account of media morning filming Price Tag

First we were told that we had to film a short clip of a music video using the song Jessie J - Price Tag and 3 different sets.  In each set we used three different cameras:  the fx100,... and the .....We were told to use three different shots also:  an extreme close-up, a close-up and a mid shot.  Once we were organised into our groups we set up the cameras and assigned a job for each of us, which we then rotated round once we moved to a different set.  My first job was as a director, which involved me organising where I wanted the singer to be positioned.  The job of the singer was to lip sync the song while the cameraman filmed this using the three different shots (they sung the section of the song three times).  I also played the role as floor manager, which meant I was incharge of all the groups and decided when they were ready shoot a sequence. This job involved me saying words, such as 'roll your cameras' and 'playback'. 

I enjoyed trying out the different jobs as it was interesting to see what roles you can play and what they each involve when filming music videos. I also enjoyed watching people lip sync the song, simply because it was entertaining and amusing as some were boys.  As a group we worked very well and it was also fun, which was the point of doing the preliminary task as it made us excited to start working on the real music video and also gave us more understanding of what we would have to do next year in comparison to our first year filming the thriller.  

I believe the preliminary task taught me how many different roles I could involve myself in next year and I began to understand what each role consisted of in the process of making a music video.  Furthermore, I learnt that if I want to create a successful product next year, I have to consider other peoples opinions in my group as if we don't work well together, the process of making the music video will be a disaster.  This preliminary task also inspired my own ideas for my music video as I learnt different ways I could film the video using various sets and camera shots, such as using the green screen, which I didn't consider beforehand.

What I like least about being in the studio is that I find it is harder to be inspired to do more creative things as you are confined into a small space.  I believe that there's is lots of various ideas that can be done in the studio but it is not as interesting as working on a real life set and therefore it is more challenging to be original and dynamic.  Working in the studio for the preliminary task was quite tiring at times as you have to spend a lot of time on a sequence that is only a few seconds long.  However, after experiencing this with my Thriller I don't think this will be much of a problem. 

After filming our sequences in the studio, the class moved to the editing suite where we looked at each of the groups material and put it all together into a file.  Once we familiarised ourselves with the work, we used Final Cut Pro to edit our own short music video in our groups.  We began by choosing our favourite shots, including the other groups shots and synced each one with the song Price Tag.  Using a variety of different shots and people made the editing a lot more fun and our final product a lot more interesting.  We cut each shot where we wanted so our sequence was filled with different people singing a different part of the song, consequently ending up with a complete song.  For example, one shot would be a close-up of someone singing 'its not about the money' and then would cut to a midshot of a person carrying on with the next line or completing the line:  'money money' and so on. My role in the process was primarily being incharge of editing everything (I was on the computer) while my group came up with different ideas that we could do as well as my own ideas.  I liked my role very much as I was able to get more experience working with Final Cut Pro before next year.

I really enjoyed editing in the preliminary task as I believe editing is very interesting and entertaining.  I liked looking how the other groups shot their sequences and comparing it, which supplied me with more ideas for my own filming.  Looking at the other groups music videos also gave me more ideas on how to edit my music video next year because everyones editing was different in a certain way. 

During the editing process, I found it difficult to choose with shots to use as there were so many.  Furthermore, it was challenging to find shots that went well together and produced an entertaining product overall.  In addition, it was quite hard at times to listen to everyones opinion and include it as there were so many ideas that not always agreed with one another. I found this fustrating at times but it worked out well in the end.  Whilst editing, we came up with creative decisions by looking at all the shots together and choosing our favourite ones.  Then we tried organising them and swapped shots round in different orders until we were happy.

FINISH 9 AND 10

organic and synthetic bands relating to theorist

 RIHANNA - SYNTHETIC

When Rihanna was 16, she was signed to Def Jam Records and since then she’s amassed phenomenal success using her synthetic music and look.  Her trade mark is:  leather outfits, constant hairstyle changes, bright red hair, bajan accent, revealing outfits and her tattoos.  According to Fashion Lifestyle she's had over 150 hairstyles since her music career took off in 2005. Her trademark hairstyles are her Long Straight Brown (2006), Medium Length Black Bob (2007) and Short Cropped look (2008).  All of things these things as well as her music are “commodities to be sold to an audience who believe that they are consuming ‘true’ emotion” according to Theodor Adorno.  Adorno suggested that culture industries churn out a debased mass of unsophisticated, sentimental products which have replaced the more ‘difficult’ and critical art forms that might lead people to actually question life and social structure.  Rihanna is a pure example of this theory as she follows the conformities that many synthetic artists follow in the music industry.  An example of this is the artist Kelly Clarkson, who changed her hairstyle a majority of times and used sexuality as a key part of her music.  All popular music products are commodities to be sold to an audience who believe that they are consuming ‘true’ emotion when really they represent all the same things.  Popular music products are characterised by this standardisation and also pseudo-individualisation, such as Rihanna being known as the ‘Caribbean Queen’ or ‘Barbados babe’.  However, more modern theorists have tended to view Adorno’s ideas as overly pessimistic and dismissive of mass audiences as passive and easily manipulated.  

BIFFY CLYRO - ORGANIC

Biffy Clyro is an example of an organic band that the theorist Dick Hebdige believed allowed the audience a freedom to resist the power of large companies by ignoring, undermining or finding alternative products to consume.  Organic bands are subcultures that don’t follow the mainstream commodities to an extent.  However, because this has proved very popular and successful, major companies inevitably have attempted to assimilate this resistance of these subcultures by attempting to provide products which these audiences or subcultures will consume.  Consequently, a majority of indie/organic bands have been incorporated into mainstream much against its initial ethos of independence.  According to Dick Hebdige, members of a subculture often signal their membership through a distinctive and symbolic use of style, which includes fashions, mannerisms and affectations.  As a result, organic bands use an alternative/individual style to mark what subculture they are representing.  Biffy Clyro represents this in many different ways, such as their rock music videos as in many they suggest a live performance, which emphasises they are an organic band.  In comparison, synthetic artists, such as Rihanna tend to use a narrative in their music videos rather than a live performance.  Even though Biffy Clyro is an organic band, they also use sexuality as a key part of their music.  For example, the main singer frequently has his top off during performances and music videos.  

analysis of an album cover

Joan as Police Woman Album Analysation

Richard Dyer's star theory

Stars as constructions

• Stars are constructed, artificial images
• USP (Universal Selling Point) ---> they can be copied and/or parodied because of it

Dyer says:  "A star is an image not a real person that is constructed (as any other aspect of fiction is) out of a range of materials"

Industry and Audiences

• Stars are made to appeal to audiences, which will in turn generate revenue for record companies

Dyer says:  "Stars are commodities produced and consumed on the strength of their meanings"

Character and Personality

• A star begins as a 'real' human but the star transformation process turns them into a construct

Analysation of a music video

Analysation of Music Video - Biffy Clyro

Andrew Goodwin

Andrew Goodwin's theory on music videos

• He believes there is a relationship between the lyrics and visuals (illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics)
• He also believes there is a relationship between music and visuals
• That particular genres may have their own video style and iconography
• That there is a demand from the record company for lots of close-ups of the main artist
• That the artist develops their own star iconography in and out of their videos
• There are references to voyeurism (screen within screen, binoculars, camera)
• There are intertextual references

Here is an example of a music video that follows this theory:

Why does it relate to Andrew Goodwin's theory?

• Relationship between lyrics and visuals = flashbacks of his life and when he changes the meaning of the song so it's about him reflecting on his life (orginally the song was about heroin addiction).  The lyrics "a crown of thorn" shows an image of Jesus and therefore the lyrics and visuals relate here too
• There are close-ups of him as an oldman = shows he's a legend and shows his emotions
• voyeurism = audience looking back at his life (he's dead) and the flashbacks in the video of his life enable the audience entry into his private life

Conventions of a music video

• People dancing
• Semi-naked girls
• Sexiness
• Someone singing/close-ups of them
• People/someone playing music
• Pathetic phallacy
• Various emotions
• Panning shots
• Lip syncing
• Fit bodies
• Reaction shots
• Shots of the instruments, such as the guitarist or drummers hands
• Usually rock bands integrate live performances, such as a view of an audience watching them
• A band, which suggests they are organic
• Deisgned to make you buy the product
• Narrative driven
• Montage sequence
• Slow motion
• Video is cut in time with the beat

 

WELCOME TO A2

We will be looking at music videos.