Prelim - Shot list (P10)

Shot List – Preliminary Task A2 Media

Analysis of a Digipak (R6)

Conventions of a digipak
Text:

• Name of band and artist
• Name of album
• Track listing
• Bonus material
• Website
• Credits
• Thanks
• Recording Info
• Who wrote the song
• Lyrics

Visual:

• Pictures of the band and artist
• Images reflecting the genre
• Logo 
• Album cover
• Barcode
• DVD logo
• CD logo
• Website banner
• Record company logo

Design:

• Colour, MES and design to adhere to the artists genre
• Unfolds
• Bonus material 
• Cardboard

Analysis of The 1975 Girls (R2)

The music video for The 1975's song 'Girls' has a tonne of examples of the typical music promo conventions. I am going look at these examples, screenshot them and write about how and why they have been used and work well to make this music video successful.

Editing:

The first scene we see has had a black and white effect added onto it. Black and white (or monochrome) is a typical convention of editing, used in a lot of music promos. The band members have also used humour to create immediate interest, stating the video feels too pop with all the bright colours used; saying it should be in black and white. However, when the music starts it has switched to colour being the opposite of what was suggested. This intrigues people making them want to watch the whole video to see how to plays out. 

Editing:

Cutting to the beat has been used efficiently, alternating between two different close up shots of guitars that play along with the music. The clip switches when a drum beat is hit to make the scene visually appealing and flow more than what it would if it changed out of time (more frustrating).

Camera:
A close up shot of the guitars have been used as an effective way to cut to the beat but also to add realism to the promo.By doing this it makes the music seem like it is being played live right in front of you and so involves the viewers more. This should result in an increase in views and re-watches.

Camera work:
A close up of the lead singer has been used, lip syncing the lyrics whilst looking into the camera with like he is singing to the viewers. This also creates realism like he is singing live in front of you and builds a relationship between the artist and the viewers. 
This also follows Andrew Goodwin's theory that there should be many close up of the artists face to promote an image and style to the audience and viewers at home watching.

Camera:
We can see in this scene a generic mid shot of the band performing their instruments, facing directly towards the camera. Similar clips to this specific one are used multiple times though out this music video and it is effective in creating a relationship with the viewers by giving the illusion of performing live in front of them. 

Camera and MES:
Voyeurism has been used throughout the 1975's music video for girls; a perfect example of Andrew Goodwin's theory. This and multiple clips through out this music promo use the 'male gaze' dressing women in a lack of clothes to sexualize them for men. 

Purposes and conventions of a music video (R1)

Music videos aim to:

• Promote new artists to an audience and maintain an audience focus on an existing artist
• Promote both album and single sales
• Promote an image of an artist or band that is exciting or dynamic
• Entertain the audience and encourage re-plays of the video
• Create visual images that convey the meaning or story of the song 

Where they can be seen and why?

Exhibition:

The 1960's and 70's saw music videos as a 'feature film' tied to albums and singles. This was the start of music fans craving visuals to go alongside their tunes. The Beatles were eager to give their fans the fullest audiovisuals - A hard day's night for example.

Music TV shows like top of the pops, the old grey whistle test where musicians promoted their music - they later showed the music video (like the Jimmy Fallon Show).The most significant music videos of this era was Bohemian Rhapsody which debuted in 1975.

MTV:

The music video giant MTV launched on 1st august 1981 with  The Buggles' video, which has the first aired two years previously on Top of the pops for a live performance.

MTV enabled music fans to watch music videos 24hrs a day and offered artists a visual platform to promote their music.

MTV continued to be popular up until the start of the millennium when budgets for the videos were stagnant or even started to shrink. This is when videos were growing importance online, especially on YouTube. In 2005 YouTube was created. It was intended to be a way people could share their home videos with each other, in October 2006 it was acquired with google. 

The music video has found new life on YouTube. In 2009, Vevo was born. It was the product of the debate between universal music group (UMG) and google over content licencing for YouTube. Vevo meant record labels could actually make money on their videos being streamed. Vevo still dominates the YouTube charts, running from the catalogue of about 75,000 videos. Mega viral videos like 'Gangnam style' have generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue for artists and labels.

Between 2010 and 2015, a number of high profile music acts made the most of the internet by making interactive videos (often which has to be accessed via their own website). 

Code of conventions (the 2 styles):

Music videos can feature the artists themselves or actors, and usually follow the codes and conventions of two main styles, the performance music video and the narrative music videos. 

Style 1 - The performance music video:

Footage of artists performing, singing or playing instruments. The mode of address may be direct so the audience feel the artist is performing to them specifically.

Clips to the concert footage which often shows the crowd and makes the viewer feel a part of the concert.

Artists and bands may perform in strange places

Footage of the band in informal situations that illustrate their job (in rehearsal room or on the tour bus)

Lip synced (Unless video from live concert)

Style 2 - The narrative music video

Tell the story of the song lyrics through technical codes and how the video is editied

Use actors to tell the story or the band themselves

Could be a short video to communicate the meaning of the song, the same as a feature film.

Conventions, how and why are they used?

Camera

Editing and sound

Mise en scene

Technical conventions:

Camerawork:

Band shots: Mid shot of whole band, clips of lead instrument and vocalists

High angle/ Low angle shots: Shots of singers and instruments

Close ups/ extreme close ups: Of mouth singing or instruments

Mise En scene: 

Reflecting atmosphere, equal division shots upon band members OR focus on key members. Reflecting the music genre (bright colours - pop)

Camera Movement: Tracking shots, pans, hand held camera, zooming in and out

Editing: Cuts reflect the tempo of the song and structure, cutting to the beat

Colour effect: Often monochrome to effect the mood, black and white

Montage: Images put together to create a symbolic meaning

Narrative: Might illustrate all of some of the lyrics


Symbolic


WRITE THE DIFFERENT ONES

Andrew Goodwin's Theory (R3)