Evaluation

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

My music video both uses, develops and challenges conventions of real media products.
My video is mainly in black and white, with some shots in colour. This is rarely found in music videos as they are often in colour, however more modern music videos such as Kings of Leon, ‘Use Somebody’ and Beyonce’s, ‘Single Ladies’ are beginning to have more shots in black and white. Therefore I would argue that my video is both developing and using conventions of real media products as it isn’t a convention that is yet widely recognised but something fairly new so my video is developing on this convention, but it has been done, so therefore uses a convention.

My video is only narrative based, which challenges conventions of real music videos, as they are often performance based and narrative based in order to create an image for the artists and their music. Its also done to give the audience voyeuristic pleasure; pleasure of watching and seeing their favourite artists on screen.
For that reason my video breaks a convention of real music videos; I wanted to do this because I wanted the audience to focus more on the song lyrics and the video, in order to create a certain mood.

One the other hand it also uses a convention of real music videos, because it is narrative based, and this is something that most music videos will have.
I shot the video in the same location, purely because it fits in with the narrative; the girl being insecure and becoming secluded from society and reality. I therefore wanted to make this clear by showing the girl constantly in her room.

This challenges conventions of music videos, because they always feature at least five different locations in a video, such as Htwo0’s video ‘What we gonna do’. This has a lot of different locations and a specific one in which the performance of the song is done. This allows the audience to differentiate between the narrative and the performance.

By me therefore making a video that is shot in the same location; I am challenging the conventions of real music videos because I am breaking the boundary line and creating something new and unseen.

My ancillary product; the magazine article also uses and develops conventions.
I used an image that is also featured on the digipak that is a medium close up shot of the artist; Charley-Marie. It fills the background of the article.
This is a convention of magazine article’s for new albums because a lot of them feature an image of the artist as the background, such as the two magazine articles I have analysed. Although they are not all medium close up shots of the artist, this is a convention.
I therefore have used a convention of magazine articles for new albums.

I edited the image so that the artist is in black and white, whereas the magazine bed that she is laid on is still in colour. I did this because it related to the video and the girl being obsessed with celebrities in magazines. Therefore the focus is on the magazines.

I placed an image of the album in the bottom corner, which can arguably not be a convention of magazine articles, but something that is sometimes featured. I got this idea from the Gwen Stefani article that I analysed.
This is a development of conventions of magazine articles because it is not something that is always seen, but a convention that is used.
A convention that I have used is the name of the artist, the album and a song that is featured on the album. This is a convention that is used on most magazine articles, in order to increase audience recognition, but also to show what the advertisement is advertising.

My final ancillary product also uses some recognised conventions of album covers.
The front cover of my album is an image of a butterfly with bright rainbow coloured wings. I decided to have this image rather then the artist because I think a butterfly is a pretty creature that can be related to the song, as it is called Beautiful. I also featured the name of the album on the cover (audience recognition).
This is a convention of album covers because many don’t feature the artist (although many do) on the cover, and most of the feature either the name of the song, artist or both; such as Green Day’s, ‘American Idiot’ album cover. I therefore used a convention of album covers.

The back cover of my album also uses many conventions of album covers, including a barcode, the featured songs, the label logo, the compact disc logo and the labels protective rights.
These are all conventions of album covers, as most if not all of these features are on the back of album covers. The back is mainly used for the songs that are featured on the album, and this is on all albums in order to let the audience know what t is that they are purchasing.

The labels logo and protective rights will also be on there as they are the production company and represent the artist; they also need to state their protective rights for legal reasons.
By adding these to my album cover I used recognised conventions of the back of albums covers.
I also added the name of the artist which is used on some real album covers and is therefore another convention that has been used. This keeps the audience aware of the artist and the album that they may purchase.

The two side panels of the album case feature the artists name and the name of the album. I also added an image of a butterfly as this is the main theme of the album that can be automatically recognised by the audience.
This is another convention of album covers as the side panels often feature the name of the artist and album.


How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

My music video is narrative based and follows a teenage girl, who is very insecure with her looks and becomes obsessed with wanting to look like celebrities in magazines.
The song ‘Beautiful’, by Christina Aguilera was the perfect song for the video I wanted to make, as the lyrics and the video have great relation.

The digipak cover that I created really links well with the video and the magazine article.
The cover has a theme of butterflies, which I wanted to use because I think butterflies are really beautiful. Also after looking at example covers, like Green Day’s, ‘American Idiot’ album, I decided that instead of using the artist on the cover I wanted something else that could be related to the song and music video; a butterfly.
This can therefore be related to the song that is used for the music video.

I did feature an image of the artist (the same one that is featured on the magazine article) on the inside flap of the digipak. The image is of the artist of the song (also who is featured in the music video) laid on a bed of magazines. This links to the music video because the narrative focuses on the girl’s obsession with celebrities in magazines.

I purposely made the image so that it would link with the video, and I thought that the best way to make the link was to keep the subject matter of the magazines.
The magazine article also links to the music video and the digipak.
As described above, the main image of the article is the same one that is featured in the digipak. This therefore also links to the music video.
The article also features a picture of the digipak in the bottom corner so that readers are aware of what is being advertised, but this also connects to the digipak.


What have you learned from your audience feedback?

I carried out a survey on ten people; some from my medie class, friends and a teacher.

After finishing my video, I showed it to my participators and asked them a series of questions, focusing on how my video looked and if it was effective in communting the narrative. The questions were as follows:

1. How well do you feel my video works with the song and what do you feel works and/or doesn't work?

2. Do you think that the video is effective in black and white? Why, and what changes may you suggest?

3. Do you think that there are enough shots in the video? Please explain.

4. What are your opinions on the video being in the same location throughtout? Did you notice and/or did you think it worked well?

5. Overall what would you rate the video on a scale of 1 to 10? (1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest). Give reasons for your answers.

These were the questioned that I asked; they were open questions because I wanted to gain as much information as possible.
I looked at all the answers in order to help give me ideas and improve my video.

I used a lot of ideas from the feedback, and many of the particpants answers were the same.
1 participant gave me 5 for the last question; 5 gave me 6 out of 10, and 4 gave me 7.
I though these were overall good markings, however all explained why they gave me these scores, and all of them commented that there was room for improvement.

The rest of the questions gave me pointers to work from. I did this by taking something that most if not all of the participators had mentioned; they are as follows:
- A wider range of shots are needed; there is a lack of close up shots because most if not all are meduim close ups.
- There could be more shots in colour especially at the end. I think it would be much more effective in showing the girls change of heart.
- The location works well because it shows that she is very secluded and living in her own world.
- The song is a very good song choice, because the video shows something that both relates to the lyrics, but also can be realted to by viewers.
- I gave this score because there is much more that can be done with the video (as pointed out above).

These are the main pointers that I wrote down for me to work on. I used all the ideas above and made the changes that were suggested; they were very useful because I felt that they did in fact improve my video overall.
I gathered this by writing down things that most and/or all the participators had mentioned, thus taking note of something from everybody's feedback.

On the whole, I think that the audience feedback was very helpful as it gave me new ideas and ways that my video could be improved, and a lot of them were correct as it did improve my video.
It also helped because it gave me things to work on, that I may not of thought of myself; like having a wider range of shots.

How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Before filming for my music video and editing it, I had to carry out research in order to find out as much information as possible about them.
I began by doing some research into the history of music videos and how they came about.
In the 60’s feature films were made were artists such as The Beatles would act but would also perform their songs during the films. This essentially was a music video; however they were seen as films.

The first music video to hit MTV on August 1, 1981 was ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’, by The Buggles. This was the first official music video.
After finding out some background of music videos I went onto analysing some; all a different genre. I did this in order to then write about the codes and conventions of them; so that I could use them when creating my own video.

I also wrote LIIAR for music videos; Language, Ideology, Institution, Audience and Representation. By doing this I was increasing my knowledge further about music videos. I was also increasing my knowledge about what attracts an audience to a music video and recognised conventions that are used in them.

I underwent doing research really early in the process because I wanted to learn as much as possible but also so that I could concentrate on my music video.
After the research I chose my song and analysed the lyrics with ideas for my music video. I also drew a storyboard that I could follow when shooting for my video.
However I changed my song twice after that and therefore added the lyrics to the new song.
After the research and planning, I moved onto shooting for my video; I did this over a weekend.
After shooting I began to edit; at the end of November.

I continued to edit on the editing suit and created my first video edit; I then decided to change the song for the final time, due to me finding that the song didn’t fit with my video.
Everything that I researched and planned and made, I posted onto my blog and also kept note in my ‘silver book’.
I kept a note of everything that I did and when I did it in a notebook, so that I could look back at any time if needed.
For my ancillary products I used photo-shop to edit my images for my magazine article and digipak.
I created the final pieces in Microsoft publisher, due to me adding new fonts and needing to save it in a JPEG format.

Music Video- 'Beautiful'

This is my final music video to the song 'Beautiful', by Christina Aguilera.
It is mainly in black and white, however there are some colour shots at the end of the video; I changed it from black and white to colour because I wanted the colour to signify change, in that her life is no longer dull and unhappy, but the total opposite.
I did this after doing some research and asking for ideas to improve my video; it was suggested putting the end shots in colour for more effect.

I used most of the shots from my first video edit, however I also added some to include a larger variety of shots; such as close ups. This again was information that I gathered from my feedback.
The narrative is also the same as before, however the video is structured slightly different. I used most of the same shots but rearranged them in a different order.

The song that I chose is a slow song, which I wanted in order for me to slow down shots for more emphasis and effect. The song works really well with the video as they are both in sync in terms of lyrics and pace. I think by slowing the shots down it does have a lot more effect, which is important especially on scenes like the ripping of the posters off the wall. It makes the audience feel emotion due to the slow song and video narrative, which is something that was not present in my first video edit.
I was also able to keep some fast shots due to the song having a change in pace; around the middle of the song. I used this to create a reverse sequence, in which the video begins to go back; right to the beginning of the video. I decided to this after my first idea failed, of using the shots in the beginning sequence over again. I then made the reverse sequence, which I got the idea from the video 'Me, Myself and I', by Beyonce. It also added more effect because it made it look like the girl in the story was thinking about everything that had happened leading up to the climax point; ripping the posters off her wall.

I got a lot of the ideas to improve my video from the feedback of my questionnaire, which was really useful. I analysed the feedback and set pointers for myself, (these can be seen in my evaluation). I did this by taking things that most, if not all of my participants had said would improve my music video.

Anciliary Product- Digipak

This is my digipak cover that I have created. It features the front cover, back cover, side panels and the inside left flap.
I used ideas and conventions from my planning and research that I did on magazine articles for new albums.
The image in the top right corner is also the image that is featured on the magazine article; I did this so that they linked in some way. It also links to the video, making all three have some link.

The front cover (bottom right) has the butterfly, which I used because of its bright colours and the fact that it is something beautiful. I also used this because I didn't want the cover to have the artist on (I wanted to break conventions), but feature something that can also be related to song. I got this idea from the green day album advert as it features a hand with a grenade, which presumably realtes to the album or band.
The front cover also has the name of the album, which is a recognised convention of album covers; it is done in order for the purchasers to know what they are purchasing.

The two panels (in between the two covers and rear inlay) have the artists name on and the name of the song. This again is a convention of album covers, as the panels are often used for the name of the artist and the song.
I also placed another butterfly image on the panels because I wanted to keep the theme of butterflies present.

On the back cover (bottom centre), I wrote the songs that are featured on the album. This is another convention of album covers as the back cover is used to show what is featued on the disc(s).
I also put on a barcode, the labels logo, the labels protective rights and the compact disc logo. These are also conventions of album covers.

Anciliary Product- Magazine Advert

This is my magazine article for my new digipak, which I also created.
It features the artist, the name of the artist, the name of the album, an image of the album, the release date, and the website. These are conventions of magazine articles for new albums, which I learnt from analysing magazine articles.
I used the same image on my digipak, however this is edited slightly different to make the artist look more like a painting. I wanted this effect because of the pose that she is in; it is elegant and professional.

I used a handwriting type font for the artists name because I wanted to make it look like a signature; as though the artist has written it herself.
I also used a handwriting type font for the release date; 'In stores now', and the website, however i put this in italics, to show differentiation .

I used a different font for the album name; the same that is used on the album itself. I did this because I wanted viewers to be able to recognise the album, just by looking at the writing; due to it being on the album too.

Album advert

This is an advert for Gwen Stefani's digipak.
It features a large image of her, filling the background; similar to Madonna's advert. However this image is medium shot and Gwen can be seen down to her waist as apposed to a close up image of Madonna.

The image is slightly blurred making the different colours blend. This makes the image look like a painting rather then a photograph.

It can be seen that the main image is also the image featured on the front of the album, which is in the bottom corner of the advert. This allows the audience to recognise the artist and the album.

The colours used again signify that the album is aimed at a female audience rather then a male as it uses colours such as gold, pink and white.

The advert also features the artists name; again increasing audience recognition.

The advert also features the name of the album, which is also on the album image in the bottom corner.
It also shows a popular song that is featured in the album, making the audience more attracted and wanting to but it.

Overall this advert is very similar to the previous advert that I analysed. They both shows some of the conventions of adverts for albums and digupak's. These include the artists name, the use of bright colours and some of the contents in the album.

By analysing these adverts I can now use some of the recognised conventions when creating a magazine advert for my digipak.

Album advert

This is an advert for a digipak on a billboard for the artist Madonna.
It uses bright colours in order to catch a passer's eye. This is effective because it is more likely that a person will see it and read it if it is eye catching.

It features a large image of Madonna filling the backgroud; this allows viewers to associate the advert to the artists album.
The image also uses bright colours, such as the eye makeup, the lipstick and even the hair. By doing this it almost makes the advert look like a cartoon.
This could signify that the album is trying to reach out to a younger audience as Madonna is already a popular star with older audiences.

The whole image has very faint writing which can just be seen, making the image look like it is made up of old newspaper strips.
This makes the advert have an old fashioned look, which contrasts with the bright use of colours.

The writing cannot be clearly seen which suggests it could be anything, however it may be lyrics to some of Madonna's songs.

The use of light blue, pink and yellow suggest that it is made to appeal to a female audience rather then a male.

The advert features the name of the artist and the album. This again is making clear to the audience both the artist and album.

The bottom of the advert features information of what the digipak includes and some of Madonna's most popular songs.
This is done to draw in readers and make them want to buy the album.

Digipak template

This is a rough idea of what my digipak may look like.
The front cover (image in the bottom right corner) is going to feature Charley Marie, the artist layed in a pose on a bed of magazines. I did this because it relates to the theme of the song; insecurity, and how Charley finds herself very insecure with her body after looking at celebrities in magazines such as Vogue and People.

I decided not to feature the artists name or song on the front cover, which is a well known convention of digipak's and CD's. I decided not to do this because the name of the artist and song is going to be featured on both the panel and inside the digipak.Therfore the consumers would still be bale to recognise the artist.

The back cover (image at the bottom; middle) is a close up shot of the artist with a neutral but natural look. I did this because I wanted an imange of just the artist that doesn't neccesarily relate to the CD or DVD. I liked this idea because it simply just shows the artist as herself rather than an artist. It also contrasts with the image on the front cover.

The panel of the digipak has the artist and song written down it. This is a convention of most if not all digipak's and I wanted to keep a recognised convention.

The inside of the digipak features the name of the artists, the song and video that is featured on each disc. This is to let the consumer know what is featured on each disc and again to be aware of the artist. This is another feature of digipak's, as the contents of each disc is either written inside or on the back of the digipak.

I used a butterfly on the blank side of the digipak because i wanted something that relates to the song. The name of the song is 'Beautiful' and I think a butterfly is something that is beautiful and can therefore can be related to the song.

New Song Lyrics- Christina Aguilera: Beautiful

(Don't look at me)

Everyday is so wonderful
And suddenly, it's hard to breathe
Now and then, I get insecure
From all the pain,
I'm so ashamed

I am beautiful no matter what they say
Words can't bring me down
I am beautiful in every single way
Yes, words can't bring me down, oh no
So don't you bring me down today

To all your friends you're delirious
So consumed in all your doom
Trying hard to fill the emptiness,
The pieces gone,
Left the puzzle undone,
Ain't that the way it is?

You are beautiful no matter what they say
Words can't bring you down, no, no
You are beautiful in every single way
Yes words can't bring you down, oh, no
So don't you bring me down today

No matter what we do
(no matter what we do)
No matter what we say
(no matter what we say)
We're the song inside the tune
(yeah, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)
Full of beautiful mistakes
And everywhere we go
(and everywhere we go)
The sun will always shine
(sun will always, always shine)
But tomorrow we might awake
On the other side

'Cause we are beautiful,
No matter what they say
Yes, words won't bring us down, oh no
We are beautiful in every single way
Yes, words can't bring us down, oh no
So don't you bring me down today

Don't you bring me down today
Don't you bring me down...
Mmm, today

These are the lyrics for my new song choice; Christina Aguilera, Beautiful. I have decided to change my song again because after making my music video, I found that the song was too fast for the video that I wanted to do. I therfore picked a slower song but also picked Beautiful because the lyrics are reflected by my music video.

Film First Edit

This is my first video edit that I completed (with small black out point) for the song ‘I don’t wanna be’, by Gavin Degraw.

I did the video in black and white because I wanted it to add emphasis on the mood of the narrative and the character in the video, which is sad and unhappy.

The video is only narrative based, which is a convention of music videos as seen in the previous videos that I analysed; they often have a story behind the song. However, it also breaks the conventions of music videos because it is only narrative based, whereas they often feature the artist performing the song through mime, therefore being both narrative and performance based.

I sped up most of the shots in order for them to be in sync with the tempo and pace of the song. I created my video so that at first it contradicted with the lyrics in the song as the narrative follows a girl who wants to be anybody but herself. However I did this because it then allowed me to have an ending in which the video and song lyrics become in sync.

The video follows a teenage girl who is very insecure with her looks and becomes obsessed with celebrities in magazines; purely because of the way they look. She begins to obsess about looking like the celebrities and sticks posters up around her room; constantly reminding her about her insecurities. Her mother realises her health declining and an argument erupts after she brings the girl some and she refuses to eat it. After the argument the girl begins to think about what her mother said; she begin to rip the posters down; this is the moment the video and lyrics merge.

After completing the video (excluding the blackout point), I watched it through and didn’t think that the pace of the song worked well with the video.

Storyboard

This is my storyboard, which I made into an animatric. I made it into an animatric because this way I was able to put my music video song into the animatric whilst it's playing. I recently changed the song on the animatric to fit my new song choice of Beautiful by Christina Aguilera.

The first image of my animatric features the performer looking in the mirror due to her insecurities of thinking she is over weight. This is demonstrated by her constantly holding her stomach and trying to 'suck in' her stomach.

The second image then shows how her insecurities came about, as she is sticking up posters from magazines of well known celebrities around her mirror. I did this because magazines are well known for featuring images of celebrities that have been computer edited and airbrushed; making them look practically perfect. This has caused conflict in the news about the representation that they are bringing about and how younger age groups, such as 13-19 year olds look at celebrities arguably as role models and can become very insecure with themselves. Due to this I wanted to make clear how the artists insecurities came about but also relate to issues that are present today. It can also be something that some people can relate to.

The third image is a close up on one of the celebrity posters to increase on the cause of her insecurities. It also shows how they are airbrushed and edited to almost perfection in a more intense view due to it being a close up.

The next image shows the girl at school/college sat with a group of friends. She is very secluded from her friends shown by her not involving herself in any conversations. She is also the only person not eating, which is seen when her friends try to offer her food but she refuses. I intend to make her look really unhealthy with large bags under her eyes and really pale faced. She will also look thinner then in the first scene by having her in more fitted clothes as apposed to her baggy clothes in the first scene.
Her friends are also going to question her health, however she is going to insist that nothing is wrong.

The next scene is then going to be a flash back, which I want to contrast with the previous scene in order to show what she used to be like in terms of weight but also how her personality and overall health has changed.
In this scene she is going to be really happy and laughing and joking with her friends but also looking a lot healthier with a lot more colour in her face.

The sixth scene is going to be an argument between the girl and her mother. This is going to be caused after her mum brings in some food for the girl to eat who refuses to eat anything. An argument between them will then erupt where the mum is questioning about the posters around her mirror but also questioning her health and stating that she looks really unhealthy.
She is then going to rip a poster off the mirror, throw it on the floor and walk out of the room.

The next scene is left with the girl crying about the argument with her mum; she picks up the poster off the floor that her mum threw and has a long look at it before wiping her tears and looking at the rest of the posters around her mirror.
This then follows on into the next scene where the girl begins to rip the posters off the wardrobe from around her mirror. Im going to do this to show that everything her mum had said to her really got through and that she has realised that she doesn't need to look like the celebrities in magazines and that they themselves don't look like that.
This is a high moment in the music video because everything that has previously happened was due to these posters and insecurities they created for her and now she is ripping them down for good.

Visual ideas for my new song

These are the lyrics for my new song and music video choice. I have written some of my visual ideas that I get from the lyrics around the lyrics in the song.

Target audiences of music videos

Music videos appeal to a wide range of audiences all over the world, however due to the way music videos are today and their content I would say that the target audience is 16-21 year olds. I think this is the average age range of people who watch music videos because today music videos are made to make money and therefore attract a younger audience in order to get them interested sooner rather then later.

Music videos are very different nowadays then back in the 1980's when they were first really introduced. Nowadays a music video consists of a performance based and maybe narrative based concept and often feature the artist dancing, especially in R&B and pop videos or footage of the artist or band on tour, as in Rock videos.

Artists in R&B music videos such as Beyonce, Pussycat Dolls, Christina Aguilera, Madonna and many more often have a performance based video where they are miming the song and always tend to be dancing in their faster paced songs. Nowadays female artists such as the ones mentioned above wear fairly revealing outfits, showing off their bodily features. Due to this an older audience would not really be interested in such videos because in their times when videos were first introduces it was more about the lyrics in the song rather then the artist and what they are capable of. Many older aged people feel that music videos are way too revealing today.

Younger audiences are not really interested in music videos as much because they are more interested in video games and TV shows rather then watching music videos.

Rock videos often feature the band performing the song and also footage of them being on tour; this is a convention of a rock video.

Although music attracts a large audience as most if not all people will enjoy and listen to music, however the videos tend not to attract such a large audience.

Codes and Conventions of music videos

There are many codes and conventions used within music videos through the used of camera, editing, mise en scene and clothing. Codes and conventions are certain things done within videos which represent something that can be recognised by the audience.

In the music video I analysed ' Use Somebody' by Kings of Leon a close up shot of the artist (lead singer of the band) is used as soon as the music begins. This is a convention of a music video as close up shots of the artist are always used in order for the audience to recognise them and also because artists tend to mime the lyrics making it a performance based song. Close up shots are also used in the two other videos I analysed; 'Trust' and 'What's it gonna be'.

In 'Use Somebody', the emotion can be seen on the artists face as he begins to sing the song, this is a symbolic code as it allows the audience to know what the artist is feeling and therefore sets a mood for the song and the audience. This is also done in 'Trust' as both artists tend not to look directly at the camera but are looking down or the camera is placed where the audience only see the side of their faces. This is effective as the song is emotional and it lets the audience become aware of the emotion in both the lyrics and the performance.

In the song 'What's it gonna be', symbolic codes are also used when the artists are performing the song, the are always in the location of the library. This is done as it gives the audience recognition of who the artists are because they can link them with the location. This is important because the song is both performance based and narrative based but by creating this location it breaks these up and lets the audience know which is which.

As the video by HtwoO begins the location is set straight away with an establishing shot of a school or college building. This is then backed up by the clothing of a school uniform, which lets the audience know for certain where they are. This is a convention of a music video as clothes can be used to set a location, mood or to even indicate the genre of the song. In this case the clothes are used to set the location.
The use of the establishing shot at the start of the song is very much the same as the music video 'Trust'. At the beginning of this song a shot of a mansion is used but instead of clothing setting the location, text is used at the bottom of the screen, saying 'Tuscany, Italy'. This again sets the location.

Another convention of music videos is the editing; in all three of the videos I analysed editing is used in order for the shots to be in pace with the pace of the music. This a convention used in most music videos because the pace of the shots can set a mood or feel to the song. For example the song 'Trust' is a slow song with a lot of emotion, so shots are not fast and short but a longer.
On the other hand in the song 'Use Somebody', fast, short shots are used as the genre of the music is rock and therefore fast paced. However at the start of the song long shots are used as the pace of the music is fairly slow.

In the HtwoO video fairly longer shots are used then in the Kings of Leon video although it is a fast paced song, however fast dancing is used in there video which makes the pace seem quicker.

All of these are codes and conventions of music videos, which all vary depending on the genre and pace of the song. Overall all the videos have many things in common which are likely to be found in most music videos, hence why they are conventions.

Visual ideas for my song choice

These are the lyrics for my chosen song; I have written some ideas around the lyrics to give some visual ideas of what could be in my music video.

Music Video Analysis-H'two'O

The final music video I have chosen to analyse is 'What's it gonna be' by HtwoO and Platinum. The genre of their music is dance and therefore I have chosen it to use different genres in all the videos I analyse.

The music video opens with what can be recognised as the front of a school, college or university building. The name of the song and the artist are then put on screen in what looks like a logo sign, which then lets the audience know that the location is a school and also the information about the song. The audience will know that it is set in a school because schools have logos on uniforms and colleges and universities don't have uniforms.

At the start of the video the music begins straight away, which is quite unusual for music videos as the music tends to start a few seconds into the video.

The shot then cuts to inside the building in a classroom, where students are entering. Close ups are used on two people, which instantly lets the audience know that these are the artists and the narrative has began. They acknowledge each other showing they are familiar with one another.

The singer is then seen miming the song in a building presumably in the school which looks like the library from the books.
This shot then cuts back to the classroom where a tall, attractive female enters the classroom alone, in slow motion. This is done to emphasise her attractiveness and her attention from the males in the classroom. This is then backed up as the male artist is seen 'checking out' the girl entering the classroom. The female artist then looks in the direction of the male giving a livid look, suggesting she in a relationship with him or she is interested in him.

When the beat kicks in the scene totally changes to back outside the building where four people (two boys and two girls) begin to break dance to the beat. The song starts with the chorus rather then the first verse. This is fairly usual for dance songs.
When the singing begins the shot of the female artist in the library is used again with her miming and also the male artist is seen in the same location also miming.
These short shots are seen again of the break dancers and the artists and the attractive female.

In the classroom the teacher enters, and the students throw paper at him, suggesting they are disobedient and the teacher isn't very strict. Also the guy is still seen looking at the attractive female with her also giving him attention. It is now known by the lyrics in the song that both artists have been in a previous relationship, suggesting why she gave him a certain look at the beginning.
The camera then pans around the classroom showing the audience the different characters in the room, for example the geek, the 'cool' kid etc.

The break dancing is seen again outside the school this time with the 'geeky' guy previously seen in the classroom. Shots between the different break dancers are used during the chorus in a shot reverse shot pattern.

When the second verse begins the male artist is singing and is therefore in the location of the library, miming to the song. The break dancers and classroom shots are also used during the verse.
He is seen falling asleep in class where he begins to dream about the attractive female dancing for him, making the audience see he 'fancies' her and may end up in a relationship. The female is wearing bra and knickers with a shirt showing his sexual attraction to her.
The female artist also begins to sing and mime to the song.

At the end of this verse a new female artist who has not yet been seen in the video is introduced in the library. Whilst this is going on short shots of all the artist's and the narrative are seen, as well as the boy waking up from his dream to find his teacher dancing instead of the girl.

When the singing takes back over the scene has a total change from the classroom to what looks like a theatre because of the stage and piano. The female artist is also singing directly to the male artist, expressing her feelings, instead of the usual place of the library.
Also the narrative has a happy ending like in the video Trust, as the male artist disregards the attractive female suggesting the relationship between both artists is still there.

From this point until the end of the song short shots are used again of both artists miming in the library and students break dancing.

Overall this video also has a combination of performance-based because the artists are miming directly to the camera and narrative-based as it has a story within the video relating to the lyrics. This is therefore similar to the music video 'Trust'.

Music Video Analysis-Keyshia Cole

The second music video I have chosen to analyse is 'Trust' by Keyshia Cole and Monica. It has an R&B genre and is slow song.

The opening shot of the music video is a large cream mansion with is straight away known to be in Tuscany, Italy as this is written across the bottom of the screen. Sound of birds 'chirping' can be heard making the scene feel calm and happy. The sound of the birds is continued through each shot known as a sound bridge until the melody begins.

The first straight cut shot is of the artist, Keyshia sat down, looking rather unhappy and looking down at her phone suggesting she is waiting for someone to get in touch. Her being unhappy is fairly strange as the singing birds make the audience think it should be a happy or calm mood. The artist is then seen looking out the window after the front door to the house is opened, indicating that she may not want them to leave. This is the point the music begins, suggesting the narrative is beginning. She is then seen again, this time on the phone ringing someone.
At this point the second artist, Monica is introduced as a shot of her is seen on the phone; it is clear that they are close friends as they use nicknames for each other, showing they have known each other for a long time.

While on the phone Keyshia says 'I've been thinking about this guy', at this point a shot of a guy who is leaving the house is seen, indicating who she is talking about.
Also whilst on the phone a shot reverse shot pattern is used between the artists, also the shot of Keyshia looking down at the phone is used emphasising the time she is waiting for the phone to ring.

At the end of the conversation Keyshia says 'I just feel like', at this point the beat and song begins with her miming, however she is not looking directly at the camera but it is a side shot of her. This is effective because it makes the audience feel her emotion without her having to look directly at you; this is something many people do when telling their emotions as they can't face the person directly.

The shot of the guy leaving and her watching is used again, really emphasising the connection and feelings between them. In one shot the guy is seen from the front rather then the back as previously seen. As she says 'Don't you run from me, baby', he is seen walking away from the house, suggesting a break up.
She is then seen again miming the song, this time the shot is face on, however she is still not looking at the camera, highlighting her emotion.

A shot of her in the bath is then seen before she is accompanied by the guy, most likely to be the past. Both of them are happy showing the audience how content the relationship was.
This is then cut to Keyshia again sat down, however in a medium close up shot where the phone is no longer visible. She is looking directly at the camera, not miming but looking really sad before slowly lowering her head; this is really effective as the audience is really feeling her emotion.
Instead of the usual straight cut, the shot is faded out to black before another shot of her miming is faded in.
The shot of her in the bath with the guy is used again using the fade out to black.

The next shot introduces Monica who is also sat down in a medium shot, with two other people in the shot. The two unknown people in the shot are sat closer to the right of the camera, with their backs facing the audience. This could suggest that she is in a public place or are friends of hers.

Monica is also miming the song and again isn't looking at the camera, however she has more eye contact then Keyshia suggesting she is trying to give advice to her and be strong for her. A shot reverse shot pattern is used between both artists as though they are talking to each other with the lyrics in the song.

Just before the chorus of the song begins a short shot of a candle holder with lit candles is seen before quickly fading out. This is used because the next shot of Keyshiais used in the same location as the candle, which can be recognised because of the paintings on the walls in both shots.
The colour in the shot is fairly white/ yellow as though representing the candles as they are the same colour.

Also in the shot of Keyshia and then Monica they are both looking at the camera a lot more and are both dressed differently suggesting that they are not apart of the narrative but are performing.
In the chorus another shot of Keyshia with the guy is used again from the past, but this time they are seen sat together 'playing' around and again looking happy. However in one shot of them together it is seen that she answers the phone and is protective of him not looking at who it is, which makes the audience understand how the guy must feel, especially relating it to the song lyrics and meaning of his trust.
The shot then cuts back to Keyshia who is sat in the place as the beginning of the video, again not looking at the camera each time the words 'I need you', are sang, emphasising her need for him back.

Throughout the chorus shots between Keyshia, Monica and the past shots are all straight cut, short shots, which coincides with the pace of the music as it speeds up.
Towards the end of the song both the artists are seen together for the first time miming the song again performing to the audience.

As the song is coming to an end the narrative side of the video is used again and the shot of the guy leaving with Keyshia watching him go is used again, emphasising her pain again.
Shots between the narrative and the performance are used in pace with the music in short shots.

At the end of the song it is seen that the guy comes back, which makes the audience happy after feeling all the sad emotion through the song.

Overall the music video is a combination of performance-based, with the artists miming the song to the camera, narrative-based as there is a story within the video which counterpart with the song, and finally abstract-based as it really creates a mood and emotion that the audience feel through listening to the song and watching the video.

Music Video Analysis- Kings of Leon

The first music video and song I have chosen to analyse is 'Use somebody' by Kings of Leon. The genre of the bands music is indie/rock. The genre can be identified by the audience when the music begins, as it has the strong, hard beat familiar to rock.

There is a 30 second instrumental at the start of song; during which fast, short shots of the band, cities and an aeroplane are seen. The shots could be short to indicate that all of these things are a part of the past.
The shots of the band is actual tour footage and they can be seen in live performances, this is used to indicate that they are an authentic band who play their own music and instruments as seen in the footage. This is emphasised by close ups of the band in performance.

There are also shots of cities used to highlight the fact that they were on tour and travelling. These were also fast shots and used many different camera shots, for example: panning shots, long shots and birds eye view shots.
There is also a shot of an aeroplane, again emphasising that the band were on tour. Between all the shots, straight cuts were used.

After 30 seconds a fade out, fade in shot is used in that the shot of the city is faded out whilst the shot of the lead singer is gradually fading in. A close up of the singer is used as he begins miming the song. When the line 'You know that I can use somebody' is sang the first shot of the singer is straight cut to a shot of him and a woman. The shot is very short, suggesting that it is a flashback of past times.
The audience is able to recognise that it is the main singer in the shot although their faces aren't seen because of his necklace, which is seen in the shot.
During the first verse of the song a shot reverse shot pattern is used between shots and the lead singer. Again the shots are short and are of the band in concert, but there is also shots of each member of the band individually. This allows the audience to see and become familiar with all members of the band.

At the start of the chorus the colour of the shot is instantly turned black and white again indicating the past. The shots are the same again of the band in concert, however they are now singing the song for the music video. They are also seen doing everything they do in preparation for the concert including: arriving at the venue, in the dressing room, on stage, looking at the arena before concert and having fun. This again is actual footage of the band; this lets the audience see the band as they are and get a sense of their personalities. The KOL logo is used frequently, which allows fans and the audience to recognise the artists instantly.

On the final verse, instead of going back to the close of the lead singer in colour, the shot is kept black and white and keeps using actual footage of the concert.
More short shots are used however this time they switch between concert footage, which is black and white, and shots of the band on a night out in a bar and also in concert which is in colour. This again allows the audience to get a sense of the bands personality by seeing them when not performing. Also by using black and white and colour on certain shots, it shows the difference between the past and present.

A shot of the singer and the woman are used again however they are seen kissing, also a shot of another band member and a woman is seen emphasising the songs meaning of them needing someone to love.

As the song comes closer to the finish the shots become shorter and shorter, which could be used to symbolise the increasing need for a woman.
The close up shot of the lead singer is used again when the line 'someone like you' is sang again emphasising the need, along with long shots of him each time the line is used.

The first line of the song is also used as the last line and the close up shot of the lead singer is used again, like at the beginning of the song.

The music video is a performance video as it has the lead singer miming and therefore performing the song to the camera. Overall I think this is a fairly typical video for the genre of the music as a lot of rock music videos tend to use actual footage as part of their videos as apposed to pop videos.

Music videos-LIIAR

The purposes of music videos

Language- Language is used to communicate to the audience through cinematography, lighting, mise en scene and clothing.
In music videos close up shots are always used on the artist so the audience is aware of who is singing the song. This is important because the audience expects to see the artist on screen in order to give them voyeuristic pleasure.
A lot of music videos also feature at least one of the aspects of performance, narrative, lyrical interpretation, abstract and lyrical representation.
It is very typical that an artist will use performance in their video a they tend to mime in their videos, which is an aspect of performance.
Some music videos will also have a narrative in that they tell a story like in 'Run Away Love' by Mary J Blige.
'Sledge Hammer' by Peter Gabriel is a good example of lyrical representation as the words in the song are represented by images used on screen. It is also an example of abstract video as it creates a sense of feel and mood.
Artists in videos are always wearing fashionable clothes for the simple reason that audiences will then want to imitate and also to get a sense of what the artist is like and the genre of their music. By this I mean that if the genre of the music is heavy metal it is likely that the artist will be wearing black clothes and dark makeup around their eyes as this is iconic for artists under this genre.
Lighting is also used to set a scene as in the video 'Trust', which I analysed as in one scene the lighting is faily dark and the mood is sad which is portrayed by the artist.

Ideology- The aims and ideas of music videos is to allow the audience to be able to view their favourite artists on screen. This is to give the audience satisfaction of viewing the artist without having to be at a live concert. However they are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. They are also used in able for the artist to ‘show off’ their skills.

Institution- A music video is made by the record company of the artist in order to promote the new song and make money.
Black eyed peas are signed to two record labels; Interscope records and A&M records, although A&M is merged into Interscope. Interscope was formerly known to be a label which dealt with hip-hop and R&B music, however nowadays they have broadened their genre in music in order to attract a larger target audience.
A&M was an independent record label and became the worlds largest independent record company. Over the years, A&M added specialty imprints: Almo International for middle of the road; Omen Records (1964–1966) for soul; Horizon Records for jazz (1974–1978); AyM Discos for Latin-American; Vendetta Records for dance music (1988–1990); and Tuff Break Records for hip-hop music. This also broadened their target audience as these labels introduced different genres.
The Black Eyed Peas are a very famous group and are known world wide and have had many number one singles. The record company is also having great success in promoting their artists songs through music videos.

I have decided to change my song choice to 'I don't wanna be' by Gavin Degraw who is an aritist of J Records and Sony Music Entertainment which is the parent of J Records.
SME is one of the major four labels along with Universal, Warner and EMI. It was founded in 1929 and has many subsidiary labels. It is a very successful record company hence why it is one of the four major labels.
Gavin Degraw is a singer-songwriter and muscian who is most known for his single 'I don't wanna be', which is featured on the US hit drama 'One Tree Hill'.
He is an artist of both SME and J Records. He has also had success with other singles which are also featured in films.

Audience- I think music videos have a fairly small target audience because they tend to reach out to a certain age group. I would say music videos reach out to people aged between 15 and 20, because at this age music artists are looked up to similarly like a role model. Music videos are very modern in that they use a wide range of styles of film making techniques, including animation, live action filming, documentaries, and non-narrative approaches such as abstract film. Some music videos blend different styles, such as animation and live action. This is why I think music videos appeal to a younger audience because the effects and graphics are so much more advanced than when music videos were first introduced, and much more explicit. Therefore they don’t appeal to an older audience because the effect and graphics don’t interest them as much as younger audiences because they have lived through music videos of their time.


Representation-I think music videos have many different representations of people including their gender, age and race, depending on the genre of the music. For example:
In hip hop and rap, many of the lyrics and images portray women of all ethnicity's as sexual objects. The image of dozens of semi-naked women dancing provocatively around a rapper has become standard in music videos.
Ludacris’ song and video “Pimping All Over the World” is a good example of hatred towards women in hip hop. The lyrics list women off like possessions: “The fancy cars, the women and the caviar.” Further, the singer dismisses the woman’s protests that he uses her for sex by saying that he takes her places.
Also the women in hip hop music videos are always young attractive women, with very little clothing on. This isn’t a true representation of women because not all women in society look like women in music videos.
On the other hand in music videos by female artists like the Pussycat Dolls, Britney Spears, Beyonce and much more, they often wear revealing clothing. This therefore increases the representations of women portrayed in hip hop music videos, because female artists also portray themselves as sex symbols by wearing inappropriate clothing in their music videos.
Also in some music videos ethnicity is represented in certain ways. Jay-z’ video ‘Run This Town’ has a majority of black people if not all. The video I think influences gang violence as it features mobs of gangs holding large sticks on fire, with the lyrics ‘Who’s going to run this town tonight’. This portrays them to be violent and indicates gang violence within America, as this is where the music video takes place.

History of music videos

A music video is a short video/film used to promote music or songs. By using a music video it allows the audience to view the star or artist, giving them voyeuristic pleasure and the artist to promote their new song. Voyeuristic pleasure means that the audience gets pleasure from watching their favourite artists on screen, without having to see them in person. This is also known as audience gratification; a need in the audience in that they want to see their favourite singers on screen as this gives them voyeuristic pleasure.

According to the Encarta Encyclopaedia, “Music is the organized movement of sounds through a continuum of time. Music plays a role in all societies and it exists in a large number of styles, each characteristic of a geographical region or a historical era.

In 1964, The Beatles cemented their newfound international fame by starring in their first feature film A Hard Days Night, directed by Richard Lester. The feature film was shot in black and white and included some songs of the Beatles. During the songs the Beatles would be on screen ‘joking’ around, allowing the audience to view them and listen to them at the same time, introducing the voyeuristic pleasure.

The Beatles at this time were highly famous and well known for their music and writing their own songs and in order to promote their career even more they made a feature film.

Film critic Robert Ebert credits Lester with constructing "a new grammar":

“... he influenced many other films. Today when we watch TV and see quick cutting, hand-held cameras, interviews conducted on the run with moving targets, quickly intercut snatches of dialogue, music under documentary action and all the other trademarks of the modern style, we are looking at the children of A Hard Day's Night".

The Beatles' second feature Help! (1965) was shot in colour and had more direct audience address. They used miming (Mickey mousing) in the songs and related what the were doing to the purpose or meaning of the song, rather then doing nothing related to the song as in A Hard Day’s Night.

Feature films became very famous after being introduced by the Beatles.

Bob Dylan another well known artist who also wrote his own songs starred in a documentary of his Don’t Look Back Tour in 1965. His song Subterranean Homesick Blues featured him on screen with words in his song written on paper boards. This was very different to the Beatles feature film as Bob Dylan’s documentary focused more on the words in his song. He did this because of social protest at the time and his songs expressed objection to the condition of the American society.

On August 1, 1981, at 12:01 a.m., MTV: Music Television launched with the words "Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll," spoken by John Lack. Those words were immediately followed by the original MTV theme song, a crunching guitar riff written by Jonathan Elias and John Petersen, playing over a montage of the Apollo 11 moon landing.

The first song to be aired was Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles, and in 1982 Michael Jackson released Thriller, which sold more than 25 million copies, becoming the biggest-selling album in history.

In 1996 Janet Jackson becomes the highest-paid musician in history when she signs an $80-million deal with Virgin Records.

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

http://ezinearticles.com/?Some-History-Facts-on-Music-Videos&id=85854

http://www.infoplease.com/ipea/A0151192.html

Task Brief

A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following three options:

-a website homepage fo the band;
-a cover for it's release in DVD;
-a magazine advertisement for the DVD.