Knock You Down- Inspiration

Knock you down was quite an inspirational video as it is also about two contrasting guys. I found that the range of shots used in particular and the gestures of both Neyo and Kanye West were what made this video more interesting to watch.

Other ideas I got from watching this video were:
As we have location limitations, we could base the performance within the narrative. Therefore, as well as the studio shots we could have the main guy singing in his bedroom thinking about the past. This is where we could add in the flashbacks of him and his best friend when they were younger to anchor the line ‘school boy fists’.

Other shots could include:
- a photo of the guy and girl in his room- he could perhaps rip it
- shots of him sitting on the bed thinking
- hand on his head to show he is upset
- Looking at himself in the mirror – ‘who’s gonna take you home..if it isn’t me’



This split screen using colour and black and white would be good to highlight the contrast between the two guys especially when the song goes ‘who’s gonna take you home?’… ‘I’m gonna take her home’

Katy Perry

1. Summarise the changing image of the band/artist as it has developed over time. It might also be useful to summarise the music genre also.

Looking at her in 2007 and in 2009, Katy Perry has had a bit of an image change. She started of with blonde hair and used to wear extremely casual looking clothes. However, over the years her image has become more sophisticated and elegant and she also dyed her hair black looking more chic. Her style of brightly coloured clothes with fruit-shaped accessories however, has always stayed unique to her image.

Katy Perry is now well known for her Pop Music, although being raised listening to gospel music only, her first release was a gospel album in 2001, under the name Katy Hudson. Her first Pop music album, ‘One of the Boys’, was released in 2007 by which she took the stage name Katy Perry.

2. Who are the fans? Do you have any sense of how the music companies have segmented the audiences? To what extent has the branding of a band been linked to target audience?

Katy Perry’s fans are primarily girls and maybe young women. This is obvious through the way she has been branded on both:
Her website- http://www.katyperry.com/
Her fan page- http://katyfan.com/

Both of these are predominantly pink therefore very girly. Her website especially is decorated with hearts and stars, and the font is curly and very teenage girl-y. Her online store sells clothes and merchandise for women, and her unique sense of fashion in general is one that may be inspirational for female fans. Katy Perry herself has said that some of her songs are meant to "make you cry, but there are others to make you dance and sing". Her fans therefore, are most likely to be girls, who both can get emotional over songs, but also like to sing and dance.

A secondary audience for Katy Perry’s music could be the gay and lesbian communities as two of her songs are called ‘Ur so gay’ and ‘I kissed a girl’, as if to promote homosexuality. Her online store also sells tops for females saying ‘I kissed a girl’ again promoting homosexuality. The ‘Ur so gay’ album cover, being predominantly black, looks as though it could appeal to both males and females so maybe her fans are not just limited to the girls.

Another audience for Katy Perry’s music would of course be the pop music fans.


3. What marketing strategies can you identify? What kinds of strategies can you list?(above/below-the line? unexpected promo stunts? etc). List any examples of the use of synergy with other industries to promote other media/products in connection with a band/artist.



Katy Perry’s Marketing strategies include:

- Her official MySpace page
- Video blogs – she says ‘Web blogging is just a great way to show people who you are’
- promoting her album by undertaking a two month tour of radio stations
- The female vocalist for The Matrix –from which she caught the attention of the music press
- Cameo appearance in Gym Class Heroes
- Digital EP to create online buzz
- Appearances in television programmes such as ABC Family
- She posed with a knife causing much controversy but attracting a lot of attention at the same time


4. Add any relevant links to your blog, especially Myspace page/music vids/official websites etc. A couple of illustrations (e.g key web design graphics/album cover photography) would also be useful to add to your blogs.


http://www.katyperry.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katy_Perry

BLK feedback

well done Aarti, all up to date and some excellent notes. Can you relink the previous video so we can see the clip rather than the code?

A Track Idea

Selena’s Freed From Desire

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y51ftIaQmgQ&feature=PlayList&p=3D3BF9DB17BB60CD&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=76

I thought this would be a good track to use as it is really upbeat which is good for camera movement purposes as well as maybe dance routines. It also has a lead female singer and as we established from our lip-synching video, Tanya was really good so we could use her for the role. This would make it easier for us as a group too as we would have less commitment issues. Furthermore, there are very few lyrics so it would be easy to learn and the lyrics are meaningful and appropriate. The only problem is it might get a bit repetitive but we can compensate for this through using a variety in our visuals.

This club-mix does not have a music video and therefore conforms to the criteria. I have a few ideas for the pitch which I am to share with Mel and Tanya tomorrow to see what they think!

Carol Vernallis

CV says the camera in MV seems to mimic the way we view sonic space…do you agree? Do you think we are conditioned by MV to read sonic space in particular ways?

She suggests that the jumping camera focus is like the camera in place of our eyes, doing what we do when we listen. However this is predefined for us by the Director – we have even less choice to look away/outside of the Director’s choice than we do in film – do you agree?
Yes, I agree to a certain extent as the editing in Music Videos is done in a way that we can only see what the director wishes for us to see. This however seems more so in Music videos than films as the director has a much shorter time in which to either promote the star or get a story or concept across, and this can only be achieved through predefining where the audience should focus. However there are often gaps in music videos where the audience has the choice to decide what they think might happen through the use of their imagination.

She says MV experience is more like listening than viewing – do you agree?
I agree to a certain extent as usually in Music Videos, the visuals and movements reflect the sound and are there to enhance the listening experience. For example, Music Videos are usually edited to the beat of the music highlighting the sound rather than the image, and dance moves too highlight the rhythm. However on the other hand, the images sometimes bring the song and lyrics to life making it more of a visual experience. This is even more so when the song has a narrative to go with it making the song more comprehendible and can almost be like watching a short movie.
　
“We compensate imaginatively for what we do not see in the frame” pg41 Agreed?
Yes, as a lot of the time the Camera focuses on only part of the stars body or the setting leaving us to build up the rest of the picture using the sound and our own imagination. For example, if we see a CU of a face singing in a mike and flashing lights on the face, and hear the sounds of a crowd, we may imagine there to be a band performing at a concert in front of a large audience.
　
The constant motion in a MV and the variances it shows mean that a strong CU is a stable point. The MV ‘brings us towards these peaks, holds us against them, and then releases us’ p43 Do you agree?
Yes the CU is a strong focal point, as usually, the editing in Music Videos is extremely quick and therefore viewers are not able to take in everything they see. However it is the CU shots or ’money shots’ that really grab and hold our attention. They are the most memorable shots and the ones that take the audience closer to the star almost as if to involve the audience, making it a strong point of focus.

Is the viewer being ‘sutured’ (stitched) into the diegesis of the film world through the editing?
On the one hand, although narrative is created through careful editing, I do not think that the viewer is being ’sutured’ through the editing alone in films. Film editing is usually done in a way that the audience view the characters and events in a certain way from a certain perspective, however film uses seamless editing so it is not there to grab the viewers attention but is meant to go unnoticed. I believe that in the film world it is usually the actual narrative that keeps the audiences watching. This is opposite to Music Videos where a lot of the excitement comes from the interesting edits themselves making people want to re-watch and re-live the experience.

MV is freer in terms of viewer identification and perspective – agreed?
I think that although with music videos we are free to use our imagination, the way we perceive things is largely dependent on the editing, and edits are used so frequently and purposefully that in the short time, we only manage to view the video in the way the director wishes.
　
CV believes the image alone cannot tell the story – do you agree?
Yes I agree! This is especially true with Music videos as it is usually the music and lyrics anchoring the images that help tell the story and create a certain mood. You may get the gist of the story through images but without the lyrics and music there may be gaps in the viewers understanding of the story.

BLK feedback

Excellent research posts so far Aarti - a great start to your background work for the project. We need to get you to start using and applying some more developed theory in your analytical work - think Vernallis for now, although we will study Goodwin as well in the new term.

Targets for now:
1. Can you finish the workshop evaluation - I'm very interested in how you see it impacting on your own music video project.
2. We need some evidence of your understanding of the Vernallis work you have done with Miss T, can you check the instructions on the main blog and post anything that is needed for those tasks asap.
3. Can you post your own track research/ideas - I need to see what tracks you have in mind for your video.
4. We need a photo and some info about you please!

Here’s our lipsynching video to ‘If You wanna be my lover’. I found that this task was both extremely enjoyable as well as useful as it helped us recognize what singers or we as actors/directors must do in order to create an effective music video.

What I learnt from this task was that you must:

- Shoot the whole thing through filming each singer or/and both singers separately
- Shoot from a range of angles and sides
- Include many CUs and ECUs of the singers
- Know the lyrics really well
- Really sing the song rather than mouthing it so that it looks real
- Be choppy with the editing cutting shots before a line finishes and cutting to the beat of the music

Overall this task has brought to my attention many factors that help make a successful music video. It has also given us all a chance to experiment with lypsynching and editing music videos before approaching our actual coursework making me much more confident.

Spice Girls Lip Synching

Teenage Dirtbag Worshop

Evaluation Questions

1.What do you think you learnt from Friday's workshop? It could be specific things about making a music video OR general things about the production process.

Fridays workshop was a great learning experience as not only was it our first experience of making music videos but we also got to see how it’s done in the real music industry.

In order to complete the task within a limited time of only one day, the pre-production planning had to be thorough. From this task specifically I learn how important it is to divide the extract into how many camera set-ups are needed before creating a shot log and schedule. This meant that we were much more organised on the day. Everyone knew exactly where to set-up the equipment and where to be at what time. This was extremely important especially with such a big group. I also learnt about the importance of casting the right actors. In this case as we were imitating a Wheatus’s Teenage Dirtbag, it was important to consider both the look and performance of the cast. They also have to be directable and willing to do whatever is asked of them. Luckily we had the perfect actors!

From this workshop, I especially learnt a lot about the role of a director as we were directed by Jake Wynne who was extremely professional. From him I learnt that a director must know exactly what he wants from the actors and crew at all times in order to be efficient. They must have good communicational skills in order to give orders and take charge. They must also remain patient throughout the day. From watching Jake Wynne, I saw that directors in general have to be extremely hardworking and committed as even though were so tired after sitting around, Jake was still on top of everything and full of energy by the end of the day!

Finally I learnt a lot about the technical side of things. For this task were lucky enough to use professional equipment. I was able to see how a real track is used. This takes real team effort as the director says what he wants whilst the runner pushes the track and the camera man videos accordingly. A smooth track is produced through good co-operation and timing. Jake took many takes of each shot which was extremely helpful when editing as it gave us a lot of choice when trying to choosing the right shot. I also saw how professional lighting produced a much better quality shots. In this case, Jake had used tracing paper in order to soften the light so it looks more realistic. Finally, I learnt how it was important to make sure the audio was kept extremely loud when shooting to save actors from the embarrassment and for better lip synching.

2. For you, what was the best bit?

The best bit for me was when we all danced together to the chorus =)


3. How do you think the work we have done will impact on your group project?

I think this task will have a great impact on my coursework because as I am now aware of the overall process, I will approach the real coursework in a much more professional way. It has also given me a better idea of what makes a good music video. For the real coursework:

- As a director I will make sure I have a good idea of exactly what I want the actors to be doing and when, before the shoot
- We must spend a lot of time on pre-production and planning to be as efficient as Jake Wynne
- It will be essential to include a range of shot types and camera movement as these make it seem more like a music video
- We must use good quality lighting to make it look professional
- Both the look and performance of the actors is very important and therefore we would need to choose the best actors we can find to suit our video
- Personally after this task, I feel more confident to take part in the video itself if we need any extras as I have already done it before

Thriller by the great Michael Jackson

I thought it would be a good idea to analyse the music video to Thriller by Michael Jackson, not only in remembrance of the great King of Pop but also because it is one of the most successful music videos ever made! This music video was the most expensive of its time costing US$500,000 and selling over 9 million units. So what made it such a successful music video?

I feel that this is because of its use of conventions as well as the unique twists that in fact make it quite an unconventional music video. Below I have tried to identify what makes this both a conventional and an unconventional music video:


Conventional
- Song/Music with a conventional chorus

'Cause this is thriller, thriller night
And no one's gonna save you from the beast about strike
You know it's thriller, thriller night
You're fighting for your life inside a killer, thriller tonight

- The artist, Michael Jackson, is seen performing in the video
- Use of narrative- Michael and his date leave the theatre whilst watching a horror film and walk through the forest
- The lyrics of the song influence what is happening in the video

‘It’s close to midnight and something evil’s lurking in the dark’ – In the video it’s almost pitch black and really smoky which as if there is some mysterious ghost present during the late night


- The use of a Dance routine by Michael Jackson and the other Zombies
- A powerful performance – the abstract idea is made to seem believable through the great acting
- The dress codes reflect the mood of the song-

Michael is wearing red to connote blood and danger
The female character is wearing dark blue clothes to reflect the mystical night time
Everyone else is dressed in Zombie costumes to connote the Thrill and fright

- The mood of the song remains consistent through to the end
- The video is shot from many different angles and sides


Unconventional
- The music video is 14 minutes long whilst conventionally music videos are about 3-7 minutes
- Both the long narrative and mise-en-scene (Zombies, forest, graveyard) make it less of a music video and more a of short horror film
- The pace of editing is quite slow/medium, for example one of the first shots of the song lasts 12 seconds from 0.38 secs- 0.50 secs, which is quite long as music videos usually consist of fast-paced editing and quick cuts
- The narration during the song makes it less conventional as music video narratives are not usually narrated. This again makes it seem like more of a short film.

‘Darkness falls across the land

The midnight hour is close at hand

Creatures crawl in search of blood

To terrorize y'alls neighbourhood…’

- At 3.54 secs the music stops, the short silence is followed by horror film sound effects- usually the song continues throughout the narrative of a music video
- No proper beauty shot of the singer- Michael Jackson never directly addresses the audience until the very end with his yellow eyes whilst in most music videos this is one of the most important shots


From this video I have learnt that in order to make a successful music video, it is important to re-use the conventional repertoire of elements whilst adding your own, perhaps less conventional, unique twist to the video. This will help give your artist and video a distinctive identity.

Let’s Dance to the Joy Division by The Wombats

Before producing my own treatment for a music video, it was necessary to research ‘Joy Division’ in order to understand the song fully as it is a central theme to the song mentioned in both the title and the chorus. I found out that ‘Joy Division’ was in fact an English Rock band formed in 1976 and consisted of Ian Curtis, Bernard Sumner Peter Hook and Stephen Morris.Unfortunately leading vocalist, Ian Curtis suffered from depression and other personal difficulties such as a breaking marriage. It is possible that this is the reason for celebrating ‘the irony’ in the song ‘Let’s dance to the joy division’, as ironically, although the band was called Joy Division, the leading vocalist was in fact depressed. The ‘cure for a broken heart’ could also have been inspired by his life and it seems that the line ‘let the love tear us apart’ has been taken directly from Joy Divisions single ‘Love will tear us apart’. This background information helps us make more meaning out of the lyrics and inspired me to base my idea on a character similar to band member Ian Curtis and his life.

The Wombats

The Wombats are an Indie band from Liverpool, therefore I thought maybe the singer is talking about himself when he says ‘I’m back in Liverpool’. The band consists of Mathew Murphy, Dan Haggis and Tord Øverland-Knudsen. The band released their first debut in 2006, and therefore are a very modern band although in this song they compare to and make cultural references to Joy Division, quite an old band.

My Treatment

In my idea, the music video cuts between performance and a simple narrative. The narrative seems to be based on the lead singer of the Wombats Matthew Murphy himself, although in reality it reflects the life of Ian Curtis from Joy Division. The video will begin with the band in a bright red studio full of flashing lights to connote a ‘happy’ atmosphere. The band members will be dressed in skinny jeans and colorful checked T-shirts as this identifies The Wombats as an Indie band.

The lead singer, whilst singing in the studio, talks about his own life experiences. It will then cut to him walking down a street in Liverpool like a flashback. This however will be in black and white to highlight ‘the irony’ of him being quite depressed and sad on the one hand whilst being all happy and bright on the other hand.

The video will continue to cross-cut from the studio shots to the outdoor shots in synchronization with the lyrics. For example, during the chorus ‘Let’s dance to the joy division’; there will be shots of the band. This will consist of quick paced editing and shots from interesting angles with lots of zooming in and out to make it more exciting. There would also be a range of shots including CUs of the guitar strumming, drumming, beauty shots of the lead singer and LSs of the band playing together. On the other hand when the song says ‘So let the love tear us apart’, it will cut to the singer and his girlfriend arguing. She slams the front door on him and he walks away looking sad. This will be shot through CUs of their faces to show the emotions and will provide quite a contrast to the studio shots. By the final chorus however, everything seems to come together as the guy in Liverpool after having ‘worked something out’ seems to have cheered up. He starts dancing ‘to the Joy Division’ on the street and everyone else around him also seem to join in. The quick crosscutting between the colorful and the black and white shots however continues as they are still celebrating the irony that although ‘everything is going wrong’ they are still dancing and happy. There is then a shot of the band finishing off their song, however, the video ends with a shot of the guy dancing on the street to no music in Liverpool all by himself, whilst passersby give him weird looks.

This is to end on a comedic note to entertain the audience and leave them with the light hearted message that even when everything is going wrong, we should dance and be happy =)

Music videos with Dance Routines

I decided to look specifically at music videos with dance routines as these are generally my favourite and chose to analyse Single Ladies by Beyoncé as it is quite recent.

Single Ladies by Beyoncé

I found that this video was both very simple and effective. The video only consists of three women including Beyoncé herself. The dance routine performed by the three ladies is central to the video and keeps the audience engaged throughout. The camera therefore moves in according to the dance steps.

The music video is set in a studio and therefore requires only one location. This is one advantage of using a dance routine as opposed to a narrative based music video which may require more than one location. The video begins with simple LS enabling us to see all three women dancing in straight line as the lights fade up. Although the whole music video is in black and white, the lights are used very effectively in order to make it more interesting.

For example, as the lights suddenly fade to black, the camera switches angle so that when the lights fade up again, we are looking at the dance routing from a different angle. The camera then starts to circle the dancers in the opposite direction to which they move, although the audience is kept engaged with the moves as Beyoncé continuously addresses the camera directly holding eye-contact with the audience as if she is singing to them. The camera also uses a HA shot to show an interesting formation, for example a triangle, as the dancers are otherwise usually in a straight line throught the dance.

The camera then zooms in and out repeatedly in time with the music as if to make the audience experience the dance rather than just watch it from a still perspective. It then zooms into the lead singer Beyoncé’s alone so the audience can be familiarised with the main artist being promoted through the video as well as see her expressions.

The dance moves seem to be inspired by the lyrics ‘If you liked it then you should have put a ring on it’ as the dancers wave their hands indicating their ring finger. The costume is very simple, all three ladies are dressed in a black leotard and black high heels, therefore showing much flesh. This gives the video a sex appeal, and so, whilst being quite a ladies’ song may also appeal to guys. The black costume also provides a nice contrast to the white studio background.

Overall, everything about this video, from the costume, to the location, to the shot types, is very simple. The dance routine and overall performance is key to keeping the audience entertained. This reflects how both a simple concept and a good performance can a make a successful music video.

GENRE

Pop
Pop music consists of a range of different styles of music and is therefore said to be a genre most accessible to a widest audience.
Famous Artists:
-Girls Aloud
-Kelly Clarkson
-Kylie Minogue

Rock
There are many different types of Rick music such as Punk rock or Heavy Metal. Rock Music is said to appeal largely to a white audience.
Famous Artists
-The Beatles
-The Rolling Stones
-Oasis

Indie

Indie is a genre of alternative and independent music.
Famous artists:
-The Kooks
-The Wombats
-Air traffic

RnB
RnB is a music genre of western popular music.
Famous Artists:
Beyoncé
Ne-yo
Rihanna

Hip-hop
Hip-Hop, like RnB is another African American style of music which is heavily dominated by rapping.
Famous artists:
T.I
Lil Wayne

Classical
Classical Music in the European tradition relates to music that includes forms such as chamber music, opera and symphony. It usually appeals to an older audience or those of music knowledge.
Famous Artists:
-Beethoven
-Mozart

...Here we go again....

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Enjoy x