Green Day case study relating to Goodwin's theory NOT FINISHED

Band: Green Day
Track: Minority
Release Date: October 3rd 2000
Album Title: Warning
Label: Reprise
Country: California, United States
Genre: Punk rock/pop




0:02 establish introduction shot.

The opening shot of Minority is a close up of a hand playing an acoustic guitar that gradually zooms out so as to show the whole instrument, establishing genre immediately; traditional instruments such as guitars are very common within the punk rock genre opposed to the electrical sounds made by new technologies that can be heard in a wide range of tracks belonging to alternative, more mainstream genres such as house or drum and base. This shot also reflects Goodwin’s theory in that a relationship between the music and the visuals is immediately established; the image of the instrument is illustrative of the music that can be heard. This idea of relating the music to the visuals is continued throughout the video in that the band members are shown to be miming the lyrics of the track; this enables the audience to establish who the artists behind the song are as well as conforming to Goodwin's successful music video theory.
After researching various similar artists I discovered that the opening close up shot of the guitar is seen to be quite a generic opening shot for many artists of this genre; Blink 182 also use a similar shot to this in their production for Dammit in which a band member can be seen playing an electric guitar within the first 5 seconds.

Goodwin's theory is further followed by the way in which the band can be easily identified and stand unique from the rest of the people in the video. Several close up shots of the band members can be seen throughout; these are often incorporated into music video productions due to the demands of the record label, according to Goodwin's theory and aid in creating a 'visual style'. This style is propelled further by the reoccurrence of certain motifs, such as the idea of being alternative and being part of 'the minority', and therefore the shot of the alternative-looking crowd is shown several times to be separated from the stereotypical group, by the way in which they are shown to avoid conversation, eye contact and general interaction with those around them, in order to reinforce this idea of differentiation.



In regards to genre, Goodwin claims an artist should 'demonstrate typical genre characteristics' in order to be accessible and appealing to the target audience. Within the indie/punk rock genre, bands and artists are most commonly seen to show stage performances rather than constructing rigid narrative structures. The video production for Minority shows many different shots of the artists within the band performing their individual role as well as showing the band as a collective. These shots are most commonly close up and/or tilt shots and have been edited to a very fast tempo in order to reflect the upbeat feel of the track and to also comply with the generic conventions of the indie/punk rock genre. Camera movement is also very typical to videos of this genre; rock is a very up-tempo, fast-paced genre and therefore the video productions for tracks of this type very commonly use movement to reflect this; the camera is almost constantly moving.



According to Goodwin's theory the relationship between the lyrics and the visuals can be used to perform one (or sometimes two) of three things; to illustrate, amplify or disjuncture. In my opinion, although not necessarily relating the specific lyrics to the visuals, the music video for Minority aims to primarily illustrate and to secondly amplify the implied meaning behind the lyrics as a whole. The band is shown to be performing on an unusually decorated float, led by a group of alternative-looking people, travelling down a realistic, ordinary-looking street location. This contrast between the familiar, ordinary location and the outrageously presented band directly reflect the lyrics that express a wish to 'be the minority' and gives examples of individuals who stand above the stereotypical majority; alternative extras as leading the parade. The repeated use of these shots support the idea of amplifying the relation of visuals to the track; they are frequently included so as to ensure that the implication of the lyrics is fully comprehended by the audience. These distinctive individuals and the promotion of individuality within the lyrics also act as a reflection of the genre; the punk rock scene is commonly connoted with minority, alternative styles.

NOTION OF LOOKING?

The Indie Rock Genre

Not My Day

The track I chose to use for my video production, Not My Day, categorise themselves into the indie rock genre of msuci with a Pop-like twist. Indie rock is a sub-genre of the very diverse and ever-changing genre of alternative rock. This contemporary category originated from Britian and the US in the 1980's, catalysed by bands such as R.E.M. (US) and The Smiths (UK). Originally useed to describe the record labels. the term 'indie' soon became associated with the style of music they produce and as grunge and punk revival bands in the US and then Britpop bands in the UK broke into the mainstream in the 1990s, it came to be used to identify those acts that retained an outsider and underground perspective.

Genre relating to costume...

In the music industry, the indie genre is extremely diverse in that it does not conform to one specific style/type of music with various sub-genres that include rock, pop, house and alternative. The term 'indie' has come to be used to identify those acts that retained an outsider and underground position, away from the main stream chart music. This independence from the mainstream music became the basis for the alternative, ‘underground’ fashion style that is very much separate from mainstream trends.

This alternative style has evolved to become known as ‘indie’ and, similar to the music genre, acts as a heading above many different sub-genres of fashion. The indie rock sub-style is quite dark in colour in that most clothing can be seen to be black, grey or darker shades of green, red and blue; such as outfits similar to those worn by artists/bands such as Alice Glass or Green Day and characters similar to Woody from This Is England (2006) or Effy from popular TV series, Skins (2007). As the term ‘indie’ originated from the music industry, it is obvious that music and the artists producing this music play a large part in influencing the tone and style of the indie fashion. The indie rock style is largely influenced by the contrasting vintage and rock/grunge styles around, commonly featuring high necklines, shirts, denim and lots of black, altogether creating a grungy, distressed and unkempt look.

Stereotypes within the genre...

The idea behind the narrative of my music video is to embrace the stereotypes that are commonly referred to in the indie rock genre so as to adhere to theorists such as Andrew Goodwin who claim that a video should 'demonstrate genre characteristics' in order to make the production accessible and appealing to an audience.
Bands of the indie rock genre are considered to create heavier, more aggressive sounds compared to those created by the more mainstream genres of today such as pop or hiphop. The heavier, more masculine sounds of traditional instruments such as drums and guitar, are often seen to have more up-beat, busy music videos and tend to be more commonly related to the male gender. In order to comply with the generic conventions of the genre, I plan to make the focus of the narrative exclusive to the male gender and include stereotypical visuals that are so commonly pertained with this gender.

Furthermore, after researching into various different music videos for bands of this genre (such as Muse and Two Door Cinema Club) I have noticed that quite often humour is created by way of exaggeration and hyperbolic characters and actions, such as performed in the video for Changing of the Seasons by Two Door Cinema Club. I found this concept to be of interest to me as I wish to create a unique and significant video that I can say successfully represents the carefree nature of the genre whilst alos creating humour in over-exaggerating the stereotypical attitudes of young males.

Band:Two Door Cinema Club
Track: Changing of the Seasons
Genre: Indie Rock
Release Date: 27th Sep 2013
Label: Glassnote Records

This video creates humour by the way in which they have incorporated several stereotypical characters; the well dressed, rather pompous doorman, the over-weight, rude journalist and the seemingly arrogant, cavalier band members. I plan to use this as inspiration when creating the character profiles for my own music video by making the male character appear to be lazy and overtly laid-back in order to play up to the classic stereotypes of today and therefore create a light-hearted comedy to the production.

Track Choice

Not My Day - Stuey Morris's Isis

I found this track/band on the website unsigned.com under the genre of indie rock/power pop; the track is called Stuey Morris's Isis and was composed and recorded by an Oxford-based trio named Not My Day. I chose this track as I liked the upbeat, fast pace of the heavy instruments as it will allow me to create a fun, energetic and experimental video.
In order to reflect and emphasize this hyped, fast beat I may experiment and play with the idea of speeding the footage up to double time as I believe this would work well in accordance with the meaning and sound of the track; my interpretation of the lyrics was that they were commenting on and symbolic of a resistance and reluctance to grow and mature; a wish to stay forever young and carefree.

Whilst listening to this track I was lead to believe the lyrics and concept around the track to be predominately male; the lyrics are sung by a male and all 3 band members of Not My Day are male, this, along with the heavy beat and somewhat harsh, direct lyrics create a sense of power and aggression which is commonly connoted with the male gender. This male dominance can be seen on a wider spectrum regarding the indie rock genre as a whole; this genre is created by heavy drums and more hectic electronic sounds which are often related to the more aggressive gender of men. To ensure my music video is notable and different to other videos of the same genre I have chosen to sculpt the narrative of my production to be focused more on the rebellion and anger of a female character, rather than male, to challenge the common stereotypes of this genre and style.

Another reason for this choice was because I like the way in which the voice of the singer is very powerful and, although competing with a rather hectic array of sounds that form the track, the lyrics are not lost beneath the instrumental sounds and I will therefore be able to employ the relationship section of Goodwin's theory that states that a 'strong relationship between lyrics and visuals' within a music video is vital for audience appreciation, by creating my own visual interpretation of the lyrics.

I found it tricky to find a website that held the lyrics for this song as I suspect the band is no longer performing together and I was therefore forced to listen to the track and note down the lyrics myself. It is due to this that there appears to be gaps in the opening verse; I was unable to dicpher what the lyrics were, however I do not see this as a drastic problem as the lexical field can be assumed from the rest of the line/verse.

Passed out on the backseat on the ____ made on county town road

Saving all my best _______ for a time when they can be dressed up in gold

Fearing that my face is aging oh

Wandering round the top floor of a house that’s worried me for so long

Flaking walls like the ___weeping like the willow trees arms

Tears of black are falling without sound

Creating ripples on the puddles on the ground

Pent house a shit house

My house your house

Pent house a shit house baby, yeah

Laying on the bed and drifting in and out of listening to you

Least not you but I think it’s me

Thinking of the sound of that willow tree

Tears of black are falling without sound

Creating ripples on the puddles on the ground

Pent house a shit house

My house your house

Pent house a shit house baby, yeah

Shot List (Unfinished)

To ensure I have a sound knowledge of all the shots required to successfully create a clear narrative I created a shot list that directs the mise-en-scene and location according to the lyrics/part of the track that runs alongside it.
This will act as a guide for me when it comes to shooting and will ensure I obtain all footage required.

Sound = mise-en-scene = Location

·         Starting of engine, beeping of car horn = LOW ANGLE CLOSE UP lights of car turning on

·         First 4 seconds = LOW ANGLE traffic lights changing colour and passing cars = Bottom of Grapes Hill

·         Next 8 seconds = TRACKING SHOT out the side of a car, scenery shooting past = Anglia Square, graffiti-covered walls etc

·         Next 2 seconds = LOW ANGLE TILT SHOT of boy doing skateboarding trick = Cobbled street

·         Next 2 seconds = LOW ANGLE MID SHOT of group of boys messing around on wall = Wall

·         Next 2 seconds = TRACKING SHOT of boy running towards camera, dodging past person on street = Cobbled street

·         “Passes out on the back seat” = HIGH ANGLE boy slobbed on seat, waking up, rubbing head, looking about him etc = In car

·         Next 2/3 seconds = CLOSE UP of pint glass getting emptier (quick shots) = Pub table (Pub I work in)

·         Next 2 seconds = CLOSE UP (tracking shot or still?) of feet stumbling out of pub door = Pub doorway

Above 2 shots may be done in b&w to show flashback

·          “Saving all my best” = OVER THE SHOULDER girl brushing boys shoulders in mirror & kissing cheek, boy’s face is bored = Mirror in Ruby’s mum’s room

·         Next 2/3 seconds = LOW ANGLE TRACKING SHOT of back of boys legs walking away from camera = On the Street

·         Next 2/3 seconds = HIGH ANGLE shot of girl tugging boys arm and telling him off = Car

·         “Fearing that my face” = CLOSE UP 7 different quick shots of different parts of boys face, last one full face girl, looking angry

·         Next 3 seconds = LOW ANGLE TILT SHOT of skate board jump

·         Next 5 seconds = BIRDS EYE VIEW (with backlight) of boys jostling and messing around = Pub

·         Next 3 seconds = MID CLOSE UP of girl throwing arms about, angry = Poppy’s room

·         “Wandering round the top floor” = MID SHOT of girl pacing room, phone in hand = Poppy’s room

·         Next 2 seconds = CLOSE UP of phone to girls face/just phone

·         “Flaking walls like the” = HAND HELD TRACKING SHOT of girl trashing room = Poppy’s room

Interesting Music Videos

Imagine Dragons- Radioactive

I found this video to be very interesting due to the unique way in which animation is used so sophisticatedly alongside normal, unedited footage. The concept of using children’s toys within the video intrigued me as I like the idea of hidden/deeper messages;  the soft toys are symbolic of the way in which the ‘new age’ is being bred and raised as weapons of destruction and harm by those above them. I believe this to be an example of subtle anti-war protest and a criticism of the government; a very controversial issue and therefore something which interests me so.

The Black Keys- Next Girl

This video is one of my favourites; they successfully incorporate humour into the video by way of sarcasm and micky-taking. The video itself is somewhat ‘typically different/unique’ which is what makes the words that run across the bottom so effective;  they comment on the video in dry humour and are therefore successful in keeping the viewer entertained and interested in a very unique and clever way.

Case Study: Leftfield - Africa Shox

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