Mood Board

Now our group has come to the decision on what song, genre and story we're going to do- I made this mood board which gives you a rough idea of what the feel and look of the video may be. It has helped me get a better idea of what type outfits, props and locations we may consider. But most of all it's helped strengthen my ideas of what the music video could possibly look like. Especially as the multiple eras adds another level of complexity.

Analysing Pop Genre Music Videos: Narrative

Now that we've chosen on a song to perform, 'Cops and Robbers' we can now begin to consider the narrative of our story.


It's important to be aware of the typical conventions of the certain genres we hope to work in as thinking about the audience who will want to watch it is one of the most important things producers of actual music videos need to think about.

Looking at most Pop music videos they all do follow a strict linear narrative which has a beginning, middle and end. It may cut quickly from shot to shot (to keep the excitement and momentum of a pop song) and may even cut between scenes like in Taylor Swift's 'Blank Space' where we can easily see the beginning of the story of her meeting the boy, the middle, in which they live with an enjoyable relationship; and the end where they go through a harsh break up.

As seen in the video there is another type of narrative that is very popular in Pop music videos- a Non-Linear narrative. This is typically set in one or two scenes that are not taking place during the events of the regular storyline and shows the artists performing as they reflect on the events of the song. With ‘Blank Space’ Taylor looks back on her troubles and strife. Typically the non-linear scenes take place during the chorus but this rule isn’t law.

Another good example of non-linear narratives is Shawn Mendes’ ‘Mercy’ where the linear narrative is him in the car about to drown and the non-linear is his performance in the music room.

So for our music video we need a strong, easy to follow, relatable and immediately recognisable plotline as pop music videos only have a very short running time to get the idea of a story across- so audience's expect a clear and quick to follow plot.
Applying this to our music video we should try and think of an easy to follow narrative with at least one non-linear scene that's removed from the main story.

Analysing Pop Genre Music Videos: Camera Shots & Angle

Music videos features a number of shots for various reasons, to relate with the audience by expressing thoughts and feelings, but also to show the viewer what is happening.

Camera Shots

Very Wide Shot-

This is where the artist is shown visible (barely) but the emphasis is still on placing the artist in the location or setting.

Wide shot-

This is where the artist is shown taking up most of the shot but the location or setting is still established in relationship to the performer.

Mid Shot-

This shows the artist from their waist line to head, and focuses mainly on the location or setting.

Medium Close Up Shot- 

This shot is half way between a mid-shot and a close up, showing the artist from chest to head.

Close Up Shot- 

This shot shows the artists face or can show an object that the artist is holding or looking at. It is whatever the camera is focusing on up close and in focus.

Extreme Close Up Shot-

This shows the artists face extremely close, for example eyes, mouth to identify something it can have the effect of showing the audience the artists thoughts and feelings or even showing a lip sync commonly used in music videos.

Over the Shoulder Shot-

This shot is a good shot used, specifically in narrative based music videos usually when the artist is acting and speaking to another person you tend to see an over the shoulder shot to display the conversation, or to show something the character is looking at.

Cut In Shot-

This shot can be used in music videos to show something that the lyrics might be saying for example I will shoot you with

 my gun 'and a gun comes in'. It shows the object that relates to the subject or narrative.

These shots are the basic shots you expect to see in most music videos, however there can be some more creative ways of displaying a scene through different camera angles. 

Camera Angles

The way the camera is positioned determines the angle of the shot. There are many different camera angles used in the production of music videos to convey different images.

Eye level- 

This is a very common view being the real world angle that we are all use to seeing, it shows subjects as we would angle that we are all use to seeing, it shows subjects as we would expect to see them in real life.

High Angle-

This is were the Camera shows the subject from above, and the camera is angled down towards the subject, which has the effect of making them appear less powerful, smaller, weaker, and submissive.

Low Angle-

This is were the subject is shown from below, giving the impression of being more powerful or dominant.

Bird's Eye-

This angle is showing the subject or scene directly above, and can be from an unnatural point of view which can be used to add a dramatic effect or showing a different spatial perspective. It can also show the positions and motions of different characters and objects, enabling the viewer to see things the character might not be able to see.

Slanted-

This is when the camera is slanted also known as a Dutch tilt/ angle were the camera is purposely tilted to one side so the horizon is on an angle, this is creative in making interesting dramatic effects. Dutch tilts are also popular in MTV- style video production, where unusual angles and lots of camera movement play a big part.

Camera angles play a huge part in emphasizing the artist or to show emotions and expressions. Other camera angles that are simply most common in music videos, are close ups, showing the artist lip syncing, and extreme close ups were lyrics can be linked to visuals. The Camera never stays on one shot for longer than 5 seconds.

The Added Complexity

Seeing as my video has five different time periods this means it will also having at least: five different costumes, five different locations, and five different scenes in which props will have to be considered.
Yes this adds a level of complexity but it also gives us an opportunity to explore a greater variety of sources and work more in-depth with the project.

Storyboard Concepts: Final Storyboard

Now that I drew up all of the possible storyboards, it was time to go into college and talk to the rest of my group which one we think we'd want to explore further.

It was a hard decision, like I said in the previous post all plots had advantages, but we felt like the journey through time was the most interesting and give many more opportunities to explore.

I personally think that this storyboard was my favourite even when creating the other two; it stands out as being quite a unique and interesting concept which is a little more complex than the other two but even without the hidden meaning behind the song, the audience will still be captivated by the nature of the different ages. But for those who do catch onto the inner message of the storyboard I think they'd be very intrigued at the idea of the 'Eternal relationship between criminals and law enforcers that has no end'.

This story has a very unique plot and will stand out to the audience, yes it's not as conventional with the tropes of some Pop videos (with more simplistic plots and characters), but that means it will stand out to the public more and that is exactly what up and coming low budgeted producers of videos like us need. And through the time periods we will be using very archetypical criminal characters from those decades, making them immediately recognisable to the common Pop song listener.

So after we decided that this would be the story we'd want to create we set off in collage planning out a more detailed storyboard and shot list.

This was done on Photoshop just for more practical reasons while in collage we brainstormed different ideas of what the protagonist could be doing in each scene.

In this weeks Vlog I'll go more in depth into the subtle changes that where made and new ideas that we came up with.

Storyboard Concepts: Three Narrative Storylines

Here are the three storyboards you may have seen in this week's Vlog.

In the video I gave a brief working progress update on how the work was going and ended it with giving you a quick run down of the different narratives and ideas behind the story and shots.

But now is the chance to have a closer, more in-depth look behind the ideas and reasoning for the three boards:

Here is the first story board I drew. This idea was based on a cool narrative idea we came up with, that was inspired by the idea of Cops and Robbers, and how a Police officer's 'War' against crime is an eternal one and spans across the ages. This is being delivered by the criminal who is telling us of this endless strife. As we cut through the ages the criminal continues to perform to the camera, the lyrics in this context again suggest that  it's an almost foolish attempt for coppers to try and put a stop to them as throughout all the years crime has and will always fester. And from the protagonist's point of view this is a funny and joyful thought which is hinted by the playful, fast flow of the music. I think of it like he's teasing the world while he boasts. He's utterly carefree and is loving the chase. I thought that taking mini story arcs from five different times could best express the longevity of the 'game' as the Hoosiers say- "There's nothing we can do but play Cops and Robbers". I feel like it's an unique, memorable and engaging plot for the Pop music audience who are use to more simplistic plots.

I felt like it was important to try and make the second storyboard as different as possible to the first one. So in contrast to 'the endless game of Cops and robbers' I thought it might be nice to explore the game from a more optimistic point of view. Instead of it being sung by the criminal about how the policemen will never be able to catch him; this time we see a story where he has been caught, and has to face the consequences. It would be a duet, sung by both Policeman and Criminal. It is a much simpler narrative which will require less locations, props and costumes and it is a more traditional narrative- possibly more in keeping with what Pop music viewers would expect.

For my last storyboard I thought hard about trying to make this one different but still using traditional conventions that the audience would relate to and find engaging. So after quickly brainstorming a few classic plots I came to this decision. Here we see the life of a hard working policemen who's given the illusion that he's appreciated but when it comes down to it, it's only ceremonial and not genuine. He performs the song to himself and the audience as he realises that all this hard work still ends up with him in an awful studio apartment with no money at all. This idea is easily conveyed and would capture the attention of he audience as we grow sympathy for the underappreciated, hard working deserving cop. But then we see whilst singing to us, he spots two criminals getting away and keeping the undeserved wealth for their crimes. Our protagonist sees this occurring but doesn't call the police. Instead we see him deliberate the injustice of his lawful behaviour going unrewarded while crime appears to pay. We cut a week later and see him take a turn to the dark side, a recognisable story idea that the audience again will be familiar with.

Audience Questionare

To get a better understanding with our target audience I did a questionnaire in an attempt to try and see where typical Pop viewers prefer to watch music videos from.

I asked friends and family, the many Facebook groups I am in and on Reddit, what the most popular mediums are that Pop music Viewers commonly use and I found out that the most popular platforms used based on my survey are-