Q1 - In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uEJRmoIDVc - clockwork
orange
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOV5WXISM24 Acceptable in
the 80s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK36lXlby4Q Thinking of you
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_fCqg92qks - Call on me
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMjCxV7u8OA - Brokendate
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtdWHFwmd2o - technologic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yhheW10b5o - Burnin Fever
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-9UvrLyj3k - come to daddy
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When
discussing in what ways does my A2 media product use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real music video's I will be exploring Andrew
Goodwin's theory on key aspects of a music video. I will be mainly discussing
how I utilised these key aspects as well as other elements from key music
videos to determine the overall look of my Music video.
According to Goodwin there are roughly around 6 key elements
of a music video
A music video will
demonstrate characteristics conventional to its genre i.e. a heavy metal
music video would conventionally feature a Stage performance and a music video
for a boy band or girl band track would feature some sort of dance routine.
A Relationship
between visuals and lyrics - this could illustrate, amplify or contradict
A Relationship
between visuals and music - Similar to a relationship between visuals and
lyrics, amplify, illustrate or contradict
Intertextual
references to other media texts such as film, TV or perhaps other themes
and ideas
References to looking
and the voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
Finally according to Godwin it is conventional for a music video to feature many close ups of the
artist to allow the Record label to further push and promote their artists.
In addition, artists may feature some
visual motif or style, which recurs throughout their work for example Daft
Punk's robot persona's
Linking this back to my own media product Burnin Fever there
are times in which I have conformed but also attempt to develop many of
Goodwin's key aspects for example the idea of the notion of looking as well as
Goodwin's idea of Voyeurism. According to Goodwin the notion of looking refers
to any sort of reference to watching something or eye contact. This can be
represented via mirrors, Tv screens,
cameras etc.
Throughout my video, the notion of looking has been
represented however in some instances challenged for example earlier on within
my video we see a mid shot of the Robot character directly addressing the
camera with the intention of emulating news broadcast. In addition, during post
production I edited the shot making the frame smaller in order to connote the
look of a screen within a screen. This imagery of a screen within a screen can
be seen throughout my music video and was inspired by the music video come to
daddy, which was directed by Chris Cunningham
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-9UvrLyj3k show clip of
come to daddy 1:14 - 1:21
The idea for my own video was to create this idea of two
worlds one which was the "digital world" like a world that exists
within our computers, films and other visual texts which the Robot/virus lives in and then our world. This idea
allowed communicating two of Godwin's key aspects, intertextual references to
other media products as well as exploring genre conventions typical to my
chosen genre.
From my research of similar genre's of electronic music and
their music video's I had found that many of them feature some sort of
technology based theme or intertextual reference to technology and sci-fi. This
could range from sort of subtle references such as the music video to Calvin
Harris Acceptable in the 80's which features a science lab location as well as
close ups of scientific apparatus (clip of acceptable in the 80's 0:56 and 2:30 mark) to more overt depictions
such as Daft Punks technologic which features the artists robot visual motif
(1:42 mark), imagery of a monitor playing type (2:25) and an animatronics robot
(0:50 mark). Additionally, I found this technology theme to be found in Com
Truise's music video Brokendate which sets its video against the backdrop of an
80's sci-fi film including imagery of computer graphics and wireframe design
(1:26 mark and 2:52 mark) as well as sci-fi tropes such as laser pistols (3:38
mark). From my own interpretation, many
of these music videos utilise references to technology, as a way of referencing
the means of how there genre is produced i.e. via electronic devices such as
synthesisers. Moreover at the time of
electronic music's height of popularity as well as the stylistic origins of
many of the sub genres which fold under it during the late 70's and the 1980,
was seen as the future of music by some since nothing like it was heard before.
Because of this, this would result in the many sci-fi themes present throughout
these videos.
For my own media product these references and themes of
technology was used both to convey genre specific qualities to communicate to
audiences that my video was for an electronic based track. Also due to my initial interpretation of the
track centring around a computer virus as well as my own artists description of
the style of Burnin Fever being sci-fi/futuristic, I utilised a heavily
computer based aesthetic throughout my own product in order to illustrate
visually this tone. This is s seen throughout my video through the use of glitch
art to convey the look of the virus within my media text distorting things
around it (1:17). I also featured constant
imagery of computers (0:12) and computer graphics (0:18, 0:28), sometimes in
the forms of ASCII art (1:01) as well as even pixel art in the forms of the
font chosen for the kinetic typography segments (1:38), the design of the
robots head (0:58) and some of the rebuses seen during the typography moments
(1:41). These computer graphic based visuals were used to convey a software
look to the design and style of certain moments of my music video to
distinguish what was in the digital world and at times present viewers with a
look into the software the hacker character was using within the music video.
Whereas by filming various close ups of computer apparatus this allowed me to
set the tech tone whilst add some sort of sinister mystery since audiences don't
get a full shot of what the hacker is doing or typing or if the virus is living
independently. This tech theme can also
be found in the title screen of my music video since I have titled the video
Burnin Fever.EXE adding a file extension name to the title to make it sound
like a computer application.
Moreover,I attempted to convey this tech theme present
within my chosen genre by featuring various stock footage of old computer
adverts from the 1980's inspired by Com Truise's use of sample footage at the
beginning of Brokendate (0:00 - 0:11), which are used to illustrate the audio
samples used within the track as well as keep with the retro theme of the
overall music video. The various samples used within my video include footage
of commodore 64 ads (1:14) as well as technology related items such as clips of
BBC'S ceefax (1:02) and footage from a Sinclair c5 (1:06) ad as well as footage
from videogames (3:29) and a clip of a Robocop (3:28) advert. The use of these
visual samples were used for a number of reasons, one being to represent how my
chosen genre of music can conventionally use audio samples within their tracks
and hence I thought it would be an interesting to use visual samples to convey
this idea of recycling and re using other products to make a new product.
According to Goodwin's theory, one could argue through this I have also
developed on one of the key forms of music videos i,e a relationship between
music and video by using sample footage to illustrate an idea behind the genre
of music not the specific song itself.
Moreover, when choosing these visual samples not only did
they have to feature some sort of tech or sci-fi theme but they had to be
"retro" and display and intertextual reference to roughly around the
1980's and 80's media. This decision was based on some of my findings when
researching electronic based genres as I had found that many of them both in
music video and print often allude to the 1980's. This can be seen within the
music video's acceptable in the 80's, Brokendate and call on me by Eric Prydz. Although,
acceptable in the 80s is deliberately an 80s centric video
based on its lyrics, Call on me and Brokendate as well as acceptable all
allude to the decade referring to the stylistic origins and height of
popularity of electronic music during the 80's. This can be seen within
Acceptable in the 80's featuring many stereotypes of the 80's such as its
fashion styles and even the style of the props used which represented via the
use of mis en scene (0:37). Whereas in Eric Prydz call on me, this 80's centric
tone has been represented by stylising the video as an old 80's workout video
as seen in the various costume of the models (0:08) wearing 80's style workout
gear as well as in the mis en scene (0:05) in which we can see an old cassette
player further reinforcing this retro tone. In Brokendate this 80's theme is represented
via its intertextual references to 80's sci-fi films such as terminator (0:39 -
1:01) evidenced by the music videos similar title card. In addition this 80's
sci-fi theme and reference to the 80's is
also shown as in the costume, narrative and lighting of the music video;
utilising a sci-fi noir look via its low key lighting (1:03) and detective
stock character wearing a typical brown trenchcoat (1:06) and detective
narrative all referring to 1980s sci-fi film Blade Runner.
For my own media product, I utilised this intertextual
reference to the 80's by featuring clips of sample footage or footage of
products which have their origins in the 80's for example using a clip of an
80's workout tape (1:02) from using a clip of robocop (3:28) an iconic figure
of pop culture which was created in the 80's. Using this stock footage not only
allowed to develop on conventions of electronic based music videos but was also
used to initially represent the look of the virus present in my video
overloading as I planned to have a build up in how random and frantic the
images got .
On the other hand,
this then developed into representing the frantic style of the virus's
personality as well as developing more of a relationship between music and
visuals by illustrating the fast and frantic pace of the track once again
conforming to Goodwin's theory on the key aspects of music videos. When
watching my video notice how these stock footage clips cut on beat with the
track with no relation to each other in terms of subject (1:02 - 1:08).
This
idea of visuals cutting on beat was learnt from my brief time looking at the
music video Harder Better Faster Stronger in which visuals are cut on beat
however not on every beat in order to allow audiences to have time to consume
the visuals and understand what is being shown to them. I wanted my own video
to develop on this element by instead opting for moments in which clips cut
exactly on beat instead of leaving breathing time to amplify the pace of the
track and create this random and frantic nature to my video. This idea of fast paced clips was informed by
looking at one of my chosen artists inspirations The Phantoms Revenge who on
his website features a Gif of various images flashing one after another and the
rehabilitation scene from clockwork orange (0:35) in which both audiences and
protagonist are subject to see various stock footage of violence. For my product,
I wanted to convey a desensitising and hypnotic look to the virus as it plays
this various random footage constantly, in order to explain how the virus would
turn people to the infected within the narrative of my video.
While still on the subject of Goodwin's key aspects of music
video and relationship of music and visuals, not only did I cut sample footage
on beat to amplify the frantic nature of the track but also there were
instances in which I would cut peoples movement on beat with the track of the
music. This was influenced by its use in acceptable in the 80's where in some
instances Harris would dance slightly robotically(1:07) whilst holding an otter
which one could argue was mimicking the street dance style of the Robot which
gained popularity during the 80's further exploring the 80's theme apparent in
the video. For my own media product, I adapted this element and had shots
featuring characters in one position cut into another shot of the character in
another position to offer the illusion of them moving. (1:09- 1:11). The
purpose of this was to illustrate the look of computer/video game lag within
the context of my narrative of the virus taking over the real world and further
illustrate the tech theme present in electronic based music and there
accompanying msuic videos. Additionally I also cut movements such as twitching
and certain dance movements (0:47 - 0:49) to create a robotic and lifeless look
to the subjects movements. With this allusion to robots in the movement of
these characters, this further allowed me to communicate a tech theme whilst
illustrating the music via the movements in the body.
Finally, another example
of me conforming to Goodwin's idea of a relationship between music and visuals
is present during sequences in which the track of Burnin Fever itself starts to
sound scratcher and in turn the visuals follow as I set for a glitch effect to
be played over strange distorted imagery such as a dancing chicken. This was
done to emphasise the scratchy nature of the sequence of sound being played in
this instance by using distorted imagery to illustrate distorted sounds and
within the context of my video show the virus running rampant. This change of visuals
based on a change of music and its pace can be found in the music video Thinking
of you in which around 3:12 as the pace of the music increases so does the
pace and visual distortions of the visuals follow to amplify the electronic
feel of the sounds (3:12).
In my media product I also attempted to challenge one of
Goodwin's Key aspects i.e. the voyeuristic treatment of the female body quite
briefly within my product. As Frazer (2005) puts it, the purpose of a music
video is "to encourage sales of the
music in other formats". Based on Godwin's theory of a voyeuristic
treatment of the female body and Frazer's idea labels possibly use this
convention to promote their artists as "sexy and desirable". I found
this to be apparent in videos such as acceptable in the 80's (0:03), Thinking
of you (0:32) and Call on me (0:19). I attempted to challenge this idea briefly
with scenes such as the lip scene (3:30) to make fun of the idea of red lips
being some sort of sex symbol and the use of the Barbie doll (3:31) being nude
to convey themes of sexuality but in a subtle and humorous effect poking fun at
literal objectification using an object to convey sexuality. The idea was to
take this convention of music video and distort it to poke fun at it to show
how strange this convention is.
Another Goodwin theory explored within my media product was
the relationship between lyrics and video. As seen in acceptable in the 80's
this relationship of lyric and video doesn't have to 100 percent literal to the
lyrics presented since in Acceptable in the 80's the lyrics can be interpreted
as referring to the age of consent. However, the director of the music video
has reinterpreted this to mean referring to animal testing being acceptable in
the 80's as seen in the various shots of scientists operating on a toy otter
(0:17). For Burnin fever, the only main lyrics that were presented I felt were
a bunch of random words made into a sentence and thus I interpreted this into
some sort of computer command or virus leading to the virus narrative seen
within my video. Inspired by Technologic's use of kinetic type (0:11) I too
adapted this representing my lyrics quite literally as lyrics within the
visuals of my piece however with the intention of creating this hypnotic
command look to the virus within my video. I did also add some effects to the
lyrics when flashing on screen for example setting the word burnin on fire
(1:38) to add emphasis to the words as well as making the type glitchier (2:28)
to amplify the scratchy sounds of the track.
Moreover, the lyrics are also made to look like they are sung during the
ASCII art sequence (1:00) to help with the personification of the virus as if
it's the viruses lips which are singing theme.
Other ways in which I represented a relationship between
lyrics to visuals is somewhat in how I approached my artist's use of audio
samples within his work. In the video to Thinking of you, the director has
illustrated some of the lyrics visually on screen through suggestive or subtle
imagery such as around 0:22 Tesla boy sings the line "A
heavy breathing I can hear" and we see a shot of two lips in the
background. (0:22) In Burnin Fever I approached this in a similar way by having
some characters mime these audio samples and then when a phrase of interest presented
itself cut to a shot reinterpreting this line in an abstracted way. For
example, the line how much orange is there in a dead body was shown visually as
firstly, lips eating an orange and then a shot of a Barbie Doll covering in
orange juice. These were done to exaggerate the silly nature of some of these
audio samples and keep with the context of my video presenting a virus
distorting normality.
Finally, one bit of audio
sample that was used to show a relationship between lyric and visual was the brief
mention of Frank Sinatra during the opening of the track. Initially I wanted to
represent the newscasters readout of a scandal involving Frank Sinatra as a
brief introduction of the Robot character himself by having the Robot reveal
himself to be Frank Sinatra, however I soon found myself using Frank Sinatra's
likeness throughout the music video as some sort of visual motif (1:17). This
was used to add some depth and create more of a humouress and random effect to
my video by exaggerating the intertextual reference to Sinatra that was already
present in the track and linking a figure that generally isn't associated with
the electronic genre. This allowed achieve two of Goodwin's key aspects of
music video intertextuality and the use of an artist motif within a music
video.
According to Goodwin it is
conventional for a music video to feature many close ups of the artist as well
as the artists own visual motif in order for record labels to promote their
artists successfully. Artist motif's such as Daft Punk's Robot Persona or
Calvin Harris's former visual motif of the fly eyes (0:22) and eccentric
imagery with vibrant colours (0:26) allow these artists to feature some sort of
USP which sets them apart from other artists. In my music video although my
artist is unsigned as mentioned before I attempted to develop a visual motif of
references to Frank Sinatra to develop some sort of artist motif based on the
random or perhaps just references to Sinatra himself with possibly future music
videos to Tropiika feature some sort of visual Easter egg to this artist.
Another example of artists using visual motifs to sell their work is the group
Tesla Boy who tend to feature imagery of neon lights and strobe lights (0:39)
to communicate that they are like a "party band"; their music being marketed as the type, which one would
listen to at a gathering or a party.
Additionally, in my music video I
featured various close up shots of the robot character (0:58) to serve as
substitute for Goodwin's idea on a music video featuring close ups of an
artist's face to further promote the artist to a new audience. As seen here in
Acceptable in the 80's (1:01) and
Thinking of you (0:52) this has been used since these artists are or were not
well known and thus need to feature there face within their works in order for
people to recognise who they are and expose the artist to audiences. Since I couldn't not get my artist to perform
I instead created the robot character to both serve as the personification of
the virus as well as the substitute persona of my artist which also allows me
to conform to a genre specific convention of electronic music which is
anonymity in the artist. Electronic artists who seem to follow this idea
include Daft Punk (image of DAFT PUNK) DeadMau5 (image of DeadMau5) Cazzette
(image of Cazzette) and with some artists challenging this convention such as
Aphex twin. Who in many of his works features a distorted persona of himself as
seen in come to daddy (1:38) in which characters wear rubber masks all
featuring his likeness.
Goodwin also claims that there are
three types of music video, performance, narrative and concept based. Other
than performance based which shows the artist perform their music, I found from
my research electronic based music videos tend to feature a mix of performance
with concept and sometimes add in a narrative in the case of Brokendate's 80's
sci-fi theme. Examples of this can be found in acceptable in the 80's, thinking
of you, technologic and call on me all of which feature visuals or a theme with
no coherent narrative. I believe this is mainly due to the fact that unlike
other genres of music electronic based music relies more on the beat of the
track rather than lyrics. Hence,
directors have to interpret how the music sounds to them not the meaning behind
the words and I found this with my own media product. I decided to go for more
of an amalgamation of the 3, using performance based conventions to promote my
artist whilst having a concept based on the random and technology, due to my
initial reaction to listening to the track as well as my artists description of
its futuristic sci-fi style. The small narrative within my media product came
from the lyrics provided within the track "like a fever burnin" as
well as the scratchy sound of the song itself. The word fever and the distorted
sound of the song as well as the random audio samples gave way to an idea of a
virus distorting things in our world and I interpreted the line fever burnin as
a virus spreading similar to how a fire spreads.
Finally, one last genre specific convention I used within my
music video was the use of vibrant colour and neon lights. This can be seen in
acceptable in the 80's (0:03) Thinking of you (3:24) and Technologic (1:34) to
sometimes convey an upbeat mood to the music or create a sci-fi or
electric/energy aesthetic. For my own video I used a hue and saturation filter
at times to push the saturation of colours in certain scenes around the
"digital world" (0:48) to contrast the dimmer less vibrant scenes in
the real world (1:36). This was used in order to distinguish which is which and
in the more saturated scenes convey a more upbeat and whimsical look to the
scene depicted.
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Digipak and Magazine ad Evalution
In terms of my Digipak and print ad in comparison to real
media products in terms of how I challenged and developed conventions of these
mediums, through my research of real digipak's and print ads, I had noticed
that all conventionally all both products including music video tend to have a
synergistic theme between them. I found this when analysing print ads to
Mumford and Sons "Sigh No More" and Kings of Leon "come around
sundown". Although ads from two different genre's to my own I noticed a
consistent theme between the two in which there was a sense of continuity in
the aesthetics of the overall design. For example within the Mumford and Son's
print ad and album art cover presented on the ad there was a theme of a vintage
19th century graphical design or allusions to the 19th century. This reflected
the bands folk genre which in turn was represented in one of the Bands music
videos attached to the album "little lion man" which featured a
greenish brown filter to convey a vintage film look to the video.
Show visual examples of Mumford and Sons products
This strong synergistic quality was similarly found on three
of Kings of Leon products under the come around sundown label all of which
print ad, album art and music video feature a sepia filter to convey feelings
of warmth and nostalgia.
Show screen images of Kings of Leon products
This in mind I knew that not only must there be consistency
in the style of my music video to print productions but also from looking at
the Mumford and son's ad I learnt that the artwork should reflect the genre or
style behind the artist being promoted. Also I noticed that the Mumford and
sons ad was promoting the group's debut album and from this I found that if the
Digipak and magazine ad belongs to the artists debut album, the artists face or
identity should be featured somewhere in order to promote the artist and allow
audiences to understand who this new band is. I also found this to be apparent
on the artwork of Calvin Harris' debut album I created disco which also
features the artist's image on front for similar effect.
Now, with this understanding of convention I conformed to
conventional visual styles of electronic music in order to communicate
effectively what type of artist I was promoting to new audiences easier.
Through my research, I had found that images of sci-fi, technology, geometrical
shapes, as well as imagery of neon lights and some sort of retro theme seemed
to be a consistent visual style throughout this genre.
Show examples of research
For my own print product I wanted to carry the theme of the
random, and glitch aesthetics thus conforming to this general convention of
synergy between products. However, I also kept in mind some of the visual
conventions of my electronic graphics research by pushing the saturation of the
glitch effect on my Digipak cover to convey the look of neon lights. I also initially
wanted to include an old computer monitor to convey the look a retro look
within my Digipak however due to practicality of acquiring such a prop I had to
settle on a more recent monitor to convey allude to the tech theme often found
within my chosen genre.
Show images of music video in comparison to Digipak
However this retro theme was eventually communicated on my
print ad in which I stylised it as an old computer magazine because I wanted to
communicate not only the tech theme present within my music video but also the
element of the use of retro sample footage within my video and keep the synergy
strong and consistent within my products.
Show image of Print ad in comparison to retro magazine
ads
Moreover when analysing album artwork and Digipak designs I
had noticed that there was a convention of consistency in theme and colour that
followed both throughout for example in Calvin Harris's albums, I ready for the
weekend, the back cover was the front cover continued featuring a shot of the
hair of the model on the front. Alternatively, on Kavinksy's outrun album which
followed a film theme throughout by stylising its tracklist as a film billing
block.
Feature images of these digipaks/album art
For my own Digipak I adapted
this idea of a consistent theme, basing mine on computers and computer graphics
to visually communicate my albums electronic genre throughout whilst also
generating strong synergy between Digipak and music video.
Show images of Digipak and panel
However there was one
convention of print production I didn't exactly follow but rather developed to
conform to a genre specific convention of anonymity. On my print ads, I
featured no image of my chosen artist except a distorted version of the robot's
face.
Close up of the glitched robot face seen on print ad
As mentioned previously the purpose of the robot character
eventually developed into a substitute persona of my chosen artist. By slightly
distorting this substitute persona's face, I wanted to create more of a sense
of intrigue in a similar sense of Daft Punk behind my artist so that audiences
have a small idea as to whom Tropiika is to identify him on other mediums such
as music videos but would be invested in what's the mystery behind the artist.
Finally when discussing compositional conventions of
magazine ads, I had noticed that many of these ads featured some sort of
listing or z formation arranging information and elements in order of
importance consisting of artists name top and centre, album artwork, release
date and then extra information such as distributors, record label and artists
website.
Show visual example of this
This is mainly due to the context of its placement within a
magazine and thus viewers are likely to skip this graphic so designers must
find a way to condense and attract audience's attention quick enough. For my own
ad, I slightly adjusted this arrangement developing on convention in order to
keep consistent with the look of an old computer advert. In addition, with the
inclusion of digital distributors on my print ad to create a professional look
to the ad and link audiences to places in which they could consume the songs
promoted I also included a QR code linking to my music video.
Show close up of
QR code
This develops on conventional composition tools of print ads
as well as improving synergy between magazine ad and music video as well as Digipak
since the ad's purpose is to promote the Digipak.
