Personality task

Personality's and Group update

In lesson today we looked at different types of personalities and what kind of personality we individually have. In the picture below we each discussed with each other what box we thought we fitted into. I personally thought I fitted into the Red category since most of the characteristics fit me. My group disagreed with me and thought I fitted into the Green category more. Following on from this we decided to assign roles to each of our group members, I was assigned the role of editing, finding locations, creating the logo/website and finding the right camera shots and movements. These were assigned to me as I am known to be the most creative member of our group and I have a lot of experience in editing and creating websites. 

We decided to go with Graeme as our team leader because overall he had the best leadership qualities and he has good time management skills. The ideas we have had for our music video has changed a lot already and we are still in discussion about certain things, this is because when we come up with ideas individually and then have a group discussion we tend to develop and change many of the ideas that we have come up with.

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The Carol Vernallis Theory - Editing (Part 4/4)

The Carol Vernallis Theory 

4)Editing 

• Editing will sometimes match the musical instruments or the beat of the song, linking the visual images together this way, the audience realises that the beat/rhythm links in with the visual images and will relate these visual images to other things after watching the video.

• Music videos constantly break or disrupt the "rules" of continuity editing. This is the main convention of music video editing.

• When we see edits they will tend to be quite obvious, in divergence to the "invisible" continuity editing This needs to be really obvious, the edits actually have to draw attention to themselves and a successful music video will do this to assist in breaking the narrative. The most common edits you may see in music videos are:

Jump Cuts

Lack of 30 degree rule

Lack of 180 degree rule

Fancy editing or cuts

Extreme jumps in time or space

Extreme changes in pace

Graphic matches

Style of editing exclusive to the video. 

Cutting Within the Lyrics

Cutting against the Movement

I now have a idea and list of things to avoid and potentially use when editing my video together. I will certainly be using Cutting within the lyrics since it would suit my video rather nicely. 

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The Carol Vernallis Theory - Camera Movement and Framing (Part 3/4)

The Carol Vernallis Theory

3) Camera Movement and Shots

 I will now look at Vernallis's Theory of camera movement and framing.

• When it comes to camera shots, Extremes are VERY common along with Establishing shots, even if they are Extreme close-ups, or at a extreme distance, music videos try to avoid shots such as mid-shots, or a middle-ranged shot. They tend to sit on the the extreme ends of the scale.

• Styles of framing and movement tend to run all the way through the video.

• The camera may move in time with the music, just like the edits as in my previous post this is just for  drawing focus onto the artist.

• Repetition in the music video is really common to portray a message or meaning the style of framing and movement are usually a continuing theme that is distinctive to that video/genre.

A example of over us of extreme shots is this music video -

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The Carol Vernallis Theory - Diegesis (Part 2/4)

The Carol Vernallis Theory

2) Diegesis

Diegesis in music videos is known as the "world" inside the video. It is always revealed slowly allowing interventions, and a story to develop over time. Repetition is key in a music video because it allows the artist to get a message across through the concept of quantity, it means that they can create a world for their song through the video An example of this:

While we are exploring the "world" of the video, we see how are protagonist (Jared Leto) feels, reacts, and does. The theme of war is the point of the video and the message is to stop war, Jared Leto acts as a solider in this video. 

• Movements may move to the music, this can be character movement or object movement, i have used this in my own music video and it  can be seen in the video above too.

• There may be times when the audience does not understand the Diegesis - Gaps in time and space, music, performance, and narrative.

Using this theory, I understand the need to focus on music, and time progression and movement along with the music. I have learned that i need to openly and slowly show the story of my video to the audience.

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The Carol Vernallis Theory - Narrative (Part 1/4)

In the last few days we have been analysing theories of Music Videos. One of the theories I am going to cover is the Carol Vernallis Theory.

I read part of Carol's research which was titled -
The Kindest Cut - Functions and meanings of Music Video Editing.

Carol Vernallis's theory revolve's around four different and important concepts.I am going to break them down. They are:

1. Narrative
2. Diegsis
3. Camera Movement and Framing
4. Editing (I will be submitting a detailed post about this)

I am going to analyse each of these concepts and I will establish what they mean, and how they can benefit my music video since this is research for it.

1) Narrative

• A music video is a visual response to the song and lyrics, not the other way around. The video should be support the lyrics meanings and song, but the artist/star will remain dominant, this is to appeal to an audience.
• There does not need to be a  balance between narrative and performance. A song can have a full video of narrative, or full of performance or a mixture. Most of the time performance takes prominence in order to to show of the star and song more

• A example of a music video that is purely performance is Martin Garrix - Wizard

The video is 95% percent performance, its only real focus throughout the whole video is Martin Garrix and him entertaining his crowd. This is just one example of how a video can be focused on performance rather than narrative, I may use this theme in my own music video. This video is the same it focuses on performance but it has a narrative with it and this gives me more ideas for my own music video.

This video is Fall out boy - Dance Dance

• Carol Vernallis says that there at the end of the music video it may not give a real ending or clear closure for the audience. The narrative is not always finished, It can be a fragment, the story does not have to be finished

• The narrative may appear disjointed - There is no need for continuity in a music video, this would make the audience focus on the video, not the song, trying to follow the story. If the video is jumping from performance to scene repeatedly, the focus remains on the stars and song since it makes the audience aware of the artists.

• Something still needs to drive the video forward, however, it's usually not the narrative, this may cause the video to ask questions it doesn't actually answer, it leaves the audience guessing, and wanting more from the artist.

• There many indeed by a narrative theme running through the video, but usually in a montage theme, throwing it together since continuity is not needed for a music video.

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Group Blog

This is a link to our group blog. 

This is the blog that will share all the research and work that myself and my other group members John, Graham and Liam are all contributing towards. On the blog we will have things such as a questionnaire aimed towards a wide range of audiences so that we can find out what different people are looking for from a music video from the genre that we are using Pop/R&B. 

On this blog we will show our meetings, group decisions, mindmaps, ideas we have put forward and if we decide against them or towards them. I will  post pictures from our filming sessions to show the progress that we are making on this project since this is one of my group tasks. The song that we as a group have chosen is Justin Bieber's "As Long As You Love Me" acoustic version. Hopfully this blog will show the progress we have made from never making a music video to researching the area and finally coming out with a completed video.

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Andrew Goodwin's Music Video Theory

Andrew Goodwin's Music Video Theory

Andrew Goodwin in his book "Dancing in the Distraction Factory" has wrote about what he defines as the characteristics of music videos. Goodwin has six different conventions and characteristics when looking at a music video.

1. Music videos should demonstrate genre characteristics,
(e.g. People dancing/having fun in a Dance music song, dance routine for a pop girl band)

Since my music video is to fit in with the RnB, Pop music and teen culture/genre, I know from researching from other RnB music videos that my video needs to contain things such as the lead as a male should be idolized. The lead singer should be portrayed as wanted by females or boys wanting to be him. My video will also be a cross with Pop music so from more extensive research i have found that my video needs to have energetic dance moves and a very weak narrative or no narrative at all. I want my video to represent these genres. I don't want to include a complex narrative just a colourful and entertaining video. 

2. There should be a relationship between lyrics and visuals. These can be illustrative, amplifying or contradicting

The visuals in my music video with illustrate and amplify the lyrics coming across. A example of this is when the visuals show the lead singer consoling his girlfriend and telling he everything will be okay, this is in the second verse and the lyrics that reflect these visuals are "don't stress, don't cry, we don't need no wings to fly, Just take my hand". They relate and mirror off each other and i will be using this alot in my video. When i was reading the lyrics of the song  I would just relate scenes in my head in which I wrote down for ideas.

3. There should be a relationship between the music and visuals

All the visuals in my music video are either amplifying the music or illustrating the lyrics. Since the song is acoustic and the only sounds are lyrics or the guitar playing it has been hard for me to incorporate a relationship between the music and visuals. A few examples I have managed to use though are things such as,  the opening of the song in which the guitar becomes louder and as this happens the lights shine onto the lead singers face. I have done this for a impact on the audience and draw them into the main point of the shot.
Another example I have used is the lead singer tapping his foot and hand in time with the strumming of the guitar, this is not a big visual but it make the audience aware of the beat behind the singing.I personality like it when music videos do this, as sometimes when listening to a song, you do not always pick up on some of the instruments playing so I have incorporated it into my own.

4. Multiple close-ups of the main artist; the creation of a star image to promote a brand image.

In my music video there are certainly a lot of shots mostly being close ups and mid shots of the artist, who is representing the figure of Justin Bieber whom has the 'Star Image'.The stars image is the most vital part of music video and how they are portrayed. Goodwin said that artists want to enchant and WOW the audience with the aritsts image to stay current in order for them to remember them. When making my poster and website for my artist each of these was important that they all linked together in some way so my target audience can recognise my visual style immediately. Hypothetically if my artist became successful and a well known music artist, my style and  imagery would become iconic to my name.

5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking, there is a voyeuristic treatment of the female body.

In my music video this is the one characteristic I have not been able to implant well. My music video does not contain any females or any objectification of the male body or female body. There is no sexually suggestive shots of the lead singers body as it does not fit in well with the pop genre and a love song. I have broken the fourth wall with my artist as he is always engaged with the audience and wants them to know he is singing to them. The shots of my artist are usually close up with him looking into the camera. In one of the shots the artist pulls his glasses up and stares into the camera to engage even further with the audience and creating a surreal experience with them.

6. There is a intertextual reference to either films, TV programmes, other music videos.

Our costumes used are a direct reference to Justin Bieber, with his modern fashion sense wearing high tops, shades and leather jackets. The dance moves used in the video are also a tribute to Justin Biebers and Michael Jacksons. The start of the music video shows out artist being late to his own music video, so in a sense the audience is watching a music video being made but this is the music video Goodwin said that intertextuality incorporated in a music video make it more interesting and enjoyable for the audience.

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Semiotics Theory - Music Video

Semiotic Theory In music videos

Today in our lesson we have been taught about the semiotic theory and how it is used in music videos.

What is a semiotic theory?

Semiotics signs and meanings - According to Morris, Human action involves signs and meaning in three ways:

The perception stage - The person becomes aware of the sign

The manipulation stage - The person interprets the sign and decides how to respond to it.

The consummation stage - The person responds to it.

Connotation is to do with connoting, which is to suggest something beyond the primary meaning. For example, The colour red of an an might connote danger or sex appeal. The connotation of red is danger.

Denotation refers to that which a word denotes, which is specific and explicit. For example, "Rose" denotes a specific kind of flower; Truck denotes a specific type of transportation.

Album Covers and music videos

The semiotic theory can be used in music through album covers and music videos. The connotation of an article is what the article would mean to the person this makes music closer to home and puts it on a personal level. The denotation of an article is what it was intended to mean. This is the meaning that the artist has given a song for example A$AP Rocky - Fashion Killa, the video and lyrics represent that the woman in the video ( Rihanna) is into high fashion, all the luxury brands and anything that’s a trend, she’s killing the competition with what she’s wearing. She knows what she wants. This is a example of semiotics through a music video 

                                                     

A example of semiotics in a album cover is One directions - Up all night 




This is a One Directions album covers,One Directions target audience is young and teenage girls since they are boy band who write songs directed at this group. The album cover is aimed for this target audience because it shows the artists on the cover having fun and engaging the audience to wonder why they are having to much fun. The font used is stand out as it is bold and in black. The colours are also light but this covers appeal is the main image which is the band members themselves. The way the cover has been put together makes it clear that it has been targeted for teenage girls as the reason they are loved so much is due to their looks and fun life style.  This is what semiotic theory is typically about as it stands out to its audience because this is what is expected from them.

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Group Music Research

We have been assigned our groups for our group work and have set up a group blog, in lesson we decided to look at some examples of music videos and tried to decide on a song we all agreed with. We have all decided that we will participate in the music video and each do our part for it. The main genres we have looked at are Pop/Rap and Indie


The songs we looked through are:
Eminem - Lose Yourself
Tupac- Ghetto Gospel
 Olly Murs -Dance With Me Tonight 
Olly Murs - Oh My Goodness 
Little Mix- Wings 
Far East Movement - Like A G6
Justin Bieber - As long as you love me
Arctic Monkeys - R U Mine 
We will decide on a song choice in the coming days.

UPDATE 29/09/2013: We have decided on the song Justin Bieber - As long as you love me as we think it has a lot of potential for a music video. 

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Album covers

Task 1: Album covers.

What are album covers? 

Album covers are one of the main reasons in why audiences are attracted the buying a album. Album covers are the front packaging of a commercially realised audio recording products. Since the mid-1990s, the CD has become the most popular type of physically distributed music products. Packaging formats vary, including the very common plastic jewel-case, and the popular cardboard and plastic combination commonly known as a Digi-pak. The cover of the album became a important part of music culture.The album cover is a component of the overall packaging of an album. Especially in the case of vinyl records with cardboard sleeves.

What are the features of album covers?

The typical album cover would usually feature the artist or band along with the name of themselves, but this changed quickly as album covers became a form of promoting and getting the artists recognised through the covers. The album covers then became more controversial and it got to the point in which album covers were getting banned such as 'Jesus piece' - The Game, For its religious references, also Guns and roses 'Appetite for Destruction' for its sexual reference. Albums don't have a set list of features that have to be used, they vary from a blank canvas to a unexplainable picture. 

What is the history of Album Covers?

Before 1938 album covers were no more than writing on a brown envelope, this was until columbia records hired Alex Steinweiss as its first art director. He is credited with inventing the concept of album covers and cover art, replacing plain covers used before. After his initial efforts at Columbia, other record companies followed his lead. By the late 1940s, record albums for all the major companies featured their own colorful paper covers in both 10" and 12" sizes.

Task 2.

This is my favourite album cover - Take to the Skies is the debut album by British post-hardcore band Enter Shikari. On March 25, 2007, it reached #4 in the Official UK Album Chart selling 28,000 copies in its first week

The album cover does not have any obvious meaning to the band or album name, it is just a creative peice of art which is to promote the bands image of being different. the cover is in brown and black which is not stand out whatsoever, this idicates the band dont need to stand out and believe they can sell the album without having to try as hard as others. The image on the cover is of a tribal sense and this links with some of the songs on the album. I believe that the album cover has no real meaning it just wants to reflect some of the songs meanings.

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Intertexuality

Intertextuality

What is intertextuality? 

The concept of intertextuality was coined by post-structuralist Julia Kristeva in 1966. She introduced the notion that 'any text is the absorption and transformation of another.' Intertextuality using two different pieces of media texts and using them together to create new text or form of media. 

Intertextuality this is a form of parody and pastiche. Madonna and Michael Jackson are the biggest examples of intertextuality in music videos. Artists and produces use intertextuality for reasons such as popularity as making a reference to a popular film or book will boost the amount viewing the music video. Intertextuality is often hard to incorporate into a music video since it has to be used smartly and usually the thing that is being incorporated has to be well known, easy to create and has to have a meaning for the music video to work.

I will be using the examples of Marilyn Monroe and Madonna to explain what I have learnt about what intertextuality is. In the two videos below we have Intertextuality from the Madonna music video 'Material Girl'.                      



A scene in a the film from 'Gentlemen prefer blondes' from 1954 was used as a focal point in Madonna's material girl music video. The intertextual image is not necessarily of Marilyn Monroe but of the Hollywood archetype of the sexy looks who uses her appearance to get what she wants. In Madonna's music video she makes a clear references to Marilyn Monroe in "Diamonds are forever" in the way that she dressed and the background. In the footage Madonna is dressed in a similar pink dress, same hair cut, similar jewellery and men around her doing as she wishes.

Another example of intertextuality is in the music video ''Sabotage" by Beastie Boys this was directed by Spike Jonze in 1994. This music video contains intertextuality through the use of television as a point of reference and is a homage and parody of 70's crime drama TV series such as 'Hawaii Five-O' and 'Starsky and Hutch'. The video is portrayed as the opening title sequence to a fictional 70's-style police show called Sabotage. They use the band members from Beastie Boys as characters in the video. 


                     

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Video 4 - Sum 41

 This is the final music video in the four that i have watched. I have gained a lot of knowledge about the different types of music videos by analysing four different videos. For my final video I have chosen -

Sum 41 - The Hell Song

                           


The music video was of a concert with dolls and action figures, with Sum 41's faces on those "performing" in front of a Lite-Brite screen. They were joined with other action figures such as those of Snoop Dogg, Ozzy Osbourne with his family, Marilyn Manson, Korn, Metallica, Eddie the Head, Gene Simmons, Spice Girls,Angus Young, Jesus, Alice Cooper and Ludacris . Also, the dolls' obscene finger gestures and nudity are comically censored, which are used to make it look like real life. The video was directed by Marc Klasfeld.

Marc Klasfeld is an American music video director. He has directed over two hundred music videos for artists such as Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Jay-Z, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Michael Buble', Nelly, Foo Fighters, Avril Lavigne, Aerosmith and many others with multiple MTV award wins and nominations.
Klasfeld made his feature film writing and directorial debut in 2005 with The L.A. Riot Spectacular.
He is also the founder of Rockhard, a music video production company that also houses directors Ray Kay, Robert Hales, Ethan Lader, Erik White,Jon Jon Augustavo, and Steve Jocz. Rockhard has produced videos for Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, LMFAO, Britney Spears, Aerosmith, Prince, Mariah Carey, Kelly Rowland, Jessie J, Willow Smith, Adam Lambert, Big Time Rush among others.

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Video 3 - Jimmy Eat World

Music Video 3 -

                         



The song's video is directed by Paul Fedor. The video features young people in underwear and received plenty of play on MTV, especially on Total Request Live. David C. Hayes, a famous B-horror actor/writer, appears in the video.


The music video features a fully clothed teenage boy (Josh Keleher) who attends a pool party at which Jimmy Eat World is playing, only to find everyone, except the band, in their underwear. Much of the crowd is making out, but the boy is excluded. Finally, out of frustration, he starts to strip to be like the others, only to bump into a teenage girl doing the same thing in the wardrobe he is in. The kids keep their clothes on and leave the party, arms around each other, as the song concludes. Paul Fedor is an American music video director and visual effects designer. Fedor has been a part of the computer graphics industry since 1994. He directed music videos and commercials. He is the founder of the production company Natural Selection.

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Video 2 - Snow Patrol

This is my second video that i have chosen to watch take inspiration from. I have chosen this video since i think it could have many different meaning and could have different meaning behind it.


                                          Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars





This video does not have any real meaning behind it, it is split between people relating it to a romantic song or a break up song and the artists themselves said it is as what you make it out to be yourselves. The editing is slow to keep up pace with the songs beat and lyrics. In the music video Gary Lightbody lies on open ground as cameras film him from different angles. It starts raining, splashing his face and hands. Gary enters a pool of water next to him and in the end of the video, he gets out of the water, rises on his feet and looks up at the camera as it zooms out overhead.
If I was to make this myself i would keep it in one shot and just use the lead singer on his own and have him engage the audience with the camera and i would keep the editing and tempo slow all the way through rather than using so many camera angles that the original as did. 


The denotation of the lyrics of the chorus ‘if I lay here’, is physically represented by him lying on the floor of each location he is in. Near the end of the video he is lying on the floor at the top of an escalator, people then walk over him like he isn’t even there, this may be used to represent how invisible and lonely he may feel.

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Video 1 - Arctic Monkeys

Throughout the next four weeks i will be watching many different music videos to get ideas and find out what makes a good music video to plan for my own video. Today i have looked at the music video Arctic Monkeys - R U Mine

This is one of my favourite arctic monkey videos they have produced due to its simplicity and effectiveness. The whole video is in black and white for a classic feel. The whole song is filmed inside a car with alex and his drummer singing along to the song, it has no true narrative.The final shots of the scene introduce the rest of the band into the video showing them as a group. The editing between shots is very well done and as a audience you don't really notice them until you view it in depth. The video shows the band playing around in a car, again, with Alex Turner showcasing his prowl as a front man. Air guitar and drums included, the offering features the expected girls in masquerade masks and a live performance at the end.

If i was to do this video i would use the band in the whole of the video and not in the last few shots of it, i would also decide to make it a narrative with the lead singer singing the words in sync with the music. I would maybe set it in a bar and focus on alex turner and connote that he is singing about a woman. 

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Bricolage

Today in lesson we were given a concept and had to work out what this concept was, i had to find out what the concept of 'Bricolage'. The term bricolage is used to describe a work that is made from combining existing materials, independent of their original purpose. The first thing i found out is how subcultural groups used other items of clothing and used them to promote their own messages. A example of this is punks using dog collars as a status symbol. It was the idea of putting a idea with another to create something new. It was about taking clothes related to jobs or just with meaning and turning them into a fashion statement. Bricolage is a french word for Jumble. 

This then moved on into music videos, a example i used was Jay Z using John holts - I will and Linkin park's numb with his encore to create a almost collage and pieced them together to create a new track. This is called sampling music with his own to create this. This was a example of bricolage. Another thing i then looked into is how the film Moulin Rouge uses bricolage. It brings references from three different original texts which are:
LaBoheme (1897), La Traviata (1853) And Orphues and Eurydice. The ideas spread from characters to songs and created the Moulin rouge text. 

I decided to research and find my own example of bricolage. I found many examples but the most obvious was Vanilla ice's sample of Queen.

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Pastiche and Parody

Pastiche And Parody 

Pastiche

Unlike a parody, which aims for a comic or satiric effect, a pastiche is often intended as a compliment (or an homage) to the original writer though it may just be a collection of borrowed words and ideas.

Pastiche is a serious version of what a parody is, it intends to pay tribute to the original text in a sense. Pastiche follows the post-modern root in saying 'Nothing is new'. Pastiche is really common in our society and has been implanted into many things typically music videos and films. Pastiche is shown in the likes of Frank Zappa' s Cruisin' With Ruben And The Jets is both a pastiche of and a homage to 1950s doowop also Quentin Tarantino's films are generally pastiches of their respective genres. 

Michael Jackson's "Thriller" is a mini horror movie; a breakthrough in an era when most videos were just montages of show footage, cheesy editing, and stock footage of explosions and horses running through fog. This video doesn't just mimic another video, but a whole filmmaking style. These examples are different in the text they come from, but they can also be put into the same category for the ideas that they portray where they have taken something that is serious and made it serious in their own way. To summarize pastiche it is a text that borrows or imitates the style, words, or ideas of other writers.

Parody 

A parody is a work that imitates another work in order to ridicule, ironically comment on, or poke some affectionate fun at the work itself, the subject of the work, the author or fictional voice of the parody, or another subject. 

Parody is a way of being able to mock and make fun of something whilst making it funny for the audience. A good example of this would be Airplane!, By the 1980s audiences had got a bit tired of being miserable watching disaster movies, and then Airplane! The film was a aircraft disaster movie. It parodied all the cliches: food poisoning, singing nuns, maudlin alcoholics, flashbacks, love lost, love regained, passengers with remorse, passengers who find repentance. It was impossible to make an aircraft disaster movie after Airplane! because no one would take it seriously. Since this Parody has became its own genre in today's cinema. A example of a music video using Parody is 



 This explains the theory that there is no longer individuality because everything that is considered to be 'new' has taken ideas from something that already exists. This also backs up the Post-Modernism theory

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Auteur's in music videos

In today's lesson we found out how directors and producers of music videos.

We looked at the music producer Chris Cunningham and were asked to find out his style and what he brings to his music videos. Analysing from Madonna, Aphex twins i have visually seen that he likes to insert a aspect of horror and unexpected elements which are disturbing. He also uses the pace of the music in sync with the video. Chris Cunningham is a very technical director as i seen this in his Bjork video, he loves to use canted angles and show off his technical skills and to connote things. The theme of horror he follows may be reflected from something that happened in his early life or maybe just his interest in horror. 

Cunningham worked for Warp Films, and had a partnership in place with them so he had funding to produce videos and films. He then left Warp Films to create his own company, this is called CC Co. This was so he could produce his films and work independently. 

                        

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Music and me (Class)

Music and me Class discussion

Today we discussed our Music and Me blog post with each other -

Today's lesson revolved around the music and me blog post we had done in the previous lesson, in the lesson we went around each person and looked at the music videos that each of us had selected and everyone had to explain why and what made us choose these songs. I found that most of the songs chosen from our childhood were due to our parents listening to the music, For example mine was Take on me - Aha I think this was since my mum loved the song which carried onto me, this was what most of us seemed to agree on. 



When it came to our favourite song/genre this was very mixed, none of us could explain why we loved the certain genre we did it was just the music we liked naturally. We all gave reasons for our holiday song since it was the song that reminds us of favourite holiday most of the time. After showing each other our Favourite song, Holiday song and Childhood song we discussed how music has influenced our lives and we all believed that it has changed our lives in a good and huge way.

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Lip Sync Task

 Lip Syncing 

In class we split ourselves up into groups of 3 and had to try our best to lip sync the song that was chosen for us. The reason for this is because it has gave us practice for when we make our own music video. The song we had to lip sync was  'Learn to Fly' by The Foo Fighters. I thought this would be easy when i first found out the song since I know most of the words as I am a Foo Fighters fan. I found out even though I knew the most of the words that the task was difficult as I had never done anything like this before. It was only difficult because I felt under pressure and only had one shot at it. It was a interesting and fun task that has helped me. It has helped me gain knowledge of  what the aim of my coursework is and how I will go about doing it. Prior to this I thought I would be able to remember the song off by heart but know i know I will have to read through the before I film my own music video to make sure there is no mistakes whatsoever. 

This is the video of me attempting Lip Syncing - 

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What Makes an effective Music Video?

What makes a music video effective?

A music video that is effective leaves the viewer feeling satisfied in what they have seen, this can be through many different ways. People enjoy seeing a narrative to the song and lyrics relating to what they are watching. Some music videos do not follow the conventional videos and decide to use a video completely different from the song. 

I have chosen Michael Jacksons - Thriller since it follows a narrative and is a interesting video to analyse.

Firstly i have chosen this music video since it is one of the most famous and well known music videos of all-time. Thriller was the first video of its kind, it became a thing people would stay up and watch. 

The instant impact of of this music video is that it starts off as a almost typical romantic movie which was unseen in music videos until thriller. The video includes a spectacular dance sequence, plenty of drama and story, and most importantly the actual song itself. 
The song has a strong sense of artist identity since Michael Jackson's classic signature dancing is implanted into this video amazingly as he turns a short horror film into a a group of zombies dancing in sync. 


The dancing goes in time with the song that is really important so that the song matches the dancing. The dancing in this music video is complex while the song is simple so it is hard to pull off but he has done well. All of the above will all draw and welcome the audience and they will continue watching. this is what makes a music video effective. 

We have shots like this in the video:












this makes you feel like you are watching a film and not a music video since its a shot reverse shot which is never used in music video since its for films, this is what makes the video effective as its known as a short film rather than a video and this is why thriller is a effective music video.

                                                        

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Music and Me

Music and me

Video one - Childhood Music Video

I heard this song first when i was around the age of 8 and fell in love with the music video shortly after and always stuck in my memory. This was the first single i ever owned, i was gifted this as a christmas present since this was my favourite song. The video for this song is also very iconic and well known. Even though it was realised in 1985 by A-ha it was stilled over-played on the music channels and still is now.

Video two - Holiday song




This song is my holiday song for many reasons. This song reminds me of my three holidays to spain as it was played in almost every club and bar. It was such a memorable song for me since i associate this song whenever i hear it with my three holidays in spain. Tiesto was also the first DJ i really liked and i still carry this love of DJ's and dance music with me.

Video three - My music taste



This song defines my music taste which is simply dance music, i picked this song since it is produced by my favourite DJ hardwell. I also have seen Hardwell live and this brings back amazing memories. 

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Introduction to A2

Introduction

This blog is for my Media studies A2 coursework. i will be updating and posting everything that is relevant to my planning and coursework. My aim is to create a music video in a group of four people.

My blog will include:

*Music video
*Promotional poster
*CD cover
*Planning relevant to my work


I will have two different blogs. One for myself and one for the group work we will be completing.

What you will find on this blog - 

On my blog you will find a variety of research into music videos with a wide range of style, genre and representation. I will be going through many different videos and comparing and analysing them to gain research and ideas for my own music video. All the posts will relate to tasks i have been given and to my end project. This blog will also give information and explanation on why i have chosen the genre i have to use for my group music video. My genre has already been decided since i done research into this last year.

What genre I am going to use.
I am going try and use dance music for my music videos if i can but it may be hard to use, i have chosen to use it dance music because it is the genre that I enjoy and love the most and the music videos relate to having a good time and having fun which i think i could show. The tempo of this genre is fast paced and alot of close up shots are used which will be easy to implant in a video. I watch dance music videos growing up and frequently buy the mixmag magazine so i have a well rounded insight on the genre.  This genre played a huge part of my teenage years and has influenced me and the people around me. My genre may change after i have researched since i could find a better genre to use for my music video. 


I will find this work interesting and fun since I enjoy music and learning about the surrounding areas of music. I think it will be a hard course but with the right research and investigation it can be made easier and interesting. 

Here are examples of a music video, a poster and a album cover using my favourite dance artist: 

Album coverPoster

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