A review of a previous students work

I was looking through the previous music videos made by some students last year and the music video that stood out for me was the Dubstep video. I thought this was a really original idea and the students stuck to the conventions of a music video really well. As much as I despise dubstep as a genre, I didn't mind this song too much, but I think the video had a positive effect on me as I felt as if it brought me into the song.

Firstly, I think the video itself is aimed at a young audience, as it's a relatively new genre of music in which a lot of young people listen to. This is a dance genre which outlines the even more the fact that its specifically aimed at young people. 

The originality is something that impressed me about this video, as told by our teacher a Dubstep music video has never been done before by students so it seems like quite a risky idea. After watching a few other Dubstep music videos on Youtube, I noticed the similarities between them. The video coincides with the music very well, as it has quite an eery and intense feel to it. I think what this group did well is focus more on the camera work and editing, which was really strong in this video. Particularly the use of jump cuts, close ups and black and white, which gives outlines the general conventions of a music video, along with the slow motion and numerous base tracks used. Another strong point is the theme of birds that they use in the video, which doesn't really make sense but then again doesn't have to, as it simply just increases the eeriness, particularly the bird in the cage. A favourite shot of mine was the silhouette one as I think it really suits the song choice. I also liked the mirror effect they put on the hand movement I thought this was very clever as again, it doesn't really have a reason to it but just fits in with the general feel of the video.

Something that I thought that they could have improved was the setting for the dancing. I think a location similar to the ones in the other base tracks would have made this video perfect, as I don't think the dancers doing it in a dance studio really fits in with the rest of the video. 

Analysing Costume, Setting and Location in music video

I've decided to analyse Natasha Bedingfield's song 'These Words'

There were 8 costume changes, 2 of those changes included a change of hairstyle but not a change of clothes. She was wearing a different outfit for each setting, this might be not be a wise thing for me and my group to do because if we do too many different settings the costume changes would start to look really obvious and predictable.

This is at the very start of the music video, the background is very colorful and her blue top stands out against the background because the colors clash slightly.

The setting in this shot is very small but that allows all the attention and focus to be on Natasha because she is right in the center of the shot. Also in this shot there is the use of slow motion. 

This is a wide shot of Natasha showing the background behind her to be again be quite bright and colorful like the first screenshot. 

This close up allows the audience to see the expression on the singers face. 

This shot is a lot darker and she has darker makeup on during the middle 8 section of the song, the location and costume link with the lyrics and setting as the chord selection changes and becomes more intense.

AlunaGeorge, Who Are They?

ALUNAGEORGE? WHO ARE THEY? 

Sooooooooo basically our group came to the decision today that we would do our music video based around the song 'Bad Idea' by AlunaGeorge.

But who ARE AlunaGeorge? 

This PREZI tells you everything you need to know my friend...

Interview with BBC1 Radio

Album Cover:

Eliza Doolittle Album Synergy

Eliza Doolittle is an artist that relates to the chosen artist and genre me and my group have chosen...

This is her album cover:
It's very bright and colorful and grabs the attention of anyone walking past it in a shop. It shows off her personality and gives you an idea of what her music is going to be about. It's almost quite childlike so you can imagine the younger generation being interested in her music (possibly her target audience).

Here is a music video by Eliza Doolittle for her first single:



Eliza Doolittle looks similar to how she does on her album cover which links the two things together. Her first single is very upbeat and happy which relates back to her album also because of the bright colors featured on the album cover. 

Planning- SHORTLIST OF SONGS

Here is our first stage of deliberation in full technicolor, brought to you via group 21. Enjoy our witty conversational debate, before it turns ugly...

Creating Brands and Brand Synergy (its very fancy stuff)

Today in class we were introduced to the wonderful world of brand synergy. It's all about the consistency artists adopt to make themselves for easily recognised and branded, especially when being newly introduced. I studied three musical artists and how their brand synergy was intertwined through their image when releasing their debut albums.

Emeli Sande

Emeli Sande has a specific look to her videos and promotion, they all follow the same muted colour scheme (browns and greys) suggesting the down to earth and wholesome nature of her music. Her name is in a plain typeface on her album cover, the same used on her promotional material. The slight grunge look on her album cover is used in her music video 'next to me', which imitates the muted tones and rustic feel of the album art. We also are given a lot of close-ups of the artist (key when thinking about releasing a new artist) in both the video, album art and promotional content. Her actual styling is also key to brand synergy, e.g. her blonde hair in quiff form is made evident across all media plattforms.

Disclosure

Disclosure makes use of a couple motifs to format their brand synergy. The most evident is the outline of the face that they use across all of their media (album art, posters, music videos). It usually flashes on the music video but is obvious enough to become a recurring brand image associated with the duo. When seen in another music video fans will immediately be able to male the link between the two, making the motif useful for brand association and awareness (branding musical artists is key in the music world to push awareness of the artist). The band also has a font type the use across their printed media, much similarly to Emeli Sande. Lastly the dup are in fact a duo - and so the more subtle motif is the impression of duality.  A lot of mirrored images and shots of the duo performing together are used in the music video, as well as the use of an image depicting the two as young boys on their album cover.

Labrinth

Labrinth focuses on a few key elements of synergy that tie into an entire brand concept. His debut album is entitled 'Electronic Earth' and so fittingly, the look of the album art and his music video 'Let The Sunshine' are appropriately very futuristic looking with high production value. Even down to his typeface for his printed media, the overall look is very futuristic. His colour scheme (black, dark blues, reds and purples) is also used throughout different media to once again tie in with his album concept, similarly to Emeli Sande and her matching album work and music video. 

Three Video's With Synergy

During my lesson today i looked at 3 music videos and thought about how synergy is added to help link each promotional item together.

the first artist i looked at was Ellie Goulding:

Ellie Goulding's album cover is very distinctive due to the way she looks and how she dresses. In the music video for her very first single off her newest album 'Halcyon' her look is stylized so that she looks different and unusual. This idea of styling links back to her album cover.












The next artist i looked at was Ed Sheeran:

Ed Sheeran's look is also quite unique. I think one of the things that makes him stand out is the color of his hair and on his album cover you can tell that he embraces the fact he is ginger because he uses an orange background that almost covers his face that is in the center of the album. The font is also unusual and this font is continued on the back of his album. 

The final artist i looked at was Disclosure:

Their album cover is a picture of them when they were younger (disclosure are brothers). The unique drawings on their faces is featured in the video below, in fact they feature the drawings in most of their work which makes them stand out and grab the audiences attention.

Research- Blogging progress

Blogging Progress.pptx andreoia

 

Research- Re-edited version of last year's student music video

I couldn't find my last year's video re-make of The Queens therefore there is no re-edited version :(  Sorry!

Research- Skills audit

My skills in research have developed immensely because last year I would depend on my own knowledge and discussions in class rather than taking my time to look for further research. I also used the recommended book 'OCR Media Studies for AS' Third Edition however I have been encouraged to look at other media textbooks relevant to the course and surf the internet for further information.

I believe I have certainly improved my research and practical work this year because not only have I been improving my work day by day but my evaluation and analysis and conclusion have been purely through that extra effort and hard work I have always given in media.

Research- Synergy activity work

 

Research- How music videos appeal to audiences

http://www.smilebox.com/playBlog/4d7a67334f5445354e6a6b3d0d0a&blogview=true

Research- Overview analysis on costume, setting and location in music videos

https://skydrive.live.com/redir?page=view&resid=226E2F415E0B186A!909&authkey=!AIQ_MeiyDjCncnc

Research- Three music videos analysis

I have analysed three contrasting music genres: soul, R and B/Hip hop, urban contemporary gospel. I decided to pick these genres because I enjoy listening to these genres as well as the fact that I am interested in using any of these genres. I think that my group and I are capable of carrying out any of the genres above because to me they are facile and I wanted to explore.

 

http://snack.to/bh3ydsqi - Corrine Bailey: Paris Nights/ New York Mornings

 



http://snack.to/bh3qxae5 - Jessie J: Wild

 

 

 

http://snack.to/bhmevl03 - Guvna B: Free

Research- Review on a previous student's video

Mustafa, Nick, Poppy, Charon from 283goswell on Vimeo.

I have looked at many previous student's music videos and found that this one really stood out to me. It definitely looks like a music video to me because it flows very well.

The costume and the performer's acting complemented the song and the video itself. The video is something I would expect from a song like that one.

The camera was static at times but that was because the majority of the shots were on Poppy's face. However when the camera was moving it moved accordingly to the moving image and to the beat of the music. The variety of shots accompanied the beat since it was lively and upbeat. There were repetitions of shots such as: close-ups and this is conventional for pop music videos to do, their aim is for the audience to have a clear memory of the artist.

Low and high angles were used a lot as well to make the video visually more appealing and to engage us audience.

I thought that when the part "if you could only see" comes in, Poppy opens her eyes on time with the music.

The location appears to have been carefully planned for e.g. I am aware that this music is pop-rock and many pop-rock music videos are often set at parks, forests therefore it has clearly followed the generic conventions.

There weren't many transitions nor special effects that I could capture. The video is lip synced fantastically, it was as if poppy was literally singing. I couldn't capture a moment where the audio and video were not edited properly together. What stood out to me was the fact that the flow and continuity still managed to fit in strongly with the several fast cuts of different camera angles and shots.

Regarding to Goodwin's theory I think this is a disjuncture video because the video doesn't match the video.



Research- Summary of Mulvey's theory

 

                                                                                                                                                                        

Research- Summary of Carol Vernalis's theory

Carol Vernallis (theorist) is known for her theory based on music and editing. She studied editing and camerawork closely in music videos. She found that edits in music videos are more sharp and more frequent than in film. The edits are in disjuncture to create effect and are closely connect to the song. The editing seems to follow the rhythm of the song. The rules of continuity editing is broken down so that edits may be highly visible to attract the viewers. Edits such as jump cuts, breaks, fancy edits or  jumps in time and  fast/slow motion  are used a number of times. The pace of the edits and shots are not in smooth transition because the majority of clips may have to move in time with the music. A base track is used to give the video a structure and so that the camera may move in time with the music. The video is a visual response to the music.

The edits in Cher Lloyd's music vide Swagger Jagger are clearly sharp and noticeable. This video has plenty of graphics added, green screen is used at some parts of the video when she is with her dancers and there's a white background.

 

http://content.presentationengine.com/preview.php?pid=104388&key=1154df1e03fc332099cb7dab0cf9dff2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Research- Summary of Andrew Goodwin's theory

Andrew Goodwin feels that traditional narrative analyses do not usually apply to pop videos because pop videos approach narrative from a different angle for three reasons such as in pop videos the singer is the song (story) teller as well as the subject (character). the singer often makes eye contact at the camera to involve the audience at home. Repetition in images and sound are commonly used so that the audience will be accustomed with the genre and have certain expectations. The repeated viewing promotes the music because the viewers will be able to recognise it. Pop videos have constant repetition before  fading away to build climax. Furthermore, Goodwin also believes that women are represented as objects of desire for men.

Videos featuring artists from the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's often show pictures of them when they are younger so that the younger audience can identify with them.

Narrative music videos?

Illustration music videos?

JLo's song on the floor music video is an illustration, for the reason that the dancing is used to express the feelings in the song. When she sings "...If your an animal then tear up the floor" and there are fast cuts of people in the club dancing and the faster the music, the faster the edits go. It wouldn't make sense if it didn't.

Amplification music videos?

An example for Amplification music videos is Taylor Swift's music video We are never ever getting back together. The lyrics definitely connect to the music video and I'm sure you have a picture of what the video is like? Yes, it is about a boy trying to get back in a relationship with Taylor Swift but she rejects him every time he does so.

Disjuncture music videos?

An example for a disjuncture music video is Coldplay, for the music video Paradise and their genre is rock. The lyrics incline that it is about a girl however the music video does not join up with the lyrics. The music video shows a person in an elephant costume in multiple events.

Research- Function of a music video

The first video ever made and aired in MTV was Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles on the 1st August, 1981.

The purpose for music videos are:

• To promote the artist or band. Most artists do this through controversial music videos for instance recently Miley Cyrus has been in the public's mouth due to two of her controversial videos which have gone viral and all this does is get more people to know of her and her music and therefore more fame = more money and more profit due to high rise in the album sales.

Miley Cyrus  - We Can't Stop music video



Miley Cyrus - Wrecking Ball music video

Miley Cyrus' videos have been a an internet sensation due to so much attention it has been having negatively and positively.

• To promote a single or album for consumers to buy.

• For the  artist to reach a wider audience and worldwide recognition.

• To create a 'star image'

• To portray a meaning image of a song

• For the audience to identify a narrative through the lyrics and visuals

• For the artists/band to gain money

• To promote other media e.g. film, videogame, synergy etc. For instance when Adele was requested to sing Skyfall's theme song not only was she going to promote herself however the film itself and this acted as a synergy. She portrayed a meaning image of Skyfall's theme song which was released way before the film was shown at the cinemas and I believe it was for the audience to identify a narrative and attract them to go and watch the film. Additionally both Skyfall and Adele gained a major profit.

Adele's Skyfall theme song has been used as a synergy to promote herself and Skyfall. The pictures above are some screenshots of the video with snaps from the film.

Research- Copyright clearance

There are various artists that I feel I can reproduce and the artists that I have sent the copyright clearance permission are: Corrine Bailey Rae and Emeli Sande. Both Corrine Bailey Rae and Emeli Sande are soul singers and the reason for this is because not only do I enjoy listening to soul music I think it shouldn't be too challenging to reproduce. I recognise that some genres are very expensive to replicate and since I am borrowing the equipment from college, I wont have a high budget it'll be cheaper to do an intense music video.

Research- Technical skills that I have developed during the AS course

I have learnt many technical skills in my AS Media Course for instance camera, edit, mise en scene and sound are vital elements for film production.

The camerawork ensures continuity and flow and the shots were to be held steady through the tripod. The rule of thirds was also very important and useful for framing the shots to avoid positioning people on the central square because the viewer's eye is drawn just-off centre. In AS we were encouraged to use effective shot types such as: wide shot, long shot, mid shot, over the shoulder, point of view, high and low angle and close ups...etc
For music production, the variation in camera angles/movement are still highly advised to do to make it visually more appealing however the tripod doesn't necessarily have to be used it depends on the music genre chosen to reproduce. Some music genres for e.g. pop doesn't necessarily require a tripod all the time to make it successful. Pop videos are typically more shaky than other music genre videos to add effect. Jump cuts were not advised in film production because it would break the continuity. However, music genres tend to use jump cuts to add effect.

For editing, the flow of continuity was just as important as it was for camera , I too had to make sure that it was the right rhythm and pace. My job was to make the editing invisible and for it to have a range of effects and transitions without distracting the viewer. The edits I remember using were: transition of image and sound, eye line match, dissolve, fade-in, fade-out, slow motion, fast motion, expansion of time and match on action. I learnt how to edit through Final Cut Pro and how to embed the thriller I made onto blogger.

For film production jump cuts were not allowed because it is awful when watching as it breaks the continuity films opt for. However in music videos editing can be just as invisible as recognisable. For example in pop videos jump cuts are commonly used to achieve a specific effect.

Although it may not appear to be, mise en scene was the most difficult element of production top get right. It is about detail, the smallest detail counts the most. I had to make sure that the costume, lighting, props, location and sound were appropriate for the thriller plot as well as to create the kind of 'feel' and verisimilitude. The props had to be thought thoroughly and well chosen and the performance  had to be excellent (good acting) to 'make believe'. Otherwise poor acting would have undermined the overall flow of realism my thriller had.
In music production the emphasis in mise en scene is just as big as it was for film production because it is all essential for atmosphere and continuity.

I did my own soundtrack using instruments from home. This has definitely improved my sound mixing skills because that was exactly what I did when editing. Furthermore, I now know how to create foley sound and how to match the sound with the clip.

I learnt that whilst filming the equipment must be looked after at all times and protected. I am aware of how to put the equipment together which is clearly going to be helpful when filming for the music video.

Research- Music video remake

I can't find my music video remake I produced in the summer however I did find the digipak I made.

Reviewing Other People's Work

I decided to review previous groups work from 2 years ago. They did a song by Florence and the Machines:

PRO'S

• I really enjoyed this video because of its attention to detail, they really focused on making it look professional and interesting and how they wanted the video to be conveyed to the audience.
• The colors and costumes used are really good, in each different scene the singer has the same makeup on which links the scenes together. 
• Good use of lighting, some shots were darker then others which creates intensity and makes the music video as a whole more diverse.
• They use fast and slow motion and when the girl is singing with the projector on her face her movements are sped up however she is still singing in time and the words are in sync with her mouth which is difficult to achieve if you are speeding up the shot. I think by speeding up the shots whilst she was still singing in time with the song really added character to their music video.
• They also use a projector that goes onto her face which was clever and unique to other students work.
• This was my favorite student music video because it looked professional and the editing was smooth which made it easy and entertaining to watch.

CON'S 

• They could of used less static shots and added a bit more movement to the camera shots.
• I thought that the music video had elements similar to things that Florence and the Machines would use in her music videos. I think this was probably done deliberately however they were suppose to create a music video by a new artist and i feel like the video was linked too closely to Florence and the Machine's music videos. 

Carol Vernallis, whats your theory?

CAROL VERNALLIS THEORY

Carol Vernallis main idea's about music videos are as follows:

She believes that in music video's 'continuity' editing is broken to help draw attention to whats going on on the screen. She thinks that jump cuts are often used to link the different parts of the song together with the video..

Here is an example of what she means..

This is Lost Generation by Rizzle Kicks:



jump cuts are used often in this music video because it helps the video keep up with the pace of the music making the video interesting and continuous which makes it easier for the audience to watch and enjoy.

Another example...

 Go by Delilah



Both of these videos demonstrate the use of jump cuts and how they can improve the quality of a music video.

Research- Timelines & Costume & Stuff...

We all sat down today and had a little think about timelines and costume and stuff. Truth is - we were a little surprised by the lack of costume and set changes we found in the type of genre we chose. We analysed the costume settings and props in three videos (Ellie Goulding - Burn, Naughty Boy - La La La and Delilah - Go) and found minimal costume changes in each one. They all fit under a kind of dance/electronic/pop/trance category and have similar fan bases.

Ellie Goulding - Burn

Three 'costume changes' (the hood is used from the first costume in the second) and three set changes.

Delilah - Go

One costume and location due to the 'story arc' (following a suitor through the streets).

Naughty Boy - La La La

One costume due to the 'story arc', however the plot follows a journey and so there are five main location changes.

Here's our musings over the entire idea of costume and set changes (we ramble a lot).

Group 21 on - Timelines Costume Stuff... by asmediaset5

Finally we chose the song by Delilah (Go) to timeline the costume or set changes and the effect it has on the video using TimeToast:

Laura Mulvey, whats your theory?

Laura Mulvey's Theory

Laura Mulvey believes that females in music videos are normally seen as a sexual object and the males are seen as the dominant in the video; the girl is what the guy wants.

She thinks (and i agree with her) that there is quite an unbalanced relationship between the male and female forms in music videos. The males normally sing about getting girls and how to get them, whereas females normally sing about heart break and the way a boy can hurt you. 

In any music video that has a male or female singer, the females will normally be dressed in an outfit that reveals the 'best' parts of their bodies (i.e legs, bum, boobs). 

An example of a female singer dressed in revealing clothing is Beyonce in 'Run The World'

even though her song is about empowerment to woman and that woman are strong and independent, she is still dressed in revealing clothes. Some people might say that she's wearing those kind of clothes because her lyrics relate to woman 'getting what they want' possibly by using the 'best' parts of their bodies to persuade the men. However some people might think that she's just proud of her body and wants to show all the guys what they won't be getting.

Another example of woman being exploited is Miley Cyrus 'We Can't Stop'.

this is an obvious example of the way women are seen as the sexual object, however i think in this video, Miley is deliberately trying to be the sexual object. It helps promote her work and get's peoples attention, sometimes for the wrong reasons, sometimes for the right reasons.

Andrew Goodwin

Andrew Goodwin 'Dancing in the Distraction Factory'

Andrew Goodwin believes that the traditional narrative isn't used in music videos.

This isn't because pop videos are trying to be 'avant garde', they just approach the aspect of a narrative in a different way and from a different angle then novels and films.

The reasons that music videos have a different approach to the 'traditional' narrative are:

1. Music videos are obviously based around the song, and often songs don't base themselves around a traditional narrative structure (i.e normality-problem-solution). Because music video's are only 3-5 minutes long, it's very difficult to get a full story completed from start to finish, so the storyline is either very simple or totally random so that it doesn't need to have a specific ending.
2. Music videos sometimes use the singer as the narrator and the character in the video which isn't something that happens in films etc.
3. During music videos, the singer normally looks directly into the camera, directing their lyrics and music at the audience. The camera often moves and is very rarely static.
   

Music videos, mainly pop videos, rely quite a lot on repetition. For example, there might be certain images that will show when the chorus comes in and then each time the chorus comes in the same image will show. This makes the video easy to remember and helps keep the artist fresh in the viewers minds. Other song's will take the same chords, or will use the same techniques in order to make the song fit with the genre which then makes the song familiar for the listener. 

Finally the music would be played on the radio and shown on TV, there could also be adverts for the music so that people get to listen to a snippet of the song, which helps them decide if they want to go and search up the whole song or not.
Music video's often end with a climax, or will fade out leaving the listener wanting more. This helps promote the artist's other music as well as their single.

Here are some music videos that give evidence of Andrew Goodwin's Theory:

Lana Del Ray - Blue Jeans:



She's singing about a boy that she misses, and their is a man in the music video that represents the person she singing about. There isn't a massive storyline, but a loose storyline which is just enough to make the listener want to watch until the end and listen to the whole song. 

Coldplay Ft. Rihanna - Princess Of China:

This music video doesn't really have a storyline, but in order to relate the lyrics and song to the music video, the setting relates to china which links the setting with the title of the song along with Rihanna who could represent the 'Princess'.