COPYRIGHT PERMISSION LETTER

COPYRIGHT PERMISSION LETTER
The letter sent for permission to use the chosen song

Types of music videos

Types of music videos

 



Roar analysis

Roar analysis

Katy Perry's music video is based on the narrative of a plane crash that leaves her stranded in a jungle.

The concept of the video is to promote the artist and her new image. In the beginning of the video, the artist is portrayed as weak and feeble but as the song progresses, she becomes a woman who is brave and strong. The new album is intended to show how Katy Perry has changed from a young girl to a young, strong woman, and the music videos narrative reflects this.

Intertextuality

Intertextuality is seen throughout the video. Even at the very beginning, an extreme long shot is used of a plane crash just as an extreme long shot is used in the first scene of the TV series "Lost".

Fans of Lost will recognise the intertextuality. The long shots also both include shots of a jungle setting, which means the similarity in mise-en-scene between the two only add to the intertextuality factor. The use of pastiche only fuels the narrative of the music video.





Intertextuality can be seen within certain films as well. The famous scene from Tarzan when he swings on a vine is replicated in Perry's video. Both Tarzan and Perry are positioned in the centre of the medium shot to highlight their importance and power. Potentially, this makes reference to Perry being as strong and comfortable in the wild as Tarzan is. Interpreting the narrative as being based on Perry's change into a strong woman, this scene where she appears like Tarzan only makes her appearance stronger.

Towards the start of the video, costumes are used to emphasis the fact that Perry and her boyfriend are explores. The stereotypical explorer costume is potentially a pastiche of Indiana Jones, who has a similar image.

The intertextuality between Indiana Jones and the video adds ideas to the narrative. The medium shots of the scenes from both media products present a classic explorer image and again implies Perry has changed. Potentially a metaphor of Perry exploring new music ideas is created from this.

As well as costume ideas, the video can also see intertextuality between the font choices. On posters for Indiana Jones and The Temple Of Doom and the beginning of the Roar music video use a similar font and colour scheme. Pleasure of recognition is provided for the audience as they see this text.

Main events of the plot

Despite the video lasting over 4 minutes, certain sections of the narrative can be identified to highlight the important and main events. The main events include:

• Crashing

• The boyfriend being killed by a tiger

• Befriending the monkey

• Getting washed by the elephant

• The coronation

• Swinging on a vine

All these key parts of the music video add to the narrative of the artist becoming stronger and more independent. The boyfriend being killed is probably showing how the artists doesn't need a man in her life to be successful. Befriending the various animals shows how Perry can adapt to any situation, again which is probably a metaphor of her adapting to her new album and new image.

Management of mise-en-scene

What with being filmed in California and there being a lack of real jungle, the setting for the music video was set up artificially to give a wild look to the location.

Potentially the most noticeable elements of mise-en-scene within the video come from having the animals in the video which were included in the video to add not only a creative element to the video but also to show how Perry made friends whilst in the wild.

Costume plays a big part of the mise-en-scene. Throughout the video, the artists appears to lose more clothes with each scene. It could be interpreted that the reason behind this is the fact that Perry is trying to show how she has become stronger. The lack of clothes shows how actually biologically and physically, the singer has become stronger as opposed to just metaphorically strong. Furthermore, a lack of clothes allows for male gaze to occur. Viewers may listen to the song and watch the video to admire Perry's image, resulting in Perry making more money from the increased views. If the costume from the beginning of the video is compared to the costume used at the end, the difference is extremely visible:

The two medium shots showing the costume illustrate how comfortable and confident in the new environment the artist has become.

In addition to costume, key elements from mise-en-scene such as lighting are used to add effect. As the video progresses, the light become brighter to show the change from a negative mood to a positive mood.

Message of the video

As aforementioned, the message of the video is all based on the idea that the image of Katy Perry has changed from a young, new singer to a more comfortable and confident artist. The whole video is seen as a metaphor for her transition into a new album. This links to star power because if the audience appreciate and admire her image, they are more encouraged to buy the music and male money for Katy Perry.

Link to Todorov's theory of equilibrium

Despite the start of the video begging with a disruption to equilibrium, the video certainly can been seen to follow Toddorov's theory. The following image shows how each stage of the theory fits to the narrative of the video:

Links to Propp's theory

Propp makes suggestions about the character types that feature in music videos. Looking at the video for Roar, the 7 character types can be seen within certain characters of the video:

• The hero is the singer because she conquers and overcomes obstacles to gain the status of Queen of the jungle.

• The villain is the tiger because the tiger is the main threat to the singers survival
• The false hero is the boyfriend because at the start of the video the audience may expect him to save the singer but instead he gets killed and doesn't help at all.
• The enabler could be seen to be the monkey because he helps enable the artist into conquering the jungle
• The princess in some ways is actually the jungle because throughout the video the singer desires conquering it
•  The dispatcher and helper are both the monkey because without the support of the monkey, Katy Perry probably wouldn't be able to survive.

Why was the video made

The video was made to help promote Katy Perry's new album. If the music video is enjoyable, audiences are more inclined to listen to and,consequently buy the album. As money is the only motive for people in the music industry, making the music video for Roar helps Perry and her team achieve their intention of making money. The music video along with album cover and album posters helps the industry make millions.

Link between the lyrics and the video

The links between the lyrics and the video are not too prominent within the video. The actual meaning behind the song is not based around the narrative of a jungle. However, the lyrics make constant reference to "The eye of the tiger", so by including a real life tiger within the music video, there's a clear link between the two. Constant close us of the tiger are used for symbolic reasons. Clearly there's a reason behind not linking the two that much, but the video would be improved if they linked better so that audiences don't have to work so hard trying to find an interpreted narrative.





Intertextuality

Intertextuality



Album poster analysis

Album poster analysis

Album posters are an essential way for artists to not only promote their new album, but also a way to promote their image and style of an artist to try and create an identity that audiences enjoy. If the audience admire an identity of an artist, they're more inclined to buy and listen to the music. Money is the main motive for artist, so album posters provide a great way to influence audiences to spend their money.

Below are some examples of album covers from artist of various genres:

Michael Jackson

The album cover for Bad by Michael Jackson is very minimalist. The fame he already had when this album was released meant the cover could be minimalist because he doesn't really need to advertise and promote himself to encourage people to buy and listen to the album. The fans he already accumulated will be willing to buy the album despite lack of interesting advertising.  The use of black and red link to Jackson's recognisable image and colour scheme. Framed to the left of the centre, the album follows the rules of photography and Michael Jackson becomes the main focus of the album, again linking to his success.  

The font used for the name is minimalistic and capitalised, to highlight Jackson's importance. . "BAD" is write in a font similar to graffiti which links to the word because graffiti is bad, therefore a rebellious image of Jackson is created. 

Lana Del Ray

On the album for Born to die, a medium shot of the artist is shown centre of the album, to highlight her vintage style and look. Therefore, its suggested her music follows a similar style to her image and promotes vintage music.

By not wearing revealing clothing, the artist is showing her importance as a female artist rather than falling back on generic and typical sexualised images, to encourage advertising. This image of women is not often created in the music industry so Del Ray has shown her difference as a female artist and therefore can generate a higher audience for her music by encouraging those who like different styles of music to listen and buy her album.

The natural sunlight further enhances the vintage look of the artist, despite the album being released in 2012.  

Blue has connotations of relaxation and calmness, so the blue colour scheme implies the music is soft and relaxing for listeners.

The size of the artists name and image shows her importance and fame as a solo artist. Del Ray is shown to be more important than the actual album, so the emphasis is on her rather than her music. This suggests that people listen to and buy her music because they appreciate and admire her rather than appreciate individual songs.

Imagine Dragons

The album poster for Night Visons by Imagine Dragons uses an extreme long shot of a man who is framed in the centre of the poster. Perhaps the man represents isolation which links to the dark colour theme within the poster because a grey colour palette can also suggest loneliness. Of course, a grey colour theme also links to night and the fact the album is called 'Night visions'. Based on the fact the band creates a hybrid of a rock, indie and rap genre of music and this genre usually focuses on themes of darkness, links can be made between the album poster and the genre of music.

An almost futuristic font has been used for the band and album name. The futuristic font links to the modern style of music the band have. Furthermore, the typical target audience of the band is teenagers so a modern theme would be appropriate to engage with this audience.

Including the sentence "Debut album available everywhere 9/4", helps promote the album, which is obviously relevant because the intended purpose of an album poster is to engage with an audience. If the poster is successful in promoting an album, the band make more money as a result and money is the main motive for the majority of artists.

Having no image f band members on the front implies their achieved star power status means they don't need to promote their image to help encourage audiences to buy their music. perhaps high levels of fame already gained means that audiences find the band instantly recognisable.

Test video

Test video

To test some new techniques, a simple and basic music video was created. Using "All Star" as our song choice, we were able to develop our editing skills and look at other techniques to include in the actual music video.

Narratives in music videos

Narrative theory 

Todorov's theory of equilibrium 

1. The narrative begins with a state of equilibrium

2. The equilibrium is disrupted, often by the actions of a character

3. An attempt to restore the equilibrium begins 

4. The narrative continues to a climax 

5. Equilibrium is restored

Propp's character theory:  

Propp suggests each narrative includes 7 character types. Weather they be literal or metaphorical, each narrative will contain them. Characters can be more than one character type. 

the character types:

1. The hero

2. The villain

3. The enabler- Prepares the hero

4. The helper

5. The princess- The sought after object/woman 

6. The false hero- Thought to be a good character but actually is evil 

7. The dispatcher- Character who send the hero off

Example in music videos

Born to Die- Lana Del Rey

The basic narrative of this video is as follows

• Lana and her boyfriend are together
• The couple argue
• They end up in a car crash
• Lana dies

The narrative of this doesn't exactly follow the equilibrium theory because even though an equilibrium is restored, it turns out to be a negative ending rather than positive. however, the other features do appear.
The song also features sections of lip syncing so that the video is solely a narrative.

However, Propp's characters do feature in the video in some ways.

• The boyfriend is the hero because he tries to save Lana
• The villain is the boyfriend when the pair argue
• The enabler is the drugs they take
• The helper is the drugs they take
• The princess Is Lana when she's killed
• The false hero is the boyfriend because he's responsible for her death
• Both characters are dispatchers for one another

Irreplaceable- Beyoncé

The basic narrative for this music video is Beyoncé kicking out her cheating boyfriend. In some ways it follows the equilibrium theory because even though the video begins with disruption, it becomes resolved when Beyoncé's boyfriend has left and equilibrium is restored in her life.

The song also features sections of lip syncing so that the video is solely a narrative.

Again, in some ways Propp's character theory can be seen in the video:

• Beyoncé is the hero because she's ditched the cheating boyfriend
• The villain is the boyfriend because he cheated
• Beyoncé is hero own enabler and helper because she's proving she's an independent woman that doesn't need anybody
• Beyoncé is the hero because the boyfriend wants her
• The false hero is the boyfriend because to begin with its unclear why Beyoncé is kicking him out
• Beyoncé is also her own dispatcher

Panic! At The Disco- Don't threaten me with a good time

The video follows a narrative of a man and woman getting together for the night. Surprisingly the woman turns out to be an alien like creature. This revelation clearly disrupts the equilibrium of the narrative. The whole Music video is filmed as a point of view shot.

Again evidence of Propp's character theory can be seen in this video:

• The hero is the singer
• The villain is the woman he gets with because she's secretly an alien trying to kill him
• The enabler and helper is the alcohol because its what helps the pair get together
• The false hero is the alien because to begin with we don't realise she's evil or in any way harmful
• The princess is the singer because the alien desires him
• The alien is the dispatcher

Last Friday Night- Katy Perry

Within this video, an uncool Katy Perry gets the house to herself and throws a party where everyone comes and suddenly she becomes cool. At the end of the video her parents come home and tell her off. This video doesn't really follow the equilibrium theory. The video begins when people wake up from the party which isn't really the equilibrium. Flashbacks to the night before begin and then the narratives cycle round so it ends and the beginning.

In some ways there is an equilibrium because the video ends as it begins, but this isn't exactly the moment everything is calm.

Propp's character theory fits well with this video:

• The singer is the hero because she hosts a good party
• The villain is muscly man she gets with because he's encouraging rule breaking
• The enabler Rebecca Black because she encourages the party
• The false hero is all the people at the party pretending to be friends s they can come to the party
• The princess is Katy Perry because two men are after her affection
• Rebecca Black is also the dispatcher because she gets the singer ready for the party
• Rebecca Black is the helper because she helps with the party

Goodwin's theory of music videos

Goodwin's theory of music videos

Goodwin believes that when we watch a music video, we make our own assumptions about the narrative of the song. the meaning created by the audience actually gives the artist and their record company an anchored interpretation.

Goodwin explains 6 conventions used to do this:

1. A relationship between visuals and lyrics, which either amplify or contradict the actual lyrics.
2. Genre related features- which help establish a trademark action for the artists
3. Close ups of the singer/artists to create an image of them and too add to their star power
4. Notion of looking- often sexualised images of people ( women in particular) are used to attract a wider audience
5. Intertextuality- especially used in humorous videos to help engage the audience

Judas- Lady Gaga;

The interpreted analysis of the narrative suggests the video is based on the idea that a woman of a good man is tempted by another "badboy" (Judas), ultimately leaving her boyfriend for him.

Using Goodwin's table, the video has been analysed.

Logic-1-800-273-8255 ft. Alessia Cara, Khalid

The basic narrative of this video is based on a teenager who is in a scret relationship with another boy. However both get caught together by the other boys dad, and now the teenager has to endure homophobic bullying and feelings of isolation. At some points in the video, the teenager is even close to taking his own life.

What is a digipak?

What is a digipak?

A digipak is a CD case which has multiple folding panes. usually digipaks are made of card and are used as an alternative to the usual plastic CD case. If the artist/band wants to include more than one disk, a digipak can work better than a standard Cd case because there's more space for multiple disks to fit. 

Themes often run through digipaks in order to help promote the artist and their genre of music. Themes vary depending on the genre. 

Below shows an image of a blank digipak. The image shows the format of a digipak. The format can include a plastic wallet in which the Cd slides into as opposed to the plastic holder for the CD. 

Digipak Examples 

Kanye West - Graduation

When artists use digipaks, themes often run throughout depending on the genre of their music. 

Below is an example of a Digipak by Kanye West for his album "Graduation":

The digipak follows the narrative of a cartoon character actually trying to get to their graduation which is happening on the final panel. Potentially, the bear is intended to be Kanye West himself as he tries to get to his graduation.
The artists name appear in red at the top of the digipak to show Kanye west's importance to the album. The fame he has already gathered means he doesn't need to appear on the digipak because he's well known enough just with his name that he doesn't need to further advertise himself.
Constant use of the vibrant purple colours link to the vibrant style of music within the album. an image of a vibrant and colourful Kanye west is created, which adds to his star power because if people appreciate his image, they will be more likely to buy his music.




Rhianna- Loud

Close up shots of Rhianna are used to create an image of the singer. Red lips and pink hair create a representation of the album being based around romance and maybe even danger because of the connotations these colours have.
Potentially a narrative similar to that of a fairytale has been used within the digipak. Repetitions of images of flowers as well as a white dress as part of mise-en-scene link to a fairytale idea. Fairytales link to romance and love in some way or another so again suggest the songs link to this theme in some way.
Themes of love relate to the pop genre so themes like this are expected to feature on this digipak.
Rhianna's name features across the top of the digipak in white writing. A simplistic title shows how the singer doesn't need to advertise her name all that much on the album because her star power means she's instantly recognisable by the close up shots of her across the front panel of the digipak.


Gorillaz-Demon Days

The digipak for Gorillaz shows the cartoon of the virtual singer and then folds to present the three other band members on the other panels. The way the digipak has been folded means that the layout of the panels can change, meaning that the audience can choose the band member that features at the front of the digipak. The same camera angle and shot is used for each character (Close up) with a centred frame, which allows each panel to fit equally well as the front panel.

For anyone familiar with Gorillaz, the cartoon style is instantly recognisable as theirs. Audiences see the style of art and already know the band, which links to the lack of advertising and name branding on the digipak because star power has already been achieved by using close up shots of the virtual cartoon band members. Music videos for the bands music always includes the cartoons which makes the cartoons the bands identity.

Introduction

Introduction

After achieving a B grade in AS media, it made sense to continue to A2, where hopefully the skills developed in the first year will help improve the grade for the second.

Even though it was a large amount of work and the weather was reasonably cold and wet, I quite enjoyed filming and editing the footage for the post apocalyptic film opening. Below is some pictures to show the type of costumes and props we chose for the post apocalyptic project:

Last year, we felt the location and costumes were appropriate to the genre so this year for a music video e need to be sure we match the genre of music.

This year, I'm looking forward to producing a music video and developing editing skills to ensure it's a better piece of work than last year.