10. Group Work on Setting, Costume, Props

GENRE: Grime

VIDEO 1

STORMZY- Nigo Duppy

Costume:
Range of tracksuits, varying in style, but all Adidas.
Setting/Location:
Carpark, Tunnel, Playground, Shop: All filmed during the night
Props:
Car, Playground area (monkey bars),

VIDEO 2
LADY LESHURR - Queens Speech 2

Costume: 
Army pattered outfit, timberland boots
Setting/Location: 
Set at night in the streets of London (shot in one take)
Props:
iPhone, Crown



VIDEO 3
SKEPTA - Shutdown

Costume:
black and white themed tracksuits.
Setting/Location:
Estate area (day and night scenes)
Props:
Dogs




From analysing these three Grime music videos, we have learnt that the costume tends to be more of an urban trend rather than glamorous. This includes tracksuits and other casual clothing. We have noticed that Stormzy's video featured him in Adidas clothing for the majority of the time, meaning that he was possibly sponsored by them - a fashionable and trendy brand. We have also noticed that a significant characteristic of location and setting for Grime music videos is that they are often set in an exterior place, mostly typical London estates. There are also minimal props in Grime music videos.

9. Analysing Costume, Setting, and Location

Analysing Costume, Setting, and Location

8. Review of previous student work

Review of previous student work

Click here to view my favourite student video

7. Target audience research - YouGov profiler activity

 Target audience research - YouGov profiler activity

8. Review of Previous Student Work

7. YouGov Profiler - Target Audience Research

6. Laura Mulvey's Theory

Nicki Minaj is an iconic artist of the 21st century. She inspires self confidence and promotes girl power. However, one of the most iconic things about her, is her body. In her video 'superbass' she is the one (at the start) to be covered up, while the men around her are in their underwear. At 0.16, we see the male's torso. This contradicts Mulvey's theory as it is the opposite gender being exposed. His body is being 'cut' by the camera to just show his sculpted chest. However, this changes at 0.32 as the man performing with Minaj is in a suit all covered up, while she is in a tight tank top (with her bra revealed) and short shorts. Even though, she is the one looking to be 'in control', her outfit seems to in a way downgrade her power. 

At 0.49 when all the back up dancers are dressed the same as Nicki Minaj, it gives off the impression that this is how men want females to be dressed as (according to Mulvey's theory of course). 

The scene in the pool (starting at 1.19) shows her in the pool with all the men in swimsuits along the poolside. Even though she is the one again to be somewhat covered up, while she is walking past the men, all eyes are on her. The way they watch her every move is like they are undressing her with their minds. Their glares say enough, that even though she is this strong female icon, men still look at her in that way. There is also the idea of her being alone in the pool, while all of the men stare at her from the outside. it gives off the idea that she is being portrayed as an animal in the zoo being targeted and glared at by the visitors.  

Again at 2.21 when the scene comes on with the women dancing with the men, it shows the men sitting while the women dance around them. They get to relax while the women dance sexily next to them. I feel like this reflects the quote 'it's a man's world'. 

Having a song from a males's perspective is very different than Nicki  Minaj's video for instance. As in her video, she had some power and it wasn't just the females being portrayed sexually to the camera but also the males (when they were shirtless). However, in Akon's video it is only the women who are being portrayed as what Mulvey suggests. 

From around 1.10, when Akon is entering the building, we see a bunch of muscles guys outside. This shows the representation of males vs. females. The men mainly dominate the start of the video. As soon as Akon is in  the bulidng we see what is inside, a club filled with girls dancing half naked (as always!) At 1.20, we have a high angle of the camera looking straight down at a girl dancing. We of course, see her wearing minimal clothing with her boobs in the camera. This supports Mulvey's theory of the negative representation of females in music videos. The women in this music video are dressed to please the eyes of men. Showing the women at a low angle also suggests the power is taken from her, that she is on a lower level to the man and needs to look up to him. 

We also see the men throughout this video in complete outfits, Akon, for example, is wearing a coat. This is like most Hip Hop videos where the women are exposing their bodies while the men enjoy the comfort of their clothing. 

The way the men (for example, at 2.10) are looking at the women looks like they are eyeing piece of meat. Their look simply suggests more than a friendly conversation. 

When Eminem's part comes on at 2.19, we see him sitting in a big leather chair that is at the front of the stage, while he has women parading for him. This suggests he is treating them as a show (again, supporting my earlier point in the Minaj video of her being treated like an animal) the girls are simply a pleasure for him and nothing more than an item. 

5. Carol Vernallis' Theory

6. Laura Mulvey's theory

Laura Mulvey's theory

Laura Mulvey's theory on representation - Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires

Analysis of Nicki Minaj's Anaconda music video

Various shots in this video link with Laura Mulveys's theory of representation as the women in the video, Nicki Minaj herself included are represented in a way to cater to a heterosexual males fantasy. An example of this is the revealing costumes used.

Close ups to particular parts of the female body encourages the viewer to look at that area. This links with Laura Mulvey's idea of 'The male gaze'

5. Carol Vernallis research

Carol Vernalli research 

4. Andrew Goodwin's theory

Andrew Goodwin's theory

3. What is the function of a music video?

What is the function of a music video?

2. Summer work

My Summer work

To prepare for our A2 coursework we were set work to complete during the summer. The task was to create a storyboard (shot by shot) for the first 1 minute of a chosen music video. The music video I had chosen was Drake's Worst behaviour. In order to effectively create my storyboard I had to identify and reproduce every single shot in the sequence.

I created my storyboard using Amazon's Storyteller. I then put my shot by shot recreation into a picture slideshow which can be viewed below: 

slideshow | Viewer

8- review of previous student video

4. Andrew Goodwin's Theory

3. What is the Function of a Music Video?

1. Introduction

Introduction 

Hi, my name is Esther Asaolu and I am an A2 Media studies student. For my research for my Advanced portfolio, during the summer lessons I began to look at various music artist webpages and eventually created my own webpage for an artist of my choice. The artist i chose was Skepta, a grime music artist.

Click here to view my webpage

2. Summer Work

To prepare us for what we would do in the A2, we were set summer work. Our task was to create a storyboard to any music video we wanted. We had to then replicate the shots from the video. This meant we had to include things like shot angles and mise-en-scene. 

To  make it easier, I decided to screenshot all the different shot types so therefore I would know what to photograph with the people I used for this task. 

J COLE - LOST ONES

This is my finished product. 

1. Introduction

Hello, my name is Martyna Przybycien and I am currently an A2 media student. This year, our task is to create our own music video to a British artist. This will be accompanied by two ancillary products for our chosen artist. 

Part of our research was to create a weebly for an artist of our choice. I chose to do a British artist called Vince Kidd. He is not a known artist as much as Drake or One Direction are, that's why I chose to do him as it would give him more exposure. Vince Kidd is a mixture of soul, pop and contemporary RnB. 

Vince Kidd hasn't got a website, therefore I looked at The Weeknd's website as they are both of a similar genre. This helped me get an idea of what the website should look like and what it should include. 

LINK to KIDDULTHOOD'S SITE

7- target audience research

6- Laura Mulvey represenation of media

5- Carol Vernallis research

Carol vernallis ppt from rhianaletts

4- Andrew Goodwin's theory

3- What is the function of a music video?

2- summer work

1- Introduction

Hello, my name is Rhiana Letts and I am a A2 media studies student. 
To begin the research into music video, I looked at various artist's websites to understand how they brand themselves and how it relates to a specific genre.


I researched Jhene Aiko's website. She is an RnB/soul artist.

This is her actual website, her website depicts the type of artist she is. She is soulful and her lyrics are deep and meaningful. The layout of her website is simple but powerful, she promotes her albums and her videos. (http://jheneaiko.com/)  


In order to try build my own artist brand later on, I practiced trying to create a similar one to Jhene Aiko's. I attempted to demonstrate the type of artist brand she has as well as following the conventions of the genre she belongs to. (http://rhianaletts1.weebly.com/)

I tried to keep the website I create simple, to match the type of artist she is. I also tried to help people focus on her beauty by using her photos. But I also incorporated merchandise link behind a photo and the album link behind the photo. I also included on of her popular music videos. 

12a. Lip Sync Tutorial

Although I had previous experience using Adobe Premier Pro, I learnt how to create a music video using master base tracks. I learnt how markers can be useful in terms of cutting tracks and where the music should all be in sync.

I started by marking where the words began in the actual audio song, then marking where the artist began singing in the base tracks. I then aligned each marker on every track so that all the tracks were matched and began at the same time. I ensured that this was accurate through going through the visual tracks frame by frame to where the lyrics began.
I  then used multiple markers to mark the beats where the tracks would cut, then used the blade tool and held down shift to cut all the visual tracks. I then began deleting segments so that the video would not be one track the whole way through. I based what would be on screen to what the song was saying. For example, when two singers were singing, I attempted to use the two mid shot of the 2 band members.

11. Mainstream VS Independent

MAINSTREAM

Record Label: One Direction are under Syco Music/Entertainment, which is a joint enterprise by Simon Cowell and Sony Music Entertainment, both mainstream companies.
Genre: The band are often associated with Pop.
Target Audience: As a young group of men, their brand is targeted at young teenage girls, YouGov Profiler mentions that their demographic is 18-24 year olds.
Merchandise/Ancillary: Tour ticket, Pre-order new single (Made in The AM), Shop (Single, Book, Link to merchandise, personalised gifts, fragrance), Link to music.
Purchasing Music: Under music tab, each album of theirs reads 'find out more', then links for Amazon, iTunes, and official 1D Store.
Backstory: All members entered The X Factor individually, and was then manufactured together to create One Direction during 'bootcamp', eventually their fanbase grew and they came third on the talent show, and their careers accelerated since then.

Advantages: 

• More revenue, causing a faster acceleration for the band's success.
• More money allowing the record company to pay for producers of music
• Gaining more revenue allows the band to tour and sell merchandise more often

Disadvantages:

• The label has more control over the music that the band releases
• The artist is restricted to what they can do

INDIE

Record Label: Lanterns on the Lake are signed by Bella Union, an independent record label by Robin Guthrie and Simon Raymonde. 

Genre: Indie Rock

Target Audience: 25+ ?

Merchandise/Ancillary: Tote bang, T-shirt, physical EP, Limited A3 Prints, Vinyls, CD Album : all of their merchandise do not feature their faces, but only their logo.

Purchasing Music: All their products are under the 'Store' tab, including merchandise. 

Backstory: Formed in 2007, and they self released 2 EPs and a single. Their song I Love You Sleepyhead was featured in the film Where Soldiers Come From. 

Advantages:

• The artist has more control over their music, so there is more creativity to the work they produce

Disadvantages:

• Possibility of less success than a mainstream record label
• Less revenue for producers and merchandise

Merchandise and ancillary products are important to the success of the band and to the audience, as it is a way to promote the band as an artist and appeal to an audience which would lead to an increase in sales, therefore leading the artist to be able to produce more music and build their brand.
For One Direction, fans are able to find out information about the band on social media including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, as well as their website. Lanterns on the Lake have information about them on their own website, and also on Facebook and Twitter.
I would personally like to be signed to a mainstream label in order to gain success in the music industry. Although, I believe that it would be better to keep the music raw, and release good music under an independent label.

9. Analysing Costume, Setting, and Location

Video 1: Taylor Swift - You Belong with Me
Genre: Country/Pop

There are 9 costume changes throughout the whole music video. There is no verse-chorus-verse link to the costume changes, although, during the bridge of the song, we see the change in the narrator/participant/singer's costume into a dress, unlike her other costumes. The song lyrics directly link to the narrative the majority of the time. During the second verse, we see the pre-chorus being narrated with the artist being in the bleachers and the other character in the video as a cheerleader. There is an aspect of the video where we see short shots of the artist dressing up in the mirror as stereotypical 'outsider', including a hippy, goth, nerd, showing that she differs from the typical 'girly' girl, like the other character in the video. The use of costume links to the genre through playing with the whole idea of a typical American high school teen film - this is typical to the pop genre, as it is know for being playful and fun.

The video contains at least 6 locations including the bedrooms, the outside bench, the car, the football game, and the prom/party scene. The setting and locations directly links to the costume, specifically the football game, as the artist is wearing a band costume, the other characters are in uniform for the game. As mentioned, the location and setting link to the idea of Pop being a fun and playful genre.

Video 2: Bow Wow - Let Me Hold You ft. Omarion
Genre: R&B/Hip Hop

The artist in this video has 3 costume changes: The white jumper during the party, black hoodie outside the party, and the black vest on the stair case. There is no verse-chorus-verse structure to the artist costume changes. The use of costume directly links to the typical thought of Hip Hop and R&B outfits: flashy jewellery/belts, bandanas etc. 

There are 5 places where the video is shot: the girls house, outside the party, inside the party, and the stair case. The setting of the video links to the costume through the genre - R&B videos often represent females with lack of clothing, and seen with a male companion. R&B and Hip Hop videos also often are set in a party showing wealth through jewellery, cars, mansions and swimming pools. 

Video 3: The 1975 - Girls
Genre: Indie Rock

'Girls' by The 1975, only contains 2 changes of the base track of the band and the close up of the lead singer - both costume changes are similar as they all appear to be wearing black throughout the video.

The costume changes do not correlate with the verse-chorus-verse structure where we see the camera cut from the females and the band. In contrast to the white background, the band are presented in all black, making them stand out. Their costumes links to their genre, as they are presented as different from others, where the artist is presented as bright and the main focus.

Overall, the video is shot with different coloured screen backgrounds which features the white background with the band playing their instruments, the yellow background with the lead singer, white background close up shot, the colourful props, white background with lamp posts and crossings, the car, and the background with lights. The minimal background is a contrast to their costumes, as the setting is bright and colourful, unlike the band that are all dressed in black. There is less production involved in this video, like many indie rock videos. 

8. Review of Previous Student Video

7. YouGov Profiler Activity

As we have to look into British artists, I decided to look into the YouGov profile of the 'typical' Krept & Konan audience member.

Krept & Konan YouGov Profile

From the YouGov profiler, we learn that a typical audience member of Krept & Konan would generally be female around the age of 18-24, that would often be based in London.

YouGov gather possible aspects of the audience's demographics, Lifestyle, Personality, Brands, Entertainment, Online, and their interest in Media.

It is important that we research target audiences in order to adapt our product to appeal to them. Researching target audiences help focus the content marketing, and allow the product to be successful. From the media section of the YouGov profiler, we learn that the audience of Krept and Konan is typically online for 36-40 hours, meaning that it is important that the artist can engage with the audience in order to form a connection with the audience via social media. This means it is also important to promote new music/ music video via social networking in order for them to reach the audience and be successful. It is also important that we promote the artist in magazines and newspapers, as this section also mentions that a typical audience member reads this form of media. 

6. Laura Mulvey

Laura Mulvey

Laura Mulvey is s feminist film theorist, who commented that we live in a patriarchal society, that has been clearly reflected in music videos. She believes that women have been presented negatively. This is very much often specifically present in the genre of RnB and HipHop:

"In a world ordered by sexual imbalance, pleasure in looking has been split between active/male and passive/female. The determining male gaze projects its fantasy on to the female figure which is styles accordingly." - Laura Mulvey, 1992

Artists like Nicki Minaj conform to Mulvey's theory of women being presented to be looked at. Whereas, Beyoncé is depicted as a 'feminist' but is known for her provocative and lack of clothing - also supporting Mulvey's theory. Mulvey's opinion is still relevant in today's society. Mouldy mentions that women are often DISMEMBERED by the camera, meaning that the camera frequently focuses on sections of the female form.

A good example of this is Young Money's Bed Rock:

And also 
Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya, Pink - Lady Marmalade
All the artists in this music video are females, the camera still dismembers them and they present themselves for the male eye. 

5. Carol Vernallis

4. Andrew Goodwin's Theory

Andrew Goodwin

Andrew Goodwin's theory in Dancing in the Distraction Factory has 5 key characteristics to a music video. Goodwin comments that we see what we hear, meaning that the lyrics have a direct correlation to the visual aspect. The artist is used as both the narrator and participant in the video, the technical aspect: often breaking the 4th wall, and also the protagonist in the video (or artist), having a lot of camera shots, making the identity recognisable and the centre of attention.

Goodwin's 'thought through beat' theory follows the idea that the audience can see what they mentally visualise. The use of a verse-chourus-verse structure is used to analyse the thought through beat theory. The voice of the artist is also very different to others, giving them an identity and making them recognisable to an audience. The artist may also be the narrator of the song, allowing the music video to be a visual aid to to what the singer is trying to 'story tell'.

In relation to the correlation between visuals and the music, Goodwin’s theory includes the idea that music videos can show ILLUSTRATION to depict the meaning of their song and their genre, for example:

Teenage Dirtbag – Wheatus

Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus depicts the band often playing their instruments (exhibiting that they are a pop rock indie group) and a short narrative directly linking to the song lyrics. Specifically at 2:40, the lyrics are "it's prom night and I am lonely... she's walking over to me", where we see a literal visual of the 'teenage dirtbag' alone in a prom setting, then the female walking up to him. We also see a lot of close ups of the band's lead singer, and shots of the band playing their instruments, following the conventions of a pop rock indie music video.

Goodwin also explains that there are some music videos that have DISJUNCTURE or no relevance to the actual song meaning:

No Scrubs – TLC

No Scrubs has no relevance to the song, as TLC are primarily dancing and singing towards the camera, and does not illustrate the songs meaning. The song lyrics describe a male who lacks in wealth, which is not projected in the music video in any way. The R&B pop band are seen in trendy , futuristic costume, like many other R&B videos. R&B music videos are often focused on the visual style of the video, which leads to the lack of narration. The visual style is the strongest part of the music video as it makes it interesting and appealing to an audience. The fact that the band are dancing creates more of a focus on their talents than the song itself. 

AMPLIFICATION is the emphasis of the meaning of the song, where the artist is directly associated with the performance, connotations, and narrative: 

If I Were a Boy – Beyonce

This music video directly projects the connotations of the song. We immediately see this through the fact that stereotypical roles of males and females are switched. The literal meaning of 'If I were a boy', is shown through Beyoncé playing the role of a police officer, which is stereotypically a male dominant role. It is also shown throughout the video through stereotypical 'male' actions. The music video is also fully displayed in a greyscale throughout the whole thing, making the audience focus on the implications of the song and the visuals, rather than the visual style of the video. 

3. What is the function of a Music Video?

Music Videos are primarily used to create a brand for the artist. Their purpose is to support the artist, leading up to the sale of merchandise and touring. Entertainment is one aspect of music videos, that promotes the song and could possibly lead up to the purchase of the product. Music videos also tend to add an extra layer of enjoyment to a song.

Music videos manage to generate social media, gaining 'retweets' and shares - shaping the artists' image. Videos tend to become viral, creating a brand and audience for the artist. A music video is a visual aid that is often experimental and stylized, making use of camera work and editing techniques.

Although music videos' main purpose is to promote the artist, there are also other means as to why artists produce music videos: advertise the song in a way that the audience can remember, illustrate the song so that the audience can gain a better understanding (visually and audibly), and highlighting the artists' talents (dancing, singing, performance and aesthetics).

The first music video released was Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody in 1975. This was created as they couldn't make a physical appearance on Top of The Pops and had to fill in time as an alternative. I believe that this is a good music video, as they promote the artist in a way that expresses them as musical through presenting them playing their instruments and making their faces recognisable through the use of close ups. The band also feature a significant type of clothing and hairstyle, relevant to their brand and the time of this video.

2. Summer Work

The task during the summer holidays included creating a storyboard for a music video recreating every shot for the first minute of the music video. In order to complete this task I decided to use Adobe Photoshop to create line drawings of each shot. I also made notes on the type of shot, camera angles, movements, and also the mise-en-scene. 

MUSIC VIDEO: Partition - Beyoncé

Detail of shots: 

I focused on outlining the main aspects of each shot, and used an accent colour. For the external dark scenes, I attempted to only use the blurred lights in the shot. 

Carefully planning camera shots and mise-en-scene are an essential to creating a successful music video. Doing this activity, I have learnt that it is important to have a high amount of detail and precision when it comes to planning shots, regardless of the time it features in the product. 

1. Introduction

Hi ! My name is Shannon Binalay :) I am a current A2 Media Studies student, and this blog will hold all the information regarding the research, planning, production, and post-production of my coursework leading up to the production of a pop music video. To further my understanding of the music industry, research into ancillary products are essential.

During the summer lessons, I did research on artists' web pages and created one on Weebly. Research included analysing the links, images, fonts, image:text ratio, audience appeal, and miss-en-scene of existing artist websites. When planning my website, I created a flat plan design, colour scheme in relation to my artist, sourcing images, font, list of links, social media accounts, and additional information.

I chose to create a site based on a new young up and coming R&B artist, Kehlani.

kehlaniartist.weebly.com

^ The navigation bar on the website I created ^