We have created a survey to gather audience feedback on our video.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/TNCN2WQ
Showing posts with label Research. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Research. Show all posts
Wednesday, 1 April 2015
Our Survey
We have created a survey to gather audience feedback on our video.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/TNCN2WQ
Sunday, 29 March 2015
What Is A Digipak?
Typically a digipak consist of six card stocks that can join together. One of these six contains a plastic case holding a CD or DVD. When media is sold in digipaks it is typically a premium or special edition of a product.
Most digipaks follow a fairly standard criteria when created. When you open one you can expect to find the following:
-Photographs - usually at least one of these will be a close up or medium shots of the artists. The rest of the images will be used to create a mood and reflect a theme that can be seen within the music.
-Track List - typically on the back of the digipak, a track list is included to show the name of every track that is on the album. This list also tells the consumer the order in which the songs will be played.
-Barcode and record company logo - These are present as a way of advertisement, if the consumer likes what they hear on this CD, they know where they can find similar content. In a similar light, somewhere else in the digipak there may be a list of the artists/bands previous work.
-Information on the Album and Artist - Given that a digipak contains extra content than a regular CD purchase, it is not unlikely that you will be able to find more detailed information on each member of the band, including key points such as what instruments they play and what external roles they may have within the band. This list may also include other people that assist with production that would not necessarily be seen on stage performing.
A unique design on the inside of the digipak is also typically present, the themes and colors match the topic of the music in some way.
This is a very effective digipak design. This album is called ''Humans After All' by French DJ duo Daft Punk. The digipak has a simple black background with purple and yellow features making it look like a circuit board, which relates to electricity, which can be related to the artists as well as their themes and music.
The album name contradicts the design in some ways, the name ''Human After All'' does not match the heavy reference to computers and machinery that can be inferred from this design.
The back cover is mostly black, but uses the theme presented by the rest of the pack in an interesting way to highlight the track list. Purple lines connecting from the barcode to the name of each track makes them serve the purpose of bullet points. This is not something you see very often, which adds to how interesting the design of this digipak is. The inner panels have lyrics for two of the songs ''Technologic'' and ''Digital Love.'' This is not an unconventional use for space within a digipak, so despite the uniqueness of this design, some conventions are followed as well. Despite how intricate and interesting the digipak design is, the disc itself does not play into this, as it is a plain yellow disc with the words ''Daft Punk'' written on them in the same font as can be seen on the front of the album.
The next example I will look is Green Day's ''American Idiot.'' The bands name stands out because it is written in a large font in white writing against a black font. The Album's name is also clearly visible because red and black contrast each other really well. Despite being basic, in design, the front cover is effective because of the colors that were chosen. This look is very conventional for the genre of music, which means fans will know what to expect when looking into this album. Some of the songs found within this album have political motivation, which means the heart shaped grenade can be interpreted in several ways. One example of this is that the American government expects the nation to tear out their hearts and fight for America without ever questioning the governments motives because they are supposed to be patriots who love the country.
The back of the digipak is very standard by design, it includes a list of the tracks on the album as well as a parental advisory disclaimer. Additionally, a barcode is present as expected, and the color scheme remains consistent. The image on the back of the back of the album is a grenade pull pin. This time there is no grenade, which heavily implies that if change does not come to America the government will have pulled the pin and destroyed the heart of America as a nation.
The disc also continues the color scheme of red black and white.
The track list can be seen on the disc, also, the insert that can be seen to the left of the disc has the lyrics for all the songs on the album. The consumer can also read about the band members, their roles within the band and their nicknames. Also listed are some of the people that helped with the production of the album.
Most digipaks follow a fairly standard criteria when created. When you open one you can expect to find the following:
-Photographs - usually at least one of these will be a close up or medium shots of the artists. The rest of the images will be used to create a mood and reflect a theme that can be seen within the music.
-Track List - typically on the back of the digipak, a track list is included to show the name of every track that is on the album. This list also tells the consumer the order in which the songs will be played.
-Barcode and record company logo - These are present as a way of advertisement, if the consumer likes what they hear on this CD, they know where they can find similar content. In a similar light, somewhere else in the digipak there may be a list of the artists/bands previous work.
-Information on the Album and Artist - Given that a digipak contains extra content than a regular CD purchase, it is not unlikely that you will be able to find more detailed information on each member of the band, including key points such as what instruments they play and what external roles they may have within the band. This list may also include other people that assist with production that would not necessarily be seen on stage performing.
A unique design on the inside of the digipak is also typically present, the themes and colors match the topic of the music in some way.
The album name contradicts the design in some ways, the name ''Human After All'' does not match the heavy reference to computers and machinery that can be inferred from this design.
The back cover is mostly black, but uses the theme presented by the rest of the pack in an interesting way to highlight the track list. Purple lines connecting from the barcode to the name of each track makes them serve the purpose of bullet points. This is not something you see very often, which adds to how interesting the design of this digipak is. The inner panels have lyrics for two of the songs ''Technologic'' and ''Digital Love.'' This is not an unconventional use for space within a digipak, so despite the uniqueness of this design, some conventions are followed as well. Despite how intricate and interesting the digipak design is, the disc itself does not play into this, as it is a plain yellow disc with the words ''Daft Punk'' written on them in the same font as can be seen on the front of the album.
The back of the digipak is very standard by design, it includes a list of the tracks on the album as well as a parental advisory disclaimer. Additionally, a barcode is present as expected, and the color scheme remains consistent. The image on the back of the back of the album is a grenade pull pin. This time there is no grenade, which heavily implies that if change does not come to America the government will have pulled the pin and destroyed the heart of America as a nation.
The disc also continues the color scheme of red black and white.
The track list can be seen on the disc, also, the insert that can be seen to the left of the disc has the lyrics for all the songs on the album. The consumer can also read about the band members, their roles within the band and their nicknames. Also listed are some of the people that helped with the production of the album.
Tuesday, 24 March 2015
Narrative
Narrative as we understand it today is produced through a combination of theories. The definition of narrative is a story, or text, constructed through either moving images or words. This can be presented in either chronological order, or a non linear structure which may show the middle or ending first and then establish how the story reached this point later on. Examples of films that do not follow a linear narrative include Pulp Fiction and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.
I will now discuss some more popular theories relating to narrative.
Firstly, Todorov's theory states that all films follow an established structure, which includes an equilibrium, disruption, resolution and finally new equilibrium.
To expand on that, Todorov believes that most productions start in a state of peace, following this, the peace is somehow disrupted and the characters must attempt to reach a resolution. Once they accomplish this, a new peace can be established within the text, but this is not the same as the initial equilibrium because something was probably lost along the way. For example, characters dying, or objects with a lot of focus on them within the text being damaged or destroyed in some way which has a large impact on the characters.
Next, Vladimir Propp was a scholar and literary critic that established types of characters that can be seen in every story. Not all character types will be used in every piece of narrative, but the characters that are used can fit one of the descriptions set by Propp. These descriptions are the following;
The Villain - Fights the hero in some way
The Dispatcher - Makes the villains evil known and sends the hero off to stop him
The Helper(s) - Assists the hero on his mission in some way
The Donor - Prepares the hero in some way, by either donating some sort of object or providing a vital piece of information
False Hero - Takes credit for the actions of the hero
Finally, Roland Barthes established a set of codes that are carefully woven into any narrative. The first is the first one is the Hermeneutic Code which refers to any element of the story that is not completely and thoroughly explained. The reason this is used is because the authors job is to keep the audience guessing until the end, leaving enigma codes for them to consider while they are consuming the narrative. The Proairetic Code builds tension and references past events in the narrative that indicates something else is going to happen. These two codes work together to keep the audience interested until the end of the story. The Semantic Code refers to connotation within the story that gives additional meaning over the basic denotative meaning of a word. This can be used to paint richer pictures with limited text. The Symbolic Code acts at a wider level than the symbolic code, it organises semantic meanings into broader and deeper sets of meaning, allowing writers explore complicated sets of ideas whilst using basic descriptions. The Cultural Code refers to anything that cannot be challenged and is assumed to be a foundation of truth within a text.
Wednesday, 18 March 2015
Model of the Media
The media today follows a model which includes a relationship between the text, the audience that consumes it and the institutions that produce and distribute it.
Examples of text include music videos, songs, TV programmes, films, magazines website computer games etc.
The key pieces of information regarding the text that the institutions seek is what types of text audiences are consuming, why are they consuming it, what is attractive to them about that particular type of text, how they consume it, whether it be on their computers, tablets or phones etc. They also wish to know where they consume it, for example, when it comes to watching films, do people prefer watching them at home or at the cinema. It is also important for the sake of marketing to know when certain texts are being consumed, so that companies can adjust and release certain things during certain times of year to attract the most attention.
Some examples of institutions include record companies, universal, MGN, Fox, BBC, Google, Sky, etc.
The relationship between institutions and the audience is an important one to understand, there is almost always a financial transaction, and if not, then the audience always pays in some way, it could be something as minimal as watching advertisements.
Illegal downloads are beginning to get more and more popular, which means performers and institutions have to adapt, instead of using live performances as promotion for albums, seeing as they are being purchased less and less, they now use the albums as promotions for live performances, where they can charge a large amount of money for tickets and merchandise.
Above you can see a visual representation of the relationship between the audience, text and institution.
Tuesday, 17 March 2015
Alex Southam case study
At the start of his career, Southam undertook all the tasks in his videos himself. Regarded as a ''One Man Band'' he took care of camera work, lighting, editing and all other related tasks.
Initially Southam worked for Agile Films, where he is described on their website as ''an exciting new talent working in a dizzying variety of styles across live action and animation. Entirely self-taught, his inventiveness and creativity have caught the eye with a series of diverse promos for the likes of the Walkmen, Alt+Jm and Lianne La Havas. Alex joined Agile in August 2012.''
Southam claims to like the format of music videos as they grant the artist creative freedom, they grant you the ability to try new techniques and integrate them among techniques that are established and effective.
Uses Vimeo as a platform to showcase his work, which is becoming and increasingly more popular platform.
His breakthrough into the industry came with his video for the song ''Tessellate'' by Alt-J. This video had a budget of £10,000, was shot in one day and had a remarkably large cast. This video does not tell a story , it is difficult to infer a lot from it as the cast is standing around not doing much, which shows a disconnect between audio and video. It is worth noting though that even in a video like this, which is not in any way suggestive or voyeuristic, the women are wearing tighter clothing which is in line with some of the issues outlined by Laura Mulvey.
The following music video I will by analysing is Chase and Status' Lost and Not Found. This video had a budget of £50,000. It was filmed at 36 frames per second and then slowed down during the editing stage, captured with the use of steadicams. This video received influence from Massive Attack's ''Unfinished Sympathy'' and was filmed in only three shots with difficult to spot edits. At the beginning of the video, the visuals contradict the audio because they are aggressive compared to the relatively calm pace and lyrics of the song. A woman and a man can be seen arguing and the audio does not match this. This theme of aggression is not consistent, but it also comes up again at the very end of the video. Despite the fact that this video only has three edits, it keeps going at a rather high pace, this may be due to the fact that it was initially filmed at thirty six frames and then slowed down.
The final video I will be looking at is ''Rumble And Sway'' by Jamie N Commons. This video has a very ambiguous editing style, dark colours are used and the two people are never shown clearly, which makes the audience wonder. Close ups are used throughout of the male performer, while the female is shown at medium shot most of the time, which may imply that they are distant from each other despite the audio suggesting that they are attracted to one another, or at the very least, he is attracted to her.
Initially Southam worked for Agile Films, where he is described on their website as ''an exciting new talent working in a dizzying variety of styles across live action and animation. Entirely self-taught, his inventiveness and creativity have caught the eye with a series of diverse promos for the likes of the Walkmen, Alt+Jm and Lianne La Havas. Alex joined Agile in August 2012.''
Southam claims to like the format of music videos as they grant the artist creative freedom, they grant you the ability to try new techniques and integrate them among techniques that are established and effective.
Uses Vimeo as a platform to showcase his work, which is becoming and increasingly more popular platform.
His breakthrough into the industry came with his video for the song ''Tessellate'' by Alt-J. This video had a budget of £10,000, was shot in one day and had a remarkably large cast. This video does not tell a story , it is difficult to infer a lot from it as the cast is standing around not doing much, which shows a disconnect between audio and video. It is worth noting though that even in a video like this, which is not in any way suggestive or voyeuristic, the women are wearing tighter clothing which is in line with some of the issues outlined by Laura Mulvey.
The following music video I will by analysing is Chase and Status' Lost and Not Found. This video had a budget of £50,000. It was filmed at 36 frames per second and then slowed down during the editing stage, captured with the use of steadicams. This video received influence from Massive Attack's ''Unfinished Sympathy'' and was filmed in only three shots with difficult to spot edits. At the beginning of the video, the visuals contradict the audio because they are aggressive compared to the relatively calm pace and lyrics of the song. A woman and a man can be seen arguing and the audio does not match this. This theme of aggression is not consistent, but it also comes up again at the very end of the video. Despite the fact that this video only has three edits, it keeps going at a rather high pace, this may be due to the fact that it was initially filmed at thirty six frames and then slowed down.
The final video I will be looking at is ''Rumble And Sway'' by Jamie N Commons. This video has a very ambiguous editing style, dark colours are used and the two people are never shown clearly, which makes the audience wonder. Close ups are used throughout of the male performer, while the female is shown at medium shot most of the time, which may imply that they are distant from each other despite the audio suggesting that they are attracted to one another, or at the very least, he is attracted to her.
Tuesday, 10 February 2015
Michael Jackson
The first music video he produced was with the Jackson 5, it was a basic video whose purpose was to promote the music video. There were no unique features to identify the music video as one of the best out. It had simple choreography but still fit the purpose. Referring to Goodwin's theory, the people in the video are dressed in a fitting way for the song and there are a lot of closeups of the performers' faces which are two outlined characteristics of successful.
The video for Rockin' Robin can be seen above.
The next video I will be talking about is rock with you. This video has a very conventional editing style, there is nothing to make it seem outstanding again, but consumers may find the traditional style of editing appealing as it is already within their comfort zone. The video has a contrast of colors and is quite fast and active despite the lyrics and flow of the song being relatively slow moving. The use of lights is interesting in this video though.
The third video is ''Billie Jean''.
This was a breakthrough video for Michael Jackson. It is the first interesting Pop video which tells a story instead of just showcasing basic lip syncing. This video tells a story, it follows Michael Jackson and his search for Billie Jean, it is heavily implied that she is a love interest. In the video Michael is searching for her, Often times he is shown to be alone, which confirms that ''Billy Jean is not my lover.'' There is an identifiable relationship between the lyrics and the visuals in this music video.
Following the success of Billie Jean, Michael Jackson released ''Beat It'', this music video was anticipated by an eager audience across the globe. It feels like Jackson was able to identify a solid recipe which produced good results with a video that combined lip synching and story telling to create a unique experience, as he tried to replicate it with the release following Billie Jean. Regarding some of Goodwin's key points, there is memorable choreography, close ups of Jackson being shown throughout, and a dress code for each person that is relevant and fitting. Overall, a very creative and memorable video which did not disappoint the anticipating fans.
Following Beat It comes the most famous music video of all time. ''Thriller'' single-handedly changed the way that music videos are received and viewed as well as the way they were created from that point forward. Thriller was the first music video to be added to the National Film Industry by The Library of Congress in 2009. The entire music video is fourteen minutes long, again following the recipe of memorable choreography, storyline and lip synching. This video raised the bar for all future music videos, it made a grand statement that stiff movement and basic lip synching were no longer good enough, a music video should be an event that is celebrated as something grand as opposed to something basic. Thriller was celebrated in such a way for a long time. An example of the way this video was celebrated was people going to the cinema just so they could see the full version as opposed to the 5 minute shortened version that was showed on Television at the time. Jackson's record company refused to fund this project, so it had to be paid for by the director John Landis. Jackson made paid deals with Showtime and MTV, giving them rights to show the video. Thriller is responsible for the trend of dance groups in pop videos. It was not unusual to receive a cassette tape of this song as a present for Christmas in the 80s. It was the most selling tape of all time, selling over 9 million copies, as confirmed by the Guinness Book of World Records.
After Thriller was created, Michael Jackson was the undisputed most popular pop star in the world. Michael and his team knew they had a lot of expectations to live up to. The video that followed Thriller was for the song ''Bad''. The release of this video was a huge event, as when this video was released it was shown on BBC, people were fascinated to see Jackson's new image and dancing. As is typical of a Michael Jackson video, this video had very active choreography that keeps the audience interested throughout the entire video. The speed of editing varies throughout, as at certain parts of the video longer still shots are used and at certain other parts the editing is very fast and the shots are changing constantly.
The next and final video I will look at is ''Black or White''. This is a video that presents a really strong message in a creative way. It was an incredibly inventive video which cost a lot of money to produce. There were a lot of rumours surrounding Jackson's desire to change the colour of his skin through surgical advancements, as a result of this, he received backlash from black fans because they perceived this change as him being ashamed of being black. Black and White was an attempt to connect back with these fans, with the message being that skin colour is irrelevant as long as you are a good person. The video tries to promote equality, and tries to get people to stop focusing on race as much as the person themselves. Also worth noting that as in all Michael Jackson music videos this one has very unique and very active choreography which keeps the viewer engaged from start to finish.
The video for Rockin' Robin can be seen above.
The next video I will be talking about is rock with you. This video has a very conventional editing style, there is nothing to make it seem outstanding again, but consumers may find the traditional style of editing appealing as it is already within their comfort zone. The video has a contrast of colors and is quite fast and active despite the lyrics and flow of the song being relatively slow moving. The use of lights is interesting in this video though.
The third video is ''Billie Jean''.
This was a breakthrough video for Michael Jackson. It is the first interesting Pop video which tells a story instead of just showcasing basic lip syncing. This video tells a story, it follows Michael Jackson and his search for Billie Jean, it is heavily implied that she is a love interest. In the video Michael is searching for her, Often times he is shown to be alone, which confirms that ''Billy Jean is not my lover.'' There is an identifiable relationship between the lyrics and the visuals in this music video.
Following the success of Billie Jean, Michael Jackson released ''Beat It'', this music video was anticipated by an eager audience across the globe. It feels like Jackson was able to identify a solid recipe which produced good results with a video that combined lip synching and story telling to create a unique experience, as he tried to replicate it with the release following Billie Jean. Regarding some of Goodwin's key points, there is memorable choreography, close ups of Jackson being shown throughout, and a dress code for each person that is relevant and fitting. Overall, a very creative and memorable video which did not disappoint the anticipating fans.
Following Beat It comes the most famous music video of all time. ''Thriller'' single-handedly changed the way that music videos are received and viewed as well as the way they were created from that point forward. Thriller was the first music video to be added to the National Film Industry by The Library of Congress in 2009. The entire music video is fourteen minutes long, again following the recipe of memorable choreography, storyline and lip synching. This video raised the bar for all future music videos, it made a grand statement that stiff movement and basic lip synching were no longer good enough, a music video should be an event that is celebrated as something grand as opposed to something basic. Thriller was celebrated in such a way for a long time. An example of the way this video was celebrated was people going to the cinema just so they could see the full version as opposed to the 5 minute shortened version that was showed on Television at the time. Jackson's record company refused to fund this project, so it had to be paid for by the director John Landis. Jackson made paid deals with Showtime and MTV, giving them rights to show the video. Thriller is responsible for the trend of dance groups in pop videos. It was not unusual to receive a cassette tape of this song as a present for Christmas in the 80s. It was the most selling tape of all time, selling over 9 million copies, as confirmed by the Guinness Book of World Records.
After Thriller was created, Michael Jackson was the undisputed most popular pop star in the world. Michael and his team knew they had a lot of expectations to live up to. The video that followed Thriller was for the song ''Bad''. The release of this video was a huge event, as when this video was released it was shown on BBC, people were fascinated to see Jackson's new image and dancing. As is typical of a Michael Jackson video, this video had very active choreography that keeps the audience interested throughout the entire video. The speed of editing varies throughout, as at certain parts of the video longer still shots are used and at certain other parts the editing is very fast and the shots are changing constantly.
The next and final video I will look at is ''Black or White''. This is a video that presents a really strong message in a creative way. It was an incredibly inventive video which cost a lot of money to produce. There were a lot of rumours surrounding Jackson's desire to change the colour of his skin through surgical advancements, as a result of this, he received backlash from black fans because they perceived this change as him being ashamed of being black. Black and White was an attempt to connect back with these fans, with the message being that skin colour is irrelevant as long as you are a good person. The video tries to promote equality, and tries to get people to stop focusing on race as much as the person themselves. Also worth noting that as in all Michael Jackson music videos this one has very unique and very active choreography which keeps the viewer engaged from start to finish.
Emil Nava
Emil started his career as a runner in a film studio. A runner is someone who takes care of small jobs such as tidying up sets and areas before filming. While working for a production company, he was promoted to assistant director for a music video. He later signed with Academy, which is regarded as one of the biggest production companies in music. Recently most of his work is done with the company Pulse. He also did freelance work for OB management, this is where he is more involved with the creation of music videos, rather than doing the tedious jobs no one else wants to.
The first music video that Nava created was ''Our House Is Dadless''
He was working with a small budget £20,000, and a time span of four days to film this video. He decided to make a small music video which did not have a massive budget and was not focused entirely on production value, using local scenery and people in an effective way. There was a 10 day period of pre-production which made the project a lot easier for him once it had began. This shows off Nava's ability to plan and function under strict circumstances while still producing incredibly satisfying results.
The next video I will be looking at is one of Emil Nava's more famous pieces of work. The song is called ''Picking Up The Pieces'' by Paloma Faith. This song was made under Sony. For this video, the budget he was working with was significantly larger, as he had £80,000 available to him. This shows because the picture quality has risen substantially in this video. Also, they were able to pick a more specific and suitable location, as the whole video, including mise-en-scene and clothing, looks a lot more posh.
Another one of his more well known videos is of the song by Ed Sheeran ''You Need Me, I don't Need You''. The client for this project was Atlantic records. The budget for this video was a middle ground for what Nava was used to at this point, at £35,000 it is lower than the budget for ''Picking Up The Pieces'' and higher than ''Our House Is Dadless''
The final video I will talk about, is also a more famous video by Nava called ''Do It Like A Dude'' by Jessie J. This was made for Island. The budget for this production was £25,000. The mise-en-scene as well as the setting work to give this away, as it looks like an abandoned flat. The entire area just looks very unclean. This video is a more realistic reflection of certain things that people do.
The first music video that Nava created was ''Our House Is Dadless''
He was working with a small budget £20,000, and a time span of four days to film this video. He decided to make a small music video which did not have a massive budget and was not focused entirely on production value, using local scenery and people in an effective way. There was a 10 day period of pre-production which made the project a lot easier for him once it had began. This shows off Nava's ability to plan and function under strict circumstances while still producing incredibly satisfying results.
The next video I will be looking at is one of Emil Nava's more famous pieces of work. The song is called ''Picking Up The Pieces'' by Paloma Faith. This song was made under Sony. For this video, the budget he was working with was significantly larger, as he had £80,000 available to him. This shows because the picture quality has risen substantially in this video. Also, they were able to pick a more specific and suitable location, as the whole video, including mise-en-scene and clothing, looks a lot more posh.
Another one of his more well known videos is of the song by Ed Sheeran ''You Need Me, I don't Need You''. The client for this project was Atlantic records. The budget for this video was a middle ground for what Nava was used to at this point, at £35,000 it is lower than the budget for ''Picking Up The Pieces'' and higher than ''Our House Is Dadless''
The final video I will talk about, is also a more famous video by Nava called ''Do It Like A Dude'' by Jessie J. This was made for Island. The budget for this production was £25,000. The mise-en-scene as well as the setting work to give this away, as it looks like an abandoned flat. The entire area just looks very unclean. This video is a more realistic reflection of certain things that people do.
Wednesday, 21 January 2015
Sexism In Music Videos
In recent times, certain music videos have stirred controversy because they portray women in an objectified manner. This is done through several techniques, some of the most obvious being voyeuristic choreography and minimal clothing.
Examples of music videos that have done this are Robin Thicke's ''Blurred Lines'' and Miley Cyrus' Wrecking Ball.
A part of Laura Mulvey's theory suggests that the male gaze denies women human identity, they are reduced to objects that are only there to be admired for their physical appearance. The theory also states that women have to force themselves into a secondary perspective in order to view music videos and films that are being released in modern times, they must view these releases through the eyes of a male.
Similarly to full length films, women are often not able advance the plot of a music video themselves, however they do sometimes advance the plot because they influence the actions of the male character who is in the spotlight.
Mulvey also argues that the objectification of women is infectious, because the media creates outrageous standards for women and seeing as they have to consume the media through the male gaze, they end up objectifying other women, bringing them and often themselves down because they believe they are not good enough.
Mulvey's text suggests that females have two similar purposes in music videos. The first is to be viewed and admired for their appearance by characters within the world of the text which they are in. The second is to be admired by the audience watching the film or video.
Dr. No is a famous example of this, specifically the scene with Sean Connery on the beach with Ursula Andress.
Mulvey discusses the term socophilia, she describes watching movies and music videos as socophilic practices. Socophilia is defined as the love of watching/observing.
Most of Mulvey's writing relates specifically to Hollywood cinema, however the majority of her points transfer over to pop videos without any need of clarification, in short;
•Men are active, women are passive
•Women do not have agency
•The atmosphere of most pieces is patriarchal, man dominated
•Entire audience forced to view through male gaze
The first sexist pop video I will look at is Lily Allen's ''Hard Out Here''
Mulvey's theory can definitely be applied to this video as it is full of women dancing in voyeuristic ways dressed less than formally. Lily Allen was formerly outspoken about the fact that there needs to be more power given to females in the media industry and perhaps society as a whole, but with the release of ''Hard Out Here'' she is made to look like a total hypocrite. This video is encouraging of the male gaze given the dancing and actions of the performers, which acts to contradict the lyrics of the song completely which imply that there are issues that need to be dealt with, a prime example is the phrase ''we've never had it so good uh-huh we're out of the woods and if you can't detect the sarcasm, you've misunderstood'' This phrase implies that female performers may have a hard time bringing up this issue to their peers and superiors, they are forced to do it in roundabout ways such as sarcastic lyrics and contradictory visuals. This video may be a hypocritical cash-in on the controversies that are currently being discussed by people that have the power to change these things, but it may also have a more significant meaning beneath the surface. It could be both. Regarding the mise-en-scene in this video, it is really simple and in line with the objectification of women, minimal clothing and props that they can use to further make themselves seem like objects, such as the champagne one of the dancers pours on herself.
To focus more on the camera angles, it is interesting to note that there is a lot of voyeuristic shots of women and their assets, ranging from close up to medium shots, but these are never on Lily herself, perhaps implying that she is different from the rest of the industry.
The second video I will be analysing in more detail is ''Wrecking Ball'' by Miley Cyrus.
For a lot of the time in this video, Miley Cyrus is completely naked and behaving sexually. The first example of this is her sitting on the wrecking ball and the second that follows shortly is the licking of the sledgehammer, attempting a seductive shot that looks fairly disturbing on the surface. The purpose of this music video is to be an attempt to get rid of the Hannah Montana image. It is possible that Miley wanted to show that she is not controlled by the industry by making this video, but it could also be interpreted that she played right into the female pop music stereotypes by making it. This video is controversial because it is not as simple as it appears on the surface, critics may claim that she is being exploited by the industry and being thrown straight into the stereotypes talked about by Laura Mulvey, but creating a unique video that stands out like this will undoubtedly continue to attract audiences for a long time to come, whether they are in support of the video or not. There is a large focus on mise-en-scene in this video, as Miley behaves seductively with certain objects that you would not typically expect a woman to do this with.
There are a lot of close-ups of Miley's face as expected and suggested by Andrew Goodwin, there is a range of camera angles, from long shot to medium shot and close ups as mentioned before.
The third and final video I will be looking at is Robin Thicke's ''Blurred Lines''
This video sparked controversy because of the way the women are treated in it. The males are constantly shown to be in a position of dominance throughout. This video is a good example of where the women are behaving passively, while the men are behaving actively, effectively deciding what happens next. This is in line with some of the points addressed by Laura Mulvey, regarding passive and active roles. The women in this video are wearing minimal clothing, while the men are fully clothed which emphasises their dominance, the lack of clothing shows that these women are only meant to be admired for their physical appearance, which means they are presented as objects. There is another version of this video where the women are completely naked, but that is not as popular and has not been marketed as intensively because it is not suitable for all audiences, that version of this video places additional emphasis on all the points covered above. Objectively, the dance routine is simple yet effective, but it has a lot of voyeuristic elements as well which are covered by Andrew Goodwin in Dancing In the Distraction Factory.
Examples of music videos that have done this are Robin Thicke's ''Blurred Lines'' and Miley Cyrus' Wrecking Ball.
A part of Laura Mulvey's theory suggests that the male gaze denies women human identity, they are reduced to objects that are only there to be admired for their physical appearance. The theory also states that women have to force themselves into a secondary perspective in order to view music videos and films that are being released in modern times, they must view these releases through the eyes of a male.
Similarly to full length films, women are often not able advance the plot of a music video themselves, however they do sometimes advance the plot because they influence the actions of the male character who is in the spotlight.
Mulvey also argues that the objectification of women is infectious, because the media creates outrageous standards for women and seeing as they have to consume the media through the male gaze, they end up objectifying other women, bringing them and often themselves down because they believe they are not good enough.
Mulvey's text suggests that females have two similar purposes in music videos. The first is to be viewed and admired for their appearance by characters within the world of the text which they are in. The second is to be admired by the audience watching the film or video.
Dr. No is a famous example of this, specifically the scene with Sean Connery on the beach with Ursula Andress.
Mulvey discusses the term socophilia, she describes watching movies and music videos as socophilic practices. Socophilia is defined as the love of watching/observing.
Most of Mulvey's writing relates specifically to Hollywood cinema, however the majority of her points transfer over to pop videos without any need of clarification, in short;
•Men are active, women are passive
•Women do not have agency
•The atmosphere of most pieces is patriarchal, man dominated
•Entire audience forced to view through male gaze
The first sexist pop video I will look at is Lily Allen's ''Hard Out Here''
Mulvey's theory can definitely be applied to this video as it is full of women dancing in voyeuristic ways dressed less than formally. Lily Allen was formerly outspoken about the fact that there needs to be more power given to females in the media industry and perhaps society as a whole, but with the release of ''Hard Out Here'' she is made to look like a total hypocrite. This video is encouraging of the male gaze given the dancing and actions of the performers, which acts to contradict the lyrics of the song completely which imply that there are issues that need to be dealt with, a prime example is the phrase ''we've never had it so good uh-huh we're out of the woods and if you can't detect the sarcasm, you've misunderstood'' This phrase implies that female performers may have a hard time bringing up this issue to their peers and superiors, they are forced to do it in roundabout ways such as sarcastic lyrics and contradictory visuals. This video may be a hypocritical cash-in on the controversies that are currently being discussed by people that have the power to change these things, but it may also have a more significant meaning beneath the surface. It could be both. Regarding the mise-en-scene in this video, it is really simple and in line with the objectification of women, minimal clothing and props that they can use to further make themselves seem like objects, such as the champagne one of the dancers pours on herself.
To focus more on the camera angles, it is interesting to note that there is a lot of voyeuristic shots of women and their assets, ranging from close up to medium shots, but these are never on Lily herself, perhaps implying that she is different from the rest of the industry.
The second video I will be analysing in more detail is ''Wrecking Ball'' by Miley Cyrus.
For a lot of the time in this video, Miley Cyrus is completely naked and behaving sexually. The first example of this is her sitting on the wrecking ball and the second that follows shortly is the licking of the sledgehammer, attempting a seductive shot that looks fairly disturbing on the surface. The purpose of this music video is to be an attempt to get rid of the Hannah Montana image. It is possible that Miley wanted to show that she is not controlled by the industry by making this video, but it could also be interpreted that she played right into the female pop music stereotypes by making it. This video is controversial because it is not as simple as it appears on the surface, critics may claim that she is being exploited by the industry and being thrown straight into the stereotypes talked about by Laura Mulvey, but creating a unique video that stands out like this will undoubtedly continue to attract audiences for a long time to come, whether they are in support of the video or not. There is a large focus on mise-en-scene in this video, as Miley behaves seductively with certain objects that you would not typically expect a woman to do this with.
There are a lot of close-ups of Miley's face as expected and suggested by Andrew Goodwin, there is a range of camera angles, from long shot to medium shot and close ups as mentioned before.
The third and final video I will be looking at is Robin Thicke's ''Blurred Lines''
This video sparked controversy because of the way the women are treated in it. The males are constantly shown to be in a position of dominance throughout. This video is a good example of where the women are behaving passively, while the men are behaving actively, effectively deciding what happens next. This is in line with some of the points addressed by Laura Mulvey, regarding passive and active roles. The women in this video are wearing minimal clothing, while the men are fully clothed which emphasises their dominance, the lack of clothing shows that these women are only meant to be admired for their physical appearance, which means they are presented as objects. There is another version of this video where the women are completely naked, but that is not as popular and has not been marketed as intensively because it is not suitable for all audiences, that version of this video places additional emphasis on all the points covered above. Objectively, the dance routine is simple yet effective, but it has a lot of voyeuristic elements as well which are covered by Andrew Goodwin in Dancing In the Distraction Factory.
Friday, 16 January 2015
Katy Perry - The Appeal Of Pop Videos and Her Private Life
The target audience of pop star Katy Perry would likely mainly be teenagers, primary girls, from the ages of 14 - 17. When she creates videos she creates them for specific meanings to address sometimes controversial topics. She gives herself an image of an older sister/friend, she wants to be a role model for these people and set them on a good path in life. Katy Perry reflects the problems that girls of that age are likely to have, sometimes even providing a solution or just words of encouragement.
As a part of my analysis I will give three examples of Katy Perry videos, the first one of which will be ''Firework''.
Two major parts of Goodwin's theory are present in this video. Firstly, there were a lot of close ups of Katy's face, which directors demand from artists. She is showcasing her intended position as the person who people can turn to for support and empowerment. The first example of this is when we see the boy that is experiencing an immense amount of stress because his parents are arguing, Katy empowers him and he finds the encouragement to stop his parents from arguing. The second noteworthy scene in this video is of a girl who is not confident in her appearance and as such she is scared to jump in the pool. Katy empowers her and her newfound confidence allows her to get in the pool and no one judges her.
The second video I will be looking is "I Kissed A Girl"
In this video, there are a lot of close up shots which is a part of Goodwin's theory. She succeeds in her branded goal of appealing to mainly teenage girls. She does this through the lyrics and the visuals of the video. They reflect an issue in todays society, which is girls being unsure of their sexuality. the lyrics state that she has a boyfriend but she also kissed a girl. She says she kissed a girl in order to see if it was right for her, but she was not sure if it was or not. This reflects her insecurities, which may appeal to some of her audience, she is also trying to empower them by encouraging them to not worry about other peoples opinions.
The third and final video I will be analysing is ''Wide Awake''
A few of the points raised by Goodwin can be seen in this video. A lot of the message in this video is expressed through emotion and once again there are a lot of close ups of her face. A notable scene in this video is when a firework comes out of her chest, this is a reference the music video ''Firework''. This song is also a portal for her audience to look at her private life. She talks about being ''in the dark'' which reflects her feelings on her marriage which eventually ended. They were married from October 23, 2010 - December 31, 2011. She also says ''Yeah I'm born again'' which means that she is a different and better person now that she is no longer married. The title of the song ''Wide Awake'' also suggests that she now sees that her marriage was a damaging one and she will be a better person when no longer married to Russell. This video is also a symbol of how she is a free woman again.
As a part of my analysis I will give three examples of Katy Perry videos, the first one of which will be ''Firework''.
Two major parts of Goodwin's theory are present in this video. Firstly, there were a lot of close ups of Katy's face, which directors demand from artists. She is showcasing her intended position as the person who people can turn to for support and empowerment. The first example of this is when we see the boy that is experiencing an immense amount of stress because his parents are arguing, Katy empowers him and he finds the encouragement to stop his parents from arguing. The second noteworthy scene in this video is of a girl who is not confident in her appearance and as such she is scared to jump in the pool. Katy empowers her and her newfound confidence allows her to get in the pool and no one judges her.
The second video I will be looking is "I Kissed A Girl"
In this video, there are a lot of close up shots which is a part of Goodwin's theory. She succeeds in her branded goal of appealing to mainly teenage girls. She does this through the lyrics and the visuals of the video. They reflect an issue in todays society, which is girls being unsure of their sexuality. the lyrics state that she has a boyfriend but she also kissed a girl. She says she kissed a girl in order to see if it was right for her, but she was not sure if it was or not. This reflects her insecurities, which may appeal to some of her audience, she is also trying to empower them by encouraging them to not worry about other peoples opinions.
The third and final video I will be analysing is ''Wide Awake''
A few of the points raised by Goodwin can be seen in this video. A lot of the message in this video is expressed through emotion and once again there are a lot of close ups of her face. A notable scene in this video is when a firework comes out of her chest, this is a reference the music video ''Firework''. This song is also a portal for her audience to look at her private life. She talks about being ''in the dark'' which reflects her feelings on her marriage which eventually ended. They were married from October 23, 2010 - December 31, 2011. She also says ''Yeah I'm born again'' which means that she is a different and better person now that she is no longer married. The title of the song ''Wide Awake'' also suggests that she now sees that her marriage was a damaging one and she will be a better person when no longer married to Russell. This video is also a symbol of how she is a free woman again.
Tuesday, 2 December 2014
Star Theory
Richard Dyer's Star Theory suggests that all or most stars are corporate constructions. This means that their brands and promotion are generally done for them in a specific way to create an image and attract a target audience. This is usually done through films and videos.
Dyer also claims that people prefer artists that display their true emotions and image through their work and their social media outlets, rather than the ones that have an image created for them artificially. An artist that appeals to this audience need is able to use this as their selling point.
Another one of Dyers claims in Star Theory is that artists become trendsetters in terms of clothing and hairstyles and really enthusiastic fans may copy these hairstyles and the way they dress. This makes it easier to sell merchandise to a certain percentage of the audience.
Artists may also choose to share certain religious beliefs to appeal to their target audience. Fans have an easier time looking into the personal life of artists because of the internet, as a lot of them choose to share a lot of personal things that give an insight to their lives through social media outlets.
The specific artist I will focus on in this post in relation to star theory is Britney Spears. When she initially emerged into the music scene, it was unusual and strange to some people as she was entering an industry that was dominated almost exclusively by male performers. The lack of females in the music industry caused a lot of people to pay attention to her and notice what she was doing which was what allowed her to breakthrough and become a massive star. Britney became a role model for teen girls at the time because there were no other female role models that were getting as much attention as she was in the music industry. Seeing as Britney Spears was a product of the media industry she was dressed in a specific way to appeal to her younger female audience of ages primarily between ten and fifteen early in her career, this could be inferred from her Barbie like image. Her dance routines were usually very simple, which meant that her audience could learn them if they wanted to in order to feel more connected to her.
The first music video I will look at that was done by Britney Spears will be ''Hit Me Baby One More Time'', with relation to the points outlined by Laura Mulvey in her essay, we can see that Britney is indeed presented as the object of erotic desire, this is done through her dances, deliberate camera angles and suggestive clothing.
Another one of Britney Spears' videos that is interesting is ''Hold It Against Me'' this video shows that Britney is fed up of being given images by the industry and wants people to see her for her own personality. The video shows a room full of computer screens with her past music videos playing which shows that she has a lot to say about her past and that she wants to change peoples opinion on her. The part where she is shooting paint at the computer screens shows that she does not want to be remembered by images that she has been given by the industry.
Dyer also claims that people prefer artists that display their true emotions and image through their work and their social media outlets, rather than the ones that have an image created for them artificially. An artist that appeals to this audience need is able to use this as their selling point.
Another one of Dyers claims in Star Theory is that artists become trendsetters in terms of clothing and hairstyles and really enthusiastic fans may copy these hairstyles and the way they dress. This makes it easier to sell merchandise to a certain percentage of the audience.
Artists may also choose to share certain religious beliefs to appeal to their target audience. Fans have an easier time looking into the personal life of artists because of the internet, as a lot of them choose to share a lot of personal things that give an insight to their lives through social media outlets.
The first music video I will look at that was done by Britney Spears will be ''Hit Me Baby One More Time'', with relation to the points outlined by Laura Mulvey in her essay, we can see that Britney is indeed presented as the object of erotic desire, this is done through her dances, deliberate camera angles and suggestive clothing.
Another one of Britney Spears' videos that is interesting is ''Hold It Against Me'' this video shows that Britney is fed up of being given images by the industry and wants people to see her for her own personality. The video shows a room full of computer screens with her past music videos playing which shows that she has a lot to say about her past and that she wants to change peoples opinion on her. The part where she is shooting paint at the computer screens shows that she does not want to be remembered by images that she has been given by the industry.
Tuesday, 25 November 2014
Rihanna - Shut Up and Drive (Laura Mulvey)
In the music video for ''shut up and drive'' Rihanna presents herself as purely an object of erotic desire. This may have a negative impact on the view of women in the music video industry, as people may presume this to be the standard, which does not help achieve equality in the industry. Despite being the focus of the video, Rihanna is unable to advance the plot, mainly because there isn't one, and the parts of her that men would find appealing are emphasized a lot in order to attract the male gaze. The video is choreographed in such a way that forces Rihanna to show herself off in a sexual way.
This video supports Laura Mulvey's ideas of female inferiority and objectifications within music videos.
Laura Mulvey is a feminist who wrote an essay expressing her concerns on how the media industry shapes societies views on women, more specifically, she expressed that part of the reason why todays society is patriarchal is because of the media industry.
Some of Laura Mulvey's key points, evidenced in Rihanna's video, are the following;
- Erotic desire
Laura Mulvey states that often there are characters in films and music videos that are present only as an object of erotic desire, these characters are almost always female, with very rare examples of them being male. An object of erotic desire can be identified through the use of specific and deliberate camera angles focusing on body parts males are expected to be attracted to, or even just generally very revealing clothing.
- Agency
Agency refers to freedom and acting in the way one desires to, as opposed to following a certain set of rules, being objectified. Laura Mulvey believes that in the typical Hollywood film, the main protagonist who is typically male always has agency, fulfilling an active role and advancing the plot forward, whereas the female characters typically take a more passive role, only having the power to observe and react to the plot advancements made by the other characters, thus meaning they do not have agency. There are very few famous examples of where female characters are given agency, these include The Hunger Games and the Alien series.
- The Male Gaze
Mulvey believed that the camera was the gaze of the male eye. This means that the events of the text are seen through the eyes of a male. This makes the male gaze active and explains why there is sometimes so much screen time focused on things that attract men. This includes women dressed and filmed in a way that objectifies them. This also means that the female gaze is passive, as they have no control but to view films and videos through the eyes of a male. The triple gaze theory suggests that there is a chain of three things when viewing any film, there's the audience, the camera and the spectator, together, they often objectify females, as argued by Mulvey.
This video supports Laura Mulvey's ideas of female inferiority and objectifications within music videos.
Laura Mulvey is a feminist who wrote an essay expressing her concerns on how the media industry shapes societies views on women, more specifically, she expressed that part of the reason why todays society is patriarchal is because of the media industry.
Some of Laura Mulvey's key points, evidenced in Rihanna's video, are the following;
- Erotic desire
Laura Mulvey states that often there are characters in films and music videos that are present only as an object of erotic desire, these characters are almost always female, with very rare examples of them being male. An object of erotic desire can be identified through the use of specific and deliberate camera angles focusing on body parts males are expected to be attracted to, or even just generally very revealing clothing.
- Agency
Agency refers to freedom and acting in the way one desires to, as opposed to following a certain set of rules, being objectified. Laura Mulvey believes that in the typical Hollywood film, the main protagonist who is typically male always has agency, fulfilling an active role and advancing the plot forward, whereas the female characters typically take a more passive role, only having the power to observe and react to the plot advancements made by the other characters, thus meaning they do not have agency. There are very few famous examples of where female characters are given agency, these include The Hunger Games and the Alien series.
- The Male Gaze
Mulvey believed that the camera was the gaze of the male eye. This means that the events of the text are seen through the eyes of a male. This makes the male gaze active and explains why there is sometimes so much screen time focused on things that attract men. This includes women dressed and filmed in a way that objectifies them. This also means that the female gaze is passive, as they have no control but to view films and videos through the eyes of a male. The triple gaze theory suggests that there is a chain of three things when viewing any film, there's the audience, the camera and the spectator, together, they often objectify females, as argued by Mulvey.
Case study of Jamie Thraves
Jamie Thraves was a director that made short films at university. He used a short film called ''Calling Card'' to get himself into the game, it was nominated for awards and got attention from bigger companies. This got him attention from a bigger company that went by the name of Factory Films.
This video is like a miniature film, showcasing Radiohead performing in a flat and a man laying on the pavement for no explicable reason. The story begins with a different man minding his own business eventually noticing the man laying on the floor, upon reaching him he tries to figure out why the man is there, but he does not get any answers. The only answer provided by the man laying on the floor to the first man and all the ones that approach him thereafter are that he wishes to be alone and that he cannot give any answers as this would have some kind of bigger impact than the characters initially realize. This keeps not only the characters within the world of the text interested, but the audience as well. This music video and story are very open ended which means that they can be interpreted in a number of ways based on who is watching. Additionally, it is worth noting that the music and the video are not related in any way which may confuse some audiences and distract them from trying to infer some kind of meaning from this unique music video.
This video is also like a mini film, strongly emphasizing the fact that Jamie had or has dreams of eventually becoming a film director. The music video shows events in a reverse chronological order. This may be hard to follow for the audience at first, but eventually we learn of the tragic event that the character within the video had gone through. The car accident resulted in the death of the woman he was currently with and he was supposedly hospitalized or at least experiencing heavy personal emotional problems. In a way, the video shows the characters desire to be alone now that he has lost the one he was with. In a way, the lyrics agree with the video in certain cases though maybe not thoroughly, as the say ''lets go back to the start'' whilst the video is rewinding and going back to a time before the tragic event.
The fourth and final example of a music video directed by Thraves is ''Death Cab For a Cutie - I Will Follow You Into The Dark''
Just as with other works from Jamie Thraves, this video tells a story. This one focuses on religious symbolism, a strictly catholic lad notices a hole in the middle of his room after waking up, and eventually symbolism between heaven and hell is heavily implied. The size of the hole in the floor expands and the man falls in, he tries to climb back out but eventually finds himself in the hole anyway which means that he has accepted his fate. This video tries to explain the consequences of sinning as a catholic.
Currently the budget Jamie Thraves uses a budget of around £20,000 for each music video and takes a shooting time of around two days.
Thraves used music videos as a way to enter the film business, his work shows that he wants to be a film director, instead of a music video director, this is because each one of his music videos tells a story.
He has so far shot three features
He began his career by shooting three low budget videos, each costing around five thousand pounds to film.
The environment under which music video directors work is very cutthroat, typically record labels will look at two or three different video variants and the ones that are not selected do not get paid for their work.
Thraves submitted variants for two music videos and both of his works were accepted
the first video was for Radiohead's ''Just.''
They had a £100,000 budget
The video was filmed in three days
This video is like a miniature film, showcasing Radiohead performing in a flat and a man laying on the pavement for no explicable reason. The story begins with a different man minding his own business eventually noticing the man laying on the floor, upon reaching him he tries to figure out why the man is there, but he does not get any answers. The only answer provided by the man laying on the floor to the first man and all the ones that approach him thereafter are that he wishes to be alone and that he cannot give any answers as this would have some kind of bigger impact than the characters initially realize. This keeps not only the characters within the world of the text interested, but the audience as well. This music video and story are very open ended which means that they can be interpreted in a number of ways based on who is watching. Additionally, it is worth noting that the music and the video are not related in any way which may confuse some audiences and distract them from trying to infer some kind of meaning from this unique music video.
The second video was Coldplay's ''The Scientist''
They had a £200,000
This video was also filmed in three days
This video is also like a mini film, strongly emphasizing the fact that Jamie had or has dreams of eventually becoming a film director. The music video shows events in a reverse chronological order. This may be hard to follow for the audience at first, but eventually we learn of the tragic event that the character within the video had gone through. The car accident resulted in the death of the woman he was currently with and he was supposedly hospitalized or at least experiencing heavy personal emotional problems. In a way, the video shows the characters desire to be alone now that he has lost the one he was with. In a way, the lyrics agree with the video in certain cases though maybe not thoroughly, as the say ''lets go back to the start'' whilst the video is rewinding and going back to a time before the tragic event.
The most recent music video produced by Jamie Thraves was Japanese Popstars - Song for Lisa, it can be seen below.
The fourth and final example of a music video directed by Thraves is ''Death Cab For a Cutie - I Will Follow You Into The Dark''
Just as with other works from Jamie Thraves, this video tells a story. This one focuses on religious symbolism, a strictly catholic lad notices a hole in the middle of his room after waking up, and eventually symbolism between heaven and hell is heavily implied. The size of the hole in the floor expands and the man falls in, he tries to climb back out but eventually finds himself in the hole anyway which means that he has accepted his fate. This video tries to explain the consequences of sinning as a catholic.
Currently the budget Jamie Thraves uses a budget of around £20,000 for each music video and takes a shooting time of around two days.
Thraves used music videos as a way to enter the film business, his work shows that he wants to be a film director, instead of a music video director, this is because each one of his music videos tells a story.
He has so far shot three features
- The Low Down
- The Cry of the Owl
- Treacle Jr
Jamie Thraves' tip for interpreting his music videos is to use the lyrics, but not be too literal, attempt to interpret the emotional flow of the lyrics.
Wednesday, 5 November 2014
Spice Girls - Creating a Brand
The following post will analyse how pop groups can be used to create brands. Examples of where this has been done before are Adele, Lady Gaga and The Spice Girls.
Pop videos help to:
Advertise
Illustrate the song
Appeal to a visual audience
Express an individuals emotions
Markets an image
Create a brand
In the mid 1990's, a family management team set out to forge a girl group to compete with all the popular boy bands that dominated the pop music scene.
In February 1994 a magazine ad, by heart management was placed in ''the stage'' trade magazine. The ad read ''R.U 18-23 with the ability to sing/dance, R.U streetwise, outgoing, ambitious and dedicated?'' this was the beginning of the creation of this new star girl group.
Pop videos help to:
Advertise
Illustrate the song
Appeal to a visual audience
Express an individuals emotions
Markets an image
Create a brand
In the mid 1990's, a family management team set out to forge a girl group to compete with all the popular boy bands that dominated the pop music scene.
In February 1994 a magazine ad, by heart management was placed in ''the stage'' trade magazine. The ad read ''R.U 18-23 with the ability to sing/dance, R.U streetwise, outgoing, ambitious and dedicated?'' this was the beginning of the creation of this new star girl group.
The clothes of the spice girls were all very carefully chosen. To the audience though it may look like they're just wearing whatever they wanted to wear and that very little thought went into it at all.
Despite the fact that the spice girls were sold as just a group of friends messing around without any formal structure, creating music, they were actually a carefully chosen group of individuals, selected after hundreds of auditions.
Once the Spice Girls brand had began gaining popularity, they had loads of sponsorship deals including Pepsi, Polaroid and even Spice Girl Barbie Dolls.
It is important to note though that most of the things about the Spice Girls were controlled by their managers behind the scenes in corporations.
One of the Spice Girls almost did not make it into the group because she looked a lot older than the others. When asked about her age she said ''I'm as old as you want me to be, ill be ten with big boobs if you want''
Artists and groups are often sold as a brand. Music and videos are presented as products of the brand and their main purpose is to encourage people to buy into the brand. Some artists tend to focus more on their image than the quality of the product that they produce. The Spice Girls are an example of this. At other times, the artists image has very little to do with the music they produce.
Friday, 17 October 2014
Don't Go Breaking My Heart - Lip Syncing Exercise and Evaluation
"Don't Go Breaking My Heart" is a famous duet performed by Elton John and Kiki Dee. It is said to be one of the cheapest music videos to have ever been produced and given the simplicity of the video this is not hard to believe.
For our task, we had to recreate the first half of this music video, creating our own spin off with the purpose of exercising lip-syncing and practicing the use of the editing software available to us. We had to obtain quite a lot of footage, we had 10 whole takes from different angles so that there was a lot of material to use when it came to the editing stage. Despite the fact that the duet originally is performed by a male and a female, our group used two males as they were the most confident in front of the camera. Given how this was only a practice project, I feel like this does not take away from what we have created as a whole.
We used a wide variety of camera angles when filming, examples include;
•Low Angle Medium Shot
•Wide Low Angle
•Low Angle
•Medium Shot
•Close up
•High Angle
•Medium Pan
Also, in order to make the video more authentic, we included a microphone as our one and only prop, this meant we could focus our attention into the lip-syncing and making the video look as entertaining and energetic as possible.
Each member of the group had to edit their own final music video with the footage that we had collected. This allowed us to practice using software that we were not familiar with previously, which will be really valuable experience when it comes to creating the final project. The software that we used is called Premier Pro, and the process I used to edit the video was the following:
1. Import all the separate full length takes from various angles onto the computer
2. Import audio for the song ''Don't Go Breaking My Heart''
3. Cut small parts of from various angle takes and match them up so that the video flows as a whole.
4. Sync these cuts with the audio, so that the lip-syncing looks right and well done.
While doing this it was important for me to make sure that the video looked smooth as it was transitioning from one cut to another, this was not too difficult, but it is important to note that it is quite easy to make mistakes as each cut is only a few seconds long meaning there are a lot of transitions and therefore a lot of opportunity for slip ups.
Overall I feel like the editing section of the project went well because the lip-syncing was done well for the most part, the video gives the impression that it is actually me and Danny singing fairly effectively. We included a wide variety of shots and so that there is constantly something to pay attention to in the video which means the audience will not get bored as quickly. One particular point of criticism for my version of the video is that certain shots last way longer than they should, which means that it may be harder to convey the energy and enthusiasm within the video to the audience. Another point if improvement is to pick a better space for filming, we did not have a lot of room to work with and so we were limited on what shots we could use. Overall, I think the project was relatively successful as a first, but there are clear points of improvement for us and we will work on them in future videos.
For our task, we had to recreate the first half of this music video, creating our own spin off with the purpose of exercising lip-syncing and practicing the use of the editing software available to us. We had to obtain quite a lot of footage, we had 10 whole takes from different angles so that there was a lot of material to use when it came to the editing stage. Despite the fact that the duet originally is performed by a male and a female, our group used two males as they were the most confident in front of the camera. Given how this was only a practice project, I feel like this does not take away from what we have created as a whole.
We used a wide variety of camera angles when filming, examples include;
•Low Angle Medium Shot
•Wide Low Angle
•Low Angle
•Medium Shot
•Close up
•High Angle
•Medium Pan
Also, in order to make the video more authentic, we included a microphone as our one and only prop, this meant we could focus our attention into the lip-syncing and making the video look as entertaining and energetic as possible.
Each member of the group had to edit their own final music video with the footage that we had collected. This allowed us to practice using software that we were not familiar with previously, which will be really valuable experience when it comes to creating the final project. The software that we used is called Premier Pro, and the process I used to edit the video was the following:
1. Import all the separate full length takes from various angles onto the computer
2. Import audio for the song ''Don't Go Breaking My Heart''
3. Cut small parts of from various angle takes and match them up so that the video flows as a whole.
4. Sync these cuts with the audio, so that the lip-syncing looks right and well done.
While doing this it was important for me to make sure that the video looked smooth as it was transitioning from one cut to another, this was not too difficult, but it is important to note that it is quite easy to make mistakes as each cut is only a few seconds long meaning there are a lot of transitions and therefore a lot of opportunity for slip ups.
Overall I feel like the editing section of the project went well because the lip-syncing was done well for the most part, the video gives the impression that it is actually me and Danny singing fairly effectively. We included a wide variety of shots and so that there is constantly something to pay attention to in the video which means the audience will not get bored as quickly. One particular point of criticism for my version of the video is that certain shots last way longer than they should, which means that it may be harder to convey the energy and enthusiasm within the video to the audience. Another point if improvement is to pick a better space for filming, we did not have a lot of room to work with and so we were limited on what shots we could use. Overall, I think the project was relatively successful as a first, but there are clear points of improvement for us and we will work on them in future videos.
Andrew Goodwin - Key Features of Music Videos
Andrew Goodwin's book ''Dancing In the Distraction Factory'' identifies several key features of modern music videos. I will analyse these features and see if they hold true in modern music videos.
To expand on the point above, in Iron Maiden's video, they can be seen performing on stage dressed in really stereotypical Metal band attire. This includes leather jackets, spiked bracelets and other such key features of a heavy metal music video whilst generally having a dark theme despite the fact that the song itself is actually rather upbeat as opposed to depressing and dark like the scenery might suggest.
2NE1's video also demonstrates genre characteristics, as it is a girl pop group, they can be seen performing very specifically choreographed dance routines on stage while having an uplift and positive theme to the video and the song.
•There is always a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals in a music video. This relationship can be illustrative, amplifying or contradicting.
The following is an example of an illustrative music video, it is Daniel Powter's ''Bad Day''
It follows the day of a man and a woman, the video generally compliments the audio fairly well, despite the fact that both a male and a female are being shown the male can be seen taking the lead. Despite the fact that this video attempts to demonstrate industry equality in that regard, clear bias can still be found.
The next video is a contradictory video, Adele's ''Rolling in the Deep''
•The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which reoccur across their work for example a visual style, examples include Katy Perry and Michael Jackson (motifs will be analysed in separate blog posts)
•There is frequently reference to the notion of looking and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body
The video above is an example of voyeuristic choreography. While there is nothing directly explicit about the video, the dance is put together in such a way which is designed to attract the male gaze.
There is often inter-textual reference within music videos. This is when a music video by a particular group or artist references a difference piece of text, this is often other music videos. Inter-textual reference is not limited to other music videos though, it can also include video games, films and other visuals too.
Above is an example of inter-textual reference, the Red Hot Chili Peppers use a video game of themselves as a part of their music video.
•Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics (example: Metal videos may typically include shots of the band performing on stage as well as other things, or a stage performance exclusively, while girl or boy bands may have specifically choreographed dance routines to appeal to their target demographic.)
The examples below will be Iron Maiden performing their hit song ''The Number of The Beast'' and a Korean Pop group called 2NE1 performing their hit song ''I Am The Best''
The examples below will be Iron Maiden performing their hit song ''The Number of The Beast'' and a Korean Pop group called 2NE1 performing their hit song ''I Am The Best''
To expand on the point above, in Iron Maiden's video, they can be seen performing on stage dressed in really stereotypical Metal band attire. This includes leather jackets, spiked bracelets and other such key features of a heavy metal music video whilst generally having a dark theme despite the fact that the song itself is actually rather upbeat as opposed to depressing and dark like the scenery might suggest.
2NE1's video also demonstrates genre characteristics, as it is a girl pop group, they can be seen performing very specifically choreographed dance routines on stage while having an uplift and positive theme to the video and the song.
•There is always a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals in a music video. This relationship can be illustrative, amplifying or contradicting.
The following is an example of an illustrative music video, it is Daniel Powter's ''Bad Day''
It follows the day of a man and a woman, the video generally compliments the audio fairly well, despite the fact that both a male and a female are being shown the male can be seen taking the lead. Despite the fact that this video attempts to demonstrate industry equality in that regard, clear bias can still be found.
The next video is a contradictory video, Adele's ''Rolling in the Deep''
•The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which reoccur across their work for example a visual style, examples include Katy Perry and Michael Jackson (motifs will be analysed in separate blog posts)
•There is frequently reference to the notion of looking and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body
The video above is an example of voyeuristic choreography. While there is nothing directly explicit about the video, the dance is put together in such a way which is designed to attract the male gaze.
There is often inter-textual reference within music videos. This is when a music video by a particular group or artist references a difference piece of text, this is often other music videos. Inter-textual reference is not limited to other music videos though, it can also include video games, films and other visuals too.
Above is an example of inter-textual reference, the Red Hot Chili Peppers use a video game of themselves as a part of their music video.
Tuesday, 14 October 2014
Purpose of Promotional Music Videos
The purpose of promotional music videos can be easily explain in a few points;
•Publicity, raising awareness of the new up and coming product or video
•Increase in sales by letting more people know
•Subtly advertising other products
Product placement happens frequently in music videos, sometimes it is deliberately made very obvious so that fans of the artist or group would be further persuaded to purchase this product as the will be able to relate this back to their favorite artists.
Sometimes product placement is not subtle. Products are placed into shots where they clearly shouldn't exist because they do not fit the music video, and the shots focused directly on the product last too long. This can take away from the music video.
Below are two examples of music videos that have product placement in them. The first is Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines which advertises the Beats Pill.
The following video is Christina Aguilera's Not Myself Tonight, which very clearly advertises a particular brand of perfume.
Music videos on the internet are not the only way in which a music video can get promoted. The music industry has a few other means of media through which they can promote their artists and music. These include;
Radio
TV
Print Media
Social Networks
There are other examples of synergy used within the industry as well. One of the most clear is Film. New songs are often used in films as a means of promotion. Frequently, a music video for a song which has been featured on a film will be shot in the same place as the film so that the audience can make a connection, sometimes the entire music video is not performed in that place but scenes will still be taken there. Sometimes cuts of the film itself are used.
I will list three music videos that have examples of synergy in them. In order, they are:
•Publicity, raising awareness of the new up and coming product or video
•Increase in sales by letting more people know
•Subtly advertising other products
Product placement happens frequently in music videos, sometimes it is deliberately made very obvious so that fans of the artist or group would be further persuaded to purchase this product as the will be able to relate this back to their favorite artists.
Sometimes product placement is not subtle. Products are placed into shots where they clearly shouldn't exist because they do not fit the music video, and the shots focused directly on the product last too long. This can take away from the music video.
Below are two examples of music videos that have product placement in them. The first is Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines which advertises the Beats Pill.
The following video is Christina Aguilera's Not Myself Tonight, which very clearly advertises a particular brand of perfume.
Music videos on the internet are not the only way in which a music video can get promoted. The music industry has a few other means of media through which they can promote their artists and music. These include;
Radio
TV
Print Media
Social Networks
There are other examples of synergy used within the industry as well. One of the most clear is Film. New songs are often used in films as a means of promotion. Frequently, a music video for a song which has been featured on a film will be shot in the same place as the film so that the audience can make a connection, sometimes the entire music video is not performed in that place but scenes will still be taken there. Sometimes cuts of the film itself are used.
I will list three music videos that have examples of synergy in them. In order, they are:
- Wet Wet Wet - Love Is All Around
Used in Get Real 1998
- Wheatus - Teenage Dirtbag
This song was used as the Soundtrack for American pie
- Starship - Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now
Friday, 3 October 2014
The History of Pop Music
Bing Crosby was the big star of the 1940's, fans of his would often see him appear in film and TV specials, this was the beginning of the evolution of the music video. This was the only way for people to see these performers as they would not perform live or create short music videos at this point in time.
Frank Sinatra replaced Bing Crosby as the next big star, Similarly to Crosby, fans of Sinatra often watched him on TV in various specials and shows, however, Sinatra also performed live for audiences that could come out watch him if they wanted to.
The next star to continue the chain was Elvis Presley. Similarly to the other two, he was seen on various films and TV shows, He performed at concerts but these were exclusive to the United States.
Above, the trailer for a film, Blue Hawaii, starring Elvis Presley can be seen, this is just one example of the many ways that Presley made a name for himself across the world.
The next group of people to talk about when discussing the development of the pop genre as well as music videos is The Beatles. The first thing that is revolutionary about The Beatles is the fact that they are a group of people as opposed to a solo performer, prior to them, this concept had not really been explored before, or at least to the same level of success as them.
At first they said that they do not wish to leave the UK until they get a number one, which they did with the song ''I Want To Hold Your Hand'', following this huge achievement they went on tour in America, but they hated the atmosphere and they were not so fond of travelling back and forth between countries each week, so what they decided to do was create a short video of the group performing a song.
This then became known as the fist pop music video, it was hugely successful so other artists and creators were hugely on board with the idea and that is why it is an industry standard for popular performers to have many music videos as well as perform live in front of crowds today.
Frank Sinatra replaced Bing Crosby as the next big star, Similarly to Crosby, fans of Sinatra often watched him on TV in various specials and shows, however, Sinatra also performed live for audiences that could come out watch him if they wanted to.
The next star to continue the chain was Elvis Presley. Similarly to the other two, he was seen on various films and TV shows, He performed at concerts but these were exclusive to the United States.
Above, the trailer for a film, Blue Hawaii, starring Elvis Presley can be seen, this is just one example of the many ways that Presley made a name for himself across the world.
The next group of people to talk about when discussing the development of the pop genre as well as music videos is The Beatles. The first thing that is revolutionary about The Beatles is the fact that they are a group of people as opposed to a solo performer, prior to them, this concept had not really been explored before, or at least to the same level of success as them.
At first they said that they do not wish to leave the UK until they get a number one, which they did with the song ''I Want To Hold Your Hand'', following this huge achievement they went on tour in America, but they hated the atmosphere and they were not so fond of travelling back and forth between countries each week, so what they decided to do was create a short video of the group performing a song.
This then became known as the fist pop music video, it was hugely successful so other artists and creators were hugely on board with the idea and that is why it is an industry standard for popular performers to have many music videos as well as perform live in front of crowds today.
Friday, 19 September 2014
Types of Music Groups and Bands
Mainstream music can be divided into two main different categories, these are Synthetic and Organic. These two different types are determined when the band is created and they determine the band members involvement in the work of the band.
Organic:
The term organic is used to describe bands where the music comes first, this implies that they write their own songs and money is not the only motive which encourages the groups members to perform. They always write the type of music that they want to write, as opposed to the type of music that will generate the largest amount of money, however, once they have written albums or singles in their preferred style they try to sell it to the right audience to make a profit from their work.
Given how organic bands often stick to the type of style they themselves find most preferable, they appeal only to a niche audience. However, they can appeal to a mass audience in certain cases as well.
A good example of an organic band is the beatles. They were a group of friends that would often get together just to write songs with no real initial idea that they would make it as big as they did. They played in Germany for one year, making little money, but they never let go of their defining style, when they came home to Liverpool they were signed by a middle class man who owned a record shop, he offered them pre-written songs that he believed would make it to #1 if the beatles performed them, but he was turned down because they wanted to stick to their own style, the music came first for them and this is what makes them an organic band.
Synthetic
Synthetic bands are bands that are created through a certain methodology, the record labels that sign these people control what happens with the band and the band members themselves often have little involvement when it comes to real performing, they are usually instructed and trained to mime along with pre-written and often pre-performed music.
The reason bands like this are created is to exploit an identified gap in the market. This allows songwriters and performers to create a specific type of music to fill that gap in order to generate massive profits, using selected individuals who they believe are suitable to be the front of the group. However, just because profit is the primary goal of these bands this does not mean they are bad and should not be supported, as in some cases they actually produce very good music which appeals to more than a niche audience.
As mentioned, the largest profit possible is the ultimate goal of these manufactured artists, A good example is One Direction. This was a group of individuals selected by Simon Cowell who probably did not know each other to begin with, they do not write their own songs, they likely mime when during their performances, they were created to appeal to a niche audience of younger females and the music does not come first, being successful at what they do and making money does.
Organic:
The term organic is used to describe bands where the music comes first, this implies that they write their own songs and money is not the only motive which encourages the groups members to perform. They always write the type of music that they want to write, as opposed to the type of music that will generate the largest amount of money, however, once they have written albums or singles in their preferred style they try to sell it to the right audience to make a profit from their work.
Given how organic bands often stick to the type of style they themselves find most preferable, they appeal only to a niche audience. However, they can appeal to a mass audience in certain cases as well.
A good example of an organic band is the beatles. They were a group of friends that would often get together just to write songs with no real initial idea that they would make it as big as they did. They played in Germany for one year, making little money, but they never let go of their defining style, when they came home to Liverpool they were signed by a middle class man who owned a record shop, he offered them pre-written songs that he believed would make it to #1 if the beatles performed them, but he was turned down because they wanted to stick to their own style, the music came first for them and this is what makes them an organic band.Synthetic
Synthetic bands are bands that are created through a certain methodology, the record labels that sign these people control what happens with the band and the band members themselves often have little involvement when it comes to real performing, they are usually instructed and trained to mime along with pre-written and often pre-performed music.
The reason bands like this are created is to exploit an identified gap in the market. This allows songwriters and performers to create a specific type of music to fill that gap in order to generate massive profits, using selected individuals who they believe are suitable to be the front of the group. However, just because profit is the primary goal of these bands this does not mean they are bad and should not be supported, as in some cases they actually produce very good music which appeals to more than a niche audience.
As mentioned, the largest profit possible is the ultimate goal of these manufactured artists, A good example is One Direction. This was a group of individuals selected by Simon Cowell who probably did not know each other to begin with, they do not write their own songs, they likely mime when during their performances, they were created to appeal to a niche audience of younger females and the music does not come first, being successful at what they do and making money does.Tuesday, 16 September 2014
Types Of Music Video
In this post I will be talking about a variety of music video styles used in the music industry for various effect.
A music video filmed ''As Live'' is filmed in a way which will make the viewers believe that it is a live performance when in reality it is recorded in a studio.
The example above is Bring Me the Horizon - Anthem, it shows this style of music video, they even include an artificial crowd to create the effect.
The next type of music video I will be talking about is cinematic.
Cinematic music videos have a heavy focus on production value and mise-en-scene. They may appear to be film like, as they are prodced to such a high quality.
This is an example of a cinematic music video, it does not follow any particular structure but the focus on quality and production value is still there.
The third type of music video I will talk about is studio based.
These are videos that are filmed in one location.
In this video, it is clear that the band is performing in one studio and the same environment is visable throughout the video.
The next type of video I will discuss is animated. This is when an anmiation accompanies the music, as opposed to real people performing.
Above is the example of Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc. This is a typical Gorillaz music video, it is very thematic and sometimes difficult to follow or strange, but this is just one of their industry motifs and a way for their audience and even people who have never heard of them before to recognize them and their work. It is a very iconic style of branding that is used with their other songs as well.
The following type of music video I will talk about is narrative, this is where a music video tells a story from start to finish. The example I will use for this is Bon Jovi's "Always"
Next is Pastiche, this is when a modern music video blends itself with another genre, time frame or theme. "The Ghost Of You" is an effective example of this.
The final type of music video I will talk about is Parody. Parody is a genre that makes fun of another text or presents it in a comical manner when it may have been presented seriously elsewhere. The difference between Parody and Pastiche is that Pastiche still presents the themes of the video in a serious light, where as parody often mocks or presents the same referenced themes in a comical way.
A music video filmed ''As Live'' is filmed in a way which will make the viewers believe that it is a live performance when in reality it is recorded in a studio.
The example above is Bring Me the Horizon - Anthem, it shows this style of music video, they even include an artificial crowd to create the effect.
The next type of music video I will be talking about is cinematic.
Cinematic music videos have a heavy focus on production value and mise-en-scene. They may appear to be film like, as they are prodced to such a high quality.
This is an example of a cinematic music video, it does not follow any particular structure but the focus on quality and production value is still there.
The third type of music video I will talk about is studio based.
These are videos that are filmed in one location.
In this video, it is clear that the band is performing in one studio and the same environment is visable throughout the video.
The next type of video I will discuss is animated. This is when an anmiation accompanies the music, as opposed to real people performing.
Above is the example of Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc. This is a typical Gorillaz music video, it is very thematic and sometimes difficult to follow or strange, but this is just one of their industry motifs and a way for their audience and even people who have never heard of them before to recognize them and their work. It is a very iconic style of branding that is used with their other songs as well.
The following type of music video I will talk about is narrative, this is where a music video tells a story from start to finish. The example I will use for this is Bon Jovi's "Always"
Next is Pastiche, this is when a modern music video blends itself with another genre, time frame or theme. "The Ghost Of You" is an effective example of this.
The final type of music video I will talk about is Parody. Parody is a genre that makes fun of another text or presents it in a comical manner when it may have been presented seriously elsewhere. The difference between Parody and Pastiche is that Pastiche still presents the themes of the video in a serious light, where as parody often mocks or presents the same referenced themes in a comical way.
Foo Fighters Animatic
In order to improve our understanding of how music videos are put together, we analysed the first 45 seconds of ''The Pretender'' just to see how many different shots were used, as well as their length.
We then drew a story board of each shot and synced it up with the original video of ''The Pretender''
By doing this we learnt that music videos can contain over a hundred shots that last for less than two seconds each, in order to create a fast paced effect. This also discourages us from using overly lengthy shots as it makes the video way less interesting.
There is a difference between editing a thriller and a music video, this difference is that in a thriller it is acceptable to use longer length shots, as long as you do it correctly.
Similarly to a thriller, you need to keep in mind the pacing of the scene and the audio, and base your editing speed on this. If The Pretender was not such a fast and up beat song, the pace of editing in the video would be a lot slower.
We then drew a story board of each shot and synced it up with the original video of ''The Pretender''
By doing this we learnt that music videos can contain over a hundred shots that last for less than two seconds each, in order to create a fast paced effect. This also discourages us from using overly lengthy shots as it makes the video way less interesting.
There is a difference between editing a thriller and a music video, this difference is that in a thriller it is acceptable to use longer length shots, as long as you do it correctly.
Similarly to a thriller, you need to keep in mind the pacing of the scene and the audio, and base your editing speed on this. If The Pretender was not such a fast and up beat song, the pace of editing in the video would be a lot slower.
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