Our group is in a unique situation compared to our other classmates in regards to our chosen artist; we discovered Lawrence King as he is a friend of Nicola and she had heard his music. Although this gives us an advantage as we can contact him directly for research it also means he is not yet fully established and so we cannot gain inspiration/direction from previous music videos.
A quick introduction to Lawrence King:
Lawrence is 20 years old
He is currently a student at the University of Hertfordshire
He studies Music Technology
His music is predominately in the Electronic genre
La Roux - Bulletproof[2009] Electropop Concept & Performance based
Mise en scene - The location in the music video is a computer generated room, with brightly coloured 3D patterns, light and shapes inside it. Elly Jackson (the singer in the duo band "La Roux") is shown sitting in a chair in a bright setting, looking towards the floor. When the lyrics start, Jackson looks up and walks towards the camera singing them, with random patterns and shapes in bright colours such as greens, oranges and blues moving behind her. She has iconic hair and makeup, including orange lipstick and colourful eyeshadow, and this highlights her individuality and personal style. The video combines a retro 80's feel with a futuristic theme, almost like shes in an retro computer game.
Cinematography - As the song is upbeat, movement plays a really big part in the cinematography of this video, the camera is almost never fixed in one place not moving, its almost always tracking or panning shots throughout, such as at 1:14 its tracking backwards whilst she walks towards the camera. This makes the video never boring or still, there is always something moving around and making it exciting to watch. Close ups are used of her face to show her iconic make up and hair, and wide shots are used to show her CGI surroundings to the audience.
Editing/Visual effects - Alot of post production work has gone into making this music video as nearly all of it (apart from Elly Jackson herself) is CGI - computer generated images. The screen is made to look like smashed glass near the end using an editing effect, this could mean that shes been broken before but will not let it happen again - as this time shes "bulletproof".
Relationship between lyrics and visuals - This energetic and colourful music video shows how she just wants to have fun now and not end up getting hurt in a serious relationship like she has been in the past, such as when she sings "been there, done that, messed around. I'm having fun, don't let me down. I'll never let you sweep me off my feet." Near the end of the video she walks quickly and confidently towards the camera, with hundreds of little coloured shapes falling around her, and it corresponds with the lyrics like she is telling someone who she has been hurt by before that shes not going to let it happen this time. Throughout the song, she sings along with the lyrics, making this music video performance based as well as the concept based.
Relationship between music and the visuals - There is a strong relationship between the the music and the visuals -the camera shots rapidly change to go with the beat of the song, and as Elly Jackson is walking, you can see squares on the wall flash to the beat of the song, helping to enhance the song. From 2:15-2:30, she can just be seen sitting and lying down and not singing along, compared to walking and singing in the rest of the video. This is because the pace of the song is reflected in the video, and at this point it changes from fast and upbeat to a slower and calm pace.
Genre characteristics of the music style - The music video demonstrates strong characteristics of videos for songs of the electropop genre - visual enhancements and effects, and an upbeat and energetic feel.
Representation - Lots of close ups are shown of her face and her iconic hair and makeup, including orange lipstick and colourful eyeshadow, this was most likely a demand from the record company to develop La Roux's identity. She is represented as young woman who is pretty in an alternative way, who is carefree and doesn't need a man in her life.
Audience - I think that the intended audience of this music video is teenage girls and young women aged 13-25 as these are the type of people who would listen to La Roux and this upbeat song. Men might also enjoy it as she is fairly good looking, but she doesn't dress provocatively so that might put some men off from watching it!
Overall, I think this music video is a very good example of one with less narrative and more concept based, and think it works very well for songs of the electropop genre.
Mika - "We Are Golden"[2009] Directed by Jonas Akerlund Pop Performance based
This music video features Mika dancing around his bedroom in his underwear and is said to be a "celebration of all the years Mika spent dancing around his bedroom as a teenager."
Mise en scene - Set in a bright and colourful teenagers bedroom, with a bright and cheery feel to it. The bedroom is really untidy, showing how when your a child its acceptable to have a messy room. Throughout the video, he wears just his underpants showing how when your young you could get away with that but now that he's an adult its not really accepted to just wear your underwear and no clothes. Lighting is used to make the bedroom look bright and fresh. He sometimes wears items of eccentric jewelery such as at 2:45 where he seems to be wearing a necklace made out of lego - this adds to the cheerful and lighthearted mood of the video and shows that he doesn't really cares what he looks like, he's just having fun and being like a big kid.
Cinematography - Wide shots (that are slightly low angle) are used of his bedroom and him dancing around to set the scene and show that it is set in a messy kids/teenagers bedroom. Close up shots are used of the tape at the beginning that has the words "We Are Golden" on it to show the audience the name of the song so they will remember it. The low angled shots used throughout I think are there to make the audience feel small and make it like they are seeing the world through a child's eyes again. Close ups of this face are used throughout such as at 0:41, this was probably a demand by the record company to reinforce his identity and so the audience recognises this is a song by Mika.
Editing/Visual effects - As the song has an upbeat,fast paced and happy mood, it is done using fast-cut montage using loads of different quick and snappy shots, so many infact that one viewing may not be enough to grasp all the images, so multiple viewing is likely. At 3:18 he is shown having lasers coming out from his head and body, this would of been done in post production using an editing program. Throughout the video, there are shots of him where the saturation has been edited in post production, making it look really unnaturally bright such as at 1:37, and adds to the vibrant feel of the piece. At 3:35 CGI has been used to make the ceiling of his room look like it is a stormy sky.
Relationship between lyrics and visuals - There is a strong relationship between the lyrics of the song and what is shown in the video. In the chorus it says "Teenage dreams in a teenage circus, Running around like a clown on purpose" and this is shown in the video with him dancing around his room in his underpants having fun and not caring about anything, just like being a kid again and "Teenage circus" means his bedroom, with its bright colours and shapes.
Relationship between music and the visuals - The music has a very happy, upbeat and vibrant feel to it and this is reflected in the visuals with their bright colours and Mika dancing around carefree in the messy but vibrant looking bedroom. In the video, the music starts once Mika has put the tape into the cassette player which works well. The video changes with the pace of the song such as longer shots are put in nearer the end where the music beat slows down at around 3:27.
Genre characteristics of the music style - The genre of the music is pop, and I think that this is a fairly typical video of the pop genre, its lighthearted and upbeat, non-offensive and not controversial, and just shows someone having a good time surrounded by bright colours and an interesting set.
Intertextuality - Mika can be seen wearing a gimp mask at 3:00, made famous by the film Pulp Fiction.
Representation - The only person in the video is Mika himself, he is represented as a fairly good looking guy (who may or may not be gay) who just wants to be carefree like a kid again and go back to being young where you can get away with doing loads of things that you can't as an adult.
Audience - I think that this video has very broad appeal as it is so lighthearted and has a fun and youthful feel to it. Mostly I think that children (boys or girls), teenage girls (as Mika is fairly good looking) and gay men (as its bright and colourful and he's just wearing his boxers) would like it the most, but really it could be enjoyed by someone of any age or sexuality if they liked his music.
Massive Attack - "Karmacoma"[1995] Directed by Jonathan Glazer Trip-hop Narrative & Performance based
Mise en scene - The video is set in a hotel, lit with high key lighting (harsh with little contrast). There is a man with long, unkept hair and beard who is very rough looking, and that helps to immediately give the impression that he is dodgy and probably not a nice character. The video is full of people dressed in strange costumes and make up, such as the man at 0:38 with a gun muttering to himself pointing the gun at different rooms, obviously in a state of distress and paranoia, and the way he is dressed just makes him look even more weird and like he can't be trusted. The man covered with oil among mirrors and cameras, I presume to be performing some kind of bizarre artwork. A man has been covered with brown oil at 3:54 and is pulling his finger out of his own stomach, this just adds to the completly bizarre feel of the video.
Cinematography - At the start we see a camera tracking shot going down the corridor of the hotel to set the scene of where this video is taking place, and a high angle shot is shown of a man sitting on a chair, who has been shot of stabbed. Close ups are used throughout of the Massive Attack members singing.
Editing/Visual effects - To establish a more downbeat mood, this video uses slow pace and gentler shot transitions compared with the fast cut montage of shots used for more upbeat music videos. Many special effects have been added in post production of the music video, for example there is a man that attempting to drown a mini copy of himself in a bathtub at 4:16.
Relationship between lyrics and visuals - There is hardly any relationship between what we hear in the lyrics and the visuals of the video, the song is quite cryptic and conceptual yet the visuals have a strong narrative, so they kind of contradict each other yet I think it works rather well with the trippy lyrics and feel of the song.
Relationship between music and the visuals - The shot transitions are in time with the beats of the music giving a very nice rhythmical feel.The shot durations are longer than you would expect from a music video, it's almost like mini film, which I think helps establish the narrative and show the several different characters in their own hotel rooms and what each of them is doing.The whole video has a very strange almost hallucinogenic feel to it, like its something a schizophrenic person would see, which I think works well with the trip-hop genre of the music and its downbeat, trippy mood.
Intertextuality - Intertextuality and homages to other filmmakers are used throughout the video - particularly to to the 1980s film The Shining, such as the two eerie identical twins, the shots of long and empty hotel corridors and the obsessive typing of a single phrase on a typewriter. The woman with black short hair wearing a suit is reminiscent of Mia Wallace played by Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction, in particular the scene where she suddenly has a nosebleed at 3:23.
Genre characteristics of the music style - The characteristics of trip hop, and alternative music are that the videos are usually very artistic and non-mainstream and lots of editing effects used. Similar songs Massive Attack have had such as Teardrop have also had very unconventional music videos that provoke a strong response in the audience.
Representation - Throughout the video at different intervals, we see members of Massive Attack singing the lyrics, which was likely a demand of the record company to reinforce that the song is by Massive Attack, and to strengthen the bands identity. The band are represented in the video as edgy and alternative, with quite a strong artistic and almost poetic feel to their work.
Audience - I think that the intended audience for this music video are young people aged 18-24, that are perhaps into non-mainstream music and will appreciate the artistic and alternative nature of the video.
Today our task was to finalise our music choice. We had listened to some Lawrence King tracks in the week on Last.fm and the whole group enjoyed the music. Lawrence sent us some tracks that he thought were particularly suitable for a pop promo. We decided on the track -Gravity and Habit- as we felt the change in styles and tempo throughout the song would make for a more interesting pop promo.
Our initial ideas was a nature vs. urban idea, shots of the city and of nature. After speaking to Jon we realise we need to incorporate a stronger narrative in the promo. So for next week we are all going to come up with individual ideas which include a narrative and research what similar artists have done for their music videos.
There are several things that need to be considered when thinking about what makes a good pop promo...
Relationship of visuals to music
Music videos usually make use of the tempo of the track to drive the editing, and they may emphasise particular sounds from the track by foregrounding instruments such as a guitar, keyboard or drum solo. The visuals can either illustrate, amplify or contradict the music.
Relationship of visuals to lyrics
Lyrics help establish a feeling and mood. Rarely will a music video simply illustrate the lyrics alone, but key lines may play a part in the visual associated. The visuals can either illustrate, amplify or contradict the lyrics.
Star construction
Star construction is made up of three areas:
Star image is how the star is perceived by the audience and the characteristics ascribed to him or her which may be a combination of a conscious construction by the media industry that they work for, and of extra textual publicity in other media. It can be controlled by the star up to a certain point, but however newspapers or magazines can take advantage of any weaknesses. Music promos play a significant part in the construction of image, by creating an associated iconography (visual features that accompany the stars performance such as costumes or settings).
Star vehicle is a product constructed around the image of the star in order to promote them (eg a music video). These can reinforce the stars existing image or try and change the image and create a new one. They showcase their talents, and play a large part in constructing and maintaining their image.
Star power takes several forms: Economic power through earnings generated by the sales of an associated product such as cinema tickets or CDs. Artistic power which is creative control of their own image and how it appears in the media. Finally, Ideological power in terms of their influence upon the audience, which may take the form of style (eg fashion) or attitude.
Intertextuality
Music promos often use existing texts in their promo to spark recognition in the audience. It increases the audience's engagement and attentiveness to the product, an important factor in a culture where so many images and narratives compete for an audiences' attention. Lots of music videos draw upon cinema as a starting point, as often their directors are film school graduates who intend to move on into the film industry.
Musical genres codes & conventions
While some pop promos transcend genres, others can be more easily catagorised. Some music channels only play videos of a particular genre. After watching music videos of different genres, you are able to see the range of distinct features which characterise the videos of different genres. these different features can be in terms of mise en scene, performance, editing styles and cinematography. An example of this is rap music - typical features of rap pop promos are that they are usually narrative and performance based, with men wearing alot of "bling" (gold jewelry, expensive watches etc), women wearing little clothes dancing, pit bull type tough looking dogs, close up shots of the women and lots of shots of things throughout showing that the men have money and power.
How audience are targeted
Certain genres of music are going to appeal to certain demographics of people. A rap song and music video may well appeal to a 18 year old teenage boy who aspires to be like the rappers in the video who have lots of money, women, pit bull dogs, gold jewelery and mansions, but it will most likely not appeal to a 50 year old women who has a passion for classical music. This is why music videos of different genres concentrate on targeting their video to members of their intended audience, and they could do this by making the artist have an image that this target audience would aspire to have, or perhaps be set in locations that the target audience might like to live in or visit.
Iconography & promotion of the band/artist
Close up shots throughout the music video of the artist are often a demand by the record company to the directors of the video, and help to promote the artist so they can be recognised by the audience and the audience will know exactly who is singing the song they are listening to.
The artist may develop their own iconography both in and out of their videos which over time will become part of their star image. The artist may have their own personal quirky style such as Elly Jackson from La Roux with her orange lipstick and green eyeshadow, and eccentric hair style in her video for her song "Bulletproof". This represents her as an edgy young woman that has her own personal non main stream style who likes to stand out from the crowd and be noticed and have her own iconic identity.
Style narrative, performance & concept
Narrative based music videos - these are like mini feature films, they have a story and usually have a strong relationship with the songs lyrics. This can be seen in the music video for 2Pacs "Ghetto Gospel" which illustrates the songs lyrics and has strong narrative throughout.
Performance based music videos - These are music videos where the artist can be seen performing their song throughout the video. Rock bands such as My chemical romance typically have their music videos as performance based and this helps to promote them to their audience.
Concept based music videos- A large proportion of the music videos seen on MTV and similar channels are concept based. These are conceptual visual interpretations of a song, and not just the band performing throughout. The visuals can be related to the lyrics, but they also might not be. An example of a conceptual music video is R.E.M's "Everybody Hurts," where the band is stuck in traffic, and the audience reads the "thought balloons" of everyone stuck in the same traffic jam, and at the crescendo of the song, everyone gets out of their cars and simply walks away.
Voyeurism and Exhibition
The idea of "voyerism" first came from Sigmund Freuds theories that referred to the fact that erotic pleasure may be gained by looking at a sexual object (preferably when the object doesn't know it's being watched). This has been applied to film spectatorship, and states that whilst watching a film we are all voyeurs, but that the film also presents us with a variety of pleasures that are not sexual ones. It has been argued that as film makers are mostly male, the use of women in film is often solely for the use of display, to facilitate a voyeuristic response in the audience. This can be used to explain why women (often dressed and acting provocatively) are typically used in male artists pop promos - as they trigger a voyeuristic response in the audience. References to voyerism can also be in terms of systems of looking (eg screens within screens, binoculars, cameras etc).
Exhibitionism is perhaps the opposite of voyeurism. An example of this is the more powerful, independent female artists such as Madonna, who are both sexually provocative as well as being in control of, and inviting, a sexualised gaze. This raises the debate of who is exploiting who? Is the woman being exploited simply to raise male profit margins, or is she simply showing her self confidence and sexual independence?
Use of ECMS
Editing - The most common type associated with music videos is fast-cut montage, that one viewing may not be enough to grasp all the images so multiple viewing is likely. However, to establish a more downbeat mood, some videos use slow pace and gentler shot transitions. More high budget promos could use blockbuster film style CGI special effects. Cinematography - There is usually a demand from the record companies for lots of close up shots of the main artist/vocalist to strengthen the artists image and identity. Establishing shots will be needed to set the scene for the music video. Mise en scene - This includes locations, props, actors/bands/artists, costumes, and lighting. Different genres of music video have their own stereotypical locations, eg hip hop video set in a ghetto, drum and bass video set in a club, rock video at a gig. What the artists wear and how their make up is done etc in the video adds to their whole brand image and how they will be perceived by the audience. The lighting can play a big part on the whole look and feel of the piece, such as dark low key lighting for a more downbeat, gloomy video. Sound - Extra sounds are sometimes added in that are not part of the music track but that add to the overall finish of the video, such the sound of a tape being put into a cassette player at the start of the video such as in Mika's video for his song "We Are Golden".
Possible ideology in music videos
Ideology is rather complex, but in this instance is basically means the set of ideas or beliefs which are said to be acceptable by the creators of the media text. Some music videos have strong ideological messages where ideas/beliefs of the creators of the music video are conveyed to the audience. An example of this is Massive Attacks music video for their song "Teardrop" which shows a fetus in the womb miming to the songs lyrics, and is then aborted - Click here to watch the video. This video carries a strong anti abortion message/pro life ideology that Massive Attack obviously advocate. Another example could be a music video with a feminist ideology, meaning it promotes the idea that women are the equal of men, and so wouldn't show them dressing provocatively and acting suggestively and seen as a sex object as can sometimes be seem in certain genres of music video e.g rap and hip hop.Having a controversial ideology in a music video could be a good way to gain publicity for the artist.
Today the class was given their brief by Jon, and we discussed what was required of us. Our first task was to organise ourselves into groups for our coursework. Our group consists of Maya Mathias, Jessica Hayward and Nicola Wright. Jon asked us to discuss our options for the music track for our pop promo. Nicola mentioned a friend, Lawrence King, that is doing music production at university, and that it may be possible to use one of his tracks. For next week we will try to contact Lawrence and get some tracks from him.
