planning editing styles

The most evident reason for the need of a variety of editing styles within a music video is simply to keep the audience entertained. If the audience were watching a video with the same editing techniques used throughout, they would quickly become bored and would want to continue watching. Sticking to the most basic editing styles such as continuity editing does not achieve much; continuity editing is used to create verisimilitude, therefore it does not "WOW" the audience or make them aspire to what is being shown as it is a realistic perception and therefore a boring perception. Another reason is simply to give the music video a coherent structure so that if we wish to use analepsis or prolepsis within the video then using different editing styles will make this clear; e.g. editing a scene with a black and white filter may signify it is in the past.        

One editing style my group and I chose to use within our music video is slow-paced editing. We have actually decided to employ this style throughout the entire of the video, with the exception of the London scenes which will be in a time-lapse; another editing style we have chosen. The contrast between the fast-paced shots of the city and the slow-pace of the rest of the scenes in more countryside locations, will be crucial in illustrating how the artist is feeling. Slow-paced editing is useful for highlighting sadness which is a key emotion for our narrative. In certain scenes, such as when the last chorus of the song is sung, after the male character has died, slow-paced editing will be extremely noticeable and fitting. The editing will provide a dragged out feeling to the last chorus; therefore both the artist's and consequently the audience's sadness towards the death will be extremely prolonged, effectively creating a more impacting video for the audience. In addition, the repeated lyrics of "my salvation, my, my" in the last chorus will add to the desired dragged out effect and will make the mood of the video even more depressing. This is conventional of the indie genre as often the lyrics exhibit a sense of loneliness or depression as this really allows the audience and artist to connect on a personal level. Furthermore, the indie genre like to write about matters which are relevant to their audience; relationships and break-ups are something which a lot of people go through and therefore enhances the audience-to-artist relationship. In addition, slow-pace editing is conventionally used in order to create this effect; the lyrics are quite slow and melancholic and therefore it would look rather strange to have faster-paced editing which does not match the lyrics or the beat of the music. Slow-paced editing is also effective in representing the artist as being more ordinary than extraordinary and therefore more relatable for the audience. Gabrielle Aplin is seen less as a celebrity who is unreachable but more as someone the audience can relate to, look up to, and take advice from when they are faced with similar problems in their own lives. The GIF image above demonstrates slow-pace editing; in this example, there is a use of slow-pace editing that takes one shot into another shot through a fade. I put this example in as during the beginning of my group and I's music video, we came up with an idea to use slow-pace editing to fade an image of the artist when she was old into a shot of the artist in the flashback the video is set in.

However, in contrast, the fast-paced London scenes will provide a sense of claustrophobia and chaos. This is effective in accentuating the artist's emotions; particularly those of feeling trapped and lost. However, we have also decided to slow down the shots we have taken of London; for example, during the instrumental parts of the song, the slowness of the music in addition to the slowness of the shots will provide more insight into how the artist is feeling. As stated previously, the use of slow-motion is extremely conventional of the indie genre as it emphasizes emotions the characters, particularly the artist, is feeling. Slow motion is also conventional as it gives more time for the audience to focus on a particular aspect of importance for the artist. Indie music videos tend to put certain objects or situations at focal points as it adds to the narrative. The fast-paced time lapse will be useful in representing Gabrielle Aplin as being quite extraordinary, with a typical celebrity style busy lifestyle. This makes her more unattainable for the audience as she is not as relatable; fast-paced editing is not conventional of the indie genre. The GIF image above gives an excellent example of fast-pace editing; as you can see, this technique is beneficial when desiring a dramatic effect. I want to create the same impact in my own music video and therefore will use fast-paced editing so the audience are aware of the change in the artist's emotions.

Another editing style which we have chosen to adopt are the use of jump cuts. This is due to the fact that this type of editing will allow us to effectively transition from the narrative to performance parts of the music video. Evidently, we do not want the music video to look strange and unprofessional if the types of the scenes keep changing and therefore by using jump cuts, it will be clearer that the narrative and performance parts are related. One example of where we would use a jump cut is after the artist sings the lyrics of "bring me back around again", the scene changes from narrative straight to performance. The use of a jump cut here will demonstrate to the audience that the artist is being shown in two different lights: the performance aspects are more personal as she is all alone and the narrative is to give more to the audience of what the artist is like. This is more effective than just having pure narrative or pure performance as it represents the artist in more than one way; the audience want to get to know the artist as much as possible. Furthermore, the jump cut can be used as a metaphor to illustrate the tumultuous life of the artist; the constant changing between narrative and performance gives more insight into what the artist's life is like personally as well as perhaps on a more celebrity status level. Relating to Dyer's theory, the use of jump cuts are effective in representing the artist as quite extraordinary as it shows how multi-talented she is; the music video illustrates Gabrielle Aplin as singing and playing a musical instrument. This allows the audience to form a closer relationship to the artist as well as becoming active in the video by aspiring to be more like Gabrielle. Above is an example GIF image of a piece of media using jump cuts; as you can see, jump cuts are effective when wanting to move from one shot to another in a simple manner. For my own music video, I do not want an unnecessarily complex transition between the narrative and performance scenes as the audience should not have to think about or figure out what is occurring in the video so deeply.

The final editing style my group and I have picked out is the use of filters and color alterations. We have planned to alter the saturation throughout the entire video; as it progresses, the color of the video will gradually decrease more and more. This is effective for our narrative as the mood gradually becomes more and more depressing and therefore the dullness being produced will reflect this. The funeral scene, right at the end of the music video, will be exceedingly drained of saturation to really emphasize the sadness the artist feels. In addition, this will contrast with the bright, natural lighting used at the start of the video. Using more neutral and dull colors is more conventional as the indie genre do not adhere to using vibrant colors which stand out; artists like their visuals to reflect their lyrics. The simplicity and natural feel of the lyrics and music need to be reflected by neutral and basic colors. Furthermore, we have decided to use filters to make the video look less modern and more vintage; however, we only want use a tint of filter as the music video is still going to be set in contemporary times. This is also conventional of the genre as a lot of indie music videos like to use vintage elements as it provides a better atmosphere for the most popular theme of the genre: love. Both the use of filters and color alterations is useful in representing the artist as being a lot more natural and authentic as we will use simple editing of visuals as opposed to using over-dramatic special effects like the pop genre does for instance. The image above demonstrates the use of a color alteration; subtly changing the brightness/contrast or applying a filter to a shot will have a huge impact on the mood of the shot. Therefore, it is paramount my group and I pay special attention to editing the coloring of the shots so the audience really feel the emotional intensity of the video. This is hugely beneficial to making a more successful music video.

From looking at all the styles I have used, I can say that I have both conformed and subverted the indie genre codes and conventions. Editing techniques such as slow-paced editing are extremely conventional as they create a better emotional response from the audience, due to their more intense and melancholy nature. Showing a specific clip for longer than you normally would, such as an extremely sad part of the narrative, is highly efficient as it drags out the action and therefore makes the audience feel more emotional when watching the music video. Another reason for this type of editing being conventional is because the slower the pace of the video is, the more realistic it feels; creating verisimilitude within an indie music video is extremely effective for the genre as the narrative is stereotypically based upon real life-events, such as relationships. Therefore, the audience will gain a better feel of what the artist is going through and can relate more to their situation and feelings. However, on the opposing hand, fast-pace editing subverts indie conventions, as this type of editing is stereotypically associated with genres such as pop or electronic/dance, as the music is substantially more upbeat and fast-paced; therefore, the visuals need to match for the video to work. Despite the stray of generic conventions, I still think fast-paced editing will work well for our music video, as it is powerful in adding more intensity and emotion where the tempo of the song increases. I also think that occasionally subverting conventions is important in creating a more successful video as uniqueness keeps it interesting. Furthermore, fast-paced editing will be beneficial in portraying the artist as being extraordinary as the juxtaposition between the shots of the countryside and city demonstrate the artist's busy celebrity lifestyle. However, the other two styles I have opted to use, jump cuts and color alterations, are both conventional of the indie genre. Jump cuts being a simple editing technique prove to be conventional as they reflect the simplicity of indie music. Therefore, they are appreciated by the indie audience as overly complicated editing techniques stray too much away from the genre. With regards to the use of color alterations and filters, this is a clear use of an indie convention, from researching indie music videos. Changing the color of the shot is extremely beneficial when desiring a specific emotional effect and therefore is very advantageous to use.

Conclusively, the audience is successfully able to build a relationship with the artist through the editing we have chosen as the styles are all relatively simple. Therefore, the artist can aspire to what they see as it is more realistic. In addition, adhering to simpler styles means that we can follow Goodwin's theory of matching the music and the visuals and therefore create a more successful video which will be more engaging for the audience. By using editing that allows us to show both the narrative and performance parts of the video in a coherent manner, we can give the audience more information and insight into the artist's life which will enhance the audience-to-artist relationship.

research into censorship

Censorship is simply a tool used in order to cut out specific parts of a media material which may be deemed as too "extreme" to watch. In some cases, a media product is completely restricted from the public as it is completely inappropriate or offensive for anyone to view. Common examples of censorship often come from hip-hop or rap music videos that use a lot of swearing, profanity or sexually inappropriate scenes. In this example, censorship is applied by simply cutting out the rude language or images; radio stations are well-known for censoring the lyrics of particular songs if their target audience include people of a younger age, e.g. BBC Radio 1. On the television, censorship is used before the watershed as anyone of any age could be watching and therefore it reduces the chances of a young person seeing/hearing offensive or inappropriate images or words.

An example of a company which monitors and controls communications in the UK is Ofcom; they regulate the TV and radio sectors, fixed line telecoms, mobiles, postal services, as well as airwaves which wireless devices operate using. Ofcom ensure that people in the UK are protected from scams or any other harmful material.

Many artists' music videos have to be censored as they are just too explicit to show to the entire pubic. One example of an artists' music video that has been censored is "Smack My Bitch Up" by the big beat (a style of electronic dance music) group "The Prodigy" and is arguably one of the most controversial music videos ever produced. The video was censored due to the illustration of violence, nudity, sex, drinking and drinking, vandalism and drugs. The uncensored version of the video features scenes where women are abused, a hit and run incident, the use of heroin and a full sex scene. 

The video attracted a heavy amount of criticism, especially from feminist groups due to the negative portrayal of women; the protagonist is actually a women. In addition, the excessive use of violence directed to females was extremely disturbing for a lot of people to watch, particularly women. However, some viewers actually regarded the uncensored version of the video to be commendable as it provides a subversive representation of women being the ones who carry out abuse, not men. The video spread like wildfire and there was huge demand for the full, unedited version to be broadcasted on MTV, which in 2002 it was; however this was only done after the watershed. There was also lyrical controversy; BBC Radio 1 decided to completely ban the lyrical version of the song from being played but instead play simply the music itself. The entirety of the lyrics consist of a repeat of "smack my bitch up, change my pitch up" which is deemed as inappropriate to be played especially at a radio station as the lyrics refer to requesting someone to shoot heroin intravenously. However, to some, the lyrics are taken to advocate violence towards women and therefore find it equally as offensive as "encouraging" the use of heroin.

There are some artists that are actually against censorship; the American rapper Eminem is a prime example. As a singer-songwriter, Eminem wants to have the freedom to express himself in his lyrics and the visuals of his music video. Therefore, Eminem likes to be able to only rap about what he really feels and does not believe that censorship should be applied. Instead, Eminem believes that it the parents' duty to take charge of what their child watches, not the artists' to control the content of their music. Eminem believes that ultimately, it does not matter if the artist censors their music or not as if someone wants to find the uncensored version, they can and they will. Furthermore, Eminem believes that as the lyrics he writes and sings come from personal experiences and feelings, this is how to best connect with his fans and create a strong relationship as they may be feeling similar emotions. Censoring a music video or song consequently takes all of this away as well as tarnishing the deeper meaning of the lyrics. In addition, a censored video will automatically stand out less than an uncensored one and this means that Eminem's music will not be as innovative and daring and limits his ability to creatively express or represent himself. In regards to the actual explicit content of his music such as the excessive mention of drinking or drugs, Eminem defends himself by stating that he does not participate in such illegal activities and in no way is his music an advocation of them.

Not only is Eminem as an artist against censorship, but his record label, Shady Records, which he co-founded with his manager, Paul Rosenberg, is also against the concept. Shady Records actually became established due to the increasing demand for Eminem's music to be censored; however as both Eminem and Rosenberg believed that the public actually desire to have music that is raw and expresses genuine thoughts and feelings, they would not comply with censorship. Eminem is still an exceedingly successful artist without censorship, demonstrating that people actually appeal to the explicit content of his music and it is true to say there is an element of admiration for the rapper's authenticity. Controversial music is just as much an art form as a literary or even art piece and therefore Shady Records do not believe in taking away the originality of the artist. Eminem says himself that the audience should not take everything published in music to be literal as the artist likes to hyperbolize in order to create a more entertaining and unique song for their fans.

Parents are evidently one of the prime supporters of the watershed as they want to protect their children from seeing or hearing explicit content; censorship ensures this without the parents actually having to do anything. In addition, censorship allows children to still be able to watch their favorite shows. Parents often worry that the things their children see on TV will have a deep influence on them. For instance, Miley Cyrus, who started as Hannah Montana was a sensation amongst many children. However, as she grew up, she became less child-friendly due to the inappropriate way she dresses and the rather sexually explicit content of her music; therefore, parents worry that the way she has changed would be deemed acceptable by children and she will influence them. By censoring Miley Cyrus' music videos, it is sending a message that some of the content is wrong and should not be publicly displayed. Parents believe censorship is the way to demonstrate that an artist should be respected and appealed by the public for the quality of their music, not for the visual aspect of it. Whereas Miley Cyrus' lyrics of "it's our party we can do what we want, it's our party we can say what we want, it's our party we can love who we want, we can kiss who we want, we can screw who we want" etc, demonstrates that her music is not suitable for children and sends an ideology that this is an acceptable lifestyle to adopt.

However, there are actually some parents who are against the censorship. This is due to the fact that they believe that there are far more worse things that their children could be exposed to. Topics such as sex and nudity are deemed as natural in the parents' eyes and therefore should not be censored; otherwise their children will not be aware of these matters later in life when the rest of society will. Censorship produces more naive children who will not be aware of the reality of the world they live in. A lot of parents have become so accustomed to the explicit topics of the music many artists sing that they do not see the issue with them. For example, Eminem's song "The Bong Song" promotes smoking weed which is an illegal drug; however as nearly one billion people smoke cigarettes in the world, the notion of smoking itself has been conditioned as acceptable by a lot more people. In addition, around 160 million people in the world smoke marijuana and therefore it does not necessarily seem like that big a deal to some people. Furthermore, the government have stated that the minimum age for going to jail is at the age of 10 and therefore if a child does copy what they see in things like music videos then they are aware of the consequences and must accept blame for their actions. Parents argue that this is real life and therefore their children need to be made aware of these matters; it is the duty of authoritative figures such as police officers and teachers to teach their children that certain drugs are illegal and you should not drink and drive, etc. 

Fans are also another example of those against censorship as it blocks the ability for the artist to express themselves creatively. Artists such as Eminem do not rap/sing about things for no reason or that have no meaning; therefore censoring an artists' music will prevent the deeper meaning of their lyrics from being shown. Furthermore, Eminem's music comes from personal experiences and straight from the heart which connects him with his fans more; fans want to hear a more explicit song if it means it is more genuine. In addition, a lot of fans understand that censoring music does not take away the reality that swearing, talking of sex, drugs, violence, etc, are all world-wide phenomenons. Eminem is one of the world's best-selling artists, having sold more than 172 million albums worldwide, as well as having ten number-one albums on Billboard 200. Therefore, if he is so successful then fans argue why should censorship be a problem? Eminem is evidently well-liked for the uncensored and explicit music he produces and editing it will take away the raw talent of the artist away. If you take away the artist's natural creativity then fans argue that the quality of the music will deteriorate as they will not be producing music to the best of their ability. Ultimately, a lot of fans say that if someone does not like the content of a video then they should not bother watching it and should be respectful of others appeal to the music.

MTV is an example of a music channel that is supportive of censorship. This is due to the fact that they are such a successful channel that they must maintain a certain image and role of protecting their audience. A certain percentage of the audience are quite young and therefore MTV have to strongly adhere to the regulations of censorship. In order to do this, MTV must only show more uncensored videos after the watershed (9pm) as young children could potentially see anything slightly offensive from before this time. As most teenagers spend up to two hours or even longer listening to music with headphones in, parents do not know what they are listening to or where the music has come from. Due to the advancement in technology, people are now able to access music more easily than ever; illegally downloading music has never been easier. Therefore, MTV do not want to be involved in illegal or uncensored music as they have a certain reputation to uphold. Some artists feature inappropriate and critical aspects to their music; Eminem is an example of this as some of his lyrics are seen as exceedingly homophobic and therefore MTV would have to ensure they do not broadcast an unedited version of this as it would offend a share of their audience. By having censorship, MTV maintain their viewing ratings as well as keeping everyone as happy as possible.

On the other hand, the music channel AKA are against the censorship. AKA are in full support of allowing an artist to creatively express themselves and censorship prevents this from occurring. Eminem is again a good example to use as he expresses his life experiences in his music which makes it more raw and authentic, successfully connecting him on a personal level with his fans. AKA do not believe that they can sign on an artist if their music is censored as the audience cannot truly get to know the artist. Furthermore, by censoring a song, you may have to change the lyrics which can completely change the meaning. For example, Chris Brown's song "These Hoes Ain't Loyal" was edited to "These Girls Aren't Loyal". The meaning of "hoes" and "girls" is completely different; "hoes" has an extremely negative connotation and by changing it changes Chris Brown's attitudes towards women which is his personal opinion and therefore is wrong to change it, However, despite their strong beliefs, in 2005, AKA were fined £18,000 by Ofcom as they played a song of inappropriate content, and they have not played uncensored music since.

Other than music channels, there are also radio stations that are for censorship. One example is BBC Radio 1, who play a variety of music for a variety of audience demographics. In fact, BBC Radio 1 is so against censorship that Nick Grimshaw, the host of the radio show, refused to allow Rihanna's song "S&M" to be played as he deemed it way too inappropriate for the younger part of the audience due to its reference to "sex", "chains" and "whips". This is due to the fact that the station's audience does not include only one group of audience demographic but a range, including a lot of younger people. Therefore, if the audience want to listen to more explicit music, then they should turn to other radio stations who will cater for their needs. BBC Radio 1 are such a successful radio station that they have to uphold a good reputations and keep their viewing ratings as high as possible; if they played uncensored music it would cause outrage amongst many of not only the audience but their parents as well. 

There are however examples of radio stations that are against censorship. An quintessential example is the radio station "Capital Xtra". This radio station upholds the belief that artists should have the ability to creatively express themselves and should not feel restricted by the wants of others. However, as they want to keep their audience as wide and open as possible, they do use censoring; uncensored music is played after the watershed and before then, they bleep/blank/repeat/re-sample the offensive parts of the music. This way, the radio station try to change the music as little as possible yet simultaneously keep the audience as happy as possible. 

There is a varying consensus of censorship of artists; most people do agree that it is wrong as it restricts the artist from expressing how they truly feel. Censorship is a form of preventing liberty of speech which is deemed as immoral by many. Whilst there are both pros and cons of censorship, ultimately, I am against the use of it as at the end of the day, if someone wants to find the inappropriate version of a song, they will. Furthermore, the issues that a lot of artists talk about are real-life matters that children will eventually face at one point and there is no point hiding it from them. It is fundamentally down to the parents to teach and control their children over these issues and the solution is not to restrict everything they watch and hear as that is impractical. In my own music video, I will take into consideration that there may be some inappropriate parts; however depending on the extremity of them, I will not apply censorship as I do not believe it is right.

planning lighting and color

Employing a variety of lighting and color are both essential within a music video as they are key to portraying certain moods and emotions which is important in connecting to the audience. For instance, using low-key lighting is helpful in constructing a more depressing or melancholy mood; contrastingly, using high-key lighting produces a happier atmosphere. The lighting helps to tell the audience how the characters are feeling as well as foreshadowing things to come; a shot going from high-key to low-key lighting generally signifies that something terrible is going to occur. Similarly, the use of color within a music video is helps to convey particular emotions as say, for example, all the saturation was drained from a shot, the audience's own emotions would reflect the depressing mood created by doing this. On the other hand, subtly increasing the color used in the video or using filters will subliminally create a brighter and happier mood. However, some artists, such as those of the soul genre, choose to adopt black and white filters in their music videos as this monochrome scheme connotes sadness, reflecting the mood of the lyrics.

Above is a picture of the planning my group and I have done for our lighting and color. One of the lighting styles we have chosen to adopt within our music video is the use of low-key lighting. This style will be used in both the performance scenes as well as scenes where the lyrics are more despondent. However, as a group we decided to gradually decrease the lighting throughout the video as the ending of our narrative is rather sad and depressing. For the performance scenes, the low-key lighting helps to represent the artist as having two sides: one we see in the narrative scenes that make use of high-key lighting and therefore the artist is seen as happier and more innocent, and the other side in the performance parts of the video where the artist is represented as darker, more mysterious and serious. This helps to connect to the audience more as they feel like they are getting to know the artist on a more personal level; we see what the artist is like when she is on her own as well as with people she loves. This consequently allows the audience to relate to the artist more as they understand what it is like to be different when you are lonely in contrast to when you are surrounded by those people who lift you up. However, there are also scenes in the narrative side of the video where we are going to encompass the use of low-key lighting. For example, during the argument scene where the male character relates to the artist his plans to go off to war, we want to create as dark as mood as possible without it looking like a completely different genre. The low-key lighting will successfully add to the tension of the narrative, as well as foreshadowing that something bad is going to happen within the relationship. In addition, to create that more

personal feel to the video during the performance scenes, we have decided to use candlelight instead of just dimming the lights, as this creates a much more intimate feel to the scene as well as representing the artist as being more serious; consequently, her lyrics will also appear to be more deep and meaningful. Using low-key lighting is quite conventional of the indie genre as the artist often likes to create a more sombre mood to reflect the more emotional and deeper meaning behind their lyrics. Furthermore, indie artists conventionally like to use low-key lighting as it allows more focus on specific parts of the shot; for instance, during the performance scenes, the lighting will be constructed so that there is going to be more focus on the artist's face and the piano rather than the content of the room. It is essential that the lighting we use will reflect the lyrics of the song. Therefore, we have ensured that the performance parts of the video are placed in parts where the lyrics reflect the artist's mood and the visuals. For example, we have planned to show a performance shot when the lyrics of "just a trick of light to bring me back around" are sung, as the "trick of light" part fits in the use of candlelight and low-key lighting, as it connotes little lighting. This way, the video appears to be more thought out and well-constructed. In addition, the use of the lyrics "bring me back around" fit in with the artist's mood here as this performance part will be shown after the couple first meet and therefore reflects the artist's positive attitude towards the relationship, as her partner is the one to metaphorically pull her up from falling.

Another lighting style my group and I have decided to use is high-key lighting. This style will be beneficial for the beginning and middle-ish parts of the video as this is where the mood of the narrative is more positive. High-key lighting extremely useful as it connotes a sense of innocence to the relationship. It is also good to contrast with the low-key lighting we will use for the performance scenes which will be placed between the narrative scenes that use high-key lighting. As indie music videos do not tend to use as much high-key lighting as other genres, we do not want to use too much or make the lighting too bright. This is due to the fact that we do not want to represent the artist as being excessively happy, as the later scenes will be very depressing and therefore the video would look quite weird if it fluctuated from two polar opposite emotions. The use of high-key lighting helps to represent the artist as being quite carefree and playful, something which the target audience can relate to, especially whilst being in a relationship. Therefore, the lighting helps to connect the artist and audience on a personal level and the audience appeal to the happiness of the artist, particularly when they can contrast it to the darker and more serious performance scenes. The use of high-key lighting is somewhat conventional of the indie genre as their music stereotypically reflects peaceful and happy memories; however, high-key lighting has a more artificial look to it than natural lighting, which is more commonly used. However, my group and I would still like to consider using it for scenes at the start of the video, such as the couple watching TV or cooking together, etcetera. There is a chance we may not opt for this style of lighting, simply due to the unconventionality of it, particularly fitting into our own music video. If my group and I were to use it, we would place scenes using this style of lighting where the lyrics of "I was buried underneath and all I could see was white" were sung, as "white" connotes bright light, and therefore fits in perfectly with high-key lighting. In addition, the lyrics connote a heavenly image, associated with "the light at the end of the tunnel" and therefore the use of high-key lighting would subliminally help to portray this image. In addition, it will help to bring about connotations of this being a fairytale, almost too good to be true and therefore susceptible to ending.

The final style of lighting my group and I would like to include is natural lighting. In parts of the narrative where the scenes are going to take place outdoors, natural lighting is going to be needed. For example, in the scene where the characters first meet, natural lighting which is quite bright is desire; however as British weather is quite tumultuous right now we have prepared ourselves with an alternative rainy shot which would still work. The reason for having quite sunny natural lighting is so that the shot looks a lot more genuine and personal; a sense of innocence is connoted and therefore reflects the nature of the relationship as well as representing the artist as more authentic and relatable for the audience. The use of natural lighting is quite conventional in indie music videos as a lot of the action generally occurs outside in a rustic location as artists like to represent themselves and their music as quite natural and simplistic.

Using bright natural lighting can be quite conventional in the indie genre as for example, if the the artist wants to ensure that nothing in the shot is in the shadows and everything is focused on in the shot. In addition, capturing a shot in natural lighting allows you to manipulate the sunlight and use the sun's rays to create a more genuine feel to the video, e.g. by filming a person's face whilst the sun's rays are shining on them. However, we will also use natural lighting in shots where there is not a lot of available light; for example, we want to film the scene of the artist running through the forest where it is not too bright, not evidently not when its too dark as well, as you will not be able to see anything. This is due to the mood of the lyrics at this part; the artist is about to discover her partner has died and therefore the natural lighting cannot be captured at a sunny part of the day. We also want to use natural lighting when we film the shots of London as we do not want to heavily edit these scenes; it is better to capture a more genuine shot of the city as it gives an accurate portrayal. In addition, natural lighting helps to represent the artist in much more real and relatable way for the audience as they able to see the artist in the outside world, where they almost cannot hide away like you are able to do inside. My group and I would like to use this style of lighting at the beginning of the music video where the lyrics follow as "you are the avalanche", as the use of "avalanche" connotes pure whiteness, a bright image. Therefore, the use of natural lighting will help to visualize this image. In addition, as avalanches are part of nature, using natural lighting as opposed to high-key lighting helps to keep the authenticity and verisimilitude of the scene. It also ensures to keep to genre conventions of using natural images to create a more rustic feel.

Aside from lighting, my group and I have also opted for using color within the video, or so to say, lack of color. We have chosen to drain the saturation on a variety of shots; we first chose to place a black and white filter on them but decided it was too unconventional of the indie genre as it is more common for the soul genre to do this. The reason for the desire of the slight absence of color is due to wanting to create a more sombre mood where subliminally, there is foreshadowing that something terrible is going to occur at the end of the narrative. The performance parts of the video is where there is going to be most focus on the decrease in saturation as my group and I would like it to contrast with the rest of the video, so the audience feel like there is a lot more to the video and the artist. However, we are also going to turn down the saturation level gradually as the music video progresses as the mood also decreases. For example, during the running scene, although we are going to make use of natural lighting during the pre-evening time of the day, we can also turn down the saturation as well as it will help give that solemn and foreboding mood. This will be a successful way in representing the artist as being quite different to what you normally see; for example, in the pop genre, the artists are usually only representing in one light - usually quite strong and happy. However, in this music video, as it is conventional to the genre, we are only to represent the artist as different to other artists yet more similar to the audience as we all have two sides to us (happy and sad), so it is more relatable. From researching other indie music artists, I have seen quite a few of them drain the saturation in their shots; Birdy's music video for "Skinny Love" is a quintessential example of this and due to the mood of her lyrics, it really fits so I think it would suit "Salvation" as well. Looking at the lyrics of the song, it is clear that this style of color will fit well with the music video as the lyrics become increasingly more depressing. For example, the video starts off with "you are the avalanche", which needs brighter natural lighting, but ends with the artist singing "my salvation, my my" repeatedly. This, on the other hand, connotes a sense of fading away, as the artist is losing her partner and is trying to call him back; therefore the color must be drained from the scene to fit with the melancholy mood.

The fundamental way that the target audience are able to build a relationship with the artist through the use of lighting and color is by the contrast in using high-key/bright natural lighting and low-key/reduced saturation scenes. Furthermore, by separating the narrative and performance scenes by use of lighting and color, the audience are coherently able to distinguish between the emotions that the artist is experiencing. This enables the audience to relate to the artist more as their mood will be a reflection of the artist's. This also allows the audience to be perpetually immersed within the music video and also be engaging with the artist as a lot will be occurring; the audience will have to pay attention to be aware of how the narrative and performance shifts according to the lyrics. In addition, the varying styles of lighting ensure that the artist is represented as being more relatable for the audience; for example, the use of both low-key lighting as well as brighter natural lighting is beneficial in showing how the artist is experiencing both positive and negative emotions, making the narrative more realistic. If the lighting was purely bright and high-key, the audience would not appeal to the video or feel as a greater personal connection with the artist, as it is not particularly relatable; real-life relationships are quite tumultuous. Noting down the styles of lighting and choices of color in this planning stage is extremely beneficial for the production of our music video as it means that we are fully aware of the effect we want to generate from our audience and everything we do will be based on this. Consequently, all of our shots will be filmed according to the mood of the lyrics and the storyline we have picked and therefore will all be relevant, so when it comes to editing, we can get straight with it and create a more successful music video.

research into music channels

The purpose of having music channels on television is simply to give the audience a different but equally effective method of watching music videos or hearing their favorite songs. And as the music channels are on a television, the audience are able to enjoy listening to their favorite music in the solitude of their own home. In addition, music channels are a beneficial way for an artist to be promoted and there are many different types of music channels; the most famous amongst them are MTV, Kerrang! and VIVA.

MTV is by far one of the most dominating music channels on the television. The channel was first broadcasted in 1981 with the purpose of playing music videos for the public when the artist was unable to perform live. The huge promotion of artists and music videos has grasped the attention of the older teens/young adults demographic as the channel puts a lot of focus upon the top of the charts music. The reason for this is simply as this age group is a mass market for the channel; more people would appeal to 
see the latest trends as opposed to seeing niche genres/artists. However, the logo that MTV is also a huge benefactor of attracting the target audience as it is quite appealing for them. The reasoning behind this is due to the fact that when the channel launched, in the very first moments of MTV consisted of an edited adoption of the first moon landing whereby the American flag was replaced by the channel's logo. Therefore, the logo stuck in people's minds and meant that the channel became increasingly well-known and popular. From then on, the channel stuck with a lot more "wacky" designs for their logo in order to appeal to the younger members of the public. The contemporary logo the channel uses is predominantly the same as the original logo (as seen in the picture above). The logo is extremely efficient in directly addressing what the company do: they are a "Music Television" channel, as illustrated on the bottom of their logo. This is actually beneficial in probing the audience to remember that MTV are not just about listening to music, but rather about broadcasting music videos and shows. In addition, the logo is quite simple and neat yet extremely artistic; a graffiti style has been employed, appealing to the young target audience as they would enjoy quite "cool" designs which connote rebellion and standing out. The use of the monochrome colors creates an extremely contrasting effect, making the logo more eye-catching, despite the lack of color.

Within the channel, there are certain artists who appear on a regular basis as the producers are fully aware that they will attract more people. Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Calvin Harris and Drake are just a handful of the artists that MTV heavily promote. These artists in specific all feature in the UK Top 4; however, they are from a mix of different genres. Calvin Harris for instance, produces dance music, whereas Taylor Swift and Beyonce feature in the pop genre and Drake is a hip-hop artist. Therefore, promoting a range of genre of artists is more successful for the channel as it brings in a wider audience, making MTV more popular. Furthermore, all these artists individually reach a younger target audience, the same demographic as MTV, and therefore will all be able to relate to the audience. Many of the audience, especially females, will aspire to the likes of Taylor Swift and Beyonce, which is why MTV deliberately put emphasis on them in their channel. In addition, David Guetta reaches the older teens/young adults demographic through his upbeat dance tunes as this age group stereotypically like to party and therefore will thoroughly enjoy his music.

Everything that MTV play on their channel reflects the target audience as the shows range from reality TV to music videos being shown. The types of programmes that show are what a lot of the teenage population would enjoy, such as "Catfish", "My Super Sweet Sixteen" or "Keeping Up With the Kardashians". It is crucial for the channel to provide these types of shows as otherwise the audience will not be particularly entertained whilst watching the channel. As MTV is primarily considered a music channel, they must stand out against other channels, such as E! entertainment show, which holds all types of reality shows and gossip that a lot of MTV's audience would be interested in. From looking at MTV's schedule, it is evident that the channel focuses more on the entertainment side slightly more than the music side, as a lot of music such as "Clubland" is played early in the morning, rather than later during the day. A lot of the more older entertainment shows such as "Ridiculousness", which features celebrities, is broadcasted later during the evening time. 

The channel is actually owned by Viacom Media Networks, who are known for their other channels such as Comedy Central and Nickelodeon. Both these examples given appeal to a younger audience; Comedy Central is known for being a popular broadcaster of the television series "Friends" and Nickelodeon is obviously known as targeting the children aged demographic. Therefore, it is advantageous for MTV to be associated with these types of channels as it promotes MTV in a better light, as it gives more to the audience than just music.

Kerrang! is another television music channel; however, this channel specializes in heavy rock, nu metal and pop punk. The channel heavily features artists such as Green Day, Panic! At The Disco, Paramore and Fall Out Boy. The channel focuses a lot on rock artists such as these listed as more mainstream rock artists are more favored by the audience. Kerrang! rarely play death-metal or even just heavy metal music as they feature a smaller audience group. The channel is actually a subsidiary of a magazine (with the same title) and therefore the music played must be a reflection of the magazine; the channel will not play unsigned artists but nor will they play too mainstream music either. The artists I listed earlier are the most popular as they are not too mainstream for the style of the channel but they are extremely popular by a large group of people. Artists such as Fall Out Boy dip not only into the rock genre but also the pop genre and a lot of the audience of the latter have heard the band's music; therefore it is a good way to bring in a wider audience. In addition, bands such as Green Day who have featured in the Top 40 would also be well-known by a wider audience. 

The target audience itself of the channel would be older teens/young adults between the ages of 16-30, which is an extremely flexible demographic to cater for. Furthermore, the channel does something unusual in that they allow the audience to request the music video they want to be seen playing; the majority of other music channels play videos according to which ones receive the most votes. The content of the music videos the channel shows are sensitive to the appeal of the target audience; violence and references to religion with heavy blasphemy. However, a lot of these videos have to be censored as to cater for the watershed. 

The logo which Kerrang! has established is effective in appealing to their target audience as the color of it is the first thing the audience see. The color of black reflects the genre of music which is shown and stereotypically, the audience who like Kerrang! also like the color black as it connotes rebellion, being different and darker emotions, etc. In addition, the color black also links with the instruments used within the genre as black is quite a stand out color, which against the white background, is quite heavy and loud; the rock genre consists of heavy drumbeats and loud guitar riffs.The use of the logo being written in capital letters is more effective as it immediately stands out and attracts the audience's attention right into the company. Furthermore, there is an almost shattered look to the logo which matches the loud beats of the rock genre and the quite violent style adopted by artists; slamming instruments etc.

Kerrang! is actually owned by a British television company called The Box Plus Network, that acts as its music television programme production supplement. Subsidiary channels of Box Plus include 4Music, Magic, Heat and Kiss. All these channels play variating genre of music; for instance, Magic focus more on music from the 80s, 90s and 00s, whereas 4Music focus more on music that is in the charts and mainstream. Having such a variety means that a wider audience is being catered for and therefore the channel will gain more popularity.


Clubland TV is a music channel which broadcasts on the Sky network. The channel specializes in showing upbeat pop music videos in the mornings as well as dance music videos from the channel's compilation albums. This is due to the channel's target audience being focused at 16-25 year olds who appeal to the party/club style music. Furthermore, the logo that the channel uses is appealing for this demographic as it uses a "techno" style, which brings the club feel straight to the audience. The logo connotes a glitter ball that is often associated with clubs and the contrast of white against the black background reminds the audience of strobe lighting, a visual effect that is extremely common in clubs. In addition, this use of color contrast helps to make the logo stand out more and grab the audience's attention. The inclusion of "TV" underneath Clubland's name is helpful in reminding the audience that this is a television channel and therefore there will be more than just music being played; the channel will show videos and shows too.

Clubland TV is a channel that is owned by "All Around the World Productions", a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. The channel is in fact so popular that it has five times the viewing ratings as the MTV Dance channel. This is simply due to the high profiled artists who play on the channel: Avicii, Martin Garrix, Fatboy Slim, David Guetta and Shift K3Y are just a few to name. As these artists also feature in the Top 40, the channel may receive audience from a more mainstream demographic who enjoy popular dance artists.

VIVA is a music television channel that is owned by "Viacom International Media Networks" and is broadcasted in both the UK and Ireland. The channel was actually launched by famous singer-songwriter Alexandra Burke with an unprecedented live performance of her single "Bad Boys". Although being primarily a music channel, VIVA also previously showed programmes from other Viacom channels (e.g. MTV, Comedy Central and Channel 5) such as Catfish, Pretty Little Liars, Jersey Shore and My Super Sweet 16, etc. This successfully bought a larger group of audience into the channel as the channel became one huge hub for people to watch/listen to music and watch their favorite shows. 

The target audience of VIVA predominantly consists of 16-25 year olds, as the channels are focused more on a more older teen/young adult lifestyle. The channel promotes enjoying life and having fun, with more mainstream music being broadcasted and therefore will appeal to the younger audience demographic. Famous artists that are played on the channel include One Direction, Katy Perry and Pixie Lott. The channel pays close attention to the UK Top 40, as well as constructing their own Top 20 or 40 tracks for the audience to enjoy. From looking at the channel's schedule, it is clear what age group they are focusing on. A lot of the music videos are broadcasted earlier in the day, more towards the morning. Whereas the more explicit programmes such as behind the scenes of music tours or new music videos released, are shown more towards the evening. For instance, The Weeknd's new music video was played at midnight last night as the content of it would be more for slightly older teens. During the day the channel shows ordinary entertainment programmes and music videos that have been seen many times before. This is simply as less people would be watching TV during this time as the target audience would most likely be in education. Therefore, they would show the more exciting things such as programmes relating to X Factor or new released music during the evening.

Furthermore, the logo of the channel instantaneously gives away who the channel is really focused at; young adults who are mostly female. The use of a bold color pink automatically grabs the audience's attention, particularly the females and they can tell the channel is full of mainstream and upcoming trends. In addition, the programmes that air on the channel are a reflection of the audience; shows such as Pretty Little Liars and My Super Sweet 16 are more likely to appeal to females.

AKA, formerly known as "Channel U" is another music channel that is owned by All Around the World Productions and is available on Sky in both the UK and Ireland. The channel is completely dedicated to broadcasting upcoming UK urban/grime/hip-hop music. Famous artists who frequently appear on the channel include the likes of Dizzee Rascal, Wretch 32, Tinie Tempah, N-Dubz and Tinchy Stryder. The channel's aim is to provide the public with "raw and unsigned talent we have in the UK" and give these unprecedented artists a platform to perform on. 

The target audience of the channel move more towards young adults as opposed to teenagers; around the ages of 18-30. This is due to the fact that hip-hop and grime artists tend to include more "mature" content in their lyrics which does not appeal as much to the younger audience who like party anthems instead. However, it is stereotypical to say that those who do listen to the music on the channel who are of a younger age would primarily be male as they prefer the lyrics used. 

The logo of the channel is extremely appealing for the target audience as an almost smoke-like effect is used; a common stereotype of the genre is the association with drugs and smoking. Therefore, this aspect of the logo would strongly appeal to the male-dominated target audience. In addition the use of the color red connotes violence which is often depicted in hip-hop songs and therefore is another appealing factor for the audience. The contrast of the black and red colors makes the logo stand out more and makes it look bolder and stronger which makes the channel seem quite masculine. 

Going back to the music channel MTV, I think it is sound to say that the reason it is broken down into different channels such as MTV Dance, Rock, Classic, etc, is simply as this is the easiest way to draw in as much popularity as possible. Catering for all different types of audience demographics as possible ensures that more and more people will be satisfied and will want to tune into MTV. This is the main reason why MTV are as successful as they are; they have efficiently established themselves as something more than just a music channel. The various programmes that are aired on the different channels help to attract a wider audience and keep coming back to the channel.

Through my research I have also seen how important it is for a music channel to use branding in order to really boost their popularity with their desired target audience. Branding is used to identify a company or person and allow them to stand out against all other competitors. For example, MTV used the picture of Neil Armstrong on the moon and replaced the American flag with the MTV flag. When the audience see this, they will become more familiar with the channel as every-time they see the picture of the man on the moon, they will remember MTV as well. Furthermore, MTV are a huge advocate of social media networks and therefore through connecting with their audience on sites such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, they are successfully increasing their popularity and branding themselves to be a more personal and fun music channel. Each of the channels I have looked at use branding for the company. For instance, MTV have a huge variety of different channels which helps to connect to a wide audience range and enforce a more positive brand image for the company that they are different to other music channels. However, other channels such as Kerrang! or Clubland TV that focus more on one genre also ensure good branding of the company as they provide ultimate and up-to-date information on the music of that specific genre so that their fans feel they are getting all they need about their favorite music. As Kerrang! focuses on punk rock and metal music, the channel can play the best of this genre and provide a more intimate connection between the audience and artists as they have more time to focus on a singular artist. The logo is a huge benefactor to the branding of the company. Going back to what I mentioned previously about the MTV logo of the man on the moon, the channel's logo itself caters to the target audience, as the graffiti style is more appealing for them. This helps to give the channel a good brand image of caring for the needs of the audience and making sure they are being thought of. Kerrang!'s logo is also helpful in terms of branding as the destroyed look it has reflects the company's interest in the punk rock and metal genre. Viva's logo also has the same effect as just by looking at it, you can tell that the company is focused on more upbeat and fun, mainstream music. As the channel consistently shows the logo during breaks of shows or at the bottom or top of a TV screen as a programme is being shown, the audience will be constantly reminded of the type of channel they are watching.

Overall, my research has helped me in choosing the genre of my own music video. I personally think that making an indie music video would be the easiest as looking at all the channels I researched, they all feature quite complex videos that are out of my budget. In addition, none of the genres I looked at like to use narrative based music videos and therefore it is more difficult to put across a story with emotions to connect to the audience. Indie music videos use extremely accessible locations and storylines that are easily adaptable and interpretive which the audience can relate to more.

lyric analysis

The purpose of analysing the lyrics for "Salvation" is to know exactly which parts of the video will be narrative and performance. By looking at the lyrics in detail we can plan out the contents of the video a lot more efficiently and when creating a storyboard, it is a lot easier as you know exactly what lyrics are going to be within each individual shot. In addition, analyzing the lyrics means that we ourselves will have a greater understanding of the deeper meaning of the lyrics and therefore will be able to produce a more successful music video that connects with the audience.

I have included in a copy of the lyrics for our music video which we have annotated as a group to help us with the production of the video. My group and I have annotated the lyrics using a key; green represents performance, pink represents narrative and orange represents the chorus. The reason we have done this is so that we can automatically see what will be in each shot and scene and therefore will help us with producing a storyboard. We have also numbered each verse of the song and then included what each number stands for on the right-hand side. For example, for verse six, on the right-hand side, we have written that the scenes will be both performance and narrative based and expanded on the cinematography and editing we are going to use. In this particular scene we want to use a running montage compiled of the female character on a run through the forest and cutting to time lapsed scenes of London to create a claustrophobic effect. To advocate the filming further, we have also included the semiotics of the lyrics; in verse six we have written in the figurative interpretation of the lyrics so that as we are filming we are continuously reminded of the effect and emotions we want to generate from the audience. The annotations have also aided in uncovering hidden meanings or messages within the song such as the deeper link to transcendence. As a group we interpreted the lyrics to have a heavy link with death which is why we shaped the narrative around the male character dying; the idea of him going off to war stemmed from the title and repeated use of "salvation" as this suggests the male character is a hero to the artist. 

All the annotations we have made have been extremely beneficial to planning all the micro elements and genre conventions that will be included in the music video as well as catering to the target audience. As this is an indie genre music video, we have had to make sure our annotations fit the criteria of being quite quirky and being an alternative way of thinking. Within the fifth verse the artist sings "Glorious we transcend Into a psychedelic silhouette". This part of the lyrics is what gave us the idea of the male character dying as we thought it foreshadows death. In addition, we came up with a really good idea for our editing in that we use cross dissolving to fade in two shots together of both characters' faces so they almost merge together to give the sense of transcending and fitting in with the concept of a "silhouette". We labelled this part of the narrative as the goodbye scene as it is quite emotionally gripping and portrays the artist's emotions quite explicitly: she feels as if her life is over now that her partner is gone. Another editing technique we are going to adopt in the music video is cross-cutting between two shots. This will be advantageous in the sixth verse when the narrative will become quite busy as this is when the artist discovers the male character has died. Instead of just bluntly stating that he has died, we are going to build up a climax to his death and to do this we are going to edit together scenes from London of people walking which we have edited to be fast-paced, combined with the scene of the artist running through the forest. In addition, we were also thinking about putting in some performance shots as it shows the artist in her raw element and therefore is more personal. Therefore, as there is a lot going on, it has been and will be exceedingly helpful to use annotations of the lyrics as we know precisely what to include and we have kept track of this so that we do not accidentally miss anything out.

Before the editing can take place, we have had to think deeply about the cinematography of the music video. Although we have not included a lot about cinematography in the annotations, as we have written out the narrative content, we are aware of the shots we are going to use and this helped when we made a storyboard where we included each type of shot. For example, we have written down all the narrative content in verse three, and as we have grouped together relevant scenes, we know how the cinematography is going to pan out. Verse three consists of a lot of the "cute" and romantic scenes and therefore we have decided to use a lot of close up shots for this part; e.g. close ups of the couples' faces looking happy or close ups of them holding hands whilst walking through the forest, etc. However, as we have highlighted the performance parts of the song as well, we instantaneously know to use a variety of shots here as there is not going to be a lot of action occurring. For example, we are predominantly going to use mid-shots of the artist playing the piano so that you can see her face and her costume but she will also be presented as extraordinary as you will see her hands playing. However we will try to change the shots every time the performance part of the video is played as the audience will quickly become bored if they are seeing the same mid-shot each time. If we use a mid-shot twice then we would use it at a different angle in order to create a different feel each time, reflecting the mood of the part of the song the performance is being shown. The annotations are extremely helpful with guiding us to use appropriate cinematography in certain parts of the song.

One of the most important aspects to bear in mind throughout the production of the music video is the genre of it. Audiences automatically uphold certain expectations when it comes to a specific genre and therefore it is crucial to meet their needs where appropriate. Therefore, when we analyzed the lyrics to understand them, we noted down how best to visually portray what Gabrielle Aplin is trying to sing about. For example, the start of the song is happier than the end, and therefore we associated lyrics such as "while I'm wide awake" with lighter colored clothing; this is conventional of the indie genre as artists usually wear colors such as white, to connote innocence and purity, or other neutral colors. However, as our video slightly rejects typical conventions of being quite happy, we also had to reflect the sadness near the end of the video and therefore we annotated the lyrics to note that at lyrics such as "I was buried underneath", the artist would be wearing dark colors. The main indie conventions which my group and I have conformed to are firstly, the use of a narrative within the video. From just reading the lyrics of the song, we automatically wanted to employ a storyline as there are deep meanings behind them. In addition, if the video were solely performance based, it would not be as interesting, nor would the audience be able to fully appreciate the emotional intensity of the song. Having a narrative allows the artist to connect to the audience on a more personal level, as the latter can underneath how the artist truly felt and thought whilst writing the song. For our own music video, my group and I first analyzed the lyrics before coming up with a more solid plot. Lyrics such as "my salvation" made us automatically decide to have the narrative love based; this is also another convention of the indie genre and it is the one that most people appeal to, as we discovered in our research. Love storylines are far more conventional than most other narratives as they display raw emotion that is far more realistic and relatable for the audience; as our genre uphold this, we definitely want to include it. The second main convention my group and I are using is having a performance aspect to the music video. The reason we want to include this is because it is a well-known convention of the indie genre for the artist to be seen playing a musical instrument. In my group and I's research, we discovered that more people do want to see the artist playing an instrument, and from also researching indie music videos, we can see it is a popular choice. Therefore, to make our own music video as successful and appealing as possible, we have decided to have Amy playing the piano, as this is the instrument heard in our song. Annotating the lyrics successfully helped to decide where the performance parts of the song would go. As a group as decided to slot in performance shots in between the narrative parts. This way, there is an even balance of both narrative and performance shots, as well as breaking the narrative down, so the audience can see other aspect to the artist's thoughts and feelings. It is crucial to have this balanced break as it means that the audience can see and connect to two sides of the artist: one where she is in her relationship and the other where she is alone. Therefore, if there is an emotional part of the song, such as when the two characters first meet, or when the male protagonist dies, the audience can see the artist's emotional response in more depth where she is passionately singing. Including a musical instrument is also key to creating a relationship between the artist and audience as it means that the artist will be portrayed as extraordinary, as Dyer states, and therefore the audience will aspire to be more like them; this is more appealing. The final main convention my group and I are going to use is part of the misc-en-scene: the location choice. The lyrics have helped to decide this as they include words such as "avalanche" and "snowstorm" which all link to natural imagery. Therefore, the majority of the locations we have chosen are all outdoors, in places such as a cornfield, a forest or an ordinary field. It is conventional of the indie genre to use locations that are natural and easily accessible. When we looked at some of Gabrielle Aplin's music videos, such as "Please Don't Say You Love Me", we noticed that she used countryside locations, which helped to create the desired indie feel to it. Having more countryside locations will reflect the lyrics of our song, as they are more isolated locations where the audience can get to know the artist more intimately. The lyrics helped to gain an insight into the emotional response the audience should feel when all the aspects of the misc-en-scene come together; the locations will help to reflect the authentic nature of the indie genre and the artist's rustic music.

In conclusion, it is evident that my annotations will help with my storyboard as I know exactly what shots will be included in the video. When making the storyboard, my group and I can quickly see which parts of the song are narrative and which parts are performance based and therefore can distribute the shots equally throughout the video. Furthermore, by using annotations, we can ensure that not only are the shots in the video will be in the correct sequence but also that the correct editing styles will be applied in the correct place. Overall, it is a lot more efficient to break up the song into sections/verses and analyze each verse separately, instead of just going straight ahead with the production as otherwise you are more likely to create an incoherent video which lacks or has too much content in it.