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