JB - Technical Analysis Evaluation

After spending time on my technical analysis with a pen and paper in front of the screen, it became clear to me that there is a much larger amount of shots than I first realised in a music video. My analysis consisted of 61 shots in total, and that was after just three minutes. Because our music video is only about three minutes long this is all I needed to realise what a large amount of shots there were. The video I looked at was ‘Backstreet Boys – I want it that way’. I chose this video because it is a boy band, as we are doing, and because its style is much like the song we have chosen by JLS, ‘everybody in love’.

There were some certain conventions I spotted whilst analysing the video. Firstly I noticed that there were many Close Up shots, and this is a typical characteristic of all boy band pop genre videos. This goes back to Richard Dyer’s characteristics of the term ‘stardom’. One of those that are pointed out by him is ‘Sexual Magnetism’ and this is definitely something that boy band members try to show and the CU anchors this. Also I found that this video was based around a series of flashes back and forwards. This is also shown in numerous boy band video’s, usually showing a side story with a girl perhaps, mixed in with the time of the performance. Throughout the performance based part of the video which is the most part, it is clear that the ‘Meat shot’ becomes important among our genre conventions. This is definitely something that we need to bare in mind when planning our story boards and shot lists. Through the shots on the runway in the 'Backstreet Boys' video it is clear that some shots need to have very artistic features. This is important to our group when we need choose our location. Our ideas for locations so far we have considered this for example Greenhithe Castle at night. Furthermore it is evident that within all these shots mise en scene plays a large part in how the frame looks. For example in the video I studied the audience wouldn't have been able to understand they were on a runway unless there was an aeroplane in the background.

Technical anlysis

Whilst doing my technical analysis, I learnt a lot about the shots, camera angles and editing used in music videos. Boy band videos in particular. For example, I analysed N’sync ‘its gonna be me’. Throughout this video there are various shots that are referred to to keep a level of consistency throughout. In this case there is a shot where the boy band is dancing as a group and there is a colourful background. This shot is used throughout the video and creates the performance side of the video, furthermore there is a narrative going on and this I also referred to every fifth or sixth shot. The different types of shots are used so that diversity is created, to avoid tedium. Furthermore thy leave this video open for repeatability which is vital for a worldwide selling pop group like N’sync. A pattern emerges if you look at the technical analysis thoroughly, each shot is incorporated every few shots and this is a typical convention of a boyband video.

JP-Evaluation of technical analysis

From looking at the different shot types used by the boy band we are going to be using, I found out that there are a huge amount of different shots which we need to take into account when making our own music video.

From the song ‘beat again’ by JLS most of the shots consisted of close ups of the band members faces, high and low angle shots of the band performing their dance routine as well as medium long shots and medium shots which shows their routine clearly. There are also occasions when the camera pans around the group showing them from different angles throughout. From looking at this music video it is evident that we have to be thinking about using a lot of shots letting the audience see facial expressions of each member in the boy band because this is commonly used in top music videos which are successful.

However when I had finished looking at this music video ‘beat again’ I decided to have a look at another song by JLS – ‘everybody in love’ (which is the song we are going to base our music video on). This video had a slight narrative to it unlike ‘beat again’ which was solely performance based. There were less shot types and the editing wasn’t as fast, in ‘everybody in love’ the shots were slowing giving the audience a chance to become familiar to what is going on and a story became apparent in the video.

Brighton Reccie Evaluation

On Tuesday the 22nd of September the class took a trip to Brighton to propose some shots which may inspire the groups to use in their real music video final project. As soon as we were introduced to the video cameras and equipment the knowledge that each member of the group learnt last year became apparent and we were soon familiarized with how things worked and how to treat the equipment in a safe and advanced manner.

Our group (group 10) began trying out a number of different shot types that we could potentially use in our final piece. We all found this process extremely helpful and it provided us with some useful ideas in making our boy band track successful. Shots such as POV shots, high angle, low angle, medium long shots, panning and establishing shots were used whilst in Brighton which gave us all specific ideas that we could use later on. All this camera work allowed each member of the group a chance to give their own input on what they would like to do when it comes down to creating our final piece. Everybody was bouncing off ideas for instance Jonny believed that it would be a good idea to have the sea in the background when it comes to our final piece. Mitch and I agreed with him because most of the scenes where the waves were rushing in the background panned out to be the more professional looking shots.

On the other hand after discussions with the group we feel that although Brighton was a challenging location for us as well as proving to be extremely inspirational, being the source of our ideas, we feel that the location isn’t quite what we are looking for to make our final music video something original and upbeat. JLS are a young urban boy band with an original feel to all their music, they have a lot of style in everything they do and we are setting ourselves a challenge as a group to make our music video as original as possible, making it look slick and stylish to have a successful outcome

Feedback #2

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JB - Brighton Reccie Evaluation

On tuesday the 22nd September the A2 media studies class went on a reccie trip to Brighton. This was to enhance our ideas, and hopefully develop more discussions throughout our group on locations, outside of tunbridge wells and the places we live. The trip proved to be a very helpful day, and we couldn's have asked for better weather. We took our video equiptment, and explored different types of camera shots and movement, at different locations in Brighton.

Jack, Mitch and I found it very helpful using the equiptment again and familarising ourselves before we head out on our production of our music video. We paracticed a number of different shots including; Panning establishment MLS, Close Up shots, POV shots, Tracking, and 360 degree pans. This enabled us to realise which sort of shots become more obvious for the type of track and genre we have chosen. Considering we are working on the track 'Everybody in Love-JLS' this is a boy band video, and we found that certain shots such as the tracking shot with first person mode of address work better than others for example the POV shots.

The location of Brighton was actually surprisingly useful to us. There was some beautiful scenic shots that were possible when the weather was right, and that is evident in our reccie shots. What we found though was that although a boy band video could indeed be located on something such as Brighton Beach, it was not right for the feel of the boy band that we would like to convey to the audience. JLS are a more urban boy band, as oppose to bands such as Take That.

Deconstruct an Advertisement – JLS ‘Beat again’

It is evident from the meat shot on the poster that The genre of the group being advertisement is boy band / pop. Each of the members of the group are gazing at the camera, or at us, creating this first person mode of address, which makes the viewers feel familiar with the band. This is a typical convention of a boy band. Furthermore, each of the males are well groomed, and well dressed, indicating that they are young, fresh and full of life. This reinforces the cult of youth and beauty, and because the band is aesthetically pleasing, this could attract more members of the public to their product, especially females. Moreover, the gaze that the 4 group members are using, can be seen as sexually provocative, and so this voyeuristic factor is created. They are being used in a sexual way to sell their product. The background colour of the advert is black. This is so that when the advert is looked at the contrast of the colorful title against the background helps us catch the name of the group first. JLS. This can also be known as the Dominant reading path. The next thing that we look at is the group them self. And then eventually the song title ‘Beat Again’ and its release date. Then the clothes that they wear are all very modern and trendy. Another important aspect of a boy band is to be current with fashion. From the photo it is evident that JLS are. This will attract more fans, because more people will aspire to be like them.

In their logo there is the symbol of a star, which suggests that they are becoming stars through the music that they produce. The title of the song is ‘beat again’ which would sometimes automatically inform the consumers that the song is about a heart beating again. This indicates that the song is about love or heartbreak which is a typical theme for a boy band to sing about.

In this advert the band are represented as young, well groomed and iconic figures. This adds to their meta-narrative in the sense that this new, young, boy band that have been introduced are in fact the trendy new icons. JLS were created by X factor, which is a very mainstream television programme. A large portion of the public followed their progress and watched them win the X factor, now, they have kept the same personas and that’s why there product is further marketable. Because people relate to them and feel that they are close to them because they followed their progress since day one.

Deconstruct an Advertisement – JLS ‘Beat again’

Feedback #1 Deadline 21/9

Jack, Mitch, Jonny,

There is some evidence here of thorough, thoughtful research - however Mitch and Jack you are missing your music video analysis. Mitch - I still have your draft, but expected it to be up on the blog.

CF

Deconstructing an Advertisement (JP)

In the magazine that I have chosen to deconstruct there is an advertisement of the boy band ‘blue’. Each and every band member is portrayed in a stylish way to make themselves look modern, up to date, and sexually attractive this generates them a cult of youth and beauty which people aspire to be like. They are all seen to be gazing into the camera so it looks as though they are making eye contact with the consumer/audience. This is a technique used to make the reader feel more involved with the band as if they are looking directly into their eyes. They are all well groomed men which female readers will be lured in by. This type of market can be a huge plus point if you have good looking member in a boy band. Being in a boy band is all about the sex appeal and being cute and cheesy because that is what women especially want to see and men would aspire to be like them. As well as good looks they need to have talent in song writing and have a good and original sounding voice which people can enjoy when listening to it. The article is used by the Boy band in a proviking way.

This magazine is trying to sell the members of the bands looks rather than their musical career; they are made out to look like sex symbols. The black member of the band is wearing a tight vest which emphasises his masculinity and also brings in an aspects of voyerism.
The way in which this band is represented is to be masculine, the dominant reading path draws the audience’s eye towards each member of the band simultaneously, and they are all standing in a horizontal line posing for the camera. The reading path then draws your eye towards the title ‘blue’ in bold black letters towards the bottom of the page with a slight fade to it. This gives the people looking at the advertisement a chance to see everything going on on the page in order that the eye takes it too. The light blue background emphasises the masculinity that this band are trying to create. The colour blue is stereotypically associated with men and pink for females. Everything in the advertisement shows off the band member’s good looks and their songs in hope to maximise sales increasing profit for all parties.

This advertisement it done in a professional way and has a stylistic feel to it to create mass sales for the boy band. They are a well known famous band which the younger generation will have grown up on and heard about. From looking at the advertisement and each member of the band is gazing into the camera to look as though they are staring the audience in the face as though they are somewhat attracted to them emphasises a cult of youth and beauty.

Mood Board (Jack)

Here is a deisgn of my mood board consisting of different boy band album covers in hope to inspire our group to make a stylish and successful album cover. This mood board shows a wide variety of boy bands which we are likely to take ideas from in order to create a successful music video. From this, we can also take different styles and dress codes from the boy band members. For our dress code we will be looking at a stylish and fashionable look like JLS, we want to make ourseleves a fresh and exciting music video with everything about it looking professional and not out of place.

JP-Deconstructing a Digipak: ‘Westlife-Back Home’ Album

Westlife is a famous boy band which is widely recognised over the world. From first glance at this album cover you can easily distinguish that this is a boy band and not a solo artist or a mixed sex band. West life are a boy band who’s style would fit the conventions of what we are trying to achieve in our own digipak. They use the same genre and types of songs and portray a slick layout with each member of the group looking fashionable and well groomed.

From looking at the dominant reading path you can easily tell that this is a boy-band. The reader’s eyes are automatically drawn to the centre of the page and in this case it is the name of the band and album. From then on you explore every band member singularly from front to back. The reader’s eyes will look towards the man at the front of the album cover and work their way back. Lastly the reader will begin to explore the album cover in more specific detail and try to look into what is happening in the background. This background is set outside with trees and green grass which they are walking across. This signifies a ‘naturalistic’ environment which they are associated with which will appeal to not just one specific target audience. If Westlife were to have a more futuristic or modern background the older generation may be put off by this and see it as ‘youth music’. They use neutral colours and nothing stands out too greatly, the blend of greens and the white sky gives a laid back effect which maximises its sale to all ages. From the clothes the band members are wearing e.g. fashionable/casual jeans and shirts or waistcoats the audience is given the impression that these men are in some ways ‘easy going’ and loveable characters with a likeability factor for everybody.

Each of the band members generate a certain sex appeal, their well groomed and fashionable look adds to this sex appeal as well as their ‘stylish hair’ and good looking faces. This generates a cult of youth and beauty which maximises their fan base, attraction of more female fans, which makes this more of a business in selling themselves rather than their music. Each member of the band due to their fame and good looks brings about a sense of ‘sexual desire’ to certain females all over. This inevitably helps them sell more of their albums/singles which leads on to more profit for themselves. This process however all boils down to their fortunate genetics of being good looking and ‘sexually desirable’ to a lot of women.

The title in the middle of the page is part of the earlier mentioned ‘dominant reading path’. The simple white bold letters allow the audience to determine the name of the band easily and it anchors the rest of the page well due to its simple layout. The background connotes ‘nature’ and ‘wildlife’ which gives the audience an inset to the minds of the band members showing their tranquil side and perhaps ‘love of the naturalistic environment’. Each of the band members looking to be ‘down to earth’ and well rounded individuals; they do not look completely driven by just fame but have a passion for music. The name of the album ‘back home’ emphasises this because home is a place associated with warmth and safety, the looks on the band members faces shows a desire for this warmth and safety of ‘home’. On the other hand if they were completely driven by fame it would be each of them dressed in revealing clothing with a modern look to the album cover with their photos being taken by the media and complete stardom. This album cover doesn’t connote this at all, they are all famous individuals and they chose to keep themselves looking like role-models for both young and old audiences.

All of these stages add up to how the band is being represented or perceived in reality. Using dyers critical framework on stars it is evident that the term ‘star’ was a set of mythological meanings which contained common values of being in music stardom. These common values consisted of youthfulness, rebellion, sexual magnetism, originality, creativity/talent and success against all odds. Westlife matches each of these traits which are key to making them a successful band. 'Dyer' also mentions that ‘the star image is incoherent’ relying on two different key paradoxes. The first paradox being that ‘The star must be ordinary and extraordinary, the star must be simultaneously present and absent for the consumer’. This paradox matches up well with Westlife and their genre and status over the world. They can both be seen as ordinary by the way in which they dress and their mannerisms, however on the other hand they can be seen as extraordinary by their fame and talent shown in their music.

The product will be targeted to be sold in mainstream shops such as HMV and other high profitable music stores. The reason being for this is because Westlife are not a band starting out and trying to sell a minute number of records to create a name for themselves. They are already an established band with clear goals to make money and have a likeability factor by making good music for everybody to enjoy and take pleasure in listening to it.

Boy band mood board

This is a mood board of all the typical conventions of the pop/ boyband genre.

It is fairly evident through the images and style of this digipak cover that the genre of these artists. The way in which the artists are positioned and the way that they are all staring at the camera, creates this first person mode of address which is a typical convention of boy bands and in pop. Furthermore, all of the men are well groomed and dressed fashionably (for the 90’s). This creates this use of the cult of youth and beauty, which is a technique used to attract more fans, as people aspire to be like them. seeing as though the boy band is more aesthetically pleasing, also a very common convention of the boy band/pop genre.

The background of the digipak colour is a light blue, as a consumer my first interpretation would be that they were trying to suggest that they were ‘cool’ by using this colour. Furthermore it shows the contrast to their tanned skin which would further suggest that they are well groomed.

3 of the members of the group are wearing caps backwards; this creates this feeling of rebelling against society and the norms of pop music, which is supposed to be pleasant music. This connotes that the band are trying to reach out to all different groups of people, so that the females want them, and the males want to be them. Moreover one of the caps that is worn in the photo reads athletics, which again connotes that they keep fit and are interested in sport, another reference to the cult of youth and beauty. furthermore the fact that they are all evidently young males will attract older members of the public, in the sense that they will buy and listen tot he music to make them feel like they are trendy and part of the younger generation.

The fact that the digipak is called ‘steam’ creates this meaning of sexual activity, which means that the boy band is now being represented voyeuristically. This would be used to reach out to more female members of the public to be attracted to their music or themselves.

JB - Mood Board Showing Boy Band Albums

Here is a mood board showing a number of different boy band album covers. This will help us when thinking of our own design for a Digipak. Click on the image to see it more clearly.

JB - Deconstructing an Advertisement: ‘The Beatles’

Deconstructing an Advertisement: ‘The Beatles’

The advertisement I have chosen is one for ‘The Beatles’ as they were the closest I could find to the genre I wanted. This advertisement was assembled to advertise for all thirteen classic studio albums and past masters that are all digitally enhanced and remastered for the first time. The group formed in Liverpool in 1960 who became one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music. The group consisted of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. Although their initial musical style was rooted back to the 1950s rock and roll, the group worked with different musical genres, such as psychedelic rock/pop.

The genre of the band is initially shown through the meat shot of the four members of the band. From this meat shot, certain star personas become clear. We see that the genre is actually a rock/pop band from the 60’s. This is highlighted by the black and white photograph contrasted with the bold red title of the band ‘The Beatles’. From the mise-en-scene we also see the genre of the albums for example the clothes that the band members are wearing, such as the round glasses that were extremely fashionable at the time of their music. The long hair in the photograph actually helps suggest this hippy style of the band, that lets us know their could be some psychedelic twist in their albums. Other visual techniques that are used are the rule of thirds. Everything on the page is lined up with one of the divisions, for example where the thirteen albums are shown at the bottom of the last horizontal division. As well as this the way that the black and white colour contrasts with the bold red connects the old with the new, as this album is all about rediscovering the band. The tone of the whole page creates this rediscovering idea, and the text anchors this statement with ‘Remastered. Rediscovered.’ This is an example of linguistic devices they have used and with the break up of the full stop in between it is clear that this is meant as a bold statement. The font uses the typical Beatles font that is a star motif for their band. It is used on all their albums, making it their own logo. Semiotics is used in the advertisement to create certain meaning, for example the way the way that the band are all looking across in the same direction. Obviously this is an old picture of the band, but the advertisers chose this photograph for a reason. The notion of looking used here could signify that the group are looking ahead towards the future or oppositely connoting the group looking back in the past at their previous albums, as this advert tries to convey that meaning of being ‘Rediscovered.’

References to popular culture are used here, but in a much more post modern way. Because these albums are all remastered versions, the meat shot of the band that has been used is in fact also an old photo, therefore making this print text post modern by making references to popular culture of the 60’s. Robert Greenfield, a former editor for Rolling Stones, said "People are still looking at Picasso. People are still looking at artists who broke through the constraints of their time period to come up with something that was unique and original. In the form that they worked in, in the form of popular music, no one will ever be more revolutionary, more creative and more distinctive than The Beatles were." This is an example of just how much of an affect The Beatles had on their audiences across the world. The Beatles were one of the first British rock/ pop bands to break through with an influence on American Bands. In the 1960’s there was also a wide spread influence from the band on style for example the hair cut imitations that were being seen everywhere. It encouraged the Hippie movement throughout the 60’s where there was numbers of people latching on to this psychedelic way of life. Hippie fashions had a major effect on culture, influencing music, television, film, literature, and arts. Since the 1960s, many aspects of hippie culture have been assimilated by mainstream culture. The Beatles are represented as an extremely post modern band. The fact that certain styles from the 60’s have become fashionable and up to date again, means that the advertisers have chosen now to make this rediscovery of the band, because they used creativity in their work. Creativity is an example of what Richard Dyer called Semi mythological set of meanings for the term of a ‘star.’ The Beatles possessed many values of stardom; youth, rebellion, sexual magnetism, originality, creativity, drugs/sex, and success. This advert shows the materials that The Beatles have been constructed through. Richard Dyer said that the star image is incoherent, based upon two key paradoxes. The first is that the star must be both ordinary and extraordinary, which The Beatles are, and the second being present and absent, which they are also. The type of institution that the band would be shown in these days would include both mainstream shops, and also vintage shops. The advertisement here is actually for remastered versions of all thirteen albums, and this is commercial for http://www.thebeatles.com/. This advertisement has also come from EMI, one of the largest music companies in the world showing just how popular the band have been, and how large their influence has been over the years.

JB - Deconstructing a Digipak: ‘Backstreet’s Back- Backstreet Boys’

Deconstructing a Digipak: ‘Backstreet’s Back- Backstreet Boys’

‘Backstreet’s back’ by Backstreet boys was an album of theirs that was initially released in 1997, as a follow up to their successful debut album ‘Backstreet Boys’. Backstreet boys are a boy band that’s style would fit the conventions of what we would try to convey in our own digipak. The genre of the band is clearly evident through the digipak’s front cover through the meat shot of the boy Band. Straight away we can tell that they are a boy band, and this is apparent through the dominant reading path of the cover. The title of the artists, ‘Backstreet Boys’ is the first thing the audience look at when glancing at the album. From the style of their name, it is fairly understandable that we are dealing with the pop genre boy band music. Also the genre is shown through the conventions and characteristics of their outfits. They are clearly wearing matching styled clothes, in which we can tell they are trying to be portrayed as a vocal band. Whereas in a rock band or instrumental band the clothing of the individual artists may not match, in a vocal boy band, especially pop, they would tend to wear similar clothes or colours. The genre is also shown through the style of the members themselves, for example their hair styles such as dyed blonde hair.

Whilst looking at the artwork cover, the producers have used certain visual techniques in creating it. As previously mentioned, there is a dominant reading path, starting from the artists name, to the album title and then finally to the photograph of the band. Additionally the rule of thirds has been utilised as the bands heads are all situated on the top horizontal line of the thirds, as well as having them all standing evenly spread across the horizontal divisions. The initial part of the cover, the title, has been created much larger than the rest, and actually appears very bold, against the grainy, lo-fi texture they have used. The font type used creates a modern star persona about the artists, as it is quite, ‘new millennium’ styled with the silver, metallic design. Furthermore the tone and mood of the picture appear to be quite ‘mellow’ with the use of colour tint and the weather in the photo is actually rather chilling. The overall consumption of all these different products is in fact making the artists look very laid back, and cool. Mise-en-scene is also playing a part in producing this look for the artists, for example the wall that they are standing against. This corresponds to the title of their band ‘Backstreet Boys’ because they are standing in a street. The wall appears a very dingy, every day, worn down wall. This lets the consumer see them as normal everyday people. Along with other parts of the mise-en-scene such as the member of the band second from the right appears to be looking at a mobile phone. This is an example of intertextuality, and a reference to popular culture of the time. For the time that this album was released (1997), mobile phones were at their prime of becoming this modern day technology that everyone can have. In this sense that is what makes this cover post modern. It is selling the product of the phone along with advertising the band. This was around the same time that all the new Nokia phones were getting increasingly popular, and this therefore plays a large part in how the band are to be perceived., making them appear slightly avant-garde. Certain parts of their accessories let the fans, and audience know more about their star personas. For example one member is wearing a cross around his neck, showing he is religion. This could be simply a fashion statement, or just one of his own star motifs; however it could be telling the fans that religion plays a large part in his life. This is an example of how meaning is generated through the techniques used. The cross, signifies religion, and connotes many other parts of that member of the bands personality, also adding to their meta-narrative. The semiotics seems to play a large part in this album cover. Another example is that just the member on the far left is in black. The other three are all wearing lighter coloured shirts/jackets, whereas just one of the members has chosen to wear black. This brings connotations to mind, for example it could signify to the audience he likes to go against norms and values. He chooses to rebel against what is expected of him in a way. In a macro sense, this emphasises this ideological discourse of rebellion in society. Perhaps the band is trying to represent good and bad, with the white and black. With white, come connotations of heaven and angels, purity, innocence, whereas in contrast black has connotations with darkness and rebellion. Also this emphasises the cult of youth and rebellion. Moreover, there are also some examples of how linguistic devices have been used, mainly through the emotive language such as ‘Backstreets Back’. This brings connotations of stating a fact. To say that they’re ‘Back’ is a bold statement, perhaps signifying a comeback or return after their successful debut album. This is also anchored by the font, which gives this ‘edgy’ effect to the bands star persona.

This all adds up to how the band is represented and perceived. For example Richard Dyer said that the term ‘Star’ was a set of semi mythological meanings, containing values of stardom, such as ones that Backstreet Boys possess, e.g. youth, rebellion, sexual magnetism and success. Dyer also talks about what roles the stars play, and he says that they are commodities of the business, and stars depend on subsidiary media. He mentions ‘The star image is incoherent’ based upon two key paradoxes. The first being a star must be both ordinary and extra-ordinary and the second being the star must be both present and absent to its audience. Backstreet Boys are a great example of this, because they come across as just four ordinary boys that are present to the audience. Through their artwork on the album cover this is what they suggest, but in actual fact they are absent from their audience, and this is an example of hegemony.

This product would be sold in all major music stores and in actual fact all over the country. Certain boy bands are actually a lot more popular in other places than their home country, for example this Backstreet Boys album has proved to be very popular in Europe, Canada, and Japan. The type of institution it would be sold in would be a major chained music store because of the genre and the star persona that the band offers. Places such as HMV would be the place it would be consumed and this is evident in the way the print text is constructed, which clearly emphasises the genre, of popular music.

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JP-Deciding On a Music Track

After pitching to the class our two ideas 'JLS-umbrella' and 'Blue-where you want me' we dicided not to use these two tracks. We all continued looking for a track and in the end we all decided to use another JLS song 'Everybody in Love'. Here is a link to the song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiMMuC83EPI

JB - Music Video Analysis 1: 'Blue – One Love'

The music video for Blue’s One Love track is somewhat typical in the idea of mainstream pop genre music. The boy band displays typical characteristics throughout the video, and uses conventions that boy bands have used all through time. The music video is a performance based one and starts with a series of establishing shots on the artists, and gives the audience the location they are at. The notion of looking is used a number of times throughout the video where the artists look at the camera towards the audience. This is quite common in a boy band performance based video. There is also a link between the lyrics and the visuals as the main lyrics are ‘one love’ and the story within the video is about one girl. This is an example of illustration because of this link, and the cuts of the video also go in time with the beat of the music. The music video is really a rather conventional boy band music video combining performance and narrative, however it is post modern because of the way it is commercial and a piece of art at the same time.

Whilst using Goodwin's theory as a foundation, there are many visual techniques throughout the video, for example the way that the camera is used with a range of different angled shots. The video starts of by zooming out and than doing a jerky pan towards a long shot of the street. Then we see a number of shots like a worms eye view and a medium shot from behind them, followed by a crane shot looking down on them. This variety of shots means that the audience can grasp the location they are in. The quick paced editing anchors this camera work, by moving with the music, and also there is more post production editing with the colour wash that connotes warmth, yet a run down and dingy look. There is also a transition effect used when the artists go from the busy street to an empty one. The speed of the camera work is also affected to enhance the music. In certain points in the video we see a use of intertextuality and references to popular culture with the use of the skate boarder and the graffiti up on the walls. There is also a lot to do with dance in the video especially the way that there is someone on his own dancing in the street.

This location of an American looking street gives the audience an idea of the bands status, adding to their meta-narrative. As an English boy band this video may be representing the fact that they are making it down in America, or the fact that the band even have the money to go down to America to shoot the video shows how popular they are as a band. The second thing I noticed is that the street also looks extremely run down, and graffiti on the walls shows us how the band wants to express themselves. They have chosen the ‘real’ America, rather than the glitz and glamour of America. Mise en Scene such as the clothes they are wearing anchors the location as they are seen in tracksuits, vests, and work overalls. At a stage in the video just slightly further on the location is transformed to the freeway bridges, and we now see the band changed in more expensive clothing, however still casual. Also the band tends to wear clothes that average Brits would wear for example Duncan wears a silver chain. In this sense the band emphasise conventions to other boy band videos as they tend to cut from one story to another. We also see other conventions such as the performing and dance sequences which create a divide between the video and the performance. The overall story of the video shows a woman and what appears to be her husband, or boyfriend arguing, and this is another way in which boy bands portray themselves as the hero figure or the perfect man. They are saying that they will treat her better than her boyfriend.

A main theme in this music video is to represent the real America. Throughout we see shots of everyday Americans, mainly what appear to be working class. This reinforces dominant ideologies of working class however this video challenges those by showing them all having a good time e.g. the man dancing. At one stage in the video the boy band walks along a station platform and there are images projected against the wall of what appears to be certain people for example one is of a single mother and her son. Also throughout the location is constantly giving us clues as to the sort of place they are in through posters shop signs and the types of cars. There is one sign on a shop saying '$6 Collections' which is run down and dingy. To add to this the way in which the post production editing has worked has enabled a yellow wash and a turquoise. The turquoise could be there as a star motif, as the bands name is 'Blue' and the yellow effect creates a hot, homey feel, however also adds to the dingy effect on the streets.

This music video would be consumed on all popular music channels such as MTV, and Kiss. Audiences would most likely view this as ambient, and play it in the background whilst getting ready to go out for example. With the institutional context, the genre of the music and the type of band that blue are the record label would play a large part in promoting the texts, through advertisements and internet sites etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFGPSx6cPN0

JB - 'We Media'

'We Media' is a concept that refers to making the relationship between internet and the audience more interactive. The term means to encompass the emergence of digital, computerized, or networked information and communication technologies in the later part of the 20th century, for example networking and web 2.0. Web 2.0 is a concept that is this new age of internet. It allows people to connect with eachother and communicate, and change what is actually on the website. Examples of Web 2.0 include web-based communities, hosted services, web applications, social-networking sites, video-sharing sites, wikis, blogs, mashups and folksonomies. This is unusual, because websites used to just be information shared that is provided by the owner of the website. The term of 'Web 2.0' origionally came from the idea of O'Reilly media, associated with Tim O'Reilly. The connference in 2004 suggested that there is a new version of the World Wide Web (Web 2.0). These changes to the web were not due to technical specifications changed but the way that the consumers and end-users use the information they are given. The World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee called 'Web 2.0' 'a piece of Jargon'. Andrew McAfee used the acronym SLATES to show us typical qualities of a Web 2.0 website:

Search.
Links.
Authoring.
Tags.
Extensions.
Signals.

A common criticism of Web 2.0 is that it in fact does not represent new technologies as it uses the same foundation of Web 1.0. Thus just continuing old concepts.

Sites such as Facebook, Bebo, Myspace, You tube, and Twitter are all good examples of Web 2.0.
These are extremely helpful to people for a number of reasons including sharing photographs, and music. It also allows people to set up groups in which invites to certain events can be given out. The idea of sharing music has helped an awful lot of young, aspiring artists and bands, who may be discovered through my space or youtube. They are able to set up a band on these sites and invite fans to join them therefore making them more known.

Why are music videos Postmodern?

In televsion, there are two main types of broadcasting. these two types are, information, (i.e documentaries and the News) and Entertainment ( i.e Soaps, Dramas and comedies). Music videos are not directly either of these. they are are usually a 3 or 4 minute clip of either performace based, concept based, or narritive based, products which run on music channels made especially to play these videos. Music videos in this sense are revolutionary, because they intertwine two types of broadcasting (entertainment and advertising) , to benefit the music artist or product. So, they could be concieved as postmodern because of the fact that they advertise, and promote their music to sell. we, as focused or ambient viewers, don't tend to realise, but in reality what we are doing, is watching music videos and becoming attracted to the songs themself subconsciously, resulting in purchasing the song or even multiple songs from the same artist. Of course the better and more asthetically pleasing the video is, the more open to repeatibiltiy it is, leading to additional viewing of the video, and more likeabiltity. so ulitimately Music videos are postmodern because they advertise artists music.

JB - How Do Audiences Consume Music Videos? (Emap)

According to Emap's research there are two types of audience consumption when it comes to music videos. These two are passive and active, otherwise known as Ambient and Focused. This type of television is unique because of the way in which it creates unique relationships between the artists and the audience. The video acts as a carrier of ideas for the consumer.

Focused viewing is for an attentive audience, and there is a deep relationship with the consumer. Ambient is used for less surfing and as an audio background - this type of viewing has a mass appeal, as it is secondary consumption.

The research Emap carried out was seen to be unique because of the way it created a relationship with the audience and acted as a carrier of ideas. Music television is seen as a new TV territory that gives unique modes of Television consumption. It is shown in Emap's research that 91% of 16-34 year olds watch music television in ambient viewing because they don't have anything else to do. They watch it because they can be less patient so rather than watching the adverts on other channels they watch music video television. This is clever and what makes music videos post-modern. Also ambient viewers use television as a non-stop party type music, for before they go out or as background music. Otherwise ambient viewing can be seen a type of music to fit the mood of the audience.They are fun to watch, and also advertise the product and the artist. Focused viewing of music television is largley attributed to the most recent up to date tracks. The graph on Emap's research shows this as 71% of focused viewers.

There is also Communal and Solo viewing in music television. Some examples of when communal viewing would take place is with friends before and after going out (ambient), at the work place (ambient) and watching cheesy favourites (focused), and learning dance routines (focused). For Solo viewing, listening to the TV instead of the radio (ambient), multimedia sharing (ambient) and video hunting (focused), or watching videos in conjunction with a youth magazine for example 'Q' one of Emaps magazine (focused).

'Social Currency' can be described as a 'community experienced in the home', watched by members, voyeurs, and tomorrows market, and as a source of ideas for viewers such as clothes and style as well as news and gossip. It may be considered post modern as it has an effect on peoples clothing, knowledge and social awareness. Music Television can be seen as exploratory as it creates zones that everyone can explore with a club entry with no door policy. you can discover new music as well as gaining inspiration and stimmulation.

Responding to a Track

1. The song that I have decided to chose is by ‘The Script’ and the song is called ‘fall for anything’.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBZ0BuTOx0M&feature=related

2. The genre for this track falls clearly under that of Indie/ pop rock, you are able to tell this because of the style of music and certain iconic traits which you would associate with this genre. For example, the types of clothes the band members wear (leather jacket etc).

3. The song that I have chosen is more LO FI rather than HI FI. Most of ‘The Script’s’ songs have limited special effects and have a simple format throughout. For example in the video for the song ‘the man who can’t be moved’ by the script, it is very straight forward with the lead singer walking down a normal every day street expressing his feelings in a song.

4. Other songs which may compare to The Scripts style of music are bands like ‘The Fray’. They both put emotion into their lyrics and express a lot of meaning behind them which is appealing to people who enjoy this type of music. These two well known bands fall into the same genre of indie/pop rock.

5. If we were to use this particular song to create a music video around, the following ideas will be used.

In the video we will try to involve each member in the group. We will try to keep the same LO FI style that ‘The Script’ usually stick to but also add in our own twists and creative flair to make the video unique.


6. To maximize the success of our music video we will try to explore different locations which will enhance the final outcome of our video and make it unique and of a high standard. Places such as London will be good to shoot some of our scenes at because of the city surroundings and iconic monuments which audiences may recognise.

7. We will try to include everyone in our video but however if we only need 1 or 2 characters we will do so, instead of throwing in too many people which will make the video outcome look amateur. Our aim as a group is to make the video as stylish as possible and as professional as it can be. We will only use characters when needed and not throw in people just for the sake of it.

JB - Response to a track: 'Jamie T ft. Lilly Allen - Rawhide'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1_u8DSEf80
The genre of the music track I have chosen is a very British style rap/indie. I can tell this because of the style of backing track and voice of the artist.
The track definitely would represent a lo-fi video because of the genre that it is. The true British feel to match the genre would need to be shown in the grainy, real life video it should have. The video would be shot on a low budget possibly in a way that makes it look like a home video, much like in the video for Sheila.
I could compare this to songs that Jamie T has done before such Sticks ‘n’ Stones and Sheila. I could also look at examples from Lilly Allen as she is a featured artist on the track.
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This track would initially start with a shot of someone running down the street. Much like in the film Trainspotting, at the beginning where we just see the legs. The video shall be cutting forward and back through different times of the overall story plot. In the track the lyrics in the chorus are;

“gonna get to the post officewalk in the door look at the shopkeepersay "hello sonny, where's your poppy?and how much money does he keep in his locky?”

Because of this, the whole plot to the video will be about a youth robbing a post office as that is the way in which I would initially interpret the song. The first shot of the youth running down the street will be when he’s running away from the post office. Cutting backwards and forwards from the post office with the actual robbery and the running, will then take us to the next series of shots of a group of the youth and his friends in a car on the motorway. They are laughing with adrenaline because they are now getting away from the robbery. This matches lyrics in the song such as “cause they're leaving five bout minutes in the car” and “well oh I say same time, time is moving fast and motorways they fly by satellite towns of the M25”
These shots of the motorway will be edited and the speed shall be changed to give a very ‘rushed’ feel. Throughout the video different shots of the motorway, post office and running scene will be mixed around, and towards the end of the video, for the last chorus the whole of the plot will be played in a backwards order really fast, as if it is rewinding itself. The end will be the youth walking down the street making the decision not to go into the post office.
The first location would be the street with the post office. Any town would do but preferably a more urban style which isn’t so busy. Second location would be the M25, in a car.
As the video is not a performance based video, grain of voice would not be an issue. We would involve the group in the whole of the video.
There would be numerous post production effects to do with changing speed and direction of the film.
To help with this production we would need to gain permission from a post office, or shop counter to use their shop as a suitable filming location. Other than this we would be fine as all three members of our group can drive.

Katie Vogel...response to track

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HVCOlAt1P0


The genre of this song would be very upbeat, soul / pop. The song is Very catchy and the instruments used are the types that are usually associated with these genres. If shot, he video for this song would be a Lo-fi video, because the artist is not signed to a record label as of yet, furthermore it is more retro than the modern day pop music like Britney spears. And would suit a more basic video avoiding voyeuristic representation of women because the song has more of a concept than just a song including sexual connotations meaning the video would be deeper in meaning. I think the types of videos that would be comparable to this track would come from such artists as Amy Winehouse, as she produces music of the same genre, which is very upbeat, cheerful and catchy. ‘Rehab’ for example, could be compared to this track. In the video to this track I think, obviously the main character would be the female singer, as she is singing about the fact that she does not want to love this certain man. This is quite a harsh concept to sing about.

"Wanted me to stay, but I didn’t wanna. Begged on me to stay, no I didn’t wanna"
"sorry, you aint ever gonna get me".

These lyrics indicate that the personality she is taking on in the song, is of an inconsiderate woman, who is very blunt about the fact that the love for her, is unrequited. Therefore in the video there could be all sorts of scenes that show this attitude. Maybe her cheating on this man or just using him for his money for example. These ideas would reinforce what she is singing about. There are numerous predicaments which could relate to what she is singing about through the song. At a flat, a home environment, the couple could be having an argument. Or down a high street the female vocalist could be singing whilst shopping with his credit card. The main character would be the female vocalist, who acts as a vindictive female who is Inconsiderate and nasty toward her innocent other half. Because of the genre and the type of song, I think there are very few suitable effects that could be used, post-filming. Because this video would be lo-fi, it would only need a director, film crew and a cast to play the background parts throughout the video.