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.

Notes on Goodwin's Theory

Goodwin's theory is based on eight core principals, most of which should be applicable to almost any music video. It is important that I study and learn these principals before I begin planning the music video which I will produce, as it will help to ensure that I include everything which is necessary in order to create a professional, cohesive product.

These eight principles are:

1. Links between lyrics and visuals (ie the visuals adding to the narrative which is described in the lyrics)



2. Links between the music and the visuals (but not necessarily supporting each other, as the links could be complimentary, contradictory or amplification)



3. Genre characteristics

3. The low angled shots on Jay-Z within the video for 99
Problems are a genre characteristic of hip-hop as they
make him appear aggressive and dominating

4. Intertextual references (for example mocking other music videos/films, or containing clips from a film which the song was featured in)



5. Notions of Looking (ie the objectification of women through the use of the male gaze theory)

5. There are several uses of the idea of notions of looking
in the video for Writing on The Wall by Plan B. 

6. Voyeurism (breaking the 4th wall, insight into the artists life etc)



7. Demands of the record label (making the artist represent themselves in a certain way for example)

By including Rick Rubin in the video for 99 Problems,
Def Jam are raising their status as a label
 

8. All music videos fit into one of three types - performance based, concept based and narrative based

8. Last Nite by The Strokes is an example of a performance
based music video, as it contains no recognisable narrative

By studying the principles of this theory I will now be able to analyse another music video and apply the theory to it, in order to prove how I need to apply the theory to my video as much as possible.

Animated Storyboard

This is the animated storyboard which I pieced together, with the ideas and drawings coming as a collaboration from all four members of the group. Whilst it is only for the first section of the song, it will be incredibly helpful when editing the music video as it gives us a better gauge of how each shot flows into the next, and where certain transitions should be used.

Music video factsheet notes

Purpose of a music video

A music video has many purposes, although the most obvious is to sell a product, namely the song which the video is for. However, music videos can also be used to market other products, such as the album which the video is featured on, or the film which the video makes intertextual references to. However, this is an unusual form of advertisement, as the audience gets to experience the whole song through the video, meaning they are being given a form of the product which they are potentially then going to later purchase. Whilst this wasn't a problem in terms of revenue in the pre-millenial digital age, it is a problem now as YouTube means that people can access the song and corresponding video wherever they are, meaning there is little need for them to purchase the song.
 

Fearing a loss in profit, most labels attempted to stop this, although efforts proved futile, meaning that labels such as Sony BMG now have a dedicated YouTube channel for their artists work. These videos then contain links to websites such as iTunes where the content can be purchased via download, which means that the music video can be used to sell the song, even if technology has made it less effective than it was 15 years ago. 

In addition to this, there is the VEVO YouTube service, which funds artists for uploading their videos by giving their record label a cut of the advertising revenue. As the view count on the video above (270,000,000 in November 2014), uploading a music video to VEVO gives it exposure to a larger audience. This is the best way to make music videos profitable in the new age, as otherwise there is a very small chance that the viewer is going to legally purchase the music, especially with YouTube ripping tools easily available online. 

Conventions in music videos

 

A convention which runs throughout almost all YouTube videos is movement being used to the rhythm of the song. This movement can be achieved through the movement of the camera, from editing to the beat, or from people in the video moving. In addition to this, a lot of music videos contain a narrative, with some crossing over to the point where they can be regarded as short films. This narrative will either match the lyrics of the song, or will be about a different theme which embodies the feel of the music. 

Another product which is sold through music videos is the band/artist themselves, as they may be featured performing, be in the form of lip-syncing or playing instruments. They may also be featured acting, playing characters outside of their usual persona. 

Some music videos contain references to other media, such as films, TV shows or current affairs. This is called intertextuality. This can either be due to the song being featured in a certain film, or in order to mock other artists, as Blink-182 did in their video for All The Small Things.

Genre and its impact on music video 

 

The majority of musical genres have characteristics associated with them, and this then extends into the music videos from this genre. These video characteristics include clothing and visual codes, such as props. One of the most notable and controversial genres of music video is hip hop, due to its conventions of gang culture, the objectification of women, drugs, alcohol, violence and cars. In terms of clothing, baggy clothing is usually worn, in order to reflect the chilled out style of music which is usually featured in the videos. The hypodermic needle theory suggests that displaying such a culture is likely to make fans of the genre try to live their lives in the same way, although the truth behind this has been widely disputed.

Other genres which contain instantly recognisable visual codes include punk (tight jeans, anarchist symbols, skateboarding, a sense of rebellion) and rock, which often features an element of live performance and the consumption of alcohol. 

By studying this factsheet, I have learned a great deal about how music videos are formulated and how important it is to ensure that we include multiple genre characteristics in order to make sure our audience can relate to it. 

Location Scouting

In order to ensure that we get as many potential locations to use as possible when filming our video, we have decided to split the locations into a category each to find. Below is a list of each of our categories, and then the pictures of various potential bedrooms which I believe we could include as part of our video. 

Me - Bedroom
Rhys - Woods (daytime)
Jack - Woods (nighttime, meaning there mustn't be any visible street lights or noise restrictions)
Calum - Lane and abandoned house

Potential bedroom locations found by me: 

Bedroom 1 (above) - I believe that this bedroom would be suitable as it is a good medium between being too large to be realistic, and too small to be able to effectively film in. However, it would need to be decorated in a way which reflects the theme of the song much better, as it currently seems to be too inviting and welcoming in order to connote the things which it needs to in order to be suitable for our video. 

Bedroom 2 (right and below) - This would be the easiest of the three bedrooms to film in, as it has a huge amount of space, meaning we could even set up two separate cameras in order to capture the action from separate angles to edit together. However, it could be seen as unrealistic as it is too large to conceivably be a teenagers bedroom, and it is also a source of a lot of natural light, which is likely to ruin the theme of darkness which we are attempting to capture in our video. 

Bedroom 3 (right and below) - This bedroom has a window which can be covered up in order to remove almost all of the natural light, allowing us to create the light setting as part of our mise-en-scene configurations. In addition to this, it is fairly plain (barring the wallpaper which would have to be covered over in order to not look completely out of place), which allows a lot of room for us to adapt it in order to work well with our video. This means that, with a few modifications to make it look more professional, this bedroom would be the most appropriate for the scenes of our music video which require a bedroom.

Investigating various locations we could potentially use allows us to get a much more effective final product from our video shoot, as it will show in the video that we have properly considered all of the locations in terms of practicality and representation.