Detailed Research into Music Videos

The more I think about the more I am intrigued in the idea of doing a music video. Mostly because I am quite passionate about music and I think it will generally be interesting to find out what it involves.

History of Music Videos

Music videos were first invented by George Thomas in the late 19th century but were known as Talkies which is basically as short music film, to promote the sale of a song. Talkies were also known as illustrated songs because they were made with still images e.g.:

The Little lost child was created in1894 and it hows who much technology has developed with time if you compare them to recent videos.

However they are now called Promos in the industry which is an abbreviation of promotional form of media as the videos are essentially advertising the album single or product. Therefore, they have to be simple for the audience to remember them.

Andrew Goodwin said "pop music videos build visual associations with the music" therefore this reinforces that similar genres follow the same patten or conventions as each other. Nevertheless, generally music videos follow the same editing codes as almost all of them cross cut between a performance and the band playing.

In my secondary research I read a book called A2 Media Studies Second edition which explained the music videos are quite postmodern this is because they break the fourth wall where they look at the camera and look the audience to draw them into the story this suspend the idea and brings the music video into reality instead of fiction. Some videos such as the following are even more postmodern as intertextuality from anime is used throughout Jihaku AMV some may call this art instead of media because of the technical skill that went into it as over 100 characters featured in the music video. Also I  am not certain because I do not know the series that well but I have a feeling the lyrics follow the narrative:

Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody single was accompanied by a promotional video which many consider groundbreaking at the time because technology began to develop and in 1975 editing colour and effects were available and led to this iconic  video which had a ballad,  hard rock and operatic sections and guitar solo. At the time it was the most expensive singles made   It received a Grammy award in 2004 almost 30 years after it had been made.

Brief 10

Short films: - are shorter than feature films which are seen in the cinema. Usually they have a small budget or no budget at all as it is very rare for the production company to have big budgets. This is because they obtain grants and sponsors. These funds are normally obtained from the film studios and private investors.

Live action shorts

If I were to make a short film I would want to make it look as authentic as possible and I think that live actions are best type of short films
Documentary shorts

If I were to make a short film I would want to make it as realistic as possible by achieving a good verisimilitude (trueness to life)
Animated shorts

I have a feeling this could be difficult to make as I am not familiar with the software that is used to make Animated shorts unlike documentary shorts and Live Action shorts which I could use premier pro. This will be easier as I used it last year. 

Brief 2

Before I completely finalise which brief I am completing I wanted to make sure it was the best choice for the project. Thus  I will be able to obtain the best grade.
What is an Advert?
An advert is a form of media promotion to enable information to be passed to customers quickly so that they can remember it when needing to buy the product or service it is informing about. It was used in world wars in the form of propaganda to persuade men to join the army. However, it really started in 1920 for tobacco.

What  are the different types of adverts?

Demonstration e.g. Apple iphone 5

Show Need or Problem e.g. -

Comparison. Example:Coke cola

Benefit Causes Story. Example: the Lynx ad.

On Going Characters and Celebrities. Example: Premier inn

Symbol, Analogy, Exaggeration. This time, instead of showing how the product solves a problem, the technique demonstrates a benefit of the product. Example: Mucus cough

Associated User Imagery. This is all about connecting the product to the type of person the advertiser thinks would be using the product. Hoping for identification. Example: Nike.

Unique Personality Property. Example: Dyson Vacuums.

The Music

 The song I will be using is called "Lets hear it for the vague blur" from the album "Conquer the Decade":

Although this already has a CD cover I will create a new one and keep it in line with the branding of the magazine advert and music video.

The lyrics to this are the following as the recording focuses on the bass I found it difficult to hear the words which is done to use the title  "Lets hear it for the vague blur".  Anyway here are the lyrics:

They told me I'll be fine without my former life, without my former life

So I just lied and purely denied, the pleasure was all mine

The pleasure was all mine, pleasure was all mine

I ravished and blinded the eyes in my head

Then woke up and spoke up to make no amends

These are the words that I left and shed (Left and shed)

The words I left and shed; “My core’s for the taking”

They told me I'll be fine without my former life, without my former life

So I just lied and purely denied, the pleasure was all mine

The pleasure was all mine, pleasure was all mine

A shame, that they say your choice of words is to blame

A disgrace, that you see this as some complex game

Loneliness will haunt me

As I lose my will to speak

So long, you're now breathing

I’ll take this all tongue and cheek

They told me I'll be fine without my former life, without my former life

So I just lied and purely denied, the pleasure was all mine

The pleasure was all mine, pleasure was all mine

Don’t say goodbye

Don’t tell me I’ll be fine without my former life

(Don't told me I’ll be fine)

They told me I'll be fine without my former life, without my former life

So I just lied and purely denied, the pleasure was all mine

The pleasure was all mine, pleasure was all mine

Solitary strings play your sound

Forsaken feelings lost and found

Isolated pupils turn to white

Forlorn wicks light the night

It is apparently about leaving home and facing the world of work so I could do a narrative based music video as I won't be able to get the band all in one place as they have split up and gone to university. Nevertheless if the codes and conventions say I have to do a performance based music video I will have to find actors that play instruments.

Why have I chosen Brief 1?

I have chosen brief 1 because I have an idea for a Music video as I have the music and have a passion for it as my Step Brothers Band wrote it. Therefore, I think I can make that one the most creatively by using the codes and conventions and developing them by combing copying and transferring ideas from other music videos. With the help of social media my products will be able to spread internationally quicker e.g. Sharing it on Facebook and Uploading it to YouTube. Furthermore, the easy access the these sights with new media technologies  such as Apples I pad will make people search for them on-line as I feel Music Videos are much more popular than adverts and Short films. However, I will have to do a survey to make sure of this theory.

I don't think I could come up with an inventive idea with brief 10 the adverts as my idea about a yogurt called yo-yo yogurt would have been in the same genre - modern as I thought I would be able to make the slogan "To bring a spring back into your step" and target it at the elderly - over 60's. However, I thought that this brand could be slightly patronizing if taken the wrong way. Also it sounded like all other yogurt adverts a young woman supposedly old talking about the benefits of the product in a kitchen or a field so that all stereotypical women in kitchens can enjoy the supposedly natural yogurt so natural it was supposedly made in that kitchen or field. However, I didn't like the idea that there were restrictions to what could be filmed as i found this out while researching. Also I think that most audiences find adverts annoying especially direct mail which they receive unsolicited either by post or email  however some production companies see the advertisements they make as a work of art

In addition, I didn't use Brief 10 the short film brief because even though I had an idea I thought it may be very difficult to structure it. Nevertheless, I will explain the idea anyway: Basically, it is set in the future and its similar to  the film The Hunger Games maybe even a parody it and call it The Thirsty Games. The low budget would thus mean fewer characters. Therefore the three main characters would start normal days whether this is going to school work or a shopping to represent age or travelling around different areas such as London the countryside (pretending its - Scotland) and a coastal setting (Pretending its Cornwall) to represent regional identity. (Thinking about it the representation age is probably the easiest to produce as the actors age will be a primary part of the product). They each use an electronic device which is spying on them CCTV camera for the oldest actor who went shopping, The mobile phone for the child that went to school and the Laptop for the adult who went to work. However suddenly each person through a POV shot faints (Fade out) they each wake up in a strange garage like place there are three glasses and a note that reads "one glass is not poisoned two are. Unless you want to die of thirst it is suggested that you choose quickly and carefully. There can only be one survivor" Thus, the structure of this short film would start with the reaction shots with a voice over of the characters saying this and end with the same on a cliff hanger to create suspense and tension. To be honest I don't really know how to end it, and I don't like the idea that its short as if I were to really make this film I would like it to go global to receive maximum profit.

Although these are great ideas I know that when I come up with an idea for something I stick to it and don't use or relate it to my research. (This is what happened in AS as we struggled to open up to new ideas that the teachers were giving us which I now realise was  ridiculous considering they are the ones marking our work). Although I only have a vague idea for what I want to do with the music video I will be able to use my research more efficiently. furthermore if I were to really produce this I would be able to increase my profit by making a single and spreading it globally so it goes viral. This is reinforced by the following quote " The Music industry is both more 'open' than film making and less easily 'controllable' than traditional broadcast television" Stafford 2007. Nevertheless, the first thing I would need to do is find out the genre of my music to know what the codes and conventions I will be using in my music video.

Brief 1

This brief includes a music video but the music used has to be non-copyright meaning there must not be any legal contracts attached to the band. Also the brief requires a magazine advertisement and also a CD cover. Therefore, I  had to research different music videos these included the following::-

What is a Music Video? - A music Video is recorded performance of a piece of music normally with dancing and visual images representing meaning of the possible lyrics or tone and mood of the music.The Music Video is also a form of promotion also known as promos as they promote the track whereas the digipack and the album advert promote the album.

A narrative based video (where the song tells the story of the action in the video) however the example below demonstrates signs of a performance based video as Beyonce breaks the fourth wall  e.g.

A performance based video (which is pretty much what it says it is footage of the band or artist performing at a concert)  e.g:

This is not that interesting for viewers because it is quite repetitive as there isn't any editing for example cross cutting like there is in the narrative based videos.
A concept based video (most of the footage does not match the narrative or there is a theory or metaphor attached to the video.)

This shows that different genres of music use different types of music videos for example Monkey Drummer is Electronic metal so the producers have used the concept based music video to emphasise the electronic idea of it. Moreover, Jon McLaughlin's video is performance based to show off the music; piano which is mostly what music of this genre tries to achieve. Lastly, Beyonces Genre is R&B and pop which is also shown through most narrative based music videos.

The briefs

These are the briefs for the coursework in A2 there are three of them which I need to explore research and choose which one I would like to complete. The second brief has changed as you may have notice I crossed it out because it is no longer a trailer, magazine front cover and poster but 2 TV adverts, one  sponsorship advert, the other a normal tv advert and a radio advert.