I've had a few ideas to do for my music video, and a lot of these ideas have simply came about by just watching other artists or groups music videos. One music which has given me great inspiration is british band 'Coldplay' for their song 'Midnight', which is part of their newest album ghost stories. The music video was released on 25th of February, originally as a teaser to promote their next un-announced sixth studio album.
The music video itself for the song 'midnight' was directed by Mary Wigmore, and premiered on Vevo on february 25th. The music video lasts for about 5 minutes, set mainly in a forest overlooking a city. Throughout the whole music video it is mainly shown in thermal infrared, where we often see the group themselves, nature such as trees, animals, and the city it self. The video has over 1 million views in less than 24 hours of release. Here is the video.
So why do I like this video? I like it due to two main reasons. The first being due to its originality, this is because most music videos we see today are similar, however this video is different and uses great special effects to make it unique as we don't often see a music video completely in another perspective. The second reason I like it is due to the fact that it offers a viewing from another perspective, allowing us to view something differently due to the effects used. Basically saying that if the music video was shot normally it would appeal and come across completely differently, not letting us pick up the same messages, therefore showing how we all have different perception.
In this post I will look at few examples of how artists, and perhaps some or their songs or adverts have been advertised, via print media.
1) Sterophonics - Here is the advert for the groups new album 'keep calm and carry on'.
The image used on the advert for the album, is actually the same one used for the album cover, therefore creating a link between the two, and people will recognise the CD. I will now look in details at certain aspects of the advert. The first being the actual image used, which is the group at a table, in the sea, possibly relating to the albums name of being able to keep calm, even though they are in the sea and eat. The colour is mainly grey, which could symbolise grief or sadness, which is a common theme/emotion used by groups. On the advert they give no other information of the tracks on the album. However other information which is give includes; the date that the album is released, so then people have an indication of when they can buy it, the ways you can listen to the song so people know where or how to get it, and the bands website.
2) Jessie J - Here is an advert for her debut album 'who are we'
Like the first advert a print media advert is used, which uses the same image of Jessie J on the album cover, so therefore creates a link between the advert and CD soon to come. The image shows Jessie J, looking rather dark yet good, therefore relating to Goodwin's theory again of trying to put the artist in a good light, as well as selling music through sex appeal. The other information includes the website of the artist, so an indicator of where to buy the song, and unlike the last advert, it also includes other known artists, so is therefore trying to promote the album by linking other who are more well known and popular. However the advert does not say when the album is out.
There are many different ways in which you could advertise an album. However the type of adverts which I will look at is mainly print media, which could often include:
magazines
posters
newspapers
bilboards
Print media was the first type of advertising which was introduced, and the first advert came in the 19th century when music was advertised in short broadsheets which before the intro of adverts which had one income from subscriptions to the paper.(would often be small ads). The print media further developed in 1870s, when the introduction of the 'printing industry' perfected colour and made mass production possible.
Artists will often put advertisements in music related magazines, as those who read it and see it are more likely to check the album out, perhaps buying it if they like it.
The music video that a band or singer uses is very important for image that is given out to viewers. This is often why artists or group put a lot of time and effort into creating good music videos which can give off a good vibe as well as viewing to the audience. I will look at a few different groups or artists and explore how their music videos have shaped their image to the public.
1) Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga has a rather unique image. In her videos and often in live performances, she always appears to have a rather unique or wacky costume. She has kept this image consistent and has been seen as a role model for many due to her uniqueness, inspiring others in many ways. Yet, then again although she is unique some people may relate this with her history of drug use, which again relates to how everything can effect the singer image. (In addition in most of her music video she will be seen dancing, which falls into the characteristic of a pop video).
An example is her song 'Bad romance'.
1) Pop - Pop music and digipacks often display the artist on the front cover in a good light, often looking good. Therefore they seem to be appealing to the consumers. In addition it often refers back to Andrew Goodwin's of the use of sex appeal to sell the music. An example is Rihanna's album cover for LOUD.
2) Rock - Often rock digipacks may show off the band themselves, as well as the use of dark colours/shades, or perhaps objects which refer to a certain theme, such as rose to resemble romance. (sometimes random stuff which is like concept theory) Therefore unlike pop digipacks their aim is not to show off the artist or use physical appearance to sell the music. An example is ACDC.
3) Rap - Often rap digipacks will show the rapper themselves, sometimes posing, sometimes tey will try to look intimidating, and often they are topless to show off their physique. In addition many times the album covers will show and object, such as money, or perhaps a weapon. Good examples include 50 Cent and Eminem.
4) R&B - R&B digipacks are often seen as very gentle and slick. They're often related to themes within the music genre such as emotions within. A lot of these emotions are often love. An example is R Kelly's album 'Love letter'.
5) EDM- Electric dance music digipacks are often quite stylish and simple, often because there's often not actually to much to resemble the music with images. Therefore some often include large words, object, or scenery. An example is Calvin Harris ablum '18 months'.
In the picture you can see Britney Spears' digipack for he album 'female fatale'. I have chosen to look at this digipack because Britney Spears was considered to be one of the most popular stars around around the time when digipacks where most popular. I will look to identify and analyse some key aspects. One of these is the pictures used, and in this case it is mainly of Britney herself, posing looking 'sexy' which can link back to one of Andrew Goodwin's theories, that we can try to sell music through sex appeal, as well as often showing the women body. Moreover on the back of the digipack there is a list of tracks on the album and their number; useful information for the consumer as they could see the songs while identifying which number they are as they use their CD players. However apart from those aspects their is no other information or writing offered on this specific digiack, showing that is it in fact very basic, perhaps as it was one the earlier ones.
2) Radio head
Here is the special digipack for Radio heads album 'In rainbows'. I have chosen to look at this digipack as its rather unique compared to a vast majority which just has the singer or group themselves of the front. I will also look to identify and analyse key aspects of this digipack just like I did in the previous one. There are no real images shown on the digipack, however on the front cover there is colourful writing on the front. This is unlike the previous cover which shows the artist as they try to show the individual in a good light, whereas the group decided to choose this cover with a range of colour as it reflects the rainbow. Other information included in the digipack are the tracks on the CD.
A digipack is a type of CD packaging often made from a certain heavy paper like material such as cardboard. These digipacks can often fold open, having three parts to it, often packing which opens to both the left and right, with the CD being held in the middle part. This useful product was originally created by Meadwestvaco, who named it digi-pak, however the product became very popular, so soon it was being used by many other manufacturers.
Digipacks have both pros and cons, some of the pros include:
They look nice and will appeal to consumers, therefore are useful for marketing, as well as promotion.
They crack less compared to jewel cases.
They are seen to be environmentally friendly compared to similar products such as jewel cases as the digipack can be made from recyclable product.
Some of the cons include:
When the teeth of the tray in the digipack does break, the CD can fall out of the bottom as theres nothing to hold it.
The trays in the digipacks break often. Therefore offering little protection
In this post I will look at certain artists and identify their specific or unique styles. Their style is what helps to separate themselves to the rest of other artists.
1) Lady Gaga
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, also known as Lady Gaga, is an american singer and song writer. In Gaga's early days she went to a university in New York, however dropped out to pursue her career in music, where she was noticed by fellow artist Akon who helped her sign a deal with music labels. Her debut album 'The Fame' was released in 2008, and became a hit with songs such as 'poker face' and 'Just dance'.
However Gaga is also very well know due to her unique, yet diverse contributions to the music industry through her fashion, music videos, and live performances. Lady Gaga is renowned for her strange and unusual fashion, which is in fact very smart, as its help to raise her reputation, attracting many fans. For example she decided to dress as a boy when she was a presented at MTV VMAs.
Gaga's music videos are often described as short films. Its also believed that Lady Gaga's music videos centralise around the themes of sex, violence, and power. Therefore her music videos often centralise around the type of 'concept' based music video, as they evolve around one of these ideas. She also try to inspire her audience such as for women to stand up for themselves, and for women to not feel alone. A good example is her video Judas, which shows the idea of power. (video doesn't relate to lyrics - concept)
Live performances is another key aspect for Lady Gaga. She is very well known for putting on a good performance, due to her high energy, entertaining dancing, and as she is a character her self, therefore putting on a good spectacle.
From research on the internet, I believe that the following are the top rated music videos around the world:
5) Bjork - All is full of of love
The song was released as a dance single in the late 1998s. The music video was directed by Chris Cunningham. The video has received global acclaim from critics and has won multiples awards. The video was listed amongst the best videos of all time by many, and MTV placed it at top in their 100 best videos ever.
The video depicts a robot, lying on a table being assembled, and soon passionately kissing another robot. This was a breakthrough music video at its time, due to the new technology and great graphic.
4) Soundgarden - Black hole sun
This song is regarded to be this american band most popular song, after being released in the 90s, topping the charts. The music video was directed by Howard Greenhalgh. The video was released June 1994, and after being on MTV for weeks, a new version was released with greater visual effects. Soon the new video was a hit MTV and got a reward for best Rock video in 1994.
3) A-ha - Take on me
The song is by the norwegian synth-pop band A-ha. The song was recorded in 1984 and took three releases to chart in the UK, peaking at number two in the charts in November 1985, however it reached number one in the US. The music video was directed by Steven Barron. The video features the band in a pencil sketch animation method called rotoscoping. The video itself won six awards and was nominated for two others at the 1986 MTV video music awards. The music videos theme is a romantic fantasy narrative. (Awards one include: best new artist video, best concept video, most experimental video, best direction, best special effects and viewer choice).
2) Johnny Cash - Hurt
In 2002 Johnny covered the song for his new album, in which the original song writer Reznor was flattered. The music video for Johnny Cash's version was directed by Mark Romanek. The video has been ranked the best of all time by NME, and placed very highly by many others. There is a lot of sadness resulting around the video itself, as it depicts Johnny in his early years, and later years, therefore showing him in a state of decay, resembling his great past but cruel reality, as he was ill. Within a year of release of the video, both Johnny and his wife passed away.
1) Michael Jackson - Thriller
Michael Jacksons thriller is a 13 minute music video, released in December 1983. It was directed by John Landis. The song was MTVs first world premiere video, and is voted to be the most influential music video of all time. In addition it gained a Guinness world record in 2006 for being the most successful music video, after selling 9 million copies. It was also the first ever music video to be put onto the National Film Registry. Other awards the music video and song has one include MTV; viewers choice, best choreography, best overall performance in video, 100 greatest videos.
In this post I will look at some of my personal favourite music videos, and why. Although I have many that I like, I will look at a few, and try to get different types of music videos. However some of my personal favourite types are you usually performance due to the energy as well as narrative due to the story involved.
1) Chase and Status (Plan B) - End Credits (Narrative)
This song was released in 2009, and featured in the film Harry Brown. The music videos itself was directed by Kim Gehrig, who used a lot of the featured footage from the film Harry Brown. The genre for the videos song is drum and bass, and belongs to the label RAM and Vertigo.
The reason I like this certain video is due to how we see the man's story just before he passes away. The man in the moment is lying on concrete floor, looking up to the sky as if he's going to go up to heaven, meanwhile we see flash backs in his life, and on numerous occasions he is there, as if watching him self, regretting what he has done. Overall I like how it shows the story of a young man who has probably made the wrong life choices, regretting it, and although he regrets it, it is too late and we see at the end as if he's floating to heaven when in reality he is not.
2) Calvin Harris ft Ellie Goulding - I need your love. (narrative)
The song was released on April 12th 2013. The music video was directed by Emil Nava, which shows Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding on a trip to Miami. However although it does show Calvin and Ellie during their time in Miami, the video cuts between other individuals picking up the camera and filming their time. The song and video received favourable reviews, reaching number four on the UK singles chart. The music video itself was nominated for best collaboration and best song of the summer at the 2013 MTV music video awards.
I like this video particularly because of the use of the point of view shot, and how it is first person which allows us to put ourself in someone else's shoes and have a look into their life. How the camera is passed between individuals is also very smart, plus keeping the viewers interested.
3) Muse - Our time is running out
The song was released as the lead single from their album on 8th September 2003 in the UK. It was the bands first top 10 hit in the UK. The music video was directed by John Hillcoat, who used the technique of intertextuality as the video is partially based on Dr. Strangelove or: How I learned to stop worrying and love bomb.
The music video is largely performance based, one of the main reason I like it. We can see the band in the centre, performing in front of military officials, who are moving along with the beat, all in one performance.
Here I will be looking at some of the most popular music video directors.
Paul Hunter - Paul Hunter is a successful music video director, after creating music videos for a numerous number of popular singles, as well as many more. Paul has one the MTV award of best video of the year and best video from a film, in 2000, for his video for the song "lady marmalade'. Paul has worked with many popular artists include the likes of, Eminem, Michael Jackson, Snoop dog, Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, Notorious B.I.G, and many more. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Hunter_%28director%29
Michel Gondry - Michel is born on the May 8th 1963. He is notably known for being a french film director, screen writer, producer, music video director, and has picked up an academy award. Michels career of a film maker actually started as he began to create music videos for a rock group Oui Oui. Soon Gondry found himself producing videos for a range of artists, and on more than once occasion for the likes of Radiohead, Daft Punk, and The white strips, further on in his career. Gondry along with fellow directors Spike Jonze and David Fincher, is a representative of the influx of music video directors into feature film. He made his film debut was in 2001 with Human Nature. Michel style of video often relies on videography and camera tricks which play with frames of reference. Some notable music videos Gondry has done include the songs:
Heard em say - Kanye West
Knives out - Radiohead
Everlong - FooFighters
Around the world - Daft Punk
David Fincher - David was born August 28th 1962, and is an american film director, film producer, and music video director. He was recently nominated for the academy award for best director for the films, 'The curious case of Benjamin button', and 'Social Network'. In Davids early career he was employed at Korty films, but soon moved to Industrial light and magic in 1983, where he notably worked on the 1984 'Indiana Jones and Temple of Doom'. However in 1984 Finchers career kicked off when he left Industrial light and magic to direct an american cancer society advert which highly raised his reputation. Although David is a very successful music video director he has also been involved in a number of popular films such as, se7en, Alien 3, and The girl with the dragon tattoo. As a music film director Fincher has won two Grammy awards for best music video for the videos 'Love is Strong' by The rolling Stones in 1995, and 'Suit and Tie' by Justin Timberlake ft Jay Z in 2013. More over he has won three MTV video music awards for best direction. Some notable music videos Fincher has directed include:
Suit and Tie- Justin Timberlake and Jay Z
Who is it? - Michael Jackson
Bad girl - Madonna
Love is strong - Rolling Stones
Chris Cunningham - He is a british video artist and director, born in 1970. Chris initially directed music videos for music genres such as electronica and ambient music, as well directing some short films. In 2000s Chris began doing music production work. In chris' music videos career he won multiple awards for the video to Bjork's, 'All is love', which includes an MTV award for breakthrough video, as well as a grammy nomination for best short form video, and was the first to ever music video to win a gold pencil at D&AD awards. Some notable music video Chris has done include:
There has been a great relationship between music videos and films, and is a good example of 'cross media convergence' This is when two types of media come together to work as one. This is useful as it raises the reputation for both the film and the song. A good example is Adeles song Skyfall
Other similarities in both music videos and films, also include mise-en-scene in their videos, as well as intertextuality, therefore referring to another media. A good example of a music video with intertextuality is Pharrell Williams - Happy, as it shows a minion in it, as well as Lady Gaga's paparazzi, as it shows newspapers whilst referring to other forms of media.
Rap songs are usually explicit, due to foul language. Most rap videos often share very similar characteristics. This can be due to the camera work as often in rap videos a low angle shot is used to make the artist appear bigger and more dominant. Moreover we often see the same things in rap songs, due to the shared themes. This often includes money, cars, strong physiques, and attractive women. Most rap videos usually use the narrative and performance based type of video.
2) Rock
Rock songs are rather different to rap music videos, due to the change in themes and conventions. Therefore you're less likely to see a rock band driving around in fancy cars, or working out in their music videos. However a lot of rock do share similar characteristics in their videos. The lighting is often more dark, and more of a range of camera work is used, such as fish eye. Some of the same themes used in rock videos often include, romance, girls, and anger. (These are more feelings, etc rather than materialism). Due to the high amount of energy in rock, man of the music videos will display the band performing. (performance based). Muse - hysteria is a good example.
3) Pop music
Pop songs are often songs with energy to it, try to appeal to the general audience. The music often relates to existing trends rather than those progressing or of the past. There is a huge variety for pop music videos themes, however often dancing is encouraged, therefore a dance routine may be present in the music video. For example Katy Perry's, dark horse.
4) Electric dance music
Over the past few years EDM has became increasingly popular and is often played at the likes of clubs and festivals. However due to the music not really involving a singer it is very hard to build a music video around the song, due to there being no narrative (or little) as well as there being no resemblance between visuals or music. Therefore the characteristics in these music videos are restricted. Often the music videos involve individuals dancing, or something completely irrelevant (concept based/amplification). An example is Martin Garrix, animals.
Narrative - This is usually a video focusing on a story line which would relate to the lyrics of the song, trying to engage viewers to keep them interested. An example of a narrative music video is, Katy Perry's 'last friday night'.
Performance based - This type of music video is when the group or artist are seen performing in from of a camera or audience. These type of videos to rock or EDM performers due to the energetic audience. A good example is Netsky 'come alive'
Concept based - These music videos are often unusual and often based upon a single idea focusing one editing technique. However usually a music video will not only focus on one concept. This video is a good example.
Amplification - This is when a director interprets a music video in their own way using their own creative ideas. These will still have a direct link to the music.
Intertextual -Intertextuality is the process of creating links to another kind of media text via another media text, giving it respect.
There is a range of generic conventions used within a music videos this includes; camera shots, camera movement, mise-en-scene, editing, lighting, sound, and props.
Camera Shots - Music videos usually use a range of camera shots, such as close ups, mid shots, and long shots, which are used most of the time. Long shots are useful in music videos to establish the setting, so the viewer can get a feel of the videos atmosphere. Extreme close ups are useful to help show the artists facial expression so we can see their emotions whilst lip syncing.
Camera movement - This is how the camera is used to follow and show the individuals in the music video, and can help to get a different angle and perspective. Camera movement often includes, tilts, pans, tracking, and crane shots.
Editing - This is also key in music videos as good editing allows the scene to change swiftly, whereas if it is done badly the video will break up and not allow viewers to follow carefully. In music videos jump cuts is the most popular editing technique as it allows a sudden change from one scene to another. Other effects such as fade and dissolve are commonly used.
Mise-en-scene- This is basically everything you can see in the music video. Mise en scene puts the importance of the representation of something, therefore highlighting key areas of the video which refers to the song.
Lighting - The lighting is used in music videos to help emphasis a particular mood. The use of lighting can also be used to enhance the singers look as well as highlight key features in the video.
Sound - The sound of the video is usually the lyrics and music. However in some modern music videos there are short parts (often at the begging) where there is no music where the singer will talk (acting). For example Drakes song 'Just hold on we're going home'
Props - Used to add to the scene making it more visually impacting, and create significance on particular object or people.
Andrew Goodwin was one the key theorists of the music video. His theory includes:
1) The musics video of the song tends to include typical genre characteristics. For example if you were to have a rap song, its highly likely that there will be money waved around and expensive cars featuring.
2) Goodwin also stated that there is a relationship between visuals and the music, which could be either illustrative, amplifying, or contradicting. Therefore the tone or atmosphere of the visuals could reflect that of the music, so usually happy bright colours, and lights, and perhaps space would be used with a happy song.
3) There are frequent references to the notion of looking and the voyeuristic treatment of the female body. Often the characteristic of looking includes men and women being portrayed seductively. In addition it can be used if they is eye contact with the camera. In a lot of female music videos voyeurism is widely used to sell the singers music due to a sex appeal. Heres an example showing Britney Spears in one of her music videos.
4) The record label which the artist is assigned to tends to have certain demands. They often include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist will have a visual style which recurs across their work. This is probably done to make the audience aware of the each individual artist and their styles, helping to make each one different or unique. A very good example is Lady Gaga and her strange but unique fashion.
5) Andrew Goodwin also said that there is often intertextual references. (To films, TV shows, or other music videos) A good example is Taylor Swifts song 'Love story' which relates to the novel of Romeo and Juliette
6) There is a relationship between lyrics and the visuals. This is quite simple to understand and can be seen in many music videos such as, losing my religion.
Music videos are short films shown with a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Music videos origins do date back further but generally came into life in the 1980s, due to MTV.
The videos use a wide range of techniques and styles, such as animation, documentaries, live performances, and non-narrative videos.
1980: This is when the music video started to raise in popularity, partly because of MTV setting up a 24 hour music channel, which played songs along with the videos. The first being 'Video killed the radio star'. From this point onwards a huge amount of music were put together with a music video. The most popular of the decade being Michael Jacksons 'Thriller' costing around $500,000 to film.
1990: In the 1990s there was a rise in the number of music video directors. This increase also relates back to MTV as they started to give the names of music video directors who had directed certain videos, allowing some popular directors such as Michael Romanek to push on with their careers.
2000: By the 21st century the industry for music and their videos was blossoming, hugely due to internet. This allowed viewers to quickly access sites such as Youtube and watch the music videos, eventually put an end to shows such as 'Top of the Pops'. In addition the spread of the internet enhanced artists popularity as well increasing the need for a music video as millions of viewers would watch, letting record labels market their artists.
