This is the Band Bastille's Music Video for there Indie-Pop song and single 'Pompeii' which is also on there album 'Bad Blood'.
-Conventions of the Genre: This Music Video conforms and uses the conventions of its Indie -Pop genre by placing the main Artist of the song within the narrative of the music video itself. This is common and conventional within music videos of many genre's as it allows the artist to be promoted with the song itself and its meaning, it enables an audience to connect with the artists as the artist communicates the ideology, message and meaning of the lyrics/song itself through the narrative and story the Music Video visually tells and presents to us. Placing the main Artist within the narrative of the music video adds a personal, relative touch to the media text, meaning an audience are more likely to remember the artist and the song as a package and therefore are more likely to buy the song itself, making the music video successful at marketing the artist and the single in order to make money through it as a business. The music video itself also uses the indie-pop convention of creating realism and verisimilitude within the narrative of the music video. It does this through creating and establishing a realistic scenario within the diegesis of the music video through the use of naturalistic locations such as a take away, a cafe, a shop, the streets, roads, alleyways, cars and woods. These realistic locations make the narrative appear real and reflect society creating verisimilitude and allows an audience to connect with the music video and the message and ideologies it puts across as it reflects the universal issues and situations in there own lives. The use of these contemporary locations also directly connect and relate with a modern day audience as well as giving of the indie-pop music video conventional connotations of being raw, edgy and out there due to the rough, almost working class settings also suggesting this music video is targeted towards normal working class people, probably as there more likely to connect with the bands lyrics that center around hardship, holding onto something/someone and being broken, topics that a working class audience are typically more likely to understand, relate to and connect too. Another convention of Indie-Pop music video's are that they unusually have something unique and different about them that makes them stand out from the crowed which represents the genres ideologies and concept of being 'individual' and 'Independent'. This Bastille music video uses this convention by creating a clear running theme throughout the narrative of black emotionless eyes and people seeing the same representing the chorus' main lyrics of the song 'But if you close your eyes, does it almost feel like nothing changed at all and if you close your eyes does it almost feel like you've been here before' - which is also another convention of music video's, to represent the lyrics through the narrative of the music video itself. By physically representing the near metaphor for real emotion in the lyrics/chorus, it emphasis's and highlights the message and ideologies behind the narrative and context that allow an audience to connect with the meaning and understand the lyrics more, perceiving this concept as different and unique. By using this unique theme throughout the narrative of the music video it allows an audience to understand the concept more clearly and creates continuity, interest, understanding and believe ability throughout making it effective. This unique theme and unusual representation of a metaphor within the lyrics makes it stand out for being different and intrigues people, making it 'cool' as many indie-pop fans like to be stereo-typically unique, unusual and different. However, this use of a unique really non-naturalistic element (almost alian like) within a really naturalstic, realistic setting and context that creates versimilitude and reflects reality is acctually an unconventional element of music videos. However by doing this it makes this music video unique and stand out for being different and represents its indie-pop genres ideologies of being 'Indendent', 'Indicidual', unusual and unique. This unconventional concept therefore makes the impossible apear possible within society, slmost dream like, a surreal world that could acctually be real. It makes the metaphor of the lyrics a real concept within the narrative and diegesis of the music video which therefore has a stronger emotive impact and gives of stronger abstaract connotations. If gives oof the ideologies that unusual is a good thing and to expect the unexpected, that anything can happen giving an audience a real sence of the meaning and feelings behind the metaphor by bringing it to life un an interesting and intriguing way.Throughout the music video there is the conventional use of it being a narrative clip that tells a story with a structure throughout using the lyrics of the song which makes the music video interesting, conventional and allows an audience to connect with the meaning and ideologies behind the track and overall understand and relate to the feelings and narrative the artist/band is trying to tell. A general formal convention used within this music video is the concept and convention of lip-syncing which involves the artist speaking some of the the lyrics of the track, as its played over the music video, in time to it within the diegesis and narrative of the music video. This is conventionally used within parts of this music video which is effective in promoting the artist and the track as a package, allowing an audience to instantly associate the artist with the track and therefore be more likley to remember them both and buy there track, single or album. This use of lip-synicing also allows the artist to become the narrator of the narrative, story and music video, adding a personal touch and allowing an audience to instantly connect with the artist/band and feel as if there getting a personal insight into there world, relating, comparing and contrsasting their own lives too that of the Artist/Band, therefore making them more likley to become a fan of them, there music and ultimatly makes them want to/desire to buy there music now and in the future.
-Use of Cinematography: There is a lot of conventional use of cinematography in this music video throughout which reinforce the narrative and help build an audience understaning of whats acctually going on within the diegesis on the music video. Generally the camera follows the artists actions, which is common, typical and conventional in many music videos within the genre of indie-pop music as its allows for continuity and the narrative to flow smoothly developing an audiences understanding of the concept, ideology and narrative . Throughout certain sections of this music video there was a lack of the use of stedicam throughout, a technique that keeps the shots still and makes sure the camera doesn't shake or move around. Not using this technique breaks the conventions of music videos as its typically seen as unconventional and unproffesional, by doing this it makes the media text unique and stand out for being different. By not using stedicam throughout a lot of this music video it gives the illution and connotation that it's almost like a home made video, this complements the edgy and iindie style of the music video. It makes it apear, vintage, unique and cool keeping the 'Independent' and 'unique' ideologie of indie-pop music. The lack of stedicam and shots that are almost like home made video's are most predominantly used in the scenes where the artist is running around such as in the amuzements. This emphasises and symbolises his rush to run away from the situation he is in and the wierdo's around him. It allows the audience to get a sense of the situation and how artist is feeling, puts the audience in the artis shoes, representing the mess and madness going of in the story/structure/artists mind and therefore developing an audiences understanding of the narrative effectivly. Tracking shots where also used conventionally throughout the music video in order to allow an audience to clearly follow the action as it happens, developing there understanding of the narrative. The use of tracking shots also complements the narrative and context of the music vidio by helping to emphasis and highlight the actions of the artist/character within the narrative, making it clear to an audience what the artist is doing and the context within the narrative as well as allowing an audience to feel as though there part of the action, instsntly establishing a connection between artist and audience (bulding a fan base). For example when the Artist is running around the amuzements and streets, the camera follows him, putting us in his position and allowing an audience to effectivly follow the action and narrative as it develops. The use of lack of steady cam combined with the use of tracking shot give an audience a connoted sense of panic, fear, madness and being in a rush, allowing them to connect with the artist, story and narrative as they can feel and get a sense of how the character in the narrative is feeling, developing an audiences understanding of the narrative. The use of cinamatography in this media text / music video was also used to allow an audience to connect directly to the artist and regognise him, making them more likly to connect to him, remember him and ultimatly buy the bands mudic video (point of a music video - marketing.) This is done by the repeated use of /motif of using close up and medium close-up framings and shots. This allows us as an audience to visually see the artists / characters within the narratives emotion and facial expressions, allowing us to connect to the artist directly and develops unsderstanding of the narrative as we can phyically see the emotions and reactions on there faces which communicate there feeling believably and naturally, creating versimilitude. The close-ups also allow us as an audience to become more familar with the identity og the artist as a person, making audiences miore likley to remember them and therefore more likley to buy there music (point of a music video - marketing). The use of cinematography also builds with the narrative and climax of the music video developing a clear audience understanding of the narrative and it's context. For example at the begining of the music video there is a lot of still shots such as an establishing shot to establish the location and context of the music video to an audience and then a close-up to establish the artist/ charactor within the narrative to an audience so an audience understand the plot and narrative of the music video. This gives the connotations of calmness, stillness, an average day, nothing much has happened. At the begining of the music video there is a zoom-in shot on the artist from a low tilted angle which makes it apear / connote that the artist feels lost and is trapped within the harsh realities of life, if gives the illution an audience are closing in on him, gettting a unique insight into the problems he faces in life, relating to the lyrics ad meaning behind the song. The fact this shot is taken from a lower angle gives of positive connotations of the artist being attractive, dominant, high status and bold but it could also be seen by other audiences as him thinking hes superior and better than anyone else, the concept of delving into the unique world of the artist - interesting and intruiging. As the narrative builds more freaky things start to happen with more and more familiar faces with black dead eyes. As this concept and theme develops the narrative develops with the artist/character within the narrative getting more freaked out and scared and confused, running away from everything untill it reaches a climax and ends with the resolution of the artist also having black dead eyes. As the climax builds and the narrative progresses forward so does the use odf cinamatography with more jerky camera mobements due to the lack of use of stdicam, tilts, pans, different framings and tracking shots. The way the cinematography builds with the narrative is conventional and effective, emphasising and highlighting whats going on in the narrative making sense and apllifiying the rise, falls, climax, resolution within the music video that builds and aplifies an audiences understanding of the narrative so there more likley to connect with it and relate it to there own lives thus allowing an audience to understand this concept/meaning behind the track. The creates and builds tention effectivly making it ineresting for an audience to watch, building an audiences understanding of the music video's building and narrative clearly throughout. Within the climax of the music video when the artist is running around in the streets and amuzements, noticing more and more people with familiar faces and black dead eyes there are the use if quite a lot of panning shots. These are used when the artist see's the people and runs away, as he runs away the camera pans back, allowing an audience to understand and establish exactly what it is the freaked the artist out, therefore freaking an audience out more, building there understanding of te narrative, also keeping the interested and intruiged as to what will hsppen next. The pan almost acts as our eyes, representing how it want the audience to see the situation, forcing them to look back at something they may typically run away from in real life. The panning back to the previous framing the artist just looked at is also almost putting the audience in the position of the artist, he may be the one looking back in disbelief. The concept of running away and never looking back but its human nature to do so, double checking something as you literally dont believe your eyes as this music video makes the impossible, possible in a realistic setting (connoting versimilitude) in an almost horror film style way. It's as if the artists looking back and the audiences is put in the artists position allowing them to connect to the artist and feel engaged and a part of the action, helping to maintain there interest in what going on within the diegesis of the music video.
-Use of Editing.
Within this music video there was the contstant and maintained use of conentional straight cut edits throughout its entirety which allowed for continuinty and created the illution of versimilitude and realism, as if it was real life. This complemented the mise-en-scene, visuals and narrative of the music video which are also displayed in a naturalistic way which reflect the reality of real life society and therefore this allows the creation of versimilitude and realism to be maintained as a theme throughout which develops an audiences understanding of the narrative, appears proffesional, creates continuity and allows an audience to connect directly with this music video as it reflects there own lives and society we live in. The use of straight cut edits throughout also creates continuity and don't distract an audiences attention away from the action that is being portrayed within the diegisis and therefore maintains there intrest in the narraative itself. At the begining of this music video there was the unconventional (breaking the conventions concept) use of Text edited on top of the original film/music video shot in the final edit, which was non-diegetic. The Visual Text spelt the Words of the Artist and the song title 'Bastille Pompeii' in the same style and design as is used on there other marketing methods for there song such as on posters, the internet, social networking sites, CD and i-tunes. This allows for continuity from media text to media text and for the band to establish an identity, also making a n audienxce more likley to remember the song when they see the visual aid and therefore aking them more likley to buy iy. This use of putting the Artists name and the song title at the begginging of the music video helps to reinforce the name of the song, establishing the bands identity and music, making an audience more likley to remember them and there music, allowing there popularity and fan base to grow and making audiences more likley to buy their music and as their therefore more likley to remember them in the future (whole point of a music video - marketing and promoting strategy). This type of edit is unusual and often unnessasary in modern, contemporary music video's as there titles and artists are usually displayed under the music video/media product itself. This type of editing was typically used in old pop music,around the 80's, this gives this music video a sence of originality, appreciation and vintage, making them seem cool and stand out for being different. (The ideology of indie-pop music.) Within the structure of the design of the edited text, in merges the two words together as if they interlink, this is a very contemporary concept that is used to be percieved as cool and different in media/texts and within society, the concept od shortening things down to be 'cool' and easier. This merging of words concept and style of the text is continued throughout Bastilles music videos, tracks and albums establishing them with a clear identity that an ausience can relate to and recognise with instantly, msking them more remrmberable and successful.The edits have a chronological structure and they edit from shot to shot seemlessly as if real life, this allows the narrative to move forward, develop audience understanding and maintain audience interest in the music video itself. The continual use of straight cut edits also give the illution of real life, fitiing with the naturalistic content of the music video and narrative and creating versimilitude and believability for an audience throughout. The general lack of edits throughout this music video allows for the creation of continuity and believabily - the edits are almost invisable and create versimilitude for an audience that they can connect too, as the music video reflects real life. There is the use of eye line match in this music video where the camera edits from a shot of the artist/ character within the narrative looking at something to the two similar looking girls with the black dead eyes (freakish theme) back to the shot of the artist/main character within the narrative and diegesis of the film. This develops the narrative and audience understanding by allowing an audience to clearly see what the artist is looking at, putting the audience in the position of the artist and making them feel connected/a part of the action, maintaining there interest in the media text/music video and narrative. This is a conventional technique used in music videos to develop an audiences understanding of the meaning behind the music video and to make the narrative and context flow clearly so that an audience can understand and relate too what going on within the sdiegesis of the film.
-Deconstruct the Text in Relation to Connotations.
Within the diegesis of the music video, the narrative reaches a climax in the amuzements, back door and car park location. During this section there is the use of lots mise-en-scene with lots of clutter, dirt and rubbish all over the place, darkened lights as well as their being a lack of stedicam so it was almost like a home made video and the quality suddenly changed from being proffessional to blurred (depth of field). This gives of the connotations to an audiene of being lost, confused, in a rush and feeling a mess in his head due to the the surreal scenarios of people looking familiar with blacked out dead eyes, msking the impossible possible. Therefore the clutter and madness within the mise-en-scene represent and symbolise how the artist/charactor is feeling, allowing an audience to be brought into the world of the diegesis and understand how he is feeling too, keeping there focus and interest on the music video. The blurred quailty and stedicam also represent the blurred madness, rush and the confusion as to what is happening within this sequence, it complements and highlights the context of the narrative effectivly. However this could also be seen as something else and other audiences may connote this sequence, with the lack of stedicam and bad quality, being almost like a home made video. This add's anouther depth to the meaning and context behind this music video and narrative suggesting and connoting someone is following him and that he is trying to get away, this fits with the concept of the slamming the door it the next edit. This ckearly develops an audiences understanding of the narrative also making it more freaky and scary, keeping an audience watching as there intruiged to see what could possibly happen next. However on the other hand some people may disagree with this and the dark lights, messy mise-en-scene, lack of stedi-cam and blurred quality could also be connoted and interpreted by other audience members as just being a figiure of imagination, a dream/nightmare possibly brought on by sadness and depression as suggested in the lyrics and with the dark lights and setting. The blurred bad quality and jerky movements brought on by the lack of stedicam contradict the top proffessional quality of the other scenes which could suggest and connote that they represent confusion and depression, symbolising a nightmare or dream, just a figure of the character/artists imagination, making sense as dreams/nightmares tend to be blullered, confusing and don't make sense. This interpretation and connotation also works as part of the narrative and diegesis of the music video as the narrative itself is surreal and confusing with elements of realism and non-naturalism, which also relate snd connote the fact this could all be a dream or a nightmare, just a figure of imagination in the artists/characters head, representing his emotions, how he feels inside and the madness he feels inside his head possibly mental illness / scitzophrenia ( a hidden harsh reality and truth and meaning within the narrative and context of the play.) The lack of stedicam and blurred quality in some sections of this music video also connotate the concepts of being vintage, unique and cool, giving of the conventional/sterotypical 'Independent' and 'unique' ideologie's of indie-pop music, that relate directly to its targets audience of indie-pop music lovers as they stereotypically like to cool, unique, different and like vintage (connnotations). A convention of Indie-Pop music video's are that they unusually have something unique and different about them that makes them stand out from the crowed which represents the genres ideologies and concept of being 'individual' and 'Independent'.
Bastille's music video uses the convention by creating a clear running theme throughout the narrative of black emotionless eyes and people seeing the same representing the chorus' main lyrics of the song 'But if you close your eyes, does it almost feel like nothing changed at all and if you close your eyes does it almost feel like you've been here before' - which is also another convention of music video's, to represent the lyrics through the narrative of the music video itself. By physically representing the near metaphor for real emotion in the lyrics/chorus, it connotes the message and ideologies behind the narrative and context that allow an audience to connect with the meaning and connotations and understand the lyrics more, perceiving this concept as different and unique. By using this unique theme throughout the narrative of the music video it allows an audience to understand the concept more clearly and creates continuity, interest, understanding and believeability throughout making it effective. This unique theme and unusual representation of a metaphor within the lyrics makes it stand out for being different and intrigues people, with audiences conoting it 'cool' as many indie-pop fans like to be stereo-typically unique, unusual and different. However, this use of a unique really non-naturalistic element (almost alian like) within a really naturalstic, realistic setting and context that creates versimilitude and reflects reality is acctually an unconventional element of music videos. However by doing this it makes this music video unique and stand out for being different and represents its indie-pop genres ideologies of being 'Indendent', 'Indicidual', unusual and unique. This unconventional concept therefore makes the impossible apear possible within society, slmost dream like, a surreal world that could acctually be real. It makes the metaphor of the lyrics a real concept within the narrative and diegesis of the music video which therefore has a stronger emotive impact and gives of stronger abstaract connotations. If gives oof the ideologies that unusual is a good thing and to expect the unexpected, that anything can happen giving an audience a real sence of the meaning and feelings behind the metaphor by bringing it to life un an interesting and intriguing way.
Bastille also use metephors in the songs to describe emotions, feeling, situations, context and meaning there trying to put accross. In there music video they also create a naturalistic setting the creates versimilitude, believability and reflects the reality of the society we llive into day through the narrative, diegesis and mise-en-scene. For example in Bastille's music video 'Pompeii' there location is working class and edgy that a modern audience can eassily relate too with locations such as amazments, take-away, cafe, beach and streets. However this realism and versimilitude is broken up by the use of phyicalised metephors. For example the lyric's/metaphor 'But If you close your eyes, does it almost feel like you've been here before' this metaphor for feeling and emotion is physicalised in their music video by the theme of 'eyes', where everyones eyes are black when they close there eyes and people look the same like twins as if nothing changed at all. This turns the metaohor into a reality through the narrative and within the diegesis of the music video. The use of a completly contemporary naturalistic setting that reflects modern day society and creates versimilitude contrasted with an almost alian, realy non-naturalistic conceot, makes the impossible seem possible like a nightmare or a fairy tale that breaks the conventions of music videos. This keeps the audiences interest as there intregued to see what happens next, it gives them a false sense of security with the naturalistic setting within the diegesis through the use of mise-en-scene which then suprises and shocks an audience with the sudden alian/unnaturalistic concept the contradicts it. This wierd concept becomes real within the diegesis of the music video and almost makes an audirnce feel it could happen to them in real life, due to the realistivness and believability of the music video.By physicalising the metaohors, Bastille emphasis the point there trying to make with there music video, putting the message accross to an audience in a unique, intreseting, unususal yet really understandable way. Bastille's music video stands out from the crowed due to it uniqueness maintaining the typical ideology of indie-pop music - to be unique, unusual 'Independent' and 'Individual', making it cool tp stand out from the crowd. (A positive ideology for young people.)
-How is the Narrative Developed?
-How does the Text Appeal to the Audience?
-Link back to Theorists.
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