Planning: Mind Map

Analysis Of my Song Lyrics

   Get Away

Lyrics:                                                                                            Analysis:
Darkened days spent behind a book                            Tired and depressed, difficult time of period
                                                                                   Alliteration of D makes a heavy sound
wishing words could just stay a little while                     Wants to stay living in her fantasy
                                                                                  fantasy links to the book and how to get        
                                                                                    away from stuff you read preferring
                                                                                               another life
Fantasy verses reality
You're never gunna get away                                             However reality will always win

(Chorus)
And they say
Darling just be brave                                                              Have to face reality
I know you can make another day                                            It will be hard but you can do it
Get your head out of the clouds now it's time to go home           Trying to get back into reality
And she stares and she stares
Just alone ohhh oh.                                                                 Feels isolated, no one understand her

Loveless love and empty laughter                                          Feel unloved, nothing to laugh at
When did our lives turn into such a disaster                            Living in reality is a disaster
You keep yourself far away                                                  Try and face reality. try and ignore it
To ensure that you feel no pain                                             So that your reality turns into a fantasy
And they say

(Chorus)

(Bridge)

It's better there                                                                    Prefer living in her fantasy world
Its happy there its better in the clouds                                She doesnt want to come back down to                                                                                                 to  the world of reality

(Chorus)

I asked my friend Anna who wrote the song, what ideas inspired her to write these lyrics she said 'I wrote it last Summer when I was just thinking about how some people prefer living in a fantasy then actually dealing with life. It's supposed to be uplifting in the sense- get your heads out the clouds, meaning come back to reality stop dwelling in what you wanted.

Age Rating For Music Videos

On 1st October 2014 a pilot scheme has been welcomed by David Cameron to add age rating to online music videos start but dont expect to see any huge 12s, 15s or 18s on videos just yet. He said it will help parents protect their children from seeing inappropriate content. All parties involved say people watching the videos won't see any changes until the end of the year. Youtube says it is committed but technical change may take time and Vevo has agreed to trial the scheme.
Three of the biggest labels in UK- Sony Universal and Warner Brothers have all also agreed to take part, but it will only apply to artists signed to UK labels. This has been worked on as people are concerned of sexual content in music video where young children can easily go on YouTube and watch.

“From October, we’re going to help parents protect their children from some of the graphic content in online music videos by working with the British Board of Film Classification, Vevo and YouTube to pilot the age rating of these videos.”

Research Into Genre I Am Using

Singer/ Songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing there own musical material including lyrics and melodies, Singer/ songwriters often perform the entire composition or song themselves, typically using a piano or guitar. I have asked a good friend of mine called Anna to help me out, she is studying music A Levels at the moment which means that she will have a lot of knowledge and understanding how to write and compose songs.

Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift are good examples of Singer/ Songwriters, both the compositions and the arrangements are written primarily as solos, with he material angled towards tropical issues; sometimes political, sometimes introspective, sensitive, romantic and confessional.

If you could see
That I'm the one
Who understands you,
Been here all along.
So, why can't you see—
You belong with me?

 -Here are lyrics to Taylor Swifts song 'You Belong With Me' her songs are more love and romance based, the lyrics have a lot of meaning to it as it describes her past experiences with someone she liked. She also falls under the Singer and Songwriter category as she played her own instruments to create her song. Ed Sheeran's lyrics also have a very deep meanings to it such as his song 'The A Team', this song gives a great meaning across, his lyrics consists of him sing about prostitution, drugs and violence.

The worst things in life come free to us
Cause we're just under the upper hand
And go mad for a couple grams
And she don't want to go outside tonight
And in a pipe she flies to the Motherland
And sells love to another man
It's too cold outside
For angels to fly
Angels to fly

What Have I Learnt From My Research

What I learnt from my audience research:
From my audience questionnaire I have learnt that majority of the audience prefer the genre hip-hop/ rap followed closely by indie pop. The majority of people preferred a narrative and performance music video, this consists of a storyline behind it.


What I have learnt from the codes and conventions of music videos:
From researching codes and conventions of music videos I have a rough idea to what include in my video, these are:
-Performance and Narrative music video
-A lot of close-ups and use common generic camera shots and angles.
- Editing so it matches the screening
-Use props and costumes that suit my genre of music I am going to use


What have I learnt from analysing music videos:
From analysing 10 different music videos I have learnt that:
- Editing and cuts tend to match up with the music.
- A lot of close-up shots are used
- Digetic sound is used quite a lot at the start of music videos
- The narrative gets the most attention
- Mise-en-scene is related to the lyrics in some

Target Audience Survey

I created a questionnaire to help me to discover who my target audience is, their interests and what they enjoy to see in a music video. All of this information will give me an idea for my own music video so I can successfully attract my own target audience:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1uCLdOpWQxzYOvKg6u1W7y90S0p0MUjI_VqH6RNe5ugQ/viewanalytics

The results I got from my questionnaire show that majority of the people are ages 16-25 years old, female, white ethnicity with no religion and are students. This will be my main target audience for my music video.

The most popular genre of music among those who we asked was Hip Hop/ Rap followed closely by Pop and Indie Pop. This is unsurprising as these genres always dominate UK charts. Majority of people said 'sometimes' to my question 'How regularly do you watch music videos' closely followed by 'all the time'. Majority of people preferred a Narrative and Performance music video, this consists of a storyline behind it also with 62% of people saying the album of the packaging influences them to buy it.

Analysing Music Video (Robbers-The 1975)

Robbers- The 1975

Link to the lyrics: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/1975/robbers.html

The lyrics play an important role to the music video, it refers to the relationship they have with each other. 'Robbers' the name of the song is an extended metaphor, this is because the whole music video itself isn't about robbery it is more about love and the relationship they have with each other. The lyrics 'But if you just take off your mask You find out everything's gone wrong', this is a metaphor that people don't show their selves, they suffer with a mask on , this suggests that there is something wrong with the relationship as the work 'death' is used a lot in lyrics, this shows that the relationship is falling apart.

Camera

The camera shots and angles they mainly use are two shots and close ups. They start the music video with a two shot , they starts to get close and kiss each other, this shows the relationship they have with each other at the start. The close-ups reflect a volatile/ destructive relationship they have, it makes us understand there relationship more.

Mise-en-scene

The genre of this music is indie/rock, the actors have worn costumes to fit into this category  The messy hair, tight jeans, open shirts all relate to it's genre. Because there genre is indie/rock they have considered many things before making this music video. Firstly, they are set in a none recognisable location, the area is run down and housing is disused. Smoking, sex and robbing the store all relate to indie/rock genre it has a not so serious and relaxed vibe to it. We can tell the music video is represented earlier in the days as the video is monotoned, it makes the video look older.

Editing

The music video keeps cutting back and forth quite quickly, it shows short sequences of there relationship, they don't use fades nor do they use any dissolves until the end of the video, this may suggest that all the happy memories they they've had in a short time of space has finally come to end or the relationship will never be stable.

Sound

The music does not play all the way through the video, the music stops when he enters the store, this builds up tension and makes the audience wonder what will happen. Ambient sound is then used with the gun shots, as they run out of the store the music starts playing again, this doesn't make the tension go away but still makes the audience worry as it doesn't show what happened to him. The band uses a lot of guitar and drums in the background, this is shows that it is a indie/rock band.

Arctic monkeys- Arabella

                                    

Similarities to the music video Robbers by The 1975:

-Indie/Rock band

- It is mono-toned

- Smoking and sex are shown

-Shows short sequences of the storyline 

-Ambient sound is used in both music videos

-Both about relationships

-The lyrics in Arabella by Arctic Monkeys "just might've trapped into your mind and soul, You can be sure', this is very similar to Robbers  music video, both are saying how much they are in love. 

Differences between the two music videos:

Robbers is a narrative  based music video with a bit of performance

Majority of Arabella's music video is performance based

Both music videos show short sequences of the storyline however Arabella's music video's short sequences are shown more like pictures, this suggests that the music video suggests that he is looking back in the past.

Progress Post

Initially, I was just going to make a simple music video, however after this lesson there is lot more meaning to a music video than I thought. However now I realise due to audience and reception theory the audience want more. It's not just selling the music video to the audience but also what the audience want and what they aspire to. An example would be a music video about love/ relationships, the audience would listen to the lyrics so the audience can relate to them or want to relate to it. Watching a music video with a happy relationship aspires the audience, they wish to have perfect relationship like that too.

Digipak Adverts

Ed Sheeran's album cover Plus

The album cover is a chalk drawing by Phillip Butah. It features a drawing of the artists face. This reinforces Sheerans image as a genuine/real artist image could be constructed as being stereotypical, Ed Sheeran's eyes are also directly looking at the buyer which grabs the audiences attention.

The album title in the bottom right hand corner of the CD, simplistic title might reflect nature of Sheerans music. Title may also be described as atypical.

Image of Ed Sheeran is very large and most eye-catching part of the album cover. Sheeran is the unique selling point and one of the main reasons people will buy the album, also the orange background may be a sarcastic reference to Sheerans ginger hair.

                                       

Arctic Monkey's album cover Humbug

The title of the album is placed in the far left hand corner and is a simple sticker on top of the album image itself. the positioning of the title means that it doesn't ruin the simple photo of the cover. The writing is in bold capital letters, as this will attract their audiences' attention by making it stand out. The brands name is 'Arctic Monkeys' is written in a stylistic 'quirky' font and placed over a contrasting colour to make it stand out against the background. This is effective in that it will grab the attention of their target audience. 

The band members are wearing stereotypical clothing associated with indie musicians which highlights the reinforces their genre of indie rock/ alternative music. This album cover incorporates a vintage/retro element, as the colour of the image is quite faded giving it that old 'quirky' edge to it. As with many typical indie/rock bands, the Arctic Monkeys are not dressed to meet a certain criteria or made to look like a manufactured band in any way, as the album cover is quite unique and simplistic.

                                    

Jason Mraz's album cover

This is a Digipak cover for Jason Mraz We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things. in this digipak we can see that is fairly simple and easy as it looks very child like, but at the same time a little bit artistic. It is very different to may other digipaks, as they would have real pictures of artists or the band with colour and abstract shapes, whereas this is the complete opposite as it is a drawn image of the Jason himself, which includes no colour barring black and white with the title underneath his picture. It is very simple to do but it is effective as we see the artist, who he is and the name of his album so it will still be appealing to his fans and the audience.

Looking Into The Digipak

A Digipak is a type of packaging for CDs or DVDs, typically made from cardboard/plastic with an internal plastic holder for one or more disc.

They typically consist of a gatefold paperboard or card stock outer binding, with one or more plastic trays capable of holding a CD or DVD attached to the inside. Digipak-style packaging is often is used for CD singles or special editions of CD albums and the tall DVD digipak.

The front of the digipak will have some aspect of what the artist represents and what there predominant genre is. The digipak will most likely embody and theme and a message about the artist image. Digipaks benefit artists and their music as its promotional aspect of the music industry which heps bring awareness to the artist thus selling artist and encouraging consumers to buy and listen to their music.

My Audience Survey

Analysing A Music Video (10)

Owl City- Fireflies

Camera:
The video opens up with a close up of the keyboard and a switch being turned on which attracts away from the artist and to the props and mise-en-scene of the room
Many long shots and close up shots are used
long shots- to show the location he is in, he is in his bedroom with many toys and a keyboard this may show that he is isolated

Editing;
To ensure that the audience sees all of the toys in the room, sometimes the same shot is used but the focus is changed from soft focus to deep focus.
A lot of cross cutting is used from the toys to him playing on the keyboard

Sound:
When the song gets more upbeat there are more lights that turn on in the room, in time to the music, and creates light for the artist to perform in.

Mise-en-scene:
There is little light at the start of the video which creates loneliness and innocence feeling and again this links to the lyrics that are about not wanting to say goodbye to fireflies
The video only has one setting- which is of a bedroom with many toys and the artist to one side playing his keyboard

Analysing A Music Video (9)

Train- Drive by

Camera: 
The music video starts of with a medium long shot- this is because it shows the setting where it is shot
It then goes into a medium shot to the artist- it shows his facial expression
A close up shot of the artist starting the engine

Editing:
Jump cuts are used a lot
Quite fast paced between shots which compliment the upbeat song


Sound: 
The soundtrack starts when the artist pulls the cover of the car, the music is upbeat and is fast, this suggests and connotes that the car is fast

Mise-en-scene:
the song is happy and upbeat, this maybe why key lighting is high
it is a narrative based music video  it includes footage that attempts to tell the story through moving images
Facial expressions- at the start the artist looks down however when the song comes on majority of the actors are smiling or laughing

Analysing A Music Video (8)

Imagine Dragons- On top of the world

Camera:
Starts of with a tracking shot- following the boy on his bike
There are a lot of close up shots of the different actors- this shows the differences in the characters they are playing and shows the facial expressions as well
Long shots are also used a lot- to show the location they are in

Editing:
The video starts of with a black background it then gradually opens up to the music video
The music video uses jump cuts a lot- showing the relative importance in the video

Sound:
Non- diegetic sound- The soundtrack starts of with clapping
The music stops- this is because it wants to show the storyline as well

Mise-en-scene:
Lighting is high- the audience is dressed in colourful clothing
A lot of different props are used for the actors, this shows the differences in the characters they are playing.

Analysing A Music Video (7)

One Republic- Counting Stars

Camera:
The have included a lot of long shots, mid shots and close up shots , this creates emphasis of the artist, locations and emotions
The music video uses a lot of close up shots to sell there faces to the public to be well-known the long shots also help them move around the scene showing a lot of movement example when they play their guitars.


Editing:

They have used slow motion which exaggerates the video a bit more, between the first couple of minutes of the start and end of the video the time of the cuts are really different between them.
A lot of jump cuts are used- its gives all the relative importance to the music video
Soft focus- makes the peoples emotions so much clearer and more understandable to the audience

Sound:
The soundtrack is instantly played
As the chorus starts the setting changes


Mise-en-scene:
The lighting they have used for the artist performing under the basement are low-key because the colour the looks darkish and has an element of looking 'retro'
Where as the church scene has a lot of light available that it looks brighter and have much more contrast.
The music video doesn't have a strong relationship between the visuals and the lyrics

Analysing A Music Video (6)

Ed Sheeran- The A Team

Camera:
Extreme close up shot of the actor- captures her shocked facial expression
Mid shot of the actor- she looks lost and lonely- isolated
Deep focus is used-  the background is blurred and focuses on the actor shows that she is important
Hand held shot is used- the camera is very low down following her footsteps

Editing:
A tracking shot is used- shows she is important in the video
A lot of jump cuts are used- shows all the relative information in the video


Sound:
Non diegetic - The soundtrack starts after the death of the women
Not many instruments are played, we can only hear the artist playing the guitar


Mise-en-scene:
The music is shot in black and white-  this makes us feel more sorry for the protagonist, and closer to how she feels (depressed)
The lyrics has a relation to the storyline, this makes the music video more touching
The lighting is dark throughout showing she is in a dark, cold place

Analysing A Music Video (5)

Passenger- Let her go

Camera:
A close up shot of the artist playing on the piano and the guitar- it creates a narrative for the music; visualizing the sound for the audience
A close up shot of the artist- by integrating the artist and to make it more personal.
Low angle shots of artists
Hand held shots making it look like it is more of a live performance

Editing:
Cross cutting-  of the main singer and the instruments
Jump cuts are used a lot at the start, they start use less when the song slows down and uses more when the song gets faster again
Deep focus- focuses on the main singer, it is the blurred out in the background with his band playing on the instruments

Sound:
Non-Diegetic- the soundtrack is instantly played from the start
The lyrics don't appear to have much relation to whats happening int he music video

Mise-en-scene:
Lighting- Lighting is dark throughout the music video
However a spotlight appears on top of the artist- gives him the most attention where as the crowds has no lighting on them at all

Analysing A Music Video (4)

Bastille- Pompeii

Camera:
A long shot of him standing on top a of a very high wall, this shows vulnerability
It then shows close ups of the band members which gives recognition
Establishing shots are used a lot to show the locations they are in
A hand held shot is used to chase them through different locations showing danger and fear

Editing:
The editing in this music video more or less mirrors the pace of the song itself
At the beginning of the video the song starts of quite slow, this meant that the editing itself was also slower
Near the middle of the video the song is more upbeat and gets faster they use a lot of jump cuts at this point, the editing at this stage also gets faster.

Sound:
There is no sound at the start- focuses on the character and the setting
Non-diegetic- when it shows the close up the the artist the soundtrack is introduced
volume control- at the start the music is fairly quiet it gradually gets louder
Ambient sound- when he passes by the traffic

Mise-en-scene:
The artist wears black, making him look mysterious and makes the audience feel like something bad is going to happen
Where as the people with the black eyes are wearing ordinary clothes
The lyrics 'If you close your eyes, does it almost feel like nothings changed at all?' represent the idea that everything has carried on as normal after the eruption as if nothing has happened.

Analysing A Music Video (3)

Arctic Monkeys- Snap out of it

Camera:
The music video starts of with a medium close up of the women getting out of the pool
Camera tilts up showing her body from head to toe
A lot of close up shots of women, shows her emotions and expressions on her face
Clips which show the past and attempts to tell the story from the past- Narrative based

Editing:
Cross cutting is used- between the women's close up shots and the clips from the past
flash cutting- of her crying and the video recording
Cross cutting is used again, the clips cut according to the lyrics when it says 'Snap out of it'

Sound:
Diegetic sound- we can hear water, when she gets out of the pool
                      -when she puts the meat in the pan
                      - her rewinding the recording
The music stops for a few seconds and then starts again but on the past recording

Mise-en-scene:
At the start she gets out of the pool wearing just swimwear
she then gets into her underwear, shows shes alone
Facial expression- At the start she doesnt smile she looks upset
Near the middle of the of music she starts crying and cuts back to old clips of her ex, shows they have broken up

History Of Music Videos

1950s and 60s developments

In 1956 Tony Bennett was filmed walking along The Serpentine in Hyde Park, London, as he was recording "Stranger In Paradise". This film was distributed and played to the UK and US television stations, leading Bennett to later claim her made the first music video.

According to the Internet Accuracy Project, disk jockey- singer J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, died in 1959 was first to coin the phrase "rock video".

The development of modern music video was "The Beatles", they had there first major picture, "A Hard Day's Night in 1964, directed by Richard Lester. The music video influenced a vast amount of musicians and countless subsequent pop and rock group music videos.

Although ashamedly based on A Hard Day's Night, the hugely popular T.V series "The Monkees" was another important influence on the development of music videos.

In 1981- MTV is launched, the first music video aired is Buggles "Video killed the radio star". David Bowie scored his first UK number one in nearly a decade thanks to the director David Mallets eye catching promo for "Ashes to Ashes".
In the early to mid 1980's artists started to get more sophisticated effects in music videos, adding a storyline or plot to it. Michael Jackson was the first artist to create the concept of a short film.
Music video would by mid-1980's grow to play a central role in popular music marketing.

Analysing A Music Video (2)

Imagine Dragons- Radioactive

Camera: 
Starts of with an establishing shot, shows the setting it is set
Uses many close up- close up of the box she is holding, connotes that it is important to the video
Low angle shots from the ground
They use a few cut-in shots they show parts of the subjects body such as his arms

Editing:
A lot of cross cutting is used- between the artist and the story behind the video
Graphic Match- the soft toy is slammed on the floor it then cross cuts to the artist banging on the drum
Jump cuts are used - to make the music video more dramatic
Deep focus- the girl walks towards the camera, the actress appears sharp and clear where as the background isn't focused, this gives the actress more attention.

Sound:
Diegetic Sound- first thing I hear is trees and and birds (sound of nature)
Non-Diegetic sound is this heard when the soundtrack is played on top of the diegetic sound
sound effects- the men shouting in the background

Mise-En-Scene:
Facial Expressions- at the start of the video, all of the actors faces are cold, they don't smile, suggests that something is going to happen
Lighting- lighting throughout is quite dull however it is not dark, this gives of a depressing feel to it.

Codes And Conventions Of Music Videos

Music Videos can be categorised in terms of style.

These are:

• Performance-Band/Artist playing
• Narrative- Includes story
• Mixture- Both performance and narrative based
• Cameo- Band/ Artist features in the narrative but doesn't perform (Foo Fighters)
• Animation- Digitally (flash)/ Stop-frame

There are a variety of shots and angles used in music videos:

• A lot of CU's are used and also ECU's of lips, guitar, guitar strings being strummed
• Crane shots- hovering over stage 
• Low angles
• Long shot and extreme long shot
• Pan/ tilt- moving from different performers
• Tracking shot

Editing and sound:

• Music video's tend to use a lot of jump cutting
• Editing is used to match the music
• Split screens
• Diegetic Sound
• Change in level of sound

The mise-en-scene can vary greatly depending on the genre of music and the type of music video:

• Props- Performance equipment/ band merchandise
• Costume- Certain outfits
• Location- Streets, Venue, Concert halls
• Facial expressions

Analysing A Music Video (1)

Christina Perri- A Thousand Years
A Thousand Years music video by Christina Perri was out in 2011, it is taken from the album The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn- part 1: original motion picture soundtrack. The song serves as the second single from the album.
I have chosen this music video as the song my friend Anna has written for me is very similar. This makes it easier for me as now I know what to look for in this genre.



I have roughly counted and there are about 17 close ups of the artist in the music video, this creates a connection between and the audience and the artist, as well as creating star iconography for the music video , through the visual reminder of who the artist is. the close ups at the beginning of the music video reveals her emotions and exposing herself to the audience with the light of the candle highlighting her facial features in the dark.

The genre is a narrative based music video, it includes footage that attempts to tell the story through moving images that matches the lyrics. the props and location and mise-en-scene also help to tell the story and have to match the codes and conventions of the genre.

I also have to be careful when making my music video as all music videos have examples of visuals complimenting the lyrics, example of it in this music video is "but watch you stand alone", shows a close up of the artist alone in the dark. "For a thousand years, I'll love you for a thousand more" whilst the artist is surrounded by a room full of candles which represent each year she has loved him.
Also there must be visuals complimenting the music. As the pace of the music increases throughout the pace of editing cuts increases as well so the visuals are cutting more frequently, also towars the end of the music video the music slows down and so does the movement of the camera, till right at the end it's almost slow motion and the music fades out.

Selected Production Brief

After close consideration, I have selected brief 1:

A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, no longer than five minutes duration, together with:

• A cover for its release as part of a digipack (CD/DVD package)
• a magazine advertisement for the digipack (CD/DVD package)

The reason why I chose brief 1 is because I feel like I can show off my ideas and skills with the use of camera, mise-en-scene, sound and editing, as I have more of a rough idea what to do in my music video than the other two briefs. I believe that through this production it will particularly help me with my editing skills as I struggled the most with it in my AS title sequence.