J Carolan's A2 Media Blog: October 2012

Thursday 25 October 2012

Old And Contemporary Music Video Analysis

Here I will be analysing an old and contemporary music video using Goodwin's theory of music video analysis (hyperconsciousness, parody, pastiche, intertextuality and narcissism) and will then compare and contrast the two.

For my old music video I analysed the (1985 version) Pop music video for "Take On Me" by 'A-ha'

From analyzing this video I would say that the band is hyperconscious of their image and appearance. My reason for thinking this is their choice of clothing, by my guess, would have been seen as stylish when this video came out in 1985, and so the band is trying to keep up with fashion to appeal to audience members more. I would not say the band is parodying anything with their music video, although I would agree their is pastiche occurring here. Through the main character's outfit (the leather jacket, etc.), it seems almost like an homage to the popular character 'Fonzie' from popular American sitcom "Happy Days". The outfit may just be what is stylish at the time although to me it really looks like it is paying tribute to him with the outfit, due to how iconic the leather jacket look was thanks to 'Fonzie', also as "Happy Days" ran right up until 1984, a year before this video came out. There doesn't seem to be any specific intertextuality occurring within the video but it could be perhaps said they are referencing comic books/graphic novels in general through the use of what seems to be a comic book/graphic novel in the video and a heavy amount of edited scenes using pencil as though the girl had been dragged into this drawn world in the video. I would say the band is hyperconscious but not narcissistic, mainly because a moderate amount of the video pays attention to the girl, who isn't part of the band. Of course the video contains shots where it feature just the band, but the video makes the effort to tell as story of love between to people and an adventure, by which it sometimes must not focus directly on the band. The fact they have done this shows the band must not be so narcissistic they feel the camera must be on them at all times, even if they are the selling point, as through this story they have created and the way they created it (the drawing style using pencil), they have created a very iconic music video that is still well recognized in today's society, even by youths who were not around during it's creation, due to it's fame.

The contemporary music video I analysed was the K-Pop music video for "GANGNAM STYLE" by 'PSY'

My analysis of this music video revealed that PSY definitely seems hyperconscious. Throughout his video there is a constant flow of outfits worn by PSY that are quite iconic (brightly coloured suits for example) as well as an element of humor through all of the things he does in the video, for example, having a man thrust his hips over him in an elevator, appearing with his trousers down in a toilet while singing and more. This suggests to me he knows he is watched and therefore wants his appearance to be known as a humourous one, just through the visuals this can be seen, but also since the song is entirely based upon him light heartedly making a joke of a place in South Korea called Gangnam (which is a very wealthy area, although this is extra knowledge that couldn't so much be drawn from the video, especially since I do not speak Korean). PSY throughout the whole video is parodying Gangnam in Korea, however without actually knowing how to speak Korean, you wouldn't know this from face value of the music video. So with further research it does reveal he is parodying Gangnam lifestyle, but on face value there doesn't appear to be any parodies occurring. Though his outfits are unique, as are others throughout the video, the appearances don't seem to be a pastiche of anything. Again though with further research you could say that this was perhaps shot in Gangnam (which is therefore a visual parody, making it a pastiche) however this would require further research to know, unless someone knew where Gangnam was and what it looked like (however even with further research it is still unknown to me whether the video was actually shot in Gangnam, although it is likely, since it is the main focus of the song). This song, from watching it, doesn't seem to contain any intertextuality, although the fact I am English and don't speak Korean does put me at a disadvantage in that I can't actually understand most of the lyrics. But still, from my angle on the video it doesn't seem to contain any intertextual references. Finally the video does seem narcissistic, in that it focuses on PSY in nearly every shot throughout the music video, however my thinking behind this is the fact he knows he is the selling point for the music video, hence why he seems to put on such a humourous image through his character, since he is hyperconscious and knows people pay attention to him.

Comparing and contrasting these two videos I found these differences/similarities. Both "GANGNAM STYLE" and "Take On Me" seem hyperconscious. This can be seen through their use of outfit (which are used in different ways; one being stylish and the other being unique, which actually, due to its popularity has made the outfit stylish (although to some extent it could have been seen as stylish anyway), but this is again outside information that can't be drawn from from the video itself ). 'A-ha' don't seem to parody anything, while the main focus of 'PSY's song is to parody the Gangnam lifestyle, but as stated this is known dues to outside information, so from simply observing both music videos it would be said they both don't seem to parody something (of course this is dependent on whether or not you spoke Korean). "Take On Me" seems to be using pastiche, as the main male's outfit seems to be incredibly similar to that of 'Fonzie' from "Happy Days", and "GANGNAM STYLE" most likely uses pastiche through filming in Gangnam in Korea (although this is unknown), but from face value, unless someone knew Gangnam then they wouldn't be able to tell is was using pastiche (if it is that is). "Take On Me" does not seem to use intertextuality, however I did mention perhaps a broad reference to comic books/graphic novels due to the style in which the video was edited (the pencil style), although nothing definite was said, to avoid being incorrect. "GANGNAM STYLE" doesn't appear to use intertextuality, although as mentioned I do not speak Korean and the song may very well reference something in the lyrics. Finally "Take On Me" doesn't appear narcissistic, as mentioned, due to the number of shots where the band was not involved in any way, as the music videos appears to tell a story and is linear and contains continuity. "GANGNAM STYLE" however can be said to be much more narcissistic, but that is most likely because of the hyperconsciousness 'PSY' has, in that he knows the fans are watching him to see what he will do next, which is why he uses distinct outfits and humourous behavious, since he knows people are watching him and want to see what he does next. Overall these videos are both similar and different in different aspects of Goodwin's theory of music video analysis. "Take One Me" appears hyperconscious, to use pastiche and also perhaps intertextuality."GANGNAM STYLE" appears hyperconscious, to parody something (possibly also through pastiche), perhaps intertextual reference something (though this is unknown), and finally appears narcissistic for the reasons mentioned earlier. So these music videos match up, definitely on hyperconsciousness, and perhaps pastiche/ inertextual referencing, but differ on everything else (which I will include pastiche and intertextual referencing for, since I cannot speak Korean, do not know whether the shots are actually in Gangnam and am not definitely saying whether 'A-ha's video references comic books/graphic novels) meaning these videos are more different than similar as they only have one similarity between them, and four differences.

That's all for now everyone so I'll see you all next time :D OPPA GANGNAM STYLE!!!!!

The following piece of information is an edit, after my original post: I just found out that Gangnam is a district (the Gangnam district) in Seoul in South Korea. I also just found that someone has taken the time recently to translate the lyrics, and while the song "GANGNAM STYLE" does reference a lifestyle associated with the Gangnam district of Seoul with the term "Gangnam style", the song actually sings about a man and a woman and not the Gangnam district of Seoul primarily in any way. I would also like to note these lyrics were not available at the time of my analysis, but I felt that this was useful and interesting information which I thought should be shared on my blog. The link below contains the translated version of the lyrics (I do not know how accurate these lyrics are however).

http://www.kpoplyrics.net/psy-gangnam-style-lyrics-english-romanized.html

So again, that's all for now :D see everyone next time :D OPPA GANGNAM STYLE!!!!!

Music Video Still Analysis

Here i will be analyzing a still from a music video using Goodwin's theory of music video analysis, which involves, hyperconsciousness, parody, pastiche, intertextuality and narcissism.

The still I will be analyzing will be from Nikki Minaj's music video - 'Turn Me On'

As you can see from the still, Nikki Minaj is most likely hyperconscious. She seems aware of her appearance which is the most likely reason she has chosen such a strange and distinct outfit for her music video; it makes her stand out, especially through her brightly coloured hair against her dark outfit and environment. Also it could be said she knows she is watched by many as she is wearing an outfit, that from the still, does appear slightly sexual, through the exposure of her chest as a separate part of the outfit from the rest, thus showing her knowledge of a male audience that she may want to keep attracted to her as an artist, through her physical beauty. In this still she doesn't seem to be parodying anything, although she is using pastiche. Her outfit in itself could be said to be a pastiche of another famous female pop artist who is known for her incredibly strange and distinct clothing; Lady Gaga. From the still nothing comes to mind in the form of referencing other media, although there seems to be cultural intertextual referencing in a few ways. In terms of Mise-en-scene we can see the large iron gate behind Nikki Minaj, coupled with fog, which could be said to be very Gothic, giving it a setting similar to a horror film. Her outfit could also be seen to be a cultural reference, as it seems a cultural reference to early British Gothic style and perhaps even "Steampunk", which is what makes her outfit unique, much like, as mentioned, Lady Gaga, in that they both share a similarity in wearing unique and distinct costumes. Finally in terms of cultural-intertextual referencing is her hair within the still, as it could be said to be referencing a punk style due to its colour, also perhaps something along the lines of Carnival, and it seems that the way Nikki Minaj, through her costume here, perhaps challenges the notion that black women may be considered more "invisible" among cultures than other races, by making sure she stands out. Nikki Minaj does seem narcissistic, as the mid close-up here focuses on her. She may seem narcissistic because of the fact she is hyperconscious though. Since she knows she is being watched she perhaps makes the effort to make camera shots throughout her video tend to focus on her most of the time, since she is the selling point for her music. But in terms of this still she does seem narcissistic, since she is the focus, but nothing else can be said because it is only through viewing the rest of the video can I decide whether or not she is actually narcissistic or not, as this may very well be one of only a few shots of her in the entire video (although this is unlikely due to the distinction of her outfit and use of female physical form to entice certain audiences). In conclusion this still makes Nikki Minaj out to be both hyperconscious and narcissistic, shows she is using a pastiche of Lady Gaga, and that she can be said to be using cultural-intertextual referencing, although she is not parodying anything. The information drawn from the still is about Nikki Minaj solely because she is the main focus of it.

This concludes my use of Goodwin's theory to analyze a still from a music video.

Below I have embedded the music video from 'YouTube' for anyone who wishes to view the full video :)

Thats everything for this post everyone.

Until next time :)

Tuesday 23 October 2012

'How music videos came about' Flow Diagram

Below you will see my flow diagram for how music videos came about, as well as some other interesting extra information I found while doing research.

Please click on the image of my flowchart to isolate it for easy viewing, since some of it may be blocked out by the post list and image of myself on the upper right-hand side of the page.

Also for your viewing pleasure, here are some images of things I've mentioned in my flowchart.

A still from 'Queen's' music video for "Bohemian Rhapsody"

An example of a 'Magic Lantern'

A still from Michael Jackson's music video for "Thriller"

An example of a 'Scopitone' machine

An ad for a 'Talkie' film, named "Blackmail"

I hope you all enjoyed my flowchart and extra images, that's all for now, see you all soon! :D

The Beginning of A2!!! (Music Video Analysis)

A2!!!!!

anyway...I will start this year off with some analysis of 3 music videos from 3 different genres.

First, Justin Bieber - As Long As You Love Me , (Pop)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4em3LKQCAQ

First, this video has a narrative, and thus tells a story to it's audience, whereas other music videos can just be a compilation of footage that doesn't actually create a plot (the narrative seems along the lines of a boy trying to be with a girl, and her father not approving of their relationship as he is trying to protect his daughter from the possibility of getting hurt emotionally).
Because of this video telling a story it contains around 2 minutes of footage that aren't actually coordinated with the music, they are just plot.
The direction of this video not only tells a story but also sets it out like a miniature-movie.
The video contains a great variety of camera shots and angles, from close-ups to crowd shots, and a good amount of tracking shots as well.
In terms of editing the video contains straight cuts and mostly short takes, the only time longer takes are really used are when it is telling the story behind the music video (at the start and end of the music video). Also there is the use of ellipsis, both when the story is being told without the music and when the music is playing to signal back to the story.
The sound is key within the music video and is mainly pop throughout, the only exception are the regular voices when the video is acting more like a film, setting out a plot, and where a guest appearance by 'Big Sean' occurs, where it switches more into rap (as it uses spoken word instead of singing).
The lighting and colour within the video is mostly very dark, and could be said to be close to low key lighting, although not entirely, as it appears even during some of the night scenes some filler lights are used.
In terms of Mise-en-scene, the costume and setting could be interpreted as modern day or some point a few years in the past. The use of some vintage cars as props makes it feel more like an aged movie, as does the costume and body language of the girl's father, who might be taken as some sort of gangster or at the very least someone who works in some darker business of sorts. This combined with the girl's props e.g. her suitcase could allow someone to justify why they think it isn't set in modern day.
Even though this video tells a story, it does actually incorporate compilation within it, it is not a solid time line as it shows events of the past as well as the present, thus allowing it to further tell a story as a result, as it provides us with background as to why the boy is trying to get the girl (they have clearly been in love for some time).
Whilst this music is going on the video focus is set almost constantly on Justin, as it is telling his story, with a few shots spared for the girl alone and also her father.
The audience this song is aimed at is likely to be mainly female between the ages of 9 - 16 , I say this because when Justin Bieber started out this was his main audience, as he was younger. Although because he has grown up so may have some of his fans, leading them to not like his music so much anymore, but then again allowing more new fans to become his fans. Even though this seems the main audience for this song, the video could actually be aimed at a more mature audience, due to its slight amount of violent content. This coupled with the fact that many people like different music means that while his main audience seems to be female, ages 9 - 16, he may well have 21 year old male fans, 19 year old female fans, or others, as it all depends on someone's personal taste in music.
The real selling point here is the fact that it is Justin Bieber, which is most likely why the camera focuses on him the majority of the time.
In terms of special effects the video actually doesn't contain any. This is most likely because special effects don't really fit in with the narrative of the song and video, although if special effects were wanted it doesn't mean that they couldn't fit in, depending on the effect e.g. explosions probably wouldn't work.
The only text in this video that appears and is aimed at the audience is the copyright at the very end (the 'VEVO' down the bottom right is actually part of the YouTube video not the music video itself).
EXTRA INFO: Justin Bieber is signed to 'The Island Def Jam Music Group'. Formed in 1999, it currently is comprised of Island Records, Def Jam Recordings, and Mercury Records. It's roster of other artists include Kanye West, Mariah Carey, Rihanna, Bon Jovi and more.
SUMMARY: Justin Bieber's video is clearly high budget, like many pop videos. Noticeable features that denote that it is high budget are, the use of the cars, as they are expensive models. A number of seemingly professional dancers, which would have added to the cost. Justin's clothing, which is very fashionable, meaning it likely cost quite a bit to buy, as well as all the clothing for the dancers, which by the look of it was probably made specifically for the music video (also not forgetting hair and makeup for everyone in the video, as well as pay for the actors who play the father and the girl, especially Michael Madsen (the father) since he is a professional actor who plays in many films, such as 'Kill Bill', and 'Reservoir Dogs').The appearance by Big Sean, which he would have most likely been payed to do. Finally in terms of why it is high budget; a broad range of locations using very high quality cameras, and the fact it is shot and directed very professionally, almost as though it is it's own miniature-film. Within the music video there are actually no occurrences of special effects, as well as no use of CGI or special graphics in any way. The shots are typical of a pop music video; short takes using a variety of angles, and here the fast pace is a lot like the beat of the song, giving it an ecstatic feeling while watching it. The dancing could perhaps said to be somewhat reminiscent of Michael Jackson's 'bad' (due to its range of movements and the fact during it the actors seem aware of the camera, showing its very performance based). Justin Bieber seems very hyperconscious, as he very clearly knows this is his video, and he is the major focus, as the selling point here is that it is Justin Bieber. Finally, there seems to be intertextualality going on, as the entire story seems to echo a Romeo & Juliet style story; that the boy and girl love each other and yet they cannot be together because it is forbidden for one reason or another (although it is not incredibly reminiscent of it, as we have no idea if the families behind the two lovers hate one another, as well as a number of other details, but still it could be said to echo it slightly).

Second, SKRILLEX - Bangarang (Dubstep)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJVmu6yttiw

After viewing this music video it is obvious it tells a story, the story being of how 3 boys went from petty thieves to serious criminals stealing large sums of cash.
The video contains literally a few seconds at the end without music, right from the offset the music begins playing and tells the story of these boys, making this music video shorter than some that tell a story, e.g. Justin Bieber's 'As Long As You Love Me' .
Whilst this video contains a great number of different types of camera shots and angles, it mainly focuses on one person in the shot at a time, since there are really 4 key characters, the 3 boys and the ice cream salesman.
The editing in this video contains straight cuts and short takes, with some short takes being slightly longer than others, but still considered short takes due to their length of time before changing.The video also contains a number of action matches e.g. the boy firing the small bomb at the ice cream van.
Dubstep focuses mainly on the mixing of the bass within it's range of songs although this video also incorporates lyrics. Though there aren't many lyrics to the song they are included in a good amount, and do seem to accompany the bass well. Another thing to notice is because of the very limited amount of time without the music playing, there is no diegetic dialogue between the characters.
The lighting within the video is very high-key, as it reflects, in accordance with the time of day, what the lighting would actually look like. In fact it is very likely natural lighting was used within the video, with the exclusion perhaps of the scene at night (as otherwise the cameras wouldn't be able to film) and the scene when the boys have escaped (as the child's shadow gets larger, although this may be editing after the music video was shot).
The Mise-en-scene reveals the video to likely be set in modern day, as no particular aspects seem to jump out that it is a particular period in time other than the present, although perhaps it could be said the part where the characters are boys is in the past slightly, though when they are men the use of high tech equipment is showing that now it is most likely modern day.
The audience seems as though for the music it would be male 12 - 21+ , as this style of music (Dubstep) is often quite liked by male audiences, although this doesn't mean that their isn't also a female audience. The video would most likely also be aimed at this age group (and the violence within it, the losing of the man's hand, is portrayed very restricted in the fact there is not tons of blood everywhere causing the video to be condemned by many for it's content). It also seems that the video, through it's use of the ice cream salesman, is slightly comic (which is probably why the hand concept was included; just as a joke, not to be taken seriously) and also through the whole theme of ice cream thieves becoming masterminds stealing cash from armoured vans.
The selling point here is mainly the music, since the video to go along with it is just an added touch as SKRILLEX does not actually feature in this video at any point.
Now this video unlike the other two analysed, does contain special effects. The effects used here include the explosions (both small, with the boys, and large, with the men), the electricity effect when the characters are boys and one of the boys is interacting with the rusted car part and the ice cream van/man and finally the guns firing during the robbery of the truck.
During the video there is no text that appears on screen aimed at the audience to let them know anything about the music video.
EXTRA INFO: Skrillex is signed to 'OWSLA' . Unfortunately not much is actually known about 'OWSLA', as even on their website, http://www.owsla.com/,barely any information is on the "ABOUT" page, simply that "We’re not here to spam you w promotions, we’re here collectively to share our passions for music and art.". It has been rumoured that Skrillex is the owner/one of the co-founders of the record label, but as I mentioned this is only a rumor and so it is by no means in any way definite.
SUMMARY: The rebellious nature of the narrative of this video seems to suit the genre of Dubstep well, as Dubstep is quite an outside and rebellious genre in itself. The video doesn't seem to be high-budget in any way, the only things that may have cost a relatively moderate amount would be the vehicles used in the video, the high-quality cameras the video was shot using, perhaps the props used by the adult versions of the boys, e.g. the weapons and night-vision goggles/high-tech binoculars, perhaps the special effects used in the video, the makeup worn by the actors and the actors fee themselves (as well as payment for trained animals, although they may have just been ordinary animals owned by those working on the video and not trained animals brought in especially, as they don't play a major part in the video and don't seem to exhibit any specially-taught behavior), and perhaps the style it was shot and directed, as it is cinematic to an extent, as it tells a story, although it doesn't use other incredibly high-budget features of cinematic direction such as aerial-shots, etc. as it doesn't require them to tell its story. Otherwise the props don't seem too costly, such as the clothing, number and style of locations, lighting (which seemed mostly natural, excluding the night scene) and lastly the camera shots and angles, as there don't seem to be any aerial-shots or crane-shots, and therefore the use of a crane or helicopter would not be needed, thus reducing the overall cost of production. This lack of high-cost within the music video may be due to Dubstep's nature, which is a focus on the music, and when using a music video to enhance this, it's through narrative, thus creating a lack of focus on vanity. In terms of special effects and CGI we see the explosions, the use of an electrical effect and the firing of guns. The ice cream van-driver's hand falling off may be an effect or it may just be the use of props. As mentioned previously the shooting and direction can be seen as quite cinematic to an extent, but without a sense of vanity and a real focus on the story associated with the song. Skrillex as an artist, like other Dubstep artists, isn't promoting himself through his videos, as he and other Dubstep artists make music for the music, not so that they can show themselves to the world. For the majority, they enjoy making music and thus do so, and when making music videos, such as Skrillex has here, maintain a focus on the music and not their own personal image, which is a major contrast when looking at pop music videos, such as Justin Bieber's 'As Long As You Love Me', as their main focus is on the image of the artist themselves, and almost seeminglt less so on the actual music, which is slightly ironic.

Thirdly, Dragonforce - Through the Fire and Flames (Rock)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySdLh_B3HjA

This music video clearly does not tell it's story through it's visuals, as it contains purely footage of the band playing the song. Funnily enough though, the lyrics to the song actually tell a sort of story in themselves (see link below)

http://www.metrolyrics.com/through-the-fire-and-flames-lyrics-dragonforce.html

The video, like 'Bangarang' is nearly entirely entirely viewed with the music, but here the music is also synchronous with the visuals, as the visuals are the band playing the song.
The shots within this music video all stay quite close to the band, as it is likely being shot on a stage indoors in a small space (as it seems from the video). This means that a majority of shots include medium shots to medium long shots, the angles however vary a large amount, for example, very high angle shots, eye level shots, worm's eye view shots, etc.
The editing in this video, like the other videos, also uses straight cuts and short takes, the only time the take become long/longer is when the camera focuses on a specific instrument for a key part in the song. There is also within this video shot-within-shot, where the two guitarists are playing, which is also where longer takes occur. There is an instance at the end where various angles on the band members appear which is obviously the work of editing as well, which is just worth mentioning. In terms of action matches within the video, it could be said the video is practically one long action match or hundreds of small action matches, as many shots see a band member playing an instrument then in the shots straight after, the same band member continuing to play the instrument, so perhaps more suited to many short action matches.
The sound, as mentioned earlier, is synchronous in this video due to the content of the visuals. Although due to parts where we can't see the singer of the band the sound here could also said to be asynchronous.
The lighting used here distinguishes between the light and dark strongly, so it can be said to be very low key, also the light used within this is not white light, but orange, giving a warm feel in accordance with th lyrics perhaps, since it talks about "fire" and "flames".
The clothing, props and body language is very equipped to the content of the video. The band is playing their song and so are dressed in a way that they would dress, whilst using their instruments and showing their personality and passion for their music in their body language expressed between and whilst playing the music.
The audience for this Dragonforce's rock music if often mostly males between the ages of 12 - 21+ , although again they are not limited to a purely male audience, in fact they are more open to females than other certain genres (and bands who play the same genre) of music as Dragonforce's rock is admired by many. The content of the video is purely showing the band playing their song and therefore doesn't seem particularly aimed at any specific group. It merely shows the band's love for what they do best and the skill level at which they perform.
The selling point from this is the music whilst the video is just something extra for the fans, as it allows the fans to see the level of skill the band perform at and their capability with instruments.
Their aren't any occurrences of special effects in the video, as the focus really is the music, the video really is just an accompaniment.
Within the video there is no occurrence of text appearing on the screen to inform the audience of anything.
EXTRA INFO: Dragonforce is signed to 'Roadrunner Records'. Founded in Amsterdam in 1980, forged a name for itself early on by licensing US Rock repertoire for European release. The company’s early catalogue featured albums from some of the most important names in
the hard rock and metal genres, including Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth. Roadrunner Records also represented some seminal US Punk and Alternative labels including SST, Taang!, Triple X, Twin Tone and Relativity - home to artists as broad-ranging as Black Flag, Jane’s Addiction and Corrosion of Conformity. The diversity fostered in those early years lives on to this day, with successful artists in all the rock subgenres.
SUMMARY: In terms of budget, this video seems very low. The only costly items would seem to be the use of a high definition camera, the set in which they are performing the song and perhaps the slight editing effects of frame-within-frame when the band members are playing the guitars and when we see te band members from multiple angles at once towards the end. Besides these nothing seems to scream "high cost", the outfits seem to be casual clothing worn by the band members, meaning even if they don't belong to them (which they most likely do) they wouldn't cost much to buy. The instruments are obviously owned by the band already, so it's not as though new instruments had to be bought especially for the video. Due to the lighting it can't be told whether the band s actually wearing makeup, although it isn't likely, (due to the lighting not showing off their faces often and the focus being on the music not them so much) also they are not a band which routinely wears a vast amount of makeup as part of their image. The shots vary in pace and length with a number of different angles, which coupled with the rumble effect in some shots can really keep the viewer involved, really energizing them about that they are listening to and watching (also here no high cost shots are used, much like in Skrillex video i.e. no crane or aerial shots that require extra equipment). Within the video there are no special effects, CI or special graphics, there is a slight effect, as mentioned earlier, done through editing of frame-within-frame and a point towards the end of the video where band members are seen at various angles at the same time, but besides this there is nothing in terms of effects, adding to the sense of this being low budget, as these two effects don't seem to have cost much to produce, due to nothing have to be done whilst recording and the effect being created through editing (it is mentioned earlier perhaps this may have cost slightly as its unknown whether these effects can only be produced on at least mildly decent editing software. Although really this doesn't seem it would be an obstacle for professional editors, but still I included that it may have cost extra just in case, which is why I'm clarifying that here). The lighting in the video really caused a contrast between light and dark, meaning it was low key, the number of lights could also said to be costly but creation of the set as being costly was mentioned earlier, by which I meant light included. The lighting really puts and emphasis on those playing the music, as the stand out in the dark, although the video still remains greatly focused on the music, so this focus on the band doesn't seem filled with vanity. The video seems to be shot differently to Skrillex and Justin Bieber's video, as it isn't cinematic at all. It is far more performance based, but in a completely different style to the kind of performance Justin Bieber was doing through his dance routine, as here its giving a performance through the creation of music by the band members playing. A video like this is typical of the Rock genre; a very heavy focus on the music (much like Skrillex through his video for 'Bangarang', although his holds a story through the visuals whereas this does not) by showing a montage of footage of the band playing the song on a set. Especially in this video though, as the lighting and camera angles/shots really hide the band's faces at points with the main focus being on the instrument their playing itself, e.g. when the frame-within-frame occurs (as the frames completely focus on the instruments). This makes this video much like Skrillex's, as previously mentioned, and a lot less like Justin Bieber's, as there is no/very little focus on vanity (the only slight vanity may be that the band members themselves could be said to be showing off, but then again they have to appear in order to play their music, and the lack of a story in the video shows a real emphasis on the music). Funnily though, even though this video doesn't give a story visually through the lyrics their is a sort of story/journey being told, which doesn't drag us away from the focus on the music, but is actually part of it, as it is the lyrics to the song (which can be seen by clicking the link given above). There is perhaps some intertextual-referencing occurring here, as the music telling a story of a journey could be said to allude to minstrels, and how they, through song, would tell stories of journeys, distant places and imaginary or historical events. Although to play it safe, for now I will only consider this allusion.

To end I will compare and contrast all 3 music videos using Goodwin's Theory of music video analysis, which boiled down to key words, tackles;

Hyperconsciousness
Parody
Pastiche
Intertextuality
Narcissism

Within Justin Bieber's video, he is very hyperconscious. He as an artist, is aware of his popularity, and of the genre to which his is most associated; pop. Since pop means popular music, he often, as seen here, keeps very up-to-date on the latest fashions, and with what's considered cool today. Which is seen through his clothing and the cars involved within the music video, Dragonforce and Skrillex however, are not hyperconscious. While aware they are popular artists they do not choose to abide by this set of ideals that is keeping up to date with everything that's new and trendy. Dragonforce band members wear what they feel comfortable in within their music video, and Skrillex doesn't even appear in his, showing serious contrast between Dragonforce + Skrillex, and Justin Bieber, as said though this may be due to genre of music. Pop is what is popular therefore the artist may have to keep up this appearance of what's popular. Parody is an aspect that none of these videos seem to share, as none of them seem to be making a humourous, light-hearted joke towards something else. After watching the content of the videos I honestly cannot say I found anything that these videos may be parodying, which gives them a quality that they share. The same can be said for pastiche, since nothing used within the video (in terms of Mise-en-scene) can be seen to be a pastiche of something else, giving these videos two qualities that they share; a lack of parody and a lack of pastiche. Justin Bieber's video seems to use intertextuality in that it echoes a Romeo & Juliet style story, however Skrillex and Dragonforce don't seems to use intertextuality within their videos. It was previously mention that perhaps Dragonforce intertextually-referenced minstrels although I settled for saying they simply alluded to them, through their use of lyrics and song to tell as story. This again sets apart Justin Bieber's video from the other two artists. A final aspect that separates Justin Bieber's video from Skrillex and Dragonforce's is a sense of narcissism. Justin Bieber's video makes clear that he is the main focus, by paying the most attention to him in the amount of shots throughout the whole video. Whereas Skrillex does not actually appear in his video, putting the emphasis on the music, and in Dragonforce's video, although they appear, the focus on the shots is on the instruments themselves for the majority of the video, showing in this video, like in Skrillex's, and emphasis on the music. However this focus on Justin may not necessarily be his choice. For Justin's music he is the selling point, he holds physical appeal and talent, meaning he is a prime source for exploitation to the audience. The record label uses him to their fullest in order to gain the most profits. Whereas with Skrillex, her makes it clear that his music should be the focus of his videos, and the same goes for Dragonforce. In conclusion, Skrillex's music video for 'Bangarang', and Dragonforce's music video for 'Through the Fire and Flames' are much more alike than Justin Bieber's music video for 'As Long As You Love Me', as Justin Bieber's music video differs in hyperconsciousness and narcissism. Skrillex and Dragonforce's videos share similarity throughout all five aspects, Justin Bieber's only shares similarity through two; parody and pastiche, making his video the odd one out of these three.

Unrelated to the music video analysis, here are three links to music related websites I like using. They are here simply for anyone who's interested:

NME, for music related news (http://www.nme.com/)
Last.fm, which is great for finding new artists based on what you like (http://www.last.fm/)
iTunes, an obvious one but one I like all the same, for downloading music. This couple well with Last.fm as once I find new artists I often use iTunes to download their songs and find more of their music (http://www.apple.com/itunes/)

Anyway that's all for now :) see you all soon :D

Monday 22 October 2012

Navigation Hub & Action Plan

This post is both my Action Plan, as it displays all of my tasks below along with the dates I will have them complete by, as well as a Navigation Hub, allowing you (the viewer/examiner) to easily find posts and open them to view my work.

Please note that I will update this as I complete my coursework, and where the dates are for when pieces of work need to be completed by I will replace them with "COMPLETE" so that I know I have completed the task and I do not get confused with what is done and what needs to be done. Also please note that not all the posts displayed here were necessary, some were done for other reasons such as to better understand media texts, etc.
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Music Video