Friday, 16 October 2009
Monday, 5 October 2009
Monday, 21 September 2009
Planning - Filming Schedule
Sunday, 20 September 2009
Planning - Treatment
Throughout the video there will be intervals where there will be a several second shot of them both in colour and singing a section of the lyrics (chorus). During the intervals of the actor and actress singing, one being closer to the camera and the other being behind in the distance. The actor will be positioned at a great length which gives their distance from one another and to the audience, which enlightens the audience of their detatchment, this also gives a mixed element of a performance-based video and narrative-based video.
The narrative-based element of the video will be portrayed to be a couple who are avoiding each other but are continuously engaging with each other (bumping into each other). When the two meet they will immidetly turn around and ignore each other, however at the end of the video they will be no longer able to avoid each other and become a couple again and row beyond the trees.
Tuesday, 15 September 2009
Planning - Props Preperation
These rowing boats that are used on the boating lake are open to the public. The rowing boat is going to be used at the end of the video when the couple come back together.
The phone is going to be a symbol of communication between them both. One is going to call the other and the other is going to hang up on them. This will be a prob that will be on at certain points during the video and finally they will meet and board the rowing boat.
Planning - Video Location Recee shots
Thursday, 10 September 2009
Research into CD Covers
Research into Target Audiences
1) How old are you?
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19+
2) What sex are you?
- Male
- Female
3) What types of genre do you listen to?
- R&B
- Indie
- Rock
- Heavy Metal
- Jazz
- Pop
- Hip-hop
4) Do you enjoying watching music videos that are:
- Narrative-based
- Performanced-based
- Both
5) Do you prefer:
- Male artists
- Female artists
- Boy bands
- Girl bands
- Mixed bands
- None of the above
6) Do you prefer:- Music without a video
- Music with a video
Research into the Industry
LaFace RecordsParent company - Sony Music Entertainment
Founded - 1989
Founders - Antonio Reid and Kenneth Edmonds
Distribusting label - Zomba Music Group (US)
Genre - Various
Country of Origin - USA
Signed artists:
Research into Genres
· Music was created by African Americans in the late 1940s/50s
· Contemporary R&B is a modern day version of soul and funk which was influenced by pop musicCurrent major R&B artists are:
- Michael Jackson – Beat It, Thriller, Billie Jean
- Usher – Trading Places, Thinking of You, Nice & Slow
- Akon – Beautiful , Right Now (Na Na Na)
- Stevie Wonder – For Your Love, Jungle Fever, So What The Fuss
- Lionel Richie – My Destiny, Do It To Me, Angel
· Began in early 1950s in United Kingdom
· The stylistic origins are Rock and Rock, Blues and country
· The Beatles – Day Tripper, We Can, Paperback
· Rolling Stones – 100 Years Ago, Satisfaction, All Sold Out 
· Queen – It’s A Beautiful Day, Made in Heaven, Let Me Live
· U2 – No Line on the Horizon, Magnificent, Moment of Surrender
· Bob Dylan – Dirt Road Blues, Standing on the Doorway, Not Dark Yet
Research - Music Video Analysis 2
The music video “Beat it” was written and sung by Michael Jackson, and was directed by Bob Giraldi. The genre of the music video is Rock and R&B, the videos characteristics are targeted at the black youth and the streets and Jackson “contemplating the senseless violence”.
Throughout the song the relationship between the lyrics and the visuals is that Jackson is singing about the rivalry between the two gangs. The connection between the lyrics and the visuals is the song title “Beat it”; this is constantly sung by Jackson as these words describe the entire video. The lyrics “beat it” is amplified by the gangster visuals and how they are preparing for a fight. Jackson’s lyrics are constantly representing the visuals, because his lyrics resemble a gangster theme, and they are amplified by the cast who are shown throughout. A specific example of the relationship between the lyrics and visuals is the lyrics “Don't wanna be a boy, you wanna be a man” when this is sung the camera is on two men hanging off the end of a pickup truck and they are smoking which is to resemble a man not a boy. This is contrasted against the image they are getting due to the fighting being seen as a boyish thing to do. However the fighting is also a way for the gangsters to show how strong they are and how they do not want to be defeated, “No one wants to be defeated Showin' how funky and strong is your fight”.
The video opens on a cafe where there is only diegetic sound of people rustling in a cafe and a plate clattering into a sink, then as the gangsters leave, immediately when the cafe door closes a rhythm of low beats begins, this is produced by techno music and then becomes upbeat and has a faster pace, this music matches the video as the upbeat rhythm connects the gangsters to their personalities and to the music. In the centre of the video, around two minutes fifteen, Jackson appears through the door and walks into the bar where the first gang were, and the pace increases do to the chorus being repeated several times until the end. At three minutes ten, there is a solo guitarist and a beat from drums in the background and this is where the two gangs meet, and gives this an extra sense of excitement because it shows signs of intensity.
"Beat it" is a music video that was aimed at the black youth of today, this video was created to create awareness of the youth of the time and how the ever growing gangsters in the streets is continuing. During the video as Jackson is dancing to bring the two gangs together he is showing to be considerate to the rising influences of fighting and crime and showing that he is peaceful. Jackson's image in this video is being portrayed as confident, caring and cool, his attitude towards the violence shows that his personality is one which people to can look to for guidance and admiration. During the time of the videos release, Jackson had previously released "Billie Jean" which was only a few months before "Beat it". These two songs have a similar meaning because they are both show to have a story or an aim behind them. "Beat it" was to make people aware of the increasing black youth and the gangster background, and "Billie Jean" had a story directly from Jackson's previous music career with the Jackson 5 and how the groupies from those days wrote to the singer informing them of false accusations.
"Beat it" is mainly a narrative-based video as the true message of Jackson's song is in the lyrics, however the video is also partially performance-based because the video reinforces the message that Jackson tries to send to the viewers and fans. Both the performance and the narrative send strong messages and both combined are excellent for Jackson's image as it shows his caring personality towards the increasing awareness of the black youth and gangsters.
"Beat it" was one of Jackson's inspiring music videos as it was his first treatment to black youth and the streets. Overall Jackson's image in this video is showing his compassion to the world and the public. His narrative performance in the video enforces his message as it gives the people a taste of what he is trying to do, bringing music to every bodies lives. His dancing skills are shown in this video to express his to feelings towards the message, but also the choreographing of the video was to sell the star and his talent.
Friday, 10 July 2009
Research - Music Video Analysis 1
The music video “Trading Places” is written by the artist Usher, and was directed by Chris Robinson. The genre of the music video is R&B and the videos characteristics involve a sexual relationship between Usher and a woman.
The relationship between the lyrics and visuals can be shown through the facial expressions, dance moves, props and the other actress in the video. During the video, Usher sings while he is performing. The relationship between the lyrics and the visuals are important as when Usher sings “trading places”, Usher and his companion change positions from either on top or underneath each other, and on some other occasions their position does not change but the camera angle changes on the horizontal axis as they are laying down. At the beginning of the video the lyrics “Now we gonna do this thing a lil different tonight” are a little confusing to match with the visuals as the action which is happening is a woman swimming in a water tank, this is different to the lyrics however it is the “different” in the lyrics. The lyrics “And whisper in my ear I bet you really wanna do me” is truly represented in the music video as Usher sings the lyrics in the actress’s ear. Another good example of the relationship between the lyrics and the visuals is “Time to get up baby and let me make this bed up”. 
The beginning of the video cuts a drum beat and a note from the piano Usher plays during parts the video. Throughout the video Usher performs a few instrumentals on the piano; however the piano sound does not always stay the same as a piano should sound, during the first minute he uses an oriental sound on the piano along with the drum beat which is off set. After two and a half minutes of the video the pace of the beat increases and becomes faster as they are in the vent-like set and when Usher begins to dance.
Throughout the video there are close-ups of Usher and the female actress, this is to reinforce the stars image and sell the artist.
The record company wants to sell Usher in this video as there are more close-ups of him and the female actress than of him singing, this is a perfect example of Freud’s theory of voyeurism which Pete Fraser Teaching Music Video (BFI 2004) then applied to music videos, which is shown in this video as the record company is selling Usher and his body and of the female actress and her body. From watching the video the target audience is both men and women due to the close-ups of Usher and the female actress. Goodwin’s argument “that the female performer will frequently be objectified in this fashion, often through a combination of camerawork and editing with fragmented body shots emphasizing a sexualised treatment of the star.” is true as the female actress is shown to be more revealing and sexual than Usher.
The image that is being offered to the audience is Usher the star, not Usher the artist, this is because if the record company would want to sell the artist they would make a video that involved Usher singing throughout the video and not only parts of the video. After watching My Boo, Trading Places is more calm and peaceful as in My Boo there is a lot of disco and performances. However the voyeurism is the same, with the women attracting the male gaze and Usher attracting the younger female audience.
Trading Places gives the image of Usher being a skillful and romantic star through him singing to the actress and playing the piano, in contrast to this music video, My Boo shows him to be wild and social-able person. Throughout this video, both Usher and the actress are on sexual display, this creates an eye attraction for the audience due to the woman wearing lingerie, whereas Usher appears to wear a t-shirt and trousers. This continues with Pete Fraser’s theory of voyeurism with the sexual display of Usher and the actress.
During the video, close-ups are used frequently on the sexual and intimate moments between Usher and the actress such as when they kiss each other. The sexual costumes that both of them wear also implies sexualised display, this is another way for record companies to sell Usher and also the costumes have been said to be samples of his new line of lingerie for men and women.
Usher stated that the song “was totally inspired by the work of Prince”, meaning the intertexual reference does not relate to any other music videos but to an artist, Prince. The location of the music video reflects a wealthy and luxurious background, a set that matches Usher’s wealth and personality.
Trading Places is a music video that is performance and narrative based due to Usher dancing in certain parts of the video and playing the piano, however he uses the narrative to display his affection to the actress.
This music video is very creative and intimate, as this is shown through Usher and the actress, the video represents the love and sexual desire both of them share. Also during the video, the imagery that is set is an eye appeal to audiences, and as the target audience is mixed sexes it gives the record company a broader audience. Chris Robinson has used Usher and the actress’s body to sell the video as this video is to sell Usher and not his music, however as this is Pete Fraser’s theory of voyeurism it also displays part of Dyer’s theory of the common values of the music stardom such as sexual magnetism, originality and creativity/talent.
As the artist uses golden and black colours for the main set of himself and the actress, the set gives a display of luxury to show the audience the sexual relationship between him and the actress. However the golden and black set is contrasted by the white pearl set with the see-through piano and how he uses the piano to show his artist features and skill while in contrast he also sings to the actress to show his romantic and sexual features. Although the music video is sell Usher, he is also selling expressing his creative ability as he is mixing a variety of skills such as playing the piano and performing a small dance routine, however the parts of the video which where himself and the actress, he displayed his romantic and sexual abilities such as singing to her and kissing her. This video also shows that the mixed abilities that Usher displays are also what he can show in future videos such as his previous video Moving Mountains where he displayed mainly emotional movements and lyrics while visualising a sexual woman dancing. So in conclusion this video was filmed to sell Usher and the actress and to express the romantic and sexual features of them both.
Tuesday, 7 July 2009
Research - Directors Research Task
Chris Cunningham:
Michel Gondrey was born May 8, 1963. He is a French film, commercial and music video director and an Academy Award-winning screenwriter. He is also noted for his inventive visual style and manipulation of mise-en-scene. Michel Gondrey directed many music videos for Bjork such as "Human Behaviour", this video shows that Michel had a very creative imagination due to the characters and animals that are featured in it.
Friday, 3 July 2009
A2 Media - Introduction
Main text: A music promo video (40 marks)
Ancillary texts:
A website hompage for the band (10 marks)
A cover for its release as part of a digipak (CD/DVD package) (10 marks)
Research and Planning (20 marks)
Evaluation (20 marks)
Total - 100 marks