A2 Media Studies G324

The genre of the music video for 'Writings On The Wall' is pop however, the genre of music that Plan B often produces and performs is Pop and Rap music. The typical narrative to this music video is that Strickland banks (the character in the music video) cheats on his partner whilst he is out and she is at home making him dinner trying to resolve their relationship struggles. The narrative is clear to the audience which is expected to the audience as Plan B's whole album 'The Defamation of Strickland Banks.

What is not expected in the music video to the audience is that the character is going to have a one night stand, as at the beginning the audience think that the couple will try and resolve their problems when the female partner of Strickland Banks cooks him a romantic dinner, although it is clear that they will eventually break up as it says in the lyrics of the song 'this time next year, we'll be no more'. In this music video there is only one inter textual reference which is that the name is called 'Writings on the wall' and this line is sung in the song 'Superstition' by Stevie Wonder.

The theme of this music video is love and trust. There is a recognisable structure used in this music video. The music video used 3 of the 5 stages of equilibrium by Todorov. There is stage one, state of equilibrium when Strickland Banks is performing at the nightclub and his partner is cooking him dinner. There is also stage two where there is a disruption when Strickland Banks cheats on his partner and stage three where there is a recognition of the disruption when his partner realises he is probably cheating on her which is shown through the use of close ups on her face.

Equilibrium

Disruption

Recognition of disruption

There are also recognisable characters in this music video. There is the false hero (Strickland Banks) because to his audience he seems like a really nice guy who they enjoy listening to him perform, he also rings his wife and says he is going to be late which shows him as nice as he is letting her know however, it is clear to the viewer watching the music video that he is not very nice and he was going to be late home because he is about to cheat on his partner. There is the villain/ female antagonist who is the girl that Strickland Banks sleeps with, as she is there to cause trouble and cause Strickland and his partner to have further problems in their relationship and finally, their is the female protagonist/ victim who is the partner of Plan B's character. This is because she is the person who someone else his hurting (emotionally) as her partner is cheating on her which is cruel to her as she is trying to resolve the current problems in the relationship by cooking dinner.

The video reflects the lyrics multiple times. The lyrics say 'This time net year, we'll be no more' which connotes after he has cheated that Strickland Banks and his partner will break up, the lyrics also say 'it's only going to end in tears' which connotes that him cheating on his partner is going to be a mistake as its going to cause his relationship to end in tears. The lyrics suggests that their relationship isn't currently over but that it is on its way out. The title 'Writings on the wall' suggests that it is obviously going to end soon (you can see it as clear as you can see writing on the wall).

There are clear issues of representation in this music video mainly of gender. The man is not seen in a positive light because he is shown as a cheater however, he is currently shown to have power as he has sold out all his tickets, and by the look of his home that his partner is in, he is a successful performer with a lot of money and therefore leaves his partner at home and has the power to go out when he wants to and sleep with another woman. There is also a negative representation of young women in this music video as it portrays the young woman that he sleeps with as promiscuous because she has only just met Strickland Banks and if she is a fan of him then she probably knows he is currently in a relationship but sleeps with him anyway. Although there is negative representations in the music video there is also stereotypes portrayed for example the female partner of Strickland Banks is in the kitchen and stays in her house throughout the whole music video, which is stereotypical for women to have done in the era that this music video is set as women often stayed at home and did the housework.

Plan B's character Strickland Banks has been constructed as successful, popular but also a cheater. This fictional celebrity is clearly popular to the audience as all his tickets were sold out at the nightclub and there are may people dancing in the club however, it is clear he is a cheater as when he calls the woman about coming home she obviously his partner/ maybe his wife (as in the era this music video is set people often got married before they lived together) and then he goes out with another woman that he has just met in a club, this represents him as not valuing his relationship/ marriage as he is willing to run the risk of her finding out and perhaps leaving him by having a one night stand and a younger woman.

There are many visual codes in this music video. The video is set in a nightclub which looks as if the music video is set in the 70s/ 80s as there is a traditional silver microphone and the style of the house that the woman lives in, including the décor and house phone etc, suggest that the music video is set in this time. There is a lot of use of colour to form codes. In the nightclub there is black/ darkness and low key lighting, this is to make a suspicious setting and make the audience think about what Strickland Banks is going to do and that it will be something bad, however the house is colourful and there is a white room that the wife is in to show that she is vulnerable and a nice person and that maybe she does not suspect that her partner/ husband would betray her.

From the beginning of the music video it is clear that the music video is going to be based around Strickland Banks and not Plan B as there is typography used saying 'Strickland Banks Sold Out' at the front of a nightclub on a billboard. This suggests to the viewer that the fictional character Is popular and that we are about to see an element of performance in the music video. Within the music video there are some shots which stand out and are of importance as they have connotations. There is an extreme close up of the meal that the wife is preparing showing that it was very important he came home and had the meal that she had prepared him in order to help get their relationship back on track. There is a low angle of Strickland Banks to show his power and a high angle over his wife to show she is vulnerable. Shots of food in this music video also have connotations. There is a mid shot of Strickland Banks eating oysters at a restaurant with a girl he picked up from a bar. As oysters are aphrodisiacs it connotes that he is going to have sexual contact with this woman that evening. There is also a shot of the wife cooking some food and she burns herself on the pan. This connotes that she will also get hurt later emotionally because of her husband is cheating on her.

The target audience for this music video are late teens and early twenties. This is because the characters in the music video are reasonably young so the audience can link the problems in their lives to those of the people in the music video. For example people may relate to the woman who is cheated on as they have been cheated on in the past. Or people who have cheated may know how Strickland Banks character is also feeling. The target audience may also connect with the fact that there are many people enjoying themselves at a performance in a club as many young people now go to clubs to enjoy themselves. The demographics of the target audience are probably of E/D social grade as people in their late teens/ early twenties often do not have much money as many of them are students or have only just started work.

The record company is not shown within the music video however it is essential to promote the fictional character and Plan B. 679 Warner music group is the record company for the album 'Defamation of Strickland Banks'. The fictional character is promoted as a celebrity within the video, he gets everything he wants and is a big name who has sold out his tour at the night club.

This is a video of me giving my presentation in class of what makes a good music video. My presentation talks about what every good music video should include and gives examples of existing music videos. I talk about the use of narrative, concept (thematic and symbolic) and live performance that is used in music videos and my examples are from the music videos Blank Space, Dark Horse, Where is the love and Empire State of mind (part 2). When creating my own music video I will use this presentation to help me add different elements of what makes a good music video. By using my own research of what makes a good music video it should help ensure that I do not forget to put performance, narrative and concept in my music video.