Lip synching and instrument synching are very important when creating music
videos. They often need to be done because the music video is filmed at
different times and in different locations to where the actual music is
recorded in the studio. Lip/ instrument synching can make or break a video so
it is important that the artist gets it right and that the editor of the music
video edits it well so everything is in sync. If an artist does not open their
mouth very much and you cannot see their lips moving, it sometimes looks like
they are singing different lyrics and will not look like the artist themselves
knows their song very well. If it is out of sync even in the slightest it is
obvious that the artist is lip syncing and there will be moments where they are
singing the wrong lyric as the wrong time or sometimes their lips may still be
moving but there are no words being sung in the music at that moment.
Instrument synching is also important, if someone is playing piano or guitar in
the music video they need to be playing what is actually being played in the
music at that time. This is important because people who play those instruments
or have a good knowledge of music will know that the notes being played are not
those of what they hear which makes it obvious that the performer is not
playing at that precise moment. It is also important that the playing of the
piano/ guitar are in time with the music.
An example of when an artist does not open their mouth very wide and it is obvious that they are lip syncing Is in this music video 'Let it Go' by James Bay.
An artist who always has good lip syncing in her music video and opens her mouth wide so it appears she is singing there and then is Taylor Swift. Part of the reason this is believable is because the music video is quite fast so there is not that long for the viewer to look at it and make sure she is holding on notes etc. Slow songs are harder to get the lips in sync and make it look like they are singing it there. An example of a music video by Taylor Swift with good lip syncing is Bad Blood.
If I have someone in my music video that is supposed to look like they are
playing an instrument I will make sure they actually know how to play that
instrument so that they play the right notes and play in time. I will also
ensure they know the song very well and are clearly miming the correct words so
that it looks like they are singing at that precise moment. This will be very
important to promote the song/ album as if the music video is liked and not
laughed at because of bad lip/ instrument synching the album will be more
likely to sell and the artist will be promoted.
Stereophonics Magazine advert has a white brick wall background. This suits their genre of Rock/ Indie Rock as it looks like a low budget setting which suits their independent status. The band themselves are all wearing black which makes them stand out against the white background so that when flicking through a magazine it is clear to the target audience who is on the image. A lot of artists of the rock genre wear leather as it is a generic convention. In this image on the magazine advert one person is wearing leather trousers another man is wearing a leather jacket and they are all wearing leather shoes. This helps the audience know the genre of this band when looking through the magazine. Black is also a heavily used colour in this genre and is another reason why this band would all be wearing black. The name of the album is called 'Keep the village alive' which sounds quite negative as something bad might be happening which suggests the music is sad. The magazine advert has the release date of the album and the songs included in the album and how you can by the album (Cd/ Deluxe CD/ LP/ Download) on it in white text on a black background. This is simple but is effective as it is highly visible for people to read. The release date is in capital letters to emphasise this to the target audience and hope that they will be more likely to actually go out and buy the album. To promote the band even more they have in small writing at the bottom the bands official website which is there to get new fans as new fans will not have seen their official page before. On the bottom right of the magazine advert there is a small picture of the front cover of the album. This is on there so that if people go to a shop and are looking for this album they will know what to look for as the album does not have a picture of the band on it so could be anyones album to a new fan.
When creating my own magazine advert to promote an album and artist I can take ideas from current magazine adverts such as this one. However, I will have a picture of the artist on my magazine advert and Digipak/ album as I feel that the way this band have not used an image of themselves on the front of their album does not promote them as a band at all and does not encourage new fans as people who have not heard of the band before would not be attracted by an album with only the album name on the front and a picture of a cone with a house on it is not very effective.
On the front cover of Rihanna's Digipak for her album 'Loud' Rihanna has red hair and red lipstick on. The red shows that this album is going to be sexual as red stands for love, passion and desire. Rihanna is looking down and her shoulder is bare which suggests she is wearing very little or nothing at all and supports that the music is going to be about sex. Inside the digipak there is an image of Rihanna laying over a red rose bush. Red roses stand for love so there may also be songs about love in the album.
As Rihanna is wearing a white dress on the picture inside the digipak is has connotations that some of the songs may be more about love than sex as white shows innocence. On the actual CDs themselves there are pictures of pink roses, pink carries with it the connotation of grace and elegance, as well as sweetness and poetic romance. This suggests that Rihanna has a good and a bad sight to her when it comes to love and sex and that the songs in the albums are going to be a mix of emotions.
On the front cover of the Digipak the text is in white and has her name 'Rihanna' at the top of it and the album name 'Loud' as the bottom of the album. The text is in capital letters and the font is simple and although is visible it does not stand out very much on the front of the album. This suggests that although the text is not 'Loud' and stands out, the image of Rihanna should do this as the close up allows you to see her emotion. As Rihanna is a very famous artist most people (her target audience) would know the album is hers just because her image is on the front and therefore her name does not need to be very big at the top of the album as her image is mainly what is promoting her as an artist.
When I create my Digipak I can use colour to show a message to the audience of what the songs will be about as Rihanna did in her album 'Loud'. I can also use close ups and facial expression to show connotations of the message behind the music and what music is in the album/ Digipak. It would be good to take ideas from a Digipak such as Rihanna's as it is clear that the way she marketed her album/ Digipak worked well to promote her and her music as in 2012 after only being realised for two years, the album sold over 8 million copies worldwide.
A Digipak is a type of packaging for CDs, typically made from cardboard with an internal plastic holder for one or more discs. The main purpose of a digipak is for an artist/ band to promote an album and show everyone the content that is on the album as well as promoting themselves as an artist/ band. A Digipak is also to make the CD eye-catching because it will encourage the sales of their digipak. It is also to use the corporate identity of the artist/ band as a reoccurring theme (if the artist has something that is re-occurring on each of their digipaks, the artist will be recognised for it and people will know whose Digipak they are buying by this theme). A digipak tells the buyer something about the musician and can be used to express a message though art and images. Digipaks often store additional promotional materials e.g. sleeves within the digipaks could include booklets and posters.
It is important when I create my digipak that I used appropriate images that promote the artist and album and that the text on the front of the digipak suits the genre of music and the artist themselves. I will need to ensure the font and colour is suitable. I may try and express a message through the use of images for example if the artist is very happy with bright colours on their digipak it is likely to tell the audience that the album is very positive and full of happy music but if the digipak has a sad image then the music may be about something sad such as heartbreak.
A Magazine advert is when an artist/ band wants to advertise their album in a magazine, sometimes the same images are used in a magazine advert to promote an album as the images used on the album cover or digipak itself. This is so that if someone wants to buy the album they will know what to look for in the shops as it is eye catching and creates a theme/ identity for the album or artist themselves. A magazine advert for an album normally has the release date of the album, has the name of the album and the artist on it and may have other information such as what the price of the album is and what shops sell it, it may also advertise upcoming concerts of the artist. The font used on the advertisement will suit the genre of music that the artist performs and the colour of the writing will be visible and suitable on the advertisement. A magazine advert is normally A4 sized depending on the size of the magazine itself as it usually takes up a whole page within the magazine. The advertisement will be put in a magazine that is suitable for the artist to ensure it targets the right audience. For example indie, rock and alternative artists are likely to advertise their albums in NME magazine and pop music would be in more likely to advertise in Q magazine as this targets the audience they want to target.
When I design my magazine advert I will ensure that there are links between the advert and the digipak if the album itself. I will also ensure that the text used on the magazine advert is suitable for my artist and the genre of music. It will be important that I follow what a magazine advert should have on it (release dates, upcoming concerts etc) to ensure that the advert fulfils its purpose of promoting the artist and the album.
The music videos main purpose is to promote a single/ album and the artist/ band themselves. A music video should be memorable so that the audience remember it and therefore remember the song and maybe the message behind the song. As many music videos have narrative, performance and concept it can help the audience understand the meaning of the song and the lyrics by showing the story of the song. The music video is also there to entertain the audience. Depending on who the target audience is will depend on what is in the music video. For example high school musical did music videos for some of their songs which were targeting young children. These were based on the film and the characters were in the music video instead of the using their real names e.g. Zac Efron still played Troy in the music videos as children usually only know the characters and not the actual actors whereas in an adult music video the only time that characters are in a music video usually is if there is intertextuality. When I make a music video I need to make sure it fits its purpose and tells a story, promotes the song and artist and helps tell a story.
An example of a music video that is aimed at an older audience then children because it does refer to a film but uses intertextuality rather than the whole music video being the film is flashlight by Jessie J.
A good student music video has shooting material that is appropriate to the task set and suits the genre of the music chosen to be the song for the music video. The camera will be controlled and not shaky unless it is deliberately a hand held shot that intends to be slightly canted or shaky if someone is supposed to be drunk in the video and you are seeing something from their perspective. There should also be a variety of shot types for example a long shot, close up, extreme close up, mid shot etc. This is so you can see characters emotions or what is going on in the background etc. Sometimes long shots may be good to see dance routines also. The editing must be good in a student video. This will include some transitions, cuts that work well and don't cut to something irrelevant. The text saying the song title and performer will need to be in a font and colour that suits the song genre and the artist. Other effects if used such as black and white will need to be appropriate to the song and if special effects are added it still needs to be clear what is going on in the video unless there is a blur added so you deliberately cannot see what it going on in a shot and it will become apparent what happened later on in the music video. The sounds and music will need to be appropriate and the syncing of the music to the visuals will need to be synced well so that the lip syncing is in sync with the music and looks realistic like the actor really looks like they are singing that song. If a student uses the key elements of a music video including narrative, concept (symbolic or thematic) and performance the music video will also hopefully be a good final product because real music videos in the music industry also use these elements.
A good example of a student music video is one made for the song 'when I was your man' by Bruno Mars. Although this student music video is definitely missing out on the there being an artist present in the music video and lip syncing the narrative, shot types and the editing is very good. This is because it is clear that the video works from the end backwards and shows the night from the end to the beginning and how it was good at the beginning. It follows Todorovs theory of equilibrium for the first three stages but backwards so at the end of the music video there is the recognition of disruption and that he should have treated her better, during the middle of the music video there is a disruption where he makes the mistake of ignoring her and at the end of the music video (but the beginning of the night) there is the state of equilibrium and they have photos together. The editing is very clever as the whole video runs backwards just the like the real music video for 'The Scientist' by Coldplay. There are many different shot types including close ups, long shots, mid shots etc and from different angles.
Mid
Shot
Close Up
Long Shot
When I create my music video I will need to consider the editing, camera work, sound, mise en scene, the narrative, performance and concept that will be in my music video to ensure the music video will look as good as industry standard music videos and be realistic as this will make a good student music video.
At the start of this student music video there are different quotes that are on the screen that are from different political figures of the past. At the start it says 'Who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past' this was quoted by George Orwell a political figure in the English socialist party Ingsoc. Then there is a quote by Winston Churchill former prime minister saying 'the empires of the future are the empires of the mind' and the last quote was by Eleanor Roosevelt saying 'the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams'. These quotes link to the lyrics of the song and the narrative because they are all talking about the future and some talk about the past and in the song the lyrics say 'So where do we go from here, with all this fear in our eyes, and where Can love take us now, we've been so far down, we can still touch the sky' and in this verse it mentions the future, present and past.
The camera used in the music video seems to be controlled most of the video without shaking too much and most of the time the framing is good. The student has thought about what they want to be in the framing and which includes mainly different locations of London such as the River Thames, graffiti wall, different bridges with views of central London behind it, St Pauls cathedral and included London red buses in some shots. This is to emphasise the location of this video being in London. To ensure the video had many different locations this music video is also filmed in someone's house at the beginning of the music video which also makes the narrative of the music video more believable because the character is not always just going to be wondering round London.
Although the framing of the music video is good for the most part there are some lighting problems particularly at the beginning of the music video. This makes some of the shots very dark and hard to see. This is something that the group could improve on next time if they were to film this again. It is helpful seeing this so that I can really think abut lighting when making my own music video.
There are a variety of different shots used within this music video including extreme close ups, close ups, long shots and mid shots. This is good because it gives the music video variety however, there are quite a lot of long shots showing the main character in the music video who dancing. Although the actor is very good at dancing some of the dance moves are not relevant to the song choice and do not suit the narrative which is about love as it is street dance but there are some moves that suit the song for example when he crawls on the floor (as the song is called crawl).
There are some intertextual references in this music video as there is a whole section of dancing where the character dresses and dances like Michael Jackson. The dancing is good and the costume has been thought about well in this part of the music video however again I do not see where this links into the music video as the narrative of the video appears to be that his girlfriend cheated on him and he caught here with this other man at the river.
At this point when he has found his girlfriend with another boy the character and the boy have a fight. This fight is highly unrealistic and it is obvious that the two actors aren't actually hurting each other at all. This makes the video a little bit funny and takes away from the serious storyline and lyrics used within the music video. The lip syncing in the music video is good for the most part, the actor is mainly in sync and also looks like he could potentially be the artist who sings this song.
The editing in the music video is jumpy at points where they have used two takes and tried to make it look like one take where the camera has slightly changed position in the second shot. However for the most part the editing is quite good and the music video runs quite smoothly. There are sometimes transitions used for example at 1m 32s there is a transition to change the location which looks good but for the majority of the music video there are just cuts from shot to shot. To show past events that have happened these clips are filmed in black and white. This works quite well as it is then clearer to the audience what is the past and what is the present in the music video.
Mise en scene has been thought about for the majority of the music video as well for example the costumes and the locations as it quite a believe narrative but at the very beginning where the actor is in his room getting ready to go out, he is in a pink bedroom with pink curtains. Although some boys may choose to have a pink bedroom stereotypically this is not the case and more girls have pink rooms and the media generally use stereotypes therefore it appears that maybe the students just used one of the girls rooms whose project it is and didn't think about every little detail. This is useful because when I do my music video I will ensure I pay close attention to detail and ensure that even small thing in the music video is realistic.
By analysing this student film it will be helpful when creating my music video because the aspects I like I can think about using in my video for example trying to use loads of locations but it will also help me because the things that they could have improved on I can ensure I don't do in my music video. For example I will make sure that there is not an unrealistic fight or dancing that does not really fit the song.
At the beginning of the music video the artist/ performer sits in a black room. As the song is called 'Black Roses'. Then straight after this the lyrics say 'on the other side' and the camera goes behind the artist to show that it is 'on the other side'. This supports Goodwin's theory of the lyrics and visuals linking to one another.
The music video has a very clear narrative which is good because one of the three elements of a music video is narrative (others being concept and theory). The narrative of this music video is that a student and her teacher Mr Arnot are having a secret relationship. The teacher is married but is clearly having problems in his marriage. His wife then finds out that he is having an affair with a student and she leaves him. This narrative supports Todorovs narrative theory. The first 3 stages are in this music video. At the beginning of the music video there is Equilibrium where there is a teacher teaching his class, then there is a disruption because he forms a relationship with a student which is not allowed and is particularly bad because he is married and then there is a realisation of the disruption when a picture of the teacher and student together gets posted to Mrs Arnot the wife of the teacher and she knows he is having an affair.
At the beginning of the music video the actor who plays Mr Arnot looks older than the girl who plays the student and the storyline is quite believable but half way through the music video this storyline becomes less believable because the student and Mr Arnot look the same age and it then does not look like there is a problem because of the age anymore, the only problem is that he is cheating. This is not good because it makes the student/ teacher storyline become unbelievable. When I make my music video I will need to ensure the actors who I use in it will be of the age that the characters they play are in order to make the narrative appear realistic.
The wife has a wedding ring in her hand near the end of the music video to show that she has taken it off her finger and that she is leaving her cheating husband. This is good because it connotes that she is leaving him without even taking her ring off to show that she is leaving him. However, When Mr Arnot goes home to find his wife not there we see him holding her wedding ring and realising he has made a mistake but he does not have a wedding ring on himself. This is not good because he could be holding just any ring of hers and not a wedding ring because he does not have one which leaves the audience wondering whether they were actually married or not even though they both have the last name Arnot.
When the girl smells her clothes when she's laying in bed it has connotations of her missing Mr Arnot and missing his smell. Connotations are also used in this music video when there are flames. The flames shows that things are 'going up in flames' and not going well, everything is falling apart. There are also littoral visuals to lyrics. This is when white roses are being burnt over a fire and going black. This shows Todorovs theory too because the white roses start off happy and healthy as does the narrative in this music video and then they are held over the fire and are gradually getting more burnt and starting to die and get worse as the storyline does because it is obvious that the marriage between the teacher and his wife are falling apart and eventually come to an end like death. The shots of the roses burning are really effective and if I were top do a video I would use something that is effective as these shots in my music video.
During the music video there are some high shots over a park with one umbrella on it. I think this this is quite irrelevant to the narrative and a different shot could have been used as there is no link to an umbrella and the lyrics or narrative. Although this shot does not have much relevance to the music video the shots and use of camera are generally very good in the music video. The lighting captured by the camera is good as it is clear what is happening in every shot and it is not pixelated at all. The framing is also good. Very occasionally it appeared that there were hand held shots because the camera shakes a little for example when the camera is in a bedroom ( at 2m 5s - 2m 13s) the camera shakes.
The lip synching is good for most of the music video, especially near the end when the lyrics 'I'm not under your spell' get repeated multiple times however at the beginning even though it does look like this actress could be singing this song, she does not open her mouth very wide which sometimes makes it difficult to see the words she is lip synching. At the very end of the music video there is a 12 second stop with no music being played and just a black screen and then the artist sings the chorus and does a live performance. Although it is good to incorporate live performance into the music video because this is a music video element, the 12 second gap makes the viewer think that the music video is already finished and may turn it off before they listen to this part. If the music video wanted to have a live performance side to it I think it should be played without a 12 second break.
It is good that I did a student music video analysis because it will help me when making my own student music video. From this video I can use aspects such as making the visuals and lyrics go together and I especially like how in the music video they made black roses as the title is called. I will also make sure I have a clear narrative like this music video does. However I will ensure that my actors are the age that they are supposed to be playing as at points this music video became unrealistic. I will also ensure that my actor opens their mouth more so it is clear what words they are lip synching. I will incorporate the use of a theory such as Goodwin or Todorov as I think this works well within this music video and I will also use elements such as live performance although I will not add it in so late at the end of the music video.
By completing a short analysis of 3 different music videos it will help me when planning for my music video. This is because I can look at different aspects such as how many shots on average are used within the first minute of the music video and the narratives used in music videos to help me ensure my music video has similar aspects and looks like an industry standard music video.
The genre of the music video for the song 'Happy' which is a song of the genre Soul was written, produced and performed by Pharrell Williams. The song is from the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack. Pharrell Williams as an artist normally performs in R&B or Funk music videos however, by creating this song of a different genre with a very positive feel to it he is showing that as an artist he has a wide range of genres he can explore and so he appeals to different audiences.
This music video has no typical narrative (beginning, middle, end) but the majority of the music video has a lot of people dancing and smiling and clapping to show that they are happy which supports the name of the song 'Happy' and connotes that the narrative is that people are happy. It is expected in this music video that people will also be wearing bright colours as this has connotations of happiness and throughout most of the music video there is bright colours. In reality people are not happy all the time but in this music video people of all different job occupations, ethnicities, disabled people, people of different ages and religions and live in different areas are happy all the time which is not expected as well as it is unexpected that in the dark low key lighting parts of the music video people will be happy however, they are.
In this music video there are intertextual references because there are dancing minions in the it which link to the film Despicable Me 2 which is what the song was partially created for as well as promoting Pharrell Williams. The music video also linked back to the film Despicable Me 2 because the actress Miranda Cosgrove was in the music video as herself and in the film she is the voice of Margo.
The storyline of this music video is about failure, determination and happiness. The constant theme that runs throughout this music video is being happy and that even when people try to bring you down they won't break your happiness. Therefore this music video does not have the recognisable structure of TODOROV because there is no stage of disruption. In this music video there are not characters in particular apart from the Minions however, there are celebrities such as Steve Carell who appear in the music video. The other people who were cast in the music video play the role of characters from all different backgrounds in the music video which Pharrell Williams did in order to emphasize positivity in peoples lives no matter who they are.
The typography used in this music video is in the colours black and yellow. The yellow connotes the happiness promoted in the music video and the black connotes the negativity that people try to have by 'bringing people down' as stated in the lyrics. The iconographics in this music video is that there are backstreet alleyways and there are also sky scrapers which suggest this music video is set in a large American city such as New York.
In this music video there are loads of different shots including long shots to show people dancing and clapping this is to show the positive energy and people who are happening although there are also a lot of mid shots so that the camera can capture the smiley faces and lip syncing to the song of the cast but can still see some of the dancing therefore, in this music video there are not many close ups because the video mainly shows how happy people are feeling in the way they move about rather then there emotions on their faces.
Pharrell Williams does have a lot of presence in this music video throughout as well as other actors therefore is not completely anonymous to the video however he is not a celebrity in the music video he is just another regular guy who is driving round the streets although it is clear to the viewer that he is the performer of this song even though other people also lip sync to the lyrics. Throughout this music video there is fast pace editing and cuts without transitions to add the quick, fast, energetic feeling to the song.
Although the primary target audience of this song is to children because the song was created to be the soundtrack for Despicable Me 2 I do think that after the song was created for the film that Pharrell has targeted different audiences with the music video he has created. There are minions in the music video to still attract the children, there are actors such as Steve Carell in the music video to attract an older target audience and well as Pharrell Williams himself who attracts teenagers and young adults. There is also a wide variety of people who appear in the music video of different ages, genders, ethnicities, class etc which shows that he is trying to make this song appeal to all people as everyone should just be happy. As the majority of people who sit and watch music videos are children, students and young adults I would probably say the demographic of the main target audiences is D and E.
The reason I chose this music video as my favourite is because the upbeat and energetic music video allows the audience to feel happy and invites them in to get up and dance. I think the video definitely spreads a vibe of positivity. The diverse range of people used in this video promotes equality as well as a consistent happy feeling. The music video is up beat and combined with bright colours and different dance routines really makes the viewer feel happy themselves. I also like this music video because it is not a typical narrative of a love story or heartbreak which many music videos nowadays often have.
This music video analysis will help me when I create my own music video because I can use things that I like about the video in mine as I chose it as my favourite music video for example I could use many bright colours in my music video. It is also good because this music video uses intertextuality so if I decide to use this in my video I can take ideas from this music video.
In Goodwin's theory he suggest that most music videos consist of 7 things. Certain genre characteristics, relationship between the lyrics and visuals, relationship between music and visuals, demands of the record label, motifs or iconography of an artist, frequent reference to the notion of 'looking' and intertextual references. This is an analysis of Beyoncé's music video 'Run the World' using Goodwin's theory.
In the music video 'Run The World' there are many dance routines and there are also many different styled outfits that stand out in each shot. This is to demonstrate that the genre is pop. The costumes that Beyoncé wears are very bold and mainly black to show dominance which goes with the song title 'Run the World' as she has power, she suggests girls run the world. The costumes often reveal a lot of a woman's body to sexualise the music video which is very common in pop culture.
In this music video there is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. In different camera shots there are woman all together standing up against men showing that woman can be independent and a 'nation' Beyoncé sings in the lyrics 'My persuasion can build a nation' and therefore the lyrics and what is shown in the shot link together. Another link between the lyrics and the visuals is that the main line repeated throughout the song is 'who run the world? Girls' and at the beginning of the music video Beyoncé is on a horse in the middle of nowhere, alone which shows that she is running the world as she is alone and then when she sees her other girls she is the leader of their group against the boys.
The 'Run the World' music video also has a relationship between the music and the visuals. The song has a fast tempo of 127 BPM which means that the music video needs to be faced pace in order for the music and the visuals to relate to each other. The dancing is fast paced and fits the music well. There is a lot of fast paced editing in the music video including a lot of cuts to different shots to make the music video be very fast paced with a lot going on in each shot. The shots have a lot of women throughout the video dancing to fit the theme of girls being dominant and running the world.
Beyoncé is signed to Columbia Records. One of Goodwin's points in his theory is that the demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist. This music video supports this point as there are many close ups of Beyoncé throughout the music video. Some of the close ups consist of Beyoncé's face whilst lip syncing to the song and other shots are close ups of Beyoncés face trying to sexualise the music video for example at one point in the music video Beyoncé licks her finger in a close up even though it has no relevance to the music video whatsoever. Many of the close ups are to ensure Beyoncé has camera time and looks dominant in the music video as she says woman run the world and she is a woman.
Throughout the many years that Beyoncé has been present in the music industry she has created a visual style of almost always having a lot of dancing within her music videos and when she performs live on stage. In this music video Beyoncé does dance a lot and has many background dancers.
People that watch music videos of Beyoncé often have high expectations and expect there to be a lot of dancing in the music video.
Although Goodwin says that there is frequent notion to looking in music videos and voyeuristic treatment of the female body, there is not much of this that happens in this music video however there is occasionally there is voyeurism as it helps sell the music through sex appeal. There are many costumes that show a lot of flesh and are mainly black as black is seen as sexy and dominant. When Beyoncé has hyenas on chains it can be seen as sexual also as suggests she likes to be dominant and take control. Also a lot of the background dancers have afros and there is a lion next to them showing that they are fierce and feisty.
In this music video there are no big intertextual references however for a couple of seconds at the beginning of the music video Beyoncé is dressed in a costume that could be trying to dress up as Cleopatra. Cleopatra was the last active pharaoh who ran Ptolemaic Egypt and was a very powerful woman and therefore by symbolising her in the music video she is showing that she has power.
This music video supports Goodwin's theory. After analysing this music video using Goodwin's theory it will help me when creating my own music video because I can try and ensure that I incorporate some of (if not all of) Goodwin's points in my music video.
Andrew Goodwin believes that there are 7 elements that are used within a music videos. He thinks that a majority of these should be/ are used in music videos.
1. Music videos demonstrate certain genre characteristics For example:
stage performance in Metal/hard rock video
dance routines for boy/girl bands
‘throwing signs’ in early hip hop video (recognise Dr Dre or Ice Cube?)
scantily clad women or ‘bling’ for gangsta rap videos
2.There is a relationship between
lyrics and visuals
Often illustrative but could amplify or contradict the lyrics
3.There is a relationship between music and visuals
Often illustrative but could amplify or contradict the music
4.The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close-ups of the artist
5.The artist may develop motifs or iconography that recur across their work (a visual style)
(for example Beyoncé almost always has dance routines)
6.There is frequent reference to the
notion of ‘looking’ (screens within screens, filming, cameras) and
particularly voyeuristic (pleasure through looking)
treatment of the female body
7.There are often intertextual references – mostly to film, television and popular culture
An example of an intertexual music video is 'Love Story' by Taylor Swift. There is acting in this where Swift acts as Juliette and there is re-enactment of Romeo and Juliette.
By knowing this theory it will help me with my music video to ensure that I add some of these elements in my music video, to ensure that my music video includes elements that music videos in the music industry have.
The music video for 'If were a boy' is of the genre Pop and the song is a slow ballad. Beyoncé herself sings songs of the genres Pop, R&B and Soul. The narrative of this song does have a beginning, middle and end. At the beginning of the music video the audience assumes that Beyoncé is getting too close to her work partner and this could led to her cheating on her actual partner. In the middle of the music video this idea is developed where Beyoncé decline phone calls of her partner etc. At the end of the music video there is a point where her partner repeats what she has said and the audience realises that it is her partner that is coming close to cheating on her and the reason the shots make it look like it was her being bad at the beginning is because it goes with her lyrics 'if I were a boy' so it shows that she was acting like her boyfriend.
In this music video it is expected that it is actually the boyfriend who has emotionally hurt the character Beyoncé is playing because the lyrics suggest that she treat a girl better if she were a guy 'If I were a boy, I think I could understand, How it feels to love a girl, I swear I’d be a better man'. It is not expected in this music video that at the beginning she will be acting the way that she would not like to be treated because at this point in the music video it is not clear that it is actually the other way round and her boyfriend is treating her like that.
In this music video there is a recognisable structure of TODOROV however not all 5 stages are in the music video. There are the first three stages for example at the beginning there is a state of equilibrium because the couple are sitting down eating breakfast, then there is a disruption where in the club the partner witnesses Beyoncé with another man (although it connotes that it is really him with another girl) and then the third stage where the disruption is recognised and he says 'when you act like that I don't think you realise how it makes me look or feel'.
In this music video there are recognisable characters including a couple in a relationship and someone who inter fears with their relationship. The video reflects the lyrics because for example in the first verse Beyoncé sings 'If I were a boy, Even just for a day, I’d roll outta bed in the morning, And throw on what I wanted and go' and at the start of the video when Beyoncé re-enacts exactly how her boyfriend treats her she wakes up, gets into her police uniform and goes.
The dominant and only colours used in this music video is black and white. This is connote the negativity of the song and how her partner isn't treating her the way she should be treated. There is typography of the number plate of a car saying New York, this tells the viewer that the music video is set in New York. In this music video there are many close up shots to show the emotions of the characters and how it emotionally hurts when their partner cheats on them or spends more time with another person than them. This music video negatively represents men and suggests that they don't know how to treat a girl right/ how a girl wants to be treated. This is stereotypical because many girls believe that boys are 'players'/ break girls hearts even though in reality both boys and girls do this.
In this music video the editing is quite slow and the cuts are not fast paced. This is because the song a reasonably slow ballad and does not have a fast feel to it, therefore the shots match what is being sung with the slow pace. The target audience of this music video is mainly young adults in their early to mid twenties. This is because the song is targeting people that have experienced heartbreak, or their partner cheating on them and tries to make the audience relate to how Beyoncés character is feeling, which may also make the viewer feel quite emotional. The demographics of the target audience is probably in the social grade C as they are not students without a job or very low paid manual workers, but have probably not been in a full time job for very long so are not in a high up/ paid job as they are only in their early twenties.
After analysing this music video it will help me with my own music video as I will consider typography, linking the shots to the actual lyrics of the song, using a recognisable structure of TODOROV or GOODWIN and ensure that I make my music video target the target audience well.
Music videos are aimed at everyone - they are promotional tools/ devices to promote the artist/ band and their music. Each artist has a particular demographic they will appeal to and therefore they cater their music videos to suit their target audience.
There is often the misconception that all pop music videos are aimed strictly at teen audiences. Although there are music videos particularly aimed at teenagers for example Kyle Minogue and Jason Donovan aimed their videos at teens in the 90s, not every artist is aiming their music video at teens.
In order for the music video to target a specific audience they have to aim at a specific demographic. A demographic is a set of objective characteristics that describe a group of people. So for music videos they must target people who will be willing to watch the music video. The characteristics that make up a demographic can be age, gender, class, ethnicity, sexuality, location, lifestyle etc.
This shows that the common misconception of music videos being just for teenagers is wrong. There are many music videos that try and attract a certain gender also. An example of a music video that came from a film originally is 'What Time is it' from High School Musical 2. This music video is aimed at children because it gives them the idea that high school is fun, that people sing and dance. There is also lots of colours used and different kinds of groups including drama club, basketball players, cheerleaders, geeks etc. This encourages children with different interests to watch the music video and really targets many different children and they are not aware that high school really is not like its portrayed in the music video.
Another example of a music video that is aimed at teens besides Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan's songs is 'Party In the U.S.A' by Miley Cyrus. This song encourages both male and female teenagers to watch the music video because there are lots of teenagers having a party and dancing in the music video. Teenage boys would want to watch this music video and they may find Miley Cyrus and her friends attractive and teenage girls want to watch this music video because the party looks fun and many teenagers party.
An example of a music video that is aimed at adults is 'I Want Love' by Elton John. This is because the music video is quite serious and there is no teenage 'partying' or fun 'children dancing' the only person in the music video in Robert Downey Junior who is a middle aged man and therefore Elton John is aiming his music video more at fans who are nearer his own age.
This knowledge of how producers of music videos target specific audiences will be useful for me when I create my music video because I will know what elements of the music video I can specifically use to target an audience for example, to attract an audience of teenage girls I could have an attractive young man in the music video, if I wanted to attract children I could make the music video fun with a lot of colours etc.
In 1983 Landis (a film director) said he would do the video of 'Thriller' if it could be a short film and Jackson embraced the idea as this had never been done in the music video industry before. The 13-minute film that resulted changed the music video for ever, becoming less a promo clip than a cultural phenomenon.
Thriller was an event even when it was being shot in October 1983. More than thirty years ago the 'Thriller' music video was first shown to the public. To be eligible for the Oscars, it needed a week-long theatrical release, so Landis (the director) arranged for it to open at a single cinema in LA. At midnight on 2 December 1983, after weeks of trailers and hype, MTV showed the music video to the world.
Thriller sealed MTV's reputation as a new cultural force; dissolved racial barriers in the station's treatment of music (though MTV has always denied they existed); revolutionised music video production; spawned the "making of" genre of documentary; helped create a market for VHS rentals and sales, because fans were desperate to see it when they wanted, rather than at the will of TV stations; and, in 2009, became the first music video to be inducted into the Library of Congress's National Film Registry.
The song 'Thriller' was released a whole year before the music video but did not become a big success until the music video was released and therefore the music video promoted the song. The Thriller video sent album sales into orbit, with Jackson's label Epic reportedly shipping a million copies a week in its immediate aftermath.
The Thriller music video was set to be $900,000, to pay for not just the filming and effects but 10 days of dance rehearsals – that Landis and Jackson had to find a way to fund it. MTV paid $250,000 and Showtime $300,000 for the rights to the documentary, Jackson would take care of upfront costs, and the video was able to go ahead, with the label paying $100,000. When the documentary was released on VHS, selling for $29.95, it attracted more than 100,000 advance orders in its own right. The $900,000 made 'Thriller' the most expensive music video ever made at that time.
The main reasons overall that 'Thriller' had a massive impact on the music video industry is because it was the most expensive music video of its time as well as being the longest as it was 13 minutes. It had a narrative making it like a short film as well as the director being a film director. It was also unusual because the music video was released a whole year after the song but was the main reason for the success of the song. The 'Thriller' music video was also had a massive impact on the industry as a lot of the time the music video is to promote the song whereas people really wanted to buy copies of the music video and not just the song on tape.
