Showing posts with label G324 Research into music video. Show all posts
Showing posts with label G324 Research into music video. Show all posts

Thursday, 15 January 2015

Applying Narrative Theory to Music Videos

Music Videos may be structured around match on action, in other words a strong sense of story telling could potentially; amplify, illustrate or challenge the lyrics and meaning of the song.

Artist: The Script
Track: Hall of Fame
Genre: Pop Rock/Hip Hop
Released Date: 19th August 2012









The Scripts music video for "Hall of Fame" incorporates the use of a circular narrative because the action ends where it starts off; the young boy living with his mother in a run down area is found dreaming of what life could be and his aspirations in life, alongside the deaf young girl whose dream it is to perform on stage as a ballerina and at the end of the video it shows the same dream of becoming their life time goal after the audience has been taken through the story and determination of how they see themselves there. I believed that this song would be a good idea to analyse for narrative structures and how they could interpreted in different ways. For example the main storyline could be implied as a linear narrative because it follows their story almost in chronological order.

The opening scene, connotes to the audience that there is someone getting ready for a fight in the boxing ring in the form of a medium shot, with his back turned towards the audience. The scene cuts away to his mother waking him up from his dream which implies to the audience that he wants his aspiration to become reality, this could be interrupted that the male character is inviting us to follow how he strives to reach his goal throughout the story. The third shot is of a young female who desires to perform and become a professional ballerina, and by that time the audience realise that the narrative is about following your dreams and creating an impact on the world. Her deformity of being death could hinder her aspirations but not feeling good enough and being put down by her own self belief, which targets her vulnerability. A similar circular narrative is used by the script in their music video "Breakeven".

To incorporate Goodwins theory, Hall of Fame a relationship in terms of lyrics to visuals to emphasis that any child can always achieve their goal, whatever the circumstances. From 1:52-1:54 there is a series of montage shots which show the female ballerina spinning and that links in with the the drummer when he starts to spin his drum sticks. Another one of Goodwins theoris used in the music video is the use of close ups. The continual visual style of motifs are used to help the audience in identifying who the singer and the band are, in this case the lead singer from The Script and Will.i.am and shown through various close ups, this is to get as much publicity and promotion for the artist as possible. The music video also demonstrates genre characteristics, this means that a stage performance of the band and the featured artist in a warehouse where full instruments are set up and are being played, this is a motif because it is a continual visual style that is seen from beginning to end of the music video. Other music videos that follow the same principles of using a stage performance/band playing is 'Ecosmiths Come Together' music video. The genre itself identifies the sort of narrative and performance that you as the audience is likely to see being Pop Rock/Hip Hop.

To use mise-en-scene is really effective in terms of setting the scene. The entire music video is set around the aspirations of the younger children, from the ballet dance room to the boxing ring. These scenes emphasis the teenagers dreams and ambitions to become what they think they can achieve, right at the start of the music video their is a contrast in how the boy and girl live when placed back into reality. The boy lives in a run-down area, surrounded by crime and less opportunity, whereas the girl, who is suffering from a hearing disability, is seen as cut off from the world and isolated in her dream world, this contrasts to the events of them dreaming, becoming and rewriting what their lives should be like. Then scene 1:02+ where the boy is out on a run and encounters adults who are older than he is, this triggers the dream of becoming a professional boxer and standing up for himself where it is shown that he can't when the group of adults punish him.

In terms of setting, I really appreciated the fact that the narrative began introducing the life difficulties of the two characters and as the audience we sympathise with them and get to understand from their i.e. backgrounds why they imagine themselves as better individuals than they are. The setting also creates awareness with the audience in terms of the use of using childhood aspirations as their life goals because then the audience can then think of there own personal experiences and can relate to the music video. Goodwin also stated that there is a relationship of lyrics to visuals, the 'Hall of Fame' lines are mimicked by using boxing ring fights, this relates to the idea of great boxing legends such as Mohammed Ali and that amplifies the idea of how the teenage boy became inspired by other boxing champions and wants to follow on in his footsteps.

 


Tuesday, 13 January 2015

Genre Case Study



Background Information of the Artist

To me the artist is of some unique platform, when I first heard her sing 'For The First Time' by The Script I immediately thought that she would become a worldwide sensation, her voice and chosen music genre of folk/indie folk isn't seen to be a popular chosen music genre in todays modern society between teenagers and that is why I think that her voice and genre of music makes her differentiate herself from other female artists such as Rihanna.

The emotions and her ideologies that she portrays in her songs are feelings that many demographics of 15-30 experience and have an emotional connection to the lyrics, which is powerful in the sense of them wanting to attach themselves onto what they know and have felt, which again makes her music a lot different in terms of the music that we are exposed to now. Her genre was simple to discover because of her dress style and the instruments used in the songs that she creates, when I did my research which consisted of listening, reading and watching her music videos, it resulted me to come to the conclusion that her genre style was folk/indie folk and singer-songwriter. I like the fact that her music if different from other stereotypical music such as Drum and Bass that is associated with youth, but instead prefer the contrast in challenging what music genre is associated with what age. Her demographic range like I said would target 15-30 year olds, and they would be aimed at women more due to the association of the lead female singer.

Gabrielle Aplin is 22 years old and started her music passion on YouTube where she used to sing and perform covers such as Paramore and You Me at Six. In February 2012, she announced she had singed a record deal with Parlophone and was recoding her debut album 'English Rain'. She gained mainstream attention the following November when she was selected to soundtrack a John Lewis television commercial with the cover of 'Frankie Goes to Hollywood's' "The Power of Love".

Genre Theory in the Music Video

Watching through the music video you can connote that this is a story about someone or something entering your life just at the right time and pulling you through something you didn't know how you were going to get through, turning up at the at the most perfect time without being asked or searched for, being their salvation. Music videos such as Ecosmith are purposely made to promote the lead singer rather than promote any enforcing narrative, this implies that the media are intended on promoting the singer, whereas Gabrielle's music video as well as promoting the singer does reinforce a narrative and applies to Goodwin's theory of the relationship between music and visuals. This type of music video tends to be used on similar genre styles, when I researched Gabrielle, there was a sectioned based around what people also searched for and artists such as Birdy, Nina Nesbitt and Christina Perri all share the same genre of music style and have similar narratives and music videos that show a strong link of music to visuals. One music video in particular that I found interesting that Birdy's 'Skinny Love' and Gabrielle's 'Power of Love' share the same instrument and location, which suggests that these two artists are closely related and have a particular style this is different compared to other music videos with different genres.

These types of narratives, with the storyline being focused around the lyrics tend to be used in Folk and Indie Folk because the artists believe that by showing and powerful image, it will promote the lyrics and reinforce a powerful message if audiences can address what they're hearing to what they're seeing. Unlike band music video performances who use their instruments to show to the audience that they have a skill, Gabrielle also addresses that she can play guitar, piano and singing to let the audience know that she is the artist, but this also can be established through close ups of the artists and through giving her the largest screen time.

The main focus on this music video is portraying what the lyrics mean, this is identified through the contrast on the colours of the outfits that the actors are wearing, the male character is in white connoting that he is the saviour whereas she is dressed in black and is portrayed as lost and suggesting external stress and sadness which the song represents. The genre of the song is clear due to the heavy application of the piano and the singer dominating the song. Gabrielle brings the attention of the folk genre by choosing not to diverse into using strobe lighting and montages of band scenes but kept it clean with just acting and ambient lighting, most genres such as Drum and Bass and Rock bands use strobe lighting to mimic a concert or the character types of the audience watching, this can linked to 'Afrika Shox' by Leftfield and the way that the genre can be identified by using lighting to connote the sort of places that this song will be played at e.g. clubs, this reminds them of their demographic. Gabrielle Aplins identified genre are portrayed through the music video with its art-house approach of a narrative.
                                                                            

Tuesday, 7 October 2014

The Use of Media Language in Gabrielle Aplin's - Home

Gabrielle Aplin - Home



Artist: Gabrielle Aplin
Track: Home
Genre: Singer/Songwriter/Folk/Pop
Release Date: 9th of January 2012 (Home EP 2012) (Debut Album English Rain 2013)
Producer: Mike Spencer


Genre Characteristics

- The main aspect of characteristic of folk/pop is the emphasis of the location and the close ups of the Gabrielle herself, its identified through the lip sync of the artist singer and the cuts between the artist buying a guitar, busking in the street and performing in the bar. This female singer would appeal to the younger female audience who are interested in listening to Pop music with the new interest in folk music that they might of not been introduced to. Another characteristic would be the narrative, many stereotypical folk songs are shot in locations such as deserts, this alternately makes the video significant.

-The lead singer is seen playing the guitar with means there is emphasis on the genre of the song, intern means that the identity of the song is being shown throughout the music video. 

- The music video shows Gabrielle performing the song in many different places which shows of the variety and structure of the storyline, the song is sung in a style which could be referenced to Passenger or Birdy. These other popular artist suggest that this style of music is very popular with demographs of the age of 15-25 year olds, meaning their is a very powerful and successful market, by showing off their genre of Pop/Folk within their music videos. 

- Folk/Singer/Songwriter, is also known to be associated with acoustic guitars and piano  mixed with lead vocals, as its the way the artist helps to make the genre its identity with the image shown of the busking scene as the guitar is used to attract people to listen, it still shows that with these  instruments are and always will be associated with this particular type of music genre, they show their importance and significance of the genre alongside their dominance in the music industry. 

-  Whereas typically when folk/singer/songwriter music is shown in a music video they're seen to be wearing outfits that are custom e.g. wearing jeans, high heels and a jacket that is significant to the location that the video is set in or a local/national team they support, in this video it represents that stereotype with the attire that she is wearing, what she is wearing is tend to be represented as being casual and up to date with fashion trends that are already being used in society. 

Notion of Looking  

- Throughout this music video there is examples of voyeuristic theasures, for example the first scene is when a group of boys steal her car and treat her with no respect, this carries on until 0:53 into the video. Their are many close ups of the singer to promote the female artist through body and facial features. For example some close ups of her in the motel of her singing in her pyjamas which relate to the exposure of the female body, her body and mouth stand out the most which can be targeted to the male audience and can also be a connection to the female audience by being upset or scared. 

- One interpretation could be that all the close ups is due to the emotions that are captured by the audience through the music video, they could also be a shown to show power and dominance but other times be shown as anger, upset or pain. Many close ups can be interpreted as a voyeuristic characteristic as males can take advantage of this for the sexual object that they see them as, promoting gender inequality. 

- Near enough all the shots are of the singer as she takes you through her struggle of not having a home to go back to and living on the road going from job to job, it shows the struggle from her point of view which shows her reaction to the poor conditions and cheap meals that she is doing, alongside the manual labour she has to do to earn enough money to live. Later on it shows that her passion is music and that is identified when she has to pawn her watch and ring to afford to buy and play the guitar.

- Close ups and medium shots are used to show the audience of her exhaustion and impatience, the medium shot can also focus on character integration or not in this case dialogue. Without a home she feels that the world around her is strange which she might not have felt, the fact that she is on her own makes her vulnerable to men and they could see this as an opportunity. The fact that there isn't any dialogue suggests that she has a persona of innocence, which can be linked to the start where her car was stolen and she is seen to be running after it trying to not give up. 

Close Ups

- The use of close ups is important in the music industry because it allows the record label to show off and promote the artist so that they are more recognisable if anyone comes across them. Close ups can also determine who the man character is or in this case who the singer is, as their is a storyline, there's cuts in-between lip sync and acting to show that she is both the man character and vocalist. One of Goodwins theories is the notion of looking, so close ups helps to identify that. Seeing as the main focusing point is the female, but males are also represented as stereotypes e.g. at the start where the group are acting childish and connoting that they are superior over woman thinking they can do whatever they want. Emphasis on voyeuristic perception is strongly used when the older man in the truck is seen to pull over on the road and pick up the young female in the car and not charge her at the end, implying satisfaction through looking is the payment he was looking for. 

Relationship Between Music and Visuals

- The music and the beat are not supposedly synchronised due to the visual performance and the strong story telling narrative, on the other hand it is clearly shown that the lip sync of the singer to the words are being sung are real and is being heard which shows a clear connection between the music and visuals. There is an image of Gabrielle laying her head down upon a pillow in a motel, the visual is shown with the line 'It's not where you lay your head' which is in the chorus of the song. The sound of the instruments picks up with the tempo of the singing in order to create the sound of the chorus being played. 
'Home' can be interpreted as a number of places that you personally call home. When you hear the first time that 'home' is mentioned it shows the visual to be placed in a long shot of the artist in her motel room, which would imply that she is in fact home to where she feels that she needs to be. Looking at the relationship between the music and visuals being in sync to a possible narrative of steps to take to show where you find that your heart is set in stone to the place that you yourself calls home, it is interpreted as the journey that she takes in order to come back home showing her struggles of trying to get to the place that she belongs.     

Relationship Between Lyrics and Visuals  

- The first lyric spoken is "I'm a phoenix in the water" this is a reference to the phoenix shown on the back of her jacket, it could also connote the freedom that she has to be able to drive and the age that she is, it could also portray the sense of being adapted to a different lifestyle with the bird living in a completely different location, this could link in with the fact that Gabrielle is in a totally different environment and has to quickly adapt to survive.  

Intertextual Reference

- One of Goodwins theories shows that there is intertexual references within the music video. I noticed that while watching the music video, it has similar references to the film 'Thelma and Louise'. In the film there is a scene where the both of them are driving through the desert while they are fleeing from the murder that Louise committed and are on there way to Mexico. Its a reference to 'Home' because there is a seen where Gabrielle is wondering through the dessert on her way home when her car was hijacked by a group of men. Both the music video and the film have similarities such as they're both escaping what just happened and their trying to escape what they've just been through.  


Wednesday, 3 September 2014

Case Study: Afrika Shox


Afrika Shox



-Artist/ Leftfield ft. Afrika Bambaataa
-Track/ Afrika Shox
-Genre/ Electronic, Acid House, Dupstep, Hip Hop, Noir, Dance, 
-Released/ 6th September 1999
-Directed/ Chris Cunningham

Lighting

- Noir lighting is used to imply that the dim and faded life of the black man as he is struggling to cope with his life and is slowly starting to suffer in the streets of New York, the lighting also links to the representation of chiaroscura lighting to imply the noir into the music genre effectively.

- At the beginning of the music video there is a police car i which it appears to have its lights flashing, this connotes a club/rave like effect which links in with the genre of the track which is dance and dupstep which are all associated with party themes.

-  The track in itself is designed to make people dance too which the music videos incorporates with the lighting, flashing lights are used to continue the effect of a dance club to keep the genre of the track alive, the lights symbol the way people would dance in a club to this song.

Mise en Scene 

- The police car in the beginning connotes that the area that the music video is shot in is a place of violence and corruption, the surrounding area looks like a nightmare and shows that the lead character is struggling and loosing power to the city. It portrays a sense of destruction the black man as he is being ripped apart from the city, like he's no longer apart of society.

- The lead role wears a dog tag which implies that he has served in the American military and from this we can interoperate that he is a returning veteran from the Vietnam war which is established from the time the video was set and New York suggests the period in which it welcomed the return of the soldiers from the war including the black man who has been mistreated and seen as an outsider of society due to the failure of the war to bring back victory from the American Citizens. Another interpretation could be that he's a metaphor for slavery and he is looked down upon by middle class white people and is seen as someone who doesn't deserve the same respect and a chance at life as they do. This can be reinforced by the fact that throughout the music video pieces of this body start to fall off which suggests that he is loosing his confidence and place as a human being. The stereotype of a black person suggests that fear is placed into the eyes of the white people which includes the genre horror into the music video, it neglect from society that he is seen as a danger and a possible nuisance.

- In the car park there are white street dancers that appear to be dancing to music with a stereo, this links in with the idea of the genre of the music video being Hip Hop and dance themed. The dancing originates from black children who enjoyed this certain type of dance and suggests that the lead characters' identity is being stolen and doesn't have any other identity so he is being corrupted by the city until he is no longer.

- The car park in which the black male walks through connotes the alienation which shows isolation which again, shows the world he is living in is separate from him as a human being and there is no help being received from anyone outside of his situation. The lead character is a binary opposite to the white man reading the newspaper through status and power that the white man possesses. It shows there is racial tension, lack of respect and inequality between the two men and that consists as a theme through the entire music video of the racial equality in New York City.

Camera Shots

- The first shot is a low angle/establishing location shot of the twin towers which suggests the wealth, status and power of the city, with the black character on ground level looking up at the tall buildings suggesting the immense power white people have over him. It also shows how different ethnicity is and how dominant they each are shown over each other, it implies that he is stuck at the bottom of the chain looking up at the other dominate figures.

- A panning shot is used to show the bowels of New York which shows the place where he belongs, this scene is an intertexual to The Third Man when Harry Lime is in the sewers which are darkened and claustrophobic.

- There is a close up at 00:41 - 00:49 to show how disorientated the man is about being lost in the big city, it reinforces the struggle that he finds coping after returning from Vietnam.

Lyrics to Visuals Goodwin's Theory

- One of Goodwin's most famous theories is that the lyrics need to link with the visuals and in the music video the stand out lyric to visual was "Lets get electrified', that being the lyric and the visual when the black character touches the electric fence. The electric fence symbolizes him being trapped in the city and not being able to escape, like a prisoner, it links to the idea of being a prisoner of war. It could also connote that he is trapped in his own body in the sense of facing up to the harsh reality, another could be that everyone not just him are slaves, trapped inside rules and opinions of others.

- The electric fence is also a symbol of imprisonment, normally to stop people or animals that are seen as a threat to humans from hurting or endangering them. This suggests that he is seen as a threat to other human beings and is trapped from re-entering society. Middle class white people feel that he is a liability and he is seen as a danger so they make him feel isolated by refusing to give help and ignoring him.

Genre to Visual and Lyrics

- Another of Goodwin's theories of music videos are that genre characteristics with visuals which is when shots and mise en scene are used in the music video e.g. the police cars with the flashing lights used to imply the hip hop and dupstep genre of the song.

Intertextuality

- New York is seen as a dystopia in the music video and it also can be linked in with Carol Reed's 'The Third Man'. A dystopia is a place that looks like a degraded environment and feels like a nightmare, Vienna feels the same way New York is portrayed in the sense of post war and a city full of danger. The genre of noir also links in with 'The Third Man' because there is use of chiaroscura lighting in scenes in which black and white are shown.

- The beginning of Once upon a Time is an intertextual reference in Afrika Shox because the music video is seen to be very dark and mysterious, bleak and somewhat a devastating environment to be in. This is similar to the film when Eve was killed right at the start of the film when the American streets were seen to be dystopia and damaged.
- Within the video (3:12) there is a reference to colonialism where white dancers are seen to be dancing in a particular fashion (Freestyle) which indicates that the white dancers have stolen the black stereotype's dance moves. The stereotype derives from when black kids used to dance in the streets of New York, by this time the lead character stumbles over to the dances and a piece of his arm smashes to the ground which connotes that a piece of his heritage and stereotype for the dancing has been destroyed and he feels less significant with the lack of power he feels over the dancers.
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Possible Music Track



The Chief of Seattle - Across the Sea
Genre: Folk
Released:2014

When I first heard this song I thought about a narrative setting not about the actual band, I felt that this song could be portrayed around a back drop instead of focusing on the band itself. It's a slow song in which the storyline must be more powerful and show a progression through a storyline until the end, the female singer will add to the different style of music video compared to the other groups in which they have a male centre of attention. Throughout the music video I feel that there should be a few cuts to long shots showing of the scenery as the lyrics suggest that song is implying the landscape around them.

Lyrics - The Chief of Seattle/Across the Sea

See it
Did you see it when you ran from the south to..
Hear it
Did you hear it when you hold that..
Cross the sea will find you there

Taken
To a world that's blessed with care
Hidden
Far away in a canyon stare
Cross the sea will find you there

Fell in love with the cold fresh air
Walked until the sky grew bare
Travelled our way to find you were already free
Didn't take much convincing to get you back across the sea
Travelled our way to find you were already free
Didn't take much convincing to get you back across the sea

Standing' 
On mountains where the white just grows
Seeing
No horizon just clouds and snow
Cross the sea will find you there

Fell in love with the cold fresh air
Walked until the sky grew bare
Travelled our way to find you were already free
Didn't take much convincing to get you back across the sea
Travelled our way to find you were already free
Didn't take much convincing to get you back across the sea

Wooooooh ooh oooh
ooooh oh oh oh
oooh oh oh ooh 
oooh oh oh oh

Travelled our way to find you were already free
Didn't take much convincing to get you back across the sea
Travelled our way to find you were already free

Didn't take much convincing to get you back across the sea