Group Blog

This is a link to our group blog. As part of our A2 coursework we need to put together a music video for a song of our choice. The blog will show the research that our group are completing, The research will be things such as questionnaires so that we can see opinions on what audiences want to see in a music video from a particular genre of music. Throughout this course we will hold group discussions etc and all information and topics we discuss will be posted on this blog. The song we have chosen is Justin Bieber's "As Long As You Love Me" (Acoustic).

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Auteurs and Music Videos

Today in class we were studying different styles of music videos based on who had directed it. We looked at two videos in particular, One Kylie Minogue and one from the Chemical Brothers. The pair of these videos are directed by Michel Gondry. As a class we compared these two videos and looked at the approach the director had took to the videos and what style had been used to portray the meaning of the song.

Kylie Minogue - Come into My World 

The Chemical Brothers - Let Forever Be



After Looking at Michel Gondry, We then began to look at videos directed by Chris Cunningham. The videos we looked at from this director wear Madonna - Frozen & Windowlicker by Aphex Twin. These videos are very different in terms of the genre and the artist however there are similarities that you can notice between the two videos. For example there is a Crow used to represent the song and the video is quite dark. Also the video from Aphex is also aggressive and dark. Therefore this director will direct a lot of dark videos. In his short movie career he had mainly produced dark films. Examples of these are Alien and Rubber Johnny. All of these films are aimed at a specific crowd, dark and twisted. He also shows this in his music videos, an example of this is in the two music videos, Madonna frozen and Aphex twins come to daddy.

In the video above it shows Chris Cunningham's style, it shows the dark, creepy and emotional. The overall video is about the darkness and the emotion. This is shown by the children in the video, edits and the actors.

The video below is another example of Chris Cunningham's work, the video is Madonna Frozen. Again in the video it shows the dark and emotion that is involved with the producer. Chris Cunningham has a pattern that he follows when making videos.

Madonna - Frozen





Aphex Twin - Windowlicker

Carol Vernallis Theory

Carol Vernallis' theory is based on the editing of a music video. The theory includes four key concepts of editing:

• Narrative
• Editing
• Camera Movement & Framing
• Deigesis

Narrative
Vernallis suggests that the music video is a visual response to the narrative, What Vernaillis means by this is that what is happening in the music video is a representation of the lyrics. Also the theory suggests that there is not always a balance between narrative and performance. The video may be a partial fragmented narrative. Artists may sometimes leave music videos unfinished which lead to the audience beginning to pose questions towards the narrative of the song. Also the video may be a running montage theme.

Editing
Vernaillis also states that music videos may break many of the rules if the continuity editing, Also Editing will match the beat of the music. What Vernallis means by breaking the rules, a few examples of this are: You may see jump cuts, Breaks of the 30 degree rule, Cutting with the lyrics. You may not see smooth transitions, match on action and an even pace throughout.

Camera Movements & Framing
When it comes to the shot types extreme shots are very common. Also the style of framing and movement are usually a continuing theme that is distinctive to that video/genre. The master shots and close ups are used frequently. Any repetitions throughout the video and some frames will appear more important than others due to the way they have been shot/framed.

Deigesis 
The Deigesis may be revealed slowly throughout the music video. The characters may move to the music for example dance routines etc. Some frames may be more important than others due to the way that they have been shot. There also may be pieces missing in the audiences understanding of the deigesis.




The Vernallis' Theory can be applied to this video 'Stan' as what is happening in the video is a reflection of the lyrics. There is also various editing in this video, for example at the end where the thunder and lightning is happening and in sync with the sound of the thunder 'Stan's' reflection appears in the window beside Eminem. Also the camera movements link in with this theory as there are many close ups whilst the people in the video are talking etc. The deigesis is shown by the scene changing along with the verse (Eminem to Stan to Dido). When Eminem is singing it shows him, When Stan is singing  it shows him and when Dido is singing it shows her.

Group Blog Questionnaire

This is the questionnaire that our group has put together to find out what you all think about our song choice.

Goodwin Music Theory

Goodwin's theory relates to how people see a song,what i mean by this is that everyone can look at the lyrics of a song in a different way. People will see songs in a different way and the lyrics will have a different meaning. This could be due to it reminding them of someone or and event. However the music videos often show the intentional meaning of the song to the artist. 

Goodwin has six different conventions within a music video.

1) A relationship between lyrics and visuals, which illustrate, amplify or contradict the lyrics. 
In this video there clear relation between lyrics and visuals as the lyrics are explaining the struggles of life on the street and drug related problems and the video represents this by showing someone who is down on there look and going through the struggles of drugs.
2) Through beats, seeing the sounds (the relationship between the music and the visuals, which illustrate, amplify or contradict the music).
The sound to this video is in sync with the visuals of the music video as it is all slow paced emotional scenes which amplify the music.

3) Genre-related style and iconography present.
This video relates to the genre as the genre is quite indie and the video portrays this as the black and white shows the moody, dull, artistic part of the genre, also showing the use of acoustic guitars.
4) Multiple close-ups of the main artist or vocalist; the creation of a star image to promote a recognisable brand image. 
it contradicts this part of the theory as there because in this video it is not clear who the artist or vocalist is.
5) Voyeurism often plays a major part, especially in relation to females.
It focuses on the female in this video and through the lyrics it portrays that she will do anything for money etc.
6) Intertextual reference to other media texts may be present, especially in humorous videos.
It is quite and individual video and does not show any intertextual references.

Ed Sheeran 'A Team' is a good representation of this theory as the video are a representation of the lyrics. The editing also goes with the beat, and there are multiple close ups as you can see in the screenshot above.

Music & Me Class Reflection

In today's lesson we went around the class and looked at the music videos chosen by each of us that remind of us of our childhood and our current taste in music. The trend within the class was that all the songs we had chosen where around the same era. This is because we are all around the same age. Although the genre's where very different. Another thing that i picked up on was that most people along with me, Our music choice has not changed from our childhood to now, or if it has changed not much. This shows that music from our past has reflected on our current genre of music weather it comes from our parents or just or general influences on our music taste.

Music & Me

This is a song that reminds me of my childhood as it is one of my earliest memories of music, At the time when the song was out it was always being played and was stuck in my head. I remember always dancing and singing along with it. I also had the album 'Confessions' which the song was on, and the main reason it is always in my memory is because whenever i was in the car it was always on.




This song is one that everyone remembers it is significant to an event in my life because it is played at every party i go to. Everyone always gets up and dance's to it, I can remember the first time i heard the song i was on holiday when i was young and every year since then it always seems to get played weather i am on holiday or at a party.




This is one of my favourite songs, although it is not a relatively new song it never seems to get old in my eyes. Ne-Yo is also one of my favourite artists and i have been familiar with his music since i was young. As you can see my childhood song 'Usher Yeah!' is the same genre as this. This shows that my taste of music has not changed and this could be due to the fact that Usher is one of the earliest memories of music i have.

Semiotic Theory- Music Video

Semiotics is the study of signs and sign process. According to Morris human action involves signs and meanings in three ways:

• Perception Stage
• Manipulation Stage
• Consummation Stage

The perception stage the person becomes aware of the sign, The Manipulation stage the person interprets the sign and decides how to respond to it, The Consummation stage the person responds to the sign.

The semiotic theory can be represented in music through album covers and music videos. The connotation of an article is what the article would mean to a member of the audience, this makes music more personal whereas the denotation of an article is what it was intended to mean. This is the meaning that the musician has given a song. They often represent this through use of their music videos.

Denotation

Denotation refers to the literal meaning of a word.

Connotation

Connotation refers to things that are associated with a particular word. The connotative meanings of a word exist together with the denotative meanings. 

This Justin Bieber album relates to this theory as it is a christmas album and it shows this on the front cover with the snow and the red sparkly Font. Also it shows the image of Justin Bieber therefore it has the connotation that he is looking at his audience (The Direct Address).

Applying this to the song by the verve "Drugs Don't Work" as this song connotes that Drugs Don't work and that they have no positive effects etc. He is singing to someone trying to get the message across that drugs are not good. However this song actually Denotation (Meaning) The artist is actually singing to his father on his death bed who died of cancer and he is referring to the medication he was taking saying they don't work as they failed to save his life.

Intertexuality

Intertexuality is recreating an original text in a new media. Taking the narrative and portraying it in a new format. This is similar to parody as you can recognise the similarities between both media's but Intertexuality takes away the comedy element. Intertexuality pays homage to the original media as apposed to parody which exaggerates everything to the point where it becomes comedic An example of this in a music video would be Taylor Swift 'Love Story, This is taking the diegesis of Romeo & Juliette and shows it in a new form of media.


   

Album Covers

An album cover is the front of the packaging of a commercially released audio recording product, or album. Album covers are very important when it comes to the success of the album, as it can either persuade people to buy it or not to buy it. If an album cover was offensive or against some peoples beliefs then there is a high possibility that they will not want to buy the album. 

Guns' N' Roses

In recent years album covers have been rejected by record label due to it being offensive etc, for example Guns N' Roses 'Appetite For Destruction' was banned due to the reference of a woman being raped (right).

Some album covers relate to the title of the album cover or the meaning of the album, However some album covers have no relevance at all. For example Pink Floyd 'Dark Side of the Moon' there is no reference to the title and the cover is only the image and nothing else. Although it has no reference to the moon it does have a message as it is a prism with light going in one side and then coming out differently on the other. This is implying something " You dont know what is around the corner"

Pink Floyd

or along those lines.

Summer Work Feedback

What i can take from the summer work i have done is that it gave me an insight to different styles and approaches to music videos, it has also become clear that we need to look at:

• The Narrative of the music video 
• Camera Angles
• Mise En Scene 

Also i have looked at how successful unique and post modern approaches to post modern music videos has been and taken this into account during the production of my coursework.

Summer Work 4

This video is Justin Bieber "Beauty and A Beat" i like this video as it is quite different and uses things that you would not normally see in a music video. It was directed by Justin Bieber himself. I think the main thing about this video is that for a lot of the video it is filmed with a hand held camera by Justin. I quite like this effect and it is definitely something that our group could look at when filming as it is something that we could apply to certain scenes in the video. This has been my favourite video whilst resaerching videos to relate to our video, as it is unique and clever. The handheld camera to add a sense of realism is something we will defintelly use. This effect would work when filming scenes were the artist is running or moving quickly etc to keep the audience watching and intreged.

Summer Work 3

This video is Michael Jacksons "Smooth Criminal". This is a very long and clever video and the director has took a movie styled approach to this video. This is good for my research as for our groups video we may look at different approaches to filming and taking a movie scene is something we could look at. As we have chosen Justin Bieber's "As Long as You Love Me" it is a song that is fitting for us to take a movie like approach. In this video i like the sort of "Classic Gangster" theme that is going on and the video plays Reference to the Crime film genre in general, particularly with the appearance of ‘Tommy Guns’. Similar to Jackson’s previous videos with a big theatrical production and high levels of choreography, therefore appealing to his fans. The narrative of the performance interwinds with the video throughout. All in all looking at this video has helped my research as it gives us another angle to look at during filming our own music video.

Summer Work 2

This video appeals to be as it is very creative and it again like 'Same Girl' it begins with a sort of movie scene and consists of Chris Brown going to the club with his friends. At the club, Brown is seen flirting, singing and performing synchronized dance moves with his backup dancers, while multiple shots of Nicki Minaj are shown. The video features comedian Nick Swardson who is playing the role of chris brown's friends. This is someone who is in the video however is is continuity editing as it quite subtle and doesn't look noticeable like when one of chris brown's friends gets out the car (Above). The video is directed by Chris Brown himself. The fasts cuts in the video according to the beat of the song which builds energy and makes the audience feel within the frame. This video is not something i would chose whilst making my video as it is not unique and is other than the brief movie style introduction it is very similar to other music videos in this genre. However i do like the setting anf theme of the going to the 'club' etc.

 

Summer Work 1

R.Kelly - Same Girl Ft. Usher

This video was directed by Julien Christian Lutz better known as 'Director X'. The concept of the video is very simple but very effective. It is alot like a story. It simply begins with a phone call between R.Kelly & Usher, The video is in sync with lyrics of the song and goes along simioultaneaous with the video. Then Video is very chilled and relaxed which suits the genre well. The camera angles throughout the video are mainly medium shot's/close up's this shows the facial expressions and reations of the artists which is a big part of the video as it gives the phone call during the video a sense of realism. The video changes between Usher and R.Kelly when they are talking. When the girls come into the video there are a lot of panning shots to show the girls off. In the video the girls are displayed as objects. I like the 'story' style of this video and it is something we will take into account when making our music video.

Pastiche & Parody

Pastiche is a more serious version of what a parody would be. The reason for this is that rather than using it in a comedic way. An example of this would be films like Shaun Of The Dead where the concept of the film is a sort of 'Night of the living dead theme', however this is a parody and it has turned this concept into a comedy. Michael Jacksons 'Thriller' also does this as it when you watch it you can see the references and similarities to TV shows like 'Teen Wolf' and other Werewolf style films & Tv shows. I would advise my group not to use a pastiche style video as it is difficult to get right and to not be seen as a parody.

Parody is seen as a way of taking something and mocking it in a comedic way. An example of this in Film would be the Austin Powers franchise. These films could be seen as a parody of films such as James Bond etc. as it is a spy kind of film however it is portrayed in a different way to the likes of James Bond as Austin Powers is a comedy film due to the concepts.

The Pink video 'Stupid Girls' is a good example of parody in a Music Video, it takes stereotypes of 'dumb blondes' Throughout the video it exaggerates the typical behaviour that people expect to see from the stereotypical people who fit into these categories.

Editing Lip Sync

After the video had been uploaded to the pc, Next was for our lip syncing video to be combined with the audio from the origional song (Learn to Fly). I found this task very difficult as i was unfamiliar with the software we used to do this. Firstly i uploaded the video file, then once this had been done i clipped out any paarts of the video that where irrelevant. Then once i had done this i then had to import the audio  clip of the song, this was not too difficult. However then i had to get the lip syncing video in sync with the original audio clip, this was the difficult part. It was hard to find the precise moment where the audio had to begin to be in sync with the video. I did eventually get this done and below is the finished product. I think this was good experience as it tought me alot and i now know the basics how to do this.

Lip Syncing

Foo Fighters - Learn to Fly

Today we had our first attempt of lip syncing, we were in groups of 3/4. I found this task difficult as it was the first time i'd done anything like this before, and with the camera in front of me on our first attempt was slightly off-putting. This was a enjoyable task but was also very effective as it gave me an insight to what i will have to do for my coursework and how it will need to be done. Below is our groups first attempt of this.

What makes a music video effective?

1. Instant Impact!

Because of the humour throughout the video it is instantly memorable and recognisable by the audience. Also the fact that video is a story and it begins instantly at the start of the video of him in the car looking frustrated then continues on from there. The lead singer of the band is playing the main character in this story which makes it more appealing to the audience as he is recognisable.

2. Non-Linear Editing

This video challenges this concept as it uses linear editing as everything is in sync. This is because it is telling a story and it would not make sense to tell the story in a different order.

3. Repetitions

In this video certain camera shots are repeated, however they are shown in different angles. As shown above when he is in  his car at the beginning of the video this is sown several times in different angles, (Medium Shot, Extreme Close Up, Close Up). This was to show the different expressions/reactions to the things that where annoying him, giving the audience a better insight to how he is feeling.

4. Strong sense of artist identity

This is establishing by the performance in the building at the end as well as throughout. In the beginning where he is looking around in his car and seeing his reaction and expression to his surroundings "Punk is Dead" shows that he is obviously a "Punk" artist. Also when he is walking around the whole time with his guitar, then when the thieves try to steal the guitar of him he is not willing to give it up, this shows how important it is to him. 

5. A Performance

The characters appear to be Punk/Rockstar's there clothing also appears to be stereotypical of a punk artist. Also the facial expressions they are using during the performance at the end in the building is also what you would expect to see from a punk artist. Clothing is a sort off "Messy look" e.g. shirt untucked etc. Looking as if they are not too bothered about there appearance. The mise en scene features amps and cables aswell as all their instruments to establish there genre of music which is Punk/Alliterative Rock.

6. Visual Pleasures 

The video looks like a short movie and has a cinematic quality to it. It also reefers to the day to life of a average person. Like at the start where the main character is in his car and he looks depressed and tired from work, and the the video then goes on to him just doing what he wants which is music.

7. Wow Factor! 

The video definitely is memorable as it has lots of humour and it is unique to most music videos as it is more of a story/movie. it does however (8. Provoke a reaction) As it is quite a controversial video and promotes crime to an extent as, the main character/singer assaults a show worker and a worker in the fast food restaurant. However provoking a reaction is key to the success of the video.

9. Works on different levels

The idea that there is no revolution anymore and the main character is annoyed at life and the changes in society. The lyrics are a reflection of this and so is the music video. 

10. Pop Culture

There is pop culture references in the video, first there is a bumper sticker of "Coldplay" this is a reference to what is current now and how society has changed. This video is relavent to fans of the Foo Fighters but it has not got a place in pop culture.

Introduction

This is an introduction to my blog, here you will find information on what i will have to produce for my media A2 coursework. Below you can find the things i will have to complete:

Example of an Album Cover

• A Music Video
• A CD cover
• A Promotional Poster

Above is an example of the standard i will need to produce to get the best grade.

Example of a Music Poster

This blog will contain examples of videos I will take ideas from and will apply there techniques to my own. For this I will look at different genres of music and the music videos that go with them to see which I am best suited to. I will have to research and look at what makes music videos effective and what makes them stand out from the others and have that Wow factor. My video will have to represent the genre i choose correctly as well as my CD cover and poster. 

For my AS coursework i produced a Front cover, Double page spread and Contents page for a magazine, Therefore i am familiar with the software i will be using and have a better understanding of how to use it. Also i am aware of the standard of work i need to produce, also meeting the demands of the blog to get top grades. I think I will find this work challenging, i believe that i should be able to create a very succeful music video, with regular blog posts that include all of the essential posts aswell as my own personal posts regarding my thoughts on what how everything is going.