Marina from Dylan Webb
Thursday 18 July 2013
Wednesday 3 July 2013
Codes and Conventions of Music Videos
Here are the commonly known codes and conventions when making a music videos, concering cinematography and editing.
For the cinematography, if the music video is a live performance of the band/artist there has to be camera movements such as panning around the band/artist, canted angles and any other angle that will create a sense of movement, even if the artist is standing still and only singing. This could be due to the fact that the video would be very plain and boring if the camera stayed focused on the artist and they did not move around. Another important technical code is that the music video must feature a lot of close ups of the artist, and must be predominate to make sure the audience are aware of who the artist is, and to make them like them. Interesting fact that due to the size of the television screens, they used close ups to make the artist closer towards the screen, as if they used a lot of wide shots the artist would be far in the screen and the audience may not be able to recognise them as good. This is not so much of a problem nowadays due to the increasing sizing of the television but is still vital as they need to make sure the audience feel a connection with the artist and remember their face.
Moving onto editing, it is a common occurrence for music videos to feature a fast paced montage (many shots coming together) that are impossible to grasp on the first viewing, so that they have to watch it multiple times to get the full picture. They do not have to do this, as some music videos do have a slower pace to establish mood and atmosphere through slow transitions. Something that have become more popular nowadays is digital effects. These are used as they offer the audience different pleasures and freshen up the music video watching experience. These digital effects could be split screen, colourisation and some even feature blockbuster film style CGI (computer generated imagery). More and more music videos are using green and blue screen (chroma-key) when making videos due to them being cheap and allowing them to create scenes that would cost a lot to create if made without the chroma-key.
Godwins music video analysis was invented in 1992, which came into six stages which all music videos should include:
For the cinematography, if the music video is a live performance of the band/artist there has to be camera movements such as panning around the band/artist, canted angles and any other angle that will create a sense of movement, even if the artist is standing still and only singing. This could be due to the fact that the video would be very plain and boring if the camera stayed focused on the artist and they did not move around. Another important technical code is that the music video must feature a lot of close ups of the artist, and must be predominate to make sure the audience are aware of who the artist is, and to make them like them. Interesting fact that due to the size of the television screens, they used close ups to make the artist closer towards the screen, as if they used a lot of wide shots the artist would be far in the screen and the audience may not be able to recognise them as good. This is not so much of a problem nowadays due to the increasing sizing of the television but is still vital as they need to make sure the audience feel a connection with the artist and remember their face.Moving onto editing, it is a common occurrence for music videos to feature a fast paced montage (many shots coming together) that are impossible to grasp on the first viewing, so that they have to watch it multiple times to get the full picture. They do not have to do this, as some music videos do have a slower pace to establish mood and atmosphere through slow transitions. Something that have become more popular nowadays is digital effects. These are used as they offer the audience different pleasures and freshen up the music video watching experience. These digital effects could be split screen, colourisation and some even feature blockbuster film style CGI (computer generated imagery). More and more music videos are using green and blue screen (chroma-key) when making videos due to them being cheap and allowing them to create scenes that would cost a lot to create if made without the chroma-key. Godwins music video analysis was invented in 1992, which came into six stages which all music videos should include:
- Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics e.g: stage performances in a rock band video, a dance routine in a pop video and so on.
- There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals, which is further broken down to what it actual does: illustrates, amplifies or contradicts the lyric meaning.
- There is a relationship between music and visuals, which again shares the same broken down headings as number 2.
- Lots of close ups of the artist, may create a visual style e.g: Lady GaGa and her unique style of weirdness.
- References to the notion of looking e.g: a screen within a screen, a voyeuristic treatment of the female body and so on.
- There are often intertextual references e.g: to other films, television programmes and even other music videos.
John Stuart had a famous quote about intertextuality which goes as the following: ''incorporating, raiding and reconstructing''
The History Of Music Videos
Music videos have been around for a while now, and here is a look into the history of the most noticeable and ones that have contributed to the way in which they are made and exhibited.
Music videos have been around since the 1920s, with one of the most noticeable being by the artist named Bettie Smith named St. Louis Blues (1929). Her music video is very simplistic compared to today's standards. It features Smith singing in two different locations, very little movement and action, and it seems as if she could be singing live (or could be due to the sound quality).
Moving swiftly into the 1960s, Bob Dylan made what is considered as one of the first modern day music videos with the song named ''Subterranean Homesick Blues''. Again, just like Bettie Smiths music video, compared towards today's standards, this video is very basic, but does not feature the artist in the video which was a first for its time. It was also one of the first videos to incorporate the actual song lyrics into the music video, as a boy has lots of different pieces of paper, featuring certain words from the song.
Going further into the timeline, now focusing on the 1970s, this was the time where television fully took off, with most of the households having television sets in their home. Record labels noticed this trend and decided to take action and viewed it as an opportunity to get their artist more recognised and earn more money, allowing record labels to create small promos that were aired on television. The sudden boom of the television allowed record labels to promote their artists via music videos, and the artist would not even have to be there to do it themselves, which they would have had to do in the past.
With the increasing popularity in television was not the only thing to come out of the 1970s. In 1975 a band named Queen made a music video for their song ''Bohemian Rhapsody''. This is considered as the first ''proper'' music video, due to the use of the what were considered as advanced video effects and editing at the time, and also frequently called groundbreaking. It is also commonly stated that this video set the language for all other music videos that came out after this. This music video is a very important piece of history due to its impact upon the industry and how videos are made.
Moving onto ''Thriller'' by Michael Jackson, this was also as groundbreaking as ''Bohemiam Rhapsody'' by Queen as this music video had a substantial budget of $1,100,000, which is a very large sum of money to spend on a short music video. It also featured the make-up and costumes that would normally feature in a film, making this a truly amazing music video and revolutionary.
Not only that, Michael Jackson also has the most expensive music video ever made, with his video for 'Scream' featuring his sister Janet Jackson costing a whopping $7,000,000 to create (made in 1995).
Music videos are becoming increasingly more expensive and featuring things that would only ever be seen in a film, such as blockbuster style CGI effects, which shows the progression of the music video from the very start with minimal action, to the highly creative works of art that are produce today.
Tuesday 2 July 2013
Marina & the Diamonds
Task: Find an artist or band that hasn't been manipulated by cultural industry
Artist name: Marina & the Diamonds
Real name: Marina Lambrini Diamandis
Born: 10th October 1985
Age: 27
Genres of music: Indietronica, new wave, synthpop, dance-pop
Occupations: Musician, singer-songwriter
Years Active: 2005-present
Labels: Neon Gold, 679, Atlantic, Chop Shop, Elektra
Marina & the Diamonds is signed to an indie record label named 679. Her early demos were made with Apple software called "GarageBand". Through the use of Gumtree, she found someone who would be able to produce a few tracks setting her back £500. She then released these on a self made EP called "Mermaid Vs Sailor" and then sold this through MySpace, with an estimated 70 copies sold.
She was then discovered by Derek Davies of Neon Gold Records, who then booked her to open for the singer Gotye, which is where she became signed to 679 Recordings.
Marina then released two singles "Obsessions" and "Mowgli's Road" in November of 2008, then another EP named "The Crown Jewels" in 2009, featuring her first popular song "I Am Not A Robot". Her first major label single was a re-recording of "Mowgli's Road", which was released in Novemeber of 2009, one year later. She was then positioned as second on the BBC Sound of 2010 poll behind the ever so successful Ellie Goulding.
Marina had to work her way to where she is today, having to put effort in and even paying to get her singles out there herself. She strives on having freedom, creating singles if both her and the record label approve. She has released two studio albums, one being "The Family Jewels" and another, which her record label allowed her to create (even though they denied her a few times) named "Electra Heart"
Artist name: Marina & the Diamonds
Real name: Marina Lambrini Diamandis
Born: 10th October 1985
Age: 27
Genres of music: Indietronica, new wave, synthpop, dance-pop
Occupations: Musician, singer-songwriter
Years Active: 2005-present
Labels: Neon Gold, 679, Atlantic, Chop Shop, Elektra
Marina & the Diamonds is signed to an indie record label named 679. Her early demos were made with Apple software called "GarageBand". Through the use of Gumtree, she found someone who would be able to produce a few tracks setting her back £500. She then released these on a self made EP called "Mermaid Vs Sailor" and then sold this through MySpace, with an estimated 70 copies sold.
She was then discovered by Derek Davies of Neon Gold Records, who then booked her to open for the singer Gotye, which is where she became signed to 679 Recordings.
Marina then released two singles "Obsessions" and "Mowgli's Road" in November of 2008, then another EP named "The Crown Jewels" in 2009, featuring her first popular song "I Am Not A Robot". Her first major label single was a re-recording of "Mowgli's Road", which was released in Novemeber of 2009, one year later. She was then positioned as second on the BBC Sound of 2010 poll behind the ever so successful Ellie Goulding.
Marina had to work her way to where she is today, having to put effort in and even paying to get her singles out there herself. She strives on having freedom, creating singles if both her and the record label approve. She has released two studio albums, one being "The Family Jewels" and another, which her record label allowed her to create (even though they denied her a few times) named "Electra Heart"
Monday 1 July 2013
The Culture Industry
The Culture Industry is a media theory created by two theorists:
Theodor W. Adorno
Max Horkheimer
The Culture Industry
They stated that the way in which the music industry manufactures artists, is the same way in which other industries manufacture vast quantities of consumer goods. For example, from the show The X Factor came a boy-band called JLS. They started out by forming themselves, and to some extent had a unique quality towards them. Once they went onto The X Factor, they went through the standardization* process that artists tend to go through, making them lose their sense of 'uniqueness' and becoming a generic boy-band. They became manufactured.
Adorno and Horkheimer stated that everything produced in the culture industry becomes the same, and the audience are so used to this occurring that it has became accepted and a natural thing to happen. Another example of this would be where Simon Cowell finds an artist, named James Arthur and then corrupts him, making him lose his 'uniqueness' just because Simone Cowell wants to make money from this artist, and only views him as a money-maker.
They also stated that money is the key to everything in the music industry, and the artist main purpose is generate money for their label, making the artist become a commodity.
Pseudo Individuality
Both Adorno and Horkheimer said that some artists are made in the same way as most of the other artists, but then go on to claim that they are original, yet they evidently are not. They used the analogy of a lock and key, where the artists are they key, as they all look the same, and if you look closely enough, they has some minor changes from the rest.
Theodor W. Adorno
Max Horkheimer
The Culture Industry
They stated that the way in which the music industry manufactures artists, is the same way in which other industries manufacture vast quantities of consumer goods. For example, from the show The X Factor came a boy-band called JLS. They started out by forming themselves, and to some extent had a unique quality towards them. Once they went onto The X Factor, they went through the standardization* process that artists tend to go through, making them lose their sense of 'uniqueness' and becoming a generic boy-band. They became manufactured.
Adorno and Horkheimer stated that everything produced in the culture industry becomes the same, and the audience are so used to this occurring that it has became accepted and a natural thing to happen. Another example of this would be where Simon Cowell finds an artist, named James Arthur and then corrupts him, making him lose his 'uniqueness' just because Simone Cowell wants to make money from this artist, and only views him as a money-maker.
They also stated that money is the key to everything in the music industry, and the artist main purpose is generate money for their label, making the artist become a commodity.
Pseudo Individuality
Both Adorno and Horkheimer said that some artists are made in the same way as most of the other artists, but then go on to claim that they are original, yet they evidently are not. They used the analogy of a lock and key, where the artists are they key, as they all look the same, and if you look closely enough, they has some minor changes from the rest.
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