Influence

As a group we thought this video portrayed the style that we intended to create with our song,  The lighting, camera shots and angles give a really nice well lit crisp effect. Also we really liked the use of props and the way the band were included in a few shots, we have decided to have a go at this and see if we like it as a bit of an experiment. The style is quite indie which we like and we think we may be able to create something a bit like this using a studio and studio lighting to keep it well lit.

Unsigned.com Our Song

This is the song we chose as we think we will be able to create a narrative around it.

KATY PERRY TEENAGE DREAM DIGIPAK

This Digipak Is very interesting and I believe it shows off Katy Perry’s style and genre of music very well.  The colours used are all Pastel bright’s which creates a light hearted feel. The theme of candy is carried out through this digipak , the CD’s have images of doughnuts printed on them and Katy is wearing a crown of candy in the images inside. I think this shows Katy’s fun loving sweet personality and her love for something a bit ‘crazy’. The fact she is naked on the front cover could appeal to men and also the frequent use of red and dark pink could show passion. This Digipak ‘s target audience appears to be aimed at more females than males, however the images are quite seductive as the star wears very little in the majority of these images.  The front cover is not a photograph but is a painting by ‘Will Cotton’ so this would also appeal to people who are interested in the work of Will Cotton as the idea for a Candy themed wonderland was derived from his work. The artwork could also appeal to a younger audience because of the ‘candy theme’ and the use of colour, as light pink is very much associated with young females. The Candy Land theme also ties in with her first video from the album ‘California Gurls’ which creates an omniscient view for the fans they feel like they know all about their icon.

The Candy Land theme has become a signature of hers from this album as it shows off her personality and is recognizable to fans. Her make-up is very subtle and sultry until we see her lipstick the lipstick is also another of Katy Perry’s iconic signatures, she always wears bright lipstick, but this specific shade of red ties into the front cover. Also it is the same shade of red used in writing which associates the words with her mouth which could show the link between speech and written words. The text is bubbled style in which a red and white candy cane print has been inserted inside the writing which obviously follows the candy themed idea. The back cover again shows this swirly bubbled writing but instead of having the candy cane pattern inside it is just a solid red but to tie in this candy theme the ‘O’s are all sweets with the same candy cane pattern, this links the back cover to the front cover. On the inside of the cover Katy is shown wearing a crown made out sweets this could show that she is a very powerful woman as well as being fun loving and sweet. The fact that the album is named ‘ Teenage Dream’ labels her target audience in the title … Teenagers. Katy has targeted teenagers very well with her provocative style grabbing the attention of male teens and her pretty candy theme and songs aimed at teenage girls.

Overall I think this CD Digipak displays the artists’ personality and genre of music well. It shows

Jade Butcher 

Ideas

This is a video which I found on YouTube of a Stop motion Dance off, I thought it was helpful because we are trying to create something slightly similar. We plan to use two people wearing box heads so they look like robots to create a different concept. This video is very helpful as it is done in the same kind of style that we are intending.

This is another idea which we had to make a narrative music video which would enable more variety with shots and angles, this song is from MP3 unsigned and we are thinking of using it as a base for our music video but instead of doing it outside we want to do it in a well lit studio. We also found that we could use this song as it is from MP3 unsigned and we like the sound of it .

Also we began looking at music videos and realised that we might want to do something outside with bright colours like a summer time , themed look, so we looked at this video and found that we really liked this idea and want to include some of the lighting techniques in our music video and maybe some of the props and clothing that she uses. Also we really like the way she repeats a shot occasionally to fit the flow of the music. This also sets up her star image for the following music videos and her new album so we want our song to fit in with our digipack.

This is another video we looked at because of the dark moody lighting and the simplicity of the video we might combine Rihanna and this video to create a seasonal video. The lighting in this is really dark and has grey tones which is a huge contrast in comparison the Rihanna video, but i think if we done something like a gradual like change so the start was slow and dark and then as the song speeds up we could add in some lighter more colourful tones.

I think this is a really good music video as it shows something really simple and then they create something quite surreal with the elephant walking through the bushes in an English forest. I really love the idea of combining narrative and a concept based video. As it creates something different which really makes people stop and think about what they have just seen.

Props and Costume

Costume

Floaty long formal dress- prom dress
Maxi dress and headband sandals
long coat , tights and boots
summer dresses

Props
flowers
leaves
petals

Production Schedule

Date started	Purpose	Duration
20 September 2011	looking at music videos and deciding what sort of thing to aim for , pop, R'n'b, grunge, punk etc...	1 lesson
23 September 2011	deciding which music videos are going to influence us, Rihanna-only girl in the world is our first idea.	1 lesson
27 September 2011	planning film and creating story board discussing with group	1 lesson
30 September 2011	completing the storyboard and talking about props and locations.	1 lesson
4 October 2011	Working on proposal, deciding what sort of thing to do and what route to go down, who's going to be in the video and the main concept of the video.	1 lesson
7 October 2011	doing a risk assessment and props list to show our full planning and to stay organised.	1 lesson
11 October 2011	looking a videos with good lighting, discussing lighting and the techniques we may use in our film.	1 lesson
14 October 2011	continue planning the film and looking at videos to influence.	1 lesson
18 October 2011	start looking at digi packs to help create a star image and how it's going to link in with our style of music and target audience.	1 lesson
21 October 2010	write up about a digipack and show examples.	1 lesson
26 October 2011	filming in the field, sunny day creating the autumn look of our video, get close ups and miming. also a few shots of walking	Half A day
1 November 2011	filming our second scene winter, cold in a long dress to create mood and emotion and also tie in with one of our influences.	1 lesson
4 November 2011	shots outside in flowers show our spring part of the video lack of flowers may mean doing a little bit of filming towards the end and adding it in.	1 lesson
8 November 2011	final scenes of miming and  showing experiments/ editing, begin editing with final cut pro, add a 3 way colour corrector to get rid of the dullness.	1 lesson
11 November 2011	editing, experiment with a vignette to create a moody atmosphere and show emotion.	1 lesson
15 November 2011	editing, getting all the miming into place and making it flow in the right places.	1 lesson
18 November 2011	editing, the film together on final cut getting our seasonal look to look like the video has lasted a year and gone through all 4 seasons.	1 lesson
22 November 2011	adding effects like , slow motion where it is needed and other various effects.	1 lesson
25 November 2011	continue editing the bits that need more work than others	1 lesson
29 November 2011	Editing one person will edit whilst the other begins the digipack and another the poster	1 lesson
2 December 2011	Editing one person will edit whilst the other begins the digipack and another the poster	1 lesson
6 December 2011	final film edit and digipack and poster being continued	1 lesson
9 December 2011	Sound Editing, making sure the sound is all in the right place and fits the flow of the video.	1 lesson
13 December 2011	Sound Editing, making sure the sound is all in the right place and fits the flow of the video.	1 lesson
16 December 2011	Completion of music video, get peer feedback and questionaires.	1 lesson

Rihanna - Creating a Star Image

Rihanna’s music career began in 2005 where she was seen as a young Barbadian singer, although at the beginning she was always shown in voyeuristic ways, her videos and image has become increasingly sexualised, with raunchy videos and bright red iconic hair Rihanna’s star image has been created.  Her performances have often been deemed ‘ too raunchy’ but this all helps to create part of her star image

Her music videos often tell a story making them narrative based, she lip syncs which makes puts her in the image and links the lyrics to the visuals this helps to establish her image as a character. Rihanna’s image changes allow her to set trends and become loved for being ‘different’. Her record label constantly shoot close ups of her in her videos to enhance her publicity and maximise her fan base, people are always intrigued by what she’s going to do next either with her performances, videos or just simply her hair. She is hugely sexualised which enables her to create a large male and female fan base whilst women aspire to be her men wish to have her. As a society we are always comparing ourselves to the ‘perfection’ of the artists in the music world or celebrities, record labels deliberately create a different style for a star with every album to permit new fans and rejuvenate a star, when a star gets ‘ a new look’ it sets the public off talking about what they like and what they don’t like, which in effect gets , in this case, Rihanna’s name out there and sells her new records because people want to know what everyone is raving about, they typically rely in viral marketing to show the stars transformation.

The singer who headlined V festival this year has become a worldwide star not from just talent alone but the way her record label market her and how she portrays her style in her performances, videos and photo-shoots.  ‘Def jam recordings’ shows her as a vulnerable but fiery young woman, she is heavily featured in a number of magazines and adverts to gain publicity and help create her star image.

Rihanna’s music videos show a strong narrative like in her new video ‘ man down’ where the lyrics link to the visuals, the narrative show’s her getting sexually assaulted and then shooting the man who done it , which typically shows this vulnerable fiery side to her, which is shown in a majority of her songs. Her red hair has now become iconic, women are now opting for this bright red instead of their normal brown and men are finding red heads more attractive. Rihanna’s star image has dramatically changed with her past two albums, now that she is an established star with a large fan base , Def Jams are now taking her style to a new level and creating an icon and a ‘sex symbol’ her typically raunchy style shows a change into a woman from her teenage days where she began.

Rihanna’s typically seen with less clothes on than the average woman walking down the street, she is heavily sexualised and viewed in a voyeuristic way, men often watch music videos to ‘gaze’ at the females whom are showing a lot of flesh, record labels and publicists know this how is how men and women become fans , through the act of looking and comparing , women compare themselves to acts like Rihanna and aspire to be like her where as men look at it from a sexual point of view. Mulvey came up with the idea that cinema in gendered and women are sexualised through the act of looking often music videos show the artist which typically is seen through the public’s eyes as they watch the music video. Rihanna’s sexualisation is also shown in the digi packs within her album , her photos and lyrics create a different style in which is often criticised but loved for being ‘different’ and ‘doing her own thing’ which obviously she hasn’t come up with the record label create these controversy’s to gain publicity which typically leads to more fans. Her third studio album is where ‘Def jamz’ created Rihanna’s more rebellious image her hair was now short and dark and her new album was entitled ‘ good girl gone bad’ which perfectly shows the change in her ‘personality and style’ . Her relationship with Chris Brown was heavily publicised and when he attacked her Rihanna gained more fans for showing that she was a strong woman and from then her strong woman image has continued and gained her many female fans.  Rihanna is often talked about in magazines her performances, video’s, albums and photo-shoots all individually create another story each performance is different gains her more publicity. The voyeuristic element shows that music has to be supported with visuals to get the support it needs to be successful, hearing a voice isn’t enough in the present time; everyone wants to match a face to the voice before they decide whether or not they like them. So record labels do what they can to create an edgy different artist, because Rihanna is originally from Barbados  her record label constantly plays on the fact and includes her culture in videos and her music in a few of her songs the reggae vibe which she was brought up around comes out in which gives her a different audience and links her back to Caribbean where she has many more fans who support her because of her culture, also the reggae creates something different for the European and American fans because this genre is not typically popular in these regions. Her curvy figure creates the ‘right’ image for women and teenagers and she is often seen as someone to look up to because of her successful career and her need not to be a size zero.

Rihanna’s star image was created by an individual style in which defines her from different artists in the case of her new album it’s her ‘red hair’ and soft tones in her videos where as previously it has been her harsh look and disturbing songs, her record label always create a new image to keep her star image fresh in people’s minds and to keep them talking. Her label also sell Rihanna merchandise to keep the fans happy and allow more publicity for their star.

Jade Butcher 

Research Task

Katy Perry Music Video Analysis

California Gurls

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F57P9C4SAW4&ob=av2ehis

This video I find incredibly interesting because whilst I have a voyeuristic view it also contains a very fun harmless element , the whole video is based on a game where the ‘star’ Katy Perry is put into a game to try and get her friends out  in which the evil ‘snoop dog’ has encased them in various sweets. The target audience I would say would be around the ages of 12-25 as the video could appeal to a younger audience due to the fact that the video contains a ‘candy land’ and the concept is a game. However Katy Perry is very sexualised in parts of this video her costume when she ‘shoots the cream out’ and her cupcake bra all have sexual connotations and allow men to look at her to admire ‘ gaze’, and women to compare themselves to her.  The video has a very light hearted feel which is typical of a ‘summer song’ released in May 2010 making it a summer anthem for the year. The mise-en-scene, gives it a very colourful fun appeal with all the candy land props such as the candy floss and the gingerbread house and all of the costumes. The wigs became iconic to Katy Perry and helped her create a different image for herself.  The video is very surreal as it shows the ‘california gurls’ in a different world , the game world,  which allows the mind to capture the fun that these ‘california gurls’ appear to be having and it takes the viewer away from the real world and  gives them a more light hearted feel good video. The fact that it’s a board game gives it an intertextual reference with games such as ‘monopoly’ and ‘ludo’ where you have to try and get around the board as Katy Perry does in this video.

Lady GaGa – Edge of Glory

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeWBS0JBNzQ&ob=av2n

In this video Gaga shows a typically voyeuristic view of herself in the first shot as she opens the curtains in the window this engages the concept of looking when we’re not meant to. This video is a performance based video where she is dancing and singing in the streets, but does not have a narrative. However this does link the music to the lyric because she is dancing to it and the music to the visuals as of the lyrics mention ‘dancing’ which is heavily featured in this video. Her costume choice is iconic of lady gaga and her weird choices of clothing, however the video has a very ‘80’s’ feel to it with the costume and the setting to the video. Her dance routines and costume create a sexual image as she is wearing a little more than underwear but showing a lot of flesh and her dance moves are heavily sexualised. There are a lot of close –ups of gaga’s face as she’s singing to help create part of her star image and show off her iconic ‘weird ‘ style.  The camera is nearly always on her and she is very central to the shot to show her importance in the video.  Her heavy make-up and wig shows her style and creates an image for her as a popstar. There are a lot of shots where she is looking directly at the camera which makes the audience feel included and all knowing.  The smoke at the beginning is used to create the style of performance as ‘gaga’ comes out of the smoke and we see her face where we automatically recognise her.

Arctic monkeys – when the sun goes down

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBbk9IjRdO0

This is a narrative video which tells a story about a prostitute, the band aren’t featured in the video which is unusual for a band, but the narrative links to the song and adds a different concept to the video , it shows a victim of mental and physical abuse, which sends a message to the viewer’s showing them the effects of this kind of abuse, there are a lot of close-ups in this video and suggestions to drugs and prostitution , which gives the viewers a small insight into the life of someone who lives that way, and allows them to feel sorry for the young girl who is being abused. There are also a lot of shots of the man inflicting the abuse and reference to him as a ‘scummy man’ in the song which links the lyrics to the visuals. The video is effective because  it includes the audience in the narrative all the camera shots where the victim looks at the camera and where we know something that the abuser doesn’t  allows them viewers to feel involved and  emotionally connect to the video. The costumes suggest a lower class and the fact that we constantly see her going home with different men suggests she is a prostitute. The lyrics ‘ who’s that girl there , I wonder what went wrong so that she had to roam the streets’ gives incentive that she is the girl the band are talking about in their song . I like this video it has a more serious element than most other music videos and addresses real issues showing that the band want to send out a message.

Single Ladies – Beyonce

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m1EFMoRFvY&ob=av3n

There isn’t a lot to say about this video but I chose to analyse it because of its simplistic view and its huge success. There is little mise on scene and the focus is on the three dancers with Beyoncé central to the composition. However the camera cutting is fast to show the level of pace that the dance moves are done at. The costumes again are very simple, black leotards, so that the focus isn’t taken away from the dancing. The video is shot in black and white again allowing the main focus to be the dancing .The video is shot in a studio with studio lighting which is very heavy and the three women are fully lit up , although the video is very simplistic there is still a voyeuristic  element the girls are not wearing very many clothes and some of their moves have sexual connotations . Beyoncé has a number of close –ups so we can see her as the main character in the video. This video is very much performance based as there is not narrative just three women dancing a very complex dance routine. I think the reason this video was overly successful was because this simplistic view is very different to tall current music videos and the dance routine is very complex which gives people a challenge to try and learn it . Also the hand movement became an iconic gesture for this video with people all over the world doing it in reference to the song.

Jade Butcher