ANALYSIS - James Arthur: You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You

In lesson we watched YOU'RE NOBODY TILL SOMEBODY LOVES YOU - JAMES ARTHUR. In this post I'm going to analyse the video going through the six main features; Audience, Narrative, Institutions, Genre, Representation and Analysis.

Below is the Prezi I made:

Production Diary 3

KAPLAN - Female Gaze Video.

The idea of the female gaze is basically Kaplan's response you could say to Mulvey's male gaze, so instead of looking at a female from a heterosexual males view, the table turn and it has now become the looking at a male from a heterosexual females view, simple. :)

JASON DERULO

Jason Derulo is a R&B and Pop singer who is highly popular amongst teenagers (particularly females) and dance fans. In majority of Jason's videos he is shown to have his top off, which appeals to the female audience, this is a classic theme in male pop artists songs and shows off the iconography of the star in the video. In his music video 'Want to want me', Jason is portrayed to be a sexual object as he is topless throughout most the video whilst being intimate with the female, this attracts a large female audience to his video as the female gaze is applied. He is further shown to be the dominant male as he looks down on the lady,portraying him as having more power than her. This shows that he is the most important person in the scene, creating a star image. 

Theorist No. 5 - LAURA MULVEY - Male Gaze Video.

Laura Mulvey is a feminist who developed the male gaze theory which she defines as; The camera is perceived to be a heterosexual male and looks at a female in a sexual way. She is a feminist who believes that women should enjoy the attention of men and put themselves in a position to be looked at through the gaze. Women are typically the object of the gaze because the control of the camera comes from the assumption of heterosexual men - this being due to the fact that the default target audience for most films is men. 

MULVEYS KEY FEATURES OF THE MALE-GAZE THEORY - 

• The representation of woman in a sexual fantasy from a heterosexual males point of view
• Scopophillia - The pleasure involved in looking at other peoples bodies.
• The objectification of female characters
• Depiction of a Patriarchal society
• Satisfying the males needs

ANALYSIS - Macklemeore & Ryan Lewis: Downtown

I decided to analyse a video of my choice, I chose DOWNTOWN - MACKLEMORE Ft RYAN LEWIS, again like Whisky Story I looked at the Narrative, Institutions, Genre, Audience, Analysis, Representation. Here's a prezi of my analysis:

ANALYSIS - Example: Whisky Story

After watching the music video; WHISKY STORY - EXAMPLE, I did an in-depth analysis of it, looking at the narrative, genre, audience, analysis, institutions and representation. Below is the analysis.

Conventions Of A Hip-hop Video/R&B Video

In most Hip-hop music videos the artist is wearing some form of jewellery, usually silver or gold, to portray their status and lifestyle. Hip-hop artists usually tend to wear gold chains to boast about their wealth and lifestyle, showing the people that they are in a sense 'living life'. Flashy jewellery tends to catch the eye of both male and female, this helps increase sales as young males view these Rappers as their icons.

In hip-hop videos there is constant referencing to women who are usually either women who are very minimally clothed, Mulvey's female gaze theory can be applied here as this entices the male viewers and as a result this increases the appeal of the video upping both views and sales. 

                        A good exampe of a Hip-hop and R&B video that  is 'Loyal' by Lil Wayne, Chris Brown and Tyga.

The conventions that are typically required in a Hip-hop/R&B video are:

- Portrayal of wealth and 'glam' lifestyle

- Female/male gaze theory

- Sex appeal 

- Choreography/performance element

- Artist is usually performing/lip-synching the song

- Narrative-based

Analysis Of Rock - KINGS OF LEON

In class we went through the conventions of a rock video, we focused on the band KINGS OF LEON. In this post I am going to analyse 5 of their music videos and run through the conventions of a typical Rock video.

1. USE SOMEBODY

This song trys to describe a stereotypical view on pop starsand are portrayed to be better than everyone else. It is in some ways a plead to let their fans know that deep down they can get lonely sometimes just like everyone else. This shows us that they are down to earth which is a factor one can relate to want to listen to their music as they can 'relate to it', the lyrics of the video fit well with the visuals.

2. SEX IS ON FIRE

This video has quite a grungy feel to it due to the dark lighting and extreme close-ups, it is set in what looks like an abandoned factory. 

3. RADIOACTIVE

This video is not the typical video you'd usually expect from a rock band, compared to the others it portrays a light-hearted view of the band, playing and having fun with young children. This video takes the band out of the stereo-typical view of Rock bands, this opens them up to a wider audience and as a result adds to their appeal 

4. PYRO

This song is quite a dull and depressing one and the video matches that mood, there are rarely any shots of the band (unlike many of their other videos), the video is depicting a bar-fight scene and is shot in slow-motion, at the end of the video everyone floats up towards the light. 

5. BACK DOWN SOUTH

This is quite a simple video released by the band. It shows the band performing in Nashville - where they are originally from - and shows their south life-style, surrounded by fields and animals it is like a 'break' from their hectic city-life schedule. 

Production Diary 2

Hello again. :)

So this week I've really been getting into the swing of things. I learnt about yet another Theorist who goes by the name of Steve Archer. I also created a Music Timeline on 'Prezi' whereby I was allocated four well-known artists/bands and basically has to list and describe all their music videos, so that was fun. I blogged about Michael Jackson #FAVE. Listing the Top 10 Music Videos of 2015 was fun as I learnt how videos have adapted and changed as society moves on. Oh yes, and the most fun thing I did this week was My (awful) attempt at Lip-Syncing! Yaaaay. Let's not. :)
Till next time folks.

Theorist No. 4 - STEVE ARCHER

Steve Archer is another theorist who I will talk about briefly.
His theory of music videos is that the narrative of the video will be cut in between so the artist can do a performance, which is usually singing. However a choreographed dance could be the performance, being that it fits the narrative, so to enhance the  appeal of the song.
Archer also states that the camera work is extremely important when shooting and in the production of the music video, the camera angles, frame, composition, distance all need to be analysed very carefully as this is the main way that an artist is 'sold' and is also how they communicate with their fans. For example, One Direction - What makes you beautiful, this was their debut track therefore they had to sell themselves to the public, this was done through many different ways but mainly through the camera work. Throughout the video there was frequent close-ups of each members face,not only did this allowed the viewer's to familiarize themselves with this upcoming band, it also in a way forced a one-on-one connection with the individual watching so it felt as though the boys were singing directly to them.

My Attempt To Lip Sync The Coolest Theme Song

Timeline Time

MADONNA 

-She sings into the camera , so viewer feels as though it is directed at them
-A lot of up-close shots of her face and body throughout videos
-She usually dances in her videos, (choreographed dance in 'Everybody') very up-beat
-There's usually a relationship between her lyrics & visuals

TAKE THAT 

-Videos usually portray the band to be quite childish and humorous, this makes females 'fall in love' with them as they feel like they can connect with the band
- Quite chilled out, they don't 'act' for the camera
- Portrayed as a loving and caring band
- Up-close shots of them singing to the camera

COLDPLAY

- Camera usually focuses on the lead singer 'Chris Martin' 

- There's no relationship between the lyrics & visuals

- Shows the band performing on stage

KATY PERRY

- Male gaze, Goodwin's theory of Voyeurism applied throughout most her music videos

- Her videos are quite humorous, different than the typical pop video

- There is usually a narrative to her videos, and a relationship between lyrics & visuals

- Sings to the camera, a lot of close-ups

- Videos usually contain bright and/up-beat colours, exaggerating the fact that she is a pop artist

- Choreographed dances run throughout

THE KING OF POP.

I decided to choose one of my BEST BEST BEST artists of all time. Michael Jackson. I am going to choose two of his music videos and analyse one that I like and one I don't. Simples.

                  1. MICHAEL JACKSON - SMOOTH CRIMINAL

There are just too many good videos to choose from, but this is just one of my favourites. How can you not love this video, it's so energising, everytime I watch it it gets me going. The narrative, is so cool, I love that it's seen in those high-class kind of bars plus the fact that he plays an old-school gangsters which are one of my top characters to play,  and he pulls it off so epicly and to add to that the dancing. The dancing. Moves that can only ever be done by this man, iconic steps that he created and have gone down in history, one of which is shown in this video where he leans literally to the ground. Wicked. Even though this video is 10 mins long you can't get bored of it. Also, he's the main character in this short film hence why he is wearing white and spotlight/focus is on him throughout.

                                    2. YOU ARE NOT ALONE 

Yep, this video has to be the worst of MJs. It was a terrific song but the video was extremely cringe-worthy. I just don't understand the need of sexuality in this video, in my opinion it wasn't needed. Listening to the lyrics of this song, I understand it can be about a man who misses his lover, or it could be targeting people who are going through struggles in life and is reminding that they aren't alone. Whatever it may be, the half-nude scenes with the female were highly unnecessary. Furthermore, unlike his other videos their was no narrative to this one, it was only shot in two settings, in a theatre and on some kind of floor with the female, sad for me to admit but quite a boring video, not catchy at all. 

         

     

  

BILLBOARD - 10 Best Music Videos Of 2015

Billboard released their top 10 music videos of 2015 so far, here is the link to the article:

http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop-shop/6605833/2015-10-best-music-videos-taylor-swift-maroon-5-sia

So I'm going to pick out a few of the Top 10 vids and analyse them for you.

Number one on the list we have SIA - ELASTIC HEART. Personally I think this is a cool conceptual video, however is seen as controversial by many as it shows a very young girl who is quite hands on with a much older man, however, the meaning behind this video I think is quite deep as it can have multiple narratives behind it. Maybe a father who has a mental illness and as a result feels caged, or it could be depicting a rough relationship between a father and his Daughter. Whatever the meaning may be I think this is an exceptional video is as it allows the viewer to use their imagination and delve deep within their own mind into what their interpretation of the video song/video could be.

Number two we have MAROON 5 - SUGAR. This video is unlike any other the band has made before. It shows Maroon 5 travelling around and surprising couples on their wedding day with a performance. Unlinke Sia, it has no narrative or in a sense meaning to it, nevertheless it's a very cute video, showing the band's kind nature something which you don't see often with other artists, and make us happy watching it. 

Number three we have TAYLOR SWIFT - BAD BLOOD. Now Taylor's videos nearly all the time have the typical storyline of boy and girl, whether it shows them all smitten or a going through a bad break-up, but not this video, miss Swift surprised me (and I'm guessing alot of her fans) when she released Bad Blood. The video contains a lot of action and fighting, cool costumes, extra special effects and cameos from other female celebs, I don't think I've seen a better Taylor Swift music video. So cool.

The last of the ten I have chosen to analyse is CARLY RAE JEPSEN - I REALLY LIKE YOU. Now why wouldn't this video be in the Top 10? It not only contains infamous Bieber, but also Hanks. Tom Hanks, they really branched out in this video. This video shows Hanks lip-synching the song, it has a childish nature and it's just funny. A funny music video that I loved watching, because of Hanks. :)

 

Production Diary 1