Music Video Challenge!

We had the task of recreating (a spoof) of Verve's Bitter Sweet Symphony; here I have video diaries explaining the process of recording the video

Brief:

(A little add on I forgot to say!)

First take!

Being an extra!

How we over came the issues!

In Conclusion!

(My turn being the main!)

Laura Mulvey

Laura Mulvey stated that because filmmakers are mainly male, the presence of women in film (in this case, music videos) is often solely for the purpose of display. The purpose of this is to create a voyeuristic response in viewers, which presumes a 'male gaze', one that is powerful and controlling which is focused on the female on display, who, in turn, is objectified and passive.

This theory is evident in 2 Chainz- Birthday Song, in this video the females are highly revealing clothing and are only used as props and serve no real purpose other than to dance seductively.

As with Kanye West ft Jamie Foxx- Gold Digger

And Usher- Yeah

It is evident that this theory is predominant in R&B and Rap Music videos 

Videos that inspire me

Five music videos that inspire me:

1.) Beyonce- Countdown, this music inspires me because I love the use of editing and the different colour effects used

2.) Kanye West- Mercy, this video inspires me because the camera angles and shots are amazing and flow effortlessly 



3.)  Bruno Mars- The Lazy Song, I like this video as the camera angles/shots are consistent and simple which allows the performer to be showcased



4.) Bruno Mars- Treasure, I like this video because even though the video was filmed recently (June 2013) it has an effect as if it were filmed in the 80's/90's which correlates well with the song as it sounds like a song from that era.

5.) Ed Sheeran- Give Me Love, this video inspires me because the storyline portrayed in the video and the asthestics used to portray the storyline is amazing.







Richard Dyer

Richard Dyer stated that 'pop performer' and 'pop star' are not the same thing, 'pop stars' have a lasting significance and have 'brand awareness' they are constructed, artificial images.

An example of a 'pop star' is Lady Gaga, she is considered a 'pop star' as she has a unique selling point, she is very artistic and outgoing in her music videos/songs

Another example is Nicki Minaj, she is considered a 'Pop star' as she/her style remains consistent and it is evident that she may have been constructed and is essentially artificial even though she may be trying to represent female rappers

Fianlly, another example is James Arthur, winner of XFactor, this video shows his construction process, how he's gone from an ordinary person to styled into a records company expectations

 

Andrew Goodwin

Andrew Goodwin had 5 different ideas regarding music videos, these are:

Genre- videos that represent stereotypes and conventions of the genre, e.g: Little Mix -How Ya Doin'? This represents the sterotype that girl bands are always dancing

Sound and Vision-  clear relationship between lyrics and visuals e.g.: Justin Bieber- As Long as You Love Me. This shows sound and vision as there is a clear correlation between the lyrics of the song and the music video

Notions of Looking- We are 'watching ' the performer and gaining pleasure from it, typically features windows and mirrors e.g.: Justin Timberlake- Mirrors

Star Image- Promotion of the star through the video using frequent close up ands motifs to represent the artist e.g.: Justin Timberlake- Take Back the Night

Intertextuality- Reference to other media texts (such as other songs, flm etc) which allows the audience to quickly decode the meaning e.g.: Ariana Grande ft Nathan Sykes- Almost is Never Enough, this video features clips of the film The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones 

Simon Firth - 3 typologies

Simon Firth stated that music videos may be characterised by 3 broad typologies: Performance, narrative and conceptual

Performance- Feature the star or group singing in concert to wildly enthusiastic fans. The aim is to convey a sense of the in-concert experience, performance videos that display the star or group in the studio remind the viewer that the soundtrack and album are still important
e.g:. Passenger- Let Her GO

Narrative- A video that may tell any kind of story in linear, cause-effect sequencing. (Love stories are the most common narrative mode in music video) 
e.g:. J.cole ft Miguel- Power Trip

Conceptual- Rely on poetic form, primarily metaphor. The conceptual video can be a metaphysical poetry articualted through visual and verbal elements. 'conceptual videos do not tell a story in linear fashion, but rather create a mood, a feeling to be evoked in the experience of viewing' Firth 1988

e.g:. Rihanna ft Mikky Ekko- Stay

Summer Project

Over the summer I recorded me and my friend on a trip to London and edited it together and added a song over that, this helped me gain an understanding behind the process of editing a music video

My Lip Sync Video

In order to understand how artists make music videos and the difficulties of it, I have created a Lip Sync Video to Beyonce - Love on Top. This lip sync video helped me to understand how important it is for the mouth and words to sync to endure the authenticity of the music video 

Time lines

I've made 4 timelines of different genred artists dating their most famous music videos

Whitney Houston

Nirvana

The Killers

Kanye West