Lyric analysis and their importance

The song we will be making our video for, Trials of the Past by SBTRKT, contains lyrics which don't necessarily contain a narrative, but still conjour up a lot of imagery, most of which being about ghosts and the supernatural. By studying and analysing the lyrics for our song, I have decided that our video is most likely to be set in a haunted wood. I have embedded my analysis below.

Trials of the Past Lyric Analysis

Magazine Advert Analysis: The Smiths

The most immediately striking feature of this magazine advertisement is the close up picture of the band. This has been used because not only is it the cover of the album which is being advertised, but it also grabs the attention of a potential fan of the album because it is a close up shot. The positioning of each of the band members within this picture has to be considered as well, because as Morrissey is at the front, it is evident that he is the lead singer and is the main one who is being marketed - this is also shown through the expression which is on his face, as he is the only one who is smiling with his teeth out. If we were to use a picture of a band within the magazine advert which we will be creating, then we would have to consider a similar way of spacing the band out so that the lead singer is the focal point, as it is likely that the music video is going to revolve around him as well. 

Another important feature of this magazine advertisement is that the entire picture is in monochrome. Whilst this arguably makes the picture stand out less to the reader than if it were in colour, it helps to emphasise the text, which is just as important as the picture for an advertisement for an album. In addition to this, monochrome works well on this picture because each band member can still be seen clearly. This can be a problem when not including a wide range of colours within the image, as it can sometimes emphasise shadows which can obscure certain things within the picture. In addition to this the monochrome colour scheme has connotations of the lo-fi, DIY aesthetic which is associated with indie music, which could be a big reason as to why the artist chose to design the image in such a way. 

The choice of light blue for the name of the artist and album has been done for two reasons, as it not only stands out well against the monochrome background, but also has connotations of tranquility, which is a way in which the music of The Smiths can be described. In addition to this, the album title actually appears twice within the advert, once at the top in two different colours, and then below the middle of the page in just light blue - this is to emphasise the title of the album, as it was a greatest hits release so wouldn't have received as much promotion as a new studio album would have done. 

The poster lists all of the hit singles which feature on the album - it is important that we do this with the poster that we produce as casual fans may not be able to recognise the artist based on just their name, and will need to recognise the name of their single in order to know who they are and to fully appreciate the advert.

The release date is emphasised both through using capital letters and a larger font than the rest of the writing at the bottom of the advert. This is because it is arguably the most important piece of information in the advert apart from the title, because fans will want to know when they can purchase the album. By making it stand out by typesetting in this way, it is the first thing most people will notice when they glance away from the image, meaning that it is likely to leave a longer lasting impression on the person than the rest of the information on the poster. 

A closer up image in order to show the large amount of detail at the bottom of the advertisement.

The advert contains a website link, but doesn't contain any links to social networks. We would need to ensure that we include links to social networks in our magazine advert, as these are often the first port of call for a listener who wants to make a decision whether to purchase the album or not. 

Finally, the one part of the poster which breaks the monochrome/light blue colour scheme is the small logo for Rhino Entertainment in the bottom right hand corner, as it is red. This is important because the designer of the advert has intended for it to stand out, as it is incredibly important for the institution who released the album to have a large part within the advert poster, because it is arguably an advert for the record company as much as it is an advert for the album which it is advertising. 

Magazine Advert Analysis: The Drums

This magazine advert is a lot more simple than the one which I previously analysed, as it is made up of the album cover and a list of ratings from several reputable music magazines. However, it is arguably just as effective as the one for The Smiths album, because the visual designer has employed many of the same ideas and methods in order to make it as attention grabbing.

It is unsurprising that the largest and boldest font is the name of the band, but is also the title of the album - this is a good marketing technique as it means the reader has far less to remember when researching about the album/band later on. It also means that the title can be accompanied by the subheading "the album", which encourages the reader to think of the band as being one who have an album worth buying, and aren't basing their success off the back of one single.

The use of the album cover in the background is mainly subliminal marketing, as it means the readers brain with subliminally notice the album cover and remember the advert next time they see it, for example on Amazon, iTunes or in a shop such as HMV. This is likely to encourage them to purchase, as whilst they may have not heard any music from it, they will have an urge to purchase or consider purchasing the album.

Finally, the use of ratings from magazines and newspapers as the main 'body' of text within the advert is the most persuasive part of the advert when it comes to attracting the reader into purchasing the album. This is because the ratings are all four stars, and are all from publications which the reader would have heard of - this allows them to make the connection that the album is widely critically acclaimed, which makes them more likely to sustain an interest in the album. 



Magazine Advert Analysis: The Defamation of Strickland Banks

 

Like many of the other magazine advertisements which I have analysed, the largest text, and thus the focal point of the advertisement, is the name of the artist. This appears at the top of the advert, connoting that he is more important than the music himself, and that people are more likely to respond to his name than they are the name of the album. This is an interesting move, especially as the album isn't self titled, as it would be assumed that the poster would be more promotion for the album, and the music video would be more promotional for the artist.

The other text on the advertisement is the name of the album it is promoting, and interestingly a piece of text declaring it "the multi-platinum album of the year". This is hugely effective in building promotion for the album, as it shows that not only is it commercially acclaimed ("multi-platinum"), but by declaring it the "album of the year" then it must also be critically acclaimed. This, when coupled with a number of positive ratings from magazines such as Q and Mojo, proves to the reader that the album is popular and is worth researching further.
 

In terms of colours, a monochrome colour scheme is used, with a splash of red in order to break it up and make it stand out more to the potential fan of the album. The black and white colour scheme shows that there is likely to be a dark subject matter on the album, which will help it to appeal to those who enjoy listening to music of this nature. These match the colours on the album cover, which is included on the poster in the bottom left hand corner.

 

The use of images is completely different to the other posters which I have analysed, as the main image is the artist himself rather than the album cover, against suggesting that the artist is more important than the album he has released. This is because by placing the album cover as the foreground image, the reader will subliminally pick up on it and is more likely to recognise it upon seeing it on iTunes or in a record store. However, it is still effective, as the reader of the magazine is probably more likely to recognise Plan B from his music videos than they are too recognise his album cover. Additionally, this poster was released months after the album, by which time Plan B was held in a much higher regard within the public eye, so it shows that he is aware of his self evolution.

Finally, the bottom right hand corner of the poster contains a link to his website, which gives the reader a first port of call in order to find out more about the artist and album, rather than leaving them in the blue and having to research it themselves. This means that overall, the poster is hugely effective in terms of creating a new fan base, as it plays excellently on the theme of the album cover and describes the albums success in order to take its audience even further.

Analysis of 2 digipacks

Gorillaz - Demon Days

The digipak for this album is very unique in the way it has been constructed, as it is presented in a folded up piece of cardboard rather than in a conventional CD sleeve. This is likely to be of further interest to CD collectors who weren't previously fans of the band, as they will look to collect this unique album sleeve.

In terms of the graphic design, each of the sides of the digipak shows a different "member" of the virtual band. This is commonly used on the interior of digipaks in order to promote more of a star image for each of the band members, especially if the record label believes they are a band who's attractiveness will help them to promote the record. In addition to this, each of the four unfoldable parts of the digipak represent a quarter of the album cover, as these are the pictures which they are made up from. This also keeps the design of the digipak very uncomplicated, as there is no writing or other imagery, allowing the person looking at it to focus more on the album cover itself.

By using white as the predominant background colour of the inside of the digipak, the album sleeve has connotations of openness. This relates well to the music of the album, as it takes influences from all sorts of genres including hip-hop, indie and dance. The dark blue colour background colour of the album sleeve connotes power and seriousness, so has perhaps been used ironically considering the band is actually a project made up of cartoons.

Rihanna - Talk That Talk

The most immediately striking thing about this digipak is the use of an almost completely black and white colour scheme, with only a tiny bit of red text being used in order to make it stand out amongst the monochrome of the rest of the album. The use of black and white doesn't particularly make the album stand out to potential purchasers, meaning that the record company will have to rely on other promotion such as music videos and magazine adverts in order to promote the album.

In terms of design, the interior of the album and the CD are both designed to reflect the look of a newspaper - this is probably a reference to the name of the album being "Talk That Talk". The "talk" in question could be rumours about the artist which have been published in newspapers, so this design is probably trying to reflect that. It is also well matched, as the CD is the only part which is explicitly clear as being designed like a newspaper than the rest of the digipak, which makes it stand out from the rest.

There are 4 separate images of the artist within the digipak, which shows that a lot of the albums marketing is being based around the 'attractiveness' of Rihanna, as in all four of the parts of the digipak, there is no image other than that of Rihanna herself. This is probably due to the fact that she is young and female, which means that her music is likely to sell a lot better if it is marketed around her face.

By studying these two vastly different digipaks, I have found that it is best to stick to one theme throughout the entire digipak, in the interest of creating continuity throughout it. This continuity will then extend to the magazine advert and music video, in order to create a promotional package which looks like everything has been designed by the same team with the same resources.

What are a digipak and magazine advert, and why are they important?

Digipak

 

An example of a digipak which continues the theme established
by the album artwork.

A digipak is a gatefold style CD/DVD packaging, which were first introduced around the year 2000. By packaging a CD within a digipak, a lot more visual content is able to be included around it than would be available in the usual booklet which is provided with CDs when they are purchased. The content included on a digipak is usually made up of song lyrics, exclusive pictures/graphics which correspond to the album cover, and a space for one or multiple CDs to be stored. While they are slightly dated now, with the majority of music now being purchased online, they are still an important product within the realms of physically released music, as they are often now sold for a higher price than the standard release CD as a special or deluxe edition. It is important to properly research how the best digipaks look before designing the one we will be producing for our coursework, as otherwise we will not have a target to stride towards.

 

Magazine advertisement

 

Magazine advertisements are still incredibly important within the world of music, as they are one of the most prominent non-digital ways of promoting an upcoming tour or album by a band, who are either well established or relatively unknown. Whilst many bands promote largely online, this can only really be targeted to those who are already aware of the band, whereas a magazine advert can open a band up to a whole new audience. If the advert is for an upcoming album, then it will usually contain many of the same features as any other advertisment. These include a picture of the album, its title, the bands name, the release date, the name of one or two successful singles which have already been released from the album, reviews and ratings about the album from well known music publications and newspapers, and information about how the band can be followed on social media such as Facebook and Twitter. In addition to this, the advertisement will almost always follow the same graphical scheme as the album cover and, if relevant, its digipak. Below are some examples of posters advertising albums, and it is clear that they all contain similar features.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cultural Effects Model

The Cultural Effects Model argues that an audience member's ideology is gradually built up over a longer time period from seeing various different media texts. This is why it is often nicknamed the "drip" effect. An example of how it is employed in the mass media is with perceptions of women, as representations of 'beautiful' women are shown to the audience as having similar traits across various media texts, which allegedly builds up an idea within the audience member's minds about what defines a woman as being beautiful. It also suggests that if multiple forms of mass media carry the same message, then the majority of the audience will accept this message as being true, for example the impression given that the working class shouldn't be entitled to the same amount of social security, as expressed through newspapers such as the Daily Mail and Channel 4.  

 

This relates to music videos very prominently, as there are many similar traits across music videos which are employed in order to use this theory. An example of this is the idea that "sex sells" in terms of music videos, which sees stars (usually female) donning as few clothes as possible in a video in order to attract an audience. The audience will soon grow to expect and demand this from music videos, as the cultural effects model will argue that their tolerance will grow from seeing similar images across different media texts. An oft-used example of this is Miley Cyrus' video for "We Can't Stop", in which she is scantily clad throughout the majority of the video. The audience take this message from this video, and then relate it to other videos which also show women who are wearing little, for example Anaconda by Nicki Minaj and Gold by Chet Faker. This embeds the view further in the minds of the audience that women are happy to degrade themselves, as the trend for them to dress like this in videos is likely to keep on going further.

 

 

Lip syncing - what it is and it's importance

Lip syncing is the technical term for pairing visual mouth movements with sung or spoken vocals. Whilst its live application has proved controversial as it allows artists to get away with a completely pre-recorded performance, it is part of the post-production phase which is used in the production of almost all music videos. It can often be the downfall of a live performance, as seen below. However, lip-syncing also adds a great deal when it is used in a music video, for example the music video for Wrecking Ball by Miley Cyrus.

It is important that we practise lip syncing before filming our actual music video, as it is one of the hardest parts to do. This means that if we are not sufficiently practised in how to perform a lip sync, then our video could end up looking very unprofessional. The best way to achieve a good lip syncing performance is to ensure that the actor within the video knows exactly how the song goes, and knows when to change their intonation etc.

In addition to this, it is advisable to play the song out loud whilst recording the lip syncing, as otherwise the actor will not be able to time their lip movements properly.

Finally, the most important thing about lip syncing is the person doing it has to be doing it realistically - if there is a man doing a women's part, then whilst it may be a source of comedy, it is likely to lower the overall production value of our video.

Analysis of videos within our genre: The XX - Islands

 

The genre which I would say our chosen song fits best into is indie-electro/post-dubstep, so the XX are a very similar artist in this respect. In addition to this, both of them released their debut albums on Young Turks, meaning they would have been given a similar budget and recording space in which to make their albums.

The image in the backdrop of each of the
shots matches the bands album cover and
logo.

In terms of iconography, there is a huge "X" in the background of each of the shots, along with many other smaller X's, which serves as promotion for the album which the song was released on (as it was the album cover of their debut). This works as subliminal advertising, but also shows that the director is establishing the band as stars, as such references to album artwork are seen much more in pop music videos than they are for more left-field music. However, this could also be mocking the repetitive nature of popular music, as the whole video is the exact same repeated sequence, which everybody grows more and more tired of until the point where it is abandoned, in order to connote how one thing is promoted to the masses, and when the masses grow tired of it, a new bandwagon is jumped upon.

 

The most prominent technical code which is used in the video is the single repeated shot throughout it, which is a close up shot of two people kissing, which eventually tracks back until it is an establishing shot which shows the entire scene. This shot is repeated throughout the video, but has been filmed slightly differently each time, with the characters growing more and more tired as it progresses. In addition to this, the band are seen as growing more and more frustrated, which connotes that bands are manipulated by record labels into producing whatever the label wants.

This could have been done by the director in order to connote the repetive and lifeless nature of making a music video, or could have been done in order to make a larger point about how the entire music industry keeps on repeating itself. Another noticeable technical code is how each of the shots have been framed - each of them has been positioned to show band in the dead centre, again making them seem the most important thing happening in the video, and helping to build more star quality for the artists. The use of low-key lighting throughout the video matches the dark and sinister undertones which the song has, and makes the whole video seem a lot more serious than it would do otherwise.

The song fits into many genres, although the video is clearly a video which has been inspired by the indie genre the most. This is because it is very simple, which means it matches the DIY aesthetic which most indie music video directors try to achieve through their work, as it is a way of reflecting the low budget on which the video would have been produced. Another way in which it fits into the indie genre well is the clear references which distant the band from the mainstream music society, as the majority of the video is actively mocking mainstream music. Finally, the overall aesthetic of the video fits well into the genre, as all of the characters are dressed in black in a dark setting, which is commonly associated with indie as it allows the band to "blend-in" to the background to a certain extent, and to let the music speak for itself.

 

The record company, Young Turks, are an independent record label, meaning it would be assumed that the band and director would be given a relatively small budget to make it with. However, the XX had already reached huge success in the UK by this point, so it is likely that they would have been offered a larger budget, although this has clearly been rejected in order to stay true to their independent roots. The record company are also responsible for the distribution of the video, which in this case comes mainly from putting the video on YouTube and then securing a TV deal afterwards, which is the opposite to how a mainstream company are likely to release the video, as they will wish to make as much profit from the video as they can by releasing it on the most profitable platform first.

The audience age wise for this video is likely to be very mixed, as the music is relatively calm with nothing shocking happening, meaning it is likely to appeal to a more mature audience, although it still is marketed to appeal to a younger audience, as the band were only 19 themselves when they released this album. The video is also most likely to appeal to people within the B, C1 and C2 demographics, as it is fairly reflective music which is likely to appeal more to middle class and upper working class audience members more than anybody else.

Finally, the video has strong represents gender as something which should be equal, as there are seemingly equal numbers of men and women within ththe nauseous, and each of the dancers is facing their opposite character. The video also connotes that conformity is something which should be avoided, as it is what causes the destruction of the wet within the video. 

Analysis of videos within our genre: Disclosure - When A Fire Starts To Burn

The genre of this song is electronic, with an influence from soul music in the looped vocal sample which was taken from a speech by Eric Thomas. The soul influence is mainly represented in the video through the iconography of the African-American inspirational speaker which takes up the first minute and and a half of the video. The main genre of the video however, is electronic music, which is represented through the characters dancing, although the video also defies conventions of the genre as the people dancing are middle aged rather than being teenagers or in their twenties, and are dancing in a hall in the daytime, rather than in a nightclub. In addition to this, instead of showing the producer who has made the song, the only musician shown is an elderly man playing the drums. This connotes that the director of the video has self-awareness of the genre, and has chosen to parody it more than fit into it.

The narrative within the video is based around an inspirational speech, which the audience then overreact to and become uncontrollably dancing and causing facial expressions, to the point where the man delivering the speech is no longer able to control them. It then cuts to a woman who is watching the same speech on television, who begins to become brainwashed in the same way and performs the same motions as those who are in the room. The narrative themes within the video are ones of subservience and power, as the one man who is preaching to the audience and on TV is the most powerful character, as he is the one who has the power to make the other characters act how they do. Most of Propp's narrative structure is present within the video, as there is an equilibrium, when the people are being preached too and are reacting as would be expected. There is a disruption, which is when the song begins in the video and the audience begin to become taken over by the message within the speech. There is also a recognition of the disruption, which is when the speaker starts calling the audience up to the front, in order to manipulate the trance-like state which they are in. There is no real resolution of the disruption, as whilst it is arguable that the disruption is resolved when the speaker collapses, those around him do not stop, meaning that the disruption isn't ended within the video. This could have been chosen by the director in order to either allow a follow up video to be made, or to leave the video on a cliff-hanger ending with the audience left to wonder about what happened afterwards.

The main focus in the video in terms of representation is religion, and how it can be used in order to brainwash/manipulate people. It isn't clear about what the speakers motives are until the shot showing the TV screen encouraging viewers to dial "1(800) PRAY-HARD", which clearly shows that the video connotes how easily religious preachers are able to get people to follow their views. This is a negative representation of religion, because it connotes that it is something forceful which people are unable to escape - this is another reason as to why the video ends on a cliff-hanger, as it represents religion as being something which is inescapable once people have been indoctrinated into it. 

There are only two settings used in the video, and one of them isn't introduced until nearly three quarters of the way through the video. These two settings are the run-down hall which the man is making his speech in to a small number of middle-aged people, and the other a woman watching the speech on television in her lounge. However, the cuts between the two settings for the rest of the video are used to show how the way the people in the room are being indoctrinated in the same way that the woman at home is being, in order to suggest that it is also happening to many others who aren't shown in the video. Only using two separate scenes could have been due to budget constraints, with the video being released before the band had released the song as a single, or could be in order to keep the video simplistic, as the overall narrative of the video is one which is fairly easy to grasp by any audience.

The target audience for this video is likely to be the opposite of the characters which are shown within the video - this is very unusual, as music videos are usually created with the uses and gratifications theory in mind, part of which says that videos show characters who the audience will want to be like. However, in this video, all of the characters are middle aged, whereas the music is targeted towards people between the ages of 15-30, as electronic music is seldom associated with people older than this age. Through showing the characters as being so different to the likely audience members, the director is again able to self-parody the genre which the video fits into, in the same way he has manipulated the setting of the video from what would be considered conventional. In terms of socio-demographics, the video is most likely to appeal to those within the B, C1 and C2 categories, as the middle, lower-middle and skilled working classes are most likely to be interested in the electronic genre, and thus will enjoy seeing how this video parodies the genre to a certain extent.

Analysis based on Goodwin's Theory: Kid Cudi - Pursuit of Happiness

Links between lyrics and visuals

 

Goodwin's theory suggests that almost all music video directors will seek to create a link between the lyrics of the song and the visuals which appear on screen. This is usually through the form of the visuals reinforcing what is being said in the lyrics. This is expressed a few times in the music video for Persuit of Happiness, as when the lyrics say “people told me slow my road”, everybody in the music video goes into slow motion, with the exception of the artist. It visually demonstrates what is being said in the lyrics, as it shows how the artist is distancing himself from what the "people" in the lyrics are telling him.  
 


Genre Characteristics

The theory suggests that certain videos across certain genres will display very similar traits to each other. In hip-hop videos, the star is usually seen as being dressed down in comparison to the people around him, in order to suggest that the artist has made it into a different society than the one he was born into. In addition to this, the artist in the video is shown as wearing lots of jewellery and is surrounded by women, both of which are also key characteristics of the genre of hip-hop.

Notions of looking

Goodwin noticed that most music videos have been directed and edited in a way which plays on the idea of gaze, and to present certain characters differently to others. For example, he noticed that in many music videos, especially in the hip-hop and pop genres (which this video crosses over), women are presented as objects, namely through the male gaze theory. For example, when the characters in the video are uncorking the champagne and spraying it over a woman, it attracts the audience to her, representing her as somebody who the males in the video are able to dominate and use as they please. In addition to this, the female DJ is seen is slow-motion when she is removing the record from it's sleeve - this shows that her role is also emphasised as she becomes the centre of the scene when it is in slow motion.

Demands of the record label

Goodwin wrote that the record label usually has a huge pull in how the video ends up looking. As Cudi was signed to independent hip-hop label GOOD music at this point, the company is likely to invest less money in the production, but give him more creative control. In addition to this, the record label has used the video in order to superluminally market Cudi's album, as the sleeve housing the record which the DJ removes in slow motion is actually the album on which Pursuit of Happiness appears. This is why the slow motion is effective when it comes to the theory about notions of looking, as the audience are attracted to the female, and thus should then want to pay more attention to the item she is holding.

 

Narrative, Performance or Concept based video?

 

It appears that the video is a mixture of being narrative and concept based, because it contains very little performance, with the lyrics mainly forming how the video has been planned. The actual narrative is linear as it goes from A-B and follows the lyrics in the main, although the lyrics both enhance and detract from the story which is told by the visuals.