Group - Intentions for Audience Research

Survey Monkey Questionnaire

• Ask specific questions appropriate to our concept ideas
• Use a ratings scale to accurately gain opinions about our ideas

Focus Group

• 4-5 people interested in music. Preferably indie.
• Play some indie music tracks. Get feedback via appropriate questions.
• Play our chosen track 'Now I'm In The City'.
• Ask focus group for ideas. Compare with ours.

Group - Brighton Recce Reflection

• On the 27th September both media classes went on a trip to do some filming in Brighton.
• This was to help us in trying out different locations, shots and atmospheres for our music video and to improve on our skills that we learnt at AS.
• Brighton is a more urban environment compared to our AS trip to Wilderness Woods and this proved to be much more challenging. For example, Brighton's streets are obviously less controlled and busy whereas Wilderness Woods was quiet and isolated.
• We were given a brief that included having to shoot:
• 2 exterior locations
• 2 interior locations
• high and low angle suitable for a performance
• POV handicam shot
• Variety of CUs suitable for instruments etc
• This provided us with ideas on how to frame our shots in a way that could be used in a music video of our own. 
• As we had a specific amount of time to film in we were pushed to make creative decisions in a short period of time. This should help us when filming our own music video as we will set ourselves deadlines and manage our time according to what shots we need and when.

   

YM- Reflection on Technical Analysis

Through doing this technical analysis, many thing have become evident to me about music videos and the differences between Year 12 and Year 13.

While it is incredibly obvious that a music video has a quick cutting rate, deconstructing a music video shot by shot emphasised just how quick the cutting rate in a music video actually is: there are lot more cuts in music videos than in film openings which we deconstructed in Year 12. For example, in Matthew West's 'My Own Little World Video'- the one I analysed- there were 36 shots in the first thirty seconds, meaning just over one shot per second. Therefore, this is something we need to remember while filming and editing.

By doing this technical analysis, I became more aware of how often the same shots are repeated throughout a music video, especially close up's- usually to bring emphasis onto the artist. The more variety in the shots tends to come through in the narrative line of action- for example, in the video I analysed, there were more shots and effects (I.E- notion of looking, selective focus, creative shots, votueristic shots) during the narrative fuzz.

I also noticed that there tends to be more locations in music videos than in opening sequences to movies- therefore this is something we need to consider and keep in mind when planning our concept. In 'My Own Little World' in the narrative line of action, the man is seen driving around in his car and therefore showing several locations as he goes about his journey.

Overall, I've found this technical analysis very helpful in confirming and helping me see the 'norms' of music videos and therefore help me visualise our music video.
I feel that this technical analysis was a much greater help than the technical analysis I did in Year 12 as I didn't find that that analysis helped me towards the project like this has.

AP - Music Video Technical Deconstruction

Noah and the Whale - Five Years Time

Group- Music Video Ideas in Images

Costume:

In terms of appearance, we would like one guy, who would likely play the 'lead man' to have a full beard but for the other members of the band to have stubble only. This is because it is iconic to the band.

For costume, we want to keep it relatively modern as the band is very modern. However, due to the track having very much a 60's/70's vibe to it we need to give the video this feel and we plan to do that with t-shirts with 60's and 70's band logos on, as it keeps very much in the music world.

Props:

As our narrative will explain, the song is about one man getting over a break up by going to the city with some friends. We have therefore come up with the idea to show these men with stereotypical tourist props, such as a map of the city and a camera around the neck.

Locations:

As the men are away on holiday in the city we have decided to use London as our prime location, and visiting several iconic landmarks within the city that attract many tourists. These are some ideas.

YM- Reflection on Video Analysis

The video analysis that I did I felt was extremely helpful and a worthwhile task. When you watch a music video it's hard to notice the many techniques and the interwoven work and ideas of many theorists such as Dyer, Goodwin and Barthes.  Deconstructing a music video however emphasises just how much there is.

• The main area that I analysed that I think we need to consider the most is the different aspects of representation that directors try to put across to the viewers. 
• Representation often refers to the stereotypes and if/how the video conforms to these. 
• Often, music videos do because it makes them more relatable to the target audience, however both the video's I selected seemed to challenge the stereotypes of the social groups they were presenting at time throughout the video. 
• That isn't to say that there was no conforming to the stereotypes: I've yet to come across a video that doesn't conform to at least one stereotype at least once through the video because there will often be nothing for the target audience to relate to, therefore minimising viewers and not reaching everyone the artist wanted. 
• Stereotypical representations not only refer to the social groups being presented but also to how the indiviual man or woman is seen in the video. 
• To give artists their 'Star Image' they need to appear as extraordinary, in relation to Dyer's paradox 2, however complete extraordinary-ness will not help them relate and reach out to the target audience, so this needs to be considered in filming and production. 
• The presentation of men and women uses Goffman, Jhally and Kilbourne's theories of images of women, however the different sub-areas can also be realted to analysing the appearance of men- this is one of the biggest theorists works that will impact our video as it is about the representation of men.

Overall, the findings and knowledge I have of representation through the analysis of these videos is incredibly important in relation to planning, constructing and editing our final music video.

YM- Analysis of Music Video (2)

The Chemical Brothers- 'The Golden Path'




Genre and Narrative and Media Language

‘The Golden Path’ video carries many obvious indexical signs. For example the colours used in his dream world are all bright and vibrant signifying joy while the dull, washed out colours of the real world connote unhappiness and displeasure with his life. The suit the man is wearing is an indexical sign that signifies business man, and is reinforced by all the people in the real world wearing the same. The dancing in the dream world is an action code for the happiness he feels in this new place he has created. Cultural codes help the audience to understand where the characters are. In this instance, the cultural code is the traffic and big, grey building to indicate he is in the city. Whereas the sun and green fields are the cultural code for his dream world to show that it is far away from the life he leads, most likely in the countryside somewhere in the world.

In terms of Dyer's paradoxes, the artists are not present at all- it is a completely narrative video and therefore it is difficult for the audience to relate. However, I think with out the artist present the video is more “open” because it is easier to allow the audience to have different interpretations. Because of this, it is difficult to state whether the video is extraordinary or ordinary however, I think it is equally both due to the two different worlds in the video: the dream world is all happy and everyone is looking ‘perfect’ and therefore gives an extraordinary view but the real world with its dull colours is more relatable to people so is therefore very ordinary.

This video is a good example of illustration; often throught the video the relationship between the lyrics and visuals is incredibly obvious, with several very literal images to link to the lyrics. For example, with the lyric 'when I walk alone' is anchored with footage of a man walking alone through his office.

I’d say that ‘The Golden Path’ can very easily be considered art as it is not particularly advertising the artist as the band are not shown in the video at all. The video is different to stereotypical band videos, due to the fact they are not promoting themselves and therefore attracts more attention for this reason.

Representation

‘The Golden Path’ video isn’t very stereotypical. There is no artificial looks or dismemberment which will help the audience connect with the video and way of life being presented. Relative height is shown however when the man is seen taller than the woman in his dream world and in the real world.
This video challenges one of the analysis of Hegemonic masculinity because men are sterotypically depicted as the dominant gender, however this music video presents the man as the subordinate to the woman who is seen taking the lead. For example, the man is seen as the subordinate during the kiss because the woman is on top. This man is not shown topless with a perfect body or as particularly strong and therefore contradicts the stereotypical vision of a man, which makes the video more relatable as he is seen being visualised as most men are in society.

YM- Technical Analysis

AP - Reflection On Video Analysis

• After analysing a few videos I feel that I have gained proficient knowledge and got several shot ideas that will benefit me greatly when making a music video.
• I have looked at the differing and similar patterns of representation shown in music videos with particular focus of critical theorists Andrew Goodwin, Richard Dyer, Erving Goffman, Roland Barthes, Sut Jhally and Jean Kilbourne.
• For example, as we are doing a video for a male indie band we do not necessarily have to follow typical conventions of mainstream music videos that appeal to the male audience in a more sexual way.
• As we are portraying an all male band, we are able to be more creative whilst at the same time focusing on how to represent masculinity in order to appeal to our audience.

Group- Concept Ideas

Creaky Boards- 'Now I'm In The City'

Performance, Narrative or Concept?
•Performance in the narrative

Locations
•London
•Sightseeing- Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, London Eye, Iconic Streets, South Bank Statues, Camden Market etc
•Sitting on a bridge, river underneath, swinging their legs

Charactors/Actors
•4 blokes- as the band
•One of them playing piano at points

Mood/Tone
•Upbeat
•Happy
•Retro
•Excited

Technical Elements
•CU's of typical London souvenirs: t-shirts, keyrings, london underground sign, black cab etc
•CU's of band members playing instruments
•Handi-cam at times
•Fast cutting rate
•Tracking
Establishing Shots

Story
•Man has broken up with his girlfriend and is getting away- goes on holiday to London with friends and have a dayout sightseeing.

AP -Video Analysis 3

Laura Marling - Devil's Spoke

Genre and Narrative

• Barthes' enigma code is prevalent in this video through various shots of what the audience assume to be tribal men. 
• This creates an enigma  because the audience do not understand what these dark, old men have to do with the narrative, therefore Marling remains incoherent to the audience (which helps toward her 'star image') and also appears to be interested in different cultures.
• This is evident through another of Barthes' narrative codes, the cultural code, and through the mise-en-scene of a foreign landscape.
• Goodwin's key features of commercial music videos are also spotted in this more independent video.
• For example, there are a range of 'meat shots' which are to, of course, advertise the artist.

Media Language and Representation

• This video follows two lines of action.
• There is an ECU of Marling's make-up free face, with her hair looking wispy and windswept. This is unconventional as critical theorists Erving Goffman, Sut Jhally and Jean Kilbourne noticed a pattern in female artist's music videos.
• Women would be shown to have the 'artificial' look where they would be presented as slim, tall and airbrushed; a misrepresentation of REAL women.
• However, Marling's genre of indie folk doesn't focus on the advertising of the female body but on the music and passion put into it.
• There is evidence of dismemberment, which is another pattern noted by Goffman, Jhally and Kilbourne.
• For example, more ECUs of Marling showing her bare neck and shoulders. 
• This agrees with the theorists' studies as it plays on the desires of the male audience and also conforms to voyeurism.
• On the other hand, an MLS of Marling in a tribal robe playing a drum, like an aborigine challenges the stereotype we see in popular culture.

YM- Hey Ya! Group Video

During our double lesson on 15/09/2011 we were sent away in our groups to film sections of a music video for Hey Ya!

By doing this task, we gained an insight into the way music videos are made and have an understanding as to how much footage is needed due to the fast cutting rate found in music videos. We played around with shots in different lights and locations, both internal and external.

Some of the equipment we used during this exercise was:
A Cam-Frame:

A track and dolly:

and a green screen:

I definitely preferred using the track and dolly as the smooth results we came out with were fantastic, which was good because tracking our artist is going to be crucial when we come to filming our own music video. However, I very much like the cam-frame due to the large amount of possibilities the equipment offers: we used it for a shot where it gave a sense of spinning, which added to the feel of the video.

We also plan on using some of this new equipment on our reccie to Brighton to give us a better feel as to how it works, and the different ways in which we can use the equipment to shoot our music video.

Overall, during this double lesson we learnt that we really need to film twice as much as we thought we initially needed to when it comes to filming footage for our own music video. Therefore, I personally found the exercise very useful.

AP - Video Analysis 2

The Kooks - Always Where I Need To Be

Media Language

• In this video there is clear construction of a band image. 
• They are shown to be holding auditions to become a member of The Kooks and hold those auditions in a small room.
• Using semiotics, and Roland Barthes' semic code,  this connotes to the audience that The Kooks are nice, normal young men without superficial values. This further portrays them as present for the audience as people can relate to them.
• Moreover, this is constructed through the use of mise-en-scene such as their costumes which emphasises their indie genre, and therefore appeals to their target audience of hipsters.

• There is quite a fast cutting rate which adheres to the upbeat tone and attitude of the song.
• However, this contrasts with the low saturation of the video which brings a solemnity to the video.

AP - Hey Ya! Group Video

In our double lesson on Thursday, 15/09/2011, our class was set a challenge to help us get some practise of:

• Shooting scenes for a music video
• Editing the shots
• Lip-syncing with the track assigned

By doing this, we hoped to gain some insight into what lays ahead when we start to film and adit our own music video.

Here is an example of Yazmin using the dolly to give us a smooth tracking shot. It was successful.

The song we were given was the upbeat track of Hey Ya! by OutKast and each group was delegated with different sections of the song to film. 

This is our section

• [Chorus] Heeeyyy... Yaaaaaaa.. (OHH OH)
  Heeyy Yaaaaaaaa.. (OHH OH)
  Heeeyyy... Yaaaaaaa.. (Don't want to meet your daddy, OHH OH)
  Heeyy Yaaaaaaaa.. (Just want you in my Caddy OHH OH)
  Heeeyyy... Yaaaaaaa.. (OHH OH, don't want to meet yo' mama OHH OH)
  Heeyy Yaaaaaaaa.. (Just wan't to make you cumma OHH OH)
  Heeeyyy... Yaaaaaaa.. (I'm, OHH OH I'm, OHH OH)
  Heeyy Yaaaaaaaa.. (I'm just being honest OHH OH, I'm just being honest)

In order to get used to using the new equipment such as a steadicam and dolly in different locations we are also going to film shots on our trip/recce to Brighton. 

YM- Analysis of Music Video (1)

Shakira- 'Gypsy'



Institution and Audience

This music video is likely to be played on mainstream music channels such as Kerrang! and MTV due to Shakira's worldwide success making her a well known superstar. It is for this reason that she will be given a lot of "air time" as these channels know that she will bring the viewers in. However, due to her superstar status in the music industry, a music video is not particuarly necessary and therefore will be more the focus of ambient viewing rather than focused as it will most likely be on in the background while the viewer is doing other tasks.
In terms of institutional context, the video is a metaphor for the way in which she sees her own life: she has been on the road and travelling since she was very young hence her decision to use the term ‘gypsy’ due to the lifestyle they lead and it’s resemblances to hers. The video received a lot of criticism from the gypsy community however because of the appearance of Shakira as a gypsy and due to the racist stereotypes in the lyrics that label them as thieves.

Representation

In Shakira’s ‘Gypsy’, she appears as the stereotypical woman in a music video. This is because she is seen with a very artificial look, with airbrushed skin, loose hair and the ‘perfect body’ which is difficult for the audience to relate to her as this is not what ‘normal’ women look like, infact, it is almost impossible to look so perfect and will have more of a negative effect on women who watch the video. Dismemberment also makes an appearance as there are close ups of her lips a lot and of her legs. This makes her seem less real as people are only allowed to see parts of her. It can be argued that commodification is present too as she is seen dancing for the man in the video while he sits and watches, therefore showing how men use women as objects. The ritualization of subordination is seen during the kiss when Shakira is seen lying back on the floor with the man on top of her.
Due to the title of the song, Shakira is meant to be portraying gypsies: if this is her interpretation of a gypsy, then she is challenging the stereotypical views of this social group, due to her extraordinary appearance. The visuals and the lyrics however, almost seem to contradict each other. The lyrics at times depict gypies as theives, whereby conforming to stereotypes, but her appearence represents gypsies as beautiful and talented.

AP - Video Analysis 1

Institution and audience

This video is likely to be shown on less popular music channels as Blur are not a mainstream band. For example, it would be broadcast on MTV Rocks, NME TV or MTV Classics. Parklife would be viewed actively with focus as Blur has almost a cult following and this means they have a more attentive audience. Therefore, Blur tries to establish a deeper relationship with them. They do this through the everyday activities shown in this video and the obvious breaking of the fourth wall to engage and be present to their audience.

Blur, even though they are an indie pop band, were signed various branches of mainstream label EMI e.g. Parlophone and SBK therefore their videos would have been carefully thought out to appeal to their target audience.

Genre and Narrative

Critical theorist Andrew Goodwin identified several common features within music videos. The main premise of this video is that it is narrative and performance based, they are interlinked with eachother.

In Parklife there is definite demonstration of genre characteristics, for example,

• Shot in an urban environment
• The costume is typical of the indie genre
• The lighting and colour is quite bright and upbeat- typical of indie pop

This leads on to the fact that there is a relationship between the lyrics which Goodwin also suggested was a common feature in music videos.

Lyrics and visuals

• "Who's that gut lord marching... you should cut down on your porklife mate... get some exercise" is sung as we are shown a shot of a man in smart clothes but hunched and with a protruding stomach.

• When "They all go hand in hand" is sung an obvious gesture is made by Damon Albarn by him opening his hands to the audience.

• And of course the name of the song "Parklife" is shown on different objects throughout the video 

• These are all examples of illustration and amplification of the track because the visuals symbolise references to the song.

Representation

• As Blur are an all male band their videos focus mainly on masculinity.
• In this video they are portrayed as having a laugh and playing around infront of a house with an umbrella and a trolley in the performance side.
• Whereas in the narrative we follow actor and narrator of the song Phil Daniels in his car as a salesman for a window glazing company saying what he thinks about 'Parklife'.
• Richard Dyer's theory about 'star image' is relative to this video in the fact that Blur portrays the typical values of music stardom i.e.
• Youtfulness
• Anti-authoritarian attitude
• Originality
• Aggression/Anger
• A disregard for social values relationg to polite behaviour

Group - Moodboard Discussion

What have we learnt from our moodboard of Indie Pop and Rock?

Videos

• Simple
• Low-fi
• Masculine feel - particularly in band videos
• Varies in colour i.e. very vibrant or quite dark and solemn
• Style of costume is quite normal and everyday
• Everyday locations like parks, beaches, streets
• Narrative, performance and concept are all interwoven
• British bands and American bands differ in their style - their videos reflect their culture

• Fast cutting rate

Style

• Clothing is typically early 90s Blur-esque
• Casual
• Clothing smart but appearance messy
• Urban
• Retro
• Authentic to the band
• Bohemian

Album Artwork

• Artistic
• Band authenticity
• Colourful
• Bold
• Earthy colours
• Doesn't look artificial and 'mainstream'

Band Examples

• Creaky Boards
• Arcade Fire
• Blur
• Bon Iver
• The Fratellis
• Feist
• MGMT
• City and Colour
• The Vaccines
• The Ting Tings
• Vampire Weekend

How has doing a moodboard for A2 differed from the results and process at AS?

At AS Level, I found our moodboards were a lot more vague than that which we have made for our A2 course- it included less specific detail as it didn't particularly have a solid focus whereas our moodboard this year was focused around a particular genre and a particular area of that genre helping us to refine our ideas to stay within the genre of music we have chosen. This has helped us plan our concept and treatment for our chosen track in terms of camera angles, mise-en-scene and general feel to the videos.

Group - Moodboard

Moodboard on Prezi

Group - First Ideas

Initial Ideas:

• Girl in an angel costume (relates to the lyrics about angles repeated at the end of each chorus) which becomes dirtier and more ruined as the video goes on to represent the breakdown of the character in the lyrics. We thought about having a gold halo/headband to start with which is no longer present at the end, to symbolise the death of this 'angel'.


• Items hanging from trees which symbolise moments in the characters life, both referring to happy and painful memories, and she is seen stopping to look at these items.


• The make up will be dark and smudged, like she had been crying and fixed the make up.


• There will be moments where there will be close ups of the character crying as she realises how much trouble she has found herself in.


• This version is piano based and we would like to constantly refer back to a black room with a piano in the middle, under a beam of light and have shots of someone playing it, using close ups of hands and piano keyes.


• We would like to use a variety of locations, and have come up with the idea of a graveyard, to symbolise her fate of death, cobbled streets which show an average village to represent normailty which she cannot find herself in, and a beach where it would appear this 'angel' has been washed in.
  
  

Initial Ideas:

• 4 guys, 60's look, preferably beards


• Cobbled streets in a city location


• Mucking around: drawing on faces, pranks etc


• Bright colours


• Stop animation


• Instruments though not being played- weird positions