25th October 2012 - Music Industry Research

Music Industry Research

12th October 2012 - Additional Notes from Class

Additional Notes

• 1864 was the first illustrated song; someone took photos and put them in sync with the song on screen.
• Michael Jackson's "Scream" costed over $7 million.
• Some performers would project images onto a screen as the song was played live; these images would reflect the themes and emotions of the song.
• The 1930's era was very musical based.
• The 1960's were very rock & roll and television dominant.
• Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" is deemed one of the first music videos (made in 1965).
• The Beatles created a mockumentary called "A Hard Day's Night" 

1. "A Ticket To Ride" has musical notes appear on screen on the same beat.
2. "Hide Your Love Away" zooms in on Lennon on the chorus.

• In the 1970's, music videos benefited from the flood of new film makers coming out of school.

1. "Life on Mars" pans down onto Bowie.
2. "Bohemian Rhapsody" focuses on all of the band.

• In the 1980's, MTV was established to show case music videos.

1. "Material Girl" opens like a film, and the costumes, set and characters are taken from Marilyn Monroe's "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend".

• MTV made music videos big business.
• Duran Duran and George Michael flew around the world to record the music videos for "Rio" and "Freedom", respectively.
• With film size budgets it's not shock that film directors establish in music videos first.
• OK Go's "A Million Ways" was filmed in one of the members' back garden and costed an incredibly low budget, however got over 9 million downloads.

Types of Music Video:

• Performance - features the band performing to a crowd of fans.
• Narrative - presents a sequence of events.
• Conceptual - relies on a poetic form, primarily a metaphor.

• Music videos are used to promote the song and promote the artist/band.
• The first video to be banned on MTV was "Body Language" by Queen, due to homoerotic undertones, lack of clothing and amount of sweat.
• "Smack My Bitch Up" was banned because of references to drugs and sex.

23rd September 2012 - Technical Conventions

TECHNICAL CONVENTIONS

Editing is very frequent in music videos:

• It is closely connected to the song.
• It works hard to ensure that no single element (whether it be narrative, setting, performance, song, star, lyrics or song) gains the upper hand.
• It keeps momentum.
• Jump cuts are used liberally.
• Long dissolves usually compliment smooth arrangements.
• Long takes can underscore broad melodic phases.
• Short takes keep the audience focused on the beat of the music.

The continuity system is less common in music videos, as music videos travel in obscure paths (editing helps this process). However, the awkward style of editing allows us to keep with the song and the video itself. It also forces the viewer to focus on the musical and visual aspect of the video.
Music videos do not follow the same path as Hollywood films regarding cinematography. Even though the path of a music video may be confusing, the knowledge of TV and film helps us understand and can still make a specific shot look glamourous.
Movement is an essential aspect to music videos. Dollys are often used so the image on screen can keep in time with the songs momentum. Tracking shots are also crucial because they help change the view point on a scene. Other movements which can be used are tilts, cranes and pans.
Music videos are created to be discontinuous. You can get the jist of a character's personality and what they are like, but you will never truly know. An action will often never be completed; editing cuts away a persons actions so you don't see the full shot.
Close-ups of the star are important in music videos. Editing can usually cut away on the beat of the song. Lip syncing is also essential in music videos, for obvious reasons.
The setting can be described as part of the artist's world, as it is their own personal space. Three things need to be taken into consideration when on location; the location in general, the presentation of the location and if any, what meaning can be created from the setting.

Poker Face Lady Gaga
Short takes are used throughout the video of Lady Gaga's 'Poker Face'; the video keeps abruptly changing from shot to shot, whether it be the same shot or to a different one. Close-up shots are also used frequently to showcase that Lady Gaga is the star of this song. The shots quickly jump from scene to scene to show the fast pace of the song.
The locations fit in well with the song; the song has many references to gambling (mainly poker), so one of the shots shows Lady Gaga playing strip poker with a group of people. The song seems to fit well with the party scene too, as it seems like everyone is dancing to the song being played, showing that at this moment in time it could already be famous. The costumes Lady Gaga wears are seen as promiscuous and provocative; however she could have intentionally wore these costumes to attract the male audience into watching the video.

23rd September 2012 - Narrative Conventions

NARRATIVE CONVENTIONS

An advanced portfolio for a music video would consist of:

• performance, narrative and conceptual
• a music video for one song on the album
• a full digipak for the album
• a magazine advert to accompany the album release

Some writers have said that music can work in the same style as narratives from films. However, others have argued with that statement, claiming that they adopt an 'anti-narrative' and defy all concept in narrative.
It is understandable that music videos do not make sense or carry a plot like a film does if the intention of developing and creating a video is to sell the music. If it was this case, the directors of the video would be completely focused on the cause, effect, characters and narrative. Lyrics can help serve as a narrative, but only in a partial way; the image on screen may act out the current lyrics.
The basic conventions of a music video could be;

• having a narrative sequence, or a variety of cutaway shots
• having a variety of close-ups, mid shots and long shots
• choosing two or more locations for the artists to perform
• choosing two or more costumes to be worn in the video

I Would Do Anything For Love Meatloaf
There is a narrative to this music video. It is the stereotypical love story where the man watches the woman he loves from the sidelines but is too scared to go and speak to her due to his appearance, however when they finally meet she still loves him anyway.

The narrative is in full; it is like watching the whole story from Meat Loaf's perspective when you watch this music video. They have a variety of conventions for the narrative - lots of close-ups of Meat Loaf are used along with a variety of mid and long shots, and many different locations are used. I didn't notice too many costume changes, however they may have been subtle.
I believe the narrative is successful; it has a clear link between the visual and lyrics, and you get the feel like you are watching a story while you are watching this video.

Crazy Aerosmith

There is sort of a narrative behind this music video; you see two girls breaking out of school to go and have a day out rather than study. The characters live up to their stereotypes - the women seem to be rather promiscuous by the clothes they wear and the way they act (going to a strip club together, getting changed in a phone and handing the clerk the photos, etc). The male, who is a farmer, does also live up to his expectations; he is a young male who works on a farm, and you would expect him to be shirtless and have a really buff body. There are no major links between the band's performance and the narrative, however there are a few small things; the band seem to be performing and having fun in the band scenes, and in the main narrative it is shown for the two girls to just be out having fun.Overall the music video could be seen as literally just going out, being yourself and having fun.
There are no links between the lyrics and the narrative; the song meaning seems to be about a love that Steve Tyler could not get back and it's driving him crazy, however the music video seems to be about the two girls going out and having a good time.

Smack My Bitch Up The Prodigy
The camera shot is a constant point-of-view shot. From using this camera angle constantly, you get the effect that you are actually that person doing everything they are doing. You see the character getting ready for a night out, and just before they leave to go out on the town, they snort some cocaine.

There is a lot of use of diegetic sound in the music video; for example, the shower right at the beginning is a good example is it is literally like you are in the room with the person. Diegetic sound is used all through the intro to the video (turning off the bathroom light, putting the CD on, etc).
The sound and image works well together as it seems to be a party/rave song. The main character is getting ready for a night on the town and it seems they are going clubbing, so the genre of this song fits in well with what the character is doing.

27th August 2012 - Music Video Timeline #2

Motion City Soundtrack Everything Is Alright

0:00 - 0:07 ~ extreme close-up, straight angle, special effects (superimposition of numbers)

0:07 - 0:11 ~ extreme close-up, straight angle, special effects (makes the image blur for a few seconds, adds an orange 'flame' onto it)


































0:11 - 0:17 ~ extreme close-up shot, straight angle, special effects (the screen slightly blurs)

0:17 - 0:32 ~ panning, track, mid shots, straight angle, low angles

0:32 - 0:33 ~ quick cuts, over-the-shoulder shot, straight angle, high key lighting, red rooms (artwork on walls could connotate as it is like a 'party' going on in Justin Pierre's head)

0:33 - 0:36 ~ quick cuts, two shot, straight angle

0:36 - 0:38 ~ track, panning, over-the-shoulder shot, straight angle

0:38 - 0:41 ~ two shot, high angle

0:41 - 0:41 ~ close-up shot, straight angle, shaking effect

0:42 - 0:45 ~ quick cuts, mid shot, straight angle, over-the-shoulder shot, high angle

0:45 - 0:55 ~ mid shot, hand held camera, straight angle, special effects (warps the screen, inserts an orange "flame" into the shot), panning

0:55 - 0:56 ~ close-up shot, panning, straight angle, special effects (adding the 'fiery' effect over the current image)

0:56 - 0:57 ~ over-the-shoulder shot, high angle

0:57 - 0:59 ~ close-up shot, straight angle, quick zoom out, special effects (distorting the current image, adding 'fiery' effect on screen)

0:59 - 1:00 ~ close-up shot, high angle

1:00 - 1:02 ~ track, over-the-shoulder shot, high angle

1:02 - 1:03 ~ close-up shot, straight angle

1:03 - 1:03 ~ over-the-shoulder shot, low angle

 
1:03 - 1:05 ~ high angle, mid shot, zoom

1:05 - 1:07 ~ superimposition (Justin Pierre's face over the doctor), close-up shot, special effects (adding 'fiery' effect into the shot), low angle

1:07 - 1:08 ~ long shot, straight angle

1:08 - 1:08 ~ high angle, mid shot

1:08 - 1:08 ~ low angle, long shot

1:08 - 1:10 ~ straight angle, long shot

1:10 - 1:10 ~ mid shot, high angle

1:10 - 1:11 ~ long shot, straight angle

1:11 - 1:12 ~ over-the-shoulder shot, low angle

1:12 - 1:13 ~ mid shot, high angle

1:13 - 1:13 ~ quick cuts, high angle, mid shot

1:13 - 1:14 ~ over-the-shoulder shot, high angle

1:14 - 1:16 ~ mid shot, straight angle, zoom in

1:16 - 1:16 ~ long shot, straight angle

1:16 - 1:18 ~ mid shot, high angle

1:18 - 1:20 ~ zoom in, panning, superimpostion (Justin's face on the doctor), mid shot, low angle, special effects (adding 'fiery' effect onto shot)

1:20 - 1:20 ~ mid shot, low angle

1:20 - 1:23 ~ long shot, straight angle

1:23 - 1:33 ~ zoom out, close-up shot, straight angle, panning, superimpostion (Mark Hoppus' face appearing through ceiling), special effects ('fiery' effect added into shot, ceiling tiles flip and disappear to reveal Mark Hoppus' face)

1:33 - 1:34 ~ mid shot, straight angle

1:34 - 1:35 ~ mid shot, straight angle

1:35 - 1:35 ~ mid shot, straight angle

1:35 - 1:37 ~ special effects (distorting the image on screen), mid shot, straight shot

1:37 - 1:38 ~ quick cuts, high angle, mid shot

1:38 - 1:41 ~ mid shot, straight angle

1:41 - 1:43 ~ superimpostion (Justin's face over the doctor's), mid shot, low angle

1:43 - 1:44 ~ mid shot, straight angle

1:44 - 1:46 ~ mid shot, straight angle

1:46 - 1:47 ~ quick cuts, mid shot, straight angle

1:47 - 1:49 ~ mid shot, low angle

1:49 - 1:49 ~ quick cuts, high angle, mid shot

1:49 - 1:50 ~ high angle, mid shot, panning

1:50 - 1:52 ~ mid shot, close-up shot, straight angle

1:52 - 1:53 ~ mid shot, straight angle, panning, hand held camera

1:53 - 1:55 ~ panning, straight angle, mid shot

1:55 - 1:56 ~ mid shot, high angle

1:56 - 1:57 ~ quick cuts, over-the-shoulder shot, mid shot, straight angle

1:57 - 1:58 ~ close-up shot, straight angle

1:58 - 1:58 ~ quick cuts, mid shot, straight angle

1:58 - 1:59 ~ close-up shot, straight angle, sppecial effects (adding a 'tape' over Justins face)

1:59 - 2:00 ~ mid shot, zooming, straight angle

2:00 - 2:01 ~ mid shot, straight angle

2:01 - 2:01 ~ mid shot, low angle

2:01 - 2:02 ~ long shot, straight angle

2:02 - 2:03 ~ canted angle, mid shot, straight angle

2:03 - 2:03 ~ close-up shot, straight angle













2:03 - 2:04 ~ over-the-shoulder shot, straight angle
















2:04 - 2:05 ~ close-up shot, straight angle, panning













2:05 - 2:06 ~ close-up shot, panning, straight angle














2:06 - 2:06 ~ quick cuts, straight angle, close-up shot, special effects (ribbon added into shot), mid shot, canted angle


























2:06 - 2:07 ~ over-the-shoulder shot, straight angle

2:07 - 2:08 ~ mid shot, straight angle, panning

2:08 - 2:09 ~ over-the-shoulder shot, straight angle














2:09 - 2:10 ~ over-the-shoulder shot, low angle

2:10 - 2:10 ~ over-the-shoulder shot, straight angle

2:10 - 2:11 ~ close-up shot, straight angle

2:11 - 2:11 ~ mid shot, straight angle

2:11 - 2:12 ~ close-up shot, straight angle

2:12 - 2:12 ~ mid shot, straight angle













2:12 - 2:13 ~ close-up shot, straight angle, special effects (ribbon effect is added, and an effect is added to make the picture of Justin seem like it is falling away)

2:13 - 2:13 ~ mid shot, straight angle

2:13 - 2:14 ~ close-up shot, straight angle, zoom, special effects (ribbon effect is added, and the drawing of Justin seems to be 'crumbling' away)

2:14 - 2:14 ~ long shot, straight angle

2:14 - 2:15 ~ close-up shot, straight angle














2:15 - 2:15 ~ extreme close-up shot, special effects (picture of Justin seems to be crumbling away, and the ribbon effect is added)














2:15 - 2:16 ~ quick cuts, mid shots, low angle, high angle, panning

2:16 - 2:17 ~ extreme close-up, straight angle, zoom, special effects (the drawing of Justin's face seemed to crumble away, and the ribbon effect is added)

2:17 - 2:18 ~ panning, high angle, mid shot

2:18 - 2:21 ~ extreme close-up, zoom, straight angle, special effects (the ribbon effect comes in again, the drawing of Justin's face seems to be crumbling away, and the forehead seems to open up)

2:21 - 2:24 - mid shot, straight angle, fade out to black

2:24 - 2:27 ~ panning, mid shot, high angle, fade out to black

2:27 - 2:29~ track, long shot, canted angle

2:29 - 2:30 ~ mid shot, canted angle

2:30 - 2:30 ~ mid shot, canted angle, high angle, panning














2:30 - 2:31 ~ mid shot, straight angle














2:31 - 2:32 ~ zooming in and out, long shot, straight angle

2:32 - 2:33 ~ mid shot, high key lighting, tilt, canted angle

2:33 - 2:34 ~ zooming, straight angle, long shot

2:34 - 2:36 ~ high key lighting, tilt, panning, mid shot, canted angle

2:36 - 2:37 ~ zooming in, panning, mid shot, straight angle

2:37 - 2:37 ~ mid shot, canted angle, tilt, panning

2:37 - 2:38 ~ panning, canted angle, mid shot, high angle

2:38 - 2:39 ~ close-up shot, low angle

2:39 - 2:40 ~ close-up, straight angle, special effects (ribbon effect is added in again), superimposition (an image of Justin's face)

2:40 - 2:41 ~ mid shot, canted angle

2:41 - 2:42 ~ panning, zooming in and out, long shot, straight angle

2:42 - 2:43 ~ quick cuts, mid shot, close-up shot, straight angle

2:43 - 2:44 ~ canted angle, high key lighting, tilt, mid shot

2:44 - 2:44 ~ mid shot, high angle, tilt

2:44 - 2:45 ~ mid shot, canted angle, tilt, high key lighting

2:45 - 2:46 ~ close-up shot, straight angle

2:46 - 2:47 ~ quick cuts, tilt, mid shot, low angles

2:47 - 2:48 ~ long shot, low angle

2:48 - 2:49 ~ mid shot, straight angle

2:49 - 2:50 ~ wide shot, straight angle, tilt

2:50 - 2:52 ~ mid shot, tilt, straight angle, panning

2:52 - 2:52 ~ close-up shot, low angle

2:52 - 2:53 ~ mid shot, tilt, canted angle

2:53 - 2:53 ~ mid shot, straight angle

2:53 - 2:54 ~ mid shot, tilt, straight angle, high key lighting

2:54 - 2:55 ~ zooming in and out, long shot, straight angle

2:55 - 2:57 ~ mid shot, straight angle

2:57 - 2:58 ~ close-up shot, straight angle, panning

2:58 - 3:01 ~ quick cuts, zooming in and out, panning, mid shot, close-up shot, straight angle

3:01 - 3:02 ~ mid shot, tilt, straight angle

3:02 - 3:03 ~ mid shot, straight angle, panning, zoom out

3:03 - 3:04 ~ two shot, straight angle

3:04 - 3:06 ~ low angle, tilt, mid shot

3:06 - 3:06 ~ high key lighting, low angle, mid shot

3:06 - 3:07 ~ mid shot, tilt, canted angle, straight angle

3:07 - 3:07 ~ low angle, mid shot

3:07 - 3:07 ~ close-up shot, straight angle

3:07 - 3:09 ~ close-up shot, high angle, tilt

3:09 - 3:09 ~ long shot, straight angle

3:09 - 3:10 ~ two shot, tilt, straight angle

3:10 - 3:11 ~ close-up shot, straight angle

3:11 - 3:11 ~ close-up, straight angle

3:11 - 3:12 ~ mid shot, straight angle

3:12 - 3:12 ~ two shot, straight angle

3:12 - 3:13 ~ mid shot, low angle, high key lighting

3:13 - 3:13 ~ long shot, straight angle

3:13 - 3:14 ~ mid shot, high angle, high key lighting, tilt

3:14 - 3:15 ~ mid shot, straight angle, lens glare

3:15 - 3:15 ~ long shot, straight angle

3:15 - 3:16 ~ over-the-shoulder shot, high angle

3:16 - 3:16 ~ two shot, straight angle

3:16 - 3:17~ mid shot, high angle, tilt, high key lighting















3:17 - 3:18 ~ two shot, straight angle

3:18 - 3:19 ~ mid shot, straight angle, tilt

3:19 - 3:21 ~ mid shot, low angle

3:21 - 3:21 ~ close-up shot, high angle

3:21 - 3:22 ~ close-up shot, straight angle, superimposition (image of Justin Pierre's face), special effects (the ribbons have been inserted over the image)

3:22 - 3:22 ~ close-up shot, straight angle

3:22 - 3:23 ~ mid shot, high key lighting, high angle

3:23 - 3:23 ~ mid shot, straight angle

3:23 - 3:25 ~ mid shot, straight angle

3:25 - 3:25 ~ long shot, straight angle

3:25 - 3:26 ~ panning, mid shot, straight angle

3:26 - 3:28 ~ close-up shot, straight angle, panning

3:28 - 3:28 ~ long shot, straight angle

3:28 - 3:30 ~ two shot, tilt, straight angle

3:30 - 3:42 ~ mid shot, straight angle

Evaluation
I did notice a link between the song on the lyrics; I noticed that as the song is called 'Everything Is Alright', it is set mostly in a doctors surgery. I also noticed at the beginning how the nurse was asking if everyone was alright at the same time of the lyrics, which coincided with the song. I didn't notice many links between camera shots, editing etc, however I did notice that during a majority of the scenes of the band performing, there were a lot of things like high angles, canted angles, tilts and a few over-the-shoulder shots.