Select actors and actress

Costume Planning

narrative case study (updated)

How are narrative techniques employed in Foo Fighter video 'Learn to Fly' 

The song I have chosen to do my this case study on is "Learn to Fly" by the Foo Fighters. This song was released in 1999, on the album There's Nothing Left to Lose. The song was very successful even though it was released in 1999 it has 62 million views on youtube it reached 21 in the UK singles charts, so it was a big song when it was released. They have sold 30 million album world wide.

In this music video the narrative is of the lead singer David Grohl flying on a plane in which has had sleeping power put in to the coffee maker by two cleaner who are play by Jack Black and Kyle Gass. This lead to everyone who has had the coffee to fall asleep, even the pilots. This leads to Grohl and other band member having to land the plane because they are the only people who haven't drunk the coffee and they pull out a manual called learn to fly (shown in figure 2), which is a direct reference to the song title. This give the song an impressionist narrative where the music video is what the lyrics are about. Also this narrative conforms to Todorov's narrative progression as in the beginning of the narrative there is equilibrium to it, but the there is disruption when the pilots drink the drugged coffee, then the band member recognise what has happened, they then try and fix this through learning to fly and finally they land the plane safely to bring back the equilibrium.

figure 2

figure 1

This music video is similar to their other music videos which is that the lead singer David Grohl is in the performance and the narrative. Like in 'Walk' he is in the narrative as a person who can't get to work and walks there and encounters challenges which he over comes by using comedic violence like beating some one with a salami (shown if figure1). The narrative in their songs have a comedic side to them compered to the genre Alternative. But in there song 'Best of You' the narrative is quite dark but this goes with the lyrics of the song and in Walk and Learn to Fly this music video fits in with the genre of these songs. These videos go by Claude Lévi-Strauss' theory that there will be opposites like in learn to fly Grohl is shown to be the hero by saving the plane and the cleaners are shown to be villains. Also in Learn to Fly and Walk reality and fantasy are show by seeing the band in video of a live performance then to him being a pilot. Also in these two song the narrative is linear which means it is in a chronologic order.



In Nirvana Smells Like Teenage Spirit, the song has a climax in the narrative where all the teenage get up and dance. Learn to Fly also has a climax in the narrative, this is where the sleep drug have an effect and Grohl take over as the pilot. Also these song both have linear narratives. This is shown in Smells Like Teenage Spirit, by all the kid being sat down at the beginning of the music videos, then they are all dancing by the end of the video and in Learn to Fly it start with him getting on the plane then him saving the plane. This a common theme in this genre. This is also the same in Imagine Dragons 'Radioactive and It's Time, this also has linear narratives in them.

Another thing in which Foo Fighter song and Imagine Dragons 'Radioactive' is that they both have in common is that they both have the binary opposite of Corruption and innocence, which link to Lévi-Strauss' theory. In the Foo Fighter song Walk Grohl is given a burger which look nothing like the picture, which is the corruption and he is innocent to this. But then this is switched when Grohl pushes the burger in the guys face who served him and in Radioactive they narrative is off a puppet or toy fight with one being superior over the other. The narrative in this song is non-linear.

How are the conventions of the indie rock genre evident in the artic monkey's video 'one for the road'

Lyrics of Never get Lost Except by Your Side- 4kicks w/ Chris Boyer and Conner Mckie

Plan w/ Chris Boyer and Conner Mckie

Evidence from the band (updated)

song possibility

Memory lane: 2stix2mix
http://www.unsigned.com/2stix2mix
This song is a possibility due to the fact that it is has a strong beat which also for cut to be made on the beat which will allow the video to flow as the shots will flow with the music. This links well to the genre and therefore the target audience due to the lyrics and the quick beat will attract a specific audience. But there is a problem with the beat is that it is at a constant pace which will lead to the shot being the same length and quick so that the music video would seem a bit rushed and that would not suit the genre because it there are a mixture in the length of shots. 

Green Eyed Monster: 1984
http://www.unsigned.com/1984
This song is a possibility because of the fact that it has a good strong beat, with a mixture of paces which would give the video a good flow to the music video due to the fact that it will allow for a more smooth and flowing music video the Memory lane. Also it suits the genre like 'One for the road' by the artic monkeys, which has a strong beat which is 4/4 register which suit the genre and similar to the Green Eyed Monster. There are many breaks in the beats to break up the speed of the video and the edit. This help for the band to get exposure if it is a performance which is common in this genre (indie rock), and the quick beat in some section could allow for quick cut to show food the bands energy, when performing

I Never Get Lost Except by Your Side: 4kicks

http://www.unsigned.com/4kicks
This song is a possibility because of the fact that it suit the genre of indie rock well and would be a good song to create a music video for. It has a 4/4 beat which is the same as Views from the Afternoon. The 4/4 beat help with editing because it prove a good rhyme to edit to like cut on the beat. This would allow for the edit to proved energy which would help in the advertising the band and make people to want to see them live. This song has a similar to the red light are indicate doors are secure by the artic monkeys. They both contain a 4/4 beat which is a feature of the two genre of songs.



http://www.unsigned.com/abottleofloki

Plan w/ Chris Boyer and Conner Mc

Music Video and Genre Convention. (updated)

A way of looking at music videos is by using Goodwin's Theory. This consists of 8 main principles, a few of these are having links between the narrative and the lyrics, another is that the music video show off the characteristics of the genre.

In these music videos they are all narrative with a bit of performance, this links into the genre which is Indi Rock. This is because the way in which the music is written and the lyrics suit this format of music video instead of  full performance. These videos link in with the genre of the music video link in I bet my life as it where the where the kid in the boat flies when he goes of the edge which links to the main lyrics "I BET MY LIFE ON YOU". Also there are changes in the music texture, like in Radioactive where the music is more energetic and with quicker cut when the champion stuff toy was wining all the time and the cut slow as the the champion losses and the music is less energetic. This links to the genre because the lyrics are very important to the genre as they tell a story.

They all have different speeds at which cut are at because of the fact in that the music has different speeds and texture, like in It's Time there tempo of the music is not very fast and there for there is no need for for quick cut and in the music video this is show with the majority of shot are down out and the still cut on the beat. This links in to the other music videos but in the there videos there are different tempo like in radioactive there is a fast tempo and at the begging of I Bet my Life when the two kid where fighting the tempo of the music increased and the this lead to quicker cut bin this  section of the music video.

Another thing that is prominent in these video are is that the members of the band are shown in all the videos. But they are involved in the videos in different amounts of screen time, like in It's Time they are in the vast majority of the shots, but in I Bet my Life they are only in the open scene. This help for advertisement of the band as it show that there music is important to the as there want to be in the music video.

There is strong link between the lyrics and the visual this is most prominent in I bet my life because all of the things that happen you would die from but the boy in the video doesn't. This is part of Goodwin's theory. This is show specifically in show when the boy goes off the edge of the water fall. Also in rock videos they appeal to their audience by showing off there their energy and enthusiasm while performing live to increase popularity and wanting people to go and watch you live and follow them and listen to there music.

Also, in Goodwin's theory it state that the music video will link link to the record label in which these do, X Ambassadors are also part of the same record label as Imagine Dragons and in X Ambassadors music videos they are don't have as much narrative but they have good amounts of performance in there videos similar to the imagine dragons videos, especially Radio active and a song that is called Gold. In the video's Radioactive and It's Time, the performance is there to promote the bands live performance, as this genre is more about the gigs then the record sales.

How does "Judith" by a perfect circle meet the needs go its genre. (updated)

This music is distinctive because it exhibit the genre that the music in which is being performed and it advertise the band well. One way in which the music shows of the genre is by the use of quick cuts, this shows the energy in which the band has when performing their music and this falls in to the genre of the music which is grunge rock. Also there are many close of the band member and especially the lead singer and the female base guitarist. This acts as advertising for the band a it is showing off the band, getting there target audience use to them, also by showing the female guitarist because it is not usual for this sort of band to have a female member as the genre doesn't appeal to a female audience. Also they have many shot of the female band member showing off her feminine side like close up of her shoe and a clip of her tying up her hair and by doing this it shows that she (Paz Lenchantin) is an important member to the band. 

  

Also there are many shots with a shallow focus to emphasis the important feature of the band and thing to do with the type of song and the genre. One example of this is at 0:39 seconds, this shot is of the lead sing and the lead guitarist and the focus is more on the lead sing as he has the most influential role in the band and this shot gives him power over the man playing the guitar in the back ground. Also there is another shot with shallow focus the camera is focused on the mixing desk with the band in the back ground, this shows off the bands as one group and but this also mixes the genre with a more mainstream music video because having images of the mixing desk is not commons in this genre and is more mainstream, this my have been done to appeal to a wider audience.

On the footage there are engravings, which is a common in the genre grunge rock, which is a dirt type of rock and this engraving supports this. This links to the genre of the music and the energy that the band has because of the quick cuts they it make the footage standout as it comes up bright on the dark background. These engravings link to the genre because of the fact that it is dark and this emphasis that by the disturbances on the video and the out of focus shots that occur. Also the video is shot in a empty film studio with dark smoky light to help appeal to appeal to fans of the band and other people in which like this genre of music. Another thing that is prominent in this is the use of  dark colour palette through out the video, this help emphasis the dirty type of rock as this make the mise en scene look dirty and unpleasant.

The mise en scene of the this video help to advertise the band and linking them to genre. One of the ways this is done by showing off the band member and there feature like having lots of closeup of there faces epically the lead singer how has long hair this is done because it show that he has chilled and down to earth but also it could he has energy when it come to music because this hair cut suits this genre. But the lead guitarist has the complete opposite hair cut because he is bold this gives the feeling of energy and darkness which suit the 'rock and role' and 'mental' genre. Also linking back to previous paragraph there are many close ups to the female bass guitarist by the use of shot of her shoes and her tying up her hair to show off her femininity but also it by the her being part of this band is different because it is a very male dominated genre. Also there are many ECU these create a scene of mystery about the band, this fits in to the genre because of the fact that this is not a mainstream genre to there for they seem mysterious to a person who listens to more mainstream music.

Another thing that is prominent in this song is that the director uses the rule of thirds when the band members are on the screen like in the opening 6 seconds where the bold guitarists nose is on the third and also alone that third spilt the side of his face which is lit up by fill light and the other side which is covered by shadow. This suit the genre by the light side of his face showing energy and the darks side show evil and hardness of the music and the band. Also at 42 second there is a triangle shot of the band with the two band member playing the guitar on the left and right thirds but they are out of focus and the lead sing is in the centre of the shot in focus this shows that he has power over those band members in that shot. There are also many quick cuts, this show off the bands energy and this will show fan that they will be like this on stage meaning that fan will see that they know the genre of music and flow them on tour and download their music.

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