Music video
Task 2
Alt-J - BreezeblocksAlt-j’s video for breeze blocks is shot like a film over and is heavily stylised there is not any evidence of product placement or any sign of commercialisation. The video opens having a girl beneath the water in a bathroom, presumably lifeless. The water in the tub is a kind of reddish colour which indicates she may have hit her head . Another shot is of a guy with his head in his hands. camera cuts to an extreme closeup of his fingers where we're shown a wedding ring demonstrating its value and letting the crowd know he is wed. Another handful of shots confirms the video is in the bathroom .A closeup picture of the womans hand in the bathroom with no wedding ring is revealed. This so tells the crowd that the man and girl possibly were married but she cheated and makes the audience wonder what connection the two characters have with each other and creates a need to keep watching All through this music video the fundamental shots are close ups and mid shots,this is to underscore to the intensity and the power of the video as it based upon a battle between a man and lady which in the end prompts a homicide. Also I think it is an excellent music video as it is played in reverse to how it was shot e.g. water flows back up the tap as opposed to pouring out. This adds impact and includes an intriguing side to the entire video which is really a rather vicious arrangement of imagery. Alt-J who don't show up in the music video have created a beautiful and fascinating piece demonstrating the power of a horrendous murder which has occurred. The song's narrative working with the melody as many words said in the song are really reflected into visuals on the screen,notably the homicide weapon utilized is a breezeblock which is the name of the song.This activity has, particularly inside of this music video highlighted how a male and female character can be involved in a music video in a none sexual manner as most videos which include both genders will involve some form of sexualising as sex sells, so it is interesting to see a video which is almost a polar opposite. I think also the way it is shown in reverse adds an element of regret from the male character and the video could be him playing back what happened in his mind.
Miley Cyrus - We Can't Stop
Miley cyrus’ We Can’t Stop video is conventional and has clear codes and conventions throughout, such as Violence, Drug use, Drinking, Relationships and product placement the beginning of the video starts with a close up of miley then a close up of her cutting off an ankle tracker suggesting that she is now a free and individual artist not tied down by her famous disney contract. The video then cuts to a shot of a Beats By Dre ‘pill’ speaker the shot is tight onto the speaker and a hand turns it up this is a classic example of product placement and helps not only sell the product but also associates miley cyrus with that brand. The video is shot to appear like you are looking into a party at miley's house she often talks in the video about how ‘this is our house, these are our rules’ this also ties in with her new independent rebellious image, although there is mention of drug use the video still has a childish element there are plenty of bright colours and shots of her which big teddy bears and child's toys which shows that she is still trying to appeal to the younger target audience that will relate to those elements. The visuals shown stay in time with the music and there are slow motion shots when the song slows down. Although there is some relation the visuals you see have little to do the with the lyrics of the song other than the fact that the song is about the party the point of the video seems more to sell miley's image over the actual song. the music video consists of quick editing, some of this is to match the visuals to the music, the lyrics are written in a way that invites cutting to the beat. The quick edits also give the idea that time is moving fast and they are having a good time. mileys facial expressions throughout are of sheer joy and happiness there are close ups of her face mixed in to the video and she creates a fun feel to the video. Even though the video has many people in it miley is always the central character and always in the centre focus of the screen, she is the dominant figure at the party this can also be seen by the amounts of close ups of her face.
Glossary
In-concert - the video is filmed live which gives it an authentic feel and makes the artist seem popular. sum 41 - better off dead https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOTjtt9de9A&ab_channel=Sum41VEVO
As-live - As-live music videos on the other hand still have the artist performing in front of a crowd but the performance has been set up specifically for the production of the music video. Nirvana - teenage spirit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTWKbfoikeg&ab_channel=NirvanaVEVO
digital animation - this style of animation is mostly generated on a computer or drawn where they use computer generated graphics to tell the story of the music video this gives it a certain style which is almost futuristic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtXby3twMmI&ab_channel=ColdplayOfficial
narrative - this is a music video that tells a story throughout the video and describes a sequence of events, they are similar to shorts films. They are usually popular as they give the audience something to think about and add more meaning to the story. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYdaQJzcAcw&ab_channel=JColeVEVO
interpretive - these are videos that could have multiple meanings or have deeper meanings than the portrayed story and leave the audience thinking about the message of the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vjPBrBU-TM&ab_channel=SiaVEVO
parody and pastiche - also known as a spoof is usually an imitation of a established style of video portrayed in a mic-take manner where as a pastiche is an imitation presented in a more serious manner. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3TTiHRrEBE&ab_channel=HouseofTen
performance - this style portrays a live performance of includes footage captured in live performances. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYH47OqJJug&ab_channel=TOWERofDOOM
referencing - this is when the video references other genres or other productions this will inlcude elements of the work without imitating it entirely. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T41QZE1tzO0&ab_channel=DirteeTV
homage - this is imitation but in a positive and serious manner instead to taking the mick out of the style of the artist they respect it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GBT37_yyzY&ab_channel=IngridMichaelson
influence of commercials - many music videos will have product placement to help fund the advert in most videos nowadays you will see a beats pill in the opening, this can be seen in the video i analyzed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrUvu1mlWco&ab_channel=MileyCyrusVEVO
lyric interperation - this is when the lyrics of the video directly connect to something being displayed on the screen, this is mostly used to emphasize a point being made in the song visually.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-ORhEE9VVg
extending or consolidating songs meaning - extending or consolidating a song or meaning in a music video is when you use symbolism to further push the meaning of the song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWZGAExj-es&ab_channel=SiaVEVO
allusion - when the audience is under illusion something is happening and is not as it seems. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m86ae_e_ptU&ab_channel=OKGo
links to other artists- referencing another artist by showing them in the video without them actually featuring in the song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZS0WvzRVByg&ab_channel=GeorgeEzraVEVO
techniques -
cutting to the beat - when the shots of the video are cut in time with the beat pattern in the song
miming and lip syncing - wording the lyrics on the video to give the allusion of the artist singing hte song live while filming this means you can get a better production value.
multi-image - the use of multiple shots being displayed on the same screen. this could be done by splitscreen or images overlaying each other this allows for multiple ideas to be shown on a screen at once, this opens the door for techniques like juxtaposition or allowing for parrellel action within the music video.
camera movement - as with other productions the movement of the camera has a big effect on the aesthetics of a music video it can be used to enhance the drama and narritive of a video. taylor swifts we are never getting back together is shot in one shots this gives the video a seamless narrative and makes it aesthetically pleasing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA4iX5D9Z64&ab_channel=TaylorSwiftVEVO
camera angles - the use of different camera angles can play a part in the impact of any piece of visual content music videos are no different with the angles being used to convey the tone and approach different camera angles can be used to tell different storys and can often become staple of a certain genre for example the low down looking up is very common in 80s and 90s music videos.
chroma key - this is used when the footage is shot in fornt of a green screen through the use of chroma key, This means that the editor can remove the entire block of green from the images and replace them with other footage which can make it appear the character is in another place or world.
green screens are very widely used throughout hollywood and music videos.
codes and conventions
styles
there are multiple styles of music video, performance, iterperative, narrative, concept, thematic and concept: symbolic. the codes and conventions used and applied are based on the genre that the video is made for.
Rap is again an example of if a certain style being used heavily by a genre and becoming a convention early rap videos will generally all have low camera angle this makes the rapper seem more imposing and powerful this will often be paired with flashy cars rolling through run down areas showing that they 'made it' but havent forgotten there roots.
performance videos are popular in many different genres as they are easy to make and effective they will often compile shots of the artists including close ups and and the band playing in different interesting places.
narrative videos are also very popular across all genres these videos will sometimes not include the artist and instead will focus on a group of actors telling a story in a specific story that will usually be related to the song in some way, sometimes the artist will star in it or make a cameo but alot of the time they do not.
content
The content of the video is often relient on what the creators want, they will often go for an established genre and do a homage of an already well known formula for that genre they will have a story that is familiar to the audience so that they automatically make the connection to that genre/film which makes the video alot easier to follow and relate to it means they can ride on the success of that film/genre, a concept video can contain any kind of content and will often try and create something new and concept videos will often have an underlying theme or message.
form
modern music videos are mostly used as a form of promotion of the artist this primarily to drive the sales of new albums and singles, they can also be used to boost the sales of a single released previously that has not sold well and the artist wants to bring to the for front, they can also be used to promote the band going on tour and give the audience an insight into the band. An example of a music video being used to revive a song is Michael Jacksons thriller the song was originally released without a video and only became massively popular after the release of the video.
file formats
the file format that videos are released on vary depending on the platform if they are for youtube they are genreally release in 1080 h264, itunes releases music on a mpeg-4 format this is generally lossy where as it is possible to release mpeg-4 lossless.
http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/lossless-and-lossy-compression
http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/lossless-and-lossy-compression
techniques
most music videos will generally use green screens and other techniques traditionally only used by movies and tv this is because increasingly music videos are trying to be seen as higher quality and on par technique wise with hollywood. they will often use visual effects and big set productions due to the amount of money availible. there is also alot of cutting to the beat as it is a tried and tested way of keeping the audience interested. The lyrics will also be highly relatable and often the lyrics will directly correlate to the images on screen
privacy
the privacy of the stars that are in the videos is also a big concern as any information about the celebrities involced in the production could lead to a huge media frenzy so it is important that everyone of set does not leak any photos that the artists may not want seen.
libel
libel is when there is a unjustified attack on a person or buisness or product i released to the public through any form of media. Although the attack may not be physical it could potentially affect that person/buisnesses reputation if this is the case they can make a claim in court. This means artists must be careful about what they say about other artists in videos.
http://dictionary.law.com/default.aspx?selected=1153
copyright
Copyright effects all work that has been created in the creative and buisness worlds, the law prevents anyone from copying the work without permission from the creators from them. even with this allowance, the idea can only be adapted and they cannot create an exact copy of the work without risking the law.
it is not uncommon for artists to find them selves in hot water for copyright claims for example vanilla ice has to pay his royaltys to bowie and queen for the use of there bass track in ice ice baby.
current law relating to changes in classifications of music videos
televison and film have been age restricted for decades but it is only recently that music videos are starting to get the same treatment from the classifications as they become a more popular and widely distributed form of media thanks to sites like youtube, which is the biggest platform for music videos. This has caused the bbfc to start restricting music videos online if they include the kinds of imagery that would gain the classification on the television.
Dizzee rascals couple of stacks music video contained alot of gory horror imagery and referenced several big horror films like the shining and others the lyrics are also very explicit and the video was one of the first to gain an 18 rating from the bbfc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T41QZE1tzO0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T41QZE1tzO0
ethical issues
Music videos will often encounter ethical issues due to there propensity to inforce stereotypes and this has made reperesentation one of the biggest ethical issues they face. Gender reperesentation is on of the biggest issues they face. The way women are reperesented in music videos is a constant source for controversy, people are always worried that women are being overly sexualised in modern music videos and are being seen as objects rather that people although there is a costant outcry for the objectification of women to stop in music videos it dose not seem to change much as sex sells and the people making the videos know this so will continue to sexualise there videos if it continues to make money. An example of objectification in music videos is nicki minajs' anaconda video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDZX4ooRsWs
production practices
client liasion and ideas development
The first step in a production of a project is meeting with the client and finding out what they want exchanging ideas about how to contribute to the project and developing ideas of how to improve the product or fixes for any issues that may arise.
treatement
a treatment is a written document of presentation that explains to the client what is going to be made it talks about the kind of scenes and shots that are going to be used and why the shots are going to be used once the client has agreed to the treatment the company will create the product for them.
proposals
a proposal is a plan or offer that is to be sent to the client this offer can be refused or accepted, this differs from the treatment which is usually written after the team has met the client and is aware of what they are looking for, whereas the proposal is sent of to a client who has invited companys to compete for there contract.
storyboard
the story board is the first visual representation of what the project will come out like this is where the exact shots are planned out, which the drawing indicating the directors ideas for the project it also contains technical information about the length of the shot and the angle being used the storyboard is akin to a blueprint to a film and is like a step by step guide.
scheduling
scheduling is the means of dividing the task up among a production team so that they are all done efficiently and for a deadline it also allows the people in management an easy overview on who is doing there job and how effectively they are doing it, it also means they can predict if they need more time to finish a project.
health and safety
health and safety is an important part of everything that is done and needs to be a ongoing concern to take into account for the entire duration of a project, in the planning a health and safety evaluation will be carried out they will consider all the risks that will entail in the production of the video and find preventitive measure to protect people from injury in said incidents.
top of the pops clip credited with music video invention
queen bohemian rapsody took three hours to film
bowie releases ashes to ahses mismatch of ideas
shot on film not digital
fade to grey 5 grand budget most spent on makeup
duran duran planet earth continuation of romantic movement glam make up ect
adam and the ants stand and deliver and other videos
a lot of criticism for video singers were not actors
popstars stole from hollywood robbie williams stole from bond films
1977 micheal nesmith made popclips using video junkies to link tge clips together
mtv born 1981
first video played was video killed radio star
mtv launched with small video library
new british invasion
the cure videos directed by tim pope on of the first major directors
wanted videos to be quick and cheap
pope doesnt need popstars in video
narritive videos born
nuwave band experimneting with video in early 80s
industry realised that the music videos were helping to sell records
became tied into top 40s and corporate video
artists have to look good aas well as sound good
mtv though duran duran were pretty
america was obsessed with boy george
frankie goes to hollywood
relax was banned from tv
some rock stars did not like music videos
brice springsteen dancing in the dark used a live stage performace for music videos
dave tv mtv spoof billy idol and other rock stars
kicked up a trend for animated videos
micheal jackson embraced video
released thriller and beat it
real knives used in beat it video
created choreographed shows
music video for thriller biggest of all time
john landis wanted to create a short film
falling down the charts
record companys didnt want to fund ut
weird al parody
john lanfis borderline material girl
live band aid
protest songs
flahdance
films became an exuse for movie soundtrack
milli vanilli
neil yong inspired anti commercial
anti communism
hip hop became important in the development of rock music
first taste of hip hop blondie rapture
beastie boys white rap sells
straight outta compton scared rich white people
mc hammer peacemaker between pop and hip hop
hype williams
bad boy style ridiculed
hip hop on the up and up
perl jam
george micheal father figure resited record compnay pressure
chris cunningham
reading born
worked on 1995 judge dredd
head hinted by stanley kubrick to do A.I
worked in model making
hardware and dust devil for richard stanley
night breed for clive barker
alien 3
did comic work
worked under the name chris hall
started making music videos
worked genreally with experimnetal and elctronic
come to daddy bjork
light aircraft fire
portishead madonna frozen
· Codec
A codec is a device or computer program capable of encoding or decoding a digital data stream or signal. Codec is a portmanteau of coder-decoder or, less commonly, compressor-decompressor.
A codec encodes a data stream or signal for transmission, storage or encryption, or decodes it for playback or editing. Codecs are used in videoconferencing, streaming media and video editing applications. A video camera's analog-to-digital converter (ADC) converts its analog signals into digital signals, which are then passed through a video compressor for digital transmission or storage. A receiving device then runs the signal through a video decompressor, then a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) for analog display.
Three main broadcast formats
Pal
Ntsc
Secam
Digital revolution of the 1990s maxe video production cheap and available to the masses which made in almost impossible to regulate
Digital video,
With no regulation the theory was the best formats would become dominant like digital natural selection
Well known codecs
Sorenson 3
h.264
cinepak
frame rate based codecs
temporal or field based codecs
well known examples are cinepak and motion jpeg
they work by examining and compressing each frame of video individually
and they have two main disadvantages they can be slow to encode and the file sizes can be quite large, there is a minimum of three megapixles
No comments:
Post a Comment