Song decision and Ideas for fonts for the ancillary tasks:

The song Tia, Bailey and myself have decided to make a music video for is 'High Hopes' by Kodaline. This song not only fits the genre in which we would like to pursue, but it's folky tune gives us the opportunity to build a strong yet powerful narrative. The band Kodaline has a very niche audience which means that not many people will have heard of the song. 

Below are some of the possible fonts we are considering to use for our ancillary tasks. the fonts use very basic colours to give them an edgy yet rocky and minimalistic feel. I intend to use low key lighting  but highly saturate the fonts in order to make it stand out against the high key lighting used on the main image of the CD cover. 

To make our decision on which font to use, we intend to ask fellow classmates about which logo they find most effective as a form of audience research.

Our target audience- Tab Records

Locations for filming:

https://prezi.com/obiaft765ne8/locations/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy




This piece research and planning was completed by Tia Giove.

Music Video Recommendation:

A music video I would highly recommend watching would be Peter Gabriel's 'Sledgehammer' directed by Daniel Lanois. The main reason I chose this music video is that it is composed purely of stop motion animation and I find the way in which it seamlessly flows is captivating. The video features Gabriel lying under a glass table and all of the movement is done above the glass.

With our music video, we don't wish to produce a video made by using stop motion animation, but using raw footage. However, Gabriel's video gave us inspiration for a few ideas due to its artistry.

'The Kindest Cut' Theory applied to a music video: Sia 'Chandelier'

Below is a textual analysis of a music video I did in order for me to have an in depth look at what sort of edits and lighting etc are featured in music videos. 



Editing:

One of the first edits we see in the chandelier music video which draws attention to itself is the scene where a long shot is used to show the protagonist in the door frame, which then cuts to a close up of her feet after she jumps to the floor. This clearly draws attention to the edits.

In addition to this, the editing in the video is particularly sharp and the shot type rapidly changes. For example, when it goes from a close up on the protagonists face to a master shot. This creates a voyeuristic feel to the video as if we are 'spying' on the girl.

Jump Cuts:

Throughout the video, jump cuts are used to create the overall mood of the video as well as reflecting the true emotion behind the song. For example, jump cuts are most commonly used in Chandelier to show the change of pace within the the song. This is a prime example of the music working alongside the video.

Moreover, jump cuts are frequently used in the video to show the protagonist's different facial expressions and also how quickly one person's mood can alter. When taking Marjorie Feruson's (1980) categorisation of facial expressions theory into account, Chandelier subverts this theory as more than one facial expression is used, so therefore Chandelier does not fit into one of Ferguson's sub categories.

Camera movements and noticable shots:

When the protagonist dances around the room, the camera seems to dance with her, tentatively following her and zooming in on particular limbs.

The camera shots are also sped up during the chorus which will have been edited during post-production. High key lighting is also used during the chorus's which connotes that there is a feeling of hope for the depressed protagonist.

Mastershots:

In Chandelier master shots are frequently used throughout. The most common use of master shots in the video are when the protagonist is dancing or is changing location. Often, when the location in the video changes, the saturation changes- usually from low saturation to high saturation or vice versa.

Carol Vernallis: 'The Kindest Cut' theory

Richard Dyer- The Star Theory

Music Video Regulations

Laura Mulvey- The Male Gaze Theory (1975) & Textual Analysis

From this textual analysis I was able to understand how music video producers use female characters to create seductive imagery as well as how they use it to target a specific audience. This greatly helped me as I was then able to take into account how to incorporate this in to my own video if I chose a song/genre this would fit in.

TAB Records Logo

This is the logo for our record company. We have incorporated our initials within the logo and it just happened to be that guitars are written in TAB music therefore giving us the idea to use a guitar on our logo.

TAB Records

For my A2 final piece I have chosen to work with Tia and Bailey to produce a music video. Our initial ideas were delivered to our teacher in a 'music producer to exhibitionist' style where we had to pitch our ideas to him. Below, I have attached our pitch which briefly explains our ideas.

Most Famous Album Covers Of All Time

From looking at the some of the most famous album covers of all time, I was able to draw out certain characteristics/features of what worked well and not so well within certain genres. I also used these examples as inspiration for my own CD cover.

Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass: Whipped Cream And Other Delights (1965):

Artist: Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass

Album: Whipped Cream And Other Delights

Whipped Cream And Other Delights is the fourth album from Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass. This was a culturally diverse album cover as the model, Delores Erickson, was not wearing a dress as it appears she is. She was wearing nothing but shaving cream which many people saw as provocative and an exploitation of the female body. However, the album itself went on to sell over six million copies and it is unknown how many sales were based on the impact on the cover.

 

The Beatles: Abbey Road

Artist: The Beatles

Album: Abbey Road

Designer: Kosh and Ian McMillan

Abbey Road was the 11th album that was released  by English rock band The Beatles on the 26th September 1969. This was the first album to not include the name of the album nor the artist. This was a tactical move made by cover designer Kosh because as The Beatles were the most globally famous band at the time, they would easily be recognised without these details being on the front of the album. The overall idea to use a pelican crossing on the cover came from a sketch made by Paul McCartney outside the EMI Studios on Abbey Road. This particular album cover has become one of the most iconic and imitated covers in history with tourists stopping and posing as The Beatles.

The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Artist: The Beatles
Album: Sgt.Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Designer: Peter Blake

This album cover is perhaps the most well known cover of all time with The Beatles standing behind a flower garden in brightly coloured suits surrounded by wax models and cardboard cutouts of themselves and other celebrities. With stars such as Shirley Temple on the cover, this album no doubt captures old Hollywood in its greatest years.

David Bowie: Aladdin Sane

 Artist: David Bowie

Album: Aladdin Sane
Designer: Brian Duffy

This is the sixth album from David Bowie following his 1972 album 'The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust'. The cover features Bowie posing as his alter-ego Ziggy Stardust embracing his 'rock star' status as well as focusing on his flamboyant look.

Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon

Artist: Pink Floyd

Album: Dark Side of the Moon

Designer: Storm Thorgerson

Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth full length studio album by Pink Floyd released in March 1973. The album cover is rather significant as it represents the band's stage lighting, the album's lyrics and prominent force in the music group, Richard Wright's request for a simple yet bold and eye catching design. However, unlike a traditional prism which includes seven colours, the one on the cover only uses six as it misses out indigo. The cover has recieved tremendous amounts of praise.

Nirvana: Nevermind

Artist: Nirvana

Album: Nevermind

Designer: Robert Fisher

Nevermind is the second studio album by Nirvana.The album cover was designed by Robert Fisher after Kurt Cobain watched a TV programme on water births and convinced Fisher that this was the way to make an album memorable. Fisher then did some research and found some footage and images of underwater births but felt that they were too graphic and indecent to use for the cover of an album. Alternatively, Fisher then sent a photographer to get pictures of a baby swimming in a pool. It can easily be said that this is one of the most memorable and iconic album cover in the history of music.

Spike Jonze- Music Video Director Case Study

By doing this case study on Spike Jonze, I was able to evaluate what styles of music video worked well with each genre of each song as well as what characteristics are included. I think Spike Jonze was a brilliant music video director to complete a case study on because his work is renowned worldwide as well as being multi-award winning and highly influential in the music video industry.


Spike Jonze is an award winning American director, screenwriter, actor and producer whose most famous work includes music videos as well as TV advertisements and movies. He was born on October 22nd 1969 in Maryland and straight after his high school graduation at the age of 17 he started as an editor for 'Freestylin' magazine. Jonze won the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay and the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay. Jonze has also been nominated for four Academy Awards for Best Director (Being John Malkovich), Best Picture and Original Screenplay (Her) and Best Original Song (The Moon Song).

Jonze's career began with his feature film 'Being John Malkovich' in 1999 where he then went on to write his own screenplays for 'Where the Wild Things are' (2009) and 'Her' (2013).

Jonze began directing music videos in 1992 when he was hired to shoot a new video for '100%' by Sonic Youth. However, Jonze's first successful video was for a song called 'Sabotage' for the Beastie Boys. Jonze was incredibly inspired by the1970's style of police and crime shows so felt he needed to incorporate this into the video in  some form. This particular music video won four MTV Music Video Awards including best director and video of the year.





After his dramatic breakthrough with the 'Sabotage' video, Jonze directed many more music videos covering a wider variety of genres. He is mostly known for his exceptional collaborations with Bjork, Fatboy Slim, Kanye West and Sonic Youth.










After his resounding success, Jonze co-founded the 'Directors Label' with fellow filmmakers Michael Gondry and Chris Cunningham.

Most Famous Music Videos Of All Time

By looking at some of the most famous music videos ever produced, it enables me to see what camera angles, mise-en scene, characteristics and themes worked well so that I can incorporate similar ideas into my own music video. This also allows me to explore how to effectively portray a clear, linear narrative as well as how to produce a video with not a very strong narrative (videos with live performances for example.)

Michael Jackson: Thriller (1983)

Directed by: John Landis

Thriller by Michael Jackson is one of the most successful and well known music videos of all time as it incorporated both a clear narrative, dance and song. Thriller sold over nine million copies worldwide and is the biggest and best selling album ever to be produced within the music industry. The budget for the 13 minute spectacular was $500,000 and was paid off in 1984 when Thriller won a staggering eight Grammy's. As well as telling a story, the video broke down and almost dismantled racial tensions within the USA as it was broadcast on WPLJ- a radio station in New York which was considered to be a 'white' station. Thriller then became a diverse subject as it gained criticism as there were many white racists and protestors who didnt want 'black' music on their radio station.




A-Ha: Take On Me (1985)

Directed by: Steve Barron

A-Ha was a band that had a limited amount of success but 'Take On Me' was one of the first examples to demonstrate just how MTV was a company that was powerful and influential enough to take a song that was unknown and make it into a number one single. The video was one of the first to follow a narrative therefore the overall concept of it was considered clever and even more unique for the time it was produced.



Beyoncé: Single Ladies (2008)

Directed by: Jake Nava

'Single Ladies' by Beyoncé was initially released on her third studio album 'I Am Sasha Fierce' on October 12th 2008. Along with 'If I Were a Boy', 'Single Ladies' was one of the most popular tracks from the album and peaked at number one on the US Hot Billboard Chart and was included in the top ten newly released singles charts worldwide. The music video for 'Single Ladies' was shot by Jake Nava straight after both him and Beyoncé had just finished shooting 'If I Were a Boy' in New York City. Beyoncé had previously worked with Nava on her previous music videos 'Crazy In Love' and 'Beautiful Liar' so she was not only familiar of his work, she was highly fond of it. 'Single Ladies' was shot in black and white- a continuous theme from her previous video 'If I Were a Boy' and the catchy choreography which had the whole world dancing was inspired by 'Mexican Breakfast. The video soon gained popularity and became the first major dance craze of the internet with people worldwide creating parodies and imitations of the video.



Peter Gabriel: Sledgehammer (1986)

Directed by: Stephen R.Johnson

One of the main reasons as to why Peter Gabriel's 'Sledgehammer' is considered one of the best music videos of all time is due to the amazing stop-motion animation used to create a captivating video. For the video to get it's full effect, Gabriel had to lie under a sheet of glass for 16 hours whilst filming one frame at a time. This was one of MTV's most important videos of all time as it won nine VMA's in 1987 and also became the most viewed and played video in the history of the channel.



Bjork: All Is Full of Love (1999)

Directed by: Chris Cunningham

Bjork's fifth album 'Homogenic' features the track 'All Is Full of Love'. The album version of the song is the original, non edited track, whereas the music video is a remix. Since the video was released, it gained an enourmas amount of attention as Bjork's vocals were highly praised and the track was called 'the highlight of the album'. The track reached number 23 in the United Kingdom but reached number 8 in the US. Chris Cunningham is noted for his bizarre style- most notably the use of animation in Bjork's video. 'All Is Full of Love' was considered a milestone for computer animation due to the fact that it was a complicated piece of technology at its time of release. Due to the video's futuristic look, it is on stationary exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City as well as being listed as one of the best music videos of all time by MTV and TIME Magazine.

Music Video Website- Practice piece

http://postacidwavvesmedia.weebly.com/

This is a link to our practice music video's website. I created the website to clearly display the type of image and genre the band 'Wavves' typically is. To begin with, the website opens with a large title promoting the band's new song 'Post Acid'. The aim of this was to attract fans and people viewing the website to want to listen to the song.

From LP to JPEG

This allows me to gain contextual knowledge of the music industry.

Vinyl:

Over 50 years the artwork has changed massively from 12" record sleeves. Part of the main appeal amongst vinyl enthusiasts is the album artwork, and many vinyl sleeves become works of art in themselves. Vinyl's not only allowed designers to have a bigger canvas to work on, they also gave more to the fans by including content such as song lyrics.

Cassette:



The cassette album was the next to be developed.

Album:

The Gatefold album is one of the earliest examples of a cd. It opens up with a split in the middle.

CD/CD Digipack:

CD Digipack were created in the pursuit to give consumers more information about their favourite artist. Digipack often have booklets enclosed with the lyrics of the songs and frequently includes information about the artist/artists.

ITunes/Download artwork:

As more and more tracks are becoming available to download online/ purchase on ITunes, CD's are slowly becoming less popular.

Music is an aural form (we listen to it). But the packaging for the recordings-the album cover-has a distinct aesthetic, one that has evolved along with distribution technologies and formats. It has often been seen as an art form in its own right: it has strong clear links to the art world.

Practice A2 Music Video: Wavves by Post Acid

This is Tia, Adam and I's practice music video. This video was primarily an experiment to try out editing techniques and to see how well we could get a narrative into a music video. There are several continuity errors in the video but overall we are happy with the range of shots we were able to get.
Enjoy watching!

Website Textual Analysis- Lana Del Rey

http://lanadelrey.com/

Within moments of opening Lana Del Rey's website, it becomes clear of the initial aim of it. A large banner cascades down the page highlighting to the audience that there are various different formats in which you can buy her latest single/album such as LP's, CD's and vinyl.

Lana's website showcases her talent, and reflects her retro personality. Lana, being a fan of the 1960's, uses the website to make it clear to the audience what type of singer she really is, soulful and smooth as well as being sophisticated and artistic. One way in which the website does this is through the use of images. Each post included in the website features a different picture of Lana such as close ups and retrospective shots. This connotes that she has full involvement with what is published on the website therefore creating a synthetic relationship with the intended audience. This again displays the type of person Lana wants to come across to the audience as, tasteful and sophisticated.

Furthermore, in a different section of the website, Lana's old, new and upcoming albums are clearly displayed giving the viewer full access to the content. This connotes that she wants her fans to feel more included by giving them a deeper insight as to what music is available.

Lana also provides a deeper insight to her adventures on the road and her general day to day life through the online gallery. This suggests that Lana is 'friends' with the fans in a non personal way.

In addition, further down the website a list of Lana's future venues and tickets for her tour is displayed. Calm, simplistic colours such as blacks and blues are used to maintain the house style of the website as well as reflecting Lana's soulful style of music. The simplistic style allows the viewer to see where they can purchase tickets from as well as keeping up with Lana's busy touring life.

5 Seconds Of Summer- Music Video Analysis

 

5 Seconds Of Summer (5SOS) are a four piece band from New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. 'Don't Stop' is the second single released by 5SOS and soon shot to the number 1 spot in the UK charts.

Before the official music video for 'Don't Stop' was released, a lyric video sporting the house style of the band was released on the 5th of May 2014. The official music video was released on the 19th may 2014, 2 weeks after the lyric video was released.

The official music video includes all four band members playing both themselves, and geeky yet quirky superheroes in a parody of what actual superheroes are stereotypically supposed to do.

-Calum Hood as 'Cal-Pal', an environmental activist saving the world one plastic bag at a time.

-Ashton Irwin as 'SmAsh', a super strong, hulk-like superhero who rescues kittens from trees.

-Luke Hemmings as 'Dr Fluke', a ninja like superhero who escorts old people across the street.

-Michael Clifford as 'Mike-Ro-Wave', who beats up all of the bad guys.

At the start of the music video, a parody of a disclaimer that is used for movie trailers is used which connotes that the video is going to have a strong yet clear story line to it. It also connotes that the band is playful and is also reflective of their genre 'pop-rock' signifying that they are neither too serious nor to immature. 5SOS's logo is used in the square in the information box towards the bottom of the image to make it clear to the audience who the band featured is.

Following the opening disclaimer, several jump cuts are used to flash back and forth showing a band member, then some text to kick-start the 'story'. The use of jump cuts also helps to distinguish that the music video will follow the 'action' genre and suggests a fast paced video.

Following these shots is an establishing shot of the boys on a rooftop not only to signify the location, but to also show the band to the audience. The mise-en-scene in this particular shot connotes that 5SOS are quite a grimy, and punky band which is again, reflective of the genre they are making their music in.

How Goodwin's conventions of a music video can be applied to 'Don't Stop':

1. 'Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics':
   In Don’t Stop, Goodwin’s convention is challenged as 5 Seconds of Summer are a boy band and there is no clear dance routine or stereotypical elements. However, there are some amplifying features that are stereotypically associated with rock bands such as 5SOS playing live on a dark building, wearing dark clothing and a low key lighting to create an authentic pop-rock band look. Also, as the video is based around a movie trailer, it follows the typical expectations of what must be included as we follow the lives of four very different superheroes. 
2. ‘There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals’:
   There are some examples of relationships between lyrics and visuals, but more of an illustrative technique has been used not to create meaning, but purely just to show what the word means. For example, the lyrics are “and when you push me off” and in the visual components an old lady is pushing ‘Dr Fluke’ away from her.
3. ‘There is a relationship between music and visuals’:
   The visuals in Don’t Stop contradict the music rather significantly as the song is about falling in love with a girl who doesn't reciprocate the feelings for the boy, yet the music video follows the lives of four superheroes so a contradicting approach is taken here. 
4. ‘The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work’:
   Goodwin’s theory is supported by 5SOS’s video as there are a large amount of close ups of the artists and a clear, consistent style is maintained throughout the video.
5. ‘There is frequently reference to notion of looking and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body’:
   Don’t Stop highly contradicts this convention as there are no voyeuristic treatments of any female bodies and there are no notions of looking through things such as through TV screens.
6. ‘There is often intertextual reference’:
   Goodwin’s convention cannot be applied to Don’t Stop as there are no intertextual references to any website, band, TV show etc. However as 'Don't Stop' is based around a movie trailer, there is an ongoing motif present throughout the video beause the video has an authentic movie trailer feel to it. 

History of Music Videos

Thomas Alva Edison

- Thomas Edison invented the gramophone (also known as the phonograph) in  1877.

-Edison's gramophone was the first device to be able to reproduce recorded sounds as well as recording them.

-The sounds vibration waves are preserved as grooves engraved into the surface of a rotating disc (usually vinyl) or cylinder.

-As disc rotates, the playback stylus dips into the grooves and traces the waves which then causes vibrations. This is how the gramophone works.

 

‘The Jazz Singer’ 1927

-'The Jazz Singer'(1927) was a half silent half musical movie introduced in the era of the 'talkies'.

-It was the first talking movie.

-It was directed by Alan Crosland and produced by Warner Brothers.
 

'The gold-diggers' 1933

- Directed by Mervyn Leroy and produced by Warner Brothers.
- It was an elaborate production and involved big amounts of choreography but was on video.
- This was highly popular as it was released during the depression era and it idealised glamour.
- It was also the first time people saw big productions on a cinema screen.

Alexander Nevsky (1938) by Sergei Eisenstein (Soviet Russia Propagandist film maker)

- Its score was composed by Sergei Prokofiev.
- It was a first time soundtrack that was specifically commissioned for the use of propaganda.

Fred Astaire

-  He was a big stage star, but was a bit old for the arrival of film.
-  This was where Hollywood began bringing musical and big stars into film.
-  He starred in the musical 'Top Hat' in 1935.

Fantasia, Disney 1940

- Fantasia was arguably the first music video.
- Walt Disney was trying to get his audience interested in classical music by making a cartoon to go specifically with the music.

Gene Kelly

- Starred in 'Singin in the rain' in 1952.
- Focused on the dramatic context.

- This was the peak of musical films and made huge stars out of singers and dancers.

Leonard Bernstein 1961

- TV well established.
- He made a stage musical based on ‘Romeo and Juliet’.

- He made musicals into films.

Elvis Presley
- Created an explosion of rock and roll, youth culture and the idea of a teen.
- Young people could identify with Presley and felt a sense of belonging to them.

Ready Steady go: mid 1960's

- Live performance in order to sell the band- visually miming.
- It was dedicated specifically to music.

- Record companies started to see the potential in the commodification of a bands image for tv.
- As they were miming it gave the illusion of a live performance.
- Aired every Friday evening.

 

A hard day’s night- the Beatles

-Directed by Richard Lester in 1963.
- Involved a record company making a promo for a band.

- Bands began working with quality film directors and actors.

 

Top of the pops

- Predates Radio 1.
- It was made by the BBC.
- It was broadcast weekly on a Thursday night between the  1^st January 1964 and 30^th july 2006.
- It was originally where people would find out what the weekly no. 1 was.
- Record companies would try and get artists on there.
- If not possible to get an artist (e.g. a band from the USA) you would either have a performance recorded elsewhere or the song played and the camera would pan around people.
- Videos started to be made in order to get your band on as many commercial programmes as possible.

The Monkees

-Totally fabricated US band styled on the Beatles with Anglo-centric reference.
-Good quality production values.
-Total control and cultivation of the artist by the industry.
-From this to Simon Cowell.
-Was a sit-com series which was made to sell the band.
-Early example of convergence.

David Bowie (1972)

-Started as a mime artist.
-Often portrayed characters (Ziggy Stardust, Jean Genie).

1975-
Video becomes as important as the music as an artistic creation in its own right.

The Who- Rock Opera 1973, Quadrophenia Film 1979

-A feature length film with one band’s songs that became a landmark film in representations of British Youth Culture.

MTV 1981
- First music only TV station with the music guided by VJ’s (Video DJ's).
- Massive impact on pop culture and music industry and contributes to the importance of the music video.
- As more music video channels and the internet impacted upon MTV, their content diversified.

Thriller-Michael Jackson (directed by John Landis)
- 1983, landmark merging of film making and music video.
- Often seen as the most commercially successful music video of all time.
- 14 minutes long.
- Screened after watershed.

Peter Gabriel, 1987, Sledgehammer
- Big experiment with stop motion and animation.
- Gabriel lied under a glass sheet for 16 hours.

 

Madonna, Like a Prayer 1989
- Went to number 1 in the US. 
- Was controversial due to religious and sexual iconography.