Research: Laura Mulvey Representation theory

Laura Mulvey

"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 a female figure which is then styled accordingly."

Aka in music videos, males are portrayed as dominant and females are portrayed simply as sexual objects to fulfil mens fantasies.

This can happen in all music genre's however the main genre's are R&B & Hip hop & Rap.
These are genres we would try to stay away from when chosing the song we decide to do for our music video to ensure that noone has to be portrayed in a certain way. In addition, they are also usually very high budget as they often feature fancy cars, chains, money and big houses which we do not have.


There are many music videos that show the representation of women in this way.
1: Dizzee Rascal - Holiday

Immediatley from the start of the video, it opens with multiple women. There are repetitive shots of women that have been disabled to just certain body parts such as bum and thighs etc which continues throughout the whole video. The video portrays women as 'loose' as it shows many of them with old men, which suggests that women don't have certain standards for themselves. The use of slow motion and tilt to and of body parts also makes them only objects, and removes the human element from them.

2:

Robin Thicke - Blurred Lines

Women are seen from the male perspective throughout the whole video and are again portrayed as 'loose'. They are all running around with no clothes on while the men are fully clothed and are watching them. The women are only there in the video o please these males, and shows the male gaze. Constant tilts of women's bodies and disfiguration of women also removes the idea that women are also human and reinforces the idea that they are only sexual objects.

3. TI - No Mediocre 

This video is also another example of this.

The sexual representation of women also happens from women artists themselves. An example I have is Nicki Minaj. Although she believes that she is empowering women through this, she is actually just falling into the trap of music videos by sexualizing herself. Her music videos show her disfiguring her own self and acting in a provocative manner to please the male gaze. Even though she is a female artist, the video is still seen from the male perspective and this is shown through camerawork as it is constantly tilting down on body parts and doing closeups.

This slideshow also shows her acting in a certain manner.

leanne amaning's Slidely by Slidely Slideshow

Research: Previous Student's Video

https://vimeo.com/80975600

I liked the above's student music video. They followed some of the conventions of music videos such as obvious editting using jump cuts and special effects. They all had a storyline in their music video while the artist narrated to the camera.

They also used Carol Vanallis's theory by including:
- Jump cuts
- Obvious edits
- Artist making eye contact with the camera
- Repeated shots of performer

Example of obvious edit. Artist making eye contact with camera

Example of obvious edit with special effects.
Artist also making eye contact with camera

Camera moving in time with music

Repeated shots of artist/performer
Base track used throughout

Research: Carol Vernallis Theory

Carol Varnallis found that edits in music videos come much more frequently than in films and edits in music video, they are purposely more obvious than in films. Many edits in music videos stand out as disjuncture and that the editing seems to have a rhythmic basis closely connected to the song.

- The rules of continuity editing/seemless editting are broken in order to draw attention to what is happening on screen

- Edits are really obvious

- A master shot/base track is frequently used to give the video a structure

- The camera is constantly moving; often in time with the artist and the music

Rizzle Kicks - Down With The Trumpets is an example of Vernallis's theory

Research: Function of a Music Video

Research: Copyright Clearance

I emailed Rita Ora's record label during summer trying to get copyright clearance for one of her songs. I am still waiting on their response

Introduction: Technical Skills Learnt

Whilst making our teen film opening in the AS year, I learnt all the technical skills that I have learnt to date:

Introduction: Reflecting Back on the AS year

At the end of the AS year, we learned about music videos. We learned about mise-en-scene, camera and editing. Music videos vary depending on the genre of the song, as editing is often the same pace as the song. For example, if it is a slow song, there will usually be slow edits, less cuts, and longer scenes.

We also learned that music videos follow certain conventions, that also vary according to genre. Usually, the camera is always moving and is never static and music videos always try to keep the interest of the viewer by making the video pleasing to the eye.

Below is a prezi I made about Lil Jon's song "Turn Down for What".

Research: Copyright clearance

Research: Technical skills gained

• How to use final cut pro to a beginners level
• how to use a video camera
• how to use a camcorder
• how to use different medias to support the blog, like prezi
• how to do sound bridges, voice overs and other editing tricks
• How to use lighting to get the best possible video quality

Research: First year music videos reflection

Last June we started looking at music videos after we completed our AS exams. We learnt that music videos are completed using 5 different aspects, 3 of which are used in TV dramas. Mis En Scene, Camera work, features of editing, features of generic signifiers and features of creativity and innovation are the aspects that we looked at, and i picked out some points from each category.

Mis En Scene:

• The artist has to be dressed in a way that will appeal to the audience. This fits in with the generic signifiers, the artist will have different attire if its a rap song compared to if its a chamber choir recital.
• The background and choreography also has to match, faster songs require stronger dance moves and more vibrant colours, whereas slow music requires more grace. 
• There can be a variety of different backgrounds in rapid succession, unlike in film

Camera:

• The vast majority of it is handheld or not on a tripod. The videos rely on moving on screen and moving with the camera to stop it feeling awkward.
• High quality videos have loads of base tracks, 8+. This is so that they can edit them easily together.
• rely on numerous angles, a lot of close ups and mid shots

Editing:

• Very fast edits, sometimes multiple in a second
• edited to the beat
• lots of special effects, this helps keep the audience impressed

Generic signifiers and creativity slide into each of the categories i have wrote, the director has to find new and aesthetically intriguing ways to keep the audience happy, whilst also giving them what they expect to fid in a music video. The videos that generally follow all these standards are normally mainstream ones because they cant afford to lose their fans

My review of a previous student music video

                                         My review.

I was particularly impressed with the following student video because i felt as though the group accurately captured the conventions of the indie pop genres music videos, which is usually quite simplistic and bare in order to focus on the craft, talent and lyrics. However i was also happy to see that they had introduced their own flare and added some eye-catching and obvious edits at the same time.

                                     
                               Mustafa, Nick, Poppy, Charon from 283goswell on Vimeo.

There were certain parts about this music video that interested me:
                                 

       I thought this worked really well as an opening because the close up introduces the performer, which already makes it personal for the viewer and is quite striking. As you can see the lighting is really dark, which creates a mysterious feel.
                           

  Here they used a projector in order to create this effect, and it looks really professional and simple yet well thought out as this images being displayed in the background are of nature and wolves which links with the rest of the music video and locations used.
 

I especially liked the groups adventurous and frequent use of various shot types such as this one which is a high angle shot of the performer/narrator. I feel that this relates to the viewer her vulnerability.

Research for a music video: Laura mulvey

                                                    Laura Mulvey

Mulveys theory consists of the idea that women are being objectified and exploited through the music videos approved and distributed by the various labels representing female artists. She also expresses that female artists purposefully accomodate the male gaze by exposing their assets, in order to evoke fantasy and desire in men which in turn, increases the exposure and likability of the product. From what I understood from this,I was able to identify the ideas in this theory within plenty of music videos belonging to the R&B, Hip-Hop and Rap genres. There are a few music videos out there that are perfectly relevant to this theory and the links to them are posted below:

Nicki Minaj- Anaconda

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDZX4ooRsWs

 

Kanye West- Gold digger

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vwNcNOTVzY

 

Trey Songz-Foreign

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjj2E9dwjjU 

 

Research for Music video:Carol Vernallis research.

                                                      Carol vernallis

Carol vernallis's observations on music videos have been condensed into the overall theory that the edits of a music video come much more frequently than in films. As the editing is fixed to the  rhythmic base of the selected song. This was broken down into a few ideas, which are that:

• The usual rules of 'continuity editing' are broken in order to draw attention to what is on the screen.
• Edits may be really obvious to draw attention to themselves, such as wipes and special effects added .
• jump cuts are often used.
• A master shot (base track) is frequently used to give the video a structure.
• The camera may move in time with the music.

There are plenty of music videos which illustrate all of the above, such as:

                                             Chris brown- don't' judge me.
This song uses quite a few edits but especially utilises the slow motion function
and close ups in order to fully capture the main performers emotions and reactions to
 the events occurring in the music video.

                                             Beyonce-countdown
Within this music video obvious edits are used throughout and it includes a wide
range of special effects in order to make the music video entertaining and dramatic.

Resarch for a music video: Andrew Goodwin 'dancing in the distraction factory'

                                                   Andrew Goodwin

Andrew goodwins theory explores the idea that the traditional narrative analyses doesn't neccessarily apply to music videos, especially ones dedicated to pop music genre. Meaning that their approach to creating and presenting a narrative is of a different angle to novels or films.

within this theory different reasons for the narrative structures are given, which are:

1. pop videos are built around songs and don't pose traditional narrative structures ( normality-problem-resolution)
2. the pop video uses the singer both as narrator and as a character
3. the singer often looks directly at the camera- this is an extension of performance and trying to involve the viewer at home with the performance.

Furthermore, Goodwin introduced three types of relations between songs and videos in his theory:
disjuncture:This is where there is little connection between the lyric and video or where the video contradicts the lyric. An exapmle of this would be the song 'Titanium- David Guetta ft sia' where there is no corelation between the narrative and song.

illustration: This is where the video tells the story of the lyric "pap don't preach" (Madonna) for example. Dance is often used to express the feelings/moods in the song. I've researched this concept and have found that Sevyn Streeter's song ' I like it' epresses this well through this technique.

        
amplification: Amplification occurs when the videos introduce new meanings that do not contradict with the lyrics but add layers of meaning . so for example I believe that the music video linked to 'K. Michelle- Can't raise a man' is a perfect example of this as she explores various domestic themes throughout the narrative.

As well as this, Songs that promote other commodities such as a popular movies/films, mainly rely on repetitive showings to the public in order to gain some exposure and viewings. A classic example would be Whitney Housten created a song which was dedicated to her love interest in the movie 'The Body Guard', coinsidentally she was the main actress of the movie and so became the Narator as well as the performer of the song.

Research for music video: functions of a music video.

What is the function of a music video?
 

What is a music video?

A music video is a collaboration of clips merged together in order to create an appealing video, which expresses the vision and meaning of the song behind it visually.
 

The functions of a music video:

Nowadays, plenty of artists are creating event music videos; this is partly so that the audience is able to get some background information on the story line and the characters involved and their relevance to the music video, which gives bt6he viewers a better understanding. Another function of music videos would be to promote various companies and their products-hence why you see plenty of product placements these days in the music videos-, this has a major effect on the general public’s buying habits as new trends are introduced these videos. A perfect example of this would be Jennifer Hudson’s ‘No one gonna love you’. This is because it includes everything I’ve just mentioned, as well as displaying another function which is that, through these music videos artists are able to relate and connect with their fans and show understanding as they use everyday situations and issues as a main factor of their performances. For example in this video she is trying to tap into the emotions of her significant other on their anniversary however doesn’t get very far until the very end, something that plenty women are going through or have experienced. Also the video incorporates all the conventional features of a music video for example the pace matched the music, there were dancers and majority of the screen time was afforded to the singer whether it is during the narrative or performance.

                               Jennifer Hudoson- no one gonna love you.

Research for music video: copywrite clearence.

In order to be able to use a certain artists song I had to request copy write clearance from the record label that support the artist which in my case was, Emilie Sande a British R&B/Rap artist,who is under the due-restriction of Virgin records:

Reflecting back on the AS year Part 2: technical skills i have learnt.

Bullet pointed list of technical skills I learnt last year:

Below I have displayed a list of technical skills I have learnt over my AS year:

·         I am able to utilise final cut pro efficiently in order to edit my projects.

·         I have learnt how to use Foley sound in order to make the project believable.

·         I can function the cameras provided well and can effectively use it to get various different shot types.

·         I have grasped the rules of editing and was able to apply that to my work effectively.

·         I became comfortable with using various types of apps and technology to display my research and planning.

·         I learnt how to correctly structure a pitch for my project.

Reflecting back on the AS year part 1: what I have learnt about music videos.

 Reflecting back on what I learnt about music videos in June:      

In June I was taught on the conventional features of a music video and the effect these have on the viewers. These conventions were broke down into 5 sub-sections in order to clearly identify their individual significance to music videos. The sections are features of: Camera  work, Editing, Mise-en-scene, Generic signifiers and creativity and innovation. I came up with some examples for each of these features in order to grasp it properly.  

Camera work:

·         Whilst artist sings/performs, the camera is focused on them a lot.

·         The videos are shot using a few base tracks.

·         There is a variety of shot types and distances, these can be static and there is a lot of camera movement.

·         Plenty of tracking shots

·         A variety of camera angles.

Features of editing:

·         Plenty of special effects and filtered lighting.

·         The videos pace is edited to match the beat of the song.

·         Screen time goes to the artist, unless it is a lyrical video E.G: Katy Perry-Roar.

·         The editing doesn’t follow a film narrative structure.

·         Lip-syncing is introduced in the videos and sound is incorporated to match it.

·         There Is a lot of repeated shots due to base tracks.

Features of M.E.S:

·         The dancing matches the genre.

·         It’s common to utilise high key lighting. Bright studio lighting (makes it appealing).

·         Clothing is suited to genre (artists change a lot).

·         Environments often change at random times in the music videos, unlike in movies.

·         Hair and make-up can sometimes be dramatic and exaggerated.

Features of generic signifiers:

·         Pace of editing matches the actions on the screen (indicates the genre.

·         Age of artist and participants match the genre.

·         Videos can be exposed either widely or on a more small scale.

·         The style of dancing changes for each genre.

·         The locations match the genre.

Features of creativity and innovation:

·         Editing, camera, M.E.S, social media, TV, Popular culture, Artists performance.

 Below I have displayed a few music videos which demonstrate all of these features:

                                       New flame- Chris Brown ft. Usher and Rick Ross

                                   
                                       Bang Bang- Jessie J ft. Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj