Mood board Analysis

My initial ideas encompass the theme of the 1980’s/90’s, embracing the style of music videos; aesthetics, concepts, colours, as well as elements of neon and 80’s/90’s media.

   I chose this theme as many popular, modern music videos are heavily influenced by the 80’s and 90’s such as The 1975’s music video for ‘Girls’ featuring neon writing as well as 80’s clothing, props and haircuts, all of which appear on my moodboard. The video is described as a ‘glorious visual pop expedition’ (www.underthegunreview.net)  as well as conveying a running theme of the issue of gender equality through how the men shown are fully dressed and not sexualised, whereas the women in the video are sexualised to an extreme level, commenting on women being presented in this way (www.voicemag.uk). The 'tongue-in-cheek video pokes fun at 'expected pop promo clichés' which I think is an effective attribute of a music video; to inject light-hearted humour and satire among situations, making an audience warm to the characters within a video. 

The fact that the wit ridden video makes fun of gender representation in the music industry has influenced me through how I could highlight issues in my own music video using humour to effectively raise awareness as well as being professional and aesthetically crafted. 

   Another modern music video on my moodboard that visually portrays the 80’s/90’s is Charli XCX’s ‘Boy’s’ video. This project, aesthetically, screams quintessential 80’s, with light pinks, intentional bad video quality, 80’s clothing as well as the tone. Selena Gomez’s ‘Wolves’ music video, also included in my moodboard, uses neon colours which send off old-school signals. 

   I have also included older, less modern music videos within my moodboard that serve as more of a realistic stance on how videos were really like. For example, Pink Floyd’s artwork, featuring the blue figure looks very old and vintage which is a style of video that interests me; making it look like it hasn’t been digitally filmed but taped. 

    Additionally, I have used motifs in my moodboard such as the logos of MTV and ‘Top of the Pops’, which are both iconic and vintage in the music industry. 

   David Bowie also has a place on my moodboard due to his revolutionary work for music and his iconic style that used his own imagination. What is so inspiring about Bowie that will strongly influence my work was his originality. Bowie at first was criticised for his differences yet this is what made him stand out from others. I wish for my music video to be unique and original yet still take influence from other videos such as the ones displayed.

   Simply from looking at my moodboard, there is an influence of the pink and blue colour scheme coming through as well as an indie/dance/pop concept. Although, I may choose for my music video not to go down this theme as much, I am treating my moodboard as a starting point from which other ideas may stem. 

   However, from an aesthetic perspective, I now have a firm idea that I want my music video to be a combination of the old and new, with vintage elements evident having a contemporary twist, like an old concept developed into something new and fresh.  As well as this, I want my music video to make a statement; this may be political or ethical, yet I can use visuals to educate and express my opinions on current issues in the world. This I strongly believe to be a powerful tool that music videos have. I could make a liberating statement through my music video using sarcasm or humour such as The 1975 did to express their own feelings on gender representation. The 1975 often use their music videos to express meaning, another example of theirs being their video for ‘The Sound’, in which text over the video describes critics reviews of the band’s music. This however is used sarcastically amid the huge success and popularity the band had gained especially from younger audiences.  This can be seen on my moodboard through the text, ‘Totally lacking the wow factor’. This concept is empowering for a music video, highlighting the issue of other people’s opinions of your own work – yet the band has responded, showing people how serious they are in the music industry, and how they are not ‘a joke’. 

   Other sources of inspiration I have gathered include the music video for ‘King’ by Years and Years, which displays ‘being in a relationship with someone and how that can be really intoxicating’ (www.songfacts.com). Dua Lipa’s ‘IDGAF’ music video is all about the artist battling a darker, more empowered version of herself, in aim of displaying ‘your stronger and weaker side fighting with each other only to realise that self-love is what will help you overcome any negativity that comes your way’. 

   This is a very strong message and just another example of how music videos can act as a voice of expression, impacting the people that watch, which is something I hope to utilise in my own music video. Such issues I could raise within my own video could include gender equality, homophobia, self-love/mental health, yet this can be done both subtly and obviously. Something else which is important is the song and how it fits with the concept behind the music video. For instance, looking at The 1975 ‘Girls’ video again, one line of the music goes, ‘they’re just girls, breaking hearts’ which effectively is portrayed in the music video; this sense of ‘just girls’ is visually displayed through how the females are stereotypically not wearing much. The video makes fun of this – why are females represented as of lesser significance than males? 

   From this I have realised that in my own music video, the lyrics should in some way relate to the visuals, resulting in a more rounded concept. This way, an audience may have more of a clear understanding of what the artist stands for. Sending mixed signals can be confusing for an audience – my video needs a clear motive and path in which it goes down to tell a story. Trying to find the right tone/humour will be a challenge yet to start I will need something I wish to voice my opinions on. 

   Regarding the video clip displaying each photo within my moodboard, I used polaroids to present each idea because the polaroid camera was invented in 1948, and although they became less popular with the use of digital photography, they have recently experienced a surge in popularity. This may be because it allows people to receive hard copies of photos which is more difficult to do with digital photos. It is also a more retro and authentic way of photography. 

   They are used a lot in music videos, such as Sia's 'Breathe Me' music video and Sara Bareilles's 'King of Anything' music video. I myself chose to include them in my display of photographs because they relate to my vintage theme. I like the concept, also, including the fact that they act as keep-safes and memories yet they are just pieces of paper holding so much emotion. This is something I could include in my own music video as polaroids are more and more popular, especially among younger audiences in which my music video would probably target the most. 

Here is my stop-motion style video displaying the making of my moodboard:

I really like how my video has turned out because it allows someone to see my thought process and simply in general presents my initial ideas in a more informal way. I used stop-motion which was an effective technique yet was very time consuming because I had to take a picture and move the cards repeatedly. However, uploading the video onto YouTube allowed me to put music to it. I chose the song 'When a Fire Starts to Burn' by Disclosure because it has a good beat and is dance/house influenced which for my initial thoughts, is the genre my music video will be.
If I were to improve my video I would use my camera instead of my phone because the footage would be better quality however I quite like how it is bad quality because it fits with the vintage theme along with the polaroids used.