Planning; test shots, videos and images

Today, Abby, Amy and I went out to Bourne Woods and a field area to do a few test shots to see how well things would go and get the different areas types we need. So in these test shots we've done a few photographs and a few videos, these are displayed below. I've included both good and bad photos for some of them (like the balloons)

 This ghost image is a brilliant way of showing what children did for halloween. Of course we've not used a child because of security reasons however, this image above portrays a child behaviour. There are tester videos below to show how we got on with this.

 These three images displayed above are different shots of Abby and Amy throwing balloons in the air (perhaps resembling when a child lets go of their balloon or letting go loads in the air). Out of the three images i prefer the first one, this is because the lighting in the last two are too bright and also, in the third one we can see a glare from the sun on the lens.

Test video shots;

 

Analysis of a music video; presentation

 Prezi Presentation

Task: To present an analysis of a music video of your choice (preferably of the same genre of the artist we have chosen).

Here is the presentation Abby, Amy and I presented to the rest of our peers. The idea of this task was so that we can relate an artist of the same genre type to the artist we are basing the media production on. In our case Ed Sheeran was the acoustic artist we chose. We chose him because the music videos he does are different compared to what you'd usually see from an acoustic artist. These print screen shots just sum up what we have done on the prezi. 

Acoustic artists; magazine ads and digipaks

This image displayed above is for the well known band Oasis. It's a very simple design but has the bottom of an acoustic guitar (symbolic for this genre type). As we can see the main colours used are browns, whites and blacks, this shows that the acoustic isn't an 'out loud' and 'in your face' genre type. They are also calm colours, however the way that they have been used to make the acoustic guitar stand out has been effecting and eye catching, lighting on the guitar (for example studio lighting) would help this very well. An acoustic guitar is what we'd typically associate with this genre, therefore this digipak includes ideology.

This are the sort of things you would find in any music related magazine. Pages after pages of different band adverts showing when they will next be on tour (like the one situated above. They only usually take up a small space on the page however, some major bands take up a whole page (or are doing a reunion tour). Even though cage the elephant aren't exactly acoustic, this design above is very eye catching and is advertising the bands tour clearly. The colours used are plain however, the way in which they have used them is effective. The image below is demonstrating a magazine front cover 'frets' with an acoustic artist on the front. As we can see ideology is being role played again because he is holding an acoustic guitar, this shows the audience that the magazine will be about this type of genre. Also the way that there is only a picture of him doesn't make the page look over filled and confusing to look at.

Yet again, browns and whites are being used in this magazine ad (like the digipak). This fits in well with the genre type

Deconstruction of a music video; REM - bad day

REM's music video 'bad day' is unique in style. The music video has taken on the look of a weather report in different areas of people's lives, this is a great way of showing intertextuality because the layout of the music video is similar to the way news programmes look like (for example sky). This music video fits in with John Stewart's theory. Throughout the music video there is no initial performance from the guitarists and drummer however they are all miming the lyrics to the song.

 The screen shot above shows a mid shot of the lead singer of REM, Michael Stipe, dressed as a news reporter and also talking/singing towards the camera lens (Direct mode of address)

Split screen effect, similar effect to what you would see on a news channel if someone was feedbacking to the studio. As we can see from the headlines at the bottom on the screen, all the news is about bad weather, linking back to the song title 'bad day'. Both shots are mid again, this shot carries on nearly all the way throughout the music video.

Like the previous screen shot this is showing you news reporters else where. However, below the news reporter, the lyrics of the song are typed up. This is a good effect because you'd see this on news channels, also these lyrics are questions so in a way they are involving the audience as well.

This weather report is what you would also associate with a typical news channel. I believe that this shot fits in with the lyrics because it is demonstrating a cloudy and high pressured windy day, which links into the bad day thoughts and also having the band member do movements like a weather reporter, makes it more realistic. This shot links with John Stewart's theory as it is linking to real life.

'Count your blessings'. These are the lyrics mimed by this band member shown above. A close up is extremely effective because it is showing emotions. This shot is also taken out of a helicopter (not a real - green screened). Once again we can see writing on the screen at the bottom, resembling news channels this way. Having bold red writing means something dramatic is happening (danger usually). Linking this back to the lyrics i picked out the red writing makes it serious and making people believe that it's a bad day and count the good times you've had to way out the bad.

End shots of the news reporter (in this case the band members) is very ideological, even though the end credits of normal news channels may not end this way, showing a clip of them is normally shown. So this is also linking back. Mid shots of each reporter is effective and draws the attention of the audience, making this a repeatable music video because the audience would re-watch to see what the band members do at the end.

Institutions - Other music channels

There are a variety of different music institutions available. They involving exhibiting music promos in the United Kingdom. A few of these music channels are;
Kiss

Receives audience viewing weekly reach of 0.6% (audience share not available) Focuses on playing the pop genre and also chart hits (top 40). As well as having a music channel, Kiss also has a radio station available, the logo for this is slightly different in which they include the station numbers. The colours of this logo is simple and the shape takes the form of the letter 'K'. This is a very simple/basic looking logo.

4Music (chosen institution)

Receives audience share viewing of 0.3%. 4Music is part of the Channel Four company spreading across various different channels. Play a variety of different genres and usually play the UK Top 40. The logo looks like it's taking on the shape of a four with the word music being the line across the bottom. The bold outline makes it look like this logo is standing out, drawing the attention of the audience.

Kerrang! TV

Receives audience weekly reach viewing of 1.1% (audience sharing not available) Kerrang! Is mainly a magazine based company who feedback on bands performances. This music channel mainly focuses on the rock/metal genre. This logo is very similar to the magazine design, apart from the fact they have included 'TV' underneath. The barcorde gives it that unique look about it. Big bold writing makes this logo announce itself to the world.

NME TV

Receives audience weekly reach viewing of 0.5% (audience sharing not available) NME is originally a magazine based industry. They play music such as Indie (Two Door Cinema Club). Bold lettering again drawing in the eye. This logo is similar to the magazine design, however, the same as Kerrang! They have included the word 'TV'.


The Vault

Receives audience weekly reach viewing of 1.2% (audience sharing n/a). The Vault consists of playing classic tracks from the past, a 'blast from the past' music channel. This logo is very unusual compared to the above designs as they took the name of the channel, and made the logo the way a vault lock may look like.




Viewing rates information taken from www.barb.co.uk

Including in our music promo

In our music video, it's going to be based around childhood memories. To be able to portray this we are going to show clips of old photos, home videos and teenagers playing as kids (perhaps children if we can find someone willing to let us use their child). The images below are just showing examples or what we want to try and get into our music promo, there isn't a particular theme I just took photos of what I could find!

 

Photos with your parents (photo taken in the late 50s early 60s)

Pets

Summer days out watching sports or playing (polariod photos)

Dressing up

Eating and being overall cheeky with friends and family

Music Promo Pitch

Here is the presentation we presented to our peer group. By doing this we are able to get audience feedback in which will aid us in our final promo. The variety of people preferred the pitch idea number two because it's not illustrating the lyrics and also the idea of having home videos etc in a music video is different to what you get in the music industry.

Institution - Channel 4music

Owned by 'Box Television'...

Box Television also own; Kiss, Magic, Smash Hits!, Q and Kerrang!

Box Television is owned by both Channel Four (50%) and Bauer (50%) (a German company). They are a British Television company.

4Music showcases a range of different pop music, mainly based around the chart hits and the current favourite songs. There is also a range of music-themed programmes from Channel Four. This music channel is also an entertainment channel broadcasted in the United Kingdom. 4Music first launched on August 15th 2008 and now currently has a 0.3% audience share (Ocotber 2011, http://www.barb.co.uk/). The average daily viewing on 4Music is approximately 1,083 which is 1.9% on audience share.

There are a variety of different music programmes 4Music showcase. These include;

• UK Hot 40
• The UK Airplay Top 20
• Orange Unsigned Act
• Your Official Top 40
• The 4Music Big Ones

4Music covers highlights on V Festival and T4 On The Beach over the Summer holidays, highlights repeated throughout the Summer period. The music channel now also has stages presenting new bands at both events!

Being part of the Channel Four industry means that they are able to broadcast themselves throughout other 4 channels (such as E4 and More4). This gives 4Music more of a chance of getting a wider range of audience viewing the channel. As they are only a pop sort of channel they only appeal to one sort of music based audience, therefore not receiving as many viewers as they could.
Some music channels such as 4Music, broadcast the latest information in the world of music. For example, on 4Music.com it has information on artist's new music videos and interviews with them talking about what they enjoyed etc. Broadcasting this on 4Music would keep the viewings up because the audience would like to know the news happening in music.

My group and I feel that this music channel would fit our music promo because the other types of music channels we have looked at are mainly aimed at one specific genre, for example Scuzz is metal/rock and classic fm well that explains itself really! Also 4Music play a music program called Orange Unsigned Acts where our one would fit in due to the fact Carl Hauck is unsigned.

Music Videos; What theory goes with which video

Here are a few examples of music videos that go with each theory.
John Stewart's Theory

The idea of having a news report is unusual and ties in with the idea of TV commercial/broadcasting

Laura Mulvey's Theory

Sigmund Freud's Theory

Parts of the footage in this music video relates to this theory (for example the erotic part about 1 minute and 42 seconds in)
Steve Archer's Theory

Switches between performance of example to images of people dancing etc.

Post-Modernism

1. Faith in grand narrative has collapsed/declined rapidly! (science, religion etc)
2. Identity is fluid, sense of self is not fixed
3. Consumerism is a creative endeavour in which the self is constructed
4. No distinction between the real and the simulated
5. Convergence of Information Technology and Society (ITS)

Theorists on Music Videos

There are four different theorists on music videos. These are;

1. John Stewart
2. Sigmund Freud
3. Laura Mulvey
4. Steve Archer

They all demonstrate different methods to how music videos are presented. These are explained below in the different theorems.

 

Steve Archer 

• There needs to be a strong and coherent relationship between narrative and performance in music promos.
• Music videos will cut between a narrative and a performance of the song by the band
• A carefully choreographed dance might be part of the artist's performance or an extra aspect of the video designed to aid visualisation and the 'repeatability' factor.

Linking this back to Goodwin's idea of features in a music video, we can see that Archer has a similar take on what a music video features. For example they both mention a dance performed by the artists and the editing.

John Stewart

• The music video has the aesthetics of a TV commercial, with lots of close-ups and lighting being used to focus on the artists face
• Visual references comes from a range of sources, most frequently cinema, fashion and art photography
• 'Incorporating, raiding and reconstructing' is essentially the essence of intertextuality, using something with which the audience may be familiar, to generate both nostalgic associations and new meanings
• The video allows more access to the performer than a stage performance
• Mise-en-scene, in particular, can be used to emphasise an aspirational lifestlye

Apart from the first bullet point and the third, the other information provided by this theorist is completely different to what Goodwin identified.

Sigmund Freud

• Voyeurism - refers to the notion that erotic pleasure may be gained by looking at a sexual object (preferably when the object is unaware of being watched)

This theory is nothing like what Goodwin had said in his identifications of the features in a music video. In fact it has little information on a theory to music videos



Laura Mulvey

• Because filmmakers are predominantly male, the presence of women in films is often solely for the purpose of display instead of a narrative purpose
• The purpose of this display is to facilitate a voyeuristic response in spectators which presumes a 'male gaze' one that is a more powerful controlling gaze then to that of a female on display. The woman is effectively objectified and passive

This theory relates to more music promos back in the 70's/80's however, you can still sometimes see this theory present in music promos in the modern day.

Andrew Goodwin

In 'Dancing in the Distraction Factory' identified the following features of music videos overall;

• Music videos present genre characteristics, for example stage performance in metal videos and a dance routines for a boy/girl band. Below shows the contrast that Andrew is demonstrating.

• The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close-ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work
• There frequently is a reference to the notion of looking and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body
• There is often intertextual reference (perhaps to films, TV programmes and other music videos etc)

Bringing in Theory - General

Things to think about when looking at the different theories and how they tie in with the music videos;

Lyrics - establish a general feeling/mood/sense of subject rather than a meaning
Music - tempo often drives the editing pattern
Genre - reflected in types of mise-en-scene, themes, performances, camera and editing styles
Camerawork - has an impact on meaning. Movement, angle and the distance of a shot all play a part in the representation or the artist/band. Close ups usually dominate the music video.
Editing - the most common form is a fast-cut montage, images impossible to grasp on first viewing. This makes the music video one that people would repeatedly watch so they can see what they have missed. Editing uses digital effects, which play with the original images to offer different kinds of pleasure for the audience.
Intertextuality - not all audiences will spot a reference, which would not significantly detract from their pleasure in the text itself, but greater pleasure might be derived by those who recognise the reference and feel flattered by this. It is also increases the audience's engagement with, and attentiveness to the product. Many music videos draw upon cinema and other areas of popular culture.
Exhibitionism - The apparently more powerful independent female artists of recent years have added to the complexity of the politics of looking and gender/cultural debates, by being at once sexually provocative and apparently in control of, and inviting a sexualised gaze.

Narrative theories

There are four different theories that people have used to fit in with how a music video narrative is. These four theorists are;

• Roland Barthes
• Tzvetan Todorov
• Vladimir Propp
• Claude Levi-Strauss

They all had very different aspects towards the narrative in a music video. These theories are explained below;

1. Roland Barthes - Building a narrative
Enigma code = Refers to any element that is not explained and therefore exsists as an enigma, raising questions that demand an explanation.
Action code = Refers to the other major structuring principle that builds interest or suspense on the part of an audience. The action code applies to any action that implies a further narrative action

2. Tzventan Todorov
This man believed that a narrative may being with an equilibrim and then moves onto a disequilibrim until a new harmony is built at the end of the narrative

3. Vladimir Propp

Propp basically looked at Todorov's idea of the narrative and developed it much further. He made a diagram to show the different stages and what happens where in a narrative. The disequilibrim is basically the climax of the narrative and Propp's diagram still demonstrates the way in which there's two harmonies, one at the beginning and a resolved harmony at the end.  This diagram is just a basic outline to show you what he did.

4. Claude Levi-Strauss

Believed constant creation of conflict/oppostion propels narrative. Narrative can only end on a resolution conflict. Oppostion can be visual or conceptual and to do with soundtrack.

Illustration, Amplification, Disjuncture and Narrative

There are three different ways in which the music video can relate back to the song itself. These include;

1. Illustration - Everything in the music video is based on the source song. For example the song Everybody hurts by REM and Parklife by Blur
2. Amplification - Enables the director to become an artistic force in the construction of the music video as a whole. Keeps a link with the lyrics/song however, constructs complementary layers of meaning. For example, Imitation of life by REM and The Scientist by Coldplay
3. Disjuncture - Intentionally ignores the content of the song and genre of the music and tries to create a whole new set of meanings. These music videos don't tend to make a lot of sense and can often use abstract imagery. For example, No Surprises by Radiohead

The music promo that my group and I are creating is going to be a mixture or illustration and amplification. This is because we are basing the song around childhood memories and recieving the email from Carl Hauck telling us about the song, it shows that we are following the pattern of what the song means.

Narrative in music promos
So what is narrative?

• Connection - gives organisation/coherence to a serious of 'facts'/'images' - we look for a beginning, middle and an end
• Understanding - allows us to construct menaing
• Comparison - we compare narratives to others for example conventions

Traditional narrative structure
In a video as a human being we automatically look for a beginning middle and an end, however a narrative in a song can sometimes not run to how we think it will.
In songs the narrative rarely is completed and therefore often fragmentary. This then leads to the middle section where there is a narrative that does not exsist or has complete meanings. At the end, narratives are often non-linear which adds to the effect of having to watch the promo repeatidly because you are unsure of what the ending is like.

Points to consider and useful terms

Points to consider
There are five points I need to take into consideration whilst thinking about my music promo. These are;

1. Narrative is almost always subordinate to performance
2. Songs rarely tell complete narratives, however the video itself may
3. Music videos resist classic realistic narratives
4. The audience consume the text in a looser more casual way
5. Music videos need to have a repeatability built into them. How am I going to incorporate this into my music promo?

These are all good to keep reminding myself throughout the project and to see whether or not the music promo my group and I make fits in with what society wants today.

Useful Terms

• Intertexuality - how does the text refer to other media texts? Why does this occur
• Post Modern(ism) - where texts are created by copying and (re) using ideas/images etc that have been used in previous texts; often playful, shocking, unconventional
• Organic/authentic = bands that create/write/play their own music - unconstructed
• Manufactured/synthenic = bands that are produced - don't do opposite - more constructed