This is a screen shot is from the film Snatch. I chose this image as I felt it had a massive effect on the film. Brad Pitt is sitting there very casually smoking a cigarette whilst his two ‘trainers’, Turkish and Tommy (because of the gun) are looking extremely nervous, due to the fact that they will be killed if Brad Pitt doesn’t go down in a specific round. Brad Pitt’s outfit is very ironic and doesn’t match what you would expect a normal boxer to wear; he is wearing a trilby hat, trousers, casual trainers and boxing gloves whilst smoking. The effect of him wearing boxing gloves whilst wearing his every day clothes suggests that this is no abnormal day for Brad Pitt; this is a normal day to him, fighting and death.
This image makes the audience feel as though he is either very confident or doesn’t care about the fight like Turkish and Tommy do. Turkish and Tommy are wearing suits, this emphasises the idea that they are both trying to be professional and want to win (lose). In the background you can see a group of un-orderly men who do not care who wins but just want to see a good fight; the background has a huge input to this image as Turkish and Tommy are in the complete opposite position, they do not want to see a good fight and they do care, they just want it to go well for them.
In the top right hand corner you can see the referees hand with a light shining from it onto Brad Pitt; this is lighting shows how the referee has the power and is in control of the fate of Turkish and Tommy’s life. The dull lighting within the boxing ring conveys a dull mood and the fear of the two boys; they are both wearing black to carry on this portrayal.
Monday 29 November 2010
Ideas
In a nut shell... We have been discussing ideas to do for our music video, and have came up with a few ideas. We have came up with a few ideas with a variety of songs:
B.O.B - Magic ft. Rivers Cuomo: We feel this song is suitable as it has a good beat and will allow us to use various types of shots in out video. We will all enjoy filming this video as it is the type of music we like which will give us motivation when filming. The idea that we have is to have one of us walking to an audition whilst singing and using a variety of shots, show the person entering the audition and setting him self up to be the judge, then various artists will do an audition singing this song to create irony within our filming.
Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Can't Stop: This song has a great fast paced beat which will force us to make quick cuts which I feel will make the whole video better as fast paced cuts generally build up tension and make people want to see it more. We want to use the same idea as we believe it will be the best idea.
The Stranglers - Peaches: Peaches by The Stranglers is a slower song to the rest of our ideas, but we feel we could get a great effect from the song. There are not much lyrics to this song, although it has a great beat and goes very well with our idea.
The White Stripes - 7 Nation Army: The bass and guitar solo's in this song will create a good effect and allow us to make good and fun cuts in our video. We like this song as a group and feel it will go down well in terms of using it for a final piece.
B.O.B - Magic ft. Rivers Cuomo: We feel this song is suitable as it has a good beat and will allow us to use various types of shots in out video. We will all enjoy filming this video as it is the type of music we like which will give us motivation when filming. The idea that we have is to have one of us walking to an audition whilst singing and using a variety of shots, show the person entering the audition and setting him self up to be the judge, then various artists will do an audition singing this song to create irony within our filming.
Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Can't Stop: This song has a great fast paced beat which will force us to make quick cuts which I feel will make the whole video better as fast paced cuts generally build up tension and make people want to see it more. We want to use the same idea as we believe it will be the best idea.
The Stranglers - Peaches: Peaches by The Stranglers is a slower song to the rest of our ideas, but we feel we could get a great effect from the song. There are not much lyrics to this song, although it has a great beat and goes very well with our idea.
The White Stripes - 7 Nation Army: The bass and guitar solo's in this song will create a good effect and allow us to make good and fun cuts in our video. We like this song as a group and feel it will go down well in terms of using it for a final piece.
Thursday 11 November 2010
Lil Wayne - Prom Queen (Analysis)
The opening lyrics correspond to the video as he mentions the girl he fancies and shows him looking at her across the classroom. This agrees with Goodwin’s theory.
Lil Wayne is seen looking all scruffy and on his own at the prom as he is bullied just as the boy in the No Love video is.
He talks about how she ‘laughed and walked away’ and now she should regret her decision to bully Lil Wayne as he turns into a superstar.
The video agrees with Vernallis’ theory as it is a typical Hollywood style continuity.The video is correspondent to the lyrics as well as following Vernallis’ style.
Lil Wayne is seen looking all scruffy and on his own at the prom as he is bullied just as the boy in the No Love video is.
He talks about how she ‘laughed and walked away’ and now she should regret her decision to bully Lil Wayne as he turns into a superstar.
The video agrees with Vernallis’ theory as it is a typical Hollywood style continuity.The video is correspondent to the lyrics as well as following Vernallis’ style.
Tinie Tempah - Written In The Stars (Analysis)
In the opening of the video, it starts with Tinie Tempah and Turner doing there own style to show a bit about them. IT then shows the little boy sitting outside of his flat and then he transforms into Tinie Tempah suggesting that this was him when he was younger.
The mum is then shown taking a man into her flat and throwing her son outside again as she is a prostitute. The boy sits down and puts his head-phones on like this is his normal routine. The lyrics say ‘I want my family back’ as the boy is kicked out; the lyrics correspond with the video which agrees with Vernallis’ theory.
As the man finishes with the boys mum, he taps him on the head as he feels sorry for him and the little boy throws something at him in anger at his mums job.
When the boy is in the basket ball court, sitting there writing with his head-phones on, (trying to hide from the real world.) a boy comes up to him and throws all his work on the floor; this shows that he gets bullied just as they do in Prom Queen and No Love. The lyrics say ‘Every one’s the kid that no one cares about’ just as he gets bullied (agreeing with Vernallis’ Hollywood style theory).
Towards the end of the video, the boy comes out of his shell and dances on the roof to show his passion for music and this is his way to express himself.
It finishes with the boy standing there with his arms in the air to show that he will make a name for himself just as Tinie Tempah has.
The mum is then shown taking a man into her flat and throwing her son outside again as she is a prostitute. The boy sits down and puts his head-phones on like this is his normal routine. The lyrics say ‘I want my family back’ as the boy is kicked out; the lyrics correspond with the video which agrees with Vernallis’ theory.
As the man finishes with the boys mum, he taps him on the head as he feels sorry for him and the little boy throws something at him in anger at his mums job.
When the boy is in the basket ball court, sitting there writing with his head-phones on, (trying to hide from the real world.) a boy comes up to him and throws all his work on the floor; this shows that he gets bullied just as they do in Prom Queen and No Love. The lyrics say ‘Every one’s the kid that no one cares about’ just as he gets bullied (agreeing with Vernallis’ Hollywood style theory).
Towards the end of the video, the boy comes out of his shell and dances on the roof to show his passion for music and this is his way to express himself.
It finishes with the boy standing there with his arms in the air to show that he will make a name for himself just as Tinie Tempah has.
Eminem - No Love ft. Lil Wayne (Analysis)
Opening powerful image of a child with a black eye, this is a close up shot to emphasise the pain; this instantly suggests that he is being bullied in some way, whether it be his family or bullying at school.
Flashbacks are shown to give the audience an insight into how the black eye came across. The pungent image of the three boys within the opening sequence show the extent of the bullying.
The bullying continues as the lyrics read ‘No more’ showing the boys pain and how he is feeling at this current time.
1:24 in to the video, the boy stands up to his bully’s and doesn’t back down, he gets barged but deals with it and doesn’t run, showing he is growing as a person and it doesn’t affect him any more.
The lyrics are corresponding to the video as the lyrics say ‘Do not knock me down’, which is a contrast as he gets knocked down (1:55). The camera shot at this point is aimed directly to the boy with his bully’s higher than him to show status and power.
The boy walks around with his hood up to emphasise that he fears the bully’s and doesn’t want to be seen.
The boy has earphones in whilst Eminem is rapping, this may show that he is listening to the long that we are listening along to.
In the background to where Eminem is rapping, there is an image of chains to show that the boy is chained up and cannot escape from his current situation.
Once the boy stands up for himself and punches one of the bully’s, we see a sequence of flash backs to portray the effect of how he is trying to forget the old and continue with his life.
The last shot is a medium shot of the boy walking away with his head held high showing he has put the bullying behind him and stood up for himself.
Flashbacks are shown to give the audience an insight into how the black eye came across. The pungent image of the three boys within the opening sequence show the extent of the bullying.
The bullying continues as the lyrics read ‘No more’ showing the boys pain and how he is feeling at this current time.
1:24 in to the video, the boy stands up to his bully’s and doesn’t back down, he gets barged but deals with it and doesn’t run, showing he is growing as a person and it doesn’t affect him any more.
The lyrics are corresponding to the video as the lyrics say ‘Do not knock me down’, which is a contrast as he gets knocked down (1:55). The camera shot at this point is aimed directly to the boy with his bully’s higher than him to show status and power.
The boy walks around with his hood up to emphasise that he fears the bully’s and doesn’t want to be seen.
The boy has earphones in whilst Eminem is rapping, this may show that he is listening to the long that we are listening along to.
In the background to where Eminem is rapping, there is an image of chains to show that the boy is chained up and cannot escape from his current situation.
Once the boy stands up for himself and punches one of the bully’s, we see a sequence of flash backs to portray the effect of how he is trying to forget the old and continue with his life.
The last shot is a medium shot of the boy walking away with his head held high showing he has put the bullying behind him and stood up for himself.
Lipsync Task
We came together as a group and decided to start our lipsync exercise. Together we researched the web, using YouTube, to find a suitable song to use for our lipsync task. When looking on YouTube, we felt that we had to find a song that we knew every word to and wasn't too fast for us to sing along to. We looked for a while then came across Micheal Buble - Everything, two of us knew most of the words so we wanted to do this song, we looked at the lyrics and felt that it wasn't that suitable and felt we could get a better song. After a bit of discussion, we looked at some more songs and saw Giggs - Look What The Cat Dragged In. We decided we would do this song as we knew the words and it was slow, it also has a good beat so we could have fun with it and practice for our main task.
The way we are going to film, is by playing the song out loud on a mobile phone, and filming us sing along to it. We felt this would be the best technique as we can cut our voices out whilst editing and it will look as though we are singing the song.
Camera work within our lipsync task will be important, we want to practice different angles and types of shit which will benefit us for the future. Once our Lipsync exercise is filmed, we will put the footage on FinalCutExpress and edit using this software. This will help us for the main task as we do not know how to use the software yet, but this task will teach us and improve our editiing skills as a team.
The way we are going to film, is by playing the song out loud on a mobile phone, and filming us sing along to it. We felt this would be the best technique as we can cut our voices out whilst editing and it will look as though we are singing the song.
Camera work within our lipsync task will be important, we want to practice different angles and types of shit which will benefit us for the future. Once our Lipsync exercise is filmed, we will put the footage on FinalCutExpress and edit using this software. This will help us for the main task as we do not know how to use the software yet, but this task will teach us and improve our editiing skills as a team.
Monday 8 November 2010
Types of Shot
Match Cut
The Match-cut shot is where an object which is of a similar style to another object, making the two ideas a metaphor. E.g. The film A Space Odyssey shows a dog bone being thrown in the air, linking with a satellite in the sky.
30 degree rule
The 30° rule is where the camera should move at least 30° between shots in the same sequence. The shots must be different enough to avoid a 'Jump Cut'. Too much movement in the sequence may come under the 180° rule.
Up Shot
This shot gives the object higher status by making it seem larger and as if they are above us it makes it seem as though you are in a live performance due to looking up at the object (audience).
180 degree rule
This rule means that the two characters involved should always have the same left to right structure to prevent confusion of the audience (music videos tend not to abide this rule).
Tracking Shot
This is where the camera is mounted onto a dolly and wheeled along a track to keep the camera in line with the moving scene.
Cross Cutting
Cross cutting is a editing technique which flicks between two scenes to create an effect; the usual effect being tension and fear, a lot of horror movies use this technique.
Jump Cut
This is a type of cut where two sequential shots of the same object is taken but varied only slightly to make the camera seem disorientated.
Establishing Shot
This is a shot which is usually shown at the start of a new scene to show the new location of the sequence, an example would be to show the building of the sequence.
The Match-cut shot is where an object which is of a similar style to another object, making the two ideas a metaphor. E.g. The film A Space Odyssey shows a dog bone being thrown in the air, linking with a satellite in the sky.
30 degree rule
The 30° rule is where the camera should move at least 30° between shots in the same sequence. The shots must be different enough to avoid a 'Jump Cut'. Too much movement in the sequence may come under the 180° rule.
Up Shot
This shot gives the object higher status by making it seem larger and as if they are above us it makes it seem as though you are in a live performance due to looking up at the object (audience).
180 degree rule
This rule means that the two characters involved should always have the same left to right structure to prevent confusion of the audience (music videos tend not to abide this rule).
Tracking Shot
This is where the camera is mounted onto a dolly and wheeled along a track to keep the camera in line with the moving scene.
Cross Cutting
Cross cutting is a editing technique which flicks between two scenes to create an effect; the usual effect being tension and fear, a lot of horror movies use this technique.
Jump Cut
This is a type of cut where two sequential shots of the same object is taken but varied only slightly to make the camera seem disorientated.
Establishing Shot
This is a shot which is usually shown at the start of a new scene to show the new location of the sequence, an example would be to show the building of the sequence.
The Music Industry
The music industry sells compositions, recordings and performances of music to the public. Music is produced and sold by two groups; the act and the organizations that operate within the industry. In the late 19th century, the industry was mainly controlled by publishers of sheet music; sheet music is a hand-written piece of music on a hard copy of paper that uses music notes to display the music. Technology improved and music was moved to audio in the 20th/21st century; this was due to Thomas Edison, he invented the phonograph which assisted the industry in recording music and allowed them to play music via radio. The record industry then replaced sheet music publishers as the largest force. Record labels were then introduced e.g. Columbia Records. Labels came and went, but in the 1980s the "big 6" were formed; EMI, CBS (Sony), BMG, PolyGram, WEA and MCA (Universal).
We entered the 21st century and technology was improving daily. Consumers were spending less and less money on CDs, Vinyls, cassettes and digital downloads, they eventually dropped 25% world wide; this was due to the vast number of illegal downloads. Illegal downloading became a 21st century phenomenon, everybody seemed to be doing it. Websites were being created with a 'front' (selling things to make the website legal), but allowing music sharing, for free! Napster was the leading site for illegal downloads, in 2001 Napster was shut down, but this was just the beginning; one website closes down, 2-3 websites open. This was a massive issue for the music industry as a whole.
The opening of the iTunes store in 2003 lowered the rate of illegal downloads due to easy access of music. Digital sales improved but still have not recovered the loss due to illegal downloads.
In 2010, a study shows that MNCs (Multi National Companies) such as Wal-Mart and Best-Buy retail more music than stores that just sell music. Due to the massive decline in the sales of music, artists these days rely on live performances and merchandise to bring in the majority of their money; this has made artists more dependent on labels and has created a market for record labels.
Changed in the industry has given consumers a wider variety of choice and at an extremely low price.
Universal account for 25% of the industry, closely followed by Sony at 21%, Warner and EMI also have large shares. The rest of the market falls down to independent record labels.
Album Sales and Market Value
# Country Album Sales Share Share of World Market Value
1 USA 37–40% 30–35%
2 Japan 9–12% 16–19%
3 UK 7–9% 6.4–9.1%
4 Germany 7–8% 6.4–5.3%
5 France 4.5–5.5% 5.4–6.3%
6 Canada 2.6–3.3% 1.9–2.8%
7 Australia 1.5–1.8% 1.5–2.0%
8 Brazil 2.0–3.8% 1.1–3.1%
9 Italy 1.7–2.0% 1.5–2.0%
10 Spain 1.7–2.3% 1.4–1.8%
11 Netherlands 1.2–1.8% 1.3–1.8%
12 Mexico 2.1–4.6% 0.8–1.8%
13 Belgium 0.7–0.8% 0.8–1.2%
14 Switzerland 0.75–0.9% 0.8–1.1%
15 Austria 0.5–0.7% 0.8–1.0%
17 Russia 2.0–2.9% 0.5–1.4%
18 Taiwan 0.9–1.6% 0.5–1.1%
19 Argentina 0.5–0.7% 0.5–1.0%
20 Denmark 0.45–0.65% 0.5–0.8%
We entered the 21st century and technology was improving daily. Consumers were spending less and less money on CDs, Vinyls, cassettes and digital downloads, they eventually dropped 25% world wide; this was due to the vast number of illegal downloads. Illegal downloading became a 21st century phenomenon, everybody seemed to be doing it. Websites were being created with a 'front' (selling things to make the website legal), but allowing music sharing, for free! Napster was the leading site for illegal downloads, in 2001 Napster was shut down, but this was just the beginning; one website closes down, 2-3 websites open. This was a massive issue for the music industry as a whole.
The opening of the iTunes store in 2003 lowered the rate of illegal downloads due to easy access of music. Digital sales improved but still have not recovered the loss due to illegal downloads.
In 2010, a study shows that MNCs (Multi National Companies) such as Wal-Mart and Best-Buy retail more music than stores that just sell music. Due to the massive decline in the sales of music, artists these days rely on live performances and merchandise to bring in the majority of their money; this has made artists more dependent on labels and has created a market for record labels.
Changed in the industry has given consumers a wider variety of choice and at an extremely low price.
Universal account for 25% of the industry, closely followed by Sony at 21%, Warner and EMI also have large shares. The rest of the market falls down to independent record labels.
Album Sales and Market Value
# Country Album Sales Share Share of World Market Value
1 USA 37–40% 30–35%
2 Japan 9–12% 16–19%
3 UK 7–9% 6.4–9.1%
4 Germany 7–8% 6.4–5.3%
5 France 4.5–5.5% 5.4–6.3%
6 Canada 2.6–3.3% 1.9–2.8%
7 Australia 1.5–1.8% 1.5–2.0%
8 Brazil 2.0–3.8% 1.1–3.1%
9 Italy 1.7–2.0% 1.5–2.0%
10 Spain 1.7–2.3% 1.4–1.8%
11 Netherlands 1.2–1.8% 1.3–1.8%
12 Mexico 2.1–4.6% 0.8–1.8%
13 Belgium 0.7–0.8% 0.8–1.2%
14 Switzerland 0.75–0.9% 0.8–1.1%
15 Austria 0.5–0.7% 0.8–1.0%
17 Russia 2.0–2.9% 0.5–1.4%
18 Taiwan 0.9–1.6% 0.5–1.1%
19 Argentina 0.5–0.7% 0.5–1.0%
20 Denmark 0.45–0.65% 0.5–0.8%
Friday 5 November 2010
Thursday 4 November 2010
Marketing a Music Video
Artists can use multiple ways to promote/market their music video. A very common method of marketing is called Viral marketing; this form of marketing is used worldwide. Viral Marketing is where the video is uploaded to a site, such as YouTube and Vevo. Sites such as these, are a great source of marketing for artists and help them promote their music for free; a lot of unknown artists us YouTube and Vevo to create a fan base for themselves. The artist that we create as a group will want to use Viral Marketing as one of the main sources of promotion as it is cheap, easy, free and very effective. In addition to Viral Marketing, using websites such as MySpace and Twitter; social networking sites assist artists as they can upload their music on to these sites and start creating a fan base. Many artists use social networking sites to promote new music, Kanye West, Jay-z and Rihanna all use MySpace to let fans see exclusive music. Once tracks are known by fans and recognised, companies such as Apple and HMV will pick up on this and begin to sell their track; Apple use software called iTunes to sell music on whereas HMV sell hard copies in store. Album covers are very important when selling as even on iTunes you purchase the album cover as well as the track; iTunes also allow you to purchase the video for many songs. Once the track is known and the artist has picked up fans, the artist will do gigs to further the artists reputation and pick up more sales and one day become a global phenomenon.
Music Video Ideas
Me and my group have been doing a lot of research and looking all over the web to find the right track to use for our Music Video. YouTube has been a great source for us, and we have used it to our advantage. After a lot of debating, we decided that an Indie style song would be the best for us as we feel it will allow us to use a variety of shots and a quick paced video. Originally we wanted to do a Hip Hop style video but then realised that choosing music that we like is not necessarily the best idea.
Song Choice Possibilities:
· All American Rejects - It Ends Tonight
· Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Can’t Stop
· Arctic Monkeys - Fluorescent Adolescent
· The Kooks - Naïve
All of these songs have the style we would like and start off slow as we agreed. We want a song that has a slow start and gradually gets louder and faster; this is due to one of the ideas that we have come up with for the video; I suggested that we do an audition seen to start off slowly, with the artists being the judge watching different style auditions sing the chosen song, the when the song gets louder and faster, the artist gets fed up and sings the song himself. This is just one of the idea we have come up with.
Album Cover Analysis
Album art covers are very iconic and influential on the sale of the album. The genre of the music is generally established through the album cover, so it is crucial for the artist to get it right. The album cover is there to attract customers to the specific album, and many artists to choose an iconic image to create awareness of the album.
By looking at Mika’s album cover, you instantly see the colour and that the album is fun and bubbly, this is the image that Mika wanted to create when creating his album cover; the design was illustrated by his sister Yasmin, who works under the name of DaWack. The album is very easy to the eye and symbolises fun and excitement. There is a man seen sitting on a floating sofa and around other relaxing objects and more furniture, this is within a cloud suggesting that it is a dream like style and Mika’s album will allow you to achieve this dream by listening to his album.
The whole idea of colour and cartoons on the album cover emphasises that this album is aimed at the younger generation, rather than older men. As well as being aimed at the younger generation, I feel that the album cover suggests that Mika’s life is like a fantasy and he lives in a dream world of fun and happiness. The title of the album is very discrete on the cover, whereas the artists name is written in capitals in a large font; the album title is written in a hand-writing style font showing the child like state of the album.
Young Money - We Are Young Money
The name of the group is portrayed intensely on the cover in a very attractive style; ‘Young Money’ is in a ‘rich’ style font covered in diamonds, showing that these guys are very wealthy. On Lil Wayne’s forehead is a Christianity symbol, agreeing with the idea of him being a God like figure.
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