22/10/13

Today Nari and I continued work on our group blog, researching into the genre of our chosen song. We noted down where we got our inspiration for our music video from. For example a music video that inspired us was One Republic 'Counting Stars', from this video we liked the idea of using an audience dancing to the song and the idea of a band. Another idea we liked as a group was using smoke machines and lights on the band to make it a bit more dramatic. We researched into the genre of pop and soul, which is the genre of our song.

Music Video Genre

Inspiration

This music video has given me a few ideas for our music video. I like the idea of using split screen to show different things going on, and to also show a narrative, I think this could work with our chosen genre of alternative/indie.

Applying Goodwin's Theory

Andrew Goodwin demonstrated the six characteristics that music video normally display:

1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics, for example, there would be stage performance in metal videos where as in pop video for a boy/girl band there would be dance routines. 
2. There is a relationship between lyrics and the visuals. They lyrics either illustrate, amplify or contradict the visuals.
3. This is also the case with between the music and the visuals. 
4. Due to the demands of the record label needing to make money there are a lot of close ups in the video of the artist and there is always attention on them. The artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style); and example is Lady Gaga, in her videos you expect to see a lot of bizarre costumes. 
5. Another characteristic is voyeurism which refers to the frequent notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes etc) and also the male gaze where there is voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
6. The final characteristic involves intertextuality, meaning that there are references made to films, tv programmes or other music videos.

A music video that follows the key characteristics of Goodwin's theory is Drakes video. The video 'Hold on, we're going home' shows the relationship between the lyrics and visuals by using a narrative in the video.The video is about a relationship where Drakes wife is kidnapped and he has to rescue her, this relates to the lyrics literally as he needs to rescue her and it shows she is innocent. According to Goodwin's theory the lyrics illustrate the visuals as there is a story goes with the lyrics, but is amplified more to make the video more interesting (use of jilted lover). This can also be applied to Goodwin's theory as he said that there is a relationship between the music and the visuals, he said they would either illustrate, amplify or contradict. In this case it illustrates as the song is slow at times which is when the love between the couple are shown and at times the video is slowed down even though there are action scenes going on, which is done to make it seem more dramatic.(5:12) It is also illustrated when the beat speeds up because then the video is made more fast beat.
Goodwin's theory applies to this video because he talked about the record label having to meet demands. Because Drake is a solo artist there are a lot of close ups used to show the audience that it is his video, this is highlighted more as they show others in the video but when on him the view is more clear and the screen time is longer as well. This is all done to help the label sell the artist.

Another technique used to help sell the artist is involving other famous people, in this instance A$AP is used and another famous actor is used.
Voyeurism occurs in this video, the male gaze is used to show the body of his girlfriend (the camera travels up her body whilst she is in her underwear), this makes the audience admire Drake as he is with a 'perfect' woman, also adds pleasure for the audience.




From this theory we know that there are certain codes and conventions we need to make evident to indicate we are creating a video within the pop genre. For example we will add dance routines.Also from this we know that there needs to be a relationship between the visuals and the lyrics, for our chosen song I think it will be appropriate for us to use the lyrics to illustrate ('Love Me Again'). Close ups is another feature we will use a lot in our video, to show the artist and to promote him.

Intertextaultity in Music Videos

Intertextuality is the way in which one media text is referenced in another. 'Postmodern' is often used instead as another term of intertextuality. Postmodernism involves bringing together two different conventions. It breaks the typical conventions and norms; takes little bits of everything and bringing it together. Post modernism emphasises parody and irony, focusing on the satrical nature of music videos. Cinema and television are often used as a reference in music videos. For example the Beastie Boys video for sabotage, where references to police shows are made. The three frequent sources are: cinema, fashion and art photography. Intertextuality is used so that the audience are familiar and are able to make nostalgic associations and new meanings.

Eminem is an artist who often uses intertextuality and postmodernism in his music videos, often mocking celebrities and tv shows. The video 'Lose Yourself' is a good example of intertextuality:

This entire video is eminem mocking celebrities (including himself). We see at the beginning that Eminem is supposed to be Micheal Jackson, this would ammuse the audience as everyone know him very well so therefore are able to understand the humour.


There is a reference to a tv show where he has dressed up as the host, he then comes on dancing as MC Hammer which fits with his lyrics, where he actually says "pyjama time" instead of Hammer time. All his actions in the video fit with his lyrics, making it amusing for the audience. This creates a postive outlook on the song and the artist as it makes it look as if it has been done well. A reference to Justin Timberlakes video, which suggests an audience who watch many videos. As well as making fun of others he also makes a reference to his film 8 mile which would entertain the audience, as he is able to make fun of himself. At the end Micheal Jacksons nose falls off which again is satirical humour (postmodernism), where everyone can laugh as only certain artists would be able to make this kind of joke. 

This is the type of video we expect from Eminem. Another video that uses intertexuality is his video 'We Made You'. In this video he makes fun of many female celebrities exaggerating them, such as Kim Kardashian's bum and Jessica Simpsons weight gain.

His vidoes are fun and a lot of props and costumes are used. He also makes a reference to Guitar Hero/Rock Band, which is a video game.This is done so that the audience will recognise the style and this will provide a certain pleasure for them, it also goes with the lyrics. The bachelor is also imitated in this video which makes the video more comedic.

From this I have gained the knowledge that it is key to keep the audience engaged by using things that are familiar to them, and also to push typical conventions to make an appealing video. As we are doing a pop genre I think it would be appropriate to use sources of art and cinema, to make the video more lively and satrical. As it is a love song where a lot of comedy could be used.

Music Video Director

Anthony Mandler

Anthony Mandler (born April 18, 1973) is an American film director, music video director, television commercial director and photographer. Anthony has directed music videos for people such as Jay Z, Beyonce, Rihanna, Lana Del Rey, Eminem, Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, The Killers and The Weeknd.  As a music video director, his most notable and frequent collaborator is Rihanna, the two have worked on sixteen music videos together throughout her career, beginning with "Unfaithful" in 2006 and most recently "Diamonds" in 2012.

Beginning his career as a photographer, Mandler's work has been featured on the covers of major magazines such as Entertainment Weekly, GQ, Esquire, Men's Health, and ESPN The Magazine. His celebrity portraits include, among others, David Beckham, Colin Farrell, James Franco, Heath Ledger, Ryan Phillippe, Eva Mendes, Lebron James, Taylor Lautner, Andrew Garfield, Kiefer Sutherland and Katie Holmes.For commercials, he has worked with international clients such as Nike, Inc., Motorola, Duracell and Cîroc.

Tilley often makes videos in the genre of R & B, hip hop and pop, which is where his style is formed. He uses lots of colour and lighting, choreography and quirky and unusual shots. For the more serious and meaningful songs he uses quite dark colour but still uses different style shots and lighting. His camera angles are what makes him recognisable, he uses a lot of close ups and birds eye view.He has a very recognizable style, his style is quite dark as he uses quite low contrast and dark lighting. All his music videos have story lines to them, making the audience pay closer attention to them. From watching some of his videos you can tell there is a serious tone to most of them, for example Run This Town and Ride,as they have a serious/dark story. For example, in run this town there is a lot of people and it looks as if there is a riot going on, it almost refers to the past where protests were made due to racism, this is relevant as Jay Z, Kanye and Rihanna are strong black individuals of the hip hop/r&b industry. The props such as chains and fire makes them look very powerful, again this goes with their status within the industry. 


The more fun songs such as 22 or Only Girl have a bit more colour however, they are still quite low saturated and are still able to recognise that Mandler directed them, he often uses the same colour tones in these kinds of music videos for example in Only Girl a lot of reds are used. There is still quite a serious and gritty tone. This is done to differeniate the different genres he directs. Also because the audience for 'Run this town' and '22' is very different, therefore he has to cater to the needs of the audience and has to also maintain a certain image for the stars. 

For example, in this video 'Come and Get It' Selena Gomez is seen as an attractive young female, who is making a transition from a disney star to a more serious artist. Mandler has been able to do this very subtle, for example it is not too sexy like how a Beyonce video would be. He has to be aware of this due to her young fans. However, his dark and reflective colours connote a more serious and adult artist, and also the extreme close ups which is quite seductive. Symbolism s is recurrent in his videos, for example he uses an eagle and fire in this too show her strength as a female.

Colin Tilley

Colin Tilley (born June 27, 1988 in Berkeley, California) is an award winning music video director who has written and directed music videos for artists including Zendaya, Chris Brown, Justin Bieber, Justin Timberlake, Nicki Minaj, 50 Cent, Tyga, Lil Wayne, Jason Derulo, Diddy, Usher, Melanie Fiona, Keri Hilson, Wiz Khalifa and UK rappers Chipmunk, Plan B and Dappy among others. His most notable and frequent collaborator is Chris Brown for whom he has directed 19 video projects. The two have worked on more than a dozen videos together in the last two years including every single from Chris Brown's gold-certified album F.A.M.E. except for "Beautiful People". Colin Tilley has won several awards including video of the year at the 2011 BET Awardsfor Chris Brown's "Look at Me Now" video and Best Male video at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards for Justin Bieber "U Smile". He was nominated for three videos at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards including best male video, best best hip hop video, and best collaboration video.

From music video director research I have concluded that it is key to use the same techniques throughout the video to make the style recognisable. For example, the same camera angles and shots. Also the tone throughout the video, which will probably be bright as it is a pop video.

01/10/13

Today in our lesson in our groups we were trying to find the song to make a music video for. We looked at songs by Passenger, Mumford and Sons, Jason Mraz and others. We established we wanted to work in the genre of pop and soul. We looked at many music videos to try and gain inspiration. We looked at the video Run the World by Beyonce, we were creatively inspired from the choreography and location.