Music Video Initial Planning

After much deliberation, we opted on the song "Main Character" by Zach Hood, which was recommended to us by a friend who thought it would be perfect for our music video and that we could come up with some excellent ideas for it. As a result, we made the decision to start planning!

We played our chosen song and divided it into several parts, such as the intro, chorus, bridge, and so on, as part of our original strategy. We then listened to the music again and scribbled down our visions for each part, discussing our many possibilities and ultimately deciding on the one we both liked most. We included transition shots and effects that we could use in the editing process so that we could keep perspective and lighting in mind when shooting.

Chosen Song and about the Artist!

The song that we have chosen for our music video is 'Main Character by Zach Hood'. This song was recently released in 2021, september 24. The artist, Zach Hood, is a 20-year-old Alabama native. Over 50 million people have listened to his first six singles, and he's been included on Spotify's Pop Rising, Radar US, and the Global Viral 50 chart. The song we chose is about someone who doesn't feel important to their partner or as a "main character" in their life, as the song's title suggests.

We chose the song because it has a melancholy and deep feeling vibe to it, and we believe we can produce a strong performance-based video for it. Although narrative-based music videos are prevalent in this genre, we chose to forego making one in favour of portraying the overall concept of the song through the creation of a performance-based video. We must now devise a more specific plan for what we want to accomplish in our music video, as well as choose actors, locations, and shot types. But firstly I want to do some research into my target audience, following this I will then begin to plan and present my ideas to my chosen target audience.

Music Video Song Ideas

 We decided to create a brainstorm for the songs that we are considering using for our music video. We first made a whole list of songs that we liked and some Inspiration music videos which we wanted to take ideas from for our own video.

Uses and Gratification Theory

 The Uses and Gratification theory discusses the effects of the media on people. It explains how people use the media for their own need and get satisfied when their needs are fulfilled. In other words, it can be said that the theory argues what people do with media rather than what media does to people. Also, this theory is in contradiction to the Hypodermic Needle Theory, which states that the audience is passive. This theory has a user/audience-centered approach. Even for communication, say – interpersonal, people refer to the media for the topic to discuss among themselves. By referring the media, they gain more knowledge and exposure to the world beyond their limited eyesight.

Vladimir Propp Theory

 Vladimir Propp was a Russian Theorist, who noted 8 repeating characters in media. He found that within any narrative, these 8 characters make an appearance

1. The Father 

Who is resistent throughout, but finally accepts and gives in towards the end

2. The Princess 

Who is more of like a prize, as after the hero's accomplishment, he wins her as if she were a prize

3. The Hero

A character that seeks something

4. The Villain

Someone who opposes the hero's mission

5. The Donor

Someone who provides an object with special properties

6. False Hero

Someone who disrupts the hero's mission by making false claims

7. The Helper

Someone who aids the hero

8. The Dispatcher 

Someone who sends the hero on their mission with a message   

Music Videos of Different Genres

 About Pop Music -

Pop music is a popular music genre that emerged in the 1950s and 1960s, drawing from the popular musical genre of the time, 'Rock and roll.' Pop music, although adopting aspects from various genres such as urban, dance, rock, Latin, and country, is a fairly broad musical genre. Pop songs are typically short to medium-length, with a verse-chorus structure, repeated choruses, melodic tunes, and hooks, which is what makes them famous since they're catchy, and even if you don't like the song, you'll remember it.

Pop Music Videos -

Pop music videos are usually built on both performance and narrative; the singer performs/lip syncs, but the video also has a story. The narrative in pop music videos, on the other hand, frequently has nothing to do with the song; for example, in Ariana Grande's 'Break Free' video, the narrative is about her being a space girl fighting space monsters, whereas the song is about her realising that a relationship is bad for her and 'breaking free'. In pop music videos, the artist is frequently the lead. This is done to promote the artist in the business, since it is more about the artist than the song in the 'popular music' culture, and if the artist is well-known, people are more inclined to listen to it. Sia's music videos for 'Chandelier' and 'Big Girls Cry', on the other hand, defy these rules because she does not perform or appear in them. Instead, teenage dancer Maddie Ziegler appears in the films and dances the song's narrative; the videos are abstract, which is not a common aspect in mainstream music videos.

 

About Indie Genre -

Independent music (commonly abbreviated to indie) is music that is created without the help of commercial record labels. The term "indie" is also used to designate a musical genre (for example, indie rock, indie metal, or indie pop), although it can also refer to music that is not self-produced. Most indie musicians, on the other hand, produce and distribute their music independently because they care more about their music having meaning and conveying their message, whereas when recording and publishing a song commercially, the message might be lost or has less impact.

Indie Music Videos -

Indie music videos are frequently conceptual/narrative in nature, with the storyline focusing on a political or personal topic that would not be addressed in a mainstream video. This is due to the fact that the topic or point of view is most likely a different one. Because the independent music genre promotes alternative ideals, indie music videos are more likely to depict such values. When both the music video and the song have a powerful message, the artist does not perform, similar to house music, so that the message of the song and video is not distracted.

Often, Indie videos combine both a performance and a conceptual video, such as Troye Sivan's 'Happy Little Pill' music video, which features conceptual scenes of three people being alone and expressing their unhappiness, which are occasionally interrupted by shots or the artist - Troye - lip syncing the song to the camera. Indie videos may also be rather 'abstract,' with what appear to be random visuals conveying a message about a social or political topic. The usage of'symbolic shots' is utilised to create enigmas and captivate the audience, as well as to make the video shareable and encourage the audience to view it again. For example, Troye Sivan's song "Cheerful Little Pill" is about despair and those who try to keep happy by using medications or buying a lot of material things. The film depicts solitary people/animals with great goods, such as medals and expensive hotel rooms, to emphasise the point that you can be depressed or isolated even if you have lovely things or have done good things.

Team Introduction

Here's a little brief introduction of my teammate and I  and our roles!

Romaisa Hassan 

Role - Producer & Director

Hani Shafiq (me)

Role - Editor & Camera Operator 

History of Music Videos

 Music Videos are a form of advertisment

 Modern music videos were created and employed as a marketing tool to promote the sale of music recordings in the first place. Because music videos are promotional tools, they are sometimes referred to as promotion videos.

Music on Television -

- In the 1970s, a British show called 'Top of the Pops' played an important role in promoting a single; the show created competition among bands/artists and record labels because the show's producers set strict limits on the number of videos it would use; as a result, a good video would increase a song's sales because viewers hoped to see it again the following week.

- The American video channel 'MTV' debuted in 1981, airing "Video Killed the Radio Star" and ushering in an age of 24-hour music on television. By the mid-1980s, the music video had become a significant part of popular music promotion, with a new outlet for material.

Music Videos Online -

- Youtube was created in 2005, making online video viewing much faster and easier. Some musicians found success as a result of videos that were primarily or totally viewed online. The Thirty Seconds to Mars music video "Kings and Queens" was posted to YouTube the same day it was released, and has now received over a hundred million views.

- MTV now offers music video broadcasts from musicians. Apple's iTunes Store included a section of free high-quality music videos that could be viewed via the iTunes application when it first launched. Music videos are also available for purchase on iTunes for viewing on Apple iPods and other devices.

- Vevo is a music video website that was created in December 2009 by numerous big music companies. The videos on VEVO are syndicated to YouTube, and the advertising revenue is split between Google and VEVO.