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Friday, 11 May 2012

Music Video Work Book- Jon

Task 1 (a): write a critical evaluation of the purpose of music videos, with examples.

There are many different purposes for music videos. Music videos are used for promotion, extension of outlets, to sell the song and invoke a reaction, so the song can be remembered etc.

Artists/ bands use music videos to promote their new singles. Looking back at the Beatles in February 1967, they took at least two days to create their first ever music video in a surrey field to promote their new single "strawberry field" this video was a big hit and was inspirational to upcoming artists and bands as they wanted to start creating music videos for their singles, besides this the Beatles recorded performance at live which was broadcasted on TV everywhere. One could argue that this was how the Beatles became so very famous and well liked seen as they created the music video industry. Gaining all their inspiration from the works of the Beatles, other big shot artist were making pop promos with bands such as Queen, ABBA and the Jackson 5 all making music videos, though they were high demands for making music videos because of top of the pop and so on forth and so for most artist it was essential for them to create a unique style or have an image to go with the song.Although music videos started back in the late 60's with the Beatles, it was in the 80's that music videos really began to be more common with the launch of MTV in 81 because at this time there were need for music video in order to ensure their music was heard globally, also it was they very first time a black person was allowed to be on TV with the release of Michael Jackson " Bad" Music video.

Music video provide fame for the Artist/ Band because they will always be in the public eye. They will be even more recognize for their unique style or because of the image they created for themselves this makes their albums/ singles to sell out in a flash. An example of this is Michael Jackson best selling album "Thriller" video is famous for its short story, choreography and the fact that it was so unusual and practically unheard of at the time. Also, besides the short film it was filled with so much creativity and its originality. all these put together paved the way for the album to be so publicized , which lead more people to buy it. Its styles and dance moves paved the way for many other artist to create music videos that are creative, with good chorography etc. Other bands even came up with other ways of creating effectively creative music video by adding animation or painting their faces, using different camera trick and so on. For example, in the early 2000's a band called the Gorillazs added a twist in their music video, they created animated characters creating a very strong representation for themselves, these made the band very unique and their music video very successful as it left like a footprint on the viewers mind because when you think of Gorillazs you first remember the animated characters. Since music videos aired on TV on stations such as MTV, HITS, VH1, KERRANG etc. more work have to be put into making these video to keep up music artist popularity.

music videos is link to film and TV programmes (synergy) these are also a purpose for music videos. These are songs created by artist specifically for a
film. Examples of this is James Bond films, which is widely known brilliant actions and in every single on of the movies had a single released just for the film, and in the music video there will include clips from the film as it was made specially for it. For example, in Quantum of Solace included a song by Alicia keys " Another way to die" which included clips for James bond as apart of its music video. Another good example of this is in Charlie's Angel film clips from there were included in Destiny Child's Independent woman music video, so every time you watch this film you get used to the music which helped to promote both the film and the band. This is another important purpose of music videos because every time you watch the films you think about the soundtracks that are playing.


Task 1 (b): critically evaluate the styles and conventions of music videos, with examples.
The reason for codes and convention is so that the director can set rules/ ways of doing things; allow the audience to become familiar with a certain Genre as they get used to seeing certain things, and to ensure that a certain text works well and fits with its Genre. A music video is a piece of marketing merchandize used to promote an artist or band, so it need have steps for it to follow in order to reach its target audience. It contains different storylines and meanings which are portrayed in various ways. Though the codes and convention depends on the type of genre in order to show off and describe the video.
Performance videos this is where the band or artist is playing the song throughout the video. This often contain shots of the artist performing whether it be live on stage with shots of both the music artist/ band and the audience or it can be the artist in a real life situation e.g talking, fooling around or something of that matter. When performing the camera focuses mainly on the band/ artist so the director must ensure that all lip- synching and instrument miming is perfectly in time. This also contain unusual shots and camera angle making the video stands out from any other of the same Genre.

Narrative videos show the audience a short story which may or may not be apart of the music lyrics. It must be simple and easy to comprehend so that the audience do not get confused. This is usually used for love songs because the audience can relate to the video and its lyrics. Though both narrative and performance can be used in a music video by cutting between the narrative and the performance of the song by the band/ artist. In addition a carefully choreographed dance move can be a part of the artists performance of the song or an extra part of the video designed to capture the audience desire, making them wanting to listen/ watch it over and over to fill in the gaps of what they might of missed after first viewing it.

The pace of editing must fit with the pace of the music, and the outfits used must be able to reflect the mood of the song. Another vital style and convention of music videos is the mise-en-scene, this creates an atmosphere for the video.Creating the video in different location depending on its genre, changing into costumes, showing emotions through facial expression and body reaction. Using props that have been used in other music videos of the same genre. A perfect example of how using mise en scene helps the audience to understand what the song is all about is Take That "Patience" this video is a little dull with a lonely scenery going through a slightly cold weather
to show how patience is needed in a relationship in order for it to survive or in order to move on for someone if that is the case. The mise- en scene acts as a state of mind where the person feels as though they're alone and lost. There is a shot of one of the singer looking around as if they need to find out where life is hiding for them, then we see shots of the bright sunlight illustrating a sense of hope for them.






Task 2: Plan with creativity and flair a music video using found and original footage.

Title of Music Track/ Artist:
For my music video i chose to look at this powerful ballad 'I want to know what love" is by Foreigner.



Write a description of your music video concept:

For my music video, i will use clips from the movie " while you were sleeping". I chose this particular movie because it's a about love, wanting to be loved by someone you've loved for like forever, and  also 'cause it relates to the song i've chosen.


Explain how you are going to use and combine:

a) original footage you have filmed yourself
Originally i will film footages of Gill, (a class mate of mine) who is lonely, without love and wanting to find love. I will read the lyrics of the song and try choosing specific film footages from the move which  relates to the song itself.


b) library footage (include the source/s)

I will use clips from "while you were sleeping" For example, clips were Lucy and Jack have heart to heart moments etc. To do this i will search for the movie on youtube, convert it on keep vid and download it to the computer, then put it up on final cut pro and edit out the sounds and keep the actual clips.  Source=  You tube

c) graphics (say how you are going to generate these)
I will use a few still images from google to make my music video more professional. I will start it off with some still images of lonely girls and probably will end it with still images of Lucy and Jack.