on Kendrick Lamar which connote that police guns are pointing at him and the artist is moving in an unfashionable manner which connotes that he is crazy or drunk which further connotes that he has killed someone but he is not blaming the alcohol. This is an example of how the lyrics of his rap connect to the visuals.

There are moments in which the music stops or slows down in tempo, to which there are shots that denote the artist Kendrick Lamar and the men around a table stopping and looking at the camera. This conveys a relationship between the music and the visuals as the characters stop when the tempo changes. The characters looking at the camera connote that they are looking to the fourth wall, which may possibly play the role of a DJ, because the music has changed and they noticed. This is a clever effect that I can possibly implement in my music video and I feel that it gives off a sort of humorous tone and this could potentially create a positive vibe from the tension that may occur in my visuals.

Genres and Styles

Types of Music Videos 

There are three recognised types of music videos. However, often music videos are a combination of two of these categories.

1) Narrative music videos.

These types of music videos often follow a narrative structure, with a beginning, middle and end. The viewers are often shown a story and the music video can sometimes be likened to somewhat of a short film. Narrative music videos often establish a clear relationship between the lyrics and the visuals of the song.
Todorov's Three Part Structure suggests that every story starts with a equilibrium, where everything is balanced, progress as something comes along to ruin the equilibrium, and ends when  resolution is reached and equilibrium is restored.

E.g: The example music video I have found of this is the video Cigarrette's and Cush by UK Grime artist, Stormzy. The story begins with him meeting a girl at a party, who he begins to get deeply involved with then later realises she works within Crime Enforcement which is problematic as he is a drug dealer. The story then ends with her helping him escape being caught and them driving off. 
At 0:39, in Cigarettes and Cush in Stormzy he is denoted in a long camel colored jacket and a black shirt and he is surrounded by plants. The connotation is that he is a drug dealer in some type of weed farm which begins to construct the narrative for the audience.
In Todorov's theory of narrative, this would be the equilibrium; Stormzy is a practicing drug dealer and crime enforcement doesn't know, he remains undisturbed and making money.

2) Performance music videos.
The second type of music videos are performance music videos. This is where the artist performances the song through dancing, lap syncing, live performance or concert. These types of videos often include lots of shots of the artist, especially close up's (Star representation). Most of the time there is little to no connection with the lyrics.
E.g: The example music video of this is Questions by Chris Brown, he mouths the lyrics and there is a dance performance throughout the whole music video. 


At 2:05 He is denoted in a red and black costume with a black cap and black shades. There are 4 additional girls standing around him and they are also wearing colored caps, different outfits but they are all wearing elements of red, black and white. They are all denoted dancing. The use of costume is useful because it makes the performance appear fun and youthful and the performance aspect may attract a younger.





3) Abstract music videos
The third are abstract music videos, often called conceptual music videos. These music videos are often have no relation to the lyrics and little to no meaning. They are often unusual and make little sense.



E.g: The example music video I found of this is Tyler the Creator Who Dat Boy at 2:32, He is denoted with dark ears and neck and then a Caucasian face with ginger freckles, eyebrows and brown eyes stitched to his own face.

Final Treatment

Shot by shot remake

This video is a remake of the scene from Kendrick Lamar's "Humble".

Me and my partner both decided to look at the video Humble by Kendrick Lamar which i would describe as an aspect music video with performance aspects. The video in itself was particularly intriguing as there were a variety of shots and locations used, although the video did not relate particularly to the lyrics, I enjoyed the visuals. We chose this shot in particular to recreate because we found the use of camera and editing interesting. At first we were unsure how this shot was actually created but when asking our peers and teachers, we decided that most likely there were multiple camera's used at different angles and the footage was edited together.
To recreate this and mirror Kendrick Lamar's work we then took two camera's and filmed one scene and then edited the footage together. I think we were extremely successful in our work and you can see the similarities between our work and kendrick lamar's video.

This has inspired our work because it has challenged us to think creatively in order to achieve the best visuals possible. We have allowed ourselves to be inspired by existing work and we may use this specific technique and shot in our final product. Creating this has been beneficial not only in terms of being inspired, but again giving myself and my partner the chance to develop and work effectively as a team to achieve a brilliant final product.

Styles and Conventions of music videos

Andrew Goodwin's music theory

 Andrew Goodwin has identified a number of key features in music videos. He created 6 rules for making music videos. These 6 were taking from "Dancing in the distraction factory"

1) The first is that there is often a link between the visuals and the music
Visuals can be used to promote a song. Music videos can use certain images/shots to illustrate their song. The visuals can either illustrate, amplify or contradict the song.

E.g 3:59 In Katy Perry's Part of me, she tells a story of how she joins the army after a breakup and becomes a stronger female as a result. As the story progresses, and Katy grows in confidence the beat gets louder and the tempo of the music increases as well as her actual singing getting louder and more passionate. This conforms to the first rule in Godwin's theory.

2) The second is that there is often a link between the lyrics and the visual
  Godwin suggests that lyrics will make constant references to the visuals on screen. The visuals help us to understand the story that the artist is potentially trying to depict through the lyrics. Visuals will reinforce what the lyrics say.

For example in the music video Barking by Ramz. At 1:15, There is a screenshot denoted of a rail station with 'Barking' denoted in blue writing. This relates to the lyrics because the song is about a girl the artist met in barking "I might link my ting from barking". 

3) The third is that music videos tend to include a demonstration of typical genre characteristics
For example a grime song would probably include a video with lots of young people, most likely boys with hoods or on bikes. The mise-en-scence, location, setting etc of the video with often be typical of the song's genre.

4) The fourth is that there is frequent reference to the notion of looking and voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
Godwin identified that a typical feature of music videos is that women are portrayed as sexual objects and are merely present of the pleasure of the men in the video. They are often seen being seductive or voyeurism is used as an attempt to use sex appeal to sell the song.

For example at 1.31 of Katy Perrry's Bon Apetit. She is seen lying on a table with chef's in white
hats placing vegetables on her. She is wearing minimal clothing and she is in a bodysuit which is camouflages with her skin tone, making her appear as if she is naked. This again, relates to Godwin's theory as she appears promiscuous and her being prepared as if she is a meal connotes that she has little to no value as an individual.  

5) The fifth is that the record label demands frequent close-ups and a continous visual style

It is a common feature for record labels to use close ups of the artist and lots of shots in order to promote the artist. The artist will often have a visual style. The artist will often have a visual style which recurs across their work.

E.g at 0:45 in Shape of You by Yxng Bane he is denoted up close in a close up shot, the effect it has is that it makes the audience feel closer to the audience as they can clearly read facial expressions and/or body language also, it lets them know he is the main artist and focal point in the video.

6) The sixth is that the music video often contains intertextual references.
The visuals or lyrics are often a direct reference to another media text.
 

For example at 00.1 and 2:42 in Katy Perry's Roar, her behavior, her costume and the typography and setting are all constant references to the popular comic "Jungle Girl".

   She is dressed in a tiger print bralet, and a skirt made of leaves with black long hair. This can be likened to the girl Jungle girl comic cover as she also has black long hair and is wearing tiger print.

Lyrics analysis

These are the lyrics to the song titled "Rihanna" by artist Yxng Bane.  He describes the meaning of the song as him "just paying homage to all the beautiful girls especially Queen Rihanna". This is the song I have selected to create a music video as part of my Advanced Portfolio. The lyrics are as follows:

RIHANNA BY YXNG BANE.


The song is called Rihanna by Yxng Bane which is a Reference to pop artist Robyn Rihanna Fenty from Barbados. This is an example of an intertextual reference used by Yxng Bane.

[Hook]
Can I tell you that I’m wanting you?
I’m in love with the way you move
And I think you should have a drink or two
Truth is I wanna lie with you, so come my way
Feel like you need somebody
So baby girl come my way
Feel like you need somebody

[Verse 1]
Dip low, watching her dip low
Dances on me and now she sip slow
Watching you head down to your tip toe
You know I got something for when we get home
Get home, now you’re in my zone, in my zone
And we gon’ get going
Wood in your frame it's like window
Turn off your garments  we can bring those

-Yxng Bane includes sexual references, which connotes that he is an individual who is very lustful. 

[Pre-Chorus]
I said gimme your love, you know you're bad like Rihanna
I’ll do you good no wahala
But I can’t promise forever, oh nah nah nah
I said gimme your love, you know your bad like Rihanna
I’ll do you good no wahala 
But I can’t promise forever , oh nah

-Wahala is a Nigerian term meaning ‘trouble’ so in the context Yxng Bane will do this girl good with no problem.
-“But I can’t promise forever” This demonstrates that Yxng Bane may not have long term intentions for this girl and therefore may only be looking for a fling or short term satisfaction. This may connote that he is a character who loses interest quickly.

[Verse 2]
You’re looking my way now
Big spliff when we lay down
I want for now and some later
Give me a reason why you can’t stay round
Please me, you make it look easy
These n*ggas all neeky 
You know that you need me, need me
-Neeky: an urban term used to describe something or someone that is “out of fashion or geeky.”

I said gimme your love, you know you're bad like Rihanna 
I’ll do you good no wahala
But I can’t promise forever, oh nah nah nah
I said gimme your love, you know your bad like Rihanna
I’ll do you good no wahala

But I can’t promise forever

-He talks about a girl that has captivated him and seems to remind him of Rihanna. This may demonstrate how Yxng Bane has some type of admiration or lust for the artist hence why he is attracted by the girl which reminds him of Rihanna.

Song

This is the song I have chosen


The song is called Rihanna by artist Yxng Bane. Yxng Bane is an unsigned artist from the UK, he is black african and was born and raised in North London. The genre is Afropop, a subgenre which is a combination of Afrobeats and Pop. I chose the song because I like the song and lyrics; It is a catchy, upbeat song which i feel could appeal to almost anybody. I was particularly captivated by the song because it is unlike any songs I have previously heard which means I feel as if i'd greatly enjoy creating a video for the song.