Narrative in songs, as in poetry, os rarly complete and often fragmentary. The same is true of music promos, which tend to suggest storylines or offer complex fragments in a non-linear order, leaving the viewer with the desire to see them again. As Steve Archer puts it:
" Often , music videos will cut between a narrative and a performace of the song by the band. Additionally, a carefully choreographed dance might be a part of the artist's performace or an extra aspect of the video designed to aid visualisation and the 'repeatabillity' factor. Sometimes, the artist (especially the singer) will be a oart of the story, acting as narrator and participant at the same time. But it is the lip-synch close-up and the miming of playing instruments that remains at the heart of music videos, as if to assure us that the band really can kick it" (2004)
The video allows the audience more varied access to the performer that a stage performance can. The close-up, allowing eye contact and close observation of facial gestures, and role-play, within a narrative framework, present the artist in a number of ways not possible in a live concert. The mise en scene, in particular, can be used:
As a guarantee of 'authenticity' of a band's musical virtuosity by showing them in a stage performance or rehearsal room;
To establish a relationship to familiar film or television gnres in a narrative-based video;
As part of the voyeuristic context by suggesting a setting associated with sexual allure, such as a sleazy nightclub or boudoir;
Or, as John Stewart suggest, to emphasise an aspirational lifestyle, as in the current emphasis on the latest gadgetry.
Other commentators have identified some other styles in music videos, including gothic, animated, dreamscapes, portraiture, futuristic and home movie. In the analyses which follow, many of these appear.
"Take On Me" Aha 1984 (director Steve Barron)
"Everytime"Britney Spears 2004 (director David LaChappelle)
Some of the most memorable music videos have had a strong narratives and often the encourage the viewer to want to see the video more than once. They also offer the viewer the chance to see their favoured artist in a different role whilst still offering plenty of opportunity to see close ups and performance.
Im going to include narrative because it will make the video more strong for the song that I'm going to use therefore I would have to imclude some kind of narrative but also I would like to include some kind of misteru because then it would make the audience to think about this video and maybe to show it to other people and talk about it. The main singer will be the cast that I'm going to uise for my narrative and I think the atress that I hace chosen will suit the role she will have to play.
Genre: male 11 female 8 Age: 10-15 2 16-20 17 21-30 0 How often do you watch music videos: Everyday 9 Sometimes 8 Not often 2 Never 0 Where would you watch music videos: YouTube 15 TV 4 Other 0
If you were to watch a music video on TV what channel would you watch it on: MTV music 7 4 music 4 Kiss 3 SmashHits3 Magic 1 Kerrang 1 Other0 What Kind of genre you prefer: Pop 8 R’n’B 6 Rock 4 Classical1 Other 0
What do you prefer: Storyline 5 Performance 4 Both 10 None 0 (Only answer if the answer to your previous question was “a” or “c”)What do you prefer to see in a story line of a music video:Love story 6 Funny 9 Sad/depressing 4 Other 0 Which of these artists would you prefer the most: Florence and The Machine 3 Jessie J 6 The Wanted 6 AC/DC 4
What would you prefer the most to see in a music video:
Dance routine 5
Creativity 3
Both 11
Florance and The Machine is a good inspiration to me because I like the way "Dog Days Are Over" video is made in a way that it is in the forest and the costumes taht some actresses that are in this video are very suitable for what I want my actress to wear. This is a different version of this video which was filmed in 2008 and now the video is completely different which was refilmed in 2010. (I couldn't find the video on the search window, so there is a link below) https://www.youtube.com/user/FlorenceMachineVEVO#p/search/7/PGrx6etMl0w
Also I was inspired by Ellie Goulding music video which is called "Guns And Horses". The dance routine is not what I want but the place looks like somewhere I'm going to film my music video and I think I could use the shots that this video uses.
Signs and Signifiers ‘What does that sign say? ‘It says nothing -it needs to be read.’
A sign can be a physical form to which we give meaning. The signifier is the physical form which we can see or hear -i.e. words, diagram, picture, music, siren. The signified is the meaning which we attach to the signifier -i.e. Learner driver, no entry, Nazi etc. The real world referrentis the actual ‘real life’ object -i.e. a real rabbit. Signs cannot be combined purely at random if they are to mean anything. Our understanding of them depends on our social and cultural background. We can anchor a sign by using words or pictures -i.e. text on a poster, a caption under a newspaper splash, text on an advert, a voiceover on a film.
Hypodermic Syringe Theory (Audiences)
The hypodermic syringe theory is that the media is like a syringe which injects ideas, attitudes and beliefs into the audience.
In some cases this may work, but the problem is that people are affected in different ways by the media -films, advertising, newspapers, television etc. The ‘audience’ are also now much more critically aware of the media and having ideas ‘injected’ into them. However, this theory still has uses -i.e. watching violent crimes can make you violent, for example the Jamie Bulgerkillers, copycat crimes, the ‘Power Rangers’ fighting in play grounds. Two Step Flow(Audiences) The two-step flow theory suggests:
·We are much more likely to be affected by the media if we discuss it with others.
·Our opinions are affected by the way our friends etc have viewed the media, i.e. discussions on Eastenders-Cat and Zoe, views on documentaries etc. The people we discuss our ideas with are called ‘opinion leaders’.
·This is another theory where the James Bulgercase has been cited -apparently one boy talked to his friend about a film he had watched and apparently influenced the other’s behaviour.
Uses and Gratifications Theory
According to uses and gratification theory we all have different uses for the media and we make choices over what we want to watch. We are expecting something from our use of the media.
1. Information-we may want to find out about society and the world. We want to satisfy our curiosity.
2. Personal Identity-we may watch television for models for our behaviour. For instance -we may identify with soap characters or their situations.
3. Integration and Social Interaction-we use the media to find out more about the circumstances of other people perhaps through empathy or sympathy.
4. Entertainment -enjoyment, relaxation, fill the time. CRITICISMS
·You don’t always choose what media you use -you may be a secondary or tertiary user. Your mum has the remote control! You have no control over what posters you see on your way to school.
It's about someone who overcame oppression and was stronger because of it once they were away from it.The oppressor no longer has the power.
The song is clearly personal to the writer, but The words aren't too specific so as to give it a mass appeal to mean more to a variety of people for a variety of situations.
The song "Eyes on Fire" is 5:02 minutes and thought that would be too long so I have decidwed to make it shorted and I'm going to cut it till 3:30 so that it would be easier to do the video for me.
This is the location where I'm going to film the music video. It will be filmed in the school I currenrly study in, which is called St Edmund's college. I think it will be a really good place for this kind of music video to be filmed especially when it will wouldnt be sunny and this is the weather condition I want.
ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh
ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh
ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh
ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh
I’ll seek you out,
Flay you alive
One more word and you won’t survive
And I’m not scared of your stolen power
I see right through you any hour
I won’t soothe your pain
I won’t ease your strain
You’ll be waiting in vain
I got nothing for you to gain
I’m taking it slow
Feeding my flame
Shuffling the cards of your game
And just in time
In the right place
Suddenly I will play my ace
I won’t soothe your pain (ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh)
I won’t ease your strain
(ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh)
You’ll be waiting in vain
(ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh)
I got nothing for you to gain
Eyes on fire
Your spine is ablaze
Felling any foe with my gaze
And just in time
In the right place
Steadily emerging with grace
ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh,felling any foe with my gaze
ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh, steadily emerging with grace
ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh, felling any foe with my gaze
ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh, Steadily emerging with grace
The person that I have chosen to be in the music video is Xenia Telunts (currently studying in a year below me). I have chosen her because I think she has the looks and also really good in front of a camera. As well as that she does media studies and she will help me working with camera, shooting location, costumes and props. As we are both boarders and from Russian it is going to be easier for us to decide where we going to film which will probably somewhere around the school and the school has a lot of good and interesting places where I could film, also I think that the school location will suit the genre of the song. Me and her will decide what exactly I want to do and what kind of props and costumes we will get. I will try and make sure that everything will be planned before we go on christmas holidays and hopefully it wouldn't take us long to film so that we can get it done in one weekend just after we come back from our holiday. She will also have to learn the lyrics during the christmas holiday.
Blue Foundation started out in 2000 based on Tobias Wilner, aka Bichi's cooperation with various artists and musicians; his work with Kirstine Stubbe Teglbjærg and Bo Rande has been especially characteristic for the Blue Foundation sound. The music can be described as a mix of melodic dreamy pop influenced by indietronica and shoegaze. Tobias Wilner called it "folk music for modern people". Blue Foundation released their first 7" via MoshiMoshi (Hot Chip, Bloc Party etc) and their first, self-titled album was released shortly thereafter. During the past several years, Blue Foundation have expanded their audience, embracing both the underground and the alternative mainstream. Blue Foundation's music has been featured in major films such as Twilight, Miami Vice and the TV series The O.C.. Blue Foundation released their third album Life of a Ghost in Scandinavia in 2007. The album was released in USA on Astralwerks in 2009.
I have watched a lot of music videos for the east week and have decided that the music video that I'm going to analyze will be "Fireworks" by Katy Perry.
"Firework" is a song by American recording artist Katy Perry. The song is 3-47 min and was written by Katy Perry, Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen,Sandy Wilhelm, Ester Dean, and produced by Stargate and Sandy Vee for Perry's third studio album, Teenage Dream. The song is aself-empowerment anthem with inspirational lyrics, and was considered by Perry as the most important song for her on Teenage Dream. The song is believed to be one of the most covered songs on the Internet, particularly on the video website YouTube. It is also Perry's single through her third album which is not written or produced by her main collaborators Max Martin & Dr. Luke.
The video las for 3:55 min and it’s narrative is interlaced with sub-stories of youth struggling with complicated issues of domestic violence, body shame, and sexual orientation. Throughout the course of the narrative, several elements of mise-en-scène suggest that, although Katy appears to be a part of the world in which she sings, she is simultaneously apart from it.
The first interlacing story represented in the video shows a boy cradling his younger sister who is upset by her fighting parents. The young boy turns to look over his shoulder at the adults slapping and screaming at each other, while his younger sister clasps her hands over her ears and shakes her head “Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin, like a house of cards, one blow from caving in?” Katy sings, as a cut back to her reveals the look of worry in her eyes while she stares deep into the camera, and ostensibly, into us, identifying our personal connection.
Another young girl sits in a chair near the edge of a pool cloaked in a heavy coat, while her friends strip and jump into the water, splashing one another and encouraging her to come in. She shakes her head timidly. Embarrassed of her overweight body and afraid to show whom she is under her clothes. Returning to a tighter shot of Katy’s face reveals a more encouraging countenance just before she sings, “Do you know that there’s still a chance for you?” This sends us into the hospital room of a bald young girl with leukemia who looks longingly at the beautiful hair of the dancing woman on her television screen. On her wall is the massive image of a butterfly, which itself represents the hope of transition, from the sheltered confines of a cocoon to a limitless world where it can fly as the wind blows.
Firework sparks begin to burst forth from her chest as she stretches out her arms, illuminating her once blue-washed face in a beautiful prism of colors. In the first, most directly referential moment of American ideology, she sings, “Just own the night like the 4th of July.” Here, Katy is mobilizing the image of the American firework that is, literally, bursting forth from her heart to demonstrate her own empowerment. For Katy and the teens, the firework becomes the necessary symbol of their imagined unity. The firework is colorful, unique, and can light up the darkened sky devoid of color. Encouraging the teens, and by extension the audience, to “own the night” suggests that, no matter how much it is surrounded, the bursting firework will defeat the darkness of the night, illuminating the sky as it explodes with brilliant, individual colors. Also the firework is powerful and dangerous to anything in its path.
Shortly after Katy’s firework erupts, the boy, looking over his shoulder once again, takes on a new kind of motivation, as his firework itself begins to spark empowering him with the strength to protect his sister. He rushes over to his parents and pushes them apart, as the chorus continues, “Baby you’re a firework. Come on let your colors bust. Make ‘em go, ‘Oh! Oh! Oh!’” In a darkened dance club, bathed in red light, a wallflower sits alone watching sadly as the people around him dance and celebrate. While Katy’s fireworks shoot across the night sky, the girl at the pool, still with a nervous, uncomfortable look in her eyes, stands and begins to remove her jacket.
In the club, the wallflower turns to look at a straight couple sitting next to him, kissing and comfortable with the public display of their sexuality. He looks forward, stands up and starts walking toward the bar. The girl at the pool now removes her pants and shirt so that she stands dressed only in her bra and underwear, for the first time displaying her overweight body. Another teen walking down an alleyway is thrown against a brick wall while a group of “thugs” attempt to mug him. When one of them reaches into his pocket, he starts pulling out mutli-colored handkerchiefs tied unendingly together, and when another opens his coat, two white doves fly out, startling them and revealing him as a street magician.
The cancer patient walks through the corridors of the hospital, looking into a room where a woman is giving birth, screaming as her chest shimmers with the vigor of her firework. The camera cuts to a shot of the patient through the colorful sparks, showing the change on her face as she realizes the beauty and power of what happens before her. Just then, the wallflower reaches the bar where another boy turns to look at him. The two gazes into each other’s eyes and, after a moment of brief intensity, lean into to kiss whiles a dance of colorful embers explode around them.
The patient steps outside the doors of the hospital still dressed in her hospital gown and looks up into the night sky. The teen magician continues to impress the “thugs” on the street with tricks as his firework brightens the darkened alley. Breathing out a sigh, the girl at the pool runs and cannonballs, jumping up from the water and reaching toward the sky as her firework ignites. And finally, with her eyes closed, and a smile on her face, the cancer patient throws back her bald head and shoots her fireworks high into the evening sky as the wind whips her hospital gown and Katy sings, “You’re gonna leave ‘em all in awe awe awe.”
In my class we have done a genre analysis and watched 3 music videos which are completely different to each other. This is my research on what kind of genre I would want to use for my music video. This is the videos and the analysis:
Song 1: Something Kind Of OOOH by Girls Aloud
Performance, narrative, concept: This music video is performance based type and it has a typical kind of girls dance Genre expectations: Pretty girls, catchy song, a lot of body shots, dance routines, glamourusly dressed, a lot of make up Examples: A lot of make vulgar make up, a lot of open clothes, showing the body, dance routine which is very seductive, winking, a lot of close ups of the mouth while singing, fast expensive car.
Song 2: Supermassive Black Hole by Muse
Performance, narrative, concept:
Performance and concept
Genre expectations:
Playing the instruments and showing the skills of playing, the quality of the sound.
Might see some close ups of the lead singer singing, close ups of the instruments.
Examples:
Very weird idea of the video, a lot of interesting props are used, different costumes which look very interesting and intreating, a lot of mirrors round the rooms.
The video itself is interesting but kreepy and a little bit disturbing.
Song 3: Fit But You Know It by The Streets
Performance, narrative, concept:
Performance and concept
Genre expectations:
Rap-pop. Kind of talking when singing, maybe a bit random. The video itself maybe weird
Examples:
Walking around the streets of London the coldness and the grayness a bit of a chivy place.
the photos are bright and colorful from a holiday and the singer talks through the photos, a lot of close ups of the photos.
The singer on the street is not the only one singing someone else on the pictures is also singing.
What is representation? At a basic level we can say that all media are forms of representation. The people involved in making in making the representation are all governed by their own beliefs, values and attitudes. This means that no representation is objective. Most media products reproduce dominant ideologies in the way that they represent the world, which has led to many minorities complaining that they are misrepresented in the media.
Genre In a lot of different videos where the singer is a female the way they are represented is usually in a sexy but also beautiful way. In most of the women music videos they dance but men play instruments and it doesn't happen all the time but most of it goes this way.
Laura Mulvey is a British feminist film theorist.
She came up with the theory of ‘The Male Gaze’: The audience looks at a media text in two ways: as a voyeur (observe somebody without their knowledge) and fetishistically (objectifying This creates a narcissistic identification with an ideal image seen on the screen By watching the represented figure in this way, this turns them into a fetish so that it becomes increasingly beautiful but more objectified. Female stars are glamorous and attractive but considered as objects and subservient.
Strawberry field by the Beatles was the best song so far
The Queen spend about 3500£ on their music video which was the most expensive music video so far
The Queen's video was made in 3 hr
1940-1950 musicals were performed instead of music videos
1980 John Lennon was murdered
Duran Duran Planet earth
Musicians were acting in music videos and people started to think that music videos will become too important
Videos became more like movies and those are: Millennium by Robbie Williams, Radio Ga Ga by the Queen, California Love by 2pack and Dr. Dre
Millennium by Robie Williams
California Love by 2pack and Dr. Dre
The Monkeys were the TV show where singing was the main part of it
Michel Resmith from the Monkeys left the band and sang solo, one of his songs was “Rio”
Pop Clips was the first programme that was to show music videos on TV it was launched by Michel Resmith from the Monkeys
The first MTV broadcast was sent in 1981
The first music video that was shown on MTV was 'Video Killed The Radio Star"
Bob Pitterman was the cofounder of MTV
Toni Basil was the first one who was signed to a video contract
Hit 'Mickey' sold more than a million copies
1985 - first CD available in shops and it was Billy Joel's 52nd Street
Duran Duran "Wild Boys" was directed by Paul Mclay who wanted the guys from the band to look good. This video was very expensive to make
Hit "Relax" lasted for a year in British charts
The music video to song "Relax" wasn't allowed to be shown in all the countries
A lot of music videos then had different categories and those were the reasons why some of the music videos went allowed to be shown
The categories such as: "too sexual", "too disturbing", "too antisocial"
Before MTV no one knew what Rock was
Michel Jackson is the King of music video
1983 - the best Michel Jackson's album came out
John Landis was contacted by Michel Jackson to create a music video "Thriller" because Jackson wanted it to be scary and Landis was the perfect person to help him do this
