Task Five - Understanding the techniques of music videos - 'Elton John and Kiki Dee'

In this task my group and I created a remake music video of ‘Elton John and Kiki Dee’. This showed that we were able to include the key techniques that are relevant in making a successful music video. During the time I was filming this video, I had to make sure there was different shot taken from different angles and I had to re-do the shots that wasn’t done successfully and didn’t look good and try to make it look perfect. When making this video, I found it a bit challenging because I had to make sure I took different shot of the artist to make the editing a success. Additionally, I had to make sure the actors were positioned in the correct place. This was very difficult to do because if I didn’t make the correct shot, the overall film would not look in sync and the lips syncing would look not match to the music, so I had to make sure all this was done correctly to not have no mismatch in the overall video.

Furthermore, we were able to use different types of shot. For example we used many medium shots and close ups shot. Also Sarah was able to guide me and Talha in positioning in the middle so the everything is balanced and we were able to do this properly because we were able to stay in one position and not move too much so the camera was able grab a shot of us two. Finally, during recording we would play the music in the background, so that it is easier in knowing the words which makes it more simple to lip-sync, then when editing we would remove the sound and replace it with the actual music by using ‘youtube converter’.

After I doing that I opened up the software where we would edit the shots we took and to make the lip syncing match with the music. After doing that I able to pick and chose the shots I wanted. As soon as I did that, I started editing the shots together to match the music. Firstly, I inserted the music first before adding the video clip which enable it to be easy for me to edit. Then I had to mark where I wanted the video to begin to match the music, so it can sync together.

After doing that I began to edit everything together and make the shots be in sync with the shot that was taken with the camera. I was able to use the razor tool to take away the parts that was not needed in the video and was not syncing to the music that was being played, therefore when viewers watch the music video they would not see a mismatch in whilst watching it.

After doing that I started, I made sure I lay out the scene so that they could have different effects in it and also has fades that makes the audience know that it’s a music video.

In conclusion I believe that the video was good for a first timer, because the music was able to match up to the clip properly. Also, was able to lay all the shot so that the image changed in time when it needed to do so and make the video flow smoother. The variety of different shot meant that the viewer could be entertained. However, if I could go back to re-edit my music video, there are few changes I would make such as allowing a smoother transaction when going to the next shot. Also, I would make sure that I cut the ending of the video because it was too long. So if I had to I was to go back to do my music video I would make sure I finish the editing. This would mean that the upset would not feel upset because they we’re able to finish watching their music video. On the other hand, I think that the video was a success for the first time of me editing a music video. Additionally, this allowed me to identify my weakness therefore I could practice before I make my real music video, which means that I would have improved by then.

Task Four - Understanding the Techniques of Music Videos – “The Pretender”

For me to be able to understand the techniques of music video, I had to create an animatic for ‘The pretender’s by the Foo Fighters. I made a story board from a 27 second sequence of my choice to help create my animatic. Then I took individual pictures of each shot I wanted and then uploaded it and edited them together on software called premiere pro. I then inserted the soundtrack and ensured that the soundtrack was corresponding to the shots I took for my animatic. After doing that I then exported the completed editing onto Youtube and then uploading it onto my blog. After making my storyboard, I was able to understand that a number of different shots edited together at the right pace can create a right and smooth performance. For example the song I used was a bit fast paced and there were different shots being shown in seconds and these shots were changing at the right time with the music, in another words there were in sync. Therefore, this was able to create the right performance and made the animatic look more effective. However, if I use a slower song for my real music video, fewer shots would have to be used because of the slow pace of the music but the same effect would still be created because the shots would match the space of the song.

Therefore, when making my music video, it is a reliable idea to include a number of different shots which would make my video more memorable. There are different selection of shot to choose from and they are: low angle, high angle, close up, long shots, wide shot, 180 degree, extreme close up and tracking shot. Additionally, the mise-en-scene changes depending on the types of songs. For example, this song does not contain a lot props in it and the area in which the place is filmed seems like a big warehouse that gives them a lot of room, the warehouse contains lighting for the musicians and musician’s equipment such as drums, microphone stands and guitars.

There were many shots throughout the edit that the music video keeps editing back to which is the master shot which contains the whole band however through quick series of edits it seems as if the shot is new and really don't notice it.

The pace of the editing starts off slow changing to the second shot five seconds in, however once the music hits the 16-20 second mark the pace of editing becomes very quick changing between shots every second and even every half second. This makes the video look exciting and different as your watching as if the shots are all different in a way.

In conclusion, after creating this animatic, I learned that the pace of the song does actually have an effect on the editing. As the song I used was a fast paced song meaning that the editing is fast and different shots that is changing is syncing with the beat of the song that is being played. 

Task Three - Understanding the Techniques of Music Videos – Editing to the Beat

Before making my final music video, I was able to use some existing soundtracks and clips to practice on different techniques and styles.  I was able to experiment on different video’s styles and effects. This enabled me to find out what was good with the music and to see if the music would match the video clips. I had to first start the music off and listen to it and try to mark where the beats drops which left ‘markers’ on the timeline to make it as easy as possible when I start editing the clips. I was then able to add all the videos clips of my choice and edit it by cutting it at the exact point where the beat drops. This meant that I was able to use a number of different video clips to get the effects I desire/preferred to use the editing of the video clips. I was then able to use a split screen effect to layer a number of different video clips. I believe that I was able to edit the videos successfully and was able to gain an idea of how I would create the desired effect I need for my real music video editing.

The techniques that I used in the short video may be used in my real music video because they make the image on the screen more interesting to watch. The way the Image is cut to match the beat of the music infers that the audience would not lose an interest in the video, also a number of different type of clips can be used in the real music video I produce and edit.

Using the split screen was a bit challenging at first as I had to ensure that the videos all stayed on at the same time and I had to make sure that there was no black screen that was being shown when watching the final edited clip. This is a really good technique to use when producing my real music video, as this means that more images can be used at the same time and the audience can gain a better idea of what is being shown and what’s going on in the video clip. Special effects are also useful as it means that you can completely change the image that appears on the screen. I was able to use some special effect toward the end of my video as I needed to try different ones out so I could make my final judgement on what one to use for my real music video.

Task Two – Understand the styles and conventions of music videos

Andrew Goodwin's Six Key Conventions

Andrew Goodwin defines what he feels are the characteristics of music video, in the book ‘Dancing in the Distraction Factory’. His idea consist of six key conventions that music videos have. They are – Genre characteristic, relationship between Lyrics/visuals, Relationships between music/visual, visual style of artist, voyeurism of female body and intertextuality references.

Goodwin’s first point made was that music videos demonstrate genre characteristics. This infers that different genre of music are likely to use certain key conventions within their videos. There are many examples of this and will start with a video from the metal band rage against the machine. As this band is in the metal/rock genre, then it is more likely for them to have live footage of them playing which is what is included in the music video. Different once have live footage is used, with shots showing them playing in from of loud crowds. This video can be seen at the bottom. Another example of genre characteristics would be from the pop girls group The Pussy-cat Dolls. This girl groups would often include a dance routine in their video and wear something very small. This can be seem in one of their video below:

Music videos can have a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. Mostly, this is done by using a set of images to illustrate lyrics. When an artist sings about something and they are seen doing it at the same time in the video, this is illustrating lyrics. The video below by Nelly Furtado, shows her singing “I’m like a bird, I’ll only fly away’’ and the she is actually seen flying away when sing the lyrics. Another use of visuals with a music video would be to amplify the lyrics. For example Miley Cyrus music video ‘Wrecking Ball’, when she sings the words ‘I came in like a wrecking ball’ she is seen on the screen actually sitting on a wrecking ball swinging about on the screen. This is a metaphor for her crashing into a situation, therefore the action matches the words she is singing.

Also, another relationship within music videos would be between the music and the visuals. For example American Idiot by Green Day. The music matches the visuals as it shows the bang performing the music and it synced together so that they are both in time with each other. Also, when the guitar is heard playing, it is also seen on the screen- this is also done with the drums, vocals and bass. Some parts, are played in slow motion whereas the music stays the same speed, which contradicts what was heard and shown on the screen because it was too slow.

Star image is seen to also be a convention of music videos. Multiple shots can usually be seen of the artist which gives them an image. Close up shots can be seen of their trademark looks which helps define them and make them memorable. They can also be wearing/doing something in particular in a video and this can become a trend for the viewers. An example of a star image is in the music video Happy by Pharrell Williams. The first shot is of the singer and he is seen dressed in smartly walking down an alleyway. The shot then cuts to another person walking down the street and dancing. Many other people follow, with Pharrell being shown at various times throughout the video. When he is shown, he is seen to be wearing a selection of fancy clothes which allows him to be recognisable. Close ups are seen of him in his outfits which give him a star image. Viewers then copy his style of clothes which creates a connection between him and his fans.

Andrew Goodwin also states that voyeurism is a convention of music videos. It visually interest the audiences and is often in relation to females, although can also be voyeurism of males. Women can be seen dancing around a male singer, or a female singer herself could be dancing and being entertained by the male viewers. An example of artist that was able to use voyeurism to match Andrew Goodwin theory was Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke, T.I., and Pharrell Williams. In the video, women were wearing “skimpy clothing” which are seen throughout and can be seen dancing around in an active manner. They are seen dancing to the men within the video, which tells the audience that she is dancing for the ‘males' entertainment. These women are also used to entertain the viewers as they are dancing in an ‘explicit’ way in very little clothing. 

Finally, intertextual references are used within music videos which is when the media references another media text. Many music videos use television programmes or films as a starting point to creating a music video. This can either be created by copying the style of the media text they are looking at, or in a parody style. An example that shows intertextuality within a music video is the song Buddy Holly by Weezer. The video shows Weezer performing at the original diner in Happy Days. Some actors from Happy Days make a appearance in the music video too, such as, Henry Winkler, and Anson Williams. 

Task One – Understand the purpose of music videos

What are a music video and its purpose?

A music video is a short piece of film or imagery used as accompaniment to music. Music video has different roles, not only promotional ways, but also for a better connection with the audience because they aid in the delivery of the message the artist is trying to deliver/portray. The most important purpose of music video is for promotion, publicity, to make some money through the increase of sales production, artist availability – extension of income, promotional, extension of outlets, synergy, strategies of the procedures use are all the main kind of purposes when it comes to creating a music video. 
The purpose of a music video is to promote the artist, which could lead to fans buying singles or albums from the artists which is supporting their music. However, if an artist or a band group were not available for a live show they would show their music video instead.

Availability of the Artist  

The Birth of the music video came about because the Beatles found the pressure of touring and promoting their new single too much. In order to satisfy world wide demand they began making promotional clips for distribution and broadcast in other countries. The Beatles featured in their film which was called ‘A Hard Day’s Night’. They did this to allow themselves to help promote their record releases, without the need of making an in person appearance. Nowadays the artist intensions, is to give fans a taste of what is to come in their new album. It was only after queen’s success after shooting a music video, for their single ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ , this is when it became a more regular practice for record labels. As soon as they finish shooting the music video it would then be show on Television.

Before; on top of the pops, if the artist was not available to perform on the show, they would bring dancers to perform over their music, this was done to help entertain the audiences that would go  see this music video and it was not fair on the artist as this does not portray what the band want from the dancers, also they could create a bad image of what the song is about as well, an example is the Pan’s people. This was the reason why Queen started to do music videos, so it can be seen and not performed by dancers.

Promotional music videos

This is an promotional tool, this is there to help show viewers of how the artist appearance is and show the artists characteristics. This is like an "advertisement" because; the artists are selling and promoting themselves for fans to buy their singles or to buying their album. Additionally, it is designed to draw attention to the artist and the song too, for example Lady Gaga; she is an artist who has over 'six hundred million' views on her music video on Youtube, which was one of her single she made ‘Bad romance’. What she did in the music video was an abstract towards the viewers and it was something the audience haven’t seen before, so it made the viewers feel the need to go and watch it. Furthermore, the music video should appeal to the audience, if the music video appeals to the audience,this would draw a lot of viewers in having an interest of the artists and making the artist fan base potentially becoming really big in size. For example, PSY’S music video for the single ‘Gangnam style’.  We see that PSY’s music video is appealing to an audience and the music video is "animated" which can appeal to kid and also to advertise who PSY is and what type of artist he is. For example, "he is an animated artist that would add anything that may not match the song" because this may be used to entertain the audience and make them feel the need to watch the video consistently and make his fan page increase in size.

Finally, the dance in the video is easy to replicate and many audience can remember the dance to this song. After the song was released there was a large range of merchandise related to it including things such as tops, mugs, games etc. Therefore the video was a huge promotional tool for the artist. 

Extension of income

Music video are a good opportunity for an artist to extend their income instead of just making the music video as they want, they could add little things that can bring a lot more income. This may be because if they could encourage audiences to buy their merchandise, such as their album etc then they could gain an income from the audience who buys their merchandise. also, this can lead to making the audiences who purchases the artist merchandise, attend their music festivals and tours to see the artists. This therefore would mean that the artist would make more income from the audiences that goes and buy their merchandise and come to their tours and music festivals. Furthermore, this makes the artist have a good product placement. A really good example of a music video that was able to show a good product placement is 'Telephone by Lady Gaga and Beyoncé'. 

Extension of outlet, music video enables the artist to extend on their outlet on which they're accessible through. An example of this would be music channels such as Kiss, MTV etc. They also consist of websites, which allows the fans to catch with updates that are around when the artist single is coming out or album. Also, they consist of update about tour dates and could be selling products/merchandise for the artist.

Therefore, this advertise and promote the artist at the same time and this would mean that viewers are most likely to let their family or friends know about the artist they love. Additionally, the websites would give the viewers the opportunity to sign up on the artist website where they could receive a newsletters regarding any news/update about the artist or the tour date.

Here is an example of the Hip Hop artist Jay-Z’s website, this is filled with lots of updates about and related to Jay-z for his fans. And it has everything a fan would want from Jay-z. This outlets also helps audiences become a fan of Jay-z.

Creating a Brand, groups or artist are mostly sold as a brand, and the "music video acts as the product of the brand", they hope that the audience can buy into their "brand". This is done through the ‘Mise-en-scene’, in which it shows how the scenery would look for the music video and expand the look of the video into the rest of their lives. The artist also maintains a consistent image throughout a range of music videos, websites, platforms and more factors. This enables the audience to know what type it is (if it’s a he/she) in the terms of their style. Some artist would be wary of their image rather than the products and the 'Spice girls' is a prime example of this.

Each of the members in the spice girls have their own identity, which sells to the audience. It allows the audience to understand their different personalities when it comes to their music. Additionally, when it comes to creating a brand, it's the song itself that helps to form or create a brand. Therefore, it's the meaning of the song that sells to the audiences. Therefore, the artist image has a small percent to do with the sale of the song. A perfect example would be ‘Ed-Sheeran’. Ed-Sheeran is a talented lyricist and does not have an image that is abstract. The images of Ed-Sheeran is just original, which infers that his looks doesn’t matter more than the talent that he has. Furthermore, his music is meaningful and significant which sends a positive message out to the audiences. Aso, another comparison we can make is the images of Lady Gaga and Adele. Both artists are highly successful but each one have their own individual images which suggest that they appeal to different target audiences. Therefore, adele appears to those who are/were heart-broken people, whereas, Lady Gaga appears to those are more of the 'bad','strong-minded' people. 

Synergy

Synergy is another way where artists can promote their music and themselves. This is where two products are working together, for example is where a film and an artist songs are combined together. This way they can result in better advertisement and promotion for both. Another example is when the artist music video has scenes from the film and their music video. The film would have the artist song playing in it. Therefore, both are promoting each other. A best example of this is the James Bond film Sky Fall and Adele’s song Sky fall. The filmmakers and Adele were able to work together to produce the soundtrack for skyfall. This meant that both parties were able to gain promotion in the film they made and the song she made. This meant that the fan base of Adele are mostly likely to watch the James bond film because they liked the music video and also the fan base of James Bond films would listen to Adele because she was featured in it.