Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High - Music Video

Music Video Timetable

Music Video Pre-Production

Music video planning

Original concept: 

The song I have chosen to make a music video for is Why'd You Only Call Me When Your High by the Arctic Monkeys. The concept for the music video follows the lyrics of the song with a man leaving a pub after drinking he lights a joint and begins walking home the footage is deliberately choppy and unstable to mimic how disoriented the man is as he walks home. As he is walking we see a montage of various 'trippy' shots.

Ending: The man gets to the girls house and finds her passed out on the bed unsure if she is dead or not the video cuts to black before we found out for sure.

Upside down shot fake falling affect by having the actor lean along with the camera's rotation. the man drops a bottle we see it shatter upside down then reverse the footage of the bottle re-forming

360 shot rotating around head but we never see his face

Girl walking towards man when they line up the girl dissapears he turns and sees that she is not there

Shot of man taking a drag of the joint match on action to a syringe emptying

Man looks down an alleyway we see the girl lit only by the light of a cigarette the man looks down the alleyway for her but she isn't there

We see the phone light up with the text "are you out tonight?"

Shot of clock going backwards to the "change your mind" lyric

Shot of retina expanding

Shot of houses, trees and the road rippling

Close up of glass with something being dropped in cut to the same glass exploding (hydrogen peroxide and potassium iodide/ elephants toothpaste experiment)

Shot of heroin spoon with water bubbling

Shot of the man walking being followed by himself (overlaying shots)

POV stumbling shot

Split screen shot of the man calling the girl and her phone ringing





 

Music Videos: Styles, Conventions And Techniques.

Style: As live

As live refers to any music video that shows the band playing their song as they would play it if it were live hence as live. The example I chose was Gold On The Ceiling by The Black keys, I thought this was a good example because it shows the band performing the song and the crowds reaction to it given the feeling of being at a concert without actually attending it.     

Style: Narrative and Interpretive

Narrative/interpretive music try to create a visual narrative to go along with the lyrics or in some cases just create a visual story that accompanies the song. The example I chose was Figure It Out by Royal Blood this music video shows a woman on the run from police at a mall she eventually stumbles across a man killing him for seemingly no reason until we see a flashback seeing that the man had kidnapped her and she had escaped, the video is especially unique because of the way the story is told when there is a red filter the story is 'hidden' but when it changes to blue we see things we did not see previously.     

Style: Surrealist/Absurd 

Surrealist/absurd music videos that have unique,quirky or simply strange visuals, the example I chose is Sockets by Slaves I chose this because of the strange blend of stop motion and live action with strange visuals showing a man being attacked by plugs and various appliances, along with the 4:3 aspect ratio and chromatic aberration it gives the whole video a strange b-movie vibe.

Style: Impressionist

Impressionist music videos try to create a visual accompaniment to the feel of the song rather than the lyrics, for example a slow love song will use soft focus and longer takes. However the example I chose Out Of The Black by Royal Blood which blends live action and animation to create an action packed gore filled fight between a group of aliens and a petrol station attendant, mimicing the fast paced 'hype' inducing feel of the music.    

Style: Intertextual: Synergy, Allusion, Pastiche, Parody and Homage

Parody:

Parody music videos poke fun out of existing media texts. for example the music video I chose is Weird Al's Amish Paradise which is a parody of Coolio's Gangster's Paradise replacing the lyrics with things from an Amish lifestyle rather than the originals gangster life style reflection.

Allusion:

Allusion simply means to hint at something, music videos can allude to certain big events or famous people this music video in particular, Pumped Up Kicks by Foster The People alludes to shootings by young adults in America, the lyrics and the tone of the song reflect how people committing these crimes may feel.    

Homage:

Simply put an homage is a reference to an existing media text. This example, Sabotage by the Beastie Boys references cop dramas such as Hawaii 5-0 and Starsky and hutch with it's visuals, costumes and props.

Style: Animation

Not all music videos are live action some are entirely animated either digitally or through stop motion this example Fell In love With A Girl by The White Stripes is a stop motion animated video made using lego with a surprising amount of attention to detail despite the limitations of the material.

Technique: Lip Sync

A very common technique in music videos is lip syncing which is simply when the artist or band sing their song in sync with an overlayed often studio recorded version of the song to give the illusion that they are singing like that in the video. The video I chose, Cheer Up London by Slaves shows the band lip syncing their song as they travel through London.

Technique: Editing

Technique: Cutting to Beat

Cutting to the beat mans to synchronize the actions of the video with the beats of the song. The example I chose Hardest Button To Button By The White Stripes shows the band moving through streets and subways changing positions and location in accordance to the beats of the music. 

Technique: Post-Production effects

Visual effects are used in music videos to create something interesting or beautiful for people to watch as they listen to the song. This example Crazy by Gnarls Barkley shows Rorshach ink blots that form various shapes and faces fitting with the title of the song 'Crazy'. 

Technique:Split Screen

Split screen effects are as seen above when the video is split in half usually vertically to show two different things. This example All I Need by Radiohead shows a Caucasian and an Asian childs day as the Caucasian kid has fun the Asian child is seen working in a sweatshop buliding shoes it is revelaed in the end that the Asian child was making the shoes that the Caucasian child was wearing.

Technique: Chroma Key

Chroma key is another way of saying green/blue screen where the subject is put in front of an all green or blue screen which can then be edited to look like something else in post. This particular example Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough was one of the first all green screen videos made and shows Michael Jackson dancing in front of various green screen backgrounds.

Technique: Camera Movements

A lot of music videos remain visually enticing with the use of camera movements. This example, Writing's On The Wall by OK GO shows us a journey through a warehouse full of optical illusions with the camera spinning, going upside down and craning high up to show the weird illusions. 

Technique: Camera angles and shot types

A lot of music videos have particularly nice cinematography to give the audience something to look at while they listen to the song. This example, Ten Tonne Skeleton by Royal Blood uses a variety of angles and shot types to create a visually enticing video to accompany the song.  

Convention: Mise-en-scene

Mise-en-scene refers to the props, costumes and lighting in a video. Some music videos like the one I have chosen, Empire by Kasabian, use costumes to invoke the zeitgeist of a certain era or date this video in particular uses era appropriate props and costumes to show what the civil war was believed to have looked like. 

The Purpose Of Music Videos

In this essay I will cover the rise of music videos and how they solidified themselves as a part of modern music culture. Music videos were always set to exist from the days of cabaret and Broadway as an audience we have always enjoyed adding a visual element to an otherwise entirely audio based medium. All it took was the advancement in technology to begin producing music videos to allow for artists, directors and producers alike to create a visual spectacle to accompany the music; and as music and video kept on growing it was a natural evolution that the two would eventually be merged.

As I mentioned earlier music videos can be used by producers and directors and not just the artist. For example, it’s important to most producers to create a certain image or style for the band that they manage, most of this is done through the music but a well-made video can completely alter or enforce the bands image such as giving the band a bad boy image e.g. The Rolling Stones (below) 

Or repeatedly using an identifiable symbol or logo to give the band marketability. Directors also benefit from creating a music video as it can be used as a quick and fairly cheap method of displaying their directorial talents e.g. Edgar Wright’s music video for ‘Blue Song – Mint Royale’ (below).

It is important to a producer to ensure that their band/artist is marketed in the right way, an effectively marketed band/artist can double the sales of their music. For example, the band One Direction are heavily marketed towards teenage girls as the‘perfect boy band’ with a lot of their merchandise being covered in the members faces rather than the band’s name/logo while it may sound sexist, sex appeal goes a very long way in the music industry and is frequently used for males and females alike. And the teenage market is especially susceptible to sex appeal which is part of bands like One Directions huge success, and producers know this, any band that can find a following in the mainstream teenage market will almost definitely be successful due to the size and dedication of that audience    



Music videos can be, and often are, used as an additional source of income for the artists and higher ups. As technology evolved it became easier for music videos to be seen by as many people as possible, starting of course with popular channels like MTV audiences warmed up to the idea of music videos and of course producers capitalized on this idea and began to make them more widely available thorough sites such as Vimeo, YouTube, Vevo etc. to the point that a music video can be more popular than the song itself which still gives the producers and artists money.   

Music videos have seen a huge increase in traffic to video sharing sites such as YouTube and Vevo, YouTube especially has benefited from the influx of popularity of music videos with the site having a section dedicated to music videos with videos from popular artists getting millions of views creating a  relationship between artists and YouTube, by bringing traffic to the website and a bigger following to the artist. The biggest example of a music video that exploded in popularity is PSY's 'Gangnam Style' which is currently sitting at 2,541,958,010 views 

This music video quickly became a viral hit bringing huge amounts of users onto YouTube to watch, mimic, parody, and homage the video and helped sky-rocket PSY's career. 

In the media industry particularly large and influential companies will at some point focus on synergy for their product/service. Synergy is simply extending your companies product to various other areas of production and media. For example, the game Angry Birds have a huge range of products with the Angry Birds branding, such as Angry Birds: Jenga, Transformers, chewing gum, Lego, figures and plushes etc. Synergy helps both companies involved reinforcing the angry birds brand more as well as using the brand to sell more of the other companies products all in all helping both sides make money. Synergy is also used in the music industry, for example the aforementioned One Direction have a huge range of products with the bands likeness and/or logo on them including; party equipment, blankets, cardboard cut outs, slippers, make up, headphones, body lotion, lampshades etc. This just goes to show how far a bands influence can go with synergistic marketing like this it ensures that both the artists/producers and the companies that make these branded products continue to make money.  

Referring to my initial statement music videos were only a natural evolution, we as an audience enjoy visual and audio stimulation and combining the two was an excellent and immensely profitable idea and it's no surprise that they gained popularity so quickly and still continue to grow to this day. Audiences love to see a visual representation of how the music makes them feel or to show the story that the lyrics were trying to tell and music videos allowed for creators to make something amazing, take Michael Jackson's thriller as an example it's one of the most popular music videos ever made and even if you don't know the video you know the dance, music videos like this helped to immortalize the song. It's not just big artists that benefit from the popularity of music videos, smaller independent artists can gain a following on YouTube if they create a music video which results in exposure to the band. For example the band The Blue Dawns (below) uploaded a few music videos to YouTube which resulted in them gaining a fan base

      

In conclusion it's obvious that music videos are here to stay permanently since as long as there is music being made someone will want to make a music video to go along with it.   

Research and Planning: Music Videos

Arctic Monkeys

Arctic Monkeys in 2014

A four piece British indie rock group consisting of lead singer Alex Turner, lead guitarist Jamie Cook, drummer Matt Helders, and bassist Nick O'Malley. Formed in 2002 in High Green, Sheffield Arctic Monkeys currently have 5 studio albums (see below)

Whatever People Say I Am That's What I'm Not (2006)

Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007)

Humbug (2008-10)

Suck It And See (2011-12)

AM (2013-14)

Genre: Arctic monkeys are referred to mostly as indie rock but as of late they have become big enough to no longer be considered indie gathering a very large following after the release of AM.

Style: Arctic Monkeys share a lot of similarities with other British rock bands such as Franz Ferdinand, The Kooks, Kaiser Chiefs and Kasabian. 

Fashion: Due to their Sheffield upbringing Arctic Monkeys wear mostly casual clothing but since the release of AM the band has re-invented their image opting instead for more formal costumes as seen in the image at the top of this post.

Arctic Monkeys - Songs 

Arctic monkeys have manipulated and adjusted their sound since they were formed in 2002 giving each album a unique sound which helped with their rise in popularity because of their varied styles over their albums a lot of different audiences were drawn towards their music.

Whatever People Say I Am That's What I'm Not & Favourite Worst Nightmare

The band's first two studio albums reflected their youth with most of the sings being upbeat and fast paced. Whatever People Say I Am That's What I'm Not invoked the feeling of a night out on the town with each song telling a story of parties getting out of hand, dancing, and returning home to a moody partner. Favorite Worst Nightmare mimics the band growing up with a fast paced start to the album changing to a slightly slower pace half way through with songs such as Fluorescent Adolescent a song literally about growing up and maturing. 

When The Sun Goes Down (Whatever People Say I Am That's What I'm Not)

Teddy Picker (Favourite Worst Nightmare)

Fluorescent Adolescent (Favorite Worst Nightmare) 

AM

The bands most recent studio album shows a noticeable shift in tempo and lyrical content. It is clear that the band has moved on from their Sheffield roots displaying instead a more American style rock in a similar vain to Elvis (Alex Turner's mannerisms are often compared to Elvis). The change is even noticeable through the album covers over time they've go darker and more abstract with fewer details on each album this also goes for their songs, they have gotten shorter details and less detailed lyrics as the band has progressed.

Do I Wanna Know? (AM)

Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High (AM)

The Black Keys

The Black Keys in 2010

A two piece rock outfit formed in Akron, Ohio in 2001, consisting of lead guitarist and singer Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney. The band currently have 8 albums with 4 of them being independently recorded and the other 4 recorded in a studio.

The Big Come Up & Thickfreakness (2001-2003)


Rubber Factory & Magic Potion (2004-2007)

Attack And Release (2007-2009)



Brothers (2010-2011)


El Camino (2011-2013)



Turn Blue (2013-present)




Genre: while they have experimented with many different genres including blues, soul and psychedelic rock The Black Keys are primarily rock/indie rock.

Style: The Black Keys share a lot of similarities with other rock bands such as The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, Cage The Elephant and Kings of Leon.

Fashion: The Black Keys do not adopt a particular fashion for any of their tours/shows they dress smart-casual for most if not all of their performances.

The Black Keys - Songs

Your Touch (Magic Potion)

I Got Mine (Attack and Release)

Tighten Up (Brothers)

Fever (Turn Blue)

Royal Blood

Royal Blood in 2014

An English rock duo formed in Worthing, West Sussex in 2013. The band consists of bassist/singer Mike Kerr and drummer Ben Thatcher. The band only has one album so far.

Royal Blood (2014)

Genre: Royal Blood have been described as modern blues rock, garage rock and psychedelic rock they share some similarity with the two other bands in this post.

Style: Royal Blood share similarities with The Black Keys, Arctic Monkeys, Foo Fighters and Queens Of the Stone Age

Fashion: The band does not have a particular style of clothing, they simply wear whatever they choose.

Royal Blood - Songs

Out Of The Black (Royal Blood)

Figure It Out (Royal Blood)

Careless (Royal Blood)

Come On Over (Royal Blood)

Final song: Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High

I have decided to create a music video for Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High because the premise of the song is very simple and I believe that it would be easy to create a music video to go along to the narrative provided through the lyrics.

Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High Lyrics

The mirror's image
Tells me it's home time
But I'm not finished
'Cause you're not by my side
And as I arrived I thought I saw you leaving
Carrying your shoes
Decided that once again I was just dreaming
Of bumping into you

Now it's three in the morning and I'm trying to change your mind
Left you multiple missed calls and to my message you reply,
"Why'd you only call me when you're high?
Hi, why'd you only call me when you're high?"

Somewhere darker
Talking the same shite
I need a partner (hey)
Well, are you out tonight?
It's harder and harder to get you to listen
More I get through the gears
Incapable of making alright decisions
And having bad ideas

Now it's three in the morning and I'm trying to change your mind
Left you multiple missed calls and to my message you reply (message you reply),
"Why'd you only call me when you're high? (why'd you only call me when you're high?)
Hi, why'd you only call me when you're high?"

And I can't see you here wonder where am I?
Sort of feels like I'm running out of time
I haven't found what I was hoping to find
You said, "You gotta be up in the morning, gonna have an early night.
And you're starting to bore me, baby.
Why'd you only call me when you're high?"

Why'd you only ever phone me when you're high?
Why'd you only ever phone me when you're high?
Why'd you only ever phone me when you're high?
Why'd you only ever phone me when you're high?

Outline of music video

For the music video I wanted the visuals to fit the lyrics and general tone of the song. The idea I have for the music video is pretty similar to the official music video but that is likely because the music video I want to create follows the narrative set out by the lyrics as does the official video.

Music video analysis

In preparation for my music video I will analyse existing music videos from the Arctic Monkeys in order to gain an understanding of the style an type of narrative they use and to reflect that in my own music video. I will not be directly copying anything from their existing videos but only simply taking inspiration this ensures that my music video will be unique to the bands existing style with my own personal touch added.

Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High (AM)

Most of the inspiration for my video will come from the existing music video but I still need to ensure not make it too similar.

The music video reflects the slow pseudo-psychedelic nature of the song, the low key lighting and night time setting reflect the tone and pace of the song as well as fitting the narrative being created through the lyrics. The music video shows the bands lead singer, Alex Turner, walking through the streets of what is assumed to be London on his way to meet a girl, a simple narrative for a fairly simple song. The music video remains similar to the situation described in the lyrics.

When The Sun Goes Down (Whatever People Say I am That's What I'm Not)

Teddy Picker (Favourite Worst Nightmare)