This is our final music video:
Tuesday, 8 December 2009
Evaluation
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
When looking at the forms & conventions of more commercial music videos, we decided this was the approach we wanted to within our own music video. This was because more commercial music videos tend hit a wider audience. After researching into the genre of our music video, we noticed there was a lot of reference to real life issues or political references. This gave us our main inspiration to base our own music video, on current social issues that could effect anyone of us. From watching the Christina Aguilera video 'beautiful', we really liked the idea of focusing on several different characters life's and narrating throughout the video. The issues we decided to approach in our own music video were; teenage pregnancy, drug abuse, cruelty/neglect to children and troubled relationships. We felt these story lines really related to lyrics, emphasising the meaning of the song. Because of this the narrative was a really important part, as we also identified this as being a key convention in a music video. We recognised that some music videos were purely based on the artist and a particular location, but many based on a story line which the tends to reach a climax towards the end of the video. Almost like a short film to sustain the audiences attention.
Another key factor that we wanted to develop in our own music was the editing, we noticed that music videos tend to have a lot of cuts and several locations, costume changes etc.
To integrate this into our own we had a lot of cuts from character to character. We found this really effective and that the more cuts we put in the quicker the pace. This was really handy when we wanted to build up the pace further on into the track, to create tension as the pitch of the artists vocals got higher. Effects were also key in creating a music video, by adding effects made a video look really professional. We definitely wanted to incorporate some kind of effect into are own. The use of imagery and iconography was an important convention; by looking at Beyonce's 'broken-hearted girl' video, we really liked the idea of the rose dying, but then being put back together again by a simply reversing a clip. We took this idea and used it in our own video, this looked really good, but also fitted with the narrative of our video. It was the perfect ending. Other effects we also noticed in music videos, was slowing down and speeding up clips, by slowing certain clips down this emphasised a particular part and by speeding clips up gave a quick pace. We decided to use these effects in certain parts of ours, in the couple scene we drew attention to the male character throwing the rose petals of the table, not only did this enhance the clip it also gave a more professional edge to our music video. It was also important to see the emotion within this clip. However it was crucial to remember not to over use effects because it would of looked too much.
Locations were another factor we associated with music videos, a location was nearly the most important part of the music video. The location and mis-en-scene were vital in creating a certain feel to a video. It created the mood and atmosphere, our location needed to fit with the dark mood of our track. However we also wanted to get that contrast between the characters and the artist so the audience were able to distinguish the difference. A lot of popular music videos were very simple idea's so we didn't want to over do it in our own. We found a plane white background was used a lot when it came to showing the artist. In our own, we had our female vocalist sing in front of a white background, this was really successful and made our video look less amateur. The lighting in our drug abuse scene was really important, from Christina Aguilera's video we picked up on the idea of her being in the corner of a dark dingey room. This immediately gave a darker mood, which is why we filmed this particular scene outside and used very low key lighting.
R&B and Hip-hop videos tend to glamorise their videos whether this be in regards to the latest technology (phones etc), cars, big houses, luxurious locations and so on. We this took on board, however decided to challenge this convention, by making our video less based on material goods. It was more focused on the deeper meaning of the song. Rather than a less serious, fun pop song. A video that was believable but also something the viewer could relate to. I think this gave our video a more raw edge and allowed our video to stand out from the rest.
From research into music videos, watching them and analysing them we picked up a lot of great ideas and forms and conventions we could incorporate into our own. This was really helpful when it came to actually creating our own music video.
How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
As part of our ancillary texts, we decided to produce a Digi-pack cover and a website homepage. Our Digi-pack cover was created using a programme called photo-shop, an image programme which allowed us to create an illusion of deception. It also provides a large library of effects, filters and layers. Our initial idea for an album cover was to use a photograph of our female vocalist simply with the added title of the album, how ever we realised that this didn't look as effective as real album covers because the lack of technology. We didn't have any professional photographs of the female vocalist so it wasn't very believable. Because of this we decided on having an animated cover, but something that also symbolised the song. Due to this we chose to focus on a broken heart, which signified the emotion throughout the song. The background showed the heart on a crack programme again emphasising the mood of the song. For the title we decided to merge the title of the album and the artist name together, this was really clever and added to the effect, making the album cover look really slick.
We chose to use the heart as an icon on the front and back off the album cover, this makes a the artist look more professional to the consumer, and the artist becomes easily recognised. We wanted a more darker, dull background so the heart and text that was a brighter colour would to stand out and the album cover would look more appealing to the consumer. By the use of the colour red this gave off a lot of different meaning, as it is associated with love, anger, passion, pain and sacrifice. These meanings completely reflected the emotions within the single 'heartbeat', so this worked really well and was extremely effective. We felt it was vital to give the cover a fresh new look, and entice the consumer as its job was to sell. We recognised that the use of animated images was different that most album cover which gave a unique feel to the cover.
Our second ancillary text was the website homepage, we did this via my space as this is a well known site for new artist to be noticed and promote their work. On this page we were able to upload the track, and the video to make them both available to the consumer. It also allows you to interact with fellow people on my space this meant we were able to gain feedback and comments via my space. This was a simple page to create but also very effective way to become known and really get your music out there. Again we wanted use a similar theme to the album cover, this so the consumer would associate the album and page together. And also get a feel for the artist. However there also needed to be a link between the music video and our ancillary texts so they didn't just look random or confuse the consumer. By including a link on the back of the album to this website page meant to consumer could go directly to this page, and that it was easily available to them. This page to needed to look professional so the audience would be interested in the artist.
We felt that in order for our music video to successful the ancillary texts also needed to be at a high standard as this was a way of promoting the artist. By securing that all three fitted together sending the one same message this made music video and the ancillary texts extremely effective.
What have you learned from your audience feedback?
Audience was really important for our music video, after all they were the ones who would be watching. We wanted a more main stream audience and people who were interest in this particular genre of Afro-beat hip-hop. But Also people who relate to lyrics. Because Nneka has been classified on more that one genre this allowed us to target a more wider audience.
From results of two of our questionnaires, we found that music videos were a crucial part to the establishment and promotion of a track an artist, also a video that was more iconic was remembered a lot more. A narrative was popular, and key to sustaining the attention of an audience, giving them reason to keep watching instead of looking at the same thing. We also learnt that quick cuts and a varied locations, kept the video exciting and fresh again enhancing the enjoyment of a video.
When gaining direct feedback from fellow students specifically about our own music video, we received praise for our choice in track, it was important for us not to choose a well known song as it would be much easier for the audience to compare our music video to the original. Although there was still a music video for 'Nneka-heartbeat' it wasn't as well known as something like Beyonce 'Single ladies'. Doing a song like that would only make it harder for us to create anything that even came close to the original. With regards to editing, we received positive comments about quick cuts and the change of character and location, the switch of story to story. We learnt from this that cuts were essential in our music video, they kept the video exciting. Staring at one thing for a long period of time would often start to bore the audience. Positive feedback also included the story line of our music video, people found it easy to follow but also exciting to watch. From this i learnt that something simple but interesting was really effective, and a story with a point brought more enjoyment to watching a music video. It made the viewer want to keep watching in order to see what happened to the characters. Music videos are highly dependent on effective visual elements.
However we also received some negative feedback, and additional things we could add to our music video. Our first criticism was to add more effects or transitions, this was so it would have more edge to it but also enhance particular parts and make our video more striking. We learnt how adding these little changes could really excentuate a particular shot. We also recognised how important it was not to drag a shot on as the viewer becomes bored. This particularly effected it us when it came to a shot of our female vocalist, this clip was far too long so we had to shorten it in order to keep the viewers attention.
We learnt it was crucial to get the mime and track in perfect timing, this so it would look professional, and believable as a music video, this was something we also got criticised on and had to go back and change. The most important thing we took away from this feedback was to keep the audience's attention at all times, there needed to be something eye catching or something to follow so the audience would keep watching. But we also learnt the editing had to run smoothly cuts had to perfect and match the song so the audience believed they were actually watching a real music video.
Audience feedback vital to creating a successful music video, we really learnt a lot from this. About what worked well and what could be altered to improve our work. I feel it is necessary to get as much feedback as possible as it can only help developed our product further and ultimately be deemed a success by our audience.
How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation?
We realise how vital the media technologies we used throughout the process of making this music video were. Without this technology it would of been nearly impossible to do what we did. As this was our second year of media studies, i was quite confident when it came to using the different technology's. We had many pieces of technology that we've had to work with and learn how adapt them to our own work. We knew how to use the camera and tripod so that was quite straight forward. Having used it previously we were aware of how to use it in the best way, we were aware of getting a selection of shots from different angles and lengths. The tri-pod was extremely useful as it meant not worrying about any shaky shots or pan shots. The theory side of media we learnt was really helpful as were practically putting what we'd learnt to the test. This year we had a newer version of the apple mac laptops, however these were just as simple as the previous ones, it was just a case of things being in different places. It was easy to get help if you weren't sure about something via the help button on the actual editing software.
In terms of research the Internet was a vital piece of technology, you tube was particularly helpful as it allowed us to view current music videos, and help give us ideas for our own. We were also able to analyse these music videos in order to see what was needed to make ours just as effective. By uploading our own music video to you tube we were able to receive feedback and see just how popular it was, it also allowed us to share it via this blog site and other networking sites such as facebook. We were able to use other sites to find information into music and music videos, genre's and forms & conventions this was really helpful in letting us know what to include in our own. When it came to finding out what the consumer wanted, we were able to create questionnaires and the results for these via Microsoft excel. This enabled us to create graphs such as pie charts and bar charts, by doing this it made the results clearer and easier to analyse.
When it came to planning, we were able to use our personal blog to display all of our work we had done so far. This displayed everything we had done so far so we knew exactly where we were up to, what to do next and when. It also allowed us to plan everything thoroughly. It also solved any communication problems between fellow team members as they we were able to access each others blog and know exactly what each one was doing. We were able to insert our evaluation on here too which was really good. The blog had a huge impact on our work.
Ancillary tasks were made easier by media technology also, we were able to use photo software for our digi pack cover which made the cover look really realistic and professional. Without photo shop we wouldn't of been able to create anything as realistic or effective as we did. The use of the networking site my space allowed us to create a simple page for our artist available for all of the online community. It would of been impossible to reach this many people without the use of myspace.
When it came to editing, this year we had a newer version of the apple mac laptops, however these were just as simple as the previous ones, it was just a case of things being in different places. It was easy to get help if you weren't sure about something via the help button on the actual editing software. Once we had finished editing, we were then able to add the final touches to our music. This including effects and transitions which only added to the quality of our music video.
Throughout this process technology has played a key part in every aspect whether it be the research, construction, planning or our evaluation. With the use of media technology everything was simplified and we were able to a lot more things with our music video. But without this technology creating a music video would have been virtually impossible.
When looking at the forms & conventions of more commercial music videos, we decided this was the approach we wanted to within our own music video. This was because more commercial music videos tend hit a wider audience. After researching into the genre of our music video, we noticed there was a lot of reference to real life issues or political references. This gave us our main inspiration to base our own music video, on current social issues that could effect anyone of us. From watching the Christina Aguilera video 'beautiful', we really liked the idea of focusing on several different characters life's and narrating throughout the video. The issues we decided to approach in our own music video were; teenage pregnancy, drug abuse, cruelty/neglect to children and troubled relationships. We felt these story lines really related to lyrics, emphasising the meaning of the song. Because of this the narrative was a really important part, as we also identified this as being a key convention in a music video. We recognised that some music videos were purely based on the artist and a particular location, but many based on a story line which the tends to reach a climax towards the end of the video. Almost like a short film to sustain the audiences attention.
Another key factor that we wanted to develop in our own music was the editing, we noticed that music videos tend to have a lot of cuts and several locations, costume changes etc.
To integrate this into our own we had a lot of cuts from character to character. We found this really effective and that the more cuts we put in the quicker the pace. This was really handy when we wanted to build up the pace further on into the track, to create tension as the pitch of the artists vocals got higher. Effects were also key in creating a music video, by adding effects made a video look really professional. We definitely wanted to incorporate some kind of effect into are own. The use of imagery and iconography was an important convention; by looking at Beyonce's 'broken-hearted girl' video, we really liked the idea of the rose dying, but then being put back together again by a simply reversing a clip. We took this idea and used it in our own video, this looked really good, but also fitted with the narrative of our video. It was the perfect ending. Other effects we also noticed in music videos, was slowing down and speeding up clips, by slowing certain clips down this emphasised a particular part and by speeding clips up gave a quick pace. We decided to use these effects in certain parts of ours, in the couple scene we drew attention to the male character throwing the rose petals of the table, not only did this enhance the clip it also gave a more professional edge to our music video. It was also important to see the emotion within this clip. However it was crucial to remember not to over use effects because it would of looked too much.
Locations were another factor we associated with music videos, a location was nearly the most important part of the music video. The location and mis-en-scene were vital in creating a certain feel to a video. It created the mood and atmosphere, our location needed to fit with the dark mood of our track. However we also wanted to get that contrast between the characters and the artist so the audience were able to distinguish the difference. A lot of popular music videos were very simple idea's so we didn't want to over do it in our own. We found a plane white background was used a lot when it came to showing the artist. In our own, we had our female vocalist sing in front of a white background, this was really successful and made our video look less amateur. The lighting in our drug abuse scene was really important, from Christina Aguilera's video we picked up on the idea of her being in the corner of a dark dingey room. This immediately gave a darker mood, which is why we filmed this particular scene outside and used very low key lighting.
R&B and Hip-hop videos tend to glamorise their videos whether this be in regards to the latest technology (phones etc), cars, big houses, luxurious locations and so on. We this took on board, however decided to challenge this convention, by making our video less based on material goods. It was more focused on the deeper meaning of the song. Rather than a less serious, fun pop song. A video that was believable but also something the viewer could relate to. I think this gave our video a more raw edge and allowed our video to stand out from the rest.
From research into music videos, watching them and analysing them we picked up a lot of great ideas and forms and conventions we could incorporate into our own. This was really helpful when it came to actually creating our own music video.
How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
As part of our ancillary texts, we decided to produce a Digi-pack cover and a website homepage. Our Digi-pack cover was created using a programme called photo-shop, an image programme which allowed us to create an illusion of deception. It also provides a large library of effects, filters and layers. Our initial idea for an album cover was to use a photograph of our female vocalist simply with the added title of the album, how ever we realised that this didn't look as effective as real album covers because the lack of technology. We didn't have any professional photographs of the female vocalist so it wasn't very believable. Because of this we decided on having an animated cover, but something that also symbolised the song. Due to this we chose to focus on a broken heart, which signified the emotion throughout the song. The background showed the heart on a crack programme again emphasising the mood of the song. For the title we decided to merge the title of the album and the artist name together, this was really clever and added to the effect, making the album cover look really slick.
We chose to use the heart as an icon on the front and back off the album cover, this makes a the artist look more professional to the consumer, and the artist becomes easily recognised. We wanted a more darker, dull background so the heart and text that was a brighter colour would to stand out and the album cover would look more appealing to the consumer. By the use of the colour red this gave off a lot of different meaning, as it is associated with love, anger, passion, pain and sacrifice. These meanings completely reflected the emotions within the single 'heartbeat', so this worked really well and was extremely effective. We felt it was vital to give the cover a fresh new look, and entice the consumer as its job was to sell. We recognised that the use of animated images was different that most album cover which gave a unique feel to the cover.
Our second ancillary text was the website homepage, we did this via my space as this is a well known site for new artist to be noticed and promote their work. On this page we were able to upload the track, and the video to make them both available to the consumer. It also allows you to interact with fellow people on my space this meant we were able to gain feedback and comments via my space. This was a simple page to create but also very effective way to become known and really get your music out there. Again we wanted use a similar theme to the album cover, this so the consumer would associate the album and page together. And also get a feel for the artist. However there also needed to be a link between the music video and our ancillary texts so they didn't just look random or confuse the consumer. By including a link on the back of the album to this website page meant to consumer could go directly to this page, and that it was easily available to them. This page to needed to look professional so the audience would be interested in the artist.
We felt that in order for our music video to successful the ancillary texts also needed to be at a high standard as this was a way of promoting the artist. By securing that all three fitted together sending the one same message this made music video and the ancillary texts extremely effective.
What have you learned from your audience feedback?
Audience was really important for our music video, after all they were the ones who would be watching. We wanted a more main stream audience and people who were interest in this particular genre of Afro-beat hip-hop. But Also people who relate to lyrics. Because Nneka has been classified on more that one genre this allowed us to target a more wider audience.
From results of two of our questionnaires, we found that music videos were a crucial part to the establishment and promotion of a track an artist, also a video that was more iconic was remembered a lot more. A narrative was popular, and key to sustaining the attention of an audience, giving them reason to keep watching instead of looking at the same thing. We also learnt that quick cuts and a varied locations, kept the video exciting and fresh again enhancing the enjoyment of a video.
When gaining direct feedback from fellow students specifically about our own music video, we received praise for our choice in track, it was important for us not to choose a well known song as it would be much easier for the audience to compare our music video to the original. Although there was still a music video for 'Nneka-heartbeat' it wasn't as well known as something like Beyonce 'Single ladies'. Doing a song like that would only make it harder for us to create anything that even came close to the original. With regards to editing, we received positive comments about quick cuts and the change of character and location, the switch of story to story. We learnt from this that cuts were essential in our music video, they kept the video exciting. Staring at one thing for a long period of time would often start to bore the audience. Positive feedback also included the story line of our music video, people found it easy to follow but also exciting to watch. From this i learnt that something simple but interesting was really effective, and a story with a point brought more enjoyment to watching a music video. It made the viewer want to keep watching in order to see what happened to the characters. Music videos are highly dependent on effective visual elements.
However we also received some negative feedback, and additional things we could add to our music video. Our first criticism was to add more effects or transitions, this was so it would have more edge to it but also enhance particular parts and make our video more striking. We learnt how adding these little changes could really excentuate a particular shot. We also recognised how important it was not to drag a shot on as the viewer becomes bored. This particularly effected it us when it came to a shot of our female vocalist, this clip was far too long so we had to shorten it in order to keep the viewers attention.
We learnt it was crucial to get the mime and track in perfect timing, this so it would look professional, and believable as a music video, this was something we also got criticised on and had to go back and change. The most important thing we took away from this feedback was to keep the audience's attention at all times, there needed to be something eye catching or something to follow so the audience would keep watching. But we also learnt the editing had to run smoothly cuts had to perfect and match the song so the audience believed they were actually watching a real music video.
Audience feedback vital to creating a successful music video, we really learnt a lot from this. About what worked well and what could be altered to improve our work. I feel it is necessary to get as much feedback as possible as it can only help developed our product further and ultimately be deemed a success by our audience.
How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation?
We realise how vital the media technologies we used throughout the process of making this music video were. Without this technology it would of been nearly impossible to do what we did. As this was our second year of media studies, i was quite confident when it came to using the different technology's. We had many pieces of technology that we've had to work with and learn how adapt them to our own work. We knew how to use the camera and tripod so that was quite straight forward. Having used it previously we were aware of how to use it in the best way, we were aware of getting a selection of shots from different angles and lengths. The tri-pod was extremely useful as it meant not worrying about any shaky shots or pan shots. The theory side of media we learnt was really helpful as were practically putting what we'd learnt to the test. This year we had a newer version of the apple mac laptops, however these were just as simple as the previous ones, it was just a case of things being in different places. It was easy to get help if you weren't sure about something via the help button on the actual editing software.
In terms of research the Internet was a vital piece of technology, you tube was particularly helpful as it allowed us to view current music videos, and help give us ideas for our own. We were also able to analyse these music videos in order to see what was needed to make ours just as effective. By uploading our own music video to you tube we were able to receive feedback and see just how popular it was, it also allowed us to share it via this blog site and other networking sites such as facebook. We were able to use other sites to find information into music and music videos, genre's and forms & conventions this was really helpful in letting us know what to include in our own. When it came to finding out what the consumer wanted, we were able to create questionnaires and the results for these via Microsoft excel. This enabled us to create graphs such as pie charts and bar charts, by doing this it made the results clearer and easier to analyse.
When it came to planning, we were able to use our personal blog to display all of our work we had done so far. This displayed everything we had done so far so we knew exactly where we were up to, what to do next and when. It also allowed us to plan everything thoroughly. It also solved any communication problems between fellow team members as they we were able to access each others blog and know exactly what each one was doing. We were able to insert our evaluation on here too which was really good. The blog had a huge impact on our work.
Ancillary tasks were made easier by media technology also, we were able to use photo software for our digi pack cover which made the cover look really realistic and professional. Without photo shop we wouldn't of been able to create anything as realistic or effective as we did. The use of the networking site my space allowed us to create a simple page for our artist available for all of the online community. It would of been impossible to reach this many people without the use of myspace.
When it came to editing, this year we had a newer version of the apple mac laptops, however these were just as simple as the previous ones, it was just a case of things being in different places. It was easy to get help if you weren't sure about something via the help button on the actual editing software. Once we had finished editing, we were then able to add the final touches to our music. This including effects and transitions which only added to the quality of our music video.
Throughout this process technology has played a key part in every aspect whether it be the research, construction, planning or our evaluation. With the use of media technology everything was simplified and we were able to a lot more things with our music video. But without this technology creating a music video would have been virtually impossible.
Monday, 7 December 2009
CD Cover
Ancillary Text 1:
From looking at the brief we decided on creating an album cover.
This is what the front cover of the album would look like:
Back Cover:
From looking at the brief we decided on creating an album cover.
This is what the front cover of the album would look like:
Back Cover:
CD Cover: Planning
We designed a rough sketch of how wanted the cd cover to look, what colours so we new exactly what we were doing.
Front Cover
Back Cover:
Front Cover
Back Cover:
Podcast
Ancillary Text 2:
The second thing we decided to do was a podcast, talking about our music video, including target audience, form & conventions and the use of technology.
We did this by using the apple mac's inserting blanks slides so we could then talk over them using the microphone button. This was quite easy to do and effective when it came to discussing our media product.
The second thing we decided to do was a podcast, talking about our music video, including target audience, form & conventions and the use of technology.
We did this by using the apple mac's inserting blanks slides so we could then talk over them using the microphone button. This was quite easy to do and effective when it came to discussing our media product.
Filming Diary 2
Becuase we didnt have the time to do two of our scenes we had to reschedule and do these another time.
Monday 2nd November: Tasha
Scene: Female Vocalist On White Background
Location: College
Wednesday 4th November: Chloe
Scene: Rose
Location: Chloe's House
We succesfully finished both of these, and we should have all our footage to begin editing!
Monday 2nd November: Tasha
Scene: Female Vocalist On White Background
Location: College
Wednesday 4th November: Chloe
Scene: Rose
Location: Chloe's House
We succesfully finished both of these, and we should have all our footage to begin editing!
Filming Diary 1
We planned when we woul film each scene so we could keep up-to-date with filming:
October Half Term
Monday: Tasha & Adam
Scene: Vocalist
Location: Succluded Field
Wednesday: Lucy & Candice
Scenes: Drug Abuse & Teen Pregnancy
Location: Local Park & Candices House
Thursday: Ainsley & Chloe
Scene: Couple's Dinner
Location: Chloe's House
Sunday: Scarlett
Scene: Child Alone
Location: Georgina's House
We managed to get all of these done over half term, and they all went as planned. However we didnt have enought time to do the last two scenes, as we needed our local college for one which was not open during half term.
To Do:
Female Vocalist On White Background
Rose Scene
October Half Term
Monday: Tasha & Adam
Scene: Vocalist
Location: Succluded Field
Wednesday: Lucy & Candice
Scenes: Drug Abuse & Teen Pregnancy
Location: Local Park & Candices House
Thursday: Ainsley & Chloe
Scene: Couple's Dinner
Location: Chloe's House
Sunday: Scarlett
Scene: Child Alone
Location: Georgina's House
We managed to get all of these done over half term, and they all went as planned. However we didnt have enought time to do the last two scenes, as we needed our local college for one which was not open during half term.
To Do:
Female Vocalist On White Background
Rose Scene
Feedback For Our Music Video
For our benefit we took our music video into our class and asked fellow peers what they thought of our music video, what they like about it and any possible changed they'd suggest.
Positives
Negatives
Positives
- Story lines are well thought out and shown clearly to the viewer so we knew what was going on
- Lyrics and visuals matched good
- Good song choice to show the different emotions of the characters
- I like how you switch between the singer in different locations
Negatives
- Could put more effects in such as flashes or transitions in some places
- When the song speeds up at the end you need to make the scenes shorted to match the pace
- Opening title with artist and song name before music begins
- More cuts towards the end to build up pace
- Female vocalist shot is too long
Hip Hop: Genre Background
Hip hop is a musical genre which developed alongside hip hop culture, and is commonly based on concepts of looping, rapping, free styling, scratching, sampling and beat boxing. The music is used to express concerns of political, social, and personal issues. Hip hop began in the Bronx in New York City in the 1970s, primarily among African Americans, with some Jamaican immigrant influence. The term rap is often used synonymously with hip hop, however, the latter denotes the practices of an entire subculture.
Rapping, also referred to as MC- ing' or emceeing, is a vocal style in which the artist speaks lyrically, in rhyme and verse, generally to an instrumental or synthesized beat. Beats, almost always in 4/4 time signature, can be created by looping portions of other songs, usually by a DJ, or sampled from portions of other songs by a producer.
The roots of hip hop are found in African American music. The griots of West Africa are a group of traveling singers and poets who are part of an oral tradition dating back hundreds of years. Their vocal style is similar to that of rappers. The African-American traditions of signifying', the dozens, and jazz poetry are all descended from the griots.
Hip hop arose during the 1970s when block parties became increasingly popular in New York City, especially in the Bronx. Block parties incorporated DJ's who played popular genres of music, especially funk and soul music. DJ's, realizing its positive reception, began isolating the percussion breaks of popular songs. This technique was then common in Jamaican dub music and had spread to New York City via the substantial Jamaican immigrant community. A major proponent of the technique was the 'godfather' of hip hop, the Jamaican-born DJ Kool Herc.
The new school of hip hop was a second wave of hip hop music starting from 1983–84 with the early records of Run-D.M.C. and LL Cool J. Like the hip hop preceding it, it came predominately from New York City. The new school was initially characterized in form by drum machine led minimalism, often tinged with elements of rock. It was notable for taunts and boasts about rapping, and socio-political commentary, both delivered in an aggressive, self-assertive style. In image as in song its artists projected a tough, cool, street b-boy attitude. These elements contrasted sharply with the funk and disco influenced outfits, novelty hits, live bands, synthesizers and party rhymes of artists prevalent in 1984, and rendered them old school. New school artists made shorter songs that could more easily gain radio play, and more cohesive LPs than their old school counterparts. By 1986 their releases began to establish hip hop as a fixture of the mainstream.
Rapping, also referred to as MC- ing' or emceeing, is a vocal style in which the artist speaks lyrically, in rhyme and verse, generally to an instrumental or synthesized beat. Beats, almost always in 4/4 time signature, can be created by looping portions of other songs, usually by a DJ, or sampled from portions of other songs by a producer.
The roots of hip hop are found in African American music. The griots of West Africa are a group of traveling singers and poets who are part of an oral tradition dating back hundreds of years. Their vocal style is similar to that of rappers. The African-American traditions of signifying', the dozens, and jazz poetry are all descended from the griots.
Hip hop arose during the 1970s when block parties became increasingly popular in New York City, especially in the Bronx. Block parties incorporated DJ's who played popular genres of music, especially funk and soul music. DJ's, realizing its positive reception, began isolating the percussion breaks of popular songs. This technique was then common in Jamaican dub music and had spread to New York City via the substantial Jamaican immigrant community. A major proponent of the technique was the 'godfather' of hip hop, the Jamaican-born DJ Kool Herc.
The new school of hip hop was a second wave of hip hop music starting from 1983–84 with the early records of Run-D.M.C. and LL Cool J. Like the hip hop preceding it, it came predominately from New York City. The new school was initially characterized in form by drum machine led minimalism, often tinged with elements of rock. It was notable for taunts and boasts about rapping, and socio-political commentary, both delivered in an aggressive, self-assertive style. In image as in song its artists projected a tough, cool, street b-boy attitude. These elements contrasted sharply with the funk and disco influenced outfits, novelty hits, live bands, synthesizers and party rhymes of artists prevalent in 1984, and rendered them old school. New school artists made shorter songs that could more easily gain radio play, and more cohesive LPs than their old school counterparts. By 1986 their releases began to establish hip hop as a fixture of the mainstream.
Afro Beat: Genre
The genre Afro-Beat is what the artist Nneka comes under, having a lack of knowledge of this genre, we decided to research it to find out what it was all about.
Afro beat is a combination of Yoruba music, jazz, high life, and funk rhythms, fused with percussion and vocal styles, popularized in Africa in the 1970s. Its main creator was the Nigerian multi-instrumentalist and bandleader Fela Kuti who used it to revolutionise musical structure as well as the political context in his native Nigeria.
Afro beat is now one of the most recognisable music genres in the world and has influenced as many Western musicians as it has African ones with its exuberant style and poly rhythms. This particular music can be described as native African harmonies and rhythms, taking different elements and combining, modernizing and improvising upon them.Afro beat has profoundly influenced important contemporary producers and musicians.
Its main creator was the Nigerian multi-instrumentalist and bandleader Fela Kuti who used it to revolutionise musical structure as well as the political context in his native Nigeria. He was was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, pioneer of Afro beat music, human rights activist, and political maverick. James Brown quoted him as one of the originators of funk.
Afro beat is a combination of Yoruba music, jazz, high life, and funk rhythms, fused with percussion and vocal styles, popularized in Africa in the 1970s. Its main creator was the Nigerian multi-instrumentalist and bandleader Fela Kuti who used it to revolutionise musical structure as well as the political context in his native Nigeria.
Afro beat is now one of the most recognisable music genres in the world and has influenced as many Western musicians as it has African ones with its exuberant style and poly rhythms. This particular music can be described as native African harmonies and rhythms, taking different elements and combining, modernizing and improvising upon them.Afro beat has profoundly influenced important contemporary producers and musicians.
Its main creator was the Nigerian multi-instrumentalist and bandleader Fela Kuti who used it to revolutionise musical structure as well as the political context in his native Nigeria. He was was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, pioneer of Afro beat music, human rights activist, and political maverick. James Brown quoted him as one of the originators of funk.
Sunday, 6 December 2009
Results of Questionnaire 2
These results are based on a total of 20 people being asked the same questions, with 9 being boys and 11 being girls all around the demographic age of 17 - 18.
Question 1 'Do you and your friends listen to the same musical genre?'
We found that 15 out of the 20 people asked listened to the same musical genre as their friends, with 2 saying they like different music to each other and 3 people saying they listen to some of the same music.
This showed us how a lot of friends actually have similar tastes in music. This made us think about our audience for our music video. And how similar tastes in music could effect that.
Question 2 'Do you only listen to what’s in the charts?',
Because the demographic age we asked the questionnaire to was 17/18 years old it was expected that the majority of people said that they only listened to music in the charts with 18 people. The remaining 2 said they liked a mixture of old and new music.
This shows a mainstream music is a lot more popular, and how mostly pop, rock and r&b dominate the charts which gave us an idea to what genre was the favourite amongst people.
Question 3 'Where do you most enjoy listening to music?'
15 people most enjoyed listening to music in a club, 3 said with their friends socially and 2 said staying at home. We can conclude from this that music is a very social activity.
Question 4 'Why do you listen to music'.
10 people said its for fun, 9 people said it relaxes them and 1 person said they wanted a career in the music industry.
This shows us music is something people enjoy doing, but also that it relaxes them. its important to realise how a song can instantly change someones mood and how a song can have a lot of meaning to one particular person.
Question 5 'How do you mostly consume music?'.
This question gave us the most varied and spread res ponce and no more than 5 people selected one way in which they consume their music. 5 people said the Internet (downloading sites such as I-Tunes). Also with the increase in the amount of music channels available and the range of music you can listen to 3 people said television. 4 people said the radio and 3 people said my Ipod/MP3.
With technology always developing its no surprise the most popular way of consuming music was via the Internet.
Question 6 'Do you prefer your music videos to be professionally done or a more raw and edgy style?',
12 people said they preferred it professionally done,7 people said they preferred it edgy and 1 person said they didn't mind.
This tells us that professional more sleek music videos are the favourite, however we realise there is a limit to how professional we can make our own music video look because of the lack of technology.
Question 1 'Do you and your friends listen to the same musical genre?'
We found that 15 out of the 20 people asked listened to the same musical genre as their friends, with 2 saying they like different music to each other and 3 people saying they listen to some of the same music.
This showed us how a lot of friends actually have similar tastes in music. This made us think about our audience for our music video. And how similar tastes in music could effect that.
Question 2 'Do you only listen to what’s in the charts?',
Because the demographic age we asked the questionnaire to was 17/18 years old it was expected that the majority of people said that they only listened to music in the charts with 18 people. The remaining 2 said they liked a mixture of old and new music.
This shows a mainstream music is a lot more popular, and how mostly pop, rock and r&b dominate the charts which gave us an idea to what genre was the favourite amongst people.
Question 3 'Where do you most enjoy listening to music?'
15 people most enjoyed listening to music in a club, 3 said with their friends socially and 2 said staying at home. We can conclude from this that music is a very social activity.
Question 4 'Why do you listen to music'.
10 people said its for fun, 9 people said it relaxes them and 1 person said they wanted a career in the music industry.
This shows us music is something people enjoy doing, but also that it relaxes them. its important to realise how a song can instantly change someones mood and how a song can have a lot of meaning to one particular person.
Question 5 'How do you mostly consume music?'.
This question gave us the most varied and spread res ponce and no more than 5 people selected one way in which they consume their music. 5 people said the Internet (downloading sites such as I-Tunes). Also with the increase in the amount of music channels available and the range of music you can listen to 3 people said television. 4 people said the radio and 3 people said my Ipod/MP3.
With technology always developing its no surprise the most popular way of consuming music was via the Internet.
Question 6 'Do you prefer your music videos to be professionally done or a more raw and edgy style?',
12 people said they preferred it professionally done,7 people said they preferred it edgy and 1 person said they didn't mind.
This tells us that professional more sleek music videos are the favourite, however we realise there is a limit to how professional we can make our own music video look because of the lack of technology.
Music Questionnaire 2
Musical Genres
(Please tick next to the answer which most applies to you)
1) Do you and your friends listen to the same musical genre
- Yes of course that’s what made us friends in the first place
- Sometimes, but we like some different music to each other
- No, we have different tastes in music
2) Do you only listen to what’s in the charts?
-Yes of course, that’s what’s cool and trendy
-It varies; I listen to a mixture of recent and old music
-No I like unsigned bands, or old classics
3) Where do you most enjoy listening to music?
-At home
-With your friends socially
-In a club
-On your ipod, so no one else can listen
4) Why do you listen to music?
-To relax me
-For fun
-I’m considering a career in music
5) How do you mostly consume music?
- My Ipod/MP3
- The Radio
- Gigs/Music festivals
- Internet. (Downloading sites such as Itunes)
- Television and TV shows such as MTV
- Other
6) Do you prefer your music videos to be professionally done or a more raw and edgy style?
- Definitely professional
- Raw and edgy
- No preference
Thank you for taking your time to fill out this questionnaire!
(Please tick next to the answer which most applies to you)
1) Do you and your friends listen to the same musical genre
- Yes of course that’s what made us friends in the first place
- Sometimes, but we like some different music to each other
- No, we have different tastes in music
2) Do you only listen to what’s in the charts?
-Yes of course, that’s what’s cool and trendy
-It varies; I listen to a mixture of recent and old music
-No I like unsigned bands, or old classics
3) Where do you most enjoy listening to music?
-At home
-With your friends socially
-In a club
-On your ipod, so no one else can listen
4) Why do you listen to music?
-To relax me
-For fun
-I’m considering a career in music
5) How do you mostly consume music?
- My Ipod/MP3
- The Radio
- Gigs/Music festivals
- Internet. (Downloading sites such as Itunes)
- Television and TV shows such as MTV
- Other
6) Do you prefer your music videos to be professionally done or a more raw and edgy style?
- Definitely professional
- Raw and edgy
- No preference
Thank you for taking your time to fill out this questionnaire!
Results of Questionnaire 1
Here of the reuslts of our questionnaire
1) Gender
I tried to get a balance in the gender of people i asked, to get more accurate research.
2) Age
Again i wanted balanced research so tried to get people of a range of ages.
3) Favourite Genre
The favourite genre here appeared to r&b, this was important in choosing what type of genre my own music video would be for.
4) What Music videos do you prefer?
This showed me it was important to have a story line throughout my music video, an exciting but simple narrative which was easy for my audience to follow.
5) Do you like to see Special Effects or Animations in music videos?
It was important for me to use some kind of effects in my own music video, to make it seem more professional. Adding effects would make it more exciting and different to sustain the audience attention.
6) What is the most appealing thing in a music video to you?
Because of the wide range of answers I've just put up a couple that were popular.
Ultimately i learnt from this it was about making your music video different unique but also have a good narrative almost like a mini film.
7) Does a good music video enhance the song?
I saw here how important a good music video was to the promotion of a track, having something for the audience to identify a song with and something that would stick in there mind. If they like the video they're going to continue to listen to the song and vice versa.
8) What is your favourite music video?
Again there wasn't one fixed answer for this, there was so many different ones.
I've chosen to put up a few that kept re-occurring.
9) What makes it your favourite?
From this I've learnt that dance routines that can be copied by everyone are extremely beneficial to a music video but also, the location of a music video are just as important.
10) Whats the worst thing to put in a music video, what you wouldn't like to see?
Again i had a number of answers but the most popular ones were:
This was because it was hard for the audience to associate with them and didn't sustain there attention as much as real life figures.
By doing this Questionnaire i feel i gained a lot of information about what made a good music video and what made a bad music video. It definitely pointed me in the right direction as what to include in my own music video.
1) Gender
- Male: 23
- Female: 27
I tried to get a balance in the gender of people i asked, to get more accurate research.
2) Age
- 16 and below : 12
- 18-25: 14
- 25-35: 13
- 35+ : 11
Again i wanted balanced research so tried to get people of a range of ages.
3) Favourite Genre
- Pop : 10
- Rock : 7
- Classical: 2
- Indie: 9
- Hip Hop Or Rap: 5
- R&B: 12
- Dance : 5
The favourite genre here appeared to r&b, this was important in choosing what type of genre my own music video would be for.
4) What Music videos do you prefer?
- Abstract: 17
- Narrative: 33
This showed me it was important to have a story line throughout my music video, an exciting but simple narrative which was easy for my audience to follow.
5) Do you like to see Special Effects or Animations in music videos?
- Yes: 37
- No: 13
It was important for me to use some kind of effects in my own music video, to make it seem more professional. Adding effects would make it more exciting and different to sustain the audience attention.
6) What is the most appealing thing in a music video to you?
Because of the wide range of answers I've just put up a couple that were popular.
- A lot of people said the actual story line, something that's intriguing to watch and keeps them watching.
- Another popular one was the mis-en-scene, the costumes of characters, the locations etc.
- And finally the special effects used, something that makes it stand out an does something different than others.
Ultimately i learnt from this it was about making your music video different unique but also have a good narrative almost like a mini film.
7) Does a good music video enhance the song?
- Yes: 39
- No: 11
I saw here how important a good music video was to the promotion of a track, having something for the audience to identify a song with and something that would stick in there mind. If they like the video they're going to continue to listen to the song and vice versa.
8) What is your favourite music video?
Again there wasn't one fixed answer for this, there was so many different ones.
I've chosen to put up a few that kept re-occurring.
- Firstly 'Beyonce - Single ladies' was extremely popular.
- Along with 'The King of Leon - Sex is on fire'
9) What makes it your favourite?
- Beyonces video was popular for the dance routine, the simple idea of 3 woman on a white background doing one dance.
- The King of Leon's song was said to be a favourite because people just loved the song. They also liked the location and the dark feel it had to it.
From this I've learnt that dance routines that can be copied by everyone are extremely beneficial to a music video but also, the location of a music video are just as important.
10) Whats the worst thing to put in a music video, what you wouldn't like to see?
Again i had a number of answers but the most popular ones were:
- cartoons or animated figures
This was because it was hard for the audience to associate with them and didn't sustain there attention as much as real life figures.
By doing this Questionnaire i feel i gained a lot of information about what made a good music video and what made a bad music video. It definitely pointed me in the right direction as what to include in my own music video.
Website Page for Artist
The Brief was to design a website home page for our artist. We decided to do this via myspace. Myspace is a networking site but also well know place for new artists to get recognised. With Technology as it is today, it was important for our artist to have a page which could display the music.
Myspace has a huge community over the world, it is a chance for an artist to also write a personal profile, as well as people being able to listen to their music find out about concert dates etc.
We designed it in a way we thought was suitable for the Artist Nneka here is a link for the page:
www.myspace.com/nnekaegbuna
Myspace has a huge community over the world, it is a chance for an artist to also write a personal profile, as well as people being able to listen to their music find out about concert dates etc.
We designed it in a way we thought was suitable for the Artist Nneka here is a link for the page:
www.myspace.com/nnekaegbuna
Locations And Characters
We took photos of each character and each location for planning purposes. This shows how we constructed each scenes and characters to fit the particular situation for each.
Pregnancy Scene
Location: Bathroom
Character : Candice
Drug Addict Scene
Location: Local Park
Character: Lucy
Couple Scene
Location: Chloe's House
Character 1: Chloe
Character 2: Ainsley
Pregnancy Scene
Location: Bathroom
Character : Candice
Drug Addict Scene
Location: Local Park
Character: Lucy
Couple Scene
Location: Chloe's House
Character 1: Chloe
Character 2: Ainsley
Lighting for our music video
Lighting is really important in created a certain mood or atmosphere. For the majority of our music video we want to create a more dark mood, to reflect how our characters are feeling. But it is important for us to show a contrast in lighint between the characters and our female vocalist.
Scene 1 : Female Vocalist And Drummer (Field)
We wanted a lot of light here and timed it for when the sun was at its brightest, this gave a really good effect and a lot of light as well.
Scene 2 : Child Alone
We wanted quite low key lighting here so we had shadows as well as creating a darker mood.
Scene 3 : Drug Addict
We wanted this scence almost dark, but enough so you could tell what the character was doing, it also made the scene more effective with the headlights of cars passing.
Scene 4: Pregnancy
This scene was shot in a house so we wanted the lighting at a medium, to fit with the location.
Scene 5: Couple At Dinner
The location here was again a house, so we wanted the lighting again at a medium, the lighting wasn't as important in this scene as the others.
Scene 6: The Rose
We wanted quite low key lighting here but complete focus on the rose to do this we used a torch to centralize the rose.
Scene 7: Female Vocalist (White Wall)
The location is pretty self explanatory, we wanted as much light as possible to contrast from the more darker scenes, we used a lot of big lights to give us very high key lighting.
Scene 1 : Female Vocalist And Drummer (Field)
We wanted a lot of light here and timed it for when the sun was at its brightest, this gave a really good effect and a lot of light as well.
Scene 2 : Child Alone
We wanted quite low key lighting here so we had shadows as well as creating a darker mood.
Scene 3 : Drug Addict
We wanted this scence almost dark, but enough so you could tell what the character was doing, it also made the scene more effective with the headlights of cars passing.
Scene 4: Pregnancy
This scene was shot in a house so we wanted the lighting at a medium, to fit with the location.
Scene 5: Couple At Dinner
The location here was again a house, so we wanted the lighting again at a medium, the lighting wasn't as important in this scene as the others.
Scene 6: The Rose
We wanted quite low key lighting here but complete focus on the rose to do this we used a torch to centralize the rose.
Scene 7: Female Vocalist (White Wall)
The location is pretty self explanatory, we wanted as much light as possible to contrast from the more darker scenes, we used a lot of big lights to give us very high key lighting.
Music video Questionnaire 1
To give us more of an idea about what sort of music video to create we designed a questionnaire to ask a range of people of all ages what they looked for in a music video, what they preffered and what genre was their favourite. We understand everyone has different tastes so we wanted to explore this as much as possible:
Gender:
Male//Female
Age:
16 and below // 18-25 // 25-35 // 35+
What is your favourite type of music?
Pop // Rock // Classical // R&B // Hip-hop or Rap // Indie // Dance
Other, please specify ......................................
Which Music Videos do you prefer?
Abstract // Narrative(fits with lyrics)
Do you like to see Special Effects or Animations in music videos?
Yes // No
What is the most appealing thing in a music thing to you?
......................................................................................................................................................
Does a good music video enhance the song?
Yes // No
What is your favourite music video?
......................................................................
What makes it your favourite ?
....................................................................................................................................
Whats the worst thing to put in a music video, what you wouldn't like to see?
..................................................................................................................................................
This questionnaire gave us a good idea of what the auidence wants to see from a music video, what was appealing to them and what wasn't. It also showed us how important a music video was to the actual track.
Gender:
Male//Female
Age:
16 and below // 18-25 // 25-35 // 35+
What is your favourite type of music?
Pop // Rock // Classical // R&B // Hip-hop or Rap // Indie // Dance
Other, please specify ......................................
Which Music Videos do you prefer?
Abstract // Narrative(fits with lyrics)
Do you like to see Special Effects or Animations in music videos?
Yes // No
What is the most appealing thing in a music thing to you?
......................................................................................................................................................
Does a good music video enhance the song?
Yes // No
What is your favourite music video?
......................................................................
What makes it your favourite ?
....................................................................................................................................
Whats the worst thing to put in a music video, what you wouldn't like to see?
..................................................................................................................................................
This questionnaire gave us a good idea of what the auidence wants to see from a music video, what was appealing to them and what wasn't. It also showed us how important a music video was to the actual track.
Briefs
Along with our actual music video we had to create several more things these are the possible briefs given:
1. A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following three options:
• A website homepage for the band;
• A cover for its release as part of a digipak (CD/DVD package);
•A magazine advertisement for the digipak (CD/DVD package).
We decided to create a website for our band, via myspace music and a cover for the release of the track
1. A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following three options:
• A website homepage for the band;
• A cover for its release as part of a digipak (CD/DVD package);
•A magazine advertisement for the digipak (CD/DVD package).
We decided to create a website for our band, via myspace music and a cover for the release of the track
Music Videos to analyse: Beyonce
To get inspiration for our own music video, it was crucial to look at some others and analyse them in detail. We decided to analyse 'Beyonce - Broken Hearted girl', this was due to its scene with the rose we wanted to create something similar to this and also were considering putting some of our parts in black and white.
Artist: Beyonce
Song: Broken-hearted girl
Record Label: Columbia Records
Video Director: Sophie Muller
This video is based on a pretty simple idea - a woman on a beach but with the use of camera effects and different shots it is made to look extremely professional.
Camera shots: The first scene is an aerial shot of a car driving, we then cut to a close up of the artist inside of her car. There is then a shot from behind the artist watching her walk further away from the camera. Throughout the whole video, the camera cuts away from the close ups of the artist in the car, to a mixture of long shots, medium and more close ups on the beach. The whole use of close ups really shows the audience the emotion within the female character. Emotion being the key factor of this video and the song.
The majority of this music video is in black and white, i think this was chosen to reflect the mood of the song, the female character is dressed in white also where as the male character is dressed in black, two very contrasting colours which also appear to darken the mood. The lighting whilst the video is in black and white is very low-key supporting the kind of atmosphere the video is trying to create. The use of darker lighting and the black&white effect also draw attention to the characters themselves, making them the focus for the audience. The narrative throughout the video is clear and important for the audience to grasp, it is based on the theme of love. There is all a lot of overlapping with the shots, a water mark effect and shots fading in and out. The editing is quite slow-paced to fit with the track itself, which allows the narrative to unfold.
Further into the music video, there is a change, we then see the video in full colour, completely contrasting from the rest and with it completely changing the mood. The lighting is then very high key, ultimately showing a happy ending. The use of a rose kind of symbolises the love in the video, we see the rose petals fall off but then with the use of the reverse effect the petals become stuck back onto the stem. Showing the love is not dead. We thought this was really simple yet clever effect which is why we decided to add this to our own music video.
The final shot reverts back to the original shot where the female character is in her car, it is a close up shot but this time we see the character smiling, ending on a final high.
Artist: Beyonce
Song: Broken-hearted girl
Record Label: Columbia Records
Video Director: Sophie Muller
This video is based on a pretty simple idea - a woman on a beach but with the use of camera effects and different shots it is made to look extremely professional.
Camera shots: The first scene is an aerial shot of a car driving, we then cut to a close up of the artist inside of her car. There is then a shot from behind the artist watching her walk further away from the camera. Throughout the whole video, the camera cuts away from the close ups of the artist in the car, to a mixture of long shots, medium and more close ups on the beach. The whole use of close ups really shows the audience the emotion within the female character. Emotion being the key factor of this video and the song.
The majority of this music video is in black and white, i think this was chosen to reflect the mood of the song, the female character is dressed in white also where as the male character is dressed in black, two very contrasting colours which also appear to darken the mood. The lighting whilst the video is in black and white is very low-key supporting the kind of atmosphere the video is trying to create. The use of darker lighting and the black&white effect also draw attention to the characters themselves, making them the focus for the audience. The narrative throughout the video is clear and important for the audience to grasp, it is based on the theme of love. There is all a lot of overlapping with the shots, a water mark effect and shots fading in and out. The editing is quite slow-paced to fit with the track itself, which allows the narrative to unfold.
Further into the music video, there is a change, we then see the video in full colour, completely contrasting from the rest and with it completely changing the mood. The lighting is then very high key, ultimately showing a happy ending. The use of a rose kind of symbolises the love in the video, we see the rose petals fall off but then with the use of the reverse effect the petals become stuck back onto the stem. Showing the love is not dead. We thought this was really simple yet clever effect which is why we decided to add this to our own music video.
The final shot reverts back to the original shot where the female character is in her car, it is a close up shot but this time we see the character smiling, ending on a final high.
Music Videos to ananlyse: Christina Aguilera
Another video to analyse was 'Christina Aguilera - Beautiful' because the story behind this video was the similar to ours, focusing on several different individuals experience several different situations.
Artist: Christina Aguilera
Song: Beautiful
Record Label: RCA Records
Video Director: Jonas Åkerlund
Camera Shots: The opening of the video focuses on the artist herself, with number of close ups, there is also then 2 cuts to two different scenes, these which include long shots of two different characters. We then go back to the artist, in an extreme long shot but also an establishing shot, showing the location. This being a dark dingy room with the artist in the corner. There is also an effect which is sort of like a key hole effect focusing entirely on the artist. The majority of the video is similar to beyonces, cutting away from close ups on the artist to a combination of more close ups, medium shots and long shots on the several different characters shown in the video. These shots show and follow the stories of the characters.
The lighting throughout is again quite low key and dim. Fitting with the mood of the song. The pace of the editing is pretty slow, but tends to speed up on the final chorus towards the end, it builds up but then slows back down at the very end.
The focus through is mainly centralized towards the characters and there different situations and the following issues; anorexia, a transvestite, sexual orientation, and bullying. These are very hard-hitting issues and some that people may find uncomfortable however they are all shown here in a positive light and approached in a clever way.
The mood of the video changes to end on a positive, we see the characters than have been sad throughout smile and seem happy. This change of mood is something we picked up on in a lot of narrated music videos, due to this we wanted to create the same with ours and end on a positive.
Artist: Christina Aguilera
Song: Beautiful
Record Label: RCA Records
Video Director: Jonas Åkerlund
Camera Shots: The opening of the video focuses on the artist herself, with number of close ups, there is also then 2 cuts to two different scenes, these which include long shots of two different characters. We then go back to the artist, in an extreme long shot but also an establishing shot, showing the location. This being a dark dingy room with the artist in the corner. There is also an effect which is sort of like a key hole effect focusing entirely on the artist. The majority of the video is similar to beyonces, cutting away from close ups on the artist to a combination of more close ups, medium shots and long shots on the several different characters shown in the video. These shots show and follow the stories of the characters.
The lighting throughout is again quite low key and dim. Fitting with the mood of the song. The pace of the editing is pretty slow, but tends to speed up on the final chorus towards the end, it builds up but then slows back down at the very end.
The focus through is mainly centralized towards the characters and there different situations and the following issues; anorexia, a transvestite, sexual orientation, and bullying. These are very hard-hitting issues and some that people may find uncomfortable however they are all shown here in a positive light and approached in a clever way.
The mood of the video changes to end on a positive, we see the characters than have been sad throughout smile and seem happy. This change of mood is something we picked up on in a lot of narrated music videos, due to this we wanted to create the same with ours and end on a positive.
Tuesday, 1 December 2009
Forms And Conventions
We looked at some of the typical conventions shown in different genre's of music this would help us to define our genre and give us even more idea's for our own music video. It is also important to see how and why each genre differentiates from its content.
Target Audience
After researching the artist Nneka and the genre of the track, an Afro-beat genre, but also influenced by R&b and Hip-hop artists, this song can be associated with several different genres. We are definitely aiming for a more main stream audience, and because it involves several different sounds to it, i think it could be targeted to quite a wide audience and a range of different tastes. I think the audience would definitely be a more older one though, children wouldn't be included in the target audience more of 16+ age group. This is due to the more serious side of the song, the video and lyrics bring up more deeper social issues that younger children wouldn't be able to understand or want to for that matter of fact. There is also a reference to her culture, the whole music video is contains raw footage of her life in Nigeria and emphasis on her culture, so i think people that can also associate with this would be part of the target audience too. There are also several different remixes of the song which can then apply to an even more wider audience. But for our audience i definitely feel it would be an older range of people, who enjoy this different kind of music but also can identify with the lyrics.
Nneka Heatbeat
We studied the lyrics of the song, to see what we could draw out from these and how we could fit our music video around what was actually being sang. This helped us with coming up with idea's and we were able to grasp the meaning of the song.
You said you'd be there for me
In times of trouble when I need you and I'm down
And likewise you need friendship
It's from my side pure love but I see lately things have been changing
You have goals to achieve
But the roads you take are broad are heartless
That wants you make another way
You throw stones
Can you see that I am human I am breathing
But you don't give a damn
Chorus:
Can you feel my heart is beating
Can you see the pain you're causing
Can you feel my heart is beating
Can you see the pain you're causing
Blood blood blood...blood is rushing
And now the world is asleep
How will you ever wake her up when she is deep in her dreams, wishing
And yet so many die
And still we think that it is all about us
It's all about you
You sold your soul to the evil and the lust
And the passion and the money and you
See the same ones die, people hunger for decades
Suffer under civilized armedrobbers, modern slaveholders
Chorus
Can you feel my heart is beating
Can you see the pain you're causing
Can you feel my heart is beating
Can you see the pain you're causing
Blood blood blood.... keeps rushing
Evaded, eliminated, erased, interrogated
Our tradition, our love for our fellow countrymen,
Our property, our resources - our pride
Can you feel my heart beating
No no no...you don't
Chorus:
Can you feel my heart is beating
Can you feel the pain you're causing
Can you feel my heart is beating
Can you feel the pain you're causing
We also looked at her own music video, just so we could get a feel for the song, and make
something completely different but with a similar meaning still. Seeing that it was based it her
home town, Nigeria, it showed us her own life, and just how personal this song was to her.
The video itself wasn't that fancy itself, it looks more amateur than most we see on the music
channels today. However i think this is the effect that the artist and production wanted to create
to show the realiness of what was happening in the video.
About the Artist
Nneka Egbuna was born in a small town called Warri in Nigeria in 1981 and used to sing in her school’s and church choir in Nigeria. She says “In my life the only places I really felt secure were and still are in the Music and in the Lord“.
After relocating to Germany she’s been singing professionally for 5 years now. Her influences reflect her younger days in Nigeria as well as her time in the western world as she names famous compatriot Fela Kuti and legend Bob Marley as well as contemporary rappers Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Mobb Deep and Lauryn Hill.
Musically her songs range from deep soulful ballads to modern reinventions of the UK sound, and funk-driven Hip Hop tracks. Even though she sings more than raps, she claims Hip Hop as her primary musical roots and an important source of her inspiration. You can call it Hip-hop Soul, if you want to, but as most real artist, Nneka doesn’t like labels. Even more important for her thoughtful lyrics are her origin and up bringing in Nigeria.'I get inspired when I take a severe look at the things going on in our world today; especially in my country. How people live, suffer and endure pain, politicians and religion. And when I see all that man has evoked and created out of self-centeredness and devotion to material things“, she rants.
Due to what Nneka says here we wanted to show this in our music video, the contrast of people's life, the suffer which occurs, and explore these different issues which occur every day. We felt it was important to really understand the artist which would then influence our idea's for our own music video for one of her singles.
Wednesday, 11 November 2009
Equipment
Similar to the props, this is a list of all the equipment we need, not to be in our music video but to actually make the music video itself. These parts were extremely important as we would not be able to film with these.
- Camera
- Digital Camera
- Tri-pod
- Music + Lyrics
- Camera
- Digital Camera
- Tri-pod
- Music + Lyrics
Props
We then needed to make a list of every prop we were going to use, this was vital because then we knew exactly what we needed to get and in what scene we needed to use it. This meant we could film straight having already got everything we needed.
Items needed are:
- Microphone
- Drums
- Microphone stand
- Handbag
- Pregnancy test
- Seringe
- Lighter
- Rope
- Dinner set
- Candles
- Wine glasses
- Rose Petals
- Plates, knives&forks etc.
- Rose
- Mirror
Items needed are:
- Microphone
- Drums
- Microphone stand
- Handbag
- Pregnancy test
- Seringe
- Lighter
- Rope
- Dinner set
- Candles
- Wine glasses
- Rose Petals
- Plates, knives&forks etc.
- Rose
- Mirror
Locations
These are the locations we decided on for each scene, it was important that we got these right as we needed to scenary to match the sitatuation of the person. It was also important to note that if it was outside what time of the day would we want to film etc. All of this needed to be just right to make our music video as effective as possible.
1) Woman running away
- Common Field
- Dark/ dusk
- Street lights
2) Pregnant woman
- Small toilets
- Possibly public or school
- Lonely
3) Drug abuser
- Dark / dingy
- Small
- Hardly any furniture
4) Abandoned child
- Motorway bridge
- Busy
- Dark
5) Relationship Break up / meal
- Nice house
- Dinner table
- Clean and tidy
6) Singer / drummer
- College, white background
- Minimal
- focus on drums and singers face
1) Woman running away
- Common Field
- Dark/ dusk
- Street lights
2) Pregnant woman
- Small toilets
- Possibly public or school
- Lonely
3) Drug abuser
- Dark / dingy
- Small
- Hardly any furniture
4) Abandoned child
- Motorway bridge
- Busy
- Dark
5) Relationship Break up / meal
- Nice house
- Dinner table
- Clean and tidy
6) Singer / drummer
- College, white background
- Minimal
- focus on drums and singers face
Extra's Needed
This is just for other things we will need to create our music video all the miscillaneous objects. These are important because we wanted to add effects and quick cuts in we found that simply objects used in music video edited in a particular way were really effective.
- Rose petals being pulled off - re winded
- Mirror broken/ glass - re winded
- Traffic (night) - fast pace
- Emphasis words - love, blood, heart beat
- Clock
- Drum - beat
- Black and white & Sepia effects
- Letterbox frame
- Rose petals being pulled off - re winded
- Mirror broken/ glass - re winded
- Traffic (night) - fast pace
- Emphasis words - love, blood, heart beat
- Clock
- Drum - beat
- Black and white & Sepia effects
- Letterbox frame
Character List
Because we had so many characters we needed to find someone to play each, this list shows who is playing what part in what scene:
Woman running away - Jess Johnson
Pregnant woman - Candice Mcmullin
Drug Abuser - Lucy Fell
Abandoned child - Teylor Webber
Relationship break up woman - Chloe Dennis
Relatioship break up man - Ainsley Griffith
Young child - Scarlett Evans
Female Vocalist - Natasha Wootton
Male Drummer - Adam Howard
Woman running away - Jess Johnson
Pregnant woman - Candice Mcmullin
Drug Abuser - Lucy Fell
Abandoned child - Teylor Webber
Relationship break up woman - Chloe Dennis
Relatioship break up man - Ainsley Griffith
Young child - Scarlett Evans
Female Vocalist - Natasha Wootton
Male Drummer - Adam Howard
Costumes
Having already discussed how impotant the costumes of our characters are, we went on to further planning as to what each person would where in each scene, and how we want them to look on other aspects aswell.
Female vocalist
- Rocky/edgey
- Possibly 'boho'
- Dark make up - eyes
- Full fringe
- Volumised hair
- Leather jacket?
- Silver / black / grey
Male drummer
- Simple clothes
- Tshirt
- Jeans
- stylish hair
Pregnant woman
- Plain clothes
- Jeans
- Tshirt
- Minimal
Drug abuser
- Mascara down face
- Messy hair
- Dirty clothes
- Old clothes
Abandoned child
- Wrapped up, coat scalf hat
- Pale colours (innocence)
Break up man & woman
- Work outfit
- Smartly dressed
- Black / grey
Woman running away
- Casual dressed
- Bag
Female vocalist
- Rocky/edgey
- Possibly 'boho'
- Dark make up - eyes
- Full fringe
- Volumised hair
- Leather jacket?
- Silver / black / grey
Male drummer
- Simple clothes
- Tshirt
- Jeans
- stylish hair
Pregnant woman
- Plain clothes
- Jeans
- Tshirt
- Minimal
Drug abuser
- Mascara down face
- Messy hair
- Dirty clothes
- Old clothes
Abandoned child
- Wrapped up, coat scalf hat
- Pale colours (innocence)
Break up man & woman
- Work outfit
- Smartly dressed
- Black / grey
Woman running away
- Casual dressed
- Bag
Mis-En-Scene
Mis-en-scene meaning everything inside a scene, like props, lighting costumes etc. We realise its important to consider each one of these factors as they contribute a whole deal to our music video. In some cases they set the mood, give off a certain vibe show you about a character etc.
Lighting: We want to create a certain effect in some scenes, particular when it comes to our main singer, we want several lights on her so she is in the spotlight. For this we main need to borrow lights or even hire some to make sure we give the right effect for that particular scene.
Props: Props are extremely important, the content of a scene can show where that character is, what that character is doing. It is important we make a list of these so we know what we need and for what scene so we can each prop for that particular
scene.
Location: Location was vital, we needed the right place to send off the right mood and reflect the situation the character was in.
Costumes: We needed the right costumers for each character, what they looked like would immediately give an impression off to our audiences so it was important we got this right.
This is an example of the type of scene we would like to create:
Lighting: We want to create a certain effect in some scenes, particular when it comes to our main singer, we want several lights on her so she is in the spotlight. For this we main need to borrow lights or even hire some to make sure we give the right effect for that particular scene.
Props: Props are extremely important, the content of a scene can show where that character is, what that character is doing. It is important we make a list of these so we know what we need and for what scene so we can each prop for that particular
scene.
Location: Location was vital, we needed the right place to send off the right mood and reflect the situation the character was in.
Costumes: We needed the right costumers for each character, what they looked like would immediately give an impression off to our audiences so it was important we got this right.
This is an example of the type of scene we would like to create:
Content of our music video
Due to the lyric in our chosen song, we decided the meaning behing the lyrics was all about suffering and pain. And the ignorance towards these things. So for our music video we wanted to show the same suffering throughout, we decided to do this by showing a number of different situations in which someone was was expieriencing pain. In order to show this clearly in our music video we planned each seen throughlly before hand so we knew exactly what the objective for each different sitatuion was.
1) Woman running away from home
- Posh house, showing it doesnt matter how wealthy are.
- Bedgragled, looks a mess!
- Lipstick up face, normally tidy hair falling out.
- Bag with a few things in , falling out shows rush
2) Pregnant woman
> Sitting on her own, lonely
> Got no family
> Crying in a messy room
3) Drug abuser
> Either alcohol, pills, needle to show extremity
> Alleyway/field or dark room
> Untidy, messy, dirty apearance
4) Abandoned child
> Innocence
> On there own, no one around
> Possibly crossing a busy road or on motorway bridge
> Poverty
5) Relationship break up
> Abuse / verbal
> Throwing objects around
> Man walking out, woman left to clean up
> Heart-break
6) Meal
> Woman laid out a nice meal
> Table set, candles out
> Sat waiting for husband
> He comes in late and doesn't bother with her
> Either drunk/ ignores/ doesn't come
7) Young child
> On her own
> Possibly care seat or car
> Possibly at park
> Left to play alone
1) Woman running away from home
- Posh house, showing it doesnt matter how wealthy are.
- Bedgragled, looks a mess!
- Lipstick up face, normally tidy hair falling out.
- Bag with a few things in , falling out shows rush
2) Pregnant woman
> Sitting on her own, lonely
> Got no family
> Crying in a messy room
3) Drug abuser
> Either alcohol, pills, needle to show extremity
> Alleyway/field or dark room
> Untidy, messy, dirty apearance
4) Abandoned child
> Innocence
> On there own, no one around
> Possibly crossing a busy road or on motorway bridge
> Poverty
5) Relationship break up
> Abuse / verbal
> Throwing objects around
> Man walking out, woman left to clean up
> Heart-break
6) Meal
> Woman laid out a nice meal
> Table set, candles out
> Sat waiting for husband
> He comes in late and doesn't bother with her
> Either drunk/ ignores/ doesn't come
7) Young child
> On her own
> Possibly care seat or car
> Possibly at park
> Left to play alone
Our Final Choice
We decided on Nneka - heartbeat because it was a different sounding song, and had a strong beat throughout. We had plenty of idea's and felt we were capable of creating something effective for this. Here is our brainstorm of idea's for what we felt the music video could include.
Possible Sound Tracks
When deciding what song we would use for our music video, it was important for us to consider all options and what we thought we could create something for. We also wanted to look at different genre's so we had a variety of idea's. In order to do this we brain stormed all our possible options considering what we could do for each one and then ulitmately deciding on just one. We came up these 3 songs and then went on into more detail about the music video itself.
We then consider which of the elements we would put into each and which we felt was possible to create but which would also be effective.
Timbaland - Bounce
Step up 2 - Mash up
Nneka - Heartbeat
- Timbaland - bounce
- Step up 2 - mash up
- Nneka - Heartbeat
We then consider which of the elements we would put into each and which we felt was possible to create but which would also be effective.
Timbaland - Bounce
- graphics on a white background
- artistic
- bright colours
- special effects
- quick cuts
- electro vibe
Step up 2 - Mash up
- contrasting dance styles
- ballet to street dance
- fast past, quick cuts
Nneka - Heartbeat
- focus on drum beat
- drum kit
- different life stories
- suffering
- e.g. running away, drug abuser
- focus on lyrics
- meaning of words
The History of Music Videos
Music videos were first produced in 1926 due to the arrival of the sound films and talkies. Vita phone shorts, which were produced by Warner Bros, featured many bands, vocalists and dancers. The series entitled Spooney Melodies was the first true musical video series. The shorts were typically about six minutes in duration, and featured art deco style animations and backgrounds combined with film of the performer singing the song. This series of shorts can arguably be considered to be the earliest music videos.
Animation artist Max Fleischer introduced a series of sing-along short cartoons called Screen Songs, which invited audiences to sing along to popular songs by 'following the bouncing ball'. Early 1930s cartoons featured popular musicians performing their hit songs on-camera in live-action segments during the cartoons. Blues singer Bessie Smith appeared in a two-reel short film called St. Louis Blues featuring a dramatized performance of the hit song. It was shown in theatres until 1932. Numerous other musicians appeared in short musical subjects during this period. Later, in the mid-1940s, musician Louis Jordan made short films for his songs, some of which were spliced together into a feature film Lookout Sister; these films were, according to music historian Donald Clarke, the ancestors of music videos.
This was one of the first music videos to ever be made:
Music videos represent a crucial part of the music industry. Artists owe their careers to music videos as they are being given the chance of impressing the public not just with their vocal talent, but also with their looks or moves.
Thirty years ago, music video used to be less important then it is nowadays. MTV (Music Television) was the phenomenon that gave so much power and importance to the music video. MTV started broadcasting in 1981 in the USA and it marked the beginning of the music video’s ruling over the music industry. The first video ever played on MTV was ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ by The Buggles. As MTV was broadcasting 24-hour-a-day music, music videos were needed to be produced. Consequently, music video began to play an important role in artists’ careers. It is considered that even Madonna’s career has been greatly influenced by her videos that presented a sexy, appealing look of the artist. Some experts say that Madonna has been inspired by the image that the actress Greta Garbo has used in her silent movies. MTV has been highly controversial: some saw as the beginning of an amazing, new, fresh era in music, others considered it to mark the end of true musical talent, as artists have been become more appreciated for their looks instead of their vocal abilities.
Nowadays, the music video is as important as the song itself, sometimes even deciding the success of a song or artist. Collections of music videos are being sold on tapes or DVDs. Music video’s greatest fans are apparently watching them muted just to enjoy their artistic value, as they consider it to be a new form of art. They consider that a music video should be assessed based on its visual qualities and not on the song quality. It seems that the music ‘gurus’, corporate managers, have realised the potential of using female sex-appeal in music videos, therefore this feature is being used excessively as it is more popular for the public.
There are numerous music channels available today that broadcast a particular genre of music video. These are easy accessible, plus sites like YouTube allow you to view exactly the same thing via the Internet.
Here is an example of one of the latest music videos:
Comparing this music video to the first ever one really shows us how much technology has change, has developed. Things directors are now able to do which previously would of been impossible. The themes behind the music videos are completely different the style etc.
It was important for me to go back to the roots of music videos, as i feel this research will help me in creating my own. I now understand the reasons behind why music videos were first created and the intentions of music videos. Today music videos are essential into the promotion of a single and an everyday part of an artists career.
Animation artist Max Fleischer introduced a series of sing-along short cartoons called Screen Songs, which invited audiences to sing along to popular songs by 'following the bouncing ball'. Early 1930s cartoons featured popular musicians performing their hit songs on-camera in live-action segments during the cartoons. Blues singer Bessie Smith appeared in a two-reel short film called St. Louis Blues featuring a dramatized performance of the hit song. It was shown in theatres until 1932. Numerous other musicians appeared in short musical subjects during this period. Later, in the mid-1940s, musician Louis Jordan made short films for his songs, some of which were spliced together into a feature film Lookout Sister; these films were, according to music historian Donald Clarke, the ancestors of music videos.
This was one of the first music videos to ever be made:
Music videos represent a crucial part of the music industry. Artists owe their careers to music videos as they are being given the chance of impressing the public not just with their vocal talent, but also with their looks or moves.
Thirty years ago, music video used to be less important then it is nowadays. MTV (Music Television) was the phenomenon that gave so much power and importance to the music video. MTV started broadcasting in 1981 in the USA and it marked the beginning of the music video’s ruling over the music industry. The first video ever played on MTV was ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ by The Buggles. As MTV was broadcasting 24-hour-a-day music, music videos were needed to be produced. Consequently, music video began to play an important role in artists’ careers. It is considered that even Madonna’s career has been greatly influenced by her videos that presented a sexy, appealing look of the artist. Some experts say that Madonna has been inspired by the image that the actress Greta Garbo has used in her silent movies. MTV has been highly controversial: some saw as the beginning of an amazing, new, fresh era in music, others considered it to mark the end of true musical talent, as artists have been become more appreciated for their looks instead of their vocal abilities.
Nowadays, the music video is as important as the song itself, sometimes even deciding the success of a song or artist. Collections of music videos are being sold on tapes or DVDs. Music video’s greatest fans are apparently watching them muted just to enjoy their artistic value, as they consider it to be a new form of art. They consider that a music video should be assessed based on its visual qualities and not on the song quality. It seems that the music ‘gurus’, corporate managers, have realised the potential of using female sex-appeal in music videos, therefore this feature is being used excessively as it is more popular for the public.
There are numerous music channels available today that broadcast a particular genre of music video. These are easy accessible, plus sites like YouTube allow you to view exactly the same thing via the Internet.
Here is an example of one of the latest music videos:
Comparing this music video to the first ever one really shows us how much technology has change, has developed. Things directors are now able to do which previously would of been impossible. The themes behind the music videos are completely different the style etc.
It was important for me to go back to the roots of music videos, as i feel this research will help me in creating my own. I now understand the reasons behind why music videos were first created and the intentions of music videos. Today music videos are essential into the promotion of a single and an everyday part of an artists career.
Tuesday, 10 November 2009
Genre's Of Music
Music can be divided into genres in many different ways. Closely related styles can over-lap and it may be hard to label a particular artist with just one genre. Labelling music with genres often do not reflect a specific culture, race, or time period. Larger genres consist of more specific sub genres.
These are some genre's that i considered to be the main ones:
These are obviously not all the genre's you could have but some of the larger ones that can then be split up into sub-genres, music has such a wide range it is impossible to narrow every artist, down to just one of these.
These are some genre's that i considered to be the main ones:
- Rock
- Pop
- Classical
- Jazz
- Hip Hop or Rap
- R&B
- Indie
- Dance
- Alternative
These are obviously not all the genre's you could have but some of the larger ones that can then be split up into sub-genres, music has such a wide range it is impossible to narrow every artist, down to just one of these.
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