Denoted here is our music video remake that is an abstract style theme and originally we didn't know how exactly it would all be put together to make it flow nice and smoothly but since its a surreal experimentation that we wanted to go for ,we also synced it to Black and yellow because we liked the song but the ideas wasn't linked to the Black and yellow music video, originally there was no music but I decided to put a song on to make it much more engaging and interesting to watch which gives it a much more 3 Dimensional view.We can make it into any crazy surreal style that we wanted so we went with some Faheem who is the person denoted in the music video dancing doing crazy dance movements and then I put all the clips together with transitions and added multiple effects that change and manipulate the image, the original design for our music video came from two sources one being Rap God Eminem from the use of the glitch jerky style of the eye moving around and the bright TV simulated colours in the foreground and on his face and eye, and another video being (insert name) as you can see from the style of the eye glowing and the hand with a cartoony design style with just a bunch of sketches and drawing styles applied to the video.
Mainly these effects and abstract styles are mainly going to attract a much more youthful audience, such as young adults from 18-20's, and a lot of abstract style music videos have no clear sense of narrative and direction meaning they can confuse the audience in many ways but it tends to still interest them which typically targets a much more niche audience.
To make the music video less funny as possible as they are typically not funny, we added the effects and to distort the video removing any comedic factor to the music video, while improving the verisimilitude for the audience.
For my Advanced portfolio i would like to make music videos that are based on a surreal perspective and something crazy as I've seen many music videos explore this category and i want to create one based upon this idea.In terms of my portfolio i would like to take and keep what things went well from last year such as the organisation and format of my blog.I would also like to keep the blog very descriptive and specific about the content I'm talking about as this is what I did last year and it worked well.
For the partner I want to work with, I would like to stick to our old groups as we've already gotten used to our working styles and habits and so we can improve on the foundation that is already been built.Unlike being with a new partner which is good for a new experience and new styles but last year it worked well so there's no need to change groups that work well. In terms of hopes and fears of my project, i hope to get the work to higher standard before making a much more in depth detailed analysis, but also improving our Production immensely such as using better cameras and technology to improve the verisimilitude of the Music video that we want to make. For fears I do hope the production such as the filming.
has a lot less threats than before and that the filming goes much more smoothly than before as we had to change locations because of complications that we had encountered that day, but also he had a set deadline and we had to follow that deadline so we had to get the work all done by then, and getting the actors reader for the day was also a time restraint and caused some issues with dates which hopefully doesn't happen again.
Stuart Hall is a cultural Theorist that looked at the role of the audience positioning in the interpretation of mass media texts into different social groups. He had then created a model suggesting three ways in which a media text can be decoded. For example the three types of ways the text can be decoded are
Dominant reading: This is when the reader or decoder of the text accepts the preferred reading the way the director/writer had intended them to. Negotiated reading: This is when the reader or decoder understands the text but doesn't fully agree with the preferred reading.
Oppositional reading: This is when the reader doesn't agree with the preferred reading and has opposing views of the text being presented to them.
For example Stuart Hall's theory is evident in Meghan Trainors 'All about that bass'
Dominant reading: The music video portrays Meghan Trainor signing about how people who are overweight are accepted and how they are beautiful in every way, which helps promote her image and representation, she is denoted throughout the video to be wearing a lot bright colour clothing that is stereo-typically linked to a bakery lady, which over connotes that she is happy about people being fat and they still considered attractive to men, mainly most of her dedicated fans would defend her and would feel sympathetic to her.
Negotiated reading: The audience understand that Meghan Trainor is trying to project her image and her thought about overweight people but however the way she projects and says the lyrics about the topic as its fairly passive aggressive isn't the best way to depict the subject.
Oppositional reading: Meghan Trainor is projecting passive aggressive words and criticizing Skinny Women, making her whole point of larger women being attractive and keeping a civilised and respectful debate becomes hostile and fairly negative in its own right as 'Overweight women isn't a bad thing but projects the underweight women isn't a good thing making her point fairly negative.
Theorist Laura Mulvey came up with a theory called the 'Male Gaze' which suggests that audiences view female characters through the eyes of a Heterosexual male. Which is seen in many mainstream music videos to help attract predominant male audiences by having women be sexualised as objects promoting their image and idenity, music videos such as Blurred lines and Miley Cirus with wrecking ball which projects women in this way.
For my music video I would go against having women being treated as objects if I had any female roles as I don't want to conform to stereotypes in all cases and for the Stuart Halls reading There would be many different meanings making it polysemic in the world of the diegesis but also there is readings that I don't want the audience to have as it wasn't intended in that way.
Music videos have many different types of genres and within these different genres are many sub genres where a music video will have themes and many other conventions and this allows the music video to target a specific target audience. It also allows the music videos to be classed into many differentcategories. Daniel Chandler (2001) states that the term genre comes from the French word 'kind' or 'class'.
Three types of genre Music video with a clear genre Genre: Pop
Song: Katy Perry - Roar
Convention one : Link between lyrics and visuals
This is a common convention with music videos which make the lyrics of the song correspond with the visuals being represented on screen, this is used a lot in pop music videos as it helps the audience remember the words, which allows them to sing along to them music as its very upbeat and cheerful, creating a sense of enjoyment from uses & gratifications. Pop songs are generally very positive and very upbeat and have a surreal happiness vibe as its too good to be real. This then links to the visuals to the lyrics as gets the audience into the mood and spirit of the song. This is denoted at 3:31 where the world all revolves around her in happiness
Convention Two: Editing
For the music video Roar by Katy Perry, it has very fast paced shots during the music video and this is a common technique used during music videos as it connotes an upbeat and happiness vibe that the music video is aiming for which also relates to the target audience that they are targeting for. The editing especially during the chorus becomes much faster at 3:14-3:30 during this sequence there are many different types of shots at different angles which helps to add to the genre of the song.
Convention Three : Referencing
The music video has many intertextual references throughout the music video, for instance right at the beginning denoted at 0:10 is a plane crash which references the TV series Lost because of the lost abandoned plane crash on an isolated unknown location. Another reference is the mimic of the costume and mise-en-scene of Tarzan as Katy Perry is denoted to wear clothing similar to that of Tarzan such as it being ripped and scavenged 2:42 she is also depicted here swinging on the trees and vines just like Tarzan in the films. At and the Jungle setting and location only continues to reference the films, the music video also has clear references of the Jungle books as well from the use of controlling the animals denoted at 3:29
Convention Four: Performance
Commonly used in pop music videos is the use of Performance, and this music video follows this convention, in the music video we see Katy Perry have many live performance shots of her singing and this helps sell her brand and image to the audience, the artist also typical tends to have lots of close up which helps sell and promote their image and brand also.If the music video has a narrative then the artists tends to have a leading role in the music video, while in contrast to the indie genre where the focus is primarily on the narrative and starring other people to improve the creativity. Hybrid music video Hybrid genre:
Song: Lana Del Rey - Video Games
Convention One:
Many indie pop videos focus on one theme which is typically used throughout the whole narrative, which is important for the artist to use as it connotes their creativity and ethos while also keeping the song focused on the elements that they believe is relevant to the music video, For example Lana Del Rey Video Games has a narrative that uses a faulty jealously relationship between her as the main role and her partner and the narrative follows Todorovs theory and the a non linear format because there are flash backs throughout the music video which connotes the fun times she had with her partner before it become hostile(1:43)The music video cuts at points to the present, connoting her aggression and sadness, as her partner is now with another women or how her friends have slowly changed and left her alone as she mentions 'As my friends fall', this is also supported by the use of the montage of clips throughout the music video some what creating a scrap book effect as the all the memories are jumbled up. The artist herself stars in the music video which normally isn't seen in indie music videos, but since its a hybrid genre of pop it fits style of music. The artist had also filmed certain parts herself making her own originality and creativity come it.
Convention Two: Low budget setting
Pop indie songs usually tend to have a low budget for the making of the music video, and tend to not have an high budget locations, within this music video the locations and budget are very basic and primitive as its mostly shot like typical urban streets denoted at 1:45.Even the camera footage and style of the music video has a very casual and non studio produced feel because of the hand held nature of the music video, the narrative and storyline is all mainly denoted trough the use of a montage of clips connoting a passing of time through the years and how things have changed.
Convention Three: Filters/overlapping of footage
Many indie music videos use lots of filters and effects but not to a drastic degree to create and give a much more unique vibe to there music videos, sometimes the footage would overlap over footage but in this example there is a use of lots of old black and white footage giving a much more rustic antique feel to the music video. The footage is also much more fast paced creating and giving a representation of the artist as an edgy for example at 2:09 denoted is the use of a saturated blue colourful footage white an old film style to the 80's.
Sub genre Music video Sub genre Bubblegum pop
Song: Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen
Convention One: Bright coloured Mise-en-scene
In bubblegum music videos there's a heavy use of bright coloured mise-en-scene which is heavily popular in this sub genre of pop as the main focus of the this genre is to have a 'feel good' vibe to the music, therefore the overall colour Grade and use of props are used to connote this iconography. The bright colours are used for the clothing of the actors such as Carly playing herself but also the bight colours of the grass and location as its a bright summers day, this also connotes the representation of the artist helping create a much more upbeat and kind depiction of their image and brand. For example at 0:51 is closes of the artist but also the main majority of the mise-en-scene is bright and colour and creates a direct focus on Carly Rae Jepsen, since the focus is on Carly and the depth of field of the background is all blurred the composition of the image is mainly directly on Carly.
Convention Two: Child- like / Animated aspects
Since the genre has like child aspects such as the use of miss-en-scene and many other factors, this influences the music videos target audience and focus and the genre is specifically targeted for pre-teens and teenagers, this is commonly communicated through the use of animation and pictures for example denoted at 2:23 the artist and the other male actor are denoted wearing old fantasy clothes from fairy tales and the background is very vibrant and mystical and this connotes the child like influence in the music video making it much more appeal able to the target audience
Convention Three : Transitions
Fairly common in Bubblegum music videos is that the is a trend to have 'unprofessional' transitions between the shots for example denoted at 2:17-2:20 a spiral transition takes place and this is a common convention of this music genre as it adds a bright and creative effect it also acts as continuous as there's always action on screen unlike a fade, which connotes that the music video is much more busy and alive which is similar to a preferred reading as the producers want you to experience the music video in this way.
Generic Conventions Clear genre music video Genre: Indie Song: Coldplay / Paradise
Rick Altman argued that genres offer audiences 'a set of pleasures' and I believe this music video provides a slight visceral pleasure as the audience are on their seat throughout as many enigmas are created and we question of what is happening when the Elephant escapes a zoo and why he's going around urban environments such as airports. This is then all finally explained at the very end when we see the family of Elephants in the middle of the plains of Africa.
Typical Mise-en-scene/Visual Style
The main location of the music video Paradise by Coldplay is mainly set in the plains of Africa and it tends to have a mainly high key lightning in the setting that is being depicted, as it was shot during the day but occasionally there were shots during the evening and the lighting is not as high. This is a typical setting for Indies because of the setting not being very high budget and crazy like various other music videos, its also because of their small size and their branding that they go for these styles of music videos, they also tend to have very small albums and a small active audience.Other reasons why they would choose to have these is if they wanted to have a much more clam and creativity style to represent their image and identity as an artist. Throughout the music video we clearly see examples of this such as at 2:22 when we see a the protagonist on a unicycle in the middle of a remote rural road, which connote the story and characters are in the middle of a isolated and desolate place.
Throughout parts during the sunset the lightning becomes much more orange tinted because of it being a sunset which connotes the end of a long vigorous journey for the protagonist as they escaped a zoo in the UK to travel all the way to their ideal place they call paradise. The orange glow of the sunlight also creates a much more relaxing and nostalgic effect to the music video creating a much more narrative driven story which indie videos tend to follow a lot of. This could of been a filter as it is added to a lot of music videos such as Ben Howards music videos.
Typical types of narrative
A common convention within indie videos is to have a narrative style especially a warm in depth story that motivates or depicts someone's life in a realistic sense. This was done in Coldplay's Paradise when an Elephant is in a zoo and is lonely and wants to be free and escapes and finds various ways of transport to travel across the world to finally get to its destination in Africa where we see the rest of his friends or family eagerly awaiting him. The wasn't any performance in this music video and it was all linear based, which can also connote that the artists don't intend to broadcast their image and to rather tell a story or promote new faces in the industry such as actors and they would rather create and promote the song itself instead of them as artists. This also can connote that the artists would rather prefer to make and create a much more visual image rather than promoting themselves, however it is still conventional to indie music videos to contain performances or not as it depicts the artists style and life and the narrative that they want to convey. Another typical convention that indie music videos tend to have is not to have a predictable narrative right from the start, Paradise does have a fairly predictable narrative from the beginning but an indie genre doesn't require a predictable or non predictable narrative to class as one. However Paradise was still did have an engaging narrative and still used narrative devices such as restricted narrative or red herrings.
Typical Representations
In the Indie genre it is typical to have the lyrics to mean something to the artist that is performing or singing the song and hence the song having somewhat a reference to them and they believe it is important for it to be sung about. In Paradise the phrase 'Paradise' over and over again is a typical correlation to the fantasy world that the Elephant wants to experience or go to, which is then visually represented at the end during a reunion of his friends and family. This connotes that everyone aspires to have a ultimate ate goal or dream that they one day want to accomplish and the Elephant is a primary example of such determination, it can also have a direct link or message that the artist wants to their audience to have such goals In life and that they can always keep trying. This is fairly common in Indie videos and that the artist as primary control of the content they produce, without many restrictions unlike producer controlled artists.
In terms of costumes for the actors being depicted within the music video, it tends to be very childish and fantasy based such as the Elephant costume with lots of makeup being denoted and the use of a band at the end throughout the journey, but everything else stick relatively the same such as the mise-en-scene of the setting and locations and non actor used props and what this can connote is that the artist could be sending a message that you can and should stay true to yourself and be who you are, in terms of personality and physically hence the Elephant is the personality and the surroundings is the world around him, This can connote that they are just like regular people and want to make music that they would like to enjoy, whilst pop artists are generally wearing lots of makeup to make them look like a very famous idol with lots of fans. For example at 1:22 is a shot of the elephant in an airport terminal connoting the causal nature of the artists, even though they are wearing a rather non casual costume the representation and locations the shots are set in give a more casual approach to it.
Typical Sound Design
In the music video there is no diegetic sound meaning that there is no sound apart from the non diegetic sound from the song, making the song the primary focus, and this connotes a much more fantasy nature and vibe to the music video, the nature and style of the song fits the indie genre of being up coming and aspiring while keeping true to who you are, and the song creates that atmosphere. From the beginning of the song its much more calm with a much slower tempo of synthesisers and Violins and it starts to increase in speed at 0:13 and becomes slow again during the lyrics and then becomes much more upbeat and fast during the chorus segment towards then end it becomes calm again and much more emotional 3:55 following (McKee's 5 part structure) which connotes a much more emotional and compelling narrative creating a sense of happiness for the protagonist in the music video.
Typical Editing Style
The editing style denoted in Paradise is slow to begin with and decreases in duration and variation as the tempo and pace increases making the music video follow and cut to the beat, making it follow the typical indie genre conventions.
Another typical connection in the Indie genre is the use of Lots of effects in post production such as the use of blurs, and overlays in footage such as I've mentioned before. Indie music videos tend to use blurs as a dreamy effect to connote an sense of aspiration and sense of relaxation. Indie videos also tend to have distinct colour grade in post, and Paradise has a very saturated and vibrant colour grade making it suit the feel of aspirations and dreams. There are also lots of effects and abstract elements in indie videos to create a sense of surrealism such as Florence. This is fairly conventional for Indie music videos as it depicts their creativity and their nature as artists to create and write songs that they want to have a meaning.
Recurring Camera techniques.
Camera techniques and language within the Indie genre tend to be handheld and more non professional feel for example in the music video, Video Games the camera is predominantly hand held and jerky lacking the use of smooth shots such as Crane's and steady cams that the film industry predominantly uses. This is mainly what Indie artists mainly try to aim for, a reason why they would want this style is that they want to have a much more rogue feel to their music video and have their own style to their vison. Indie artists may have used equipment such as Monopods and some use of stabilisation because having no stabilisation at all makes the footage very hard to watch as its very jerky, so they made sure that they had a balance between the two mediums. This is seen Lana Del Rey at 0:21 as its clearly handheld, but has camera movement and its non static with various longshots to Close ups, which creates and gives a sense of Edginess and rebellious to the typical camera conventions in music videos. This style that the artist has can be used to represent their brand identity and it can also convey and depict certain elements give much more story and narrative the music video such as the hand held scenes in the music video, Video Games as the and held nature connotes a much more causal approach to the scene unlike a very scripted and professional viewpoint.
In terms of proxemics and composition of the shot of the Indie music video, there is a lot of non conventional film shots such as the use of the rule of Thirds, as some of the shots do follow the typical conventions but the more old styled footage is genuinely non conventional such as the use of the actor not being in the full frame and when the actors aren't aware of the camera such as real life as it looks like it was shot on a phone at random. This is a common convention in Indie artists as the artists like to have a mysterious and edginess vibe to their style of music videos, and rather to put a focus on their narrative side of the music video instead of the Performance aspect or acting role.
Genre: Indie
Song: Ben Howard Old Pine
Friendship
Theme of friendship is also another main theme within the music video as Ben Howard is with another person in the non performance denoted at 2:53 where they are jumping from one cliff to another one. This connotes the bond of friendship between the two characters and how they all relate and connect to each other. The body language is very passive and non aggressive and connoting a sense of connection between the two characters, and how they are having a good time.
Friendship is also denoted when there are two people in the sea at 2:20 which is also a typical cinematic shot used in films that have a romantic genre such as couples and friends being together. The use of the neutral angle of the camera connotes the down to earth nature between the two people and how they have so much between each other.
Overall friendship is common within the Indie music video genre as they tend to focus the best and most happiest moments in life, which is a direct representation of the artists identity and brand. Hedonism
In Ben Howards Old Pine there is a huge abundance of feeling good and enjoying yourself vibe in the music as in the music video He finds places that he has lots of fun throughout the entire song such as the use of Surfing and swimming on the beach, he also forgets all of his worries and the song has that wind down factors which is a common theme in Indie videos as the music videos tend to focus on feeling good about embracing your childhood, and how even when adults you still enjoy the same stuff. Theme is denoted a lot from the use of just lots of relaxing and calm shots of the sea which is all for fun and pleasure. This theme is also connoted in music videos such as Mumford and sons. Nostalgia
In terms of nostalgia the theme in Ben Howards music video Old pine uses the heavily uses the sunset or golden hour lighting for the majority of the song with lots of establishing shots of landscape's and the use of the golden lighting of many various locations connotes the nostalgia of the areas depict places that he used to have haven gone to as a child and how its changed or how's its stayed the same, and the golden shine of the sun connotes then end of an era and how things continue to move on and how he's changed with time. I personally felt the use of this emotional during the beginning shots especially when the guitar starts playing signifying and complete trip from beginning to end as the actor Ben Howard returns back to when he may have grown up from.
How I would incorporate this into my music video?
For my music video the types of genres that I would like to include in my music video is the use of reoccurring editing/animated techniques which are commonly seen many music videos in the modern age. Another way I would use the genres to help promote my music videos is the use of themes and hidden messages that would be signified throughout the entire video.
The music video by Eminem called 'Space Bound' directed by Joseph Kahn has a non linear story line which focuses on one particular protagonist such as Eminem's character making it single stranded.What makes the music video non linear is because of the use of flashbacks of the past for example denoted at 1:50 in the video.
This Music video is a heavily visual narrative driven story as it depicts a failing relationship, the music video is non linear which i will explain further on but since its a mainly narrative driven performance music video. it fits with in the Narrative theory set by Todorov which depicts an Equilibrium, a disruption, Recognition, repair and a new equilibrium as the relationship starts of well and becomes bad as it goes on and then it finally comes to a new equilibrium where it was all a dream or was fake.
The music video also follows the rules set by Goodwin, such as the use of intertextuality such as the references of the typical American diner where everyone goes for sadness or happiness, which continues the ideology and stereotypes of the location, the music video also has many other references to films where there is a typical relationship that us flawed goes wrong by the man by stereotypes causes violence and abuse, this could also reference a song that he made a few years ago called 'Stan' not only from a visual style of rain and a dark and gloomy setting but also psychotic male who goes angry and kills his wife or girl friend over an event, which also sets up and creates his brand image and identity as a realistic and dark cultured artist who creates material of the dark events in the real world.At points the music and lyrics directly link for example at the end at 1:23 when he shoots himself with the gun and says it in the lyrics denoting a direct link between the visuals and the lyrics which the videos does very well at but without completely over doing it which makes it subtle.
Space bounds iconography is very dark and depressing as the story is based upon a story of of a relationship built on hope and promise which quickly falls and becomes a very hostile and toxic relationship.The music video also utilities lots of close ups of the characters which have two meanings, one giving the story much more depth and emotion creating a much more emotional experience for the audience which links to the uses of gratifications giving the audience what they expect but also new.Then the close ups are also used to help promote the music video as it denotes and represents the artist.
The music video follows the rules by Sven E Carlsson that it is a a hybrid music video as it contains the many elements such as performance and the surreal elements such as the past and flashbacks within the video.There is also at very specific points there is animation and compositing such as the clone scene and the gunshot scene which not only improves the verisimilitude of the music video but it also helps create that surreal factor of someone shooting them self as a lot of people never really see such an event creating a shock factor making it surreal for them
Throughout the music video the Record label has lots of demands and
requirements that they want tot help promote their artist such as lots of
Close ups of Eminem which helps promote his image and makes the
audience watch as they enjoy his music so having a music video
publicizing him makes it a higher chance of gaining popularity while
instead of not having any close ups
Overall the relationship between the the lyrics and the visuals is present and this is denoted from the use of the dark moody lighting and melancholy use of of themes and even the location connotes a the dark gloomy forest helps give the use of isolation and loneliness in the music video which the narrative of the music video denotes.Even rain has the symbolism of a sadness as its commonly associated with a depressing mood.The lyrics don't over do the illustration as its subtle at most parts making it a much more mystery than a solid defined video revealing every single message its sending out.
At a point during the song there is a part where there is two contrasting elements one being the past ans present denoted at 1:30 what this can connote is that this could link to the
distortion of the perspectives by Goodwin just slightly because it has a perspective of two videos split in two denoting two different events happening simultaneously which can also help promote their image and identity
The song by Kendrick Lamar called 'Humble' fits the iconography and ideology of the Rap genre of songs such as the visuals represent the Rap/grime stereotypes such as the use of lots of money and wealth denoted at the beginning and the shot of the heads on fire you see denoted in the background lots of gangsters wearing black clothing with chain necklaces and later on denoted throughout you see more Black people stereo typically denoted with shades in low riders as gangsters listening to rap music.
The sound and style of the music perfectly fits the gangster vibe but with a slight twist as it has like a party vibe aswell to it making it a hybrid which goes against the typical ideology of the gangsters being very aggressive and being very serious, the visuals at points also support this which creates a link which all relates back to Goodwin's music rules.Such as when all the gangsters are dancing and parting and enjoying themselves which goes against the ideologies.
How will I use this in my music video?
For my music video we plan to make it very sad and depressing and upbeat, having two contrasting themes as It would denote the dark harsh nature of relationships and the friendly and happiness of a relationship.
Sven E Carlssons Music Video Theory came up with a theory that categorises music videos into groups of genres that make them different from each other. Performance is when an Artist is performing on stage at with either lip syncs in front of cameras with close ups and cutaways an event or in a music video which denotes them singing. It can also be dance performance when they are dancing to the music that is being depicted in a music video or song, it could also be a instrumental performance such as people in a band using instruments use in a video such as guitars and drums in Slipknots Duality where its all crazy inside a small condensed house, and finally there is concert performances where an artist is at a concert doing live performance of their song. Many rock bands use this technique to help improve the verisimilitude for the audiences.
Conceptual clips/Hybrid clips
It can have a story for instance the song Space Bound by Eminem which could have a message or statement within it which reinforces the hypodermic needle theory promoting a ideology that is forced. Conceptual clips can also be abstract and have little meaning to them and purely are there to look good and cool but sometimes its odes have a meaning and this rule is broken. Then there is hybrid clips which is where it combines all the different types such as narrative and performance, and abstract and makes them into one creating a hybrid of all of them which can create a surreal experience for the audience creating a pleasure of seeing innovation but sticking to the conventions of a music video.
Hybrid example
There are very few music videos that are completely unrelated to the lyrics and this is mainly conceptual but contains minor elements of relation to the lyrics with the visuals.
Last year i believe i as much more creative than ever before in Media Studies such as during GCSE Media Studies, what our overall final idea was combined in groups of three and I didn't have much input into the final idea as the group decided to go with a different idea completely and this changed the whole course of the project such as the locations and setting and even the Mise-en-scene.The overall product very basic and fairly unprofessional from the use of the school being a major plot point in the production of the horror trailer that we made, but in contrast for AS when we made the BSR I had much more control of what i wanted in my opening sequence and no shots of the school were used for the production of the sequence, we used alleyways and much better props for the setting and location which added to the verisimilitude of the sequence.
What digital technology did you use last year?
Last year I used the provided cameras that were supplied by the school with SD cards where all the digital footage was stored.I also used an iMac in the school to edit the opening sequence on using a software called Final Cut Pro which is where we spent decided and choosing what clips are going to be used and where and when, Adobe Photoshop was also used for the production and creation of some graphics and elements for the BSR which it was then imported and edited again in Final Cut Pro.We also used this technology for Questionnaires and our preliminary task.
What research and planning did you do last year?
For my research and planning for my BSR we looked and news articles and recent events that could inspire our BSR idea such as the recent elections that took plan in late 2016, we also looked and analysed various BSR films which helped us create our sequence and we also collected data and research from a target audience, the work such as meet my audience and vox pops were heavily influential in our creation of our overall project.For actually planing the opening sequence itself we used location Reccies, call sheets and shooting scripts to plan all the shots and timing of all the filming dates that we wanted to film at.The shooting script had a very detail description of all the shots that were planning to film.
What post production technology did you use last year?
The post production technology was iMacs with Adobe Photoshop and Final Cut Pro as I've mentioned above but they were very useful as the iMac was a very robust and secure system with an easy to use graphical UI which allowed quick and easy workflow on the machine which benefited Final Cut Pro much more, since Final Cut Pro is also designed and created by Apple, the software worked very efficiently and was integrated within the iMac itself allowing for much quicker and faster rendering times which was very helpful for any time restraints.
What conventions did you study and apply to your work?
For our BSR we studied so many techniques and common conventions from the BSR that we mainly included all the conventions that we had analysed such as the Gritty realistic nature of BSR as denoted by the use of our locations and setting.We also wanted to included the themes such as Poverty or abuse as shown by the 'Slave' theme that we had in our opening sequence, we also used the common camera conventions of BSR's such as the use of close ups to reveal conflict and emotion within the character being abused and restricted and domestic violence, we also included the conventions in the editing such as the style and creation of the graphics, such as the textures used and even the font as a bold concrete hard hitting nature which only improved the verisimilitude of the opening sequence.There was also lots of narrative theory included and pacing of the opening sequence, and this is a very common trait in BSR films to contain all these traits as it appeals to the target audience and demographic that they want to create films for, even the archetypes nad characters used were also based off of existing characters used of BSR films.
I have studied a range of conventions which aided me to shape my BSR
sequence. My sequence ‘Maze’ had many themes such as pregnancy,
unemployment, poverty and domestic violence. I applied these themes to
my work. For instance, I portrayed the theme of domestic violence by
having a close up and long shot of my character, Leah exploring the
damage done to her face by her boyfriend. It is conventional for British
Social films to highlight these issues, as they occur in the real
world. Another convention I applied to my work is sound. For the opening
sequence, I decided to use minimal sound, in order to emphasise our
main character - Leah's emptiness and highlight her isolation. However,
when she is attempting to run away for the first time in our opening
sequence, we have Leah listening to a song by Camille Andrea named
'O.V.E.R', since the lyrics highlight Leah's situation. Moreover, the
narrative is restrictive and focuses on Leah, so by using such emotional
and meaningful music, the audience are limited to feel Leah's emotions,
as well as going through this journey with her and being able to
sympathise, support and understand her situation/ life.
From the theory it mentions how stars have two characters such as the star that is constructed for the artists brand/image which creates an ideology for them from the audience such as Katy Perry being much more sexualised as an object and wore much more revealing clothes and wigs causing dramatic changes to her image, which all relates to the male gaze as a pop icon but in reality they are nothing like their constructed representation, making the audience relate much less as they have become much more used to the artificial simulation of the artist.
Stars as Products -Queen/ Darkness
The Band The Darkness fits this classification of being a remake of Queen because of the style of the mise-en-scene and overall visuals of the songs they make such as the colours and its a homage to Queen and references to queen because of the huge influence of their style in their songs.This therefore makes them the more modern and updated version of Queen with some twists which attracts the nostalgic fans of Queen.
Stars as commodity -Drake
Stars are produced to create profit as much as they can, not only from their music but also from merchandise and synergy such as posters, toys, t-shirts and other types of media such as cross media convergence.The record label will want to make as much profit as possible and Drake as a massive influence on the music industry as one of the leading artists, the record label will also tend to follow recent trends as they know certain things will work to help generate money.This is why we get so many boy bands such as One direction and the wanted.
Stars as embodiment of ideologies/cultures -Beyonce
Beyonce fits this category as she has a massive influence on females and has an ideology that influences and creates and impact on the world such as empowering females to become confident and not ruled by men, because of this she has a strong following of a fan base, her songs mainly contain empowering parts of women become much more stronger than they are usually perceived in typical music videos.Her songs can touch controversial topics but combats them with respect, but giving confidence to her main fan-base, she is loved by her fans and is respected by many people.
Stars as personalities Bob Marley
I believe that Bob Marley fits this category as his artists image is a raggae artist that smokes a lot and is religious in Rastafarianism and this ideology that he has created for his image is mostly his real personality in real life, as his songs contain many views that he believed and he was religious and was a smoker in real life and the record label choose not to change or manipulate his image that much, and this benefited them as this allowed him to become very popular and he naturally fits the stereotypical image of a raggae artist that smokes with dreadlocks and is religious.
How will this impact my music video?
For my music video I would like to use this theory for my artist. I primarily want my artist to stay true to himself and not to construct an artificial image of himself making him and the artist the same person (Stars as personalities) Another useful and creative element i would like to use is stars as commodity or products as this allows me to create ancillary products such as Digipaks and advertisements for our artist which will help boost and promote their brand and ideology. For all the other categories such as stars as constructions I would try to go against as I believe it doesn't fit the artists image and personality making it not work and flow with the artists vision.
Andrew Goodwins rules is a theory that has many parts which categorizes different music videos by different rules that distinguish from conventional or no conventional. His ideas are that there is often a relationship between the visuals and lyrics, either by illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics or music. Andrew first presented and brought up his theory in a book called 'Dancing in the distraction Factory: Music Television and Popular Culture.
Intertextuality/referencing
The song called Survival by Eminem is a rap song that was made to help promote and advertise the upcoming game called Call of Duty Ghosts because of a partnership between the two studios, there are many references to the game that they are trying to promote in the music video denoted there is a shot of a dog that looks like a German shepherd at 2:22 in the which is a direct link and reference to the game as in the game, COD Ghosts there is a German Shepard called Riley who is a companion to the main protagonists in the game. More Denotations in the video depict lots of shots of green screens with in game footage form the video game in the video with Eminem standing in front of it at 3:03 this helps To help promote the song as the Eminem's audience is more of the age of young adults and the COD franchise also has a very similar audience making the coalition between the two studios create much more publicity and even hype, giving much more attraction to the artist and the game, also throughout the video there is more footage and props that were made based on the real game showcased at 1:17 which is a use of intertextuality as its referencing external material for example wearing a mask from the game in the music video, which became an recognised symbol for the games release. Mainly throughout the video there was huge direct references that even passive audiences would detect, making the games marketing campaign fairly large if a major rap artist with a huge fan base, makes a deal with the studio. Overall this creates a more positive effect for the audience as it creates new content for, such as songs and games for them to experience, also the content is a t a higher budget so mainly the quality of the product will be significantly better than a lower budget game, which gains more money for the artist to product higher budget music videos and songs making the audience much more satisfied with the products they are presented.
Interpretive - Amplifying/illustrating
Next is a Song called I need a Doctor by Dr Dre which is a rap/pop song and this music video is a narrative based and illustrates and amplifies the lyrics as in the song the lyrics 'I need a Doctor' is mentioned many times and the visuals visually represents the lyrics by showing doctors 2:22 and a hospital making it illustrate the lyrics, this isn't the inly time when the visuals represent the lyrics on screen. For example when the lyrics mention 'To bring me back to life' the video visual depicts a girl in a white dress who is floating who is slightly transparent who is commonly associated with death and angels at 3:03 while this is all happening denoted is the heart beat sensor, producing the continuous death note. To support this at 5:18 denotes Eminem yelling at Dre's body in a tank and the lyrics mentions his angry of him loosing Dre, and the visual performance continues to illustrate this this as the live performance illustrates his him having aggressive body and facial reactions on Eminem which illustrates the lyrics of the video. Another example is at 5:48 when the lyrics mention 'To bring me back to life' again, Dre wakes up from being dead, which is another example of how the lyrics continue to be illustrated by the visuals. Overall this song is targeted more towards to the casual passive audience because of the use of lots of illustrating the lyrics by the music video, but there is still some elements of deeper meaning within the music video as there's a backstory that can be further analysed by the audience, which is more for the active audiences that want to discover the deeper encoded meanings.
Narrative
The music video denotes a clear storyline, the music this is either illustrated by the music video or it tells another story but, in Castle on the Hill by Ed Sheeran, it clearly denotes a clear story line from start to end about how Ed Sheeran starring as himself childhood and how it changed throughout the years it also acts as a short film itself. The narrative of the music video clearly denotes Todorovs narrative with the use of the equilibrium and the new Equilibrium at the end, throughout the video we clearly see denoted at the beginning Ed's Childhood which the lyrics illustrate at points with elements of live performance and throughout the music video there's a contrast cross cutting between the present and past of when he was a teenager and to what he is now 3:05, this creates a juxtaposition between the two events as in the past he had many friends and had a fun childhood while at 4:00 it denotes him walking alone and the lyrics mention hoe his friends one by one had slowly dissipated and that only a few had remained and this is visually represented at 4:33 as he's denoted with 4 other people sitting where they used to grow up, giving a sense of nostalgia as a genre, and that they were the only ones to make it through the whole process. Todorovs narrative works as the disruption was when they began taking drugs and the slowly got under bad influence, and eventually their friends dissolved from problems and only some remain as the last survivor's making and creating a new equilibrium. For my music video I would like to include a sense of narrative to the video as it creates a much clear and engaging connection between the audience and the artist and it also helps increase the mood and style of the video as there's a sense of story giving more depth to the iconography and style to the music video.
Genre subverting
The song Duality by Slipknot is a rock/heavy metal song and has is a live performance song with lots of crazy elements within it such as 0:14 denoted here the mise-en-scene depicted is a bunch of crazy people running towards a desolate house and breaking in like savages and they have tattoos all over their bodies, this connotes that it could also make it an abstract song as it has very little narrative if any and its primarily a live performance with and the way the camera language used in the music video is that it has many close ups to represent the artist and it compliments the music as its very crazy and the visuals are also very hectic for example at 1:28. The music video also mainly non conventional apart from some conventions such as the use of lots of close ups of the artist and it goes against the typical ideologies and signs that make up a music video such as the use of Goodwins rules and the Todorovs narrative as there's no clear distinct use of the narrative such as the equilibrium, defying the audiences pre-judgement. This creates a disruption in what the audience expects from audience theory and this results to them either liking the change or disliking change because they expect the overall same structure with some changes distinguishing the song from nay others but, this song is vastly different from the typical music video, mainly because it was made from a different period where music video convention's weren't as common or set as the foundations back at the time. Songs that follow this typical style of non conventional music videos are generally Rock and heavy metal such as Slipknot as perfect example, this lack of conventions in these music videos creates a more original style that isn't seen as much.
Impressionist
This song by Wiz Khalifa 'Black and Yellow' is a impressionist style video which is where the visuals fit the mood and the pace of the song. Denoted at 1:45 in the music video is Wiz Khalifa in an urban style environment that is stereo-typically denoted in films and games in L.A as gangsters commonly referenced as the 'Hood' and behave very aggressive to anyone that threatens their way of culture and life, this is depicted in games such as Grand Theft Auto San Andreas which is a direct link between the game and the music video ,which continues to solidify this ideology of gangsters acting aggressive and hard. Continuing on there music video also has lots of Black people in low riders which just continues this stereotype but in contrast, instead of them acting very aggressive and hostile that they are commonly denoted to act and behave like, they are dancing and partying at 2:50 which goes against the stereotype of them being very aggressive but it fits the style of the song because of the pace of the party vibe and the use of everyone dancing creates a party atmosphere. Later on as the music video progresses we see that it contains a live performance elements in it as we can see at 1:16 a shot of the actors lip syncing the song that is being play, giving the elements of the live performance, and there is more throughout the music video as well, this helps illustrates or compliments the lyrics because of it being represented on screen instead of contradicting the lyrics. This music video also unique and is unique when compared to the previous music videos as it has a very realistic tone and feel to the video as it has very little visual digital style added in keeping the whole sequence very realistic. The music video has many meanings meaning that its very polysemic because it has many different ways it can be decoded and interpreted. For instance the dancing of the gangsters could because they want to have fun and have a moment to enjoy themselves or it could a uprising against a certain part of the community as a threat.
Distortion of perspectives/genre
For Eminem's Rap God its genre is clearly denoted as rap as it follows all the ideologies of rap and conventions of music videos, the common signs of rap is the typical aggressive nature of the audio and visuals which this music video clearly denotes. He uses many screens which references the
film called Clock Work orange because of the use of the screens and the
distortion of the perspectives which is links back to a theory of
interpretive in Goodwins rules.
E.g The chair Eminem is tied down to, and the screens at the beginning.
Animation
Animation is mainly used as a cartoon or a stop motion in music videos as a low budget but some can be quite expensive for more mainstream music videos. From example in Eminem's song called collapsed it is a narrative based
song that has animation and many other conventions that make a music
video. Firstly the animation Denoted right at 0:08 seconds of the music video we can clearly see robots that are getting ready at conventions preparing to fight at some sort of areas, and the style and build of the robots have a clear industrial and gritty design of what looks like old part parts and other steel components that have been welded together in a scrap yard, while at 2:17 in the music video we can see that there are also other robots that have a much more clean and finished design which gives it a much more advanced and futuristic design, and what these can connote is that the robots might be the representations of the people within the music video such as the kid owning the more rusty design while in contrast the more clean and futuristic design of the robots are owned by the more prestige professionals. Additionally to this point the music video also has many different types of lightning such as denoted at 1:21 it is much more high key lightning while in contrast at 3:29 there is much more low key lighting which can connotes that that the low key lightning can symbolises the kids struggle against the more menacing and advanced professionals, while the high key lighting connotes that the kid is much more victorious and the light depicts his victories accomplishments.
Overall the animation has and abstract/surreal feel as there is robots fighting against each other in ways that
would be nearly impossible in real life. The music video also plays a
homage to boxing matches and transformers and has the intertextual
references to Star wars with the pod racing but instead with this music
video it is with building robots.
Parody Parody music videos use the backing track of the original songs while remaking the music video and tend to make the video with more humour added. The sole intention of parodies are to mock and make fun of various songs such as the Parody of DJ Khaled I'm the one' made by Bart Baker, because of this humorous approach of music video parodies this allows and create popularity for parodies creators such as Bart baker, and also allows for industry artists to also a sense of parodies into their music videos but at a much milder extent, sometimes with a lot of music videos tend to follow a lot trends set by the audiences that watch them such as the use of the 'Dab' in music videos, in this music video continuously it continuously mocks and makes the original artist into a laughing stock for example at 1:03 there was continuous jokes thrown at Dj Khaled for example the video keeps referencing how bad the music is and he continues to eat, its intended to be a joke and not to be taken literally. Not only is the artist mocked but also anyone in it and even the setting such as Justin Bieber at 2:30.Even the locations and mise-en-scene 0:33 are denoted to be mocked and even manipulated to create a entertainment factor for the audience from the uses of gratification's which mainly makes the audience enjoy the content that is produced making parodies very popular. Homage/Pastiche For Homage is Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars as denoted throughout the music video we that Bruno Mars has a similar style to Michael Jackson form the way he sings and the movements and body language. The style of them music and the mise-en-scene is a homage to Michael Jackson and Bruno Mars is commonly associated with the modern version of Michael Jackson this is denoted at 0:38 because of this common themes and style of Michael Jackson many fans of him will like the style of Bruno Mars and will listen to his music as its very familiar to what they are used to as its very nostalgic for the audience, The clothing in particular is very similar the 'funk' theme of music videos such as 2:18 where they all wear hats and glass or shades which is very similar to the 1980's style.
How it will affect my music video
For my music video, I would like to use some of the conventions used in music video such as animation as this will have a direct impact on my video because of the of the surreal and abstract nature of the music video itself. Another type of conventions that will affect my music video is the use of distortion of perspectives and a narrative, as it allows me to create many creative crazy views of the visuals such as the TV within a TV and the narrative allows for a story line to be created which adds depth and engagement to the music video.
