Presentation and blog entry made by Jack.
Wednesday 28 September 2011
Research: Video Analysis Of 'Purple Hills - D12'
The music video that I have chosen to analyse is Purple Hills by D-12, the censored version. The uncensored version contains a high volume of drug references and is called "Purple Pills". The song it self doesn't have a narrative, however the central theme of the song is towards the effects of different drugs, and this reflected through the video. At 0:07 you see slow and fast motion of the car driving backwards and forwards, which could implicate the loss of eye co-ordination when using drugs. In addition to this the nmusic video is set in a mythical place that does not exist and this again could be a result of them using drugs. The use of special effects (mainly the green screen) and also animation are used at 0:28, 0:30, 0:37, 0:38, 0:45, 1:02, 1:09, 1:14, 1:18, 1:27, and these are only the first few that are seen. But the green screen is only used when all of the members are together.
Bizarre Leads on after the chorus, and he begins with "I'm at a rave, looking at babe, like she want it" and from 3:05 you see Bizarre dressed in clothes that don not seem to fit him (PVC shorts and fish net top), then when he says "looking at a babe, like she want it" you see 2 small females (that most likely have dwarf-syndrome) and are being provocative towards him. 3:24 there is some irony in the lyrics when Bizarre goes "Drugs Kill", blonde lady (using a blonde female could suggest the common stereo types that blondes are stupid) then says "Yeah Right", Bizarre's reply is "Chick I'm fo' real", so this whole song is talking about the use of drugs and the effects that seem to be wonderful, and then at the end the lyrics go against the whole song.
In this clip of 'Purple Pills' by D12, we see a purple hill landscape being overlooked by the sun, we cannot see beyond the landscape, but we can see that there are mysterious settings over there. The use of a purple hill shows how there are mythical landscapes in the video. The use of mythical places in the D12 video is a common motif regularly used by music artists in a variety of genres across the music industry.
As aforementioned there are also mythical landscapes in this clip. However another common motif is found in the video 'Purple Pills' through the use of materialism. Materialism is a common motif found in modern music videos particularly in the R&B, Hip Hop genre. The materialism is found when the artist is driving his car down the road in the opening moments of the video.
Written by Tyrone and Sid.
Written by Tyrone and Sid.
Thursday 22 September 2011
Research: General Music Video Analysis
Music Videos are now a respected genre of the music industry. The ultimate purpose of the music video is to encapsulate the audience and keep them watching throughout.
Typically the length of a music video is between 3-5 minutes. The reasoning behind this is a mixture of different reasons. Economical (money saving) reasons play a key part, as each producer of a music video has a budget they have to conform to and the shorter the video the less money has to be spent. Another reason of equal importance is again revenue based. The producer ideally would like to get a maximum amount of videos in a co fined amount of time as more money is made this way. It is much easier to do so if each video is of a shortish length.
In the modern era, music videos are very much at the forefront of the entertainment industry. Music videos have become the huge hit they are today, due mainly to the fact that the majority of people in the UK and America own a television set and a form of cable or satellite entertainment, and are therefore are able to watch the music channels that come with it. Music companies see music videos therefore as a very profitable market due to the vast audience it can show it to.
For all the positive attributes that are found in the music video genre, there are certain aspects that are flawed. Firstly, due to the short length of the music video, there is no time for relevant characters to be developed in the video plot. Instead characters of persona are created, in which we as the audience are left to make our own opinions up about said characters. The plot is also weak to accommodate the short length of the song.
In general a music video is usually incorporated by an artist to employ a narrative and a message. This message is usually portrayed through its use of coherent clips and editing. Because of the short length of a music video, the clips predominantly make little sense on their own. The message is understood however when the clip is merged with the rest of the clips to portray the message.
Music videos are perceived by many as one of the most diverse art forms. Its genre's differ from the mythical and mysterious, to the gangster lifestyle or even just simply Horror. A mythical and mysterious music video, can be shown by many examples. An example could be if it was set in a gothic mansion, another if it was set in post apocalyptic time period.
Ritual celebrations are one of the most used ideas in a music video. Time and time again directors use the same ideas for a music video that they feel complement the song. An example of this is a house party or a party on the beach. This idea has been used on numerous occasions by artists and their directors as it seems to be successful with a global audience. Bands such as Deaf havana, Katy Perry and 50 Cent have all used a ritual celebration in one of their music videos as it seems to sell.
Finally there are other features in music videos that aren't always well recognised, but usually pop up quite regularly in successful music videos. These features include; Camera shots into bright lights, sun and fire, to give off a sense of importance and grandeur. Breaks in the films short narrative so that the artist can be shown singing their song. If the song is being used as soundtrack for a film, the music video will almost always show clips of the film, as a promotion technique. Finally you will see regularly in a professional music video, the artist or band cross cut footage from their narrative based music video, into footage from a live concert or festival where they have performed. This technique is used so the fans can relate and reminisce, as well as advertising the bands live tours.
Written by Sid.
Typically the length of a music video is between 3-5 minutes. The reasoning behind this is a mixture of different reasons. Economical (money saving) reasons play a key part, as each producer of a music video has a budget they have to conform to and the shorter the video the less money has to be spent. Another reason of equal importance is again revenue based. The producer ideally would like to get a maximum amount of videos in a co fined amount of time as more money is made this way. It is much easier to do so if each video is of a shortish length.
In the modern era, music videos are very much at the forefront of the entertainment industry. Music videos have become the huge hit they are today, due mainly to the fact that the majority of people in the UK and America own a television set and a form of cable or satellite entertainment, and are therefore are able to watch the music channels that come with it. Music companies see music videos therefore as a very profitable market due to the vast audience it can show it to.
For all the positive attributes that are found in the music video genre, there are certain aspects that are flawed. Firstly, due to the short length of the music video, there is no time for relevant characters to be developed in the video plot. Instead characters of persona are created, in which we as the audience are left to make our own opinions up about said characters. The plot is also weak to accommodate the short length of the song.
In general a music video is usually incorporated by an artist to employ a narrative and a message. This message is usually portrayed through its use of coherent clips and editing. Because of the short length of a music video, the clips predominantly make little sense on their own. The message is understood however when the clip is merged with the rest of the clips to portray the message.
Music videos are perceived by many as one of the most diverse art forms. Its genre's differ from the mythical and mysterious, to the gangster lifestyle or even just simply Horror. A mythical and mysterious music video, can be shown by many examples. An example could be if it was set in a gothic mansion, another if it was set in post apocalyptic time period.
Ritual celebrations are one of the most used ideas in a music video. Time and time again directors use the same ideas for a music video that they feel complement the song. An example of this is a house party or a party on the beach. This idea has been used on numerous occasions by artists and their directors as it seems to be successful with a global audience. Bands such as Deaf havana, Katy Perry and 50 Cent have all used a ritual celebration in one of their music videos as it seems to sell.
Finally there are other features in music videos that aren't always well recognised, but usually pop up quite regularly in successful music videos. These features include; Camera shots into bright lights, sun and fire, to give off a sense of importance and grandeur. Breaks in the films short narrative so that the artist can be shown singing their song. If the song is being used as soundtrack for a film, the music video will almost always show clips of the film, as a promotion technique. Finally you will see regularly in a professional music video, the artist or band cross cut footage from their narrative based music video, into footage from a live concert or festival where they have performed. This technique is used so the fans can relate and reminisce, as well as advertising the bands live tours.
Written by Sid.
Tuesday 20 September 2011
Research: Current Favourite Music Videos
This music video was produced by the joint music company of levels production/ministry of sound. The song is a collaboration between the two music artists 'Wretch 32' and 'Example'. I enjoy the music video as well as the song itself. I like the video because I feel it is unique and it cleverly portrays the message of the song itself. The song looks to portray the message that being unique is a good thing and that you don't have to follow any crowd, you can set your own trends. The video shows this message by filming lots of people who are trying to stand out in their own unique ways and break the trends of modern society. An example of this is shown with the female shaving off all her hair, therefore being different to the societal norm of women with long hair. Thus being 'Unorthodox' which is the track title. I feel as well as the video being intriguing for the message it is looking to put across, i feel that the upbeat tempo of the music and the general happy nature of all the people in the video makes more people want to watch it as it induces a general good vibe. The video is effective i feel as it promotes the track due to it being intriguing to watch and they way it portrays the track title. Also the way the two artists, Example and Wretch 32 were wearing Wretch 32 jackets shows how the video is a good tool for promoting the artists merchandise.
This collaboration between the two artists Chris Brown and Benny Banassi is the second out of my three favourite songs at present. The company Ultra Records produced the song. The video itself I enjoy, as I believe the video encapsulates the title and meaning behind the song 'Beautiful people'. The song shows Chris Brown and Benny riding scooters around an American city, illustrating how they still like to rekindle their happy memories of youth. The youthful aspect of the song shows everything is innocent and with innocence shows how everyone is able to be 'Beautiful People'. I believe the portrayal of youth is the key reason why I and many other people my age enjoy the song as we feel like we can relate to the lyrics. The video also shows exuberant happy dancing by Chris Brown which is a clever use of creating a music video as it then markets the video to people who enjoy the aesthetic aspect and not the music itself, as they will be able to appreciate the dancing even if the music does not appeal. I believe that the 'Beautiful People' video is used effectively as it is a very upbeat and uplifting video, which is therefore enjoyable to watch, which means more people will enjoy the track as well as the video. The video is also used as a good marketing tool for their products. Benny Banassi wears a shirt in the video that can be bought online, which increases the artist’s revenue, which is a positive thing.
The record label Rough Trade Records produced this music video for the London based band, The Libertines. This song is the third and final video of my three favourite videos at present. The video is the band members walking around London in warm weather, generally having a laugh. The video relates to the song title 'Don't look back into the sun' as it shows the band having a laugh and not caring about past events. They are living carefree and enjoying the successes of their band. Their band is also shown playing a concert in this video for the enjoyment of their fans. Personally I enjoy the video because the mis en scene of costume and props with the military jackets the band where wearing around London shows the uniqueness of the band and how they aren't just like everyone else. I feel the audience enjoy this because when artists are different it more enjoyable because of the variety. I feel that the video itself is an effective marketing tool as it promotes the band, through the technique of filming their concert, thus showing how entertaining they can be when playing a live event. The video helps promote the band through the aforementioned filming of the live concert to show the bands qualities at a live event.
Written by Sid.
Research: What Has Been Learned By Looking At The History Of Music Videos?
Through time music videos have all become more controversial than the previous era. Therefore every time an artist wishes to create a new music video, it needs to be more graphic and more explicit than the previous videos either produced by the artist and by other artists. This is because over a period of time, the audience become de-sensitised to what they are seeing, therefore, by changing what people are used to seeing the video becomes more controversial.
We know this from looking at the soundies, there is little skin shown, and as it progresses to the scopitones, more and more skin is being seen, but also the costume that is used by the dancers becomes more skimpy. As we progress past the scopitones music videos become more violent and become to relate more to drug references.
It will effect our video due to the audience seeing all these common references in music videos, therefore our video needs to match the current controversy. This means that we have to incorporate these aspects in order to attract our target audience to repeatedly watch the video and to increase our popularity as a company and the popularity of the band we are doing the it for. However we need to keep these aspects to a reasonable level so that the video feasible for viewing. This means that it is able to be viewed b the target audience, but they are exposed to the aspects without breaching the legality of the music videos contents.
Written by Tyrone.
Written by Tyrone.
Friday 16 September 2011
Research: History Of The Music Video
ackA music video can be described as a "distinctive art form which portrays the music of the given artist, and allows for the creation of all persons associated with the act to be expressed and experimented with." The aim of the director of the music video is to make the video visually memorable, and entice the target audience (teenagers to want to repeatedly view it.
Soundies.
The first form of music representation through media form was what are known as 'soundies'. Soundies are 3 - 5 minute long musical sketches that involve the band and dancers/actors performing on both sides of a theatrical stage. They were very controversial, in that they contained a lot of provocative dressing, and sexual dancing, of women, which highlights the way they were viewed as sexual objects. Also, there were a lot of leading black roles, which was quite a surprise considering the very recent end of the enslavement period.
The above video is typical of a soundie; it emphasises the Jazz era with the severe use of jazz music, and incorporates the singer and a sketch which is being acted out - the two forms of media have come together to produce an entertaining musical sketch. However, the woman (note that she is white) isn't wearing any revealing clothing - which contrasts highly to what would usually be in a soundie - it could be regarded as a timid version of one.
Scopitones.
Following the soundies was the 'Scopitones' in the late 195's/early 196's, which were played on video jukeboxes, which were found in typical shops such as pizza parlours. They contained much more sexual content, which coincided with the generation at the time - directors realised that the music didn't have to actually be good in order for it to bring in profit; as long as the women were illustrated as sexual, the video would attract high amounts of viewers, which would then bring in high amounts of profit.
Below is a video that is very emblematic of a scopitone. As you can see, the woman is dressed in highly erotic, flesh-revealing outfits which compose her as a sexual object for men. This compliments the song itself, which discusses her troubles of being "trapped" in love. The use of such motifs for the song is typical of many, if not all, scopitones - they often talk about women and love, and support this by the use of women that are dressed sexually and are dancing sexually, to emphasise the controversial aspect of them (and how they pushed the boundaries of sexuality).
1960s/1970s.
The scopitones were extremely successful, which attracted rock artists and top of the chart bands to respond to them by making little films to promote their new albums, many of which were influenced greatly by drugs. Rock bands would often use musical videos to leave a mark of their music whilst they were touring, in order to ensure that their records were still continuously played and attracted the fanbase they aimed to (they were also used to simply promote their latest songs and albums).The influence of drugs is something that has continued to be a feature of music for a very long period of time, and is even still written about in modern music. The video below is a massive hit from one of the most well known rock bands - although it may not be solely about drugs, it discusses the theme of 'loneliness', which is certainly another negative feature of post-modern, and modern, societies.
Late 1970s/Early 1980s.
Furthermore, MTV was released in 1979, which gave way to the first solid opportunity for videos to be regularly played on TV, and accordingly opening up the market for the videos to be widely available to the public. The first video was aired on August 1st, 1981, which is shown below. Having their videos played on television was a great opportunity for bands to get their music known to wider audiences. As you can see in this video, the women are portrayed in a less sexual way, and the stereotype of them as sexual objects has been lessened in this particular video.
1990s.
As time changed, so did the definition of hip hop; gangster lifestyles and use of drugs were highly exploited, which contrasts highly to the initial tame nature of hip hop videos. This gangster influence is a heavy influence on todays hip hop culture.
The two videos above both represent hip-hop, but in extremely different ways. The first one is an older video from the 1980's, and represents hip-hop in a very tame manner, with no elements or signs of gang culture or any illegal activity. The second, however, which is based in France, shows a gang of youths recklessly roaming around a city and causing huge amounts of un-necessary destruction - this is a stereotypical representation of today's youth, and the gang culture within. The high contrast with both videos greatly supports the change in the definition of hip-hop as time progressed.
Written by Jack.
Soundies.
The first form of music representation through media form was what are known as 'soundies'. Soundies are 3 - 5 minute long musical sketches that involve the band and dancers/actors performing on both sides of a theatrical stage. They were very controversial, in that they contained a lot of provocative dressing, and sexual dancing, of women, which highlights the way they were viewed as sexual objects. Also, there were a lot of leading black roles, which was quite a surprise considering the very recent end of the enslavement period.
The above video is typical of a soundie; it emphasises the Jazz era with the severe use of jazz music, and incorporates the singer and a sketch which is being acted out - the two forms of media have come together to produce an entertaining musical sketch. However, the woman (note that she is white) isn't wearing any revealing clothing - which contrasts highly to what would usually be in a soundie - it could be regarded as a timid version of one.
Scopitones.
Following the soundies was the 'Scopitones' in the late 195's/early 196's, which were played on video jukeboxes, which were found in typical shops such as pizza parlours. They contained much more sexual content, which coincided with the generation at the time - directors realised that the music didn't have to actually be good in order for it to bring in profit; as long as the women were illustrated as sexual, the video would attract high amounts of viewers, which would then bring in high amounts of profit.
Below is a video that is very emblematic of a scopitone. As you can see, the woman is dressed in highly erotic, flesh-revealing outfits which compose her as a sexual object for men. This compliments the song itself, which discusses her troubles of being "trapped" in love. The use of such motifs for the song is typical of many, if not all, scopitones - they often talk about women and love, and support this by the use of women that are dressed sexually and are dancing sexually, to emphasise the controversial aspect of them (and how they pushed the boundaries of sexuality).
1960s/1970s.
The scopitones were extremely successful, which attracted rock artists and top of the chart bands to respond to them by making little films to promote their new albums, many of which were influenced greatly by drugs. Rock bands would often use musical videos to leave a mark of their music whilst they were touring, in order to ensure that their records were still continuously played and attracted the fanbase they aimed to (they were also used to simply promote their latest songs and albums).The influence of drugs is something that has continued to be a feature of music for a very long period of time, and is even still written about in modern music. The video below is a massive hit from one of the most well known rock bands - although it may not be solely about drugs, it discusses the theme of 'loneliness', which is certainly another negative feature of post-modern, and modern, societies.
Late 1970s/Early 1980s.
Furthermore, MTV was released in 1979, which gave way to the first solid opportunity for videos to be regularly played on TV, and accordingly opening up the market for the videos to be widely available to the public. The first video was aired on August 1st, 1981, which is shown below. Having their videos played on television was a great opportunity for bands to get their music known to wider audiences. As you can see in this video, the women are portrayed in a less sexual way, and the stereotype of them as sexual objects has been lessened in this particular video.
1990s.
As time changed, so did the definition of hip hop; gangster lifestyles and use of drugs were highly exploited, which contrasts highly to the initial tame nature of hip hop videos. This gangster influence is a heavy influence on todays hip hop culture.
The two videos above both represent hip-hop, but in extremely different ways. The first one is an older video from the 1980's, and represents hip-hop in a very tame manner, with no elements or signs of gang culture or any illegal activity. The second, however, which is based in France, shows a gang of youths recklessly roaming around a city and causing huge amounts of un-necessary destruction - this is a stereotypical representation of today's youth, and the gang culture within. The high contrast with both videos greatly supports the change in the definition of hip-hop as time progressed.
Written by Jack.
Podcast 1 - Introduction
This is a very quick podcast in which we introduce ourselves as individual members, and explain who our company is and what we do.
Written by Jack.
Tuesday 13 September 2011
Project Outline
This year, we have been asked to get into groups of no more than 4, in which we have to create a promotional package for an album of our chosen artist. This package has to include a promotional music video for a chosen song, a website for the band, a digipack to mark the release of the album, and a radio spot announcing the release of it.
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