I Ain't Worried... About This Research...But Maybe Making the Music Video

 The song we chose, I Ain’t Worried by OneRepublic, is a pop-rock song. This is a fusion of the pop and rock genres that includes the upbeat tempo and mainstream music trends with the overwhelming use of guitars and drums. It is very popular, so we could study mainstream artists such as P!nk, Maroon 5, The Script, and other songs by OneRepublic. 

The first video we studied was Just Like Fire by P!nk. This video was especially helpful because the music video was also based on a movie, the same as the song we chose. It begins with the diegetic sound of dialogue but includes no other sound excluding music without the video. The music itself remains loud and constant. Additionally, there are certain lyrics the characters would lip sync, but no sound would actually be heard other than P!nk’s voice. The video was edited heavily in the end to simulate Wonderland where the video supposedly takes place; This includes floating tables. However, we will probably not include this level of editing in our own video due to its level of complexity. The most important characteristic of this music video to our own is the use of camera angles and shots to build action. The director uses a tilt zoom to build tension at the beginning which starts the video with an eccentric feel. This is repeated throughout to build emotions and excitement. There is a continuous stream of low angles to build the confidence of the character. Most of the shots are long or medium which again builds the confidence and positivity of the portrayal. Finally, at the climax of the conflict, there is a close-up of the two characters which really punctuated the tension. 

The second video we watched was Animals by Maroon 5. This one was especially interesting because all of the shots were almost exclusively between medium-long shots and medium close-ups rather than long shots and extreme close-ups. It uses a mixture of all angles, but especially high shots and birdseye to accentuate the power dynamics presented in the video. In the audio, the director used a series of snaps and visuals of flashes to mimic a camera, adding the effect of nostalgia when presenting photographs. The director also used other effects such as a color change to give a nostalgic feeling to the video. 

The third video we examined was Hall of Fame by The Script. This video is our favorite of the group and gave us a lot of ideas in terms of the narrative of the story. It begins with a medium shot of someone jumping against a strong light contrast of black and white. It jumps to someone being kicked awake in a much less contrasted image with more vivid colors. It repeats it with a different character which builds the momentum of the song. It uses long shots to create distance between the characters to build their inner conflict and determination. They repeat the over-the-shoulder shot frame of the character's reactions and facial expressions. As it goes on and the music intensifies, it switches to more close-ups and extreme close-ups to show the character.  Both juxtaposed narratives end with a triumph that is shown at a low angle. This video again uses limited sound outside the music with only a line or two at the beginning which helps the clarity of the song. The editing was more subtle on this one but included a lot of important elements. They purposely used sound bridges and action matches throughout to exhibit the contrasting stories and encourage their inner conflict. The lighting uses strong dark and light contrasts to create emotion. 

The fourth and final video we analyzed was West Coast by OneRepublic. We chose to watch this one because it was by the same artists as our song which gave it some similar qualities. Like Hall of Fame, it included strong color contrast, but the director used a more orange tint in this one. In ways of editing, there was limited visual editing, but they used action matches throughout to create more coherent transitions. They used inserted flashing to highlight the noise of the drums within the music video but did not include diegetic noise. This video has a limited narrative, but included multiple medium close-ups when focusing on the lead singer which we can name as the “main character”. The shots were mostly eye-level but included a couple of low angles to accentuate the band. 

Throughout these videos, we noticed certain conventions. There was a strong use of color editing and contrasting colors to build emotions. Secondly, they used multiple action matches to create cleaner transitions. Tilts and pans were used often, but the shots varied. It gave us many ideas which we hope to bring to life in our planning!