Account of Preliminary Task Shoot

What we did

We arrived at the studio in the morning, where we got to meet the band, and watch how they moved in the space. As we were the third group to shoot the band, we had time to see what kind of shots would work, and which ones wouldn't. We noticed that throughout the guitar riff in our section, the whole band moved a lot more, especially the lead singer, who jumped back and forth, flicking his hair. This worked to our advantage because it meant that we could focus on his hair like we wanted to. It also meant that we could get a low angle shot of their feet as they were jumping around.

Problems we encountered

We didn’t experience any real problems whilst shooting the band, as the band cooperated well and listened to what we wanted them to do. However, I was slightly unconfident when we switched roles and it was my turn to record, as I felt pressured due to the lack of time we were given. I found it difficult to make decisions as promptly as I should have. However, together as a group it worked well because I gave some ideas, and then together we came to a decision of which shots would work best.

Mise en scene

We filmed in the studio, which was set up to look very urban and industrial to reflect the emo genre of the band. This slightly distressed feel to the set effectively portrayed the bands punk, emo image, and it was also easy and convenient to shoot in because of the access to speakers to playback the track loud enough so that the band could give a lot of energy.

Lighting

We used low level lighting to fit with the urban, industrial mise-en-scene of the set. This again reinforced their emo band image, that is more natural as opposed to artificial.

Editing

Being the third group, there wasn’t much time for us to edit our section together, so we had difficulties in getting through the whole sequence. If we’d had more time like the previous groups, we would have been able to fit the sequence together in a much more effective way. Despite this, We tried to edit our sequence to show a balance of the whole band, predominately focussing on the lead vocalist throughout the vocal section.

How we think it went
Overall, the only real main issue was the lack of time, but I know that on the day of our real music video shoot, we will have more time allocated to just our group, and so more time can be spent on making sure that we get the shots we want. Despite this, I am fairly pleased with the turnout, and I think we worked well as a group. 

Preliminary Task Video

This is the whole video, where the 4 differen't groups sections have been put together. Our sections begins at 1:25 and ends at 1:57.

Research and Planning for Preliminary Task

After being given the name of the band, 'Acres of Life', we were able to look them up on Myspace to establish their genre. After listening to the track, we confirmed that the genre was emo/indie.

Having confirmed this genre, we were able to look at other bands which came under this category and the ways in which their music videos were shot and how they were edited to enforce this emo, band-orientated image. We looked at these bands:

Greenday

Twenty Twenty

My Chemical Romance

We Are Scientists

We took some ideas from the videos of these bands to determine which type of shots we wanted to include in our video. We established that we wanted to use a low angle shot from the floor, focussing on the bands feet as they jumped up and down. After looking at the band's Myspace, we noticed that the lead singer had long, black hair, so we decided that we wanted to focus on this aspect throughout our section of the song.

We then decided to put our ideas into a timeline, where we included screen grabs from videos of similar bands which we thought would work well in the 37 second sequence which my group had been allocated. Throughout the vocal section, we wanted to draw the main focus towards the lead singer, however, our 37 second clip had an instrumental section, where we would obviously draw attention towards the other band members and their instruments.

Music Video Texual Analysis

Artist: Lady GaGa

Title: Judas

Camerawork	Camera tilts- bikes Attention brought to names of bikers (12 disciples) Nightmare environment/weird Movie-type camera movement – epic Centre of the composition Close-ups of Lady GaGa – presence Focuses on her outrageous look High angle shots
Editing	Puts herself in the position of Mary Magdelene Cuts are quite long at the beginning Narrative – less important than themes Deliberately cut in a way that will make people want to consume more
Mise-en-scene	Eccentric make-up Religious symbols (thorn crown, cross) Water – she is being cleanses (baptised) Gets stoned to death Colour at the beginning – de-saturated – Lady GaGa stands out Mexico – moving away from civilisation (very religious community) Gun – lipstick – Kiss of death (strength/beauty)

Ideologies of Creativity

Keith Negus identifies two distinct ways of thinking about potential artists from within the music industry. These ideologies shape the way in which the artists’ images and careers are developed, and the way they are marketed towards specific target audiences.

The Organic Ideology of Creativity

·         A naturalistic approach to artists

·         The seeds of success are within the artists, who have to be ‘nurtured’ by the record company

·         The image of the artists is enhanced by the records company

·         The artists is given time to evolve and progress through their career

·         Emphasis is given to album sales and the construction of a successful back catalogue

·         Often aimed at older or more sophisticated consumers

·         Profits generated by this kind of act tend to be part of a long term strategy by the record company

The Synthetic Ideology of Creativity

·         A combinational approach to artists and material

·         Executives attempt to construct successful acts out of the artists and the songs at their disposal

·         The image of the artist is often constructed by the record company

·         The artist will be given a short time to prove their success before other combinations will be tried out

·         Emphasis is given to single sales and to promoting first albums

·         Often aimed at younger, less sophisticated audiences

·         Profits generated by this kind of artist tend to be part of an immediate, short term strategy by the record company

Balancing the two

In practice, the success of synthetic acts will fund the development and investment in organic acts. Most big record labels will look to balance their roster with a combination of successful synthetic and organic acts to ensure that there are funds available for the day-to-day running of the company as well as long term profit making potential.

Promoting organic and synthetic acts

·         There are clear distinctions between the ways in which different types of artists are represented to ensure short term or long term success

·         Organic acts are often sold on their ‘authenticity’, both musically and socially

·         The image of the artist appears ‘unconstruced’ (although of course, this is in itself a carefully constructed look)

·         Synthetic acts are often sold on their ‘look’ or personalities

·         The image of the artist is carefully and unashamedly constructed

Narrative Theories

Narrative is the way in which a story is told in a music video, keeping the video comprehendible to the audience. Narrative is the coherence of the story.

Propp – Character roles

• The hero (seeks something)
• The villain (obstructs the hero)
• The donor (provides information and help)
• The dispatcher (sends hero on a quest)
• The false hero
• The helper (gives support to the hero)
• The princess (reward for the hero, but also needs protection from the villain)
• Her father (giver of the reward

Artist: Lily Allen

Title: Smile

In the video, ‘Smile’, Lily Allen used the generic functions of villainy. Lily was originally the protagonist, who was treated badly by her ex-boyfriends (antagonist). However, as the video progressed, we see Lily seeking revenge on him by planning street attacks on him, getting his flat ransacked and putting laxative in his tea. This shows a role reversal in the way that Lily has taken the role of the antagonist, and her ex-boyfriend, the protagonist.

Todarov – conventional narratives are structured in 5 stages

• Equilibrium – where everything is as it should be
• A disruption of the equilibrium by some action
• A recognition that there has been a disruption to the equilibrium
• An attempt to repair the disruption
• A reinstatement of the equilibrium

Artist: Beyonce

Title: If I were a boy

Equilibrium – unhappy relationship, lack of trust

Disruption – her becoming police officer – embodies him

Recognition – at the party – flirting

Attempt to repair disruption – realising she’s dreaming

Reinstatement of equilibrium – still unhappy relationship

Title: Dilly

Artist: Band of Horses

Music Video Texual Analysis

Love The Way You Lie – Eminem feat. Rihanna

The video for ‘Love the way you Lie’ is about a passionate, violent relationship between a couple which is acted by Megan Fox and Dominic Monaghan. This relationship could possibly reflect the relationship of Rihanna and Chris Brown, whose relationship was publisized due to the violence and abuse which Chris Brown enforced upon her. This we have learnt through the media, as part of Rihanna’s image that has been constructed. The characters of Megan Fox and Dominic Monaghan are meant to loosely represent Rihanna and Eminem.

The location of the video is a house which appears to be secluded. This sense of isolation and the dark lighting involving dull colour on the walls and in the décor suggests that they are perhaps cut off from the outside world. This to some extent reflects the celebrity lifestyle of Eminem and Rihanna, which is very much absent from the real world. Rihanna is dressed in leather hot pants and a jacket, however, the emphasis is not drawn to her ‘sexiness’, but more to her confidence and power. Although she is an attractive female, our attention is brought to her boldness which is again emphasized by her red nail varnish and bright red hair, which aren’t considered to be typically beautiful. The red implies her fiery personality, and this intensity and danger is accentuated by the use of fire which acts as a running motif throughout the whole video. This whole fierce image, suggests that despite the abuse that occurred in her relationship with Chris Brown, she remains strong with her dignity still in tact. Eminem on the other hand, is dressed in a tank top, revealing the tattoos on his arms, which were originally associated with prisoners, but now still suggest trouble or some kind of violent nature or background. The lyrics of the song reflect his violent nature, along with the aggression which is portrayed through the acting of the couple. The video however challenges this aggression by videoing Eminem singing in a field. This openness and vastness of this field suggests freedom. This hint at freedom suggests that he has come far from his violent background, and this song is almost a tribute to his regret. The use of bright lighting in the field contrasts with the dark lighting of the rest of the video. This enforces the idea that Eminem is looking back at what used to be, and suggests how he has moved forward.

The use of shallow focus to reveal Rihanna’s face in the foreground as most of her shots, suggests her significance and ultimately her star image. The fire in the background is used to emphasize her significance, but in a way which highlights her confidence and bravery. In contrast to these close ups of her face, which reveal her angry facial expressions, we are confronted with wide panning shots of Eminem in an empty field. The camera pans across to reveal the vastness of the field, suggesting a feeling of freedom, but also a feeling of isolation. The low angle used to look up at Eminem suggests his significance, again reinforcing a sense of star image. When the two characters are together, the scenes are mainly filmed with a handheld camera, to emphasize the tension in the relationship. The use of close ups further highlights this tension, but also shows the intensity of their lover for each other.

The pace of the editing is generally very fast-paced, which reflects the violence and intensity of the relationship. There are loads of short shots which are linked together with the common factor portraying the intensity of their relationship, but the use of cross-cutting suggests the juxtaposition of passion and violence. The audience is made to feel sympathetic towards the woman, because in most cases, she is the victim of the abuse. The narrative is portrayed through a mixture of the lyrics and the action performed by Megan Fox and Dominic Monaghan, but suggests that it is meant to reflect the personal feelings of Rihanna and Eminem.

In conclusion, both Rihanna and Eminem are portrayed positively throughout the video, despite the violence which is featured. The combination of mise-en-scene, camerawork and editing of the video are successful in portraying the powerful, poignant lyrics of the song.

Stars and Stardom

In order to understand the relationship between the music industry and its audiences, it is important to consider the roles of music stars. The term ‘star’ refers to the semi-mythological set of meanings constructed around music performers in order to sell the performer to a large and loyal audience. A star is ultimately an image which exists further than what they do, and in this respect, there is a vague sense of basis in truth.

Richard Dyer has written extensively about the role of stars in film, TV and music. Irrespective of the medium, stars have some key features in common:

• A star is an image, not a real person, that is constructed out of a range of materials
• Stars are commodities produced and consumed on the strength of their meanings

Stars depend upon a range of subsidiary media – magazines, TV, radio, the internet – in order to construct an image for themselves which can be marketed to their target audiences. The star image is made up of a range of meanings which are attractive to the target audiences.

Some common values of music stardom:

• Youthfulness
• Rebellion
• Sexual magnetism
• An anti-authoritarian attitude
• Originality
• Creativity/talent
• Aggression/anger
• A disregard for social values relating to drugs, sex and polite behaviour
• Conspicuous consumption of sex, drugs and material goods
• Success against all odds

Fundamentally, the star image is incoherent, that is incomplete and ‘open’. Dyer says that this is because it is based upon two key paradoxes.

Paradox 1

The star must be simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary for the consumer.

Paradox 2

The star must be simultaneously present and absent for the consumer

The incoherence of the star image ensures that audiences continually strive to ‘complete’ or to ‘make sense of’ the image. This is achieved by continued consumption of the star through his or her products. In the music industry, performance seems to promise the completion of the image, but it is always ultimately unsatisfying. This means that fans will go away determined to continue consuming the star in order to carry on attempting to complete their image.

Finally, the star image can be used to position the consumer in relation to dominant social values (that is hegemony). Depending upon the artist, this may mean that the audience are positioned against the mainstream (though only to a limited degree, since they are still consumers within a capitalist system) or within the mainstream, or somewhere in between.

Research into the Music Industry

The Music Industry is dominated by transnational corporations which are known as ‘The Majors’:

• Universal
• Sony/BMG
• Warner Bros
• EMI

Most majors also own, or licence a string of smaller subsidiary companies in order to reach different kinds of audiences in different kinds of genre. Theses companies are known as ‘Major-independents’.

In addition to this, there are a huge number of small companies with little or no financial connection to the majors. These companies often concentrate on a small number of artists, within specialised niches in the industry. These are known as ‘Independents’.

It is misleading to see the industry simply as a ‘hierarchy’, dominated by the majors. A better description is a ‘web’ of companies, who are mutually dependent on each other:

• Smaller companies to gain access to bigger markets
• Bigger companies to gain access to new artists and movements in popular music.

Most record companies organise themselves internally into several key areas:

• Artists and Repertoire (A&R)
• Marketing/ Artist Development
• Promotions
• Legal
• Financial

The industry as a whole has a complex relationship with a number of different media: Radio, TV, Print media, Film, New Media. Synergy and symbiosis play a key role in this relationship.

Music Video

A Music video serves a number of different functions:

• Promotes a specific single or album
• Promotes a specific artist or band
• Creates, adapts or feeds into a ‘star image’
• Entertains as a product in its own right
• Reinforces, adapts or undermines the ‘meanings’ of a song

First Music video: Queen: Bohemian Rhapsody – MTV 1982

A music video often contains a number of different elements:

·         Performance

·         Narrative

·         Thematic

·         Symbolic

Because a music video is not a film, or even attempting to imitate reality, it is allowed to have a high concept. It is visually stylish, with an artistic use of mise-en-scene and acts as a ‘rhythmic’ montage, shown in a very fragmented style. There is usually experimental use of camera and editing, which lends itself to conspicuous lighting and cinematography. It is unlike film in the sense that continuity editing doesn’t have to be obeyed. It is a visual equivalent to music, and therefore provides an open, polysemic experience for the viewer.

Advanced Production Brief

1. for the digipak (CD/DVD package).
   

   1.      A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following three options:

   o        a website homepage for the band;

   o        a cover for its release as part of a digipak (CD/DVD package);

   o        a magazine advertisement