APLYING VERNALIS THEORY TO A MUSIC VIDEO

I chose this video to analyse as it the same artist we chose for our track. Firstly, Vernalis says that there is not necessarily a balance between narrative and performance. In this video there is more performance than narrative. The narrative is about the members of the PCD coming together to perform a dance in the studio. The music and the performance is what drives the music video forward, with the performance being of shots of the different members of the band.  The music video is edited to the beat. For example at 0.53 to 0.57 the cuts between the artists go with the lyrics of the song. The same goes for the opening of the music video where the camera cuts to all the members of the band with the beat.
Like Vernalis says, in a music video there are many shot types with extremes being very common. In this music video there are extreme close ups that run throughout. For example at 1.00, the shot of the sound system adds to the RnB genre of the video. The performance shot of Nicole Sherzinger with Will.I.Am is used regularly throughout the music video in order to promote the artists and help sell their album.
Moving to the diegesis of the music video, the artists move in beat to the music. With the opening of the video being in slow motion, this fits in with the first beat.  Actions or dance moves are never completed as this would make the music video very boring and predictable. There are also many repetitions throughout the music video. For example the music phrases, the beat, lyrics, performances and camera positions

NISHA AND LOREN LIPSYNCH

This is our lipsynch that we used as practice for our real video.
From watching this we have decided that Nisha will be better singing the main vocals and Loren will be better singing the backing vocals as Nisha looks as if she has a stronger voice.
Both Loren and Nisha work well in front of the camera, therefore we both equally be performing in our music video.
The voices look a lot older than the actresses, therefore in order to make the lipsynching look more realistic we will need to dress up very sophisticated with lots of makeup etc.

IDEAS AND ANALYSIS/INSPIRATIONS

Here is a clip from the Dolce&Gabbana advert starring model Tyson ballou. I think its a good clip to analyse as there are many great ideas throughout the advert which we could take a closer look into as the narrative is very similar to our own music video idea.

Firstly, the camera following Tyson into the backstage shooting room is similar to the idea of our music video, in which the members of the band are being followed into the audition room. In the advert, the camera is hand held and therefore gives a real sense of chaos, allowing the audience to empathise with the performer and how he is rushing to be on time. I really like the black and white in the shot as it makes the sequence look more professional and gives a real sense of the camera going 'backstage.' I think we could co-operate this into our own idea, either for the scenes where the camera follows the performers or just the beauty shots. The beauty shots being in black and white would really set apart the performance from the narrative, making the music video easy to follow. At 0.40 there is an extreme close up of the sign on the door which reads 'D&G UNDERWEAR SHOOT, CLOSED SET!!!!!' I think this idea of showing a sign on the door is clever as it gives the audience a direct sense of where they are and what is happening. Another thing which works really well is the lack of music in the bit where Tyson walks into the shooting room. When the performers in our music video walk in to the audition room, I think the music should stop and the footsteps of the dancer walking into the room echoes and is the only sound the audience can hear for roughly two seconds. Then suddenly the music starts again and the girls start their dance routine. The idea of the camera and shooting equipment being in the shot works really well, giving a sense of a 'backstage pass into the closed set'. It makes the advert look expensive and glossy, which I reckon could also work very well in our music video, whilst shooting in the audition room.

IDEAS

So after a few meetings with each other and also Miss Blackborrow  we have come to our final narrative idea. The narrative is based around two girls coming from very different backgrounds who join together and become best friends through their passion for dancing. Loren being the more affluent girl of the two will be dressed in a red coat, red heels and red alice band to connote the poshness in her. Nisha however, would be dressed in jeans, a hoody and nike high tops, making her look more street and trendy as opposed to posh. The different lifestyles would also be shown through different locations. Loren will be walking through Fifth Avenue whereas Nisha will be walking through Brooklyn. The destination is an audition room where they will be assessed on their dancing by three judges.

Jake Wynne's advice

- Whilst doing the dancing shots, always have a wide shot shot, otherwise the audience will get confused and won't know where the location is or what they are doing.
- Whilst shooting the beauty shots, have mostly close-ups. Therefore it wont matter what background we choose. Also, if you want the background out of focus, stand far away with the camera and zoom in. The performer would be in focus but the background would be out of focus, keeping the attention on the only them.
- Whislt shooting in New York, have a lot of wide shots. Don't hide where you are; embrace it.
- To avoice the video looking like a home video, use a lot of shot types. I. e close ups, long shots, tracks, pans e.t.c
- Capture random shops and movements to make the music video more exciting and to stop if being very linear.
- To create more of a narrative, have the two dancers coming from different sides of town. One from a rich, classy area, and another from the less affluent area. To expand on this, the well-off girl can have a really confident personality (which is shown as she strutts through town and flicks her hair) whereas the other girl could be more down to earth and anxious about the auditions.
- To really emphasise that the two performers are completely different people, have them walking in different directions with different backgrounds. (I.e the upper classs girl walking past desgigner shops and the lower class girl walking past a basketball court)

UPDATE

Loren and I have chosen the RnB path to our music video. We have decided on a final track

PUSSYCAT DOLLS - TOP OF THE WORLD.

Seeing how we're both going to New York and staying in the same hotel this half term (coincidentally) we've decided to shoot some footage out there. If plans don't go according to plan we can just switch to shooting in London City.

Our treatment is ready to pitch in Mondays lesson, where feedback would be crucial to make our music video the best it can possibly be.

Analyisng an album cover

Typical features of an album cover
- Main image of solo artist or band
- Colour scheme (can be black and white or in colour)
- Signature font/typeface
- Logo/visual motif
- Links to the artist websites
-Track listing
- Institutions
- Date of release
- Bar code
- Front, back and spine

How would you catergorise the covers?

- Genre

- Gender

-Era

- Number of the album (debut, 1st, 2nd, 3rd)

- Target audience

- Link to style; photography, artwork, animation

- special editions

- career

-mainstream or alternative/niche

What are the different functions of an album cover?

-Creates identity; makes the band/artist and music distinctive

- Helps sell the artist/songs on the album/their music

-Captures audience and pursuades them to buy the album

- Visual representations

- Has to sell the genre

- Promotes the producer/record label

Album cover

LADY GAGA ALBUM COVER


ALBUM COVER

- A shot from a scene in the music video of the hit single 'poker face'. Fans would've watched the video over and over and therefore automatically know the album is Lady Gagas'
- Extreme close up of the singer facing the camera. This creates impact and draws in the audience
- 'The fame' (the album name) is clearly visible as it is types in white. It is illustrated by Lady Gaga's huge sunglasses, and the collection of diamond in one of the reflected in them. This shows the glamours, rich, famous life she lives.
- The only other font is 'Lady Gaga' leaving no room for the audience to get distracted by anything else that is going on the album cover.


THE BACK

- Colour scheme is similar to the colour of the diamonds on the front cover, making a connection between the two.

- Follows the typical conventions of the artist websites/institutions and the bar code.

- The low key lighting, make-up, costume and hair style makes her look very glamourous - anchoring the album name 'The fame'

- The signer and album name is written again on the left side of the back cover, read from left to right and typed vertically. This prevents the audience from getting distracted from the main image and the track names.

- The track names are written towards the left of the album back, with an extra bonus track 'I like it rough.' This encourages fans to buy the album as they know they'll hear her forthcoming release before everyone else, making them feel special.

Album cover

GIRLS ALOUD - tangled up

- Play on words, girls are trapped their small frames of the CD

- All singers are directly addressing the camera, enticing the audience.

- Shows the importance of each singer - they all have an equal amount of space on the album cover, showing they're a band with equal roles.

- White strappy tops with ties up hair, making them look sexy yet sophisticated

- Trapped with a rope/string. Again, play on words with 'tangled up'

Analysing Album covers

- Black and white colour scheme. This gives the impression that the singer is a 'classic, well known, all time' singer.
- An image of one of Michael Jackson's well known dance steps. Fans will automatically know the CD album is his by this image even though it doesn't show the singers face
- Black shoes, white socks. Iconography of Michael Jackons dress sense.

- 'Michael Jackon' is the first thing you read on the album. This is because he himself will help sell the album.

- The song names are typed in a small font, preventing the audience from getting distracted from the main image.

- Breaks the typical convention of the track names being at the back of the album.
- The feet are in a spotlight, this shows the significance of the singer
- The famous signature dance move features in other Michael Jackson products,(i.e posters) linking all of his merchandise together.

- The black, white and red colour scheme is also evident in most of his album covers

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Goodwins theory- Ciara, promise

Institutional/reference information
I am analysing Ciara- Promise as I think it is a great one to use for inspiration. The music video fits into the genre of RnB hiphop. The characteristics which show this is a street dance routine, clothing - big hoodies, tracksuit bottoms, chunky tainers, a black singer who wears a lot of make up and 'bling'

What is the relationship between lyirics and visuals?
This is a performance based video, therefore there is no relation between lyrics and visuals. In the beginning she announces she is single and wants a guy to just 'hold her' so perhaps the performance is just for her to show off her talent and through it find a guy right for her.

What is the realationship between music and visuals?
Most imporatantly, the edits match the pace of the music. It cuts to the beat a lot. If the pace is slow, the editing is fast. If there is a slow bit (i.e singing solo without instruments) the editing is very slow, mirroring the music.
At 2.10 when Ciara sings 'do, do, do' and 'you, you, you' the camera shot changes, emphasising the beat of the song.

Are there closeups of the artist and star image motifs?
The record company is looking to sell this track through the artist and the choreography. Therefore there are four beauty shots of her. The artist is portrayed as sexy, confident and clearly a dancer. Likewise, in many of her previous music videos. For example, goodies, never ever, like a boy, are all very dance related. They use her strength to sell the track.

Is there reference to the notion of looking?
The artist is definitely a sexual display for the audience. This is shown through her clothing/(lack of clothes) and her dance routines. There are many grinding movements in the dance video, with a silhouette of her in a white background - This attracts the male audience. Also she uses the mic stand as a dancing pole. These features have been chosen to help sell the track.

Are there intertextual references?
The music video relates to the star's image, as she is known for being a great dancer from her previous music videos.

Is the music video performance- based, narrative-based or concept based?
The music video is solely performance based

Analysing a music video of my choice - 'Promise' by Ciara

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vPyzCHgZ88&feature=channel


I'm so fascinated by this music video and think it is a great video to use for inspiration as it is also performance based. The lighting throughout is very lowkey making it look very classy and expensive. There are four beauty shots of Ciara - a silhouette of her dancing, her dancing in trackies, her on the chair with red heels, and oe of her with the mike stand.
There is a whole range of camera shots, from close ups, low angle tracks, high angle shots, mid shots, and extreme long shots. This keeps the audience engaged throughout as they dont get bored from seeing one shot over and over again. Although there are back up dancers, during the dance routines the camera always focuses on Ciara, making her the centre of attention. This helps sell the artist. The choreography is brilliant, which is essential to produce a successful music video.

MYSPACE AND ARTIST WEBSITES DECONSTRUCTION

Michael Jackson

www.myspace.com/michaeljackson

- Colour scheme: black and white. This usually connotes aged and traditional, connoting he is a classic singer who has been famous for decades.

- A silhouette of the singer which is the focus of the page. This sells the artist and makes him the main icon of the page. The still dance movement is of him on his tip-toes. This is one of his signature dance moves.

- 'His music will live forever' this shows his significance in the music industry and how he'll never be forgotten.

- Add to friends /leave a commment; allowing people to communicate and share their opinions about the legend over the myspace page.

-Automatic music playlist; allowing the audience to listen to his classic hits whilst cruising his page, also allowing them to become aware of songs them may have not heard of before.

- View photos/view videos; The audience can reminise over the great singer and his greatest moments.

- Send Michael Jackson a text; This allows his greatest fans feel special and 'text Michael' there thoughts rather than posting them on his page (more personal aswell).

- Top 4 friends - This is it movie. Legacy Recordings. The Jacksons. Akon. - This is an indirect way of advertising his forth coming movie, greatest hits and his partner in PYT - Akon. His 827068 will see his four top friends when them go on his page.

Pussycat Dolls

http://www.pussycat-dolls.net/pussycat-dolls/


- A huge banner which holds a black and white group photo of pussy cat dolls.
- The 'Pussycat dolls' icon in the middle of the image, and in colour - making it stand out. The shiny effect makes it look special and valuable.
- Individual profiles allowing the audience to get to know each of the singers individually.

- Lyrics page; fans can sing along

- Calendar; keeping fans up to date with where they will be performing next.

- Freebies; Downloading wallpapers, icons. This is a great way to market the band.

- Gallery; shows photos of the fans (shows off their image)

- Multimedia; both audio and video for fans who want to listen to their music whilst cruising their page.

- Artist briefing; allows fans to know more about the band. I.e how they formed, and The Pussycat Dolls career.

GROUP UPDATE

After our last meeting, we are considering whether or not our group is working to its full potential and individual strength. Due to diverse music tastes we considered giving the project one more week as a group. If the team shows progress in working together we will stick as a group. If not, we will split into two smaller groups as that may be better for us individually.

DYM HW FEEDBACK

Nisha, the extended deadline for posting your marketing research has passed. Please post your work asap.
Mrs D.