Conventional music video

The conventional music video that I have chosen to analyse is 'When we collide - By Matt Cardle'.
I have chosen this video as it is a typical video that shows all of the conventions of a pop video.

At the start of the video it shows the artist by himself with his guitar playing in an open studio, this occurs a lot in pop videos. A typical pop video would usually have the solo artist or band playing there instruments. This is will be somethig that I will include in my video as it will allow me to get the focus on the main character in the video, it will also be a good way of using a range of camera angles without it looking to jumpy. Also in the video it has clips of him walking around by himself in different locations while singing. This is another typical thing to see in a pop genre music video.

The main conventions in a pop video are firstly the camera angles and movements, the camera angles are usually long shots or close ups and also lip synching. These camera angles are used a lot in Matt Cardles music video as it wants to focus on him as a solo artist showing that he is the main purpopse of the video. This video holds a storyline of matt cardles life, it shows him progressing through life and how he became a professional singer through the X factor. These camera angles thenm work well with this video. The camera movements are typically pan shots, crane shots, tracking shots and tilt shots. The movement is important especially when filming the artist or the band playing there instruments, you usually want to get a 360 degreee angle of them so you get all angles of them. In the editing of the video it shows jump cut shots which are also common in pop songs as it jumps from the solo artist or band playing to a video that they have created usually telling a story line.

The next part that is a typical convention in this video is the lighting. The lighting is almost always artificial lighting in a music video as they like to make the focus stay on a particular person or group as it makes them look better for example it will make them look younger. It is almost like a virtual make up.


Another common convention shown in this video is the outfit that Matt Cardle is wearing. In the video he is wearing smart trousers and a shirt that is the fashion at the time of the video being made. This will then send out a trend and the audience who watch the video are likely to copy what they are wearing.

A common convention that hasn't been followed is the way in which Matt Cardle does no dance or move very much to the song which is different to pop artist like Michael Jackson. This then makes the video less popular as there is less action in it so the audience are likely to lose focus and find the video more boring. I am going to try and make my music video entertaining full of things that are going to keep the audience interested. Although this video is perfect for the genre and music video I am keen on doing it is not the best video in the world due to its boring content.

Unconventional music video

The unconventional artist and song that I have chosen is a song by a japanese group. The name of the group is Mini Moni they do japanese pop songs that seem appealing to their own culture but seem out of place for the rest of the world.

The song that they did is called 'AQUI AQUI' this made it as a number 1 in the Japanese music charts and I believe that it wouldn't have even made it into the top 100 in the UK charts. The reasoning for this is because it is so unconventional.

The first thing that I noticed with this music video is the costumes that the characters are wearing. They are dressed in a mixture of clothing ranging from baby clothes to cheer leader clothes and then the main man in the video is wearing traditional Japanese clothes. In the normal music videos people would wear clothes that are in the latest fashion and are likely to set a trend. I do not believe that this is the same in Japan, these clothes cannot be fashionable!

The second thing that I noticed was the unconventional background, this background is full of flashing colours and cartoon objects dancing around. This is not a normal thing to have in a pop music video, this looks as if it is targeting an audience with the age ranges of 1-6 and this would then not be appreciated by the dominant older population.

Another unconventional thing that i found in the music video is the way people are dancing, they are dancing in a way as if they have not been taught by professionals, it is more dancing that has been made up on the spot. This then makes the video unprofessional and is less likely to get a good audience and good reviews.

The final unconventional thing that I found in this video is the way the camera angles and movements and also editing. It has been done in a way that is really jumpy and does not focus on one in particular thing it focuses on all of the set and the characters and can be very confusing at times. They have also edited it in a way that some people are flying and jumping really high which makes it unrealistic, this is completely different to the normal pop music video. The pop music videos should be full of things about life or love. They should not be about random people dancing in weird clothes. I am taking this into account and will not be doing anything like this for my music video.

A2 Music video aims

After producing a good quality film opening for my AS coursework my expectations of the A2 coursework is very high. I am going to try and achieve an even better grade than the previous year and produce a top quality music video. I believe that it will be difficult as creating a music video holds more difficulties than producing a film, for example the camera angles will have to be slightly different and constantly moving but at the same time giving the music video a story line so that the audience knows what is going on in the video.

In the creation of the music video I am aiming to pick up new skills that are related to the music video. There will be new camera angles and new styles of editing that I will have to pick up on in creating the music video if I am going to create a good final piece. I am already beginning to learn new skills through observing other music videos done professionally. I have also done some research online to see if they have any tips that I could use when creating the music video.

Two music videos released this year

I am analysisng two music videos that have been released this year so that I can see how they use the various camera angles, camera movements, editing and mise en scene. This will then give me ideas to put in the nmusic video I am creating.

The first video that I have chosen is 'Army of Two - Olly Murs'. I chose to use this artist and song because Olly Murs is a pop artist and this a a fairly new song that contains all of the latest ideaas for music videos.

The first thing I noticed in this music video was the clothing that Olly Murs was wearing, this is always a key aspect of a pop song and has been since the 1980's. The artist in the music video is usually wearing clothes that are the latest fashion and clothes that are likely to set a trend. He is wearing a a suit with a waist coat. This is a very stylish fashion for a music video as usually in pop songs they wear more casual clothing. I believe this video therefore is targeted at an audience with an interest in fashion.
The video is also aimed at younger girls. I believe this as he is a male singer, male singers are often popular with younger girls as they would see him as a model of a guy who they want to be with when they are older.

The second thing that I noticed in this music video was the style of editing. The video had editing that gives an illusion, the illusion showed 10 of the same person. This is a good idea as they will not have to get lots of paid dancers to play a part in the music video. They only need the one person and it is the singer so they do not need extras.
This video represents pop very well in the way that Olly Murs is dancing and moving. He does not dance to the standard of Michael Jackson but he makes the video more interesting by adding his own dance moves and also hand motions. This helps the video immensely as it prevents it from being boring and it is more likely to attract the audience as they will have something interesting to watch rather than someone standing still through out the video on a stage.

I also noticed that the camera angles were all focused on Olly Murs as he is the main character in the video and they were mainly close ups of him. This helps attract the audience as it shows that the main focus is on him and the audience is less likely to get dis

The second video that I watched was another video by Ed Sheeran - Everything has changed. This was chosen as it was released this year and it also in the pop genre.

In this song there were various representations, the first representation is of age as it shows Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift as two young adults with there younger kids. This immediately shows that it is aimed at a range of ages from 10-40.
The videos story line has the two main characters growing up when they were kids and their children taking after them, this suggests the video is aimed at younger children looking towards their parents as role models and perhaps doing what they do as a profession when they are older. It also gives motivation to the children as they will be able to think that they could become a singer when they are older if they put the effort and work into it.

In this video the genre of pop was not really shown through the video, i believe the video was meant to have a story line instead of relating it to their genre. although the video has no relation to the pop genre the song itself shows that it is pop.

Music Video from the UK

Before starting on our music video we are going to watch some other music videos done by professional artists in the genre that we have chosen. This will help us get an idea of what our video should contain and how it should be set out.
The genre of our music video will be pop or indie. The genre was chosen through research of various artists that we like and videos that we believe will work best for us.

The first video that we looked at was 'Lego House' By Ed Sheeran.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4BLVznuWnU
Ed Sheeran is a pop artist and plays the music that we believe would be best for our music video.
In his video of Lego House it represents various different things. The first thing that it represents is age. At the beginning of the video it shows a crowd of young people aged roughly 17-25, it also shows the main character in the video dressed in jeans and a hoodie showing that he is also of a younger age. This image might have been set so that the audiences know who it is mainly aimed at, so in this case it is aimed at the younger aged population. A second thing that was represented was the location of the video, the setting was clearly shown as a typical British seaside with the green grass and rock cliffs with a dark blue sea also with lots of wind. Showing the location or setting of the video is important as it may tell the story line and help the audience to understand what is happening in the music video.

The genre of this song was pop, pop songs usually have a story line to it involving love and life (i figured this out after doing research into lots of other pop songs). In this song Ed is singing exactly about love and life which relates to its genre very well.

Music video from 1980's

I watched a pop song from the 1980's as part of my research into what is needed in a pop video and what it is all about. I wanted to see if music videos back then had the same conventions in their videos as they do now days, and if they started the trends in terms of camera angles and costumes.

The song I researched was Michael Jackson - The girl is mine,

and I thought this would be a good song to research because Michael Jackson is considered the 'King of pop'. First of all the title of the song is a typical convention in the fact that its what you would expect a pop song to be called. In previous research I have learnt that pop songs are generally about love or life, and so the tile is following that trend.

This is one of the of the first things you see in the music video and its of the main girl in the video with her friends. You can tell who the main girl is through the excellent use of camera movement, angles and lighting. The woman in the middle is the main girl in the video. The camera angle on this part when introducing them always made sure that she was in the middle and the main focus. In the editing it shows close up shots of her so the audience is aware of which girl to be looking at. In terms of lighting you can see that she is in the most light and in most focus, this lets people know that she is important. I found this useful as there is a group of people but through the use of camera angles, movement, lighting and editing you can make out who is the most important person in the group.

In terms of fashion which is a key convention with pop music, the girls hair was something that was very popular and fashionable in those days. So despite it being from 30 years ago they still follow the same conventions of using the latest fashion to attract viewers and make the video more appealing. The same can be said for what Michael Jackson is wearing. He will be wearing the latest clothes no matter what the location is as he is setting a trend for the audience of the music video.

One thing that I noticed was that three was very little lighting, and the lighting that was there it was always focused on the main two characters in the video. It made an effect in a way that made it seem as though it was shadows that were dancing because you couldn't see their faces.

In terms of camera angles it was very jumpy. The camera usually followed the characters rather than the editing stage where they use a different camera angles every 1-3 seconds. This is something that occurs in pop videos these days as well.

I believe that this video is not great as it did not make much sense but then it does show who the main characters are and what they are meant to be in a very clever way. I do not think that this video will help much in the production of my video but its has given some advise.

Digipack

Digipacks are mainly used for CD singles or special editions of CD albums. Digipacks typically consist of a gatefold (book style) paperboard or card stock outer binding, with one or more plastic trays depending on how many CD's will be in the album. Digipacks were first created by MeadWestvaco, and their product, called Digi-pack is trademarked. Digipacks are now very common and popular.

The front of the digipack will have some aspect of what the artist represents and what their predominate genre is. The digipack will most likely embody and theme and a message about the artist image. This links to emphasising the artist brand image which increase the popularity of the artist. The digipack also exemplifies the artistic and creative approach the artist is taking throughout the music. For example if theres some futuristic idealism conveyed in the lyrics or the visuals in the music video then the front cover wouldn't be very contemporary but more obscure and abstract. All aspects of the digipack, brand image and music video are all interwoven together.

Digipacks benefit the artist and their music as its a promotional aspect of the music industry which helps bring awareness to the artist thus selling the artist and encouraging consumers to buy and listen to their music. you could argue that buying a digipack establishes your loyalty to your artist.

The main image is of the artist who appears to be looking straight at the camera. The direct mode of address shows confidence, his facial expression is a stern look which could be linked to part of the persona of the artist having quite a harsh and masculine side to him. The use of this main image tells us that the genre focuses on the image of the artist, rather than mainly the music. It uses graffiti style of drawing which has reference to the street and connotations of an urbanised and underground theme. The artist is seen with no musical instruments which suggests he uses solely his voice.

The background image of the front cover is very image orientated just like the main image it focuses on the visuals of the artist. This is similar to all pop genre albums. The clothes of the artist consist of caps and casual clothes which is also common for pop genre. They are into trend setting. The images are used extremely colourful which attracts the target audience for this genre which tends to mainly be a younger ages 13-25, in addition it could refer to the multiple talent of the artist and his artistic nature.

The typography used is consistent throughout the album, the title 'F.A.M.E' stands out even on the chaotic background and foreground images due to the use of capitalised letters and large font which could be used to show his flamboyancy which makes him as an artist stand out. It follows the graffiti style and stays consistent throughout. Multiple colours are used however the typography is limited to blue and white on this front cover.

On the CD in the inside panel it has black on white as a background, this creates a strong contrast making the image and font stand out to the audience, in addition it could denote another persona of the artist, being black and white conventionally having connotations of the sophistication and Chris Browns persona of being stylish. The long shot allows the audience to see the costume and leant forward, arms back position that he is in, this is fairly reminiscent of Michael Jackson. This denotes the relationship between him and Michael Jackson.
Consistent typography on the CD as well. Graffiti style font however the colours have been changed in order to contrast with the white background.

Another picture of the artist on the back cover in a metal mask, which could have connotations of being imprisoned or hidden behind a mask especially in contradiction to the album title 'F.A.M.E', we can see the artists face, which could be linked to his history from becoming famous, in particular the events that happened with his girlfriend at the time. His costume is now more formal in this photo looking a lot like Michael Jackson again. Michael Jackson is known as the 'King of pop' so Chris brown might be trying to show that he is also in the genre of pop and that he wants to become as famous as him.


looking at this digipack and various other digipacks it has helped me to have an idea of what my digipack should look like. I now know that the digipack should not only be based on the songs on the album but mainly based on me as a person and what message is trying to be sent out by the production of this album. I also know that having a cover that has various colours and wild fonts is more likely to attract an audience compared to boring colours and fonts.

Class Work 19/06/2013

Why are music videos made?
Music videos are made so that the audience can have a story line to the song. It will allow the audience to visualise what is happening while the song is being played. The music videos help a lot when the artist is promoting a new song as people will see the video every where. The music videos attract audiences to their songs as it gives it more excitement and a lot of the videos made are very interesting. There are different types of music video that attract people in different ways for example, Girls dancing will attract men.

Where can they be accessed?
The music videos can be easily accessed in various places. The television has various music channels for example, VIVA and 4Music, these both show all the latest music videos that have come out. They are also updated constantly moving around the charts. Another place to find music videos is via the internet. On the internet the two music channels have their own websites so can be accessed on there. Also websites like Youtube, MAZU TV and Music Jesus allows people to watch the videos online. Another main place for music videos to be shown online is through social networking. Many videos are posted on Facebook and Twitter meaning the videos will be watched by millions of people globally.

What are the conventions of your genres music videos?
The conventions of our music video would be things like cars, girls dancing, flashing lights and lots of action.

How are technical micro codes use conventionally?
Mise en scene
The location of the music video is vital as it should correspond with the content of the video. It will set the scene and will give the audience a main idea of what is going on and where the video is taking place. Props in the video are also important as they will also help set the scene and give the audience an idea of what each person in the video is doing. The props will also make it more interesting for example a car. Another important aspect of the mise en scene in the music video is the costumes and make up of the people in the music video. This is important because if the people are wearing normal clothes they would not fit into the video and they would stand out and look stupid. If they are dressed in the correct way it will help tell the story line and it would have to suit the genre of the video.

Camera angles
 Camera Angles: The various amount of Camera Angles throughout are music video are very important to the reputation of are video. Getting the right angle, at the right time can be the key to success.
Close ups: The use of Close ups throughout are music video is one of the keys to making the emotions a big role in the success of the music video. ‘Close ups’ fit into the conventions found in a ‘Pop Rock’ music video. After doing research into the ‘Pop Rock’ genre I found that close ups are very common throughout.

Over The Shoulder: Shot Over the shoulder shots are also very effective. They work very well in are music video, the reason being is because are music video is full of emotion having an ‘over the shoulder shot’ makes the viewer focus in on the object in front. It’s a lot like a point of view shot however it’s from the person’s shoulder. This was something we found that was common in many music videos, such as ‘Love the way you lie’. and ‘Kings and Queens’

Class Work 17/06/2013

In our lesson today our task was too watch various music videos from different artists and answer some questions on the videos. The videos that we were given to watch were:

• Nick Cave – Bring it On: Sexuality + Gender http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elaHaLl8T1k

• Lady Gaga – Judas: Gender Roles + Sexuality http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wagn8Wrmzuc

• Busta rhymes – Pass the Courvoisier pt II: Materialism + Gender http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAYXRtNxsGA

• Unkle – Rabbit in Your Headlights: Violence + Materialism http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNWFHpPu1qs

• Dan Le Sac – Great Britain: Race + Violence http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeV2cExvnMI

• Justice – Stress: Race + Violence http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FU7bFpPJiww

After watching these videos the questions that we had to answer were as follows:

The aim of this task was to see what other music artists are doing in their music videos and what the content shows. This will help us in deciding what sort of music video to do for our product.

Reflection on AS Media

After completing our AS Media coursework we are now moving onto our A2 Media coursework. Before starting our A2 coursework we have had time to reflect on some good and bad points in our As coursework and show what we could have improved in it.

Some good parts of the AS coursework were the camera angles and the overall editing. The camera angles gave some good positions which gave our film opening a good effect and also a professional look. While filming our movie opening we picked up on new skills as we progressed gaining even better quality shots, we also began to get more confident with our shots meaning that we would try and perhaps invent a new type of shot or a very difficult shot that would not usually be used in a situation that we were filming in. The editing also created a professional look. After editing the video that we had created in the preliminary task we learnt various editing skills that we could apply to our main coursework. While editing the main course work I learnt even more techniques that helped the video look even better, for example adding the sound of footsteps or a car driving past in the correct places. I believe the editing is the most important part as it creates the final piece. In this case my partner and I managed to an A grade film opening overall.

The bad parts of the AS media were the lighting of the film, the location and also the timing. The lighting was not great as it was shot at night time and we did not have the right equipment to give it a professional image, a lot of the shots were hard to see the characters and could have done with some extra lighting. The location wasn't great as it was done near the centre of Portishead so a lot of the time it was busy so we struggled to get some good shots without members of the public in the back ground. The cars driving past also made it difficult when filming things like crossing the road. The timing was bad as it was difficult to get all our actors together at the same time and get the filming done all on one night. This then meant we had to film at different times over a few days meaning the shots looked slightly different.

From these point we managed to learn how to use new editing skills and also useful camera angles that work well in certain parts of a video. Overall our AS media film came out as a good product and got us a good grade. For A2 I am going to try and produce an even better product that will help me towards another good grade, and through the production of our preliminary and main coursework I have picked up and learnt new ways to produce a top quality video. Although A2 is slightly different in the way that we have to create a music video instead of a movie opening which I think will be a challenge, i still believe that I will be able to produce something good.