One of the first steps in planning my music video is choosing a song for the video to accompany. After my audience research and my own thoughts I am keen to choose the direction of the Reggae genre. I have spent a lot of time trawling through YouTube, listening to the radio and searching SoundCloud for a song. After not making much progress, and not really being inspired by what I found, I asked myself 'what is the point in finding a song I'd never heard of and had no meaning to me?' I then tried a different approach... searching though my iTunes library!
I found some possible songs that could work well for my music video, and taking into account the information collected from audience research I have created a shortlist:
Sean Kingston - Beautiful Girls
This song is an exciting fusion of Reggae and R&B coming together, such a classic song from a big Jamaican success, this song has been around since 2009 and it gets better every time I listen to it . It works well because my target audience said they were also interested in the R&B scene as well as Reggae. However, we were asked to avoid songs that already have a music video associated with it, and because of the age of the song it already has an official video, although because the video is outdated I was hoping to create a modern version of the song.
Cali P - Don't Give Up
Cali P works with one of Europe's top Dancehall producers, this song really brings out his Caribbean heritage with his strong Reggae style. I like this song because it has real meaning, and would be good to produce a video that has a strong message to it along side this song. However, this song also has a music video, but I could take the video in a completely different direction by analysing the lyrics carefully.
Cecile - Rise Up
Very well known, current Dancehall artist in Jamaica. This song is quite recent so is yet to have an accompanying music video, which would leave options open for a new possible directions. It has a strong message to it, making it perfect for a Narrative music video! However, it is very much the strong Reggae style throughout making it very inflexible, also after my target audience research I feel they would prefer more than just the Reggae genre; a fusion of a few genres.
UK Garage and R&B sensation Ms Dynamite has returned to the music scene with this summary Reggae combined with R&B song. After seeing Ms D perform this live at a recent Major Lazer concert, I have fallen in love with this song. Because it is very new, it is yet to have a video made to accompany it. The genres work well together, matching well with my Target Audience's asks! I'm swaying towards this song choice because I think it could work really well and after looking at the lyrics I feel that a strong story line/message could be conveyed!
Sociable, enjoys partying with friends and visiting the beach
High interest in music, keeps updated with new music
Dresses to make an impression; bold patterns and colours, lots of jewelry and big hair
Part time job, some disposable income
Spends money on clothes (vintage, also highstreet; topshop, river island etc.), gossip magazines, beauty products; takes pride in her appearance
Interested in the Reggae, Dance & Hiphop scene
Enjoys going to gigs with friends
Target Audience research
I asked a number of questions to a sample of my target audience (female, aged 16-21, students etc) and from their responses I was able to identify their preferred genre, favorite artists, importance of the music video and how they find out about new music. I then asked them their opinion on Reggae music if they had not already mentioned it.
I also researched a few sample males of the same age group to compare their results with my female target audience. When asking the males what their preferred genre was they said; Rap and Dubstep, mentioning artists such as Eminem, Dappy, Zeds Dead, Skrillex, Knife Party and Foreign Beggars. Whereas, when I asked my target female audience group, they said Reggae, Dancehall and R&B, and named artists such as Shaggy, Atumpan, Vybz Kartel, Rhianna, Ellie Goulding, Rudimental, Sean Paul, Sean Kingston, Bob Marley and Major Lazer.
One thing that was similar about both groups was their way of discovering new music - both groups identified the Top Charts on TV & Radio, Radio websites (upcoming artists) recommendations from friends, Soundcloud, YouTube and generally looking at other songs by a favorite artist or related music.
When asked about the Reggae genre, they all seemed to enjoy it, they found it fun and upbeat to listen to, making them feel very summery and positive. Some were unsure what the Reggae genre covered, but when given examples of a variety of artists under this genre they admitted they did listen to some of these on a regular basis.
I also discussed the importance of a music video, and what they felt is vital for a music video to include. There was a mixed opinion on the importance of a music video, some said that they didn't feel they were necessary because they didn't bother watching them anyway, however, others felt they were more useful as they could use sites such as YouTube to discover new music. The majority believed videos are key to an artist's success, that they can make a song more popular and they provide a chance for the artist to show their face and become more recognisable.
Typically the males said that they felt that women were a key part of a music video, and the female target audience group agreed, they also felt that attractive models/actors were vital.
Other key aspects that people thought were necessary were at least a few shots of the artist to help create an artist's persona; some fun or clever twist to keep the audience engaged; a story line to engage the viewer and make it memorable; live footage of a concert with a wild audience enjoying the music.
Other things that people said play a huge part included the idea of money and power; fancy clothing; women; fast cars and aspirational locations. However, a few people said that they didn't like the way artists show off and brag about the money and power they have, and felt they would prefer something that they could relate to, with less materialisation, less sexualisation of women and more positive hidden messages and story lines.
The audience research has been an important part of planning my music video - finding out what people want to watch and widening my views and ideas for my own music video. I will definitely take on board peoples' opinions when creating my final video to make it not only what I would like to see, but also what my target audience would enjoy and want to watch.
There are a number of different sub-genres within the Reggae genre, meaning there are also a large variety of different artist styles that produce Reggae music.
The most famous Reggae artist is probably Bob Marley, he was platinum selling and was the ambassador for the genre. He had poor Jamaican roots and promoted peace, justice and brotherhood in his Rastafarian religion. Marley was singing professionally at the age of 16, he experimented with the slow beat of Ska music, later making his own 'Rude Boy Music' and 'Rock Steady Style'. Sadly in May 1981 he passed away due to cancer. However his music lives on today, he is still a very popular, established artist. He is seen as the creator of the official Reggae genre, legend in the history of Reggae music. Here's one of Bob Marley's most famous singles- 'Three Little Birds'. He sings about peace, love and justice, in true Rastafarian style! The music video is very 'old school', a lot of black and white, old style televisions sets, a sense of being free, very un-materialistic which you can compare with a vast number of Reggae videos today where they are filmed in aspirational locations and very materialistic. Shows the change over time.
Another established Reggae artist is Sean Paul, he is more recent than Marley, and has a more Dancehall approach to the genre. He's been scoring top singles since 1996. Whilst growing up in Jamaica, Dancehall had always been his first love, although he was a sporting hero and had other career paths he could follow, he stuck with his love for Reggae music and today is a very well known artist who has worked with the likes of Beyonce, Beenie Man, Kelly Rowland etc. He has a far more modern approach to his music, the rhythm of his music is a lot faster to fit with the audience demands, his videos also feature a lot of materialisation; him in aspirational locations with fancy clothes and cars, women dancing seductively around him, predominately male gaze sexualising woman! In his music video for 'We Be Burnin', it shows him in a large desert with his fancy clothes and cars, also attractive women dancing wearing very little clothing!
A newer established artist is Major Lazer- a particular favorite of mine! The two DJs Diplo and Switch, joined together to form the group of Major Lazer, releasing their first album together in 2009. They combine a variety of genres together under the Reggae genre, usually fast beats and mainly Dancehall and Soca styles. They have a very modern and individual approach to Reggae. They still record and get inspiration from the heart of Reggae; Jamaica. In their video for 'Watch Out For This' you can see a lot of sexulising woman, however they have stuck with the original old style videos by incorporating Jamaican streets, with dancers, portraying a sense of community. Even if it is very materialisic with big jewelry and nice clothes, the roots of the genre still show.
Another of Jamaica's famous dancehall artist is Vybz Kartel (Adidja Palmer), much like the other artists his career started early as a teenager, in 1993 he recorded his first single. He also started his own liquor line of - Street Vybz Rum - how very Jamaican! One of his most famous singles 'Summertime' has a very typical Dancehall music video, the aspirational locations; beaches, swimming pools, the sexualisation of women dancing about in bikinis, and much like the others; him being the centre of attention wearing big expensive jewelry!
Before I start planning my music video I need to think about the bigger picture, for example the genre of music that I'd like to explore, and the artists within the genre which I'd like to use and interpret.
I've made a shortlist of three genres, these are; Reggae, Pop and Dance:
Reggae
- Locations tend to be set in the Caribbean (e.g. beach, Jamaica)
- Cheerful bright colours
- Laid back lifestyle is portrayed (Stereotype of Jamaican culture)
I enjoy listening to Reggae music because it is very relaxing, and always reminds me of a holiday, mainly the beach. I think that Reggae is very underrated, as people tend to mainly associate Reggae music with Bob Marley where as there are many more sub-genres and artists branched out from Reggae. Living in England makes it difficult to stick to the conventions and create the aspirational locations that you would be able to create if you lived in a tropical location.
Pop
- Special effects and bright colours (for the "feel good" vibe)
- Widest range of music video styles (Narrative, performance and concept)
- Not any particular conventions as it is all so varied, due to massive budgets and artist popularity
As there is such a wide range of music styles within this genre, it is hard to decide my final thoughts on pop as a genre, as there are not many strict conventions.
Dance
- Set in a crowded club environment
- Flashing lights
- DJ's + Equipment
- Predominantly performance based
- Fast paced cuts and editing to fit to the speed of the music
I am leaning towards this genre because the music is upbeat and the video can easily be edited to the beat. However it would be difficult because of my age as I am unable to enter clubs, you would also have to be in charge of a lot of people, which for a first time would be quite difficult. The video would also need a large budget.
After looking at various genres, I have come to the conclusion that I will choose the genre of Reggae. I really enjoy listening to Reggae music, it is upbeat and fun, also very summery! I understand that shooting the aspirational locations will be difficult because of budget and being based in the UK, however on the right day, with the right weather hopefully it can look somewhat aspirational! To gain further idea of the direction I wish to take, I need to explore different music videos within this genre and look for inspiration.
In the music video for 'Say Hey (I Love You)' by Michael Franti & Spearhead there is a lot of dancing going on, very stereo typical to the genre. Family orientated; there are people of all ages included within this video, all dancing and having fun. Scenes showing dancing along streets, playing the drums and lots of energy! To set the scene you see your typical caribbean fruit markets, graffitied streets, people dancing in the streets slightly slow motion to show a sense of peace and community. A lot of gestures and expressive dance is used to connect with the audience. Very basic editing is used to the pace of the music, stripped back with no special effects; more realistic and relatable. Dancers wearing casual clothes and big hair. The video has a sense of aspiration, however it isn't in the typical British materialistic sense, but in a way that its so peaceful and happy, with a sense of community.
The music video for 'Bruk it Down' by Mr.Vegas is very different to the previous one in a sense that it is sexualising woman more explictly, using them as the main focus, twerking in very bold bright tight lycra. Your typical music industry materialist is shown wearing nice suits with fancy jewelry, standing outside of a very large expensive house and having women dancing suggestively around him. However, there is still your typical reggae stereotyping in there, you can see the simplistic locations of petrol stations, gyms, markets, playgrounds etc. the weather is sunny and warm, making it aspirational. It looks less natural and more editing has been used, clearly strong choreography has been used and everyone looks coordinated and in time. The overall effect is energetic and colourful! Still your typical reggae overall feel.
'Paper Loving' by Christopher Martin is very un-stereotypical of the Reggae genre because it has very focused attention and not very much happening within the scene, only the main artist and the actor. The video is narrative and repetitive with a hidden meaning, using close up shots to show the characters' emotions. The video flows smoothly and slowly, the idea is simplistic with the casual attire in simple pastel colours. Your typical asprirational locations are shown; beaches, nice houses, palm trees, nice green gardens. He is also dressed with subtle jewelry as the video is money orientated, actual money is shown being held by the actor, the topic of materialism is often used in the music industry. Even though an emotional topic, he is still dancing in simple locations.
Although these music videos are very different, they also have a lot in common which is typical to the reggae genre. The main similarity is that they just love to party! They are all simplistic, not many special effects are used, it makes it more relatable and also easier to aspire to. Aspirational locations are mostly used, because the videos are mostly set in the Caribbean on the beaches, gardens and nice houses. Repetitive, smooth and slow editing is used to make it flow with the music, make it much more realistic, making dancing the focus. Without a doubt in some form there are Caribbean girls dancing seductively.
Technical codes have developed massively in the 21st century, with chroma-key; which is a post production technique used to layer two images or video streams together based on colour. For example Blue Screen, and more commonly used today Green Screen. A green screen removes the background from the artist and can later be used to substitute a different background.
In this video you can clearly see the differences between using green screen and just a plain background, although this is only simple green screening you can get the basic idea and see what a big improvement using green screen can have. Green screen can also create the idea of an idyllic location for the audience to be envious of which helps to boost their profiles.
Digital technology has also improved, meaning that there has been a rapid increase in higher quality colour videos, this allows artists to produce videos quickly and cheaply - in comparison with the cost of film.This proliferation of technology allows amateur and unknown artists to write and produce music videos quickly and cheaply and distribute them on free online sites. A popular example is Justin Bieber who was discovered on YouTube and soon signed by Usher in 2008. He continued to take the world by storm becoming a global superstar!
Recently there has been a lot more intertextuality, where music videos are making more reference to cinema, fashion and art photography. A good example of this is the 1953 Marilyn Monroe film 'Gentlemen prefer blondes', recreated and made reference to in Madonna's 'Material Girl'.
In both of these you have the women being centre of attention, the envy. Men swarming around them, handing them both expensive diamond jewelry, the envy of any woman watching. Also by using a well established scene from a film helps to build an artists profile and increase audience.
A very recent development is the use of video games and cartoon animation within a music video, for example this video of Modestep's 'Show me a sign' shows a video game type animation, this opens up an audience of gamers.
To start working with video equipment and editing software we were set the task to recreate a pre-existing music video. This would give us the opportunity to learn new skills needed when creating our actual music video, including planning, directing, filming, editing etc. I am very excited about this task because it gives us the opportunity to try and add our own spin to preexisting material, which we can then gain ideas to carry through to our actual video.
We are going to be creating the music videos in small groups, and our group chose 'In Da Club'by 50 Cent, not only because we liked the song, but because we liked the music video too - it is memorable and also creative. We are going to use some ideas from the original music video to develop but also create our own individual remake of the video.
The music video starts with a large black 4x4 driving through the desert, and the words 'somewhere...'appear to be typed over the top of the screeen, then that fades out and 'Shady/Aftermath Artist Development Centre' appears, soon following they go to a panning shot of the inside of this 'Development Centre' where a receptionist is nodding her head in time with the music, then the panning continues throughout the beginning of the song, showing 50 Cent receiving medical tests. The overall music video shows these scientists observing 50 Cent in his natural habitat of 'The Club', also running more tests on him in the gym.
One thing that I noticed is used heavily throughout this video is the nodding of heads in time with the music, I like this and will use in our music video. I also want to incorporate the idea of the 'Rap Star' working out in the gym, and also in other common places such as a car or towns, obviously because of our ages we are unable to do any filming in an actual club so will have to work around this and think of more creative places to film. I want to incorporate certain main aspects of this video but I also want to create a kind of spoof of it, so as well as representing this video it has its own humorous aspects also.
When an artist is well established, and in the public eye for a long time, you will often find that the artist changes their image and/or direction. This is because over time the artist could lose fans as they too grow up and change, or to engage with a different audience to boost their fan base.
One band in particular comes to mind when thinking about this; 'Take That'. They started out in the 1990's and are still very popular today. They had a split in February 1996 when Robbie's drug abuse escalated and he and Gary fell out. In July 2010 the band announced they were getting back together, and are still together today, only less intense and more concentrating on their solo careers too.
In 1993 their 'Everything Changes' album/tour was released. This was the band's first European concert tour, the band was seen as fun and bubbly and attracted a younger female audience and gay following. The 'One Direction' of the 90's! As you can see in this collage they wore very little clothing to show off their physiques. Over the next few years their image changed showing different hair styles, different styles of clothing, different styles of dance routines and different members of the band took the lead singing roles.
One popular song from the 'Everything Changes' album is 'Relight My Fire'. In the music video for this song 'bromance' is used, portrayed as very camp, wearing 'crop tops' and minimal, tight clothing to clearly attract the screaming audience.
There is a big difference between Take That then and Take That present day, they have now completely changed their image and direction. They are aimed at a much older audience than before, more covered up and sophisticated wearing suits to symbolise their success. They are not as lively and bubbly, and overall they appear less like friends and more a professional working partnership.
One of their newer songs 'Kidz' features the serious topic of war, and clearly has a high budget for their music video, also showing their success as artists. They are acting like kids to show that they still have some youth, but they are doing it in a grown up manner, still classy and sophisticated. showing how they are reunited and youthful. They do not feature in their videos as much as they had done previously, which shows that they are well established and they don't need to feature throughout, choosing instead to portray more complex messages.
