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

Audience Feedback

Since posting our video on youtube, we have received some constructive feedback:

• Very good, use of suspence and tension caught my attention, very enjoyable as a thriller, well done:) joeeyb123 1 minute ago
• The editing is really good, the shots at the start also create suspense. The past paced effects and the sound effects go well together. Saz123456789 10 minutes ago
• good editing. some shots get too much screentime... that don't nee to be shown for so long. I like the title coming up in the end! pliciousXS 14 mintues ago
• Nice build up, great choice of shots. Fantastic choice of music, really helps to wake the audience up and create lots of tension. Speed effects look great and the titles make it seem really professional. Amazing idea love it! hollfinlay 15 minutes ago
• The storyline is really interesting and original, I was gripped the whole way through. The music creates a very creepy and bizarre mood, which is great, and the editing really gives the whole piece a professional finish. I really enjoyed this one, well done. butterfliesg 16 minutes ago

I generally think that these comments reflect my own opinions about our thriller. For example, the music we chose was intended to create a weird, creepy mood in order to reflect the idea that something is not quite right. The comments highlight our choice of music and how it is successful in creating tension throughout the sequence. This was essential to our thriller, as the actual mise-en-scene of our thriller was particularly 'scary', and didn't necessarily conform to the common conventions of thrillers. This to some extent made our thriller original, in that it wasn't a stereotypical thriller. Many of the comments related to our use of editing and the change in speed of the editing throughout the opening sequence. This was intentional on our behalf, in order to gradually build suspense, as was obviously effective in doing so. Many of the comments also commented on our use of opening credits. We deliberately chose the font we did, as we believed that it created a sleek, professional-looking finish, which succeeded in making the video look professional.

Task 7 - Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progressions from it to full product?

Camera Control

Since the preliminary task, I have become much more familiar with the camera and have gained much better control of how to use it. We used a zoom in this shot, but there was a slight jerk in an attempt to zoom and this shows our lack of control with the camera. However since our preliminary task, I am much more confident in shooting different types of shots and have learnt that the use of zoom isn’t used much anymore, instead tracking shots are used. During the filming for the thriller opening sequence, we used a variety of still shots to reflect a more calm atmosphere, but we also used some jerky shots to reflect the quickened pace as the man starts to get changed much quicker. This adds to the suspense that is created.

Mise-en-scene

These shots from our preliminary task show our lack of thought about the mise-en-scene of the scene. There are unwanted objects in the background of the shot which make the shot look unprofessional and messy. In the filming of our thriller, we were careful to create a mise-en-scene which captured the right action/thriller feel that we were aiming for. We ensured that no unwanted objects were in the shot in an attempt to make a professional looking sequence.

Lighting

This is an example of the bad lighting choice used in our preliminary task. It was too bright and artificial looking, and it doesn’t allow us to see her face. In the filming of our thriller, we thought about the lighting carefully, as we wanted to create the effect of a homely couple’s bedroom, and so the use of bedside lamps was used in assistance with a red head light which we directed towards the ceiling so that it could reflect of the surface and create a natural, ambient lighting.

Sound

This is a screenshot of a shot in our preliminary task which shows an example of the bad use of sound continuity. There is an obvious sound change where the sound cuts off which makes it sound and look unprofessional. Since our preliminary task, we have learnt to make sure that sound continuity remains constant throughout, and we have also become much more advanced in our use of sound. We have learnt how to create and import sound from soundtrack pro, which is a program which allows you to produce and edit sounds to create the desired effect. In our thriller, these sounds help to contribute to the building suspense throughout the sequence.

White Balance

This is a shot from our preliminary task which is an example of the bad lighting. The lighting is too bright, and it appears that perhaps the right white balance wasn’t used. Since our preliminary task, we have learnt how to appropriately and effectively apply white balance to create the right, desired lighting for a scene. 

Task 6 - What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

The Candidate

Task 5 - How did you attract/address your audience?

Task 5

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