30 Second Prelim Evaluation

Planning of my work

When planning my work I carefully researched what type of shots are used in successful music videos and as a group we carefully planned out in detail the concept for the music video. Whilst detailed to what we were planning, because of time constraints our planning was not as strong as it could have been. We created storyboards and planned the overall appearance of the music video however, we filed to carefully think about the composition of each shot. Whilst our end product looked good we could have planned each shot more carefully linked with the images and videos we would be projecting to ensure that each image was effective and would suit the framing of the shot.

Analysing existing videos from my genre

Our analysis of existing videos from existing genres was successful, we analysed different videos and all found that Laura Mulvey's Male Gaze theory was present in most PBR&B music videos. Because of this trend we made sure that there was an element of the Male Gaze Theory present within our music video. This was present within the costume of the video as we dressed Rosie in a man's white shirt and she wore red lipstick. One of the shots of our video was a panning close up from Rosie's lips down to the buttons of her shirt.

The first slow motion mid shot of Rosie flipping her hair round could also be deemed to be quite seductive.

We found that in existing music videos of the genre all had very strong colour contrast between dark colours and bright, muted colours. We noted this and made sure that the room we filmed in was dark and used images which had similar colour schemes to current PBR&B music videos. The image shot above's colour scheme was inspired by this image from one of The Weeknd's music videos:

To achieve the colour scheme in the image above we projected the image below of lights which I took at Christmas time in London. 

I was very happy with the final appearance of this shot. 

Next time I will analyse more than one video from a genre to make sure that I am representing the genre as a whole rather than just one or two artist's styles. I will also use more techniques of presenting my work such as Prezi and making videos etc. 

Creating a 30 second music video

The overall production of our music video was successful. The shots we filmed were very effective and followed the storyboard created. The angle which I had to film from due to the positioning of the projector was slightly awkward and we could not use a tripod. Next time I film I will try to find a way round the issue so that a tripod can be used to make sure the shots are not at all shaky. 

The editing of our music video was smooth. We used iMovie to edit the video. Next time I edit I would like to experiment with using Final Cut Express. iMovie required us to line up the shots one after another so each one had to be trimmed, sometimes by even a tenth of a second, so that the clips are lip synced with the music. On Final Cut I am aware that the shots can be lined up on different 'channels' and moved to fit the music, this would be a more accurate way of editing the video as it would be easier to line up the lips moving with the lyrics of the song. 

Richard Dyer's star image theory

Richard Dyer developed the idea that the viewers' perception of a narrative is highly influenced by the image of its stars and that promotional materials control the way the audience is likely to view the film. One of the reasons that many stars become so influential and that they are given the title of 'pop stars' is because they are promoted to this status by their management. This is done through publicity stunts to do with their lives, attending premiers/high publicity parties and features in magazines. Stars are constructed as a specific image, often with a USP which they are well known for which can be easily copied or imitated.

An example of this is Ariana Grande, she has essentially established a 'brand' for herself having a high ponytail and wearing cat ears, this is immitated by fans all over the world and has become almost iconic to her image:

Another example is JLS and their six packs. In almost every one of their music videos the are shirtless or lift their shirts so that their muscles are visible:  

" A star is an image not a real person that is constructed out of a range of media materials"- Dyer, 1979.

Laura Mulvey's male gaze theory

Laura Mulvey's male gaze theory deals with how an audience views the people presented within a media text. Laura Mulvey created the theory in 1975, Mulvey believed that film audience had to 'view characters' from the perspective of a heterosexual male.

The camera often lingers on the curves of the female body within films and music videos, the events which occur to women are predominantly presented in the context of a man's reaction to these events. This forces the viewer to look at women in an objectifying manor and relegates woman to the status of objects. The female viewer must experience the narrative secondarily by identification to the male.

Within Justin Timberlake's 'Cry Me A River' music video, the narrative is mostly consistent of Justin Tuimberlake however, when the female enters the music video she is objectified and used purely for the benefit of Justin. She is wearing minimal clothing whilst he is fully clothed and the camera shows an angle from the back o the woman, lingering, causing the audience to look even if they weren't initially.

 

Julia Kristeva's intertextuality

Julia Kristeva said that every media text is somehow related to another media text, whether this be inspiration, copying for comedic value or by accident. Intertextuality ids used quite often within comedic settings, the television show The Simpsons often references other films or TV shows and will sometimes base entire episodes around them. The interpretation of these texts is dependent of the audience having a prior knowledge of the text that is being referenced.

Within music videos, referencing other texts may bring back nostalgic memories, grab the attention of the audience or create new meanings. An example of intertextuality within a music video is Iggy Azalea - Fancy (ft Charli xcx). The Music video is a direct reference to the film Clueless (1995).

Levi Strauss binary opposition theory

Levi Strauss' binary opposition theory identifies how within media texts, most commonly films, there is a binary opposite between two characters or forces. This is shown obviously within comics where there is a struggle for the good to win against evil. Within The Amazing Spider man, Spider man must face the Lizard in order to save New York. The Lizard is shown to be the villain of the story from the outset and Spider man as the hero.

Binary opposites are not always as prominent as the difference between the scary lizard and Spider man, played by Andrew Garfield. Within promotions of The Amazing Spider man, Spider man is shown in positions where his body language show him to be superior to the Lizard and show the audience that they must support the hero of the narrative.

Within the Twilight series there is a battle of two sides which are the Vampires and Werewolves, whilst this was clear that the two sides were very different, it was the audience's decision as to whether they were 'team Edward' or 'Team Jacob'. These terms were used in promotion of the film and largely the audience chose which side they preferred depending on whether they, as a female teenage audience, preferred Robert Pattinson who played Edward or Taylor Lautner who played Jacob. Within promotion of the films the two sides were shown as being different, the actors themselves looked different as Edward was much paler and had slightly less confidence in his body language whilst Jacob (who was usually topless), was tanned and confident, much like his alter-ego of a werewolf. Towards the end of the Twilight series the two sides combined forces to fight a greater evil and it is evident from the promotion surrounding the last film that the tension between the two characters had lessened.

These are some example of binary opposites:

• Gender – Masculine/ Feminine
• Age – Young/ Old
• Ethnicity – White/ Black
• Social Class – Upper/ Lower
• Social Identity – Chav/ Rocker

An example of Binary Opposites is in Taylor Swift's 'You Belong With Me'. This video uses binary opposites both in the lyrics of the song and also within the music video itself. The video shows a popular cheerleader in comparison with a girl who is quiet and studies a lot. The cheerleader has a boyfriend who the quiet girl loves, the cheerleader breaks up with the guy and the quiet girl ends up with him. It is an incredibly simple narrative but is a sweet video and Taylor Swift plays both the cheerleader and the quiet girl which keeps the audience watching.

Stuart Hall's preferred reading theory

Stuart Hall proposed the idea that as an audience we must decode messages that the media have encoded us to hear and see.

Hall was concerned by just how powerful the media is and believed that the media can effectively dictate what should be issues of public concern and interest through audience positioning. Hall was a Marxist theorist and was concerned with how the media appear to reflect the reality around us whilst ultimately they construct what we deem to be reality.
Hall identified three types of reading:

Dominant Reading -

When the reader fully accepts the media put in front of them and interprets it in the exact way that the author of the text intended them to. An example of this is within a news report being shown the information (which could potentially be biased if coming from one viewpoint) and accepting every detail of the report, not questioning the text in any way.

The Negotiated Reading -

This type of reading is when the audience believe the information partially but believe that certain parts of the text are inaccurate or biased. At this point in viewing the media text they would consult other articles or pieces in order to justify their own uncertainty of the original piece. They may modify the intended message so it reflects their own position and beliefs on the issue.

The Oppositional Reading -

The readers social position and moral values influence their belief of the content and causes them to disregard the information  and reject the reading.

Final 30 Second music video: The Weeknd - Earned It

Final 30 Second Music Video: The Weeknd - Earned It

Editing our 30 second music video

We chose to use iMovie when editing our 30 second music video, it was an easy programme which suited the editing we required and we were familiar after using it for AS Media. When making my full music video I will consider using Final Cut Pro as I think it would be easier to sync up the lip syncing that iMovie was. 

Detaching audio from shots to ensure there was no background music that is not in the song Earned It:

Selecting a clip to insert into the project:

Inserting a shot as a cutaway so it would return to the original lip syncing at the exact shot:

Inserting transition of fade to black between shots and adjusting time to suit need:

Reversing clip and slowing down to 50% to make it far more dramatic:

Filming 30 second music video

The filming of our music video was very successful, as it was only for a 30 second clip and we filmed in one set with one outfit, we were able to complete filming in one session which we had not anticipated. The projections were effective on Rosie and the backdrop. We experimented by using another person when filming, Caoimhe's shots were not as effective as the ones we had already planned of Rosie so as a group Amy, Emily and I made the decision to keep to just using Caoimhe within our 30 second task.

During filming I did the camera work, Emily chose which images to use at which points and controlled the laptop and Amy played the music at the parts which we required so that Rosie was able to lip sync in time with the song.

Videos and photos used when projecting background of 30 second musicvideo

Below are the images and videos which we will be projecting onto Rosie for our music video.

These images are taken in London and New York. I have chosen to use these images and videos specifically as I think they will look dramatic against the black and white contrast of the shirt and background. The idea of the big city fits well with the lyrics of the song. Within Earned It, the lyrics "imma care for you, you ,you" are sung at various points, big cities are often associated with success and being in the big city implies that the person has the ability to care for another. 

Story Board for 30 second music video

Costume, prop and equipment list for 30 second music video

We have chosen to keep the setting of our 30 second video very minimal as we don't want it to distract from the main imagery. We have chosen to project images of a cityscape onto Rosie who will be our actress within the music video. The setting will consist of a dark room with a projector and curtain. The curtains within our drama rooms within school will cover the projector screen in order to make the background images on the cityscape more dull in comparison to the imagery projected onto Rosie.

The costume for this video is a white shirt and red lipstick. As it has been evident throughout research, the objectification of women is a very prevalent issue in PBR&B music videos. We also want to communicate this theme as it fits with the style of the genre but not to the point where it is hard to watch. The idea of a man's white shirt may cause the audience to link this with men's clothing and make their own judgement which links with the message of the song. We will use red lipstick to draw attention to Rosie's lips, it will not be smudged or messed up in any way that can give the wrong impression.

Prop List

• Table to place in front of board for Rosie to stand on 
• Curtain

Costume List

White oversized shirt

Red Lipstick

Equipment List

• Camera (Nikon Coolpix)
• Projector 
• IPod to play song on whilst filming
• Laptop to connect to projector

Analysis of PBR&B music video

Frank Ocean - Swim Good

The mise en scene of the video relates to the style of Japanese films, from the costume choice, to the text at the start of the music video. The periodic clips of the ocean link to the song's title 'swim good' and gives he impression that he is free to do as he likes, the close ups of women's faces gives the character  history and causes the audience to question how heavily involved they are with the lyrics of the song.

We are initially shown a close up of Frank Ocean eating popcorn wearing a panda mask. Whilst this seems very abstract for the viewer, the panda is present in other Frank Ocean music videos and gives a sense of intertextuality. Frank is eating popcorn whilst viewing a what we can assume is a TV screen or may in fact be events metaphorically unfolding.

Frank is driving away in a car, it is not evident initially whether he is driving towards or away from something,  He is dressed in a samurai which relates to the panda which was shown earlier in the video. We are shown a montage of different angles of the car driving down windy roads, making the audience focus on the lyrics of the song.

As a close up of a woman's face appears with a glitching screen, the assumption is that his troubles are to do with a girl and shots after her face appears are sunnier and happier which suggests that she may have been a 'light' in his life. The appearance of static over her face again relates back to the initial scene in which we assumed he was watching events unfold.

Analysis of PBR&B genre

PBR&B (also known as hipster/indie R&B) 

PBR&B was a term which was originally used in 2011 by music writer Eric Harvey. The term was originally quite a tongue and cheek phrase as Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR) is referred to as the hipster choice of drink and the initials of this beer were combined with the initials of classic R&B. 

The most noted artists within the PBR&B genre are The Weeknd and Frank Ocean, the artists add hip hop themes and production to the sound of the music but sing in them like the accepted R&B style. 

A key theme continued through virtually every PBR&B music video, in a similar sense to R&B, is the sexualisation of women. Women are often shown in compromising position which forces the audience to view them in a sexual way. The majority of PBR&B artists are male and the videos depict women being inferior to the men, often being present for entertainment for the men or are presented as an annoyance. 

The Weeknd - The Zone ft. Drake 

The zone is one of The Weeknd's earlier music videos, released in 2012. The Weeknd's style of music and videos has progressed along with the genre in recent years, The Zone  uses dark moody shots which are heavily contrasted with very bright shots of a woman which comes across as being slightly disjointed. Projections are used in the video along with close ups of the woman's lips putting on lipstick and her eyes. 

Mid shot of Abel Tesfaye singing dark silhouette connotes power and mystery - purple hints regal themes.

Extreme close up of woman's lips 

Extreme close up of eyes being projected onto Abel singing

The Weekend - The Hills

The Hills is a more edgy video which is The Weeknd's style now. There is high contrast between intense silhouettes and dramatic backgrounds, the words do not relate wholly to the video itself and the women in the video are dressed in minimal clothing, being shown in a negative manor. 

Abel singing in the foreground, mid shot which is in the left third of the screen. The woman in the background is shown in very little clothing as is shown as being rather useless in the dramatic situation of the car flipping onto its roof. 

The woman in this shot is again shown as being a nuisance to the man and it is a very patriarchal view of women. 

This contrast between the dramatic fire is a common theme amongst PBR&B music videos.