JC: A new idea

Last week we were shown the video to 'Move Along' by The All-American Rejects by Miss Fernandez. For the majority of the lyrics, the lead singer is placed in the middle of the screen, singing into the camera. A similar effect can be seen in Weezer's video for 'Pork and Beans'. Whilst the shots are all static in the video for Move Along, this is hidden by the change of location and costume, and is actually a clever piece of editing as the shot appears to be constant, with the singer in the same place throughout.

Despite the arduous task we would have after shooting in order to edit all the shots together, we could incorporate this into our music video for the chorus (for example) interspersed with a narrative. Furthermore, the person in screen may not have to sing either. Another problem that this technique would throw up is that it would be difficult to edit all of the shots together.

 

'Move Along'

'Pork and Beans'

JC: Concept development ideas

As I mentioned to the group in class, I have had another idea to add to our current concept.

Whilst I have maintained the narrative base for our video, my proposal is that whilst the song is about the girl, instead of seeing her in various shots throughout the video we instead have her in just one shot. I would keep the idea of a funeral scene occuring at the lyrics "I think it's time that we were going now", and that after this the main character walks home, opening the door to see himself and the girl arguing/together in some way, and then walking away shaking his head at the end of the song.

Whilst this would fit in with our current idea, having visited Brighton with the shots we have collated, we are now also considering switching to a performance-based video in the city, as we were particularly pleased with the results of our shoot yesterday.

This idea is similar to that used in Radiohead's Fake Plastic Trees, with the lead singer (Thom Yorke) looking back to a baby, before he walks away.

Group: Brighton trip review

Yesterday, both Media classes went to Brighton to get a feel of how we are likely to go about shooting our music video, to practice specific design shots and to get a feel of how to perform to the camera. This reccie trip was different to the one we undertook at Wilderness Woods last year because we were in a completely different location and there were as a result a lot more people.

Whilst this could have been problematic, as we had more external constraints on us as we were performing whilst people were watching, for us this reccie was actually very useful because the location worked very well for us and we are now thinking strongly of using Brighton as (one of) the location(s) for our shoot.

We tried a number of different shots - some of our own design and some we were asked to do - to a varying degree of success. One of our shots, which included us filming Cameron in four positions around a bouy, went wrong, as there was some camera movement, and thus when we cropped the images they did not fit together. Nonetheless, it was still good to try out the shot, and also have a go at attempting to edit the different shots together to produce one image.

CM: Technical Analysis: "July" - Natty

I notice many key points within "July" by Natty, which adhere to critical theorist viewpoints firstly that within at least 80% of the shots, including many of which are meat shots, this supports Andrew Goodwin's viewpoint. Also there is a derogatory feel towards women who are seen following men and also playing with water in bikinis which is highly provocative, this supports the ideas of Goffman, Jhally and Kilbourne with voyeurism within music video.

Furthermore, whenever a character was introduced there was a Long shot followed by a Close Up Shot usually bird's eye view and then a Medium Shot showing there reaction to Natty walking past.

There is a huge difference in the amount of cuts between Film openings and Music video. This is because within an opening one just is building suspense and trying to keep the audience watching the film, whereas a Music video is attempting to tell a narrative within 4 minutes and so has a lot more happening within the allotted time period. This is one thing we will need to consider when film our Music Videos how to tell a story and keep the audience captivated on our production and also the amount of cuts needed too.

AT: Technical Analysis Reflection

Rizzle Kicks - Down with the Trumpets

The analysis of the video was really helpful as not only did it give me an insight into how we should create interest within our shots and how to keep the flow going.

The first part of the analysis i looked at how they kept the flow of the narrative going, the use of the enigma code was present as they are in all these locations but for what reason?

The analysis really gives you a feel of how much footage is needed and this is contrasted with the 'hey ya ' filming we did as we filmed for 2 hours and only covered about 40 secounds of the track.

The video stands up to repeatability due to all the technicaly interesting framming and composition of shots and the editing techniques used.

The critical theorist Goodwin outlined factors tht are found within music videos in creating a star image. Certainly what is evident in the rizzle kicks video is the amount of meat shots used in order to get the star persona.

Overall the technical analysis really helps you to understand the layout of a narrative , and how it is composed. The amount of shots in this video was 70 however our music choice is faster paced so a cutting rate to suit the upbeat would raise the cutting rate significantly inclusive to this means alot of footage is needed.

JC: Technical Analysis of a music video - findings

Following my post below, I decided to analyse the music video for 'Evil' by Interpol. It features a puppet (named Norman) who, after being examined, is rushed from the scene of an accident to a hospital, who sings the lyrics the song throughout. The video was once voted the number 25 on Yahoo's Top 25 Scariest Videos.

Whilst the band are not present in the video (and indeed, did not see the puppet for the duration of the shoot), the puppet is in effect the lead singer, and the camera is predominantly focused on him - for around 90% of all shots. As we have discovered since looking at music videos, this one is effective because there are a number of cuts. This means that although the puppet is not always moving, the movement of visuals on the screen ensures we continue to watch the video (that, and the fact that a creepy puppet is singing a song), and therefore the continuous cutting of shots - on action - creates pace within a video that is fairly static. Further to this, the cutting rate increases with increased pace within the song - for example, when the drums kick in at the start of the song, there are a number of cuts in time with the beats.

I have found this process useful because it has showed me more than last year that in order to captivate an audience then there has to be both an interesting concept, and a much faster cutting rate than if you were making a film. This video for example is effective because although the shot lengths are repeated throughout the sequence, and there is little character movement, the shots are all cut on some action and in time with music.

One sequence of shots that I found particularly effective was the three consecutive zooming shots at the beginning of the song that were in time with the drum beats. As there is a section in our song similar to this, we are looking to incorporate a similar effect into our video following a group discussion.

MTV also published an intersting article about the video, giving an insight into the creative ideas that the director used to create this video - something which we could decide to replicate should our initial concept idea turn out wrong.

JC: Research - Evil (Interpol)

This video probably won't have any influence on our ideas, but I found the video hugely interesting to watch. I think the use of the puppet to sing the lyrics takes the edge off what is quite a mellow song. We could potentially use a similar technique, but if not enjoy the video anyway!

JC: Transition from AS to A2

In terms of preparation, this year we have studied a greater amount of critical theory which has then aided our understanding of media texts and their construction. Whereas last year we focused purely on the use of camera, sound, editing and mise-en-scene in certain media texts and how they help to reinforce or break with certain generic conventions, this year we have looked at these connotations and how they help to both give out a message and sell a product.

This therefore meant that when it came to analysing a music video this year, I was able to understand why certain shots and ideas were included, and not just be able to link their connotations. Whilst the new theories have been difficult to understand, they have greatly improved my understanding of some key terms and how and why media texts are constructed in the way that they are.

CM: Product analysis: Reflection

There has been a huge difference in the way I approached the product analysis in A2 compared to AS.

• I was more focused upon a style of video.
• I used critical theory to further my understanding of the music video.
• I was much more thorough with my analysis.
• I chose videos I could create myself.
• I chose a video that linked very closely to my chosen track "keep on your dress", it was by the Pigeon Detectives and I analysed "Im not sorry" which was similar in genre and band.

Group: 20th September: Treatment ideas?

Today we were looking for a scrapyard location in order to be able to represent rebellion and anger. This is a common feature in the Pigeon Detectives work, for example "I'm not sorry". This location really interests us as a group as involves urban setting and also the feelings illustrated by the song "keep on your dress". We found a few scrapyards in Paddock Wood, Sutton Valance and Maidstone. However they have not reached the expectation we had imagined within our heads and thus are not entirely sold on the idea.

Group - thursday lesson

On Thursday we had the opportunity to use the cameras for the first time this academic year. As a class, we were given different sections of the song 'Hey Ya' by Outkast to record part of a collective video for. We were given the section from 3:18 to 4:28 on the video below individually, whilst we also performed extra material for the introduction and end of the video.

This was a useful task for us because it gave us the chance to work on the spot and see how our creative ideas could be transformed immediately onto the screen. Furthermore, these ideas could be further enhanced, as for the first time we got to grips with the new equipment we have for this year. Our equipment was from the company Hague, and included a tracking dolly with a track, a mini-motion cam (hand hold) and a camframe (hand hold). We also had the tripod, but the tracking shots were made a lot easier to execute, and also looked a lot more authentic than when we had held them by hand or tried to zoom in/out to track last year.

We spent the majority of our double lesson accumulating footage, and spent the last quarter of an hour editing the footage in synchronisation with the timing on the track - another useful insight into how we will undertake our construction. As we got further than the other groups editing-wise, our group was given the master copy of the class video, which will hopefully be on the blog soon!

CM: Deconstructing a music video

Institutions and Audience: Pigeon Detectives "I'm not sorry"

• How might this Video be consumed? Channels? Ambient or focused viewing?

  

  The way music video is consumed can be both focused and ambient, in majority of cases the music video is Ambient due to having the music channel TV show on in the background e.g. when having friends around. Also via Web 2.0 for example Youtube, which has a much higher rate of focused viewing, due to the fact that is usually a single person activity and would watch the video. Web 2.0 also allows a band/artist to connect with their fans, via websites and blogs. This enhances the artist's meta-narrative and star brand, by allowing the fans to communicate actively with the band in an entirely new way. The music video "I'm not sorry" by the Pigeon detectives was focused viewing as it was produced when the Pigeon Detectives were hardly known thus wouldn't appear on music channels and so only fans would watch the video and would be focused upon the production.

• Think about the institutional context of this video - considering the genre and artist, what role would the record label play in creating these promotional texts?

Genre and narrative:

• Using Goodwin, what are the forms and conventions evident in the video?

Andrew Goodwin is a critical theorist who identified the conventions of music videos. These conventions are all easily identifiable within this music video that there are a number of Meat Shots of the artist and his costume is the same throughout the production creating his visual style and adding to the star brand.  The video is performance based as there is no narrative other than when the band smash a car. However the there is no woman present within the music video this breaks the convention of looking or voyeurism present within music videos. It also helps amplifies the meaning of the song, where the singer has left his girlfriend and so won't "take her back" it also further reinforces the bands meta-narrative as being very close, which is a common feature of indie bands. There is also a relationship between music and visuals with it showing the effect of a break up, and guys letting out their anger but hiding there emotions from the rest of the world. Also "grain of voice" which creates authenticity and likability between the band and the audience.

• Is this an example of illustration or amplification? Or disjuncture? Why?

This video is an example of amplification as the lyrics are amplified by the visuals creating an aural signifier. The lyrics tell a story of a hard break-up involving dishonesty 'I'll never take you back' demonstrates that he has broken up with the girl for something that was hurtful to him and has lost his trust in the girl which is why he has gone to vent his anger by smashing objects up and rebelling. It also creates a deeper connotation of the lyrics and a hetero-normative discourse.

• Could this video be considered art?

This music video could be considered as art as it is in the indie genre, meaning that the video will be independent. It is evident it is not so overly commercialized as seems to be created very cheaply as no sfx or many locations and expensive props etc. It can be seen as art as is an expression from the band, yet it was created to promote the song so can be seen as an advert and not art.

Media Language: "Fire" Kasabian:

• What is the "message" or purpose of the video? Is there a social message, or a brand image being constructed?

The social message being created through the video is the power of music; can be a weapon of good and evil, is not discriminative meaning anyone can be in the industry, and also that it brings wealth. Evidence for this is constructed through the lyric of "I'm on fire " which is an aural signifier of being untouchable, furthermore through the visuals of robbing banks (evil) with guitars which connotes fear and fear is a signifier of power. Also the costumes are all different with people in suits and people in ripped clothes demonstrating that music has no class segregation, this is an emergent ideology.

Richard Dyer is another critical theorist who believes in two paradoxes 1) A star must be simultaneously ordinary and extra-ordinary, 2) A star must be simultaneously present and absent. This is apparent in "Fire" through the band singing into a window which is highly ordinary and then robbing a bank with guitars which is extra-ordinary, and with the band being on screen makes them present and then not on screen makes them absent. Thus adhering to both of Dyer's paradoxes. Dyer also states that "the incoherence of the star image ensures that audiences continually strive to "complete" it, or make sense of the image." This gives "good" music video repeatability, because the audience will try to understand the band. Kasabian's star image is constructed through the visuals. The star image has strong connotations of a being powerful in the music industry and this in turn signifies success and wealth which is a common desire from life.

• What visual techniques are used to do this and why? (camera, editing, mise-en-scene, sfx)

Camera: Begin with LS in-order to show location and band members. Then there is another key common convention within music video the mirror shot this is a signifier of reflection which connotes wrong doing, this is demonstrated later through the visuals of robbing a bank. There is a low angle of the man at the beginning of the music video which connotes we are better than him..

Editing: There is a slow cutting rate which is in correlation with the tempo, as the tempo quickens so does the cutting rate this keeps interest in the video also helping the video stand up to repeatability this would promote the song as would make sure the song got indented on the sub-conscious such as many adverts and thus is a effective promotion.

Mise-en-scene: The costume of the main singer is in a denim jacket and is much less smart then either of the two other band members both of whom are wearing suits. This connotes the unimportance of upbringing and class with effect of going to the top, proving by him being the leader of the band. The props shown of the guitars conform to the song being played and help to make the authenticity of the production, and also that the guitar and music is the bands weapon and way to challenge life.

• Is there any intertexuality/ references to popular culture? How does this create meaning for the audience? Think about postmodernism here, use of parody, pastiche.

There is intertexuality within "Fire", as there are connotations from the hair style of the lead singer, it is long which hits towards the genre of rock. This helps to confirm to the audience that the style is Indie-Rock. Furthermore there are references to popular culture of rebellion proven by the visuals of robbing a bank which connotes fighting authority, this gives meaning to the audience as they can create connections between themselves and the band, wanting antidisestablishmentarianism.

Representation: "All falls down" - Kanye West:

• How are the band/artist represented? Their star persona constructed? Does this add to their "meta-narrative" in anyway? How does it help sell their product?

The Star brand and Meta-narrative is demonstrated in this video by Kanye West's wealth, girlfriend and gestures which all demonstrate confidence and an instinctive drive for success. Kanye West appears to treat women with respect saying goodbye to someone who appears to be his partner, yet is juxtaposition to the shot were Kanye is looking into the car window and the woman kisses him on the cheek Kanye doesn't react to it, this demonstrates a lack of respect for women. It promotes hetero-normative discourse and hegemonic masculinity.  Also Kanye keeps getting buzzed in the x-ray machine which signifies his wealth, that he has so much "bling" that he is unable to remove it all in time and thus goes through the x-ray machine in the bag scanner instead. This represents Kanye as a stereotypical hip-hop star who has escaped the ghetto and has over indulged upon material things. The music video is a promotion of Kanye West as a brand, and is attempting to inspire both people in the ghetto that they too can achieve greatness and also showing the rest of the world that no matter your background you can succeed in life.

• How are different social groups represented through the video?

There are two different groups represented within this video, upper class and middle/working class. The upper classes being Kanye West and his partner, who are surrounded by luxurious objects e.g. limousine, designer clothes. The middle/working class being the airport staff who are working with the flight, and the fastfood workers. This is demonstrating the difference between the two classes and their way of life, one being successful and the other not. It is signifying the way life can be lived with winners and losers. However, the classes are mixing with no segregation and also everyone appears happy and thus all the classes are the same and the people within those classes, connoting that we are all human and nothing more.

• What is the ideological discourse? Look at issues such as how gender is represented, as well as race, age/youth, and institutions like church, police. Think whether any "dominant" values and beliefs in our society are being challenged or reinforced in this media text and ask yourself why the artist might do this.

Goffman, Jhally and Kilbourne are critical theorists who looked into the representation of women within music video. They identified that music video is voyeuristic when women are involved. As there is a use of disjuncture, commodification and the extra-diajectic gaze. These features are all evident within this music video with the ped-up camera shot to reveal the woman standing outside of the limousine, which has intertexuality with the film noir genre, and the introduction of women usually "femme fatale" this technique is voyeuristic and seeing women as objects and a product to be owned which is commodification. Furthermore, the extra-diajectic gaze is present when the female is looking past the camera and seems vacant, this signifies that the woman is absent. These conventions of women in music video are all dominant ideologies about women and very discriminative, suppressing women and seeing men on top and in control, connoting hegemonic masculinity.

AT: Deconstructing music video: 3

The Kooks - Always where I need to be

Representation

How are the band/ artist represented? their star persona constructed?

Richard Dyer has written extensively about the role of stars in music. The star image is incoherant, that is complete and open. Irrespective of the medium, stars have some key features in common. It is evident in this video that the band depend upon a range of subsiduary media such as the music video itself to consturct an image.

The band is represented as a low-fi, authentic band, which helps to create a relationship with the audience in order to make them feel a part of the band, this is further reinforced by the comradatory of the band and the locations used in the video of which are in the UK furthermore represents the band image. This conforms to indie as being independant as their star image is low-fi and therefore keeping away from the commercial side of the industry. However the subsiduary media is in order to sell the album or track and therfore it apears to follow commercial conventions however it could be argued that this is done to help create awarness of the rebel against the industry and thus adding meaning to their meta-narative.

How are different social groups represented throught the video?

The middle class is represented in this music video. The costume they are wearing is casual outgoing clothes of which we see them constantly in urban environments. However it is rarely shots of down narrow streets or alleyways so therefore it represents the middle class. It is performance based however these seem to be in remote locations and this futher reinforces there comradatory. The video conforms to stereotypes of the middle class social group and however challenges some dominant ideologies.




What is the ideological discourse?

The males are represented positively as they are seen as exploring different places and location within the UK, this is a dominant ideology within the UK as it is often that the males often go out and have this comradatory and will often go out together in large groups. This builds up to the repeatability of the video as each shot is in an interesting location and leaves you trying to figure out where they are and there is alot of disjuncture as the female he talks about in the song is only shown untill later on in the song leaving us at a climax. Although the video is from 2008 it still conforms to residual ideologies of that its a couple of young teenages out all together going round exploring different places and the narrative of boy meets girl. The band also challenges dominant ideologies with the music video as normally youths are represented as being rebelious to the law , however this is not evident in this video and the possible reason why the band has done this is to help build upon their star image and in order to go off at a tangent to the commercial industry in order to stand out above others also furthermore making there video stand up to repeatability.

Group - ideas generation?

Right guys, do we have any other ideas to get going? Although our initial idea appears to have been shot down, the urban location seems like a sensible idea to keep in the video.

JC: Deconstructing a music video - Fake Plastic Trees, Radiohead

Whilst we were briefed to look at two or three music videos in response to our product analysis task, after analysing this video I felt I had enough information and ideas about the video to be able to write about it in full. Fake Plastic Trees appeared on Radiohead's second album 'The Bends'. The music video was directed by Jake Scott, who had this to say about it: "The film is actually an allegory for death and reincarnation but if you can read that into it you must be as weird as the people who made it". Whilst at a first sighting Scott might be correct, it is easy to see after some time the deeper connotations which the band were attempting to show.

Institution and Audience

Although at the time of release, this video might have been popular on a number of music channels at the time of release, however, as the track is now over a decade old, it is likely to appear frequently on a music TV channel. Instead, as both the song and Radiohead themselves are well recognised both within the rock genre and, to an extent, popular culture. Therefore, whilst the song may not be played twenty times a day on the same music channel, it will always have a dedicated group of supporters (such as myself) who will want to listen to the song and/or watch the music video, and it will thus be consumed in a focused way, through web 2.0 applications such as Youtube, with the audience making an active choice to watch the video. This is also communal consumption, as the audience are listening to songs they once enjoyed.

Furthermore, because Radiohead are an established band with their own unique sound and style, they are likely to escape the clutches of manufactured pop record labels who dictate the way in which the band must perform and what must be included in their music videos. The extra diegetic gaze used by Yorke (staring into the camera) is something that is used by a number of popular music artists at the present however, and these meat shots might have been suggested by both the record label  and the director in order to break the fourth wall of cinematography and thus appeal to the consumer more.

Genre and Narrative

Unlike a number of more recent music videos which are mainly performance based, Fake Plastic Trees, as mentioned in my introduction, is a concept based narrative. Media theorist Andrew Goodwin identified features of music videos (Dancing in the Distraction Factory, 1992) that can be applied to this video; firstly, there is a link between the lyrics and the visuals which both illustrates and amplifies their meaning. For instance, a woman can be seen sitting down, when the lyrics are "it wears her out". Another example of this comes at the same lyrics later in the song, where a supposed member of staff looks tired and weary, stuck in a mechanised, monotonous job. Further into the song, however, the lyrics are repeated. At this point in the video, instead of sitting down, the woman leaves the checkout, and is in effect therefore dead. This combined with the lyrics suggests that she may have died from exhaustion (perhaps of life itself) and the meaning of the lyrics are thus amplified through the visuals. There is also an illustrative link between the music and the visuals; as the song 'instrumentally' comes to life, the cutting rate increases whilst the people start to move about more and express their characters.Whilst the video may seem to be random, and therefore an example of disjuncture, after deeper analysis the message of the video became clear, and the video is therefore illustrative of the concept, albeit subtly, so the consumer actually has to think, instead of being spoon-fed both a message and promotion.

Roland Barthes was another theorist who suggested that media texts have a number narrative codes that are linked with one another - "a weavingof voices". The first two codes, the hermeneutic and proairetic codes, both require a story - in this case the narrative - to be read in temporal order, and thus are reliant on focused viewing. Both of these codes are present in the video for Fake Plastic Trees, as the iea of death and reincarnation is present in the narrative of the video, but never really explored and is instead connoted by the video. This, as Barthes describes, is a jamming, as there is effectively an acknowledgement at the end of the video will never be resolved, that we never actually know how the people get there, how they leave or what makes them leave. At the end of the video, the lead singer is seen walking out of the building, and the shot becomes blurry. Whilst the clips ends here, we wait to see what happens to him - and therefore suspense is created by his actions, thus the proairetic code is employed in this video. In addition, there is strong reference to the human idea of pre-destiny, and a controlled life - the cultural code. A man dressed as a security guard in the shopping centre control room is seen as an old woman tries to take a product from a shelf - as we see her we see a hearing aid/earphone, which connotes the idea that she is told what to do, being controlled, as she then refrains from taking the product. The fact that the 'reincarnated' version of the lead singer, Thom Yorke appears in the same place - the supermarket - also suggests that there is an idea of pre-destiny.

The video is very much a statement of Radiohead's creativity, a work of art. Whilst their unique way of representing the concept in hand might be considered strange, it demonstrates their willingness to create something extraordinary, and thus true artistic talent. It is clear that despite a number of meat shots, there is little emphasis of the commercialisation of the video, because, despite the way in which the concept is presented to us, there is little extraordinary about the video - there are no special effects, for example. There are some postmodern elements to the video, such as the belief that many ideas/realities - in this case death and reincarnation - are merely social constructs. Going back to the shot of the security guard, I mentioned earlier the idea that the people within the 'supermarket' were being controlled. The security guard talking into the woman's ear, telling her what to do, could therefore be interpreted as him feeding her information, which she is taught and has to abide by, follow - and thus the idea of myths being passed down through word of mouth is present within the video.

Media Language

A social message that could be read from both the lyrics and visuals is that you can build something up to be what you want it to, but ultimately it never is that - it is merely something that has been dreamt up. In addition to this, the lyrcis "if I could be who you wanted all the time" suggest that whilst the above is true, it is in part society's fault that this occurs, as people are always striving to better themselves for the sake of impressing others. The above lyrics are aural signifiers for the fact that he will never always be who the subject of the song wants him to be, with the setting of the supermarket connoting this idea, as he is after all just a normal person.

The problem with this is that this message is connoted mainly through the lyrcis of the song, not the visuals. Nonetheless, there are still visual techniques in use to imply these ideas (camerawork, editing, mise en scene and special effects). When a man in a basketball shirt appears, we see him shaving his head - ie changing his image. When he looks into the camera, his non-verbal language connotes that he is sad, he has a solemn look on his face and he is effectively presenting himself to us, saying "look at me, is this good enough?". At this point, we also see him at close-up length, suggesting the focus is on him. Most shots throughout the video are close-up, as people are constantly 'presenting' themselves to the camera. This idea of . The idea of death is also created by the use of white light, a special effect, as this is a common term used to describe the moment when someone dies. Finally, the lyrics "I used to do surgery, for girls in the eighties, but gravity always wins" and "She looks like the real thing" both occur at the same time as visuals of two women. Whilst the first shot shows a checkout girl stereotypically looking uninterested and chewing gum - a reference to popular culture -  with a number of beauty products and jewellery to improve her image ties in with the above idea, it is the second woman who is more interesting; whilst the shot of her is not voyeuristic, her top is drawn to the level of her breasts - drawing attention to them, and thus linking back to the original lyrics "I used to do surgery...". Whilst she is clearly wearing a number of beauty products and looks glamourous, she has also clearly aged, and does not look happy - therefore she is being inefficient, a theme running through Radiohead's songs. Furthermore, her costume is a tracksuit - something that is popular within modern culture and particularly at the time at which the song was written. This suggests that she is buying into the consumerist world, trying to fit in, and the fact that she is unhappy suggests that she would be better off pleasing herself, pursuing her own interests.

Representation

The idea created by the lyrics "it wears her out" - that people's attempts to fit the bill, to make the grade can be stressful is a recurring theme in Radiohead's songs, such as in Street Spirit (Fade Out), where Yorke is seen throwing himself off a caravan and falling into darkness, connoting ideas of suicide and therefore death, a nightmare or fear through stress. This time, instead of darkness bright lights are used to create this idea, which is nonetheless still present. As a subtle, subconscious idea, this makes the product stand up to repeatability, and therefore helps to promote the band's image and identity without creating an advertisment.

The star persona of Radiohead is created through the two paradoxes suggested by Richard Dyer, who suggestes that stars are images, commodities and dependant on subsidiary media in order to construct images of themselves. Dyer also outlines two paradoxes, which mean that the the star image is incoherent. The first paradox states that the star must be simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary for the consumer. Evidence of this in Fake Plastic Trees is that the band, and Yorke in particualr can be seen in a supermarket, an average setting that everyone is familiar with. The extraordinary element of this is that the supermarket is actually an allegory for in effect, a waiting room into the afterlife, limbo. The second paradox states that star must be simultaneously present and absent for the consumer. Whilst Yorke regularly breaks the fourth wall by speaking into the camera and addressing the consumer, he and the band are also placed within this concept, and are therefore absent. This incoherence means that the consumer will strive to complete this image, therefore consuming more of their medium thus increasing the band's popularity.

Emergent ideologies such as the nanny state are present within the video, through the 'controlled' nature of the people within the supermarket. This is therefore represented negatively as is it seen to be restricting the people within the supermarket, the society. The 'social myth' of reincarnation has a part to play in the video. Speaking generally, people are represented as fickle beings, obsessed with self-fulfilment and pleasing others. This view is another emergent ideology within society.

AT: Deconstructing music video: 2

Two door cinema club - What you know

Media Language

What is the 'message' or purpose of the video? is there a social message, or a band image beiung constructed?

The social mesage being created through the video, is of a hetronormative discourse, evidence of this is constructed through the lyric of "you don't want to be alone " with the band being constantly surrounded by girl dancers. Also the fact that he is almost singing to this women helps to reinforce this ideological discourse.

The band image is constructed through the non-verbal language, the amount of shot time they get, clothes their wearing and the location their in. The bands image shows strong connotations of a hetronormative discourse. The construction of there image is underpinned by the high number of meat shots of the band. The band is an indie band however this representation of the band is in a commercial location and conforming to commercial representations of which is changing their band image.




What visual techniques are used to do this and why?

Camera: Voyeuristic technique at the start, shown by a ped up of the women dancing. LS of the band shown with the dancers infront of them to connote a hetronormative discourse, also shows the backdrop of the big white studio which conforms to commercialism. High angle of the women with the obscure hat which not only shows the representation of indie by being individual but also rejects dominant ideologies of women in society with the high angle.

Editing: Fast cutting rate to match the speed of the song to help the video flow and keep interest in the video also helping the video stand up to repeatability. Edit cutting of the change of dress of the women as they go through the door to connote a change of location.

Mise-en-scene: The costume of the main singer is in a suit and is much more smart then either of the two other band members. This connotes his importance within the band helping to identify the lead of the band. The obscure hat and clothing by the women who is not in the dance routine connotes the indie genre as she conforms to being independant. The props shown of the guitars conform to the song being played and help to make the authenticity of the production.

Is there any intertextuality/ references to popular culture?

There is reference to popular culture despite the band being indie, as the dancers in the video are a representation of cheerleaders which is common for femal dancers in America. The large white studio is very commercial. This creates meaning for the audience as it appeals to them and is familarity for them rather than change and not understanding the connotations.

AT: Deconstructing Music Videos

Razorlight - Somewhere else.
Institution and audience
How might this video be consumed? Channels? Ambient or focused viewing?
The music video 'Somewhere else' by Razorlight would be consumed through a variety of different media channels. The first channel would be through TV, shown on music programmes such as 'MTV' and 'Kerrang!'. However the largest amount of consumption would be through web 2.0 an example of web 2.0 is youtube and youtube is often used by song artists to put up their music videos as it adds meaning and pleasure to the song, the added value of star image, live performance and music videos inspire consumers to buy the song. Youtube can be accessed by anyone who has access to the internet and therefore it means there is a large possiblemarket out there for the song. The song can be played in two ways as it can be ambient viewed by people just having it switched on the music channel just playing the music in the background or on youtube. It can also be focused viewing as the music video is interesting with use of the extra digetic gaze breaking the fourth wall.

Richard Dyer has written extensively about the role of stars in music. The star image is incoherant, that is complete and open. Dyer says that this is because it is based upon two key paradoxes. In the first paradox it is evident that the star in the music video is simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary as he is just walking down the street, however heis extraordinary when he is switching from location to location and is singing to the consumer. In the second paradox the star is simultaneously present and absent as he is there breaking the fourth wall however he doesnt always interact with the consumer and is always switching location making him unreachable.Genre and narrative

what are the forms and conventions evident in the video?

Andrew Goodwin identified features of music videos. More commercial record labels would conform more to this list however in the indie genre you would see less of this conforming, however some element in order to build up the meta-narative of the artist. It is evident in this music video that there are a number of close ups of the artist and him wearing the same costumer throughout in order to create his visual style. However this video breaks stereotypes as it is normally found in the rap genre of a person walking down the street singing to the camera and therefore this makes the video interesting and futher reinforces the indie genre by being independant. The video is narrative based as no performance is done except lipsynching. However the narrative helps to amplify the meaning of the lyrics, for example when he sings ' I really wish I could be somewhere else' and his location constanlty switches, making a deeper connotation of the lyrics and shows that no matter where he is he wishes he was with this certain girl, of which is an aurual singnifier.
Is this an example of illustration or amplification? Or disjuncture? Why?
This video is an example of amplification as the lyrics are amplified by the visual creating an aurual signifier. In the lyrics ' I really wish I could be somewhere else' shows his location constantly switching, making a deeper connotation of the lyrics, which is reinforced by the rest of the song talking about this girl who he met and took an interest to, and in all the shots he is shown as alone walking down the street connoting that he is looking for her and he would rather be with here than all these other places.

Barthes believes that every narrative has multiple codes or stranbds that are interlinked together. The use of the Enigma code as he is constantly walking in all this different locations and leaves the audience wondering, where is going? why is he alone? Making us ask these questions creating a sense of mystery in order to increase the repeatability of the track top be watched over again to look for clues.

Could this video be considered art? does it present any challenging ideas? or is it inherently commercial?
This video could be considered as art as it is in the indie genre, meaning that the video will often be independant. It is evident it is not so overly comercialised due to not to much of a star brand is created however there is evidence of some meta-narrative forming as mentioned previously by Richard Dyer's paradoxes. The video challenges the ideologies of indie bands by conforming to some of the commercial industry 'features'. However this is probably due to some commercial element has to come into due to the band wanting to sell there music and as requested by the record label.

Group: Moodboard process analysis

Our starting point for this task was to divide the research into different areas; Alex looked at iconogrpahy, Cameron at album covers and I looked into locations.

During the monday lesson, we sat down to discuss the ideas that we had come up with. The main problem that we all found with the research was that because we are studying the Indie Rock genre, there are huge variations between each band for all the areas we looked into.

However, in a way the vast differences in some styles ironically creates generic conventions. For example, whilst mise-en-scene such as lighitng and costumes, and the style of the video may be completely different, a general trend that I myself found was that videos are often set in urban locations. This is helpful for us as we are intending to perform 'Keep on your dress' by The Pigeon Detectives, who are from Leeds, an urban city location.

Furthermore, Cameron's analysis of The Pigeon Detectives' album covers showed us that the colour red is often incorporated into their pieces, which is something which we want to replicate.

Overall, we found this process useful because it has revealed to us a number of generic conventions which we can analyse in music videos we look at, which will ultimately allow us to either break with or conform to in our music video.

CM: Moodboard: Pigeon Detectives Indie Rock band:

Group: Moodboard Genre ideas:

MoodBoard Indie-Rock on Prezi

GROUP: Moodboard: Iconography

Moodboard on Prezi

What to learn from this moodboard is that it gives an overview of what can be included into our music video. Its helpfull as to point us in the right direction for when we ourselves start thinking of the concept of our music video as we need to follow the form of conventions for the genre.

JC: My top 5 music videos...

Coldplay – the scientist

Whilst there isn’t anything too spectacular about the narrative within the video – except perhaps the car crash – the video is made effective by the way the in which the moving images are played in reverse, yet Chris Martin is signing the song normally. Whilst this would most probably be a step too far to use in our music video, a reverse narrative is an interesting concept and way to tell a story.

Empire of the Sun – we are the people

A number of the visual signifiers in the video relate to the death, and indeed the video is inspired by the Mexican holiday ‘Day of the Dead’. Whilst there might be some signs of disjuncture within the video, the lyrics ‘We are the people who rule the world’ suggest that there is an illustrative link between the lyrics and visuals, as the singer is wearing a headdress that connotes the idea that he is important, much like in Native America where they were worn to denote status. The location of the video itself might be hard to replicate, however a similar take on a lyric could be replicated in our piece.

The Verve – bittersweet symphony

Both the song and music video for Bittersweet symphony are regarded by many as classics. Whilst the predominant shot in the video is a tracking shot of the lead singer walking down a street, the actions that take place are interesting, both illustrating and amplifying the meaning of the song and the lyrics.

Radiohead – fake plastic trees

This video is a good example of disjuncture; whilst it has little relation to our chosen song by the Pigeon Detectives, it is one that interests me greatly, and has a clever meaning. This video, according to the director, is supposed to represent death and reincarnation.

Editors – papillon

To be perfectly honest, I have no idea what this video is about. Nonetheless, it would not be hard to replicate as there are no real props needed – this could be done in London at some point. Furthermore, the number of camera shots that are covered would also ensure – provided they are carried out effectively – that technical aspects are covered, and so from a practical point of view this would be a good video to dissect...although I doubt that we'll be undertaking a video on practicality.

AT: Top 5 Music Videos

Kasabian - Fire

Kasaian - Fire: is an interesting music video as it breaks conventions of the indie genre, usualy there would be performance shots intersperse, however in this video it is vey much so narative based. This video has evidence of one of Barthes narrative codes , of that being the enigma code, as to why are the guns guitars and the money as music notes. It is cleverly used and makes it stand up to repeatability. What is interesting about this video is the concept and how in it breaking conventions it makes it stand out more

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Callifornication

In this video it is evdient of the hegemonic masculinity that is portrayed in the video, the first indexical sign is that it is set as a video game and has that play on that life is a game. The second sign is that all the singers are topless and portrays the star image of the band as abit rebelious.

Hoosiers - Goodbye Mr. A.

This video much like the red hot chili peppers, portrays the singers as super heroes. Richard Dyer's star meta narrative is also portrayed by evidence of paradox 1 as the stars are simultaneously ordinary by being non super heroes at the start of the video and kidnapping the current super hero, then also being extra ordinary at the same time by turning into the super heroes.

Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars

The video has a very low-fi authentic feel about it which helps connects to the audience, also I really like the establishing shot of it looking at the city as it slowly pans down and a quick time lapse goes from day to night which i think would be very effective in our own music video.

The Killers - Human

I like this video due to the effects it uses it helps make the performance based video more interesting with use of a few interesting shots aswell such as the shot of the falcon which is intercut at the start. There are aurual signifiers which link the lyrics to the visuals however create more indepth meaning.

CM: Top 5 music videos

1) Rizzle Kicks "Down with the trumpets"



Is simple and easy to replicate but at the same time has an enigma code which creates repeatability, including Goodwin's critical theory on music video of breaking the fouth wall, and also having many meat shots creating a star brand and meta-narrative.

2) Pigeon Detectives "Everybody wants me"



I love the effect of following photographs throughout the video, and how it tells a story. It is a narrative and has great repeatability to know what will happen to the couple giving it an enigma code.

3) Foster the people "Pumped up kids"



The authentic low-fi production of this video adheres to the two paradoxs that Richard Dyer identifies. Paradox 1 of the artist being present and not present, when the artists are looking into the camera and then are not on screen. For paradox 2, the band is ordinary when playing frizbee and other regular activites, but when are up on stage makes them extra-ordinary.

4) Arctic Monkeys "When the sun goes down"



This music video is very illustrative with a strong connection between lyrics and image, "bet he'll rob you if he can" accompanied with the stealing of the food. It also has a colour desaturation which is an effect that we are hoping to use within our production.

5) Killers "Mr Brightside"



Is very quirky and unconnected could take an approach like this but is more upbeat than our track so unsure whether would work? There is evidence of Goffman, Jhally and Kilbourne with the vouyeristic way women are looked at in this video and the disconnected gaze from the women.

Group: Track choice: "Keep on your dress" - Pigeon Detectives

Yesterday (6/9/11) we as a group decided to use this track for our music video. We will be researching the bands meta-narrative, star-brand and also its target audience.

Our initial concept for "Keep on your dress":
Narrative based,
Interspersing with performance shots,
Flashes of white light when the symbol is hit and slowly come into focus of a scene involving a young couple,
Location shots during the riff,
Colour desaturation,
House argument between couple throwing objects smashing glass,
Empty bottles on the streets,
"I think you may have made a mistake" "Eyes appear to be closed but I know that you're still awake" - Funeral scene
"Crying" - crying at funeral,
Walking back to house,
"It's ok" - smashing glass (juxtaposition of lyrics and visuals)
Performance based chorus,
Walking through streets - signs of alcohol abuse present,
Guitar solo, cutting between narrative and performance,
"Leaving me behind" "Time we're going now" - shaking hands back to solo
Going back to apartment sees wreck of earlier argument, fades out.