2. Music video analyses To get a good idea as to what a music video should include I did a lot of research into it. I watched a number of music videos to see what would be added to add different effects.
3. Damien rice – 9 crimes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgqOSCgc8xc The lyrics "leave me out with the waste" are given a literal meaning in the video through the visual of vocalist Lisa Hannigan's head lying within the bins in an alleyway. This image later progresses as her head flies in the air like a balloon and is lifted away by the wind. The lyrics "if I give my gun away when it's loaded, is that alright?" are represented in the video by the young boy who uses a slingshot to burst her 'balloon head”. The lyrics "it's a small crime and I've got no excuse" could also relate to the boy. The music video seems much more narrative and you can see that it has a lot of cinematic qualities. The artist Damien Rice and vocalist Lisa Hannigan lip sync to each other instead of the camera because of this the video is unconventional and experimental. However, it does still conform to some music video conventions, such as performance from the artist and a narrative.
4. We are introduced to the video with a rough looking area with walls lined with bins. The colours used in this scene are very dull and only greys are really used. This signifies that there is a sense of poverty in the area. The camera then pans along the wall eventually reaching the head on the floor. The lengths of the shots are very long to match the nature of the piano playing. We are then greeted by an extreme close up of the singer’s mouth. The camera then pans out and shows the whole face. The extreme close up shows that the lyrics that she is singing she really means and are coming straight from her mouth.
5. Then a man appears to walk towards the head in the background. This man is wearing a bright orange top which indicates he is the bit of hope in this helpless woman’s life. He seems to be looking for something in this scene which connotes he has something in his life missing until he finds the woman. The appearance of this man is quite rugged and resembles that of a tramp. This is against the conventions of a glam pop star and plays down the fact that he is a famous artist. We later see him stop to pick up money that backs up the idea of him being a tramp.
6. When he finds the head it flies away with the wind. This signifies that they have no control over when they see each other because the wind is taking her somewhere else; she is helpless and needs someone to guide her. The colours we see are still quite bland with the man’s top being the focal point of this long shot. Here we see a point of view shot from the floating heads perspective, we see the head float behind the man’s head and then he makes eye contact with the camera.
7. There is now a question and answering effect on the singing when the man sings and then the woman sings right after him as if it is a response. This is shown in the video as if they were having a conversation and getting along well. Introduced to us now are the “youths” hiding behind the car. This goes a long with the convention that the youths are the ones causing trouble and hurting people. The types of car, to me look like they are from a while ago when cars were first created. This is the first real indication of what time period the video is set in. The kids have a slingshot which can represent a gun for the modern day. This ties in nicely with the lyrics mentioning a gun in many occasions. During this passage of the video the music picks up and the shot lengths get smaller to build up a bit of tension. There are also many more close ups during the end of the song, this is so that the singers expressions will be captures and recognised because they are a bit part of the video.
8. The video then finishes with the shattered face on the floor. And the music is the same as it was in the start of the video, showing that the man is not in the same place he was at the start of his journey in the video.
9. Ryan Adams - Answering Bell http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Grkn6x6VWms We are greeted with a fade in close up of a banjo playing the intro. The genre of music we would associate with the banjo is country music and blues, which then matches the next shot which is in black and white.
10. There is a lot of playing and performance based shots in this video, the singer songwriter genre is common for having this amount of performance based shots in their music videos.
11. We then see a close up of the singers face, this shot lasts for about 7 seconds and this shows us that the song might be very personal to him or the particular lyrics he is singing. We also might just be getting introduced to the main man in the video with this shot.
12. We then see the singer looking through a telescope looking for something. This matches the lyrics “oh girl I wish I knew you well” which could indicate that the man is searching for more information about this girl that we see in the next shot.
13. This shot is a point of view shot and shows us that the man is looking at through the telescope. All previous shots have been in black and white so as soon as the woman in introduced we see colours, this might connote happiness in the singers life when he sees the woman.
14. During the next few shots we see that the singer is on a journey to find something and goes with his ‘pals’ from the band. This shot might even relate to the well known story “The wizard of oz” because of the inclusion of the yellow brick road they are walking on and also the castle or buildings we see in the background of the shot.
15. We can now strongly see that the singer is the main man in this video as he is standing up when the band mates are sitting on the floor. This gives him a sense of authority and importance. As soon as the climax of the song arrives we see it start to snow. This is probably to emphasise the change in chord progression and add to the climax signifying confetti.
16. We now see the two finally meet after searching. Dressed in black and white it mixed with the theme at the start of the video when everything was in black and white. The surrounding flowers are coloured red, this could signify love between the two. They finally go in and nearly kiss each other giving us a happy ending for the story.
17. Jamie Lidell- What’s The Use? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFtnHTW-l-w The opening shot of this video shows the actual artist clapping along to the beat. This tells us that this song will be primarily rhythmic based and gives us a sense of the genre. We see that he has a blindfold over his eyes, this might be because he is not singing yet he does not want to be recognised and then as soon as he starts singing we see his face and can recognise him.
18. We then see the artist dancing along to the music with a white background. This is something I want to include in my video because it is entertaining and makes you want to dance along.
19. When the singing finally comes in the artist is wearing a wacky costume and is dancing in front of a wacky and multi-coloured background. This is a large contrast to the white in the previous shot. This shot lasts for a long time . We can see that this video is completely based on the artist as for such a long tie this is all you can see. The performance based shots are dominating in this music video.
20. The dancing silhouette is in turn greeted with the lyric “I’m a walking talking question mark” which portrays him as confused and that he doesn’t know what is happening, so in the video he is given no colour just a shadow to represent that.
21. We se a lot of the flashing images appear on the background while the artist is lip syncing along to the song This is because the actual pace of the shots and the song is quite laid back and relaxed because the shots are very long, so the flashing images liven up the video a lot more.
22. The next costume we see him in is covered with question marks. The sudden green theme is introduced and might symbolise envy for another person. We see in the poses he makes that he does not know any of the questions and is very confused. At the end of the video we see basically what happens at the start, a complete turn around when he is clapping along to the rhythm along to the white background, this gives us the indication that the video is finished and leaves the audience satisfied.
23. He is making wrinkles in his face, this might symbolise that he is getting old and his posture seems to suggest he can’t live this lifestyle anymore, it could also be reflective of his stressful and intense life. CD COVER analyses The light source is from above; you can tell this because of the shadowing. This connotes an interrogation process or a spotlight shining on him. There is direct eye contact; this suggests that the artist is calling out for help or attention. The main focus of this picture is the artists face, he is very important This bracelet is the indication of the artists name and poses as a kind of label or a tag that he has been given. It is also representing the hip hop genre by having the “bling” This crown signifies that he is the king of hip hop The parental advisory sticker indicated that the songs will be aggressive and will go along with the stereotypical rap genre. In this picture the artists is stripped off his clothes and also of colour in the image. It is to the bare minimum which can symbolise a fresh beginning or a new start.
24. This image could be seen as a work of art which makes it appealing to the more mature target audience. This image is strong enough to convey what the band and album are about without having to include the actual band members. The colours used are earthy colours such as orange, cream and brown. This would also appeal to a more environmentally friendly group of people. The blue streak of colour in the background suggests that the music on the album is not plain but there are sudden streaks of colour in the songs. The light being shone into the room could be trying to shine light on the man’s frustration. The band is represented in a way that suggests they are falling apart. The man on the chair is being mocked by the people in the background, this connotes that the band might feel left out and alone. The name of the band and album is in a small white font in the corner, this connotes that the band don’t feel their name is as important as the image they are trying to convey. The man is being perceived as a puzzle with one part missing. This connotes that the man is a very frustrated person. which is also backed up by the body language used.
25. The random doodle effect this cover has indicates that the artist has a lot of imagination and that his lyrics will be very interesting. The random assortment of images attracts your attention and I think that the images have a connection to the song names. You get the impression that the artist himself has drawn this which makes the cover extra personal and meaningful to the artist. You get the impression that it would not have cost much money to create this cover, this indicated that the artist is not just playing music to make money but because he loves to and he enjoys it. This 2 might indicate the fact that this is his second album that he has released. This is quite prominent in the cover. With all of these hand drawn images you get the impression that all of the songs will be very meaningful and will have creative lyrics. The font of the artists name is in a scribbled format. The font is quite small which indicates the name of the album and artists isn’t the actual biggest part of the album.
26. The lighting angle is right in the middle because they wanted the focal point to be on the artist. There is a circle of light behind her which could connote a halo. The artist is looking to the right; this might be because she wanted a less formal picture because if she had been looking straight at the camera it turns into a serious picture. She has a puzzled look on her face which suggests she is looking at challenges ahead of her and thinking how she will overcome them. In this corner of the actual CD case there is a sticker listing 3 of the singles released by the artist. These were popular singles and this is on the CD because when people read them they will like to hear other songs from that artist. This is very common on CD covers. She is wearing a sparkly necklace in the shape of a rose. Roses symbolise beauty which is one of the selling points of this artist. This is a big part of the picture because it is the only burst of colour. The font of the wiring is in a signature form. This makes the album seem more personal and gives the impression that the artist has worked hard on the album and signing it off as being as good as she wanted it to be.
27. Magazine Advertisement Analysis This advertisement takes up a whole page and it situated right on the back page of the magazine. The back page always has an advertisement on it and is a good space to advertise because not only does it make the reader aware of the album it also means people who are near the person reading the magazine can see the advertisement because it is on the back page. It is in black and white to make it look like it had been hand drawn by someone. Something that makes the advertisement very effective is that it is symmetric and very well laid out. I think I will make my advertisement symmetrical because it is easy on the eye. They have included a quotation about the band and how essential they are, this being from a reliable source will be key in attracting new audiences. They have used the 5 star rating on this advertisement, this is a very quick way of seeing how good the album is and is a visual way of seeing. People like to find out things visually. There is a lot of space that is left on the page, I think that it draws people into reading it when there is lot of space because they are intrigued, I will have a lot of empty space in my advertisement because of this. www.the-fly.co.uk
28. Again this advertisement only uses the colours black and white. There s a lot of empty black space with the occasional what seems to be 3D letters made out of stone. These letters keep in theme of the bands font. The advertisement take up a whole A4 page. There is a release date included in this advertisement to make sure the readers know when it comes out. What I have seen often in advertisements is the inclusion of tour dates on the advertisement because on the tour they will be playing the songs from the new album so they are offering another way of listening to the album. They also give the logo of “HMV” which shows audiences where you can buy the album and acts as a kind of seal of approval from the store. www.the-fly.co.uk
29. This time there are two advertisements sharing the same A4 page in the magazine. This is purely due to the cost of the advertisement space. The bigger bands would be able to afford the big A4 advertisements whereas the smaller bands might only be able to afford half pages or just little adverts in the back few pages. Both of these advertisements have the album cover situated on the left of the section. This is because you would naturally read from left to right so the cover is what the band want you to see first. Again both of these advertisements have included tour dates to help boost ticket sales. There is also the logos of the record company included on the advertisements, this gives readers a good idea as to what genre of music the band are because most record labels specialise in different genres. www.the-fly.co.uk
30. The whole band are featured on this advertisement, this might be because on of the members of the band is already a well established musician so they thought they would capitalize on that. The album cover is also featured but very small in the bottom left hand corner. The two pictures definitely follow a certain theme and are almost identical. Again, the advertisement had a lot of empty space and illustrated the point that you do not have to fill the whole page with information and images. The reviews give you a good impression as to what genre the music of the band is, and coming from such big named magazines it will help attract a bigger audience. There is also a link to the website of the band and information telling you where you can get the album. It also includes the HMV stamp of approval. www.the-fly.co.uk
32. Multiply: wellI'm sure it never used to beso hard this hardused to get those kicks for freebut now I'm towing the linethis ‘aint no way to bestuck between my shadow and meI could put it where the sun don't shinealthough I'll tell you that I'm doing fineI'm so tired of repeating myselfbeating myself upwanna take a trip and multiplyleast go under with a smileI'm sure I never used to be in troubleso much troublewhere love is just a shackle I seegoing out of my mindthis aint no way to bestuck between my shadow and methe suns going downit's getting dark in herestill folks say I got nothin' to fearbut I'm so tired of repeating myselfbeating myself upwanna take a trip and multiplyleast go under with a smilepeople on the street there are many manypeople on the moon there aint any anyfalling down the same old holetaking a dive coz I got no controlI so tiredso tiredso tiredso tired ...I'm so tired of repeating myselfbeating myself upwanna take a trip and multiplyleast go under with a smile My interpretive of this song is a man having multiple personalities. I think this because the words "stuck between my shadow and me" makes sense being stuck as different beings. The song is even called “Multiply” that indicates there is more than one form of this man. When he says “Tired of repeating myself” this indicated that he has had to change for different people and turn into a different person often. There are many references that make me think that the man is going crazy in this song at one point he even says “I’m going out of my mind” and I am going to try and represent this in my music video. I also think that when he says “going under” it doesn’t mean dying, but going crazy, which he references in the song.
33. Multiply: wellI'm sure it never used to beso hard this hardused to get those kicks for freebut now I'm towing the linethis ‘aint no way to bestuck between my shadow and meI could put it where the sun don't shinealthough I'll tell you that I'm doing fineI'm so tired of repeating myselfbeating myself upwanna take a trip and multiplyleast go under with a smileI'm sure I never used to be in troubleso much troublewhere love is just a shackle I seegoing out of my mindthis aint no way to bestuck between my shadow and methe suns going downit's getting dark in herestill folks say I got nothin' to fearbutI'm so tired of repeating myselfbeating myself upwanna take a trip and multiplyleast go under with a smilepeople on the street there are many manypeople on the moon there aint any anyfalling down the same old holetaking a dive coz I got no controlI so tiredso tiredso tiredso tired ...I'm so tired of repeating myselfbeating myself upwanna take a trip and multiplyleast go under with a smile This is where I will have my performance based shots This performance based shot will start with an extreme close up of the artists mouth. x2 This is where I will have my performance based shots This is where I will have my performance based shots This is where I will have my performance based shots x2 This is where I will have my performance based shots This is where I will have my performance based shots x2 Indicates when shot changes
34. I also would like to include a scene like this one when my actor will drop a bag of shopping in slow motion to highlight his craziness. This is what I want to create in a street scene when the man is waking, I also will include an over the shoulder shot.
35. Narrative My interpretive of this song is a man having multiple personalities. I think this because the words "stuck between my shadow and me" makes sense being stuck as different beings. I also think that when he says “going under” it doesn’t mean dying, but going crazy, which he references in the song. There are many references that make me think that the man is going crazy in this song at one point he even says “I’m going out of my mind” and I am going to try and represent this in my music video. The song is even called “Multiply” that indicates there is more than one form of this man. The video will be mainly narrative with occasional shots of the artist singing along to bits of the chorus. Some initial ideas are that I am going to cast one male to be the singer in the video and he will change appearances throughout. He will be dressed as different occupations as the video goes on.
37. Pace The pace of this video is quite fast and up tempo. The whole idea of the man going crazy requires fast shots and weird camera angles to match the personality of the artist. I might even add in sped up dancing of the artist to show emphasise the pace of the video. The electro/funk genre that the music video is in means that the music already makes people want to dance so the strong beat will be emphasised with the shots changing on the beat of the music.
38. Colour/Tone I will be filming this video in colour and I will add emphasis on the colour blue. This is because the theme for the artist is the colour blue and this is what people will recognise him by. I thought about filming in black and white but I think colour is more dramatic and you can get a lot more emotion portrayed on screen with the use of colours.
39. The artist/style and Form The artist will be played by a male that I have chosen. He is dressed in modern clothing most of the time and resembling a singer/songwriter image. The clothes he will be in will be quite dark to give the impression that he does not want all of the attention to be on him. He will be very wild and wacky proving to have a very unique style.
40. Mise-En-Scene In one location there will be a lot of musical equipment in the scene. It will be a very busy room and will back up the idea that the man is going crazy. I will include a lot of musical equipment because the people that will be watching the video will be very much into music and will appreciate the equipment on show. Most of the shots will be focusing on the artist but there will be some that will be more focused on the musical instruments and equipment.
41. These are the days highlighted, that I shot my music video. Shooting schedule February 2011 All of these days went to plan but I did not intend to use up all of these days filming my video. I was a bit slow to get started and ended up not doing as much as I wanted to on each day.
43. Target Audience The genre of this song is electro music. Electro music is a hybrid of electronic music and funk music. It essentially follows the same form as funk, and retains funk's characteristics such as a strong beat with many layers of drum beats and vocals, but is made mostly with a use of electronic instruments such as the TR-808. Vocoders are often used along with keyboards and guitars. So the people who listen to this music are very technological savvy and might be considered music “geeks”. They might want to see musical equipment such as mixers, computers and instruments in the video so they can relate and look at nice equipment.
44. Target Audience My audience will be the type of people that will shop at poplar retailers such as top shop and maybe study music, art or drama at school. These are pictures of the artist; the target audience will look like the artist because they will be trying to be like him.
55. Questionnaire I created a questionnaire that I would give to my target audience to fill out so that I could find out directly what they would expect to find in a music video. I would ask the target audience then draw out conclusions and ideas for my music video because these were the people that were going to watch it in the first place.
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57. Questionnaire outcome With the results of my questionnaire I could get ideas of what my target audience want to see in a music video and start thinking about how I could give them what they want. I gave the questionnaire to 8 males and 8 females. I felt that it was important that I asked the right people about the music video I was going to make.
58. 8 I asked an even amount of boys and girls so that I would get a fair and even survey. 8 10 5 1 0 2 1 0 0 8 2 3 This shows me how instrumental and popular music videos are in peoples lives, people see music videos and don’t even realize. 16 0
59. 11 5 I think the target audience want this video to be in colour because of the upbeat nature of the song, it needs vibrant and exciting colours to match the feel of the music. 13 The majority of people said that they wanted to see the artist in the music video, I think this is because the artist is the real selling point in the video and without that included in the video it wouldn’t seem like its personal to the artist. 3 10 6 People I interviewed were quite mixed about whether they wanted to see the artist perform or not, so with this in mind I will only have the artist performing in some parts and in other shots he will be doing something different. 7 Again due to the close nature of the result in this question I will include both narrative and performance based shots to please everyone. 9 15 This shows me that my target audience like humour in the video and this is what I will try to add in the video. 1 This means that I till have to keep the video interesting and eye catching so that people can concentrate on what is going on. 5 11
60. The majority of the target audience do not like to see special effects on a music video, I think this is because they want to see only what's real and think it might ruin the vibe of the video. 4 12 14 2 Because of this result I will only have one character in the music video and you will follow him the whole way through. 15 This has backed up my point that the target audience will want to see musical equipment in the music video, I think this is because the target audience are very musical and will appreciate the equipment. 1 6 8 This shows that the music video is actually a really important tool for selling and advertising an album. 1 0 1
