Props List for Prelim

For our preliminary task we will require the following props and costumes:

- We will require very few props as it is in one simple setting but we will need some costumes to mimic what Jessie J looks like:

- White top
- Gold necklace 
- Black wig 

Who You Are - Jessie J: Lyrics

An essential part of any music video is establishing some kind of relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. This song in particular is much more about emphasising the lyrics as they are deep and have a meaningful and inspiring message. Jessie J clearly wanted people to focus on the meaning of her lyrics rather than being distracted by unrelated visuals.

Here are the lyrics below:

Jessie J - Who You Are

I stare at my reflection in the mirror

Storyboard for Prelim

This is the storyboard we created for our preliminary task which will make it easier to film.

New Prelim Video

After a lot of thought and discussion and a lot of analysis of Pink's Don't Let Me Get Me video, we have decided as a group that it is too challenging to complete in just over a week. After making this decision, we began to search for simpler videos that didn't require some of the more challenging editing techniques that were in Pink's video. We found a few but many required large groups of people who would be hard to gather in such a short amount of time. Finally, we found Jessie J's Who You Are video and decided to use this. This video is much simpler and has a slower pace. I believe this will be more beneficial for us as it allows us to work on our lip-synching skills and work with a green screen.

Here is the video below:

Recce Shots for Prelim

This images are of the locations we are going to film our Prelim task at:

1st Scene: Back playground. (Picture on the left)
- This is to try and recreate the scene shown in the picture above.

2nd Scene: Media classroom. 

- This is to recreate the classroom scene.

3rd Scene: Link corridor 

4th Scene: Toilets in Platt building.

Luckily, all the scenes in this video are settings that we are able to recreate in school. 

Style - Taylor Swift: 30 Second Analysis

This task involved us each individually choosing a music video and us analysing the first thirty seconds. I chose Style by Taylor Swift as it is quite a visually appealing music with lots of cuts and transitions within the first 30 seconds. 

Below the whole music video can be seen:

I made a powerpoint to analyse the first 30 seconds of the video by screenshotting each shot - there were 19 different cuts in the first 30 seconds.




I learned a lot from this task. Firstly, how much work goes into not only making but editing the videos. I learned that much footage must be lost in the process and how many locations you have to film in. It made me realise how much time I am going to have to allocate to editing during the preliminary task and the actual task.

Dry The River class task - reflection

For this task, we listened to a song called No Rest by Dry The River without the visuals. We then, in groups, had to identify different elements of the song including the genre, the artist and their style, the target audience, the lyrics and the pace.

We then had to come up with a potential narrative, setting, costume, camera shots and how the visuals would match the lyrics. We shared our answers with the rest of the class and then watched the actual music video.

Below is the music video:



Genre: Indie Rock
Artist (band or solo) and their style: A band with a lead singer - quite unique.
Target audience: Not people who are into pop/chart music. Probably a more mature, niche audience with a unique music taste.
Lyrics: It appeared to be an angry, yet passionate love song.
Pace: It was very slow at first, but then picks up a little bit but still not very fast. It seemed to get faster as the emotions got stronger.

Potential Narrative:
- We thought it would be more narrative based than performance. We didn't think it would be filmed at a concert if there was performance but instead in a isolated space with just the band playing. We thought there could be a bit of narrative involving a couple who are not played by any of the band members.

Potential Setting:
- A plain black or white setting with band playing in front.
- Normal everyday setting for couples video.

Potential Costume:
- Dark colours but normal clothes - nothing too abstract.
- Maybe a bit scruffy
- Main singer stand out a little bit more than the rest - brighter t-shirt?

Camera Shots:
- A lot of close-ups of lead singer
- Establishing shots of whole band

Visuals to Match Visuals:
- Jump cuts to scenes of couples - starts off happy but gradually turns bad.

Other groups idea:
- Set in a Medieval castle with lead singer as King. Wants to be with Queen but she keeps rejecting him. In the end she kills him which related to the lyrics "bleed out".

What it was actually like:
- The video only had one setting, all of the band appeared to be laying on stones and it was not clear at first who was the lead. The video seems to be linked to the four elements: fire, water, earth and wind. They look quite scruffy but are dressed in ordinary clothes. The pace of the video is relatively slow at the beginning (which matches the pace of the song) and then speeds up but there is not a lot of cuts. The video contains a kind of distorted narrative as there appears to be a story but it is hard to work out - they seem to be more in pain/desperate as the video goes on. There is little performance, apart from lip synching which increases the verisimilitude. There is a reference to the lyrics as there are some birds in the video - although it is not made particularly clear why they are present.

Radiohead - Spirit Street: Class Analysis

As a class we analysed this music video by Radiohead. First of all we had to listen to the first 30 seconds with no visuals and then report back to the class what we thought the actual music video would be like. 

We decided that it might be:

- Dark (rainy weather, gloomy, etc).

- Set in a desert/forest or somewhere quite isolated

- Black and white filter used

- Both narrative and performance 

- The genre was Indie-Rock

- We expected slow cuts and transitions. 

We then watched the full video and found that our expectations were actually correct.

The video is shown below:

Transitions: Transitions are used which crossover Tom Yorke's face. This has a disorientating effect and helps to portray the darkness of the song. There are straight cuts used most of the time but also jump cuts to add to the unnerving effect of the video.

Order of narrative: There is no clear order of narrative. Jump cuts make the video disorientating and the narrative random. There is a bit of performance with lip synching but the story is not complete, nor is it clear. The video is heavily edited which helps to keep it interesting for the audience.

Pace: The video has a very slow pace most of the time; there are few cuts and a lot of the shots are in slow motion which adds to the disorientating effect of the video.

Special effects: Black and white filter used throughout the video which gives it a more gloomy look and helps to create the diegesis which is a quite isolated and lonely setting.

Framing: Tom Yorke (lead singer) is always in the front and in focus, the rest of the band are in the background. This makes Yorke the most prevalent.

Camera angles: A lot of shots of Tom Yorke alone as he is the lead. This helps to build up the star image and supports Goodwin's theory. There are mostly level-shots used in this video, however there are some variations. For example, when Yorke is laying on top of the car, this is shot from a birds-eye angle.

Movement: The camera is relatively still throughout the whole music video (stationary). This helps to make the video look more professional.

Mise en Scene: The setting of this video is at a desert with a few old caravan-type things in the background. It makes it look even more isolated. The costume is relatively ordinary - nothing abstract just plain shirts and trainers. The colours appear dark, which highlight the overall dark/sad tone of both the lyrics and the visuals. Low-key lighting is used which again, highlights the overall darkness.

What Music Means To Me

This task involved us choosing one song that reminded us of our childhood, one from early teen years and one from now. At first, I thought that this would be relatively straight forward, however I found that finding just three songs to represent all those years was really difficult. I even had to add one from my mid-teens as I thought from 12 years old to 16 years old is a big jump. 

I made a Prezi to present my choices:

Analysis of Music Videos using Goodwin and Vernallis

1.)
Song: OMI - Cheerleader 
Genre: Reggae/Pop 

Video:



Analysis:

Goodwin: 

- One element of Goodwin's theory is the relationship between the lyrics and the visuals and this can be seen in this music video. For example, OMI is singing about his girlfriend being a 'cheerleader' and you can see a woman who is by his side in one shot, supporting him at a game of football on the beach the next. She also seems to dance with two other girls which could be seen as 'cheerleading'. 


- Voyeurism is a part of this video as although the girls' dancing could be seen as cheerleading and therefore relate to the lyrics, the camera focuses on various parts of the women's bodies and they are wearing very little clothing. This helps to attract a male audience. 





- This video also helps to build up the 'star image' of OMI. There are lots of close-ups of him and a lot of mid-shots showing him standing alone. He is the most prevalent character in the music video which shows the audience that he is the star. 

- Genre-related style and iconography is used in this music video. Reggae videos are often set in countries such as Jamaica and are filmed on beaches and that's exactly what this video does. A lot of emphasis is put on the scenic background of the beach and the sea which helps to highlight that they are in the Caribbean somewhere. 

Vernallis:
- As a lot of Vernallis' theory and Goodwin's theory is very similar, a lot of the points apply to both theories. 
- However, the Diegesis of this video is the paradise-beach world which reflects the genre of the song as a lot of Reggae music videos are similar to this one. 
- The editing reflects the genre and the song as it is quite chilled out and slow-paced. 

2.) 

Song: Bad Blood - Taylor Swift 
Genre: Pop 

Video: 

Analysis:
Goodwin:

- Relationship between lyrics and visuals: The lyrics are amplified by the visuals in this music video. The video starts off with Taylor being betrayed by her friend and then using her rage to build an army against her former-friend. The lyrics suggest a falling out between friends. 




- Star image: There are multiple close-ups of Taylor and the camera follows her throughout - it is made clear to the audience that she is the most important. 




- Voyeurism: All of the women in the video are attractive Victoria's Secret models, famous singers and actresses which helps to attract a male audience. 






- Intertextual references: This video is a clear link to sci-fy/superhero films that have been extremely popular for the past few years. 
 - Iconography: Taylor Swift tends to have very narrative-based music videos which amplify her lyrics and this video fits the pattern. 

Vernallis:
- Narrative: There is a clear narrative in this video, however it is incomplete which is a common feature of music videos. 
- Editing: continuity editing and lip-synching is used to increase the verisimilitude.
- Diegesis: The diegesis of this video is a space/futuristic type of setting.  




3.)

Song: Anaconda - Nicki Minaj
Genre: Hip Hop/ Dirty Rap

Video:



Analysis:
Goodwin:
- Relationship between lyrics and visuals: The video is set in a jungle which relates to the lyrics as the song is called 'anaconda'. A lot of the lyrics involves 'big bums' which is amplified in this video as a lot of the shots involve Nicki Minaj and other women's bums. 
- Star image: We can tell that Nicki Minaj is the main person in this video (or the star) as, for example, she is dressed in a sparkly gold outfit with the other girls dressed in black, making Minaj stand out. There are a lot of shots of her alone and close-ups which means she is the most prevalent person in the video. She is sexualised in this video by the costume and the angles of the shots, this means that she will attract a male audience. 
- Voyeurism: As well as there being provocative shots of Minaj, other girls in the video are also half-naked and sexualised and we are drawn, as an audience, to certain parts of their bodies. This again, will attract a male audience.
- Intertextual reference: The lyrics are a direct reference to Sir Mix-a-Lot - Baby Got Back, as she has sampled a part of the rap into her song. This may help to get people talking about the song, as this was a popular song at the time. 
- Thought Beats: The verses seem to include a more kind of narrative, with Minaj lip synching but in the choruses it seems to be more performance based with sexual dancing. 

Vernallis:
- Diegesis: The diegesis of this video is the jungle that they are in, there are mostly women in the video. They all seem to be drawn to Minaj. 
- Narrative: This video is mostly made up of performance, not narrative. 

Carol Vernallis - Music Video Theory

She believes there is four important stages in music videos:

1.) NARRATIVE:
- The video is a response to the music
- The video suits the style and genre of the music and the look of the artist and cuts in time and rhythm with the soundtrack.
- There is not necessarily always a balance between narrative and performance.
- The narrative is not always complete - it may be partial, fragmented narrative.
- The structure of the video may appear disjointed.
- Something drives the video forward, but often it is not the narrative. It could be the music, the performance, a mixture or some other element.
- There may not always be closure to the narrative at the end.
- The video may pose questions it doesn't actually answer.

2.) EDITING:
- Editing may match the musical phrases or the beat
- The video may disrupt/break many of the 'rules' of continuity editing - this is a clear convention of music video editing.
- Editing may become 'foregrounded' - the edits may be really obvious, to draw attention to themselves as opposed to invisible, continuity editing.

3.) CAMERAWORK
- When it comes to shot types, extremes are very common.
- Extreme shots are common (extreme close ups) however aren't as common as mid shots and close ups, familiarizing the audience with the face and look of the artist.
- The style of framing and movement may run through the video and be distinctive to that video.
- The camera may move in time to the music, or move on the lyrics
- The master shot is used frequently, as are the close ups.

 4.) DIEGESIS:
- The diegesis may be revealed quite slowly.
- Actions are not necessarily completed - they may be interrupted or disrupted in some way.
- Character or object movement may move to the music
-There may be gaps in the audience's understanding of the diegesis- in time and space, music, performance, and narrative.
- Some frames may be more important than others.
- There may be repetitions, e.g. musical phrases, the beat, other musical elements, themes, lyrics, performance, colours, images, camera positions, etc.

Andrew Goodwin's Music Video Theory: Part II

Goodwin stated that there are five key aspects that are used to contribute to a successful music video.

1.) Thought beats - where you 'see' the sound. 

Goodwin categorized this key aspect in three steps:

2.) Narrative and Performance 

Goodwin stated that music videos should avoid the common narrative as their role is more to advertise than become a story. The artist will therefore become both a participant and narrator within the music video to increase its authenticity for the audience.
Lip synching and other actions featured in the video increase its verisimilitude and therefore prevents the audience from disbelieving the narrative/performance.

3.) The Star Image

Goodwin identified that the star image is another key aspect within music videos. He believes that an iconic star image can increase the audience's awareness of the artist and can therefore show a development of the star over time which will increase the audiences interest in their videos.

4.) Relation of Visuals to Song 

Goodwin categorized three ways in which a music video works to promote a song:

1.) ILLUSTRATE: This is when a music video can use a set of images in order to illustrate the meaning of the lyrics and represent the genre of the music video. This is commonly used as it is easy yet effective. 

2.) AMPLIFY: Goodwin stated that this is when particular meanings or effects of the video are shown throughout the video in order for the audience to generate their own interpretation of the visuals and become engaged in what is on the screen. 

3.) DISJUNCTURE: This contrasts the previous step and Goodwin identified that in some music videos the meaning of the song is completely ignored and there is no reference to the lyrics. 

5.) Technical Aspects of a Music Video

This key aspect identifies the different considerations when creating a music video to ensure its visual success, these all relate to any piece of film:

CAMERA: This includes camera movement (e.g. panning, tracking, hand held...) camera angles (e.g. low angle, high angle, point of view, over the shoulder shot) and camera composition (e.g. rule of thirds. depth of fields). 

SOUND: This includes the pace of the song and its pitch, These all change with the different types of genres within the music industry, e.g. rock/pop.

MISE-EN-SCENE: This includes, for example, the location of the music video, the costume, the artist/characters are wearing, the make-up people are wearing and many more to ensure it is believable. 

EDITING: This is the effects added to the clips of the film in post production. This can change the pace of the film clip and ensures the audience remain interested in the visuals. 

Andrew Goodwin's Music Video Theory

Andrew Goodwin states that "music videos ignore common narrative as they are essentially advertisements."

He suggested that there are 6 main conventions used within music videos:

1 -  There needs to be a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, which illustrate, amplify or contradict the lyrics. 
This is shown in many music videos, for example...

- Ed Sheeran's 'Thinking Out Loud' video amplifies the lyrics as they talk about his love for his partner and this video involves romantic dancing between the pair. She is dressed in a type of wedding dress outfit which highlights his love for her.












2. Thought Beats: Seeing the sounds (the relationship between the music and the visuals, which illustrate, amplify or contradict the lyrics). 

- For example, Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars' Uptown Funk video where most of the actions are in perfect synch with the beat of the song, e.g. the opening with the feet walking to the time of the song.

3.) Genre-related style and iconography present. 

-Some artists have a trend of repeating certain actions within their music videos in order to establish the action as their 'trademark'. This can also be a location, for example, rock music videos tend to be of gigs.
- For example, Ariana Grande's song 'The Way' is a romantic song which could be classified as girly. The music video reflects this - you would expect this type of video for the genre of the song.

4.) Multiple close-ups of the main artist or vocalists: the creation of a star image to promote a recognizable band image. 

- Camera angles used to make the main character look good and stand out. Women are often sexualized using provocative angles. This also links to Mulvey's Male Gaze Theory, this can create a physical attraction towards the artist.
- For example, Iggy Azalea's video for her single 'Work' which primarily shows her wearing various revealing outfits.




5.) Voyeurism often plays a major part, especially in relation to females. 

- Goodwin recognized that most music videos included voyeurstic angles of women in order to entice a male audience. This sexualises the artist.
- For example, OMI's Cheerleader music video which shows the main vocalist surrounded by girls dancing on the beach with very little clothing.



- Another, more obvious, example of this is in Robin Thicke and Pharrell's video for 'Blurred Lines'. In this video, the girls are the main focus and surround the men. They do not appear to have any purpose in the video apart from to please the men. They are all dressed identically which makes them seem even more like objects of attraction.




6.) Intertexual references to other media texts may be present, especially in humorous videos. 

- It is not uncommon to recognize the visuals or lyrics of a song to be a direct reference to another media text. This engages the audiences and provides them with gratification if they recognize the link.
- For example, Taylor Swift's video for Love Story which is reference to Romeo and Juliet. Although also mentioned in the lyrics, the locations in this video include a normal school setting but also a traditional party which looks like it could have been from the era in which Romeo and Juliet was set.

What About Us - music video

A couple of years ago on a school trip, I used an app to make a music video to the song 'What About Us' by the Saturdays. Although I had the help of an app and if I were to make it again, it would be much improved, it gives me an idea of how to make one already. Here it is below;

Reflection

After having my first A2 lesson, I recognise that this task is going to be very challenging. I think the hardest part will be actually choosing a song and then making the video interesting by including different locations and effects. Editing has never been a particularly strong point of mine and so I realise a lot of practice is to be had if I am going to be successful in creating a fast-paced and interesting music video. 

Common Features of a Music Video

Today was our first A2 media lesson in which we looked at various music videos and then compiled a list of features common to most music videos. This is shown below: