4. What area
do you live in? Motspur Park 5. What
genre of music do you listen to? a) Rock[X]
b) Top 40
c) Alternative
d) Pop
e) Country
f) RnB
g) Rap
h) Dubstep
i) Other
6. What
radio station do you listen to most often and why?
Absolute, Planet Rock & The Arrow, because it plays the music I enjoy listening to.
7. If given
the choice to listen to only one music channel 24/7 for the rest of your life,
which music channel would it be and why? VH1, because it plays rock and classic rock hits.
8. Do you
think that a music artists background should be represented in their music
video?
Yes I do.
9. Do you
think that negative stereotypes are portrayed in popular music videos? Yes.
10. What appeals to you most about music
videos?
Creativity levels, camera angles and editing techniques.
Since reading over the songs lyrics and writing our comments on what each line of the song means, we are now thinking about doing our storyboard so we can hopefully start filming in the next two weeks! We have also spoken to our drama department at college and it looks possible that we will be able to use this space for the filming of our video!
Andrew Goodwin in 'Dancing in the distraction Factory' (Routledge 1992) 1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics. 2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. 3. There is a relationship between music and visuals. 4. 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 recur across their work. 5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body. 6. There is often intertextual reference. Using Goodwin's theory to analyse Christina Aguilera's music video 'Candyman'.
Institutional/reference information .... "Candyman" is a song by Christina Aguilera. It was written by Aguilera herself and Linda Perry for Aguilera's fifth studio album, Back to Basics. RCA Records released it as the album's third single in early 2007. It received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at 2008 Grammy Awards. The music video was directed by Matthew Rolston and Aguilera herself, and is based on a 1940s World War II theme. The music video received a MTV Video Music Awards nomination for Best Direction at 2007 MTV Video Music Awards.
Matthew Rolston
The relationship between lyrics and visuals.... There are many examples throughout this song that show a relationship between the lyrics and visuals. eg: "He really had me working up an appetite"
This shows the three Christina's rubbing there bellies as if they were hungry. eg: "We drank Champagne"
This again shows the three characters carrying out an action that compliment the lyrics. This time they are pretending to drink the 'champagne'.
The relationship between music and visuals .....
It is definitely clear that throughout the video does indeed cut to the beat.
From 0:11-0:13 there is a very small instrumental solo and this is illustrated by the video.
....................................
The music stays the same pace the whole way through meaning that the video stays at this same pace too.
Close-ups of the artist and star image motifs.....
It is evident that the record label are trying to sell this track in a number of ways. Not only through using a catchy song but also through performance, theme and camera work.
The image of the artist that is being offered is a look back to World War II and the artist starts off by playing a singing trio, tributes to the Andrews sisters. In this video, Aguilera comes across as an innocent but desired war girl looking for a boy. This promotes Christina's sexual image, promoting her music.
In many of Aguilera's videos, voyeurism is present, especially in the video dirrty which i discussed earlier on in my blog.
There are many close-ups of Christina in this video.
This is a shot used frequently whilst Christina sings and delivers the lyrics to the audience. ............
There is also a lot of eye contact with the camera/audience to create a relationship between the viewer and the character. This engages them into the song even further enticing them and promoting them to buy into the music and overall image of the star.
Reference to the notion of looking......
There is a very big sense that the artist is on sexual display throughout the music video. Especially as throughout the video it is the 'Soldiers'/men of the war that are watching and enjoying the desirable and provocative performance she is giving off.
Men enjoying and cheering on the stars performance.
Although this next image is not of the main star, the camera angle and costume show the woman underwear, putting her on desirable and sexual display.
Again this next image is not of the main star however it shows another character serving the 'men' drinks, wearing clothing that exposes her legs.
Aguilera's legs and underwear are exposed in this next shot and the camera is at a low angle causing the view of this shot to focus on the exposed body parts.
This blue two piece outfit that Christina wears is especially sexual. Showing a lot of her legs and stomach. The top half is also quite low cut showing her cleavage.
Intertextual features.....
As mentioned before it is based on a 1940s World War II theme and in the music video, she dances and sings in three different hair colors - red, blonde and brown, a singing trio, which is a tribute to the Andrews Sisters.
In another scene, Christina appears as the famous biceps-flexing factory worker from Westinghouse's "We Can Do It!" poster!!
She appears in scenes inspired by pin-up girls such as Judy Garland, Betty Grable, and Rita Hayworth.
Music Video performance-based or narrative-based? ......
The video shows that it is both performance and narrative-based. There is a clear concept of World War II in which there are many stories and films about finding love during the war. The video is also however, very performance based with good acting and good choreography throughout!
Both these factors and other things discussed prove that this is a successful music video that has sold well and produces a lot of revenue, which is one of the main reasons for producing music nowadays!
Vernallis' Theory centres around 4 concepts that all relate to the way music video is constructed. They are: Narrative Editing Camera Movement and Framing Diegesis Looking at Mariah Carey - Honey
Narrative When looking at what Carol Vernallis says about the narrative it is evident that the music video although has a clear narrative, the lyrics however do not match this narrative! The video is a mixture of narrative and Mariah Carey's performance when dancing. This video would also match Vernallis' view when she says that the video may pose questions that it doesn't actually answer. It is clear that not only is the music the driving structure but also the narrative and performance. Editing Looking at the editing in the video it is clear that some of the editing does match the musical phrases and/or the beat. We see many jump cuts, extreme jumps in time and space and cutting within the lyrics. Pace of editing is the same as the song which isn't too fast or too slow. Camera Movement and Framing Vernallis says that when it comes to shot types extremes are very common and this is clearly seen in this video. Eg: Ariel shots and underwater shots.
Character, Mariah Carey moves and dances to the music. There are also many repetitions. Eg: Musical Phrases, the beat, themes, lyrics, performance, images, colours and camera positions.
Mentioned in Carol Vernallis' book.... She mentioned specific camera shots of this particular video saying that "Mariah Carey's 'Honey' features a variety of shots of the star. A sultry low-angle view of her breasts inside a tent; a provocative machismo come-on of her thighs and legs on a desert island; a close-up of her face pouting like a sex kitten. We see her also frolicking on the beach, and bumping and grinding, on the prowl, on the deck of a boat."
Idea:
The thought that women are just as powerful as men, and can take control
of any situation just as well as a man can. Our idea focuses on the
concept of a young man being infatuated with our main star. We will
use voyuerism with both characters, with a strong but provocative women
who is a matriarchal figure. The young man is genuinely under her spell
and entirely besotted with her. The idea of voyuerism will be portrayed
through the characters clothing, actions and choreography.
We will also use intextuality, with an underlying Grease/1950s theme,
using actions, clothing and mise en scene suited to the genre.
The USP:
Our unique selling point is heavily influenced by the theme of the woman
being in charge. Considering recent films/books that have been
released, we have decided to break that stereotype and have the woman in
charge, which would appeal to an audience of all ages and genders. Also the woman constantly subverts the stereotype
of men being the stronger sex, and takes the eyes away from the male and
brings them onto her. Although there is obvious sexual tension between
the two characters, the woman is obviously playing with the male,
instead of it being the other way round.
Choreography:
We had planned to use basic choreography, with both characters, to
extend the stereotype and theme, having the woman in control of the
dance and the male eye following her. We planned to use controlling
mannerisms and devilish stares to emphasize who is in control.
Cast:
Female lead (Josie)
Male lead (undecided)
Our band (2 other females)
Setting/Location/Props/Costume:
Black or white back drop.
Costume: 1950s/Grease, black clothing, revealing, tight.
