Music video research 2: Black eyes peas - Where is the love? (2003)

The genre of the music video is R&B, and the style of the music video is mainly performance and concept based, however, there are small fragments of narrative, although not dominant.

Theorists applied to the music video:

There are a few theories that can be applied to this music video, for example Goodwin, and how looking into the camera creates a relationship between the audience and the band/star, and that is why having a lot of close ups/extreme close ups is important within the first videos of the musicians. Most of the band has received their fair share of extreme close ups, especially of them singing, or singing into camera, maintaining  eye contact with the camera and audience, which creates a relationship between them.

Not only is Goodwin's notion of looking theory applied to this video, but so is his genre characteristics. The performers can be seen wearing street clothes, such as joggers, trainers and comfortable clothing, which is usual associated with the genre of r&b. Not only that, but also some of the locations appeal to the genre. For example, in this long shot, there is graffiti behind the performer which also sometimes represents the genre. The art behind the performer also has an intertextual reference to extremism and how the modern world is trying to battle it, however, it fights back. However, not only is the issue targeted through visuals, but the social issue is also addressed through he lyrics.




Not only is Goodwin applied to the music video, but so is Barthes with semiotics of signs.
The question mark that is shown throughout the music video is representing the question that is asked thoroughly 'Where is the love?' However, to many people, this symbol can represent different things, and therefore appears as polysemous due to making the audience think about the contextual references made within the music video.









Throughout the video, the question mark appears in many different places, such as a Bible, a TV that children are using, crop fields and big city buildings. All of these are placed on such things with a purpose, targeting the lack of love and compassion in the media, religion and the rich. The TV can also link to propaganda or the lies that it spreads that people believe in, and this issue can be seen being addressed through both visuals and lyrics within the video.








This shot is very powerful in the respect that what the objects shown in the shot represent and how their stereotypical connotations change when they are put next to each other. For example, the Statue of Liberty is the universal symbol of freedom, friendship despite the cultural differences that people might have.  However, Bathes' theory is supported, yet the whole meaning of this symbol is challenged when the sticker is placed just above it, where the burning flame should be placed, which now changes the meaning to us as people questioning if the love, friendship and freedom is still there and if not, what meaning does the statue bear now? What is freedom worth if one cannot share it with another?
And so, questions just like this one are raised throughout most of the music video and are left for the audience to think about.




How has this research influenced my planning and creativity?

• I am considering using signs to represent some issues and create intertextual references within my own video
• I would love to be able to create massive signs such as the one with the lights on the building, however we cannot physically do that
• This inspired me to consider walking into camera 
• I will consider creating a few different narratives within the music video, however I feel that it would be very difficult and confusing for the audience to follow
• Raise powerful questions to the audience about our society and the issues we face as individuals.

Music video research 1: 1975- Heart out (2014)

Genre: Indie Rock
Style: Narrative/performance


Before the actual music is played in the video there is a little story shown which helps the audience see and understand what the context of the video will be, and as shown it is a school show/competition, and a group of dancing girls are performing, however, it is not the dance that is expected out of girls that are wearing athletic outfits/costumes.

During the dance, the camera cuts a few times to show the presenter's reaction and some of the members of the audience, both shots appear surprised by the actual dance performed by the girls.
What can be noticed in the video is that every member of the audience are part of the elderly, which can represent not only the elder generations and their thoughts about the youth, but also the narrow mindset that some elderly people stereotypically have.


The dance that is performed is actually quite provocative and rather inappropriate for girls of such a young age, and I believe that this is the reason for the surprised reaction shots of the audience, another reason why the reactions are so obvious could also be because the audience are possibly due to their ages.
The dance is shown for approximately a minute and the more it is performed, the more provocative it gets, and finally, ends abruptly. What I liked about this introduction was that there is a little bit of a story before the actual music of the song starts, however what I did not like was the way it ended so abruptly, but it can be argued that this was done in such a fashion because this music video is performed in a realistic way, and in such a situation the performance could end in such a way.







After the performance unexpectedly ends, a member of the audience is shown applauding in a medium shot, with his facial expression not amused, which can suggest that the audience are only clapping due to the respect that should be shown to the children who try to create a good performance. When looking at the props and costumes on the audience members, they are all dressed in a stereotypical plain, conservative fashion that grandparents tend to wear to formal events, or in general.



After the performance finishes and the girls leave the stage, the presenter comes to the centre of the stage (previously stood in the corner) and is shown in a long shot when he informs the audience about who was on the stage ("that was OMG bae") and introduces the next band that is about to come onto the stage ("next up is The 1975") which are the protagonists within the video, as they are the performers.
Before the stars get on the stage, it should be noted that the mise-en-scene in the music video is meticulous and super realistic, creating a mood of a school talent show. What makes it obvious that this could be held at a school are the stereotypical curtains and the old, distressed stage that is used.



The moment the music begins to play (1:00) flashes of on and off lighting used to impress the audience which is shown to be effective in a wide medium three-shot where the elderly's shocked reaction shots are seen, which can foreshadow that this act will be more shocking/ interesting to the audience.





When looking at Strauss' binary opposition theory, it is not supported in this music video, as a few members of the audience are wearing black and so is most of the band that are going to perform, yet they are children and there is nothing evil about them. Same can be said for the costumes of white, as there are no 'good' or 'evil'. However, Todorov could be applied to this video, as there is and equilibrium at the beginning, although not as obvious. The disruption would be the band performing, and the close would be the band finishing their performance and leaving the stage.




There are some medium close up/close up shots of the main performer, however, they are extremely fast and are not of the actual artist, as the performer is the real singer's younger brother. Since this video was released after the band has became recognised within the music industry, I believe that the close ups are to show the similarities that are between the actor and the actual singer within the band. The whole setting of the video has some intertextual reference to how the band actually formed, as they have started to perform together in secondary school, so this whole video could be referring to that.




The children in the music video are wearing extremely accurate and detailed costumes, to match every detail of each band member. From their usual clothing, to body modifications and hairstyles.











In general, the whole video is just the younger version of the band performing for the elderly in a concert, which can either be a school performance or a few volunteers which put up a show for a seniors retirement home.
However, towards the end an interesting high angle shot is shown of the previous performer girl, who's reaction is much more positive towards the performance that 'the band' has put up in comparison to the actual audience's. This could represent the actual band implying that their music is not meant for everyone, and that everyone has a different taste in music, so if an older audience does not like the music that they create, it is fine because it is not targeted at them anyway.



How this research influenced my planning and creativity:

• I could also use star images that do not physically match the actual performer's voice, however, I am unsure whether that would appear as normal as it did in this video
• I could also use similar locations to create some of my shots (school halls)
• I could use a wide range of actors to create diversity within my video

Group post: song choice: Arctic Monkeys- Old Yellow Bricks

We chose another song that could be used in our music video, at the moment we are annotating it to see the possible shots that we could use for some of the lyrics, however, we are not sure whether this is the song that we will definitely use yet.


Old yellow bricks
Love's a risk
Quite the little 'escapologist'
Looked so miffed
When you wished
For a thousand places better than this

You are the fugitive
But you don't know what you're runnin' from
You can't kid us
And you couldn't trick anyone
Houdini, love you don't know what you're runnin' away from

Who wants to sleep in the city that never wakes up?
Blinded by nostalgia
Who wants to sleep in the city that never wakes up?

She was enraged but the way
That the emperor put traps in the cage
And the days she been dull
Lead to nights readin' beer bottles

You're such a fugitive
But you don't know what you're runnin' from
You can't kid us
And you couldn't trick anyone
Houdini, love you don't know what you're runnin' away from

Who wants to sleep in the city that never wakes up?
Blinded by nostalgia
Who wants to sleep in a city that never wakes up?

You're at a loss
Just because
It wasn't all that you thought it was

You are a fugitive, but you don't know what you're runnin' away from

She said, "I want to sleep in the city that never wakes up
And revel in nostalgia."
I know I said he wants to sleep in the city that never wakes up, but
Dorothy was right though

Institutional Research 2: iTunes

Institutional Research 1: MTV