Saturday 18 September 2010

A Potential Music Video Idea by Hayley Donovan

As a group we looked on YouTube at many different  music videos, that we thought could help us with ideas that we could incorporate into our music video. The song i chose to look at was 'Hungry like the wolf' by Duran Duran; i chose this songs as it had an upbeat tempo and a happy Ora around it. While listening to this video myself and Jay thought about the 'BIG FREEZE' that took place in London's 'Trafalgae Square' and New York's 'Grand Central Station' and also the 'T-Mobile' advert that had the break out of dance from hidden dancers in the public.
         By having these ideas we thought that if we were to choose this song as a group it would be best to situate the music video into the heart of London For Example-  In Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square or Piccadilly Circus and have people dancing all the way through the video.
     We thought that dancing was the best idea to portray the song as it would match the pace of the music; which is a major convention of all music videos -( The pace of the video matches the pace of the song).


However , there are negatives to this idea. Firstly to pull off the 'Big Dance' we would need a huge amount of people for it to look effective and as we are filming in school and work hours it would be very difficult to get a large amount of people to participate. Also before we even started to look for an idea we didn't want to make the video look armature , but we this idea is would be difficult to make it look professional and well presented.

Duran Duran 'Hungry like the Wolf'


T-Mobile Advert 'Liverpool Street Station'


'Big Freeze' Grand Central Station

Thursday 16 September 2010

Ananlysis of Music Video -'Bang,bang,bang' Mark Ronson by Scarlett Giannotti

Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is an English Guitarist and Music Producer, artist and co-founder of Aliido Records. He is currently under the music alias of Mark Ronson & The Business Intl.
 Ronson was born into a wealthy family, the son of writer and real estate entrepreneur. His parents are of a Jewish descent, with ancestors from Austria, Russia, and Lithuania, and Ronson was brought up in Conservative Judaism. Ronson is related to British Conservative politicians Sir Malcolm Rifkind and Leon Brittan, as well as Odeon cinema founder Oscar Deutsch. He has younger twin sisters, Charlotte Ronson, a fashion designer, and Samantha Ronson a singer and DJ. After his parents broke up, his mother married Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones, which contributed to a childhood surrounded by music. Ronson has been "best friends" with Sean Lennon, son of the late John Lennon, since the age of thirteen.


The song features rapper Q-Tip and singer Amanda Warner of MNDR. It released on 11 July, 2010 in the UK. The song is based on the popular French Canadian children's song "Alouette", which means "skylark". The chorus directly references lyrics from "Alouette" including the line "Je te plumerai la tête", which means "I shall pluck your head". The beginning of the music video also depicts a young girl singing the opening lines to 'Alouette'.


The music video was directed by Warren Fu,  a fictitious retro commercial for sandwich spread and a dramatic tennis match.  "Bang Bang Bang" stars Ronson as the guest on an offbeat, '70s-style Japanese talk show. When he's asked to chat about his music, Ronson transforms behind a bank of synthesizers to perform his latest composition.

There is no lyrical connection between the Music and the Video and the Alternative HipHop genre features the artists performance throughout. The cut editing compliments the pace of the music and the computerised techniques forming an old comic like feature adds to the retro feel of the Music Video Warren Fu has achieved.

I like the half and half shots of different artists/ the same but from different angles/ times; as well as the words titled when they are sung E.G. Bang Bang Bang. It emphasises this as the hook of the Video as well as a remembered Tittle. The audience of this Video is not restricted; it varies from the ages of 15 - 50.









Analysis of Music Video -'Smack My Bitch Up' Prodigy by Scarlett Giannotti

The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music group established by Liam Howlett in 1990 in Braintree, Essex. The group's brand of big beat music makes use of various styles ranging from rave, hardcore techno, industrial and breakbeat in the early 1990s to electronic rock with punk vocal elements in later times. The current band members include Liam Howlett (composer/keyboards), Keith Flint (dancer/vocalist) and Maxim (MC/vocalist). Leeroy Thornhill (dancer/very occasional live keyboards) was a member of the band from 1990 to 2000, as was a female dancer/vocalist called Sharky who left the band during their early period. The Prodigy first emerged on the underground rave scene in the early 1990s, and have since then achieved immense popularity and worldwide renown.

The promotional music video for "Smack My Bitch Up", directed by Swedish music video director Jonas Åkerlund depicts a night out in the city filmed from a first-person perspective, portraying drinking and driving, snorting cocaine, violence, vandalism, nudity and sex. The unedited version also includes a scene of heroin use and a hit and run incident. The protagonist takes a stripper (played by model Teresa May) home and has sex with her. As the stripper leaves with her stuff, the protagonist glances in the mirror, is revealed to be a woman, and passes out on the bed.
It's lyrics "Change my pitch up / Smack my bitch up" are repeated through the whole song. The band defended the song, saying that the lyrics were being misinterpreted.

This Video is an example of the Stereotypical world we live in; the appalling drinking and drug taking, sexist behaviour and dirty dress sense the viewers perceive the character to be a man!
There is no lyrical connection between the Music Video and lyrics of the song, the camera shots are all point of view and 'head' held as the narrative is unravelled. The pace of the music compliments the fast paced camera shots and cuts.
There is no specific target audience for this Video; however the content is too strong for young and elderly people, the audience would just have to like the type of music genre.
 
The Idea behind this music Video is Genius; Because the camera work is not to Neat/ Precise I thought this type of Point of View camera sot would be easy to achieve and not look armature if it is the production we are trying to achieve within our own Music Video.





Prodigy - Smack My Bitch Up
Uploaded by gilou2906. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

Analysis of Music Video- 'One' Sky Ferriera by Scarlett Giannotti

Sky Ferreira (born July 8, 1992), is a Portugese-American Singer-Songwriter and Actress from Los Angeles, Califonia. After becoming a MySpace sensation, in July 2009 Sky signed a record deal with EMI and began work on her debut album. She is currently working with Paul Epworth, BloodShy and Advant, Dallas Austin, Linder Perry, and more; her debut album to be released on January 11, 2011 in the US and November 15, 2010 in the UK.
I have selected the Music Video from her Single 'One' as inspiration towards my Idea for our Final Piece.  "One" was written by Sky Ferreira and Marit Bergman in less than 30 minutes; and produced by Bloodshy & Avant with an EletroPop Sounding genre. Sky described the song's meaning as numb and wanting to feel love, happiness, sadness; anything!.
"One" is about being in a relationship where you're ignored . Any type of relationship, not necessarily romantic. It's about that point where you don't feel anything - you don't feel happy, you don't feel sad, but you want to feel something.

The Music Video was Directed by photographer Rankin, the scenes are mostly close-ups of Ferreira in a red outfit on a flashing floor, singing into a shadeless lamp in a white room, jumping in slow motion, and pulling on a white parachute.
The Video is a Lyrical Video, throughout the camera is constantly Focusing on the Artist without a Narrative, Plot or Concert Performance. The whole Music Video has been filmed in the same simple, plain room with the Artist as the Focus. The camera angles vary from close-up head shot identifying the emotions portrayed, aerial shot from about of the artist as as she lays facing the camera. A mirrored effect and copied shots have been used to create a Futuristic, Robot look which cut with the beat of the music.
The video is mesmerising because it is different - Futuristic.
The Target Audience for this type of POP video would be Teen, the audience will be able to relate to this type of relationship meaning of the song and the Artist because she is young and in the similar age range.

'One''s Music Video Production seems simply effective; all filmed in the same inside room with simple shots and camera angles that we as a armature group with our basic equipment could easily achieve. 'One' appeals to its aimed target audience because I am a teenager and one of the Viewers. 







Sky Ferreira - One
Uploaded by EMI_Music. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.


Another simple yet effective Technique which I thought we could include in our music Video is Stop Motion; here is an E.G.

Conventions of Music Video - Scarlett Giannotti

Camera Shots:
Music Videos tend to include a variety of Cinematography to capture different angles and shots of the Artist, Mise-en-scene and Performance.
Close-up shots are used to identify the emotions of the Artist/ Characters within the Narrative allowing the audience to emphasis/sympathise,engaged by the Video. Close-ups may also be used to reinforce the lyrics of the song and capture lip syncing.
Establishing shots can be used to allow the audience to identify the Mise-en-scene within the Video which could be the 'Hook' for them to understand and continue watching. It is a great and simple way to introduce the Location, Artist/Characters.
Mise-en-Scene:
Mise-en-scene reflects the entire genre of the Music Video; what look the artist wants to portray and what audience they aim to appeal to.Mise-en-scene consists of the Location, Setting, props, Costume and Make-up.
Editing:
Cuts and Transitions are a predominant editing technique used within all Music Videos they too have an effect on the Narrative and genre.
Cuts are usually to the pace of the Music to emphasise the beat. Whereas transitions such as fade in/out can introduce the Music Video and End it; another transition such as Black and White or Rippling effect can suggest Past tense.

Other Main General Conventions consist of:
Lighting - Some Music are in Black and White (usually Indie genre) which emphasis a particular mood and some videos have artificial lighting to highlight the Artist.


Sound - Sound is mainly the vocals of the song, but in some cases such as Micheal Jackson's 'Thriller' Producers can make the video into a short film and add Dialogue and Voice Overs.


Props - Props are vital to add to a scene, they create significance on particular objects/People.


Costume - Goes with scenes in the song and reflects genre. Costume is important is an important factor because it has slight influence on how viewers will dress because some see celebrities as idols.


Colour - Tend to set the mood of the song through creating an atmosphere. Dark Colours used more in Rock genres and colour in Pop/Hip hop Videos.


Music Video Conventions for the Majority of these Specific Genres


Indie/Rock -
  • Tends to be Black and White
  • Artists/Band Shown throughout Video
  • Extreme Close Ups and Long Shots
  • Dark Locations
  • Some use of special effects
E.G. Kings of Leon, Arctic Monkeys and The Fray.



HipHop -
  • Locations tend to be a Party, Club, Fancy Location
  • Use of Alcohol
  • Recognised Branding of Clothes
  • Expensive Cars and Houses
  • Camera Shots tend to be long, establishing, close-ups to identify assests
  • Attrctive women
  • Does not follow story Line only Genre
  • Artists tend to be involved
E.G. 50Cent, T-Pain

POP -
  • Bright and Colourful
  • Close-Up's to show emotions
  • UpBeat
  • Aimed at Teen Audience
E.G. Britney, Alesha Dixon, Pixie Lott


Tuesday 14 September 2010

Production: Music Video Do's & Don'ts- Jessica Hun Han Yun

-In the Production of Music Video's there are Do's and Don'ts; it is important to experiment with original ideas however know your limitations. The Development of Tecnology allows producers to widen their horizon in the production of Music Videos, enlarging general Conventions. Mis-en-Scene is another important factor, attention must be paid to detail in the production of a successful Music Video; it is essensial Costumes, Location, Props and Actors are appropriate as they represent the Gender of the Music.


Variety is imperitave to aceive a successful Music Video; a variety of interesting Locations, camera shots enough to not over use material. The Actors and Artists performing in the Video must be professional and confident, shy with nurves will come across and may seem amature (Unless this type of Character wants to be perceived) , lip singing the Lyrics on time is crutial, as well the timming of cuts to the beat and Pace of the Song. The original Idea, must be one that excites you as the producer and one you are enthusiastic about.


The Most important Factor in a Successful Production of a Music Video would be its Target Audience; Who will the Video appeal to, who will be listening to that type of Music.


By considering all of the Do and Don't Factors and the General Conventions and Genre
Conventions to include a Professional Music Video will be easily aceived that will Promote the
Band.

A Potential Music Video Idea by Scarlett Giannotti

When I saw this advert; I thought It would be a really simple Idea using stop motion and fast forward editing to capture the lyrics of the song as the two character change their tops to the beat of the music.
Simple and Effective!

Weekly Log : Analysis - Jay Gomez

Analysis of Eminem & D12 'My Band'  Music Video Conventions

This video done by Eminem & D12 was released in April 2004. The song is a parody of the false concept that they were receiving from the media stating that Eminem is the lead singer of the "band" D12 and that D12 were a back up band.
The video is an excellent example of how conventions are used in a music video. As the song is a parody, the video is fun and is visually appealing to the audience as it contains humour throughout the entire music video mimicking boy bands and creating a negative view of D12 based on the bad publicity that the media has said. The lighting is bright so we as an audience can see clearly what is happening so it is visually appealing. Within the parody music video, it mimicks other music videos and icidents such as 50 Cent's "In Da Club" and Eminem's videos for "Lose Yourself" and "Superman". It also makes reference to Kelis' video "Milkshake" and the infamous Superbowl XXXVIII incident that happened between Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson. These parodies worked well with the costume that was used to portray this. The video has a narrative which follows the lyrics to the song which is an important covention to a music video. The video is also set in a variety of locations. Sexual norms are also questioned in the video when we see Eminem dressed as two different women when they confront the rap artist. An important that we notice when watching the parody video, is that it contributes to the reputation and the image of rap artists. Eminem's reputation for having a fun and humerous element in his videos is shown in this video along with D12's element for doing the same. The video fits witht he pace of the song which is an important convention to have when making a music video.
In conclusion, the video has a wide variety of conventions that a music video should have and does not subvert music video conventions.


Weekly Log : Analysis - Haylie Donovan

Analysis of Miley Cyrus's 'Cain't be Tamed' Music Video Conventions


Miley Cyrus's song 'Can't be Tamed' , is an effective music video as it has all the major conventions that an music video should have. Firstly the video is very dynamic , this is conveyed though the dramatic lighting and costume, the costume helps the audience to understand the lyrics of the song , aswell as having elements of a narrative. 




Costume- Dynamic and realistic 
Represented Dominance and power


The pace of both the song and editing creates a edgey and sharp feel to the video, that links in with the lyrics and whole representation . 
Throughout the song Miley cyrus is performing, both singing and dancing ,  this is a key convention to any music video as it emphasis's the lyrics and makes the video interesting. The mise-en-scene used is to show the genre of the video. By her representing a bird, it showed power and dominance on her behalf. 


Performing- Singing and Dancing
Choreography


Also the lighting if very dark so it emphasises the dynamic feel , however there is three bright spot lights to show off miley cyrus in the cage, giving off a sense of anger and strength.


 Lastly the video incorporated choreography this breaks up the video  so it is more exciting to watch , and the choreography made the video more dramatic and compelling for the audience.






Dramatic Lighting- 3 Bright lights behind the performance


    This song is very different to any mysic video Miley cyrus has ever created. The lighting and costume enhanced Miley Cyrus's sexual status and the audience were forced to think about that miley cyrus had grown up. For Miley Cyrus this video was a big gamble for her career , as her normal audience of a very young generation would  mnot warm to it , however more of the older generation liked the new style to her.






Monday 13 September 2010

History of The Music Video- Hayley Donovan and Scarlett Giannotti

Music Videos begun in the 1930's to 40's when Television was first used as the main entertainment within Bars, Clubs and Households; Record sales decreased and the increasing popularity of Television continued.
Soundies were used in Bars and Clubs as another form of entertainment and an attempt to save the Music Industry from going completely under! Similar to a Duke Box the Soundie allows people to select their chosen Artists Live Performances and watch as they mime the lyrics on a screen.
1950's was the "Rise of the Teenager" the decade of Elvis Presley. Elvis Presley was one of the first artists to appear in a number of feature films; one of his most successful "Love me Tender" in 1957 which consisted of his Performances and Music accompaniments. This feature film appealed to the Teenage generation and evolved into Music Videos.


      The 1960's music consisted of The Beatles and Rolling Stones, with the growth of Rock and Pop. Record Producers begun to incorporate Live Performances and Interviews of Artists to make Concert films. The concert films were very 'Youth Orientated' and portrayed society at that time.  1994 was the height of The Beatles as they promoted Teen Rebellion and conflict between the Old and Young.
      The end of the 60's - 1970 an evolution of Music Videos occurred with Concert Films; the concerts were broken up with personal interviews of the Artist and partial documentaries. The Concert Films promote the Bands/Artists and were an opportunity to share their views and opinions, it was also unrestricted insight into their life travelling on the road.


        In 1975 , ‘Queen’ a rock band created a song known as Bohemian Rhapsody. The music video to this song is one of the most memorable music videos of all time. ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ in the 70s was the most profitable music video of all time and was number 1 in Top if the pops for record 9 weeks. The Video was one of the first to incorporate the band into the video and lasted for over 6 minutes, which goes against the common conventions music videos today lasting only around 3-4 minutes. The video has a combination of a live performance and trailing heads, this offered a different outlook of music videos for the audience and other artists at that period of time. ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ was the initial start to the conventions of all music videos today.


       1981 was the birth year of MTV (Music Video), which was initially created in the USA, however because of its huge success, in 1985 MTV went to Europe television. As it popularity grew, sales in music records increased and in 1985 18 million viewers worldwide tuned in to see their favourite artists on MTV. As MTV grew into a huge phenomenon on television, the brand name of “MTV’ was promoted into some music videos Example- ‘money for nothing’ by The Dire Straights.
      
Moving on to 1982, Michael Jackson hit our screens with THRILLER! Thriller was the one of the most talked about music video of that year and still is highly admired today. Thriller is an unusual but brilliant music video as it subverts typical conventions of music videos. The director John Landis whom also directed ‘An American werewolf in London’ incorporated the ideas of this video and used them in Thriller, to create a dramatic impact on audiences. Firstly a normal music video last for about 3-4 minutes however thriller lasts just over 14 minutes , so it is shown as small feature film , as well as having dialogue and voice over’s to tell the story. Thriller has a huge narrative which is strongly shown throughout the video using costume, location and sound effects. It went against the typical conventions as it has breaks in-between the lyrics, so the story could unfold. Furthermore not only was Michael Jackson singing and dancing he was also acting, in which he played many different characters all throughout the music video. Lastly as there is a highly thought out choreographed dance, thriller is also used to advertise Michael Jackson dancing ability, and the Thriller dance is known worldwide and is still well known today.


        Further down the timeline, in 1997 ‘Smack my bitch up’ was released into the charts. However it did not last long as the music video was banned from MTV which is a big source of any song’s success. It was banned due to it challenging the idea of sexual norms and normality of life. Also this music video can be offensive to certain groups, Example- People with religious beliefs
        
Lastly in 2003 a song called ‘Crazy in Love’ was release by Beyonce featuring Jay-Z. This music video objectifies the female body. It does this by using slow motion editing (on the female body) , so they are seen as being seductive towards the audience. Beyonce is wearing provocative clothing, which is shaped to show off her body and give the video the sex appeal. Also in this video there are a variety of shots, which are used to show parts of Beyonce body, these are used to emphasis the seductive nature of the music video, along with the choreography. Lastly throughout the video Beyonce plays with the camera, this gives the video a seductive and flirtatious feel , as well as Beyonce connecting with the audience.

Weekly Log : Analysis - Jessica Hung Han Yun

Analysis of Bjork 'It's Oh So Quiet' Music Video Conventions

Bjork's music video to 'It's oh so quiet' directed by Spike Jones is an excellent example of how a music video should use conventions. The pace and tempo of both the song and the editing creates a fluid and continuse video, this makes the video fell almost real to the audience. From the begining the slow pace is reflects by the  slow motion of the shots that are used a convention used regularly in videos fitting with her performance. Within the music video it is compelling for the viewer because of the change in the atmosphere much like the way in which the song changes tempo, from the change the lighting and the mis-en-scene. The lighting changes at the same time as the atmosphere, from a very dull and dark lighting it brightens to become much more vibrant with colour. The mis-en-scene used shows the genre, as her costume is a very vibrant colour orange. The mis-en-scene is another feature that is very important, you can see in this video by lighting changes that fit with the song and the songs genre, from the quite and very slow paced lyrics the lighting is dark and dull compared to when the change in the lyrics and pace begin the lighting automatically changes to a much more brighter almost happier environment. The setting for the video also changes giving a change in location gives interests the audience more as it’s a new setting for them to see. The variation in the shots have been chosen clearly in editing, this ensures the audience sees the whole of the video from different view points making it much more appealing to watch. With the change in the tempo the atmosphere of the video is also changes visually, as the setting is empty and then the change in music the settings become filled with people, and the colours are more vibrant to the audience, once again a convention. When this happens it fits with the lyrics of the song so this helps in reinforcing the lyrics towards the audience. Costumes are an important factor this is because this helps in showing the audience the genre of the music video, so for example Bjork is wearing a very brightly colours orange which shows to the audience her style in music as unusual. 
These conventions are all seen in this music video however also in other music videos, these conventions are what create a great music video that looks professional and a watchable. 

Weekly Log : Analysis - Scarlett Giannotti

Analysis of Previous Music Videos

Watching the Music Videos of previous media students we were able to identify what types of Cinematography, Mise-en-scene and Editing makes a successful and Un-successful, armature Video.
A Music Video should:
   - Introduce the genre of Music by using specific genre conventions
   - Introduce the main characters/ Artist
   - Introduce the plot/themes
   - Create a hook or enigma to make the audience what to continue watching
   - Include relevant Mis-en-scene (Costume, Props)
   - Include a Narrative
   - Include a Performance (Artist/Band/Actors)

Analysis of Music Video 'Good Girls Go Bad' - Cobra Starship

'Good Girls Go Bad' is a Pop genre; it Includes Conventions of a Music Video such as a Narrative, Performance, Includes Artist etc.. as well as specific Conventions for the Pop genre such as Bright and Colourful colours used, Upbeat and Aimed at a Teenage Audience.
It is an effective Music Video broken up with performances from the Artist Cobra Starship and Leighton Meister and the Narrative. There is a Fun and energetic feel conveyed through the pace of the Music and Party atmosphere which is reinforced through Mise-en-scene (Secret Club Location, Costumes are glitz and party glam and performance from characters are smiling and having fun.)

The quick paced of cross cut editing to the beat of the Music added a Pulsing, chaotic, fun party vibe to the Video, linking in with the Lyrical content " But just one Night couldn't be so wrong - you make me wanna loose control"

The entire Video is compelling to watch; featuring choreography (Dance), Performance (Singing) and a Narrative with a Plot/Theme.