Wednesday 28 September 2011
Keith Negus
Negus's theory: A star is either ORGANIC or SYNTHETIC
Organic Star:
- Authentic
- Original
- Natural
- Long term profits
- Make money later on in their careers
- Longevity
e.g. Two Door Cinema Club. They are a band which play their own instruments and write their own songs. They are signed to french record label Kitsune Music.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Door_Cinema_Club
Synthetic Star:
- Manufactured by record company e.g. boybands
- Controlled
- Short term profits e.g. singles/one hit wonders
- Lots of promotion
- Mass market
e.g. One Direction. They were a boyband put together on talent show the X Factor. They came second, and are signed to a £2 million recording contract with Syco. Their single, 'What Makes You Beautiful' topped the UK charts this year.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Direction
However, both are commercial products.
Organic Star:
- Authentic
- Original
- Natural
- Long term profits
- Make money later on in their careers
- Longevity
e.g. Two Door Cinema Club. They are a band which play their own instruments and write their own songs. They are signed to french record label Kitsune Music.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Door_Cinema_Club
Synthetic Star:
- Manufactured by record company e.g. boybands
- Controlled
- Short term profits e.g. singles/one hit wonders
- Lots of promotion
- Mass market
e.g. One Direction. They were a boyband put together on talent show the X Factor. They came second, and are signed to a £2 million recording contract with Syco. Their single, 'What Makes You Beautiful' topped the UK charts this year.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Direction
However, both are commercial products.
Monday 26 September 2011
Feedback From Video Pitch
We presented our idea to Luke, who gave us some feedback and constructive criticism. It was felt that whilst the idea captured the look of a 'club' atmosphere well, there wasn't that much substance to the video so it might get a bit dull to watch. We were told to go away and come up with some ideas which could happen within the party to make it visually interesting and add some variety to the pitch.
Ideas I came up with to make the video more interesting:
1. Set the scene in a wood (taking the party out of its typical environment) - either in a real wood or set up in the studio
2. Handheld and filmed from the point of view of someone, like in the video for 'Smack My Bitch Up', another Prodigy song
3. Slight dark look to the video - people in cages, fires etc. Making it look debauched and sinister
4. People in masks so you can't see their faces
Ideas I came up with to make the video more interesting:
1. Set the scene in a wood (taking the party out of its typical environment) - either in a real wood or set up in the studio
2. Handheld and filmed from the point of view of someone, like in the video for 'Smack My Bitch Up', another Prodigy song
3. Slight dark look to the video - people in cages, fires etc. Making it look debauched and sinister
4. People in masks so you can't see their faces
Monday 19 September 2011
My Music Video Ideas
My music video ideas have swapped around a bit - my first idea I decided would be too difficult to film in one day, because of the different locations I wanted to use. Also, due to certain laws, I would not be able to show drug-taking in my video. Therefore, I had to change my concept a bit, but I still wanted a crazy, hedonistic video. Thats where the idea for a party came up as it would be easy to shoot in the studio.
After presenting my ideas to my class, they gave me feedback which I found very useful, as they are about the same age as my target audience. One thing which seemed not to fit with my idea was my choice of songs as it was felt they were too slow. My classmates gave me some helpful suggestions, which I then researched and have now come up with a new song which is far more fitting to the theme of my video:
The Prodigy - Warriors Dance
After presenting my ideas to my class, they gave me feedback which I found very useful, as they are about the same age as my target audience. One thing which seemed not to fit with my idea was my choice of songs as it was felt they were too slow. My classmates gave me some helpful suggestions, which I then researched and have now come up with a new song which is far more fitting to the theme of my video:
The Prodigy - Warriors Dance
Saturday 10 September 2011
Account of Prelim Shoot
On the day of our shoot, we had a very short amount of time, which meant we had to work quickly and efficiently. There were 7 people that we had to shoot on our shot list - 3 singers, a bassist, guitarist, drummer and keyboard player. It meant that we had to shoot lots of people and took time but it also gave us lots of varied material to work with when we began editing our prelim.
Because we were the second group to shoot, it meant we were able to pick up on the mistakes made by the previous group, and also that we were able to plan our shots even more thoroughly. We had a thirty minute time slot in which to our allocated 59 second piece of the song 'Naughty, Nasty'. We started by doing our wide shots first, and then moved on to our close-up shots. At the end of shooting when we had a few minutes left we were able to do extra shots of things such as the instruments being used - shots which weren't a necessity but would contribute in the helping the product look more professional.
There were four of us in the group, and we took turns in taking on different roles during filming. During the thirty minutes we all had a go a directing, doing the camerawork, positioning the band and taking care of playback. The band were easy to work with, and very co-operative.
One thing which we could have improved in our group would have been storyboarding/the timeline, especially since we didn't have a clear idea of how the video was going to be set up. Another idea in order to speed up the filming process would have been to plan exactly in which order we would shoot our shot choices.
In editing, the process was very different from editing the thriller clips we did. This was because it was crucial that we got our shots in sync with the music, making sure the action fitted the music, along with the singer who was lip syncing.
I found the exercise very useful in teaching me what skills I would need to put in to action when I start filming my proper music video, and also taught me a lot about the process of the filming and the editing.
(the band on set)
Because we were the second group to shoot, it meant we were able to pick up on the mistakes made by the previous group, and also that we were able to plan our shots even more thoroughly. We had a thirty minute time slot in which to our allocated 59 second piece of the song 'Naughty, Nasty'. We started by doing our wide shots first, and then moved on to our close-up shots. At the end of shooting when we had a few minutes left we were able to do extra shots of things such as the instruments being used - shots which weren't a necessity but would contribute in the helping the product look more professional.
There were four of us in the group, and we took turns in taking on different roles during filming. During the thirty minutes we all had a go a directing, doing the camerawork, positioning the band and taking care of playback. The band were easy to work with, and very co-operative.
(me filming)
One thing which we could have improved in our group would have been storyboarding/the timeline, especially since we didn't have a clear idea of how the video was going to be set up. Another idea in order to speed up the filming process would have been to plan exactly in which order we would shoot our shot choices.
In editing, the process was very different from editing the thriller clips we did. This was because it was crucial that we got our shots in sync with the music, making sure the action fitted the music, along with the singer who was lip syncing.
I found the exercise very useful in teaching me what skills I would need to put in to action when I start filming my proper music video, and also taught me a lot about the process of the filming and the editing.
Star Image - Dyer
Dyer said -
- The star is not a real person, but just an image.
- Stars are commodities - produced and consumed on the strength of their meanings.
- Stars are constructed from a range of materials. They are put together and chanegd according to their target audience.
- An example of a constructed band would be the boyband, JLS. They don't write their own songs, or play their own instruments. Their target audience (mainly teenage girls), the clothes they wear and their songs all make up part of their star image.
- Stars are never presented as their true selves. Dyer said that the star must be both absent and present from its audience. An example of this would be the singer Adele. She is present in the fact that people relate to her, she sings about topics most people have experienced and seems just like a normal person. However, the audience doesn't actually know her at all and she is socialising with other stars, making her abnormal. In this way, she is absent.
Tuesday 6 September 2011
Band Research
In order to plan in a more effective way for our prelim, and understand the band, we set about researching our band, Jane Doe.
The music style is pop/soul.
The band's image has a very vintage, retro look to it - the clothes they wear all look very 40s/50s, as does their make-up (for example, red lipstick, pale skin etc).
Due to their retro image, they appeal to a niche audience, as opposed to mainstream pop where the band would generally wear more skimpy, or trendy clothes.
However, the vintage look that the band channel has become increasingly popular. Stars such as Christina Aguilera, in her video Candyman also channelled this look, as does the song which sounds quite similar. Another singer who's style is this retro/vintage look is Paloma Faith, another solo artist.
There are three members, as with the band we are filming, making them easy to relate to. The type of music the Puppini Sisters specialize in is also similar to Jane Doe's, 1940s style harmonies and swing music. However, they have described themselves as 'swing-punk', because they are louder and more 'in-your-face' than traditional swing music.
The music style is pop/soul.
The band's image has a very vintage, retro look to it - the clothes they wear all look very 40s/50s, as does their make-up (for example, red lipstick, pale skin etc).
However, the vintage look that the band channel has become increasingly popular. Stars such as Christina Aguilera, in her video Candyman also channelled this look, as does the song which sounds quite similar. Another singer who's style is this retro/vintage look is Paloma Faith, another solo artist.Another niche band which is very similar to Jane Doe is the Puppini Sisters.
There are three members, as with the band we are filming, making them easy to relate to. The type of music the Puppini Sisters specialize in is also similar to Jane Doe's, 1940s style harmonies and swing music. However, they have described themselves as 'swing-punk', because they are louder and more 'in-your-face' than traditional swing music.Last year, Hurtwood students used the song 'Crazy In Love' by the Puppini Sisters for their music video, so I have studied it to get a sense of the best shot types to use in sticking with the retro feeling of the band. In studying the video, I found that the best shots to use would be mainly close-ups and mid shots of the singers, and during the instrumental parts, close-ups of the band.
ANALYSIS OF MUSIC VIDEO
How does the music video you have chosen sell its artist to the audience and what image is being presented?
The music video I’ve chosen is ‘Toxic’, by Britney Spears. Britney is seen as a star; she started out as a ‘girl-next-door’, archetypal all-American girl, but has since become rebellious, a sexual magnet, has an anti-authoritarian attitude and conspicuously consumes sex and material goods. She is also youthful and attractive.
The video itself is very provocative. It features Britney wearing different outfits and portraying different women; she wears an air hostess’ outfit, a see-through body suit covered in diamonds and tight black leather. These aspects of the mis-en-scene all help to contribute to the seductive image Britney is portraying. There are also a lot of close-up shots, showing parts of her body and face, such as lips, which are stereotypically a ‘sexy’ image.
Toxic conforms to the stereotype of a pop video in some aspects. Lots of bright lighting is used to highlight the star, Britney is established as a ‘sex symbol’ and special effects such as the lasers and her scaling the wall are used to make the video visually stimulating and exciting to watch. The video tells a story, which is often a very stereotypical convention of pop videos, as opposed to a genre such as rock where the video will mainly be shots of the band playing, with no storyline.
This being said, the story which is being told differs slightly from Britney’s previous videos, such as ‘Lucky’, in which Britney is presented as the victim, or in a sympathetic state. In ‘Toxic’, Britney is powerful and has control over the men in the video, as is supported by the leather outfit and bright red hair. Her appearance is exaggerated throughout the video, to make her stand out, and the light highlights her at all times, showing that she is the most important figure in the video.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)