Analysis of first music video

Many people have made various hypothesis' of the theories of music videos, Andrew Goodwin was one of these. Goodwin was the director of music and organist at Bangor Cathedral for 37 years. He states that there are six main aspects of a music video that an audience member looks out for.
Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics (e.g. stage in a rock video, dance routine in pop video etc.).

• There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals
• There is a relationship between music and visuals
• The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close-ups of the artist, and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style)
• There is frequent reference to the notion of 'looking' (screens within screens, telescopes, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatments of the female body
• There is often intertextual reference (to films, tv programmes, other music videos etc).

I'm going to analyse Jake Miller's music video 'A Million Lives', directed by Martín and Oscar Ubilluz. Jake Miller is an American rapper, singer, musician and song writer who taught himself to play drums and guitar. After he created a few homemade videos and uploaded them to YouTube he gained attention from the music industry.
I feel that this music video demonstrates good representation of the lyrics. The lyrics are illustrated well, for example, in the first verse "It said and I quote, my name is Nikki and I used to be dancer
Til the day the doctor diagnosed me with cancer", which matches to a video of the actor in a hospital bed, undergoing chemo treatment then short take of a little card in some plants saying "chemo sucks".

 

Whilst this picture is being zoomed out, the lyrics are "So I said goodbye to all the hair on my head

And said hello to my hospital bed", Jake is reading out her letter to him, capturing her emotion, from saying how she 'used to be a dancer', now she's laying in her hospital bed, her dreams are crushed. She is saying how Jake's music has helped her to believe in her own dreams and not become beaten down by the bumps in her journey. Also the still of the label shows her emotions and feelings towards the cancer she has, but 'sucks' is one of those words that isn't awful, where as most people would use more dramatic words to describe chemo treatment, she is saying that Jake Miller's music has shown her that it isn't the end, that she can stay strong and get through things.

 

 

Later on in the video when Jake is reading out Sami's letter, describing how her and her brother used to listen to Jake's music together until he passed away. While he is reading this, it shows a little girl looking really angry and upset who we believe to be Sami. When he is reading out a section of her letter which says "Its like I got my brother back, and he's still alive, pray for both of you, every single night, Cause believe or not, you saved my life", the video shows a clip of Sami and her brother playing and being happy together, which is emphasising how when she listens to Jake's music it's as if her brother were there again and enjoying his music together.

 

Jake then moves on to tell his own story and how his fans helped him to make his dreams happen. "Cause when no else cared, you believed in my vision, And now I got an army comin' with me on my mission". He is saying how his fans really helped him to become who he is today and ending the song with "Believe it or not, You saved my life". There is the same ending to each of the mini stories, only this time Jake is telling his fans they saved his life rather than him saving their lives.

 

The video is cut to the beat of the music, the lyrics match with what is happening on screen. It is cross-cutting between Jake telling the people's stories and the actual stories. There aren't many instrumental sections, he is rapping throughout the whole song and doesn't seem to change pace too much. The music is the same sort of beat and speed throughout to help represent the telling of the different stories and to help it all to flow to be one story, the different stories appear as different chapters, ending with Jake's happy ending.

 

 

Many close ups are used to show the artist and actors' lip syncing to the music which helps to link both video and lyrics together. Jake Miller's record company, eOne Music, is targeting this record/video towards older teenagers, to help them through their everyday life, to tell them that it is ok, and tell stories of people going through a worse time than them, making them feel appreciative of their lives. Jake is portrayed as a very inspirational 'Hood' male, who has lived a tough life and experienced a lot, but his dream has finally come true and he is where he wants to be. He is expressing his story and voicing other peoples' stories, showing that he looks up to them rather than them looking up to him as their idol. It also makes people warm to him and build a stronger bond between audience and artist.
His previous videos are quite similar to this one, in a sense that he tells stories of other people that have inspired him, he is un-selfish in the way that he looks up to other people and idolises them when compared to some other artists who appear to idolise themselves, making Jake a much more likable character. His image is also very similar throughout his videos, he is usually dressed in casual dress with hooded clothing, but also looks wealthy, wearing jewellery and also looking clean cut and professional. There is a constant message running through his videos - that there is always someone worse off than you, that you can live your life and in the end it will be alright. That you have to go through rain to get to sun.

The video is very unconventional in the sense that no actor/artist is being sexualised and in no way used as a sexual object. The people in this video are idolised in a very different way than other videos. They are idolised in such a way that they are strong and independent, they have been through a lot and you really look up to them because of their stories, this makes you respect Jake Miller as an artist, because he isn't in the music industry for the fame, fortune and women, but he wants to use his power as a respected artist to inspire people to stay strong through hard times.

The video is a mixture between narrative based and performance based, because he is performing to the camera and telling us various stories about other people and himself and how he aspires to be like him. In the video it shows the actors' 'fans' dressing up as if they were him, aspiring to be like him, he also dresses casually so he blends with his fan base, showing he doesn't want to be eccentric he just wants to do good and create a better reputation for hoody wearing teenagers!
I really like Jake Miller as an artist because he is inspirational, very selfless which is very rare in the music industry, as everything is so glamorised and sexualised. These types of over the top videos give younger fans the wrong message, portraying that this is normal life when really its not and its just how the camera perceives it.

Technical Codes: What to expect from a conventional music video?

There are many aspects that need to be thought about when looking at a music video, everything that you can see needs to be planned precisely! When thinking about designing my own music video I am going to have to think about the conventions that make up a typical music video and all the aspects that make it successful. I will have to think about the camera shots, camera movement, editing, post-production digital effects, lighting and mise-en-scene.

Camera Shots

In majority of music videos they will use dramatic close ups of the artists, instruments, crowd members and/ or body parts such as their lips to show singing. These closeups help to convey certain emotions within the song and establish who the main artist is. Often low angle shots are used to portray a sense of power, strength and dominance of the artist, establishing shots are used to show a new location or show an aspirational location which can also link to the artists status, money and power. If an artist is on stage then aerial/ crane shots can be used to show a full view of them playing to and audience, also helping the viewer to get a feel for the atmosphere, as if they are also there and being performed to. Direct address is commonly used; this breaks the 4^th wall, allowing the audience to feel more personal with the artists which connects the bond between them.

Camera Movement

When an artist is moving, whether it’s running, walking or dancing, nearly always a pan, tilt or tracking shot is used. This helps the audience to feel more involved in the action because they are moving along with the artist. Crane shots are commonly used in a performance scene because that way you are able to get a full overview of everything that’s happening from the lead singer, other band members to the fans jumping around enjoying their music. Quite often a handheld camera is used to create a more personal effect for the video as if it’s a diary; the artist is letting you into their personal life in a sort of video documentary style.

Editing

If the video is narrative, cross-cutting is used to switch between the story line and the artist, this makes the audience more involved and constantly wanting to know the next part of the story line. It is not usual to have continuity editing, it is often fast and structured, jumping back and forwards in time using jump cuts, often involving some sort of montage or slow motion to highlight key aspects of the video. Common for love songs are eye line matches, showing the lovers looking into each other’s eye, conjuring emotion. The editing needs to be in time with the beat or rhythm of the music, to each section of the song which helps the overall music video flow and work properly together. Graphic matches are also used in creative and quick editing to portray the message of the song.

Post-production Digital Effects

Lyrics will sometimes appear in a music video which can highlight key words or phrases that are an important part of the song's message. CGI or green screens can be used to create an aspirational location without the artist or band actually travelling, this can minimise cost and also increases options, creating new unique videos. Colourisation can be used to create different scenes, to make the day look sunnier, or mysterious and dark depending on the message the video wants to portray. Lastly split screen can sometimes be used to display two different scenes running alongside each other, often to show action, or a story being told with the artist doing the story telling on one side and the actual story being acted out on the other.

Lighting

High Key lighting is the most common among music videos to enable the audience to see everything in the scene, nothing is hidden to help them become more involved with the video and knowing their surroundings which strengthens bond between artist and fan. Isolating spotlights can be used to highlight a key band member or a key message to the story being told on screen, whether it’s an object or an actor, it can highlight what the director wants the audience to be focusing on. The lighting is always controlled and designed around the song, so if it’s a happy, upbeat song the lighting will be bright and sunny looking, whereas if it’s a slower, sad song the lighting could be dark, moody and mysterious.

Mise-en-scene

The Mise-en-scene is used to express an artist’s glamorous lifestyle, setting the video in aspirational locations which is always influenced by the genre of the music. Elaborate costumes and dance routines are created helping the video become more memorable and interesting, which can build more of a hype to generate larger revenue. Music videos are often very theatrical to exaggerate the lifestyle of a music artist, to also boost their profiles so that fans will want to aspire to be like them. 

Sexualisation of women is often used; this is shown by the costumes and dance movements. The males in the scene are usually dressed in casual attire themselves, whereas the women may be wearing more elaborate clothing, or in some cases more body on display - they are very much designed as sex objects within a scene. However, recently there has been a video that has gone against these conventions of sexualising women. In this video it’s not representing the female generation as size 0, sex objects, but an average working woman. Avicii ft. Nicki Romero- 'I Could Be The One', tells a story of a larger women being down about her weight and the drag of her typical 9-5 job, and in her dreams experiencing being happy with the way she is in her dreams and ending with her quitting her job. It is an empowering video going against the conventions, proving that normal people can have fun and enjoy life, and it’s not all partying, bikinis, beaches and champagne parties!

Music in Movies

Linking a music artist and a film can be beneficial for both, joint promotion can be a powerful marketing tool. It also expands the audience for both the artist and film as those who are fans of one are encouraged to be a fan of the other. It also expands the artist’s media platform with extra attention from movie fans and press which raises their profile and allows the audience to see a different side of the artist and can create a different image or even a more respected image. Combining an established artist and successful film increases sales from various avenues.

In the 1900’s the first movie soundtracks were made, they consisted mainly of simple piano scores. By 1915 existing music scores were being used to accompany films meaning audiences recognised the soundtracks and the films became more appealing. Between 1930-50’s movie musicals were beginning to grow, for example Gene Kelly- 'Singing in the Rain'. Later in 1958, Elvis Presley appeared in the film 'Love me Tender'. Thousands of Elvis fans would queue eagerly to see their hero on the big screen and film goers would have been introduced to this new musical star.

Then soon enough by the 1960’s soundtrack sales became popular with albums such as Westside Story, Hard Day’s Night, Yellow Submarine, Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, The Graduate, etc. Record sales benefited both the movie and artists. 

In the late 1960’s 'Early Rider' was released, this was the first collection of rock songs which continued to influence movie soundtracks with the likes of Hendrix and The Bryds. It seemed that films were bringing soundtracks back into the charts, helping sales for the movies and artist which expanded the audience of both. 

By the 1970s-80’s orchestral soundtracks were becoming popular with the likes of Jaws, Star Wars, ET, The Godfather etc, and more recently with the Harry Potter movies, all becoming well known and easily associated with the films. 

Rock n’ Roll and Soul songs were used for movie soundtracks to appeal to a mass audience, for example, the Bridgette Jones diary films had very successful accompanying albums. An important part of a movie soundtrack is that if the movie or soundtrack wins an award, it increases the artists profile and respect.There have been many recent successful soundtracks for movies, many of which have won awards and boosted the artist’s profile, for example, the 2010 film Avatar, where Leona Lewis performed the theme 'I See You', the film won a Grammy at the 2011 awards and 'I See You' reached the US and Irish charts. Both these successes helped the film and artist. 

In 2012 the 23^rd James Bond film was released; Skyfall. James Bond already has a huge established international fan base. By Adele being selected to perform the soundtrack theme helped her greatly to become a more established and well respected artist, but also helped the James Bond films become more modern as Adele was a current chart topper, so even after 23 top films they are still able to create hype and a large and younger audience.

History of Music Videos

Music Videos are short films that have been made to accompany songs since the late 1920’s. In 1929 Bessie Smith created a short film to accompany here song ‘St. Louis Blues. The video is very simplistic, it is literally a film of her singing live in a bar. As you would expect from the 1920's, the quality of the picture is very grainy and the sound quality is very poor compared with the equipment available now, recording equipment would have been very basic. Looking beyond the relative poor quality, it is still great to be able to see live music from the late 1920's. Although restricted by basic equipment, the video shows use of some of the techniques we use today, for example, panning shots showing the audience enjoying live music, close ups to show artist's emotion and establishing shots to show surroundings. 

In 1965 Bob Dylan filmed 'Subterranean Homesick Blues' as a segment to the film 'Don't Look Back', which was widely credited as one of the first modern music videos. Dylan's simplistic use of words on cards was effective because it worked in time with the music, needing no editing together. Like many of the music videos today it links lyrics to the video, however in this case quite literally. 

In the 1970's, the music industry realised that TV shows were a great opportunity to promote artists, and by creating short promos to replace the live performance on stage meant the artist could be in various places at once, making more money for the industry, creating more awareness of the artist and increasing media platforms. 

In 1975, the modern music video era was born. Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' was unveiled. It was a revelation in the music industry, not only was the video in colour but great artistic effects were used to create this mysterious vibe. The video included fading the different cuts onto the next, creative high key under-lighting, clips from stage performances and close ups to show the artists singing. 

In 1981 music PR changed forever. MTV was launched in the US! This was an artist's dream, the largest promotional tool for them to make purpose-made videos to promote themselves and their songs/albums. MTV was targeted at older teenagers and younger adults from the middle classes, as in the 1980's cable was expensive and only a small proportion of the population could afford it. The music video industry grew from there, each year more money was being pumped into the industry and evermore impressive and expensive music videos were being created. In 1983 Michael Jackson's Thriller was the first music video with a budget above $1Million. It was a long music video/ short film that is very narrative, it tells a story throughout, it also uses amazing Mise-en-scene with the costume designs, location and makeup. Also brilliantly choreographed dance routines which are legendary and still used today! Michael Jackson still holds the record for the most expensive music video today at $7Million, with his video 'Scream!'

However, there were a few problems with the MTV generation, because of the cost, it meant that there wasn't a great deal of variety in music, as smaller artists didn't have the budget to create competing videos. The success of these videos meant money was constantly being reinvested into these artists leaving it harder for the smaller artists to promote themselves and to gain the money they need for the music videos...and the vicious circle continued!

In 2005 the biggest revelation in musical history was the launch of YouTube! This made it possible for smaller artists to promote themselves free of charge. The free promotion was at the fingertips of any artist who wanted it, allowing new artists to be more creative and humorous and appeal to a younger audience. YouTube is used today as a main form of promotion for artists and their albums and many artists wouldn't have been discovered without it! For example PSY-Gangnam style. Maybe not such a good thing after all??

Why have Music Videos?

There are three types of music videos; performance based, narrative based and concept based.

Performance based music videos feature the artist performing to camera or to an audience throughout most or all of the video, these are mainly used by rock bands because of the high energy and involves the audience as if the artist is performing solely to them individually. Close ups are used to create more intimacy and centering audience focus on the main artist. A good example of this is Foo Fighters – Best of You, this video is filmed around the main artist throughout and making him the constant center of the audience’s attention. Close ups of Dave Grohl makes the performance more personal, as if he is giving you your own individual concert. Occasionally the camera will zoom out and pan across the other band members playing their instruments, however their faces aren't shown and close ups aren't used helping to highlight the key importance of the lead singer.

Narrative based music videos feature the use of artist and/or actors attempting to tell a story linking to the lyrics and genre of the song. It is a good technique for engaging the audience, hooking them with a story line and quite often is used for songs that feature in films with scenes from that film cut into the video, helping to promote both the film and the artist. There are many good examples of this; Bruno Mars- It Will Rain (Twighlight Breaking Dawn soundtrack), Leona Lewis- I See You (Avatar soundtrack) and Macklemore ft. Ryan Lewis- WING$. 

The music video for WING$ tells a story of a young boy, which we are lead to believe is Macklemore when he was younger  -  the way cross cutting is used throughout the story line to Macklemore singing to the camera about his past. The story is based around the idea that we get our identity from brands and labels, and he tries to dissect our attachment to retail brands, he uses shoes as his main focus to represent people's retail desires. The video catches an audience's attention because of choice of actor and story line; we are made to feel sorry for the boy, but can also relate to being young and wanting the latest designer labels when in reality they aren't a necessity. A large number of close ups are used on the boy to show his adorability, his emotion which pulls at the audience's heart strings and brings our focus on Macklemore's reflection of his childhood. Also use of medium, high angle shots are used to highlight the young boy's vulnerability when not wearing the shoes and then low angle shots when he is wearing the shoes to express the power he feels and the importance we place on materialist objects. 

Concept based music videos are creatively based around one random, possibly unique idea, quite often they don't feature the artist and usually use just a single editing technique. These are very common within today's selection of music videos because they are eye-catching and memorable. The individuality of the music video is important, helping to gain more hype for the song and artist because if they are so different it causes people to talk about them and more generates views and attention around the artist. This works virally across social media. Good examples of these are Fatboy Slim- Weapon of Choice, The Avalanches- Frontier Psychiatrist and my favourite; Ok Go- Here It Goes Again. Although this video doesn't use any new, clever editing or camera work, the overall idea of the video is very powerful. However it is so unique and never been done before therefore plenty of hype built around it. The video is basically men dancing on treadmills in time with the music, it is such a small budget music video, yet so effective it gained incredible attention.

Just an idea..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pnr7dLsN58c

I really like this music video because of it's simplicity, it helps to engage with the audience by using an aspirational location, showing people chilling and partying at the beach- what we all dream that our next holiday will be like. It's stereotypical of the reggae scene; hot beach climate, drinking rum, dancing and using Caribbean actors.

Introduction

My name is Gabi, I am an A-level media student and I've just been given my coursework brief. The brief requires us to create a promotional package of an album, including a music promotion video, a digipak for the album’s release and a magazine advertisement for the digipak. I am feeling excited about the prospect of creating my own music video as I feel  music plays such a large part of my life- there’s always music on in the background, whether I’m doing homework, in bed, out and about, in the gym!!

I’m interested in a wide range of genres of music, mainly of the upbeat, happy sort. My favorites include reggae, dance-hall and electronic dance music, due to the positive vibe they give off, creating a summer, free, and happy mood.

I am also eager to start the project as I often find myself on YouTube browsing new videos, my favorites are set on beaches, people dancing and basically the artist having a great time themselves- it makes you feel that you’re really involved with the music.

I am also a little apprehensive about the making of the video as it’s something I've never really tried before, however I’m enthusiastic to learn new skills in video editing and also directing my own music video.

I will use this blog to show my progression throughout this project. I will enjoy researching the history of music videos and analyzing current videos to discover  what makes a conventional and unconventional music video. I will then start to design my own, from the selection of a song to the planning of the actual video. . . Enjoy!