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RESEARCH- Favourite student music video

Favourite previous student work

My favourite previous student music video is created my Jem, Zakariya, Courtney and Fuzali. Their music video targeted audience is for males aged 18+. The Genre is Indie music.

I mainly liked the structure of the music video. The use of mise en scene and location combined was very effective. Their was 4 locations where the video was set; The roof top, In front of a fountain, In front of a statue and in the park. The thing I liked about the use of location is that they kept it simple and also throughout the whole video they were at the approximate distance from the camera in all four locations. The costume contrasted with the location. They wore a suite in the rooftop, which looked like it was in an estate. In front of the fountain they were pyjamas, In front of the statue they were tracksuit bottoms and a hoody and lastly in the park they both were a shirt and trousers.


 


The use of editing was simple but effective. They used a lot of jump cuts that went in rhythm with the music, the jump cuts was used to establish each location. During the end there was a great use of split screen, showing all four locations next to each other. The main prop that they used in the video was the guitar, the guitar was used in all four locations by the two main characters.

(Split screen)

This music video was very simple and had no storyline however what I found interesting was during the beginning it was slightly following the lyrics, when he said "And she spoke words of wisdom" it shows a clip of the girl whispering in his ears.

(Close up)

RESEARCH- Mulvey's theory on representation

Mulvey's Theory on representation

The choice of clothes, hairstyle, location and storyline would have been carefully planned before the music video is shot, this is because they have to make sure the image of the artist presented in the right manner. The audience will look at the video and deconstruct the representation and interpret it based on our own understanding.

Laura Mulvey believe that film audiences view characters from the perspective of an heterosexual male, she calls this the 'Male Gaze'. The camera angles play a massive role in this, for example the camera would focus and have lots of close ups of women's body parts. Laura Mulvey says that women are dismembered in all forms of media. This is because in music videos it usually focuses on womens body parts instead of viewing women as a whole.

In music videos of male artists it usually shows women half naked and dancing. Laura Mulvey believes that women are seen as objects in these music videos. Rap music video are the main videos that Mulvey  is talking about.

Robin Thicke- blurred lines is a great example of what Laura Mulvey was talking about. 'Their body is dismembered'. In this music video it shows women half naked dancing. And the men are fully dressed wearing suits and looking at the women. Therefore Mulvey's theory is still relevant in this society

On the other hand some female artist challenge this representation, making women look powerful. For example Beyonce challenges Mulveys theory, in her music video 'Who run the world (girls)' she shows women as powerful and shows men as weak. She also looks directly at the viewer to take charge. Lady Gaga is also another female artist that challenges Mulveys theory.

 

Beyonce- who run the world (Girls)

RESEARCH-What is the function of a music video?

What is a music video

A music video is a recoded performance of a song. Its usually accompanied by dancing and visual images interpreting the lyrics.

The function of a music video is mainly to promote the artist and their album. However this differs depending in the genre, for example Dubstep video is used to entertain because dubstep is dance music.

A music video has many functions, for example

• Sell the song and leave a memorable music video
• So the listener would understand more about the song
• Entertaining
• create a memorable visual for the song to increase its chance to sell

The best example of a music video in my opinion is Micheal Jackson- Thriller. Thriller is a very popular music video. The reason I think this is a very good music video is because its very entertaining, he was acting, singing and dancing which made the video very effective. Its a 13 minute music video that was released on December 2, 1983 and was directed by John Landis. The Budget of the music video was $500,000 and the sales were 9 million units. This music video is the most successful video in pop culture and is listed in the Guinness world record as the most successful music video. Although the music video was released in 1983, everyone still know about it and enjoys it.

The music video was MTV'S first world premiere video and was voted as the most influential music video of all time. Thriller had a profound effect on pop culture and was named the watershed moment for the music industry.

RESEARCH - Carol Vernallis also has something to share..

Carol Vernallis 

She says that music videos are more edited than in a film and that the editing seems to have a rhythmic basis which is closely connected to the song.

Her main points are

• Edits may be really obvious 
• jump cuts are favored in music videos
• Base track is used so often as it gives the music video a structure and something to work around
• Continuity editing doesn't take place but instead is broken to grab attention 
• Special effects and transitions are often added
• The camera moves around with the music

Example????

• Special effect used - slow motion to emphasize the performance given from the dancers
• Another special effect used was fade in and fade out which is often used in films
• Base track - Base track ( a master shot) was definitely used for the chorus and where each singer is doing a solo bit - this allowed the audience to show the artist alone and then back with the group
• As for the camera moving in time with the music,there were crane shots used to get high angles filmed as well as a birds eye perspective.The camera was constantly zooming in and out of the performers (singers and dancers)
• Panning was used to show the group as a whole
• Carol Vernallis also noticed that in music videos, the artist likes to make eye contact with the camera and this song by The Saturdays deifnately support her point. Towards the end the group were looking straight at the camera

Laura Mulvey

"In a world ordered by sexual imbalance , pleasure in looking has been split between active/male and passive/female. The determining male gaze projects its fantasy onto the female figure which is styled accordingly." Laura Mulvey - 1992

The Male Gaze 

Laura Mulvey believes that when watching a music video , the audience have to view the characters from as a heterosexual male. She aslo believed the male gaze was suggesting how women see themselves.

Mulvey claimed that women took a passive role in music videos/films therefore women becoming objects and men playing an active part.

RESEARCH - Individual analyzing on costume/location/setting

Jessie J - Alive

The album cover is very simple as its in basic black and white however there are some significant aspects that can be picked out for example the colors and the costume. 

On the album cover  there are two fonts used, a plain one for her name in the top left hand

corner 'Jessie J' and the album name 'Alive' at the bottom which is written in a more fancy writing. The letter 'A' in the album title Alive is written in almost a star shape. As for the image on the front, its simple as it only has Jessie Js head in it and you cant see what shes wearing (although it looks like she is wearing nothing) however she is wearing a pair of big hoop earrings.  

Carol Vernallis

Carol Vernallis Experiencing Music Video: Aesthetics and Cultural Context 

Carol Vernallis studied editing and camerawork closely in music videos. This was her outcome from her observations-

• Edits in music videos are increasingly frequent than in films therefore many stand out as disjuncture 
• Editing seems to have a rhythmic basis closely connected to the song
• Rules of 'continuity' editing are broken in order to draw attention to what is in the music video
• Music videos draw attention to themselves by embedding special effects such as wipes,fade in and out , black and white filter
• Jump cuts are often used
• Base tracks are used frequently to give the music video a structure 
• Camera may move in time with the music 

 Marina and the diamonds - primadonna 

This music video conveys the conventions of Carol Vernallis observations 

RESEARCH - Dancing in the distraction factory... Says Andrew

Andrew Goodwin

'Dancing in the distraction factory'

Structure of a music video and rethinking narrative analysis.

Pop songs - They approach a different narrative from a different angle to novels and films also the pop video uses the singer both as narrator and character.

Andrew Goodwin says that there are 3 types of relations between a music video and a song.

1. 
   

RESEARCH:Carol Vernallis' Theory

 Carol Vernallis's main points of her observations are: 

•   The usual rules of continuity editing are broken in order to draw attention to what is on screen;

•  Edits may be really obvious to draw attention to themselves, such as wipes and special effects added;

• Jump cuts are often used; 

• A master shot(base track) is frequently used to give the video a structure;

• The camera may move in time with the music.

rizzle kicks lost generation

RESEARCH:Laura Mulvey's Theory

Laura's theory is that she feels as though females are seen as sexual objects in music videos
For example this video below by Rihanna-You da One. She shows a lot of flesh and does poses which attract men a lot. She also leans on the wall sticking out her private part and swirling from side to side. This causes sexual attention. Also the black and white special effect is quite effective with attraction. In the beginning of the video, the camera does a close up of her shoulders and upwards where she is bare and looks like she isn't wearing anything.Also her hand movement when she touch down her throat it can cause sexual tension. The dances she does, where she spreads out her legs and brings them together(on-going routine) is another example that proves Laura's point right. Her hand gestures and her pulling down her costume is also sexual. Last but not least, the lyrics in the song also make it sexual and the effect of having certain lyrics writing in the video. For instance: "Pull me back" can have alternative meanings sexually.

 
You da one-Rihanna

RESEARCH:Andrew Goodwin's Theory

A man named Andrew Goodwin had a theory called ' Dancing in the Distraction Factory 1993'. He feels that traditional narrative analyses doesn't really apply to pop videos. Reasons are because pop videos approaches narrative which is from a different angle to novels and films. Pop videos are built around songs and they use the singer both as a narrator and a character in the video.

Andrew also says that pop videos rely on repetition. The video repeats images in the way the song repeats choruses or lines. Also repetition can be used for recognition in other songs.

RESEARCH:About A Music Video...

 What is a Music Video?

  A music video is simply a videotaped performance of a recorded popular song, usually accompanied by dancing and visual images interpreting the lyrics. However, the production of a music video is far from simple. It can be very experimental and stylized utilizing a different structure, camera and editing techniques that we aren't familiar with seeing in conventional broadcast moving image texts, such as TV drama or News.

What is the function of a music video?

 The purpose of a music video is to sell the song in a way that the audience can remember the song from the video. Also to provide the viewers with a better understanding of the song so they engage with it both visually and audibly( story telling). To entertain the viewers by highlighting that talents of the artist, which can be dancing, singing, performing and also their physical appearance. A music video is also a marketing tool that is used as a visual aid to help sell the artist.  

(telephone by gaga and beyonce )

This is a short film as much as pop video. This music video was a huge media event and Lady Gaga also commented " What i like about it is it's a real true pop event, and when i was younger, i was always excited when there was a big giant event happening in pop music and that's what i wanted this to be". The single sold 7.4 million digital companies worldwide in 2010, making it one of Gaga's best- selling singles. Apparently, with this video, Gaga became the first star to top 1 billion views on YouTube. A  publishing magazine named ' Rolling Stone' commented " Gaga turned this companion piece to 'Paparazzi' into a pop culture event, roping in the Pussy Wagon From Kill Bill and a fancy co-star Beyonce. The Thelma and Louise arc has Beyonce and Gaga out of jail to poison a diner full of customers, who look practically sepia-toned next to the bird-in-heat style costumes Beyonce and Gaga shimmy around in..."   

RESEARCH - A music video explained ~

Music video

Whats that?????????
A videotaped performance of a recorded popular (or unpopular that then gets popular after the video) song, usually accompanied by dancing and visual images interpreting the lyrics. 

Why??????
Simply to promote the artist and the single.

The best example of a music video (well not the best but i really like this one and I'd like to tell you why) Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - Thrift Shop

Locations

Macklemore and Ryan film in several different settings which all go with the lyrics. It all makes the video more exciting to watch as it feels like wherever the singers are going, the audience are going with them. At the beginning they look like they are outside a school/building then they use the car as a prop to travel on the road with to get to the club which is another location.And the location that is probably the most significant in the video because of the title is the 'thrift shop'

Editing and Camera

I like the way this video was edited as there are several cross cuts back to the previous locations to keep the audience updated on whats happening in the location. There also jump cuts to different locations and characters that make surprise the audience as we don't know whats going to happen next. Also you don't always see this in music videos but I've been noticing them more recently, at the end of the music video there's credits to the director which is something you usually see in the beginning of a film opening.

The camera was used in several ways as i noticed a lot of panning and tracking in this music video to follow the characters around the club and thrift shop while they look straight at the camera. There are mostly medium shots to show the character in the location probably playing around with a prop.

Props and costume!!!!!

This is one of the biggest reasons why i really like this video because they go all out on the props and cosyumes. There is without a doubt over 1000 props used in this video including clothes, bikes, scooters, shoes and it all helps to set the scene and atmosphere. There were instruments used in the video however it wasn't used in a typical way (in a band) it was a broken piano being bought from a thrift shop. There are some significant props used in this video for example to car as there are many shots in the video which feature the car and the furry coat as the lyrics contain words about the coat.

Andrew Goodwin

Andrew Goodwin - 'Dancing in the Distraction Factory'

Andrew Goodwin believes traditional narrative analyses such as Todorov (when a problem occurs then a solution is found and then the problem is solved - E.g boy meets girl scenario) don't apply to pop videos.
This is because pop videos are attempting to be more artistic and approach  a different angle from novels and films.

The reasons for the different narrative structures are as follows -
▪   Pop videos are containing songs therefore the song tends not to propose traditional narrative structures
▪   The pop video uses the singer both as narrator and character
▪   The singer constantly attempts to engage the viewer with the performance by looking directly at the camera

Andrew Goodwin believes there are three types of relations between a song and video:

1.Illustration-  when the video tells the story of the lyric which could be expressed through dance to portray the moods and feelings.

Taylor Swift - We are never getting back together 

2. Amplification- when the video introduces new meanings that do not contradict with the lyrics       but add layers of meaning.

3. Disjuncture- when there is little connection between the video and the lyrics , often they are           contradicted.

Lady Gaga ft Beyonce - Telephone 

  

RESEARCH - 'Sexual imbalance'... 'Fantasy onto the female figure'

Laura Mulvey 1992

Mulvey's theory is that females in music videos are now being exploited to the male gaze and is getting worse as societies change. A video that I'm going to analyse and support Mulveys idea of women being exploited by their costume and posture around males in music videos.

An example i will be looking at is 'Blurred Lines - Robin Thicke, T.I, Pharrel' which is a relatively new as it was released in March.

Genre - R&B + Hip Hop

Blurred lines - Robin Thicke

Mise en Scene 
Costume 
Girls  - White outfits that contain crop tops and short shorts which reveal 80% of the female body. The girls are also wearing loads of make up and jewelry to make them look 100% feminine. The color white may connote innocence in the girls however as they are wearing red lipstick, it could also connote danger.
Boys - Wearing suits which contain black blazer and a white shirt. Robin Thicke is also wearing sunglasses to hide his eyes in some bits. They could be wearing suits to perhaps convey the message that they are in control and 'run business' rather than the females.

Props
There are several iconic props used in this music video which include a bike, lamb, toy car, hair brush, foam finger, cigarette & huge lighter and a bottle of vodka and a glass. All these props help the message of 'boys in charge' as the props could represent the females, 'a toy to be played with'.This goes against Mulveys idea as she argues that the world is full of sexual imbalance and the female figure should not be used as a prop.

Body Language 
Throughout the video its clear to the audience that the females are dancing around the men and looking straight at the camera while biting their lips or playing with their face/hair.

Camera
There are more close ups of the girls and this could be to show their emotions and how they are happy to be in the video and enjoy doing what they do. There is long shots to get all the people in the video in the shot to show them all dancing.

Sound
This is probably the most important feature which proves Mulveys point about sexual imbalance as the lyrics in this video are offensive to females.'Tried to domesticate you' The adjective 'domestic' refers to household or animals. 

RESEARCH - My favorite student video???

Jem, Zakariya,Courtny and Fuzails music video!

^^ They recreated a music video by Two Door Cinema Club - Undercover Martyn
Why do i like it you ask?

The Genre of the music video is indie and even though indie is not the usual genre i would listen to, the video helps the song as it kept me entertained. It created an atmosphere with all the images and the split screens.

The mise-en-scene, sound, editing and camera angles in a music video can make or break a video however i think this video excels in costume, location and props compared to any other student videos i have seen before. Let me just start of saying that i liked this music video because it was simply yet effective because as a 17 year old i like being entertained when watching a music video. And i do like it when the video tells a narrative story which this one does a little bit as the lyrics are about a girl and she appears tin the video and 'whispers in his ears', it justs makes the video a little more exciting. The editing was well thought about and the acting skills were also awesome (except the guitar concept). I noticed the use of base track through the video and i was impressed at how the lead singer knew all the lyrics to the song. All these aspects show how much planning had gone in to the video as they thought about the weather, lighting as i'm sure they didn't want it to be raining on the day that they filmed. 

Location and camera angles

They had 4 different locations to film in 1) Rooftop 2) Fountain 3) In front of the statue 4) Park/garden . What was noble about it is that the two singers were placed in exactly identical postures in every location. The camera was in the same position in each location and the characters where the same distance apart.

Costume
Like the location, they both had a change of costume several times in the 3 minute music video!
A different outfit for each location 1) Rooftops - Suits with different color shirts for a professional/serious look 2) Fountain - a joke as they are wearing pajamas outside
3) Grey/dark colored tracksuit bottoms 4) Park - casual outfit white t-shirt and black jeans with converse. I like that they used contrast between their outfits and the location as its something that I've never seen in a a music video before. A lot of planning must have taken place and that must have meant that they had to film over 4 times in each outfit and location.

Props
There was only one main prop through the video which was a guitar that both the characters were holding. However it was obvious to the audience that they don't know how to play it but were strumming for the sake of it. I'm not saying that they should have had guitar lessons before filming that video but if they were going to use an instrument as a prop then make it seem more realistic as it was the only prop in the video. 

Editing and sound
As the filming was minimal and what some might call 'boring' i think the editing allowed the video to outdo any other music video as the image was constantly changing which kept the audience entertained. Also i noticed a bridge in the sound that linked the chorus and the verse which built tension for the viewers as there was a climax before the chorus each time. The split screens also added doubt to the video but it all worked out in the end!

RESEARCH- Carol Vernallis

Analysing media language in music videos

1) Carol Vernallis observed that edits in music videos come much more frequently than in film

The main points of Vernallis observation is summarised bellow:

• 
  
•      Vernallis says that the usual rules of ‘continuity’ editing are broken down in order to draw attention to what is on screen.
•      Edits such as wipes and special effects are used to draw attention to themselves
•      Jump cuts are used a lot
•      A base track is used a lot in order to give the video structure 
•      The camera usually moves in time with the music 

2) The music video ‘ Taylor swift- I knew you were trouble’ uses a lot of jump cuts, which links to Vernallis observation

b)The music video ‘ little mix- wings’ use some special effects to draw attention to themselves, which links to vernallis observation.

c)The music video ‘Bruno mars- just the way you are’ supports Vernallis first point that the rules of continuity are broken down.

RESEARCH- Andrew Goodwin's theory

Andrew Godwin

Theory on music videos

 1) Andrew Godwin believes that traditional narrative analyses don’t apply to pop videos. The reason for this is that, firstly the have to follow the story line of the song, which doesn’t show the normal narrative structure which is normality-problem-resolution. Secondly, in pop videos the singer is both the character and narrator. Thirdly, the singer looks straight at the camera to involve their audience.

Pop videos rely on repetition and therefore the video usually repeats images, similarly to the way the song repeats choruses or lines. Pop song and videos both have a form of closure and ending. In pop videos the song and video both fade away to end.

There are three types of relations between songs and videos, which are called illustration, amplification and disjuncture.

• ·    Illustration is when the video tells the story of the lyric.
•      Amplification is when the video introduces new meanings that do not contradict the lyrics but adds layers of meaning.
•      Disjuncture is when there is little connection between the lyrics and the video or where the video contradicts the lyric.

2) A music video that shows illustration is ‘The script -the man who cant be moved’ this is because the music video tells the story of the lyrics.

A music video that shows amplification is Taylor swift- we are never getting back together

A music video that shows Disjuncture is ‘Bruno Mars- The lazy song’ this is because the music video and the lyrics have little connection.