Planning - Brand Image

When researching branding for our artist, I looked at artist within the same genre but much closer and much more specific to our artist (Female/British/Pop/Dance/Artist )

ALESHA DIXON 

Alesha Dixon is a well known British pop artist. More often than not she is well pampered in her videos and is both the main character and performer in her videos. In terms of branding, it can be said that the look she goes for is a girly, sexy look, definitely directed at the male gaze. 

Upon looking at her video, we can see that she continues with the girly/sexy look. We can see that in this video she is short of clothing in some parts, supporting the notion that she is trying to attract the male gaze. This form of marketing and branding is good when trying to attract male consumers.















KATY B
Katy B is another well known female pop artist but her form of marketing and branding is much different to Alesha Dixon. She is an artist who's fan base is widely arranged from core fans of the pop genre to a wider range of fans who enjoy dupstep, house ect. Whilst Alesha Dixon uses her image as well as her music to attract fans, it can be said that Katy B uses purely her music to entice her consumers.

In this video, we can see that Katy B is wearing plain clothes, not flashy clothing. This can be seen as a form of branding, showing us that the artist tries to attract younger working class consumers. The location and setting shows that the artist has a set target audience, which is similar to our target audience. 

Planning - Audience

Upon researching our audience/fan base, I decided to look at other artist within the same dance/pop genre, most of which where all targeted at the same audience. I argue that the core audience of pop artist would be young working class adults (18 - 22).

Looking at this song as an example, we can see that the video consists of younger adults, enjoying themselves partying, which is the kind of audience we are trying to attract for our artist. The colours can be said to represent youthfulness (Brighter colours)

This is a screenshot form Miley Cyrus's website. Looking at the graphic displayed on the homepage we can see that this site is aimed at younger pop listeners. The site encourages youthfulness, informality and liberation through its use of pictures (informal poses for the artist) colours (black, white, purple and pink all colours which where discovered whilst researching female pop artist) and graphic (the layout, fonts used, imagery ect.)  

Planning: Picking the right song

Music Video Shortlist

Today our group came up with a shortlist of songs for our music video we decided that theses were the options:

Cheryl Cole - Craziest Things

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Lyrics: We say the Craziest Things 
We say the craziest Things 
Like I love you, hate you, don't need you 
F**k U I don't ever wanna see you again. 

We say the craziest things 
We say the craziest things 
Like I love you, need you, want you, 
Or hate you don't ever come back again 
We say the... 

I love you much, I hate you guts, you the love of my life 
You always on my mind 
Girl you get on my last nerve coz all we do is fuss and fight 
Girl I hate you, I love you, 

Cheryl: 
I know and I love you, baby your my superstar 

Don't leave me, I need you 

Cheryl: 
For this is your freedom, I don't know what you wanna do. 

We say the Craziest Things 
We say the craziest Things 
Like I love you, hate you, don't need you 
F**k U I don't ever wanna see you again. 

We say the Craziest Things 
We say the Craziest Things 
Like I love you, need you, want you, 
Or hate you don't ever come back again 

Cheryl: 
I love your love, boy ya f**k me off 
You think the sun shines out of your ass 
You make me laugh and then 
You make me cry again 
You make me scream and then I lose my class 

We say the craaa... 
We say the craaa... 
We say the Craziest Things 
We say the Craziest Things 
Like I love you, hate you, don't need you 
F**k U I don't ever wanna see you again. 

We say the craziest things 
We say the craziest things 
Like I love you, need you, want you, 
Or hate you, don't ever come back again 

We say the craziest things 
We say the craziest things 
Like I love you, need you, want you, Or hate you, don't ever come back again

Cheryl Cole - Love killer

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Lyrics: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah 
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah 
Why do I love you so much 
When you're a love killer 
Why do I give you my love 
When you're a love killer 

You gave me butterflies, 
And then you shot them down 
Straight off the sky 
You make my hart tick-off 
To kick it on the ground 
You don't even try 

Uh, I got better oṗtions but 
All that I want is just 
You-hu, you-hu 
Keep doing the things that you do 
Got me like drunk 

Why do I love you so much 
When you're a love killer 
Why do I give you my love 
When you're a love killer 
Baby baby you're like the worst drug 
But you're a buzz killer 
You're a love, you're a love killer 
I'm in love with a love killer 

Obliterate my trust 
Assassinate my dreams 
You're nothing but cold 
But baby I just know, 
That no one in the world 
Could love you if I don't 

You-hu, have got better oṗtions than you-hu 
And all of my friends they hate, you-hu, you-hu 
Cause all of the things that you do 
Got me like uh 

Why do I love you so much 
When you're a love killer 
Why do I give you my love 
When you're a love killer 
Baby baby you're like the worst drug 
But you're a buzz killer 
You're a love, you're a love killer 
I'm in love with a love killer 

La-la-la-la-la love 
I'm a love killer 
La-la-la-la-la love 
You want some more? 
I'm a love killer 

Why do I love you so much? 
Why do I love you so much? 
Why? 

Why do I love you so much 
When you're a love killer 
Why do I give you my love 
When you're a love killer 
Baby baby you're like the worst drug 
But you're a buzz killer 
You're a love, you're a love killer 
I'm in love with a love killer 

Why do I love you so much 
When you're a love killer 
Why do I give you my love 
When you're a love killer 
Baby baby you're like the worst drug 
But you're a buzz killer 
You're a love, you're a love killer 
I'm in love with a love killer



Delilah - Disrespect

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Lyrics: Taking on the ows me, 
They can do it then 
Everything we add is there. 
All the things you don't mean, 
You won't get my big tea. 
There's nothing you could do it then, 
If you think that I might take you back, 
Well, you don't know me. 
I don't need you, go and find it 
If you ever looked so real, 
I don't want it, I don't need it. 
In case it never taste so sorrow 
Touch it never sound so sweet, 
Get feeded, soon you'll be... 

Don't care if I disrespect, 
Is someone's they ever ment, oh 
Just stop if we ever met, 
Oh oh, it's time to walk away, 
No one see me get up, set 
Is someone's they ever ment, oh 
Just stop if we ever met, 
Oh oh, Oh oh, oh oh! 

Sitting on my couch now, 
Sipping on your regrets, 
I don't hear a thing he says 
And I don't give a damn, no. 
I'm quiting these crowns down, 
Nothing I can do it then, 
Why you wanna make me beg? 
You don't understand now! 
I'm taking back all my powers 
Nothing ever taste so sweet, 
Get feed up to your pieces. 

Don't care if I disrespect, 
Is someone's they ever ment, oh 
Just stop if we ever met, 
Oh oh, it's time to walk away, 
No one see me get up, set 
Is someone's they ever ment, oh 
Just stop if we ever met, 
Oh oh, oh oh! 

Oh, I'd like to kick you down, 
Oh, die another day. 
Baby baby, you're my sweet baby. 
How I let you alone, no one home, 
Remember me, you remember you? 
I'm over you! 

Don't care if I disrespect, 
Is someone's they ever ment, oh 
Just stop if we ever met, 
Oh oh, it's time to walk away, 
No one see me get up, set 
Is someone's they ever ment, oh 
Just stop if we ever met, 
Oh oh, oh oh!

Research: Cross Media products & Synergy

The Power of synergy and Branding

Just like the A2 brief when producing a piece of media such as a single off of an album a cross media promotional package must be created. Visual connections are created to help the audience link products and identify them as belonging together. All products have one purpose to create a brand for the artist and the use of synergy is aimed at achieving maximum  profit:

Branding + synergy = Profit + Audience

The use of costume, props, appearance, location, use of colour or graphics helps to highlight and identify key features of the artist for the album to create a synergy across all products. 

In lesson we looked at several examples of these cross promotional packages. To further my knowledge as independent research I found an example (see below):

Name of artist: Jay Z

Album cover name: Magna Carta Holy Grail
Key features highlighted: Black, grey colour pallet, 2 statues - man & woman which comes from the idea from the 'Magna carta', 'Jay Z' black bold writing with a black block covering.

Album trailer: 

Key features highlighted: Costume & props - Black, grey colour pallet (last image)

Lyrics sheet follows the same theme as the album cover by the way black boxes cover some text. (2nd to last image) 

Samsung Ad key features highlighted: Black, grey colour pallet, Same 'Jay Z' covered with a black box from album cover 

Music video single: Holy Grail

Key features highlighted: Black costume, grey walls, Statues, same font from the album cover, lyrics sheet and samsung ad, black boxes over pieces of text. 

Reflection on Progress

As a group, we have just come to the end of the research phase of the cross-media promotional package project that we are working on. I believe that this is a good time to reflect on my progress as an individual contributing to this group.

Firstly, I'd like to list things that I believe are better in terms of research in contrast to last years research:

• The detail of my blogs make the individual posts of a much higher standard as opposed to the AS year
• I'm making more effective use of ICT, using packages such as Slideshare and photobucket to present ideas and project them more clearly

Secondly, three things which I want to work on to make my contribution even more valuable:

• Ensure that I am always up to date with blogging which will give me an advantage in terms of progressing through the project
• Always check blogs are of a high standard, and use a wider range of ICT to meet these standards
• Communicate within the group more often to bring up important points, new ideas and courses of action etc.

If I were to give myself a mark out of 20 for my use of different ICT and level of detail in my blogs, I would give myself 12/20, as I believe my blog posts are detailed enough, however, not using a more extensive range of ICT. I could consider looking at using more packages, preferably online-based due to the flexibility of being able to embed into blogs easily. Incorporating these in blog posts will increase the quality of my posts. Furthermore, I have also deducted marks from myself as I must also ensure that I keep up to date with blogging.

Research: re-edited student video

Skills audit: AS to A2

Looking back at the research I had conducted during the AS year, I believe that my research skills have developed, due to the volume of detail that has gone into my blogging on research. Since the research of the last project that I had participated in was mainly looking at film, and the current project looking at music videos, I believe it is easier to understand artist choice, music video themes, promotional materials etc. as it is much more common for us to hear and buy music and experience it brings along with it's promotional materials in my opinion.

Looking at artists which I familiar with, particularly my favourite ones, such as Drake and Wiz Khalifa, has allowed me to have more extensive thinking about themes and ideas around music videos. Since I know and have been listening to these artists for a long time, it makes it easier to string out the messages and representations you may find being signaled from their videos.

As a whole, I believe my research is a lot more detailed than during the AS year as I am more concerned about the detail and quality of my blogs. However, I mustn't let this pull me down in terms of volume of blog posts aswell, as this will hinder the ''journey'' feel that myself and my group are trying to achieve during the project.

Below are screenshots of my AS blog and my A2 blog as of now, to show the transition in terms of extent of research:

AS-year thriller research

Beginning to use more forms of technology
such as slideshare to present findings

                                                                                        

Research: creating a brand - cross media products and synergy

                 
                        


Videos relating to the above presentation:


                     


                                                               
                      

Planning - Artist website

This is a screenshot from Cheryl Coles website (the original artist of our chosen song) We can see here that the artist has used colours usually associated with female consumers and fans of the pop genre.

We can see that she has her singles with album art on this page. 

Planning

After Discussing with my group, we came to the conclusion that possible ideas for synergy throughout the three products may include the following:

• The colour scheme - Black, White and possibly red
• Black roses

The black rose idea came about when analysing the song. We noticed the words 'Love Killer' are very much juxtaposed. When we think of the word Love, we usually think of fragrant colours and object like red roses, how ever, because of the placement of the words in the song title, the word killer literally acts like as a killer and makes us think the opposite of love, thus allowing us to use the colour black for roses instead of red/ 

Research: looking at costume, setting and location

As part of my research into pop music videos, I took a closer look at costume, setting and locations used within music videos to give myself a better idea of what we as group would be similarly producing when it comes to creating our own music video.


                   

Tinie Tempah - Written In The Stars ft. Eric Turner

Use of costume

When watching the video, I identified that there was 3 costume changes for the main artist. As a different costume was used for each base-track, it creates a sense of structure within the video when a base-track is revisited and we see the artist dressed in the same costume again. The use of costume is typical of this genre of music; stylish designer clothing is seen being worn by the artist (leather jacket, Air Jordan trainers, designer shades)

Use of setting & location

The video contains 4 locations (rooftops, hallway, white room, basketball court). Where the main artist performs on top of the buildings in the city, we can link parts of his costume to the location. His trainers add to emphasise an urban projection of himself. With the video being shot in New York City, his trainers also originate from America; a subtle but noticeable link. New York City is a very well-known location. Tinie sports a white tee on the basketball court, fitting in with the location and others who are playing basketball. 

Reflecting back on the AS year - Madonna Vogue Remake

http://candistudentsummerwork.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/set-5-group-23-christelle-tina-zara.html

Madonna Vogue

 During this process as well as the AS year, I have learnt many skills. A few of them being;
 - How to edit: this was a vital part of the majority of our work last year, as we filmed a swede and a thriller, as well as editing short clips and films in class. I used Final Cut editing software and I developed a wider range of skills as I'd used Final Cut beforehand, including how to adjust colour and add filters and effects. When it came to re making a music video, i felt i was quite experienced and i felt confident in what i was doing.
- Using technical equipment: Throughout the year I have learnt how to use the cameras as well as the accessories that accompany it such as the tripod, microphones and lights. I have learnt how to use them effectively to give a certain atmosphere. For example in our music video remake we used the lights to create the same set in the video and in my thriller we used it as a spotlight.

Task 3 - Independent Research

Justin Timberlake - The 20/20 Experience

Key features of the front and back cover:

- Colour; There is a colour scheme of gold, black and white/silver. The name of the artist and the title of the album stand out as they are in gold. The graphics used on his face are in silver and the background is white, pure. Whereas the back cover is only black font and white background.

- The artist; You can see the top half of his body, but not his face. He is dressed in a suit, this gives a sophisticated look to the cover and his face opens up in to what appears to lenses of cameras and dials. It looks very mechanical.

- Font; You only see the initials of his name, indicating a new style and it is bold and the font is larger also. The font is the same for the artists name and the name of the album. However there is a more simplistic font used for the back cover. it looks handwritten and plain.  

Single - Suit & Tie

Key features used to brand the artist:

- Colour; The majority of the video is black and white. This links to the theme of his album cover.

- Costume; He is dressed in a suit and tie. Not only does this describe the title, but also again he is dressed the same as he is on the front cover.

- Theme; The atmosphere of the video is sophisticated and calm. However it is hard to distinguish where the mechanical element comes in.

Research: Previous student video

Analysing previous student videos

In lesson, as a class we watched a variety of different student videos and had to analyse looking at many different aspects of the videos. Out of all the videos shown in the class I felt like this one was the best and even though it wasn't the genre I would usually listen to or be interested in I found this video to be very engaging and by far my favourite.

I was particularly draw to this video because of the themes within the video and the song. The video has an amplification narrative structure and so from the outset and throughout there are many links between the lyrics and what we, as the audience see. Immediately it is evident this is a video made by females (the "Female gaze") for a female audience; this is made obvious by the dove in the cage and the "Love" writing at the very beginning of the video. As well as this, the hands making the broken heart and the candles highlight this. I think it is very intelligent that the group introduced, in some sense, who the target audience was from the get go because throughout the video it  became much easier to identify aspects which reflected who the target audience was as it was already indicated from the start. These are not the only examples that emphasise the narrative structure. A few moments that I particularly thought were subtle links were firstly, the dancers as this genre is sort of dance music, dubstep and so the dancing (although at first appears to be irrelevant) is referencing that fact but also the lyrics mention a lot about relief and dancing is often seen as a form of relief. And secondly, the setting free of the dove at the end was like the artist setting free of what they were holding onto; I felt it was a beautiful image and praise this group for choosing appropriate material for this video. Another thing I thought was extremely clever was the stylized editing and the colour grading. The effect of this gives such a simple video a much more sophisticated and enticing look as well as this the grey,black and white colouring is very reflective of the mood of the song. Unsurprisingly I have no criticisms of this piece.

Research: Costume and Setting analysis

 Music Video Analysis

In class group 29 were given the task to analyse 3 music videos on the basis of costume, settings and props. After which were asked to choose our favourite one and analyse on a closer and more in depth scale. 

We chose to analyse Chris Brown's "Don't think they know" and created a timetoast timeline of costume and setting changes and how often they occur. From doing this task we identified 10 base tracks. Which consisted of 10 costume changes and 7 location changes; one location was used several times but different costume changes which is the reason for the lesser locations. 

Chris Brown "Don't think they know"

Research: Previous student video review

As part of reviewing an original music video from previous media students, I have decided to review the video cover of Coldplay's 'Fix You', created by Nora, Tobi, Keith and Rex.

                   
                 Nora Ehizode, Tobi Quadri, Keith Drew, Rex Ejimonyeabala from 283goswell on Vimeo.

After watching many of the previous student videos, this video done a very good job in drawing my attention to the themes and conventions that were put together to create this great final product. Aside to my enjoyment in watching this, I have to point out that I'm not an avid follower of this genre of music, so it would be taken that viewing a video to a song which isn't of one's taste in music would make it harder to appreciate both of them at all, however, this video breaks this typicality for me.

This amplification style music video achieves it's potential and matches the conventions in which amplification music videos follow, by adding new layers of meaning to accompany the song visually, but at the same time, linking back to the song through the ideas which are expressed visually, allowing us to easily identify these links. One idea which was used in this video that I particularly admired was the use of having the artist perform in the same scene as one of the actors in the video, however, making it clear as if they didn't notice each other in order to create a more powerful illustration of the lyrics by having the artist sing within the narrative scenes of the video.

Furthermore, I believe the use of costume was effective and made the music video look much more authentic. The use of props tied with the suitable choice of costume, in this instance the bag held by the young man who is smartly dressed, highlights that the actor is someone who works, suggestively for a professional company considering the choice of prop and costume. This example displays ideas on screen about the character, and brings them to life, which for me allowed me to appreciate the song along with the video more.

Another thing which I also liked is the use of colour editing within this video. The video begins with a black and white filter over the original video. This sets the initial mood for the video, in this instance being down and negative. However, a little later into the video, this filter is removed, which instantly changes the mood of the video and aids the presence of continuity as this convention is used more than once. A range of different locations were also used, allowing for more base tracks, and making the video much more enjoyable.

Research: Mulvey's theory on music videos

''In a world ordered by sexual imbalance, pleasure in looking has been split between active/male and passive/female. The determining male gaze projects its fantasy on to the female figure which is styled accordingly''

Laura Mulvey believes that the representation women come under in music videos projects 'dismemberment', wherein music videos are predominantly viewed through the male gaze which is evident as female body parts are highlighted, and the female is not focused on as a whole woman, which essentially makes the female the 'subject', and the female becomes objectified.

The projection of a male's vision on an ideal female runs throughout many of today's music videos. However, it is suggested that the Hip-Hop/Rap/R&B genres of music closely relate to Mulvey's theory on representation of women in music videos.

Below are videos which illustrate Laura Mulvey's theory:


                     

In Dizzee Rascal's video for his song 'Holiday', the projection of the male gaze is clear as female body parts are highlighted throughout the video, supporting the concept of dismemberment and objectification. To further support the idea of objectification, the large volume of women that the artist is with enforces the idea that the women are objectified and not represented as a whole woman.

                   

Flo Rida's 'Whistle' video is also a projection of the male gaze, where there are many cuts to female body parts, supporting the idea.

Laura Mulvey

Representation falls into many sections - Gender, age, ethnicity, place, sexuality etc. Laura Mulveys outline view on representation in music videos was that women are objectified and dismembered. The focus on women in music videos is not them as a whole but features of women being amplified (legs, chest etc) for the purpose of a better video. This is called the 'Male Gaze'. The belief is that the male gaze is what sells and attracts more viewers.

A good example of this is Nicki Mianj - Starships. We see in this video that the performers body is amplified. She and the dancers are practically naked. The performer is covered in water making her body glisten. This again goes with Mulveys point on how women are objectified in videos especially in the Hip Hop genre.

The function Of a Music Video

A music video is a short clip set to the music of a song, usually about three minutes long which aims to convey a lifestyle rather than a narrative which is typical of film. Unlike film, the main character of a music video has more screen time. Also, a music video consists of the artist performing, looking straight at the camera, breaking the 4th wall and engaging with the audience. The reason for a music video is to promote/advertise an artist. Music videos tend to move in line with the song also. (In beat or in Sync with the action on screen)

Music videos tend to follow a certain structure. As the order of the song changes, the video tends to follow suit. The conventions for a normal song structure is: 

• Verse
• Chorus
• Verse
• Chorus
• Bridge
• Final Chorus

The song Wiley - Numbers In Action follows suit to this structure. The video literally tells us when the video will change and it is in time with the son. We also see that the movement in the video is in sync with the music (the performers actions - bouncing the ball, movement, handstands ect.)

Research: Laura Mulvey

  Representations

Laura Mulvey looked closely at gender representations in music videos based on genre, artist's gender etc. She famously said "In a world ordered by sexual imbalance, pleasure in looking has been split between active/male and passive/female. The determining male gaze projects its fantasy onto the female figure which is styled accordingly". What she is saying in simple terms is that due to the fact we live in a patriarchal society representations of women in videos are more submissive an dare a male ideal of women. This notion of representations of women in music videos is very accurate for some genres of music in particular RnB and Hip Hop. Surprisingly, even when it is a female rapper the images in the video still reflect the male gaze. 

I have found a very good example of what Laura Mulvey is saying; the I looked at was Sisqo's Thong Song. This video 100% projected the male gaze and was very stereotypical of a hip hop video in the sense the females were practically naked in a beautiful paradise location surrounding one or very few males. 

Not only this but there was a few examples of phallic imagery in the video as well; those being a hot dog and a woman getting soaked with a water gun. This is again very indicative that the target audience is the male viewer. 

 

As well as this there was a couple of times when the females laying on the beach would touch their bodies very seductively and suggestively. This portrays women as craving sex and the male touch, which in turn would boost the male viewers egos. 

 

And finally the camerawork helped to strengthen the fact this video was made by a male for other males to enjoy. In this I mean there was many tilts looking up and looking down the women's bodies to obviously emphasise certain areas that men enjoy looking at from a far. Along with this there was a lot of close ups on specific areas of the females body in particular the crouch area.