video killed the radio star booklet - jay franks

VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR

AN INTRODUCTION TO MUSIC VIDEO

BY JAY FRANKS

A2 INDUCTION 2012

FOR YOUR A2 COURSEWORK YOU WILL PRODUCE:

A MEDIA PORTFOLIO, COMPROMISING A MAIN AND TWO ANCILLARY TEXTS 60 MARKS

RESEARCH AND PLANNING 20 MARKS

EVALUATION 20 MARKS

MAIN TASK

A PROMOTION PACKAGE FOR THE RELEASE OF AN ALBUM, TO INCLUDE:

A MUSIC PROMO VIDEO – 40 MARKS

PLUS:

A COVER FOR ITS RELEASE AS PART OF A DIGIPAK (CD/DVD PACKAGE); 10 MARKS

A MAGAZINE ADVERTISEMENT FOR THE DIGIPAK (CD/DVD PACKAGE). 10 MARKS

YOU WILL THEN BE REQUIRED TO ANSWER TO QUESTIONS IN YOUR 2013 EXAM ON YOUR COURSEWORK.

QUESTION A (25 MARKS) WILL FOCUS ON YOUR SKILLS DEVELOPMENT FROM AS TO A2. YOU HAVE ALREADY BEGUN PREPARATION FOR THIS DURING YOUR A2 INDUCTION LESSONS

QUESTION B (25 MARKS) WILL ASK YOU TO ANALYSE ONE OF YOUR PRODUCTS IN RELATION TO ONE OF THE FOLLOWING KEY CONCEPTS

NARRATIVE

AUDIENCE

GENRE

REPRESENTATION

MEDIA LANGUAGE

N FORD / A HAMMOND A2 MUSIC VIDEO

THE PURPOSE OF A MUSIC VIDEO

A music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music/song. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a [marketing] device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. Although the origins of music videos go back much further, they came into their own in the 1980s, when MTV based their format around the medium, and later with the launch of VH1. The term "music video" first came into popular usage in the early 1980s. Prior to that time, these works were described by various terms including "filmed insert", "promotional (promo) film", "promotional (promo) clip" or "film clip" (Wikipedia)

TASK 1

WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE MAJOR ELEMENTS OF AN ALBUM MARKETING CAMPAIGN (THE DIFFERENT WAYS IN WHICH A BAND/ARTISTS IDENTITY IS MEDIATED TO AN AUDIENCE)?

Social Media Distribution Websites Press Newsletter Album cover design

WHERE HAVE YOU ENCOUNTERED THESE ELEMENTS IN YOUR DAILY LIFE?

Due to being a teenager, social media is a highly popular element of our lives that most teenagers use and interact with each other on. Myself and other teenagers encounter social media every day. So we know what it is like the best, and how it can impact everyone’s day lives. Through some marketing on social media, it can reach out and spread massively across the world allowing people to become aware of something very easily if it is marketed correctly. In terms of distribution, I understand how it is achieved use to working for a retail store. They have to distribute their products around the world to their multiple different stores. This can be seen as a similar thing in terms as everything else that gets distributed. The main goal is for it to reach it’s specified audience, and this can be in various different scenarios. For example, a pop song would be advertised on a radio station such as Capital whereas a rock song would be advertised on Keerang, I have noticed this when listening to the radio in my daily life. For websites, I have encountered these regular as I am a student and needs to do research and that is gained through accessing different websites. Also, I like to shop online and that requires me to encounter various different websites. It is interesting how they can all be designed so differently and this can have an impact on how the audience perceives and rates a certain company.


WHAT FACTORS MAKE YOU ‘LIKE’ A BAND AND THEREFORE DOWNLOAD THEIR MUSIC, BUY THEIR ALBUMS OR ATTEND THEIR CONCERTS? HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHICH BAND IS ‘COOL’ AND WHICH IS NOT?

The quality of music produced How they look The way they act Similarities to yourself Social media interaction

WHAT MAKES THE MUSIC VIDEO UNIQUE?

THE MUSIC VIDEO IS DESIGNED FOR MULTIPLE VIEWINGS; IT HAS TO BE INSTANTLY MEMORABLE YET INTERESTING ENOUGH TO WARRANT WATCHING AGAIN AND AGAIN. UNLIKE THE FILM TRAILER IT IS NOT DESIGNED TO BE VIEWED ON A LARGE SCREEN NOR IS ITS AUDIENCE CAPTIVE.

WHERE AND WHEN DO YOU WATCH MUSIC VIDEOS?

I tend to watch music videos on my phone at home when relaxing at night. This would occur due to going to a festival and wanting to do some research prior to the event into the acts that will be attending to determine if I will bother in going to see them or not as I will be able to perceive if I like them or not and if their music is any good. Another time I would watch a music video would be for a song that has just came out to see if that makes me intrigued into the song or just for a new song I find that I like as it interesting to see if the song correlates to the video. If a music video to a song is good, then it can make me like the song more as I will be able to remember it more.

TASK 2

IN THE SPACE BELOW LIST AS MANY FEATURES/CONVENTIONS OF MUSIC VIDEOS THAT YOU CAN THINK OF.

Mise en scene A storyline Camera shots Camera movements Camera speed Editing Lighting Genre characteristics Relationship between lyrics and visuals Relationship between music and visuals A visual style Stage performance Amplifying music videos Illustrative music videos Contradicting music videos


Analysing Music Videos:

1. Genre Categories:

Illustration – either a straightforward performance video or a simple narrative video (or mixture of the two) that illustrates the meaning of the lyrics and visualizes the music in a straightforward way. It could be called music video ‘denotation’. A good example of a classic mixed narrative/performance video is Pulp’s ‘Babies’.

Amplification – the conventions demonstrated by the music video ‘auteur’ or creative director. S/he may use both performance and narrative, however, rather than simply illustrate the lyrics or sounds this director will ‘amplify’ both with creative interpretation, unusual ideas and surrealistic approaches. There is still a direct link to the song, whether it be the beat, sound or ‘connotative’ link to part of the lyrics or song title. See Spike Jones’ video for Fat Boy Slim’s ‘Praise You’ or Michel Gondry’s video for Kylie Minogue’s ‘Come Into My Life’.

Disjuncture – also created by ‘auteur’ directors these videos are completely abstract and have no obvious link to the music, lyrics, song title or artist. In this sense they are a point of ‘disjuncture’ from the song. See Spike Jones’ video for Daft Punk’s ‘Da Funk’ or any Radiohead video.

2. The Narrative Video Codes and the Performance Video Codes:

Narrative Video -

Narratives are rarely complex for two reasons:

1. They need to market or advertise the band/artist and song so must feature ‘repeatability’ In other words the narrative code must be ‘loose’ or simply ‘suggestive’ rather than ‘realistic’ or ‘detailed’. This is because music video audiences need to be able to watch videos repeatedly and a tight realist narrative would prove too boring after the first couple of viewings. Musical Synaesthesia only requires the musical or lyrical ‘mood’ to latch onto to develop a narrative concept.

2. Musical Synaesthesia – the two elements of the song which determine the visual subject matter or overall concept


a) Roland Barthes theory of “the grain of voice” whereby the vocal sounds can be understood as music in themselves eg Michael Jackson’s ‘yelp’ or Fantasia’s ‘yeh, yeh, yeh.” or the tone of voice of the words which are the song title themselves e.g Bjork’s ‘It’s Oh So Quiet’

b) The dominant musical arrangement that dictates the overall mood. This could be a key guitar sound (the bassline in ‘Sabotage’ The Beastie Boys) or a particular beat (‘Weapon of Choice’ Fatboy Slim)

Once the director has identified what he/she thinks is the key vocal or musical element then this may be used to tap into the audience’s sense of shared cultural history or intertextuality e.g. The steel guitar=the American Deep South and desert plains

Performance Video:

1. Conventions of the band performance : a degree of authenticity of the performance is sought by the band and the director so we find lip-sync close-up, mimed playing of instruments, repetition of chorus shots to enhance ‘repeatability’, unusual camera shots and angles e.g. the micro camera shots attached to the neck of a guitar, sweeping crane shots to film audience reaction to the band playing etc (see number 4)

2. Conventions of solo artist performance : many of the above plus choreographed dance routines to enhance ‘repeatability’, a first person mode of address directly engaging the viewer through the camera which involves many close up shots of eyes rolling and gesturing (see how these conventions have been adopted by ‘Pop Idol’ contestants in a bid to appear professional and authentic)and if the video is a hybrid form cutting between performance and narrative then the solo artist or band lead singer often becomes part of the narrative story, acting as narrator and participant at the same time (see Jarvis Cocker in Pulp’s video for ‘Babies’)

3. Star Image – only 1 in 10 artists promoted by a major record company will actually make that company any substantial profit. This is why certain select profit making stars are manufactured, manipulated and marketed by the record label’s ‘artist and repertoire’ (A&R) division so aggressively. The star image of individuals such as Michael Jackson and Madonna through their videos is a vital component of this process. This is why we can identify the ‘meta-narrative’ of stars through their videos whereby the record label manipulates and changes the artist’s image with each new video release to increase sales, consolidate target audiences and broaden appeal to new fan bases. The best case studies are ‘Madonna’ and ‘Michael Jackson’. Trace their image manipulation through videos over the past 24 years.

A group of choral voices=places of religious significance e.g. a church, graveside etc

A R’n’B beat or bassline=an urban landscape in a downtown American city


3. Audio-Visual Technical Codes Needed for Analysing a Music Video:

Speed is the Essence:

Camera Shots: jumping directly between long shots, close ups and extreme close ups. Primarily the close up on the singer’s face is the main generic convention for music videos. Also the extreme close up on the lips for lip synching.

Camera Movement: whip pans, fast dolly track shots and fast overhead crane shots to follow the running, walking or dancing of performers. Also fast vertical tilts and horizontal pans.

Editing: various terms: jump cutting, MTV style editing or montage editing. Creating the visually de-centred experience of ‘jumping’ from location to person to instrument without any normal narrative continuity. Instead it is often the beat or the rhythm of the track which provides the organising principle for editing movement. The editing moves so fast it creates the need for viewing ‘repeatedly’. There are exceptions though. Some ‘continuity editing’ used such as atmospheric ‘dissolve shots’ such as in Sinead O’Connor’s ‘Nothing Compare to You’

Post-production digital effects: see ‘i-movie’ for ‘split screens’ (see Michel Gondry’s video for Kylie Minogue’s ‘Come Into My World’ for split screens seamlessly ‘bled’ into each other) ‘colourisation’ ‘slow motion’ etc These are now conventional for music videos. Please look out for other innovative effects.

Lighting: Expressive lighting a key feature of music videos. Extreme artificial light to create the ‘bleaching’ effect on pop stars faces (making them seem ageless). Also the use of switching from colour to black & white or sepia to indicate a shift from chorus to verse. Also lighting effects such as strobes or flashing needs to be identified. This obviously links into the use of CGI in dance music videos to enhance the atmosphere.

Mise-en-scene: look for the overall artistic concept in a video. Is there a theme such as the historical period e.g. the sixties (Madonna’s ‘Beautiful Stranger’ with its intertextual link to the Austin Powers film) or the seventies (The Beastie Boys ‘Sabotage’ video which parodies the ‘Starsky & Hutch’ 70s TV Cop genre...also an intertextual link). Does the video’s mise en scene follow the need for authenticity in performance videos by using the concert hall or rehearsal studio setting. Or is there an intentional ‘parodic’ setting to exaggerate star image as in many rap and r&b videos with a focus on glamorous icons such as exotic locations, beautiful cocktail bars and stunning beachside houses with infinity pools (see Rick Ross ‘Here I Am’).


Task 3 - Music Video Analysis

Andrew Goodwin’s elements to consider

Andrew Goodwin points out characteristics and features that can be found in music videos –

Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics. (e.g. stage performance in metal videos, dance routine for boy/girl band, aspiration in Hip Hop).

There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. The lyrics are represented with images. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).

There is a relationship between music and visuals. The tone and atmosphere of the visual reflects that of the music. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).

The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style).

There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, mirrors, stages, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.

The artist may develop motifs or iconography that recur across their work (a visual style)

There is often intertextual reference (to films, TV programmes, other music videos etc).

Music Video 1 – Control by Chase and Status ft. Slaves

1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics. (e.g. stage performance in metal videos, dance routine for boy/girl band, aspiration in Hip Hop).

Goodwin’s theory indicates that music videos have specific elements within them that will enable the audience to identify its music genre through them. The following will give a few examples from the music video for the song “Control” by Chase and Status where this can be portrayed for the genre Punk, for the UK Duo “Slaves” who star in the video.

One genre characteristic in the music video which is demonstrated is that punk music is violent, angry and aggressive. This is shown through the performers in the video in the actions they pursue, close ups, lighting and their appearance. For example, these following six screen shots display all of these. The first shot shows a man standing on car wearing black clothing having his hands in his pockets and his body language gives off the intention that he is a bad person and dangerous. The next image shows a close up of the star performer when singing. He looks extremely aggressive and angry in his singing due to his facial expressions and his voice backs this up and makes him sound angry and powerful. Furthermore, the next image shows a mysterious man due to the lighting that it is dark and the distance of the shot is quite far way so you can’t fully see his identity. He has a glass bottle on fire in his hand with the car in the background indicating that he is going to do something with this bottle and possibly pursue violent acts. The next image after that shows a man being aggressive and threatening towards four police men. He has a block of wood in his hand and gives off the intention that he is going to hit these police men with it which stereotypically is something not no one would ever consider as the police enforce the law and help promote peace in the world. However, for the punk


genres who typically involve people who are angry, aggressive and crazy at times which is portrayed through the music created shouldn’t be a surprise to people in this music video. Further on in the video it shows the man from a previous image, which is standing on the care that he has just been set on fire, showing the ruthlessness and violent acts of the people within this punk video. The final image backs this idea up as again the previous male from before is now swinging at the police men from before and just shows how angry and aggressive these people are. Another way that the music video is demonstrated to be violent and aggressive is through the editing. It is fast paced and makes the video intense and engages the viewer into the video. Making them feel as if they are involved and caught up in this crazy violence. There are quick cuts to different scenes and different camera shots to put across this video, this combined with the short shot lengths makes enables the viewer to get the full effect off the nature of the song.

Another genre characteristic is that the performers in the genre are typically edgy and different to your normal stereotypical person. This is portrayed in a number of different ways in the video. The first image shows the shot of this man who is positioned of centre to represent that he is different and unique. In the shot he is breathing quite heavily and just raring down the camera. This can be considered as unstereotypical for a shot in a music video and gives the video that edge of it being different and unique. He has an unusual haircut and isn’t your stereotypical good looking performer in the video that a lot of genres go for. Punk is different and is shown through this shot. Furthermore, the next image shows an extreme close up of a man’s gold teeth. This shows that the people in the punk genre are stereotypically different to your typical person. They like to go out to all extremes to be different as that is what they take pride in. This is shown through tis shot. As well as the last image, the guitarist is shown to have a whacky haircut style having a spider’s web on the side of his head. These backups the idea that this genre has the characteristic of being edgy and different.


Furthermore, another genre characteristic for punk videos is that they have a lead singer, a guitarist and a drummer. This is all shown clearly in the music video, and the stage layout is consistent. They are all separated in their specific roles. The characteristic is that the singer is at the front and mostly shown as they are the most important and then the guitarist and drummer behind him as they are less important.

Additionally, another genre characteristic is that punk videos stereotypically have dark lighting. The reason for this is because the performers are dangerous characters and the dark lighting correlates to this. Also, their identity wants to be hidden as they are bad people so they don’t want to be found out who they are. As well as this, the people that perform punk music are stereotypically not good looking therefore they don’t need to have all the attention on them through bright lights and would prefer to be seen less which results in dark lighting. Throughout the video, these ideas have been shown, which these following images prove.


2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. The lyrics are represented with images. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).

For the music video control, there is a relationship between the lyrics and visuals mainly throughout in a sense of amplifying the meaning of the lyrics. This is achieved through a performance based video and then using a short side story also where illustrative is added as well to portray the lyric with the visuals. For example, the first image shows a shot of the main performer singing “orders are orders”. This visual combats the powerful demanding word of “orders” and his facial expressions and visual appearance, combined with close up making the viewer feel as if he is in your face results in the viewer to believe that the lyrics are true and that this demanding word of “orders” is going to be pursued. It creates the idea that orders are orders and that these orders are most definitely going to be enforced through this visual. The next image shows a shot of the main performer in Slaves in a shot of a screen within a screen. This grabs the viewers’ attention in the video as it is notably different shot to the other shots in the video. Also, as the video is fast paced, to watching it is clearly different. This shot has emphasis on the lyric “Who?” to imply in the sentence that he is a powerful and dominant character. The next two images are similar in the fact that close up shots have been used again to amplify the meaning of the words and to make it seem believable for the viewer. As the close up really highlights how the performer looks and it highlights his passion and anger when singing to make him look like an angry punk artist which is stereotypical as they express their feelings in the music which is evident here.

In the terms of the next two images, these use Goodwin’s rule of an illustrative element to the music video. The first image shows a car, with a smoky background with people running. This corresponds to the lyrics that are said, the car is difficult to control at high speeds”, with this shot that is shown in the video. This shows a clear relationship between the visuals and the lyrics as they link together and share the same meaning. This allows the story to be told clearly. Shortly after this shot and these lyric, the next lyrics are “That zone is controlled by enemy troops”. As the lyrics “enemy troops” are said a cut is made to this shot of a mysterious man slouching on a car on fire to symbolise that he is the enemy troop and he is the one to case this danger and violence.


“Orders” “Who?”

Me?“Who’d ya think you’re talking to?”

“The car is difficult to control at high speeds”

“That zone is controlled by enemy troops”

3. There is a relationship between music and visuals. The tone and atmosphere of the visual reflects that of the music. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).

Being a punk/electronic song, the mellow tone of the electronic sound and the bass guitars give off the intention that this is a song that is violent and includes angry, passionate performers. The visuals match that perfectly. As for instance, the starring band slaves are rough looking, crazy individuals and close ups, and the mise en scene match the sound of the song. The song creates a dark atmosphere and the visuals pursue that with the smoke effects and the constant flickering of the lighting throughout the video form dark to light makes the video seem mysterious.

As the video begins and the music kicks in of the deep electronic sound, an instant dark ore is given off. The relationship between the music and visuals is strong from the offset as with this music images such as a car wheel on fire, a piece of metal rattling a metal cage by someone, barbed wire and a smoky cage matches the music as these are the type of visuals you would expect to see as a viewer when listening to this type of music, it is stereotypical that these type of images are being shown as the genre consists of violence and typically danger (punk).

Furthermore in the video, as the frantic chorus comes to an end and the volume level of the music decreases back to its opening, a more sympathetic image is shown showing a women looking like she is trapped behind the cage making the viewer feel sympathy for the people that are involved in this mayhem and to the crazy ones in the video. This carries on and an image is shown of a man we have not seen before in the video and he appears to have a weird hairstyle and he isn’t facing the camera, this gives of the intention that he is possibly a dangerous character. The music matches this and has a relationship as a sound effect is added to signify this showing that there is a strong link between music and visuals


The tension throughout the song has been building, and the build-up to the big chorus come and as soon as the lyrics “Control!” are said the music volume increases, electric guitars come in and play with an aggressive sound and the visuals match this as from when “control” is said, all hell breaks loose the police start running at the other people” horse gallops o signify that it is scared a long shot of the four police men is shown and they are shown to be very angry which is unusual for police. It just shows that these punk artist bring out the worst in you and this is being shown here and there danger needs to be stopped. As well as this, lighting flickers rapidly, there are a lot of short shots combined with fast paced editing to maximise the tension in this scene and it grabs the viewers’ attention through this. This shows that the music and visuals have a strong relationship as when the chorus drops which is an aggressive tune, the visuals also match it and show the violence and danger.

A key part of the video where the relationship is shown to be very strong between the music and visuals is two thirds through the video where it is just the electronic soundtrack played on its own without any singing or anything. After every beat, the lighting switches to a different position and highlights an individual. It is clear this is done on purpose and has a good effect and is impressive when watching the video.


4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style).

I feel in terms of the idea that close ups are used to show off the attractiveness of characters and that’s why they are included to produce the gaze theory of people when watching the video this isn’t the case. As these punk artists aren’t exactly good looking, and this is what the demand is of the record label. However, in terms of the record label in the fact that they will want close ups of the artists to strike fear into the viewer and to show how edgy and different they look and that they match the punk genre well can be a demand of the record label. As this will help them promote their work through this sense and that this is the visual style in their work, and that is what they set out to achieve. Show their passion in their music and put everything into it which in terms of slaves is about letting out anger and showing that in their music.

5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, mirrors, stages, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.

Reference of notion of looking is used in this video to create fear into the viewer. This is because of the music and that it is violent, the images show this as well as the artists regularly stare straight down the camera to portray this idea that they do into the scene and the genre. There are a few screen within screen shots within the video and this has the effect on the viewer to focus attention on them as the video is so fast paced and there are so many shots a screen within a screen effect is used in this video to highlight the bad people and makes them stand out clearly to the viewer. There isn’t any voyeuristic treatment of the female body at all throughout the video, there is a close up of a female once which just highlights the fact that she is scared and that she has dirt and mud on her face which is unstereotypical for a girl. But not in the way to make her look attractive or anything like that as it is music from the punk genre and that isn’t there intention.

6. The artist may develop motifs or iconography that recur across their work (a visual style)

The band “Slaves” has definitely developed motifs/iconography throughout their work. It is pretty clear that they have the visual style of being edgy and trying to look different/crazy and mad compared to other people. They typically have the visual style of wearing plain basic clothes and typically they always perform to dark lighting and have the main slaves member Isaac Holman typically either wears a hat, funky glasses or just plain basic clothes and he is the more expressive and plays the drums all the time and the other member Laurie Vincent who is the guitarist who is just a bit weird on stage. In terms of Chase and Status who aren’t seen as much in the music video, they also have a visual style of looking cool and relaxed always.


Music Video 2 – “Song 2” by Blur Genre = Rock/Indie

1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics. (e.g. stage performance in metal videos, dance routine for boy/girl band, aspiration in Hip Hop).

Image 1, 2 and 3 – These images are taken from the start of the video. It shows a drummer, a guitarist and a singer. These are stereotypical roles for people within a rock band, and are the type of instruments you would expect to hear within the song when it’s from the rock genre as it is a stereotypical genre characteristic. Also, another element to point out within these images is that it shows the scene of the video. It appears to be an empty studio with cheap wallpaper on the wall behind them representing the stereotypical nature of a young rock band trying to perform at any gig or place possible as they are running low on cash due to their age. This scenery can be seen as stereotypical within rock videos as they are usually plain and basic as the bands don’t really care where they perform they just want to perform the music they love.


Image 4 and 11 – These images represent the genre characteristic for rock videos that they are always performed passionately. Image 4 shows the guitarist in mid-air after jumping which has emphasis on the song. Image 11 shows the lead singer also jumping with the beat and hanging onto the microphone so his words have full impact in the song. In this image also there is a wind turbine blowing and he is still there showing no difference in his performance even though this is on showing how committed and passionate he is in performing the song.

Images 1, 3, 6 and 9 – These images show the stereotypical look of a young rock band and this is a common genre characteristic. Image 1 shows the drummer who isn’t really shown much but is stereotypically a bit weird and crazy. Image 3 shows the lead singer, who is good looking compared to the rest of the group and this is typically the case for a indie/rock song. Is stereotypically a way of getting a good fan base by having someone good looking in the band where the male gaze theory comes in. Image 6 shows a guitarist who is primarily there to make the band look cool and image 9 shows another guitarist who is slightly nerdy and is stereotypically good at playing the guitar and comes up with creative ideas in song writing and video ideas for the band.

All images – Another genre characteristic in rock videos is that there is dark lighting. This is shown within all the images above. As stereotypically it represents the nature of the type of music that is produced which is violent and scary. This can be portrayed through he lighting. Also, images 5 and 7 show close ups of the lead singer with variants of light and dark lighting on him through the use of a close up. This is common in rock video as typically they don’t want to be seen as they are stereotypically not good looking. However, this is the countertype for this lead singer.

Image 8 – This image shows a longshot of the whole band. It shows the stage set up for the band and it is a clear genre characteristic. Drummer at the back as he the least important, guitarists in front of the drummer as they are fairly important in the band and can really express themselves on this instrument. Then finally the lead singer at the front as everyone wants to see them as typically they are good looking in a indie/rock song and therefore will present the band in a better way even if other members in the band aren’t as so good looking.

Images 7 and 9 – these images portray the band to be a bit crazy, this is a genre characteristic when it comes to rock music. They express themselves heavily in the music and do crazy things. This is shown in image 7 where a member of the bad is flying backwards into the wall when the chorus of the song kicks in to emphasise the song and all the instruments playing together. Image 9 shows the guitarist playing while a turbine is on blowing strong at him, only ideas like this are used within rock videos to show how weird and wonderful the genre is.



The relationship between the lyrics and visuals is strong and is amplifying; this is stereotypical for a rock/indie video as they are typically good performers. The first image shows the lead singer moving up close to the camera and shouting the lyrics “Woo-hoo”. This indicates that the band is performing and having great fun. This is backed up by the following image straight after this as it shows a guitarists jumping up while playing the guitar showing that he is expressing himself in the music and having great fun.

The next image shows clearly the strong relationship between lyrics and visuals as when the lyrics form the main singer said, which are “I got my head checked”, he hits himself on the head to reiterate the lyrics. It just shows that it is an illustrative type of video where the bands are going to perform for the viewer.


Lyrics = “I got my head checked”

Lyrics = “Woo-hoo”

The next two images represent the lyrics “When I feel heavy metal”, the first image shows the lead singer going flying into the back wall which indicates that heavy metal is dangerous and the other image when the lyrics are said later on in the video shows a wind turbine blowing on him and he is jumping and shouting the lyrics down the microphone which portrays the idea that heavy metal music is a bit crazy and he loves it which is typical in rock music.


Being a rock/indie song, instruments are integral in this video. There is a big emphasis on this and it is clear the relationship between music and visuals is strong. It is evident from the start, as the song starts the drums begin the song; there is a shot off the drummer playing. When the guitar kicks in in the song a visual of the guitarist is shown and then when the vocals are about to start it cuts to the lead singer. This shows the relationship is strong, and it is a very performance based music video which is given off from the offset. The style of the video is continued as it is from the start, meaning as a whole also the video is illustrative.


Lyrics = “When I feel heavy metal”


The record label will demand for close ups of the main artist within Blur as he is the leading role of the band. He is the centre of attention in their music videos and therefore will be a selling point for the band I their music. For the other band members, I don’t feel close ups of them will be required as they are less of importance within the band. However, close ups could be used of all the band members to shows the audience how different they all are and that they are a unique band. This could also be a selling point for the band on how they are physically appear different compared to each other. This could be their visual style across all their music videos.


Notion of looking isn’t a key element to a rock/indie song with a boy band. However, the lead singer does look straight down the camera on almost every shot he is in. This can be used to make his role as a lead singer in a rock band more believable for a young adult singing the song. The male gaze theory could occur here for females, but more importantly makes him seem more passionate and believable if he is singing with passion and is close to the camera.


Due to the genre being rock/indie, most certainly a visual style can be created which could recur across their work. It is clear that there is, the lead singer is passionate and good looking, one guitarists looks like a nerd as he has glasses so stereotypical connotations come with that another guitarist in the video is made to look cool as he is standing there in a dominant pose in one shot and isn’t putting a lot of passion in but is simply there to look cool due to his clothing also. Then the drummer is show to just wear plain basic clothes, looks like your average guy and is there because he does a good job playing the drums. This can be recreated over all their videos and will cause a motif for this band.


Music Video Analysis 3 - Time to dance by The Shoes (Electronic)

Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics. (e.g. stage performance in metal videos, dance routine for boy/girl band, aspiration in Hip Hop).

For the final music video Time to dance by The Shoes, the music genre is electronic. This comes with genre characteristics that the following will explain in correlation to the images taken from the video. The first image shows a young couple dancing, drinking and being close and intimate. This is a genre characteristic for electronic music, as it is usually the type of music people of these age are the people that listen to it as it is common in nightclubs and therefore these typical actions occur when young people and alcohol is available. The second image shows the male dancing and goofing off in the same scene. This is stereotypical as electronic music results in dancing and then people try and show off and go crazy with their dance moves which is evident in this image. Furthermore, the third image shows someone in a weird and colourful costume, this is similar in the fourth image as it shows the people at this party to be wearing weird, colourful costumes in the hot. This is stereotypical for the electronic genre as fancy dress is common for this as electronic music is typically played at parties as it is good music to dance to meaning this is a genre characteristic for electronic music. The fifth image shows a young woman in the middle of a crowd dancing with her friends, it reveals to the audience that she is wearing cool sunglasses and a hat. This is a genre characteristic for electronic music as people like to wear cool accessories and stand out the crowd when at a party or a festival. It is also stereotypical that she is good looking and is wearing a low vest top to look attractive to the other people at the party. This is a genre characteristic as electronic


music is played at parties, clubs and festivals and is a good opportunity for people to meet new people, which is why people want to look seductive to possibly spark a future relationship. The final two images reflect the genre characteristics for electronic music as the first one shows bright lights and a crowd of people in a nightclub which is stereotypical for this music genre as said before. The final image reveals more of the mise en scene in this shot, as you can see the flashing disco ball in the top right of the shot and a speaker, and it also shows a woman dancing to the music which all reflects genre characteristics for electronic music as dancing is a common theme for this music and going crazy.


The images above represent countertypes to the electronic genre. Violence isn’t stereotypically what you would associate with upbeat dance songs. Usually you’d think you would see only images associated with dancing, parties, clubs, adventurous costumes. However, this music video is contradicting, this is what I feel makes this a really interesting video, to wonder why this is included. Jake Gyllenhaal, the star of the video, is portrayed to be a psychopath through his relentless violence shown in the music video. “He travels through the hippest parties on a killing spree of Dalston hipsters. Gyllenhaal masters the role of unsuspecting dark-eyed psycho as he pumps iron and gums drugs preparing for his next beautifully fashionable victim. Transforming the music video into magnificently dramatic cinema, director Daniel Wolfe has captured contemporary London in a shockingly addictive modern Slasher” - IMDB


This video does have a good relationship between music and visuals if you break it down carefully. It may seem to not have at first due to how fast aced the video is which is needed to represent the electronic genre. This video is amplifying, as the lyrics in the video can be portrayed into a meaning in the video what the following will explain.

“Do what I do, it's what I feel”

“And now it's time for you to burn”


The lyrics “Do what I do, it’s what I feel” portray the feelings of Jake Gyllenhaal in the music video. Previous to this images of intense violence were shown. This shot of him at the gym putting full effort into lifting weights is linked with the lyrics, as it shows that this character has a lot of aggression and feels aggressive and violent and therefore lets it out at the gym. Resulting in a relationship between the music and the visuals.

In this sequence of shots, there is a relationship between the music and visuals. As the lyrics say “And now it’s time for you to burn” there is emphasis on the word “burn” and there is a quick cut to a close up of a woman and then it is a cut back to the man in a different scene walking down a set of stairs to indicate that he is going after this woman and is going to kill her.

“And now it's time for you to run”

“And then it's time to dance”


The visuals in this shot show Jake Gyllenhaal slipping over in a running fashion in the snow which links to the lyrics of “And now it’s time for you to run” which is ironic as the woman who just got killed should have been running away from this psychopath killer.

“It was so fun, you feel so strong”


This shows Jake to be slashing a knife into a body letting out all of his anger which is indicated through the facial expressions shown clearly through the use of a close up. The lyrics indicate backs up the idea that he is a psychopath and portrays the idea that he gets enjoyment out of killing people and that it makes him feel better as a person as he feels stronger.

The first image shown is more of a clear relationship between the visuals and lyrics, as the, lyrics “And then it’s time to dance” a cut after this line is said cuts to an image of a girl dancing at a party which portrays the lyrics. The next two images are more of an amplification representation. The lyrics are said when these images are shown, and creates the ideas that Jake Gyllenhall’s ideas of dancing which has the stereotypical connotations of having fun, is actually killing people. This is a countertype for the music video as it is an upbeat soundtrack, therefore you wouldn’t expect to see these images which makes it interesting in my eyes. The last image goes back to what you would stereotypically see when the lyrics “And then it’s time to dance” are said, as the visuals show a man dancing in a night club and is what you would stereotypically see and does actually match the sound of the song also.


The relationship between the music and visuals is clearly noticeable. The moment after Jake pursues a killing a loud, drowning, sinister sound is added to the scene. This links to the on screen images as they are violent and aggressive and gives off that tone and atmosphere within the scene that something bad has just happened.

As soon as Jake enters this nightclub, the music changes to a deep base sound in the soundtrack. This relates to the stereotypical sounds you would hear in a nightclub. It fits the atmosphere shown from the visuals on screen and the music matches it.

This shows Jake to be in a hair salon having a haircut and a clean shave. Once he is finished, the towel is removed from his eyes, he opens his eyes sharply and a loud distinctive bang noise is added to the video. A cut is then made to shots of Jake trying to inflict violence on a man. This indicates that Jake has a new identity now and he feels he can stay hidden from people knowing who he is and he can carry on pursuing violence and being a killer.


The relationship between the music and visuals has a distinctive relationship in this shot. Jake is shown to be banging his hand a wall in sync with the beat of the music. This is a clear relationship and allows the audience to become engrossed in the video.


The demand of the record label for Time to Dance by Shoes to produce close ups of the artist is low. The reason for this is because they are not very well known and therefore will not grab attention to the public. The director hired well known A list star Jake Gyllenhall to pursue the role of the psycho killer within the music video. For him, did produce various close ups within the video to make the viewer realise who the person playing the role actually is and to make the audience shocked in what he has become within this music video.



Within the Time to Dance music video there is only a couple of notion of looking references. The first image shows a point of view shot where Jake Gyllenhaal’s point of view is shown looking at this female character within the video. This reveals that he is looking at this blonde female and due to the scene he is jealous of the young adults dancing and having fun so he takes out his jealousy and kills both of them. The second image shows the voyeuristic treatment of the female body, and that she is shown to be all over the male and being quite intimate. A long shot reveals the woman’s whole body and could result in the male gaze occurring for men. The third image shows Jake looking straight down the camera, this use of notion of looking makes him seem powerful and dominate also due to the low angle shot. This could be attractive for females watching the music video. The fourth image uses a mirror shot, however it doesn’t particular show off Jake’s masculine body as he doesn’t show to have one, so this is a countertype to stereotypical reasons for using this type of shot to create notion of looking. The final image shows a female in a club dancing, the way she is dancing particularly shows off her body and portrays the voyeuristic viewing of her body in the video.


In terms of the artist Shoes, they don’t create a visual style of themselves through their music videos as they don’t feature in them. This creates a style of their own, in terms of that they are behind the scenes and are just creating the music. They are able to get stars such as Jake Gyllenhaal to feature I their videos then why would they be in them their self? A list actor in a music video would gain more attention than them being in it themselves. This creates the visual style of that they always have different people playing the main role within their music videos which might interest people and make them watch them more.


7. There is often intertextual reference (to films, TV programmes, other music videos etc).

There is definitely an intertextual link between the film American Psycho and the music video “time to dance”. The similarities are that the star of American Psycho is Christian Bale, and the star of the music video is Jake Gyllenhall who both look similar I their appearance, both are American and both pursue levels of extreme violence within the extracts using a knife and brute strength as their weapon for their killings. Therefore, I feel there is an intertextual reference between the two extracts are they are very similar in what occurs.

TASK 4 – ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS BELOW – THIS IS EXACTLY THE SORT OF THING YOU’LL NEED TO DO WHEN EVALUATING YOUR OWN COURSEWORK.

1. Why did you choose the text you are analysing?The reason I chose Control by Chase and Status ft Slaves is because it is a music video that has been crafted with precision which I really like. Chase and status are a great electronic band and Slaves are one of the best upcoming punk bands in the UK, it is a song that is a bit crazy but I seem to like it.

2. In what context did you encounter it?I went to a festival where chase and status were playing and they put on this song and everyone in the crowd loved it, the place was bouncing.


3. What influence do you think this context might have had on your interpretation of the text?The context made me like the song, as if it wasn’t for going to the festival I wouldn’t of listened to this at all let alone like it as it isn’t something I would usually listen too.

4. Which conventions of the genre do you recognize in the text?One genre convention in the music video which is demonstrated is that punk music is violent, angry and aggressive. This is shown through the performers in the video in the actions they pursue, close ups, lighting and their appearance. For example, these following six screen shots display all of these. The first shot shows a man standing on car wearing black clothing having his hands in his pockets and his body language gives off the intention that he is a bad person and dangerous. The next image shows a close up of the star performer when singing. He looks extremely aggressive and angry in his singing due to his facial expressions and his voice backs this up and makes him sound angry and powerful. Furthermore, the next image shows a mysterious man due to the lighting that it is dark and the distance of the shot is quite far way so you can’t fully see his identity. He has a glass bottle on fire in his hand with the car in the background indicating that he is going to do something with this bottle and possibly pursue violent acts. The next image after that shows a man being aggressive and threatening towards four police men. He has a block of wood in his hand and gives off the intention that he is going to hit these police men with it which stereotypically is something not no one would ever consider as the police enforce the law and help promote peace in the world. However, for the punk genres who typically involve people who are angry, aggressive and crazy at times which is portrayed through the music created shouldn’t be a surprise to people in this music video. Further on in the video it shows the man from a previous image, which is standing on the care that he has just been set on fire, showing the ruthlessness and violent acts of the people within this punk video. The final image backs this idea up as again the previous male from before is now swinging at the police men from before and just shows how angry and aggressive these people are. Another way that the music video is demonstrated to be violent and aggressive is through the editing. It is fast paced and makes the video intense and engages the viewer into the video. Making them feel as if they are involved and caught up in this crazy violence. There are quick cuts to different scenes and different camera shots to put across this video, this combined with the short shot lengths makes enables the viewer to get the full effect off the nature of the song.

Another genre convention is that the performers in the genre are typically edgy and different to your normal stereotypical person. This is portrayed in a number of different ways in the video. The first image shows the shot of this man who is positioned of centre to represent that he is different and unique. In the shot he is breathing quite heavily and just raring down the camera. This can be considered as unstereotypical for a shot in a music video and gives the video that edge of it being different and unique. He has an unusual haircut and isn’t your stereotypical good looking performer in the video that a lot of genres go for. Punk is different and is shown through this shot. Furthermore, the next image shows an extreme close up of a man’s gold teeth. This shows that the people in the punk genre are stereotypically different to your typical person. They like to go out to all extremes to be


different as that is what they take pride in. This is shown through tis shot. As well as the last image, the guitarist is shown to have a whacky haircut style having a spider’s web on the side of his head. These backups the idea that this genre has the characteristic of being edgy and different.

Furthermore, another genre convention for punk videos is that they have a lead singer, a guitarist and a drummer. This is all shown clearly in the music video, and the stage layout is consistent. They are all separated in their specific roles. The characteristic is that the singer is at the front and mostly shown as they are the most important and then the guitarist and drummer behind him as they are less important. Additionally, another genre convention is that punk videos stereotypically have dark lighting. The reason for this is because the performers are dangerous characters and the dark lighting correlates to this. Also, their identity wants to be hidden as they are bad people so they don’t want to be found out who they are. As well as this, the people that perform punk music are stereotypically not good looking therefore they don’t need to have all the attention on them through bright lights and would prefer to be seen less which results in dark lighting. Throughout the video, these ideas have been shown, which these following images prove.

5. To what extent does this text stretch the conventions of its genre?I feel they have stretched it in terms of the stereotypical punk video, a band in an obscure location, minimal equipment and just perform the song. They have used clever lighting and editing in this video there is a side story to it and develops the video to another level.

6. Where and why does the text depart from the conventions of the genre?At the second half of the video, this is used to give this video an edge of stereotypical punk videos.

7. What sort of audience did you feel that the video was aimed at (and how typical was this of the genre/style of music)?Defiantly aimed at punk/electronic/ rock tastes of music as the song is stereotypical of these genres and the video does represent that.

8. What sort of person does it assume you are?That you’re a bit mental and love hard core music.

9. What assumptions seem to be made about your class, age, gender and ethnicity?Age – 16 – 24Class – Lower – MiddleGender – 70% male, 30 % femaleEthnicity – White

10. What interests does it assume you have?


Partying, going to festivals and live gigs.

11. What relevance does the text actually have for you?

Relevant for me as it is a song I really enjoy listening to as it reminds me of my time with my mates at the festival in Coventry we went too.

12. What knowledge does it take for granted?

13. To what extent do you resemble the 'ideal reader' that the video seeks to position you as?

I wouldn’t class myself as the stereotypical reader for this type of text, however I am in the age bracket mentioned, I am white, male and of a middle class so I suppose I am an ideal reader for this texts target market.

14. Are there any notable shifts in the video's style (and if so, what do they involve)?No, none notable shifts within the video. The text stays similar throughout.

15. What responses does the video seem to expect from you?Good and bad responses. As it is a video that won’t suit everyone. Some people will like it some people won’t.

16. How open to negotiation is your response (are you invited, instructed or coerced to respond in particular ways)?Instructed, due to the fact people can see the light of the song if they don’t particularly like and realise how good it would be at a festival.

17. Is there any penalty for not responding in the expected ways?No

18. To what extent do you find yourself 'reading against the grain' of the text and the genre?Not a lot, the text is what it is. A heavy electric guitar based song with a rough lead singer. It suits the punk genre and therefore you cannot really “read against the grain”.

19. How typical do you think this video is of Music Videos?I would say it is pretty stereotypical of a music video. The reason being that it is an illustrative based music video and that is common in music videos. It also has stereotypical codes and conventions for the punk genre and therefore I would class it as typical.


MARK: /25

GRADE BOUNDARIES 0-5 E/U 6-10 D 11-15 C 16-20 B 21-25 A


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