How is Location represented within Music Videos?

Many different locations are used within different genres of music video. As a result, these location are used fora certain (marketing) purpose and therefore have certain connotations, portrayals and representations. For example, below are a list of the supposed 'stereotypical locations' for each genre, along with the representations and the connotations:

• R&B and Dance- Locations used include studios and clubs which are stereotypically represented as 'sleek', 'polished' and extremely popular; extremely 'now'. These locations potentially reflect the 'sleek' production and energy of the music, as well as implying that that is where the music belongs; it is meant to be very current and danced to.
• Rock and Metal- Rock and Metal music videos tend to be stereotypically shot in one of two extremes; either dark, claustrophobic spaces and gigs, or large, bare and derelict spaces such as warehouses (with specific reference to 'Judith' by A Perfect Circle ). These locations are represented as very derelict and 'out of bounds' to which the music 'breaks' these rules and conventions.
• Acoustic- Acoustic music videos are often shot outdoors in spacious and  'naturally beautiful' locations, representing a sense of reflection, freedom and sometimes 'home' whilst all being very beautiful and aesthetically pleasing. (Live) gigs also represent the talent and 'organic' down to earth, casual feel.
• Classical- Locations used within classical music videos are represented as stereotypically 'upper class', elegant and prestigious, by using such places a theatres and stages.
• Pop- It could be argued that pop videos use various locations, ranging from outdoor spaces to studios. Each location is represented a very 'fun', as well as the constant change in location portraying the energy within pop music.

Focus upon Representing location within Acoustic Music Videos:

The majority of the locations used in acoustic music videos are  represented as very natural and wholesome; whether this be indoor or outdoor space. Outdoor locations are often very natural and spacious such as beaches, forests and fields, which provide a lot of beauty and intrigue, as well as connoting a strong sense of freedom. If indoor locations are used, they are often casual, like a small gig, yet still very personalised. This therefore represents the location as very intimate and welcoming (A bedroom being a perfect example of an intimate and personal location).

Analysed Music Videos:

• Laura Mvula- Green Garden.

Although Laura Mvula's style of music s slightly more 'alternative', the representation of location is very stereotypical of acoustic music videos, and is very influential when it comes to representing location within our own music video.



The music video begins with the artist standing in an urban location. Represented as very bare, due to the white-washed colours, and a sense of dereliction portrayed through the rusty metal fence and worn shutters upon the windows, the location immediately and rather obviously contradicts the title of the song ('Green Garden') which appears over the top.This visual contradiction and unconventional location choice is somewhat intriguing for the audience, generating a sense of pleasure as they can see that the genre characteristics are being manipulated. However, it could be argued that the although the location is very 'angular', the vanishing point, that is constructed from the diagonal building and fence, leads our eye to the far background, in which there are some trees/shrubbery. By having this slight inclusion of nature, the 'natural' convention is still somewhat established. Moreover, this choice in location could also represent that the despite the location, there is an element of hope and freedom within it (or more so acoustic music provides this), symbolised by the trees.

The urban location is also represented as very much an undesired and unwanted place, enhanced by the lyrics 'take me outside, sit in a green garden' and the action of the protagonist and dancers moving away (shot 1.21) from that particular location, to a more natural one. Therefore, the concrete surroundings could be represented as an incentive for escape, to which the open space of nature provides this freedom.

 within this shot the protagonist and dancers are walking up a hill, representing the spacious, green location where they shall arrive as somewhat heavenly and idyllic to both the artist and the audience. Once at the desired location, the light flare and smoke further supports these 'heavenly' connotations.

There is a lot ore variety within the types of shots when filming the 'forest' scene; long shots in particular highlighting the spacious qualities and therefore no restrictions (freedom).

Stereotypically when representing location, there are may worms eye shots. For example, when the camera looks up towards the trees, this represents a sense of awe and intrigue associated with nature, and how it is all-consuming; a powerful source of 'natural beauty'.

In terms of action, the dancing is more flamboyant within the green space, therefore representing the location as a place of relaxation, happiness, freedom and solace; shown through the artist comfortably sitting on the grass.

• Ellie Goulding- Your Song

Ellie Goulding's music video for 'Your Song' represents both indoor and outdoor locations. Whilst the outdoor space is represented as a place of adventure and intrigue, the indoor space is very intimate and artistic.

Possibly during the post-production process, an overlay has been placed on top of the footage, implying a sense on reflection, nostalgia and beauty associated with the locations (for example, many memories are made with friends in the park, etc). Also similar to the connotations that Laura Mvula's music video portrays, the casual locations combined with the overlay suggest that 'natural beauty' can literally be found anywhere.

The locations of the woods, inside a house and the park are also very well known and familiar places for the audience. The fact that we as an audience can instantly relate to these locations further represents them as being intimate, as they generate our own memories; ones similar to Ellie's.

A sense of welcoming and familiarity is represented through the naturally lit location and also, the mise-en scene of blanket and throws. A variety of close up's and tilt shots also seems very intimate and personal, reflecting the representation of the location.

Both indoor and outdoor locations are represented as very romantic due to the overlay, focus pulls and natural light flaring; suiting the 'love' themed song.

• Kodaline- All I Want

Not only do Kodaline's music videos 'All I Want' exhibit a great narrative and concept, but also represent several locations; in particular, the concept of solace and home.

The first location is a corporate office building. The work place is instantly represented as extremely mundane and monotone through the grey scale, whilst tilt shots represent the office as an extremely claustrophobic area. This is because many of the obscure shots have blurred objects in the foreground, obstructing the audience's view, further implying that an office location is very much 'restricting' and inescapable. The urban outside space is similarly represented as bleak through the grey scale and extreme amount of concrete. Notably, the lack of bright, natural light suggests that this particular location is not 'beautiful' and 'wholesome'. This is potentially because acoustic music is stereotypically, and evidently, not 'industrial' in terms of marketing, production and representation. Therefore, this location choice highlights these values by representing it as an unappealing area.

However, although the office plant is a stereotypical object for within this location, it can potentially have the same connotations as the tree within Laura Mvula's video; there is an element of freedom, nature and 'beauty' in any given location.

With particular reference to the second part of the music video, the urban locations of streets are represented as unfamiliar, lonely and scary. This is because we see the dog walking through the streets and the protagonist hopelessly searching for him. This fearful representation is emphasised by the darkness and large, angular buildings as well as the panning up shots to reveal the sheer height and intimidation of the urban location. This consequently, represents the rural fields and parks within the music video a more welcoming, as the audience can make a clear comparison between the two locations.

Within the protagonist's house, the curtains are closed. Although initially representing the location as quite secretive and unwelcoming, it soon becomes very intimate and personal as we see that behind these closed curtains, the protagonist partakes in a lot of activities such as painting and cooking. This further represents the location as a creative space; similarly expressed through the house in Ellie Goulding's video, in which she is playing the piano.

However, I feel that the most important representation of location is exhibited through the park/field scenes. As the camera cuts to this spacious location, there is an evident relationship between the visual and music. This is because, structurally, the music picks up (in terms of dynamics) and the camera tracking is also faster. By following the movement of the running dog, combined with various long shots, the park location connotes a sense of enjoyment, freedom and release, which is evidently seen on the dog's face (emphasised through the slow motion editing and the stags running to the key change within the second part of the music video).

As well as being represented as stereotypically beautiful, the fields/parks are also depicted as a place of solace and 'home' for both the dog and the protagonist. This is because both the dog and the protagonist go there when they are feeling 'lost'. However, focusing upon aesthetic representation, the focus pulls, and close up's add to this quality, as well as somewhat reflecting the camera movement and shots within the protagonists house, further implying that this location is as personal, and as much of a 'home' as his real house.

Finally, the slow panning shots of nature and the reaction shots of the protagonist is similar to that of Ellie Goulding, representing the location as intriguing and awe-inspiring.

Influences on the representation of location within our own music video:

By fully reaserching and anaylsing these music videos, several aspects have influenced the representation of location within our own music video. These are:

• The indoor space of a bedroom- this particular location will be represented as very intimate and personal accompanied by the use of focus pulls and close up's to further enhance this representation. This is because from the research, the majority of the indoor locations are personal spaces; a convention that we are therefore sticking to.
• Forest location- This particular location represents a vast expanse of space, as well as intrigue, further supported by the arrows. We have also been influenced by the variety of shots in order to represent the 'awe' and intrigue.
• Sense of freedom- represented through the natural, open spaces, in which we see a sense of 'release' from the female protagonist.
• 'Urban' location- The element of concrete and 'urban'  represented as 'harsh' will be depicted through the smashing of the mug on the cold, concrete flaw, representing this particular location as bare and destructive, similar to the representation of the office and city within Kodaline's videos.

Representation of gender within our own music video

What we have discovered from research and how this has influenced our representation within our music video:

Research into gender representation within acoustic music videos, has enabled us to discover that our initial ideas (more specifically within our treatment) and assumptions of representation within this particular genre, are rather stereotypical/expected of the genre. 

Whilst the 'Characters and Costume' blog explains the protagonist's representation through her costume and make up, our research and analysis has influenced our representation of gender further. These include: 

• Clearly representing the protagonists sense of 'longing' and progression, as seen within both researched music videos. This will be through character emotion, as well as physicall movement from the bike and camera.
• 'Delicate'- a theme already decided and established through the protagonists hair and make up, as well as the use of soft artificial and natural lighting
• Similar to that of Gabrielle Aplin, we aim to represent the female protagonist as slightly vulnerable as a cause of her 'delicate' nature. For example, she will not sing to or interact with the camera, portraying a shy but beautifully intriguing personality.
• Again, like Gabrielle, we aim for the audience to sympathise with the protagonist due to our use of shot-reverse-shot in which her reaction will be captured through a close up shot.
• Post-production: by analysing the two music videos, we have realised how useful and important editing is when understanding representation for example, to portray the artists youth, energy, mental and physical state. Therefore, we have taken into consideration using fast pace cuts in order to imply our character's energy/and or frantic confusion when she realises the truth about her old romance.

Our representation could be argued as hardly unconventional to the genre, possibly not deriving any pleasure from the audience. This is in relation to Abercrombie's theory that 'we derive pleasure from observing how the conventions of a genre are manipulated'; the representation of females within acoustic music, arguably hasn't been 'manipulated' within our music video. However, as already discussed in previous blogs, the intrigue and pleasure that is derived from the constant change in genre within our own music video, is focused upon the strong narrative and lack of performance. Due to this evident lack in performance, the representation of the protagonist will hopefully attract a loyal, acoustic fan base as the representation will appeal in the sense of genre familiarity.

Anaylisis of Music Video: Representation of Gender and Stereotypes 2.

Analysis of a Music Video: Representation of gender and stereotypes.

Gabrielle Aplin: Home
Genre: Acoustic
Origin: England
Similarities to The Oh Hellos: The genre and 'female voice'.

Gabrielle Aplin's music video represents the female gender in less of a voyeuristic manner, but more of an delicate but empowering representation.

The music video begins with a shot of a female's shoes. This shot initially establishes a somewhat of a stereotypical, feminine portrayal through the high heels, combined with the soft, peach colour (shades of pink being symbolic of females, and blues symbolic of males). The camera then slowly pans up the body (of the artist). This movement could be argued as slightly voyeuristic as the pace of movement is particularly slow, suggesting a sense of looking or 'staring' which is focused upon the body. This could therefore suggest a male gaze, because we are looking at the artist through a (stereotypical) male perspective.

Although the shoes are high heels, which stereotypically connote femininity, lust and visual/sexual appeal, they are worn with socks, somewhat subverting this 'lustful' representation and instead, connoting a sense of care-free and 'quirk' within her style. The socks could also imply concealment and privacy, representing the female gender as private, 'beautifully' concealed and enigmatic.

However, the most striking aspect of the mise-en-scene is the artist's choice in clothing, particularly the silken bomber jacket. The material of silk represents the artist as extremely delicate and natural, as silk is a natural material. However, silk can be damaged very easily, therefore implying that the female is also very vulnerable (subsequently, putting 'everything' emotionally, into the song). Despite genres such as rap and R&B, the artist is 'well presented' in terms bearing skin; she is dressed rather casually. Whilst representing her as 'down to earth', approachable and 'familiar' to the audience ( her clothes are that of a similar, day-to-day style of the audience's therefore subverting any form of 'status' between the audience and the artist), the outfit is not overtly feminine or 'floaty'; acoustic females are often dressed in soft, light dresses or shirts to highlight that they are every bit of a 'natural beauty'.

The fact that the artist is 'covered up' supports our 'intrigue' of her and her enigmatic persona. Arguably, the choice in clothing (especially the exterior bomber jacket) could be portrayed as quite conservative (supporting her shyness and vulnerability) and/or dignified. This potentially implies that the artist does not need to be marketed in a voyeuristic manner in order to sell her music. As touched upon before within my research, stereotypically, within acoustic music videos, the music itself is of the up-most importance, and not so much the artist's 'image'. This is further supported later on, by the artist wearing a rather masculine work cap, with her hair tied back, subverting the stereotypical, aesthetically, 'ornamental', feminine representation of women within acoustic music videos.

After the panning shot of the artist, there is a close up shot of her face. Within this, the artist is represented as very 'naturally pretty', as she is wearing subtle make-up, implying that she is a 'natural beauty'. However, the artist does not look directly into the lens, possibly avoiding personal and emotional contact with the audience. This could also support her already delicate and shy persona; the fact that the artist won't react with the audience is because her first contact with other people within the video itself was when she was getting mugged at the start. Therefore, we as an audience potentially sympathise with the artist as she her vulnerability is represented as verging on weak. This is supported by shot-reverse shots at 1.47 which indicate that she is an unsure, careful women. But despite this, the shots still establish the artist's natural brown hair, in which the fringe highlights her large eyes; combined with her fair complexion undoubtedly connote innocence, a stereotype within acoustic music (their 'image' is as wholesome as their music). However, the stealing scene contradicts this theory, in which the subversion is emphasised by the close, obscure shot, connoting secrecy and possibly revelation/shock.  

Throughout, the artist is shot at different angles, capturing various female profiles. Combined with a mixture of shots ranging from close up, to obscure, to extreme long, this represents her versatility and 'scope' as a young female artist, which is somewhat empowering. The artist is also constantly walking, indicating some sort of journey. This represents the artist as very progressive (mentally and musically; the movement moves the music structurally, forward), although she was quite weak and passive at the start. 

This representation of progression is emphasised by the cut transitions between when the artist has her jacket on, to when she doesn't. This change is in correlation to the structural progression within the music; the music begins artist is just in her t-shirt. This is because she is more vulnerable as a result of the mugging, and is therefore 'opening up' to the audience through her song and lyrics, revealing the 'true her' which was hiding under the jacket. This in turn creates a sense of  personal identity, trust and intimacy with the audience. 

The material of silk, and its connotations are continued throughout with the second outfit; the artist is seen on a motel bed wearing her silk, summer pyjamas. Supported by the use of both soft artificial and natural lighting, the artist within these particular shots is represented as very exposed, fragile but more over, angelic due to the use of lighting. Also, throughout the end scenes, the artist has supposedly 'transformed', now wearing a floaty, shimmery dress. Visually, it could be argued that she is represented as 'more beautiful' and happier than at the start (shown through her smiling facial expressions); a cliché 'emotional and physical transformation'. This is supported by the use of quick and simple cuts between her frantically and hopelessly running, and her happily singing, highlighting the change and progression within the artist from the start of the music video, to the end.  The pace of this editing is a lot faster than before, implying that the artist has gained confidence, subverting here initial vulnerable 'look'. 

Also, by singing on a pool table with her legs crossed, represents the female as very casual but musically driven, re-enforcing this 'organic' theme that is stereotypically seen within acoustic music videos. This is because the artist is seen with a musical instrument, also suggesting that this is a musical journey as well as an emotional one for the artist. This importance and musical drive is further supported by the artist willingly selling her possessions  implying that she is not materialistic; all she 'needs' is her music.

Characters and Costume

Rosie Clark: Female Protagonist.

 

We chose to cast Rosie Clark as the female protagonist for a number of valued reasons. First of all, Rosie is an A Level Drama student and were therefore assured that her performance within the music video would be very professional and realistic.

 

 Rosie is also young (aged 17), attracting our youthful target audience (teenagers+).



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visually, Rosie is ideal for our music video. With large, pretty eyes and a fair complexion, Rosie connotes innocence, naivety and a beautiful persona. Supported by research, many genres and music vides often portray women as slim and attractive; a voyeuristic treatment of the gender. Although Rosie is not playing a lustrous character, acoustic videos often portray their protagonists as 'naturally pretty' and down to earth. This is emphasised through Rosie's subtle make up, perfectly placed hairstyle (loose curls to symbolize fresh, natural beauty) and feminine but casual clothing.

 



The soft, pastel colour comination is aesthetocally pleasing. The use of the coat implaies that the protagonist is somehwat vulnerable and in need of protection from love. Therefore, this choice in costume is very symbolic whilst still being visually, very casual.
 

With specific reference to the costume, the floral pattern of both her dress and shoes reflect the natural, organic theme, as well as establishing her femininity. Flowers also have a delicate nature, therefore implying that the femal protagonist is of a delicate nature, enabling the audience empathise with her.

We decided to have the same interior costume as the extrerior/woodland shots not only to achieve continuity, but to establish a clear identification of the protagonist (for the audience) throughout the music video. The florals are also very appealing to us in terms of symbolism, and we want this to remain throughout.

However, there is a slight distinction between an interior costume and exterior costume; the female protagonist puts on a coat in order to search for her 'love'. Arguably, in real life you are less likely to change your outfit in one day, although many music videos (such as pop) often have several costume changes in order to maintain focus on the artist. However, supported through research, acoustic videos like to portray reality through the mise-en-scene. Therefore, having a single, casual outfit reflects this.

The costume is, potentially, not as feminine as that reserached on the mood board. This is primarily due to the practicality of shooting in a woodland location; there is less risk of the actress slipping or falling if she is wearing sturdy, falt shoes. However the dress and shoes are still very feminine, soft and organic ( we have not lost any of our ideas despite our slight changes).

Luke Blackmore : Male.

Although Luke is more of a cameo role, he is vital to the narrative. His casual clothing (t-shirt and jeans) portrays him as a very casual and realistic character. His muscular build will also be good for long shots as the audience can easily make out his physique from afar.

 

Lizzie Adcock: Mystery Girl.

 

Like Luke, Lizzie's role is an even smaller cameo role; the girl that the boy hugs infront of the female protagonist. Therefore casual clothing of a hoodie, jeans and shoes are fitting with the season and woodland surroundings (as well as keeping full focus on the delicate rosie).

As well as this, Lizzie is our production group and therefore fully understands the production and what he want to achieve. She also does A Level Drama, making her knowledgable on performance.

Shot List

Shot List

Location shots