Wednesday, 4 January 2012

Representation: Readings of my music video

To begin with my decision to use a dance remix song instead of a mainstream song was so that I could produce a more abstract, post-modern video as well as going against the norms for dance videos and use more mainstream conventions, using elements from both to create a mash up of both genres which so far has worked well. I made this decision as I wanted to take a fresh look at music videos and, through subverting the genres, understand further the conventions of music videos by both following them and breaking away from them.


Looking closer at my video so far, the main person that is being represented is a strong female who knows her own mind and can review a relationship clearly and honestly. But more than that anyone who has ever been through a break-up is represented and so this gives it an even wider audience. I've managed to convey these representations by showing my female protagonist on screen for the majority of the video and she is confident and assured, as well as thoughtful which is more positive outlook on a break-up than many of the mainstream outputs.
An example of a negative iconic break-up song- Sinead O'Connor's Nothing Compares 2 U
Readings
The preferred reading of my text is that the audience watching would feel good after watching it and feel more confident in themselves that, while some relationships may have been great you can often be better on your own. I would also like the audience to be inspired by what they see and be entertained by the energy of the editing and the beats and want to buy the song - which is ultimately, as I explored here, what music promo videos are for, to promote the song.
I am going to try and undertake some audience feedback to try and find out how the audience reads my video to look at different readings as well.


Also in terms of narrative and structure, Tzvetan Todorov's Equilibrium theory tells of an initial calm period which is then disrupted before ending with re-equilibrium. The song begins with a more negative vibe and then ends more positively which I've tried to reflect in the video. I don't have much equilibrium to begin with to try and contradict the norms of narrative and it just about works. However, I would like to film a few extra scenes with my female protagonist to provide a clearer narrative for the audience. This would be done with either filming the artist sitting on the beach looking at an old photo of her relationship or through filming a few flashback sequences: either having a very short prelude to the song or to place before the first chorus of the video. 

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