A2 Media Studies

Overall Evaluation

This is my overall evaluation of my coursework for my A2 Media Studies.

View more presentations from Naomi Troon.

Music Video Styles And It's Links With Theories

Within the music video industry, there are various elements that can be excluded or included within a video to make it suit the genre of music and what audiences expect from a music video in that genre.

Camera Work

The camerawork within a music video is usually specific to a genre. For example, in a pop music video, a viewer can expect to have close ups of the artist and accompany the movements that the artist and dancers make. However, an indie or rock band will have more medium and long shots which circle the band to accompany the stage performances shown in the music video. For example, at the start of our music video, we used a shot which we got inspiration from 'Reptilia' by The Strokes, which used a close up shot of the instruments which circle around the band. This shot circles around the band and also used fast cut editing to show the different parts in the band.

Generally, there are a few shots which are dominant in music video (usually the close up) which is used for a variety of reasons. Usually these shots fit the screen better (not having to stretch the image to fit the screen) as well as making the image of the artist more intimate. Also, with using popular shots such as the close up, audiences begin to recognize the artist and the voice which would substantially raise the amount of sales the artist earns.

Many music videos, relate to TV commercials with the use of the camerawork as they contain the same techniques that make commercials sell products and advertise the products (in our case the artist). This includes the lighting and shot types as they focus on the detail in the artists face.

Editing

The editing in music videos are usually quite fast with quick changes to keep momentum and also to keep the video exciting and interesting. The fast cut montage is a technique used by many producers to fit as many different images into the music video so that it takes multiple viewings to see every clip in the music video. This technique boosts the amount of views and substantially increasing viewing sales.

However, there are music videos that do use the slow pace and gentle transitions to establish the setting and mood for the music video. This emphasizes the song through the video and is often popular with female solo artists that have a large audience appeal and meeting the various requirements desired by the audience.

Editing also expands the kind of audience that will view the video, as advanced editing with use of split screens, colourisation and CGI effects provide a different kind of pleasure when watching the video.

Star Image

The star image is Richard Dyer's theory for the grouping of materials that establish a star;

'a star is an image constructed from a range of materials'

This closely shows the relationship between products that affects the selling of a product. This can include lyrical themes in songs, album covers, media coverage of the artist, live performances, and music videos.

In particular, music videos often change directors between each one but still contain elements and successful ideas that were used in the previous video. This reinforces the existing 'star image' and sometimes furthers this to expand the image by including new talents, etc.

Voyeurism

Voyeurism is the idea of the males gaze in music videos, which is usually done by including a female within the music video and manipulating the camera to meet the desires of the male gaze. Theorists such as Goodwin suggest that female performers will become the target of the male gaze by using camerawork and editing to get close up shots of the body and showing a sexual treatment of the star. This can also be reinforced by the use of dancers in male artists videos in order to show the attraction to the performer.

In female artists videos, the idea of voyeurism when the male body is shown is confusing as it raises questions about how the female viewer will interpret and respond to the images shown. In some female artists videos, they do use this gaze to show that they are independent and that they can be sexually provocative and in control of the situation.

In music videos, voyeurism is shown through the use of split screens showing characters watching the video or CCTV or webcams. This style has become frequently used in music videos by RnB and Pop genres which focus on the 'star image' of an artist.

Intertextuality

The intertextuality of music videos often includes soundtracks to films and television programs which include a story line linked to the plot in the film - and often using clips and characters.

John Stewart suggests that the references in music videos through intertextuality usually come through from cinema, fashion and photography. This can include catwalk references and news with the use of supermodels and mannequin style females which also present and support the stereotype views shown in the media and in some songs.

The sources of intertextuality will grow with the changes in technology. John Stewart also suggests that video games will begin to influence the contents of music videos in terms of editing and graphics to aim at a larger audience.

Narrative and Performance

Music Videos often have an incomplete story line so the clips are broken and separated to show a potential narrative to the video. These clips can sometimes be re-arranged and placed in incoherent orders to make a substantial plot hard to discover and make sense. This often reinforces the idea of a multiple viewing in order to understand the video and all its parts.

Steve Archer suggests that there is a formulae to making videos.

"Often, music videos will cut between a narrative and a performance of the song by the band. Additionally, a carefully choreographed dance might be a part of the artist's performance or an extra aspect of the video designed to aid visualization and the 'repeatability' factor. Sometimes, the artist (especially the singer) will be a part of the story, acting as a narrator and participant at the same time. But it is the lip-synch close-up and the miming of playing instruments that remains at the heart of music videos, as if to assure us that the band really can kick it."

By using these shots, it allows shots to establish eye contact with the audience and provide an intimacy which would not be otherwise available at a live event given by the band. This can be applied into my music video, where we used the cuts between establishing shots and a performance of the song as well as including a band member in the establishing shots.

Often the mise-en-scene, can affect the impression given by the music video and give a sense of authenticity with the stage performances in a music video. This is also important when using intertextuality within the music video with references to film - as doing a performance on the same set can create the link needed to link the two together.

Altered Time Management

This is our altered time plan.

DVD covers for Digipack

Plan for Digipack

Below are a couple of images of the original plans we made for our DVD cover along with any notes that we made whilst we designed it.

FRONT:

INSIDE:

In these designs, we included notes such as the font, colour of text and sizes so that we were able to produce the product quickly making drafting possible. By marking on the page what exactly we wanted from pictures (such as what was shown) it meant that when it came to taking still images at the bands gigs or from the bands archives.

The outline of our ideas for the DVD design came from the bands MySpace profile (shown below). The bands profile helped us to pick the colour scheme and also the type of images and information shown.

If we have a suitable amount of time, we would also like to create products that could be included in the digipack like a booklet containing all the songs lyrics, pictures of the band and maybe extra footage (a commentary or documentary of the production of the music video itself). By having this extra part to the product, it will be a more realistic product and may attract a wider audience if additional 'free' posters/other products are included in the price.

Final Magazine Advert

Plan for Magazine Advert

This is the plan for our magazine advert. By showing where we were going to put everything on the page and having notes about specific details of the advert, we will be able to produce this product quickly in order to get sufficient feedback and also to produce multiple drafts.

On this advert, we have looked at the other adverts (as shown in the research) and noted some of the typical aspects that are usually found in the example adverts. Some of the elements that we will be including are:

Band name
Digipack name
Release date
Where the product can be purchased
Record Label
Short quotes from reviews

By including these elements, we will have included some of the typical information that is given on published adverts in magazines which will essentially make our product look professional and easily understood by audiences.