The lyrics of a song are important in engaging the audience. If lyrics are successfully matched with the visuals then the song can be entertaining for the audience and make them more inclined to watch the video. Lyrics can evoke emotion and connect the audience with the artist or the group. With a successful music video to match the lyrics, this sense of connection between the viewer and the song can be strengthened. Through making our music video relatable and engaging we aimed to create this in our own production.
We printed off a copy of our own song lyrics, and went about annotating them. We looked for repetitions in the lyrics and tried to identify opportunities for the different timing of shots, whilst also seeing where we could use Goodwin's theory to provide a link between the visuals and the lyrics.
Analysing the lyrics of our song was important in seeing connotations in the lyrics of the song and seeing if the words used could impact the decisions we made in our productions.
In our music video we decided to follow Goodwin's theory and have a direct link between our music and our visuals. The effect of this is that it provides the audience with more of a viewing experience and extends the feel of escapism.
When analysing the lyrics for our song 'Blame' by John Newman and Calvin Harris, we decided to start of with a slow timing of shots. This is a technique used in many of the songs that we analysed and decided that the effect of this in the first verse would be good for establishing the scene of the video. We felt that the effect of this timing of shots was one that could successfully entice our audience into the video from the outset. The effect of this is that it also builds an element of suspense as the pace of the song begins to pick up. The lyrics below show when we will use this slow timing of shots.
The repetition of the lyrics "don't blame it on me" partnered with the visuals of our video, we felt, would make the song entertaining, engaging and easy to remember for the viewers of the song.
At the chorus of the song we made the decision to bring in a quicker pace to the song by matching the timing of shots to the music. Editing our shots in time with the music strengthens the link of the lyrics and visuals.
We went about identifying pivotal parts of the song like the 'bass drops' which were a good opportunity to incorporate in some fast editing, especially in the build up to these drops. These are an important part of a dance song, and they probably hold more importance than the lyrics themselves, as the songs are primarily based around the rhythm.
Thursday, 23 October 2014
Planning setting and iconography - miss georgiou
Iconography and setting are important elements of a music video. They set the scene and can engage the audience in the video. They also give the audience an insight into the life of the performer and are a key to any narrative sequence.
In our video we are using 5 different locations;
In our video we are using 5 different locations;
- In a club
- On a road
- In a car
- In a house
- In a forest
The club location has been chosen so that we can conform to stereotypical elements of our music genre. Videos like blame and my love are both set in clubs and achieve giving the audience an insight into the artists life successfully. The club setting has limitations in that the lighting may be to dark and good footage may be difficult to collect. Also clubs may have certain limitations on whether you can or can not film inside the club. However the good thing about this setting is that it is not weather permitting and the fact it is indoors means we can collect footage at any time. The setting also means the song has the opportunity to become a club song, by being recognised as a dance track through the conventional setting, which will in turn increase the exposure of the song and therefore the popularity.
The setting of the street is one used frequently within our video. The limitations of this are that we may not be able to find a street that is empty long enough for us to film. From a health and safety aspect it could also be dangerous to film on a road with cars passing by. Also when planning our music video our ideas included the footage in the street having dry weather, so if there is rain or bad weather it could push our filming back. However, the use of this setting represents our characters are relatable, as by showing them here rather than in a big mansion, we can seem closer to home for most viewers.
Filming in the car is a low risk location. However when filming the shot of the car going over the camera there is a danger of the camera possibly being damaged, which we will have to plan ahead for. The shots from the point of view of the car could also be dangerous if the camera is not secured properly and also if the weather is raining the camera will not be used outside of the car as we planned.
The forest location is something which could make the filming tricky. Lack of lighting and also possible bad weather could make the floor muddy and therefore unable to film on. Similar to the club if the lighting is to dim then picking up anything on the camera will not be possible. However, this is a setting not seen in any other videos that I have analysed, so therefore breaks the conventions and offers the audience something new and unique.
The setting of the street is one used frequently within our video. The limitations of this are that we may not be able to find a street that is empty long enough for us to film. From a health and safety aspect it could also be dangerous to film on a road with cars passing by. Also when planning our music video our ideas included the footage in the street having dry weather, so if there is rain or bad weather it could push our filming back. However, the use of this setting represents our characters are relatable, as by showing them here rather than in a big mansion, we can seem closer to home for most viewers.
Filming in the car is a low risk location. However when filming the shot of the car going over the camera there is a danger of the camera possibly being damaged, which we will have to plan ahead for. The shots from the point of view of the car could also be dangerous if the camera is not secured properly and also if the weather is raining the camera will not be used outside of the car as we planned.
The forest location is something which could make the filming tricky. Lack of lighting and also possible bad weather could make the floor muddy and therefore unable to film on. Similar to the club if the lighting is to dim then picking up anything on the camera will not be possible. However, this is a setting not seen in any other videos that I have analysed, so therefore breaks the conventions and offers the audience something new and unique.
Wednesday, 22 October 2014
magazine advert analysis - Miss Miller
I have chosen to analyse two magazine album adverts from artists Florence and the machine and Ellie Goulding.
The cover of Ellie Goulding's album lights, features her as the centre image. This gives the impression that she is important and immediately puts the readers attention on her. The representation of the artist is one which comes across as professional and relatable. The minimal make up of the character and the simplicity of her hair, gives her a 'girl next door' image, which makes her seem relatable to an audience and sets her apart from other artists. The use of font for her name and the album title is written in gold which has a connotation of wealth and money, but more importantly gives an element of class to the album cover, showing her in a professional light and giving the impression that her music is to be taken seriously. This feel of professionalism is something which is continued with the font used in the reviews of the album at the bottom. The adjectives taken to describe the album from multiple reviews are laid out clearly in a simple bold fond, which show the audience a brief insight into what they can expect from the album and also boosts the artist reputation. This is evidence of the magazine album advert attempting to reach a wider audience as many people reading this may then be more inclined to listen to or purchase her music.
The cover of Ellie Goulding's album lights, features her as the centre image. This gives the impression that she is important and immediately puts the readers attention on her. The representation of the artist is one which comes across as professional and relatable. The minimal make up of the character and the simplicity of her hair, gives her a 'girl next door' image, which makes her seem relatable to an audience and sets her apart from other artists. The use of font for her name and the album title is written in gold which has a connotation of wealth and money, but more importantly gives an element of class to the album cover, showing her in a professional light and giving the impression that her music is to be taken seriously. This feel of professionalism is something which is continued with the font used in the reviews of the album at the bottom. The adjectives taken to describe the album from multiple reviews are laid out clearly in a simple bold fond, which show the audience a brief insight into what they can expect from the album and also boosts the artist reputation. This is evidence of the magazine album advert attempting to reach a wider audience as many people reading this may then be more inclined to listen to or purchase her music.
Florence and the machines album cover uses mainly black. This may be to represent a more gothic or indie theme to the album. The cartoon illustration of the main artist and the less formal font saying the name of the group gives the album cover a less professional feel, showing that it may be aimed at a more teenage audience. Like the Ellie Goulding album cover the artist is the central image of the album cover, which puts her in main view of the reader.
Through looking at these two album covers it is clear that having the artist as the main image of the album cover is something I want to have. I feel like this is something that can easily attract an audience and maybe an audience which wouldn't normally listen to this artists music, through putting the main focus on them. I also think after looking at both magazine album adverts that reviews from magazines included on the album cover are a key element in making people want to listen to the music by seeing positive reviews from well respected newspapers and music critics.
Monday, 20 October 2014
Planning artist image- Miss Georgiou
Artist representation is important in a music video as it something which can put across the lifestyle of a musical artist. This is something that can attract the audience by giving them a further insight into the artist or character that is in their video. It can be the key in portraying an artist in a certain light. Whether that is extravagant or down to earth.
In my own music video we will not be featuring our artist. We will need to focusing on representation the characters in our video well, and in a way where they can connect with the audience and make the video entertaining for the viewer. As may viewers will want to see the artist, we have to compensate by representing our characters successful and making sure the fulfil the expectations of the audience.
Our characters chosen, are the same age as our target audience, 18-25. The costuming of the characters will be things like jeans and trainers and other simplistic clothes. This type of clothing keeps the characters looking like regular people. This makes the video and the characters in the video more relatable. This use of costume is quite conventional but at the same time unconventional. In some videos like Summer by Calvin Harris he is seen to be wearing a plain white t shirt with jeans. However in some videos like Otis by Jay z and Kanye West, they are dressed very well with jewellery and nice clothes, which gives more of an insight into the lives of the artist, showing there wealth.
By not using the artist we think that the audience could relate to the video more, as the artist was in it he would look more superior.
In my own music video we will not be featuring our artist. We will need to focusing on representation the characters in our video well, and in a way where they can connect with the audience and make the video entertaining for the viewer. As may viewers will want to see the artist, we have to compensate by representing our characters successful and making sure the fulfil the expectations of the audience.
Our characters chosen, are the same age as our target audience, 18-25. The costuming of the characters will be things like jeans and trainers and other simplistic clothes. This type of clothing keeps the characters looking like regular people. This makes the video and the characters in the video more relatable. This use of costume is quite conventional but at the same time unconventional. In some videos like Summer by Calvin Harris he is seen to be wearing a plain white t shirt with jeans. However in some videos like Otis by Jay z and Kanye West, they are dressed very well with jewellery and nice clothes, which gives more of an insight into the lives of the artist, showing there wealth.
By not using the artist we think that the audience could relate to the video more, as the artist was in it he would look more superior.
Tuesday, 14 October 2014
Research into chosen music artists- Miss Georgiou
The artist that my group and I chose to use for our music video, was Calvin Harris. We chose this artist as it is someone who we are both very interested in, as we are both fans of his music. Harry and I thought that we would be more interested working on an artist we both like, rather than someone neither of us listen to. Both being fans of his music meant that we had a good knowledge of many of his music videos. When creating our own this meant we knew what elements of the videos we liked and from those elements, which ones we wanted to include in our own production.
Calvin Harris as an artist has been very successful, and has been rewarded accordingly. Below is a table of his nominations and awards, since his career began. He has been nominated for a total of 62 awards since 2007, winning 16 of them.
He was first attracted to music in his teens and was recording bedroom demos by 1999. Harris signed contracts with three six zero group and and sony BMG In 2006 after he had been discovered by Tommie Sunshine on his social networking site myspace. calvin harris is currently with fly eye, columbia, ministry of sound, roc nation and ultra records, making him one of the biggest current dj's in the world.
His third studio album sold more than 540,000 copies in the UK. 18 Months is the third studio album by Scottish DJ and record producer Calvin Harris. It was released on 26 October 2012 by Columbia Records. The album includes the singles "Bounce", "Feel so close", "Let's go", "We'll be coming back for you ", "Sweet Nothing", "Drinking from the bottle", "I need your love" and "Thinking about you". All eight of the aforementioned singles, along with "We found love" (featuring Rihanna), reached the top ten of the UK Singles chart, making 18 Months the first album in history to have nine top ten singles.
Calvin Harris as an artist has been very successful, and has been rewarded accordingly. Below is a table of his nominations and awards, since his career began. He has been nominated for a total of 62 awards since 2007, winning 16 of them.
He was first attracted to music in his teens and was recording bedroom demos by 1999. Harris signed contracts with three six zero group and and sony BMG In 2006 after he had been discovered by Tommie Sunshine on his social networking site myspace. calvin harris is currently with fly eye, columbia, ministry of sound, roc nation and ultra records, making him one of the biggest current dj's in the world.
His third studio album sold more than 540,000 copies in the UK. 18 Months is the third studio album by Scottish DJ and record producer Calvin Harris. It was released on 26 October 2012 by Columbia Records. The album includes the singles "Bounce", "Feel so close", "Let's go", "We'll be coming back for you ", "Sweet Nothing", "Drinking from the bottle", "I need your love" and "Thinking about you". All eight of the aforementioned singles, along with "We found love" (featuring Rihanna), reached the top ten of the UK Singles chart, making 18 Months the first album in history to have nine top ten singles.
Here’s Calvin’s full Official Top 20 Biggest Selling Tracks:
| TRACK | CREDITED ARTIST | PEAK POSITION | YEAR | |
| 1 | WE FOUND LOVE | RIHANNA FT CALVIN HARRIS | 1 | 2011 |
| 2 | DANCE WIV ME | DIZZEE RASCAL/HARRIS/CHROME | 1 | 2008 |
| 3 | I'M NOT ALONE | CALVIN HARRIS | 1 | 2009 |
| 4 | BOUNCE | CALVIN HARRIS FT KELIS | 2 | 2011 |
| 5 | FEEL SO CLOSE | CALVIN HARRIS | 2 | 2011 |
| 6 | SWEET NOTHING | CALVIN HARRIS/FLORENCE WELCH | 1 | 2012 |
| 7 | I NEED YOUR LOVE | CALVIN HARRIS/ELLIE GOULDING | 4 | 2013 |
| 8 | DRINKING FROM THE BOTTLE | CALVIN HARRIS FT TINIE TEMPAH | 5 | 2012 |
| 9 | WE'LL BE COMING BACK | CALVIN HARRIS FT EXAMPLE | 2 | 2012 |
| 10 | LET'S GO | CALVIN HARRIS FT NE-YO | 2 | 2012 |
| 11 | UNDER CONTROL | CALVIN HARRIS/ALESSO/HURTS | 1 | 2013 |
| 12 | THINKING ABOUT YOU | CALVIN HARRIS FT AYAH MARAR | 8 | 2013 |
| 13 | READY FOR THE WEEKEND | CALVIN HARRIS | 3 | 2009 |
| 14 | ACCEPTABLE IN THE 80S | CALVIN HARRIS | 10 | 2007 |
| 15 | THE GIRLS | CALVIN HARRIS | 3 | 2007 |
| 16 | FLASHBACK | CALVIN HARRIS | 18 | 2009 |
| 17 | YOU USED TO HOLD ME | CALVIN HARRIS | 27 | 2010 |
| 18 | OFF THE RECORD | TINCHY STRYDER/CALVIN HARRIS | 24 | 2011 |
| 19 | MERRYMAKING AT MY PLACE | CALVIN HARRIS | 43 | 2007 |
| 20 | HERE 2 CHINA | CALVIN HARRIS | N/A | 2012 |
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | BT Digital Music Awards | Best Electronic Artist or DJ | Calvin Harris | Nominated |
| Q Awards | Best Breakthrough Artist | Nominated | ||
| 2008 | XFM New Music Award | — | I Created Disco | Nominated |
| Shortlist Music Prize | — | Nominated | ||
| Popjustice £20 Music Prize | — | "Dance wiv Me" (with Dizzee Rascal and Chrome) | Nominated | |
| 2009 | The Music Producers Guild Awards | Best Remixer | Calvin Harris | Won |
| BRIT Awards | British Single | "Dance wiv Me" (with Dizzee Rascal and Chrome) | Nominated | |
| NME Awards | Best Dancefloor Filler | Won | ||
| Ivor Novello Awards | Best Contemporary Song | Nominated | ||
| Popjustice £20 Music Prize | Best Contemporary Song | "I'm Not Alone" | Nominated | |
| 2010 | BRIT Awards | Best British Male | Calvin Harris | Nominated |
| 2012 | MTV Video Music Awards | Video of the Year | "We Found Love" (with Rihanna) | Won |
| Best Pop Video | Nominated | |||
| Best Electronic Video | "Feel So Close" | Won | ||
| MTV Europe Music Awards | Best Song | "We Found Love" (with Rihanna) | Nominated | |
| Best Video | Nominated | |||
| Best Electronic Act | Calvin Harris | Nominated | ||
| MTV Video Music Awards Japan | Best Pop | "We Found Love" (with Rihanna) | Nominated | |
| American Music Awards | Favorite Electronic Dance Music Artist | Calvin Harris | Nominated | |
| Teen Choice Awards | Electronic Dance Music Artist | Nominated | ||
| MuchMusic Video Awards | International Video of the Year – Artist | "We Found Love" (with Rihanna) | Nominated | |
| International Dance Music Awards | Best R&B/Urban Dance Track | Won | ||
| Best Commercial/Pop Dance Track | Won | |||
| NRJ Music Awards | Best Song International | Nominated | ||
| Billboard Music Awards | Top Radio Song | Nominated | ||
| mtvU Woodie Awards | EDM Effect Woodie | Won | ||
| 2013 | Grammy Awards | Best Dance Recording | "Let's Go" (featuring Ne-Yo) | Nominated |
| Best Short Form Music Video | "We Found Love" (with Rihanna) | Won | ||
| BRIT Awards | British Male Solo Artist | Calvin Harris | Nominated | |
| NME Awards | Dancefloor Anthem | "Sweet Nothing" (featuring Florence Welch) | Won | |
| ASCAP Pop Music Awards | Most Performed Song | "We Found Love" (with Rihanna) | Won | |
| "Let's Go" (featuring Ne-Yo) | Won | |||
| "Where Have You Been" | Won | |||
| "Feel So Close" | Won | |||
| MTV Video Music Awards Japan | Best Collaboration | "Sweet Nothing" (featuring Florence Welch) | Nominated | |
| International Dance Music Awards | Best Commercial/Pop Dance Track | Won | ||
| Best Progressive Track | Nominated | |||
| Best Music Video | Nominated | |||
| Best Remixer | Calvin Harris | Nominated | ||
| Best Artist (Solo) | Nominated | |||
| Teen Choice Awards | Electronic Dance Music Artist | Nominated | ||
| Billboard Music Awards | Top EDM Song | "Sweet Nothing" (featuring Florence Welch) | Nominated | |
| "Feel So Close" | Nominated | |||
| Top Dance Artist | Calvin Harris | Nominated | ||
| Top EDM Artist | Nominated | |||
| American Music Awards | Favorite Electronic Dance Music Artist | Nominated | ||
| Scottish Album of the Year | Album of the Year | 18 Months | Nominated | |
| Ivor Novello Awards | Songwriter of the Year | Calvin Harris | Won | |
| MTV Video Music Awards | Best Collaboration | "I Need Your Love" (featuring Ellie Goulding) | Nominated | |
| Best Song of the Summer | Nominated | |||
| MTV Europe Music Awards | Best Electronic Act | Calvin Harris | Nominated | |
| Best UK & Ireland Act | Nominated | |||
| 2014 | Grammy Awards | Best Dance Recording | "Sweet Nothing" (featuring Florence Welch) | Nominated |
| Best Dance/Electronica Album | 18 Months | Nominated | ||
| BRIT Awards | British Single of the Year | "I Need Your Love" (featuring Ellie Goulding) | Nominated | |
| British Video | Nominated | |||
| iHeartRadio Music Awards | EDM Song of the Year | "Sweet Nothing" (featuring Florence Welch) | Nominated | |
| Billboard Music Awards | Top Dance/Electronic Artist | Calvin Harris | Nominated | |
| Teen Choice Awards | Electronic Dance Music Artist | Won | ||
| EDM Song | "Summer" | Nominated | ||
| Summer Song | Nominated | |||
| MTV Video Music Awards | Best Dance Video | Nominated |
I looked at the song we would be producing a video for, Blame by John Newman and Calvin Harris. By looking at a song by Calvin Harris I could 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.
I also looked at the song summer by Calvin Harris. 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.
I also looked at the song summer by Calvin Harris. 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.
Monday, 6 October 2014
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