The music which Mallory Knox creates is alternative rock and the sound has aspects of the rock genre such as drums and electric guitar which creates the harsher sounds however their alternative side is shown through their lyrics which are meaningful and are also ambiguous, creating deeper meaning to their songs.
The costume worn by the band in the video is inspired by the 1971 film 'A Clockwork Orange'. They wear a simple matching costume of white shirts and trousers and black hats and they are also in a similar location. The intertextual link seems to be that the gang of men are trying to find the beggar to attack him, similar to how the gang in 'A Clockwork Orange' also attack people. However the video concludes with the gang of men returning the beggars blanket which contradicts the intertextual link. The lighting in the performance shots of the video are very dark with a red glow from the street lights and this links to the lyrics of the video which include dark imagery of hell. However the narrative shots in the video are in daylight which could represent the way that the gang are trying to be accommodating by giving the beggar back his blanket. The actors in the video are the members of the band however the lead singer receives the most screen time and close ups which makes him the protagonist in the video. Very little props are used in the video apart from the beggars blanket which is used to show the audience that Mallory Knox are not a gang with harmful intentions but actually want to help the beggar.
The lengths of the shots in the video vary from six seconds long to one second long and this creates a break in the narrative action to reflect on the lyrics. The quicker shots reflect the more up-beat parts of the song and the faster paced action scenes. The variation of close up and long shots allow the audience to see the setting and the emotion on the actors faces while these shots also change from performance to narrative, keeping the interest of the audience. The whole video uses amplification to take a concept from the lyrics and enhances it. The title of the song 'Beggars' is amplified and used to create a narrative while remaining linked to the main concept of the song. The video is also circular because it starts and finishes with the band walking away from the camera underneath the underpass. Todorov's theory of equilibrium is also used in the video:
Equilibrium (The band is walking together and the beggar has his blanket)
Disruption of that order (The beggar looses his blanket when he runs away)
Recognition that disruption must be restored (Mallory Knox chase after the beggar to return his blanket)
An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption (They fins the beggar and give him back his blanket)
A return or recognition of the new equilibrium (The band are walking together again at the end and the beggar is sat with his blanket)
Synergetic links are displayed through all the products released. For example, similar typography is used throughout the artists album, website and tour poster. There is also a prominent colour theme throughout the products which is pastel colours and very hazy filters over the images which creates the look of a polaroid photo; the polaroid is also a theme throughout the artists new album '1989' and has been used to create a new brand image for the artist. Taylor Swift carries a similar style of dress, make up and hair throughout all the products which creates an iconic look for the artist. The consistency makes her recognisable to fans and the specific 'look' also relates her back to her album which means that any posters or magazines with Taylor Swift on will immediately make the person think of her new album; this proves that the brand image used is successful. Synergy between products is very important for artists and especially for Taylor Swift because she creates 'eras' of a specific look each time she creates a new album and this is constantly re-creating her brand image. This is a very effective technique as the re-invention of her 'look' signals to fans that her style, music and more are changing which not only lures more people to become fans of Taylor but also keeps loyal fans interested in her work. In the '1989 era' Taylor Swift's signature look has been red lips, a wavy blonde bob and very simple elegant clothing. Her music videos are mostly consistent with this look also, apart from her music video 'Bad Blood' which uses the technique of amplification to tell a narrative and again shocked fans with a twist of genre and appearance to keep them entertained. The star image Taylor Swift possesses and the consistent colour and typography of her work creates a brand image of a sweet pop artist with a 'girl next door' image. All of these media products use convergence between different media companies and outlets shown by the similar typography, themes and colours used and the same styling of the artist which all comes together to create the artists brand image.
A music video is a short film combining a song and imagery, produced to promote an artistic or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are created and used to market a product to increase the sale of singles and albums as well as merchandise which generates further income and promotes the online stores such as iTunes stock music videos. Music videos can also promote other products not related to the video itself, e.g. Miley Cyrus 'We Can't Stop' promotes EOS lip balms
Music can create a visual reaction for the audience causing them to remember the song and have always been used to introduce an artists style to the audience whether they be a new artist or an artist which has re-invented themselves such as Rihanna:
'Good Girl Gone Bad' 2007 & 'Loud' 2014
A music video can also be used to give the audience a better understanding of what the song is about if the lyrics are unclear or just as a visual aid to the lyrics or tone of the song. They also entertain an audience and promote the artists further talents such a dancing and acting. An example of all these points is Rihanna's music video for 'Umbrella' which show cases her talents in interpretive dance and ballet as well as her singing while the facial expressions and props create a visual aid in understanding the songs meaning:
With websites such as 'YouTube' becoming the first way an audience thinks of to listen to music or watch music videos an artist gets a lot of exposure and greatly expands their profile e.g.
Gangnam Style
Most viewed video on YouTube of all time (over 2 billion views on YouTube)
Social Networking helped to make it popular on an international scale
Led to possible collaboration opportunities for Psy e.g. Justin Bieber
Won best video at the MTV Music Awards
Caused the share price of the record company to increases by 568.8%
Everything produces by an artist is linked together such as CD/DVDs, their music, films, videos, albums, magazine adverts and posters. This makes the audience link the merchandise to the artist and the audience remembers the artist through consistent synergetic links. These links can be colour schemes, typography, miss-en-scene of any album art/posters/magazines etc and logos represented.
Conventions of music posters include:
Name of band/album/song
Typography is bold and reflects genre
Mise-en-scene/Layout
Main image of artist/band
Release date of tour/album
Logo of record label
Places you can buy album/single/tour tickets
Reviews
Features (behind the scenes/bloopers/interviews)
Website & age certificate
Music Posters:
Pop
The poster above is for the world tour of pop artist Katy Perry. The poster follows the conventions of typical tour posters because it has the name of the album, the artists name and dates/information on how to buy the tickets. It also follows the conventions of pop artists because it is very brightly coloured and the clothes Katy Perry is wearing are very modern and fashionable while also being bright. Her arms are wide open and welcoming while her facial expression is calm and kind which appeals to a younger audience, which is mainly her target audience.
Rock
The poster above is for a concert by the Alternative Rock band Mallory Knox. The poster follows the conventions of typical concert posters because it has the bands name clearly at the top and the name of the song or album clearly on the poster. It also has the tour dates and contact information along the bottom of the poster. However there is not a photo of the band on the poster but the bands logo which is typical of the alternative or rock genre to do. It also follows the conventions of rock artists because it uses dark colours which represent the content and themes of their music however the logo is brightly coloured so that it stands out and is prominent to their fans.
Alternative
The poster above is for the concert by the alternative band The Lumineers. The poster follows the conventions of typical concert posters because it has the bands name clearly at the top of the poster in a typography which is continued on their album covers and website. It also has the cities and dates for the concerts and contact information at the bottom of the poster. It follows the conventions of alternative artists because it is very simple and compliments their style of music.
Hip-Hop/Rap:
The poster above is for the concert of the Hip hop artist Jay-Z. It follows conventions of concert posters because it has the artists name clearly however does not have the song or album name the concert is for. It clearly says the date and venues of the concerts too. It follows the conventions of Hip-hop or rap artists because it is darkly coloured and the image of Jay-Z clearly relates to the hip-hop genre shown by his hand gesture, his clothing and rings, showing wealth and his stern facial expression.
The above music posters all clearly show that typography is very important as on each poster it is a completely different style and reflects the genre of music well. It is also memorable and is used consistently through out the artists work e.g. Katy Perry's 'Prism' Album reflects the colourful nature of her tour poster and the typography is clearly linked:
MTV was established in 1981 and grew rapidly in the U.S. The potential of medium of music videos was quickly realised by artists and the first music video to be played on MTV was The Buggies - 'Video Killed the Radio Star'. In the beginning, MTV ignored black rap videos as it was a white dominant institution and ignored any videos with threatening content (such as gangster rap videos). They also stayed away from small budget videos. Music videos and promos became the new mean to propel an artist to mega stardom. In 1984 it was established as a key music channel and had its own Oscars for music videos. In 1985, American television network VH1 was founded and MTV Europe in 1987. It now had a greater diversity in music genres however as time went on it became more lifestyle orientated and became less of a music channel and more of a general entertainment channel (showed more TV shows).
The Timeline
This timeline shows the most popular music video of the year during different times in history, displaying the change in video styles and the way an artist is presented. In each video, the artist is the main feature of the video and as time continues close ups of the artists face are commonly used.
1960
The Beatles - 'A hard days night' 1964
Bob Dylan - Subterranean Homesick Blues 1965
The Monkees - A little bit me, a little bit you 1967
For our preliminary task, we must re-create the first minute of an existing music video. As a group we have looked at various videos and have chosen to re-create the video 'Beggars' by Mallory Knox.
The lyrics for the first minute of the video are as follows:
Mallory Knox – Beggars:
The Devil's been stuck in my brain
And he's been living there seventeen days He said that I can't do better But I know I'll get better I'll do anything to feel something
The voices they are loudest at night And they're so loud that they are haunting my mind Oh but it makes him unsettled to know I'll get better If I find that something deep within
See I can't find a way out my mind
Breathe in, I'm coming to get you You need me, but I don't know how to reach you You know I'm gonna be the one (But I don't wanna be the one) But I don't wanna be the one
Breathe in, I'm coming to get you You need me, but I don't know how to reach you You know I'm gonna be the one (But I don't wanna be the one) But I don't wanna be the one
We selected this video because it showed a variety of shot types and the editing would be simple to re-create. It also followed the conventions of cutting to the beat. The narrative was interesting and is non-linear due to flashbacks. It is also circular as the story follows a beggar who loses his jumper and then this is returned to him by the protagonists, Mallory Knox. The video also contains intertextual links from the film, 'A Clockwork Orange' as shown in the screen shots blow:
(Close up P1)/The Devil's been stuck in my brain/(Long shot OS)/(Long shot OW)|/(Long shot OW)|/(Long shot OW)
And he's been living there seventeen days
/(Close up P1)He said that I can't do better
But I know I'll/(Mid shot P1)get better
I'll/(Close up P1)do anything to feel something/(Long shot W)
/(Close up P1)The voices they are the loudest/(Mid shot P1)at night
/(High angled extreme long shot OW)And they're so loud that they are haunting my/(High angled long shot OW)mind
Oh but it makes him/(Close up P1)unsettles to know I'll get/(Mid shot of OS)better
If I/(Mid shot P1)find that something deep within/(Mid shot MS2)|
/(Mid shot W)See I can't/(Close up P1)find a/(Mid shot W)way/(Long shot OW)out m/(Mid shot P1)y/(Long shot W)mind
/(Mid shot P1)Breathe/(Close up P1)in, I'm coming to/(Mid shot P1)get you
/(Mid shot OW)You need me, but I don't know how to/(Mid shot P1)reach you
/(Close up OS) You know I'm gonna be the/(Mid shot P2)one
(But I don't wanna be the one)
/(Mid shot P1)But I don't/(Close up P1)wanna be the one/(Mid shot OW)
1)
This is a long shot of the band walking in an underpass. This shot establishes the setting of the music video and the members of the band. The lighting in this shot is very dark and the reddish light creates an eerie and hellish. This lighting relates the the first line which is "The Devil's been stuck in my brain". It also sets the tone for the song and relates to the bands music genre which is alternative rock because of the darkened atmosphere.
2)
This is a close up of the lead singer of the band under the underpass. This shot allows the audience to see the lead singers emotions or facial expressions and it also displays his hand gestures. This shot is in the beginning of the video and his violent hand gesture slashing downwards marks the beginning of the music which is loud, harsh and full of drums and electric guitars which links to his hand gesture.
3)
This is a long shot of the band walking. This is a useful shot to show the audience what the band are wearing and the setting of the music video. The shot is also a reference to the film 'A Clockwork Orange' due to the white clothing, black hats, the setting and the gang of men. The reference seems to be that the gang of men are trying to find the beggar to attack him, similar to how the gang in 'A Clockwork Orange' also attack people. However the video concludes with the gang of men returning the beggars blanket which contradicts the intertextual link.
4)
This is a mid shot of the band walking. This mid shot provides variety from the previous long shot and this keeps the audiences attention as they are able to see what the band are wearing and the setting and then the mid shot allows the audience to see the bands emotions and expressions. The shots in daylight contrast with the shots of the band walking at night and could represent the way that the gang are trying to be accomodating by giving the beggar back his blanket.
5)
This is a close up of the old beggar followed by a long shot of the beggar sitting down. The beggar in the video is a metaphorical representation of the song title and some of the songs lyrics. The shots of the beggar are accompanied with lyrics such as "The devil's been stuck in my brain" which could represent the beggars clear mental problems illustrated by his nervous body language and the lyrics "You need me but I don't know how to reach you" which could represent the way Mallory Knox are trying to find the beggar to return his blanket but the beggar is running away.
6)
This is a high angled, extreme long shot of the beggar walking. Similar to the previous shots, this shot of the beggar is paired with the lyrics "the voices are the loudest at night" which could represent the beggars mental problems which are reinforced in this shot with his jittery hand movements and shouting at something behind him when nothing is there. The high angle could represent the way that 'sane' people are higher to God whereas mentally disturbed people such as the beggar who has the "devil stuck in his brain" are lower down, closer to hell.
7)
This is a mid shot of the lead singer of the band under the underpass. These close up shots of the various band members under the underpass are varied with performance shots of them singing and shots of them appearing thuggish. This is shown by one of the band members holding a baseball bat and also by their facial expressions, which when they are not singing look very stern and serious. This not only relates the the bands rock genre but also relates to the songs lyrics which are dark and contain devil imagery. This particular shot involves the lyrics "I can't find a way out of my mind" and the lead singers body language shows him lifting his head as though under pressure which is released with the burst of drums in the chorus and the singer throwing his head forwards and closing his fist.
Illustration in music videos is a technique which creates the idea of narrative using the lyrics of the song. In Vance Joy's music video for 'From Afar' the video is linear and single-stranded. The lyrics clearly depict a person who is unable to love or be with who they want to be with. Either the love is unrequited or forbidden, for example in the video there is a young homosexual boy who feels unable to express his love towards a heterosexual friend and there is also a married couple and the husband is attracted to a young woman rather than his wife. The lyrics to the song include the line, "I always knew I would love you from afar". The videos ending concludes that the wife and the homosexual boy are not loved by who they want to be loved by. The tone and the atmosphere of the visuals reflect that of the music because they are both simple and sweet which is reflective in the simplicity of the music and the garden party the friends and family are having.
The technique of amplification in music videos is used to take a concept from the lyrics of the song and enhances this concept while remaining linked to the original meaning of the song. For example, Madonna's video for the song 'Vogue' clearing emphasises the fashion industry and modelling which is taken from the signature word 'vogue' meaning 'fashion' in French while the meaning of the song as a whole is about escaping your life and dancing your troubles away. The video is linear and is also circular because it opens and closes with large feather fans revealing and concealing Madonna. The tone and atmosphere of the visuals reflects that of the music because the music is about classic fashion and having a good time which is reflected in the classes black and white filter and the choreography.
The technique of disjuncture is used in music videos to create an abstract and unconventional video which are often seen as very artistic and creates a new range of meaning to the song. For example Sia's video 'Chandelier' features a young girl performing an interpretive dance and it can be seen by some that the girl dancing in a dark and dingy apartment does not relate to the song lyrics which are about escaping your troubles by drinking, partying and being free. This video is single stranded and also can be thought to be circular as the dancer starts and finishes in a door way. The tone and atmosphere in the visuals is not reflective of the music because the music bursts into dramatic choruses and the setting of the video and the costume of the dancer is very simplistic which contrasts the music.
Andrew Goodwin, in 'Dancing in the Distraction Factory (1992) identified these features of music videos:
Music videos demonstrate particular genre characteristics (e.g. Stage performance for heavy metal bands/Dance routines for girl-boy bands)
There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals (illustrative/amplifying/disjunctive)
The is a relationship between music and visuals (illustrative/amplifying/disjunctive)
Record label demands will include the need for lots of close up shots of the artist
The artists may develop their own iconography which over time will develop star image
There is frequent reference to voyeurism, particularly in the treatment of women, but also in terms of looking (screens/cameras/mirrors)
