This project came about when Channel 4 commissioned it back in 2005. This website is 'the home of UK youth research'it explores a wide variety of all the social groups that youths nowadays are apart of such as hipsters, chavs and ravers. It gives information about them (how to spot/differentiate them), their alternate names, tribe icons, the brands they wear, the different types of media they absorb and how much of each type. Currently they have discovered 25 different tribes by creating a 'Find Your Tribe' survey where there were over 50,000 respondents in 2006.
UK Tribes consists of 5 main headings which youths are then categorised into sub-categories. I am only going to focus on 3 main headings as these are the ones of which are most appropriate to my target audience:
Mainstream: These people belong to the target audience because Ellie Goulding's songs are often in the charts. In particular I am focusing on the townies and casuals as these are the people who have a diverse music taste with no particular hobby i.e. sports. Aspirant mainstream: As this group is an extension of the mainstream group therefore the interests and music taste will be similar. Urban: the DIYers as they listen to a wide range of music which means they will be open to a slower track such as your song by Ellie Goulding.
The clothing in music videos tend to be different between male and female as the males seem to be dressed more relaxed and casual whereas women wear more extravagant outfits which would be seen at a club. The casual wear can be seen through the wear of casual tees, but sometimes they wear more smarter outfits, for example the suits worn by Justin Timberlake and Robin Thicke in the pictures above. The outfits worn by women are more classy than others, with Miley Cyrus wearing a netted top which reveals all, in contrast Katy Perry is wearing a longer elegant dress.
Clothing within indie music videos seems to have a darker colour palette than there is within the pop genre. The indie look that people go for is shown in these music videos. The middle picture in the bottom (Paramore) seems to go against the conventional clothing in alternative music videos as it bright and colourful.
A white suits seems to be a favourite for the males along with the topless look which enables them to show off their bodies which attract all the women which surround them within the music video. Women are seen wearing outfits which also show their body off, in particular their bare midriff.
Music channels provide the platform the music video's that are produced to be aired almost as if it is a showcase of their coming up album to a targeted audience. Major music channels in the UK consist of 4 Music, MTV, Viva and Kiss which can all be found on either free view or cable channels.
Online you also have the YouTube phenomenon which consists of music video channels as well as upcoming Vevo channel.
I have analysed four digipaks from different genres, 'This is it' by Michael Jackson, 'Talk That Talk' by Rihanna, 'Christmas Peace' by Elvis and The Paul Weller Live at the Royal Albert Hall. I have commented on the layout, size, fonts, colour scheme and content. I done this because I wanted to see if I could see any conventional aspects of digipaks which will be useful as it will please the target audience.
I looked on amazon.co.uk and play.com to see the prices of digipak and jewel case editions of CDs. Price of digipaks compared with jewel cases:
A record label is arguably the main reasons why artists such as Katy Perry, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake are so successful and perhaps without them they would not have had the same achievement as the institutional imput to the branding of the artists is aimed to drive sales. The record label provides artists with effective guidance marketing them to their correct niche but provides them with funds to make their musical career but also equally can destroy their career.
The Relationship between Artists and The Record Label
How Do Record Labels Make Their Money?
Why are CD's so expensive to make considering manufacturing is low? This is because of all the background work which goes into making it but also creating enough excess that the label can make a profit!
Artist royalties and Songwriter royalties which are usage based payments to a licensor to generate an on going asset which can either be done at a fixed price or by percentage of gross. A royalty interest is the right to collect a stream of future royalty payment which is often used within music industries describing a percentage of ownership.
Costs of recording the album - Recording studio fees, studio musicians, sound engineers, producers, etc. which can totally range depending on technology and expertise. This process of generating money is rapidly changing with easy internet distribution during the digital age.
Marketing and promotion costs - Video clips, public relations, tour support, marketing campaigns, promotion to get the songs played on the radio, etc can be very costly which often results to artists having to pull media stunts for example Rihanna getting the tube to her concert in order to promote it as it received a lot of press attention.
Design costs - CD insert, promotional materials (posters, store displays, music videos) which is vital to all promote the video alongside marketing as it provides a media platform for the lyrics to be presented and developed.
Concert tours also generate the profit via ticket sales depending on how many are sold, if they are big arena tours and how much crew and set equates to.
Why Are Music Videos Important To The Label?
Music labels spend so much time and money on music videos as it provide a platform for branding of the artist, enhances the music and promotes the song all in aim to drive sales. For example Madonna created some of the most expensive music videos of all time and her notorious movement and costumes within the music video sparked interest within the audience creating publicity. This led to a jump in sales of her records which led to their success therefore making more money for the label. (most expensive music videos ever made table is on the left).
Music videos aim to be edgy and shock for example
Miley Cyrus's new music video 'Wrecking Ball' is a move away from her disney character Hannah Montana as we see her naked and her sexualised behaviour led to her video being one of the most watched on youtube and her song moving up within the charts hitting number one on the US billboard hot spot list, number one in Canadian hot 100 and number one in UK official single charts along with much success throughout the rest of Europe.
The Future of Music Labels
Record labels are suffering as the largest capitals failing to make enough profit. Distribution is slowing down as selling recorded music and investing profits into the development of new talent slowly decreasing. Global music sales have been contracting for over a decade falling from $27.8 billion in 2000 to $16.5 billion in 2012 conveying that their is less funding for new artists especially when it is such a risk investment as some labels report the fail rate has improved to eight out of ten but traditionally nine out of ten artists do not generate a positive return on investment.
Labels are imply that they are now just an investment bank that become involved within product development, distribution and marketing services for their client which is hitting a 80% chance of a capital lost many labels are becoming more reluctant to sign up and coming artists.
The name of the song and the lyrics both do not have anything to do with the culture that is explored in the video. Funnily enough the only place that the lyrics mentions is Ibiza although the video is set in Trinidad.
Minaj has used this upbeat song to make it go with the upbeat nature of the Trinidadian carnival. The dancing and the view of the people having a good time brings about a happy message from the exciting song.
Minaj pays a tribute to her culture from the off start of the song as it starts with a steelpan version of the song, the dancers are in Trinidadian carnival attire.Minaj preforms with Tribagonian artists: Machel Montano, Bunji Garlin and Fay-Ann Lyons. Whilst wearing a Trinidadian flag designed bandana around her mouth she stands with her Trinidadian cousins.
This song topped the US Hot Dance Club Songs as well as peaking at number 15 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and at number 14 on the US Pop Songs.
Black Eyed Peas - Where is the love
This song is very influential on its own but when it is combined with the video, the visuals help shape the message that is trying to be conveyed. The lyrics are very strong and pull on people's heart strings in the hope that they will think through their actions before following through with them. Serious issues such as murders, terrorism, racism and war are covered within this song. These are covered by these lyrics: 'we try to stop terrorism but we still got terrorists here living' - 'if you only have love for your own race then you only leave space to discriminate' - 'nations droppin' bombs chemical gasses fillin' lungs of little ones' This is a more interesting way to address the issues as the younger generation are more likely to listen to music rather than watch the news. The music has incorporated the news to make more people listen, it seems to target young people due to the rapping nature of the song.
The song became the biggest selling single of 2003 and the 25th best-selling single of the 2000s in the UK.
AMIE:
To ensure my music video would appear authentic among professional videos within the industry I have spent plenty of hours looking at music videos through Youtube and iTunes I have now collected an array of influential ideas. This has allowed me develop my own stylistic tastes. Some of the intriguing music videos that I have found have all had components which have really caught my eye and I have discussed a few below. I found that many music videos despite aiming to be individual and creating its own sense of style all have similar techniques behind them for example the use of extreme close up's to highlight expression. Many ideas that I have come up with have been influenced by the music videos I have seen which could contribute into my product having the same professional look. Rather than looking at a whole 3 minute video I have taken snippets of parts that I like and have discussed them beside it but also have taken a few screen shots to try and recreate the scene with my own twists.
Influences- This video clearly runs with a strong theme throughout and it's influences were The Great Gatsby and then it is obvious to see that all their ideas have run off that. This could be a way that Ruby and I can creatively plan for our music video if we take influence from a theme of something that way we can both come up with more concrete and valued ideas.
Effects-The effect throughout the video also compliment the era the video is supposed to be set in as they have made it look glowing and vintage. I also really like the sillouette look within the music video as you can see the orchestra playing I just think that it's very unique as I have not seen it before. Style- What stands out in this music video to me is the very recognizable style of it. The 1920's art deco look is carried out throughout the entire video which co-insides with the movie it was made for- The Great Gatsby. All components of the music video from make up and costumes to genre makes the video it's own and as the audience you can feel that. Although my music video will not have the art deco look I admire the consistency of the video throughout it makes it a really bold piece and if I could get close to that within my music video then it would almost look as if it could exsist within the real world of music videos.
Influences- The approach of a dark story line has really made this music video and achieve nearly 70,000,000 hits on youtube. Although it does not directly co inside with the lyrics it does really compliment them and give them meaning by what the story of the visual images bring to the audience. Despite that this is not the sort of story line I wish to take up this video is a shining example of the relationship which must be developed within the lyrics and visuals to reach out to the audience.
Effects & Style- For some reason I am obsessed with the black and white effect as I think it looks so classy and gives a bold to certain images like her heavy eyes for example. I think this effect will work on my music video although it could destroy the brightness and vibrance of Camden Town and Brick Lane which is something that will contribute to the stylistic look of our music video although this effect could be considered for the ancillary tasks.
Influences- Chase and Status is one of the most strongest narratives I have ever seen within a music video it also includes performances alongside Delilah. It is one of the most out there videos I have seen which is actually allowed to be shown on youtube. It follows the story of a family where the mother suffers domestic abuse from the father and how it slowly effects them all. The fast past of the music and the shots really creates a strong relationship with the lyrics becoming really emotional attracting the audience even more which is something I would love to create within my own music video- raw emotion.
Effects-The performance throughout this video is a lot more interesting than most. You can see Delilah singing infront of a window with raining running down it. I think this is a really interesting concept and is a bit more original than someone just singing. Ruby and I have been struggling to come up with a performance setting maybe looking at videos like this will help us come up with a more interesting concept so our music video if put in the real multi media world would appeal more interesting to its audience.
Style- The style of the music video follows a family on their struggle with an alcoholic father and we watch graphic scenes of the mother suffering abuse. The style follows following the family around its normal surrounding especially of the house but does not have a specific out going style as the narrative is so strong it does not need a outgoing style to make interesting as the power of the plot does that by itself.
I want my video to look like it could easily be apart of the mass array of professional music videos that are already out their in the industry so to make sure of this I looked at a few of my favourite music videos to develop my own taste and find out what I like to conform to my own style although it would have influenced by others. The music video I have looked will be broken down just to document what I find inspirational as it could be implemented into my own music videos. At the beginning of the course I just began watching tones of music videos and the ones that stick out in my mind are predominantly indie and has a very unique and edgy style yet could be considered simplistic at the same time. The song Ruby and I have chosen screams indie so it would only be practical that I found influence from these videos which I have already looked at to ensure that it would convey to the expectations that a real music video has.
Throughout
Minaj's career as well as having a successful music career she served
as a judge on American Idol in 2012. She has famously endorsed Adidas,
MAC Cosmetics and Pepsi. In the film department Minaj worked as a voice
actress in Ice Age: Continental Drift in 2011 and is making her acting debut in the 2014 film The Other Woman.
With all these achievements, this leaves Minaj selling over 5 million albums globally.
Amie: I chose to track Jessie J throughout her career as her quick succession has been a phenomenon As she showed signs of her further in the entertainment business her dreams are sure to have come to true. Her funky edge sets her apart from many other artists making her a distinctive individual or does her music videos...?
It has hit the attention of the press that Jessie J and Robin Thicke have been seen on the set of their new music video which was circulated after pictures were posted on twitter. The duet is set to be called 'Calling All Hearts' and it has also been confirmed that Jessie will be touring with him. The pairs collaboration has caused great speculation due to Robin Thicke's usual style with half naked girls in his video like in 'Blurred Lines' and the VMA's twerking incident with Miley Cyrus. However MTV have reported that Jessie J has refused to bare flesh and will not be going naked. Jessie told The Sun 'No boobs. Not doing that. Even though Robin is really cool and I was thrilled he wanted duet with me" and continued to say that "I'll be getting paid a lot of money if they want me to dance around like the girls in the Blurred Lines video". However it goes to show how much the video can sometimes over take the interest of the music and perhaps in the generation of close media attention perhaps the videos are more important than the lyrics.
"Can't Fight the Moonlight" was recorded by country pop singer LeAnn Rimes and was featured on the soundtrack of the film Coyote Ugly as well as in the film and known as the theme of the film (as shown by the album cover).
- It was released as a single on August 22nd 2000 after the film was released on July 31st 2000.
- The song became number one in eight countries including the UK and Australia where it was the best-selling single of 2001.
- Below is a clip of the song being sung in film were some of the lyrics are slightly different from those on the soundtrack. Rime's actually sings both parts of the duet as the character of Piper Perabo has had her part previously recorded by Rimes but the vocals were altered in their pitch and vocal range.
- The music video for the song was released in 2000 and featured clips taken from the film with Rimes preforming at the "Coyote Ugly" bar. A short clip from the performance in the film by Perabo is featured.
The beginning of the music video immediately gives information about the song:
The intertextuality (visual reference to films) is shown by the fact that Rimes preforms in only one setting and that setting is the Coyote Ugly bar. The internal setting is established within the first 5 seconds of the music video:
As well as sticking to one setting, Rimes only wears one outfit for the duration of the music video. The outfit consists of a halter neck top and stripy trousers. The top is sexy as it is revealing and the tight trousers show off her figure:
The intertextuality is continued throughout the music video where there are frequent clips from the film included:
This video shows how the movement of Rimes body along with the cut clips have been edited so that they flow with the beat of the music. It then goes onto explaining how Rime's uses her hand to show the sun going down with links to the lyrics. In addition, when the lyrics 'deep in the dark' are sung the shot goes to an external shot which consists of darkness; this highlights the literal meaning of moonlight but there is also artificial lighting. Rimes is involved in the film by the use of characters from the film being in the crowd watching Rimes. From watching this video it is noticeable that Rimes is always singing, she doesn't talk, the whole time she preforms/sings. As well as Rimes's performance taking place in one setting, it also only takes place on top of the bar, even when she swings around the pole she is still higher than the crowd suggesting her dominance and authority. Rimes is framed in the centre as she is the most central person in this video.
In this video I have explored the camera angles (which are used to make the video interesting) and Rimes herself along with the performance (which the crowd are enjoying therefore creating a positive atmosphere). The dancers in the performance have their bare midriffs on show which lets them show off their body and to be viewed as sexually attractive. The use of water is also a way of making them sexually attractive as their bodies shine. During the dancing fast pace editing is used which flows with the chorus and the music that goes with it. The faster pace allows for more shots to be shown during the quick cuts. There isauthenticity for the shots of the monument bridge 'Brooklyn Bridge'.
Music theories give an insight to the purpose and reception of music videos by its audience. Different theorists have put across different ideas on typical conventions and elements within a music video.
The theorists that I have explored within this task is Andrew Goodwin and Bordwell & Thompson.
Andrew Goodwin: Bordwell & Thompson (2001):
Researching
into forms and conventions is vital to ensure that you understand the
components which make up a video as we want it to fit in the real media
world so we have focused on how the music videos are presented by the
artist and the institution following Andrew Goodwin's theory which has
almost been our bible in understanding what really does make a music
video! Looking into the different areas which make up a music video
already kicked up conversation of creative ideas and how it could be
implements within our own music video but with our own unique spin!
Ruby:
I compared the length of music videos and the camera angles used within the alternative and pop genre:
Here is a list of popular bands/artists which fit into the alternative genre:
Florence and the Machine
Two Door Cinema Club
Imagine Dragons
Kings of Leon
Lana Del Rey
Jake Bugg
The 1975
Coldplay
I researched into the length of music videos and the camera angles that are used within the alternative genre.
Firstly, I looked at the Artic Monkeys where I found 6 official music videos on their Vevo YouTube page.The music videos were 3:01, 3:23, 3:36, 3:45 and 4:26 in length; this shows a wide range in the lengths with these lengths it is assumed that because that is the conventional length of a song that there will be no introductions/conclusions or added speech throughout. I looked at their song 'R U Mine?' which has the most views on YouTube which perhaps insinuates that it is their most popular song. Despite the video being 3:45 in length, surprisingly there is a 23 introduction to the song in the form of a radio DJ. As well as this there is also a 2 second period whereby the music has finished and there is a shot of the DJ. This video consists of mainly hand held shots such as when there is a long shot of a man playing air guitar and when the audience is shown around the inside of the car and the people inside. The hand held camera is brought into the live performance where the camera moves towards different members of the band to make the audience feel closer. There is also use of a steady cam when there is a two shot of two people in the car.
Secondly, I looked at Bastille where I found 5 official music videos on their Vevo YouTube page. The music videos were 3:22, 3:34, 3:41, 3:53 and 4:21 in length. I watched the most viewed video which is 'Pompeii' and found that although the song is 3:53 in length, there are 17 seconds at the beginning before the music starts and there is 7 seconds of nothing after the music finishes. I found that with each location there was an establishing shot which made it clear to see where the scenes were set. Along with this there was a wide range of other shots frequently used such as tracking, close up and over the shoulder. Most of the footage was filmed hand held which creates a shaky effect which worked well when the man was running away from danger. Thirdly, I looked at Alt J where I found 4 official music videos on their Altjband YouTube channel. The music videos were 3:09, 3:42, 3:47 and 3:49 in length. I watched the most viewed video which is 'Breezeblocks' and found that although the song is 3:47 in length and the music starts straight away, there are 3 seconds of silence at the end. The video is in reverse which is different to the majority of videos, there is the use of a close up on certain aspects, a two shot used between the two characters in the video and a large use of a steady cam.
Overall, from viewing these three music videos, it was found that the length of the music videos vary from 3:01 to 4:26 minutes with most videos fitting into the 3 minute section. This indicates that the whole video consists practically of every second being the length of the song as traditionally songs are 3-4 minutes in length. The conventional camera angles are usually taken on a tripod, the most used shots is the two shot, this may be due to the videos being of bands therefore two of the members could be shown at once. In some videos a particular angle is favored such as the establishing shot and tracking shots in the Bastille video.
Here is a list of popular bands/artists which fit into the pop genre:
One Direction
Justin Bieber
Miley Cyrus
Robin Thicke
Katy Perry
Lady Gaga
Rihanna
I researched into the length of music videos and the camera angles that are used within the pop genre.
On the BritneySpearsVevo Youtube channel there are over 70 videos uploaded with not all being official music videos. I looked at the most recently uploaded videos where I found the lengths to be 3:55, 5:23, 3:10, 4:34 and 3:57. I watched the 'Piece of Me' video which has 9,344,221 views after being uploaded two years ago. The music video wastes no time and has the whole 3:10 being filled with music rather than a silent start or finish or talking. The close up is used quite a lot in order to show both Britney's face where she lip syncs and for focus on specific parts of her body. The use of low and high angle shots are used when the group of girls are walking down the stairs. There are also many medium and long shots used when Britney dances in the studio, these are combined together by the use of cuts.
I checked out the JessieJ Vevo channel on YouTube where the most recent videos consisted of 3:52, 4:48, 4:01, 3:43 and 3:55 in length. I watched the 'Wild' video where the music does not start until 48 seconds, before this the camera follows Jessie whilst she walks through the studio until she reaches her set. The music video also finishes as 4:34 despite being 4:48 minutes long, the rest of the time is used to show the record label. She is filmed from all angles, with a 180o view of her in a medium shot as the camera moves around her body. As always there is use of long shots and close ups, some of which were filmed from diagonal angles in order to frame her from all angles. There is use of side views, zooms into her face and a quick pan between the three artists. The two featuring artists (Big Sean and Dizzee Rascal) are mostly filmed with the simple long and medium shots.
Ellie Goulding's sound consists of more indie pop rather than just pop alone, however as a successful artists frequently on the charts I decided she was suitable artist to research. The most recent uploaded official videos consisted of being 3:59, 4:01, 4:04, 3:28 and 4:18 long. I watched 'Figure 8' which is 4:04 minutes long although the music starts straight away it ends 4 seconds before the video ends. The video opens with an establishing shot of the house where it is set, it starts blurry but then with the use of a focus pull the bed becomes the main attraction, this is important because later on in the video Goulding is floating above the bed which is where a long shot of her body is captured. There is a slow track of Goulding's feet and lower legs as she walks and it is filmed upside down at first but then it flips up to the right way. An aerial shot is used when showing her laying in her bed, there is use of a quick pan going up her body. Fast cuts of shots become apparent whilst a long note is being sung, a low angle shot becomes symbolic of her desperation which is also shown by her emotion. As in the majority of music videos the stand medium shots and close ups are used. To end the video the music and the music video ends 4 seconds early and these 4 seconds are used to advertise 'Polydor 2012'.
Overall, from these 3 videos the length is hard to be conventional as they range from 3:10 to 5:23 minutes long. However, the average seems to be within the 3-4 minute range; as this is the usual length of a song this means there are no breaks in order for speech to be heard. In the Britney Spears 'Criminal' video as it is 5:23 minutes long, it is assumed that there will be some action included whilst the song is not playing. This is true as the first 1:24 consists of drama, then the song is played until 5:07 minutes in, here it then stops and goes onto the credits until the final 2 seconds are used as a black screen.
The conventional camera angles for all videos are medium shots and close ups which are used widely within these three videos. Close ups are used to convey emotion or to focus on something important. Low angle shots are a popular choice as they can be used to make the character look weak and dominated.
