In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

During my extensive research in "genre" of  artists and their music videos, there are a number of things I noticed about the folk/acoustic/alternative genre.

These hybrid genres all have one thing in common; their music videos tend to be either abstract (with hidden symbolic meaning) and/or have a very feel-good vibe to it.

I believe that the music video I created for "Pilot" by Amber Rubarth tends to conform rather than challenge the conventions of a folk/acoustic music video. Although I have added my own little creations, concepts and ideas into it, the music video is not too controversial.

I believe that the reason for this is that the folk genre cherishes the concept of positive-thinking, self-fulfillment  and warm vibes.

I decided to closely analyse the lyrics of "Pilot" by Amber Rubarth to look into the meaning of the song which I concluded as trying to find yourself and be inspired. From here, I began to think of various ways of conveying that message visually.

I looked into music videos by several artists, and here is one that I felt was closely relevant to the mood of my music video.

The music video for Neopolitan Dreams by Australian indie artist, Lisa Mitchell, has a very supernatural yet delicate vibe to her music video. There are a few frames in the music video that are similar to the music video for "Pilot".

These two frames are similar because of the floating butterflies/paper cranes. This imitates a slightly "childish" and innocent theme, which could suggest going back to childhood and experiencing things that were once simple. 

The top screenshot is from Corinne Bailey Rae's music video for "Put Your Records On". The colours are very warm, and it is shot in the summer. Usually, when the music video is set outside, the weather plays a very prominent role of displaying the mood through the weather. Although Rae has used summer in hers, I have used autumn in mine. The colours on both screenshots are significantly warm and welcoming, almost as if welcoming everyone to come and listen to the music. Traditional folk music involved many townsfolk gathering around and playing music together for entertainment; which is what I have tried to achieve with my music video.

You can see what both screenshots have in common... the bed and the acoustic guitar. This may show the dedication these artists put towards creating music for their fans and for their own artistic benefits, as they are working from home, as well as in the studio with producers.

Alternative music, and the folk genre tend to convey a lot of symbolism in their music video. The top screenshot is from Feist's music video for "I Feel It All", where it features fireworks throughout. In my music video, the fireworks at the end act as a metaphor, "I need a spark to ignore my pilot light". Folk, indie and acoustic artists always have a lot of symbolism and metaphor in their music videos.

For example, in MGMT's music video for "Kids", it features a toddler seeing monsters on the street as his unaware mother carries him around, completely oblivious to the fact that he is crying. Obviously, the monsters are not really there and represent today's society and the lack of innocence in the world today. The mother is oblivious to any of this, and the child is being scared or intimated by a society that breeds social expectations.

This has similarly been used in my own music video for "Pilot". Amber following the tinsel represents her creative journey. As she goes outside, sees the world and reacquaints herself with the natural world. This is mixed with a supernatural element (going through the door to end up at another place, the endless tinsel, the random notes), similar to the "Kids" music video with the monsters.

The supernatural elements of the video poses questions for the audience; 

"Who is placing the notes?"

"Where did the tinsel come from?"

This is the director's commentary I created for the music video, describing my choices on aspects such as costume, setting, themes and lighting.