My group and I explained our music video idea to the class so we could get back some opinions and ideas to help us to make a start on our music video.
This included:
Using a green screen to so that we can make items around the singer move fast, or we could film him preforming at a very slow place and then speed it up when we edit it.
We could add a gold glow around him and also use black and gold props in the video to go with the song name - black and gold.
To create different situations and environments throughout and use different clothing - for example using a suit and casual clothes.
The different situations and environments we were going to use included in town, at a park, in him house and at a train station.
The second album cover that I am analysing is "The Script - Science & Faith" I chose to analyse this album cover also as their songs are about relationships which is similar to what our products music is going to sound like.
This CD cover uses a sepia effect with two people holding hands which portrays that this album music is going to related to relationships and "staying strong." Both the main image and the background is in a sepia effect however the main image is darker which grabs the audiences attention when they see the album cover. As the "The Script" and their album name "Science & faith" is the only thing in a different colour this also stands out from the other image to show who's album it is and they have used their trademark font name on "The Script" which they have used on every album.
To the left is an image of the back cover of the album. There are many similarities between the front of the back as they have used the same sepia effect background and there is the same pair of hands again except in a different position. By using a pair of hands and nothing else this leaves the album being mysterious and makes the audience want to find out more about it and why those hands have been used. They have used the same font they used for the album name on the front as for the song names on the back which is a recurring factor of music albums I have noticed whilst analysing.
As well as analysing a music video for our planning and research we have to analyse an album cover. To the right is the album cover that I chose to analyse as it is similar to what our final album cover could look like. In this album cover the picture has used different effects to grab the audiences attention. They have used a sepia effect which makes the writing "Paolo Nutini" stand out from the rest of the picture and it also has a blurred effect with the only things not being blurred is himself, his name and the name of the song. The lack of eye contact he is making portrays a sense of mysteriousness and leaves the audience wanting to know more as by such a simple album cover he is not showing anything about what his album might be about which leaves it open to be listened to by many difference target audiences.
To the left is the back of Paolo's album cover. There are many similarities that have been used on the front and the back which is seen as a trademark for Paolo Nutini so people will recognise his name as soon as they see it. Firstly the font of his name is in the same place on both the front and the back of the album, the font gives a lot away about his type of music as it is not ridged at all and has a relaxed look about it which suggests that his music will be the same. The same font has also been used for his album name on the front cover an the song list on the back showing that it is continuous throughout. The 4 colours that were used in his front cover that stood out from the sepia effect (white, yellow, orange and red) have also been used on the back in the same order which is also another continuous factor throughout his album cover.
The second video that I am analysing is "The Script - For the first time" - the storyline in the video is preformed by two people who are in love whilst The Script portray this relationship with the song lyrics. The video displays the relationship of two people who have had to move away and have slowly fallen out of love with each other so they start from the beginning and start doing things to make them both fall back in love with each other again. Throughout the video the visuals and the lyrics link together which is done so you can really understand what the song is trying to portray. An example of this is when the lyrics are "sit talking up all night saying things that we hadn't for a while" whilst the visuals show the two of them sitting together, falling back in love. By doing this it helps the audience relate to this situation and think of a time when they've fallen out of love with somebody. The camera movements change from The Script singing the song and the two actors acting it out but The Script do not play an actual part in the video storyline. Even though the lyrics are said from a males point of view the video is set from the girlfriends perspective - we see her talking to her family, taking pictures ect. This is also done so that both sexes can relate to the video, males to the lyrics and girls to the video. There are many different camera angels used to portray The Script and the actors and to display their emotions and feelings to the situation happing. Whilst the group are performing there is mostly close ups of their faces to show if it is a happy or sad time in the video. There is low angle shots of the city to show how big it it compared to a small Ireland suggesting that she feels lost here. There are shots that have a blurred effect on them and have used a point of view camera angle as this is showing the feelings and visuals from the girls point of view. There is also shots of the male actor looking for a job which is reflected in the lyrics as well "got a new job now in the unemployment line." The fast paced video, which reflects how different their lives are from where they lived before, contrasts to The Scripts persona in the video as they are very laid back and the song is also very laid back As the video tells a storyline of a love story between two people this makes the audience very engaged and want to know what the ending is going to be.
In this video all the connotations that you would expect to see in a music video have been used but also many different camera shots and effects have been used which shows the audience difference feelings that are being portrayed in the video.
This music video doesn't only have one narrative throughout but it has many which portrays the view that everyone has problems in their life and nobody is on their own. There is narratives of a small girl walking out of the hospital, a women giving birth, a man being bullied, a man sharing his sexuality and a women not caring about what she looks like. All of these portray the message across that you should be comfertable with who you are and not embarrassed. None of these are completed but happen within the video and this is done so people can relate to her lyrics/video. Katy Perry also is involved within the video's story which keeps people hooked and as she is such a big role model people are more likely to follow through with the message that is being told.
The visuals used in the music video, which include a women giving birth, a man being bulled, and a women who is insecure about her weight, does not follow through with what Katy Perry is singing about however as the overall message of the video is to be "comfortable" which who you are these visuals follow through with situations that the audience watching can relate too. The visuals which do however follow through are the fireworks that shown once she sings the chorus. Throughout the video there are tracking shots of Katy as she walks down the street whilst all these events are happening which makes her seem a part of the story. The camera shots that are used give a representation of how each person may be feeling for example when they are feeling down there is a high angle shot to show that they are feeling insecure however once they become confident their is a lot of low angle shots which show that they are feeling above everybody else now.
Whilst Katy Perry is walking down the street she is lip syncing to the song which makes her both part of the narrative and the visuals as she is part of the story line throughout the video. Compared to her normal self Katy Perry is very different in this music video as she had "toned" herself down so she is able to portray the message in the video that she wants, she wears very light coloured outfits throughout the video which has been done so that the audience is not side tracked from the other storylines throughout the video. During the video fast pacing is used as the music is very fast paced and a lot of things is happening throughout the music video and lots of different situations are being shown. By showing different parts of the story throughout the music video this allows the audience to not lose attention as they want to find out the end result.
The conventions of a music video include: narrative, performance, visuals, lip sync, star persona and editing.
Narrative and performance
- Artists acts both the narrator and a participant in the narrative
- Use lots of close up of the perfume
- They shoot the same video numerous times.
Star persona
- How they act in the video
- The outfits they wear
- Their personality
- Their behavior
Editing
- Face cut montage style
- Cuts between close ups and the narrative
- Camera shots move in time with the music
- Lip sync is in time
- Can use transitions but not too many
Andrew Goodwin
- Identified a relationship between music and visuals
- Illustrating
- Contradictions - visuals don't match
- Amplifying - gets louder and bigger.
Charlene Kaye ft Darren Criss - Dress & Tie - Original Music Video
*NEED TO ADD MUSIC VIDEO ONTO HERE FROM YOUTUBE*
As part of our task to create a music video we also had to make a practice music video. The video we included a lot of close up and as we only used a few different scenes it was fairly simple to make, however once it came to editing we found that the clips different flow well and the lip syncing could have been a lot better which showed to us what certain parts we need to focus on more.
Me and other members of my group decided that for our A2 coursework we are going to create an indie/pop music video. By doing this we will also have to create a a promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video and two of the following: - a website homepage for the band - a digipak for the album’s release - a magazine advertisement for the digipak
