Analysis from our genre: Coldplay – fix it

Textual analysis from our genre

Coldplay – fix it

Genre

I know from this being in my genre that this music video is alternative rock therefore I didn’t have to investigate this. There are connotations of alternative rock seen throughout this video as within alternative rock videos the lighting tends to be rather dark which is seen throughout this video. Also, in alternative rock videos the camera tends to be free hand most of time as it sometimes in videos it follows the character around to create a confused/exciting atmosphere which is actually seen in most type of rock genres.

Narrative

The narrative of this piece I believe is rather complicated. This is because what is seen is seen within the music video doesn’t relate to the lyrics throughout. There is only way section where he says “lights will guide you home” and then a stream of lights appear to follow him however this is not consistent as it is a one off and therefore it doesn’t link to Goodwin’s theory. However, there are aspects of ‘Propps’ theory which relates to whether there are recognisable characters.  The theme that runs throughout is ‘night’ as throughout the whole music video it is dark and he constantly looks like he is making his way back home. The general storyline is that the character (there’s only main character) is singing whilst he looks like he is making his way back home. Then there is a twist as he’s actually running to a concert to perform in front of a large crowd. This then turns into a performance/narrative music video rather than just narrative.

Technical codes

There are a number of interesting camera shots and editing techniques within this music video. The first one which I think starts the video off is an establishing shot which shows the setting of where most of it is filmed and the main character. This is good as it gives the audience a small insight into where it is set, the number of characters that are in the video and a generally feel for where they are. Moreover, another interesting shot is the use of the low angle, this was used to make the character seem dominant and powerful which is stereotypical because men are usually the dominant gender and this is suggesting the same thing. Furthermore, the editing that is used throughout is slow which matches the pace of the song which is also slow therefore it shows consistency and shows it has clearly been thought through. Also, transitions aren’t very frequent; they aren’t constant which also adds to the slow pace of the music video itself. The effect of all of this to create a sad mood/atmosphere as the song is ‘fix you’ which could connote someone isn’t very well and therefore needs fixing which is sad.

 

Visual codes

The video is set within London and I know this because within one of the shots you see a rail sign which says ‘Kings Cross’. Also, it is set in the arches underneath the rail station which you tend to see in London but is seen everywhere. The dominant colour within this music video is black/brown, these colours are typically associate with death and the fact the song is called ‘fix you’ could connote that they are talking about someone who might be close to passing away and they want to fix them.  

Audience

Personally, I do not think this music video is directly aimed at a certain group of people this is due to the fact I know it is liked by people of all ages and people listen to this song when they are upset. The key signifiers that indicate this are the everything is mutual or in the middle. By this I mean that in teenage based music videos there tends to be bright colours whereas in this one it is rather plain which suggest it can be liked by all age groups. However, I believe that only an adult would be able to listen to the lyrics of the song and understand what it means which connotes that the audience is adults of all ages. Fans can access this video via YouTube or the TV as there are music channels now however YouTube is more efficient.

Lip Syncing - importance

Lip syncing – what is it and what is its importance

Lip syncing is the process of getting the persons lip movement to go in sync with the music. The person who is meant to be singing the song will have to know the lyrics of the song very well otherwise if they are not confident when miming the lyrics it will look unprofessional and will effectively ruin the music video. Moreover, the importance of lip syncing is some of what I have mentioned above but the main importance of it is so everything runs smoothly and so that the viewer can genuinely believe that the person miming the song actually looks genuine. This is where character also comes into as you need to have a character that actually looks like the stereotype that’s seen within those type of videos.

The video below is an exmaple of a music video that A2 students produced, i chose this video as it is an good exmaple of lip syncing and the characters fit perfectly. 

Importance of lyrics

Importance of lyrics

 There are a few main reasons why lyrics are important, the main reason for having lyrics is because it helps the audience to engage with the song, for example for lyrics could relate to a current situation that the viewer is having at that moment in time. This could also help the viewer as the song could be about a breakup and because the viewer can relate it may make them feel better about it. Another reason for lyrics is it helps the narrative, this means that the lyrics help he storyline that is going on in the background, and it helps the audience understand what is going on through lyrics and narrative. Moreover, lyrics also help set the scene, for example in James Blunt’ song called ‘beautiful’, the lyrics at the start help set the scene and atmosphere for the audience. The last reason for importance of lyrics is it help to convey a message to the audience in the sense that the lyrics could be all about love and how it hurts people so the message/morale of the song is not to fall in love.

The purpose of magazine adverts and digipaks

The purpose of magazine adverts and digipaks

 

Digipaks/adverts

The purpose of a digipak is to promote the film and create more revenue for the music company that’s producing the song. Digipaks typically consists of a book-style paper or cardboard outer binding with one or more plastic trays capable of holding a CD or DVD attached to the inside.

Digipak-style packaging is often used for CD singles or special editions of CD albums

Digipak-style cases grew in popularity among record labels and recording artists in the early 2000s. Below is an example of a digipak and a magazine advert. The magazine advert would probably take up a whole page within the magazine, this is good as when people are reading the magazine you cannot miss the advert and therefore this should advertise to the reader.

The purpose of a music video

The purpose of a music video

The music videos we are going to make have regulations so that everyone’s has the same chance of making it the best they can. However, the purpose of music videos is to generate more revenue for music companies but also for the artist. It is also meant to leave a mark on the viewer’s so that they remember the song and to entertain the audience and by doing that it allows the performers to show off other talents such as dancing etc.

Therefore, there are three types of music videos, they are:

—  Performance – shows a performance of an artist within the video, for example performing on stage.

—  Narrative – the video of the song tells a story in some way – will most likely link to the lyrics.

—  Concept – concept videos tend to be based around one particular idea

An example of a successful music video is ‘thriller’ by Michael Jackson. It sold over nine million copies in 2009 and also received an honour.

What makes a good student music video?

What makes a good student music video?

 

Music videos need to be tailored to fit the genre of the music whether they are for a music company or for a school music video like the one. Moreover, for a school music video to be classed as it needs to have the following features;

·         Video fits genre of music

·         Characters are thought and fit in with genre etc.

·         Costumes should have been considered

·         Casting should have been considered

·         Setting should have been considered

The little elements to a music video when put together make up the most of the video. These elements need to have been considered in some way to ensure everything interlinks. For example if theme is set in a jungle then costumes need to be tailored to suit what is stereotypically worn when entering a jungle like scenario. This is vital to ensure that you get the top grades. The following images below all interlink and make sense if the piece is set in a jungle/forest. The characters have been considered as they are unshaven due to the fact they do not have access to stuff like razors etc. also, they wear clothes that match the colour of the setting (Brown, greens, yellows etc.) this links and makes them blend in with the background to ensure they aren't spotted by wildlife.

Analysis of student music video

Analysis of past student music video

Genre

The genres for this piece are indie, electronic and pop. The reason for having more than one genre for this music video is due to the fact that the video has connotations of all three genres therefore you cannot just say it has one. The video has a constant repetitive beat throughout and doesn’t go any faster or slower which is good as it shows consistency.

Narrative
within this music video I believe the narrative is evident which is good as it means that people can straight away identify what is going on and what might happen later on in the music video. However, this could also be a negative as some people like to be surprised by narrative of music videos. To start with straight away you can identify that there is two teenage males in a field drinking underage. Then, we see the same males running after a male where they pin him up against a wall and beat him up until he is left on the floor helpless. Moreover, throughout the music video, we see constantly see short clips of another male training in a gym and practicing on a boxing bag which I believe is because he wants to make himself stronger so he can stand up to the bullies. Then towards the end of the video we see the guy who is always beaten up stand up for himself and pins one of the bullies into the corner where he puts his fist to his face however he doesn’t hit him. This shows the comparison between the two characters and how they act. Although the storyline is rather basic, it clearly shows that a lot of thought has gone into it through camera shots, acting, locations, clothing etc. this is what makes it a very good student music video.

Technical codes
In this student music video, there are a number of camera shots and editing techniques that are clearly well thought out. The first one that interested me was the editing at the start where there was use of a time lapse. The camera was steadily filming the sky for a number of hours and then when they edited it they made it go faster so it looked like a lapse in time which was very effective as it showed an array of colours. Moreover, towards the middle of the clip there was a close up of the guy who gets beaten up; this close up was to show the wounds of the victim and to make the audience feel sorry for him. The second camera shot that was effective was at the same time when the guy was getting beaten up. There was use of a low angle on the offender to show the dominance he has over the victim and to make people scared of him.

 

 

 

Representation
The most evident representation in this student music video is the idea that teenagers and people of youth are making stupid decisions and that they are thugs and all they do is commit crime, although that is the stereotype for youths in today’s society that does not portray a true image of everyone because not all young people are like that. Moreover, the part where the young males knew they made a stupid decision was when their body language was very hunched over and their hands were on their head. At that point they understood what they did was wrong and wanted to make emends however it might have been too late because the victim was scarred.

Audience

I would say the audience for this piece would be in males in-between 15 – 20, the stage between being too old to be a teenager but too young to be an adult. I believe this is the age for this audience as towards and the middle of the piece we see one of the characters messing about on what looks like a bike/toy for children. This connotes that the actor is rather childish and because he’s doing things like what teenagers do the audience can relate which suggests that’s the target audience. The audience can access this video most likely through YouTube as this way is easier and doesn’t cost to access the site.

 

Visual codes

The video is set in a number of different locations, the first one we see is in a field where one of the actors is drinking and the second location is a gym where throughout the video we see the actor who gets bullied training on the boxing bag. For the majority of the music video we see two parts of the storyline, the boy who constantly gets beaten up is always seen in the gym working hard and his body composition is upright whereas the bullies are always hunched over with their hands on their head. This could be then showing remorse for what they did and feeling guilty. Furthermore, at the start we see typography which says ‘stuck – canopy climbers’, this is obviously stating the name of the song and the band. This is quite simplistic and looks good as its professional and goes well with the rustic background.

 

Analysis of student music video - Macklemore // can't hold us

Analysis of student music video

Macklemore – Can’t hold us

Genre

The genre of this student music video is Hip hop I would say and the artist is the same. Hip hop generally contains fast paced editing and lots of transitions. A hip hop song called ‘2 chainz – no lie’ has connotations of hip hop genre music videos as it contains lots of cuts, montages of camera shots, follows the characters occasionally which is what is seen within the student video as well.

Narrative

The narrative for this student music video is quite a simple one, however it does have some elements within it that are quite hard to understand. The piece starts off with a business man sat down at a café with his bag and then two old school robbers sit with him and then the business man walks off with the wrong bag. This sets up the music video nicely as you have an understanding of what is going to happen. They end up going on a wild goose chase around London trying to get their bag back as the whole idea of it is they have stolen something, most likely money that’s why they are dressed up as thieves. However, as you get towards the end of the piece they is a massive surprise as when the business man opens the bag, a hen appears which is a nice twist to the video as the audience were led astray by the use of mise-en-scene which was the clothing they were wearing. I would say this narrative links to Todorov’s theory as it does throughout however at the end it is completely different but if I were to say it links to a theory then I would definitely say Todorov’s theory suits the narrative.

 

 

Technical codes

Within this music video, there are a number of different camera angles/shots and editing techniques that make it stand out from the rest. I noticed that throughout the piece that the camera actually helps to tell the story. This is because the camera follows the actors as they are trying to find the business man, the use of the camera movement enabled the audience to follow the piece and engage with it.  Moreover, another shot which was clearly thought out was an establishing shot of the three actors, it was effective as they added a cartoon effect to it to make it look modern and it had some originality about it. Furthermore, throughout the piece there was a constant us of fast paced editing. This enhanced the music video because it kept a constant pace throughout which showed consistency and meant that the audience didn’t get bored at any time because the pace didn’t slow down at all.

 

Audience

The target audience for this music video is young people. This is because the video has different elements that connote it’s for the younger generation. The video is also very fast paced which fits in with the genre of the song and stereotypically, that’s associated with young people who like to go out and party. Also, they filmed within a park for one of the scenes which is typically associated with very young children or teenagers/youths who hang around in parks. All of these signifiers connote that this is targeted at the younger generation along with the fact that the song is actually modern and targeted at young people also.

 

Visual codes

The video is set in a number of different locations and for this video especially because it follows the actors around; there is not a specific location where they are always situated. However, the video is predominately set within the centre of London. Also, they film in a park, a café, a house towards the end they film within a house. Moreover, there are written graphics in this music video, however they aren’t a major part of the video, they are there to tell a story like the one below. Body language of all characters is very upright and upbeat as the song possesses a very fast pace meaning all characters have to be on par with that otherwise it wouldn’t look right.

 

Textual analysis – Wiz Khalifa - See You Again

Textual analysis – Wiz Khalifa - See You Again ft. Charlie Puth

 

Narrative

The narrative of this song is all about a man called Paul Walker, he a famous actor that featured in all the Fast and furious films, however in 2013 he sadly passed away due to a high speed car crash. This came as a shock to family, friends and fans and meant that his brother had to be the actor for his final scenes. Moreover, so the storyline is about how they have lost their truly wonderful friend and how one day there will see him again. This music video has both a narrative and performance structure, the use of musical equipment such as pianos connote that’s its performance and then there is acting which connotes it’s also a performance video.

 

Visual codes

The video is set primarily at the beach side, on top of what looks like cliffs and then gradually as the video progresses it is set on the beach. Due to the fact we see the sea and sand it clearly connotes that’s where it is set. Black is the dominant colour that is seen I the video, e.g. black cars, black clothing etc. black is a symbol of death and this links in well because the song is dedicated to Paul Walker and he sadly passed away. There are also written graphics towards the end of the video, it simply says “For Paul”, this is a nice touch to end the video as he was such as well-liked man and his close families wanted to give something back in the sense of the video which is such a nice send off. Moreover, the body language of each character is quite relaxed, they are mostly seen to sit and watch the memories they have of Paul. Also, the clothes they are wearing e.g. shorts, thin shirt etc. connote that the weather is warm and you get a summer vibe from this.

 

Genre

The genre of this song is hip hop, however the artists and different, Wiz Khalfia is preferably a rapper but also likes to do a bit of RnB and Charlie Puth is RnB which means that the artists and the song itself do not match. When I first listened to the song, I knew it was going to be rather sad due to the fact they are remembering someone’s life and also the slow tempo and use of small montages of Paul Walker makes the audience want to watch it.  However, on the other hand I did not expect to see Wiz Khalifa in the video as he’s a rapper and I wouldn’t of thought he’d do a song like this but when someone passes away it brings people closer and they all want to do what they can to remember them for the great person they are. Also, in hip hop videos you tend to see a number of tracking shots which are seen visibly within this video which connotes that the genre is hip hop.

 

Technical codes

Throughout the whole piece there are a variety of different shots, ranging from a close up to an establishing shot. We see the establishing shot at the start which shows the night sky and the different buildings and then it pans into the fast and furious crew standing up. This shot has been used to show the surrounding’s and setting of where they are filming and familiarises the audience of where they are situated. Moreover, as we get towards the middle of the music video, we see a close up of Vin Diesel and then they camera focuses back of Paul Walker, this idea of this shot was to show the facial expressions on his face. The camera at the end follows Paul as he and Vin Diesel go different ways, the idea of this tracking shot is to tell the story and to let the audience know that he is no longer with us and that we will see him in another life time. The editing within this video is fast with lots of transitions and fast cuts, the whole idea of this is to show a variety of different clips/images of Paul so that everyone can share the memories of him.

 

Organisation

The record company plays a major role in the music video as they get to decide on what they want in the video and the type of theme. However, for this music video it was a lot different as they weren’t doing it to make as much money as possible, they were simply doing it as an appreciation for what a great man/actor he was and as a record company they wanted to help as much as possible so that there is always something there to have as a memory of him.  The music video wasn’t promoted as such as it was played at the end of the latest ‘fast and furious’ film and then the whole idea was to make the audience like the song and then they would go home and buy it but it wasn’t created for profit.

 

Audience

This music video has multiple audiences however it would probably be capped at about 50+ because the song was part of the ‘Fast and furious’ film which is typically aimed at the younger generation from 15 – 30 therefore I think it would have the same target audience. The video can be enjoyed by all age groups, demographics and genders. The target audience can access the film in a variety of ways because accessing music I this day and age is very easy so sites like YouTube, Spotify, iTunes and purchasing it in store is another option but the easiest ways are the sites I have listed. The audience need to know a bit about Paul himself, what has happened (him passing away), and the acting side of him, this is because the narrative will not make any sense to them. The use of the gratification model is used within this music video as this video has a clear message in which the audience use the text and are not used by it. The line “it’s been a long day without you my friend, I’ll tell you all about it when I see you again”, is a powerful line which can have an impact on people who have recently lost a loved one and makes them feel at ease knowing they will see them again.

 

Representation

This music video creates a saddened mood due to the fact they are remembering someone’s life and the use of small montages of him are sad because you realise that could be one of your loved ones. The dominant ideologies within this video are all middle aged and are all roughly the same age as Paul. There isn’t a clear representation of gender though because there is a mixture of both males and females rather than there being one dominant gender although the singers are males the other people who feature vary in gender. The producers clearly tried to incorporate both genders into this piece otherwise it would be classed as discrimination and also it means that there is a sense of equality.

 

 

Textual Analysis – Taylor Swift – Wildest Dreams

Textual Analysis – Taylor Swift – Wildest Dreams

 

Narrative

The storyline of the video is she’s in love with a man but they are always falling out and arguing. It’s a very basic storyline where they argue and make up multiple times. The theme within this video is love and all to do with being hurt and how at the end Taylor is hurt as the man she loves is walking down the aisle with another woman. I believe this relates to the Todorov theory as it has a recognisable structure I the sense that they love each other, then they hate each other and then they love each other again. It’s the classic storyline where the couple have love and hate at the same time however normally it’s happily ever after but with this video it’s not as Taylor is upset as he’s got another woman.

 

Representation

Within this music video, throughout the piece there is an issue when it comes to representation in terms of ethnicity as the only ethnicity you see is people of the white race and other ethnic groups are not see what so ever. In addition to this, they were filming in what looked like Africa which is where the black race originate from therefore to not include someone of that race seemed somewhat strange. The person playing the main character is in fact Taylor swift herself so she’s acting as well as performing.

 

Audience

The target audience for this piece is teenage girls/women between 14 – 20 and I believe the audience has been targeted correctly, this is because of the love/romance sort of teenage first love. Accessing the video for the target audience will be easy as they will most likely use YouTube. ITunes or Spotify. This are the most common methods within the age group and due to the fact YouTube is easy to access and most importantly it’s free of charge to all users. Moreover, the key signifiers that indicate that this video is for this particular target audience is that throughout there is a love/romance theme and Taylor is the girl that loves this man so much that she can’t help but keep going back to him and this is the same with teenage girls who have their first boyfriend.

 

Organisation

The record company plays a big part in the music video as they have their say in what they want in the music video, how they want it set out etc. they will do wat they can in their power to own the company as much money as possible. Moreover, the star (Taylor swift) is promoted using different social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. For this music video Taylor used her big fan base and promoted through twitter and by tweeting when her song will be out and music video etc. this excited her fan base as they were waiting for ages to know when it was going to be released and Taylor updated them every step of the way. 

 

Technical codes

The first camera shot we see is an establishing shot; this shows the surroundings of where they are filming and believe this shot starts the music video off nicely. Towards the middle of the music video you can start to see that there are shots that are repeated a lot and in this case it is close ups. These are used to show the emotion on her face and this helps to tell the story as one minute she’s happy and all loved up but then other times she’s upset and angry and the camera helps to add to the effect.  Furthermore, the editing within this video is very fast, there are frequent cuts and transitions throughout, and this creates an excited very fast atmosphere. It’s the sort of song that you would listen to if you are in a good/excited mood.

 

Visual codes

The video is set within Tanzania, although I knew this already due to Taylor swift updating her twitter page most days but there are connotations that it is set in Tanzania as there are animals such as lions, giraffe’s and elephants etc. also, there are jeep like cars that you tend to see within Africa in the desert which are generally associated with Africa and obviously Tanzania is in Africa. Furthermore, at the start there are three written graphics which are after one another. The first one says “Taylor Swift”, the next one says “A film by Joseph Kahn” and the one after that says “wildest dreams”. This typography is good as it clearly states the artists name, who produced it and the title of the song.

 

Genre

The genre of the music video is pop and the artist is also pop, this makes it suitable as the artist and the song fit into the same genre which generally makes it more enjoyable for the viewer. At the beginning of the music video I could clearly establish that the theme was love/romance and therefore you could tell what the storyline was going to be about however there was a point in the video that I thought was unexpected and this was at the end where she’s upset/unhappy as stereotypically

Textual Analysis - Plan B

Plan B – Writings on the wall

The music video for Plan B ‘writings on the wall’ has been clearly thought out, in the sense that some of the stuff they do is rather intelligent.  The typical music is pop and rap and this song fits in with those genres. The whole narrative of this video is quite basic and is not hard to understand. It begins with a man and his wife and he is having an affair and therefore does not spend a lot of time with her. There is a reference to Stevie Wonder 'Superstitious' in this video. In the music video the wife cooks a meal or her husband whilst he is out with other women and having affairs from this we get the theme of love/ heartbreak. The video reflects the lyrics of the song as when she says about putting the phone down she also put her phone down within the video. Due to the fact she put the phone down and her facial expressions it is clearly shown that their relationship isn’t as healthy as it should be.

Within the video we see a variety of different shots, these are used to show the power of characters, there are low angles on the man which shows that he is the dominant figure within the clip whereas with the women there are a number of high angles to make her seem small/vulnerable. This is also stereotypical as in society men are seen to be the powerful gender and women are seen to be the less powerful ones. Moreover, there are also long shots within the video, this is shown when the women burns her hand on the saucepan, this could symbolise she is being burned by love for example.

The music video is set within a nightclub where 'Strickland Bank' is performing. This shows us that there are connotations of rock and celebrities. The text shown on the nightclub outlines his name and shows the camera highlighting the fact it is sold out, this gives connotations that he is popular. Moreover, the lighting within the clip is varied throughout, we see low key lighting a lot which shows that he doesn’t want to be seen/recognised because maybe he has done something wrong and it also shows he’s sinister/secretive.

Gender is shown within this music video as there are men and they are not seen in a positive light due to cheating and lying. Whereas the females are seen as naïve and all they are capable of is caring for children and staying at home making the house look presentable whilst the man is out at work earning the money. The most stereotypical representation of gender in this is when the woman is in the kitchen cooking for her husband. The artist 'Plan B' has been presented as a star, he is playing a character called 'Strickland Banks' who is a singer that is similar Plan B. he is shown to be a successful man however he’s being held back by the woman which is very sexist and unfair.

Furthermore, I think that the target audience for this music video is 15 – 25 as this is the gender gap that are most affiliated with rap/pop. Also, the video itself is what this age group like to do, it is set in a club where this age group are most seen and some of what is happening in the video relates to their current relationship.

 

 

Britney Re-make Video

This was our media class's Britney re-make video. We did this as a class because it meant that we didn't have to do a lot of work as it was divided equally between each group. Moreover, the main reason we did this was to get an understanding of lip syncing and see how the song fits with the movement of someone's lips. This was helpful as it meant that we had a chance to develop our skills on this one before we went on to make our actual music video which is part of our qualification.

Britney re-make shotlist

This is the shot list for the Britney video, however because we did it as a class activity this is only a section of the video that was given to my group. The list shows the shot that is used in that particular section, the duration and a small description so that when we are re-creating it we do not forget that the shot shows which is important for consistency within the video.

	Shot	Duration	Description
1	Close up	1 sec	Shows a student’s foot tapping the table repeatedly
2	Medium Shot	2 sec	Britney tapping her pencil on her book repeatedly whilst teacher is watching
3	Medium shot	1 sec	Camera focuses on clock – shows that the students keep watching the clock as they want to leave
4	Close up	1 sec	Camera focuses on Britney’s facial expression which shows she clearly wants to leave
5	Medium/close up	2 sec	Teacher staring at Britney
6	Close up	1 sec	Camera reverses back to Britney again which shows her facial expression – bored
7	Close up	2 sec	Camera zooms in on the clock but even more this time
8	Medium shot	2 sec	Camera is now focused on the bell which is another sign Britney can’t wait to leave
9	Long shot/camera tilted up	2 sec	Camera place at the back of the classroom showing the students quickly walk towards the door – also shows the teacher making her look powerful
10	Medium shot	1 sec	Britney leaving the classroom
11	Medium shot	1 sec	Also showing Britney leaving the classroom
12	Long shot/high angle	1 sec	Students running out of the classroom