Initial Group Planning ideas- miss Georgiou

The members of my group are me and Harry Fagan. In our first meeting we discussed what our favourite genres of music were and decided on the genre of house music. We discussed our favourite artists from this genre and chose the artist Calvin Harris. We chose the song blame as we felt it was current and we both enjoyed the song, which we felt would make it easier to analyse. We printed off the lyrics for the song and analysed them. After annotating them we found that the lyrics were relatively simple and repetitive. Because of the simplicity of the lyrics we felt it would be easier for the lyrics to link with the visuals, and make it a more engaging video for the audience. We used an a3 sheet of paper looking at different elements of our music video. We looked at things like mise-en-scene which we decided would be set on a road for the majority of the video, with it being filmed from a car. We also decided on props like smoke bombs and lasers. We decided that we would where normal clothes in order to appeal to an audience and seen ordinary. We looked at artist representation which is where the costuming came under, and decided this would relate to 15-20 year olds as the family argument at the beginning of the video would be relatable to our audience. When looking at cinematography we chose to use a handheld camera to film the scenes within the car, with wide shots also use to establish the scenery that the car is travelling through. Close up shots will provide a link between the actors and the audience as they can see there emotions and feelings throughout the video.  The editing will show a contrast in slow and fast timing of shots. This was something seen in a Calvin Harris song and other house music, which start of slow and build the pace as the tempo of the song does. We felt the narrative style of music would engage the audience more than a performance based video which we felt were repetitive and slightly boring. Once we had chosen the song and had a rough idea of what we wanted to include, we had to apply for copyright. Emailing Calvin Harris's record label, Fly Records meant that we could ask for permission to use there song without breaking copyright laws by uploading their song to Youtube without their say so. We also began to look in more depth at the video and decided on things like where we were specifically going to film and where would look appealing to an audience. We wanted to choose scenic destinations while also making the video relatable for the audience. We decided on range of shots being filmed at viewpoint in loughton which provided views across london. The effect of this was that it created a sense of escapism for the audience watching. When looking at the actual narrative itself  we thought that the theme of friendship  would create an appeal for the audience through the relatability. Looking at the artists image was another important thing to decide on especially when creating our digipaks. Each member of the group had created a digipak, which we then extracted ideas from to create our group digipack. We decided to present the artist as a serious musician, with a professional attitude towards his music. This was done through the layout and typography of the digipack, as well as the images of the artists showing him as serious and focused. I believe that the group meetings where the most important and key feature im creating our project. The discussions helped us gain advice from eachother and combine ideas, leading to an altogether greater final piece. I feel that we were successful in listening to eachother and taking on board constructive critiscm, which then allowed us to make the necessary changes and get the best out of our group. I think our group also worked well when it came to our storyboard and also to our filming schedule. Our successful completion of both of these meant that when it came to filming our music video we had the advantage of knowing what we were doing on what day, meaning we could be more time efficient. It made the whole process more stuctured and allowed us maximum editing time, to perfect our production

Copyright- Miss Georgiou

1. A copyright is a form of protection  to authors of "original works of authorship." This includes literary, dramatic, musical, artistic and certain other creative works.
   Copyright is a law, which allows artists to have full rights of their own work and allows only the artist to have rights of how their work is used and distributed, also the artist has the right to be identified as the creator of the piece of work at all times, which stops other people taking credit for the artists work as their own piece of work which is illegal. It is illegal without the consent of the artist to copy the work, perform or broadcast the work to the public and adapt the artist work.
   

   In our media project we had to create a video to a song of our choice. We choice the song blame by John Newman and Calvin Harris. Before we could create the video for this song we had to email the record label of the artists to make sure we had permission to use there song. We found Calvin Harris' record label called Fly Records, and emailed them for permission so that we did not breach copyright laws by uploading on YouTube without there clearance.
   
   Here is the email we sent.
   
   We are still waiting on a response from the record label, but understand record labels are extremely busy, so my group and I are continuing to plan and create our music video for Calvin Harris Blame.
   
   
   

Music Video inspiration

Consider 3 music videos that you have watched, which have provided you with inspiration for your own production. Focus on; micro elements, music video style, artist representation, music video genre, theory, choice of song etc.

When deciding the style, storyline and production of our own music video, we looked at three others to give us some inspiration in what we were going to include. As the song was from the same genre and produced by Calvin Harris I felt this would be a useful song to analyse. Calvin Harris was also the artist of our own song 'blame' which we created the video for. In Summer, it is clear to see that at the beginning of the song a slower timing of shots is used, to create an atmosphere which almost feels like the calm before the storm. This is backed by the timing of shots becoming faster as the beat picks up through the song. This use of shot timing is effective in providing more of a link between the visuals and the audio of the song, which is something I felt I really wanted to include in my own production. The artist, Calvin Harris, is featured in the video and seen walking along a long road whilst he sings the song. By featuring the artist the video may seem more attractive for an audience by being able to see someone they view as an idol or a favourite artist. It also tied in with Dyers theory of an artist being ordinary yet extra ordinary. It achieved this through the outfit of Calvin Harris wearing a plain white t shirt and jeans, unlike many other artists who are seen to wear more expensive designer clothes in their video. However the extraordinary side is created through the portrayal of his lifestyle as the video includes a large number of woman and fast cars, a lifestyle which most do not live. The video is not a full narrative bus has an element of that about it. Although there is no real story the narrative does follow the artist in a drag race with another car, which can be seen as narrative. Being able to follow this through the video does it make it more engaging and entertaining, so this is another element of the video that has influenced my own production.

The second video I analysed was Californication by The Red hot Chilli Peppers. Although this song is from a different genre to Calvin Harris, as a video I found it very interesting. The video itself is done in the form of an animated video game. This is something unique which I have not seen another artist or group create. Because it is so different to usual music videos the song is incredibly entertaining for the viewer to watch. The colours used are incredibly bright and engaging and the whole video is one that portrays it as something different to conventional videos. With the editing software available, I am unsure if the animation would be able to be achieved but if possible I believe that any element of making the video look animated or like a cartoon would provide something different for the audience and make our video stand out. Like Summer the video is a narrative, which kept me as the viewer engaged wanting to see how the video ended. However unlike summer the lyrics did not match the visuals, which I believed did not effect the song due to its unique nature.

The third song I looked at was the song we would be producing a video for, Blame by John Newman and Calvin Harris. By looking at a second song by Calvin Harris I wanted to see if there were any reoccurring themes in his videos and the genre itself. Similarly to Summer, the timing of shots is one of the most important aspects of Calvin Harris's videos. This highlighted to me that to be successful in building suspense in a song and to capture the audience the link between the visuals and audio would have to be created through the timing of shots. The artists are again featured, in a less relatable way this time. This is done through the setting of a mansion with attractive women walking around and John Newman dressed in expensive clothes. However, this too can be entertaining for an audience getting to see inside the life of their favourite artists and seeing how they live.

In addition to these 3 songs I also looked at the video for the song by clean bandit, no place I'd rather be. This song was a current, modern and mainstream track, with a high level of popularity. By analysing a song like this, we could see the conventions of popular music videos and by analysing the techniques used, we hoped to replicate the success of such a video. The timing of shots, as found in the previous three videos, is vital in enticing the audience into the video, and grasping their attention from the outset. This is created through the use of a slow timing of shots at the beginning of the video which initially sets the scene. The setting at the beginning of the video immediately connects the audience with the main actress, as the house she is shown in is not a huge mansion or unrelatable expensive house. Instead it is quite a normal house, which is going to be relatable to a higher number of people listening. The clothing of the main actress also reinforces the relatable element to the video, as the clothes being worn are quite simplistic and again more relatable than many artists who are seen in expensive designer clothes. The video follows the main character throughout the video and this is something we wish to include in our video. We feel the effect of this is that it creates a stronger link with viewers and the actress. Our own video is going to follow the main characters on a night out, following what they get up too. There relatable antics and actions are something which most people are going to have done themselves, which makes it more engaging for the audience.

The final video I analysed was My love by Route 94. The uncoventional lighting at the beginning was something we felt gave the video its own individual feel and would be immediately recognisable to an audience when the video was played. Although the editing software has limitations we wanted to try and create something similar to this. In the video it is implied that the main character has taken drugs. After the point of consuming the drugs the editing is sped up and made more frantic and fast. We tried to emulate this in our video. A series of shots show the main characters to be taking shots of spirits. After these shots and the shots in the club, the pace of the video picks up. This implies to the audience that our characters are drunk or possibly under the influence of drugs, which can make the video more engaging to the audience and more conventional to the dance genre.

I felt that all of the videos that have been analysed, played a large part and had a big influence on the elements that were included in my own production. The more common and conventional elements like the slow timing of shots at the beginning of the videos were ones that we also felt we wanted to include. Videos like route 94, my love and also no place I'd rather be showed us various ways that were very effective in creating a connection between the artist and the audience. Shots like handheld ones and close ups were effective in tracking the main character and showing the audience an insight into their lives, making it either relatable or engaging for the people watching.

Diversity- Miss Miller

The concept of diversity consists of acceptance and respect. It means understanding that each individual is unique, and recognising our individual differences and needs.  These can be along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies.  It is the exploration of these differences in a safe, positive, and nurturing environment. It is about understanding each other and moving beyond simple tolerance to embracing and celebrating the rich dimensions of diversity contained within each individual. Additionally, being unique is being an individual that does not follow a trend, they do the opposite and go again conventions of music video. They want to be different without being equal, equivalent and unparalleled to anyone else. Diversity and unique music videos would appeal to an audience as it would be the opposite of other music videos and artists that following conventions and genre stereotypes. The audience would remember the music video and it would stick with them as the song is played as it is a new trend. Music videos can be diverse by not following conventions of genre and not be stereotypical to a song.

  I was briefed to comapre two directors to explain and analysis why they are diverse and unique to other music video produces.The first director I will be looking at is Chris Cunningham who has directed  'Frozen' by Madonna. I will be comparing Cunningham to Michael Gondry who directed  'The hardest button to button' by the White strips. I will be looking at four elements throughout analysising the two videos. These elements consist of presentation (music video genre characteristics), Goodwins theory , structure and style of the video and finally representation of the artist. These elements should allow me to be able to find out why the music videos are unique and diverse.
video.

 

 

 the first the video that I will be analysing that Cunningham directed will be 'Frozen' by Madonna. This music video has a Gothic genre, this is evident through the clothing which is black, Madonna also turns into a crow during the music video, this explains that she is taking a more Gothic and dark approach to this music video rather than how she use to look. The characteristics of the song consist of a dark look as it in a dark location and it has a dark look to the song.The location of the video is unknown and it goes against Madonnas typical pop look and conventions  as she is a pop artist. There are a few elements of Goodwins theory that she following in her music video. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals this is evident when you see birds in the background and then she sings about them. The song consists of 90% performance as Madonna is singing and performing throughout the music video. The other 10% is narrative when she turns into animals and it gives away the dark atmosphere, this is the structure and style of the music video. I think that this has been used to show that Madonnas look has changed and that she is going for a different approach which people cannot understand or get over. The way that Madonna is represented in the music video is different to how she is normally presented as a pop start therefore she and her song is being diverse and unique. She is emotional throughout her video and she has changed her image a lot to try to keep up with the young audience. She is rebelling against the conventions of a typical music video- she wants to be different.

Michel Gondry directed 'The darkest button to button" by the white strips. The genre of this group and their song was alternative rock. It did have conventions of this and they were represented by the instruments they were using which were guitars and drums. They also had face paint on and their clothes were rock based as they had skinny jeans on which is conventional to a rock genre music video, as normal rock stars stress to be different and just want them and their music to be noticed.The song followed some of Goodwins theory as it followed genre characteristics which the guitar, drums, clothes and make up. There was a link between the lyrics and the music, as every time he hits the drum base, the guitar or drums double with the beat. The relationship between the lyrics and the visuals are evident when he sings about a red box and he has one with him. The structure and style of the music video is that it is 100% performance, it has no narrative or concept within the music video. This is normal to a rock style song as they want the audience to be engaged with what their doing. The representation of the artists is shown within the music video as they follow a few rock conventions but they do not perform in from of a crowd or they are not playing in a gig within a small proportion of the music video. It is just them with their instruments playing their song, the main focus is on the artist.  Cunningham and Gondry's style of his music videos are mainly 90-100% performance, it shows that they are doing this as normal directors have more of a percentage on other parts such as narrative or concept within the music videos.

The music industry consists of mainly artists following genre conventions and some songs look the same as they are following the same conventions such as the presentation, Goodwins theory, structure/ style and representation of artist. For example R'n'B songs follow the same conventions in all most every music video as they should include stylish clothing, the artist dancing on their own or with a group, a slow then faced paced beat and a girl within their music video. It shows that stereotypically these kinda of song follow the same conventions. An artist would chose to create a diverse and unique video to stand out from the crowd and be different to everyone else. The audiences that they would be perfuming to would like the fact that the artist or song are breaking conventions and are not following the trends of normal artists instead they are making their own trends. Their are positives and also negatives that c an be brought around from making a diverse or unique music video. The positives can include things such as the music videos are different, the target audience will remember the video when theys ong is played on a radio etc and they break conventions or trends, However, the negatives that be brought out a diverse msuic video would be that the target audience would be able to understand or relate to the artist. They would have no interest in the artsit and the music video maybe unpopular.

I feel as if Gondrys style of directing would suit the music video that my group and I have chosen for our music video. This is because he follows some conventions of a genre and he follows some conventions of Goodwins theory. Whereas Cunningham breaks all conventions and he does not follow any of Goodwins theory. Although both directors are similar in the fact they are diverse and do not follow all conventions, they are different as Cunnignham goes to the extreme of not following any conventions in the song, Whereas Gondry follows some but is still seen as diverse.

Analysis of a star and Dyer's star theory - Miss Miller

Many Artists may choose to reinvent themselves for many different reasons. These may include the artist wanting to;

• Change their genre of music
• Change their image – become more ‘edgy’ etc.
• Previous bad press – attempt to become ‘good’ again
• Been around for a long time and need to keep up with etc. of new era
• Create publicity – get people talking about them
• Change their target audience – if they were teen stars, may now want to appeal to an older audience

One artist who has changed their image is Miley Cyrus. She started off as a Disney star on the show Hannah Montana, which meant she attracted mainly a young audience. All of her early music was targeted at this audience, which possibly meant she was not taken as seriously as a musician



Here is an example of three songs from Miley Cyrus. The first is a song called best of both worlds, from when Miley Cyrus played Hannah Montana, One is an older song called 7 things, a song made during the time  Miley Cyrus was changing her image. The other song is called We can't stop, made after her image switch. By looking at the three videos it is clear that Miley Cyrus wanted to change her previous image of being a 'PG' kids artist, into a more adult themed performer. The costume in the first song is very conservative and the long blonde hair with the colourful more childlike backgrounds makes Miley Cyrus seem like a regular teenage girl who is aiming her music at other regular teenage girls, which we know was her target audience at the time. However, in contrast to this, the revealing clothing in we cant stop, suggests a more edgy image trying to be achieved by Miley Cyrus. Also the short hair is something less common and more different or alternative, and this accompanied with the tattoos and jewellery worn by her, suggests a much older audience is being targeted here. Also as the change became evident in Miley Cyrus as the lyrics and songs themselves suggest more adult themes. We can't stop, focuses on things like drugs and partying with sexual references, whereas the video for best of both worlds includes referencing to school, and having fun with your friends, which is obviously more relatable to school children. The lighting in the videos also show a change in Miley Cyrus, with the first videos bright and engaging, again suggesting a younger audience. When looking at the We can't stop video and the 7 seven things video, there is a more simplistic style to the videos which suggests the opposite, as this style of video is usually intended for a slightly older audience.


Dyers Star Theory

 Dyer created a theory about certain elements an artists image should include for them to be successful. The main points were;

• The star should be simultaneously ordinary and extra ordinary
• The star should be simultaneously present and absent for the consumer
• Performances leave the consumer wanting more of the artist
• Youth
• Rebellion
• Sexual Magnetism
• A disregard for social values

All of these things have been present in Miley Cyrus's career, post image change, and many of them are evident in her pre change too. Her old image of being a small town country girl, yet still living this wild party filled lifestyle fits in with the first bullet point mentioned. She is portrayed in two lights, as a small town girl and also a huge superstar. These contrasts provide that 'ordinary yet extra ordinary' feel for the audience, who feel like they may know a softer more homely side to her, whilst also being in awe of her stature and celebrity status.

The sexual magnetism and the fact the consumer should want more, I believe tie in together through the performances of Miley Cyrus. The provocative dancing and revealing clothing places an emphasis on her body, resulting in most of her newer songs being highly sexualised. This is also connoted in the lyrics of her songs. This ties in with the consumer wanting more as the sexualisation of Miley Cyrus, will leave the consumer wanting more from her.

This is similar to the way rebellion and a disregard for social values tie in with each other also. The constant referencing to drugs, and drinking and other sexual connotations provide the aspect of rebellion, which are also things seen as socially unacceptable, especially by those older than the audience she is targeting.

It is important that the target audience is successful catered for as Miley Cyrus for example shows. Her transformation has meant she has grown and changed at the same time as her target audience. The fact they have grown up with her and watched her develop means that she can be rewarded with a loyal fan base who feel like they have been on a personal journey with her.

Analysis of music genre

Some examples of the music genre are:

• Pop
• RnB
• Dance
• House
• Indie
• Rock

By looking at three music videos from three different genres I would be able to get a grasp of the different elements and conventions of each genre, and the things that go into each video in order to achieve the overall production. It would also mean I could familiarise myself with conventional elements of different genres, which I could then reinforce or subvert in my own music video. The reason that different artists include different elements in their videos is because the different music genres are aimed at different target audiences. They engage and attract their audiences to there music through the micro-elements of  media, cinematography, editing and mise en scene. These variables change dependent on the style of music.




The first of the three videos that I analysed was a music video by the artist Drake, called Over. The genre of Drake's music is rap/ RnB. Because of this the elements in the video have to be conventional in order to cater to the target audience. One conventional element from this genre is fast editing, which is clearly evident throughout. The use of fast editing means that a link between the visuals and the lyrics is created as the fast paced video matches the beat of the song. The fast pace of the song also suggests that this video is trying to engage a younger, lively audience, which is what Drake is trying to do .when targeting a 15-25 year old audience. Many of Drake's fans are females, who are catered for in the series of close ups at the beginning of the video. The variation between mid and long shots result in the main focus at the beginning of the video being on Drake, something his fans would want to see. The effect of these shots is also that it portrays Drake as potentially vulnerable, creating a level of intimacy to the video, furthering the relationship between the audience and the artist. The setting at the beginning of the video is also significant, as the setting, in partnership with the costume of the artist, combine to create a relatable image of the artist. The setting of a regular bedroom, is something very unremarkable, and regular. The simple white t-shirt and jogging bottoms that he wears in this clip again show him as regular and relatable, but the gold chain provides a contrast, showing off his wealth at the same time. The use of the chain is something very conventional to the rap genre, with videos from artists like Kanye West and Jay-z also given artists a small insight into their wealth and lifestyle. This insight into the artists life is further enhanced with the flashing lights and nude dancing women, showing the audience the artist enjoys partying and also that the artist is getting a lot of attention from females.

Another video aimed at a similar audience is 'club cant handle me' by Flo Rida. I wanted to analyse two music videos from the same genre to see if there were consistencies in the conventional elements of the rap genre. Upon analysing the films it was clear from the outset that this video had no intention of portraying Flo Rida in a similar relatable manner to Drake and instead wanted to place much more emphasis on the insight into the life of the artist that is shown through the cinematography used. At the beginning of the video a series of fast cars and lots of money falling from the ceiling shown. Most people do not have these things in their life therefore this is unrelatable to most of the listeners to this song. It is more of an insight into the life of the artist then we saw in 'Over' but this also makes people more willing to watch the video as they are interested in the lives of people they idolise. The emotions of Flo Rida in the song also have an effect on the audience. The feel good feel of the song and the catchy lyrics are matched with the body language of Flo Rida to encourage the viewers to dance or sing the song with him. David Guetta appeals to a wider audience as his music is very conventional of the dance genre and many people enjoy dancing at parties and clubs. Therefore his music video's aim to an audience of both gender's and of ages between 13 and 35. To appeal to this audience the music video will need to include fast paced action In exciting and extravagant settings that many people would wish to be, as we see in this video.

 

 

 

The third song I will be looking at is 'Taylor' by Jack Johnson. This genre of music is completely different to both the rappers I have analysed. The video also translates this to the viewers. The target audience of Jack Johnson is from 15 onwards and has a much more relaxed chilled out feel than the high energy more modern songs like 'over' and 'club cant handle me'. The setting of a quiet island with blue skys and nice scenery immedietley gives the song a relaxed enjoyable feel. The use of famous actor Ben Stiller and the dialouge used by him in the narrative of the video also adds an element of humour. It is clear that the video is meant to be enjoyed rather than adress any serious issues or relatable problems listeners may have.



Censorship

Censorship can be described as the suppression of something that is considered to be in the category of taboo language. This is often seen in music that is played on radios, TV's and other media outlets. The genre which is most commonly affected by the use of censorship is rap. Swear words and other phrases or references can be supressed by the media outlet to protect its audience and stop any possible offense. OFCOM is the communication regulator that is in charge of censorship and it is the role of OFCOM to make sure no offensive or inappropriate material reaches the audience. One artist who is regularly censored is rapper Eminem. Much of his music includes profanity's and references which are deemed inappropriate by OFCOM and therefore not aired. Much of his music has been known to rarely be played on radios or channels like MTV due to the high amount of censorship in the songs he makes.

Artists like Eminem would be against the use of censorship in his songs. The use of censorships means original explicit songs he has made can either not be aired until after the watershed, which ends at 9pm in the UK, or not be aired at all. The result of this is that it reduces his fan base significantly as people no longer have that method of hearing his music through radio and TV. This also means artists like Eminem are unable to attract new fans as people are no longer able to 'stumble across' new music of his on the radio and TV if it is not being played. In many instances censorship and the deletion of words means the rhythm of the song is affected, and Eminem may also have issues with the sound of the song being changed due to the censorship.

The record label that signs artists could go both for or against censorship. The reasons for opposing could be the fact that again, it means less exposure for the artists due to fewer media channels broadcasting their music, or at least the original song. However, if parents of young children feel that their child is being protected sufficiently by censorship then there is a likelihood that sales of CD's will go up as they know the child is not being exposed to explicit material. For the record label this would be an increase in consumers and therefore profits.

Many parents for this reason would be for censorship. The security in knowing that there child is being protected against what they consider inappropriate material is one that would give a parent comfort and probably encourage them to purchase music by those artists whose music has been censored. Many parents have the belief that the topics brought up by musical artists in their songs, again particularly in the rap genre, have an influence on the way their child acts. Censorship helps this problem along with thing like age rated music and parental guidance stickers on certain CD's.

Some parents however have been known to be against the use of censorship. Many feel that their children have not been influenced by the material they have been exposed to and would not have an issue with their child listening to explicit music.

Fans of Eminem would strongly oppose censorship as it limits the amount of coverage the artists receive. Originals of songs that are uncensored will not be able to be listened too due to the altered versions of his songs that are played on radios, if they are even played at all. Older fans of his will find censorship irritating and unnecessary as the material in his lyrics will be something they are old enough to listen to, so censorship does not apply for them.

British music and radio channels are two industries which gets benefits and drawbacks from the use of censorship. Similarly to the record label for the artist, these industries, through the use of censorship are narrowing downing their number of viewers and listeners. People are less likely to listen to censored, altered versions of their favourite songs and this may result In people either changing channel or station when a rap song like Eminem's comes on as they know it will not be the same version they are used to. However it may also lead to an increase in viewers and listeners as parents can happily play stations like kiss and capital FM knowing that their children will not hear anything rude.

My personal opinion is that artists should not have their music videos and songs censored. This is because I believe even by editing words out of songs, the topics that are being spoken of like violence and drug abuse are things that can also negatively influence children. So although they are being sheltered from particular bad words, the actual topic of many rap songs may provide a worse influence on a child's behaviour