Thursday 29 September 2016

Vodcast 2 - Music Video Industry

Music Video Industry Vodcast 2

In this vodcast I will be going through the production of music videos. I will also discuss who are the main Television companies which show music videos. I will also discuss the effects of social medias on music videos. 



Wednesday 28 September 2016

Halsey Music Videos

Halsey Music Video Analysis (Badlands Album)

Ghost 

Genre: Electro pop
Year: 2015
Artist: Halsey
Directed by: Malia James

This music video was set in Japan and have used a few Japanese words. At the beginning of the music video we see the title of the video in Japanese 'Ghost'. We also get this monologue in Japanese and the first person we see is not the artist but the Japanese girl.

Mise-en-scene

Locations:

The video was set in hotel room hight above the bright lights of Tokyo. 
Streets in Tokyo
Bathroom

Lighting:

A lot of artificial coloured lights were used such as pink, blue, green and red.
The lighting was dark in most of the scenes

Costumes:

Lose clothing which shows a lot of skin. In the bedroom scene Haley and her partner were wearing lingerie 

Narrative, Concept or/and Performance

This music video is a mix between narrative and performance. 
We see a story where Halsey and her partner are together and go apart. However, most of the time its Haley lip syncing and looking into the carom and creating direct eye contact. 

New Americana


Genre: Electro pop
Year: 2015
Artist: Haley 


cigarettes and tiny liquor bottles, just what you’d expect inside her new Balenciaga. ( Balenciaga is a very expensive brand, this verse is talking about a wealthy person hiding self destructive things in her bag ) 

bad romance, turned dreams into an empire. self-made success, now she rose with Rockafellas. ( hard work and determination can make anyone successful, like the American dream ) 

survival of the richest, the city’s ours until the fall. ( the rich control people and they will until the poor, youth etc. take over ) 

they’re Monaco and Hampton bound, but we don’t feel like outsiders at all. ( Monaco & the Hampton’s are popular vacation spots for the rich ) 

we are the new americana ( the new generation, new ideas, new rules )
high on legal marijuana ( the legal part is the key, it means that the new generation ((new americana)) legalized weed ) 

raised on Biggie and Nirvana ( typically different races listen to those artists but the races and everyone is coming together in this new generation ) 

young James Dean, some say he looks just like his father, but he, could never love somebody’s daughter (James dean is a cultural icon of social estrangement and is gay) 

football team, loved more than just the game so he vowed to be his husband at the alter ( football is a very classic American thing, and this also hints that gay marriage legalized everywhere ) 

pre-chorus & chorus 

we know very well who we are ( could be self assurance and awareness as a generation and it’s also a variation of lyrics from the song Juicy by Biggie )
what kind of dough have you been spending ( another rich hierarchy reference ) 
what kind of bubble gum have you been blowing lately ( strain of marijuana ) 
chorus 

Narrative, Performance and/or concept?

This music video is a mix between performance and narrative. The narrative is that in their world rich people control others, until other people take over.
She does a lot of lip syncing and there were also some dancing fragments into it. 


Monday 26 September 2016

Genre Specific Music Video 2

Tik Tok by Kesha 

Genre: Electro-Pop
Artist: Kesha
Year: 2009

Genre Characteristics:

Electro music is very much based around the beat of the music and is often fast paced. Tim Tok is very energising and fast paced music with a lot of different angles and shots. 
Conventions of electro music videos often contain bright and very colourful lighting shots. An example of that in this music video is when she leaves her house and gets into someones car. The lighting changes from yellow to red and many other colour were added later on the post production. 


Dancing and live performance are another common shots seen too. This music video showed a lot of lip syncing shots and live performance parties. 


Performance, Narrative or/and Concept?

This music video involves narrative and concept bases. We get a narrative that her family is not happy of her partying everyday and she just can't stop. We also get to see lots of not needed shots. We see her lip syncing, dancing, riding a golden bike and many more things which would be odd if any one else would do it. 

Star Treatment:

We got to see a lot of star treatment in this video. The scene started with her in the bathtub, her leaving the house with a medium close up and long shot. In every scene she is closed up or or medium shot with a camera focused on her and her being in the center. 

Also when she goes to a party the camera focuses only on her. We only get to see her among a bunch of other people. She has also been held up in the party. 

Mise-en-scene:

  • Locations: Bathroom at her house, dining room, garden, streets, car, house party
  • Costumes: She was wearing black shorts, colourful shirt and black boots. Her hair was messy which signified her recklessness towards parties. Her make up was strong and smudged this was done to show the audience her obsession of parties and that its all her needs. 
  • Lighting: It was bright and colourful with lots of external lights used.
Representation and Audience 

This music video was targeted towards teenagers and young adults. 
During that year, a lot of parodies were made on this particular music video. So many that some people started recognise the parody songs instead of the original. 
This is a parody music video made by "Key of Awesome". Their YouTube channel specialises in parody making and Tik Tok was one of their music video hits. It got 147 million views and the original music video got 318 million views. 


Sunday 25 September 2016

Genre Specific Music Video 1

Pokerface by Lady Gaga

Genre: Electropop
Artist: Lady Gaga
Year: 2009

Genre Characteristics:
 
There are a lot of bright colours used especially a lot of colour blue. The video has no narrative therefore it follows the conventions of electropop genre and is fully concept based. 

Performance, Narrative and/or Concept:

This music video is concept based with a bit of  performance. We can see Lady Gaga lip syncing the music and dancing. The scenes which have been used in the video are very unusual and the style is very different compared to other artists. 

Star Treatment 

The video starts with Lady Gaga getting out of a pool with two dogs around her. The camera focuses on her throughout the video and the camera angles which are used around her are mostly midi close up of her in the center. Even when she is surrounded by people she is the one who is always i the middle. 

Mise-en-scene

There were variety of locations featured in this video. Starting from the pool ending with a house party where she is playing poker. 
The costumes are very tight on the body and very sexual. This was made to appeal male audience. Lady Gaga is knows for unusual revealing clothing and this became her brand signature. The female actors also wearing tight short clothing. 
The lighting is dull and dark in some parts. When Lady Gaga was performing the lights were warm toned. 

Thursday 15 September 2016

Vodcast on conventions of Music Videos

In this Vodcast I will be going through different conventions of music videos and how they can be broken down into key elements.

Bellow are the conventions which I will be mentioning:


  • Concept based video
  • Narrative based video
  • Performance based video
  • Mise-en-scene
Costume: It helps the audience quickly identify the genre of the music video. For example the artist was dressed in a baggy designer clothing, the audience can see that the genre is most likely to be hip hop. 

Costumes can also separate artists from one another and give them their own individuality. For example Lady Gaga who is become the icon because of her costumes. She wears her extraordinary costumes not only on the shows but day to day basis which makes her stand out from other people. 

Props: props is everything else that is used in the video. They are essential for illustrated music videos as they help tell the story. 

Lighting: It is an essential part of every music video as it tells the audience the mood for the video. 
If the lighting is dark and dim it creates the depressed feeling that comes with the lyrics of the song. 
  • Edits
  • Stereotypes 
  • Lip-syncing 
  • Camera movements


Practice Music Video Production Schedule


Wednesday to Thursday 21th and 22th of September 

- Film flashback scenes of the couple together with shots of the scenery. 


Monday 26th September 

- Film some more studio scenes if needed 


Tuesday 27th September 
- Start editing the studio scenes 


Wednesday 28th September 

- Film any extra footage if needed of either the couple or of the city/town 


Thursday 29th September

 - Edit the flashback scenes with some added effects 


Friday 30th September

 - Finish all the editing and upload to blogs the finished video

Practice Video

Planning and Ideas 

For our Practice Music Video

In this practice video I will be working with Bronwen Vaughan, Sophie Rasmussen, Riona Drangsfeldt. We have decided to work on We Don't Talk Anymore music video.

We Don't Talk Anymore


Charlie Puth ft Selena Gomez
Genre: Contemporary R&B
Year: 2016
Director:Phil Pinto

Our Ideas

  • We decided to make it a performance and narrative based video. 
  • In terms of editing, this music video is using a split screen to show too characters but we decided to change it and have a full screen 
  • All the footage in the video is shaky and we thought it would be better if we change the shots and angles and make it more stable. As it is our practice video we need to be able to film the footage without any shakiness.
  • We will have a male character performing in the studio 
  • Flashbacks are a great was to show the relationship between the two characters and we will be filming this in the park and town.
  • Actors: Male character would played by Leonard. Female character would be played by Bronwen. 

Summary of Narrative 

  • Starts with Leonard singing in the studio
  • He gets a notification from Instagram that Bronwen (ex-girlfriend) posted a new picture with someone.
  • He gets flashbacks when the are together in the park and town eating ice-cream taking pictures.
  • Then it gets back to the Legrand singing in the studio.
  • Then it cuts to the girl Bronwen singing and looking at the pictures the took.
  • Cut back to the studio where the box is singing.

Shots

  • Close up of his face in the studio
  • establishing shot of the studio
  • Pan down to the shoes tapping, microphone stand showing the cables to give some verisimilitude of the performance. 
  • Over the shoulder shot to show the phone and lyrics on music stand when he gets the notification, this will give some verisimilitude 
  • Extreme close ups of his eyes.

Wednesday 7 September 2016

Reflecting on past A2 Final Video

A2 Ida - Oliver Heldon 'Gecko (Overdrive)

This is a music video created by one of the previous A2 students. I will be sharing my analytical and critical point of view of this video.
This video starts of with its title flashing in bright colours. From this presentation we could guess that the genre of this music video is electro dance.

Relationship between visuals and lyrics

There are some words which have been shown literally such as "put my hands" and Ida the singer is raising her hands up, " lights dos low" she bends down. These sort of small words have been the cause of her movements in the dance.

Genre Characteristics 

The song is in a genre Future House which is electro dance music. The conventions of such a genre are featuring climbing, women with minimal clothing, jump and dance around. A lot of bright colours such as UV lights are used a lot.

In this music video I got to see most of the characteristics of this genre. There is a lot of dancing, bright colours and transitions which allowed to create different SFX. The singer is wearing bright green/blue dress which opens her chest which makes it follow one of the conventions of this genre.



Performance, Narrative and/or Concept?

It is a concept based video with a lot of close ups of lip-syncing and dancing.



Male Gaze?

There was some male gaze of the singer while she was dancing on a clear background. She was wearing open clothing and the audience were able to see her chest. This was made to follow the convention of the Future House genre. 

Short Variety

There have been featured a variety of shots and locations starting from the dance studio, centre, outside (in the garden), inside a room with a white background. For each of those locations different shots and angles have been used. When the shot was taken outside in town or in the studio, long shots  on an eye level or low angle or hight angle establishing shots. Where as if it was in a smaller area such as a bedroom a closer shot was done, For example the medium close up of the dinger dancing or a close up in the garden. 

 

 

Friday 2 September 2016

Codes and Conventions

Conventions of R&B Music Videos

Mise-en-scene for men

  • Jeans
  • Tattoos
  • Jewellery
  • Topless
Mise-en-scene for women
  • Minimal clothing 
  • Hair and Makeup done dramatically 
  • Heels
  • Jewellery

Conventions of Pop

  • Clothed in fashionable, stylish and mainstream outfit.
  • Artists are portrayed as happy and life loving. 
  • The lyrics are based about love or relationships. 
  • Usually between 3-5 minutes long.
  • Pop music promotion is via radio station and magazines. In the UK Pop songs are guaranteed to be heard everyday on well known radio stations. 

Conventions of Rock

  • Artists often wear black or dark clothing, with a messy clothing.
  • Tattoos and piercings are often found among rock artists.
  • Many rock artists will often be in bands, who play instruments. 

Thursday 1 September 2016

Music Video Analysis 5

Taylor Swift - You Belong With Me

Genre: Country Pop, Teen pop


Relationship Between Visuals + Lyrics

This music video is Narrative based which means the lyrics and the visuals synchronize.  When taylor tries to confess her feeling for the boy next door she writes on a paper "I love you" but when she tries to show it to the boy he leaves.

When she sing "what you've been looking for has been here the whole time you know" she shows her while looking in the mirror.

Genre Characteristics 

This music video is a mix between country pop and teen pop. "You Belong With Me" shows the genre quite clear. Taylor Swift is playing a teenage girl who goes to school and she likes a boy who already has a popular girlfriend. 

The story follows typical teenage drama. The geeky girl protagonist a popular girl antagonist and a boy who creating this love triangle between the three. 

Intertextuality 

There is some intertextuality with the film "Mean Girls" which was a hit of 2004. In the movie the antagonist was a popular girl who had her own car and wears a lot go pink. In the music video the antagonist was wearing a pink top, black sunglasses with a pink inside and on a red car. 

This song was released in 2008, looking through the video I noticed some similarities with the music video which was released in 2007 by Avril Lavigne Girlfriend. Artists Avril Lavigne was very popular in mid 2000. She has released a number of albums but this song stood up particularly. It is a love triangle as well but with a twisted story which does not follow the stereotypes compared to Taylors'.

In the music video the antagonist was played by Avril Lavine as well as protagonist. The use of mise-en-scene made a huge difference between the two and made it look like completely different people. Taylor has herself for antagonist and protagonist as well using mise-en-scene such as clothing, pops such as cars and wigs.




Performance, Narrative and/or Concept?

This is a Narrative based video, we get a story where Taylor is the protagonist and she is also the antagonist playing a different character. 

It is a love triangle story, where she likes a boy who has a popular girlfriend. 

This story follows Todorov's 5 part Narrative Formula
1) A state of equilibrium at the outset (when Taylor is reading a book)

2) A disruption of equilibrium by some action (when Taylor sees his girlfriend)

3) A recognition that has been a disruption (She when she declines the invitation from the boy to go to the prom and he writes "Wish you were")

4) An attempt to repair the disruption (she takes her glasses of and decides to go to prom)
 

5) A reinstatement of the equilibrium (Taylor finds the boy and they kiss)


Looking/Mode of Address

In this music video there were a lot of "looking" references. Taylor looks directly into the camera when she wants to show the audience her feelings for example when she took her glasses of and looked directly into the camera to show her decision to go to the prom. 
When the two characters communicate throat writings they look into the camera to give the audience sense of connection. At the start Taylor was looking into the mirror and dancing wearing different types of cloth going from pyjamas, hippy, goth to ego. This created a connection between the audience. 

Audience in Video

All the audience in the video are teenagers, wearing prom cloths, jeans and t shirts. All the characters in the video are caucasian. As you may see in the photo there are not even one person of a colour. 
You may see the people in orchestra are all caucasian and even the football players.


Male Gaze

In this video we got shots of the antagonists body. Short skirts and tight tops. 
She is also wearing a lot of make up such as eyeliner, eyeshadow, lipstick and well done eyebrows. 
On the prom night the antagonist was wearing a red dress with cuts of the sides and lipstick which signifies danger at the same time love.