When creating a music video due to the need to maintain the attention of the audience watching it, and to do this there a multiple cuts and effects added. Also through completing this it can show to the audience the type of artist they are and the genre they are representing, because the editing of the music video will be parallel to the speed and intended feel of the song.
This all happens lots throughout the whole video and this means that it can easily be shown through a 30 second breakdown of a music video.
In order to help us complete our ideas for a music video it is important for us to complete a 30 second breakdown of a similar genre video. Through doing this it will help us to understand the speed at which everything happens and if any special effects occur that help to display across to the audience the genre. This would help to influence our final task ideas.
The music video I am completing a 30 second breakdown is Florence and the Machine's Rabbit Heart (Raise it Up):
0.00- 0.08 seconds- Extreme close up on lower section of face with lips. The rest of the face is concealed with a jewel covered vintage cloth.
0.08- 0.11 seconds- The camera zooms out slowly, to a close-mid shot, revealing the rest of the artist to the audience she is lip syching to the song.
0.11- 0.14 seconds- The zoom out continues to a mid shot and further reveals another two girls with her and touching her shoulders.
0.14- 0.20 seconds- The zoom stops at a a close-mid shot with Florence's face taking up most of the screen, showing she is the main artist. She spins and then begins to walk forward initiating a tracking shot to take place.
0.20- 0.22 seconds- There is a quick cut away to a mid-long shot of her throwing the cloth wrap she has on her, back off of her, causing her to be seen as more free, individual and different to others.
0.22- 0.25 seconds- It cuts back to a close up shot of the first shots, she looks side to side with the camera panning across to either side, following the direction of her head. This again reveals the other two women either side of her still touching her shoulders.
0.25- 0.27 seconds- There is another cut away, however this time to a mid shot which is spinning. This shows how she is suppose to look confused by everything that is going around her.
0.27- 0.28 seconds- It then cuts back to an extreme close up of the lower half of her face but she is looking away from from the lens, to the side, this is an extremely quick shot so isn't shown for long.
0.28- 0.30 seconds- After this it cuts away again to the long-mid shot where there is a spinning movement. Within this shot though she is dancing and turning herself, suggesting she is once again free and involved within the spinning shot. This starts to remove the confusion element of the previous cut away of this shot.
Throughout the video there is lots of movement e.g. spinning, tracking and panning, which keeps the audience entertained and interested as to what is going in and happening within it.
The whole video maintains high key lighting, making it come across summery and happy which contrasts to what is shown through the visuals of the music video. Also the video always has a vintage effect on top of the video, fitting with the old Victorian times theme which goes throughout the video. It also gives the video a dream like feel and further gives the video a more rustic and natural feel.
Today we were placed into our groups for the final task and in my group is: Angel, Georgia, Charlie and myself. Now that we are in our groups we have to start to look into which song we would like to use for the music video part of the promotional package. This would therefore help us decide upon a genre and then an overall image for the artist. However before looking at songs we found out that Charlie and Georgia did not want to perform meaning that the song we chose almost had to have female vocals, in order for us to be efficient in the future.
Whilst trying to choose a couple of songs to pitch to my group there were some rules we had to follow, these were: 1. It can not already have a music video 2. They original artist of the song can not be too well known 3. You should try to avoid songs where the artist has a really recognisable voice e.g. Ellie Goulding
Today in class we looked at this year's mark scheme for the first time. We began to look at the difference between each of the Levels and what we would expect to see from a music video of each of these standards. We particularly looked at what is expected from a Level 4 standard of work, which is a step up from last year, because the idea for this year is for it to be professional and be able to survive as sufficient advertisement for a song in the real music industry.
Along with this we also learnt that the marks are more split this time. This is because marks are also awarded for a website and a digi pack, alongside the music video production, which is due to the task being a promotional package task, rather than just a production task.
However, this lesson we only looked primarily at past student's music videos and looking at the mark scheme, mark them out of 40. This is what is required, from the mark scheme, in order to do well
The video that I have decided to mark is Insomnia:
I thought that the video started very strong with the drops of water falling from the tap because it involved thought beats and therefore created an intense and well thought about opening. However even though I did understand the narrative, therefore showing it was portrayed clearly, it became a bit boring after a while as it was all in extremely dull colour tones with a greyish feel throughout all the narrative clips. I think that the lip syncing was completed really well by the performer, but when it was on the performer there needed to be more variation of shot and more movement, especially as it was just him on a black background.Also it would have been even better if you could have been able to see more of his face, as the lighting was poor causing you to only see half his face.
Overall I think that the music video was proficient, and held much of the appropriate camerawork and visuals to be a music video, along with conscious editing. This meant that it showed signs of being a good video. However at times it felt a little bit more like a short film to me and the locations and long length of certain shots made it obvious that it was not a music video of professional standard.
With all this in mind I awarded this video a Level 3 and 23-25 marks.
As our final task is to create a promotional package for the music industry, it is important that we look at cross media branding as this plays a major role in completing a promotional package, because it can help you to create an artists image and overall specific look. This can therefore make the artist be seen as more realistic and as if they really are artists.
For this to occur, you have to look at the colours, font, costumes, lighting and setting. These are focused on in great detail because if these maintain consistent throughout the Album, Website and Single an artist's image can be portrayed and easily sold to the audience as a specific genre.
Examples of where Cross Media Branding has taken place include with Daft Punk, Ellie Goulding and Disclosure. They all have a continued theme throughout their recent albums and this helped to portray across the type of artists they are and the genre of music they produce.
After completing this research on Cross Media Branding, I have realised that the selling of the single and artist's Star Image can not purely be completed through a single music video. It has further enabled me to see that an equal amount of time needs to be taken in all parts of our final task including the website and Digi Pack, if the overall project is going to be successful, as it all adds together to create a theme for the artist and therefore easily show the genre to the consuming audience.
In order to make as best a music video as we can, it is important that we look in depth at previous videos. This is because then we are able to see what is possible and realistic for us to complete and also what mistakes we should try to avoid. It can also further help me to see a greater variety music video genres and therefore get a better feel into what a music video should look like.
The music video which I have decided to look into is 'No Sleep Tonight':
Over the last couple of weeks we had to put into practice what we have learnt about music video filming and editing. We filmed in groups where certain shots were required, these shots were:
Filming a person sitting down with the monitor window open
and with another camera film the monitor.
Depth of field task- This is how we had to do it:
Do a distance little and large shot so that
someone looks very small in the background and another very large.
Place an object like a cup or a ball down maybe
with grass background - place the camera level with the object quite far away
and then zoom into it so the object is sharp but the camera is blurred.
Place your artist in the background and add various cut out props to the foreground to float around the artist.
Reverse Shot- While the artist is singing get them to walk carefully backwards, but to add excitement to the shot add obstacles for jumping over and ball throwing so it can be reversed.
Wheelchair / Tripod – we are going to simulate tracking and
dolly shots. Camera on wheelchair film artist moving towards you singing to
camera one take 30 seconds.
Tripod shot – raise the front leg of the tripod so the
camera is pushed forward on the back legs.
Lego stop motion – 30 still shots of Lego action (one second
each)
Once we had achieved these shots we had to then individually go away and edit the footage we received, certain types of editing were recommended for us to try. These were the ones recommended:
Cloning Edits
Split Screen
Blurred Background
Make an object or person colour and the rest in black and white
Titles
Once we completed these we also try other effects of our own choice the ones which I completed were 'Distort', 'Ghosting' and 'Reverse'.
Here is my final edit of Banana Phone:
I thought that most of the editing which I completed was smooth and made the video to this song fun, fitting to the genre/ theme of silly of the song. My favourite parts of this video are the shots where ghosting takes place, with the banana in the foreground and also the stop motion shots at the beginning. However if I was going to do task again I would try to improve the cloning shots. This is because even though the cloning did work, with three different shots beginning in one, it was not as clean and professional as I would like it to be. Furthering on from this, it was not as professional as I would have liked because the lighting was different in each of the shots, so you could see where I had cut the artist out using the 'Six Point Matte'. To improve this for next time, I would be more aware of the lighting when shooting cloning shots and would avoid completing it on an inconsistent day for the weather.
When? do you have a daily music routine? Is some music more
suitable at a certain time of day than another?
I normally like to listen to music throughout a lot of the day, when I am allowed to. This has caused me to develop almost a routine as to when I listen to music and the type of music I listen to. More specifically in the mornings, when I wake up and get ready for school I like to have Capital Radio playing in the background, as it helps to make me feel more awake as they play charts music so it is normally upbeat. Then I also listen to music from my playlist whilst travelling to and from school on the school bus this is also fairly upbeat and quite mainstream too. However when I am at school I only really listen to music during my study and free periods, although this music is normally much slower and calmer so that it doesn't distract me from the work which I am trying to complete. Then in the evenings which is usually before I go to various sporting activities or training I listen to upbeat music again, so that I feel like I have more energy to go and use in the sport.
Where?
Most of the time I listen to music in my bedroom as a lot of the time I listen to music when I am getting ready. Also in my parents car they always have the radio on so I listen to a lot of music in the car too. However when I am home alone I will have the music playing wherever I am in the house, whether that be the kitchen or the living room.
Who with? do you share your music or is it an individual
experience?
I majority wise listen to music on my own because apart from at parties or gigs I am on my own when I listen to music or have headphones in, so it does make it a more individual experience.
How?
I listen to music in a great variety of ways because I listen to the radio and the playlist on my phone/ iPod, however a lot of the time I listen to music to create a background noise which can help me to concentrate better or to make what I am doing more enjoyable, e.g. waking up for school or cooking. This is because I do not like to be doing something in silence when on my own.
Why? What are the pleasures associated with music
consumption? What does it offer the audience and what needs does it gratify?
Listening to music for many people is a way of escapism and is able to take your mind off other things. Also listening to music can help you concentrate as it can be relaxing and soothing. However one pleasure that can be associated with listening to music is that it can get you excited and more alert, especially if the music is very upbeat or you really enjoy the listening to a particular artist.
Uses and Gratifications Theory:
Personal Identification -When I used to get angry with my
parents I used to blast songs that would express how I feel and that would make
me feel better
Information - When I was younger I used to watch Horrible Histories and one way they taught the information was through song. The one particular song that I still remember now is 'My Name is Charles II', because it was catchy and the video that went with it, at the time I found it quite funny.
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Entertainment - When I am at home, if I am bored or not doing anything, I enjoy to listen to upbeat chart music either from spotify or from Capital's internet radio, because it cheers me up and can help me to relax. This is because as they are mainstream songs I am able to hum, sing and enjoy myself.
Social Interaction - When I go on trips with my friends, normally to do with sports trips/ tours, over the time we are there we begin to associate a certain song that was played a lot, that we enjoyed with the trip and so when as a team we are all together we like to play hose songs, or all sing along and laugh about it when if it does come on.
Today we looked into a famous music director. I have looked into and learnt about Hannah Lux Davis. Directors play a huge role in creating music videos because they are the ones who can determine how the artist is portrayed across to the audience and how their music is represented through the artist and this can affect the artist's target audience. Also if the director does not portray the music well it can end up in the music video not being successful in the means of advertising the artist's single.
Hannah Lux Davis is very creative and successful in her creations. This has lead to her to specialize in a single genre, pop, and draw in similar artists to create a music video for each time.
Today in class after we learnt about representations of artists, we had to look into an artist that has been around a while, such as Beyonce, and how as time has gone on their Star Image developed and changed. This includes not only through their music but through their images too.
The person who I am doing my Star Profile on in Justin Timberlake:
Today in class we looked into what makes a music video and how they can be different to each other dependent upon what direction they decide to focus their video in e.g. narrative or performance.
This spider diagram shows the main key features that are focused on when looking at and completed when making music videos:
In class today we looked into how music videos over time have created representations and caused stereotypes of certain artists to be formed. This representation of artists can be developed through their Star Image and can change over time depending on how they are advertised to the audience through he media and their videos. Also we found out that a majority of these representations only really take places on female artists over male artists. This is because many of the representations that are created are shown in quite a sexual manner and with much of the media, including music videos, being run by men, the audience are said to prefer to see women in this way and less so for men.
We also learnt that the way someone is represented can be effected by the genre of music they perform, the audiences and institution. Along with this ideology can effect it too because all the different media concepts (e.g. Mise en scene, Lighting etc.) can enforce the representation which is shown. This causes representations to become exaggerated and within music videos, as they are only short and you don't have time to work out what the character/ representation the artist is going for, stereotypes of social groups and people are used to quickly make it clear to the audience watching.
The Burlesque Representation:
The stereotypical representation of a burlesque girl in music videos involves:
- Corsets - Feather Boas
- Fishnet Stockings
- Show Hats
Even though the outfits they wear are fairly revealing or sexual normally in videos involving this image the artist isn't shown as vulnerable or objectified by men. This is because in these videos the shots of the artists a majority of the time are low angle looking up at the women, giving her power, and the close ups that are featured are of their faces and if their body is shown their faces are normally still in the shot too. This stops the objectifying and makes the women still hold power in the video. An example of this representation is in the music video 'Moulin Rouge' shown below:
The Stripper Representation:
The stereotypical representation of the Stripper image in music videos involves:
- Very limited clothing, e.g. bras etc.
- Use of poles an walls
- Glitter on clothing
- 'Open' crouch
In these videos the outfits which the women wear are deliberately revealing and limited as they are advertising the artist's image in a sexual manner. However unlike with the Burlesque representation, this representation is more demeaning towards the woman and objectifies them hugely. This s because many of the close up shots are only on body parts, such as the 'bum shot' without their faces. This sexualisation is continued with the provocative positions that the artists shot in. This representation is manly completed to appeal to the male audience as part of the 'Male Gaze' through voyeurism. An example of this representation is in the music video 'Pour It Up' shown below:
The Gangsta Hoe Representation:
The stereotypical 'Gangsta Hoe' representation in music videos involves:
- Afro American men and women
- Bikini tops and torn shorts (95% Skin)
- Bling
In these music videos if it is not themed otherwise the women are usually dressed like this and shown in a way of being owned by the dominant male in the video and therefore objectified in shots too. This sexual view on women is normally worse in male rapper/ R&B videos as the women are shown to have now power in the video at all. This furthers the idea of the male gaze. An example of this representation is in the music video 'Anaconda' shown below:
These are the main 3 representations you find in terms of women for music videos. However there are other smaller representations that you can find, for example a Pop Princess. These types of artists are usually younger because it wouldn't appeal to their audience if they were shown in a sexual way, particularly as it would be inappropriate and wrong for this to occur. Lots of children TV stars start of as Pop Princesses and as they get older, with their audience, they normally develop and start conforming to one other representations so that they can avoid their children's TV days. An example of someone who developed from holding a Pop Princess image to a Stripper image is Miley Cyrus.
Left: 2008
Right: 2015
Even tough in a majority of videos it is the woman that is objectified and shown in a sexual way through the male gaze, where times are changing and women get a greater equality there are also a few times now where within the video you find the female gaze So rather than the women being dressed in near to nothing and the close up shots being on their body parts the role is reversed. This has happened in music videos such as Ex's and Oh's where Elle King is in formal clothes and the men are wearing limited clothing and shown mud wrestling. It is also shown in Mysterious Girl where there is a female gaze on Peter Andre where it pans up his body when in the shower and coming out of the ocean and the women in the video are wearing normal clothes when he always has his chest out. So this shows ho their audience is only women and not men because even though women are used to seeing the male gaze and voyeurism take place in music videos, men not so much so won't like or watch the video as much. Here is the example 'Ex's and Oh's':
This video also shows how women can be represented as strong and dominant in music videos too, because the whole way through Elle King is shown as more important throughout and is often seen ordering the men around and is shown higher up than the men. This is especially displayed by the low angle shots being on her and the high angle shots being on the men. This portrays inequality in power in favor of women and this is played on throughout the music video as for once the woman is the one surrounded by multiple men rather than the other way around, this is unusual to find in a music video, as it shows she is more dominant individually and doesn't need to be in a group of women around men in order to be shown as strong.
Key Terminology: Voyeurism- Erotic pleasure can be gained by
looking at a sexual object (preferably when the object is unaware that they are
being watch).
Male Gaze (Laura Mulvey 1975) -
She proposed that because filmmakers are predominately male, the presence of
women is often for the purposes of display (rather than narrative). This is to facilitate
a voyeuristic response in spectators, which presumes a male gaze (regardless of
the gender of the spectator) one that is or may feel like a powerful
controlling gaze at the female on display who is effectively objectified and
passive. In male performance videos the voyeuristic treatment of the female
body is often apparent, with the use of dancers as adornments to the male star
ego.
Exhibitionism- Female performers being at once sexually provocative
and apparently in control of and inviting a sexualised gaze in what could be
termed as the opposite of voyeurism.
Raunch Culture (Andrea Levy) – In her book ‘Female
Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture’ Levy attacks the
increasingly sexualised culture that objectifies women. She argues that women
are encouraged to see themselves as objects and to sex as their only source of
power.
An example of this is in the music video for ‘Blurred
Lines’ where around Robin Thick there are multiple female dancers with, in the
original video, no clothes on for no apparent reason as it did not add to the narrative
of the video and they just seemed to be there like that or the sake of it. Along
with this the idea of a male gaze was furthered as many of the shots were o
them and their body whilst “dancing” creating the unaware voyeurism appeal. However as they were hired to do this in the music video and they are supposedly optionally dancing as such, many people also see this video as showing exhibitionism rather than voyeurism. This would fit with the ideas of Levy it would suggest that they only completing those types of dance moves whilst wearing nothing and "tempting" the male artists in he video as a way of showing some power.
Today in class we looked into how the way song is sung can be effected by the lyrics and particularly into how this can then effect the visuals used within the music video. The task we completed in class used the song 'Dry The River' and we had to unravel what we thought the visuals would be bit by bit. We completed this by first only hearing he song, then only seeing the lyrics and then seeing it all together with the music video so we were able to compare it to what we thought we would see and how we rated the video.
When only hearing the song his was what we individually thought we would see in the video:
Charlie Weeks- It will be set on a farm in a barn, on a very dull or miserable day. The video will start only on the lead singer and then will go with the singer into the barn where the rest of the band will be introduced and it will be predominately performance based.
Matt Rabbitt- He thought it would be set in a city with a continuous tracking shot of them walking down the street and as the video goes on more and more people join the shot as the song builds up to its climax.
Connor Harper- He decided that the video should be based around a narrative of a concert with the lead singer himself being involved within it and he meets a woman at the concert and the fall in love.
Jack Bezant-It will set on the top of a hill where all the seasons will pass in a time lapse with changing weather and then when the climax occurs the weather will be stormy. Along with this there would be cross cutting to a narrative where a man gets stood up and how he reacts to this.
Angel Duncil- She said it would be shot in lots of different locations, where in the shot you see happy people, but the main character, who is the lead singer is sad. This means he is surrounded by these happy people wanting to be like them. The mood is dark and miserable as it is about how the singer just broke up with his girlfriend.
Georgia Alliston- The video would be performance based with the band performing in a small venue and this will go along with a montage of clips which features loved ones leaving each other. E.g. breaking up, at the airport, not just couples. This was to create the theme of goodbye in the video.
My opinion in what would be in the video was:
I thought that this video should be split between narrative and performance through cross cutting. The performance based element would be set in a small basement venue, surrounded by fans with lip- syncing and playing of the instruments. This is to further the idea of a concert occurring with many of the close up shots actually being on the instruments rather than he band members themselves. The narrative which goes along side the performance is about a couple and at the beginning of the music they start of happy with the slower section of the song. However once it reaches the climax of the song that is when they break up and have a big argument. The main male character in the narrative is actually the lead singer in the band and whilst the narrative is in the past those sections of the music video will be in black and white to show the past element of it. Then after the argument when the lead singer is alone and sad i is in colour to show it is now present day. Although at the end of the song he realises he needs to move on and be happy again and that is where the narrative finishes.
The next task we had to complete involved looking at the lyrics. We had to look at them in depth and from them try to think about another way the music video could be shown. We thinking about it this time we had to try and think about a less stereotypical music video about love and think more outside of the box. This was easier to do with just the lyrics compared to before because you were able to see exactly what they were saying and therefore have more time to think about, analyse and understand what they were intending through what they were saying. Here is what as a group we analysed and came up with from the lyrics:
After this we had to complete our final task which was seeing the real music video. After we watched the real music video we had to give our own feedback and thoughts as to what we thought of the music video. Below is the real video:
I thought that the music video was quite interesting and alternative, but it was a bit stranger than I initially thought. This is because I found it was a quite intense and deep with all of the band members laying on the floor and very few of the shots being on something other than themselves and a dead crow. Even though I didn't personally enjoy the music video I think that it displayed the song's genre well as Indie , therefor advertising the song successfully to people who enjoy hat genre of music. I also thought that the use of the elements was clever as it displayed the idea that they loved the person through everything in the world. Another element of the video which I thought was good was the fact that the visuals became greater and greater as the song went on. This because the build up in the intensity of the visuals fit with where the climax occurred within the song. Considering how simple the idea for the video was I thought it was very effective.
Reflection:
I have realised that from completing this task that it is very important that the audience is able to make at a small link between the lyrics and the visuals. This is because without this it could result in the audience becoming bored of the song very quickly, and therefore not sell the song, which is the main purpose for a music video. So in conclusion, I found that without the visuals and lyrics having a link there is very limited chance of the song selling well making it a vital process to look at when the final task comes around.
In order for us to be able to create a realistic and appropriate music video for our coursework, it is vital that we understand the origins of music videos and how they have developed to what they are now. This includes how different types of videos have developed from performance based to narrative based, and how the development of technology has effected this.
Here is the presentation which I have completed on the timeline of music videos:
Today in class we had to choose a music video and using the theories and knowledge that we have learnt on and about music videos, we had to analysis it, including information on the camerawork, editing and any iconography that might have been used.
The music video that I chose to complete the textual analysis on was the video which went with the song Charlie Brown by Coldplay:
Today we looked at our second theorist about music videos called Carol Vernallis. She looked into the concepts that go into producing a music video. She found four concepts. They were: Narrative, editing, camera movement/framing and diagesis.
The 4 Concepts:
Narrative- The video is a visual response to the song and can create a narrative by reflecting on the lyrics in the song. She also found that the narratives however can be incomplete, broken up and finish with unanswered questions that don't have to be answered.
Editing- It can break or disrupt the conventions of continuity editing. The editing can be visible and not hidden, so is allowed to be more obvious and more distinctive. (Links with Thought Beats)
Camerawork- She found establishing shots are one of the key features in a music video to set the scene and aid the audience in deciphering the genre of the artist and their music. Close up and medium shots are also important to establish the artist and the camera can move with the lyrics and to maintain interest from the audience restrict the amount of still shots that are completed and shown. An example where this happens is in the music video in Royal by Lorde.
One of the many close up shots that occur in Royal
The establishing shot at the start of Royal
Diagsis- This is the world of the music video (the setting) that is created. This can be revealed quite slowly and can be further shown to the audience through the repetition of frames.
As the main difference and point that stands out in this theory is in the editing, it is important to notice what a huge role editing plays in music videos. This is because editing in a music videos is normally very quick and prominent. An example of this is in the music video of Treat you Better by Shawn Mendes:
In total this had around 146 cuts within the 3.06 minutes long song. This video especially displays how quick cuts are in videos, especially when they performance mixed with narrative videos. This is because otherwise you are unable to sell the song and the artist as well as make the narrative understandable to the audience.
Today in class we started to look at the theorist that related to the producing of music videos. The first theorist that we looked at in detail was Andrew Goodwin.
He said that there are 6 key conventions that can be applied when looking at music videos. He also said there were these conventions because music video's primary purpose is to advertise the song rather than tell a story, which would suggest why the narrative of the music does not necessarily have to be complete or make sense. This however enables the audience and consumers to make up their own meanings in their mins as to what the video means. The 6 Key Conventions were:
Amy Winehouse and her iconic look
Narrative and Performance with Iconography- He believe that you should avoid common narrative as their role is to advertise rather than tell a story. The base of the video can be influenced by the genre so a rock band artist is more likely to be performance based and portray across the idea of a concert/ gig. Also in order to make the performance in the video show verisimilitude and convince the audience, lip-syncing along with other actions should be completed. However some artists create a trademark action which makes their videos and music recognizable due to the reoccurring nature of it. This creates a marketing strategy which will be remembered for years to come. For example in Amy Winehouse had a trademark action through the iconography of her look with the big beehive hair and thick, winged eyeliner that she is still remembered for even after her death. This look is shown throughout nearly all of her music videos, but is particularly prominent in 'Back to Black':
Thought Beats- This is the idea that you see sound. An example of this is seeing an artist with a really unique voice singing, e.g. Ellie Goulding or the cuts which take place in the video fit with the beat of the song. The visual thought beats are often repeated with the chorus to emphasise the lyrics and beat. One particular Ellie Goulding video where this is shown is in 'Starry Eyed', not only because her voice so iconic, but because the editing especially in the chorus matches the the climax beat drops with the lyric 'oh':
Rihanna is often sexualised in her videos
The Star Image- This very important in music videos because by creating star image it can increase the audience's awareness of the artist and can therefore show a development of the artist over time. This is completed through lots of close up shots of the artist or main vocalist, this occurs quite often in pop videos, particularly in female pop artist videos as it sexualizes them to create the male gaze. A music video that shows this well is Beyonce's video 'Hold Up' which went with 'Lemonade'. This is because nearly all of the shot are of her or a close up of her and her actions. Also they have her in a bright yellow outfit therefore making her stand out, making her the star:
Voyeurism- These use of close up shots, particularly in female videos, links to this convention. This is because Goodwin found that many female videos use voyeuristic angles to entice the male audience, therefore sexualizing the artist and this influences their (star) image that is remembered. Artists that create this sexual view of themselves within their star image include Rihanna, Brittany Spears and now Miley Cyrus. As mentioned before this is incorperated a lot into Miley Cyrus' videos and especially became known for this after 'We Can't Stop' with her infamous twerking:
Relation of Visuals to the Song- There are three ways a video can promote a song:
Illustrate- This is where the image on the screen shows what the lyrics say.
Amplify- This where you manipulate or put emphasis the images in the video showing the lyrics, this helps the audience gain their own meaning.
A shot from The Writing's on the Wall in the same setting as a scene from Spectre
Disjuncture/ Contradict- Where the feel of the song and the lyrics contrast with what is being shown in the visuals.
Inter-textual References- It is not unusual to recognise the visuals or lyrics from other types of media text. This could either be for humour or media convergence and synergy. An example of this is with The Writing's on the Wall and Spectre so parts of the film are included in the music video. with some of the shots being in the same setting as the film. They use the most iconic settings in the film for the music video to make sure that the audience definitely makes the connection between the two. This is 'The Writing's on the Wall' music video to show this:
Today in class we looked at different musical artists and how different people enjoy listening to different music and this can depend on the life they have, as well as the influences around them, e.g. Parents, siblings. Although with people's taste in music evolving the artists themselves also evolve their music to either fit with the taste of audiences at the time or due to the image they now want to portray. This has occurred with Coldplay who at first were a much more independent band with a slightly darker feel but now are displayed as a much more mainstream band, through the use of bright colours and more upbeat songs.
Coldplay's image 2002 vs 2016
This shows how it has evolved
After learning about this we then had to complete a task showing a total of three songs that have meaning to or influenced us in our life. One from when we were little, one from a few years ago and one from now. Along with the showing of these songs we had to state why we like these songs and how they made us feel when we listen to them.
