Conventions of Jazz/Folk/AcousticBy Chloe Watret

Song choiceIn my group Erica Hall and myself have taken the time to research into different songs that suit our liking and what we think would get us the best grade possible. Therefore when we researched into different songs we were trying to visuals different scenarios for different versus and chorus.

In the end we decided to settle with an unknown artist who hasn't been signed with a label and uploads videos to youtube of her original songs also covers. We went with "Silver Lights" by Drew Tabor .

The style to this song sounds like a combination of different genres combined together. You can hear an acoustic which gives the convention of folk/acoustic yet there are some really chill feel good vibes by the sounds of trumpets which brings a jazz convention towards the song.

Key pointsThe key points to think about when making this music video would be:

Mis en scene - props, costumes, locations, facial expressions, characters

Camera work - this is important for a music video, certain camera angles tend to bring out different expressions depending where the setting is and how the camera angles are applied.

Editing techniques - again this is also important for a music video, it needs easy flow to make the transistors smooth for the viewer watching and added affects can help the audience to understand the story behind the lyrics.

Goodwin's theory applied - this is one of the major important impacts myself and Erica Hall have talked about. We've come up wi some very good quirky ideas to show in our music videos which can be related to the Goodwin's theory.

Conventions of Acoustic Genre Music Videos

Through research that I have found online I've noticed and seen that many acoustic genre music videos tend to show a lot of expressive emotions. This has been done by the lyrics from the song as well and the visuals we see. (Applying Goodwin's theory)

In cases of these acoustic styled music videos there are many shots with the lead singer with his or hers acoustic guitar. Showing lots of close ups of the guitar itself with the use of picking the strings and then showing the singers facial expressions to set the mood and tone of the song. This is done on purpose to show the audience the emotions and expressiveness the artist is feeling.

Slow motion, this tends to happen to emphasis the audience and show everything in close detail for the audience to fully understand the emotion behind the lyrics.

Within the editing side to acoustic style music videos we tend to see a lot of black and white edits over the top of the video. This is to give a sense of an older style which creates imagery of old fashion for the audience. This is typically also used in the song "a team" by Ed Sheeran

The location in these acoustic styled music videos tend to be isolated to create emotion. Sometimes a single room with one chair and microphone. Or sometimes we see street lifestyle to empathise the lyrics.

Many acoustic songs we see are based upon a lot of feelings or emotions this singer would feel when writing the songs this is why sometimes we get a combination of performance and narrative structure.

Examples Of Acoustic Music Videos

Referring back to Ed Sheeran. We see how this artist has used the effect of black and white in the editing process of this music video to create the emotional style. It's very effective because it starts to create this image of loneliness for the actor on screen. As an audience listing to the lyrics and watching this video you start to understand why the use of this effect has been used.

Conventions Of A Jazz Music Video

When we watch jazz music videos we tend to see a rather cheesy aspect to the video itself. Sometimes a jazz music video can be seen as classy or sometimes it just makes you want to smile and have fun with the up beat tempo rhythm giving from the instruments in the music. This is basically what a jazz music videos aims to do

We tend to see a lot of bright lights at use. Sometime them being lightbulbs around a mirror or stage lights. There's always bright lights to create this mystic setting. It is used to emphasis and stand out to create the happy mood for the audience

Usually the performance space that we see at use is sometimes rather large. It's mostly a stage in black and white with an old fashioned jazz microphone. This creates the sense or a performance story line showing the singer sometimes swaying and dancing a lot and kicking of the microphone about. The performance space has to be large to empathise the energy from the tempo of the music.

The styling in the music videos are classy yet sophisticated. A lot of dresses and suits are used to create a Hollywood glam style. This is to reflect an older generation.

Locations in jazz music videos are sometimes set in streets depending where a outs they are in the world. A lot of shops especially record shops and alleyways.

Most jazz music videos create an old school style vibe

Examples of Jazz Music VideosIn the music video of Eliza Doolittle "Big When I Was Little" we see that her song has been set in a lot of different scenarios. When watching this music video I saw the old school vibe yet the young teenager style likings. This is something Erica Hall and myself have consider for our music video to target at a younger get nation instead of an older generation. The use of bright colours yet smoky settings with bright lights relate to the mysterious yet cheesy vibe of a a jazz style music video. In this music video we see a a lot of older style props for instance a record player or a boom box.

Conventions Of Folk Music VideosFolk music is almost like acoustic but it's slightly different. They tend to target at an older generation. This is purely due to the style of ere music and the styling of there Mise en scene

Heaving light is used to create the lead singer in a spotlight. This is used to create the attention around the lead singer of the band. Sometimes in various videos the spotlight changes to direct the attention to different band members. This is to show the equality of each band member and shows the target audience show listen to all of the band not only one.

Dark shadows are used frequently throughout folk style music videos. This is to present the feeling of what the artist is trying to say through the use of emotion and the song.

There's a lot of over the top music at use here with folk music. For instance there's sometimes an instrument that has been exaggerated alot more than others this is to show attention again and bring the audience involved with this and make the audience believe the bands style a lot more.

We will tend to see a lot of close ups and quick cuts on each band member wi their instruments. This is to show that the band can play music well and gives them time to shine in what they do (this is when we get the close ups of the strings on the instrument or the hands playing the instruments) this is also to promote there style a lot more.

When editing a folk style music vice we tend to see a lot of black and white in the videos (like the acoustic style again) this is to make the environment of the video to the one more haunting or daunting and retire from the shadows that are used. Sometimes it creates a haunting feeling towards the song. Other times it can mean the compete opposite.

Furthermore sometimes from the bands background folk music tends to have some kind of patriotic feeling to it weather it's from the Mise en scene or the music.

Examples Of Folk Music VideosIn the music video of "Little Lion Man" by Mumford & Sons we see the use of folk conventions of shadows and heaving light. This has been used to create the emotional yet expressive side towards the lyrics. This band member is emphasised and therefore stands out giant the other band members on this part of the song to draw the attention to him. It portrays a rather strong powerful dramatic outlook. Throughout this song too we here the exaggerated chords of the double bass and old style acoustic guitar sounds to emphasis the genre of folk style music. Mise en scene also emphasise this with the choice of outfits and setting.

Conclusion To ConventionsIn conclusion if I combine all my research together from folk, jazz and acoustic music videos myself and Erica Hall can now have a more opened mind to the planning process in making the music video too "Silver Lights".

This research into the conventions has been helpful and successful this is because from this research I can now input some of these conventions into my music video when it comes to making it also challenge some of them too to make the music video a lot more e style me and Erica Hall would like.

As this song we have chosen has 3 different genres combined together it means myself and Erica are able to combine all the conventions together to create lots of effects and conventions within the music video by applying this research, Mise en scene, camera work, props, setting and Goodwin's theory to come up with the best music video possible.