During one of our media lessons, we were given a task to film a music video in an hour so we can practice our lip syncing abilities. Through lip syncing tutorial, I learnt the key steps to make a music video which consist of : singing rather than miming as this makes it look more natural and using at least four different types of camera work: Extreme close up, Mid Shot, Pan & Track
We used final cut pro to edit our footage. With Final Cut Pro, I learnt a way to make sure that the soundtrack and the video are synched together . This can be done by taking a word from the song for example, 'her', and editing the amplitudes where you then mark and drag this down to the timeline. Cutting your recorded piece of clip at the same point and placing on the timeline makes it effective and leaves you almost with a music video in sync. Using a handheld camera was difficult since we were not allowed to use tripods. However this did help us use the oppurtunity to get used to hand-held cameras.
all in all, i learnt a lot through this tutorial and now i feel ready to do our coursework. Here are pictures we took during the task:
In our media lesson, we looked at music videos and analysed them in relation to these four concepts: narrative, genre, representation and media language. After learning how to analyse videos in this way, I decided to analyse Time to pretend by MGMT.
Genre: By watching this video, I've come to a conclusion that the genre is indie. The only setting that you can see is a beach and the rest are computer generated. The artists in the video are wearing costumes and sometimes, they're wearing little clothes. This links to the genre because indie artists are supposed to be carefree and liberal and they express this through their music. The lighting isn't very evident as most of the video is done in front of a green screen.
Narrative: The narrative of this video is non linear as it has no clear beginning or end, yet any direction.
He was a Russian and Soviet formalist scholar who analyzed the basic plot components of Russian folk tales and deduced these stories in to simple Narrative elements.
He was born in the late 19th century, studying philosophy in university. He then worked as a teacher in secondary school, teaching German and Russian. He then taught at college teaching just German. When he was 33 he published the book Morphology of the Folk Tale. It was a break through of folklore itself as the structure of folk lore and fairy tales. The book wasn't noticed until the 1950's when it was translated for the Westerners. The types of characters he produced were very vast and could be applied to most stories, whether that being literature to folklore. He chaired the Department on Folklore until it became part of the Department of Russian Literature. Propp remained a faculty member until his death in 1970.
He used a different way on approach on narrative structure, breaking sentence structure into more smaller, analytic descriptions, Russian folklore being one of them.
He came up with a theory following of up to 31 structures.
He also concluded that all the characters are into 8 broad using the 100 Russian folk tales he analyzed
These are:
The villain- struggles against the hero
The donor-prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object
The (magical) helper- helps the hero in the quest
The princess or prize- the hero deserves her throughout the story but is unable to marry her because of an unfair evil, usually because of the villain. The hero's journey is often ended when he marries the princess, thereby beating the villain
Her father- Usually gives the task or order. Propp noted that functionally, the princess and the father couldn't be clearly distinguished
The dispatcher- character who makes the lack known and sends the hero off
The hero or victim/seeker hero- reacts to the donor, weds the princess.
False hero-takes credit for the hero's actions or tries to marry the princess.
I found a music video that applies his theory
This music video by the Singer Pink- Please Dont leave me and has many elements of Propps theory of characters. In the beginning she plays the princess and her boyfriend plays the villian as he struggles against the hero. However, roles change after the boyfriend's accident, making the lead singer the villian. Also she uses alot of objects representing this, such as the golf club and butcher knife, which can symbolise a sword being used in fairy tales. Also, the elemet of the donor is used, being the aresole to fight against the villain in the video. This ends up resulting in the death of the villain. Which is a modern day type of happy ending that has ben used in old folklore aswell.
Vladimir Propp was born in germany on April 17, 1895 . He attended St. Petersburg University . once he graduated he taught Russian and German at a secondary school and then became a college teacher of German. His book Morphology of the Folk Tale was published in Russian in 1928. It was tranlated in 1950's when it then started to get noticed in the West. In media education they use his character types , they can be applied to almost any story, be it in literature, theatre, film, television series, games, etc.
He extended the approach of narrative structure. He broke down sentece structures into anayzble elements. Propp used this method on Russian fairly tales. He broke the tales into their smallest narrative units. the tales take the following sequence of 31 functions.
After analysing 100 videos he distinguished 8 character types
The donor — prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object.
The (magical) helper — helps the hero in the quest.
The princess or prize — the hero deserves her throughout the story but is unable to marry her because of an unfair evil, usually because of the villain. the hero's journey is often ended when he marries the princess, thereby beating the villain.
her father — gives the task to the hero, identifies the false hero, marries the hero, often sought for during the narrative. Propp noted that functionally, the princess and the father can not be clearly distinguished.
The dispatcher — character who makes the lack known and sends the hero off.
The hero or victim/seeker hero — reacts to the donor, weds the princess.
False hero — takes credit for the hero’s actions or tries to marry the princess.
We done a lip-syncing tutorial, using the song Survive by Gloria Gaynor. We were able to mark the song in time with them singing very easily. It made a big difference that they were actually singing when filming. Having this experience on lip-syncing will be very beneficial when making our music video.
Andrew Goodwin identifies 5 key aspects of music videos that we the audience should look out for which are:
. Thought beats – Seeing the sound
. Narrative and Performance
. The Star Image
. Relation of Visuals to Song
. Technical Aspects of Music Video
Thought Beats – Seeing the sound in your head
First step is to look at the music itself. We must take into account the structure of the song for e.g. Chorus/Verses .
Secondly , the voice of the song. The artists voice is extremely unique and can form identification or trademarks that work well with the star image. Roland Barthes theory of the Grain of voice can be related to this. He sees the singing voice as an expressive instrument and therefore able to make associations of its own.
Thirdly, Goodwin also points out the artists mode of address. Songs can be seen as stories and the artist the storyteller, making the music video a two communication device, them telling us a story and us listening.
Songs fail to give us the complete narrative!
We only tend to get a gist of the meaning of the song and then tend to make up our own idea of what is being told.
Goodwin explains that music videos should ignore common narrative. It is important in their role of advertising .
Music videos should coherent repeatability . Narrative and performance work hand in hand it makes it easier for the audience to watch over and over without loosing interest.
The artist acting as both narrator & participant helps to increase the authenticity however the lip sync and other mimed actions remains the heart of music videos. The audience need to believe this is real.
Narrative & Performance
Star Image The star image is another vital aspect of music videos. Meta narrative which is a big story that describes the development of the star over time, it has an important part to play in the music video production process.
Relation of Visuals to Song
There are three ways in which music videos work to promote a song
Music videos can use a set of images to illustrate the meaning of lyrics & genre, this is the most common This is similar to repeatability. Meanings and effects are manipulated and constantly shown through the video and drummed into our vision This is where the meaning of the song is completely ignored
Technical Aspects Technical aspects hold the music video together through use of camera work, movement, angle, mise- en -scene editing, sound and special effects. Speed, camera movement, editing , cutting and post production are all forms of use of camera. Lighting and colour help set moods and emphasise key moments of the song for dramatic effect Mise-en-scene, the setting of music videos is vital, it needs to look authentic to attain professionalism . Beats, music videos use cuts to go with the beat or rhythm making the video more entertaining.
Who was Vladimir Propp?
Vladimir Propp extended the Russian Formalist approach to narratology (the study of narrative structure). Where, in the Formalist approach, sentence structures had been broken down into analysable elements - morphemes - Propp used this method by analogy to analyse folk tales. By breaking down a large number of Russian folk tales into their smallest narrative units - narratemes - Propp was able to arrive at a typology of narrative structures. By analysing types of characters and kinds of action, Propp was able to arrive at the conclusion that there were thirty-one generic narratemes in the Russian folk tale. While not all are present, he found that all the tales he analysed displayed the functions in unvarying sequence.
Try applying these to Star Wars or episodes of X-Files or Star Trek - It can be interesting to see how powerful are the narrative structures of folk mythology, and how they are continually reinserted into contemporary popular culture. The functions he described were as follows:
After the initial situation is depicted, the tale takes the following sequence:
A member of a family leaves home (the hero is introduced);
An interdiction is addressed to the hero ('don't go there', 'go to this place');
The interdiction is violated (villain enters the tale);
The villain makes an attempt at reconnaissance (either villain tries to find the children/jewels etc; or intended victim questions the villain);
The villain gains information about the victim;
The villain attempts to deceive the victim to take possession of victim or victim's belongings (trickery; villain disguised, tries to win confidence of victim);
Victim taken in by deception, unwittingly helping the enemy;
Villain causes harm/injury to family member (by abduction, theft of magical agent, spoiling crops, plunders in other forms, causes a disappearance, expels someone, casts spell on someone, substitutes child etc, comits murder, imprisons/detains someone, threatens forced marriage, provides nightly torments); Alternatively, a member of family lacks something or desires something (magical potion etc);
Misfortune or lack is made known, (hero is dispatched, hears call for help etc/ alternative is that victimised hero is sent away, freed from imprisonment);
Seeker agrees to, or decides upon counter-action;
Hero leaves home;
Hero is tested, interrogated, attacked etc, preparing the way for his/her receiving magical agent or helper (donor);
Hero reacts to actions of future donor (withstands/fails the test, frees captive, reconciles disputants, performs service, uses adversary's powers against them);
Hero acquires use of a magical agent (directly transferred, located, purchased, prepared, spontaneously appears, eaten/drunk, help offered by other characters);
Hero is transferred, delivered or led to whereabouts of an object of the search;
Hero and villain join in direct combat;
Hero is branded (wounded/marked, receives ring or scarf);
Villain is defeated (killed in combat, defeated in contest, killed while asleep, banished);
Initial misfortune or lack is resolved (object of search distributed, spell broken, slain person revivied, captive freed);
Hero returns;
Hero is pursued (pursuer tries to kill, eat, undermine the hero);
Hero is rescued from pursuit (obstacles delay pursuer, hero hides or is hidden, hero transforms unrecognisably, hero saved from attempt on his/her life);
Hero unrecognised, arrives home or in another country;
False hero presents unfounded claims;
Difficult task proposed to the hero (trial by ordeal, riddles, test of strength/endurance, other tasks);
Task is resolved;
Hero is recognised (by mark, brand, or thing given to him/her);
False hero or villain is exposed;
Hero is given a new appearance (is made whole, handsome, new garments etc);
Villain is punished;
Hero marries and ascends the throne (is rewarded/promoted).
I have chosen to Analyse P.I.M.P by 50 cent ft Snoop Dogg & G-Unit.
This music video is by a Hip-Hop/Rap Artist and there are a lot of indications
to the genre of the music video. GENRE - All the Artists are rich young black men who have a lot
of expensive jewellery and expensive clothing which is a typical occurance in modern
rap music videos. Also there are a lot of very scantily clad young women in this video and in the video they are seen almost as the rapper's accessories. The setting of the video is in a big mansion with lots of expensive cars. Modern rap/Hip-hop culture is all about having money and girls, so this video has clearly followed suit, in terms of determining the genre.
NARRATIVE - The artists in this video both narrate and participate. The narrative is in slow-motion
most of the narrative shots feature a lot of girls
MEDIA LANGUAGE - The editing goes in time with the beat and the editing in the narrative is in
slowmotion but edited fast.
We had a lip synch tutorial, where we learned how to syncronise the footage we had filmed of us singing a song and the actual song itself. We tried to use a few variations of camera shots and we had a little narrative as well. I feel the video we did was Alright given the time we had to make one. I found it quite easy to synch up the footage and the song using the method we had been taught in an earlier lesson, using markers in final cut pro.
The good points I have taken from this tutorial are:
We were able to synch the soong and video effectively
We started to learn how to edit in the style of music videos
We learned simple effects that we might use in our final piece
We are getting used to using the camera handheld
We have an idea of the kind of camera angles/shots rhat we are going to want to use for our final piece.
The things that will need to improve:
The editing
Colour correction - we made this one a bit too dark.
Overall the tutorial went well and we will take everything on board. I think with time and planning we can make our final video really good.
by the students that did the song - The world is yours by Nas.
I think that a lot of thought was put in to making this video and the setting, clothing, actions, attitude and camera angles and effects work perfectly together and i feel this is one of the best student videos i have seen so far from the CandI vimeo channel. The lip synch is in time and the editing is perfect and there is minimal effects used but the ones that are used create a very good effect. The graffiti walls and the bridge are a very good setting for this type of genre. I liked the idea they used of filming ordinary people just looking at the camera it really goes well with the song.
In lesson we done a lip sync tutorial. We done our video to the song I will survive by Gloria Gaynor. After filming the video with two of us singing to the song we uploaded it and using final cut pro we put in markers to match the song with our lip syncing. This tutorial will benefit us a lot for when we do our music video.
Andrew Goodwin has identified a number of key features which distinguish the music video as a form:
- There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics.
- There is a relationship between the music and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the music.
- Genres are complex and diverse in terms of music video style
- Record companies often demand a lot of close-ups of the main artist or vocalist
- Voyeurism is exists in many music videos, especially in the videos of female artists. Some examples are screens within screens, cameras, mirrors, etc.
- There are likely to be intertextual references, either to other music videos or to films and TV texts, these provide further pleasure for the viewers and fans.
Illustration is when the lyrics are the main part of the music video to tell the story. A dance would also express the feeling and moods of the song.
Beyonce is the main person in the video she uses lyrics to express the feelings and moods.
Amplification is when new meanings are introduced and contradicts the lyrics adding layers of meaning.
Disjuncture is when there are few or no connections between the music video and the lyrics or where the video contradicts the lyrics.
The actions in Wileys video wearing my rolex has nothing to to with the lyrics in the song
In media we analysed music videos through narrative, genre, representation and media language. The video i am going to analysis is pixie lott- boys n girls
Genre The genre of pixie lott is pop. the video it is taken in a house. the lighting isnt natural. pixie is wearing very fashionable clothing that most people that listed to pop would wear the other people in the video also look fashionable.
Narrative The artists is the participant as she is filmed dancing and narrator because she also lip-syncs to the song. The song has a clear chorus at every chorus we see the artist dancing with a group of other people and during the chorus she is mostly alone singing.
Media Language The editing of this video was done professionally , the lip sync is in time and the music is in time with her dancing. Close up are used on pixie to sow her facial expressions and mid shot and long shots are used to shoe her had gestures, dancing and body language. the editing is fast passed to make the video up beat like the music.
Representation The close ups of pixie lott and other people make the video seem more personal the dancing in the video makes it fun and want to watch and copy her.
Andrew Goodwin's theory is a very interesting outlook on music videos. He believes that using the same structure of analyzing a TV drama for a music video would be incorrect as they don't apply to music videos. The narrative of the both types of videos have a different approach.
Such as the use of repetition used when the chorus is being played for example, it's used to effect, or the approach of the singer looking directly into the camera, pulling in the viewer through use of performance. As well as the singer usually playing the narrator in music videos, they can also play both as the character to demonstrate the song they are singing about. This creates a even wider gap in differentiating the different approach a music video has. Goodwin also points out that pop videos always have an ending, whether that is through the use of fading or building to a climax.
He also stated that they are three types on the different relations to the song and video;
Illustration
This is when there is a literal interpretation of the lyrics through performance. Usher and R.Kelly- Same Girl
I decided to use this music video as an example to demonstrate this. As you can see the clips shown through the music video are in relation to the lyrics clearly.
Amplification
Many videos use this to demonstrate stronger meanings to the lyrics of the song, adding more layers. TLC- Waterfall
Even though there is some visual relation to the lyrics, there is a much more stronger meaning in the muisc video.
Disjuncture
Some videos use this, showing no relation or connection to the lyrics. B.o.b ft Hayley Williams- Airplanes
Such as this music video, there are no airplanes or shooting stars in the music video, but the way they filmed it as well as the setting worked effectivly.
I believe that Goodwin's theory is correct and looking at the many music videos that fit these diferent types confirm this.
In class, we have learned how to analyse music video's in relation to narrative, genre, representation and media language. I decided to analyse the music video by Example-Love kicks.
Narrative
The structure of this music video is linear, however they are mixed concepts of the structure throughout the video such as the split screen, some that are relevant but others that aren't. There is an equilibrium in this music video because it begins with him pictured with his girlfriend and ends with the same visualisation; showing that there is no disruption of the romantic atmosphere that took place from start. The artist's position in the music video acts as the participant as he is filmed spending time with his girlfriend and narrator because he also lip-syncs to the song.
Genre
I would say that kick starts is a sub-genre of pop. The music video was taken place in a house with split screen of other characters shown through the video. There is natural lighting and different colors through the use of clothes that were worn by the many people who are in the video. This gives it a laid back-type song for everyone. The girlfriend being played in the video already shows that the song is about a girl or relationship and the other people in the video dancing takes away the seriousness of a typical love song and made into more of dance type genre. They all are wearing casual but trendy clothes which demonstrates that it's aimed at people who are young and keep in with current trends.
Media Language
The editing was used to good effect, the timing being perfect on the beat of the song. Typically being slower when showing the artist participating in the music video, many close ups of the girlfriends facial expression were used that also shows his point of view. But fast cuts were used as well as multi and split screen during the chorus. The effect of the editing had a overall chilled but upbeat mood of the video.
Representation
As there were many close ups of the the woman's face and the artists, it already gives out the representation of a relationship. Unlike your typical r'n'b music videos, there weren't any close
ups of her body.
Using the many concepts to analyse, I was able to gather that through the use of editing,genre, narrative and media language it was an upbeat laid music video that had elements of pop and dance in it.
