Unit 29 - Music video Task 2 Presentation

Unit 29 - Music Video - Task 2 Powerpoint from leahreay

creative concept

Throughout the music video as a team we a made the decision to not focus on one performer as consumers may find it slightly boring. We decided we would feature various different singers and DJ’s. We mainly swayed towards the style of a DJ setup as it would be more accessible to film in the location we are at. It will be slightly difficult to get access to the main stage at the ministry of sound venue as it is going to be crowded towards the stage area. Even if we where to approach the stage area it would be challenging to get a decent shot due to over crowing. We decided our main focus would be to capture footage of DJ’s as it was more realistic. This also fits in the the video style we where aiming for.

Performers Style/Image

Throughout the music video as a team we a made the decision to not focus on one performer as consumers may find it slightly boring. We decided we would feature various different singers and DJ’s. We mainly swayed towards the style of a DJ setup as it would be more accessible to film in the location we are at. It will be slightly difficult to get access to the main stage at the ministry of sound venue as it is going to be crowded towards the stage area. Even if we where to approach the stage area it would be challenging to get a decent shot due to over crowing. We decided our main focus would be to capture footage of DJ’s as it was more realistic. This also fits in the the video style we where aiming for.

Video Style

In terms of music video style we where aiming for a live concert or live festival performance style. We wanted to capture live performances happening as well as the response of the crowd. However, we knew this would be a huge challenge with the limited amount of money and recourses we had available to us. This meant we had to compromise and go for a club type theme or capture the rave scene, which we would then combine into footage. We decided that we would try and achieve shots of the DJ mixing, the crowd dancing and individual singers performing if thats possible. This was all we where able to do with limited resources. It would have been a task to capture festival footage as we did not have crane equipment which is almost essential when filming that type of footage. To add more style to the video and change it up so it does not get boring we made the decision to film ourselves travelling to and from the venue as we knew this would break up the video and give it a particular style. We took video style inspiration from afrojack rock the houses video as it was extremely similar to what we are trying to achieve. However, they had more resources and equipment available to them but we compromised with what we had.

The Afrocjack music video had a similar style to what we where trying to achieve which is where we took our inspiration for footage filming from.

Choosing Music Track

When in the planning process of the music video production choosing the music track took a lot of time and consideration as it was a key part to the final video. To choose a music track we thought of pros to a chosen song and cons to a chosen song. We where aiming for a music track with minimal lyrics in there as we knew that would be harder to match up to any footage we have and may not necessarily suit. We aimed for a song that was mainly a beat rather than actual lyrics over the top as we did not want the lyrics to be to recognisable as it may take away the effect of the actual video footage itself. In terms of songs we managed to narrow it down to 3 that we all agreed on and all thought were appropriate for the production. However, we did not choose the final song until all footage was filmed and edited together. The reason for this is because we wasn't sure how each individual song would mesh together, whether it would go or not.

Here are each of the songs that we considered playing as audio over the top of the footage.

                                                             Afrojack Rock The House 

                                 Dimitri Vegas, MOGUAI & Like Mike - Mammoth (Original Mix)

                                              Carnage & Borgore - Incredible (Original Mix)

Each song had a strong defined beat to it and no lyrics which was perfect for what we wanted to achieve.

Links to other artists

Throughout the years of music it is a common process when another artists gets mentioned by another artists in their lyrics. Whether that mention is positive or negative it is done a lot by individual artists. Some artists may mention another music artists in their lyrics to slam down on their talent and prove they are the best artist, that is a common technique used in the music industry to get a rise out of some artists. In some situations an artists will mention other artists to give them some acknowledgement or appraise for the work they have created. Artists may do this when they look up to an artists. Smaller less known artists will sometimes do this to get more recognition themselves. There are many different reasons for this being done in the music industry.

A song I found that mentions at least 15-20 music artists throughout the lyrics was Gang Star Jazz thing, the music video is intercut with the film mo’better blues and was directed by spikley.

Some of the artists mentioned where each of these individuals had some attachment or link to the music industry and where very good at what they did.

max roach

john coltrane  

paul whiteman

billie holiday 

charlie parker 

scott joplin

bessie smith 

king oliver 

dizzy gillespie

thelonious monk

charls mingus

ornette coleman 

betty carter

Here is a clip of the music video gang star

Allusion

Allusion is when an artists who produces a video is trying to sway viewers into a way of thinking they are suggesting what the videos meaning is about but are not giving out the full meaning. So they allude towards a certain topic, an example of when this has been done by an artists would be in the lady gaga marry the night full length video. Lady gaga stated that there would be something of meaning from her past in the very beginning of the video this is putting the viewers into a way of thinking, they are now speculating what it could be whilst they are watching the video. At the beginning of the video lady gaga is on a stretcher bed in hospital and is being wheeled into a room by two nurses. She then has a short conversation with a nurse stating how she is going to make it through. She is giving hints and suggestions to the audience which is alluding them. People have speculated that from her being in hospital a womens clinic could suggest she has had an abortion. Or it could be said that she has had previous mental health issues. The viewers are not going to understand the full meaning but lady gaga has given clues to what it could be.

Extending or consolidating song’s meaning; allusion

Extending a songs meaning is when the audience who are viewing the the music video or listening to the lyrics extend the meaning of the song, they do this by adding their own theory as to what the song is about or what the song means. They will try and understand fully where the artists was coming from when creating the specific lyrics that where chosen. An audience will extend a song when they are trying to bring the meaning together. An example of a song and video that can be closely looked at is Coldplay scientist. The songs lyrics come across a love story narrative. They relate back to relationships and relationship dilemmas and issues. If you listen to the lyrics properly you would think a couple where having issues and he feels as though they are going round and round in circles and the issues cannot be fixed, you would think it is a simple love song. However, the meaning of the song does not necessarily come clear until the very end where a car crash scene takes place. From this you can now see that the entire time the song is about him apologising for crashing and him not being able to fix her not fix the relationship. Through the time from the beginning of the song near to the end the audience is left to extend the meaning of the song and are given the opportunity to put their own meaning onto what story is being given. Not only are the audience able to extend the meaning but so is the artists himself. He has managed to produce a successful song about relationships when there is actually a whole other meaning on top of that. The title of the song “The Scientist” has a huge relation to the song that becomes fully understandable at the end. The idea is that all he wants to do is be able to fix her referring back to the scientist but he is not able to.

This is a clip of coldplay scientist

Lyric Interpretation

Lyric interpretation is the process of understanding what the lyrics mean. When a song has a set of lyrics that has a meaning but the understanding of what that meaning is, is not all that clear, it is left to the viewers and audience to inter prate the meaning of those lyrics. As viewers watching listening to the lyrics and watching the music video we are not only interested in the literal meaning but should also play close attention to the music video and try and understand the implied meaning. I found an example of a song where the use of lyric interpretation and be put to good use.

Madness - House of Fun 

As you can see from watching the video it is important that you combine both the lyrics and the music video together to get the full understanding of the song. The idea of what the lyrics mean is that a boy has turned 16 and is now of legal age so he wants to buy condoms. Not at any point in the song does he say he wants to buy condoms. But it does say he wants to buy balloons and as you can see from the music video he is in the chemist. From combining the two together as an audience you are able to make out what the meaning of this is. Throughout the video the chemist is being referred to as the house of fun. This is easy enough to identify as at one point when the lyric house of fun is sung the music video switches to the sign on the outside of the chemist.

When a music video uses this technique and does not give us the full meaning of the lyrics straight away it allows the audience to become engaged with the song and really understand it as an audience. This will result in the viewers having a stronger connection with the lyrics and the music video as they have spent time understanding what it is about.

Multi-Mage

Multi-Mage is an editing technique where two separate pieces of footage are split into two or more sections on a screen. You can either split different footage or duplicate the same footage but slit it down the middle. Multi-mage is used to create an effect for a particular shot or a certain piece of footage. It can also be done to show more than one shot at a time, this is useful fi you have more shots than you need and you want to use all of them. Multi-mage is a good editing technique as it enables the editor to create parallel ideas and juxta pose different images so that different colours vibrate and different action vibrates the resonance I have the ability to create texture with my shots. An example of when multi-mage has been done was recently in the schools video that we sent of for the viewing of china. Multi-mage has been used widely throughout the video which allowed all shots that needed to be included to be in the footage. The edit was done on final cut pro which enables the used of different split screens.

As you can see from the images above different uses of multi-mage have been do to add an effect to the footage as well as managing many different shots at a time.

Camera Angles/Camera Movements

A camera movement is something that is done once you have positioned your camera or tri-pod in the position you want. A camera movement is the way in which you move the camera itself or how you move the tri-pod with the camera connected to it. There are numerous different names that define a certain camera movement. Some of these are the pan, tilt, crane and handheld, there are many more camera movements but I have chosen the most popular ones to take a look at. A camera angle is the way in which you position your camera when you are about to shoot some footage. So for example you may position your camera so that it is in a birds eye view shot before you press film, so when you press film your camera will be angled in a birds eye view shot. There are numerous different angles that can be done, some of these would be worms eye view, birds eye view, high angle, low angle etc.

The pan camera movements consists of the camera being moved from one side to another in a smooth movement, this can be done numerous different times back and fourth and would be considered a panning action. 

The tilting camera movement is a simple up and down motion, you could say it is similar to a panning movement except a title is vertical and panning is horizontal. A tilt camera movement is probably one of the most basic out of all camera movements but can be hard to execute without any jolts. Individuals may find it hard to keep track of the action through the lense of screen with a lot of movement happening. 

A crane camera movement is when a camera will be attached onto the end of a crane like object. This allows movement from high angles and also allows high angle shots. A crane is operated from the bottom in a small booth, depending on the size of the crane normally. The use of a crane means you have a lot of manoeuvrability as it is a smooth device that allows you to pan and tilt with it. However, you have to be cautious of how quickly you move the device as it is high up and you may hit someone. A crane is commonly used at the end of a film/programme when you zoom out from the character and gradually include some background in the shot. Cranes are also used at live music/talent shows to get good shots of the crowd and the live talent on stage at the same time. When a live show is taking place there will normally be more than one crane at a time as it is live footage and needs to be captured quickly. If there was only one crane it would be hard to move it to get all types of shots in a short space of time. 

A handheld camera movement is when the camera has not been placed on any camera equipment like a crane/tri-pod. It is when the camera is simply held by the person filming. Handheld camera shots are commonly know for being shaky and non sturdy movements. In most cases if a handheld camera shot is done it will be a deliberate action because of a certain effect the director or camera operator is trying to achieve. A handheld camera movement will also be used in a documentary style programme purely because all of the footage needs to be filmed in action. In a documentary it would be to difficult to constantly set up a tripod to shoot on so a handheld movement is done instead. Depending on the camera operator that will normally determine how shaky the camera will be.

Cutting to the beat

Cutting to the beat in music videos is when images or the scene that is being played on screen changes when the beat of the audio changes. Each time a beat in the song changes whatever scene is on screen will switch to match that beat, this results in a smooth flow of video being played. Cutting to the beat is something that is used commonly in music videos, it makes the audience more engaged to whatever is on screen because it is so visually engaging. 

Miming playback and Lip sync

Miming and lip sync is a process that a lot of artists may do when performing a live performance on stage. It is when a singer moves there lips in sync with music that is playing. The audio that plays is a pre-recorded piece of music that has been pre-recorded by that artist for the live event, concert, small performance etc. The majority of artists do this when they are performing so they are able to move around the stage and interact with their fans without missing any notes by accident. It allows the artists to have some form of being able to manoeuvre around without tiring and not being able to sing at there best. In some cases miming of the words can be extremely convincing which may pass the performance of as being live when in fact all the artists is doing is lip syncing to the words. The majority of the time when this is done it is carried out at major festivals and concerts like, lovebox, reading festival and summertime ball. It is not done because the artist cannot sing it is done to assist the artist while they carry out there live dance performances to entertain there audience, festivals and concerts are not just about singing, entertainment is also apart of the package which is why pre-recorded music is sometimes necessary. It would be hard for an artist to create their image and gain a fan base if all they do is stand still on the stage for the duration of there performance, especially if they are doing that for each song. In the case of an artist doing a small private live performance it would be deemed unacceptable for them to lip sync. In this case I would have to agree as it is not necessary for them to entertain there audience through dance and expression on stage. When individuals book for a live performance the majority of the time they are there to hear that artist sing.

The video above shows a clip from Katy Perry's live performance, it also shows some pre recorded music and her lip syncing to it. In some cases the artists won't even try to lip sync they will just dance to the pre recorded music.

Chroma Key

chroma key is often referred to as the use of a green screen to change the use of a background around an object. So for example if an individual was standing in front of a green screen and a video or picture was taken, then an editor would then be able to replace any background and crop it into the picture instead of the green screen. That is a basic description of what chroma key is but it goes much more beyond that and nowadays has become so advanced it is constantly being used in the production of hollywood films. It can not only be done with images but can also be done with moving footage.

As you can see in most hollywood films and programmes the use of chroma key is constant throughout most scenes. A lot of people wonder how certain locations and areas where found to film in, they also wonder how they managed to get access to areas like that. What is actually happening is the use of green screen through the majority of shots. With the use of chroma key you are able to film in a simple average sized location with a green screen behind the actors and actresses acting. In most cases the huge hollywood films that are produced would not be as good as they are without the use of green screen. Chroma Key and the editor play a huge role in the producing a lot of background action behind the scene.

Unit 29: Music Video Production - draft 3

Task 1 - Purposes of Music Videos - draft 3

Music videos first came around way back when the Beatles started doing lots of performances around in different countries. they became so famous and so busy they didn't have time to perform everywhere they wanted to so they got someone to film there performance and play it on TV, so this is really where music videos originated from. although they originated from the Beatles they didn't take of until the early 80’s when MTV was also created. This was when music videos really became quite popular and any video that was played on MTV was likely to become a hit number, the first video ever broadcast was “video killed the radio star” which ended up being a number one. 

A music video began as a short promotional clip for bands and artists, However they developed into music videos that are around 3 minutes on average. Video/clips that accompany a complete piece of music, most commonly a song. Modern music videos were made primarily and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. An early example of a music video was made by St Louis Blues in 1929. Bessie Smith, blues singer appeared in a two-reel short film called St Louis Blues in 1940, Walt Disney released fantasia, this was an animated film that features famous pieces of music. The earliest music videos were filmed in the mid 1950’s, however before then as early as 1920’s. Films and animators such as Oscar Fischinger were accompanied by music scored, labelled visual music.

Music video promotion can be put into many different categories, such as billboard, Tv, radio, newspapers, internet etc… Video is a major tool for artists and labels to promote a single in order to help sell the album. A video is a live performance that connects the fans with the artists. 

http://virool.com/?google-cpc-promoting-your-music&gclid=Cl12roXmwblCFYYTfAodwBAAEQ

The link above is a website that shows all the different genre types and how it can help advertise your music. Internet is the most popular form of promoting, simply because it brings in such a huge audience. Advertising on TV is another efficient and effective way of promoting a music video. A well known music TV channel is MTV. MTV stands for music television link to their website. MTV mostly shows hip-hop R&B and many other different genres of music, for example Eminem. He is a famous rapper who is a very well known artists, he has been rapping for years. You can check his website out http://www.eminem.com/ this website shows a variety from his sings, to video to his online shop.

There are lots of different purposes of doing a music video some that benefit the artist and some that benefit the record label the artist is signed with. For example if you are signed with Sony music, or Universal which are major music labels then they have more control over what you do in your music video because they have more money to offer to fund and promote the video.  Although if you are with a major label it is often the case that artists have much less control over how you want yourself to be portrayed. A lot of the time boy bands are portrayed the way the record labels want them to be, so they have less creative choice. Where as the advantage of going with an independent label like bad sekta is that the artist can have more control over what the viewers see and what he or she wants to put in his video. Although there are some disadvantages of being on an independent record label. You don't get as much support or much money so it is harder to advertise your music or your identity, as well as struggling to build a fan base and image. The majority of people who are trying to make it as singers or artists are self published. This just means you promote yourself you don't receive any help or money from anyone it is you who has to get your music and identity heard. This can be good because you are free to do what you want and you can portray yourself how you want to be portrayed. It can be tough because it might be hard to get noticed. The reason for this is because there is less exposure from different media outlets.

synergy is a popular practice in a media industry and refers to media products being combined for promotion. It is a combination of different media products working together to create a cross media promotional campaign. some singers and artists would produce a video so that it is in sync with the beat and movement of their song where as other artists would rather focus it around themselves and their background , be slightly more creative.some artists might decide that they want to advertise a film and incorporate it into their video so it would be the film as a video with the the artists singing over the top. An example of when this process has been done would be Christina Peri’s song a thousand years where she includes different sections of twilight into her music video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtOvBOTyX00 this specific video became very successful and their are lots of reasons for this. The twilight video being included with her song works very well as the song is sad and so is the storyline for twilight. so it would of had a unique selling point because she has incorporated a very popular film into her video, this would of attracted more and more of a target audience who wouldn't normally take the time to listen to her music. The contents of the video consists of different sections of the twilight movie with camera shots going back to Christina peri the artist. She has done this to advertise herself as an artists as well as using twilight as a unique method and selling point. The artists Christina Peri is currently signed with a major label atlantic records. The production company that did a collaboration were 

Summit Entertainment, Temple Hill Entertainment, Sunswept

Also another example is will smith and Justin Bieber who do a song to go with the film karate kid, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z5-P9v3F8w

synergy is a very good technique to use, it gives more exposure across media outlets and reaches consumers through a range of outlets.

The main reason artists put videos with their songs is so it promotes the song and expands the fan base. The reason for this is because their song might get recognised on the radio but to get it noticed more they would put a video with it so it can be played on music channels on TV.

It is important that artists have an image so it is unique and individual so you are drawn to watch a the music video that gets created. This urges the fans to go to their concerts because they have an image that the audience likes so this produces lots of income for the artist and record label. Or even if you are an independent artist. In the music industry there are three main major labels that are very well known in the media industry especially. These three major labels are ....

each of these labels have huge recognition within the music industry. As an artist you know you are popular if you have been signed on one of these labels. The thing with music labels is depending on what label you are signed with also decides how much of a budget will be spent on a music video for the artist. Producers have different strategies on spending when it comes to a new artist, for example if an artists is fined with sony music they know that money will not be an issue when a music video is being created for them. However, if you are signed with a small label like silvertip films you know budget is going to be an issue. This will result in that label using a lower budget. This is not necessarily a bad thing, I previously said that if you are on a lower level label you are allowed more creativity and control which is what some artists want. Being signed onto a music label means they are able to dictate what happens to the creativity in the video. For the majority of artists later on in there career once they have received recognition and consumers have a good idea of there profile they don't worry about that so much, but for new artists coming into the industry they are obviously going to want to set a profile for themselves to be known by.

http://www.columbia.co.uk/just_signed/rita_ora/

Rita ora has just recently been signed to columbia records she is a prime example of an artist. She is all about her image, she promotes herself through her image. she has an official website where she constantly puts updates of what she's doing and what songs she's recording or released. It has a gallery and shows numerous videos on it. this is how she promotes herself.http://www.ritaora.com/uk/news Not only does Rita Ora promote her image through her website she also has an Instagram account where she is constantly uploading images of herself in the newest trend.

This is a list of a collection of captured images from links on rita ora's website

On all of the different links you can click on she has some form of promotion for her music videos and albums. She represents her image on all of the pages by using herself as the background wearing different clothing portraying a different image each time. there are a lot of twitter and facebook links this shows that she shows herself through a modern way of promoting.

Artists get their income lots of different ways, for example when people download songs iTunes, or the use of streaming through spottily when consumers pay a monthly fee to gain access to songs available on spotify. When music channels play the videos,the selling of albums, artists get royalties which is basically a percentage of everything that is sold like concert tickets merchandising, and even when their songs are played on music channels. Currently the majority of an artists income will come from live conerts and playing at festivals that take place, recently the popularity of attending a concert or a festival has risen which will result in that being the main source of income for an artist. Not only do artist's have the opportunity to receive money from live concerts they also have the chance to receive large amounts of income from private live shows that may include a meet and greet. Consumers will pay big sums of money to see a popular artists play in a small live concert as well as being offered the chance to meet them. 

A small live concert when consumers can get closer to the artist.

Lovebox festival is a smaller festival where popular artists and independent ones who are trying to make it into the industry will play.

Reading festival which normally has two very famous artists and also up and coming artists.

This is the summertime ball concert which takes place in the o2 arena. It is the most popular concert out there and always fully sells out on tickets. If an artists plays in this arena they are extremely favoured by an audience.

If an artists is extremely popular in the industry then there is going to be a high demand for that individual artists to attend interviews or chat shows. This is not only a source of income for that artist but is also a great way for them to promote themselves in a way that they want to be promoted. Interviews are done on a more personal level, this means the artists can express themselves in a way they want to. If an artist is in high demand they will also start to receive offers of sponsorship. Sponsorship is when a business/company will pay or provide assets and equipment to an individual or a team  for a place in advertisement. For example David Beckham who is a leading football celebrity has gained over 20 million from various different sources of sponsorship. 

David Beckham gillette sponsorship.

David Beckham Sponsorship.

David Beckham adidas sponsorship.

Cheryl Cole is another prime example of celebrity sponsorship. She managed to secure herself a sponsorship deal with loreal with brought in a large amount of income for her. 

There are many different media outlets where you could view whatever you want to see, like music videos or content relating to artists or bands. some of the most popular ones are youtube especially for self made artists as they rely on this to get there music out there and newspapers. With media outlets you can either reach out to a large target audience with mass communication or a very small target audience with a handful of people. some advantages of having media outlet is that a lot of artists can have there own websites full of information on them. This is good if your wanting to know about the artists. Some of the media that music videos are shown in is TV, internet, DVD’s and concerts. The most commonly used one is the internet as its easy access all round the world.

The most common way the public consume music is through music downloads. Some people still buy cd’s but downloading music from iTunes or other sources is the most popular method of music consumption. there are other options like radio music from the TV and so on.