Friday 25 June 2010

Editing of Music Videos

Editing music videos has advanced alot since 1894 when the "illustrated song" first came onto the scene. This was a series of still images in a slideshow being viewed whilst a song was being played. Many people claim that this was the first music video. However a few years later the first video shot to a music track was made. "St Louis Blues" was the song, it was a song about a womans struggles and was an emotional song. Back in those days, a music video was shot in one take. There was no special effects, just props. Also the singer actually had to sing the song live. As time progressed, so did the methods of shooting the videos. Editing played a huge role in creating a storyline in many music videos. The pace of the editing added emotion into the songs. The quick cuts mean more of a story can be shown and it increases and decreases the tempo to fit the mood of the song.

Another method that was introduced was special effects. This started off with flashing lights but advanced to cinematic standard chromokeying. Special Effects were introduced to elaborate songs and make them seem sureal, this was a sign that music vidoes were advancing in the same way as films. Music Videos became a good starting point for film makers.

Friday 14 May 2010

Music Video textual analysis

Whilst planning my music video I analysed other music videos to see what the codes and conventions of each genre were.

The R&B genre usual have a very sexually oriented style of video. The genre is a standard throughout the genre and you won't find many videos without a woman dancing around half naked, whether it be the artist or just a dancer. This style of music video has recently been scrutinised in the press because it is now thought that it exposes children to sex, and alcohol use and portrays them to be something to asspire to. A recent example of this is Rude Boy by Rhianna. The lyrics for her song are;

"come on rude boy, boy, can you get it up?
come on rude boy, boy,  is it big enough,
take it, baby, take it take it,
love me hold me x2"

The implications are very obvious and for a young person to hear this and see their idol talking like this make them want to be the same. The video is Rhianna's way of making her own brand because people will copy her style of fashion so that they feel more like her.

Another genre of music video is the Indie genre. This has the most varied genre of music video, the majority of which bearing no relevance to the lyrics in the song. The Panic at the Disco song, Nine in the afternoon, is a typical Inide song, because it is full of bright, vibrant colours and has a collection of random objects e.g. a brass band. The  music video doesn't have a story line which allows them to be exprecionist. The video is very disjointed. The images portrayed don't necessarily go together but are put into the same scenario to give a sense or surealism.

The third genre I have looked at is the king of pop Michael Jackson. He created possibly the most famous music video ever with Thriller. The video goes on for almost 14 minutes and is almost like a film of it's own. This genre of music video matches the music and tells a story which used to be the same for most music videos until R&B and Indie music became big on the scene. Most pop videos had a story and that made some videos more famous than the songs. Some would argue that Thriller was one of these songs.

In conclusion a music video is more than what it appears. It is the portrayal of a way of life. People who listen to Indie often dress similarly to how people dress in Indie music videos because they want a part of that lifestyle. Similarly people who listen to R&B music dress similar to their role models in the music videos. A music video is also a way to create an artists own identity. However some music videos do tell stories and can be made into short films like Thriller. These music videos are made to be memorable so people will remember them for generations.

Monday 3 May 2010

Lecturer feedback - areas for improvement

INCOMPLETE
You have not provided evidence that you have done part 2 of Task One of your assignment brief. 15.1NYA You have fully explained the purposes of music videos with supporting arguments and using a good example expressing your ideas fluently and using subject terminology correctly 28.1D You have not provided evidence that you have analysed three music videos of different genres. 28.1 NYA
Please complete the missing work in order to receive a grade for these Units.

Tuesday 13 April 2010

28.1 1 Understand the purposes of music videos

You have fully explained the purposes of music videos with supporting arguments and using a good example expressing your ideas fluently and using subject terminology correctly D1

Wednesday 17 March 2010

1.my demographics

Age: 17
Gender: Male
Occupation: Student
Income: Not a penny
Marital status: Single
Education completed: GCSE Yes
Geographic location: Suburban
What sort of ads, images, messages do you think appeal to your demographic group? Football ads and also car adverts.

Tuesday 16 March 2010

Why do bands make music videos?

           Bands make music videos for many different purposes. Many bands do it to raise the their profile. When they release their music videos they are putting their faces and music out into the public eye. It gives a slight insight into the band and the storyline contained in their songs. The Arctic Monkeys have released some massive songs, such as When the Sun Goes Down and Flourescent Adoulescent. The music videos for these songs were very succsessful due to the stories they told. Therefore the video helped raise the profile of the song because people were talking about it. People can access the videos from many places at the moment. Due to the content of some of the songs, some of the videos cannot be played until after the watershed. However they can be found on the Arctic monkeys myspace page, on youtube, the arctic monkeys website and could possibly be seen when they appear on a talk show such as Jonathan Ross when they are entering.

          A music video could also be used to increase revenue. This may be part of the producer stratergy. The music video is another way to make money, whether they sell it as copies, or in the single CD. Creating a music video could raise funds for the record label, if it is a success.

          The artist themselves may also want to create a music video, if it has a personal song, some may want to self produce it like Boyzone did with their latest song Gave It All Away.

          Another purpose for bands to create a music video is synergy. If their song appears in a film, like Elton John in Lion King, they may include clips from the film in their music video. If the film is a success, like the Lion King was, it makes the band more inclined to add clips in because if people associate the film that they liked with his song then they are more likley to like it. Also some TV programmes make music videos that people wouldn't see as one. For example when a montage is shown in a programme such as Skins, this is almost like a music video in itself because it tells a story whilst using the song for effect.

          In conclusion there are many reasons why bands create music videos. They all seem to lead back to money, because the bigger profile they have, the more money they will rake in. This is the same with synergy and the Producer stratergy.