Update of meetings

As school has now finished our group has decided that our research will be done by ourselves, and phone calls and meetings will keep us updated on looking for costumes and ideas for our video.
Last time we met up Tony was on about buying a Chewbaka costume for the video, and we all talked through ideas of using either just one or a few costumes to create a chase, or making a comedic video instead.

Analysis of a video using the Andrew Goodwin Theory

I will be evaluating Bombay Bicycle Clubs's song Evening/Morning using the Andrew Goodwin Theory, as it features a lot of elements as my own video will for example the use of a costume/mask.

1. Relationship between lyrics and visuals:
There are not a lot of lyrics in the song, with the chorus consisting of 'I am ready to owe you anything' over and over again, and there is no relationshp between these lyrics and the visuals seen in the video. The visuals are mainly chase scenes of a man dressed in a panda costume being chased by men in suits, and this story seems irrelevant to the words being sung by the band.

2. Relationship between music and visuals:
The music is fast paced throughout this song, as is the chase in this video even though it is filmed in slow motion. This relationship is key to keeping the song and video linked as there are not many more connections that link both together apart from seeing the band. Again another link between music and visuals is seeing the band playing the song in marathon costumes in a city street. The band playing their song live and the fast pace of the video is the only relationship between music and visuals.

3. Genres are complex and diverse in terms of music video style and iconography:
I think this video does stand out from typical music videos in the indie/rock genre through the use of the panda costume. It challenges typical conventions of the genre that just show the band stood playing their instruments, and as it is fast paced it keeps the audience on their toes. The camera is also in slow motion throughout the chase, and this is different to other videos and it again builds tension and makes the video dramatic.

4. Record companies will demand a lot of close-ups of the main artist or vocalist:
There are a lot of close ups of the lead singer in the panda costume and without the mask on, and there are also a lot of close ups of the men chasing him and the band playing in the street. The record company that manage Bombay Bicylce Club will be glad as the video promotes the band by using a lot of close-ups, and builds tension throughout the use of a mask until it unveils the bands lead singer.

5. Voyeurism is present in many videos, in terms of females, systems of looking. Examples include screen within a screen, cameras, mirrors, etc:
In this video the filming is very basic, and although the chases are edited into slow motion this is the only different effect used in Evening/Morning. There are no females in the video, which is expected in an indie video, rather than a R and B video, and no POV or two shots or anything other than normal filming.

6. Likely to be intertextual references - either to other videos or to films and TV texts, providing futher gratification and pleasure for the viewers/fans:
After studying the video a lot of times I still cannot find any intertextual references within this video. The use of costume and chase is original, however I think the two people chasing the lead singer are also in the band, or in a similar band that tour with Bombay Bicylce Club.

Grime genre example

Grime is a genre of urban music which first emerged in Bow, East London, England in the early 2000s, primarily a development of UK garage, dancehall, and hip hop. According toSasha Frere-Jones, writer for The New Yorker, grime has developed a fierce sound by "distilling" rhythms to a minimal style resulting in a choppy, off-center sound. Famous artists include Dizzee Rascal, Roll Deep and Wiley; and I will be evaluating Dizzee Rascals video for Fix Up Look Sharp to look at typical genre conventions.

The whole video shows typical conventions of the grime genre. Camera angles and shots are usually close-ups and mid-shots of Dizzee Rascal as he is the focus of this video, and panning shots also make him seem key to the video. The plain yellow background also makes him stand out as his character is shown in black in contrast to this background. The editing featured is smooth and continuous and follows the bassline in the background. The camera also shifts up/down and left/right to move the shot along or start a new image of Dizzee. The sound in the video is just the song, and the bassline that accompanies this is in the middle of the screen throughout the video, reflecting the sound. Mise en scene includes the bassline in the background, and the clothes Dizzee is wearing - cap, baggy clothing and hoody with the hood up over his hat. This video dosen't challenge any conventions as it fits in with a grime video, and many others have been based around this basic idea.

This CD cover is very good in my opinion. It features the artist sat in the corner, as the name of the single suggests, and the colours used also reflect the ones in the video. Therefore the CD cover works well alongside the video, and I am thinking that my group could use these ideas, like using the same colour schemes from video to CD, and a picture of the main artist too.

Definitions

I thought it would be a good idea to get some definitions of things I don't understand now, so I will know about them when I need to:

• Digipak: Digipak is a patented style of compact disk or DVD packaging, and is a registered trademark of AGI Media, a MeadWestvaco, Inc resource, which acquired the original trademark holder, IMPAC Group, Inc., in 2000. Digipaks typically consist of a gatefodl (book-style) paperboard or card stock outer binding, with one or more plastic trays capable of holding a CD or DVD attached to the inside. Digipaks tend to be used for special editions of CD's rather than ordinary singles.

Indie genre example

Indie rock is a commonly used tag for rock music that is produced either by small, independent record labels, or by the artists themselves. Nowadays Indie music is more like soft rock and key artists include Bombay Bicycle Club, Arctic Monkeys, The Drums, etc. I will be studying Arctic Monkeys video for Fluorescent Adolescent to look at key conventions in this genre.

This video challenges typial conventions of a indie video as it is more of a story, as it contains flashbacks, and focussuses on a fight between a group of clowns and gangsters. Normally anrgy things and fights are not in indie videos and it also dosen't feature any shots of the band, which is again very unusual. Camera angles include point of view shots in the fight and through cars, with close ups focussing on main characters and long shots revealing the scale of the fight. Pan and tilt shots are used in the chase and a shot from the ground up is used to show one of the characters power. Editing is quick as it is a fight, however a lot of slow motion is used showing things smashing against walls, a car on fire, etc. Dissolve is used for the flash back as are the use of photos. The sound is just the song, with subtitles used only once in the video. Old fashioned cars and an abondoned warehouse are used in mise en scene to set the scene of the video. The outfits are elaborate and show the clear differences between the two groups of fighting people: the clowns are dressed typically as clowns with make-up, dyed hair, etc, while the gangsters are dressed in leather jackets or long coats with boots and jeans. These different groups are also shown in the flash back by the children wearing the same types of clothing.

The CD cover for this single is very boring, and is just text in the typical style of their album. Although this makes the CD stand out on the shelf it does not show what the song or video is about, therefore I do not think it is a very good example to copy if we choose to make a video fro this genre.

This video is most likely to be what ours is like, as it features key elements that were ideas we had to start off with such as the use of over the top costumes.

Road Safety Filming

Today instead of being in our first lesson, a teacher has asked for our help with filming and editing a year 7 classes road safety videos. Over the next two weeks we will be filming and editing the work of a group in the year 7 class, and the teacher hopes to end up with some good little videos, as her efforts are normally quite limited. I will be keeping my blog updated throughout.

The Andrew Goodwin Theory

Yesterday we had another meeting and discussed various things to include in the blog and key features for a music video which we identified as a relationship between visuals and lyrics, as well as music and visuals. We need to make sure genres are complex and diverse in terms of music video style and iconography and include a lot of close-ups of the main vocalist. We also need to include voyeurism, in terms of systems of looking, and include intertextual references such as film and TV texts. These elements of a successful music video were developed in the Andrew Goodwin Theory, and later I will evaluate a video using these elements.

Drum and Bass genre example

Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated to D&B or DnB) is a type of electronic dance music which emerged in the mid 1990s, and is a style of electronic music focussing heavily on loud bass and fast-tempo drum beats. Current drum and Bass is characterised by bands such as Chase and Status, KG, DJ Hazard, etc. I analysed Chase and Status video for Pieces to study this genre of music.

The camera angles in this video included a lot of close-ups on the main artist on his guitar , and a lot of mid/close shots of his reaction to his girlfriend trashing his house. The action switches between a hand-held camera held by his ex, and him and his friends watching whats happening on a screen. The streets spin as the camera is turned really quickly and the camera also travels quickly down a road showing the busy streets and lights. POV shots are also included. The editing is straight cuts and action is added between old events such as birthdays captured on camera. The editing is quicker when the music speeds up, and there is a section where there are extremely quick edits of his face in different bits of town that give the impression of him walking a far distance. The sound of the video is just the song and voices are written at the bottom of the screen. The Mise en Scene shows girls kissing and other people having sex, with drunks smashing and destroying the flat and the artists baggy expensive t-shirts. There is swearing and fighting with a lot of anger, and the action switches from the destroyed flat to the rich studio.

Typical representations of this genre of music are clearly shown in this video, such as anger and destruction, and this all speeds up once the music goes quicker and the bass drops in. Stylish clothes and a modern flat summarise what the artists life is like, and we can conclude that the artists life is all about the music he makes shown by the importance of the lyric book he has made.

The CD cover is very basic for this song showing smashed glass in two corners of the cover, with the name of the song and artist in the middle. The colours fit in with the green of the hand-held camera in the video, and I think this cover gives off an urban vibe, just as the video does. The smashed glass images also match the vdeo, in the way that everything is broken in the artists flat.

Hip-Hop genre example

Hip-Hop is described as a culture and form of ground breaking music and self expression with elements that consisted of the elements of graffiti art, DJing, MCing, and breaking. Today Hip-Hop is considered to be dead in the mainstream because so-called mainstream Hip-Hop doesn't have the elements of hip-hop and have no meaning, however there are few artists that are extremely influencial in this genre such as Kanye West, 50 Cent and Notorious BIG.

The video I have picked to summarize this genre is Kanye West - Stronger. The camera angles use panning shots on the female characters, and switches to a hand held camera to show close ups and mid shots of Kanye himself to centre our attention on him. There is a lot of slow motion used to show power and images are usually placed over the top of other footage to show two things at once. Also other footage of government wars is cut in between the action. The editing is very quick and uses freezes, dissolve shots and establishing shots, the latter used to show the futuristic city. There is no other sound apart from the actual song and mise en scene shows the typical costume of sunglasses and baggy clothes with hood up on the lead singer, with soldiers in futuristic outfits on motorbikes. There are dark and harsh lights used to illuminate focus for the audience and women are typically in little clothing attracted to Kanye. These things show the typical futuristic conventions of a hip-hop video such as machines and a busy city, with a main theme of the power Kanye has as it fits in with the song.

The CD cover for this song is cartoon, with a cartoon bear version of Kanye leaving a planet/school, and the title of the album - Graduation, focusses on him leaving somewhere. The CD cover is bright and although dosen't fit in with the single, the use of cartoon is eye catching. A kind of space theme again fits in with the futuristic conventions of the hip-hop genre.