Research digipak 5- Linkin Park , Jay Z

Research digipak 4: Lana Del Rey

How this research influenced my planning and creativity:
Using a strong colour scheme is important, and I learned this from the digipak of Lana Del Rey, as I feel that the roses do not aesthetically link to the front cover due to the clash of dark reds and baby blues. I also learned that backgrounds are important, as I am not fond of the background and the way it looks as if it was taken at the back of someone's garden, we will avoid this by carefully selecting the location we want to have our photos taken at.

Research: Digipak 3- Jessie J

How this research influenced my planning and creativity:

I would like to have a bold digipak as such as well, and I believe we can achieve this by also having a closeup of the star, which would show their makeup up close, have a strong colour scheme and a range of fonts with different representations.

Research: target audience research 1

I have asked a small group of 10 individuals aged 16-23 via social media links to answer a few questions regarding our music video research over the holidays and here are the results:

Group Post Planning: Lyric analysis- Arctic Monkeys- Old Yellow Bricks

Research/Planning: Youth-Daughter group post

We considered doing this song for our music video, however, after discussing this with our group we came to a conclusion that this will not be the song that we'll make a music video for, as it is too concentrated on the romantic concepts, which is what we would like to avoid.

Research/Planning: Red Hot Chili Peppers- Goodbye Angels lyrics group post

Research: Music video analysis 8: Red Hot Chili Peppers- Dani California [2009]

Planning: star image: costumes

Planning: Star image- possible hairstyles

Research digipaks 2: Arctic Monkeys

Research digipak 1: Nirvana

How this research influenced my planning and creativity:

• I would like to make my fonts, even if they are different have some sort of similarities (kerning...)
• Use photos that appear natural and not forced, such as these when the band is performing
• I really like the way the song titles at the back are not in the middle, and might experiment with something like that

Planning: TA profiling

Greta M's Slidely by Slidely Slideshow

I believe that the intended target audience for our product will not be a niche audience, as a large social group will be able to fit into our TA, and that is because of  the age that we will target, which is 16-25 year olds, and most of them at this age aspire to reach some sort of dream, work-wise, or just in life in general.However, eventhough they are aspirers, at this moment they are lower/middle class, as they will probably have no/little experience, possibly blue collar workers.
We will target both males and females in order to make this product more appealing to a bigger audience. Since we are targeting a young, modern audience that is highly active on social media and is technology aware, we are expecting them to be a highly active audience, and due to this, we will have to include a lot of links to popular social media links, and maybe even create social media profiles for our stars.
Because there is a high chance that a high number of our audience will be interested in change, being a better version of themselves, wanting to travel, we will try and incorporate that within our music video, and we will try and incorporate the moving forward, the change for the better.
Although we would love to incorporate all ethnic groups, they are not common within our living area and therefore there is a high chance that we will not be able to be ethnically diverse within our music video due to that.
Although we might lose some possible audience due to that, I still believe that our audience will be broad, and not just local. I believe the main concerns that our audience will have in life will be financial, possibly like most people that age, worrying about the future, and some might be struggling with their identity, as teenagers of such age have still not found out who they are, and I would really like to address this issue that they face within our music video.

Research music video 7 : LP- Tokyo Sunrise (2014)

Genre: Indie rock
Style: Performance based

The opening shot of the music video starts with a long shot of the singer walking across the stage which can possibly be used in order to show the audience who will be performing. The costume that the singer is wearing is very simple and casual. What is interesting about this shot is that there is minimal colour and the star's face is not shown, as the dim light is coming from behind her, and this makes her appear like a silhouette. I personally really like this shot and I believe we could use something like that within our own music video, as it can also represent the star, or the actor in a very interesting and possibly a mysterious way, as I believe it can enhance the character that the performer is trying to achieve.
The use of a casual costume that is in darker tones follows indie conventions as they are usually low budget, therefore they are not custom made,or extremely expensive.


Strauss binary opposite theory can be applied to this music video, however, it would not be adhered to. The star image is mostly shown as a silhouette, however, she is not  an evil character at all, as she is just a performer, and therefore, I believe that this way of filming is used to spark interest within the viewers as to what does she look like, or what will happen next? I believe that using shots like that will be beneficial for our music video, however, not as much as in this music video, as we need to show the face of the star that we are launching to create a relationship with our desired TA.
The movements that the star makes within this music video are very relaxed and look like they weren't posed, and happened naturally as part of the performance. Using such naturalistic moves creates an extremely believable star image, which is what we are trying to achieve, that is why we want to include such shots as well.
  
Apart from the singer, there are no characters or any concepts of a narrative in this video, that's why the only other people in the music video are performers. I believe the reason why they are in the video is because they bring in intertextual references to the lyrics that mention Tokyo, as these are traditional Japanese drums that the performers are using. The deeper connections between the visuals and the music are really interesting, and I feel that we could definitely create something like that as well.

However, what is interesting about the costumes that they are wearing is that all of the drummers are blindfolded, which could possibly represent being unaware of what is ahead, of being unable to see the light/future. Or it could also possibly mean blindly following something/ someone, for example the singer in this video.

The use of such an effect can possibly portray two sides to a situation, or two different thoughts/ self conflict about a situation. I believe this is a really interesting symbolic way to portray something like that.
I   feel that this effect looks very interesting in this video not only because of what it represents, but the simple aesthetics of it.
 (I would definitely consider using such an effect in my own music video, possibly to represent self doubt.)

Because the mise-en-scene in this video is minimalistic, there is not much that can be changed, yet the change of colour made a drastic difference to the look of the video.

What is interesting within this music is that something as minimal as changing the colour of the background has such a huge effect and impact. The sudden change to the bright orange hue can represent the 'sunrise' which the song is named after and how strong it is.' we'll see the same sun on the rise' can be the link between the visuals and the lyrics, which is a music video theory by Goodwin that can be applied to this music video at times.

After a long time of only being able to see the silhouette of the singer, a few brief close up shots of her face are shown that reveal to the audience her facial expression and how she is expressing her emotions through the singing. 
I believe that these rare shots are very powerful and have a big impact as they are not seen every second, which adds interest to the music video.



What I noticed throughout this music video is that although the singer's face is seen a few times, she always has her eyes closed and therefore the audience never gets to see them.
I believe this can be linked to the Goodwin theory that states there is a link between the visuals and the lyrics, as she always has her eyes closed possibly because within the lyrics it repeatedly says 'I'll see you again' or 'We'll see-' which can represent that as long as she cannot see the person, she will not look at all. Or it could be linked to the name in the simplest way that the sunrise would be blinding to look at, so it is best to have your eyes  closed.

The final shot in the music video is another shot with effects which shows the artist leaving from both sides. This could imply that there was two ways to achieve/perform something and there would be two outcomes, that is why there were two of them who left.

What I found most interesting about this music video is the use of very simple effects and how the minimal use of some shots can make them very important when they do end up on the screen, such as the close ups of her face and how rare they were in comparison to the silhouetted shots of her full body.

How this research influenced my planning and creativity:

• I really want to try and use lighting to create similar silhouette effect on a performer, although it depends whether it would suit my genre
• The use of props/ movements that could represent lyrics
• interesting effects, such as the mirrored effect on the singer

Research music video 6: Lady gaga- born this way

Style: Post modern, concept, performance based
Genre: electropop






How this research influenced my planning and creativity: 

• If the song that we choose is too short, or we would want an introduction, we could also create a mini narrative before the song begins
• I would like to try interesting costume that can possibly represent something
• Strong, bold makeup
• Choreography

Research group post: brand label name

Rhea, Ryan and I have looked into some brand names that would be suitable for us to use, and we thought of  a few names, however, all of them seemed to be taken. After some time, the name 'Reckless Records' popped into our heads and we have looked into it hoping that it wasn't taken, and to our joy it was not, as it was only a music shop that sells vinyls that uses that name.
We believe that this name represents us as a team really well, and it will suit the genre of the music/artist that we will pick in the future. Now all that is left to do is to create a logo and our brand seal will be complete.

Research music video 5: establishing shots of indie music videos

These are the first 10 shots of music videos that are similar in genre to what my group are going to create. It can be seen that a large amount of them are either closeups of the performer, or the performer so that he can be seen either in full body or from far apart. I believe that these are used for a reason, in order to create a relationship with the audience that are seeking out to their music. I believe since we are creating a brand new star, either a closeup would be suitable, or a long shot of the star so the audience will be able to see what the star looks like from afar. I believe this is also used for dramatic effect and to start off the narrative/performative part of the video.

How this post influenced my planning and creativity:

• I am seriously considering using a closeup as our first shot in order to let the audience see the star right from the first moment the video starts
• If we decide not to use a closeup, we will use a long shot in order to get the full body of the star and show the audience in fully who will be performing in the video.

Planning: asking for copyright

I have contacted the institution asking for copyright permission for a song that we are interested in using for our music video, hopefully everything will work out fine.

Research: ideas for our digipak 1

Research: possible location shot for music video

This could be a possible location shot for our music video,  however, there is one issue, getting there would be quite difficult with all of the actors, as there would either have to be more than one car, or multiple trips, all for possibly one shot, and I am not sure if it's worth it. However, if this shot is ideal for a lyric of a song that we might choose, as the location itself has interesting art on the walls, and the distress on them links to our genre. The fact that the art is created using the style of graffiti links to our youthful genre and ideas for the music video that we have. The stereotypical representation of graffiti is crime related, however, when looking at how this style has taken a different spin and been turned into art shows that stereotypes can be broken. The use of graffiti within our music video would also be linked to Barthes' signs and signifiers theory due to the use of the connotation and the defying of it.
 I think that the unconventional floor is really interesting as well which makes the location more diverse. However, the main problem with this location is that it is abroad, and we cannot fly over to another country to make our music video, simply because we cannot afford to go there only for shots for the video.

Music Video Research 4: Taylor Swift- Love Story (2008)

Taylor swift love story from GretaAsMedia

Music Video research 3: Geri Halliwell- It's Raining Men (2001)

 Genre: pop

The point of this music video is to appeal to the audiences yet again and show the world the transformation of the star (The drastic haircut, the toned body) which is all a part of Geri's new image.

Overall, the video mainly consists of dancing and singing into camera, which are references of two films, the start of the video looking very similar to Flashdance (1983), with the judges and Geri's costume, especially of the star. The video conventionally involves a lot of closeups of her body, as she is trying to appeal to both male/female audiences, according to Janice Winship, by exposing most of her body and trying to look aesthetic to both males and females, however for different reasons.

The video begins with a remake of one of the iconic scenes from Flashdance, but instead of the actress it is Geri, she enters as the camera begins being in level with the floor, and then slowly angles upwards from behind upwards to her body as she walks into the room which is very quiet. When she stops, the camera angle also does, halfway through her body, focusing on her tiger tattoo which can represent connotations of Geri being a fierce fighter who will not give up until she achieves what she wants. Her costume is similar to the original, and she holds a vinyl which was used in the original- which gives an authentic feel to the whole video.

The vinyl starts rolling and Geri begins to dance, and all seems well until  the needle of the player slips and so does Geri, onto the floor, which is very quickly into the video, only a few seconds after she started dancing. The camera, after the fall switches to a reaction shot of the judges, which oddly seem to have a concerned look on their faces, instead of a not caring expression. The camera switches to Gerri and for the first time in the video we see her face when she asks the main judge "can I start again?"  which is linked directly to the video, however, is also to her career and the twists and turns that it took before, and how she is getting a new look and starting again. The centre judge gives an interested/serious expression in a SRS as he puts on some chunky glasses and says allows her to carry on.

When Geri stars to dance again, a few shots that are positioned in the same angles throughout a few parts of the action are shown, one of them being of the judges' feet and seeing Geri in front of them, appearing small. Another type of shots that occur within that time frame are voyeuristic shots of the star's body in close ups, halfway through bending and stretching. After a few seconds of successful dancing, the camera stops showing her body and switches to the judges' faces who are enlightened with surprise of her skill in a reaction two shot. After Geri gains her full confidence and carries on dancing with all of her might, some other dancer boys are seen showing up at the doors and staring at her in an interested expression. After we see this guy's facial expression, the camera quickly switches back to the star and pans up her body as she sings, looking at the judges and moving in a coquettish manner. After a few more shots that follow Geri around the room, the camera switches back to the door  in a medium log shot, where more students begin to gather to see her, all with enlightened faces, fighting for a place near the windows to be able to see Geri dance.




After Geri starts to gain more confidence and dances for a while, the reaction of the judges is seen positive, with a low shot of their feet tapping to the beat, as they loosened up and began to accept the unconventional style of the star's routine. The tapping is also an intertextual reference to Flashdance yet again, which represents acceptance.



A lot of voyeuristic shots of Geri's  body is shown throughout the music video, and there are two main reasons for this: one would be to show everyone her new physique as much as possible (which is also the reason for some of her costumes, such as the more revealing version of Flashdance ) and the other reason would be to appeal and build a relationship with her audience by appealing to some more specific parts of her ta (young males, females who aspire to reach such physique themselves) with those shots.



However, there is more intertextual reference linked to Fame (a 1980 film) when in the video Geri is seen wearing a shirt with the logo of the film. There is also more references to the film as the dancers are dressed in similar costumes as the actors from the film.
When the cast run out into the streets of London, they are captured in tight long shots dancing together which creates a feeling of a community.








How has this research influenced my planning and creativity:

• I could use intertextuality within my own music video
• I could refer to things through costume
• I should change costume a lot throughout my video
• Singing into camera creates a relationship with the audience - I should use it too

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