As a group we decided to use the song 'It feel like we only go backwards' by Tame Impala. We were interested in using this song as we like the song and the music the band makes, the genre of Tame Impalas music allows for a diverse range of music videos, for example anything shown in psychedelic rock music videos are acceptable. The common conventions of Tame Impala music videos are bright colours and effects and also strange concepts. What inspired me to choose this song and band is that I liked their music and videos, so I felt that I wanted to try and make a video for one of their songs, this will allow our group to try conventions that are used in the genre in our video, which wouldn't have been possible in other genres.
2) Artist profile
Tame Impala are a psychedelic rock band from Perth, Australia and was started by Kevin Parker the other members are Dominic Simper, Jay Watson, Cam Avery, Julien Barbagallo and formerly Nick Allbrook. Tame Impala sooner released their self-titled EP in 2008. They attained a number 1 position on the Austrailan Independent record label with three songs from the album. "Desire Be,Desire Go", "Half Full Glass of Wine and "Skeleton Tiger". In 2010 with the release of its debut album Innerspeaker, which was successful and won some awards. Tame Impala received critical acclaim for its 2012 album Lonerism, which is their most recent album, it has won awards and has received fantastic reviews.
Tame Impala has won the following awards:
Favorite Newcomer, Most Popular single, Most Popular Act, Most Popular Live Act, Best Rock Act, Best Guitarist at the WAMI Awards
Best Group, Album of the Year, Best Rock Album for the ARIA Awards
Include information on the number of sales the artist has, with singles, albums
“Lonerism” Tame Impala most recent album sold 60,000 units, and it has an IMPALA European gold certification for 75,000 units sold, this is a huge amount for a psychedelic rock band as the genre is relatively small, but that band has a large audience and has won many awards for its singles and albums.
3) Artist music video analysis
Tame Impala- Expectation.
How is Goodwin’s theory used?
This video uses elements of Goodwin's theory such as showing genre characteristics, this is seen with the use of editing styles that are conventional of the phsycedelic rock genre. There is a strong relationship between the music and visuals this is seen through the performance part of the video, this shows the audience that they are good at playing instruments and can help get them a loyal audience as they know that the band are good at making and playing music. There are also lots of close-ups of the band and the main artist Kevin Parker in this video, this could have been included due to the demands of the record label, as they want their artists to be recognised by a large audience and by showing close ups of them they would be recognised by people, creating them a larger audience. The video is mainly performance based and the concept is the different editing styles and this is conventional video of the phsycedelic rock genre.
How is the artist represented?
The artist is represented as typical of their genre and that they are talented at what they do, this is as they follow typical conventions of their genre in playing instruments and using editing styles that change the shots, which are typical of the phsycedelic rock genre.
Who is the target audience?
The target audience for this video would be 16-35 the usual target audience for Tame Impala as it is conventional of the psychedelic rock genre.
What is the style of the music video?
The style of the music video is concept and performance based as the band are seen playing the song for the majority of the song and the concept is the repeated shots and the editing style of the camera shot being distorted and also the shot being edited to look like it is bending and curving.
How is mise-en-scene used?
Mise-en-scene is used in this video through the setting, costume, body language and facial expression, the common shots used in this video are mid shots and close-ups. The setting is a forest, this isn't conventional to the genre, but it is unique for a music video which is something the band are recognised for, which is being unique. The body language of the band is fairly plain and they don't show much expression, this relates to the lyrics as the lyrics aren't happy, this shows the band has emotion.
What common camera shots do the music videos use?
Mostly mid-shots are used in this video and one high angle shot. This is because the concept of the video is to follow the performance of the band in a circle and the mid shot is a basic shot to go with the concept of the music video, the close-ups break the consistency of the mid shots and also show the expressions of the artist.
Mostly mid-shots are used in this video and one high angle shot. This is because the concept of the video is to follow the performance of the band in a circle and the mid shot is a basic shot to go with the concept of the music video, the close-ups break the consistency of the mid shots and also show the expressions of the artist.
Tame Impala- Solitude is bliss
How is Goodwin’s theory used?
Goodwin's theory isn't used in this video, the band are not shown perfoming the song at any stage, this shows that they are not very worried about following conventions used in the pop genre to try and gain larger audience, this could be as the music they make is for a genre that isn't mainstream, so they want to make music for people that like the genre and not people that like pop music.
How is the artist represented?
The artist isn't represented at all in this video, this goes against most conventions as the music video fr a song is where the artits are usually shown, this can give them a larger audience, but for this video they didn't decide to show themselves performing the song at any stage.
Who is the target audience?
The target audience for this video would be 16-35 the usual age for Tame Imapala's music, this is because people that enjoy their music would appreciate the unique qualities of their videos which is shown in this video.
What is the style of the music video?
This video is all narrative and concept, this music video doesn't include the band performing at any stage, the use of the narrative and concept based video is conventional to some music videos in the phsycedelic rock genre as there are other bands who choose to use narrative based music video for every song they make.
How is mise-en-scene used?
They used a character, with different actors and props, they also used a location to set the theme of the video. The use of the main character was important as it helped the narrative have a better storyline, the audience can be more engaged in the music video if they can follow a main character. The location of this music video is outside a city, and the location looks like the city is in ruins, this adds more effect to the video and shows the audience that the video is made well and is realistic this adds to the experience of the music video.
What common camera shots do the music videos use?
4) Summary
Explain how your research on your chosen music artist will assist you with planning your own music video
our research into our chosen music artist will assist us when planning our music video as we are aware of the success they have and the size of their fan base, this shows us that they re successful so the music video is important or maintaining the image they have. The research into their previous music video has shown me that they are unique when making their music videos and do not follow typical theories like Dyers star theory, which is very common. From this we are aware that we can be more creative with our music video if we want, which is what Tame Imapala do with their videos, or we could be more conventional of the genre and follow theories like Goodwins theory and Dyers star theory which might get the song more publicity as it is what is popular, and the bands music isn't popular in the mainstream.
This post demonstrates some understanding of your chosen music artist. You have made a start in identifying two music videos, but further examples are needed of the mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing and generic codes and conventions. This is because the points that you have made are too vague and need to be developed in more detail. Rather than including points and examples, you need to focus more on the effect that is given and consider why certain mise-en-scene elements have been used.
ReplyDeleteYou also need to consider the points that you have made on Dyer's theory and focus more on the artist representation. If the artist is absent from the video, then consider the conventions of this and the effect that is given.
You also need to include screenshots to support the points that you have made and you also need to expand your summary, by considering the conventions and micro elements that you would like to include, that you have evidenced in your research.