This video is set in a remote countryside village which has an interesting narrative which uses humour and sensitivity. As the video progresses a 'reindeer' theme is introduced.
The conventions in the video include the instruments which are shown whilst the band are performing which is shown every few seconds. The countryside is focused on throughout the video, and to show this objects such as trees and leaves are used as a background affect. However, tools and weapons are used by the characters such as crossbows and saws. The father is portrayed as a lumberjack and wears a large coat, a hat and obviously hunts in his spare time. This also shows he is an over-protective parent caring for his daughter. The deer features are a convention used throughout which is vital for the narrative and represents a vulnerability for each character. The road sign which shows a deer is an important shot.
The cuts and different shots are relevant to the tempo and rhythm of the song. During the narrative, it concludes when the music calms down. The upbeat tune that Fallout Boy use in many songs of theirs, links with the heart-warming story. Where the music is slower the footage focuses on the narrative and where the song speeds up, the video shows the band performing. In the chorus the song becomes more lively.
The original idea of the them, narrative and setting means there is a lack of intertextuality in the video. It is arguable that the idea is similar to a One Tree Hill episode which featured Pete Wenz, who is the guitarist in the band.
Wednesday, 8 July 2009
Tuesday, 7 July 2009
1.2 Comparison between Trouble (Coldplay) and Chasing Cars (Snow Patrol)
Coldplay and Snow Patrol are two very similar bands who class themselves under the genre of alternative soft rock. They both use mixtures of emotional and upbeat songs, however, the two songs that are involved in the videos are both a bit sad and slow but very successful.
The conventions from both videos are very different despite the two songs have a very similar genre and tone. Trouble uses a dark environment which focuses on gangsters and the bleakness of the situation. The conventions of this include the cars in the background, which are not expensive emphasising a poorer, rough life that the character (Chris Martin). The flashing lights used would be typically used in this kind of situation even though it does had an aesthetically pleasing affect for the audiences. The string that are tying his hands together are perhaps the most important convention as they show he is in 'trouble' and the camera focuses on it throughout the video. Chasing Cars has a simpler choice of conventions which include the rural environments that show the loneliness of the lead singer, Gary Lightbody. In a way, he is a convention himself as he his wearing no shoes and is dirty from laying in the same position for a long time, which hints that. The rocks around him also tell us that he is away from society. The rain highlights his suffering in the video but mostly uses brighter colours than Trouble because the song is more positive.
The visuals link with the lyrics in both videos but especially in the Coldplay video he sings about being 'caught in the middle'. The video is based around the idea that Chris Martin has been caught up in a corrupt organisation of some kind, to emphasise this they placed him in the middle of the large area in between the buildings and walls. The rope on his hands work as a metaphor of the 'web' which he sings about throughout the song. When he sings the word 'web' in some places the camera focuses on the bindings. In Chasing Cars, the video has a very unique pattern where after every line, the camera changes to focus on another position or feature of the lead singer. For example after “just forget the words” it then cuts to an extreme close up shot of his eye.
The visuals also link with the music the two videos. In Trouble, he tries to struggle out of the chair in the beat to the piano, which looks like he his dancing in a very upsetting way. When the music sounds like it is spiralling, it shows Chris Martin floating and spinning in his chair which adds a surreal affect matching the sound. Because this matches the music it does not look out of place. When he falls to the floor towards the end of the song the music suddenly tones down as he has given up to break free at this point. When the normal tempo restarts the video gains more colour which concludes the footage. In Chasing Cars, the music and lyrics link anyway, therefore the cuts change with the beat of the music as well as each line. However when the music speeds up and progresses, the rain increases which intensifies the emotion in the song.
The two videos both sell the artist in different ways, although they both focus on their vulnerability in the videos. Chris Martin and Gary Lightbody are both regarded as the most influential in their groups also being the lead singers. Both videos focus on them through the entire video using different shots as transitions. The types of shots makes the characters look calm and relaxed despite Chris Martin being tied up by gangsters. This achieves the audience to feel that they are full of wisdom. Audiences would buy the product from Coldplay because you feel sympathy for the character as well as the song being of a high quality, the video just gives extra emotion which associates with the band which could end up selling. Gary Lightbody is just laying in the environment which is a very mysterious way of portraying the artists. However this represents the band as calm so people who like to be relaxed would purchase albums and the single.
The intertextuality resources are very limited in the two videos. Obviously the bleak setting of Trouble has elements such as scenes from Reservoir Dogs and films with a similar genre. Essex Boys is another film that the video may have been inspirated by. The Snow Patrol video has a very original idea so lacks any intertextuality in a way.
The voyeurism is very effective in both videos. The Coldplay video uses flashing lights in the background and lights that seem to highlight the main character and work as conventions, however, this also works as a visual affect that adds an aesthetically pleasing element. The Snow Patrol video also lacks voyeurism but has uses a wide range of colours and the affects such as rain improve 'the art of looking'.
The conventions from both videos are very different despite the two songs have a very similar genre and tone. Trouble uses a dark environment which focuses on gangsters and the bleakness of the situation. The conventions of this include the cars in the background, which are not expensive emphasising a poorer, rough life that the character (Chris Martin). The flashing lights used would be typically used in this kind of situation even though it does had an aesthetically pleasing affect for the audiences. The string that are tying his hands together are perhaps the most important convention as they show he is in 'trouble' and the camera focuses on it throughout the video. Chasing Cars has a simpler choice of conventions which include the rural environments that show the loneliness of the lead singer, Gary Lightbody. In a way, he is a convention himself as he his wearing no shoes and is dirty from laying in the same position for a long time, which hints that. The rocks around him also tell us that he is away from society. The rain highlights his suffering in the video but mostly uses brighter colours than Trouble because the song is more positive.
The visuals link with the lyrics in both videos but especially in the Coldplay video he sings about being 'caught in the middle'. The video is based around the idea that Chris Martin has been caught up in a corrupt organisation of some kind, to emphasise this they placed him in the middle of the large area in between the buildings and walls. The rope on his hands work as a metaphor of the 'web' which he sings about throughout the song. When he sings the word 'web' in some places the camera focuses on the bindings. In Chasing Cars, the video has a very unique pattern where after every line, the camera changes to focus on another position or feature of the lead singer. For example after “just forget the words” it then cuts to an extreme close up shot of his eye.
The visuals also link with the music the two videos. In Trouble, he tries to struggle out of the chair in the beat to the piano, which looks like he his dancing in a very upsetting way. When the music sounds like it is spiralling, it shows Chris Martin floating and spinning in his chair which adds a surreal affect matching the sound. Because this matches the music it does not look out of place. When he falls to the floor towards the end of the song the music suddenly tones down as he has given up to break free at this point. When the normal tempo restarts the video gains more colour which concludes the footage. In Chasing Cars, the music and lyrics link anyway, therefore the cuts change with the beat of the music as well as each line. However when the music speeds up and progresses, the rain increases which intensifies the emotion in the song.
The two videos both sell the artist in different ways, although they both focus on their vulnerability in the videos. Chris Martin and Gary Lightbody are both regarded as the most influential in their groups also being the lead singers. Both videos focus on them through the entire video using different shots as transitions. The types of shots makes the characters look calm and relaxed despite Chris Martin being tied up by gangsters. This achieves the audience to feel that they are full of wisdom. Audiences would buy the product from Coldplay because you feel sympathy for the character as well as the song being of a high quality, the video just gives extra emotion which associates with the band which could end up selling. Gary Lightbody is just laying in the environment which is a very mysterious way of portraying the artists. However this represents the band as calm so people who like to be relaxed would purchase albums and the single.
The intertextuality resources are very limited in the two videos. Obviously the bleak setting of Trouble has elements such as scenes from Reservoir Dogs and films with a similar genre. Essex Boys is another film that the video may have been inspirated by. The Snow Patrol video has a very original idea so lacks any intertextuality in a way.
The voyeurism is very effective in both videos. The Coldplay video uses flashing lights in the background and lights that seem to highlight the main character and work as conventions, however, this also works as a visual affect that adds an aesthetically pleasing element. The Snow Patrol video also lacks voyeurism but has uses a wide range of colours and the affects such as rain improve 'the art of looking'.
Monday, 6 July 2009
1.3 Music video timeline
1941: A new jukebox is released which plays short video clips of music. They were called Panoram Soundie and available in the bars and clubs in USA. Thousands of soundies were made, mostly of jazz musicians and comedians. They were very popular but faded during the second World War.
1956: A wave of 'Rock and Roll' films begin to hit Hollywood which were feature lengths productions. This was shown in front of box office audiences. Dj, J.P. Richardson was the first to convert the phrase into 'music videos'.
1962: Gigantic shows such as Top of the Pops and Ready Steady Go start as band vehicles and became huge hits
1964: The Beatles star in A Hard Day's Night directed by Richard Lester and was presented as a documentary. This had a huge influence on the style of the genre visually. Sequels were then made in following years.
1966: Bob Dylan stars in the famous Subterranean Homesick Blues which is a very iconic video in history. The footage showed him holding pieces of card which have the lyrics what he is singing to. The idea was simple but very affective.
1966-67: The Beatles continue to release promotional films including 'Paperback Writer', 'Rain', 'Penny Lane' and 'Strawberry Fields Forever
1969: Independent music clips came out of fashion because bands preffered to perform in television shows which gave a better visual affect.
1970: The record industry realised that this TV shows were a great way to promote bands and acts. Short 'promos' were encouraged to be released to replace the live performances. This was even more beneficial for the artist and giving even more visual affect to the audiences watching on television and at the studio.
1973: The first of 46 'Schoolhouse Rock' music videos were showed on Saturday morning television
1975: Bruce Gowers made a promo video for Queen's single Bohemian Rhapsody. It was first shown on Top of the Pops and is famous for being taped and edited entirely on a videotape.
1979: The first music video to involve computer animation was "The Day My Baby Gave Me a Surprise" by Devo which was the same year in which computer animation was used in video games.
1980: David Bowie released Ashes to Ashes which was a trademark videos of the early 80s
1981: MTV is launched. It was the first 24 hour music channel and was available on satellite television, it rapidly become successful and become a influence on the culture of teenagers.
1984: Thriller by Michael Jackson was a short film released which is to date, the biggest selling VHS of all time. It changed the concept of videos forever.
1985: Madonna releases Material Girl which bases on its intertextuality on 'Diamonds are a girls best friend' by Marilyn Monroe
1989: Like a Prayer was also released. Despite its controversy, it was hugely successful
1990: The first 3D music video was produced called 'Love Can Build A Brigde' performed by the Judds
1995: This saw the release of the most expensive ever video by Michael Jackson which also starred his sister Janet. With the help of MTV, it was clear how much the muisc video industry has changed since its beginning in the 1960's. Michael Jackson and Madonna were the most popular video artists of their time.
1996: Smashing Pumpkins launched their video for Tonight Tonight which was one of the first videos to be based on an earlier film 'A Trip To the Moon.
2002: MTV Hits is launched as MTV2 is showing gradually less videos. Many more channels have been introduced.
2008: 3D music videos made by David Meyers and Missy Elliot for her single Ching-a-ling
1956: A wave of 'Rock and Roll' films begin to hit Hollywood which were feature lengths productions. This was shown in front of box office audiences. Dj, J.P. Richardson was the first to convert the phrase into 'music videos'.
1962: Gigantic shows such as Top of the Pops and Ready Steady Go start as band vehicles and became huge hits
1964: The Beatles star in A Hard Day's Night directed by Richard Lester and was presented as a documentary. This had a huge influence on the style of the genre visually. Sequels were then made in following years.
1966: Bob Dylan stars in the famous Subterranean Homesick Blues which is a very iconic video in history. The footage showed him holding pieces of card which have the lyrics what he is singing to. The idea was simple but very affective.
1966-67: The Beatles continue to release promotional films including 'Paperback Writer', 'Rain', 'Penny Lane' and 'Strawberry Fields Forever
1969: Independent music clips came out of fashion because bands preffered to perform in television shows which gave a better visual affect.
1970: The record industry realised that this TV shows were a great way to promote bands and acts. Short 'promos' were encouraged to be released to replace the live performances. This was even more beneficial for the artist and giving even more visual affect to the audiences watching on television and at the studio.
1973: The first of 46 'Schoolhouse Rock' music videos were showed on Saturday morning television
1975: Bruce Gowers made a promo video for Queen's single Bohemian Rhapsody. It was first shown on Top of the Pops and is famous for being taped and edited entirely on a videotape.
1979: The first music video to involve computer animation was "The Day My Baby Gave Me a Surprise" by Devo which was the same year in which computer animation was used in video games.
1980: David Bowie released Ashes to Ashes which was a trademark videos of the early 80s
1981: MTV is launched. It was the first 24 hour music channel and was available on satellite television, it rapidly become successful and become a influence on the culture of teenagers.
1984: Thriller by Michael Jackson was a short film released which is to date, the biggest selling VHS of all time. It changed the concept of videos forever.
1985: Madonna releases Material Girl which bases on its intertextuality on 'Diamonds are a girls best friend' by Marilyn Monroe
1989: Like a Prayer was also released. Despite its controversy, it was hugely successful
1990: The first 3D music video was produced called 'Love Can Build A Brigde' performed by the Judds
1995: This saw the release of the most expensive ever video by Michael Jackson which also starred his sister Janet. With the help of MTV, it was clear how much the muisc video industry has changed since its beginning in the 1960's. Michael Jackson and Madonna were the most popular video artists of their time.
1996: Smashing Pumpkins launched their video for Tonight Tonight which was one of the first videos to be based on an earlier film 'A Trip To the Moon.
2002: MTV Hits is launched as MTV2 is showing gradually less videos. Many more channels have been introduced.
2008: 3D music videos made by David Meyers and Missy Elliot for her single Ching-a-ling
Sunday, 5 July 2009
1.4 Research - Music promo research
The purpose of a music video is to promote the artist and song by interesting audiences who view it by using conventions that suit the genre of the act shown. This can be shown by using techniques such as camera angles, mise-en-scene and lighting which can influence the way a viewer sees the production. As examples I will use different genres to prove that different types of music need a different approach to the making of the music video as part of my research on my own music video.
James Morrison – Wonderful World.
James Morrison is a well known song-writer who uses a light hearted style of music and gives the listener a 'feel good' element. In the video 'Wonderful World', the makers have obviously used 'happy' conventions such as use of colour and setting. The first component shown in the video was of the beautiful countryside in the background full of trees and grass which looks very aesthetically pleasing, added with gleaming sunshine which has been emphasized with extra lighting. This all shows that the song has a good-feel factor to it and also represents the tittle of the song, 'Wonderful World'. James Morrison's clothes also representing that his own life his perhaps 'wonderful'. He has been dressed casually but brightly and all contributes to the happy feeling that the audience are experiencing. We also gain the feeling that he is personally enjoying his life which helps portray the artist as happy, which could lead to further interest into him and possibly selling more records. The main setting of the video is surrounding a pool full of glamour including women in bikinis and a very expensive looking house. The setting has a large percentage of white furniture and brick work which indicates the wealth in the video and the fact that a lot of the props are the same colour makes the scene look very clean. Wealth is another reason why the video is represented as a wonderful world.
The night time shows fireworks and the women looking up to the sky which is an even further showing of the wealth and happiness of the people involved, however, this works as a narrative conventions as well as a generic one. The passing of time hints to the viewer that there is a storyline involved in the clip. Also the woman jumping around in the bedroom who is constantly shown in the video, appears to be involved in the storyline and could possibly have a relation to the singer who sings about love in his song. She is behaving very strangely and a doctor is concerned about her and contrasts to the women outside who have deliberately normal characteristics. Naturally the audience would take more interest in this character who is equally attractive but has more of a 'wild' personality which may show the artist prefers a woman with different characteristics.
The point where the women by the pool all simultaneously drink water proves how similar they all are compared to the odd one indoors. Another narrative convention is the pool that slowly turns black during the video. The changing colour is shown when the woman starts to go a bit crazy which and resembles a dis-equilibrium of the very normal life of the perfect looking setting. The woman going mad that the disruption of the normality is shown by a changing of setting, therefore the black pool manipulates the perfect image which we were shown at the start of the video.
The music video is full of factors that create Goodwin's six areas of analysis. The clip has a link between the music and the visuals, including the tempo of camera cuts used matching the tempo of the song. Also when James Morrison is singing high notes, a close-up shot of him is shown and appears to be zooming in on the singer. During the verses that are a bit slower and are quiet, the video seems to focus more on the developing storyline that involves the out of control woman. This is similar to the relationship between the video and the lyrics. None of the lyrics particularly link to any part of the video but again in the chorus the camera does focus on the singer performing by the swimming pool. The intertextuality involved in the video is perhaps from old-fashioned films such as James Bond which involves wealth and women. There is no obvious intertextuality for the video but it has a very typical view of living in luxury which is included in films and other music videos. The video sells the artist in a way that he is brightly clothed and has a wide imagination, as the audience has the feeling he is imagining this luxury. This luxury lifestyle that is shown within the production gives the video an element of voyeurism.
Kings of Leon – Sex On Fire
The video for Sex on Fire by Kings of Leon was released in September 2008 and the single reached UK number 1. The video maybe had a very big affect on 'selling the artist', and this was evidential in the charts. The genre of the song is a powerful, rock song which has a strong element to it. The video shows the ferocity of the song with dark colours and the theme of the clip which is based around an imprisonment scene.
The fast cuts and sharp movements in the video link brilliantly with the tempo of the music which makes the audience gain an adrenaline factor to it. The fast tempo cuts involve insert shots which give the idea that the characters in the video, the band members, are being tortured in their time in this haunted-looking prison. Constant shots of the lead singer being strapped to a bed show the darkness of the genre of the song and also props which are shown to us such as buckets and gloves. The shadows are an affect which further haunts the viewer which can increase their feeling towards the track. In breaks between the scenes of the video, the band are performing in a similar place to where the torturing was taking place.
The colours and lighting are the same and the clothing that they are wearing is very similar to what they are wearing during the drama. This could have been done to make the viewer try to believe that they are performing in a prison and the scenes which are shown to us feel more real. Some very interesting shots in the video are in the performance scenes, including zooming in on the band when they play their famous chorus which is loud. This is added to emphasise the power and spectacular feeling that the group are trying to create. A wide variety of shots are shown which gives us more detail on the band. For example, the lead singer is in focus when the drummer is out of focus, therefore underlining the superiority of the singer and his importance to the video. However the other characters and band members do have close-ups but are mainly used as insert shots to keep the cut tempo at a quick speed. The extreme close-up of the eye of the lead singer is an interesting one which shows his personal emotion.
The lighting in Sex On Fire is very limited because of the dark theme to the video. The clothing of the members are all black as well as the props being mostly a dark colour looking like metal. This tells us the danger of the prison and the darkness of the song and situation. The use of shadows is an added affect to that. Although, the lead singer, Caleb Followill is lighted with a golden fiery colour which could link to the song title, 'Sex On Fire'. This may because he is valued more than the other band members so is lighted a different tone. The other band members are lighted but not as shiny as him, they also wear duller clothing compared to the lead singer which further adds to the contrast between them. When the band perform you can see the contrast between the band and the surroundings such as the dark walls that appear to be pitch black and the presence of the tools spread around them is considered as non-existent to the viewer.
Mise-en-scen is important to this video as it creates the feeling that video is trying to generate. The costumes of the characters are old and ruined and further give us the impression they are being held and their facial hair and make-up say they have been held there for a long period of time. This in a way shows the strength of the characters and what they have experienced. The strength of the characters as shown in the make-up and costumes portrays the song and the feeling of watching the video. The props in the video are a key indication of the theme involved, giving the clip a haunted feel to it which includes big gloves, curtains and metal instruments such as axes and poles which gives the audience the scary element. The musical instruments shown when the band were performing were influential to how professional they looked. Obviously Kings Of Leon are one of the biggest bands in the world so they need to have a high amount of quality instruments to sell records and to fit in to the rock genre.
The relationship between music and the visuals in the video is proven throughout the production, starting with the pace of both of the factors. The louder the music, the more regular the cuts and the stronger images appear, such as the lead singer fighting against the torturers of even exorcists. This relationship is clearer than the link between the lyrics and visuals. Because of the nature of the song the lyrics match the music anyway, therefore the lyrics in the chorus would match the exciting shots that are shown during this area of the song.
The intertextuality involved is based around horror films such as possibly Hostel which has similar props and colours involved. The foreign prison idea has been used in James Bond, Die Another Day and 24, becoming a popular feature of an action storyline. Both of these use the idea of showing the audience the bravery of the main character which the music video also creates with the lead singer. There are many other examples of intertextuality in the production, although the audience gains the thriller film attitude towards the video which generates concentration from the viewer. The strict use of colour gives the video a very high voyeurism account. The black and gold remain the main colours throughout the clip and becomes a pattern of the video. The camera angles complexity in some ways creates a voyeurism of its own.
The two opposing genres I have compared use different concepts of mise-en-scen, lighting, colours, camera angles and themes to create the atmosphere that links perfectly with the song they are advertising. The happier James Morrison video used mainly bright colours with luxury props to create a happy feeling for a viewer of the video which represents the artist and his genre of music. The darker Kings Of Leon video in a way uses opposite techniques which generates a dark and powerful image with the audience. This uses darker colours with costumes which have tears and rips in sleeves, with props and a exorcist theme. The comparison shows a wide range of camera angles which link with the music and lyrics, both including basic close-up shots of the performance and the story line. This keeps the viewer to continue watching until a climax point in the video and also shows the band playing which also helps to sell their records and to raise their profiles. Both of the artists have gone on to make similar videos to these as people now recognise the relationship between technical features of the making of the productions and the recorded track.
James Morrison – Wonderful World.
James Morrison is a well known song-writer who uses a light hearted style of music and gives the listener a 'feel good' element. In the video 'Wonderful World', the makers have obviously used 'happy' conventions such as use of colour and setting. The first component shown in the video was of the beautiful countryside in the background full of trees and grass which looks very aesthetically pleasing, added with gleaming sunshine which has been emphasized with extra lighting. This all shows that the song has a good-feel factor to it and also represents the tittle of the song, 'Wonderful World'. James Morrison's clothes also representing that his own life his perhaps 'wonderful'. He has been dressed casually but brightly and all contributes to the happy feeling that the audience are experiencing. We also gain the feeling that he is personally enjoying his life which helps portray the artist as happy, which could lead to further interest into him and possibly selling more records. The main setting of the video is surrounding a pool full of glamour including women in bikinis and a very expensive looking house. The setting has a large percentage of white furniture and brick work which indicates the wealth in the video and the fact that a lot of the props are the same colour makes the scene look very clean. Wealth is another reason why the video is represented as a wonderful world.
The night time shows fireworks and the women looking up to the sky which is an even further showing of the wealth and happiness of the people involved, however, this works as a narrative conventions as well as a generic one. The passing of time hints to the viewer that there is a storyline involved in the clip. Also the woman jumping around in the bedroom who is constantly shown in the video, appears to be involved in the storyline and could possibly have a relation to the singer who sings about love in his song. She is behaving very strangely and a doctor is concerned about her and contrasts to the women outside who have deliberately normal characteristics. Naturally the audience would take more interest in this character who is equally attractive but has more of a 'wild' personality which may show the artist prefers a woman with different characteristics.
The point where the women by the pool all simultaneously drink water proves how similar they all are compared to the odd one indoors. Another narrative convention is the pool that slowly turns black during the video. The changing colour is shown when the woman starts to go a bit crazy which and resembles a dis-equilibrium of the very normal life of the perfect looking setting. The woman going mad that the disruption of the normality is shown by a changing of setting, therefore the black pool manipulates the perfect image which we were shown at the start of the video.
The music video is full of factors that create Goodwin's six areas of analysis. The clip has a link between the music and the visuals, including the tempo of camera cuts used matching the tempo of the song. Also when James Morrison is singing high notes, a close-up shot of him is shown and appears to be zooming in on the singer. During the verses that are a bit slower and are quiet, the video seems to focus more on the developing storyline that involves the out of control woman. This is similar to the relationship between the video and the lyrics. None of the lyrics particularly link to any part of the video but again in the chorus the camera does focus on the singer performing by the swimming pool. The intertextuality involved in the video is perhaps from old-fashioned films such as James Bond which involves wealth and women. There is no obvious intertextuality for the video but it has a very typical view of living in luxury which is included in films and other music videos. The video sells the artist in a way that he is brightly clothed and has a wide imagination, as the audience has the feeling he is imagining this luxury. This luxury lifestyle that is shown within the production gives the video an element of voyeurism.
Kings of Leon – Sex On Fire
The video for Sex on Fire by Kings of Leon was released in September 2008 and the single reached UK number 1. The video maybe had a very big affect on 'selling the artist', and this was evidential in the charts. The genre of the song is a powerful, rock song which has a strong element to it. The video shows the ferocity of the song with dark colours and the theme of the clip which is based around an imprisonment scene.
The fast cuts and sharp movements in the video link brilliantly with the tempo of the music which makes the audience gain an adrenaline factor to it. The fast tempo cuts involve insert shots which give the idea that the characters in the video, the band members, are being tortured in their time in this haunted-looking prison. Constant shots of the lead singer being strapped to a bed show the darkness of the genre of the song and also props which are shown to us such as buckets and gloves. The shadows are an affect which further haunts the viewer which can increase their feeling towards the track. In breaks between the scenes of the video, the band are performing in a similar place to where the torturing was taking place.
The colours and lighting are the same and the clothing that they are wearing is very similar to what they are wearing during the drama. This could have been done to make the viewer try to believe that they are performing in a prison and the scenes which are shown to us feel more real. Some very interesting shots in the video are in the performance scenes, including zooming in on the band when they play their famous chorus which is loud. This is added to emphasise the power and spectacular feeling that the group are trying to create. A wide variety of shots are shown which gives us more detail on the band. For example, the lead singer is in focus when the drummer is out of focus, therefore underlining the superiority of the singer and his importance to the video. However the other characters and band members do have close-ups but are mainly used as insert shots to keep the cut tempo at a quick speed. The extreme close-up of the eye of the lead singer is an interesting one which shows his personal emotion.
The lighting in Sex On Fire is very limited because of the dark theme to the video. The clothing of the members are all black as well as the props being mostly a dark colour looking like metal. This tells us the danger of the prison and the darkness of the song and situation. The use of shadows is an added affect to that. Although, the lead singer, Caleb Followill is lighted with a golden fiery colour which could link to the song title, 'Sex On Fire'. This may because he is valued more than the other band members so is lighted a different tone. The other band members are lighted but not as shiny as him, they also wear duller clothing compared to the lead singer which further adds to the contrast between them. When the band perform you can see the contrast between the band and the surroundings such as the dark walls that appear to be pitch black and the presence of the tools spread around them is considered as non-existent to the viewer.
Mise-en-scen is important to this video as it creates the feeling that video is trying to generate. The costumes of the characters are old and ruined and further give us the impression they are being held and their facial hair and make-up say they have been held there for a long period of time. This in a way shows the strength of the characters and what they have experienced. The strength of the characters as shown in the make-up and costumes portrays the song and the feeling of watching the video. The props in the video are a key indication of the theme involved, giving the clip a haunted feel to it which includes big gloves, curtains and metal instruments such as axes and poles which gives the audience the scary element. The musical instruments shown when the band were performing were influential to how professional they looked. Obviously Kings Of Leon are one of the biggest bands in the world so they need to have a high amount of quality instruments to sell records and to fit in to the rock genre.
The relationship between music and the visuals in the video is proven throughout the production, starting with the pace of both of the factors. The louder the music, the more regular the cuts and the stronger images appear, such as the lead singer fighting against the torturers of even exorcists. This relationship is clearer than the link between the lyrics and visuals. Because of the nature of the song the lyrics match the music anyway, therefore the lyrics in the chorus would match the exciting shots that are shown during this area of the song.
The intertextuality involved is based around horror films such as possibly Hostel which has similar props and colours involved. The foreign prison idea has been used in James Bond, Die Another Day and 24, becoming a popular feature of an action storyline. Both of these use the idea of showing the audience the bravery of the main character which the music video also creates with the lead singer. There are many other examples of intertextuality in the production, although the audience gains the thriller film attitude towards the video which generates concentration from the viewer. The strict use of colour gives the video a very high voyeurism account. The black and gold remain the main colours throughout the clip and becomes a pattern of the video. The camera angles complexity in some ways creates a voyeurism of its own.
The two opposing genres I have compared use different concepts of mise-en-scen, lighting, colours, camera angles and themes to create the atmosphere that links perfectly with the song they are advertising. The happier James Morrison video used mainly bright colours with luxury props to create a happy feeling for a viewer of the video which represents the artist and his genre of music. The darker Kings Of Leon video in a way uses opposite techniques which generates a dark and powerful image with the audience. This uses darker colours with costumes which have tears and rips in sleeves, with props and a exorcist theme. The comparison shows a wide range of camera angles which link with the music and lyrics, both including basic close-up shots of the performance and the story line. This keeps the viewer to continue watching until a climax point in the video and also shows the band playing which also helps to sell their records and to raise their profiles. Both of the artists have gone on to make similar videos to these as people now recognise the relationship between technical features of the making of the productions and the recorded track.
Saturday, 4 July 2009
1.5 Michael Jackson - Scream
The Michael Jackson video featuring his sister Janet Jackson of 'Scream' is the most expensive music video ever made at a cost of $7 million. The production was released in May 1995 and directed by Mark Romanek who has now directed many popular song videos including Madonna and Jay-Z. The timing of the video acted as a response to the critics after Michael Jackson's backlash in 1993, meaning Jackson had to regain his fans with a gigantic record and a video that matched the situation. The video highlighted sexuality in a very unique way by using different aspects of mise-en-scene which creates the audiences' feelings with visual affects.
The theme of the video is a futuristic space ship travelling through space with the two characters on board far away from Earth, with possible inspiration from Star Trek or Star Wars. Clips are then shown of them dancing, almost competing against each other with great enthusiasm and a wide variety of different shots with fast camera cuts. The amount of money spent on the video is very evident to the audience.
Firstly, the make up used in the video is very similar between both artists, which emphasises the way that the production is trying to make the genders appear as equal. However, Janet has very darkened eyes which gives her a more tougher look to the audience. The makers of the video may have tried to make this with idea that the female character has a darker side to her giving her more personality. This also stops any stereotypes which usually try to represent women as innocent and sweet. Also making her hair messier gives her a wilder look that could be more vulnerable to a man, especially in this case where she is seen to be competing against Michael Jackson. Michael also has these features in a less extreme way so he looks a bit calmer than Janet with less eye make-up and straighter hair.
The costumes of the characters also match each other which in an interesting way shows hardly any difference between the sexualities. The costume used seems too masculine for a typical woman and too feminine for a typical man which shows that the style of the video aims at audiences of both audiences. Again it emphasises the point that men and women are shown as equal. There are certain clips in the video where Janet Jackson is more revealing than others. The shots which focus on her bikini top underneath her coat gives the video a sexual element and certainly her own attractiveness. During this scene she is wearing white instead of black which shows a change of rhythm of the video.
The different props shown in the video highlights the theme of the video being futuristic and also the props matches the colours and surroundings in the scenes. Although there is one important prop that is used throughout the video which portrays the artist's sexuality, the chair. It is the same scene which is shown with the two characters switching and they both reveal sexual actions to make them more appealing to the audience. The shot of Michael Jackson shown in front of the planet Earth almost looks like he is standing on top of the world which gives us the impression that he is overshadowing his sister vocally in the video. This is probably what the video makers were trying to achieve because he is the more successful artist and the video was made for the response of his own personal disaster.
The percentage of camera shots are zoomed in on Michael Jackson which also highlights the point the video is about him. We gain the feeling that Michael is competing against his sister but is overshadowing in ability which in a way is in favour of the male dominance in the video.
Wednesday, 6 May 2009
Planning
When planning our project, we used storyboards to help us create an image of what we wanted to achieve. These sheets of paper allowed us to sketch some initial ideas such as camera angles and scenarios that we could use in the final video. In total we drew over 30 drawings of suitable shots and what was happening. This allowed us to develop the narrative of the story as well as realise what would work in the video. It was important to do as many sketches as possible at this stage to keep an open mind to more ideas and to help us when actually filming the footage we needed. These drawings included specific close-ups and establishing shots that we decided to include.
After we gathered all these, we took photographs of each drawing so we could then upload the photos onto the iMacs, creating a photo animatic. This is a technique which allows you to view the drawings in to any particular order which helped us to arrange our scenes easier when editing our footage.
With these storyboard drawings in our posession we then took still photographs of the actual shot which the drawing referred to. For example, if the drawing was an over-the-shoulder shot then we would take the photograph of an over-the-shoulder shot. This allowed us to experiment with angles further giving us more of an idea to what our music video would look like. The photgraphs showed us the brief aspects on mise-en-scen in each scene and angle and simply gave us a better understanding of the whole project. Also the composition was a lot clearer when taking the photographs with the digital camera. This process narrowed our ideas, as the better shots caught our attention more than others.
Just like the storyboards, we uploaded the photographs onto the iMacs to create a still photo animatic. This gave us an excellent advantage when filming as we knew which angles worked well for our music videos and did not struggle to think of different shots as we already had them plotted out in these animatics. Obviously we were well aware that we could improvise further but this made our objective clearer and made the filming and construction stage easier.
After we gathered all these, we took photographs of each drawing so we could then upload the photos onto the iMacs, creating a photo animatic. This is a technique which allows you to view the drawings in to any particular order which helped us to arrange our scenes easier when editing our footage.
With these storyboard drawings in our posession we then took still photographs of the actual shot which the drawing referred to. For example, if the drawing was an over-the-shoulder shot then we would take the photograph of an over-the-shoulder shot. This allowed us to experiment with angles further giving us more of an idea to what our music video would look like. The photgraphs showed us the brief aspects on mise-en-scen in each scene and angle and simply gave us a better understanding of the whole project. Also the composition was a lot clearer when taking the photographs with the digital camera. This process narrowed our ideas, as the better shots caught our attention more than others.
Just like the storyboards, we uploaded the photographs onto the iMacs to create a still photo animatic. This gave us an excellent advantage when filming as we knew which angles worked well for our music videos and did not struggle to think of different shots as we already had them plotted out in these animatics. Obviously we were well aware that we could improvise further but this made our objective clearer and made the filming and construction stage easier.
Thursday, 12 March 2009
Construction
Our music video is a production created from a variation of ideas which we have thought of and gained existing ideas from real media projects. The conventions we used match the ones suitable for the song and genre of the band that we based out music video upon. Also lyrics from the song also gave us ideas for the conventions we used. We wanted to show the plot of the video to the viewer so the project was not confusing and the audience could see that the character is visiting a house that he loves. We attempted to make the video suit the mood that the song already created by using the sunlight which adds a 'happy' feeling to the scenes. Many of the shots capture light from windows and doors which adds to this effect. The song also has a positive feeling towards it which does influence our decision to focus on the sunlight.
Images showing the use of light in our music video
Also, we use worm-eye shots through the video to make me look more powerful and emphasise my presence when I am singing. The shot towards the end of the video shows me singing with only the sky in the background which gives off a very strong effect.
Worm's Eye Shot
There is only one main character in the footage so it was important that we used him as the focal point in the video. The tempo of cuts match the speed of music in certain places in the song, this is to further combine the footage with the song. Towards the end of the video, where the song really becomes faster, the variety of shots increase as it is the climax of the plot to a certain extent.
The photographs in the house which appear as props are very important conventions to the audience. They show the viewer that there is a lot of history in the house which is important to the main character, and they start to understand his emotions. We further shown this by using constant close-ups to view the facial expressions and feelings. I chose my costume very carefully using a casual dress code which represents the 'indie' genre which the music comes from so listeners can interact with the main character.
We thought it was appropriate to make the video appear to be set over a long time by using certain techniques. This is showed at the end of the video where there is an outside view of the house and the sky slowly turns darker until it is night time, and throughout the project we added a fade in/fade out effect as well as some dissolves. To make the scene more realistic we emphasised the use of everyday objects in the video.
Exteria shot of house in day time
Sun setting
Night time
The photographs clearly show this but we include furniture such as the bed and sofa to show the audience that the house has a more 'home' sense to it. Some inset shots which were included such as the television gives the viewer more to focus on, cancelling out any boredom when watching the music video.
As the song is emotional, we have slowed some clips down as we have seen this done in many previous music videos of this genre. To a certain extent it captures the attention of the audience as they have time to notice the scene, making it more clear to them. We showed the scene of the character falling backwards on the bed in show motion to highlight this as important as he is revisiting a house he once lived. This in slow motion, gives the viewer time to observe the feeling of the character as it is a significant to him.
This idea was inspired by a video by the 'Killers – Smile Like You Mean It' which also uses the idea of memories in a house. The band perform in the house in various rooms and the background shows events from the past which fade away, so you see a contrast between past and present.
The Killers - Smile Like You Mean It
The combination of the music video and our ancillary texts produce a lot of character and colour. We tried to connect the colours on the web page to the ones used on the CD cover. The album, 'Black Swan' is what both the ancillary texts are based on and the music video further promotes the release. The CD cover uses bright colours with a simple looking swan on the front which is very eye catching. We have also edited the image to give it more of a shiny effect, which associates with the high amounts of lighting used in the main task. To equal this, the web page also has a shiny effect and the image used for the CD on to show the link between the two graphics. There is also a heading on the page saying 'Black Swan' which causes fans to realise about the new album on sale and the new theme and material of the band. The background of the web page is an outline of a swan which emphasises the relevance to the new video and album.
During our planning stage we used media technologies such as 'Youtube' to gain ideas for our own videos and see how audiences meet certain genres. We looked at a variety of previous music videos to see what conventions were included and the effect they have on the audience. When we began on our own production we used a digital camera to take photographs of storyboards which were then uploaded to an 'iMac' to put into a short film. We then did this with real photographs of the scenes we used would use in the music video. After importing the song onto 'iTunes' we then took a HD video camera and tripod to shoot our music video. The tripod was used to create more professional images to make sure the camera did not move during shots. The camera being in high definition was a big advantage to the quality of our final music video.
After filming, we imported all out footage to the iMac through the programme iMovie. After this we then imported it into iMovie HD which supported the high definition footage. This is the programme that we edited the footage on, which was very difficult, especially when syncing the singing with the song. We had a list of special effects to choose from and we decided to slow down and speed up a lot of footage which became a major convention for the music video. We uploaded the song from iTunes which was simple to do. We then exported the video using Quicktime.
We created the CD cover and web page on the latest Paint programme which helped us create the 'shiny' effect that made them both distinctive to the overall project. Also the font options were very wide ranged which helped us to choose the most suitable font for the two tasks.
Images showing the use of light in our music video
Also, we use worm-eye shots through the video to make me look more powerful and emphasise my presence when I am singing. The shot towards the end of the video shows me singing with only the sky in the background which gives off a very strong effect.
Worm's Eye ShotThere is only one main character in the footage so it was important that we used him as the focal point in the video. The tempo of cuts match the speed of music in certain places in the song, this is to further combine the footage with the song. Towards the end of the video, where the song really becomes faster, the variety of shots increase as it is the climax of the plot to a certain extent.
The photographs in the house which appear as props are very important conventions to the audience. They show the viewer that there is a lot of history in the house which is important to the main character, and they start to understand his emotions. We further shown this by using constant close-ups to view the facial expressions and feelings. I chose my costume very carefully using a casual dress code which represents the 'indie' genre which the music comes from so listeners can interact with the main character.
We thought it was appropriate to make the video appear to be set over a long time by using certain techniques. This is showed at the end of the video where there is an outside view of the house and the sky slowly turns darker until it is night time, and throughout the project we added a fade in/fade out effect as well as some dissolves. To make the scene more realistic we emphasised the use of everyday objects in the video.
Exteria shot of house in day time
Sun setting
Night time
The photographs clearly show this but we include furniture such as the bed and sofa to show the audience that the house has a more 'home' sense to it. Some inset shots which were included such as the television gives the viewer more to focus on, cancelling out any boredom when watching the music video.
As the song is emotional, we have slowed some clips down as we have seen this done in many previous music videos of this genre. To a certain extent it captures the attention of the audience as they have time to notice the scene, making it more clear to them. We showed the scene of the character falling backwards on the bed in show motion to highlight this as important as he is revisiting a house he once lived. This in slow motion, gives the viewer time to observe the feeling of the character as it is a significant to him.
This idea was inspired by a video by the 'Killers – Smile Like You Mean It' which also uses the idea of memories in a house. The band perform in the house in various rooms and the background shows events from the past which fade away, so you see a contrast between past and present.
The Killers - Smile Like You Mean It
The combination of the music video and our ancillary texts produce a lot of character and colour. We tried to connect the colours on the web page to the ones used on the CD cover. The album, 'Black Swan' is what both the ancillary texts are based on and the music video further promotes the release. The CD cover uses bright colours with a simple looking swan on the front which is very eye catching. We have also edited the image to give it more of a shiny effect, which associates with the high amounts of lighting used in the main task. To equal this, the web page also has a shiny effect and the image used for the CD on to show the link between the two graphics. There is also a heading on the page saying 'Black Swan' which causes fans to realise about the new album on sale and the new theme and material of the band. The background of the web page is an outline of a swan which emphasises the relevance to the new video and album.
During our planning stage we used media technologies such as 'Youtube' to gain ideas for our own videos and see how audiences meet certain genres. We looked at a variety of previous music videos to see what conventions were included and the effect they have on the audience. When we began on our own production we used a digital camera to take photographs of storyboards which were then uploaded to an 'iMac' to put into a short film. We then did this with real photographs of the scenes we used would use in the music video. After importing the song onto 'iTunes' we then took a HD video camera and tripod to shoot our music video. The tripod was used to create more professional images to make sure the camera did not move during shots. The camera being in high definition was a big advantage to the quality of our final music video.
After filming, we imported all out footage to the iMac through the programme iMovie. After this we then imported it into iMovie HD which supported the high definition footage. This is the programme that we edited the footage on, which was very difficult, especially when syncing the singing with the song. We had a list of special effects to choose from and we decided to slow down and speed up a lot of footage which became a major convention for the music video. We uploaded the song from iTunes which was simple to do. We then exported the video using Quicktime.
We created the CD cover and web page on the latest Paint programme which helped us create the 'shiny' effect that made them both distinctive to the overall project. Also the font options were very wide ranged which helped us to choose the most suitable font for the two tasks.
Friday, 6 March 2009
Evaluation
Overall, I am very pleased with the outcome of our project which seems to have a professional element to it. Despite a few negatives, the music video definitely matches the expectations we had when planning this. I think the song by Athlete is perfect for the idea of the video which makes it easier to watch for the audience. The amount of footage we had to work on is in my opinion the reason why we were successful when undergoing the music video. We filmed over 30 minutes of footage that we thought was worthy to be included, therefore it was just a case of selecting our favourite clips to use in the video. This was a benefit as it gave us a variety of shots and ideas to experiment with.
Certain features such as the flashing of the lights when I walked up the stairs worked particularly well highlights the different effects we could use to add authenticity to our production. I am also impressed with how the shot when the camera moves down stairs then out of the house works. We added tempo and reversed the clip to match the increase in tempo of the song. This was so effective because it is not too noticeable that we added effects, proving that it does not appear unnatural.
Generally, the audience feedback was mostly positive when showed to our peers. The shots we included in our video were praised highly and the parallel narrative idea was also appreciated by the audience. Comments were made on the authenticity of the project and the way in which we portrayed the character. However, we gained a few negative points which included errors when word syncing as we struggled to edit every word perfectly to make it look like the character was singing along with the song. Also a certain inset shot which zoomed in on the character's both eyes was not a popular selection, although we decided to keep this in as it shows a variety in shots and further focuses in on this person. It also shows the audience how observant he is of the house and therefore how important it is to him.
Extreme close-up of main character showing his importance in the video
The CD cover had also a positive feedback with very little criticism about it. The shining effect had a positive reaction to it and the back page of the cover caused high amounts of interest from others. The position of the heading however was slightly queried which we took into consideration and decided to make it more central. The web page also had an excellent response especially because of the quality of graphics and special effects. The photographs on the site show the viewer how the site links to the rest of the project and our peers noticed this. The only criticism was the spacing of the headings, which looked uneven in places. We felt this was fine the way it was as there was a certain number of spaces between the headings and they filled two lines.
Certain features such as the flashing of the lights when I walked up the stairs worked particularly well highlights the different effects we could use to add authenticity to our production. I am also impressed with how the shot when the camera moves down stairs then out of the house works. We added tempo and reversed the clip to match the increase in tempo of the song. This was so effective because it is not too noticeable that we added effects, proving that it does not appear unnatural.
Generally, the audience feedback was mostly positive when showed to our peers. The shots we included in our video were praised highly and the parallel narrative idea was also appreciated by the audience. Comments were made on the authenticity of the project and the way in which we portrayed the character. However, we gained a few negative points which included errors when word syncing as we struggled to edit every word perfectly to make it look like the character was singing along with the song. Also a certain inset shot which zoomed in on the character's both eyes was not a popular selection, although we decided to keep this in as it shows a variety in shots and further focuses in on this person. It also shows the audience how observant he is of the house and therefore how important it is to him.
Extreme close-up of main character showing his importance in the video
The CD cover had also a positive feedback with very little criticism about it. The shining effect had a positive reaction to it and the back page of the cover caused high amounts of interest from others. The position of the heading however was slightly queried which we took into consideration and decided to make it more central. The web page also had an excellent response especially because of the quality of graphics and special effects. The photographs on the site show the viewer how the site links to the rest of the project and our peers noticed this. The only criticism was the spacing of the headings, which looked uneven in places. We felt this was fine the way it was as there was a certain number of spaces between the headings and they filled two lines.
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