Hey all! My name is Faye Martin and you are currently on my A2 media coursework blog; a record of blogs put together reporting the process in creating our own music videos, album covers and webpages for our own invented band.
Lady GaGa is always in the press about her controversial approach to fashion and her star image. Even though her image has always been out there compared to other artists in the charts her image has changed from a simple leotard in her 'Just Dance' video to her wearing a dress entirely made out of meat at the VMA awards.
Below is a collage highlighting the style and image which has made Lady GaGa who she is today.
I have also made a collage on Avril Lavigne's style and image. The reason why I have done this is because as my group has decided to create a video of the Rock genre, and Avril is an established female rock artist it is more beneficial when applying to our artist. Also her image has also gradually changed as she has grown up from a grungy teen to a more glamourous 'rock chick'.
The initial idea's that I have created are based on the song 'Complicated' By Avril Lavigne. The ideas were along the lines of a conventional music video. Examples of music video conventions that I intend to use:
Camera movements- dolly shots, giving the video constant movement
Camera shots- close-ups and extreme close-ups this intimate camera work will highlight the facial expressions of the actors.
Rhythmic editing- the images will be in time with the beat throughout the video e.g. shots of the four actors will be in sync with the guitar strums at the beginning.
The video would include four narratives, but none of them would be a continuous story just shorts edits higlighting the complications within tennagers lives e.g. relationships, exams, home life and friendships; this is a convention of music videos as there is no temporal order. The performer would be separate to the narratives, this would be clearly distinguised by the setting; a plain white room with just a microphone, the band and performer. The video will include edits between the performance and narrative, and the two 'worlds' will never meet an example of this is apparent in Greenday's 'Wake Me Up When September Ends'.
The album cover represents the band/artist through the artwork, fonts and album name. They are a persuasive element in selling the band/artist's music by looking good; this is established by creativity, originality, individuality and being artistic. Codes and conventions are used to communicate to the audience. The conventions are:
Album name
Band/artists name
Track list
Image associated with the band
Price
Barcode
Copyright information
Record Label
'Sgt Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band'- The Beatles
At the time of release this album cover was revolutionary, as it was entirely original to any other album covers. The cover is a product of pop art, a revolution in art as high class art was merged with popular culture, the artwork on this cover is by Peter Blake. The cover contains many codes representing the genre of music and the band. The flowers in the foreground represent and are associated with the hippie movement of love and peace in the 60's. The drum in the centre is code for the music being produced by the Beatles, however it is also linked to the concept of the album, circus theme which is a connotation of being fun and lively. The costume worn by the band also connotates the circus theme as they are dressed as circus ring leaders in their attire, also the bright colours of blue, pink and yellow are code for happiness. The Beatles are established as being legends, as they are position centre of an entourage of legends such as Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley. This positioning is significant to for the bands own confidence as they consider themselves as legends. The blue sky in the background is code for freedom and hope, hope for the bands future. Also the palm tree is code for them being on some exotic island, separating the band for the audience breaking away from the british. 'Nevermind'-Nirvana
This simple album cover makes a politic statement, as it connotates that the American society is turning human beings into consumers; and there are many codes that connotate this ideology. Straight away the image of a naked baby in this bright blue water is a very striking image, which is extremley eye catching and contreversial at the same time. The innocence of the baby is coded by baby being naked, this also codes that the baby is un-touched by society, care free and it has it's youth. The blue water surrounding the baby is code for enternal and is beautiful. However the beauty is spolit by the simply use of a dollar bill on a fishing hook. The dollar represents the American culture and that it's consumerism has gone too far. As the money is on the hook refelcts that everyone in the American society is hooked and pulled along by this element of society. The font of the album name 'Nevermind' has a underwater effect which adds to the idea of the baby in the water. The 'Nirvana' font is a deliberate construction by the band, it holds a sense of elegance, pride, purity, confidence as it is bold. However there are undertones of death by the bold gothic font. The whole album is a juxtaposition of the grunge bands style and image. 'Life in Cartoon Motion'- Mika
Straight away the album cover beams happiness and fun through the stiking use of bright colours and shapes. The colours refelect an element of primary school, associated with demographics of the target audience of pop music. Like the 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band' there is a use of flowers representing the hippie, love and peace element of Mika's music. Surrounded by the flowers are two records, this is code for retro elements expanding the audience of this cover. The white dove reflects the harmony and freedom, which is made by the lyrics in the artists songs and in the audience of children. The cartoon images are child friendly, fun and entertaining. The image composed in the corner of the cover, of the man on the sofa (representing normality) is as if he is floating showing that he is dreaming, lost in his fantasy which is a big element of fun and the music created. The image of the artist is descret as it is in sepia, this is because the image and style of the artist is constrcuted through the imagery. The artist's name is in bold and looks as if it is on a zoom, making it futuristic, the future of 20th century pop music. The album name is caligraphical written as if the artwork has been signed. The swirly font is close to the font used in the Walt Disney company associated with the happiness of children.
'Definitely Maybe'- Oasis
Set in a living room; everyday ordinary average band, family, tight, close band.
Positioning; the lead singer is centre foreground- lying on the floor gives a sense of arrogance, he is pensive and confident. Guitarist is second closest therefore is second important as he writes the music and plays the lead guitar. The other members are less important as they are in the background.
Props; wine shows an element of sophistication as it is in a glass. Cigarettes reflect the working class, juxtaposition to the wine and sophistication, the bands norm. Globe, reflects their ambition to be global, to take over the world, sense of arrogance. The picture of a Man City player; their roots, influences, working class.
Use of colour; blue sky- freedom, hope and ambition.
Band Font is like a tabloid newspaper style
'Definitely Maybe'- handwritten, sense of human and normality
'Stars of CCTV' - Hard-Fi
Alike Nirvana's 'Nevermind' album both covers are making a statement about society
The statement 'Stars of CCTV' codes the idea of Big Brother that every movement of each individual is being watched and followed by society
The colours yellow and black are used to create a striking impact on the audience due to the brightness of the yellow and the contrast between the two.
Also the colours resemble the tape used to indicate some sort of danger for warning. Therefore these contrasting colours are like a warning of what society is becoming.
There is no apparent image of the band on the cover but a simple CCTV camera which is used universially, on warning signs of the equipment. This is pushing the convention of having an image of the band but at the same time coding the impact of society and our way of living.
The image also reflects the title- 'stars of CCTV'.
The image also codes that as this is Hard-Fi's first album that they will now by 'stars' in the eyes of the media attention.
The album and band name are both in an ordinary bold font reflecting the simplicity of the message being put across in the album cover
'Hot Mess' - Cobra Starship
The album imediately codes what the music genre is and who the bands target audience is.
The album name is tatooed on the inside of the girls bottom lip- it is part of the image which is unconventional- it is also pervocative as it is on her lips which are usually associated with seduction- tatoo's are a big part of the teenage culture as they are a sign of rebellion and art.
The nail varnish is different on every finger this codes the artistic side of the band- the bright colours and designs code that the band are fun, youthful and experimental like their audience- each nail is a different design this reflects the bands individually and want to be different to every other band of the genre.
The bands symbol of a cobra, which is an immediate association with the band, is pervocatively placed within the girls cleavage. This exploits sexual imagery to sell the album.
The image of the girl is as if she is/ has been sweating this clearly links to the title hot mess and uses the idea of sexual imagery to sell the band and album. The image is not fully visible as there is no need to see it as the image exploits the band and album without seeing the woman's face.
The font style of 'Cobra Starship' uses a range of colours this has an element of fun, youth, and character to the band. The font is quite futuristic as the letters are very angular this links to the band name 'starship' and gives the band an identity of being new and going to do and bring great things in the future.
In class we have been analysing a range of music videos, to receive an understanding of the codes and conventions used, which we will have to employ when creating our own. 'Ghetto Gospel'- 2pac ft. Elton John
The artist is not performing in this video
All narrative; allows to audience to focus on the story
Uses music video conventions; cutting on the beat, flash backs, attempting to acheive realism, chronological order, establishing shots
Diegetic sounds of the helicopter and the scene of the police and a crowd of people are code of crime and devistation.
Point of view shot is used to make the audience feel placed within the narrative and the action
Phatetic fallacy (rain) is used to code the trauma
Low angle shot highlights the mothers pain
'Ghetto Gospel' is oxymoronic as the two words do not belong together as does the artists as one is a rapper and the other highly famous due to his pop career
De-focused edit is code for the tears or the spirit leaving the body
The lyrics match the images being shown e.g. image of the sunrise
Series of establishing shots are used to code the setting of the ghetto
Artwork of 'The Last Supper' is a religious code that it is his last meal
Close up on the mother highlights her love for her son
Costume of hoddies along with the body language is code that they are involved in a gang
Play fighting codes that he is youthful and is popular
Religious iconography
Series of shots of the family is code of happiness and that this character has something to live for
Close up on holding hands is code for their love
Facial expressions are code for pensivesness
Cup of water spilling codes to the audience of his death however it can also been seen as a religious reference of the wine representing Jesus' blood
The video starts and ends at the same place
'Seven Nation Army'- The White Stripes
It is clear that there is no narrative to this video
Colour coding; red, white and black are used which are iconic to the band
The video focuses on them playing their instruments therefore they are assosciated with their musicianship
Extreme close ups are used
Rhythmis editing; images are in time with the music an example is the guitar solo as the images move faster
This video is a vehicle for the song as all the focus is on the music as there is no distractive narrative
It's originality makes it powerful
'Love the way you lie'- Eminem ft. Rhianna
Edits are made between the narrative and the artists
The two artists are in different settings
There is no temporal continuity (not in chronological order)
A montage of insights of their relationship establish the narrative
The artists costumes are associated with themselves e.g the white vest and baggy jeans Eminem wears
The use of fire is code for passion, heat, danger, destruction, love and intensity which are all highlighted through the video
Juxtaposition is used as Eminem is in a open field, which is code for freedom whereas Rhianna is in the dark with flames which claustraphobic
Further conventions of music videos being used are; close-ups on the artists, rhythmic edits, intense camera work
Freedom is emphasised in the field by a long camera shot which tilts and pans
The marrative seeks realism this is shown through the realistic mise-en-scene, everything codes their poor existance and their body language codes love
The video is a cycle as it starts and ends at the same place
The artists become part of the narrative as the 'worlds' merge at the end
'Wake Me Up When September Ends'- Greenday
The video opens witha classic romantic mise-en-scene
Wide angle shot with the couple in the middle of the field
The setting is code and highlights the young love
Intimate camera work (close ups) highlights their facial expressions which code their happiness and love
Happiness is also coded through colour as they are bright and warm
Dialogue is exchanged which focuses on the story
The introduction is code for the narrative genre
Ciematic in it's scope as techniques which are used in film are used in the video e.g. the title
The music is non-diegetic
Extreme close ups on the singers face is a convention of the music video
Edits between the band and the narrative
There is a break in the music to focus on the narrative as the dialogue advances it. As this happens after there is a change in the tone and feel of the song and video
Series of silohetter shots
The images used must tell the sroty as there is a restriction as there is no dialogue e.g. the montage of short shots show the blossoming love
Diegetics sounds are emphasised
The music mirrors the action and is parallel
Aiming to acheive realism is evident through the camera work and mise-en-scene
After analysing these music videos there are some evaluative points to keep in mind when producing my own music video:
Not all music videos use narrative
Many videos use imagery to generate the image and identity of the artist/band
Costume, lighting, editing, mise-en-scene and setting all help to create this image of the artist
Codes are all employed to perpetuate the identity of the band/artist
Many artists have costumes/graphics that have become iconic/synonymus with them e.g. Michael Jackson's white glove
"Low angle shots are used more extensively in music videos, partly because they reproduce relations among the audience, performer and stage. Such shots confer authority upon performers and assert their sexual charisma, often crudely, by highlighting the erogenous areas/zones of performers. On the other hand high angle shots in music videos, as in film, give the viewer a sense of power and mobility."
- Gives the effect and reminds the audience that they are watching a show - Artists sexuality is highlighted through use of low camera angles
Dolly Shots
"Most music videos make such extenstive use of the dolly that a static shot seems anomalous (when it is still it seems out of place). The dolly shot keeps the video moving, it starts almost invariably as soon as the video begins, and only ceases towards the end. It provides a simple way for a music video to catch and sustain a song's momentum."
-Gives constant movement to the video
Editing
"quick cutting on the beat"
-This is also known as rhythmic editing.
-Every edit and shot needs to be in sync with the rhythm of the song.
-'Rhythmic basis closely connected to the song'
-Editing on the beat reminds the audience of the rhythm and importance of the song
"edits in music videos come far more frequently than in film" "Music video editing bears a far greater responsibility for many elements than does classic Hollywood film editing"
-Dramatic edits are made to remind the audience that they are not watching a film (more relative to music videos with a narrative) -Draws the audiences attention to the techniques being used -There are lots of very short, quick edits used in music videos, these build up a montage and often tell the sotry of the video (progress the narrative)
"the editing in music videos works hard to ensure that no single element (the narrative, the setting, the performance, the star, the lyrics, the song) gains the upper hand."
-The narrative and video must not distract the audience from the song. 30 Degree Rule When you break the 30 degree rule it is called a Jump Cut, to avoid this the camera should move 30 degress between edits to avoid this.
Jump Shots A sharp awkward edit that looks clumsy, regularly used in music videos. Created when the 30 degree rule is not kept to. Jump cuts are used to draw the audiences attention to the techniques being used.
180 Degree Rule This rule ensures that you do not disorientate the audience by breaking this rule. The audience should maintain a position between edits in term of orientation.
Graphic Match Edits between objects which are connected through colour and shapre, in sequence. This creates fluency.
Match on action Using a series of edits where different people/objects are doing the same thing i.e. close up on someone running, then cuts to a different close up of someone else running.
Intertexuality Making reference to other media texts e.g. in Lady Gaga's 'Telephone' the reference to Kill Bill through the car 'Pussy Wagon'
The band has their own WEBSITE-http://www.cobrastarship.com/ through their website they keep in contact with their fans by posting daily news, photos, videos and tour dates. There is also a blogging system where the fans can comment and ‘chat’ to other fans and Cobra Starship. The website also holds biography of each member and fans have the ability to purchase the bands merchandise.
FUELED BY RAMEN STREET TEAM- http://fueledbyramen.com/streetteam/ the street team is a group for fans to get involved in promoting/marketing their favourite bands. This achieved through Pass out fliers and stickers at tours, Put up posters and snipes for albums, Assist in online missions for bands, Be the first to get news and updates, Access exclusive videos and tools, Help promote the Fueled By Ramen bands. This is an active way of involving the fans and ‘roping in’ new fans.
FUELD BY RAMEN YOUTUBE CHANNEL-http://www.youtube.com/user/fueledbyramen?blend=1&ob=4 YouTube is a video-sharing website on which users can upload, share, and view videos. The record label have their own channel where they upload the music videos and diaries of the bands, this includes Cobra Starship. There are over 50 videos of the band including their official music videos, behind the scenes of the creating of their music videos, and ‘diaries’ of events such as festivals and gigs.
COBRA STARSHIP ALBUMS Cobra Starship have three albums, While the city sleeps We rule the streets- 2006-2007, It featured the single "Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)", of which a video had been featured during the closing credits of the film Snakes on a Plane earlier that summer, Viva La Cobra- 2007-2008, The album art for the ¡Viva La Cobra! album was used to promote the fourth generation Apple iPod nano in purple, Hot Mess- 2009-2010. All of these albums are sold in high street music chain stores and are available to purchase on Itunes.
FESTIVALS Cobra Starship has made numerous appearances in festivals. The festivals they have appeared in are: Cobra headlined the Really Really Ridiculously Good Looking Tour- January to March, 2008. They also played on Warped Tour 2008. They headlined the SassyBack tour, which toured from October 7 through November 30, 2008. Cobra Starship also began the "Believers Never Die (Part Deux)" tour in the beginning of April, opening for Fall Out Boy, with other bands All Time Low, Metro Station, and Hey Monday. They made a stop on the Warped Tour in 2009, playing in Salt Lake City, on August 8, 2009. In Fall 2009, they are signed on to Boys Like Girls' "Love Drunk Tour" along with The Maine and A Rocket to the Moon.
TOURS On February 4, 2010, Cobra Starship embarked on their first ever European tour named 'Hot Mess Across The EU-Niverse', which included the UK, Ireland, Germany, France and the Netherlands. When the tour ended on February 21, the band then travelled to Japan for a few shows, then onto Australia and New Zealand for the 'Wet Hot Australian Summer' Tour. On February 5, 2010 it was announced that Cobra Starship and 3OH!3 would be embarking on a co-headlining tour called The Too Fast For Love Tour.
SINGLES Cobra Starship covered Katy Perry’s famous single ‘I Kissed a girl, their version is called ‘I Kissed a Boy’. The song was released on August 25, 2008. The band also joined forces with famous T.V. series Gossip Girl star, Leighton Meester, to record their hit ‘Good Girls Go Bad’, which is produced by Kevin Rudolf. This hit reeled in more fans as the target audience was expanded due to the T.V star.
MYSPACE PAGE-http://www.myspace.com/cobrastarship This social networking page allows the fans to listen to their songs for free, read regular news and keeps in contact with the bands movements.
