Music Video Inspirations - Miss Miller

Music Video Inspirations

It is important to consider inspirations from different music videos as this can give you ideas that will connote things you want to portray in your own music video. other music videos make use of different shots in many different ways depending on the narrative, concept and style of video. 

Ellie Goulding - Explosions

In Ellie Goulding's "Explosions" music video I have taken inspiration from the editing effects used in the video. The music video makes great use of filters as it applies a black and white filter effect over the whole duration of the video. I have taken inspiration from this as I believe that it can represent different things in the video for example a memory, a thought, a flashback or a past experience that makes the audience feel emotional or sympathetic towards the artist. I believe that this will be effective in my own music video as the narrative of my music video is to narrate the broken relationship between the artist and her girlfriend and how the negative elements of their relationship forced them to break up. This is conventional to the indie genre as indie artists usually tell a personal story to the audience to relate with them. Therefore a black and white filter helps to make the memories that the artist is thinking about more clear for the audience as they can understand that the darker colour represents a negative and past event. This type of feature helps for the audience to gain a better understanding of a narrative based music video which is the type of music video that I will be producing with my group, to help the audience understand how the artist may be feeling. It also helps the audience to understand that Ellie may be going through a hard time as the dull colour filter gives off the impression of negativity, sadness and isolation which will ultimately make the audience sympathise with her and this will help them to build a relationship with her. Most indie artists write material about their own personal issues which will give off a sense of realism and help the audience to relate to similar situations as they may have experienced this before and can therefore gain comfort in understanding that their favourite artist also feels the same way. This will work well within my own music video as it will connote the negative feelings and emotions that come with break ups and the breakdown of relationships. I will incorporate the black and white filter in my own music video by choosing a black and white filter and dragging it over the top of the clips of the memories to symbolise a past experience which the artist is reminiscing on which will further make the artist more relatable for the target audience as reminiscing on memories is something that the majority of the target audience would do themselves and therefore could also imagine themselves in this situation.

Sam Smith - Writings on the Wall

I have also taken inspiration from Sam Smith's music video "Writings on the wall". The inspiration from this  video from the use of close up shots. Close up shots are used in this video to express his emotion and feelings towards a certain situation. The close up shot shows Sam Smith singing the lyrics to his song which I particularly liked within this music video. The use of a close up shot shows the artists true feelings through facial expressions which helps the audience to gain a clearer understanding of how they might be feeling. Also by having a close up of Sam Smith whilst he is singing it is giving the audience more focus on the lyrics because as the audience see him physically singing this lyrics they are more likely to pay attention to the lyrics and this may be a lyric that has some importance or significance to the audience. I like this idea and believe that we could use this in our music video to have importance on some of the lyrics in the song. I will incorporate close up shots in my music video in many different scenes. I will use a close up shot when the artist is singing towards the camera as a close up shot will show the artists facial expressions and this will help the audience to understand exactly how the artist feels about a certain situation. This may also help for the audience to build a relationship with the artist as they feel as though the can relate to them as they have also experienced similar feelings and emotions when they went through this situation. This is conventional of the indie genre as indie artists usually produce narrative music videos portraying themes and situations that the majority of the target audience would have experienced themselves like heartbreak or isolation. Therefore, when the target audience watch the music video and watch how the artist deals with the situation that they are in themselves ,this will motivate them and also inspire the audience to be more like the artist as they will feel like they can also get through anything that they may be struggling with as the artist is capable of doing this aswell.

Birdy - Light Me Up

In the music video "Light Me Up" by our chosen artist Birdy, I have taken inspiration from her use of locations. In this music video Birdy is seen dancing and singing around a London street with graffiti walls and cars parked on the roads. This is conventional to the indie genre as indie artists usually use settings which are low maintenance, low budget and are easily accessible for the target audience as this gives of a sense of realism and makes them seem more relatable as an artist to the target audience as they could imagine themselves in this situation or have already visited it themselves. By having a location which is easily accessible to the target audience it gives them a deeper understanding of what it is like to be in this position themselves and also gives them an insight into where Birdy spends her time and what places she likes to visit which is giving the audience a more personal feel of the video and makes the audience feel as though they have a connection with the artist and this way can build a relationship with them. This is helping the audience to recognise what Birdy is like as a person which they could relate to as she is someone who goes through the same everyday situations as the target audience and this would make them more likely to want to watch more of Birdy's material as she is an ordinary girl who they can relate to and recognise the ways in which she deals with situations that they may also be experiencing themselves. I particularly like this feature because I feel as though it makes the artist seem more like an ordinary girl and shows she is still herself with her own personality which the audience could relate to and build a relationship with her from. From this setting it makes Birdy seem as though she is down to earth and doesn't care about the attention she receives from being in the public eye. It shows she doesn't care about being in the spotlight and taken advantage of her position and welfare of being a celebrity singer. I will use this location within my own music video. I will use this location for our market scene when we are relaying memories of the couple and the artist is reminiscing on the positive times in their relationship. I will use this in my video by visiting London and finding a location that looks edgy and unique which is conventional to the indie genre as indie artists are usually portrayed in this way. A location such as Camden which is known for its edgy, unique and extraordinary elements would be a perfect location to film a scene for my music video as this is conventional to the indie genre and will immediately tell the target audience more about the artist and her lifestyle.




Lana Del Ray - High By the Beach

Lana Del Ray's music video "High by the beach" has given me inspiration through the use of artist representation. In the music video a handheld camera technique is used to follow Lana as she runs through the building. I believe that this is conventional to the indie genre as the hand held camera technique gives off a sense of realism and also makes the audience feel as though they are part of the scene and are directly behind Lana in her music video. It also represents Lana as an important and angelic person. Through the use of her costume which is a white dress with a light blue long cardigan she presents a theme of purity, innocence and angelic elements. The handheld camera technique follows Lana as she runs through an isolated beach house. It is very windy and her long dress is blowing in the wind which almost makes her look as if she is flying which is also symbolic of an angel and purity. This could present her as vulnerable and someone who could be easily hurt and this is also conventional of the indie genre as most indie artists present themselves in this way so that they can make it more relatable for the target audience when they represent the way in which situations can hurt them and how they dealt with this. I feel as though this camera shot would be effective within my own music video as the concept and narrative of love and heartbreak is a situation that most of the target audience will be able to relate to and by having this camera short representing the artist in a innocent way they will feel inspired by Lana and will idolise to be more like her as they feel as though if she can get through this then so can they. This will also help them to relate to the artist because they will feel as though they are experiencing the same situation with the artist first hand and can personally understand what Lana is going through. This will help for the audience to build a relationship with the artist because they feel a sense of loyalty to them as they have followed them on this journey and they will feel closer to them and feel as though they have a connection with them as they can understand where they are coming from. I will use this technique in my own music video as I feel as though the handheld camera technique makes the audience personally feel as though they are watching in the characters point of view and this is why they feel as though they can understand how the artist is feeling. I also think the way this technique represents the artist shows her to be vulnerable yet innocent which is conventional to the indie genre and this makes the audience feel sympathetic towards the artist and this will help the audience to build a relationship with the artist.



Rihanna - Diamonds

The next inspiration I have taken is from the music video "Diamonds" by Rihanna. The reason I have taken inspiration from this music video is due to the performance element that is used in the video. For the majority of the footage in the music video it shows Rihanna singing towards the camera. This is conventional to the indie genre as indie artists are usually recognised for their talent and not their ability to have extravagant music videos for example videos from the pop genre where a lot of green screen and CGI is used. By having the artist performing towards the camera it is showcasing the talent of the artist so the audience can appreciate the talent of the artist and also aspire them to follow their own dreams if this is also what they want to do. The use of a performance style music video also gives a sense of realism to the audience as they feel as though the artist is singing directly to them and that the artist is confiding in them and sharing their problems with them. This represents the artist and down to earth and humble as they also have problems even though they are famous. It allows the audience to connect and relate to the artist as they can physically see the pain on their face, their body language and also them singing with passion. I think this would work effectively in my indie music video as it will represent our artist in a way which makes it easy for the audience to understand how she is feeling and emphasise with her in this hard time in her relationship.

In conclusion this planning has given me an insight to how I will make my music video as conventional to the indie genre as I can. It has given me inspiration to look deeper into indie artist such as Lana Del Ray and Ellie Goulding as their music videos have a vast amount of elements that are conventional to the indie genre for example black and white filters, hand held camera techniques and also performance style elements used in the music video. I have taken inspiration from the songs "Wings" by Birdy, "Explosions" by Ellie Goulding and " Born to Die" by Lana Del Ray. These are three current possible songs I may use to produce my own indie music video. I will share these ideas with my group in our group discussion giving examples of the different micro-elements that work well within their music video.