Friday, September 30, 2011

Conventions of Genre

Our music video would be classed as 'indie pop'; alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980's. It usually contains guitar music and a slightly more rocky tone to pop music. Ellie Goulding is cast under this category as her music consists of guitar and her unusual indie voice. The conventions of indie pop music videos can vary from Lana Del Rey who in her video of 'Video Games' uses a montage style video to of images to capture the tone of her video, or Two Door Cinema Club who in their video for 'I can talk' use a video of the band to depict their personalities in a fun, uplifting video with little deep meaning. However, other Indie pop artists such as Kate Nash in her video for 'Foundations' reflects a narrative music video with her as the protagonist, telling a story which is unveiled as the song continues, mixed with some lip syncing of the artist.

In our music video, I think we will stick to the conventions of a narrative indie pop music video as our chosen song, much like Kate Nash's, reveals a story about love which is told through the actions of two characters. We will also consider the lip syncing role of the artist to act as the narrator to the story and give it more depth.



Evaluation of Ellie Goulding video

The Writer, Ellie Goulding




The video starts with an extreme close up of the artist's face to begin with intimacy and a sense of raw feelings portrayed to the audience. There is wind blowing to sow the image of nature and innocence she reflects. The shot then flicks to a mid shot of Ellie where you can see a fielded landscape behind her; this exaggerates the previous point and also shows that possibly she had an experience here with the person in which the song is about. We then see that Ellie is dressed in white with long draping fabrics which is commonly known to reflect innocence and as the song is about love, she can be seen as the innocent party of the relationship. This is a concept we could adopt for our own music video and dress our protagonist in white. The shot then changes to a long shot of her walking in a field with a wide variety of scenery revealed such as a lighthouse which could be an indication that she shares memories with her partner here. This could also be used in our video as our storyline reflect a girl looking back on memories with her boyfriend. However, ours would be in a negative way whereas this video is somewhat light-hearted. She wears minimal makeup to show her stripped back personality in the video. She is alone in the video which makes the audience question her isolation and whether the relationship is still lasting. She then runs up the stairs of the lighthouse which is previously shown. There are birds eye shots to highlight to vast stair case and her running could represent her desperation to get to something or reach someone. This is also a concept we could incorporate within our video where the protagonist could be running back to her lover in some way. The video then ends with a shot of Ellie looking over her shoulder at the camera to associate a relationship and connection between the artist and the audience.

Premission Email

Here is a email we sent to Polydor Records asking for appoval when using there song.

Research Into videos

This post shows research into our choosen artists music videos, we found this was a very important to do as we would gain a greater understanding for our own video and our artists initial style. We also could gain inspiration from her work which could be incorporated into our video.


From the stary-eyed video we can see that Ellie uses alot of mid shots in her videos, this is something that can be useful to our video as the main importance is seeing the main characters face and arm movements not just her whole body.


From this image of Ellie we can see that she also uses background very carefully and this could be usefull when filming our video as ours will be based in our main characters bedroom.  The use of background gives the viewer a inside to a place which is very personal and reflects the character of the main character.


Once again Ellie uses a mid shot but this time outside, the strong green background works well in contrast with just ellie and shows that shes alone and adds difference in constrast to just being inside.

Brief

Ellie Goulding
Every Time You Go


Our brief is to create a music video to the song 'Every time you go' by Ellie Goulding and represent the tone and mood of the song within the video.


Ideas for this video include a couple, who are having a difficult time in there relationship. Our video will show the contrast between the couple when good times turn to bad.


The lyrics of the song portray how the female is feeling towards her boyfriend. These emotions can be expressed in our music video and interpreted in the way we have percieved them.

Song Lyrics

It starts with a picture
And it sits in your frame
And we part with a letter
And it ends in my name
It starts with forever
And it ends with a touch
And I know that you're clever
And I don't ask for much

Maybe we forgot all the things were when are together

Wake me up
Wake me up
Stop my fall
Everytime you go
Tape me up
Then break me up
Ever so gently
When I'm my weakest
Then it's not so hard
Everytime you go

You said I'm arresting
You said I had heat
I really tohught that we would go further
The second time we'd meet
Now I'm tired of trying to keep you
All I want to do is sleep
But perhaps when I'm sleeping
You'll get back on your feet

Maybe we forgot all the things we were when we were together

Wake me up
Wake me up
Stop my fall
Everytime you go
Tape me up
Then break me up
Ever so gently
When I'm my weakest
Then it's not so hard
Every time you go

Maybe we forgot, are we awake, or not?
Maybe we forgot, are we awake, or not?
Maybe we forgot, are we awake, or not?
Maybe we forgot

Wake me up
Wake me up
Stop my fall
Everytime you go
Tape me up
Then break me up
Ever so gently
When I'm my weakest
Then it's not so hard
Everytime you go
Everytime you go

Artist Information



Ellie Goulding

Elena Jane Goulding (born 30 December 1986)
 known professionally as Ellie Goulding, is an English singer-songwriter.
In 2010 she became the second artist to both top the BBC's annual Sound of... poll and win the Critics' Choice Award at the BRIT Awards in the same year, following Adeles win of both in 2008. After signing to Polydor Records in 2009, she released her first EP in 2009, An Introduction to Ellie Goulding followed by her debut studio album Lights in 2010.
Her album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and has sold over 620,000 copies in the UK.

Chosen Song Choice

After much consideration, we came to the decision of 'Every time you go' by Ellie Goulding.
The song is about a woman who is constantly fighting a battle with the one she loves, who also keeps leaving her then returning. It suggests the sence of a un-perfect relationship and the struggle she faces being in a difficult relationship. The song also relates to how the couple used to be and how things have now changed.
We chose this song as there is quite alot of imagery which we could use for certain shots such as a picture in a frame. Also, as it is sung by a female artist we wouldn't be faced with too much difficulty casting a female singer who can also lip sync.
The story line and lyrics are also very descriptive and clear with a strong understanding and message for the listeners.

Initial Ideas

Me and Kayleigh came up with various song choices such as:

The maccabees - Toothpaste kisses
This song has a strong message and relates to happy couples. We thought this would be a easy song choice as it is filled with metaphors however it is sung by a man and finding someone to lip sync would be difficult.
However this song would be a fun and challenging to create.
We also thought about doing the song 'best ive ever had' - Drake
Drake is well known for his metaphoric lyrics and we thought this would be a fun song to re-create a music video too. The song is about a women who drake is admiring and is very descriptive. We thought about creating the images Drake is singing on either one of us.
Lyrics to this song include 'sweat pants, hair tied, chilling with no make up on'
this line could easily be recreated and adapted to fit the song perfectly however we would need a male to sing for this choosen song.

Textual Analysis of a music video

In class we did a textual analysis of a the Britney spears Toxic Video.


Britney Spears - Gasoline Lyrics


Lyrics
The lyrics for the song Toxic establish the point that Britney Spears is now ready to move into a more ‘adult’ persona. The words are full of sexual and quite possibly drug allusions/desires and mirror the fact that for Britney, as a 21 year old young woman at the time, she is ready for the adult world. Britney’s fan base would also be moving into their teen years as well, so the lyrics also become a metaphor for their own explorations. Here are a few examples of the lyrics to illustrate this:

There’s no escape, I can’t wait
I need a hit, baby give me it
You’re dangerous, I’m lovin’ it

[Chorus:]
With a taste of your lips, I’m on a ride
You’re toxic, I’m slippin’ under
Taste of a poison paradise
I’m addicted to you
Don’t you know that you’re toxic?
And I love what you do
Don’t you know that you’re toxic?

It’s getting late to give you up
I took a sip from my devil’s cup
Slowly, it’s taking over me

(I think I’m ready now)
Intoxicate me now
With your lovin’ now
Music
This is a example of a high tempo dance track which britney is very known for. This goes well with the fast paced editing.


































Being a pop video there is an emphasis on movement and dance choreography in the video. The dance routines are for the most part simple, the only elaborate movement coming when Britney pretends to escape from a laser trap by doing some flexible moves which show off her famous dance moves. The target audience of young girls and early teenagers would expect some kind of dancing in Britney’s videos so this emphasis on movement is there to satisfy the desire of the fans. We get a sense however that the dance moves in this video highlight Britney’s growing desire to express her sexuality. She regularly ‘bumps and grinds’ with older men in this video and the perfect red nails and near nude outfit that she wears for the ‘performance’ aspect of the video are indications of a more mature nature. (This controversy has never been far from Britney, consider the sexualised school uniform of the Baby… video.)

Indeed the costumes are typical of a young female star. Britney is not known for her singing voice (in the same way that Leona Lewis is) and thus relies on sex appeal and body movement to remain in the public eye. Britney wears various costumes in the video which conform to Mulvey’s study of the male gaze. The air hostess outfit is very short (you can see her pink underwear) for example and the ‘superhero’ disguise that is worn at the end of the video is slashed to reveal Britney’s midriff. The mixture of blonde, black and red hair gives the video variety and makes sure the viewer does not get bored.

Britney Spears’ usual theme for her videos is one of freedom and escape and this is the same here. The opening shot of a plane and two birds are symbolic of Britney’s desire to be free from the image she has created. From a young age Britney has had a media career (first at Disney and through her solo career, a career started at the age of 17) and as her breakdown confirmed the pressures of fame became too much for her. The videos that Britney appears in seem to mirror her desire to escape; either through her costumes and design or just the basic desire to be an individual. In her first video for ‘Baby One More Time’ the mise en scene of a ticking clock and claustrophobic classroom highlighted the theme which Toxic carries on. The different disguises that Britney wears; the props of a motorbike and plane all give the sense that Spears wants to escape her manufactured image. In terms of the audience young adults, especially teenagers, also want to escape from school or like play ‘dress up’ so Britney’s mise en scene of escape is one shared with her target audience. This desire to escape is taken to the extreme in the video for ‘Everytime’ where Britney attempts suicide; again a very public cry for help which foreshadows the breakdown which came a few years later.

Camerawork
Britney is the focus of the music video. Through close ups and mid shots the camera is always centred on the star attraction of the show. Any long shots that are used are usually shown to illustrate some kind of triumph for the star (the pleasure she gets from riding the motor cycle) or to show off her body (the midriff of the superhero at the end, the shortness of the air hostess outfit.) Long shots are also used to show her dancing skills. Any other performers in the video (the other air hostesses for example) are kept to a minimum and in the background, so the viewer can clearly see the ‘product’ that is being displayed (Britney Spears).

Editing
Editing mirrors the fast beat of the song so that the style is rapid and consistent. Most music videos that are pop in the variety employ this technique and Toxic is very conventional in this manner. For an interesting comparison view the video for ‘Everytime’ which is a lot different because of the nature of the speed of the song.

Intertexuality
·         The Holly Valance video for ‘Kiss Kiss’ could be an inspiration for the near nude suit that Britney wears for the dance elements of the song
·         The TV programme Alias was very popular in 2003. It stars a young woman who is an international spy and likes to dress up in different disguises to fulfil her job. The cover of the first season DVD has a look that is very similar to the ‘red haired’ Britney that is in the video and this could be an influence.
·         A female heroine from any number of manga comic strips could be an influence for the black haired Britney at the end of the video. It could also be homage to the comic strip ‘Witch Blade’ which centres on the female superheroes. Britney would return to manga for the video for ‘Break The Ice’.

Narrative/Performance
The narrative for Toxic adheres very closely to Steve Archer’s definition of a music video. There are performance elements to the piece so that Britney can display her skills as a dancer (one of her main selling points) where as the main narrative of a female spy who will go to any lengths (using her sexuality for instance) to reach object of the quest marks Britney’s own desire to escape the confines of the music industry. This ‘dressing up’ element of the video is also shared by her target audience who after four years of watching Britney grow older and more mature are eager to do the same. The close up and lip syncing of the main star is also the main performance of the video as well; again very common in pop videos as well as rock videos as well.

Star Image/Brand
I have already written extensively on the image that Britney is putting across Britney’s selling points are her body, connection to young people and her ‘hidden’ desire to escape (a trait which she shares with her target audience). The video Toxic clearly demonstrates all of these points about the persona of Britney.

Voyeurism/Looking
The video obviously conforms to the male gaze of Mulvey’s teaching. Britney is sexualised as an object to be looked at and appraised. The fact she wears a near nude suit and the camera focuses on her legs and bum at the start of the video highlight pop music’s desire to sell sexuality to a young audience. What complicates this though is the fact that Britney controls the narrative completely. She is definitely not passive in the traditional sense and in many ways she manipulates men for her own desires. She is the one who is a superhero and the wink at the end is the proof needed for this complication. Is it a wink to suggest sexuality? Is it a wink to suggest power and control? The answer lies within the reader because as we know different audiences will read the video in different ways.

Codes and Conventions of a Music Video









Thursday, September 29, 2011

10. Intended Audience

Our intended audience would be 18-30 year old women who have been in a relationship where they have fought with there partner and have possibly been in love. We intend to create a dramatic video expressing the other side to your typical teen music video with a happy couple by using mise en scene to express our genre clearly. Our audience would be females who can relate to love stories and music about couples.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Evaluation of AS blog












What is a music video?




Music videos have the primary purpose of providing imagery to a piece of music, normally seen as a short film. One of the aims of a music video is to promote an artist or song, it's used to attract the song's target audience and encourage sales of the song. Directors can approach music videos in many different ways, including:
- Live action filming
- Animation
- Abstract film
- Narrative
- Non-narrative
- Documentaries

Things I’ve noticed in music videos is the relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, furthermore the relationship between music and the visuals. Different videos have certain iconography linked with the different genres, also infusing a lot of close-ups of the main artist or vocalist.  They usually have references to voyeurism, particularly in the treatment of women, with intertextual references to either other music videos or to films and TV texts.

“a short, moving image product, shot for the express purpose of accompanying a pre-existing music track and used to encourage of sales of the music in another format”