Music video inspirations- Miss Georgiou

Music videos previously made are a positive aspect as I can gain knowledge and ideas on what to add to my own, and what elements has made them so successful and appeal to a large audience. I will be discussing the music video for 'Robbers' by The 1975, 'Everything Has Changed' by Taylor Swift/Ed Sheeran, 'Goodbye Moon' by Go Radio, and 'Blank Space' by Taylor Swift. I chose these videos as they are all very different however contain similar elements that I would like to use within my own video.

I chose 'Robbers' because I really enjoy the song, the lyrics are really calm however, the sound is quite fast and upbeat. The song is really dynamic, and is really different from anything within the music industry currently. Lastly, you can use the song to identify the band as the song sounds like others produced from The 1975, which identifies them within the music industry. 

The video is quite explicit, as there is an element of drug use which I personally wouldn't like to use for my video unless it fit to the lyrics such as this does within this song. If I did, I wouldn't make it extremely overpowering and the focus of the video. Overlooking the drugs, I delved into the meaning of the video and the artists ideas. 

The video is based on stories such as Bonnie and Clyde where two people become infatuated with one an other, need money therefore commit a spiral of crimes. The artist wanted to exploit the idea that the type of relationship where two people thought they were the centre of the earth is one that is so passionate everybody would want it. I really liked this message and it really inspired me. I had the idea of adding a love story to my video, and in the form of a narrative as an aspect from the Goodwin theory, as this video does as it causes and audience/artist bond and forms a message instead of performing the song and filming it.

The idea of Goodwin's theory is explored as there is a strong link to the genre of indie/electronic music as everything is so fast speed. This links to the editing too and the other element of the theory (link between music and visuals). This causes everything to be fast paced and the audience pay closer attention to the video such as, the scene where Matty is shot. The opening is fast, as Matty is shot the camera stops and focuses on the door in which the heist takes places for a number of seconds and once the couple rush out, all is fast again. This causes drama and makes the video more hectic feeling like the beat of the song.


I also chose the video for Everything Has Changed by Taylor Swift. This is because the lyrics are really slow and calm, as is the music. I enjoy the acoustic music to the song which is a feature of Taylor and Ed within the music industry.

First of all, the video contains a love story/best friend relationship which I have looked at throughout three videos. This video has a niche audience of teenage girls as it contains a typical cute love story between a younger represention of the audience (identified as their children near the end). The mid shots throughout of the children shows that they do everything together, showing love song elements through out. There is a specific scene as the music and visuals link together as the couple slow dance with flickering lights around them.

There is also a link between the lyrics and the visuals when the little boy reads 'The Notebook' to the female as she lays on the grass staring up at him. This is a typical convention of a romance music video and appeals to the target audience again as female teenagers are typically associated with love films and books such as those of Nicholas Sparks.

Cleverly, there is also a set of mid shots near the end as the children run up to their parents (Ed and Taylor). This causes publicity and a different representation of the artists. This is because the questioning of whether they are in a relationship (in or out of the video) and if they had a love/best friend relationship such as the children in the video. 

Next, I chose the video to 'Goodnight Moon' by Go Radio. This is because it links to the love story element again, and I like that idea as a love story can be portrayed cleverly or nicely within a music video and stories such as this can appeal to a large audience.

The video is pretty diverse and is about a couple growing up, breaking up, meeting other people but not being happy. The diversity can especially be seen through the editing, which I find unique and an inspiration for my own style of music video. The video begins with flashback sequences of the couple together, edited in an old fashioned way (the sepia effect) and filmed in a hand held fashion. This really inspired me as I like the vintage editing style and the hand held camera work causes the narrative/video to become more personal and real like a home video, not a professional camera, causing the relationship to look overly staged.

There is a cross cutting style used as you see the male at the alter as the 'home video' styled clips of his ex (which the audience is not aware of yet) girlfriend plays in between. And a typical beginning of the wedding scene takes place such as the family crying and bridemaids laying petals. We then see his 'girlfriend' walk down the aisle looking scared/nervous. We then see a veil being lifted up and it's not hers. The audience then identifies that scenes are being cut and as we are tricked. We finally see that they are marrying different people.The element of the Goodwin's theory is added in as there is a link between visuals and music as the beat and lyrics fasten up as the idea is revealed, causing the scene to become more dramatic and sad in a way.

There is also a link between the lyrics and the visuals as the music quickens up and the original couple run out of their weddings to find each other, as the lyrics 'our hearts are happy burdens we shouldn't have to bare alone.' This adds to the theme of love and causes a dramatic turn, and makes the audience excited by the idea of romance and the couple.



Near the end of the video, the song fades out and the editing is slow as the couple run away together. This clarifies a happy ending and the idea of the narrative ending. This overall shows the idea of having the format of a video as a narrative/concept is more exciting and personal.






The next video I will analyse will mostly be based on editing styles used within the video 'Blank Space' by Taylor Swift. 

Firstly, the artist is represented in a comical way highlighting the idea of a back story as the artist acts in a way that the media is portraying her currently for example bad girlfriend and insane. She uses the lyrics and narrative of the video to make light of the situation. The idea of bad break ups and the artist spreading light on false stories are typically touched upon within pop music videos.

Firstly, continuity is used through out so that the audience can follow the story in an easy way to save confusion, thus engrossing the audience with a straight forward narrative. This also shows her performing, and singing to the love interest, following the song. This editing style as a whole, makes the video easier to watch, which is what I would like to inflict into my video at some points as it will contain many flashbacks, the audience would find it confusing and hard to follow.

Establishing shots take place many times throughout the video, for example during an argument in an expensive looking room, This allows the audience to see the room, however focuses on the heated argument to build up tension and overall establish the fight. This highlights the seriousness of the situation and causes a climax within the video, like a short film. This provides the audience with more information and the sense of a back story. The video also stars shot reverse shots through the argument to highlight both characters within the plot. 

I will share this information with my fellow group members by going through lists of songs that are considered during production. We will also discuss any ideas we have for example, within the Goodwin's theory and how this can be applied to a song.

The three songs I will consider are:
Ed Sheeran: Thinking Out Loud
The 1975: So Far It's Alright
Mumford and Sons; The Cave