More notes on music videos

Iconography

- of an artist

- of a music genre

- even of a music director

The familiarity with a certain iconography helps audience recognition

Richard Dyer - "a star is an image constructed from a range of materials"

                        "star-texts intersect with video clips"

Phil Collins - In The Air Lyrics

I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord 
And I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord 
Can you feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord, oh Lord 

Well if you told me you were drowning, I would not lend a hand 
I've seen your face before my friend, but I don't know if you know who I am 
Well I was there and I saw what you did, I saw it with my own two eyes 
So you can wipe off that grin, I know where you've been 
It's all been a pack of lies 

And I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord 
Well I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord 
I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord 
Well I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord, oh Lord 
Well I remember, I remember, don't worry, how could I ever forget 
It's the first time, the last time we ever met 
But I know the reason why you keep your silence UP, oh no you don't fool me 
Well the hurt doesn't show, but the pain still grows 
It's no stranger to you and me 

I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord 
Well been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord 
I can feel it in the air tonight, oh Lord, oh lord 
Well I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord 
I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord 
And I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord 
I can feel it in the air tonight, oh lord, oh lord, oh lord 
Well I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh lord, oh lord

I can feel it in the air tonight, oh lord, oh lord, oh lord, oh lord 
Well I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh lord, oh lord, oh lord

Final Song Choice

Goodwin's points

Andrew Goodwin's Theory on Music Videos:

• Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics
• There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals
• There is a relationship between music and visuals
• The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work
• There is frequently reference to notion of looking and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body
• There is often intertextual reference

Goodwin strongly suggests that the lyrics will constantly refer to the visuals on screen and this is evident in many videos, one particular example being Ciara - act like a boy.

Carol Vernallis's Theory on music videos:

Her theory is centered around 4 key concepts that all relate to the way the music video is constructed. There four concepts are:

1. Narrative
2. Editing
3. Camera movement and framing
4. Diegesis

I agree with both theories as it applies to the majority of music videos and it is also used in the videos that are more famous and well known.

Notes on music video's

NARRATIVE

Narrative in music videos are fragmented or even at times have no narrative at all. There are fast edits in a music video, therefore continuity is not always present or there may not be any need for it. There is never or very rarely a complete narrative. The video entices the viewers and gets them wanting to view the video again and again. Parallel editing is also used to present the artist and show them off.

Some music videos are very good that it helps make the song memorable even if the song is mediocre. Technical codes are used to construct both the video itself and the representations inherent within it.
Realism is created from the depth of field, where the focus changes from one thing to another. Also, everything needs to fit to the iconography of the genre in order to help with the realistic look of the video.

The women-body is common in musics videos, exhibiting body parts all the time and portraying themselves to being provocative. Acknowledging the camera is also common as it helps to interact with the audience and connect to them.

CAMERAWORK

How the camera is used and how images are sequenced will have a significant impact upon meaning.
The camera movement, angle and shot distance all need to be analysed carefully to construct the right meaning.

The close up predominates because of the size of the screen and also because of the desire to create a sense of intimacy for the viewer. It also emphasises the selling of the artist, song and album sales.

Carol Vernallis suggests that a video must provide a flattering depiction of the singer lip-synching the song. The grammar of music video makes us aware of the edge of the frame and the meaning behind it.
Music videos often frame the body inappropriately e.g. in kylie monogue.

Fast cut montage are common forms with the music promo. Multiple viewing is ensured through rendering many of the images which are impossible to grasp upon. Slow pace and gentle transitions to establish mood.

Laura Mulvey (Male gaze)

Laura Mulvey came up with her theory of the male gaze in 1975. She believed that the audience had to view the video from a hetrosexual male. The camera focuses on the curves of a female body. Women are represented as an object and some women enjoy being 'looked' at foe example beauty pageants. The gaze could also be directed towards same genders for many reasons, not all being sexual, for example comaprison of body image or clothing.

Roland Barthes (Enigma code)


1. Proairetic code (the voice of empirics): The code of actions. Any action initiated must be completed. The cumulative actions constitute the plot events of the text.
2. Hermeneutic code (the voice of truth): The code of enigmas or puzzles.
3. Connotative [or Semic] code (the voice of the person): The accumulation of connotations. Semes, sequential thoughts, traits and actions constitute character. “The proper noun surrounded by connotations.”
4. Cultural or referential code (the voice of science [or knowledge]):  Though all codes are cultural we reserve this designation for the storehouse of knowledge we use in interpreting everyday experience.
5. Symbolic code (voice of the symbol): Binary oppositions or themes. The inscription into the text of the antithesis central to the organization of the cultural code.

The codes are complicated by partial delays and interruptions.
1. Thematization: emphasis on object which will be subject of the enigma.
2. Proposal of enigma: questions in the text.
3.Formulation of enigma: frequent supplementation of the enigma as the text progresses.
4. Request for an answer: facilitates narrative movement.
5. Snare: types of deception
a) deception of one character by another.
b) deception of the reader by the discourse.
c) character deceived by self.
6. Snare and truth: A statement which might be taken two different ways.
7. Suspended answers.
8. Partial answers.
9. Jamming. An apparent failure of the hermeneutic activity, usually because of the exhaustion of all available resources. Death of writer, destruction of evidence.
10. Disclosure: a discussion or uttering of the irreversible word, closure, the end of signification.

Inspirational Music Video

I have been watching a range of music videos and looking out for certain parts of the video that could inspire me when I create my music video. The first video is a sort of animatic and funky video which is very weird yet it goes well with the song and the visuals cut to the beat. The second music video is a sort of continued, moving video as the shots go into the objects and zoom in and out, moving into another shot. The third video is a simple video yet it is very inspirational as camera does not move at all and video consist of stop play shots.

Top 3 songs choice

 I have been listening to songs that me and my partner can produce a music video to and here are some of the songs we have decided to select as a possible song choice. The first is a song named "Negotiation Limerick", which has a catchy drumming beat and sounds old school which could be fun to perform to. This particularly caught my attention and is a possible song selection.



 The Phil Collins track is also a possible option as a song choice due to the simple beat which we can perform to and make many edits in the post production to create a successful music video. Me and my partner agreed to this and we chose it as possibility.

The third possible song choice is Bongo Bong by Manu Chao due to the beat being catchy. The 'bing' that is constantly played throughout the song is what makes the song unique and also us to be creative with the video. I can imagine a animated video for this song, which would be fun to create.

Lip Sync Preliminary task - Animals

In this preliminary task, I had to match the dancing animals with the beat of the song to give it meaning and make it seem as though they are dancing to the beat. I used a variation of effects and techniques to help me do this. In one part of the clip, I increased the speed of the clip so it could match the beat of the tune.

I also tried to make it believable by cutting to the beat. Also fast edits of the clips was essential in completing this task as it helped in creating the realism.











Another effect I used was to experiment with the colour wheel and I changed the colour of the clip to a lighter more yellow colour to make it more eye catching. There are two main colours in that clip and I deliberately did so.

Here are some more screen grabs of my edit. The image below to the right was duplicated and put one after the other, where one of the clip was rewinded. This was a particular effect which grabbed attention and helped with cutting to the beat, making the video seem believable.

A screengrab of my timeline is presented below, showing how little the clips are as fast edits was essential in this video. I also used markers to help me with this, which was a new aspect of final cut that I have learnt.

Lip Sync Preliminary Task - You wanna what

In this task, the main objective was to match the audio to the visuals and creating a lip sync. The use of markers helped make this easier as it enabled me to adjust the audio clip to when the girl starts singing. The main task was to create this lip sync and this was  fairly simple.

Anna Calvi - Desire

What camera shots are used and why? Long shots? Mid shots? Close ups ? ECU's? Try to identify different shot types but also explain why you think these shots are used.

There are mainly close ups and extreme close ups used in this music video, mainly of lips and the eyes of the artist. This could be to reflect her emotion and convey this to the audience which can be a key marketing skill that companies use to sell her. There is also long shots which is used to establish the eerie setting, reflected in the lyrics. There are also jump shots used in this video, which may have been used to draw the attention of the audience. Point of view was used in the begin of the video, which can indicate an invasion of privacy and that someone is spying on her, a sense of voyeurism.

Is there an overall concept or theme (or even colour scheme) in the mise en scene? Are there any patterns in terms of props, costumes, setting? Is expressive lighting used? What is the overall effect of the mise-en-scene?

A constant theme used in this video is a red colour scheme. The colour red connotates desire, love and danger and there are many shots of these colours, for example, red carpet, red lighting, red lipstick, which are all used throughout the video. The overall effect of the mise-en-scene is to create that eerie setting and red and black colours are dominant throughout the video.

Are there any special effects? What are they? What impact do they have?

The shot where the camera is zooming into the photo of the wave and then the wave turns into real life is a special effect that has been included in this video.

Does the video feature any voyeurism? Does it features any screens or pictures? At any point do we climb inside the picture or screen or do the characters in the picture or screen climb out?

At the start, the video begins with a point of view that seems to intrude the lady in red, showing a sense of voyeurism.

Preliminary task - Superhuman

In pairs, we had to create a video for a current song which we selected to be super human by Chris Brown. Our task involved lip syncing to the song and the whole purpose was to get used to lip syncing as it would help us when it comes to actually producing the final music video. The actor had to make the lip sync look believable. Although, he may have struggled at times, he did very well and did make it look believable. A variation of camera angles were used and post production effects were added, which includes slowing down the clip and the rewind effect. All in all, the video was successful to an extent and will definitely help when it comes to producing our own music video.

Nelly - Just a dream music video analysis

I will be analysing Nelly - Just a dream music video. The beginning starts of with a view of a wave in the ocean from an almost impossible viewpoint, followed up by the artist Nelly in a car in mid air, creating a supernatural feeling to the video. This technique goes in line with the title of the song as if it is a dream. We see a close up of a girl and a close up of Nelly, creating an assumption that there is a love theme. The genre of the song is pop and the long shots of the two being together on the beach is particularly effective as it creates intimacy and resembles the theme love, which can also be identified from the lyrics of the song.

The video shows the video through the eyes of a person as you can see the shape of the pupil of a persons eyes; we could assume that it is Nelly's eye. This goes well with the title again as it relates to the thought of it being just a dream and when the pupil shatters, it shows how the "love" is almost shattered and it was really only "just a dream". The ending of Nelly's hand slipping away from the girl is also powerful as it further emphasizes the title of the song.


One inspiration I would take from this video is the story telling through the eyelid as it can help relating the meaning of the song to viewers.

Kanye West Ft Tpain - Good Life music video analysis

The music video i will be analysing is Kanye West Good Life. The song was released in October 2007 as his third single from his third album "Graduation". The music video is simple yet effective through the use of lyrics being shown in the frame whilst the artists are dancing. The use of this engages the viewers as it forces them to read the writing.

The song is mainly presented in an animated way, which has been done at the editing phase. There are hands being shown when Kanye says "now throw your hands up in the sky" and Kanye is sitting on an animated car (which is common to have cars in the video as it signifys wealth). This technique creates a more childish look and can attract viewers of a younger age group due to this.  The video is simple yet effective by Kanye and Pain performing with animated backdrops and often mouthing the words of the song lyrics. The video won several awards, one of them being "best hip-hop video" and "best special effects in a video". The mouthing of the lyrics is what I have been inspired by in this video and i would consider it being a part of my music video.