Thursday 30 September 2010
Letter requesting Copyright clearance
This is the letter I sent requesting Copyright clearance to the 'threesixzero group' which hold the rights to Calvin Harris' - girls video.
Letters of Copyright
These are the letters I initially sent out to request for the copyright of three songs. One letter to Poldor Records for two songs and one letter to Parlophone Records for another song.
This is the reply letter I received from Polydor Records the company I requested the copyright from for the songs ‘Who are you’ by The Who and ‘Sledgehammer’ by Peter Gabriel. Polydor Records is owned by Universal Music Group.
They accepted my request to use the songs in a music video as long as it doesn't enter public domain.
Below is the handwritten letter I received.
I am still waiting for a reply from Parlophone Records for the song 'Viva La Vida' by Coldplay. Parlophone is also owned by EMI.
Self Promoting Artists-Research
Some artists in the music industry today promote their own music.
Radiohead have their own channel on youtube to promote their music but they are very well established and can afford to also give away some of their music
http://www.youtube.com/user/radiohead?blend=1&ob=4
There channel features subscriptions comments and links to their work.
Other artists such as Kate Nash got found via myspace after she posted videos on it.
Her myspace features tour dates, links, comments, videos and pictures.
Here is a video that is posted on her myspace.
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=100016151#pm_cmp=vid_OEV_P_P
Radiohead have their own channel on youtube to promote their music but they are very well established and can afford to also give away some of their music
http://www.youtube.com/user/radiohead?blend=1&ob=4
Other artists such as Kate Nash got found via myspace after she posted videos on it.
Her myspace features tour dates, links, comments, videos and pictures.
Here is a video that is posted on her myspace.
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=100016151#pm_cmp=vid_OEV_P_P
Wednesday 29 September 2010
Previous Student Work v.s Andrew Goodwin-Research
Shut up and let me go from 283goswell on Vimeo.
This video agrees with Andrew Goodwins opinions on Torodov's theory. There is no normal-problem-resolution sequence.
The video is amplified in the video the main one being at the end when the lyrics sing "hey" and the pillow is thrown.
The illustrativeness of this video is very good as the scenes in the video are all about having fun and the freedom to do what you want and this represents the lyrics "shut up and let me go" as they are free to do as they please.
There isn't any disjuncture in this video as all of the scenes relate to the idea of being able to do what you want.
This video has strengths in the technical elements. There are lots of locations used to make the video fun and the mise en scene and shot types are good. They have framed a lot of the video very well.
The only weaknesses that I can see in this video is poor lighting in some shots and there wasn't a wide variation of angles used.
Review student video
Shut up and let me go from 283goswell on Vimeo.
This video seems to be aimed at a rather young audience, 14-19 year olds as some of the aspects such as the girls dancing the studio with the been bags and they are all wearing strong colours, like pink, blue and orange. The genre of this music is "alternative rock". With this video, it has conformed more to the song than then genre. They seem to have taken the meaning of the song about having fun, and amplified that and based their video on it.
The video had no narrative at all, just the girls having fun. There were a lot of scenes which worked well with the idea of them just having fun, such as them in the park and playing the guitars and singing into the camera. There was also plenty of different cuts and shots which went in time with the beat of the music and there were a lot of different settings which adds to the variety and keeps the viewer interested instead of just having one setting.
Tuesday 28 September 2010
Vladimir Propp was a Soviet formalist scholar, he studied narrative structure in Russian folk tales. He identified 31 different functions that follow the sequence after the initial situation is presented. Here the different functions can be found.
Propp also concluded that all the characters could be resolved into 8 broad character types in the 100 tales he analysed:
Propp also concluded that all the characters could be resolved into 8 broad character types in the 100 tales he analysed:
- The villain — struggles against the hero.
- The donor — prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object.
- The (magical) helper — helps the hero in the quest.
- The princess or prize — the hero deserves her throughout the story but is unable to marry her because of an unfair evil, usually because of the villain. The hero's journey is often ended when he marries the princess, thereby beating the villain.
- Her father — gives the task to the hero, identifies the false hero, marries the hero, often sought for during the narrative. Propp noted that functionally, the princess and the father can not be clearly distinguished.
- The dispatcher — character who makes the lack known and sends the hero off.
- The hero or victim/seeker hero — reacts to the donor, weds the princess.
- False hero — takes credit for the hero’s actions or tries to marry the princess.
These roles could sometimes be distributed among various characters, as the hero kills the villain dragon, and the dragon's sisters take on the villainous role of chasing him. Conversely, one character could engage in acts as more than one role, as a father could send his son on the quest and give him a sword, acting as both dispatcher and donor. However, Propp has been criticised for removing all verbal aspects that differ in each tale during his analysis. This video, "Mr. Brightside" by The Killers, portrays some of what Propp has listed.
Monday 27 September 2010
Lip Synch Tutorial
I learnt how to cut and edit together the original soundtrack together with the video so that it looked like the lyrics were coming from the singers voice. This was also the hardest part of the activity as it proved difficult at times to be able to mark the point exactly where a word was said. I then used this a a reference point and marked the same point on the video footage which I then linked them together. I did this multiple times with many different clips of the same video but from different angles.
To actually find the exact point at where a particular lyric was said on the soundtrack I had to open up the wave form on final cut pro and this is something I did not know how to do before and I found that this could also be done with video clips. I also used the lock tool on the timeline to lock certain video clips or the original soundtrack in place to prevent it from moving about when I was editing.
Editing short films and editing music videos are very different in the amount of cuts there are involved. A music video of the same length as a short film can easily have double the number of cuts. I also used a different form of editing where instead of cutting down each individual clip to just the right amount I needed which is what I did in the editing of short films. I now layered the entire length of each clip on top of each other without their sound clips after marking reference points of course and finally with the original soundtrack at the bottom. I then set about marking points on the timeline to the beat of the music. After that I could cut up all the clips into sections according to those markings and create a well made music video relatively quickly. Although similarly to a short film production we had to pick out the main "characters" in the music video, this involved the use of a lot of close ups to emphasize concentration on one person which was Hannah in the music video singing the song 'He's the greatest dancer' by Sister Sledge. We also used medium shots to introduce the other character in the background which was Japhet and also the environment which we bathed in a deep red light to create a feeling similar to that of a disco or club.
To actually find the exact point at where a particular lyric was said on the soundtrack I had to open up the wave form on final cut pro and this is something I did not know how to do before and I found that this could also be done with video clips. I also used the lock tool on the timeline to lock certain video clips or the original soundtrack in place to prevent it from moving about when I was editing.
Editing short films and editing music videos are very different in the amount of cuts there are involved. A music video of the same length as a short film can easily have double the number of cuts. I also used a different form of editing where instead of cutting down each individual clip to just the right amount I needed which is what I did in the editing of short films. I now layered the entire length of each clip on top of each other without their sound clips after marking reference points of course and finally with the original soundtrack at the bottom. I then set about marking points on the timeline to the beat of the music. After that I could cut up all the clips into sections according to those markings and create a well made music video relatively quickly. Although similarly to a short film production we had to pick out the main "characters" in the music video, this involved the use of a lot of close ups to emphasize concentration on one person which was Hannah in the music video singing the song 'He's the greatest dancer' by Sister Sledge. We also used medium shots to introduce the other character in the background which was Japhet and also the environment which we bathed in a deep red light to create a feeling similar to that of a disco or club.
Lip sync Tutorial.
We learnt how to cut and edit the original song together with the video. To do this, we had to mark a certain word in the song, mark the same word in the video and then match the two points together. To make this a lot easier, instead of doing it by ear, we opened the wave form of the audio of the video and the song. This was somewhat difficult as if wrong, then the video would be out of sync with the song. We did this with all the clips that included lip syncing from all the different angles they were shot from.
There is quite a big difference between editing music videos and short films. Music videos can easily have more cuts than a short film as with music videos, the amount of cuts depends on the pace of the song and how fast or slow they want the pace to be. With quicker and more cuts, the pace will be faster and could involve a lot of different aspects. With slower and less cuts, the pace will be slower. As this was a disco song, we decided to make it not too fast, but not slow, it was a medium pace that showed the singing and dancing, two very important aspects in disco music.
The concept for music videos, can be completely unrelated to the song in a literal sense but be telling the story, it it's own form. Like in the uncensored, "Kids In love" music video by Mayday Parade. The video seems very unrelated to the song but there it shows there is a much deeper meaning to the song and the video.
The way in which you editing for a music video is also very different. For a music video, we were advised to film a minimum of 3-4 base tracks. Instead of cutting down every clip, all the tracks are layered on top of each other and once they are matched with the song; having them all on top of each other, makes it easier and allows us to have everything ready in place so that we don't have to figure out where the clips go go in song. This makes more sense than individually doing it as they all start from the same point (The beginning of the song). We would lock the sound in place so that it wouldn't move while we were editing the rest of the video. We then marked the point on the time to the beat of the music, in this case it was a 4/4 beat that we marked it to. After this, we simply had to watch through and decide what clips we wanted to stay and which ones we wanted to go.
We used lots of close ups of the characters. The singer played by myself, and the "the greatest dancer" played by Japhet. The use of lots of close ups in a music video serve some of the main purposes as they do in films. To show emotion, to identify the characters, and to show what they are doing. With music videos where the singer is actually in the video singing, it allows the audience to feel closer to the artist and when the artist is singing directly into the camera, to make the audience feel like they are singing it to them.
As you can see from the pictures below, we used different angles. We had the advantage of being able to control the colour and intensity of the lighting. We used red as it helps create a disco club feeling. Also, the use of "The greatest dancer" also helps create a disco club feeling as there wouldn't be just one person a in disco club, and although there would be more than two people in a club, it shows the focus is on the only these two characters and that she is only focused on the greatest dancer.
There is quite a big difference between editing music videos and short films. Music videos can easily have more cuts than a short film as with music videos, the amount of cuts depends on the pace of the song and how fast or slow they want the pace to be. With quicker and more cuts, the pace will be faster and could involve a lot of different aspects. With slower and less cuts, the pace will be slower. As this was a disco song, we decided to make it not too fast, but not slow, it was a medium pace that showed the singing and dancing, two very important aspects in disco music.
The concept for music videos, can be completely unrelated to the song in a literal sense but be telling the story, it it's own form. Like in the uncensored, "Kids In love" music video by Mayday Parade. The video seems very unrelated to the song but there it shows there is a much deeper meaning to the song and the video.
The way in which you editing for a music video is also very different. For a music video, we were advised to film a minimum of 3-4 base tracks. Instead of cutting down every clip, all the tracks are layered on top of each other and once they are matched with the song; having them all on top of each other, makes it easier and allows us to have everything ready in place so that we don't have to figure out where the clips go go in song. This makes more sense than individually doing it as they all start from the same point (The beginning of the song). We would lock the sound in place so that it wouldn't move while we were editing the rest of the video. We then marked the point on the time to the beat of the music, in this case it was a 4/4 beat that we marked it to. After this, we simply had to watch through and decide what clips we wanted to stay and which ones we wanted to go.
We used lots of close ups of the characters. The singer played by myself, and the "the greatest dancer" played by Japhet. The use of lots of close ups in a music video serve some of the main purposes as they do in films. To show emotion, to identify the characters, and to show what they are doing. With music videos where the singer is actually in the video singing, it allows the audience to feel closer to the artist and when the artist is singing directly into the camera, to make the audience feel like they are singing it to them.
As you can see from the pictures below, we used different angles. We had the advantage of being able to control the colour and intensity of the lighting. We used red as it helps create a disco club feeling. Also, the use of "The greatest dancer" also helps create a disco club feeling as there wouldn't be just one person a in disco club, and although there would be more than two people in a club, it shows the focus is on the only these two characters and that she is only focused on the greatest dancer.
Previous Student Work-Research
After looking at a few previous student music videos I decided that the video below is my favourite.
Adam, Lisa, Nasima & Sayvita from 283goswell on Vimeo.
The genre of this video is alternative and the audience could be anyone as it is not easily categorised or conventional for young or old people.
Their is a narrative for this video even if it seems vague and it simply begins with the lead holding a sign and then getting others to hold signs and then it goes back to her again.
The representation in this video would not raise a lot of controversy as it is a woman who is young and pretty and feminine as she is wearing red heels. The woman featured is not scantily clad and revealing all of her assets she is dressed simply. Dismemberment is not really used aside from the close up on her lips and face but these are not of a sexual manner it's just to spread the message of love so often said in the lyrics.
The technical elements of this video make it my favourite as the group clearly thought carefully about what they were going to do and how they were going to link certain sectors.
The camera is used, well there is a variation of shots such as close ups extreme close ups, mid shots and various other shot types. The angles are executed well.
The editing is excellent they clearly spent a lot of time to contrast the red with the black and white tone of the footage. The slide transition used doesn't look childish or out of place.
The mise en scene links in with the song as oxford st is full of people that they were able to get in the video. The use of the train station, hyde park and the signs are brilliant.
Adam, Lisa, Nasima & Sayvita from 283goswell on Vimeo.
The genre of this video is alternative and the audience could be anyone as it is not easily categorised or conventional for young or old people.
Their is a narrative for this video even if it seems vague and it simply begins with the lead holding a sign and then getting others to hold signs and then it goes back to her again.
The representation in this video would not raise a lot of controversy as it is a woman who is young and pretty and feminine as she is wearing red heels. The woman featured is not scantily clad and revealing all of her assets she is dressed simply. Dismemberment is not really used aside from the close up on her lips and face but these are not of a sexual manner it's just to spread the message of love so often said in the lyrics.
The technical elements of this video make it my favourite as the group clearly thought carefully about what they were going to do and how they were going to link certain sectors.
The camera is used, well there is a variation of shots such as close ups extreme close ups, mid shots and various other shot types. The angles are executed well.
The editing is excellent they clearly spent a lot of time to contrast the red with the black and white tone of the footage. The slide transition used doesn't look childish or out of place.
The mise en scene links in with the song as oxford st is full of people that they were able to get in the video. The use of the train station, hyde park and the signs are brilliant.
Sunday 26 September 2010
Andrew Goodwin
Andrew Goodwin
Some videos are autonomous from the music they spring from. This means that the video may have visuals beyond the original meaning. There are three types of relations between songs and videos: illustration, amplification, and disjuncture.
Illustration: Visuals which tell the story of the lyrics. For example dance is often used to express feelings and moods in the song.
Amplification: When the videos add new layers of meaning to the lyrics.
Disjuncture: When there is little connection between the lyrics and video.
Illustration
This is a good example of Illustration. Here eminem tells the story and the video illustrates the lyrics of the story. The acting is used to show emotion and moods of the song.
Amplification
This shows a good example of amplification. The song is about a guy asking a girl plenty of questions about Love. The video shows visuals of him getting arrested and having trouble and is showing new meanings to the song other than just him and the girl.
Disjuncture
Here we see a good example of disjuncture. For example at 0.39-0.41 he is talking about a range rover and lexus yet the visuals show a jaguar. Also at 1.54 he is talking about cristal (champagne) and the visuals show bottles of milk instead. Again on 2.23 he talks about white Louie boat shoes and a visual of a black trainer is shown. There is various visuals and imagery that are purposely inserted to either have no link to the lyrics at all or to contradict them.
Analysis of a Music Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2Z56le7-H4
This video is called "Calvin Harris - Ready For The Weekend"
In this video I will analyse four key concepts; narrative, genre, media language and representation. Calvin Harris is represented as the decently dressed ordinary guy. He participates in the video, however his lyrics form no connection to the actual video itself. The song itself is an exciting song and the video further adds to the exciting tone with the use of bright colour schemes and creative wacky editing.
Narrative
This video has a linear structure in which it goes right through without any flashbacks . The structure is clear as it starts with Calvin Harris standing on the embankment; the middle is quite clear and it ends with him stopping the music. There is also plenty cause and effect shots but with the help of plenty creative editing. The video has no connection whatsoever to the lyrics. However the presentation and use of editing, colours and quick cuts work well with the structure and genre of the song.
Genre
This type of song would be classed as pop/electro-pop genre. The tempo, use of sound effects and the keyboard in the song make it classed in the electro-pop genre. From the video point of view, the use of bright colours and well presentation of the artist gives the 'popular' genre look to it.
Media Language
There is plenty of creative editing in this video, with even paced cuts that go in time with the beat of the song. They make plenty of good use of 'green screen' to change the colour scheme throughout this vibrant song, which went very well.
This gave it a exciting and fun look to the song and therefore this proves that the video is conventional to the electro-pop genre. The use of all these aspects is similar to another electro-pop video called "Kid Cudi - Day 'n' Night."
Representation
The representation of this song focuses highly on gender. The video represents the male singer in a typical conventional way as the stud surrounded by young revealing females. The presentation of women is seen in just one form of revealing dancers and nothing else. This is further pushed when the main female singer of the chorus is not even shown or represented once in the video and rather is replaced by models just dancing. There is also proof of the females bodies being dismembered and focusing on body parts such as the legs.
It shares some similarities with other conventional electro-pop videos such as "Kid Cudi vs Crookers - Day 'n' Night." The representation of women is typical in this genre and in these two video's we have shots of the male singer standing in the middle of two female models. This shows proof of body dismemberment and the general patterns of shown in electro-pop videos.
This video is called "Calvin Harris - Ready For The Weekend"
 |
| Calvin Harris |
Narrative
This video has a linear structure in which it goes right through without any flashbacks . The structure is clear as it starts with Calvin Harris standing on the embankment; the middle is quite clear and it ends with him stopping the music. There is also plenty cause and effect shots but with the help of plenty creative editing. The video has no connection whatsoever to the lyrics. However the presentation and use of editing, colours and quick cuts work well with the structure and genre of the song.
Genre
This type of song would be classed as pop/electro-pop genre. The tempo, use of sound effects and the keyboard in the song make it classed in the electro-pop genre. From the video point of view, the use of bright colours and well presentation of the artist gives the 'popular' genre look to it.
Media Language
There is plenty of creative editing in this video, with even paced cuts that go in time with the beat of the song. They make plenty of good use of 'green screen' to change the colour scheme throughout this vibrant song, which went very well.
 |
| Calvin Harris - Ready for the weekend |
Representation
The representation of this song focuses highly on gender. The video represents the male singer in a typical conventional way as the stud surrounded by young revealing females. The presentation of women is seen in just one form of revealing dancers and nothing else. This is further pushed when the main female singer of the chorus is not even shown or represented once in the video and rather is replaced by models just dancing. There is also proof of the females bodies being dismembered and focusing on body parts such as the legs.
It shares some similarities with other conventional electro-pop videos such as "Kid Cudi vs Crookers - Day 'n' Night." The representation of women is typical in this genre and in these two video's we have shots of the male singer standing in the middle of two female models. This shows proof of body dismemberment and the general patterns of shown in electro-pop videos.
 |
| Cudi vs Crookers - Day 'n' Night" |
 |
| Calvin Harris - Ready for the weekend |
Music Video Analysis
The music video I have chosen is by Seal called Love's Divine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iczaDcixBj4&a=GxdCwVVULXe9ZMcSkx_SNB0IdCyZiCa1&list=ML&playnext=1
The genre of the song is Adult Contemporary. The song shows us the different lives of people often regretting certain things they have done and making things better by either finding love or returning to love. We even see some of the characters shown very upset after losing love even if they do have other things, such as the man crying even as we see he is sitting in a Rolls Royce.
The video is very washed out in terms of colour showing the negativity surrounding many of the characters and there are a lot of close ups emphasizing the emotions of each individual helping the audience to relate.
Seal is shown wearing very dark colours also which include a dark red shirt and long black coat that are perhaps used to reinforce the sadness of the song and also prevent him from standing out too much and interrupting the flow and concentration on the music video.
Narrative
The video has a very clear linear structure as it shows how each character is presented with a problem or in the midst of a problem and is resolved before moving on to the next character. The lyrics by Seal help direct the path of the music video and amplify the meaning present. Seal is not a participant in the music video but more a participant and observer.
Media Language
The distance between the cuts is far and the pace is slow this creates emotion and allows time for the audience to form a connection with each character we see. The editing is also done in such a way that we can see how many different people are experiencing pain and problems at the same time in the world but also how they find a way to fix it often through love.
Representation
The representation of characters in the music video is very true to real life. They are not over the top or out of the ordinary but just everyday people experiencing pain, love and loss on all different levels from a mans love for his son/ daughter to love between a man and a woman.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iczaDcixBj4&a=GxdCwVVULXe9ZMcSkx_SNB0IdCyZiCa1&list=ML&playnext=1
The genre of the song is Adult Contemporary. The song shows us the different lives of people often regretting certain things they have done and making things better by either finding love or returning to love. We even see some of the characters shown very upset after losing love even if they do have other things, such as the man crying even as we see he is sitting in a Rolls Royce.
The video is very washed out in terms of colour showing the negativity surrounding many of the characters and there are a lot of close ups emphasizing the emotions of each individual helping the audience to relate.
Seal is shown wearing very dark colours also which include a dark red shirt and long black coat that are perhaps used to reinforce the sadness of the song and also prevent him from standing out too much and interrupting the flow and concentration on the music video.
Narrative
The video has a very clear linear structure as it shows how each character is presented with a problem or in the midst of a problem and is resolved before moving on to the next character. The lyrics by Seal help direct the path of the music video and amplify the meaning present. Seal is not a participant in the music video but more a participant and observer.
Media Language
The distance between the cuts is far and the pace is slow this creates emotion and allows time for the audience to form a connection with each character we see. The editing is also done in such a way that we can see how many different people are experiencing pain and problems at the same time in the world but also how they find a way to fix it often through love.
Representation
The representation of characters in the music video is very true to real life. They are not over the top or out of the ordinary but just everyday people experiencing pain, love and loss on all different levels from a mans love for his son/ daughter to love between a man and a woman.
It is based on the importance that we must be truthful to ourselves on who we really are instead of being influenced by others views on how we should be and learn to love ourselves for who we really are as we can see by this scene where a girl removes her wig.
Andrew Goodwin
According to Goodwin's theory there are particular relationships between what the audience sees while watching a music video and the lyrics that they hear. What the audience sees can either illustrate, amplify or contradict the lyrics in the song. A music video is far less clear cut in the way it presents a 'story' like that of a film or TV show would. Instead it simply has a beginning, middle and an end. A lot of images are repeated in music videos to link in with the repetition of the lyrics. This also happens between songs of a similar genre through intertextuality helping the viewer form an expectation of particular types of music videos.
However this can sometimes backfire as an audience could get bored of seeing the same thing again and again. But if the whole music video is changed and challenges the norms of the genre then it could confuse or even put off the audience. It is a constant balancing act to try and include some unique points in each music video but still retain certain similarities to help the audience identify and relate.
Illustration is where the music video literally follows what is said in the lyrics.
Contradiction or disjuncture is where the music video bears no relation to the lyrics being heard by the audience.
Amplification is where there is no contradiction of meaning between the music video and lyrics but rather a reinforcement of meaning.
Illustration
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6M5C-oKw9k&ob=av3e
This is a good example of illustration in the song Miss independent by Ne-yo as what is said in the lyrics by Ne-yo clearly guides what is shown in the music video and is shown by a short film where Ne-yo plays the main part.
Disjunction
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Pw_5RQAEpg&ob=av2n
This is a good example of disjunction in the song Gone in the morning by Newton Faulkner as the music video clearly has no relation to what is said in the lyrics and chooses to follow its own separate path.
Amplification
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIWEbmQt8EQ&feature=channel
This is a good example of amplification in the song Magnificent by Rick Ross featuring John Legend where the music video doesn't actually link to anything said in the lyrics but rather shows the audience the meaning behind the lyrics and therefore the reinforcement of the lyrics through the music video.
However this can sometimes backfire as an audience could get bored of seeing the same thing again and again. But if the whole music video is changed and challenges the norms of the genre then it could confuse or even put off the audience. It is a constant balancing act to try and include some unique points in each music video but still retain certain similarities to help the audience identify and relate.
Illustration is where the music video literally follows what is said in the lyrics.
Contradiction or disjuncture is where the music video bears no relation to the lyrics being heard by the audience.
Amplification is where there is no contradiction of meaning between the music video and lyrics but rather a reinforcement of meaning.
Illustration
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6M5C-oKw9k&ob=av3e
This is a good example of illustration in the song Miss independent by Ne-yo as what is said in the lyrics by Ne-yo clearly guides what is shown in the music video and is shown by a short film where Ne-yo plays the main part.
Disjunction
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Pw_5RQAEpg&ob=av2n
This is a good example of disjunction in the song Gone in the morning by Newton Faulkner as the music video clearly has no relation to what is said in the lyrics and chooses to follow its own separate path.
Amplification
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIWEbmQt8EQ&feature=channel
This is a good example of amplification in the song Magnificent by Rick Ross featuring John Legend where the music video doesn't actually link to anything said in the lyrics but rather shows the audience the meaning behind the lyrics and therefore the reinforcement of the lyrics through the music video.
Saturday 25 September 2010
Lip Sync Tutorial-Planning
The lip sync tutorial as given away by the title taught me how to sync a soundtrack to the movements of someones lips who is miming the same song.
To begin our preliminary we first had to shoot some footage for the soundtrack. Our given soundtrack was "He's the greatest dancer" by Sister Sledge. We used a variation of shots, some shots of the shoot are shown below.
We used a Medium Shot to clearly show that Japhet is the greatest dancer mentioned in the song.
We used another Close Up to show that she met the man so it fitted in with the normality-problem-solution narrative structure.
To begin our preliminary we first had to shoot some footage for the soundtrack. Our given soundtrack was "He's the greatest dancer" by Sister Sledge. We used a variation of shots, some shots of the shoot are shown below.
We used a Close Up of Hannah to convey the fact that she is the lead and the main character and therefore is the narrator and participant.
We used a Medium Shot to clearly show that Japhet is the greatest dancer mentioned in the song.We used another Close Up to show that she met the man so it fitted in with the normality-problem-solution narrative structure.Looking at our preliminary I am proud of it as it does fit the late 70's disco theme with the coloured lighting and natural yet posed footage. The mention of the disco within the lyrics also fits the footage we shot as it is shot in the dark with a splash of red lighting which would replicate a disco in this era.
The new skills that I acquired and new tools that I learnt to use through doing this are simply learning how to match the mouth movement to the soundtrack and adding/editing/aligning markers. The markers weren't particularly hard it was just where to put them that was time costing.
Editing in a music video is different to that of a title sequence of a thriller. The differences are:
Timing- the cuts are generally made to the beat rather than randomized.
Cutting- the cuts are generally done between a few bases as in the song is shot fully through a few times in different locations at different angles with different costume and then cut accordingly.
Friday 24 September 2010
Letters Requesting Copyright Clearance-Planning
These are the letters that I sent to the labels that had the artist that I wanted to use a song from.
I wrote to four different people seeking copyright clearence, with two of those as I couldn't find one address or an email address, I wasn't sure which one was the right one if any, but I wrote to both incase one was the correct one and the other not.
I wrote to Geffen Records, Rough Trade Records and Flatsound.
With this, I asked the artist himself via his tumblr website, he is also a friend of mine so it wasn't as formal as the other letters had to be.
I wrote to Geffen Records, Rough Trade Records and Flatsound.
With this, I asked the artist himself via his tumblr website, he is also a friend of mine so it wasn't as formal as the other letters had to be.
I have yet to receive clearence from Rough Trade Records and Geffen Records.
Thursday 23 September 2010
Andrew Goodwin
Andrew Goodwin feels that traditional narrative analyses doesn't really apply to music videos as they approach narrative from a different angle to novels and films.
Reasons for the different narrative structures are as follows: Music videos are built around songs, sometimes songs don't pose a traditional narrative structures. Music video uses the singer as a narrator and a character, the singer often looks directly into the camera, this is an extension of performance and trying to involve the viewer at home with the performance.
Music videos often repeat images in the way the song repeats choruses and lines. Intertextuality allows the viewer to become familiar with the genre and have certain expectations. The video playing on television and the song playing on the radio, the song would be made familiar through repetition.
Some videos are autonomous from the music they spring from. Sometimes the visualisation of the song goes beyond the meaning. There are three types of relations between songs and videos
Illustration
This video demonstrates it's title; the meaning of the song and the lyrics very clearly. The song and the video is about girls just wanting to have fun. There isn't much else to the video, but as this was made in the 80's, I imagine that there weren't many videos that didn't illustrate the lyrics as best to their ability or would just be complete disjuncture and the song would have little to no relevance to the video.
Girls Just Want To Have Fun // Cyndi Lauper
Disjuncture.
In this video there is little to no relevance to the song. The video and the song both have completely different narratives. The song acts as a soundtrack for the short film that is the video.
After Hours // We Are Scientists.
Illustration
Reasons for the different narrative structures are as follows: Music videos are built around songs, sometimes songs don't pose a traditional narrative structures. Music video uses the singer as a narrator and a character, the singer often looks directly into the camera, this is an extension of performance and trying to involve the viewer at home with the performance.
Music videos often repeat images in the way the song repeats choruses and lines. Intertextuality allows the viewer to become familiar with the genre and have certain expectations. The video playing on television and the song playing on the radio, the song would be made familiar through repetition.
Some videos are autonomous from the music they spring from. Sometimes the visualisation of the song goes beyond the meaning. There are three types of relations between songs and videos
Illustration is where the video tells the story of the lyric. Dance is often used to express the feelings/moods in the song.
Amplification occurs when the videos introduce new meaning that do not contradict with the lyrics but add layers of meaning.
Disjuncture this is where there is little connection between the lyric and video or where the video contradicts the lyric.
Disjuncture this is where there is little connection between the lyric and video or where the video contradicts the lyric.
Illustration
This video demonstrates it's title; the meaning of the song and the lyrics very clearly. The song and the video is about girls just wanting to have fun. There isn't much else to the video, but as this was made in the 80's, I imagine that there weren't many videos that didn't illustrate the lyrics as best to their ability or would just be complete disjuncture and the song would have little to no relevance to the video.
Girls Just Want To Have Fun // Cyndi Lauper
Disjuncture.
In this video there is little to no relevance to the song. The video and the song both have completely different narratives. The song acts as a soundtrack for the short film that is the video.
After Hours // We Are Scientists.
Illustration
In this video, it illustrates the words visually and there is also a performance. There isn't a story at all, from 1:30, there is some depth into the meanings of the lyrics as it shows how others relate to the lyrics, which is the appeal of listening to music with depth, it also makes the listener feel more connected to the artist and especially with this video where it shows other people relating to the music.
Do You Feel // The Rocket Summer
Do You Feel // The Rocket Summer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltbt9MaepFY&ob=av2e
This video is called "It Never Ends" by Bring Me The Horizon.
The video shows the lead singer in an ambulance while being chased by zombie vampires who are trying to eat him, in attempts to distract them the nurse in the ambulance with the lead singer throws his intestines out of the window. They then reach the hospital and the doctors try to save him but he says "just let it end" and the zombie vampires come in and attack.
Narrative
The video has a linear structure it shows us from the moment that the lead singer wakes, which is the beginning to him. This video it doesn't show us how all of this started, it brings us in at the middle of a disruption. The resolve of the video is when he says "Just let it end". He says this so that he doesn't have to endure the pain any longer and he doesn't have to run from the blood sucking vampires that will continue to chase him even though he has given part of himself to them, he can't escape them only in death.
The lead singer takes on three roles in this video. He is the driver of the ambulance, his face is all wrapped up and he can't see, this symbolises that he is driving himself on a blind path to destruction. He is the main character that wakes up in the ambulance with the vampires chasing him. His ambulance driver and patient self are both participants but his patient self also narrates from time to time. The third role the lead singer takes on is a floating version of himself that only narrates. The fact that he's floating symbolises that he is just aimlessly going. The different backdrops also symbolises that he doesn't know where he's going or can't make up his mind.
The video illustrates and amplifies the lyrics on another level that show a deeper than just literal. Each of the vampires represent different types of people that the band have encountered, that have endlessly chased them. Such as police, journalists, drug dealers and more.
Genre
Media language
The pace of the video is not as fast as it could be though it's not slow so it's medium. This allows the story to progress without dragging on for too long or being too quick and nothing making any sense. There are points in the video where there are very quick cuts and flashes of other scenes. At many points they have used a green screen to create things, such as the backgrounds, the ambulance and the hospital. At some points in the video they video has had an added effect of being grainy. This video is like a short movie as it is a story and there is a lot going on.
Representation
The lead singer in this video is represented as instead of what many would be expecting him to be a hero and save the day, he is a victim and he needs help and the help that he is given just isn't enough so, he gives in. By doing this it connects him and the audience as it shows that he is on the same level as them, that at some point it's all just too much that giving in is the only option. The lead singer is wearing the typical clothes that he would normally wear, skinny jeans, v-neck t-shirt.
The female nurse is dressed in a sexy seductive nurse outfit, this could say something about the way we are meant to perceive her as just an object, but she is cold towards the patient and she tries her best to save him so it's kind of as if the roles are reversed, the expected saviour is helpless and the one that is expected to be the one in need of help is doing the saving.
The representation of characters in the music video is very true to real life. They are not over the top or out of the ordinary but just everyday people experiencing pain, love and loss on all different levels from a mans love for his son/ daughter to love between a man and a woman.
This video is called "It Never Ends" by Bring Me The Horizon.
The video shows the lead singer in an ambulance while being chased by zombie vampires who are trying to eat him, in attempts to distract them the nurse in the ambulance with the lead singer throws his intestines out of the window. They then reach the hospital and the doctors try to save him but he says "just let it end" and the zombie vampires come in and attack.
Narrative
The video has a linear structure it shows us from the moment that the lead singer wakes, which is the beginning to him. This video it doesn't show us how all of this started, it brings us in at the middle of a disruption. The resolve of the video is when he says "Just let it end". He says this so that he doesn't have to endure the pain any longer and he doesn't have to run from the blood sucking vampires that will continue to chase him even though he has given part of himself to them, he can't escape them only in death.
The lead singer takes on three roles in this video. He is the driver of the ambulance, his face is all wrapped up and he can't see, this symbolises that he is driving himself on a blind path to destruction. He is the main character that wakes up in the ambulance with the vampires chasing him. His ambulance driver and patient self are both participants but his patient self also narrates from time to time. The third role the lead singer takes on is a floating version of himself that only narrates. The fact that he's floating symbolises that he is just aimlessly going. The different backdrops also symbolises that he doesn't know where he's going or can't make up his mind.
The video illustrates and amplifies the lyrics on another level that show a deeper than just literal. Each of the vampires represent different types of people that the band have encountered, that have endlessly chased them. Such as police, journalists, drug dealers and more.
Genre
The song falls into the genre of Metalcore. All the aspects in this video, to name a few; zombie vampires, blood, lack of natural light, they all conform to the genre of the music. Though zombie vampires and blood aren't something that are predominate in metalcore videos, they do fit very well with the genre. Where as a video like being in a field with people on a sunny day wouldn't fit this respective genre.
The video has a lot of dark colours, the dark blue's and blacks enforce the bleakness of the video.
The inside of the ambulance is all white, this makes the blood, the nurse and the lead singer stand out.
Through the use of colours and the concept of the video it is clear to see that there is some sort of deeper story to the video and the song. This also fits very well with the genre of music as many bands chose to do performance videos and they also chose to illustrate and amplify the lyrics from the songs instead of having a video that is completely unrelated to the song.
Through the use of colours and the concept of the video it is clear to see that there is some sort of deeper story to the video and the song. This also fits very well with the genre of music as many bands chose to do performance videos and they also chose to illustrate and amplify the lyrics from the songs instead of having a video that is completely unrelated to the song.
Media language
The pace of the video is not as fast as it could be though it's not slow so it's medium. This allows the story to progress without dragging on for too long or being too quick and nothing making any sense. There are points in the video where there are very quick cuts and flashes of other scenes. At many points they have used a green screen to create things, such as the backgrounds, the ambulance and the hospital. At some points in the video they video has had an added effect of being grainy. This video is like a short movie as it is a story and there is a lot going on.
Representation
The lead singer in this video is represented as instead of what many would be expecting him to be a hero and save the day, he is a victim and he needs help and the help that he is given just isn't enough so, he gives in. By doing this it connects him and the audience as it shows that he is on the same level as them, that at some point it's all just too much that giving in is the only option. The lead singer is wearing the typical clothes that he would normally wear, skinny jeans, v-neck t-shirt.
The female nurse is dressed in a sexy seductive nurse outfit, this could say something about the way we are meant to perceive her as just an object, but she is cold towards the patient and she tries her best to save him so it's kind of as if the roles are reversed, the expected saviour is helpless and the one that is expected to be the one in need of help is doing the saving.
The representation of characters in the music video is very true to real life. They are not over the top or out of the ordinary but just everyday people experiencing pain, love and loss on all different levels from a mans love for his son/ daughter to love between a man and a woman.
Wednesday 22 September 2010
Andrew Goodwin-Research
Andrew Goodwin does not believe in the Torodov theory for music videos, as many videos can't contain the order that we humans expect from any narrative which has 5 stages but simply comes down to having a beginning, middle and end with typical problem-resolution basis. Generally, the video to a song is all about the artist trying to connect with viewers but not getting across the real message. Also,the artists play a lot of parts within the video rather than just one part so that once again they are connecting with the audience more.
There are many reasons for this not to work, for instance, as choruses are repeated similar imagery is generally repeated in the video this gets the message across but it does not keep the viewer guessing. Therefore, there is no problem and no resolution. This illustrates the meaning of the song.
The songs and their videos are shown on tv or in advertising in some way which allows us to assosciate the song with a certain ideology or style but it doesn't necessarily mean that the song even relates to its own video which is disjuncture.
The amplification relation between a song and its video is when the lyrics are ambiguous in the sense that the real meaning is hidden within the video and not just in the lyrics.
Amplification- I chose this video as my amplification video as the lyrics are about scar tissue that the hurt person wants you to see and in the video we see the artists acting rather strange and looking sad which adds a layer in meaning as its about their emotions and how their minds have been affected by a traumatic event.
Disjuncture- I chose this video as my disjuncture video as the lyrics have no relevance to the video whatsoever as the video is ripping off other artists videos and making them humerous.
This is another disjuncture video by "The Gossip" as once again it has no real story the band is simply performing with lots of editing and no relevance to the song.
Illustration- I chose this video as my illustration video as it features all of the things that are mentioned in the lyrics.
There are many reasons for this not to work, for instance, as choruses are repeated similar imagery is generally repeated in the video this gets the message across but it does not keep the viewer guessing. Therefore, there is no problem and no resolution. This illustrates the meaning of the song.
The songs and their videos are shown on tv or in advertising in some way which allows us to assosciate the song with a certain ideology or style but it doesn't necessarily mean that the song even relates to its own video which is disjuncture.
The amplification relation between a song and its video is when the lyrics are ambiguous in the sense that the real meaning is hidden within the video and not just in the lyrics.
Amplification- I chose this video as my amplification video as the lyrics are about scar tissue that the hurt person wants you to see and in the video we see the artists acting rather strange and looking sad which adds a layer in meaning as its about their emotions and how their minds have been affected by a traumatic event.
Disjuncture- I chose this video as my disjuncture video as the lyrics have no relevance to the video whatsoever as the video is ripping off other artists videos and making them humerous.
This is another disjuncture video by "The Gossip" as once again it has no real story the band is simply performing with lots of editing and no relevance to the song.
Illustration- I chose this video as my illustration video as it features all of the things that are mentioned in the lyrics.
Monday 20 September 2010
Analysis of a Music Video-Research
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=og1Bxp6q3Co&ob=av2n
This video is called "Suddenly I See" by KT Tunstall.
Genre The genre is pop and this is obvious from the setting, lighting and clothing.The setting as you can see from this still is a vibrant animated town in which she is travelling around in by th
e use of a new york taxi. As she is travelling the use of tracking allows us to view the town changing as speakers appear on every building replicating the idea that music makes the world go round. The point of vi
ew shots 
typically show us what she sees. This also reads as though the music and lyrics are what’s important to the lead rather than looks which is generally what indie artists/groups represent.
The video is very vibrant and the use of bright colouring makes the video appear very well lit. This could be read into that t
his is a very uplifting song, which it is.
NarrativeThe video has a linear structure as it does have a storyline although at times it is not so clear and it does have a beginning, middle and end. The video links to the lyrics in the sense that it illustrates and brings the lyrics to life and gently amplifying them so they seem a bit more intense. The video is very fun and plays on being larger than life itself. The artist plays a big part in the narrative as she is a participant in the story and a narrates it as the story changes. There isn’t really a disruption or dilemma in the story as she just talks of how she is going to get there and she does.
Media LanguageEditing is used a lot in this video as in the beginning time is manipulated in the sense that time is passing fast as the world is going past fast and towards the middle it is of a more normal pace.
The edits are on time with the music. The editing makes the video very mythical and fantasy like. At the same time the video seems very primitive with all the animations . However, I do believe that the editing is conventional to this genre as it is playful and a bit random which quite a few pop bands try and get across such as The Hoosiers with their song "Goodbye Mr A".
This video is called "Suddenly I See" by KT Tunstall.
Genre The genre is pop and this is obvious from the setting, lighting and clothing.The setting as you can see from this still is a vibrant animated town in which she is travelling around in by th
e use of a new york taxi. As she is travelling the use of tracking allows us to view the town changing as speakers appear on every building replicating the idea that music makes the world go round. The point of vi
ew shots 
typically show us what she sees. This also reads as though the music and lyrics are what’s important to the lead rather than looks which is generally what indie artists/groups represent.The video is very vibrant and the use of bright colouring makes the video appear very well lit. This could be read into that t
his is a very uplifting song, which it is.The lead is shown wearing a black dress and boots with purple boots and a trench coat when she is larger “than life” in the video. The same outfit is used throughout in with the genre as clothing is clearly not what is important it is what the lyrics and music represent.
NarrativeThe video has a linear structure as it does have a storyline although at times it is not so clear and it does have a beginning, middle and end. The video links to the lyrics in the sense that it illustrates and brings the lyrics to life and gently amplifying them so they seem a bit more intense. The video is very fun and plays on being larger than life itself. The artist plays a big part in the narrative as she is a participant in the story and a narrates it as the story changes. There isn’t really a disruption or dilemma in the story as she just talks of how she is going to get there and she does.
Media LanguageEditing is used a lot in this video as in the beginning time is manipulated in the sense that time is passing fast as the world is going past fast and towards the middle it is of a more normal pace.
The edits are on time with the music. The editing makes the video very mythical and fantasy like. At the same time the video seems very primitive with all the animations . However, I do believe that the editing is conventional to this genre as it is playful and a bit random which quite a few pop bands try and get across such as The Hoosiers with their song "Goodbye Mr A".Representation
The representation
is not typical to how a girl is normally viewed in a video. The artist is not bikini clad and she is not being sexual. The artist is shown in a playful light. She is dressed in everyday clothing and carries a guitar and this 
is not what a woman is normally shown as. The only dismemberment is of her hand and that is not sexual and only goes on to show you her playing her guitar.
The representation
is not typical to how a girl is normally viewed in a video. The artist is not bikini clad and she is not being sexual. The artist is shown in a playful light. She is dressed in everyday clothing and carries a guitar and this 
is not what a woman is normally shown as. The only dismemberment is of her hand and that is not sexual and only goes on to show you her playing her guitar.
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