Music videos are quite a postmodern form of video, created with a goal to add a visual dimension to a piece of music, which creates more interest and "buzz" around the song, as well as providing a chance for the star to present themselves visually and perform. This leads on to increased sales in the song, album and tour tickets. According to Goodwin music videos work around 3 codes - music, lyrics and iconography, that are designed to provide pleasure in order to keep the viewer watching and to encourage repeat viewings. Conventionally, in music videos:
- Visuals illustrate, amplify or offer disjuncture with the lyrics in order to provide an extra layer of meaning.
- Editing may match the phrases or be cut to the beat, and can also be in disjuncture (lack of continuity, cutting between extremes, breaking conventional editing rules)
- The narrative is not always complete and may be fragmented or leave a lot up to interpretation
For 'Grace Kelly', I want to create a music video that, amplifying the lyrics, would be colourful and vibrant, however in disjuncture to the Pixar-like, Anderson-esque visuals and upbeat music (but still interpreting the lyrics of the song) would deal with a quite serious and painful matter - a toxic relationship.
This is inspired by the music video for Benny Sings' song 'Not Enough':
 |
The video features a large variety of pleasantly warm and
colourful mise-en-scenes, though the actual imagery depicted
is quite dark and surreal
|
 |
The contorted way characters act contrast with the
environment and world of the video, contributing to an
interesting and twisted diegesis
|
 |
The music video opens with the protagonist (played by the
singer) making a call. I intend to open my video in a similar way
|
The narrative of my video will revolve around the protagonist, Vince (played by my star persona), calling up Cindy, his manipulative and domineering girlfriend, in order to break up with her, as he is tired of constantly changing himself. This break up call will bookend the video and everything in between is implied to be a metaphorical or literal representation of what is talked about on the call; We'll see flashback snippets (Vernallis' fragmented narratives) of dates gone sour, eventually leading to a midpoint twist in which Vince discovers Cindy is cheating on him.
We then move to an abstract 'audition' sequence, in which Cindy and her new boyfriend are suited and seated at a table while Vince auditions for them, jump-cutting between different costumes representing different personalities - none of which satisfy Cindy, who crosses him off in her long list of auditionees/boyfriends. To symbolise the break up, Vince strides over to her desk and rips up her audition sheet in her face.
 |
The moodboard/visual timeline I put together for my music video
|
Throughout this narrative then conceptual story will be performance sections intercut in. The performance will be bold, boisterous and energetic, Vince expressing a euphoric and feisty joy in cutting off the controlling Cindy from his life. His individuality and eclectic personality will also be presented in a conceptual way through a split-screen towards the end, showing three Vinces performing all the parts of a band.
The end of the video will show Cindy's world fading to black and white, which utilises the music video convention of extremes, as well as evoking the genre of film noir. It also acts as a visual metaphor that she has lost Vince's colourful personality, which she never appreciated in the first place.
My music video will create representations of a vulnerable male character who learns to love himself for who he is, rather than having to conform to someone else's preferred view of him. It will also present a strong female villain character, connoted through her red dress and lipstick, classic signifiers of danger, while also bringing to mind the tough femme fatale characters of noir cinema.
No comments:
Post a Comment