Elle Abrahams A2

Thursday, 16 July 2015

Preliminary Storyboard

Storyboard - 'Beggars' by Mallory Knox

Preliminary Music Video & Poster

Friday, 26 June 2015

Analysis of 'Beggars' music video

'Beggars' by Mallory Knox video:

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)

Tuesday, 23 June 2015

Analysis of a digipak - 'Taylor Swift'

Digipak:

Website:

Tour Poster:

Music Video for 'Style':

'Billboard' Music Magazine cover:

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.

Purpose of Music Videos

What are the purposes of music videos?

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%
Music video for 'Gangnam style' below:

Music Promotion Posters

'Two Door Cinema Club' poster:

Band name
Band image
Dates
Websites
Contact details
Venues
Where to buy tickets
Sponsors
Institutions

Synergy links:

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:

Friday, 19 June 2015

MTV & History of Music Videos Timeline

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.