In August before the recording of our original video (beach setting) we invested some time in practicing stop motion with the videocamera, tripod and a selection of fruit! As we have never tried the stop motion technique before, we wanted to see how effective it is at maintaining audience attention before being 100% sure of putting it in our video.
In order to create this short film the camera was set in birds eye view of the tabletop, the boundries were marked that showed where on the counter was in shot and where wasn't so that it was clear to the person moving the objects where the action needed to take place. To make the stop motion the fruit was moved around the marked area inch by inch, they could only be moved ever so slightly as this would add more detail and action to the clip and a smoother flow also. The motion was captured in a sequence of move fruit/record/pause/move fruit/record/pause etc. This turned out to be a lengthy process that we didn't think would take so long, we also came into complications as the camera slipped slightly meaning the marked boundries were visible in the shot, and towards the end hands kept getting into the shot.
It took a total of 30-40 minutes to complete the sequence, but upon playback the sequence was already practically smooth flowing and needed little editing, besides the shots were hands were caught in view. Therefore upon edit, the hands were cut out as much as possible without destroying the continuity of the film, and the overall film was sped up by 300% (triple speed) so that the sequence wasn't too slow as if it was left at its original speed there was a bigger threat that the audience would lose interest after a length of time. This was the final outcome of the video:
In order to improve the quality and the flow of the stop motion used in the revised video (surreal dream world) a digital camera will be used to capture the stop motion sequence, this way there will be no chance of hands in the shot as it will be quick and easy to check each picture after taking it. This will also reduce the time taken to both shoot and edit the sequence.
Media forms and conventions This video follows a narrative based structure where the action is parallel to the lyrics for instance the first lyric is “woke up one Tuesday, I’m looking tired and feeling quite sick”, linear to this is the image of the artist waking up in the morning in bed at home looking tired and fed up. The purpose of using this structure is that it simply follows the story that is being told within the song, this makes the lyrics a lot more memorable to the viewer as when they see the video they visually see what they are hearing.
This is a visual example of how linear the narrative is:-
‘New shoes’ is a folk-pop/blue eyes soul song that tells a story of carefree living, and looking on the bright side of things. This links well to the genre as blues music originated from black slaves and the purpose of the blues was to give them some happiness during their lives of slavery, and the folk genre is used to tell stories to entertain.
Aspects of mise-en-scene such as location and props reflect characteristics of the folk genre. For instance, the video is set in two locations; the house and the street, these are both unglamorous, homely locations that are not used to promote wealth or voyeurism but to simply reflect the story being told within the song. This also reflects the genre in the sense that the video is used to tell the story and nothing else.
The majority of camera shots used in the video are medium close ups of Paolo Nutini, his head is almost always in the centre third of the screen, this connotes that he is the very centre of this song; it is based upon a single person and his view on things.
Also, throughout the video the colour tone is very warm, with a lot of greens and oranges and warm lighting; this reflects the warmth of the song, the story and the character.
There is simple straightforward editing where each shot cuts to the next on a beat, no shot lasts longer than 5 seconds; this maintains the upbeat pace of the song, there is only one fade during the lyric “I’m walking ‘til the break of dawn”, at this point the singer is walking down a street at night, a golden light fades in then disappears to reveal the busy kitchen. This gold fade is used for two reasons, 1. To symbolise the sun coming up as the ‘break of dawn’. 2. As it is nearing the end of the song and going into a multiple repeat of the chorus it signifies the beginning of a montage of different locations and actions but the video is no longer telling the story.
Some special effects are used in the video, the effects used are sparkles of light around the singers feet as he is dancing along the street, dots of light are also used to hover around his head as he says ‘where bright lights and angels meet’, therefore these lights are used to signify the ‘bright lights and angels’.
The video uses props and locations that are used in many music videos from artists of a similar or surrounding genres, for instance the acoustic guitar in this video is often seen in folk and alternative videos as it is a sound that heavily influences the genre. Other videos that include this are; James Morrison – Wonderful World, Nerina Pallot – Learning to Breathe and Newton Faulkner – Dream Catch Me.
Representation The song is a folk song in which the artist sings about everyday occurrences and his outlook on these occurrences, his outlook is optimistic and upbeat and since the narrative is linear the video also promotes these aspects, therefore the place represented is a recognisable world to people of all ages as everybody has a home and everybody walks down the street… and everybody buys new shoes at some point! The world represented in the video therefore is a world everybody can associate with and as the video portrays an optimistic outlook on the everyday life the audience also feel that connection with their surroundings (for the duration of the song). This creates a strongly likeable appeal to the song as it makes the viewer feel warm, happy and inspired about their life as they watch the video.
Institutions Paolo Nutini joined Atlantic Records in 2005 shortly after his 18th birthday. Atlantic Records is a large mainstream record company that works with artists such as Bjork, Led Zeppelin and Tracy Chapman. The company works with talents of all different ages and genres. The advantage of being part of such a large label means that Paolo Nutini has a lot of experience behind him in the sense that the company has been established long enough to know what makes a successful band/artist. Also as the label works with so many different genres they also know what works for his music and what doesn’t. Another advantage of being part of such a well-established label is the recognition; it is a lot easier for Paolo Nutini to gain recognition with a mainstream company than a small independent producer as they have the money and the acknowledgment to put him in the spotlight.
Technology The internet has been the biggest breakthrough in technology in the past 20 years and as it is so easily accessible to such a broad audience it means it has a large impact on the music industry especially in reaching target audiences. For instance Youtube and Myspace have created a lot of recognition for Paolo Nutini as members upload videos of live performances where anybody with internet access can watch. Also, Myspace has become very music orientated within the past few years with almost every artist having their own page, this is a great place to target young adult and teenage audiences as Myspace is a social networking hub for people of this demographic. Paolo Nutini has had his own page since 02/11/2005 and since then has gained 185402 friends.
Girls Aloud The Promise Released 20th October 2008
Girls Aloud are a girl band that were manufactured in 2002 from the TV programme Pop Stars: The Rivals. Since then they have shot to fame and become extremely successful. Their main audience are the young teenage females fitting into a demographic of 12-16. This is clear from the outlets they are marketed such as teen magazines including the likes of Bliss magazine, Sugar magazine and Glamour magazine.
The song ‘The Promise’ is one of the most recent singles released from their latest album. In comparison to previous singles such as ‘Sound of the Underground’ the groups image has grown up alongside the band. The music video for ‘The Promise’ is heavily influenced by the 1960’s era and references to the likes of ‘The Supremes’ are clear in the video.
There are a range of intertextual references in the video that are very stereotypical of the era being represented, these include:- The 50’s/60’s style drive in movie theatre The 50’s/60’s style cars The bouffant style hair The clothing The black and white music video with the old film reel quality The 60’s style microphones The make up – smokey kohl eyes, and long fake eyelashes Therefore there is not only reference to the style of an era, but there is also the reference to American movies such as Grease, and to ‘Diana Ross and The Supremes’. By using reference to the likes of ‘The Supremes’ and the glamorous 60’s style the band are creating a highly appealing image to the teenage female demographic that are their main audience. The references ooze sex appeal and beauty but unlike a lot of pop videos they portray don’t portray it in a voyeuristic way, the glamour of the era is tasteful and the girls aren’t strutting around in very little clothing which is a generic convention often seen in pop videos including videos Girls Aloud have released in the past such as ‘Long Hot Summer’. By representing the band in this image with these references they are creating a much more positive image for their audience, as the bands main audience are at a very impressionable age where they aspire to be like their idols, therefore by promoting a more wholesome image the band are opening up to a wider and older audience as they appreciate the wholesome glamour a lot more than the voyeuristic approach. Also, this representation promotes a better image to the male audience as the audience sees that girls can still be sexy without being voyeuristic.
The narrative structure is a mix of both performance based and concept based. The performance is important in reflecting the 60’s influence on the song since in the 60’s music videos were all based on performances, there were few music videos that were narrative based at that time. Also ‘The Supremes’ were all about performance, their music was about the voice, the soul and the image, narrative was not of great importance. The concept based narrative being the girls at the drive-in movie theatre watching the film and flirting with boys was also used to emphasise the influence of the era on the song. It simply illustrates the innocence of teenagers in the era, ultimately demonstrating a positive image of the ‘teenage girl’ to the viewer.
The band and the song are mainstream pop but unlike the majority of Girls Aloud videos and one of the main generic conventions of pop videos the ‘The Promise’ video does not contain a dance routine which is an essential in a pop video. They have taken a more mature approach with this video as a performance behind stand-alone old fashioned microphones conforming to the convention by doing a very minimal routine with general body language – but not a full blown dance routine. Another generic convention commonly used in a girl group pop video is the use of the opposite sex as love interests. In this video the concept is used. Although the concept is used, in the generic way of portraying the male is quite degrading, they are often beneath the girls and often shown as ‘a pawn in their game’ for instance like in the Girls Aloud video ‘The Show’ or the Sugababes video ‘Push The Button’. But in this video their presence is quite insignificant, and where they are present the relationship between the two genders is very innocent and childlike for instance at 2:35 Nicola is handed a love note and giggles naively and the boy who wrote the note shoots a hopeful innocent glance.
Although voyeurism isn’t used in the acting of clothing, some voyeuristic shots are used especially in the black and white performance where the camera tracks up the girls’ hourglass bodies and takes close up shots of the girls’ hips especially. This creates sex appeal, but at the same time promotes a healthy image as the camera emphasises the girl’s healthy curves as opposed to being stick thin. Voyeurism is also used during the scenes at the theatre such as at 3:50 where the camera uses a medium close up and tracks Nicolas body from her feet to her head as she is posing against a car in a very short dress. Although this seems voyeuristic it doesn’t come across as degrading as the overall outcome of the video is very innocent and a one off shot like that seems to simply be promoting her beauty as opposed to a voyeuristic approach.
During the performance section of the video the lighting is used in addition to the film reel effect to emphasise the glamour of the 1960’s and the ‘bright lights of showbiz’ concept. There is a variety of lighting techniques used to emphasise this such as the spotlight, stage lighting including floor lighting and the light reflection of the glitzy dresses that is flashing all the time, there is also the intertextual reference to the old fashioned backstage mirror lighting in the background. All these lighting techniques simply add to the fascination of stardom and the dream that is Broadway.
The link between the music and visuals in this video aren’t very important in this video, the shots change after ever few seconds to reflect the pace of the song, but the transitions aren’t in time with the beat, they cut back and forth to different angles of the same action or between the two different narratives mid lyric and between beats, this creates a very soft transition between the two narratives and also gives the impression (particularly during the performance narrative) that the edit is very simple and the performance is almost live, as it reflects the style used in live videos or coverage of a TV performance or concert performance. There is also the occasional cross fade such as at 3:45 which creates a dream like effect, and also reflects the girls state of mind and shows the link between the lyrics being sung during the performance and the awe the girls feel when watching the performance.
There are a range of camera shots and angles used and they are very different for the two different narratives. During the performance narrative, a lot of the shots are medium shots and are head on to capture all of the action; this is a very conventional style of capturing music performances. There is also tracking and panning across the five girls during chorus using a head and shoulder shot to capture each of them singing in more detail. As each girl is singing on their own the camera focuses on that person from all different angles such as from a low angle, a close up of the girls face from both head on and side on, there is also subtle zooms both in and out, the combination of these gives the performance a very smooth, sexy feel and gives the viewer the chance to see every aspect of the performance. The concept based narrative is based on the beautiful, pure, innocent teenage girls watching a movie and experiencing the innocent flirting with boys. Their naivety and beauty is accentuated by the camera shots used and the expressions of the girls. There are a lot of close ups that focus on the girls faces and their reactions, each time the girl is either looking up, making them look wide eyed and naïve or looking down looking shy and innocent. There is a very specific shot at 00:40 where there is a medium close up of Cheryl clutching ‘She’ magazine o her chest, this is an iconic shot as it sums up everything a teenage girl was about during that time period and even in the present day. Teenage girls follow glossy magazines as their bible and this shot depicts that concept perfectly. Another one is at 2:59 where Kimberly is fixing her make-up in a compact mirror and then pouting in the rear view mirror of her car to check her appearance. This is also another very stereotypical shot of teenage girls during the 60’s time period where glamour and beauty was a very big part of their day to day life; it is also something girls of the present day can relate to as well.
The band began with the UK label Polydor Records, subsidised by Universal Music. In 2006 Polydor launched a label solely dedicated to pop music called Fascination Records which Girls Aloud transferred to. The band had an advantage in capturing an audience through the TV programme Pop Stars: The Rivals which gave the public the power to essentially create the band, and the national recognition from the programme instantly gave the band overnight stardom making it easy for them to overcome the hurdle that is one of the hardest for up and coming bands which is to become known. Also, they were moulded in front of the publics eyes to become a pop group so they also were immediately given a target audience. Being a part of Polydor Records gave the girls the opportunity to work with a well established label as well with links to other well known artist including Gwen Stefani and Eminem. Working with a well established label also helps to give the band recognition as opposed to a small unknown indie label. It also gives the impression that they are likely to be a very successful band as a large company has put its reputation on the line to promote them. By transferring to a pop dedicated label gives the group and the label the chance to focus solely on their genre potentially making the image stronger also.
I am creating a music video for a country/folk song called 'Sail Away', I am aiming the video at an audience of 16-20 year olds, in order to gather some qualatitive research about music videos and different genres a research session was held which consisted of a selection of about 15 people aged between sixteen and twenty. This would help me gain some knowledge of my target audience and how open/closed minded they are, what interests/disinterests them, what they find memorable and enjoyable and in which direction i should steer my music video in order to appeal to as bigger audience as possible effectively. Four different videos were shown that were of very different styles ang genres. The four videos shown were:-
This video was chosen as a topic of discussion as it clearly falls into the stereotype that women are sexual objects, it also uses the unconventional idea of miniature babies parachuting onto this semi-naked woman, this is a video that can clearly shock an audience and be the cause of an interesting discussion.
This video is quite uncomfortable to watch, it isn't mainstream and wouldn't be found on everyday music channels, therefore subjecting the audience to such an unusual video would cause contreversy and spark some great discussion.
This video is a stereotypical pop video subjecting men as sexual objects in order to sell their music. This contrasts greatly with the Boogie Pimps video as it is subjecting men as opposed to women. This is a great opportunity to discover how an audience reacts to the change in role. This became a Top 40 number 1 so it would be interesting to see how the audience reacts to the video in relation to it's song becoming a number 1 single.
This video was used to show how pop has changed over the past twenty years and to discover how differently the audience reacts to different era's. Also as Michael Jackson is such a big part of music, it is interesting to see how the group view him, is he in a league of his own? Can he be compared to other pop artists at all?
After each video was shown a selection of guideline questions were held and then a discussion followed, the following questions were asked:- Was there anything about the representation of age/gender/race/stereotypes you found shocking? What in the video stood out to you? What did you find interesting/effective? Does the video reflect the genre? Would you watch the video again? why? Do you think the video should have an age limit/restriction? Which audience stereotype do you think the video is targeting? Where would you expect to see this video?
The video that clearly caused the most interesting divide between the audience was the Aphex Twin video, where one particular member was intreigued by the disturbing images shown in the video and she would be happy to watch it again even though she didn't appreciate the music very much, whereas the rest of the group were disturbed by the video and would not like to watch it again. This shows how creating a memorable music video may not be the way forward, if it is memorable for the wrong reasons, but if the video was not created for mass consumption in the first place but solely created for dedicated listeners/viewers then a video such as Come To Daddy can be very effective.
The Boogie Pimps video did not stem much discussion as it was seen as a stereotypical video that wasn't out of the ordinary especially with how the woman in the video was represented, none of the group appeared uncomfortable or embarrassed by her, nor did they seem interested by her. Whereas when the role changed with the JLS video it was clear that the male members were alot more uncomfortable with talking about how the band members were presented, on the other hand some of the females got quite excited by the video and were happy to watch it again which is interesting as this shows that the subjection of men to women appears more effective than the sumjection of women to men (aged between 16 and 20).
Beat It was hardly compared to the JLS pop video, the audience members insisted that Micheal Jackson could not be compared, his 'brand' could not be held down by any particular label or genre that liks with other bands and his videos are unique and can't be copied or duplicated by anyone else, so what makes Michael Jackson so successful?
