Lip Sync Challenge

PART NINETEEN

On Wednesday, we filmed and edited 30 seconds to 60 seconds of a music video in the Hurtwood film studio. We worked in groups of eight and each had a role:

Operating Playback

Filming

Cable Bashing

Directing

Singing

We recorded a different person from our group singing a section of 'Shake It off' by Taylor Swift in a variety of three different settings that were constructed for us in the studio. Here's a link to the section of the song we recorded: CLICK HERE FOR LINK

To prepare for the lip-sync challenge, I watched lots of pop music videos online and the process in which they were filmed. Doing this helped me understand what would be expected on the day.

In the studio, there were three stations constructed. One with a green-screen background, one with a brown wall and another with a sofa and multi coloured lit wall behind it.
For the backgrounds, we took a few mid shots of the whole song and then a few long shots followed by close ups. This helped us gain a variety of different shots to choose from when selecting the final cuts for our music video. 
We would shoot each type of shot with different people in the frame so that everyone had an opportunity to be both behind the camera and in front of it.

VALS

PART EIGHTEEN

VALS - Values, Attitudes & Lifestyles Classification System 

TEENAGE VALS: 
TRENDIES - they crave attention of their peers.
PURITANS - wish to feel virtuous.
INNOVATORS - wish to make their mark.
REBELS - who wish to remake the world in their own image.
GROUPIES - who want to be accepted.
DRIFTERS - who are not sure what they want.
DROP-OUTS - who shun commitment of any kind.
TRADITIONALISTS - want things to stay as they are.
UTOPIANS - who want the world to be a better place.
CYNICS - who have to have something to complain about.
COWBOYS - who want easy money.

Three songs that I have chosen from synthetic artists are:



Best Song Ever - One Direction

I think the simplicity of the song lyrics and the current themes mentioned throughout the song reflect on the target audience they are aiming for. The fact that their image is constructed to attract female attention increases the number of young females in their audience. 
TRENDIES. COWBOYS. 

Never Say Never - Justin Bieber

Again, the age of the artists themselves and the themes which are sung about reflect on a young and naive audience. Being two teenage boys who are styled to attract young females, the target audience would appear to be young females.
REBELS. TRENDIES.

Hilary Duff - Come Clean

This song is the Theme Song to a TV show called 'Laguna Beach', which is about a group of Teenagers in Orange County, completing their senior year. This topic of television would also transfer their young predominantly female target audience over to the song.
TRENDIES. GROUPIES.







The target audience would look something like this(A girl between the ages of 12 and 14) -

This particular target audience would listen to pop music and watch chick flick films like; 


Clueless 





Mean Girls

Organic and Synthetic Artists

PART SEVENTEEN 

Organic & Synthetic artists:

With Damien Rice, emphasis is given to album sales and the construction of a successful back catalogue (a collection of records).

His music and song themes are deep and personal on an intellectual level so are therefore aimed at older or more sophisticated consumers.

Profits generated by a kind of act like Damien tend to be part of a long term strategy by the record company.

Here's an example of one of his songs:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------->

Whereas, dissimilar to Damien Rice, Justin Bieber's material takes a more combinatoric approach. 

Executives attempt to construct successful acts out of the artist (In this case JB) and the songs at his disposal.

The image of Justin is constructed by the record company, Island Records.

The artist, Justin, will be given a short time to prove his success before other combinations will be tried out.

Here's an example of one of his songs: 

----------------------------------------------------------->

Usually, the success of synthetic acts like Justin Bieber will fund 

the development and investment in organic acts like Damien Rice. 

Because, although famously synthetic acts like Justin Bieber will 

reel in the money for the record company, they ideally want 

talented organic artists  like Damien Rice to restore the organic 

quality of the record company.

Most big record labels will look to balance their roster with a 

combination of successful synthetic and organic acts to ensure that 

there are funds available for the day-to-day running of the 

company as well as long term profit making potential – it is a 

business strategy.

The BPI

PART SIXTEEN

About The BPI!

Click Here To Go To Their Website

As part of my research into the music industry, we looked at the BPI:

BPI represents the UK’s recorded music industry, which is one of the most exciting and thriving music sectors in the world. 
British artists account for one in eight albums purchased by fans around the globe.

The British Phonographic Industry are a trade body who champion the interests their membership which includes more than 300 independent music companies and the UK’s major record companies such as;

Universal Music

Sony Music

Warner Music 

Together, BPI’s members account for 85% of all music sold in the UK.
BPI organises the BRIT Awards show and the Classic BRIT Awards show:
Click Here For The Brit Awards Website

Types of Music Videos

PART FIFTEEN

Three MAIN types of MUSIC VIDEOS  ---->

1.      Illustration:  this is where the video tells the story of the lyric.  Dance is often used to express the feelings/moods in the song.

Madonna - Like A Prayer

2.      Amplification: The images amplify the lyrics as a narrative may be used to convey a deeper meaning that would not be picked up from the lyrics alone. The artist(s) may take on fictional roles within the narrative.

Here is an example:  Lady GaGa - Judas

3.      Disjuncture: this is where there is little connection between the lyric and video or where the video contradicts the lyric.  Michael Jackson’s Man in the Mirror is an example of this.  The song is about individual self-realisation but the video is full of people acting together to bring about world change.

Michael Jackson:  Man in the Mirror or my favourite - Scream

Swim Deep - Website

PART FOURTEEN

Here's the link to the website I made for Indie/Pop band Swim Deep: CLICK HERE

https://fiveswimmingdeep.wordpress.com

An example of their type of style and music: 

 "She Changes The Weather"

 "Honey"

Michael Jackson - Scream

PART THIRTEEN 

SCREAM - MICHAEL JACKSON:

Highly stylised. $7,000,00 was the budget for the music video. Money was mostly spent on special effects, giving it the specific quality of disjuncture that Janet and Michael wanted. The video is very intense.

The fast pace editing reflects on the anger and confusion of the lyrics and the images.

Abstract location, because they are in space there is no gravity and so no noise. This symbolises that they can't scream but they want to. Meaning this music video is contradictory.

Subtle things which aren't noticeable in the narrative can be shown through editing and camera shots. For example, when Michael throws stones at the pots to break them, we are then shown a stone flying towards us (the camera) at a fast pace from a close up shot. This indicates a dig at the press, who will be the viewers of this music video. It symbolises the Jackson's anger at the press and the amount of pressure and obsessive stalking which they go to for their newspapers/magazines. 

This dig at the press is also mirrored through the lyrics where they sign 'Stop pressuring me', a strong lyric throughout.

The shots of Janet and Michael standing together hugging at the end shows that they, as a family, are sticking together through tough times like this.

Lady Gaga - 'Judas' Analysis

PART TWELVE

JuDaS - LaDy GaGa

• She appropriates, inverts, and reworks Biblical allusions and images.

“I’ll wash his feet with my hair if he needs”
A reference to Luke 7:38, in which Mary of Bethany anoints Jesus’ feet with her tears and dries them with her hair.. Either way, though, Gaga's take is slightly off: Hair is for wiping or drying feet, not for washing.

“Even after three times, he betrays me”
Is Gaga perhaps conflating betrayal with denial? Judas Iscariot is certainly the disciple identified as the one who betrays Jesus, but the “even after three times” is more likely an allusion to Peter, who denies Jesus three times.

"A king with no crown"
In Matthew 27:29, the soldiers who tortured and crucified Jesus put a crown of thorns on his head. "They put a reed in his right hand and knelt before him and mocked him, saying, 'Hail, King of the Jews!'" 

"Even darkness forgave his crooked way"
Darkness and crookedness are strongly and strictly associated with deviance, evil, pre- or anti-godliness, and sometimes Satan, the devil, or demons. Forgiveness, however, is generally the purview of God and Jesus.

• Abstract video, likeable element to the controversial chaos.

• She portrays herself as Mary Magdalen, washing the feet of a man, possibly Jesus or Judas.

• Judas betrayed Jesus, so she sings about a man who could have betrayed her in the past yet she still loves him; "But I'm still in love with Judas baby".

• No ordinary in this video, only extraordinary.

• Amplification: The images amplify the narrative may be used to convey a deeper meaning that would not be picked up from the lyrics alone. Lady Gaga takes on fictional roles within the narrative. 

• Three textual examples which demonstrate religious themes: The lighting is strong and she is light and more colourful whereas the men are in black and white and dark colours. This suggests that men are darker and will betray her like Judas did to Jesus.

• Repetition of words emphasises the meaning of the words.

• The male dancers change with the female dancers from shot toccata yet Gaga stays the same. This conveys interchanging gender and presents her sexual star image. Her star image is about complexity, controversy and androgyny.

• This type of music video would engage a young audience because of the themes of sexual connotations. Other themes include multi-culture, gender uncertainty and religion.

Goodwin's Conventions - Madonna

PART ELEVEN

GOODWIN'S CONVENTIONS: MADONNA - Like a Prayer 

Example of illustration in Like A Prayer:

This music video is polysemic and open to many interpretations.

Themes:

• Religion, rebellion, Love, sex, passion, racism, equality, justice. 

Narrative:

• Madonna goes to the church to pray and falls in love with a black Jesus, which is controversial. 
• The Afro American Jesus is then arrested because the white police think he has committed street crime, which is a common stereotype of Black people.
•  Madonna suggests this isn't true and goes to the church to pray for him and to confess that it was the white man who committed the crime. 
• We see her creating an alliance through music with all the Black gospel singers from the church and eventually, the police become aware that the white man was the one who committed the crime and he gets arrested.

Consider the characters in the narrative..who is the protagonist/hero/victim/villains etc:

• Madonna: Protagonist (sort of hero)
• Police: Antagonist behaviour (But only at the beginning)
• White man: Antagonist/Villain
• Black Jesus: Hero/Victim

Consider how the lyrics match the action:

• Now I’m falling: Cut away to Madonna in the clouds.
• I’m down on my knees; She is dancing on the church floor.

Consider intertextuality: 

• As the song progresses and builds up, the editing pace quickens, mirroring it. 
• Burning cross symbolises the KKK.

Consider connotation and denotation: 

• I can denote that Madonna is running across a field in fright, connoting her heroine characterisation.
• I can denote a black man in the church, blessing madonna, connoting him as the black Jesus, showing us that we shouldn’t stereotype.
• I can denote that there is a burning cross, connoting the influence of the KKK in that time, they burned crucifixes as a message to demonstrate the white superiority.
• I can denote she is wearing a red dress, connoting her dangerous and seductive behaviour.

Consider who you think the target audience is:

• The target audience is probably an older person because it's quite an intelligent video including many biblical and religious references. 
• The controversy it would have caused would only be understood by adults as it is too historically advanced for people of a young age. 
• The sexual behaviour and strong, dark themes of crime and sex also suggests an older target audience. 
• I would suspect that Madonna was aiming and directing this music video at men and women in their late twenties to early forties due to the strong themes and controversial and historically advanced topics.

Consider how the video addresses relevant themes of the time. What do you think they may have been? 

• Themes such as racism are shown through having a black Jesus and portraying the white people as the baddies. This is controversial and juxtaposes the common belief and portray of white and black people at that time. 
• By promoting this idea that black people are good, she is enticing her fans to keep an open mind and not follow the crowd with their general ideas.

Wordpress

PART TEN

Creating a website on WordPress:

I created my website for Indie/pop band Swim Deep. 

I used the theme AfterLight so that I could use an image of the band as a background for the text. This helps the viewers gain a deeper understanding about the band's image at the same time as reading information I have written about them.

I placed the bands Logo at the top of every page so that the viewers remember it and it makes the band recognisable if the viewer sees the logo again as they will know what it is for.

Making A Website Notes

PART NINE

Making A Website

Notes from the lesson:

• Text is usually in boxes

• Banners usually found across the top of the webpage, stating the artist's name.

• Navigation buttons located usually on the side.

• Thumbnail photos loaded on the side, for example, people who have liked the artist on Facebook (their Facebook display photos).

Lana Del Rey - Born To Die - Music Video Analysis

PART EIGHT

How is the star presented in:

Born to die - Lana Del Rey

The mid-shot of Lana with a male actor shows an intimate embrace, expressing connotations of love and trust to the audience. This emphasises the large American flag which is in the background. The American flag, and general US based theme shows patriotism, satisfaction, loyalty and appreciation.

Although this intimacy is juxtaposed by the male's tattoos and piercings contrasted with Lana's purity. The dreamy looks they give each other shows that they trust each other. This is her way of portraying the message to the audience that even though they are very different, they can still love and trust each other. The American theme and American flags are something that unites them. They are both proud Americans.

In the next scene, which the music video keeps cutting back to in between shots of the storyline, we see Lana sat on a throne in a church wearing a long white dress. This gives her the star image that she is in charge and in some way royalty. 

The whiteness of her dress represents purity. Reinforcing the key image that Lana wants to portray herself through, the image of purity and elegance. 






To emphasise that she is in charge, there are two tigers either side of her. Tigers are renowned for being dangerous and wild animals, the fact that she can control them tells us that she must be wilder and more dangerous than them herself. 



Perhaps she wants to present herself through her star image as wild and dangerous, which contrasts what she has just lead the audience to believe about her being pure and elegant. This uncertainty within the audience about her star image and who she is trying to portray herself as is a good way to intrigue the audience and keep them guessing. She doesn't want to give the game away too fast.





So, to conclude, her star image in this music video shows us that she is MYSTERIOUS and INCOMPREHENSIBLE.

Lana Del Rey - Ordinary and Extra-Ordinary

PART SEVEN

LANA D E L    REY

ORDINARY: 

• She was born in New York in 1986.
• Lana Del Rey is her stage name, but her birth name is Elizabeth Woolridge Grant. This makes her relatable to us because she was not always a star.

• At 15, she was sent to boarding school in Connecticut, before moving to New York City when she turned 18 to study metaphysics at Fordham University. 
• This is personal information about her private life which has nothing to do with her music career and the star we know her as, making us as an audience feel like she is one of us.

EXTRAORDINARY:

She has alter-egos as "Gangster Nancy Sinatra" and "Lolita got lost in the hood is an unusual and unique selling point.

Her unique look - auburn hair in Veronica Lake waves, full lips and permanently artistic talons acts as a USP (Unique Selling Point).

Richard Dyer's Star Theory

PART SIX

RICHARD DYER ON: STAR IMAGE

Stars depend on a range of subsidiary media, magazines, tv, radio, the internet, in order to construct an image for themselves which can be marketed to their target audiences. The star image is made up of a range of meanings which are attractive to the target audiences.

In order to understand the relationship between the music industry and its audiences, it is important to consider the roles of music stars.

Katy Perry promotes her star image through her music videos acting like shop windows. The term 'star' refers to the semi-mythological set of meanings constructed around music performers in order to sell the performer to a large and loyal audience. In terms of Katy perry, the semi-mythological values include geekiness.

The star image has to be coherent  coordinated. Katy Perry becomes the brand for Universal Records, she represents them (promotes them).

A star is an image, not a real person, that is constructed out of a range of materials, like videos, artwork, performances, media appearances etc.

Stars are commodities produced and consumed on the strength of their meanings.

Some common values of music stardom:

Youthfulness

Rebellion

Sexual magnetism

An anti-authoritarian attitude

Originality 

Creativity/talent

Aggression/anger

A disregard for social values relating to drugs, sex and polite behaviour

Conspicuous consumption of sex, drugs and material goods

Success against the odds

Celebs which have changed their star image:
Miley Cyrus
Ariana Grande
Madonna
Selena Gomez
Nick Jonas

Katy Perry and Michael Jackson

PART FIVE

Katy Perry targets teenage girls in this music video. 
Us as a young audience can identify with these scenarios which we are presented with, such as; partying, alcohol, teen crushes. 

A conventional music video lasts around 4 minutes. Whereas, alike Michael Jackson's thriller, 'Last Friday Night' is a short film, lasting around 8 minutes. Additionally to the music, there is a plot, there is dialogue as well as lip-syncing to the song. Here is the full version of 'Thriller': 

There are many famous people used, increasing the fame value of the music video. Some of these star appearances are from Hanson, Darren Criss, Kevin Mchale and Rebecca Black.

YOU CAN WATCH 'Last Friday Night' HERE!