Researching Album Art

Adele is a hugely successful artist within the music industry so it was only natural to have a look at some of her album artwork that fans have brought so highly into. 

Final idea!!

Some brief notes on the final idea:

Group - Josie, May and Olivia

Song: Voodoo Child- Rogue Traders

Theme: power of women, having the upper hand.

Costumes: dark, tight, revealing clothes, fishnet tights, massive heels.

Camera shots:

• Extreme close up of lips 'baby, baby, baby'.

• Medium shot of leg, in fishnets.

Recent Themes and Ideas.

The theme we have decided to stick to is the 'Power of Women'. Where the woman overpowers the man and she is in control.

The kind of music that seems to match this theme of feminism is rocky and edgy music.

Shania Twain - Man i feel like a woman is a good example.

We have also started thinking about the Mise-en-Scene. We have decided that things such as dark clothing which is quite tight and revealing with heavy make-up and bright lipstick would be a good idea to base our theme around. Showing the emotional state of strong and independent women. 

Intertextuality

Intertextuality: the relationship between two texts, especially literary ones.

Using different texts within a text that sparks recognition in the audience, for example a television show or film in a music video.   

Not all audiences will spot the reference.  It is argued that those who spot the recognition are flattered by what they see.

Intertextuality appears in many music videos, from Madonna's 'Material Girl' drawing on 'Diamonds are a girl's best friend', Mary Lambert to 2Pac and Dr Dre's 'California Love, drawing on 'Mad Max', Hype Williams 1996. It is clear there are many examples of cinematic references which dominate music video. 

 

Madonna - Material Girl - 1985                   Gentlemen Prefer Blondes - 1953


Visual reference in music video comes form a range of sources, thought the most frequent are cinema, fashion and art photography. When looking at fashion, it can sometimes take the form of specific catwalk references or supermodels themselves. Eg: George Michael in 'Father Figure' and 'Freedom'.

Linda Evangelista

Another example......

Robert Palmer - Addicted to Love                       Shania Twain - Man I feel like a Woman 1999

                                   

       

Voyeurism

Voyeurism is the practice of obtaining sexual gratification by looking at sexual objects or acts, especially secretively.

In the music video world, provocative behaviour like dancing, undressing, intercourse, revealing costume choice and so on are posed within the music video in order to create a sense of pleasure for a male or female viewer, as you are forced into looking at the sexual nature of another.  
In music videos it is mostly the man's gaze which dominates, this objectifies women in quite a derogatory way. This is usually created by fragmented shots of body parts, camera angles and movement, and expressive editing, which all sexualise the treatment of the performer - Goodwin's Theory. The effect of this is a boost in product sales and an increase in the audiences engagement in the song. 

Christina Aguilera - Dirrty

I thought that this music video 'Dirrty' released September 16th 2002, is an excellent example of voyeurism! It starts with a close up shot of the star artist Christina Aguilera's behind and then a close up of her mouth saying 'Dirrty'. The viewer automatically knows that this video is of a sexual nature. The costume throughout the whole video is very revealing and provocative. 

As the viedo goes on there are many close up's of Christina's mouth singing, up untill about 0:34 where we see her whole body. There is then a shot of her sat provocatively on a chair, with her legs apart. She then goes on to dance seductively, wearing little clothes. At 1:33 the camera seems to be at male gaze following her dance movements when on the floor. 

At 1:40 her outfit changes, but again it's very seductive and revelaing. The camera constantly followers her movements and at and at 1:49 the camera is at a very low angle looking up at the main star. She then goes on to take a piece of clothing off, which is an ovbious voyeuristic move.The rest of the video mainly conistis of the same thing, with lot of choreography.


50 Cent ft Olivia - Candyshop 

I think this video is also another good example of voyeurism but in the sense where women are seen as objects and are treated in a derogatory way. The way they are dressed and the way they are dancing shows this but also because the fact that he is the only male within the 'mansion' with all these women.

Definitions - Voyeurism and Intertextuality

Voyuerism: the pleasure of watching someone else perform for sex appeal, ideology and iconography. Eg: Beyonce, Rihanna.

The idea of voyuerism is frequently evident in music videos. Eg: the characters are shown watching other performers on a television set, on webcam, as images on a video camera or CCTV within the world of the narrative.

Intertextuality: the relationship between two texts, especially literary ones.

Using different texts within a text that sparks recognition in the audience, for example a television show or film in a music video.   

Not all audiences will spot the reference.  It is argued that those who spot the recognition are flattered by what they see.

Codes and Conventions = NeYo - Let me love you.

.
This music video is successful because....

- Direct address with audience for some of the song. When singing the verses. Telling the story to the audience.
- Wardrobe is cool and in which matches the R&B genre.
-Ne-yo's Performance is confident and he has a clear presence throughout the music video.
- Theme and narrative match the music video and lyrics.
- Adult scenes give the video a mature sense.
- Choreography performed by Ne-yo and other dancers is excellent. Make video professional and keeps viewers interested.
- Voyeurism present when looking at the woman whom the narrative is about. Very little clothing in some scenes or revealing clothing.
- Ne-yo reveals himself to his fans as well, showing his female fans what they want.
- Some of the actions match the lyrics.
- attractive characters. Keep audience engaged.
- Pace of video matches pace of the song.
- Strong narrative.
- Creative mise-en-scene. (beach)
- Interesting camera angles throughout, keeping audience interested and engaged.
- Cool factor.
- Dance moves matches song pace.
- Exciting editing techniques. (stars on face)

Codes and Conventions...Taylor Swift - We are never getting back together.

This is a successful music video because.... 

- Direct eye contact with audience.... creates a rapport.
- Wardrobe is fun and funky, showing off stars personality, promoting not only her music but her star image.
- Taylor Swift's stage performance is confident, has obvious presence, and as mentioned before constantly uses direct address to engage with the audience. 
- Theme and lyrics follow narrative of the song and music video.
- Comical value from the main star herself and other characters within the video. (animal costumes and Taylor's own wardrobe choices)
- Notion of looking, Voyeurism evident with some of the clothing that is worn. 
- Actions match lyrics.
- Pace of video fits in with pace of song.
- Strong narrative.
- Attractive characters, including main characters.
- Mise-en-scene matches lyrics and narrative of the music video.
- References to the name of her album 'Red' (lipstick, nail varnish, clothes, furniture)
- Fun atmosphere which involves the audience.
- Interesting camera work and editing. Keeps viewer interested and involved.

- Overall the video is fun and constantly engages the viewer due to direct address throughout the whole video! 

Technical Codes!

Codes and conventions in a music video:

• montage
• special effects, eg colouring, fish eye lense
• verisimitude
• star- commodity, confident, stage presence, direct address
• theme and lyrics of song must match image of video
• pace needs to match song
• narrative needs to match song
• rule of thirds
• iconography
• intertextuality

Camera Work:

• subvert the abstract from reality
• various techniques
• fast paced/slow paced
• close up shots

- Use of close up: to create a sense of intimacy between character and audience
emphasizes half of the commodity on sale (via song, artist and voice)
 
Editing:

• fast cut montage
• slow pace
• gentle transitions
• split screens
• fish eye lense

Inspiration from another Schools Music video!

My group member Josie came across this video by Latymer school of Rogue Traders song 'Voodoo Child'. We both really liked the concept of Vouyeurism and we thought that the song was really good to put lots of different ideas with. We decided that we would like to do something similar but instead of using the theme of female unity, we thought about using the theme of voyeurism with female control. Their video is very impressive with good editing techniques, such as the split screen. I also like the fact that they have used lots of different characters, which keeps the audience fully interested. I also like their use of colour. Although the one thing I would change about this video is that it has little or no narrative.

Introduction to Music Video

Today we worked in groups and discussed the type of theme we wanted to feature in our music video. With my group members Josie and May, we decided that a good idea would be to use an upbeat song that we could possible make a cheesy story line for, as this way more people would be able to relate to it.

We also started allocating roles within the group, deciding that Josie would be our main character in the video with the possibility of me also being involved in the video.

We spent the majority of the lesson on Google looking for good example of 'upbeat' songs. We all then started looking and thinking about non-mainstream artists, looking at the videos of the songs if there were any. 

 Some of the songs that we thought could work are: 
- The Kixx: Already Gone 
- Parade: Perfume 
- Parade: Rollercoaster 
- Cimorelli: Million Bucks 
- Aly and AJ: Rush 

We listened to each song fully. We also got the lyrics up for each song to see if we could come up with any stories that could relate to the lyrics. We thought of a theme that fit many of these songs. This was a cheesy romantic couple, possibly a summer romance. We will continue to develop our ideas and brainstorm possible music choices and story lines.

Music Video Analysis 2

Micheal Jackson - Earth Song

The narrative of this music video is about how the world today is being exploited and ruined by the human race. There is a very powerful message in the lyrics to this song and the music video shows this message very clearly, with very powerful imagery! This song covers issues such as deforestation and war. Therefore again the narrative of the video match the lyrics of the song. The lyrics 'look what we've done to the world, look what we've done' sum up the whole song as there are images of trees being chopped down and dead animals. There are also images of destroyed towns after war which is obviously human caused. 

Camera Movement.....

When the video first starts we can see a low-angle shot looking up at the trees, moving slowly around showing off the rainforest's beautiful scenery. This particular camera movement is very effective in showing the viewer the beautiful surroundings because it gives the viewer a chance to view everything. This low- angle is also very effective as we can then see the sun shining through the tress adding to the emphasis of the lovely surroundings. Whilst this opening shot is occurring, atmospheric rainforest sounds can be heard. As the music begins to start at 0:30, we can then see a vehicle coming towards the camera which is destroying the beautiful trees. The camera is situated here so that it looks like the vehicle is coming towards us so that we are fully focused and shocked at the event we can see occurring on screen. We then see a variety of camera shots and movements throughout the music video. We get long-shots, mid-shots and close-ups of our main star who is singing the song to us and telling us the story. We also see panning shots of particular moving scenes. Throughout there are many effective close-up shots of the characters reaction in the music video to what is happening. This creates sympathy from the viewer. 

Mise-en-scene and imagery...

As mentioned before, it is clear that the imagery and mis-en-scene included in this particular music video is very moving, poignant and powerful, especially in portraying the narrative and meaning behind the lyrics. The mise-en-scene of where we see the majority of the star Michael Jackson singing is of an area which would have been a forrest that is on fire and destroyed, giving off a sense of loss and destruction. We are then shown contrasting images of before and after shots of some of the places that have been destroyed. Here are some examples:

 Throughout the video we are then shown some other moving and even disturbing shots that show how humans are exploiting and ruining the earths natural surroundings:

Towards the end of this video there are some special effects. It seems as though all the destruction that has taken place is amending itself. We see people, Michael Jackson included holding onto tress whilst a strong wind seems to pass through and fix all the issues we had seen throughout the video.

This effect makes the watcher believe there is hope and will most likely make them think about their own actions in how they may exploit the earth or could help prevent those who do.

The last image is of a healthy rainforest. This last image again stresses to the viewer that exploitation is wrong, further emphasising the message of the song and video. 

When looking at Goodwin's take on music videos, this video is a good example.

As discussed it does show that there is a relationship between lyrics and videos and between music and visuals. There are many close-ups of the artist to promote him and his music.

Music Video Analysis 1

Dizzee Rascal & Armand Van Helden - Bonkers 

The narrative of the music video 'Bonkers' is about Dizzee Rascal's crazy and 'bonkers' lifestyle. Therefore the narrative of the video matches the lyrics of the song. The camera movement and effects complement the beat, rhythm and overall feel of the music video. The special effects throughout the video and props also show that the theme is supposed to show a crazy atmosphere. All this contributes to delivering the message and theme of the music video.

   

Camera movement

As mentioned before the camera movement and special effects match the beat and rhythem of the video. The first time we see where the beat is mirrored by the visuals is at 0:06 where we see the animated truck driving down the road. This of course adds to the confusing and crazy atmosphere as an animated truck is driving down a normal, everyday road. The camera then addresses Dizzee Rascal himself for the rest of the first verse. During this Dizzee uses direct address, so that the audience are fully engaged in the music video. The camera then seems to change from mid-shots to close-ups of Dizzee. At the start of the chorus, 1:02, when we see all the people dancing to the song, the screen looks as if it is vibrating and moving with the beat. With this not only audio but now visible beat, the people dancing are also in beat with the music and the camera movement shows this very well here. This again sells this type of music to the watcher/listener. The constant use of variety within the camera shots. eg: long shots, mid-shots, close-ups and even a few canted angles, help to add the feeling of distortion and confusion about the bonkers atmosphere. 

Mise-en-scene

The mise-en-scene in this video is extremely effective. As mentioned before the whole atmosphere of the video mirrors the narrative and message of the song. The particular image where he seems to be stood taller than the world with buildings going past him is particularly clever in showing a 'bonkers' theme. 

The colour used within this video is also very clever in portraying the main theme. The light blue colour that features throughout but especially at the beginning, gives a sense of a dream world. And as many people have 'weird' dreams the theory fits, making people think that perhaps this crazy atmosphere is a dream. This also makes sense at the beginning of the video when Dizzee Rascal is laying on a bed.

Another impressive feature in this video is the use of costume. One of the main things that catches the viewers eye in this music video is Dizzee Rascal's choice of clothing. The first bizarre bit of clothing we see is when he is wearing his 'blue' pyjamas which has large eyes all over it. This grabs the viewers attention instantly. Then at 1:02 we see him wearing a shark outfit which seems to have nothing to do with the video apart from the fact that wearing the outfit is bonkers! For quite a large proportion of the video he wears an oversized chain around his neck adding a commical factor to the video. 

  

Response to Opening Sequence!

Reflection on my AS Opening Sequence

When looking back at least years work. Overall I was pleased with the Opening sequence our group produced. I thought that the story line was quite strong with a good twist which made it stand out from an ordinary boring story line. Although some of the shots were good I feel we still could have used many more variations in our camera shots when filming. We also lacked original planning at the beginning and I feel we should have spent more time story boarding our original idea, something which I hope I will be more efficient at this time round when filming for the music video. In addition to this I feel that we could of perhaps used multiple locations instead of just the one.
I was particularly proud of the editing that was done last year, because I had never edited before using the technical software that we did use and I found myself quite enjoying the editing process and wanting to make it as good as possible! I was also particularly proud with some of the sound effects we used throughout the video and felt that the spooky noises and music added to the eerie effect we wanted to portray! 
Overall i was very pleased with the outcome of the opening sequence and it showed in my AS mark, I hppe that this year I can produce work to the same standard. 

Key Concepts of a Successful Music Video

Looking at the previous years work I have decided that these elements are vital in a successful music video: 

- Making sure there is sustainable eye contact with your audience as you want to sell yourself and your music as a product package, so therefore you need to be able to properly connect with your target market/audience.

-A varied use of different shots (ECU,CU, MCU, LS) , different angles (titled, high, low)  and camera movement (pans, tracking,hand held).

-Appropriate costume, hair and makeup helping to enhance the actors performance and the editing techniques up to a much higher standard. 

-Confident performances making sure good acting is done when performing the song throughout. 

     

-Precise  lip syncing

-Different and interesting Locations 

- Good song choice. Catchy and infectious.

- Location & visuals to match the song. Or have something to do with the overall message.

- Pace of editing should be varied

- Make the video interesting.

- Great performer, charisma, cast appropriately.

- Keep the mise-en-scene in control.

- Vary the editing styles.

- Use special effects (SFX)

- Use choreography.

- Main performer must keep direct address.

- Keep your video original and unique.

Analysis of the previous years Media Music Videos

When looking at the videos from the previous year, a few stand out far more than others. It is clear that they all used conventional techniques within their videos, but in some cases, failed to use a wide range of these techniques. The story lines are all very easy to understand but in some cases seem predictable with no shock twists or creative thinking to try and keep the listener/watcher entertained throughout.
The one group that stood out most for me and is by far my favorite video form last year was group 13B6. I found myself very interested in the story line throughout, and thought it was very imaginative. It seemed very professional, and could of been seen as a professional music video seen on programes such as MTV rather than produced by an A2 Media student! Throughout the video they showed a high level of technique, making sure the lyrics were synced precisely making it easier as the viewer to follow and enjoy the music video. 13E10 for instance shows in some parts where the lip syncing is in fact out of sink making it difficult as the viewer to follow and enjoy the video without getting bored or annoyed. When looking at B6s music video they seemed to have used many interesting and varying camera angles and shots. The locations and characters seemed relatable making the video yet again easier and more interesting to follow. They used techniques such as 'direct address' to make sure our full attention was on the music video. They also stood out by using the children in the video. This added a comedy factor to the video as the children are certainly not stereotypical poilce!


I also enjoyed 13B5s Music Video and thought that the mise-en-scene particularly grabbed my attention and seemed very relevant to the overall bubbly feel of the song. I also enjoyed the costume and props throughout the music video.
When reviewing the other videos each one has many good aspects about them. 13B4 for instance has a very effective opening shot of one of the characters in the bath. This grabs the viewers attention instantly. Other shots such as the photograph on the water and the birds in the sky are all very clever shots. However I feel that the video lacked direct address when lip singing the lyircs.
In the 13E10s video many clever techniques where used. Such as the fading of some of the shots and how many of the image changes changed in time with the beat. However the lip syncing in this video lets it down. Overall when looking at other previous years of music videos..... the videos form last year show many clever technical editing and locations for many of the videos were very interesting!