Creating a Music Video - A Reflection

After a semester of convergence journalism, we finally got to start entertainment video. As someone who has known where they want to end up in e-Comm from the very beginning, this couldn't have come sooner. Our first assignment was to create a music video.

Pre-production was definitely something to get used to. It involved more preparation than I ever would have guessed; I had to make storyboards, beat sheets, and print out the lyrics. Eventually, this helped, because I listened to the song and wrote down the times of each beat, which allowed me to create more effective shots.

The song we chose was I Wanna Be Yours by Arctic Monkeys. Addie and I have similar music tastes, but they don't always line up. Luckily for us, this song was one we could both agree on. Our concept arose out of wanting to make a video with no real storyline, just aesthetically pleasing shots; this wasn't going to work, obviously, so we had to think of a plot that could be powerful yet beautiful if done the right way. The story is that a girl is in an abusive relationship, and after a while, her friends start to suspect something. Eventually, they see her bruises, and another boy fights her boyfriend. He wins, and the girl and her friends run away. The whole video is shot through with flashbacks of her and her friends before the problems started.

The thing I regret most is being in it. Next time I make a video, I'm definitely going to be behind the camera. Not that I mind the attention; I'm in theatre, after all. I just feel like I missed the opportunity to be a director rather than an actor. The reason I chose to be in the video in the first place was that I thought it would be difficult to get another actor, but I'd rather work with another person than miss the chance to shoot it myself. However, I really like the shots I filmed myself.

I think it turned out well overall. I got to explore what it's like to film creatively, and it's motivated me to continue saving to buy my own camera so I can do it on my own. The color palette in the video is one I enjoy; the red was definitely purposeful. As I develop my own style, I have a feeling both roses and the color red will stay with me.

Music Video Review

Before creating a music video of our own, we were assigned to find professionally made music videos to gather inspiration. Fortunately for me, I had already put together a playlist of music videos that I liked, so all I had to do was look at that. The video I chose was for a song called Video Games by Lana Del Rey. Lyrically, it is a love song, but then again, what song isn't? The overall cinematography is made up of mainly old, low-resolution shots, which suggest a vintage feeling. It also has frequent shots of Lana Del Rey herself, simply standing against a white wall. They are all similar; just a mid-shot of her singing. The last important characteristic of this video is the insertion of various shots such as a panorama of palm trees, presumably California, which is a dominant theme in Del Rey's music.

One of the shots I particularly enjoyed was one of Del Rey singing, but it was interrupted by a stop-motion close up of a rose blooming. Whether this is due to my personal affinity for roses or just an appreciation of cinematography, I don't know; most likely a bit of both. I also liked the montages of footage that appeared to be older; my partner and I ended up mirroring this in our own video without even meaning to.

The director used the rule of thirds very well; it sounds simple, but in the mid-shots of the artist, she was usually placed off-center, which created visual interest. Something more atypical of professionals, however, was the shakiness of some of the shots. This was executed very well, instead of coming across as amateur and distracting. It's difficult to find a place that could use improvement, and this is more of an opinion, but a more defined color palette could unify the video. Regardless, this is a video that I enjoy, created for a song that I love. I would recommend it.