The theme of rebellion should be strongly mirrored throughout the pieces
Participants being filmed should be dressed in some sort of costume (i.e. Aerobics where, decadent feeling clothes such as skin heads etc., or fancy dress such as a clown/mime artist)
Setting: On London's busiest locations
Recorded as a Guerilla-style video
Participants dance in public places, capturing the attention and reactions from passers by
A "feel Good" Video
Potential Settings:
Big Ben
Trafalgar Square
Millennium bridge, in front of the Tate Gallery Modern/St Pauls
The track is an early example or Dance/Electro music to be successful in the pop charts. The track itself is a fun spirited and feel good, almost summing up the "anything goes"attitude of the nineties, which had filtered over from the eighties.
The video itself highlights the eccentric randomness seen on the streets of America, almost mimicking the joyful tones of the backing music. The video shows a group of expressive dancers on a street corner performing a routine to the title track, whilst being recorded by what appears to be unprofessional equipment, however it ties in with the witty idea of the video. The video also features the reaction of the general public and how hostile some members of the audience are.
Location
The Video is set outside a West Californian Movie Theatre, and filmed "Guerilla Style" which means it was film without permission from the owner of the premises. The dancing space is also taken up by onlookers, one of whom is the creator of the track that the video is set to. The key emphasis of the video is the dance troops performance and the publics reaction to it (at one point the owner of the cinema turns off the music to a chorus of jeering and heckling by the crowd, which then turns into cheers when the dancing once again commences). The "Guerilla" style way of recording the video really added to the atmosphere of the piece, the free spirited impromptu that the video possesses is really entertaining and enjoyable for all ages to watch.
Ideology
Like Bob Dylans video, "Praise You" offers this feeling of "Against the grain" rebellion. However in "Praise You", the message is against anti-commercialism unlike the "Subterranean Homesick Blues", where the video is presented to host the beginnings of a cultural/social movement. "Praise You" is a free spirited, feel good video, that aims to entertain rather then provoke, however there are suggestion of defiance and disobedience (such a the way the feel was shot in Guerilla-style) that makes the video so appealing to the mass market.
Props, Make Up, Costume
The dancers are dressed in 80's/90's styled aerobics dance costume. This is contrasting to the general publics casual dress, which highlights the dancers from the crowd. The lack of costume, props and other feature is also part of the appeal, it gives the video a unglamorous theme, that just concentrates on the fun. The entire production cost no more the $800, which obviously means lack of materialistic features, however this does not hinder nor ruin the final product, but ties in with the fun/impromptu take on the video.
Editing, Camera Angles & Film Tint/Colour
The Guerilla film style was used to provoke attention from the Public, also provoking the attention of the premises owner to turn the music off. It the video had not been shot that way, the spontaneity would have been lost, and all the reactions may have appeared less genuine. The lack of technology used also helps with this spontaneous image, filmed from three different positions (and in take), it really has an amateur attitude about it, even down to the free hand recording methods, without the use of steadicam or tripods. The full length video has a brief introduction to the cast of the video, as they are driving towards the scene, then a cut into the opening titles, another cut into the main dance scene, and then another cut to the epilogue. The lack of lighting helps create a shadowed/badly lit scene, but again fits the general mood of the video.
Origins of music video Music video started out as a vehicle for artists, in the newly emerging world of TV broadcasting, who were unavailable to perform live on music shows. Out of this has emerged a multi-million pound industry, with incredibly high production values. For the artists involved, often they must aim to create a powerful and dazzling product; many are seen as mini films, and increasingly, highly respected and innovative film-makers are involved. It is no longer the amateur 'fun' project it started out as.
I intend to analyse a series of music videos, with the aim of learning from the range of techniques and styles employed in order to create my own product.
Bob Dylan's 'Subterranean Home Sick Blues' The song is really a 'nonsense' poem which showcases Bob Dylan's amazing lyrical dexterity. It is a very early example of video art, and really gets across a sense of spontaneity and fun that everyone loves pop music for. The innovative way Bob Dylan presents to camera still holds audiences spellbound forty years later.
Location Set in a back street, the video is presented as a unglamourous look into down town life. Dylan chose to use this location in order to reflect his attitudes towards society and the growing interest in celebrity culture. Basic in appearance and setting, the video cleverly uses placards to show Dylan's lyrics, even spelling some of his lyrics wrong, this shows Dylan's sense of humour however costrasting against the serious messages in his lyrics. The alley which the the video is set is under construstion, perhaps symbollising America's civil rights movement, which was present during the time of the video, a movement that Dylan himself was a strong part of. There is also what appears to be a homeless man present in the backgroud of the shot, its shows him having a conversation with what is assumed to be another homeless man. This highlights the spontaneus nature of the video.
Ideology
Dylan's video has a strong sense of rebellion running throughout, with its challenging lyrics and messages, it gives the audience a strong image of change and humour. Dylan's basic landmark (behind London's Savoy Hotel) contrasting to his tongue-twister lyrics and clever word choices works well to create a piece of art, not just a music video. The deliberate mistakes shown through out the piece add to the fun attitude to video carries, along with this maverick attitude.
Props, Make up, and Costume
The video hosts the musical artist Bob Dylan, holding pieces of worded cardboard up to the camera, with his key words from the lyrics printed on them, this basic formula helps shape the creative outlook of the arrangement. Their is also a limitation on costume and makeup used, this simplicity adds to the spontaneity of the video.
Editing, Camera Angles & Film Tint/Colour
Again, to keep in the raw nature of the video, and through lack of technology, the video hosts no edits between shots, as the video appears continuous, as one scene.
The lack of technological features also means the video was shot in black and white, with little thought for camera angles, or tinting. However the video starts with a zoom out which eventually focuses of Dylan and the rest of the frame. The grainy authentic nature of the recording makes the video appealing to a younger modern audience as it has a "Vintage" quality which appears very fashionable among youth in current day.
The reason I have choose these three videos are due to there ground breaking Ideas shown across the different decades/centuries. All three videos were talked about at their time, winning awards and acclaimed as some of the greatest videos of their generations.
I decided on the muical genre of Rockabilly after looking at different Artist such as Amy Winehouse, Duffy and Dionne Bromfield, who have all have chart success I have choosen to mimic their style and use a vintage sound to appeal to todays modern audinces. I have choosen Rockabilly due to its unqiue and retro sound, even though it is an old genre of music, it can still be enjoyed by a younger audience
Examples of well known Rockabilly Bands are "Tenpole Tudor" and "The Redskins"
Even though this Genre is edgy and has a retro sound, I feel that It needs more of a modern take on the old genre of Rockabilly, so I hope to find a band that suits my idea.
Being part of the "MTV" generation I have decided on the brief to create a music video, as it is easily accessible and I can be as creative as I would like to be. The video I hope to produce is fun, eye catching and memorable, much like that of such artists as Beyonce (with, Fatboy Slim, and Michael Jackson. The music video would have to be appealing to a young audience of teenagers. The genre of music is also important, as it would have to mirror/represent the attitudes and views on musical taste that is held by one particular section of young adults. The particular genre I am interested in working with is 'rockabilly'.
