Music Video Ideas

Me and my partner have come up with a brainstorm of ideas that we could use in our music video, we have done this to give a basic outline of the stuff we could include in our music video.

GreenScreen Test

Choosing a Song.

Choosing a song, I thought was quite difficult because of the choice that I had that band had to offer. I was given four songs to look at, all of a decent length so I listened to all of them as least 3 or 4 times so that I could grasp the lyrics and work out the beats and melodies. I wanted to pick a song that would be lively and had a kick to it, so that the music video would be more lively and interesting. This ruled out one of the songs because I found that it was too slow, and the lyrics were hard to relate to and to create ideas from. I found that another song that I listened to took over a minute to get into so I felt like that I couldn’t really express my ideas without the use of the lyrics of the song. From here I was left with two songs, both equally as good as one another. The first song was consistently good through out but I felt like I couldn’t represent the lyrics of the song with a good narrative that could accompany it. From here I was left with one song, and ideas were easy to come up with because of the context of the song.

Finding the band.

For my planning I looked through different websites to try and find an unsigned band that I could use their track for my music video. I first looked at Myspace.com but struggled to find anything that would catch my attention and that I could a music video about. I found that they had a lot of music on there, and that bands obviously use this social networking site to try and grab any attention they can. I found that the search tool was quite easy to use and the website was quite easy to navigate around, this clearly being a good way to try and distribute unsigned bands so that the public can listen to them.
After looking at Myspace.com I took my attention to Unsigned.com which is a website specialised for unsigned bands who want their music to be listened to. I found this website more useful and easier to navigate around because of the simple layout on the right hand side that made it easy to search for a band, artist or song. I looked through tons of different bands trying to find the right one for me, and I narrowed it down to a select few but finally choosing a band from Liverpool called Alexis Blue.
Obviously when choosing the band/artist for my music video I had to consider the genre of music that I was going to pick. I had to make sure that the genre of music would suit the way the person in my music video was like, so I wouldn’t pick hip hop or classical if they weren’t the right part for it. After consideration I chose to look at the indie rock genre because it can suit a wide range of people and is considered a genre that is popular amongst my age group, which is my target audience, as most teenagers listen to music more than adults.

Foo Fighters Poster and Album Synergy

This is the poster for the Foo Fighters album, Echoes Silence Patience & Grace. The poster features the band members, typical of any band poster that I have researched. The band members are all seen looking at the camera taking the picture, this also typical of band posters that I have researched. The poster has a black and white effect to it, making it look older and gives it an essence of vintage. The black and white effect is seen on not only the poster but also on the album cover showing a clear synergy. The band members are wearing casual clothing, possibly reflecting their music as being casual. The band members are seen sitting on a set of stairs, I think maybe in order of importance. The lead singer/front man is seen at the foot of the stairs, backing singer/drummer behind him and the two guitarist’s further back. The typography used in this poster, is again typical of a band promotion poster, with the band name in big bold letters and then the album name underneath. The poster is simple, as it doesn’t have much going on in it, making it easier to look at and it doesn’t take the focus off of the band members which is the main focus of the poster.



This is the album cover for the Foo Fighters album, Echoes Silence Patience & Grace. The album is in black and white just like the poster. The album seems to focus on an atom bomb in the middle of the page with some sort of mechanism in the middle like and engine. I think that the band are trying to put a message across in their music maybe about war or death as the bomb is associated to death. I cannot find the back cover for this album on the internet so I cannot analyse the back cover.

Foo Fighters- The Pretender Music Video Analysis

Foo Fighters- The Pretender
Link to the video is here: http://myplay.com/videos/foo-fighters/the-pretender
• The music video starts off black and as soon as the music kicks in, lights begin to turn on, suggesting the start of the music video. The lights turn on to the beat of the song, going along with the tempo which is quite fast clearly from the pace that the lights turn on.
• At this point of the music video editing is being done on the beat and off the beat, alternating between the two, but when the lyrics start the editing is now done by the lyrics sung.
• The song really begins to kick in after about 33 seconds and the tempo quickens and becomes a lot faster paced with the lead guitar playing the same repetitive beat.
• The main focus of the music video is the band members in the big open room, and the camera jumps from one band member to another in quick succession.
• There are different varieties of shots during the verse, mainly consisting of long shots, zooms and pans.
• There doesn’t seem to be a narrative to the music video yet, but it is only the start of the verse so we are not sure yet but as the song progresses we find that the narrative is mixed in with the performance on stage with the band members.
• The lyrics for this song could suggest different things and from what I could interpret I think that the lead singer is talking about himself and the authorities, saying he won’t back down to them and pretend to be someone who he is not just to satisfy them. He questions their authority for his rights of freedom perhaps, and rebels against them?
• At the end of the first verse, just before the chorus starts, this is where I think the narrative begins and a single police man dressed in a riot outfit stands at the opposite side of the room, maybe attempting to stop the band from what their doing.
• When the Chorus kicks in, the music becomes a lot louder and the lead singer sounds more aggressive in the way that he’s singing and the camera shots reflect this as they are short and snappy.
• The verse then comes back in after the chorus has finished and we go back to the camera focusing on the different band members and the same repetitive beat is being played again
• The verse comes to a close again and jus before the chorus sets in, the policeman starts screaming in anger and a line of policemen in riot outfits appear and they all stand in formation across the room from the band members.
• We see the lead singer facing the line of policemen and it is clear to see that he is outnumbered.
• When the chorus ends the bridge begins and the camera shots become a little slower compared to the chorus and the bridge is seen to be building up to something. As it is building up, the camera swaps between the policemen and then the band members, the policemen put down their visors on their helmets and preparing to attack.
• After bridge finishes and it climaxes, there is a major anticlimax as we are taken back to the start of the song and the intro is being played. The policemen now are beginning to run at the band members in slow motion, representative to the tempo of the song now which is quite calm and slow.
• The intro is cut shorter than before and as if we weren’t expecting it, the chorus abruptly starts again and the red screen behind the band explodes and red liquid is seen flying out towards the policemen.
• This comes as a surprise because the audience watching the music video does not expect this to happen.
• The red liquid continues to spray across the room, and the camera shows the two different groups. The policemen are all falling to the floor and the band members don’t seem to be affected and continue to play the song.
• At the end of the song there is a lot of repetition of the same three words, and the camera shots become a lot shorter than what they were, reflecting the pace of the song, only lasting a split second.
• We know the music video has finished when we see the lead singer throw his guitar to the floor and then falls to the floor himself, perhaps in an act of victory.

Camera shots and editing

• Establishing shot of big empty room, we see band member walk on, low angle shot.
• High angle shot of band member a contrast between the last shot and this one, the first shot the band member looked insignificant and in the next shot looked important and powerful
• Medium shot/Close up of lead singer wrapping a bandage around his hand, reason unknown.
• High angle shot of lead singer again.
• Long shot of across the room, we see what seem to be amps maybe?
• Zoom in on face of lead singer, lip syncing into the microphone, we see band member on left of shot walking in, in the background, rule of thirds.
• Medium shot. We see drummer walking over to his drum kit and sit down behind them
• Low angle shot, we see lead guitarist walking over to his guitar lying on the floor.
• High angled shot of guitar, only last for a brief second.
• High angle shot of guitarist picking up guitar and then cut to the bass guitarist and then he puts bass over his shoulder
• All editing up to this point has been edited on the lyrics.
• High angle shot again, obviously showing band members importance. The drummer begins to hit the snare drum to begin the verse of the song
• Shots at this point of the song become a lot faster and they continue throughout the music video.

Andrew Goodwin’s Theory:

In the video The Pretender, the tempo varies throughout the song. It is structured quite clearly into four stages, the introduction, the verse, the chorus and the bridge. In the intro the tempo is steady; it’s nice and calm and is building up to the verse. When the verse starts the tempo speeds up rapidly and this is reflected by the camera shots. The chorus then kicks in and again the tempo speeds up to the pace of the chorus again represented by the shortness of the camera shots but when the bridge starts the tempo slows down a bit and camera shots become a little slower. Andrew Goodwin says that the tempo of popular music is very clearly and directly represented in music video clips. We can see this by the use of the camera shots used in the music video, that vary when the tempo changes. Andrew Goodwin says that another thing that is important is the vocal. In the pretender the music video is revolved around the lyrics that are sung. Throughout the video we are focused on the lead singer lip syncing his views, and we know how he feels about it by the tone of his voice which becomes aggressive after the intro.

Kasabian Poster and Album Cover synergy.

This is the poster for Kasabian’s album West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum. It features the band as the main focus of the poster, all staring in what looks like a mirror. This produces some sort of synergy with the music video Fire, One of the main features of the music video being the lead singer looking into a reflective window in numerous occasions. Another thing that can link in with the music video fire is that one of the band members in the video is wearing a neck chief; this is similar to the band member in the bottom right who is also wearing a neck chief. The band members are all seen wearing old fashioned clothes. It adds effect to the poster because we wouldn’t tend to see people wearing clothes like that now a day, showing they are going against norms. The band member on the left is wearing what seems to be a colonel or lieutenant outfit maybe showing his importance, suggesting he may be the lead singer of the band. The poster is quite dark in colours maybe representing the genre of music that they play, possibly rock. The typography of the poster is quite bold and is probably the first thing you see. This is good for marketing purposes because it grabs people’s attention so they see this poster before anything else. The Artist name at the top is lot bigger than the album name at the bottom, suggesting that the band name is a lot more important in terms of advertising but the album is still advertised nonetheless. The poster is quite simple in its forms of typography this is probably because it gives a better impact if there is not too much going on in the poster therefore making it look more interesting and appealing as opposed to boring and time consuming to read.



This is the Album cover for Kasabian’s Album. The front cover is the same as the poster, so for analysis see above. The back of the album cover is what seems to be a target with an eye in the middle. It is simple in its design but effective because the eye in the middle contrasts against the deep red background. In the middle of the target are the songs listed in the shape of the target. At the bottom of the back cover is the copyright laws and where the cover was made and when. At the top is the recording company, that being Sony music. The fact that a target is in the middle suggests violence throughout their music maybe about guns? It reflects the music video fire because they use guitars as guns and this references the target at the back.