Genre

Genre is defined as ‘a style or category of art, music, or literature’. Genre is important for many reasons, including that whatever genre you decide you’re going to base your media text on, in this case a music video, that genre is going to attract a specific audience, and you will need to keep in with the conventions of that genre to keep your audience interested. Conventions of a genre are also helpful because they set up a template for other media makers. Lastly Genre is an important aspect because it helps associate artists with a particular identity e.g. Avril Lavigne is a pop artist but with a slightly dark, Gothic hint to her. This is an example of Ryall’s Triangle of linking the audience, artist and music video director together.
The genre of my music video is Indie – “The Power Of Love” It falls into this genre due to the main instrument being a piano which is typically used in indie songs, though previous versions of the song e.g. Frankie Goes to Hollywood would be classed as Indie Rock, due to the earthy, masculine tones, and the use of drums and bass instruments.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Typical iconographic signifies of Indie Music Videos include:


Editing/Style: typically will be a combination style of Narrative and Performance. Usually either very simple or complicated structures. A lot of Indie Music Videos focus around a serious or sad subject, and will contain a lot of symbolic Meaning Making Moments.

Sub Genres of Indie Music Videos: Rock, Folk, Electronic, Pop, Hip Hop and Dance

Mis En Scene- Costumes (Male)- checked shirt, messy hair, casual clothing, no accessories. (Female) – simplistic make up, big eyelashes, hair usually worn down
 

Narrative

3 types of narrative:

1. Circular - one that ends at the beginning. e.g. Titanic
2. Episodic- may include flashbacks, but will keep returning to a particular scene e.g. Forrest Gump.
3. Linear -straight forward, chronological narrative structure, tells the events as they are happening. Also known as the 'cause and effect' narrative due to the consequence of one event will lead to another.

Narrative of the original video:
The whole video is filmed in a somewhat isolted run down house whilst Gabrielle Aplin plays the grand piano. Each shot just shows another part of the house. Towards the end of the song, lights are put on throughout the house, illuminating it, the rooms seem to be a bit cleaner, candles are added to the scene, as if Aplin's song is brightening up the house. Very simple video, slow paced, many close ups of Aplin, doesn't follow Goodwin's theory of matching lyrics to visuals, defintely more star performance based than narrative based.

Narrative of my video:
My video of the song 'The Power of Love' will differ a lot from Aplin in that mine is based a lot of narrative and more of my visuals will match the lyrics. My video will have multi narratives in it, like Richard Curtis's 'Love Actually'. It will feature prominently the story of Adam and Beth, my two main actors, who were seperated when they were young (ambiguous explanations), and are reunited at the end of the video, perhaps in a dream? Also features other kinds of love e.g. homosexual love between Marcus and William, as William 'saves' Marcus from himself, and if the timing allows, I would like to shoot a scene of family love, but I need to work out a storyline.
The video will keep cutting back to the A roll, which is young Beth playing the grand piano in a darkened drama studio, slightly similar to the original.

Examples:
"A force from above" - tracking shot of sun moving through trees
"Keep the vampires from your door" - either shot of a door or shot of something grotesque
"Love is danger, love is pleasure" - two contrasting scenes of these juxtaposing situations
"Love is pure the only treasure"- shot of jewellery given to Beth by Adam
"Love with tongues of fire" - shot of Beth playing the piano through a candle

Inspirations:
1. Titanic
2. Kristina Webb's Instagram
3. The Fault in Our Stars
4. Twilight
5. Harry Potter
6. 'Say Something' - A Great Big World
7. 'Give Me Love' - Ed Sheeran

 

Modernism vs Postmodernity

 

Storyboard

Lyrics Analysis