summer work

for my summer work we have been set to blog on 5 different music videos from 5 different genres i have chosen to do country , opera , pop , rock and dance . i have chosen to do these genres because they are so different and i expect the music videos to be completely different.

• Country - dolly parton 9-5

• Opera- Katherine jenkins - Time to say goodbye

• Pop- Ellie Goulding , Burn

• Rock- Bon Jovi , Living on a prayer

• Dance , David guetta , Titanium

Eg 2 Bon Jovi - livin on a prayer

ACT:  Bon Jovi

TRACK: Living on prayer

YEAR: 1986

DIRECTOR: Bruce fairbairn

GENRE: rock

MAIN AUDIENCE: 30s , 40s

LYRICS

Symbolic References

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VISUALS + LYRICS:

there is a direct link between visuals and lyrics as there is a lot of lip synching and characters directly pointing and singing into the camera. However there is not always a direct connection. This music video is mostly a performance vid however there are some symbolic references.We get the actual bands performance footage as the vid and them preparing for there concert. There are no actors playing parts but the actual characters.There are symbolic references such as intertextuality like the bon jovi box .There are also symbolic references to the the genre such as the head banging.The relationship between lyrics and visuals is strong as they all link with the meaning and lyrics strongly. Such as 'half way there' the performance footage been them flying off the stage.

Head Bang

GENRE CHARACTERISTICS:

the video is fast paste and contains very fast paste shots. Which link with the video speed. There is classic genre characteristics such as the head banging shots and the video being the actual band at there gig.The head banging is very common in the genre rock and the music is very recognisable from instruments and costume worn.

PERFORMANCE, NARRATIVE AND/OR CONCEPT:

this vid is mostly performance footage as it is at there gig however it also has aspects of narrative as it is  it is telling a story of them getting ready for there performance and there lives. But this does continually link to the lyrics.

PERFORMANCE STYLE:

Guitar and mic stands

the biggest part of this video is the performance footage,and a lot of lip synching. But this is not all through the video there are parts without. there is a lot of moving camera following the band around the stage. as it is a smaller location there are limited angles , however the shot variation is wide as they have  a lot of close ups and mid shots.The performance does look like genuine live performance which is good due to this could be there actual gig.Instruments that make this realistic are shown such as the guitars , music stands , microphones and drums. These are electric guitars so are plugged in and you can see wires connected to amps and for the microphone.The band movement and dancing is typical for this genre such as the head banging.There dancing is not complicated but very simple , such as jumping up and down and running across the stage with small hand movements which link to the lyrics which makes the genre what it is.I think amateurs could do this however would have to practice the head banging as this is a very significant part of the genre.

LINEAR, CLOSED NARRATIVE?:

the narrative is linear , however there is not much story to the video apart from them before practising for there performance.It does not link with any theories as such apart from todorovs narrative structure. Because it starts with them getting ready and ending up with them at the concert performing. (disequilibrium) to (new equilibrium).It is a closed narrative as it is very predictable what will happen.

LOOKING/MODE OF ADDRESS: the singers and characters directly look into the camera to connect with the audience.All characters at some point look into the camera.As it is more of performance footage not actually having a narrative.This builds up a personal relationship as bon jovi himself also looks into the camera and points.

STAR TREATMENT: Bon jovi the percentage of the time is singled out. His shot are mostly him by himself how ever there are also too shots but all with him in. There is little single shot of other members of band.the camera shots vary however always return to the main band member this does single him out to be the star as he is also the main singer.

AUDIENCE IN VID?: In this vid there is a lot of physical contact with fans directly as it is there concert. The video is very involved with the fans .It also engages the fans to direct contact as the band also look into the camera the shots when it is at the concert are also long and point of view shots like the audience itself are part of the audience.

REPRESENTATIONS:

Costume representation 

as this song is rock the representations are shown very strongly by the clothes, age and band members.They are also all male which is represented well for the era as bands like this were very popular amongst women and men. The clothing and music fits both audiences .There is a lot of male eye candy, due to the rock era . The band wear leather jackets baggy t shirts and boots. 

PACE + ANY VARIATION OF PACE: You continually get long takes but when the pace picks up the shots appear faster to the beat. The editing appears faster as the build up to the chorus starts but from there the shots are long takes. There is a pattern as the single guitar repeats and the drums build up to the chorus. Also when 'ooo ,ooo' is sung the same shot type is repeated when it changes from to shot.

SHOT VARIETY + NO. OF SETUPS: In this video there is only one set up which is unusual but makes sense as there is little narrative.There is no repeated sequences as it is all in one place there wouldnt be need to repeat shots.however there is not much shot variety , there is long shot , mid shot mostly and a few close up when bon jovi is directly singing into camera. The video seems lazy as it is in black and white and then changes to colour this could be because it is an old video there wasnt much technolgy at the time.

FX:there are not many transitions infact there are very little . There is layering and shots fading into each other but that is the extent it goes to this could be because it is also a old video.

Location footage

LOCATION/S + MISE-EN-SCENE:The locations are at concert arena there is no other shots anywhere else apart drom this. This is important for exposition but it works because it shows them getting ready for the gig . This also creates anchorage as we know how the video will end . there costumes are typical rock costumes , skinny jeans , leather jacktes , messy hair and baggy t shirts this was the typical costumes for this rock era and was very fashionable. They use mic stands as props to use to dance with and hold on to which is very stereo typical for rock bands. They also use black and white to represent before and after the stage is ready for there concert.

NOTABLE SHOTS/FRAMING: some shots are clearly framed such as the bon jovi poster in the audience and bon jovi in the back ground. There were no freeze frames however. This is one of the only ones i noticed as it was very cleverly done.


Other Information

Eg 3. Dolly Parton 9-5

ACT: Dolly Parton

TRACK: Working 9-5

YEAR: 1980

DIRECTOR: Greg Perry

GENRE: Country

MAIN AUDIENCE: 30+

LYRICS

women looking at her watch

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VISUALS + LYRICS: this has a lot of performance footage however the visuals also link with the lyrics especially at the beginning.However as the video goes along it is mostly dolly parton singing with her band.It looks like it is in the studio at the end it all performance. At the beginning word are symbolic such as the clock being shown and people running to work this is very symbolic after this section however there is not other footage. There is not a character that plays a specific part as there isnt much narrative it just the people going to work on streets.

GENRE CHARACTERISTICS: i have not spotted anything which is appropriate for this genre , the only thing i have spotted is the instruments used are quite country such as the acoustic guitars. Also how relaxed the video is where they are just wearing jeans and t shirts etc.Other members are wearing waist coats and shirts this is also very country and links with the genre.In there culture there will be alot of intertexual references with this.

Scene Taken from film

Performance Footage

PERFORMANCE, NARRATIVE AND/OR CONCEPT: There is a balance between the narrative and performance footage as it does tell a narrative of working 9 till 5 which links with the footage at beginning but not the end. This is when performance starts and there is no narrative.There is a lot of performance footage especially at the end ,all other shots that link to lyrics stop. There is a lot of lip synching and camera movement from different angles.It is a convincing performance is it looks like studio however it does like they had to take afew times as the shots dont always match up. Guitars mic stands and drums are shown also with backing singers. These are not plugged in which is good however not all the instruments we can see are played in the studio so this doesnt work very well and we can tell its fake.however this song is also taken from the film 9-5 so there is some footage from that which helps create a narrative and link the lyrics to visuals.I think it would be hard to achieve this as she is singing and playing the guitar so to recreate this we would need he full set up , amateurs would not be able to do this.


LINEAR, CLOSED NARRATIVE: the narrative is not liner as it tells a story for the beginning however i think it has a lot of intertexuality with the film as it shows some clips from that.

LOOKING/MODE OF ADDRESS: The characters singing look directly into camera as if they are telling the story to us the audience,This does create a sense of direct connection with the audience and builds a personal relationship. 

Close up

STAR TREATMENT: dolly parton is singeled out to be the main character the camera always goes back to her and has her framed some how in every shot. There is a lot of close ups of her nothing else.

MALE GAZE?

there is male gaze as she is wearing a lot of makeup and tight, low cut clothing this makes it appealing to both audiences.As well as the music part. 

Fast Pase shots

PACE + ANY VARIATION OF PACE: at the start the pace is very fast as the music builds up which is good for the year this vid was made however after this the takes start to get longer as it turns mostly into performance footage and then parts from the film its self.  At the chorus it always relates back to dolly and her singing however it is clear that this is all one long take as you can tell it is live and real performance footage.


SHOT VARIETY + NO. OF SETUPS: There seems to be 2 clear set ups one on the street at the beginning of people in different places and one in the studio. This si good that there isn't one specific location throughout as it gives the video more shot variety.There is not very many sequences which suggests the video as having little technology and perhaps being lazy. There is also a lack of shot variety which makes the video also boring due to the long takes.There is alot of old footage used such as the camera being shaky and the camera zooming in and out which isnt often used today.

Transition fading out.

FX:There is little transitions due to the video been older, however at the end there is a clear transition used to fade dolly out where the box goes to the corner.There is also some fading when the vid changes from film footage to performance footage of dolly parton.

LOCATION/S + MISE-EN-SCENE: 

the exposition is good it sets up the studio and helps tell a narrative.At the beginning the shots create anchorage for the rest of the song which also helps tell a narrative and build structure. The costume and makeup has also been thought through by having dolly in bright red to make her the star and having the other is plain colours. They are also wearing un fashionable clothing such as glasses and waist coats which links with the genre but we would not expect to see. This also links with the costumes of what people were wearing at the beginning when the beat builds  , this also links with the era of women working 9-5 , there however is no men as such in the video which is interesting perhaps to do with the time period.

NOTABLE SHOTS/FRAMING: 

i did not notice and specific shots that were framed cleverly as such , however i did think they were all framed well especially the ones at the beginning and middle as they all manages to have the clock or something related which worked particularly well with the lyrics.As technology was not good in this time period , there is no use of freeze framing or as such clever framing. dolly parton in the performance footage however is framed either close up or middle.

Other Information

Eg 4.Katherine Jenkins- Time to say goodbye

ACT: Katherine jenkins

TRACK: Time to say Goodbye

YEAR: 2008

DIRECTOR: Unknown

GENRE: Opera

MAIN AUDIENCE: 30+

LYRICS

Opening shot

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VISUALS + LYRICS: There is not always direct relationship between visuals and lyrics , as it is french it is performance footage however it does contain ballet which opera is often associated with. The video however matches very well with the genre due to it been very elegant and simple compared to what we would see in pop or chart music. We only have katherine jenkins however delivering the lyrics and words , which would expect for this genre.

 GENRE CHARACTERISTICS: This video is quite specific for the genre as it is nearly all performance footage is usually what opera genre is , there isnt usually such thing as a music video like youd expect in pop music. They also have used ballet and a stage to tell the story and narrative to be told however it is in french some parts of the song so this would be difficult for some people to understand it. There is alot of intertexuality with ballet and opera and they are often recognised together , so this works well in the video and makes it more engaging that there is something else other than performance footage however the use of ballet also works well with the tempo of opera music.

Performance footage

PERFORMANCE, NARRATIVE AND/OR CONCEPT: it think there is use of narrative but it think it is hard to understand mainly because it is in a different language which makes it difficult , however you can follow the video that there is a message to be put across. I do think the main aim of the video however is performance footage , as this seems to be the same in other videos for this genre as i don't think it would work a music video with no performance footage for this genre.


PERFORMANCE STYLE: There is a lot of synching throughout the video. The camera moves around Katherine Jenkins singing she does not often sing into or camera or have direct contact with audience. There is not a lot of shot variation but it does vary a lot more than previous videos i have looked at. It is not convincing it is a live performance because it looks too set up to be live , there is also no audience .There are no instruments or music stands or microphones shown which does not make it realistic either.There is no band , the ballet dancing has been edited and layered over which works well. This is typical for this genre however i don't think amateurs would achieve this as these people are highly skilled .

LOOKING/MODE OF ADDRESS: 

Looking into camera

she does not often look into camera there is very little direct contact , she is singing to her audience of the stage.This does not create a direct sense with the audience and does not help build a relationship.

STAR TREATMENT: The singer is singled out as she is the main singer she is not in a band but it is just her voice we hear. the shots are all nearly with her in apart from the ballet ones apart from these also are layered and cross faded. The camera always returns back to her as she is the star and this is used to single them out.

Red low cut dress 'male gaze'

REPRESENTATIONS: the song is a feminine song , and represents feminism due to the video being elegant and featuring women. There is male gaze katherine jenkins is featured as the star she is wearing red to make her stand out and she is wearing a dress which s low cut and seen very elegant. I think also as she is blonde she is attractive towards the male audience however for this video this is probably presented like this to attractive both gender audiences as this genre is usually women . The video also agrees with this as there is little related to men.

PACE + ANY VARIATION OF PACE: the pace is the same throughout due the instruments played , makes the pace slow . As it is opera the pace is slow as this is what makes the genre. The video works well with this as it is slow pace and often camera movements are long takes and slow movements.

SHOT VARIETY + NO. OF SETUPS: there is little shot variety as the video is slow pace which means shots are long take and not many of them . As the video isnt fast pace there does not however need to be lots of shot variety due to the genre of the piece. There however are number of sequences despite the performance footage. The sequences are varied from the dancers and different scenes of Katherine Jenkins the shots are not often repeated.

FX:There are a number of effects used such as layering , and fading in and out of shots. also effects have been added to slow the shots down to fit with the pace of the music , lyrics and background music. They have also used the layering and created new shots by zooming in on shots and putting them at angles i have also experienced this within my own work.

Other information

Eg 5. Titanium- David Guetta

ACT: David Guetta

TRACK: Titanium

YEAR: 2011

Links with chorus.

DIRECTOR: David Guetta

GENRE: Urban Dance

MAIN AUDIENCE:15-24 

LYRICS

Speeding up when chorus begins

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VISUALS + LYRICS: There is not a direct connection as it is telling the story however at the chorus there is , as it says i am titanium it shows the boy running and acting like he has power and invincible which link with the deeper meaning of the lyrics. The actions are symbolic rather than actually what the lyric says. There is no direct singer in the video as there is a strong narrative.

GENRE CHARACTERISTICS: as this is a dance genre it is likely to have short shots and a wide variety as it also very new this also helps with this. The rhythm of the song is fast so the shots need to keep to this which is common within this genre. The material shot is also very appropriate to the genre , as songs like this often have a narrative and little performance footage as it is dane music and there would be little performance footage to shoot.

PERFORMANCE, NARRATIVE AND/OR CONCEPT: The whole of this video is narrative , as it dance genre we often expect this. The video tells a story of the boy with super natural powers not understanding what has happened to him. There is however no performance footage at all through this.

Pov shot

PERFORMANCE STYLE: There is no lypsynching in this video. As there is no performance. there is a lot of shot variation and angles.

LINEAR, CLOSED NARRATIVE?: the narrative is linear as it tells the story throughout. It is a closed narrative as we can follow what is happening. This restricts audience as it does not suit multiple audience as the narrative is closed we know what will happen. However the video ends with an open narrative which is very common for this genre.

LOOKING/MODE OF ADDRESS: There is no reference to them looking directly into the camera because we are watching the narrative this does not work. The lyrics tell the story of the boy so if he looked into camera this would not work and make it cheesy.

Shots like this used to single him out.

STAR TREATMENT: There is no singer singled out but the boy who the song about is singled out as the star as the video is from his point of view it makes the audience feel more involved like we are him running away. Nearly all the shots have him in it apart from some which build up the tension of him running away. These shots are used to single him out.

PACE + ANY VARIATION OF PACE: The pace of the vid is fast , the variation changes from mid to fast and builds up at chorus this works well in the video because as it hits the chorus something big happens which also builds the tension within the story and makes us feel like we are there, however as it is dance music this also helps build this up. The takes are short but alot of them which is put together with long shots and different angles to keep viewers hocked. there is also faster paced editing at the chorus.There is a change in style at the chorus and build up as shots get shorter and there are more.

LOCATION/S + MISE-EN-SCENE: 

Framing david guetta in background

Background mis en scene.

There is alot of shot variation at different locations , first the school , the mis en scene has been set very well for this as it looks like the school has been wrecked and destroyed however when we get into the video we find out it was him not him being the victim which are our first thoughts. these are very important for exposition as it first sets out what has happened to him. We can however tell it is also an american school due to the mis en scene such as the lockers and waste , teachers and police outside. There has also been a very clever framing part where David guetta is framed on the wall, this has been done very suttle but works very well in the video.Effects have been added to make him faster on his bike and make him
invincible character he pursues. The next location we see is him riding home where everything seems normal , however the whole time he is in his own world and it seems like everything is normal to him things such as the him riding and normal things in the background have been framed very well to create mundaerealism very well. His house and his costume has also been done to show that he is just a normal teen , which we wouldnt expect this from as it seems very un realistic in real life but in the video is very believable.

Other information

Eg1. Burn Ellie Golding

ACT:  Ellie Goulding

TRACK: Burn

YEAR: 2013

DIRECTOR: Greg Kurstin and Ryan Tedder

GENRE:  Pop/ chart

MAIN AUDIENCE: teens and possibly above people who follow chart music.

LYRICS

Performance footage (lip synching)

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VISUALS + LYRICS: there is no direct link between lyrics and visuals.we get the singer delivering the words . Some however are symbolic over all the video.

PERFORMANCE, NARRATIVE AND/OR CONCEPT: the performance is both a balance of both narrative and performance. However it is mainly performance footage. As ellie goulding delivers the video herself this is usually common in chart music as it makes the singer more popular and recognisable (popular)

Dancing

PERFORMANCE STYLE: There is a lot of lip synching in the video. There is a moving camera which follows her throughout video at different angles when she directly sings into camera. to Create a bond with audience.However she is the character in the narrative and the video is about her. It does look like a general performance however some parts looks very unrealistic such as run way. Close ups however look very realistic.There are no instruments used this also makes it unrealistic.There however is dancing which looks

realistic as she is with friends and gives the feeling they are just messing about which i think is what the video is about being free. The dancing however is not advanced i do think amateurs could achieve this.

Narrative

LINEAR, CLOSED NARRATIVE?: There is narrative but it is open to what we think the video is about , as it has possible endings and meanings to what the narrative is. There is little narrative but what is there is about ellie herself and her friends as she plays the character she talks about in the video this is very different to the other videos i have looked at.

Building relationship with audience

LOOKING/MODE OF ADDRESS: Only the singer looks directly into the camera. this also creates the star treatment as it makes her the star of the piece as the video narrative also stars her this works well. She also creates a direct connection with the audience by singing and looking directly into camera lens. The shots also come back to her every time which shows significantly she is the star of the video. There however is no audience in the vid we can relate to but ellie builds this up through the camera and building a connection and relationship to draw us in.

PACE + ANY VARIATION OF PACE: The pace of the video is also fast so the shot pace and editing is also fast due to this. this means that with the rhythm the shots change which also makes it more exciting for the audience to watch. There is a pattern when the song builds up so do the shots from before when the takes were longer to them cut down to be seconds long. The lip syncing parts however contain the most long take shots.

Red effect

FX: There are lots of effects used such as effects put on top to create more of a music video genre. There has been things such as transitions used from to shot to shot to blend them and shots that change with other effects such as fading at the end. Other effects have been added such as colours red and other colours to make it brighter and more effective. Some shots also have been slowed down to fit with the pace.

Ellies logo

LOCATION/S + MISE-EN-SCENE: locations such as a run way , woods and the outdoors have been used to symbolise teens life which works very well at who her audience is aimed at. The mis en scene is created by lights which also links with the chorus burn this looks very good at the end also. This has been very cleverly done as it is her logo for her name , so there is a lot of intertexuality with this. The costumes chosen have been chosen to also represent teens , due to them being fashionable and almost festival. The choses of location used have also been done well to show the idea of been care free as a teen ager which is the message from the video coming across,

Other Information