Favourite Music Video

Chandelier Music Video from Synflame

Post-Modernism is a Shortcut to the Mass Audiences

Post-Modernism - characterised by the self conscious use of earlier styles and conventions mixing different artistic styles and media

Genre Cycles

1) Experimental - establish trends
2) Post-modern - makes fun and sticks something new in
3) Cannon - fixed to cultural understanding

…and the cycle repeats. An example of this is… 

The music video is pastiche throughout as it makes comments about music videos at the time and parodies the artists such as; Westlife; Backstreet Boys; Britney Spears; Ricky Martin, etc. The video is very ironic as it is a rock band making a music video in the style of a pop music video. 

POST MODERNISM BECOMES SOMETHING NEW BY REFERRING TO THE OLD BY COPYING OR BEING HUMOROUS/TERRIFYING

Homege - immitation highest form of flattery

An example of this is Marilyn Monroe (Gentlemen prefer Blondes) and Madonna (Material Girl).

Pastiche - using imagery of one text to make comment about other

Parody - Making fun of

An example of both: 

Really cool video

Record Labels

Music Industry

Back in the day, to own music you would have to have a CD collection, with the change of technology more and more of us are purchasing music online for iPods, mp3 players and phones. in 2009, 95% of music online was downloaded illegally. 4 men behind Pirate Bay were arrested and forced to pay £2.5 million in damages. The music industry has had to adapt to make money, by gaining revenue from merchandising and tours. U2 gave a free album to the first 500 million iTunes users to get more audience. In 2009 HMV used 25% of their floor space to sell technology such as tablets, headphones and mp3 players. Digipaks are more special than CDs, as they are more collectable. In order for our group to create a Digipak it needs to be sellable for our target audience. There are 3 types of front covers:

1) Clear image of the artist's face - typically used by the Pop genre

2) Artwork - typically used by Dance/Techno and some Rock

3) Obscure - typically used by the inis/rock genre.

This is my research into record labels: 

Record Labels from Synflame

Commodity is a material that can be sold. De-commification is when the product becomes free and then loses its value. To think about for my artist, I need to consider all media platforms for the digipak to be released on and to ensure that the digipak will be a tangible commodity. 

Jay Z 99 Problems - Applying Goodwin

Goodwin's theory can be applied to all music videos; they can either choose to subvert or adhere to the theory.

Focus on the three main questions:

1. How is the Artist being represented?
2. What evidence is there of input from the record label?
3. Who is the target audience and how are they being addressed?

Genre: 

The genre of this song is rap hip/hop. The genre denotates baggy clothing, 'bling', objectifying women, weapons, criminals and graffiti. The video adheres to these conventions as it is set in an urban setting with images of graffiti on building walls. There is an image of women with enhanced bodily features which objectifies them. Jay Z wears baggy clothing and 'bling', he also makes a reference to a gun with a hand gesture. Jay Z gets shot at the end of the video connoting criminality. Race representations (the police officer and the lawyer are white and Jay Z is black) negatively show black people as criminals which also adheres to the conventions. 

Lyrics and Visuals:

The lyrics and visuals have a synchronous relationship - they help to tell a story. An example of this is when the police officer pulls over the car Jay Z is in and this is said:

Police: Son, do you know why I pulled you over?

JayZ: Because I'm young and black and have my hat pulled low. 

As JayZ says he has his hat pulled low, he pulls the hat further down his face. 

Music and Visuals: 

The pace of the cuts are synchronous with the beat of the song, which makes it aggressive and fast paced, which is typical of songs within the rap and hip hop genre.

Record Label Influence:
The use of close ups on Jay Z’s face shows that they are trying to sell Jay Z as a brand. He acts aggressively, which adheres to the conventions of the genre.

History of Music Videos

Music Videos have been around since the 1920's. Jazz musicians such as Bessie Smith have created shot films to accompany their songs.

Bob Dylan's Subterranean Homesick Blues (1965) has been thought to be one of the first modern music videos.

Cinematography - How the camera is used and how the images are sequenced will have a significant impact to the meaning, all camera movement, angles and shot distance need to be analysed. Camera movement may accompany movement of the performers (dancing, walking etc) but it may also be used to create more dynamic atmosphere to the stage performance, like circling the band as they perform onstage. Close ups are dominant in music videos, partly because the size of the screen and partly because of the sense of intimacy it creates with the audience and shows the performer as a brand. 

Editing - Fast cut montage is usually associated with music videos, however the use of pace and transitions establish mood. Digital effects are also used in music videos to offer different kinds of pleasure and show genre for the audience. 

Development of Technical Codes - By using green screen chroma-key, portable video cameras in colour, this allowed for pop acts to create music videos cheaply and quickly - unlike using film. 

1990s it became common to use: fast cut montage, multiple viewing, split screens, non-representation, lack of edits and long takes with steadicams. 

Goodwin's Music Video Analysis 

1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics

2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals

3. There is relationship between music and visuals 

4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artists and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style)

5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body

6. There is often intertextual reference to other media  

There are different ways of bringing intertextuality in music videos:

-Imitating style 

-Theme/narrative

-Content (characters, political comment, new item)

Coursework Brief

TO CREATE A MUSIC VIDEO FOR AN ELECTRONIC/ROCK SONG AND ACCOMPANY WITH PROMOTIONAL DIGIPAK AND POSTER

Research + planning = 20

Construction = 50+10= 60

Evaluation = 20 

Summer Task

The summer task was to create a presentation on a music artist.

Britney spears from Synflame

Script:

Spears was first signed by Jive in 1997, owned by Zomba, owned by RCA (owned by Sony Music) [Next slide]

Britney began her career on the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse performing songs and dances with Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera. Due to her age, she was portrayed as young and innocent [Next slide]

The album cover shows a close up of Britney’s face, which conveys emotion to the audience. The feminine curly writing suggest she is girly and her age suggests that she is a typical teenager. [Next slide]

Originally the video was to be animated to target a younger audience, however Britney pitched her own idea of the music video to stay true to her audience and reflect her audience’s lives. The original outfit was supposed to be jeans and tshirt however Britney chose for a schoolgirl outift. All the clothes were from Kmart which made it more realistic for the audience. The knotted shirt design was Spear’s idea, she felt the normal way to be worn was dorky and wanted the shirts to be cute. There was a controversy of a 16 year old showing her midriff; Spears commented ‘"Me showing my belly? I'm from the South, you’re stupid if you don’t wear a sports bra when you go to dance class, you’re going to be sweating your butt off.”’ [Next slide]

This album cover shows Britney’s body, which in comparison to the previous, shows her as more sexualised as you see more of her body. She wears a low cut top that reveals her midriff. The purple shows that she is girly and young, yet the gold suggests she is better and more mature than before. [Next slide]

Oops I did it again has been commented: "a violently ambivalent sexual confusion her audience can relate to”.

Spears is more sexualised within this video as she is older and more mature. This is shown through the use of close ups and positioning of her body within the frame, the use of what she is wearing (white symbolising purity and red danger) that show off her body and the slow motion on the close ups of her body while dancing. [Next slide]

The bright colours attract a young audience, perhaps male due to the blue background. [Next slide]

"By the time of this single off her third album, it was obvious Britney Spears was becoming an adult. This song is a radical shift from the "not quite innocent" 16 year old schoolgirl of Britney's first album. Slinky and sexy have crept into the Britney Spears style". [Next slide]

The desaturated colour of the album cover suggests that Spears is more mature in comparison to the previous brightly coloured videos and album covers. The close up of her face suggests that there is more emotion within this album. The orange/gold font makes it stand out and suggests she is mature. Spears’ hair and make up still suggests that she is feminine.  [Next slide]

The pink suggests that Spears’ is in touch with her feminine side and is still girly, like the young Spears the audience already know. The slight low angle suggests her power and the way she is shown in the frame suggests that she is dominant. [Next slide]

Britney co-wrote 2 books with her mother and was signed for a $8 million deal with Pepsi [Next slide]

Spears is positioned within the centre of the frame which suggests that she is dominant. Spear’s body language and facial expression suggest that she is more intimidating – perhaps showing the media and her fans that Britney is back better than ever. The background connotes fire which suggests that Spears is masculine and powerful. The pink top she wears hints at her girlyness. [Next slide]

The video itself is based around clubs, drinking and having fun; which is what Spears felt at the time – she just wanted to have fun after having her 2^nd child. [Next slide]

The way Spears is posing in this album cover presents her as a Southern bell. Her dress is big and pink suggesting that she is girly and feminine, her pose suggests that she is softer and the sepia tone suggests that she is being more traditional with the album and how she is presented. It looks as if her dress is becoming loose which may have sexual connotations.  [Next slide]

The sequel to Toxic, portrays a woman who disguises herself in costumes and follows her boyfriend to expose him as a womanizer. Naked scenes of Spears were shown as a response to attacks received about her weight. The album cover is less sexualised, it goes back to the first album cover with a mid shot. The colours and font suggest the portrayal of feminist figure and role model; Wonder Woman. "It's basically saying, 'We know what you're up to.' It's about guys cheating on girls, it's a girl anthem. That's why I like it" [Next slide]

Similar to Toxic, the pink suggests femininity. The way she is positioned in this cover suggests that she has something to hide. The target on her face suggests that she is a target for the media for criticism – at the time of recording Radar, Britney had filed for divorce on that same day.

The media tends to attack her, so I thought, 'Let's show the classy side of Britney and focus on a classy experience, very European-inspired'. And she's at the point in her career where I think this would be a nice step." [Next slide]

The colour of the album suggests she is innocent, pure, mature and almost godlike. The pose suggests that Spears’ is dominant and the font type suggests her femininity [Next slide]

Britney Spears set up a foundation in her name to help children in need [Next slide]

Spears has a large range of perfumes – these are only a few. [Next slide]

After the death of a close aunt to ovarian cancer, spear felt the pressure of her aunt’s death and paparazzi and ultimately shaved her head due to a break down

The Famous Leave Britney Alone video was shortly after the head shaving incident which went viral.  [Next slide]

May 2012, Spears was hired to replace Nicole Sherizinger on USA X factor – she had a salary of $15 million and was the highest paid judge in tv history [Next slide]

Britney also owns a sunglasses line called Shades of Britney  [Next slide]

Britney signed a deal with skechers in 2001 [Next slide]

June 2002 Spears released her first multiplatform games which received positive reviews. [Next slide]

March 2009 Spears was announced as the new face of clothing brand Candies - Dari Marder, chief marketing officer explained, "everybody loves a comeback and nobody's doing it better than Britney. She's just poised for even greater success.” In 2010 she designed a limited edition line for the brand.