The Notion Of Looking

The notion of looking in music videos can include:
- Screens Within Screens
- Telescopes
- Eyes
- Looking Glass
- Indirect/Direct Address
- Voyeurism (Looking at someone for the pleasure of doing so, for example, in the 'Moulin Rouge' video)

PINK - 'Who Knew'

- In this video, PINK keeps direct, fixed eyes on the camera most of the time, this direct addressing of the camera means that the audience feels as though she is singing to them. The couple in the video also keep contact with eachother, which is another part to the notion of looking. At the end of the video, PINK keeps contact with the camera and a fade out effect is used to end the video and the music.



Miley Cyrus - 'Can't Be Tamed'

- Throughout the video, Miley keeps close contact with the camera and voyeurism is used majorly during the whole video. Near the beginning of the video, and photographer uses a camera which then flashes and cuts to Miley Cyrus again.

Intertexuality In Music Videos

John Stuart quoted his description of the music video as 'incorporating, raiding and reconstructing'. Some music videos are made as re-constructions or re-creations of exisiting forms of media, this is called intertextuality.

Music Videos and TV
REM - 'Bad Day'- The video is set out like the news, where the lead singer is the head news reporter and says the lyrics instead of news.

Beastie Boys - 'Sabotage'
- The video is a spoof cop show.

Music Videos and Film

Madonna - 'Material Girl'
- The video for this song is set out like the film 'Diamonds Are A Girls' Best Friend' starring Marilyn Monroe. One particular part is almost identical to the film, as both Madonna and Marilyn are in pink dresses, with blonde curls and being lifted by men in suits.



(Clip from 'Californication')

 

Music Videos and Video Games
Robbie Williams - 'Let Love Be Your Energy' (Directed by Olly Reed, 2001)
- The video consists of a cartoon type character, that looks like robbie williams running through a virtual world. There are also a couple of sexual parts to the video, which are not censored as the video is in cartoon type graphics.

Red Hot Chilli Peppers - 'Californication' (Directed by Jonathon Dayton & Valerie Faris, 2000)
- The video for this song is set out like an actual video game, with scenes from skiing to skateboarding. Each of the four band members has a character that is supposedly them.

Gorillaz - 'Clint Eastwood'
- As a whole, Gorillaz are probably the most well known cartooned band, as it is very rare for the band to show themselves as people. Their videos are all in cartoon form, in the style of cartoons such as Pokemon.

Music Videos and Fashion/Photography
George Michael - 'Father Figure'
- Supermodels are used in this video to promote fashion as the models are in fasionable clothing and outfits that were on the catwak at the time.

Robert Palmer - 'Addicted To Love'
Shania Twain - 'Man I Feel Like A Women'
Bill Knigh - 'Christmas Is All Around' (Love Actually)

-The three songs above have used the exact same idea in their music videos, which is the singer in the foreground with good looking style icons wearing black clothing, in the background playing instruments.

Goodwin's Principals

Andrew Goodwin has come up with 7 principals that should be seen in every music video, these are;

• Genre Characteristic - For example, rock bands tend to have a performance based video with each member shown playing their instrument.
• A Relationship Between Music And Visuals - This is visuals link with the music in the video for example, if the song is about love and there are lots of heart in the video.
• A Relationship Between Music And Lyrics - Having the lyrics fit in with the video is what a majority of artists tend to do in videos, for example if a line of the lyrics is 'a girl was waiting at the station, for the one she loves', the video may show a girl at a station, holding her phone with a text saying 'I'm on my way, love you'. Narrative based videos tend to be told like a story which may link to the visuals.
• Close Ups Of The Artists And Star Motifs - To make sure that the artist or band in any video is unique, it is important to use close ups to show the artist and let the viewer relate to them. Also, by creating star motifs, fans and viewers of music videos can tell easily who is on the video. This means that the star motif can be used on merchanise and album cover so that the artist is recognisable and stands out. A good example of a band that has a worldwide recognised logo/star motif is the 'red Hot Chili Peppers'. Their logo which is to the left is on merchandise from band t-shirts, sticks, posters, banners and CD covers, as well as being in the background of some of their videos so that when people or fans see the logo, it is recognised automatically as linking to the band.
• Reference Of The Notion Of Looking - This is when mirrors, cameras and eyes etc are used in music videos so that it gives the feel that artists are relating to the viewer.
• Any Intertexual Referneces? - In many music videos, intertexuality is in the video which is when other forms of media are linked into the video for example a spoof cop video could be the same as an existing cops and robber film.
• Is The Video Based On?
  - Performance
  - Narrative (Lyrics)
  - A Concept or Idea

Ok Go - Here It Goes Again

(Clip from 'Here It Goes Again' video)

The video for 'Here It Goes Again' is 'concept based' and currently has 2,975,789 views on YouTube.
The video has a completely original idea, which is all four of the band members on treadmills doing a routine for the whole duration of the video.
There is no performing in terms of the band singing/playing their instruments in the video and it does not tell a story that links to the lyrics of the song.
During the video, there is only one camera angle/shot as the camera stays in the same place for the whole thing.


This is the link for the Here It Goes Again video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTAAsCNK7RA&ob=av2e

Green Day - American Idiot

(Clip from 'American Idiot' video)

The video for Green Day's song for 'American Idiot' is a performance based video which means that the song is literally played form the beginning to end, usually with the whole band shown playing their instruments throughout.
In the video, all band members are present and playing their instruments for the whole of the video which explains why it is 'performance based'. The camera is left on for a few seconds which allows you to watch them walk away from a low angle shot.
At one point in the video, each member of the band is playing in a different speed to the others, for example the lead singer is in slow motion, the guitarist is normal speed and the drummer has been sped up, they then take it in turns to swap around.
Brand identity is shown at the beggining of the video, when you can hear the opening to the song but not see the band. A cartoon hand holding a heart granade is shown, which existing fans and people that know Green Day would recognise which means that even before the band is shown the audience are aware of who will be in the video.

This is the link for the American Idiot video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkmEZs_Kcms

Lady Gaga - Bad Romance

(Clip from 'Bad Romance' video)

Lady Gaga's music video for 'Bad Romance' is 'narrative based' which means that it tells a story. The video is set in a brothel, where men are bidding to 'win' Lady Gaga' for their own.

Close ups and reaction shots allow the viewers to see the reactions of each person, so that they can almost feel what Lady Gaga is feeling. Straight cuts and jump cuts are in sync with the music beat and follows the visual so the viewers can keep up with whats happening.

In each of the scenes, allof the dancers tend to dance in one particular colour, with Lady Gaga either blending in or wearing an outfit which although is the same or a similar colour, still stands out.

Product placement was also included in the video, where a particular brand of vodka was shown, with a close up view and allow it wasn't for very long it can be thought of as a type of synergy.

This is the link for the Bad Romance video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrO4YZeyl0I&ob=av3e

Introduction

I will use this blog to post my A2 media studies work, this includes a practical piece involving a promotional package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video and two ancillary tasks.

(Due to a technical fault in my previous blog, I had to create a new account and have moved my already existing posts on to this one.)