Research (music video)

 Here is the research and analysis for my team's music video.

BIG RESEARCH

Fall in Love alone - Stacey Ryan (2022)

Despite having affections for their friend, the main character is reluctant to pursue them for fear of jeopardising their bond. They don't want to feel alone in their emotions, though, and they think there is a connection between them. In order to discuss the possibility of a romantic relationship, they desire the other person to express their fascination in them.

Media Language 

A medium shot is used to show of four people—a parent driving and two closest friends sitting in the backseat—as it opens the music video. This gives the audience context because, although we assume the kids in the back are the story's primary characters, we see them in the following shots in the same car but as teenagers. We can assume that they are in their senior year and that they grew up together when new people in the backseat of the car aer introduced as their highschol friends. When we watch them graduate, both protagonists and their friends are wearing graduation gowns and hats, and the identical camera angle and shot is employed. The music video is quite simple, with little variation in the shots used. Instead, text with the year added to the shots presents a timeline of both of them growing up over time. The footage, with its high school bestfriends to lovers trope, is fairly cliche. The subsequent shots maintain the same aesthetic, with the male lead remaining alone in the automobile. The lighting changed to a blue tone, which suggests melancholy and loneliness because the female lead is no longer there. The viewer is given a hint about their affections for one another through this change in emotions that might not have been apparent otherwise. When the female lead is first seen getting back into the car, the lighting changes, and the final scene features a shot from 2022 featuring the two characters along with their child. This is a representation of their romance from early childhood to adulthood. 

Representation

The music video paints a good picture of ageing and love. The characters in the music video are childhood best friends who eventually form their own family. The journey they had to get there is expertly shown in the video. Many high school kids can relate to this music video because they believe that they will eventually grow up and no longer be in high school. The theme of the film is that people should always attempt to learn new things since how would you ever know if you never tried? It captures a lot of the contradictory emotions that teenagers may experience when they don't feel like they can admit their mistakes or feel guilty about what they did since they don't feel the same emotions in return. The car serves as a representation of the characters' lives, and the warm, brilliant lighting depicts the characters' love and adolescence. The car serves as a link between their friendship and love, and we can see that high school students frequently drive around in them, which is a lovely approach to depict adolescent moments, falling in love, and personal development.

Audience 

The song is catchy and has a soft up-beat melody, with themes of highschool and aging it may appeal to the young adult-adult audience as such imagery would be very relatable to them. The pop genre ussually appeals to audience of a younger demographic and the bright colors may represent that really well. The aesthetic of the music video was well executed in showing its themese and message to the audience, although simplistic it does not take a media literate person to only know about it’s aims.

Industry 

The music video is low budget, which does not include vfx or special props, instead incorporating just simply a car, which is quite accessible to create. The low budget feel suits the theme of this music video, which resulted in an amazing execution. The song also incorporated simple editing, istead relying on its storyline to carry the music video, this allowed the directors to focus on creating emotion between the scenes and the audience. This execution alongside the song was a great hit as it was able to be heavily promoted on tiktok, the themese are relatable which meant that a lot of new audiences are introduced to this song, as Stacey Ryan is a smaller artist this virality in the song’s marketing created big success. As the music video was low budget, any company taking on the risk wouldn’t have to face much loss if it didn’t do as well as it did. 

Feather - Sabrina Carpenter (2023) 

Sabrina Carpenter's song "Feather" discusses freedom and independence that comes with ending a toxic and emotionally taxing relationship. The speaker shares their experience with someone who only pays attention to them when it is convenient, provides conflicting signals, and plays mind games. The speaker decides to end the connection and discontinue all communication with this individual, expressing their satisfaction and newfound lightness without them.

Media Language

SMALL RESEARCH

The Vaccines - Wetsuit (2011)

The music video was executed simply. I believe this made it better to understand and grasp for audiences as it wasn’t so chaotic. The music video is indicative of the indie genre conventions where it gave the vibe of the youth at the time, the concert scene, etc. Although nostalgic and very reminiscent of the early 2010s, I personaly did not like the stylistic choices that were made, I felt that it was made quiet cheaply and resembled too much of the social media platforms, my space, tumbler and early instagram. The filters used were quiet harsh and in your face which is why a lot of young people would want to consume the video. The band’s use of new media and engaging ith fans through social media were quiet creative, seeing that at the time the internet was still new the idea of askig photos from fans is innovative and encourage the band’s fandbase to keep consuming their content, this can generate hype and market their performance to incoming audiences. The influence of new media could be seen as well in the media language of the music video, with its cliche representation of the youth, showcasing the party scene and alchohol consumption. Although the concept of the music video was unique for the time, it wasn’t that of my personal taste. 

Olivia Rodrigo - Bad Idea Right? (2023) 

The music video was executed very well, with it’s seemingly big production, the aesthetic of the music video was done to perfection. It did not involve heavy camera equipment but instead we could see the budget allocated into it’s editng. We are also made aware that the music video was shot on an iphone, which was great for promotional activities, this can appea to audiences as they may be influenced to buy the iphone as a result of the music video. We can see that the music video is an extension of Olivia’s persona, being in the pop-rock genre. The song uses a lot of rock elements which brings in younger audiences. The lure of getting back together with an ex-partner, despite it being a horrible idea, is discussed in the lyrics of Olivia Rodrigo's song "Bad Idea Right?" The song depicts the internal battle between desire and reason, emphasizing the relatable struggle of wanting to get back together with someone even though you know it's not a good idea. The lyrics touch on themes of attraction, regret, and the struggle between following desires and making rational choices. This is demonstrated not only in the mise-en-scene but also in the ensuing camera angles. The props utilized were representative of Gen Z, with its love of pop culture, partying, and breakups.

The weeknd - Blinding Lights (2020)

The minute touches and transitions are what make "Blinding Lights" so well-produced. The kick-and-snare drum rhythm, the chords, and the synth line from the 1980s are all familiar at first listen, as is the majority of the arrangement and instrumentation.  The little elements are what keep the music interesting and give it movement and drive. If you pay close attention, you'll notice that every section transition is unique and that ad libs and new elements are added all the time. This explains why the music never becomes monotonous or repetitive even if every section feels so comfortable and familiar to the ear. There's always something fresh or different included. The song "Blinding Lights" is about wanting to see someone at night while driving to them while intoxicated and being blinded by streetlights. That the character is so lonely, though, that absolutely nothing might deter him from trying to go see that individual. That's the ominous undertone, but I never want to advocate drunk driving. The music video's use of black lighting wonderfully represented the message of darkness. 

The weeknd - Out of time 

The song describes how the singer's trauma from prior relationships has hampered his efforts to repair his romantic relationship with his former girlfriend. The music video appears to contrast the somber lyrics by showing the Weeknd meeting and bonding with a girl with whom he appears to fall in love. Instead, the music in the video is used to bring the two closer together by having them sing along to it, further cementing their bond through a common taste in music. The concept of making a tale center round two individuals who are able to empathize with people is something I think might be excellent to integrate into our music video as we are trying to have a romance-esc video.  The post-production process of the video also adheres to a linear storyline, which gives audiences with an accurate representation of the sequence that unfolds depicting the story of the two protagonists. Furthermore, the relatively fast-paced editing style creates a sense of excitement in viewers and delivers the heart-racing sensation that countless individuals connect with becoming in love. The representation of love and especially the lovestruck sensation whereby people constantly fall in love and often are unsure of soulmates yet the beat guides the music video through this nostalgic memory of suppose "high school sweethearts". The music video capturing sentiments of "love at first sight" is done extremely well and connecting with someone who was previously barely anything than an outsider. The tune's vibrant and joyous beat goes effectively with the cinematic shots that appear in the music video, but it additionally preserves the general feeling of hopelessness and grief expressed in the lyrics of the song, leaving the audience pondering in which the romance we observe is going to go, and exactly where both parties may spark a romantic relationship.