Website Codes and Conventions

(For better viewing, download the Powerpoint! The images are a little more interesting that way!)

Carol Vernallis's Theory- Fall Out Boy Example

http://56ade041144a056ade0411deaf.edu.glogster.com/my-songs-know-what-you-did-in-the-dark/

Carol Vernallis's Music Video Theory- 'The Kindest Cut'

Carol Vernallis theory is based around 4 key concepts that all relate to the way a music video is manufactured, these concepts are:
- Narrative
- Editing
- Camera Movement and Framing
- Diegesis

Narrative
When describing her theory particularly the narrative aspect, Vernallis suggests that the video is a visual response to the narrative. Therefore whatever is happening onscreen reflects the choice of lyrics that the artist is singing. She then goes on to say how the narrative may not always be completed,  and can be only partial. The video can appear to be: disjointed, disconnected and fragmented.  The video has a driving force, but this may not necessarily be the narrative. It could be the music itself or intriguing elements in the video.
However if the video is left incomplete, it can lead to many questions about the narrative that wont always be answered throughout the video. Finally, although the video may have a theme or narrative, as it could be presented in a montage, rather than in one clear focus.

Editing
Vernallis states that a clear convention of music video editing is that the video may disrupt or break the conventions of continuity editing, unlike film. The editing may also be bought to the foreground, become visible and not hidden, apposed to the invisible style of continuity editing. This means that  the video will have a style of editing continuing throughout, that is distinctive to the video. For example you may see:
- Jump Cuts
- Breaks of the 30’ Degree Rule
- Cutting with the lyrics
- Extreme changes in pace
- Juxtaposed Frames
- Graphic Matches

Camera Movements and Framing
Vernallis states that establishing shots are one of the key camera features of a music video and are used frequently throughout a music video (as well as close up shots). The style of framing of the video, again, is quite distinctive to the video and also the camera may move in time with the lyrics. Extreme shots also known as master shots are also very common.

Diegesis
In terms of media, the diegesis is the world of the music video. Vernallis explains how the diegesis will be revealed slowly. The actions in the video won't always be completed and may be disrupted in some way. There will be repetitions throughout the video and some frames will appear more important than others, due to the way they have been shot/framed.

Richard Dyer, Laura Mulvey, John Stewart

Goodwin's Theory: Linkin Park- Numb (Essay Task)

I have decided to analyse Linkin Park’s ‘Numb’ music video, using Goodwin’s Theory of 1992. I have chosen to analyse this music video in particular, because it is a good example of a generic ‘alternative rock’ music video.

Goodwin’s theory states that there are five aspects to a music video- that there is: a relationship between song and visuals; a relationship between music and visuals; close ups of the artist, which may be a part of their visual regime; a frequent reference to the notion of looking, as well as voyeurism to an objectified female; and intertextual references.

In ‘Numb’, there is a relationship between the song lyrics and the visuals that you see on screen, which corresponds with Goodwin’s theory.  We can see this from the moment the first line is sang, “Tired of being what you want me to be”. When this is sang, the visuals cut to a scene of a university classroom, with a teacher teaching complicated science equations on a chalkboard, which doesn’t appear to look like the most exciting thing in the world. This view is emphasised by the students who look like they are bored out of their minds. This pattern of linked narrative carried on throughout the video, as the lyrics directly relates to the action going on, on screen.

Like Goodwin states, there is also a relationship between the melody and the visuals. Before the chorus, everything before and after it is at a slower pace. This is reflected on screen by the dull, mute tones of the colours, as well as the action that takes place in a rather slow manner. When the chorus is sung, the visuals become very fast paced (except for the protagonist), and video effects are used too to make the video seem more surreal.

There are also close ups of the band performing in rooms, whether it is the singer singing or the band members playing their instruments. This is part of their music video regime, as the narrative in most of their other videos is interrupted by shots of the stars.

One thing that doesn’t appear that Goodwin suggests is the notion of looking and voyeurism towards the female protagonist. This is due to the fact they want the video to be more relatable, as the lyrics are relatable themselves. Therefore, they use Mise-En-Scene to make it seem as if this is an everyday situation- a girl who is bored of her student life and wants an escape from it all to pursue her dream to become an artist. Because this is in the form of an everyday situation, it is not possible for her to be sexually objectified, as it would defeat the purpose of the video being relatable.

Another thing that Goodwin suggests that isn’t used is intertextuality, as it does not fit with the theme of the video. Intertextual references would, again, corrupt the nature of viewer identity. For this reason, the director makes it a point for the video to be consistent to the narrative.

To conclude, we can see that not all music videos contain all of the components that Goodwin suggests, however most of the elements are used, such as the relationships between lyrics and visuals and music and visuals. This music video in particular may not use intertextuality or the notion of looking & voyeurism because of its particular genre. From what we see in ‘Numb’ the video corresponds to the mood of the song, and what the song is saying, and for this reason, intertextuality and the notion of looking are not a vital feature of this type of genre.

604 words. 

Goodwin's Theory

Goodwin's theory proposed five things that music videos contain:

- A relationship between lyrics and visuals (EXAMPLE: Rude)

- A relationship between music (melody) and visuals (EXAMPLE: Love You Like A Love Song)

- Star image- close ups of the artist performing, which may be a part of their music video regime.

- Frequent reference to the notion of looking and voyeurism towards an objectified female (EXAMPLE: Can't Remember To Forget You)

- Intertextual references (EXAMPLE: Love Story- inspired by Romeo and Juliet)

Music videos will use certain elements, depending on their genre.

Steve Archer says that there three things which establish the relationship between the song and the music video visuals:

1. Illustration: where the videos illustrate a literate meaning.

2. Amplification: where the music video adds value to the song, by indirectly relating it to the song.

3. Dis-junction: where the music video ignores the song and adds a new meaning.

VISUAL STYLE & STAR IMAGE

Character identities for stars provide identification to the viewer. which is important when the song lacks depth.

I was a prime example of
FAN LOYALTY, my obsession with
Selena Gomez is pretty clear
in the picture, judging by
my bedroom wall. (Oh, the stories I
could tell!)

- The construction of a star is essential- only stars guarantee sales! 

- Fan loyalty enhances sales 

- When music evolves, so does the star, in order to keep with the times. (Look at how long
Madonna's been around- How do you think she's been around for so long?! She keeps with the times!)

- Record companies may rely on only a few stars, or even one star, to make them money.

STAR IMAGE: RICHARD AYER- 'STARS' (Book)

Stars are a phenomenon of consumption, a result of the modern day culture of consumption.

Relationships between star and viewer:

- Emotional: where a viewer develops a loose connection with an artist

- Self identification: places themselves in the artists shoes

- Imitation; where the stars acts as a role model

My example of Projection. (How this
got 227 likes on Instagram
is beyond me, for the record!)

- Projection: where an obsession grows. (To see how this develops, check out iiSuperwomanii's video on how young people get attached to artists!)

A example of evolving image.

"Star image is constructed form a range of materials" - 1979

Materials = Music videos, songs, live performances, media coverage, record covers.

Music videos are used to showcase a star's talent and constructs their evolving image.

VOYEURISM

It is to be viewed for sexual pleasure. This is used by fashion, objectifying camerawork and editing to make the objectified person the center of attention. (Male Gaze) 

LAURA MULVEY: THE MALE GAZE

The Male Gaze focuses on sexual overtures, which will label the objectified women to be a virgin or a whore.

However, this can also be applied to women, where a male is objectified to gain a female audience's response.

THE ART OF LOOKING

Screens within screens are cool! (EXAMPLE: Where Are You Now?)

INTERTEXTUALITY

Can also be described as 'post-modern' (example above)

JOHN STEWART

Music videos can be inspired by:

- Art Photography

- Cinema

- Fashion (catwalk)

- Video Games

  

GENRE: The History of Alternative Rock Music

http://56ade041144a056ade0411deaf.edu.glogster.com/the-history-of-alterntive-rock/

Industry Research

Record Labels

Major Music Labels Universal Music Group 
American worldwide music corporation- company of media giant Vivendi. 
Huge yearly revenue ($6.552 billion in 2013)
The music group contains labels such as:
Interscope Records (Blink -182, Imagine Dragons)
Def Jam Records (Kanye West, Frank Ocean)
Capitol Records (50 cent & Bastille)

Major Music Labels Sony Music Entertainment: 
American music corporation that is a subsidiary of Japanese Sony Corporation.
2014 revenue of over $4.5 billion. 
The Major label is the parent company of many smaller labels including:
Columbia Records (Daft Punk & Mark Ronson)
Epic Records (Outkast, Mariah Carey)
RCA Records (Foo Fighters & Kings of Leon).

Major Music Labels Warner Music Group: 
American global records company which is the largest American
In 2013 the company has a revenue of over $2.8 Billion. 
WMA contains labels such as:
Warner Bros. Records (Biffy Clyro)
Parlophone (Blur, Coldplay)
Atlantic Records (Bruno Mars & Ed Sheeran)

Independent record labels 
Independent record labels operate without funding of major labels and are often the first step in a musician or band’s career.  
Some well-known indie labels are:
Domino Records (Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand)
Matador Records (Queens of the Stone Age)
XL Records (Vampire Weekend, Adele)
Rough Trade (The Libertines)
Fools Gold (Run The Jewels)

Why are we called "Shotgun Records?"
We are called Shotgun Productions because we are an indie record label, which means we are the stepping stone of our artist's career. We used the phrase "Shotgun!" because that means that we've called out the artist as ours.

RECORD LABEL HIERARCHY: This is how record labels work.
The CEO is in charge of the business of the whole company, and each label also has its own president. Under the president of the individual label, there are vice presidents in charge of different departments:
- The A&R (artists and repertoire) department is often considered the most glamorous department at a record label. They are in charge of discovering new talent.
- Art Department: In charge of cover art, advertisements and displays at music stores.
- Artist Development: Responsible for planning the careers of the artists who are signed to the record label. It promotes and publicizes the artists over the course of their career.
- Business Affairs: This department deals with business. It takes care of bookkeeping, payroll and general finances.
- Label Liaison: This is usually one person, or small group of people, who serves as the communicator/messenger between the record company's distribution company.
- Legal Department : This department is responsible for all the contracts that are made between the company and the artist..
- Marketing Department: This department creates an overall marketing plan for every album to be produced.
- New Media: In charge of dealing with the newer elements of the music business, including producing and promoting music videos for the artist.
- Promotion Department: To make sure that an artist is being played on the radio.
- Publicity: This group is responsible for getting the word out about a new or established artist. It arranges for articles to be written for newspapers and magazines.
- Sales: This department oversees the retail aspect of the record business

Record Label?

We have our song. We have a brief idea for a music video. Who would want a bunch of teenagers who make music videos for alternative rock music?

Well surprisingly, lots. But one label in particular that stands out is Wind-Up Records.

Wind-Up Entertainment, Inc is an American record label (New York City based), founded in 1997 by Alan and Diana Meltzer . It is distributed by Red Distribution, which its releases are then distributed outside the US by Merlin Network. Wind-Up Records is currently the biggest independently owned record label in the world. Their distributors are Sony Music Entertainment (US) and Universal Music Group (Int'l). The company's slogan is "Developing Career Artists". They have worked with people such as Evanescence, Amy Lee, Seether, Creed and Ben Moody.  

They would distribute us because they focus on mainly rock music, and since our music video is alternative rock, it is within the bracket that they market.

Our Final Song Choice + Music Video Idea!

For our group music video, me and two others have decided to make a music video to Korn's Narcissistic Cannibal featuring Skrillex and Kill The Noise, but check this out, because there's a twist.

Because the original song is sung by a man, we have found a cover of the song from a band called EarlyRise, who's main singer's voice is female, and we think that this would be PERFECT for our music video genre. 

My group have already been coming up with ideas on what we can do within the music video, and now that we have the song choice in mind, our decisions are about to come clear. 

We thought that we could contrast the music video with the song and make the protagonist of the video innocent, even though the lyrics suggest otherwise. When the melody of the song changes suddenly nearer to the end, we thought then we could subvert that and corrupt her innocence. 

We also thought that maybe we could have some inter-textual references to Alice In Wonderland, possibly Little Red Riding Hood?


We were also really keen on the idea of filming in the forest, then colour correcting the footage to make it seem darker (because unless you have lights, footage doesn't come out great at night! Plus, I don't think it would be safe for a bunch of teenage girls lurking around in the woods with a camera when it's pitch black. That could turn into the Blair Witch Project all over again).

Music Video Genres?

There are many types of music video genres, in fact, there are too many genres for me to fit them all onto this blog, as there are the main genres, but there are also sub-genres. But the main genres are as follows:

- Alternative; for example: Nirvana, Artic Monkeys, Coldplay, Green Day.
- Blues; for example: B.B. King, Eric Clapton, Billie Holiday, Bobby Bland.
- Country; for example: Carrie Underwood, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Keith Urban.
- Classical; for example: Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Stravinsky.
- Dance; for example: Madonna, Calvin Harris, Rihanna, Lady Gaga.
- Hip-Hop; for example: Jay Z, Drake, 50 Cent, Kanye West, Nicki Minaj.
- Jazz; for example: Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker, Tony Bennett.
- Pop; for example: Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, Justin Bieber, One Direction.
- Rock; for example: Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Linkin Park, Fall Out Boy, The Rolling Stones.
- R&B; for example: R. Kelly, Usher, Mary J. Blige, Alicia Keys.
- Rap; for example: Eminem, Snoop Dog, Busta Rhymes, Wiz Khalifa.

EDITING PRACTICE: Lighting Workshop

Testing out lighting to create a creepy atmosphere.

Lighting Workshop!

Today, we played around with the lighting, and learnt simple techniques. These techniques included how to use lighting for green screens, creepy shadow effects and even silhouettes!

Three Interesting Music Videos (in my opinion!)

If the Prezi doesn't work, use this link: https://prezi.com/qy3cgjawcdc1/three-of-my-favourite-music-videos/#



In order to create my own music video, I must have some inspiration to spark my imagination. Here are 3 of my favourite music videos, and why I find them interesting.

Bad Blood- Taylor Swift
This is a Narrative Performance music video.
Mise-En-Scene = strong (has an action/sci-fi theme- almost like a short film)
Music video relates to the lyrics of the song.

Here It Goes Again- OK Go
Performance based music video.
The whole video is one long shot.
Humorous effect- amusing to watch.

Love Me Again- John Newman
Narrative Performance.
Full of enigma.
Shocking ending.
The Mise-En-Scene used is very naturalistic, helps to create shock factor.

Chris Cunningham

Cunningham is a British music video director, who has directed many music videos with big artists. Names include Madonna, Bjonk and Aphex Twin. (He works with Aphex Twins a lot.)

 

He tends to stick with working with electronic and techno musical genres; post-modern, if you will. His music videos often involve a lack of colour, or none at all. If he does work with colour, he will tend to use cold colours, to not only give the music video an uncomfortable feel, but to create a deeper meaning. Sometimes, these deeper meanings could cause controversy. Other times, the will shock the viewer, making the music video, and the song, more memorable. 

Cunningham's videos often focus on narrative, and not so much performance. The music video and lyrics will, more often than not, have be unconnected, but in some cases, the unrelated music video may enhance the sales of the track, due to the hard hitting message that it contains (or, like we said before, the controversy or the 'shock-factor'). A fine example of his work is  Aphex Twin's "Come to Daddy". This music video received a varied response- it was instantly praised, banned, and raved about by many people in the music industry.

FUN FACT: Cunningham edits most of his own work!

The video opens with an old woman walking a dog in a industrial, grim location. The dog urinates on an abandoned television lying on the pavement. This causes it to sputter unexpectedly into life, which unleashes an evil spirit, accompanied by a gang of small children, all of whom bear James' grinning face. The children go around creating havoc- they trash an alleyway and chase a man into his car. The demon emerges from the television, screams in the woman's face, and then gathers the children around him.
It is the only music video in the top 50 of The 100 Greatest Scary Moments as voted by Channel 4 viewers in 2003.

The Top 10 Most Influential Music Videos- Thanks, Directors!

http://56ade041144a056ade0411deaf.edu.glogster.com/influntial-music-videos/

The History Of The Music Video: TIMELINE