Lyric analysis

The purpose of anlysing the lyrics of our chosen song was to find the blatant but also deeper meaning behind it and the messages that it promotes or tries to get across. Analysing the lyrics also help us think about what visuals we can apply towards them in our production, possibly to make them stand out further.

The way we have modelled our music video around the song is by creating a narrative of our own. being that the artist is a hard working street busker just looking to make it by and has dreams of being a successful artist, however throughout the videos we see the harsh reality that it is harder than it seems. The song is called "two fingers" and we incorporated this into our song by implying that our artist is sticking "two fingers" up to his past and trying to run away from it all or forget it about it. To develop our ideas in the video, we printed a lyric sheet of the song and annotated each verse and also the chorus, to find out where our production ideas would fit in best and how we could make it as conventional as possible and also successful, whilst at the same time appealing to our target audience. 

To implement some codes and conventions, we have included aspects such as black clothing which is used throughout as well as
a relatable character and relatable urban settings. These are common visuals and associations with the indie genre that a fan of this music would have these elements spring to mind when talking about indie music videos. Urban settings are used to show that the artist is relatable in some way, he goes to the same places as you and not extravagant locations, compared to a genre such as hip-hop, indie artists don't want you to feel like you wish you were them, they want to feel like they are one of you and can connect with you through relatable settings and lyrics. A relatable character in the indie genre is usually an artist wearing casual clothing, frequently showing a direct mode of address to reach out to the audience and also having relatable lyrics that many feel they have experienced before. The elements above will definitely be included in our video, as the Indie genre strives on being successful in these conventions.

To show further conventions, above is Ed Sheeran, the best selling indie artist, who clearly fits the criteria, wearing black clothing with a direct mode of address and also holding his guitar, something my artist will be doing and usually indie artists are always seen playing in their video. This could link with the lyrics "I'm an old dog but I learned some new tricks yeah", "old dog" could show that he has been playing for a very long time, which shows his love for that type of music and "learned some new tricks yeah" could show he has learnt to play some new songs on his instrument.

Our group annotations of the lyrics have helped us in planning how to link them with genre codes and conventions in a number of ways. One example of how conventions link in with the lyrics is when the word "changing" is repeated, which shows shots of an urban background compared to the city. This is conventional as these locations are commonly seen in indie music videos.

An example of how annotating lyrics helped us find where to link them with cinematography, is how we used cinematography to link with the lyrics when the song first begins. The use of cinematography in this instance will be an establishing shot, as it makes it clear to the viewer the location present, and an establishing shot sets the tone for the whole song and as it's shown as the song starts, it gives them an insight into what they can expect to see in the music video.

Another example of cinematography is the use of a close-up shot, specifically in the fourth stanza, which is when the artist will be busking in London in our music video, and the close-up will show the artists money bucket with barely anything in it, which shows he is struggling and having a hard time. Using this shot also helps develop our concept and narrative and sets the tone for the video at that point, creating a relationship between the artist and the audience as the audience can feel sympathy for him that he has made no money.

One example of editing is a transition shot that will show it flashing back to the past and him entering the station, it is used to set the tone and develop our narrative. Jump cuts are also used throughout and especially with one example being where this links in with the lyrics is "Somethings changing changing changing", as in the video the visuals rapidly change to show him going on a journey and his surroundings changing and later on in the video, his life. This will be further used later in the song to show his playing location changing across liverpool street. The lyric of "changing" being repeating is meant to not only emphasise the changes in the artists life but also the change in background from rural to urban and hitting the harsh reality when entering the big city trying to make it big there.

Another example of editing linking with the lyrics is the second change of the chorus. The editing example here is a time lapse that will emphasise the location change of liverpool street to central london. This editing technique is used to further show how the artist is receiving no money at all from busking no matter where he goes and how hard he tries and it is only getting worse for him. This editing technique is used to assist in portraying our concept and showing the meaning behind the lyrics that we have linked this specific example of editing with and help show the representation of our artist further and the current troubles he is facing.

One element of mise-en-scene shown in our video is a key which is used to try and get back into the house but the artist fails, It is mis-en-scene in the form of iconography used to develop our narrative and although the key itself isn't conventional to the genre it's a part of a relatable hard hitting and gripping storyline that in itself is conventional to the indie genre. 

Another example of mis-en-scene in our production is of the artists facial expression and body language throghout the music video. In the second stanza of the song, the artist will be shown travelling on the train to get into london so he can perform. He will look tense and nervous, he doesn't know what is ahead and what he is about to face. The lyrics "changing" repeated could show he is nervous about the sudden change in scenery and also his life.

Another example of mis-en-scene is costume, hair and make up. When annotating our lyrics, our group had to consider which costume style on our artist would be best to suit the tone of our song and the narrative we are trying to get across. One example of costume portrayal is of the successful artist who the lyrics are really about, our groups hidden connotation, and he is wearing a bright coloured suit, which is seen when the second to last stanza starts, and also at the very end of the song where we feature simultaneous shots. This is used to show not only his general bright and happy emotions since he is successful and is living his dream with little worries, mis-en-scene here is also used to emphasise the contrast between the successful artist and the street busker.

Also, positioning of objects is another example of mis en scene in our production. This will be present at the ending of our lyrics. The positioning in particular is of the artist standing away from the cab driver when asking for a ride, showing he is nervous and a distant person. The lyrics "hey, hey it's fine" will then play to connote that the character wants to "leave it all behind" which also links in with the lyrics, using the taxi to get away and put the miserable days bad events behind him so that he can move on. Again, this example of mis-en-scene is used to help develop our narrative and connect with the audience by showing the emotions of the artist.


Analysing our lyrics helped us realise that it's best to make our video a narrative based production, as the real song and video itself is this and we have developed our own narrative behind the song and in our production that we believe is effective and relates to our target audience and is something they can connect with and relate to. Annotations also helped us realise what style of video best suits our chosen song. Looking at the song, we can analyse that the artist has a lot of personal problems and its a story about himself, this is why we decided as a group to make our production mainly narrative/concept based and attract an audience by using hard hitting messages and a good story. Indie genre conventions are usually seeing the artist themselves and also portraying them as a relatable character that the audience can connect with through the lyrics of their song, which is exactly what will be present thoughout our production.

Our target audience will be male or female, aged 15 or above. There is no offensive language that can harm anyone, however there is a disturbing theme and the music video is emotionally testing, something a younger viewer may not handle well. Although all actors in our music video are male, this does not me our video is tailored specifically for men, as it is a narrative that both males and females can relate to. Many conventions are shown and relate to our target audience and fans of the indie genre, as many indie fans look for hard hitting messages and a gripping narrative in an indie music video, ours will contain both.

Overall, I will use the planning I have made from lyric annotations to assist me in creating my music video storyboards with my group to help give better ideas about our production and to truly begin film planning, since storyboards indicate which shots appear with what filters and characters for example and also what order they are all in. By annotating lyrics, we can plan what will appear visually when they are heard in our song, which allows us to add to the storyboard vital information such as what micro-elements will be used and how we will show conventions of the genre.