CASE STUDY 1:
Busted- Year 3000 (2003)
Whilst This song is not of the same tone as 'I Want It That Way', the overall feelings of the songs are quite similar as they were both released around a similar time giving them a distinct 'early-2000s' sound.
- Here we can see the conventional cutting to shots of the band playing instruments along with the music to give the illusion that the band is performing the song. The opening sequence rapidly changes between shots like this that range from close up to wide three shots showing the whole group playing guitars in a bedroom, setting up the next part of the video.
- This medium close up shot shows the trio looking out of the window of the bedroom they were in showing a continuing narrative as the song progresses. This shot and what follows aligns with Andrew Goodwins theory of music videos how visuals often reflect lyrics to deepen meaning, as the three physically move outside and to their back garden as the lyrics describe them doing so.
- The time machine described in the song is shown in the video to be made up out of an old car and various kitbashed scraps to look like a futuristic piece of science-fiction machinery, this is a clear intertextual reference to the film trilogy 'Back To The Future' where the two main characters famously navigate through time using a time machine made from a DMC DeLorean. This film is also directy referenced right before this moment when the lyrics state that in the garden was a flux capacitor, a piece of the DeLorean time machine that makes time travel possible.
- The scenes depicting the underwater world of the future conist of 3D and 2D assets creating a very stylised and cartoony take on the typical sci-fi idea of what the future will look like. This cartoony style could possibly be a reference to the Matt Groening animated sitcom 'Futurama', initially set in the year 2999. Along with various futuristic creatures and characters populating the city, there are many aquatic creatures. This may be a reference to the Nickelodeon series 'Spongebob Squarepants' as the show began in 1999 and was very popular among children, making it very prominent in the 2003 cultural zeitgeist.
- The final scene in the video shows the band performing in front of a crowd in a dark room. This follows the narrative conventions of music videos where the progression of the story leads to the band performing near the end. Periodic close up shots of each member lip syncing to the lyrics are also shown.
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CASE STUDY 2:
5 Seconds Of Summer- (2014)
This song is very upbeat and much more modern than the other two case studies shown here. However, this video perfectly represents how music videos for boybands differed in the 2010s but still included the same conventions of the genre that year 3000 has and ultimately my music video will have.
- The opening shot is a close-up of a microphone with a shallow depth of field, showing a member of the band approaching the microphone to sing.
- This shot is in slow motion- conventional of this genre of music video. Slow motion is used frequently throughout the video to add emphasis and a dramatic feel to certain actions making them more impactful
- Directly following this shot the video cuts to a close-up of a guitar being played followed by close-up and medium shots of the band playing along whilst lip syncing to the music. This aligns with Goodwin's theory on music videos how the band is visually matching the music heard by playing along.
- Each member of the band gets their own shot of them playing to show who they each are and their place in the band.
- Whilst the band is playing in this alley-like setting, several stories of different people are shown. This aligns with the convention of romance based music videos where the main video is periodically interspliced with an ongoing narrative.
- The lyrics of the chorus are matched by the visuals on screen during the narrative based sections of the video, showing people wearing underwear as the lyrics describe an ideological “her” standing there looking good in it.
- Representation- people of all different body shapes are shown in their underwear
- A little person is featured in the garage, this strays from conventions as they are an underrepresented group in the media
- People of all different races and ethnicities are shown in the cutaway scenes
- The different people are all in different everyday situations/jobs. One scene takes place in a supermarket with people both shopping and working there, other scenes include a courtroom, a prison, a garage, a classic american diner, a high school, a kitchen, a news weather report, a street where a policeman has is giving a car a ticket. Collectively these all show different areas of work, representing the regular everyday working civilian.
- The people shown in the cutaway scenes represent regular people that may stray from conventionally attractive ideas
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CASE STUDY 3:
*NSYNC- Bye Bye Bye (2000)
'Bye Bye Bye' by *NSYNC is similar to 'I Want It That Way' by the Backstreet Boys in many ways, largely due to the fact that both bands were created by the same person, Lou Pearlman. Often, both bands are confused with each other by casual listeners. 'Bye Bye Bye' is an extremely well-known 2000s pop song, with the music video having 537 million views on YouTube and the song itself having over 1,045,880,000 streams on Spotify and at 5x platinum from selling 5 million copies in the US. Whilst upbeat the song is about how men can be innocent in abusive, toxic relationships and want to leave for their freedom and wellbeing. The video features narrative and performance elements, similar to the aim for my music video.
- Deictic sound at the start of the video of puppet show
- Band lowered down on strings resembling marionettes
- Strings have connotations of being tied down and constrained
- The camera pans up to reveal the band is being controlled by a woman with a devious expression on her face
- The high angle shot presents the woman as a large threat with power
- Low angle shots are frequently used to present the band members as small and hopeless under the control of the woman
- The scissors snip the strings of the members on beat with the music
- This point begins the narrative aspect of the video as they fall through the sky onto a train, beginning the big chase as they try to say 'bye bye bye'
- After a flash the band moves from dancing on the puppet show stage to a bright, futuristic corridor
- The majority of performance takes are on this set from this point onwards
- The band repeat a choreographed dance several times throughout the video. This not only makes the video more visually interesting but encourages viewers to learn the dance themselves so they can do it when they hear the song on the radio or when at the club so others can join in and create a trend, boosting the popularity of the song through the iconic dance
- Unconventionally, the video uses the technique of speeding up footage rather than slowing it down to create a dramatic effect. This is due to the fact that this song is quite fast and exciting, leading to drama needing to be quick and snappy
- Throughout the video there are frequent cuts between narrative and performance takes, this is conventional of pop music videos
- At this point there is a subtle shift of the subject along the floor, this could possibly be an intertextual reference to the music video for 'Virtual Insanity' by the band Jamiroquai, where Jay Kay, the lead singer, slides around the floor of a moving room. This music video was groundbreaking due to it being presented as one continuous take making the effects of walls and furniture moving around achieved difficult to understand due to the complexity of what moves when, making it a very unique video at the time thus standing out.
- The video constantly uses cuts between different shots to create visual interest and create an exciting upbeat atmosphere to reflect the music
- The lightning flashes in this scene match the beats on the lyrics "bye bye bye", visuals matching the timing of the music is very conventional of music videos
- Goodwin- as the song is discussing the act of saying bye and leaving a relationship we see shots of Justin Timberlake running away from the woman chasing him
- When they land in the car the music stops and we hear deictic sound from the wind in the mountains and them putting the CD into the car radio
- Once the CD has been put in the radio the non-deictic music continues. As the car begins to accelerate there is an ascending pitch heard in the music, matching the timing of the music and aligning with Andrew Goodwin's theory on music videos as the visuals match what we hear
- The video has a cyclical structure, ending how the video started with the band all on strings like marionettes in a puppet show being controlled
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