Videos That Have Influenced Me

There are many good music videos that have interested me, both modern and classic. I have not got a particular favourite genre of music video, although I feel that a mixture of narrative and performance within a video are potentially the most popular and what I may like to recreate. Below I have considered and listed some of the music videos that have influenced me personally.



The music video for Miley Cyrus' 'When I Look At You' has influenced me to a certain extent - although written for and used within the film 'The Last Song' I enjoy the video for numerous reasons. I love the use of the piano within the video, this is something that if possible I would like to replicate within my own video as I think it is very effective when combined with other performance shots and sequences in different locations. The video does however feel a little dated despite it only being released 5 years ago, but advantages in technology mean that it has a different look to more modern music videos. The video conforms to may generic conventions, especially the use of close ups, bleaching lighting to ensure Miley Cyrus is the focus of the video and the frequent changes of scene and location with the piano ensure that it stays interesting and doesn't become mundane.

 Taylor Swift's 'Style' is another influential video, the video is fairly simplistic but is very effective. I particularly like the use of everyday objects to create illusions such as pieces of glass, mirrors, projection screens extc. to distort images so that the audience sees what the artist wants us to see/ she sees herself. The video uses light in a really interesting way, the use of bleaching lighting with CGI to create transparent and other effects such as thunder makes the video unique. The video is a combination of performance and showcase - the artistic nature making it different from the average music video, although it does conform to some generic conventions of the genre such as the use of frequent close-ups of the artist and lighting to set the tone/ mood, although the editing of the video is slightly unconventional for the genre given that there are not lots of fast cuts but the editing is far more subtle, more continuity editing is used and allows the narrative of the video to flow - more like a short film than a music video.

Lastly, I particularly like the music video for Calvin Harris & The Disciples' 'How Deep Is Your Love' also. The video is quite alternative having a strange opening and is a narrative video but I like the use of slow motion and varying speeds in the editing to create a hectic feel matching the storyline. Moreover, the video conforms to many generic conventions of the genre such as the use of lots of changing, exotic locations around the world and the effective use of strobe and coloured lighting. The editing of the video conforms to generic conventions also, the video is edited so that the cuts match the beat; they are fast paced, jump cuts which are frequently used in music videos and conforms to the norms of the genre.