Here is the CD cover to James Bay's Debut album 'Chaos And The Calm'. James Bay's music comes under many genres the main being folk rock/ blues genre. This cover is dominated by the large photograph of the artist him self which is quite dull looking with low lighting which creates a dull but also a calm atmosphere which reflects the album title. The photograph isn't particularly eye catching but would attract the fans of James Bay as it has a mid/long shot of the artist, therefore they would be drawn tot he album, also the general mood of the photo almost has a natural feel to it which could reflect the folk style within his music, but also creates a very modern feel to the album cover. The general style is very minimalistic but effective as it reflects the genre of music and also 'keeps things simple' which enables potential buyers to be drawn into the main photograph on the album and perhaps consider the hidden message behind the photograph. The text font style, colour and size also reflects the calm feel that the album cover is portraying. This is because the font itself is simple and contrasts against the darkness on the image which makes the important information (The artists name and album title) stand out and noticeable. Also, the change in colour of the font separates the name of the artist from the album name, but in a simple way that is not drastic.
Above is the back of the album. The key feature of the back cover is the track list as this shows what songs the album includes and in what order. Also another thing to mention would be the record company logo which features in the left hand corner, and also the barcode for the shops. Like the album cover for 'Years & Years' the CD spine has the name of the artist and also the record label logo on it. The large photo, which provides the background for the back cover, reflects the theme of the front photograph. The photograph could almost be said to reflect the title of the album as an armchair is somewhere to relax and provides a 'calm' atmosphere, however the tatty look of the chair could represent the 'chaos' in the album title 'Chaos And The Calm'.
Here is the CD cover for the band Years and Years album 'Communion'. Years and Years are a trio, which make electronica/house music and 'Communion' is their debut album. The CD cover is typical of the musics genre. This is because the overall design is simple but effective this is because the use of the neon colours in the bands logo really contrasts with the black background which really makes the CD cover standout and catch buyers eyes. The choice of colour theme is also typical of the dance/electronica genre as the colours almost represent the theme in which is usually associated with 'night clubs' etc. as this is the kind of scene which this genre of music maybe played and the black could almost represent the night, which is when people have parties etc. and the vibrant neon type colours used in the logo adds an up-beat feel and could almost represent the lighting used in events such as clubs. I really like the simplicity of the design as it doesn't give 'too much away' about the content of the album, which makes people want to buy it to learn more. I also think this due to the fact that there is minimal text used which makes the CD cover much more appealing as the full focus is on the logo type design which takes up the majority of the the front cover. The font used is also interesting as it is simple but almost has a 'playful' sense to it and the choice of white font contrasts with the black background. The font is also one that is associated with the band as it is used on singles such as 'Shine'.
Above is the back of the CD cover for the album 'Communion'. As
you can see the theme follows on from the front design, with the black background and neon font for the track list. Also on the back of the CD you can see the small logo at the bottom of the track list for the bands record company 'Polydor Records', as it is important when making a CD cover/ Digipack that all the essential details such as the record label and barcode are included. Also, another thing to mention would be that on the spine of the CD is the name of the band and also the name of the album in the same font and also the same record label logo.
Above is the Digipack for the album which is the 'deluxe' version with extra bonus features in a boxset style. This pack contains bonus features such as a pin badge, bonus tracks and lyric book with also copies of hand written lyrics made by one of the band members. All these added extras are a marketing tool for the group as people are lured into buying the digipack version so that they can get these added extras.
Here is another example of a music magazine advert for the pop artist Olly Murs and his debut album. This advert takes a very simple approach and relies on the actual artists iconic image to attract readers attention. This is because the main focus of the advert is on the multiple-me image which features six images of the artist himself. This is because fans of Olly Murs will be attracted to the advert as the photographs are long shots that feature the full length of the artist, which is effective as this enables readers to focus on Olly's image which reflects the style of his music. Also the way he is posed in the photographs suggest his own 'jolly' personality. The choice of colour is effective in grabbing the readers attention as the use of black, white and red has a sharp contrast which creates a vivid and bold advert that jumps off the page. This style also reflects the pop genre as it is clear and simple, like the themes used in pop music. This advert is also simple due to the fact that there is very little information included on the advert. For example the most important and clearest part of the advert is the name of the artist, also the release date. The music advert also features the artist's website and also the name of singles which people may have heard in the charts.
Here is an advert in a poster formate for the band Mumford and Sons album 'Sigh No More'. The general style of the advert portrays the 'fool rock' genre of the band which therefore portrays the style of the music from the album. For example, a key part of this advert is the four images that take up the main bulk of the advert. These images consist of four boxes that feature each of the four band members, which shows the identity of each of the band members. The setting and style of these photographs is typical of the folk genre as they are very 'nature' looking and have a vintage twist to them which creates the typical relaxed happy atmosphere that folk artists and their music try to portray. This is because these four photographs were clearly taken in some rural setting, as there are open fields with the sun glowing low in the sky. Also the folk genre is portrayed by he actual style of the photographs as they have a vintage feel to them with the aged look and corner tabs make them look like they were taken with a old polaroid camera. The photographs also feature each of the bands instruments that they play, which again are typical of the folk genre and also help readers who may be non-fans understand the group more. Other aspects of the advert is, of course is the name of the band. This is a key aspect that must be clear on music magazine adverts as it must stand out to catch the readers attention and also so that people know who the group actually are. This advert has done this by using the contrast between the white text and black background to naturally make the text stand out. All the text in the advert is in white but the band name and album title are much larger, with the bands name 'Mumford and Son' in a different font, as these are the most important factors in the advert. Another thing to mention would be that Mumford and Sons are a folk rock group which means they have elements of both genres in their music. The advert reflects this as it not only has the typical folk feel to the photographs but also a rock feel to it as well due to the black background, as black is very commonly used and associated with rock music. The advert has a very minimalist feel to it as there is a small amount of text which is effective as the readers are focusing on the points that matter. These points include the the three single names that feature in the box, which will attract people who may know the songs but no the group, the two record company names and logos at the bottom of the advert, to advertise the record labels, and also a review from a top music magazine company which attracts audiences with the good reviews.
Above is an example of a music magazine advert for George Ezra's debut album 'Wanted on Voyage' from the music magazine Q. The magazine Q is a popular music magazine which publishes copies monthly in the UK. Unlike the last magazine advert for Jessie J this advert is not in the same poster style, but is much more article based. This advert is much more based around the artist themselves and introduces the new artist to readers that may not know who he is, as the large title 'Introduces' suggests at the top of the page as this shows that this article is about the artists experiances of the industry so far as a new artist. As this article was wrote when George Ezra's debut album was released it does not in fact include the album title in large text in the article which is still effective in publicising the album as George Ezra only has one album which means if people are interested in him as an artist they will then be more likely to go out and buy his album. The article is presented in such a way that the important aspects of the article are made clear and are eye catching. For example, a photograph of the artist they are talking about takes up a large amount of space of the double page spread which not only shows the readers who the artist is but also helps to balance out the amount of text so that there is no daunting paragraphs of texts that readers may not bother to read. Also, the artist name 'George Ezra' is in a large font size and also is in bold. This again, similar to the picture, establishes to the reader who the artist is and what the article is about. Also the magazines name 'Q' is also quite large in the top left corner of the page, which reminds the reader what magazine they are reading.
This is the magazine advert for Jessie Jays Album 'Who You Are'. This is good example of a pop music magazine advert as it is eye catching and reflects the artist, although the colour scheme chosen is quite dull as it is mainly black it still 'works' as it is bold and the contrast with the black and gold really make the text stand out and adds a sense of power to the artist. The whole advert is the same image and placement of text used for the actual album CD cover. This is effective as it makes people look at the advert more as it is familiar to them as they may have seen the CD in the shops, therefore they can reach not only fans of Jessie J but also people that may have heard her music on the radio or in the charts. As this poster is for her debut album it is important to really represent the artist in this poster to give the right first impression. Therefore, this poster is giving the message that Jessie J is quite unusual as this is shown in her appearance in the image as she has her own image and the name of the album 'Who You Are', on the advert, suggests that this is her break through album and that she is not afraid to be who she is. Therefore, this advert does send this message out as the photo of the artist is dominant in the advert, which not also draws people in through her unusual look but also makes people remember who she is as the advert is eye catching as Jessie J is looking directly at the camera which almost looks like she is communicating with the reader of the magazine. The information on this advert is quite minimal as it does not actually say the release date of the album. However, the minimalist style is quite effective as it keeps peoples attention as they are first drawn to the photo and not a mass of information. Some important information included in the advert, which is in a bold text to help it stand out and become in-printed in the readers mind, is the name of the artist, name of the album and also the name of her debut single 'Price Tag' as this helps to draw people in as people who may not know the artist may know that song in particular as they may have heard it in the charts, which might attract knew fans because if they know and like that particular song they may be encouraged to buy the album due to this advert. Another, important aspect of the information would be the artist website which is in the smaller font, this is because fans and none fans can go on the website and find out more about the artist, which will gain more publicity for the album.
Above is the Album cover for the album 'Who You Are' by Jessie J and it is clear to see the clear link between the CD cover and the magazine advert.
There are many different forms of music advertising. The two more traditional methods are Print Media (magazines, newspapers, posters etc) and Electronic Media (Radio, Tv, Internet etc). It is important that music is advertised as it is a marketing tool as it gains publicity for the song/album and the artist and will hopefully gain new audiences, which will lead to more singles/albums sold. My main focus will be on print media, as we will be aiming to create our own music magazine advert. Print media is the first type of advertising used and it started of with newspapers, then posters and then magazines follow this. Music magazines are now very popular in the UK and there are many different ones on the market today the main one being NME (New Music Express) which means by creating music magazine adds artists can gain publicity for their single/album.
Magazine adverts will appear in the style that reflects the artist themselves and also the genre of the music. Most commonly the advert will appear almost 'poster like' or will look like the actual CD cover for that album/single. Magazine adverts will feature some form of picture which maybe in a poster style or cartoon, photography or art based. Another important factor for music magazine adverts would be the font and the size of the text as it is key as this makes the most crucial parts of the advert clear and memorable. For example, usually the CD title, band name, reviews, band website, exclusives and release date will be in bold. The actually font will also have an impact on the successfulness of the advert as it must be one that reflects the genre and general mood of the music. Magazine adds will also feature things such as band logos if they have one and also any warnings that the album may have for its content e.g. 'explicit content'.
We wanted to look at the original 'Run Boy Run' to get an understanding of the creators interpretation and to see what aspects they used to produce a music video to the song we wish to do, which could help give us ideas for our own piece and provide inspiration.
Again, black and white is used, like in 'Iron', which helps to create a very contrasting, eye-catching effect, that also gives the video a darker feeling to it. I feel this could be very useful in our own video as we wish to explore some very dark themes that could be enhanced with the use of black and white. The whole music video has a very dark feel to it due to the lack of lighter colours, but as the video progresses, it becomes subtly lighter but still contrasts with the big white city, which is a reoccurring shot within the music video. The white city also shows flags holding the crossed keys, which Woodkid used to describe his path into adulthood.
The video depicts a young boy running from a building into 'the wild', the video has a very 2D feel to it, as the shots are predominantly shot from the same side and use the same angle. As the boy runs, we begin to see more foliage and soon he is joined by a flock of crows that fly along with him, many shots are shown using close ups of the birds and a great portion of this is using slow motion, showing the details of the wings and the gleam of their feathers and to enhance the desperate but joyful running of the boy, which is also expressed with occasional close ups of his face. Soon we begin to see monsters rising out of the Earth and the boy falls down, left to the mercy of the beast, who picks him up and runs with him. Soon, the monster drops him and the horde run with him, creating a small twist, as they become his allies. They provide the boy with a small wooden sword, shield and helmet to help protect him. Suddenly, the weak boy becomes a powerful character, despite the childlike defenses. I feel that the video is trying to describe the boy running away from home, tears on his face, and growing up, and learning of the world. He has to learn to defend himself, and not everyone is as they seem. The changing of shots, show his destination- a large white city, perhaps this is where he believes he fill find his way in the adult life. It also shows the boy having fun, which is shown through his expression, and the shot where the boy flies up into the sky, showing that he feels powerful and thinks he can now do anything he sets his mind to. He is no longer affected by the monsters and runs with them with a smile on his face and begins to command them as he becomes braver and learns how to be a leader. The monsters becoming increasingly larger and the horde builds up until there is even a boat of the monsters floating in the background, which represents his adventure and the distance he has traveled. The journey still has a rather child-like feel to it, as the boat represents a small pirate ship, as young boys often think of. Finally, he reaches his destination and stares out at the large city with wonder, and raises his sword, victorious. I like how they show the progression of his character using Mise-en-scene, both through his props, the helmet, sword and shield, but also through his face, as he becomes happier, though his face becomes dirtier, showing that he has suffered hardships but has persevered to reach his destination. The shots are quite fast, cutting every 2 seconds to the beat at the beginning, which remains quite consistent despite the occasional extra shot or a slightly longer shot that could be 4 seconds long. This is to show his fear as he runs into the unknown and the sharp cuts show his hyper-awareness, as he looks behind him and is aware of his surroundings as one would be out alone in the dark. The shots become quite a bit slower when they show the large city, as the camera movements are used to keep the audiences interest and long shots are used to enhance the longing for that place. The shots slow down as he falls over and the monsters are introduced, despite the fast pace of the music, to make the scene last longer and to add tension to the scene as the boy is not getting up fast enough to run from the monsters. The shots become faster again as they all run together as everything was as it was before, but now the boy is stronger. Slower shots are used for the slow motion scenes to enhance what is being shown. Soon the speed begins to slow down, as the boy relaxes and more occurs within the shot as more monsters join him, he knows he is getting closer to his destination and the shots constantly change to the large city. Fast shots of each different characters are used before the long shot including the large boat create a contrast in speed and make the long shot more dramatic as it continues. I like how the shots remained about the same speed apart in time with the music except for the occasional longer or shorter shots, which seemed highlighted due to the change in speed. This shows that despite the fast music, fast shots don't always have to be used to make the video effective. Long shots can also describe the story within the song and the beats of the song can help progress the story within the same shot. This analysis has helped me to understand how I can use editing to describe the story within the music video and how different shot speeds and help to convey a feeling to the audience. I have also learnt the importance of Mise-en-scene though costume, expression and use of light and dark to help the audience interpret the music video.
Through out all of Woodkid's music videos there are lots of different imagery and symbols used which can be slightly confusing to those who are not fans and don't follow the artist. Therefore, I decided to do a little research and actually find out why these images are used and if there is a 'hidden meaning' to them which would give the music videos depth.
After some research I found a music blog which had an interview with Woodkid himself, which he was asked questions about his music and music videos. One of the first symbols used in the music video for 'Iron' is a set of crossed keys that feature through put the video, e.g. on a flag. This is because this symbol is something that actually has a link to the artist himself. This is the question Woodkid was asked and his response:
I notice a lot of keys represented in your videos and promotional material. What’s the significance of that imagery?
I have two key tattoos on my arms that I got in 2007 when I moved to New York. It was just a way for me to express my identity as an adult and the act of making them into two and having my own set of keys, which to me represents my home both to and away from my parents. I decided to use crossed keys because they’re a symbol of religion — the symbol of the Papal keys and the Vatican. There are a lot of religious inserts in my project because, of course, religion is very important to my music. I have used a lot of organs and chords that belong to classical religious music, so having these keys definitely makes a lot of sense. But it also represents me and the kid that thirsts to become an adult and collide with a lot of themes surrounding religion and war.
It is clear from Woodkid's response that his music videos do have a lot of symbolism and use of hidden meanings, which makes his music videos very interesting and adds depth to them as only true fans of Woodkid will understand the meanings behind the imagery used, which reflects the niche audience for this genre.
Here is some more sections from the interview which explains the artist himself and the a little about the concept of his music:
So then where does the name “Woodkid” come into play?
There’s another dimension to my work, like the way I would like to make metaphors and symbolism around the textures or materials and the story that I am trying to create. “Woodkid” is the story of a kid that grows up, and after time turns into stone and marble, representing the city and the concrete that makes it up. It’s a very hard material that turns humans into very hard sounds. That’s the idea of the whole project. I would say that “Woodkid” is the boy in “Run Boy Run” — he’s the one that comes from underneath and from the very emotional material. In the album I explain at the beginning he’s made of wood — he bends in the wind because he is very supple and tender, but the more he grows up, the more he turns into this marble and he has to break it.
So then when you’re presented with a song or an idea, what are you looking out for or what inspires you to bring it into a visual realm?
I have an artistic statement, which is what I call “translations.” It’s whatever I do, I try to translate things from one language to another. In this case, it would be the language of image to the language of sound. For example, in “Iron,” I looked for this very epic sound that was half synthetic, half real, half orchestra and half sampled. I mixed it to have this very epic sound, and then once I had this texture, I thought of what would be the cinematic equivalent. So I worked with how to make the look of environments with the same toxicity that the sound implies. I basically get inspiration from my work by just finding sounds and then translating them into images or finding images and translating them into sound. It goes back and forth, vice versa. It’s like a very powerful circle where I just feel that universe — that unique voice in sound and image.
'The Golden Age' was Woodkid's debut album which featured both 'Iron' and 'Run Boy Run'. It was released on the 18th March, 2013 through an independent label known as Green United Music.
Three of the albums songs were released as singles, which were:
- 'Iron'- released on the 28th March 2011
- 'Run Boy Run'- released on the 21st May 2012
- 'I love You'- released in February
The music video for the song 'Run Boy Run' was nominated for Best Short Form Music Video at the 2013 Grammy Awards. The music video was directed by Lemoine (Woodkid) himself as he is not only a singer-song writer but also a director as well. 'Run Boy Run' was also used in several adverts for O2 and in many more adverts and trailers.
'Iron' was Woodkid's debut single and gained popularity as it was used in a trailer for Assassin's Creed: Revelations.
'Iron' is another song from Woodkid, who is the same artist who made the song 'Run Boy Run' which is our chosen song for out music video. We decided to look at more music videos from Woodkid so that we can understand the general conventions of the neofolk genre.
Whilst looking at Woodkid's work we instantly made a discovery that all his music videos are in black and white. I think that the use of black and white is very effective as it automatically creates quite a dramatic look which is gripping as the audience is drawn into the fantastic cinematography used through out the music video. It is quite unclear on whether or not there is a narrative in the music video, however it is clear that there is some form of 'battle' commencing as there is powerful shots of various people looking rather menacing. This menacing appearance which makes the audience feel almost threatened by the characters in the video is created through the clever use of mine-en-scene. For example, costume is effectively used as the characters are dressed in clothing that's almost of a 'medieval' style with hardy costumes that involve lots of leather, buckles and ripped material that all create the typical villain appearance that you see a lot of in historical/ fiction dramas or films which feature viking/ bandit type characters. Another way mise-en-scene has been used to make the characters dominating, and also sets up the general atmosphere and theme of the song, is from the actual positioning of the characters and the shots used to show them. For example, one of the first characters we meet in the music video is through a close up/ mid shot of the back of a tattooed man, this creates an enigma and also builds up tension as we are 'teased' as we don't know who this man is and what role he plays in the narrative of the music video, the appearance of the man also makes him mysterious adding to the dramatics of the music video. There, are many 'rough' looking characters used in the video that are introduced using long/mid shots, which doesn't show much of their appearance but lets the audience take in the costume and the dramatics of the shots as these shots are quite long in terms of pace and cut into each other but in a fairly slow and calm way, which in tern creates a powerful presence to the music video. Another aspect of mine-en-scene that has been used very effectively to create this rather intense music video is lighting. The use of rather minimal lighting in different positions is effective as it creates a sharp contrast with the harsh shadows that build upon the eerie atmosphere and power of the characters.
An aspect of the music video for 'Iron' which we found particularly interesting is that within the music video they used three different animals, a dog, a owl and also a horse. When we watched this music video we made the direct link back to the A level music video for the song 'Run Boy Run', which we got our initial inspiration to do the song from. An aspect that we liked about the student video was the fact they included scene of dogs running and a variety of shots of a horse, so it is clear that this group of students got there inspiration to include these from 'Iron' rather then 'Run Boy Run'. The use of the animals in the official music video for 'Iron' is successful in creating the powerful and dramatic appearance that makes this music so effective, as it fits with the beat and unusual genre of the song and artist. This is because the horse rearing and cantering in slow motion is quite dramatic looking in it self, also the close-up slow motion shot of the dog growling and drawling is also a powerful statement and one that may even scare some audiences, also the choice of the owl is effective as it is a bird of pry so the scene with the owl flying above the running dogs and horse is so dramatic looking as it fly's away form the chaos the audience are fully focused and involved in the music and are left in ore of the shot. We like the whole concept of the dogs and horses, so it is something that we could actually use in our music video as we have easy access to these animals which would be an effective addition that we could evolve in our narrative.
The editing involved in the music video has been done in a way that not only goes to the beat of the music but also a way that draws in the audience so that they become tuned into the music. The shots in terms of editing and cinematography intensifies at the same time as the beat of the music, which helps to create that powerful atmosphere and also to help the audience to be focused on the narrative of the music video but also the music itself, which is important as if the music video is big, bold and dramatic audiences or potential ones will remember it which will then make them remember the song and hopefully make them want to buy the song or make them become interested in the artist, as the main aim of the music video is for promotional purposes. I think that this whole concept is very important to artists such as Woodkid as the genre of his music is neofolk which is a very small genre which means the audience will be quite niche, so it is important to make music videos that are big and rememberable. The imagery used of the flag with the key symbol, the large palace type place the young boy and man reading from a book almost creates a hidden narrative as these seem to be some form of hidden meaning that is unknown to none fans of Woodkid's music as it seems to be quite a detailed narrative with imagery that if you were someone watching you would not understand the actual hidden meaning behind the narrative, also these images are also a common theme used through out Woodkid's music videos.
Overal looking at this music video has helped to understand the genre more and what sort of themes and narratives are used in neofolk music videos, and what makes a successful music video. It has also given us some inspiration with the overall theme of our music video and given us some ideas of actual individual shots that we could possibly use.
Neofolk is the genre of our chosen song, 'Run Boy Run' by Woodkid. Neofolk is a form of folk music inspired experimental music and can either be mostly acoustic folk music or a blend of acoustic folk instruments aided by other instruments such as piano, strings and elements or industrial and experimental music. The term 'Neofolk' originates from music circles who started using the term in the late 20th Century to describe music influenced by musicians such as Douglas Pearce (Death in June), Tony Wakeford (Sol Invictus) and David Tibet (Current 93).
After considering several different songs of all different genres, we decided upon 'Run Boy Run' by Woodkid. We found it whilst looking at past students work and discovered that we both rather liked the song due to it's catchy beat and open-to-interpretation lyrics. This enables us to make the video on whatever we wish as the lyrics can be interpreted in many different ways. We liked the idea of making our music video about war and peace and this song allows us to achieve this.
This song has a good pace that allows us to use both long and short shots and has a very dramatic feel to it, which would fit to the build up of our theme. The mood within the song changes as the pace within changes, which allows us to tell different parts of the story and convey different ideas. The lack of lyrics allows the audience to focus on the narrative of the music video as they are not as easily distracted by lyrics. Also, due to this we don't feel the need to include aspects of performance within the video, which suits us as we feel that lip-synching is overused and takes away from the drama of the story.
Amateur Music Video We decided to do some comparisons between amateur and professional films, as this will give us a form of guidance in what makes an effective music video.
For the amateur film I looked at a past students work for the song 'Just Give Me A Reason'. The overall narrative behind the music video did match that of the song itself, as the theme used was love. However, this theme seems to be over used and the students could have explored with their ideas and perhaps used a more creative idea. The song is by Pink and therefore the music video should comply with the pop genre. As the genre is pop the music video needs to be appealing and standout to attract the young target audience. As this music video is a amateur music video and was made by students the overall quality is quite bad as professionals have access to better filming equipment. This is the obvious biggest difference between amateur and professional music videos, and due to this the students music video does not have the same bright and attractive look to it which is expected for pop music videos as the lighting is quite dull as they have relied upon natural lighting. To improve this they could have chosen to film on a more brighter or sunnier day to give them a much more 'pleasing' look in their music video which would give them the more typical upbeat atmosphere usually portrayed in pop music videos. Another aspect that makes it clear that this video is an amateur music video would be due to the actual camera shots. This is because the shots are very basic as they mainly use mid to long shots of the two characters who are standing there miming to the song for the majority of the music video. The scenes of the performers lip syncing are very basic as the two characters are just standing their and also lower the overall effect and quality of the music video as it has been done in such a way that makes the music video look quite 'cheap' and 'cheese' and has taken the audience attentions from the good aspects of the music video.
Some good points about this music video would be, in terms of mine-en-scene, the choice of locations is very effective. This is because they have used a variety of different locations that are interesting and help to tell the story and also keep the audience attention engaged in the narrative of the music video. For example, they have used shots inside a library type place and also have scenes inside a cafe. These locations are simple, but are ones thats people can relate to and help to tell the typical love tale that these students were trying to portray in their music videos. Another good aspect of this music video would be that they have used an effective balance of both narrative and performance which keeps the audience engaged in the music video so that they can understand the story that is being told with the use of acting, which is also quite effective.
Another area in which these students could have improved in would be editing. This is because editing is very basic as they only use simple cuts from scene to scene, that do not follow a particular beat, with no use of any effects such as transitions like fades. Professional Music Video When looking at the official music video for 'Just Give Me A Reason' by Pink is very clear to see what video is the amateur and what is the professional. Straight away the music video gains the viewers attention as the use of a set and lighting creates a dramatic scene that proves the music video with quite interesting and dramatic shots that draw in the audience attention. The music video starts of with a tilt up which is quite suspense full and makes the audience wait for the performer (Pink) to be shown which really captures the audiences full attention and makes them involved in the narrative form the very start, which the amateur video failed to do.
The song 'Please Don't Say You Love Me' is by an English singer-songwriter called Gabriella Aplin, who is known for creating folk/indie folk music video. We decided to look at another past student work to help with inspiration. This time we looked at a music video from a different genre as we want to get a variety of different research so that we can narrow down our research and come up with our own ideas for our music video, and by looking at different genres we can look at different styles and chose what genre appeals to us most. This past student music video for the song 'Please Don't Say You Love Me' was very well produced as they used many different relevant shots which linked to the song and the conventions of that genre. The music video was so effective as they were successful in portraying the overall mood of the song. For example, as the title suggests the songs theme was love and the students used this as their bases for their music video. They did this by using many different shots of a happy couple and made a narrative through out the music video evolved around these two characters. When looking at the Andrew Goodwin Theory it states that music videos should include aspects of both narrative and performance got avoid the audience from becoming bored. This music video stuck to this theory as they have used an effective balance of both which helps engage the audience with the performance and the overall story of the song. Indie folk music videos usually have a very laid back feel to them, and we think this particular music video is very effective in portraying this calm atmosphere due to a number of factors. For example, in terms of mine-en-scene they have effectively used locations to reflect the theme of the song. They have used natural settings that automatically create this calm atmosphere such a shots of open fields, parkland and even a shot of the actors sitting around a large lake. This is typical of the indie folk genre so it is clear that they have studied the codes and conventions of their chosen genre which has contributed to the success of the video. Another way in which these past students have created the desired calm atmosphere expected from the indie folk is through their actual camera shots and editing technique. For example, they used lots of long, wide angle shots through out the music video, which includes the performer and the rural setting int he background, which again creates that some calm country feel to the music video. There are also uses of gentle faded zooms form each of the actors faces, which helps to focus the attention on each characters reaction without being distracted by other aspects int he shots. These fades are subtle and quite long in terms of pace which makes the music video flow nicely with the general flow of the song itself. Editing has also been effectively used in the video as it is very smooth and again helps to portray the calm relaxed atmosphere. Another aspect of mine-en-scene these students have clearly focused on is costume. Although basic it has been very efficiently used in the music video to compel with the codes and conventions of the indie folk genre. For example, the performer in the music video is wearing a simple denim jacket and scarf thats creates a 'natural' look which is clearly a must for a indie folk music video. Positioning of the characters and performer is also effective. For instance, the main performer is sitting on a gate with the natural setting in clear view and also she is playing a guitar. This shot composition is highly effective as the long shot with the crane movement enable the audience to see the performer in full view and also to take in the location. The concept of the performer sitting not he gat makes her involved with background and enhances the relaxed atmosphere. The close-up shots of the guitar are impressive as the fades used look very professional and also helps to portray the genre as the instrument and shot type is typical of this genre. Overall we really liked this music video as we felt that it created the right sort of atmosphere needed in a music video for this genre and particular song. We also really liked the actual high standard of both production and post production involved in the creation of this music video which has really helped us to think about our own music video and weather we would like to do a music video of the indie folk genre.
Amateur Video A group of A level Media students created a music video for Boys II Men 'War'. I found that this music video was of a rather low quality as the filming technique was not particularly inventive or interesting, nor was the location of the video. The entire video is based around the group of boys fighting in school and lip syncing in front of an edited fire. Clearly the video is showing a group of boys who thought that fight scenes alone would make their video worthwhile, without including any kind of storyline. The shots were mostly mid shots, especially in lip syncing shots and the fighting scenes were generally wide shots and had no pace to it, so the scenes seemed rather slow and uninteresting as the audience cannot feel the action as we didn't feel close to it and it does not seem fast paced and exciting as the shots were slow. The transitions consisted of cuts and fades that didn't really add much to the video as more often than not, it didn't even go in time with the song. In addition to that, the lip sync is completely wrong and not in time at all. In fact, it almost looks like they're not even singing the same song at times, except for the occasional 'War, what is it good for'. Other than that, they are often singing despite the lack of lyrics. The use of fire in the background is also rather boring as it's not used effectively and is frequently used, meaning it looses it effect after the first couple times. The production in the video is also extremely low, as they filmed this video in school, which immediately makes it dull and doesn't give the audience a feel for the meaning of the lyrics, which are also not represented very well in the video. In conclusion, they should have had better production in using a better location and perhaps dressed up in something that represented what they wished to describe in their video rather than just wearing their usual attire. They could have included effective, well timed cuts and transitions to go with more interesting camera shots and tried to use some camera movements to help create an atmosphere. The use of the fire was also unnecessary and their editing was wasted on a clip that they used too often. Repetition does not work very well if it is overused. The use of some kind of storyline is also very important. Mindless fighting does not help to create an interesting music video. Even a simple or somewhat meaningless storyline that could captivate the audiences attention.
Professional Video
Taylor Swift - Shake it Off starts off with clear shots of ballerinas in a blank grey setting. Taylor Swift appears amongst them, dressed as a ballerina. As the shots change, we see several shots of Taylor dancing and lip syncing in different 'genres', such as street, syfi, rap and jazz. The shots are well thought out and are edited in time with the music. I like how she uses plain backgrounds to make her and her characters stand out as they perform interesting dance moves that fit in with their genre. She has a good use of production through costume and chorography that make it quite entertaining to watch as she seems to fit in with all the different genres. Her shots are fast paced which keep the audience interested and she has many different shots focusing on close ups of several dancers and then wide shots to show the entire group dancing. I also like the meaning that could be interpreted through the video, as the lyrics state to 'shake it off', which could mean shaking off bad comments, rumours or press and just enjoying yourself. By using different genres, it seems like she's applying it to anyone, whether you like or sing rap or jazz or like dancing in ballet or street. This is enhanced by the one of the later shots, where Taylor Swift is dancing with normal people. This also allows the song to apply to everyone, people who don't sing or can't dance, as they can 'shake it off' as well.
A Digipak is a form of packaging for CD's and is also a marketing tool. A CD Digipak consists of around four fold out sections made out of paperboard or card stock, with plastic slots or trays to hold the CD/ CD's, which all fold together into the same shape as an average CD case. Each section features a different photo of the artist or some form of art work, or each section will have a photo which comes together to make a large photograph. The imagery used in the Digipak will resemble that of the music video, for example particular shot of the artist from their music video so that the single will link to the song, artist and music video. An advantage of Digipaks for the consumer would be that they usually include extras such as posters, bonus tracks or even a DVD of their latest tour.
Digipaks are traditionally in hard copy format as it is the packaging for the actual CD. However, as CD's have become less and less popular and people are using platforms such as iTunes to buy their music, digital copies of Digipaks and album artwork are being made for online download. However, Digipaks are an incentive for some people to actually go out and by a hard copy of the CD as bonus features like the bonus tracks and DVD's are only available if you go out and by the CD, so this is an advantage for marketing. Another point would be that your normal album can easily be illegally downloaded, which means money loss for the company and artist, so by creating Digipaks people are lured into buying extra content. Digipaks also have other benefits in terms of marketing. This is because Digipaks should be designed in a way that will attract fans and potential target audiences. They should be aesthetically pleasing with a clear front cover that will attract the right gender, age group or generally the right person who would be interested in the artist and their music. The overall design should follow the theme of the music and the codes and conventions of that genre. For example, the colour used, the type of font and the actual imagery used are all aspects that should be considered when creating a Digipak.
'Can't Hold Us' by Macklemore is a Hip Hop song. Students from Carshalton Boys Sports College used this song for their Music Video. They made the video quite comedic and comic-like that gave it an interesting twist and made it quite entertaining to watch. It was based on the idea of the robbers having their bag taken from them and them trying to get their goods back from the man. The man is tricks them and tries to get away as he thinks they are trying to steal from him. The editing technique in this is rather good as the story is also told through comic-like edited shots, that transition as if you were looking at different pictures of a comic book. Though these shots are usually used when something important occurs, with a change of scenery or when someone in the video 'speaks', which is shown using a speech bubble. They use a lot of face paced shots to tell the story and how what the robbers are doing whilst chasing after the man, which is usually quite funny. Other shots show the characters lip synching in different locations like an alleyway or on a playground. The use of camera movement is also very interesting as it keeps to their comedic theme. For example, when one of the robbers stops to drink from the fountain, the shot slows down to the other robbers face as he realises and looks around, and the shot speeds up slightly as we follow his gaze down to show the other robber 'caught in the act' about to drink the water. The production in the video is well thought out, with the typical 'robber' outfit for the two characters, and the business suit for the man. This video works well with its setting as well, as the setting is also very interesting as there are several locations shown in what I assume to be Central London, like the several shots of Trafalgar Square. In general I think this video was very successful as it was interesting throughout as the story flowed quite nicely and was quite entertaining with its comedic twist and interesting editing. The video also ended perfectly as we finally find out what was taken from the robbers, as we get a low angle shot, looking up at the man, looking into the bag, confused. The last couple shots then show a chicken in the bag.
We created a list of songs on YouTube that we thought could be used and were based on war and peace. Once we eliminated ones we didn't were suitable we were left with 7 songs to choose from.
My Chemical RomanceWe liked the speed of the song as we discovered that a fast-paced song is useful as we could use fast shots to show meaning and describe the lyrics and meaning. We also liked the fact that there was quieter, calmer moments between the choruses and solos where the video would be able to change its pace to perhaps introduce to further the storyline. However, we weren't particularly keen on the song and weren't quite sure how to interpret the lyrics or if they would fit the base-line idea that we had thought of.
Rise Against We both liked the song as it held quite a lot of emotion and described very well the idea of soldiers fighting in the war and all the atrocities that they had to commit. We found this quite an interesting idea. Though we liked the simplicity of the song, with it being just a singer and an acoustic guitar, we found that it would probably difficult to made a music video for, as it is quite long and slow.
New Model ArmyI liked this song as it was quite well paced and I could imagine making a music video for this song. However, it is quite a long song, lasting over 5 minutes and although I was rather keen on this song as I thought it could work if we were able to cut it down, Lisa did not agree with it as it wasn't the kind of song she liked. So we decided to keep on looking, as we would both have to agree on a song that we both liked.
The song 'Run Boy Run' is by a French music video director and singer-songwriter called Younn Lemonine who goes by the name WoodKid. The song comes under the genre of neofolk.
We decided to look at past students work in aid to give us inspiration for our own music video and also to give us a guidance into what we maybe able to achieve, in terms of quality, shots, production etc. To complete this research we decided to use YouTube to find past students work, we came across an A Level music video for the song 'Run Boy Run'. We both really liked the whole concept of the video and the actual song used as well. Another reason we liked this particular music video was that we felt that in terms of technical aspect we could be able to create our own music video to this standard, as many past students work is of a very high standard as they have the accessibility to high tech equipment such as cranes, tracks and cameras of much higher quality and also more advanced editing software. Therefore, we felt that we should look at videos which were effective but simple as we felt that looking at advanced music videos would not help as we do not have the facilities to be as ambitious in our own work. The first shots used in this music video are very effective as they have used a series of close-up on various different people, which have been edited nicely to cut to the beat of the song. Also the use of the fade to black and black and white also adds a sense of mystery and atmosphere which sets up the audience for the storyline behind the song and video. Another aspect of the video which I think is effective is that for the drumming sequence part of the song they have used shots of a person, in an unusual costume that resembles a Native American, who is playing the drum and the frantic drumming and quick shots match that of the actual music. These shots make this video become not only a narrative music video but also has aspects of performance as we can actually see someone in the video playing the drum. The actual storyline behind the music video has many different aspects to it which intern makes it become slightly confusing however I feel that overall the narrative is effective as it almost leaves the story open to audience interpretation. The narrative also reflects the genre of the song as it is from a genre called neofolk, which is unusual in itself. Another reason we felt that this music video was so effective was due to the standard of the mise-en-scene used. This is because the students have thought about all aspects of mise-en-scene in particular the use of location and costume/make-up is on a very high standard. For example, the use of many different shots in various locations such as in the Castle and woodland keep the audience in tuned with the song and understand the general meaning of the song and music video. The use of the castle creates an unusual mysterious effect that creates an effective meaningful atmosphere with powerful shots of the castles and the characters within the music video. Costume has also been effectively used through out the music video as the various costumes help to create a variety of characters which help to build up the storyline. For example, the use of the hooded figure with the armour helps to create a mysterious character which symbolises your usual hero as he heads towards the tower where he meats the innocent looking 'princess' type character with the white dress and flower crown, to help to create this apearance. Props have also be used such as a drum, sword, mask, and even included animals such as dogs and even a horse, which is very effective as they have used clips of a dog running for the main chorus part of the song which has the lyrics 'Run Boy Run' which makes the music video directly link to the songs lyrics. On a whole we both really liked this music video as we felt that it was very effective and something that we could possibly achieve in our own work, and also the actual song as well. Another, final aspect that we loved about this music video is that it is almost all narrative as there is no lip syncing used in the video, the only performance aspect is the boy playing the drum. This is something that we really liked as we like the idea of having a narrative based music video as we personally don't like the whole concept of someone standing around and miming to the camera as it feels quite fake and takes away the emotion from the storyline. So this music video has given us inspiration into who we can make an effective music video without the use of lip syncing.
After looking through several music videos, we decided we liked the idea of war and peace, which we think we can show through 'Zombie' by the Cranberries.
However, we are not particularly keen on the song itself, so we will keep an eye out for other songs we could use for our idea of war and peace as we thought we could base the video on the transition from soldier to peace. We will continue to research songs and research past students work to try and finalise our song, if we can find one suitable for our idea. The reason we liked this music video was due to the theme of 'war and peace' as already stated. This was because we felt that the theme was highly effective with the quite dramatic quick cutting shots of the children and then the cuts to the solider, as children are usually associate with innocence so to put them in a music video about war makes them contrast and shows the powerful message on how war effects everyone, even the innocent. The music video was also effective due to the use of black and white as this creates a more dreary mood and reflects the quite dark message of the song, and is an idea we could consider if we use the whole concept of 'war and peace' as this helps to portray the atmosphere required.
The Andrew Goodwin Theory is made up of 5 key aspects which are what an audience look out for when watching music videos. Which are as followed:
1. Thought beats- seeing the song within your mind/head 2. Narrative and Performance 3. Star Image 4. The relation between the songs lyrics and the visuals 5. Technical aspects within the music video Thought Beats: Step one: the listener will look into the actual music and interpret it, by the chorus or verses, but all within there minds Step two: the artist will be identified from the rest of the beat and will be unique, essentially you will hear the voice within the song. Step three: the story within the song will become recognised. The music video itself will help aid in telling the story behind the song, and intern the artist becomes a story teller. Narrative and Performance: The Goodwin theory suggests that we normally tend to make-up our own interpretation of the message behind the song from just a basic understanding of what the music maybe about. Narrative and performance should be used together to insure the audience does not become bored, but engaged into the performance and also the story of the song. Goodwin believes that miming is still the most popular thing done in music videos today, however states that the artist should try and make it as real looking as possible. Star Image: Star image within music videos is very important as it is a key aspect within the visuals of a music video. Artists always want to be unique as they want the audience to remember them. Artists star image usually develops over time and changes to keep them current, star image also plays a big part in the actual production process of a music video. The Relation Between The Song Lyrics And The Visuals: Music videos use certain images to help illustrate the meaning of their songs and to help portray the actual genre by using the conventions in which that genre usually uses. The music video is essentially just telling the story of the song but by using images and visuals rather then words. Technical Aspects: Technical aspects essentially what puts the music video together. This includes camera movement, editing, cutting, speed of the shots.
The auteur theory, holds that the director, who oversees all audio and visual elements of the motion picture, is more to be considered the “author” of the movie than is the writer of the screenplay. Nigel Dick Nigel Dick was born in 1953 and is an English music video film director. He directed the Band Aid video 'Do They Know It's Christmas' as well as over 500 music videos One of Dick's first music videos was 'Shout' by Tears for Fears in 1984. This video included many beautiful shots of scenery, including Durdle Door in Dorset. The singer was included in most of the shots, standing in front of the scenery or layered on top of shots. He also included several shots of the bands instruments as is a typical convention of a rock music video. He then also had several people join in for the end of the music video to dance to the music. They seem to be random people. This could be to make the audience feel more involved with the music as they can relate to the people on stage as they represent the target audience.
He then also directed Britney Spears' 'Oops!... I Did It Again' in 2000. This video was very He then also directed Britney Spears' 'Oops!... I Did It Again' in 2000. This video was very different to his earlier ones. This video was mainly based on choreography as Britney Spears bases her videos off dancing and wearing tight clothing, using her sex appeal to attract her audience. Several shots were very artistically framed, but were no longer based on scenery as it was in 'Shout'.
Chris HopewellChris Hopewell is a English Music Video Director. He is not very well known but has created, what I believe to be, some very effective music videos. His video for Radiohead's 'There There' received an award for Art Direction at the TV Video Music Awards in 2003. His videos take on a more cartoon-like theme with choppy shots and dramatic use of lighting in a dark setting.
'There There', by Radiohead, was referencing the song from episode two of the British children's television series, Bagpuss. This makes this a surreal reference music video, as there are many scenes of small woodland animals living human-like lives, such as the two cats getting married. As the singer travels through the woods, the scenery gets lighter as he reaches a clearing where a golden jacket is hanging from a tree. He puts on the golden jacket along with a pair of shoes that he found within the tree and awakens the crows which chase the singer through the woods, until his shoes fall off. As his feet hit the ground, they turn into roots as he begins to transform into a tree which the crows sit on. The camera pans down to show the singers face trapped, screaming within the tree. The entire sequence was filmed at one-quarter regular speed to make it look jumpy, creating a rather unrealistic effect whilst giving it an eerie atmosphere. Hopewell also increased the contrast in his videos by having a dark setting and using bright shots and items to counter this. Throughout most of the sequence, the singer is surrounded with golden tinted woodland, unlike the bright golden settings with the woodland animals and the bright clothing that the singer takes from the tree.
'You're gonna go far kid', by The Offspring, was filmed in a very similar fashion, with an old film overlay giving it a vintage effect. This music video was based on Lord of the Flies and punishing those who are greedy. It also has a surreal theme as a plant goddess appears to give the peasant a magical guitar, allowing him to play and heal others, earning him lots of money, which he spends on himself, getting into more extravagant venues to earn more money, until his guitar is taken away from him for his selfishness. The video also holds Hopewell's signature jumpy shots by using a lower speed when filming. The video also remains dark throughout until he plays for the rich. There are dramatic contrasts between the dark and golden objects, such as the guitar and the money, linking the colour with what is deemed expensive or unique. This helps to create a very unusual effect that can be very eye-grabbing and creates an eerie atmosphere.
