A2 media : June 2015

Monday, 29 June 2015

Brand Research

This is logo that sets the artist apart from the others. Their unique logo that defines them.

Foo Fighters

One Direction

The Rolling Stones

Music Labels

Virgin Records, Ltd. is a British record label -

Founded: 1973
Founders: Richard Branson, Nik Powell

Artists include -

Katy Perry, Jared Leto, Sex Pistols, Pharrell Williams, David Guetta and many more.

Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues.

Founded: 1939

Founders: Max Margulis, Francis Wolff, Alfred Lion

Artists include -

John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, Madlib, Art Blakey, Dekter Gordon and many more.

Astralwerks is an American-based record label primarily focused on electronic and dance music.

Founder: Brian Long

Artists Include -

Sia, David Guetta, Porter Robinson, Duke Dumont, Deadmau5 and many more.

Harvest Records is a major record label belonging to Capitol Music Group, originally created by EMI, active from 1969 to present.

Artists Include -

Death Grips, Pink Floyd, Morrissey, Banks and many more.

Priority Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group, and operates as a unit of Capitol Music Group. The company has made a name for itself dealing primarily in hip hop.

Founder: Bryan Turner

Artists Included - Snoop Dogg, Easy-E, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Harry Fraud and many more.

Music Director and Influence of Styles

These Directors All Come From The Company 'Believe Media'.

Jake Nava - is a director of music videos and TV commercials, having created award-winning works over the past decade for some of the best-known artists and brands worldwide.

(left to right)
Beyoncé - 'FLAWLESS'
Youtube - 'RITUALS AND DANCE'
Lana Del Ray - 'SHADES OF COOL'
Beyoncé - 'PARTITION'
Arctic Monkeys - 'ARABELLA'

Floria Sigismondi - is a Canadian-Italian photographer and music video director.

Born: 1965, Pescara, Italy

(left to right)
Justin Timberlake - 'MIRRORS'
Sigur Ros - 'LEANING TOWARDS SOLACE'
David Bowie - 'THE STARS ARE OUT TONIGHT'
Living Things - 'FAKE IT BABY, FAKE IT'
Pink - 'TRY IT'

Mood Board

Ella Eyre - Research

Real Name - Ella McMahon
Stage Name - Ella Eyre
Age - 21 years (April 1, 1994)
Nationality - English, British
Record Label - Virgin EMI Records
Website - http://www.ellaeyre.com/home/
Albums - Deeper (released 2013) - Deeper,
Love Me Like You, Going On.
Songs - Comeback, If I Go, We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off, Waiting All Night, Think About It, Someday, Solo.

Lyrics of Chosen song -

"We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off"

Not a word, from your lips

You just took for granted that I want to skinny dip

A quick hit, that's your game

But I'm not a piece of meat, simulate my brain

The night is young, so are we

Let's just get to know each other, slow & easily, ohh oh

Take my hand, let's hit the floor

Shake our bodies to the music

Maybe then you'll score, ohh oh

So come on baby, won't you show some class

Why'd you have to move so fast?

We don't have to take our clothes off

To have a good time

Oh no

We could dance & party all night

And drink some cherry wine, ohh oh

Just slow down if you want me

A man wants to be approached cool & romantically, ohh oh

I've got needs

Just like you

And if the conversations good

Vibrations through & through, ohh oh

So come on baby, won't you show some class

Why'd you have to move so fast?

We don't have to take our clothes off

To have a good time, ohh oh

We could dance & party all night

And drink some cherry wine, ohh oh

[x3:]

We don't have to take our clothes off

To have a good time, ohh oh

We could dance & party all night

And drink some cherry wine

Music Video - Initial Idea

Tuesday, 23 June 2015

Analysing a Music Video - Taylor Swift (Love Story)

Conventions -

The song Love Story mirrors the fairytale setting. It is similar to the film Romeo and Juliet as the song was written about a love interest of Swift's who was not popular among her family and friends. Swift related the plot to Shakespeare's play and used it as a source of inspiration. The setting clearly mirrors this view with olden day 'castles' clothing and a ball (dance) and the frequently portrayed images of Swift on the balcony replicate Juliet in the film/play. The relationship between Swift and the male in this video is shown through their actions and the idyllic set up. Movement is mostly shown through the ball setting which builds up sexual tension between the characters.Unlike the film/play she replaced Romeo and Juliet‍ 's original tragic conclusion with a happy ending. The narrative matches the lyrics "That you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles, and my daddy said, "Stay away from Juliet". Swift is shown lip syncing, which gives direct address to the audience.

Representation -

Taylor Swift, as the lead singer is shown the most in the video. She is also portrayed through many close up shots to show her importance. Her companion who plays 'Romeo' is not shown as frequently. The fairytale image is replicated through choice of outfits and setting. Swifts princess dress and the males smart 'prince' attire coincide with the castle setting. Her blonde hair and fair complexion suggest she is pure and innocent, a representation you would expect of a princess. The story like narration is a popular convention of a pop video.

Audience -

A Taylor Swift video in general would most likely interest teenage girls. This particular video would also primarily aim this target audience as it promotes fairytale romance, a more feminine topic. The fans would most likely see Swift as a role model so her videos have to promote a good message. The target audience would probably also like other female chart artists such as Rita Ora or Meghan Trainor. It would also be expected that the types of magazines they were interested in could be fashion or pop music styles. More involved fans could also access the song on Swifts website.

Institutions -

'Love story' was one of if not the most popular single to get Swift on the market. As a singer song writer Swift composed the song which was produced by Nathan Chapman. It was released on September 12, 2008 by Big Machine Records, as the lead single from Swift's second studio album Fearless (2008). Having been a fairly new artist Swift uses
intricate detail on the set and a comparison to a well know Shakespeare play to entice her wide audience.

Monday, 15 June 2015

Andrew Goodwin's 6 Features Of Music Videos (Beyoncé - Grown Woman)

R & B

1. Music Video demonstrates genre characteristics.

noun

noun: R 'n' B

1.

short for rhythm and blues.
2.

a kind of pop music of black origin with a soulful vocal style featuring much improvisation.

Typical conventions of an R&B video are

Artist always shown
Usually dance routine
Close up of artists
Usually set in calm locations such as houses, beaches
Hardly no performance
Women usually wear revealing clothing
Money portrayed positively.
Alcohol and party scenes
Use of special effects

2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals.

A typical music video will include cuts from action to action and 'Grown Woman' is no different. It needs to aesthetically please as well as its interest to please with its audio. Nowadays most lyrics are portrayed through image and illustrations. In this video, we firstly see the development of Beyoncé life. The video starts by showing her as a young girl and cuts to her as an adult. Through the use of her home footage we see various images and clips of her getting older. An interesting appeal is her mirroring her movements as a child in present day time. There is no denying her love for dance, and her transformation from child to adult supports this. The correlation occurs with lyrics to images as the words sang are "I'm a grown woman, I can do whatever I want."

3. There is a relationship between music and visuals.

The music has an upbeat fun tone to it, consequently making you want to dance. There is also an element of culture to the song, as its visual images suggest a Caribbean setting towards the end, with the 3 girls almost giving off tribal vibes against the colourful floral backdrop. The dancing is also stereotypical for the Caribbean culture, which is portrayed through the music.

4. The demands of the record Label will include the need for less close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work.

Throughout the video there are frequent shots, angles and positioning of the characters, particularly Beyoncé. The different layouts, costumes and make up seen on Beyoncé make the video more interesting. If you were to watch any music video with a popular artist you would expect to see them somewhere in the video.

5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking.

Through the dancing Beyoncé and companions are seen shaking their bums (twerking) to the camera at (2.08 minutes). This could be seen as a sexual portrayal of the female body, however its chilled setting and casual clothing make it seem light hearted and fun. In fact, the the most sexualised element of the whole video is shown at the end, when Beyoncé has clearly emerged into the adult she is today. She is shown wearing various outfits; a black dress to start with whilst dancing with a group of females and then a patterned leotard to follow. Both outfits correlate to the provocative dancing shown. The different array of settings suggest a change in time (as time moves on). Furthermore the special effects seen more towards the end of the video show a change in era; times have moved on and we are now able to present an audience with visual special effects.

6. There are often inter textual references.

This is not applied in this video.

Andrew Goodwin’s 6 Features of Music Videos

In His Book Dancing in the Distraction Factory Andrew Goodwin points out characteristics and features that can be found in music videos. Looking at a selection of music videos which can be recognised?

1.Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics.

(e.g. stage performance in metal videos, dance routine for boy/girl band, aspiration in Hip Hop).

2.There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. The lyrics are represented with images.(either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).

3.There is a relationship between music and visuals. The tone and atmosphere of the visual reflects that of the music.

(either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).

4.The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style).

5.There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, mirrors, stages, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.

6.There are often intertextual reference (to films, tv programmes, other music videos etc).

Typical Conventions of music videos

Camera Shots: Long shots, close-ups and extreme close-ups are constantly used. Close-ups are usually used in music videos as it puts emphasis on the artist or bands face for promotional reasons and their lips to show the lip-synching.

Camera movements: Pans, dolly track shots, crane shots and tilts are used to follow the movements of the singer/band or dancers.

Editing: Jump cuts are the most commonly used as its purpose is to jump from a scene of the location to the artist to the instruments and vice-versa. Reaction shots are used with music videos with narrative as it expresses the relationship between two or more people. The pace of the editing is always in synch with the beat of the track.

Mise-en-scene: Is associated to the inter-textual link of the music video, therefore it depends on the representation. For example, the video XO by Beyonce is based at a fun fair and is reflected through the use of staging, characters, costumes and so on to represent the location. Mise-en-scene is also reflected through:

1. Lighting: Extreme artificial lighting is the most common type of lighting used in music videos as it helps to enhance the look of the artist or band through making them seem ‘ageless’, this is commonly used in pop music videos. Lighting switches help to indicate a shift from the chorus to verse and vice-versa. Finally, lighting also enhances the atmosphere as it can be used to give a bright and upbeat feel particularly in dance music videos or a dark and eerie feel which is used mostly in rock music videos. For example, Beyonce Knowles video for “Run The World (Girls)" uses the lighting to show her flawless complexion and fierce facial expression.

2. Props: Props are essential in music videos

3. Costume: Reflect the genre of the music and the style of the artist; therefore costumes are essential because they compliment the artist. For example, Lady Gaga has specific clothing to show off her fashion, this is evident in her “Poker face” video.

4. Colour: colour represents the mood of the song for example; bright colours are usually used in ‘feel good’ pop songs, a good example is Kylie Minogue’s “In your eyes” video

5. Sound: usually the sound is the music and vocals; however some music videos are similar to short films with acting, therefore in these clips there are various sounds which can be heard such as digetic and non-digetic sounds.

Hip-Hop Videos