Inspiration.

As I have to create my own music video later on in the course, I have decided to choose 5 music videos that inspire me when it comes to creating my own.

1. Justin Bieber - Love yourself

Justin Bieber' love yourself is one of his newest singles, released in 2015. This video has no special effects or camera lighting, rather the simplicity of the video is what attracted me to it. The fact that it looks as though it has been filmed on a smart-phone in someones house shows me that you don't need all the technicalities to create an appealing video, a good idea is all it takes. If it wasn't for the choreography that runs throughout the video, it wouldn't have been half as successful, this is because it isn't just a 'dance' that takes place in the video, rather the dance has a narrative and is telling the audience a story without any lip-syncing taking place. 

2. Jessie J - Wild

I like the setting that this video has been filmed in and the the camera angles used. It is a very fast-paced video and grips the audiences attention as the camera is continuously moving and captures different movements and angles of the artists. There are also alot of edits and cuts that flow with the lyrics of the song. I also like how the video has been filmed in a studio, and the fact that the studio is being filmed by another camera, this gives the audience a bit more of a personal feel to the video as they can in a sense see what is going on 'behind-the-scenes'. The artists are singing to the camera, giving that one-on-one relationship with the audience, also the video i in black and white which I love, I feel that it adds that sort of edgy feel to a simply constructed video, and this automatically increases the appeal of the video.

3. WSTRN - IN2

Again the video is in black and white which automatically appeals to me. The location of this video is what draws me to it as it is similar o the kind of area that I live in and if I wanted to make a video similar to this it wouldn't be hard at all, also there are no extreme shots or technicalities in this video and is still very successful. I love the graphics used in the video, something which I have never seen used in a Hip-hop video like this before, the small twist added to such a simple video has made it all the more appealing to watch. 

4. Michael Jacson - Bad

Of course I had to put legend MJ into the mix. The one thing that obviously attracts anyone to his videos is his performance. Regardless of where he is whether it's in a gritty car park of in a night-club Michael never fails to put on one hell of a performance. I love the adrenaline that runs through this video by both Michael and his back-up dancers, coupled with the rustiness of the empty car park this is by far one of my favorite music videos by Michael Jackson of all time. 

5. Ed Sheeran - You need me, I don't need you

'You need me, I don't need you' was Ed Sheeran's debut single. This is one of the best debut singles I have ever come across, this is due to the choreography performed in this video. The unique choreography performed by the main dancer is one which I have not seen in a video before, and the dramatic dancing performed by the other dancers flows so well with the song and the beat that it just captures the audiences attention. The video is filmed in a studio with a plain back-drop and is in black and white, this along with the dance adds to the intensity of the video.

Production Diary 4

ANALYSIS - Katy Perry: Thinking Of You

Here's another music video analysis :)

AUDIENCE

The song is primarily targeted at young female teens aged around 12-16, this is due to the romantic narrative that runs throughout the song. The song is about a woman who is dealing with a break-up and does not want to move on whilst reminiscing about her relationship with another man. As a female artist who has been through relationships Katy understands what teenage girls go through and is there for them as some sort of comfort. Katys lyrics are from a woman's point of view about love which seems to appeal to the girls of this generation. Also, this age is vital to understand because this tends to be the age of 'innocence' for girls and because of this an audience can understand what Katy sings about and are therefore able to relate. 

Nevertheless, even though this is predominantly aimed at young females, this video can appeal to males as well, this is due to the application of Laura Mulvey's Male-Gaze which runs throughout the video. Katy Perry is frequently seen in her underwear, and is also sexually intimate with her lover, this attracts the males eye and they see her as a sexual object. She is seen as more sexually-desirable by the male and as a result they are more likely to buy the single.

Dyers theory of Voyeurism is moderately shown in the video, there are close-up shots of the artists eyes which can in a way been seen as sexual however rarely shows the other body parts. I think this is because the focus of this song is supposed to be more emotional than anything else hence why the Director avoided capturing explicit images of the artist. 

NARRATIVE

Andrew Goodwin believes that each genre follows certain conventions and has certain characteristics that define its nature. For a pop-video like this an element of performance is usually required.This video has a clear relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, the storyline is shown through the visuals which amplify the emotions and feelings of the characters and basically shows us what is happening. For example, when Perry says 'And bust in the door', she closes the door waiting for the soldier to come back home. Also, when she says 'I am thinking of you', the footage cuts to a clip of the couple riding a bike, showing the audience that she is thinking of the times she had with him.

There is also a strong relationship between the music and the visuals, due to the editing. The cuts are done in such a way that the video still has its naturalness and as a result we as the audience feel connected to the artist. The artist is shown to be singing the song establishing that Katy Perry is not only the artist but is also performing as the character, it allows to make the important distinction between performance and narrative.
Todorov's narrative theory is applied thoroughly throughout the video whereby there is a clear narrative, a Beginning; the female characters lover leaves for war and is with her new lover, Middle; she reminisces about her times with her love, End; her lover dies in combat and she attends hid funeral.

INSTITUTIONS

Katy Perry is an American singer, songwriter and actress. As a child she used to sing gospel songs in her church and began perusing this as a teenager. She was first signed to Red H Records where she released her debut studio album Katy Hudson (2001), however this was commercially unsuccessful.

She was signed with Def Jam and Columbia Records for a while but was dropped, and later on - 2007 - she signed with Capitol Records. 

Her breakthrough album was the second one she released named 'One of the boys' and she became known through to of her most loved songs 'Hot n Cold' and 'I Kissed A Girl'.

ANALYSIS

The plot is the key inter textual reference as the soldier going off to war and leaving behind his partner is a popular plot in alot of media, for instance 'Dear John' whereby there are a number of similar mise-en-scenes. As Dear John is Romance, this links well with Katy Perrys video and would definitely appeal to the target audience they are aiming at. The scene where she and her lover are riding on the bike is very similar to the scene in 'The Notebook' which also has the same feel and target audience due to the romance, and this increases their popularity.

Overall, the video itself is more narrative-based than it is performance due to the clear storyline that runs throughout matching the lyrics to almost all visuals, but there is also that slight element of performance as the artist is lip-syncing the lyrics to the song. 

The setting of the video enhances the mood of the song due to the location of the house in the summer and setting of the fields just add to the romantic feel. It also proves to the audience that when you are in love it doesn't matter where you are, you can be happy either way, this is because even though she is in the same place she has lot the one she truly loves and as a result her true happiness is gone. 

GENRE

The genre of the song is pop as it has nearly all the key conventions required for a pop song; performance, clear editing. Also, there are bright colours throughout the video, & natural lighting which is usually a key aspect of pop videos, although the funeral scene included dark coloured clothing the surrounding scene was bright and the flashbacks also brightened up the video, this complied to the conventions of bright colours in a pop video.

REPRESENTATION

Dyer theory is applied to this video whereby there are a range of close-ups to the artist, this amplifies the fact that she is the star of the video. and also shows a strong relationship between the artist and the visuals. This establishes Perry as not only the female-lead but also the artist, this works to promote Katy Perry as multi-talented: both a singer and actress, again making her more appealing to only current fans but to new groups of people as well (increase her fan-base), would also apply to film-directors. The close-ups of Perry whilst lip-syncing allow the audience to gain a real connection with her and feel as though they can relate to her and understand what she is going through, in this video she portrays herself to be an emotional person and the close-up shots amplify her sadness and true feelings to the audience, and we in turn empathize with her.

Top 10 Expensive Music Videos

Today in class we went through the Top 10 most expensive videos, I will list them in order from 1-10 (highest budget to the lowest budget) and explain for each what the money was spent for, eg Budget, Props.

1. $7 million

Michael Jackson - Scream

Michael Jackson's Scream is the most expensive video-to-date. It cost a sum of $7,000,000 to produce the video, this as mainly due to the graphics/animations and props required.

• Computer-generated Spaceship: $65,000
• Breaking guitars: $53,000
• Morphing artworks: $50,000
• Michael Jackson's make-up: $3,000
• Janet Jackson's make-up: £8,000 per day
• Choreography: $40,000
• Giant Video Screen: $80,000
• Lighting: $175,000
• Cost per day: $636,000
• Total cost of 11 sets: $5,000,000

2. $6.1 million

Madonna - Die Another Day

Die another day was the theme song for the James Bond movie, so quite rightfully would require a large sum to produce. A large slice of the budget was used on fencing classed undertaken by Madonna in order to come-off as a legit sword fighter. Madonna did her own stunts and duelled against herself in the video which meant a large amount of graphics and computer effetcs, this required a large sum of money.

3. $5 million

Madonna - Express yourself

 

 

Express yourself was inspired from the film Metropolis, he video Express Yourself was Madonna's way of expressing her thoughts and ideas on several social issues stemming from power and gender. Hollywood powerhouse David Fincher (who also directed Fight Club and The Panic room) led and steered the production crew in the making of this video. His talent fee alone required a huge sum from the total budget allocation.

4. $5 million

Madonna - Bedtime Story

 

Madonna and her label did not have any issues spending $5 million for the making of the Bedtime Story music video back in 1995. Fees for direction were considerably high with renowned music video director Mark Romanek at the helm. Also, the video was basically littered with tons of digital effects. While the shooting took only six days, the post production process went on for weeks. That said, the finished product was touted as one of Madonna’s most experimental music videos and has been kept by art and music galleries around the world.]

 

5. $4 million

Michael Jackson - Black or White



 

 

One of Michael Jackson’s most popular songs in his music career, Black or White was a piece directed straight at modern racism. With such a sensitive subject, MJ and his team wanted to produce an equally compelling video. The result was an instant hit. The video was one of the most watched music videos of all time and helped MJ become a global icon in the fight against racism. But the production cost was anything but cheap. Computer generated transformations, appearances of equally popular people, and turning Michael into a black panther made up a huge slice of the production’s $4 million budget. And that was way back in 1991.

 

6. $4 million

Guns N' Roses - Estranged

 

 

Guns N’ Roses was a huge band back in the day and so were the music videos of their songs. Estranged  was no different. As the title subtly implies, the song is about separation and that was the focal point of the music video. It delved on divorce and was 10 minutes long. Produced in 1993, the video was highlighted by several “expensive” scenes such as Axl Rose leaping off the deck of an oil tanker and Slash emerging from the bottom of the ocean. Also, the video also showed the band boarding a transport aircraft. And those were just some of the frames shot in the music video.

 

7. $2.7 million

Puff Daddy - Victory

 

 

Puff Daddy, Notorious B.I.G., and Busta Rhymes joined together in 1993 for the music video of Victory. It was directed by Marcus Nispel, and the total money spent for the production settled at $2.7 million. The fact that it is eight minutes long is just a sliver of the production costs. Major expenditures included appearances of Dennis Hopper and Danny DeVito, construction and destruction of a helicopter, stunt men fees, and huge fireworks also required a lot of money.

 

8. $2.5million

MC Hammer - Too legit to quit

 

 

MC Hammer totally dominated the rap music scene back in the early 1990s and it is not surprising for his lable to give a go signal to allocate $2.5 million for the Too Legit To Quit music video. Given that the year was 1991, such amount was huge and would go for $4 million today. Key highlights of the video included the appearances of James Brown and John Belushi as well as some pyrotechnic display.

 

9. $2.5 million

Mariah Carey ft. Jay Z - Heartbreaker

 

 

Mariah’s Heartbreaker music video was shot in 1999 with Brett Ratner leading the production crew. Total costs amounted to $2.5 million, which stemmed from a lot of elements that were needed for the production. The list included Jerry O’Connell’s talent fee, rent for a cinema and a mansion, as well as the animation. This was made at a time when Mariah was still a huge resounding name in the music industry.

 

10. $2.4 million

Busta Rhymes - What's it gonna be?

 

 

Produced in 1999 by Hype Williams, the music video for What’s It Gonna Be? by Busta Rhymes required $2.4 million to complete. Judging by the video’s budget, the overall costs would have been $3.9 million by today’s standards. Janet Jackson did not come cheap, but most of the money went to computer-generated transformations. In the video Busta Rhymes and Ms. Jackson morphed several times. The glass costume, worn by Rhymes, was reported to be worth $40,000 alone.

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

PremierePro

Here's my initial attempt at using the software 'Premiere-pro' - it went kinda okay.