Homework - Set Tuesday 24th June - Music video director.

Francis Lawrence.

              

Biography: 

Francis Lawrence was born in Vienna Austria on March 26 1971. He moved to Los Angeles when he was three years of age.
He is a producer and director of films and music videos.
He has worked with many music artists such as Green Day, Britney Spears, Aerosmith, Janet Jackson, Pink and more.
He is the director of the new popular movie series: The Hunger Games.
Lawrence's fame came about when he directed I Am Legend.

Music videos:

Aerosmith - Don't wanna miss a thing. 

 This is probably Aerosmith's most well known song and video. It is a narrative music video with aspects of performance through out. Lot's of close up's are used to show the band playing their instruments. Long shots are also used to show the bands unity. The lighting is all quite dark with goes with the sad, emotional message behind the lyrics. 

Avril Lavigne - Sk8er Boi. 

This is one of Avril's most well known songs. It is a performance video. Again, containing many close up's and long shots. The lighting in this videos differs very much from the lighting in Aerosmith's video. Is is bright to accommodate the upbeat tune of the song. 

The difference between these two videos shows Lawrence's diversity as a director. He is able to do different things. Which is an important skill to have, because it means you are not limited to one type of video or genre. Sk8er boo is a very simplistic video, it doesn't contain many special effects or wacky camera angles which stand out. It is typical of a pop video. the lighting is natural and not very special. Aerosmith's video contains more special effects. It seems as thought the lighting has been more planned out. Both videos follow many parts of the Goodwin 7. For example both videos contain many close hp's.

Their style: 

I don't really think Lawrence has a specific style per say i think he is a very versatile director. He can do all sorts of Genre's. For example Aerosmith are rock legends, Avril Lavigne is very 'pop'. He uses different styles to accommodate different genre's. I feel like he doesn't really have a signature style. Which may be a limitation to his career. 

My opinion: 

Nothing about the artist particularly stands out for me. I enjoy many of the music videos that he has directed. However i feel like if he had something in his music videos that were specific to him i would enjoy his music videos a lot more. Many music videos now a-days are very similar. So many music videos are being made now, it is hard to find an original idea anymore. I do however like the videos he has directed. 

Homework - Set 20th June 2014 - Types of music videos.

Types of music videos:

- Narrative - This is when a music video tells a story.
- Performance - This is when the majority of the music video is the band or artist performing.
- Concept
   - Thematic - A music video that contains lot's of common themes.
   - Symbolic - A use of symbolic elements are used to get across a message.
   - Idea based - Mise - en -scene dominates and it contains use of artistic camera angles.



A narrative music video is almost like a short film. It contains a beginning, middle and end. Narrative videos can also contain aspects of performance or concept. The message of a narrative video is very obvious to the audience and doesn't take much thought to understand. For example, if it is the break up of a boy and a girl. The audience get it immediately.

This is an example of a narrative video. It follows the codes and conventions of a narrative video very closely. It shows clearly a beginning, a middle and an ending. It begins with the two neighbours not getting along, they begin to do things that annoy the other, and it gets resolved at the end, when they swap girlfriends and the 'nerdy' one becomes 'cool' and the 'cool' one becomes 'nerdy'.  the use of mise en scene helps to show the difference between the two neighbours. Props are go big importance throughout the video as they are used to sabotage one another. For example, the nerdy one uses a mirror to reflect light into the 'cool' ones eyes whilst he is sleeping. This video features the lead singer of the band playing both of the neighbours. This is because, he is the main focus of the band. Many people know who he is, whilst maybe not knowing the other members. The audience therefore gets more enjoyment out of watching it.



A performance video is when the whole video is the artist or band performing onstage. It has many close up shots of the artists playing they're instruments. It also contains shots of the audience. Depending on the genre will depend on how the audience is reacting (for example if it is a rock video the audience will probably be head banging).

This is a performance video. The whole video is the band performing to an audience. This video is very typical of a performance video and contains lot's of the codes and conventions of the genre. It shows the different band members playing they're instruments. It shows shots of the audience who are moving around a lot. This is typical of a performance video. Many close up's are used to help the audience identify the band members.



A concept video is when there is not a story aspect of it and the video often does not make much sense until you read into it. It uses symbolic themes that help to get a message across to the audience. (For example a 'hardcore' song may be about death and destruction, so the video would contain things such as skulls and grave yards)

This is a concept video. It contains a range of interesting camera work, with a use of lot's of effects. This video has aspects of performance throughout it. But the main element is conceptual. This video is probably considered 'trippy' with use of it's effects and camera work. The song is about dreams 'Sandman' is the creature who supposedly controls dreams. The video doesn't necessarily make sense along with the lyrics. However they do include shots of a boy sleeping and praying next to a bed to help get the message across. It also contains the preyer 'Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord, my soul to keep, if I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take." The song is about nightmares and that is what the video consists of, different aspects of nightmares that people experience. 




Pro's and cons: 
Narrative: The good thing about narrative videos is the message behind the song is more easily read by the audience. It is also quite easy to make, especially if you follow the Goodwin seven and have the visuals matching the lyrics. However, i feel narrative videos can feel boring, repetitive and predictive. This would be an easy type of music video to do for my project as i can just follow the story of the song. 

Performance: Performance videos are a good music video, especially for bands. It helps the audience to identify the band and what instrument they play. You also see the artist doing what they enjoy and that can often make you feel happy as they are happy. The cons of performance videos is sometimes things can go wrong and if you're filming it live at a gig it is hard to correct. Also this would be a difficult video for someone like me to make for my project as i would have to find a band, who could play the instruments. 

Concept: The main positive of concept music videos is that they are interesting. It can keep the audience interested and engaged. It gives them a chance to decide the message of the song, without it being shoved in their face. However, it can take a lot of thought and concentration to understand a concept video. 

My favourite type of music video is probably performance because i'm a big fan of rock music and live music. Therefore seeing people playing instruments. I enjoy seeing a band being passionate on stage and really getting into the music. 

Homework - Set 18th June 2014 - Music Video's and representation.

For our homework we had to chose a representational focus and create a digital presentation on it. (using Prezi or powerpoint etc...) of a chosen music video/ artist linked to the concept of representation.
It must include:
- Who/ What is represented?
- How are they represented?
- Analyse mise-en-scene and camera work especially.
- Could anyone be offended by this representation and why?
- Does is conform to a stereotype?
- Does it challenge or subvert stereotype?

I have chosen three songs from the same artist as I feel they are good to compare to one another. They are 'Whore', 'Adrenalize' and 'Blood' by 'In This Moment'.

     

 

Created with Padlet

Homework set - 17th June 2014 - The Goodwin Seven.

The Goodwin seven.

In our lesson on  Tuesday the 17th of June, we studied Andrew Goodwin and his theory of what makes a music video.

Major Vs. Indie record labels - Plus Homework task - Set - 16th June 2014.

Homework - Set Tenth June 2014. - Analysing a music video.

For our homework we had to chose an iconic/ well known song and music video (which was released before we were born) and write about it. Discussing why it was considered to be iconic (What people say about it) What you think about it and a detailed textual analysis.

The music video I chose is 'Come on Eileen' By 'Dexys Midnight Runners'. This song was released 25th June 1982. It became an instant success for the band. Becoming the bands second song to hit number one in the charts. It also won Best British Single at the 1983 Brit Awards. The song was placed at number 38 in the 100 greatest number 1 singles of all time in a poll done by channel 4. Similar polls by the music channel VH1 placed the song at number 3 in the 100 Greatest One-hit Wonders of all time, number 18 in VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 1980's and number 1 in the 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s. It has sold 1.31 million copies in the UK as of November 2012. The song reached number 1 in the United States on the Billboard Hot 100 charts during the week ending 23 April 1983.The reason i chose this song is for the fact it is an old classic. People I've asked from all generations remember the song and the video of the band dancing in overalls/ dungaree's. This shows that the music video is iconic. People from my mums generation remember the video for the dungaree's my 25 year old sister remembers the video for the dungaree's and my peers also do. This was the most iconic thing about the video and obviously what people recognise it for. Another reason i chose it is because it is a song I absolutely adore. It's a very 'feel good' song and like i said, an old classic.

I read some of the comments under the video on YouTube. Here are just a few: 
'yes the dungarees of the 1980s , I even wore a pair back then as it was cool to do so.....hahaha' - Yet another comment about the dungaree's. 
'Come on Eileen - never gets old - toora loora toora loo-rya-aye'
'My HAPPY SONG'
'Such a great song, such a great video.' 

Almost all of the comments were praising the song. In fact I searched through a few pages of comments and don't think I saw one negative comment. So even now, more than 30 years after it's release it is still an extremely popular song. 


Textual analysis: 

Camera work - A lot of long shots are used throughout the video. This is because a lot of the video is them dancing, so by using long shots they can fit the whole of their bodies into the frame. The shots are rarely ever still, this can be to show the energy of the video, as it is supposed to make you feel happy and energetic. There is also quite a lot of close up's of the lead singer singing. This is because in music video's the lead singer of a band is usually the most important.

Editing - The lead singer gets the most camera time and most of the shots are motivated by either him or 'Eileen'. Again this is because the lead singer is usually the most important. The editing also gets a lot faster pace towards the end. The music and the singer goes a lot faster than it was before. There is also a bit when the music and singing goes a lot slower than it was before so the editing is slower paced.

Mise-en-scne - The song takes place on a deserted street, this is where the majority of the song takes place. It's quite dingy and dirty looking. The main focus of the entire video i feel is the costume, the dungaree's. They were quite a thing in those days. The hair is also quite 1980's. The video is quite brightly coloured, i feel like this is because it is a feel good, happy song. Bright colours are 'happy'. However the street they are on is quite grey and dingy. So it contrasts. The band is usually within about arms length of each other, this could be so they are able to fit them all in the frame or it could be to show their closeness as a band. Each of the members is shown quite often also. The video is about the 'lead singer' being in love with 'Eileen' and wanting her. Therefore he tries to be in very close proximity to her, to show his love for her. 

Introduction to my year 13 blog.

AS is now over, which means A2 has begun. With a new year and a new course come's a new blog. So this is my A2 Blog for our creative project of the year which is: Music video's. I am super excited as music is a huge part of my life, this gives me an excuse to analyse it more and learn about what it all really means.

Welcome to my blog... this is the face behind the name.... Hi. 

I hope you enjoy my blog and enjoy learning all about the nitty gritty of music video's. 

I will be posting lot's because this year, I'm going to try extra hard. Hopefully by the end of it, i will have created a killer music video for you to enjoy. 

If you want to see any of my work from last year, head over to my AS blog. http://typhoonproduction.blogspot.co.uk/  Lasts years work was 'Thriller films' However due to difficulties my thiller film was not very good. That is one of the reasons I want to try so hard this year. 

Peaceski's - Jessikaroseee.